{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_22550/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_22550","id":"gutenberg_22550","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22550","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - American","Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Great Lakes (North America)","Mackinac Island (Mich. : Island) -- History","Michigan -- History"],"text":"Produced by David Edwards, Christine P. Travers and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n(This file was produced from images generously made\navailable by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all\nother inconsistencies are as in the original. Author's spelling has\nbeen maintained.\n\nPage 312: The amount of barrels is obviously an error of the\ntypographer, but the proper amount not being known, it has been left\nin place. \"It is probable that they are now capable of manufacturing\n1,25,000 barrels of flour annually, and this quantity would require\n5,625,000 bushels of wheat.\"\n\nThe inconsistencies of the typographer or author for punctuation (or\nlack of) in amount have not been corrected.\n\nThe illustration of the frontispiece did not have any caption, the\ntext has been added while processing this file.]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration of an Indian woman near a river.]\n\n\n\n\nOLD MACKINAW;\n\nOR,\n\nTHE FORTRESS OF THE LAKES\n\nAND\n\nITS SURROUNDINGS.\n\nBY\n\nW. P. STRICKLAND.\n\nPhiladelphia: James Challen & Son,\n\nNew York: CARLTON & PORTER.--Cincinnati: POE & HITCHCOCK. Chicago: W.\nH. DOUGHTY.--Detroit: PUTNAM, SMITH & CO. Nashville: J. B. McFERRIN.\n\n1860.\n\n\n\n\n\nEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year, 1860, by\n\nJAMES CHALLEN & SON,\n\nIn the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in\nand for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.\n\nPHILADELPHIA: STEREOTYPED BY S. A. GEORGE, 607 SANSOM STREET.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIn the preparation of this volume a large number of works have been\nconsulted, among which the author desires to acknowledge his\nindebtedness to the following: \"The Travels of Baron La Hontan,\"\npublished in English and French, 1705; \"Relations des Jesuits,\" in\nthree vols., octavo; \"Marquette's Journal;\" Schoolcraft's works, in\nthree volumes; \"Shea's Catholic Missions and Discovery of the\nMississippi\" \"American Annals;\" \"Lanman's History of Michigan;\"\n\"Parkman's Siege of Pontiac;\" \"Annals of the West;\" \"Foster and\nWhitney's Geological Report;\" \"Ferris' Great West;\" \"Disturnell's Trip\nto the Lakes;\" \"Lanman's Summer in the Wilderness;\" \"Pietzell's Lights\nand Shades of Missionary Life;\" \"Life of Rev. John Clark;\" \"Lectures\nbefore the Historical Society of Michigan;\" \"Mansfield's Mackinaw\nCity;\" \"Andrews' Report of Lake Trade;\" \"Heriot's Canada;\"\n\"Presbyterian Missions,\" &c., &c. He desires particularly to mention\nthe works of Schoolcraft, which have thrown more light on Indian\nhistory than the productions of any other author. He also desires to\nacknowledge his indebtedness to Wm. M. Johnson, Esq., of Mackinac\nIsland, for his valuable contributions to the history of that\ninteresting locality. The statistics in relation to that portion of\nthe country embraced in the work are taken from the most recent\nsources, and are believed to be perfectly reliable.\n\nWe are indebted to J. W. Bradley, of Philadelphia, the publisher of\n\"The North American Indians,\" for the beautiful frontispiece in this\nwork. Mr. Catlin, the author, visited every noted tribe, and, by\nresiding among them, was initiated into many of their secret and\nhidden mysteries. It is a valuable work.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n    CHAPTER I.                                                    Page\n\n    Mackinaw and its surroundings -- Indian legends -- Hiawatha\n    -- Ottawas and Ojibwas -- Pau-pau-ke-wis -- San-ge-man --\n    Kau-be-man -- An Indian custom -- Dedication to the spirits\n    -- Au-se-gum-ugs -- Exploits of San-ge-man -- Point St.\n    Ignatius -- Magic lance -- Council of peace -- Conquests of\n    San-ge-man.                                                      9\n\n    CHAPTER II.\n\n    Indian spiritualists -- Medicine men -- Legends -- The\n    spirit-world -- Difference between Indian and modern\n    spiritualists -- Chusco the spiritualist -- Schoolcraft's\n    testimony of -- Mode of communicating with spirits -- Belief\n    in Satanic agency -- Interesting account of clairvoyance.       19\n\n    CHAPTER III.\n\n    Marquette's visit to Iroquois Point -- Chapel and Fort -- Old\n    Mackinaw -- The French settlement in the Northwest --\n    Erection of chapel and Fort -- The gateway of commerce -- The\n    rendezvous of traders, trappers, soldiers, missionaries, and\n    Indians -- Description of fort -- Courriers des Bois --\n    Expedition of Marquette and Joliet to explore the Mississippi\n    -- Green Bay -- Fox River -- Wisconsin -- Mississippi --\n    Peoria Indians -- Return trip -- Kaskaskia Indians -- St.\n    Xavier Missions -- Mission to \"the Illinois\" -- Marquette's\n    health declines -- Starts out on return trip to Mackinaw --\n    Dies and is buried at mouth of Marquette River -- Indians\n    remove his remains to Mackinaw -- Funeral cortege --\n    Ceremonies -- Burial in the chapel -- Changes of time --\n    Schoolcraft on the place of Marquette's burial --\n    Missilimackinac -- Name of Jesuit missions.                     39\n\n    CHAPTER IV.\n\n    La Salle's visit to Mackinaw -- English traders -- La\n    Hontan's visit -- Mackinaw an English fort -- Speech of a\n    Chippewa chief -- Indian stratagem -- Massacre of the English\n    at the fort -- Escape of Mr. Alexander Henry -- Early white\n    settlement of Mackinaw -- Present description -- Relations of\n    the Jesuits -- Remarkable Phenomena -- Parhelia --\n    Subterranean river.                                             61\n\n    CHAPTER V.\n\n    Island of the giant fairies -- Possession by the English --\n    Erection of government house -- French remain at Old Mackinaw\n    -- Finally abandoned -- Extent of the island -- History --\n    Description -- Natural curiosities -- Arch Rock -- Sugar Loaf\n    Rock -- Scull Rock -- Dousman's farm -- Davenport's farm --\n    Robinson's folly -- The Devil's Punch Bowl -- Healthful\n    atmosphere -- Transparency of the waters -- Compared with\n    Saratoga, Cape May, and Mt. Washington as a point for health\n    and recreation -- Description of a traveler in 1854 --\n    Arrival of steamers and sailing vessels at the port during\n    the year -- Mr. Johnson's reminiscences -- Indian name of\n    island -- Mythology -- Three brothers of the great genii --\n    Visit to the subterranean abode of the genii -- Vision --\n    Apostrophe of an old Indian chief -- Old buildings -- Door of\n    Marquette's chapel -- John Jacob Astor and the fur trade --\n    Present support of the place -- Fort Mackinaw -- Fort Holmes\n    -- Fine view -- Interesting localities -- War of 1812 --\n    Death of Major Holmes -- Soil of the island.                    83\n\n    CHAPTER VI.\n\n    Lake Superior -- Scenery -- Transparency of its waters --\n    Climate -- Isle Royale -- Apostles' Islands -- La Point --\n    Thunder Cape -- Cariboo Point -- A wonderful lake -- Romantic\n    scenery -- Pictured rocks -- Rock Castle -- The Grand Portal\n    -- The chapel -- Fluctuations in the waters of Lake Superior\n    -- Curious phenomena -- Retrocession of the waters -- Mirage\n    -- Iron mountains and mines -- Description of -- Products --\n    Shipments -- Copper -- Immense boulders -- Produce of the\n    mines for 1857 -- Shipment of copper from the Lake for 1858\n    -- Centre of the mining country -- Iron mountains -- Copper\n    mines of Great Britain -- Coal -- Mackinaw a great\n    manufacturing point -- Key to the Upper Lakes -- Commerce of\n    lakes -- Growth of cities.                                     105\n\n    CHAPTER VII.\n\n    Lake Huron -- Eastern shore of Michigan -- Face of the\n    country -- Picturesque view -- Rivers -- Grand -- Saginaw --\n    Cheboy-e-gun -- Natural scenery -- Fort Gratiot -- White Rock\n    -- Saginaw Bay -- Thunder Bay -- Bois Blanc Island --\n    Drummond's Island -- British troops -- St. Helena Island --\n    Iroquois Woman's Point -- Point La Barbe -- Point aux Sable\n    -- Point St. Vital -- Wreck of the Queen City -- St. Martin's\n    Island -- Fox Point -- Moneto pa-maw -- Mille au Coquin --\n    Great fishing places -- Cross village -- Catholic convent.     127\n\n    CHAPTER VIII.\n\n    Three epochs -- The romantic -- The military -- The\n    agricultural and commercial -- An inviting region -- Jesuit\n    and Protestant Missions -- First Protestant mission -- First\n    missionary -- Islands of Mackinac and Green Bay -- La Pointe\n    -- Saut St. Mary -- Presbyterians -- Baptists -- Methodists\n    -- Revival at Fort Brady -- Ke-wee-naw -- Fon du Lac --\n    Shawnees -- Pottawatimies -- Eagle River -- Ontonagon -- Camp\n    River -- Iroquois Point -- Saginaw Indians -- Melancholy\n    reflections -- Number of Indians in the States and\n    Territories.                                                   143\n\n    CHAPTER IX.\n\n    Indian name of Michigan -- Islands -- Lanman's Summer in the\n    Wilderness -- Plains -- Trees -- Rivers -- A traditionary\n    land -- Beautiful description -- Official report in relation\n    to the trade of the lakes -- Green Bay -- Grand Traverse Bay\n    -- Beaver Islands -- L'Arbre Croche -- Boundaries of Lake\n    Michigan -- Its connections -- Railroad from Fort Wayne to\n    Mackinaw -- Recent report of -- Amount completed -- Land\n    grants.                                                        159\n\n    CHAPTER X.\n\n    Mackinaw, the site for a great central city -- The Venice of\n    the lakes -- Early importance as a central position --\n    Nicolet -- Compared geographically with other points --\n    Immense chain of coast -- Future prospects -- Temperature --\n    Testimony of the Jesuit fathers -- Healthfulness of the\n    climate -- Dr. Drake on Mackinaw -- Resort for invalids --\n    Water currents of commerce -- Surface drained by them -- Soil\n    of the northern and southern peninsulas of Michigan --\n    Physical resources -- Present proprietors of Mackinaw -- Plan\n    of the city -- Streets -- Avenues -- Park -- Lots and blocks\n    for churches and public purposes -- Institutions of learning\n    and objects of benevolence -- Fortifications -- Docks and\n    ferries -- Materials for building -- Harbors -- Natural\n    beauty of the site for a city -- Mountain ranges -- Interior\n    lakes -- Fish -- Game.                                         173\n\n    CHAPTER XI.\n\n    The entrepot of a vast commerce -- Surface drained --\n    Superiority of Mackinaw over Chicago as a commercial point --\n    Exports and imports -- Michigan the greatest lumber-growing\n    region in the world -- Interminable forests of the choicest\n    pine -- Facilities for market -- Annual product of the\n    pineries -- Lumbering, mining, and fishing interests --\n    Independent of financial crises -- Mackinaw the centre of a\n    great railroad system -- Lines terminating at this point --\n    North and South National Line -- Canada grants -- Growth of\n    Northwestern cities -- Future growth and prosperity of\n    Mackinaw -- Chicago -- Legislative provision for opening\n    roads in Michigan -- The Forty Acre Homestead Bill -- Its\n    provisions.                                                    205\n\n    CHAPTER XII.\n\n    The Great Western Valley -- Its growth and population --\n    Comparison of Atlantic with interior cities -- Relative\n    growth of river and lake cities -- Centre of population --\n    Lake tonnage -- Progress of the principal centres of\n    population.                                                    228\n\n    CHAPTER XIII.\n\n    Michigan Agricultural Reports for 1854 -- Prof. Thomas'\n    report -- Report of J. S. Dixon -- Products of States --\n    Climate -- Army Meteorological Reports.                        255\n\n    CHAPTER XIV.\n\n    Agricultural interest -- Means of transportation -- Railways\n    and vessels -- Lumber -- Vessels cleared -- Lake cities and\n    Atlantic ports -- Home-market -- Breadstuffs -- Michigan\n    flour -- Monetary panics -- Wheat -- Importations --\n    Provisions -- Fruit -- Live stock -- Wool -- Shipping\n    business -- Railroads -- Lake Superior trade -- Pine lumber\n    trade -- Copper interest -- Iron interest -- Fisheries --\n    Coal mines -- Salt -- Plaster beds.                            272\n\n    CHAPTER XV.\n\n    Desirableness of a trip to the Lakes -- Routes of travel --\n    Interesting localities -- Scenery -- Southern coast --\n    Portage Lake -- Dr. Houghton -- Ontonagon -- Apostles'\n    Islands -- Return trip -- Points of interest -- St. Mary's\n    River -- Lake St. George -- Point de Tour -- Lake Michigan --\n    Points of interest -- Chicago.                                 395\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n    Mackinaw and its surroundings -- Indian legends -- Hiawatha\n    -- Ottawas and Ojibwas -- Paw-pau-ke-wis -- San-ge-man --\n    Kau-be-man -- An Indian custom -- Dedication to the spirits\n    -- Au-se-gum-ugs -- Exploits of San-ge-man -- Point St.\n    Ignatius -- Magic lance -- Council of Peace -- Conquests of\n    San-ge-man.\n\n\nMackinaw, with its surroundings, has an interesting and romantic\nhistory, going back to the earliest times. The whole region of the\nNorthwest, with its vast wildernesses and mighty lakes, has been\ntraditionally invested with a mystery. The very name of Mackinaw, in\nthe Indian tongue, signifies the dwelling-place of the Great Genii,\nand many are the legends written and unwritten connected with its\nhistory. If the testimony of an old Indian chief at Thunder Bay can be\ncredited, it was at old Mackinaw that Mud-je-ke-wis, the father of\nHiawatha, lived and died.\n\nTraditional history informs us that away back in a remote period of\ntime, the Ottawas and the Ojibwas took up their journey from the Great\nSalt Lake towards the setting sun. These tribes were never stationary,\nbut were constantly roving about. They were compared by the\nneighboring tribes to Paw-pau-ke-wis, a name given by the Indians to\nthe light-drifting snow, which blows over the frozen ground in the\nmonth of March, now whirling and eddying into gigantic and anon into\ndiminutive drifts. Paw-pau-ke-wis signifies running away. The name was\ngiven to a noted Indian chief, fully equal in bravery and daring to\nHiawatha, Plu-re-busta, or Man-a-bosho.\n\nThe Ottawas and Ojibwas dwelt for a time on the Manitoulin Island in\nLake Huron. While the tribes dwelt here, two distinguished Indian\nyouths, by the name of San-ge-man and Kau-be-man, remarkable for their\nsprightliness, attracted the attention of their particular tribes.\nBoth were the youngest children of their respective families. It was\nthe custom of the Indians to send their boys, when young, to some\nretired place a short distance from their village, where they were to\nfast until the manitoes or spirits of the invisible world should\nappear to them. Temporary lodges were constructed for their\naccommodation. Those who could not endure the fast enjoined upon them\nby the Metais or Medicine-men, never rose to any eminence, but were to\nremain in obscurity. Comparatively few were able to bear the ordeal;\nbut to all who waited the appointed time, and endured the fast, the\nspiritual guardian appeared and took the direction and control of\ntheir subsequent lives. San-ge-man in his first trial fasted seven\ndays, and on the next he tasted food, having been reduced to extreme\ndebility by his long abstinence, during which his mind became\nexceedingly elevated. In this exaltation his spiritual guide appeared\nto him. He was the spirit of the serpent who rules in the centre of\nthe earth, and under the dark and mighty waters. This spirit revealed\nto him his future destiny, and promised him his guardianship through\nlife. San-ge-man grew up and became remarkably strong and powerful.\nFrom his brave and reckless daring he was both an object of love and\nfear to the Ottawas.\n\nAbout this time, as the legend runs, the former inhabitants of the\nManitoulin Island and the adjoining country, who have the name of the\nAu-se-gum-a-ugs, commenced making inroads upon the settlements of the\ncombined bands, and killed several of their number. Upon this the\nOjibwas and Ottawas mustered a war party. San-ge-man, though young,\noffered himself as a warrior; and, full of heroic daring, went out\nwith the expedition which left the Island in great numbers in their\ncanoes, and crossed over to the main land on the northeast. After\ntraveling a few days they fell upon the war path of their enemies, and\nsoon surprised them. Terrified, they fled before the combined forces;\nand in the chase, the brave and daring youth outstripped all the rest\nand succeeded in taking a prisoner in sight of the enemies' village.\nOn their return the Ojibwas and Ottawas were pursued, and being\napprised of it by San-ge-man, they made good their escape, while the\nyoung brave, being instructed by his guardian spirit, allowed himself\nto be taken prisoner. His hands were tied, and he was made to walk in\nthe midst of the warriors. At night they encamped, and after partaking\nof their evening meal, commenced their Indian ceremonies of drumming\nand shaking the rattle, accompanied with war songs. San-ge-man was\nasked by the chief of the party, if he could che-qwon-dum, at the same\ntime giving him the rattle. He took it and commenced singing in a low,\nplaintive tone, which made the warriors exclaim, \"He is weak-hearted,\na coward, an old woman\". Feigning great weakness and cowardice, he\nstepped up to the Indian to whom he had surrendered his war club; and\ntaking it, he commenced shaking the rattle, and as he danced round the\nwatch-fire, increasing his speed, and, gradually raising the tone of\nhis voice, he ended the dance by felling a warrior with his club,\nexclaiming, \"a coward, ugh!\" Then with terrific yells and the power of\na giant, he continued his work of death at every blow. Affrighted, the\nwhole party fled from the watch-fire and left him alone with the\nslain, all of which he scalped, and returned laden with these terrible\ntrophies of victory to join his companions who returned to the Island.\n\nSan-ge-man having by his valor obtained a chieftainship over the\nOttawas, started out on the war path and conquered all the country\neast and north of Lake Huron. The drum and rattle were now heard\nresounding through all the villages of the combined forces, and they\nextended their conquests to Saut St. Mary. For the purpose of\nbettering their condition they removed from the Island to the Detour,\nor the mouth of the St. Mary's river, where they occupied a deserted\nvillage, and there separated, part going up to the Saut, which had\nalso been deserted, and the other portion tarrying in the above\nvillage for a year.\n\nAt the expiration of this time San-ge-man led a war party towards the\nwest, and reached the present point St. Ignatius, on the north side of\nthe straits where he found a large village. There was also another\nvillage a little east of Point St. Ignatius, at a place now called\nMoran's Bay, and still another at Point Au Chenes on the north shore\nof Lake Michigan, northeast of the Island of Mackinaw. At these\nplaces, old mounds, ditches, and gardens were found, which had existed\nfrom an unknown period. From this point a trail led to the Saut\nthrough an open country, and these ancient works can be distinctly\ntraced to this day though covered with a heavy growth of timber.\n\nAfter a hard fight with the inhabitants of these villages, San-ge-man\nat length succeeded in conquering them, and after expelling them\nburned all their lodges with the exception of a few at Point St.\nIgnatius. The inhabitants of this village fled across the straits\nsouthward from Point St. Ignatius and located at the point now known\nas Old Mackinaw, or Mackinaw City.\n\nIn the mean time, San-ge-man had returned to the Detour and removed\nhis entire band to Point St. Ignatius. In the following spring while\nthe Ottawas were out in their fields planting corn, a party of\nAu-se-gum-ugs crossed over from Old Mackinaw, on the south side of\nthe straits, and killed two of the Ottawa women. San-ge-man at once\nselected a party of tried warriors, and going down the straits pursued\nthe Au-se-gum-ugs to the River Cheboy-e-gun, whither they had gone on\na war expedition against the Mush-co-dan-she-ugs. On a sandy bay a\nlittle west of the mouth of the river, they found their enemies'\ncanoes drawn up, they having gone into the interior. Believing that\nthey would soon return, San-ge-man ordered his party to lie in ambush\nuntil their return. They were not long in waiting, for on the\nfollowing day they made their appearance, being heated and weary with\ntheir marches, they all stripped and went into the Lake to bathe\nprevious to embarking for Mackinaw. Unsuspicious of danger they played\nwith the sportive waves as they dashed upon the shore, and were\nswimming and diving in all directions, when the terrific yell of armed\nwarriors broke upon their ears. It was but the work of a moment and\none hundred defenseless Indians perished in the waters. When the sad\nintelligence came to the remainder of the tribe at Mackinaw, they fled\ntowards the Grand River country.\n\nThe village now deserted possessing superior attractions to San-ge-man\nand his warriors, the Ottawas crossed the straits and took\npossession, and here he remained until after he unfairly succeeded in\nobtaining the magic lance.\n\nIt was while here that a large delegation of Indians of the\nMush-co-dan-she-ugs from the Middle village, Bear River, and Grand\nTraverse came to shake hands and smoke the pipe of peace with him.\nThey had heard of his fame as a mighty warrior. The occasion was one\nof great rejoicing to the inhabitants of Mackinaw, and all turned out\nto witness the gathering. San-ge-man and his warriors appeared in\ncouncil, dressed in richest furs, their heads decorated with eagle\nfeathers, and tufts of hair of many colors. Among all the chiefs there\nassembled, for proud and noble bearing none excelled the Ottawa. A fur\nrobe covered with scalp-locks hung carelessly over his left shoulder\nleaving his right arm free while speaking. As the result of these\ndeliberations the bands became united and thus the territory of the\nOttawa chief was enlarged.\n\nIt was from this point that he sallied forth every summer in war\nexcursions toward the south, conquering the country along the eastern\nshore of Lake Michigan, extending his conquests to Grand River, and\noverrunning the country about the present site of Chicago. It was here\nthat he received reinforcements from his old allies the Ojibwas, and\nextended his conquests down the Illinois River until he reached the\n\"father of waters.\"\n\nFrom this place he went forth to the slaughter of the Iroquois at the\nDetour, and expelled them from the Island of Mackinaw and Point St.\nIgnatius. From hence he went armed to wage an unnatural war against\nhis relatives the Ojibwas, and was slain by the noble chief\nKau-be-man, and it was to this place that the sad news came back of\nhis fate. Thus much for the Indian history of Old Mackinaw.\n\nEqually romantic is the history of the early missionaries and voyagers\nto this great centre of the Indian tribes. On the far-off shores of\nthe northwestern lakes the Jesuit Missionaries planted the cross,\nerected their chapels, repeated their _pater nosters_ and _ave\nmarias_, and sung their _Te Deums_, before the cavaliers landed at\nJamestown or the Puritans at Plymouth. Among the Ottawas of Saut St.\nMarie and the Ojibwas and Hurons of Old Mackinaw, these devoted\nself-sacrificing followers of Ignatius Loyola commenced their\nministrations upwards of two hundred years ago. They were not only the\nfirst missionaries among the savages of this northwestern wilderness,\nbut they were the first discoverers and explorers of the mighty lakes\nand rivers of that region. In advance of civilization they penetrated\nthe dense unbroken wilderness, and launched their canoes upon unknown\nrivers, breaking the silence of their shores with their vesper hymns\nand matin prayers. The first to visit the ancient seats of heathenism\nin the old world, they were the first to preach the Gospel among the\nheathen of the new.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n    Indian Spiritualists -- Medicine men -- Legends -- The\n    Spirit-world -- Difference between Indian and Modern\n    Spiritualists -- Chusco the Spiritualist -- Schoolcraft's\n    testimony of -- Mode of communicating with spirits -- Belief\n    in Satanic agency -- Interesting account of Clairvoyance.\n\n\nThe earliest traditions of the various Indian tribes inhabiting this\ncountry prove that they have practiced jugglery and all other things\npertaining to the secret arts of the old uncivilized nations of the\nworld. Among all the tribes have been found the priests of the occult\nsciences, and to this day we find Metais, Waubonos, Chees-a-kees and\nothers bearing the common designation of Medicine men. In modern\nparlance we would call them Professors of Natural Magic, or of\nMagnetism, or Spiritualism. The difference however between these\nIndian professors of magic and those of modern date is, that while the\nlatter travel round the country exhibiting their wonderful\nperformances to gaping crowds, at a shilling a head, the former\ngenerally shrink from notoriety, and, instead of being anxious to\ndisplay their marvelous feats, have only been constrained, after\nurgent entreaty and in particular cases, to exhibit their powers. The\nIndian magicians have shown more conclusively their power as\nclairvoyants and spiritualists, than all the rapping, table-tipping\nmediums of the present day.\n\nNumerous interesting and beautiful Indian legends show their belief in\na spiritual world--of a shadowy land beyond the great river. Whether\nthis was obtained by revelations from their spiritual mediums, or\nderived from a higher source of inspiration, we know not; but most\ncertain it is, that in no belief is the Indian more firmly grounded\nthan that of a spirit-world.\n\nThe Indian Chees-a-kees or spiritualists had a different and far more\nsatisfactory mode of communicating with departed spirits than ever\nmodern spiritualists have attained to, or perhaps ever will. Forming,\nas they did, a connecting link or channel of communication between\nthis world and the world of spirits, they did not affect to speak what\nthe spirit had communicated; or, perhaps, to state it more fully,\ntheir organs of speech were not employed by the spirits to communicate\nrevelations from the spirit world; but the spirits themselves spoke,\nand the responses to inquiries were perfectly audible to them and to\nall present. In this case all possibility of collusion was out of the\nquestion, and the inquirer could tell by the tones of the voice as as\nwell as the manner of the communication, whether the response was\ngenuine or not.\n\nChusco, a noted old Indian who died on Bound Island several years ago,\nwas a spiritualist. He was converted through the labors of Protestant\nMissionaries, led for many years an exemplary Christian life, and was\na communicant in the Presbyterian Church on the Island up to the time\nof his death. Mr. Schoolcraft in his \"Personal Memoirs,\" in which he\ngives most interesting reminiscences, running through a period of\nthirty years among numerous Indian tribes of the northwest, and who\nhas kindly consented to allow us to make what extracts we may desire\nfrom his many interesting works, says that \"Chusco was the Ottawa\nspiritualist, and up to his death he believed that he had, while in\nhis heathen state, communication with spirits\". Whenever it was deemed\nproper to obtain this communication, a pyramidal lodge was constructed\nof poles, eight in number, four inches in diameter, and from twelve to\nsixteen feet in height. These poles were set firmly in the ground to\nthe depth of two feet, the earth being beaten around them. The poles\nbeing securely imbedded, were then wound tightly with three rows of\nwithes. The lodge was then covered with ap-puck-wois, securely lashed\non. The structure was so stoutly and compactly built, that four strong\nIndians could scarcely move it by their mightiest efforts. The lodge\nbeing ready, the spiritualist was taken and covered all over, with the\nexception of his head, with a canoe sail which was lashed with\nbois-blanc cords and knotted. This being done, his feet and hands were\nsecured in a like firm manner, causing him to resemble a bundle more\nthan anything else. He would then request the bystanders to place him\nin the lodge. In a few minutes after entering, the lodge would\ncommence swaying to and fro, with a tremulous motion, accompanied with\nthe sound of a drum and rattle. The spiritualist then commenced\nchanting in a low, melancholy tone, gradually raising his voice, while\nthe lodge, as if keeping time with his chant, vibrated to and fro with\ngreater violence, and seemed at times as if the force would tear it to\npieces.\n\nIn the midst of this shaking and singing, the sail and the cords, with\nwhich the spiritualist was bound, would be seen to fly out of the top\nof the lodge with great violence. A silence would then ensue for a\nshort time, the lodge still continuing its tremulous vibrations. Soon\na rustling sound would be heard at the top of the lodge indicating the\npresence of the spirit. The person or persons at whose instance the\nmedium of the spiritualist was invoked, would then propose the\nquestion or questions they had to ask of the departed.\n\nAn Indian spiritualist, residing at Little Traverse Bay, was once\nrequested to enter a lodge for the purpose of affording a neighboring\nIndian an opportunity to converse with a departed spirit about his\nchild who was then very sick. The sound of a voice, unfamiliar to the\npersons assembled, was heard at the top of the lodge, accompanied by\nsinging. The Indian, who recognized the voice, asked if his child\nwould die. The reply was, \"It will die the day after to-morrow. You\nare treated just as you treated a person a few years ago. Do you wish\nthe matter revealed.\" The inquirer immediately dropped his head and\nasked no further questions. His child died at the time the spirit\nstated, and reports, years after, hinted that it had been poisoned, as\nthe father of the deceased child had poisoned a young squaw, and that\nit was this same person who made the responses.\n\nOld Chusco, after he became a Christian, could not, according to the\ntestimony of Schoolcraft, be made to waver in his belief, that he was\nvisited by spirits in the exhibitions connected with the tight-wound\npyramidal, oracular lodge; but he believed they were evil spirits. No\ncross-questioning could bring out any other testimony. He avowed that,\naside from his incantations, he had no part in the shaking of the\nlodge, never touching the poles at any time, and that the drumming,\nrattling, singing, and responses were all produced by these spirits.\n\nThe following account of Chusco, or Wau-chus-co, from the pen of\nWilliam M. Johnson, Esq., of Mackinaw Island, will be found to be\ndeeply interesting:\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"Wau-chus-co was a noted Indian spiritualist and Clairvoyant, and was\nborn near the head of Lake Michigan--the year not known. He was eight\nor ten years old, he informed me, when the English garrison was\nmassacred at Old Fort Missilimackinac. He died on Round Island,\nopposite the village and island of Mackinaw, at an advanced age.\n\n\"As he grew up from childhood, he found that he was an orphan, and\nlived with his uncle, but under the care of his grandmother. Upon\nattaining the age of fifteen his grandmother and uncle urged him to\ncomply with the ancient custom of their people, which was to fast, and\nwait for the manifestations of the Gitchey-monedo,--whether he would\ngrant him a guardian spirit or not, to guide and direct him through\nlife. He was told that many young men of his tribe tried to fast, but\nthat hunger overpowered their wishes to obtain a spiritual guardian;\nhe was urged to do his best, and not to yield as others had done.\n\n\"Wau-chus-co died in 1839 or '40. He had, for more than ten years\nprevious to his death, led an exemplary Christian life, and was a\ncommunicant of the Presbyterian Church on this Island, up to the time\nof his death. A few days previous to his death, I paid him a visit.\n'Come in, come in, nosis!' (grandson) said he. After being seated, and\nwe had lit our pipes; I said to him, 'Ne-me-sho-miss, (my\ngrandfather,) you are now very old and feeble; you cannot expect to\nlive many days; now, tell me the truth, who was it that moved your\nchees-a-kee lodge when you practiced your spiritual art?' A pause\nensued before he answered:--'Nosis, as you are in part of my nation, I\nwill tell you the truth: I know that I will die soon. I fasted ten\ndays when I was a young man, in compliance with the custom of my\ntribe. While my body was feeble from long fasting, my soul increased\nin its powers; it appeared to embrace a vast extent of space, and the\ncountry within this space, was brought plainly before my vision, with\nits misty forms and beings--I speak of my spiritual vision. It was,\nwhile I was thus lying in a trance, my soul wandering in space, that\nanimals, some of frightful size and form, serpents of monstrous size,\nand birds of different varieties and plumage, appeared to me and\naddressed me in human language, proposing to act as my guardian\nspirits. While my mind embraced these various moving forms, a superior\nintelligence in the form of man, surrounded by a wild, brilliant\nlight, influenced my soul to select one of the bird-spirits,\nresembling the kite in look and form, to be the emblem of my guardian\nspirit, upon whose aid I was to call in time of need, and that he\nwould be always prepared to render me assistance whenever my body and\nsoul should be prepared to receive manifestations. My grandmother\nroused me to earth again, by inquiring if I needed food: I ate, and\nwith feeble steps, soon returned to our lodge.\n\n\"'The first time that I ever chees-a-keed, was on a war expedition\ntoward Chicago, or where it is now located--upon an urgent occasion.\nWe were afraid that our foes would attack us unawares, and as we were\nalso short of provisions, our chief urged me incessantly, until I\nconsented. After preparing my soul and body, by fasting on bitter\nherbs, &c., I entered the Chees-a-kee lodge, which had been prepared\nfor me:--the presence of my guardian spirit was soon indicated by a\nviolent swaying of the lodge to and fro. \"Tell us! tell us! where our\nenemies are?\" cried out the chief and warriors. Soon, the vision of my\nsoul embraced a large extent of country, which I had never before\nseen--every object was plainly before me--our enemies were in their\nvillages, unsuspicious of danger; their movements and acts I could\nplainly see; and mentally or spiritually, I could hear their\nconversation. Game abounded in another direction. Next day we procured\nprovisions, and a few days afterward a dozen scalps graced our\ntriumphant return to the village of the Cross. I exerted my powers\nagain frequently among my tribe, and, to satisfy them, I permitted\nthem to tie my feet and hands, and lash me round with ropes, as they\nthought proper. They would then place me in the Chees-a-kee lodge,\nwhich would immediately commence shaking and swaying to and fro,\nindicating the presence of my guardian spirit: frequently I saw a\nbright, luminous light at the top of the lodge, and the words of the\nspirit would be audible to the spectators outside, who could not\nunderstand what was said; while mentally, I understood the words and\nlanguage spoken.\n\n\"'In the year 1815, the American garrison at this post expected a\nvessel from Detroit, with supplies for the winter--a month had elapsed\nbeyond the time for her arrival, and apprehensions of starvation were\nentertained; finally, a call was made to me by the commanding officer,\nthrough the traders. After due preparation I consented; the\nChees-a-kee lodge was surrounded by Indians and whites; I had no\nsooner commenced shaking my rattle and chanting, than the spirits\narrived; the rustling noise they made through the air, was heard, and\nthe sound of their voices was audible to all.\n\n\"'The spirits directed my mind toward the southern end of Lake\nHuron--it lay before me with its bays and islands; the atmosphere\nlooked hazy, resembling our Indian Summer; my vision terminated a\nlittle below the mouth of the St. Clair River--there lay the vessel,\ndisabled! the sailors were busy in repairing spars and sails. My soul\nknew that they would be ready in two days, and that in seven days she\nwould reach this Island, (Mackinaw,) by the south channel, [at that\ntime an unusual route,] and I so revealed it to the inquirers. On the\nday I mentioned the schooner hove in sight, by the south channel. The\ncaptain of the vessel corroborated all I had stated.\n\n\"'I am now a praying Indian (Christian). I expect soon to die, Nosis.\nThis is the truth: I possessed a power, or a power possessed me, which\nI cannot explain or fully describe to you. I never attempted to move\nthe lodge by my own physical powers--I held communion with\nsupernatural beings or souls, who acted upon my soul or mind,\nrevealing to me the knowledge which I have related to you.'\n\n\"The foregoing merely gives a few acts of the power exhibited by this\nremarkable, half-civilized Indian. I could enumerate many instances in\nwhich this power has been exhibited among our Indians. These\nChees-a-kees had the power of influencing the mind of an Indian at a\ndistance for good or evil, even to the deprivation of life among them:\nso also in cases of rivalship, as hunters or warriors. This influence\nhas even extended to things material, while in the hands of those\ninfluenced. The soul or mind--perhaps nervous system of the\nindividual, being powerfully acted upon by a spiritual battery,\ngreater than the one possessed more or less by all human beings.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn Schoolcraft's \"American Indians\" an interesting account is given of\na woman-spiritualist, who bore the name of the \"Prophetess of\nChe-moi-che-goi-me-gou.\" Among the Indians she was called \"The woman\nof the blue-robed cloud.\" The account was given by herself after she\nhad become a member of the Methodist Church and renounced all\nconnection with spirits. The following is her narrative:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"When I was a girl of about twelve or thirteen years of age, my mother\ntold me to look out for something that would happen to me.\nAccordingly, one morning early, in the middle of winter, I found an\nunusual sign, and ran off, as far from the lodge as I could, and\nremained there until my mother came and found me out. She knew what\nwas the matter, and brought me nearer to the family lodge, and bade me\nhelp her in making a small lodge of branches of the spruce tree. She\ntold me to remain there, and keep away from every one, and as a\ndiversion, to keep myself employed in chopping wood, and that she\nwould bring me plenty of prepared bass-wood bark to twist into twine.\nShe told me she would come to see me, in two days, and that in the\nmean time I must not even taste snow.\n\n\"I did as directed; at the end of two days she came to see me. I\nthought she would surely bring me something to eat, but to my\ndisappointment she brought nothing. I suffered more from _thirst_ than\nhunger, though I felt my stomach gnawing. My mother sat quietly down\nand said (after ascertaining that I had not tasted anything), 'My\nchild, you are the youngest of your sisters, and none are now left me\nof all my sons and children, but you _four_' (alluding to her two elder\nsisters, herself and a little son, still a mere lad). 'Who,' she\ncontinued, 'will take care of us poor women? Now, my daughter, listen\nto me, and try to obey. Blacken your face and fast _really_, that the\nMaster of Life may have pity on you and me, and on us all. Do not, in\nthe least, deviate from my counsels, and in two days more, I will come\nto you. He will help you, if you are determined to do what is right,\nand tell me, whether you are favored or not, by the _true_ Great\nSpirit; and if your visions are not good, reject them.' So saying, she\ndeparted.\n\n\"I took my little hatchet and cut plenty of wood, and twisted the cord\nthat was to be used in sewing _ap-puk-way-oon-un_, or mats for the use\nof the family. Gradually I began to feel less appetite, but my thirst\ncontinued; still I was fearful of touching the snow to allay it, by\nsucking it, as my mother had told me that if I did so, though\nsecretly, the Great Spirit would see me, and the lesser spirits also,\nand that my fasting would be of no use. So I continued to fast till\nthe fourth day, when my mother came with a little tin dish, and\nfilling it with snow, she came to my lodge, and was well pleased to\nfind that I had followed her injunctions. She melted the snow, and\ntold me to drink it. I did so, and felt refreshed, but had a desire\nfor more, which she told me would not do, and I contented myself with\nwhat she had given me. She again told me to get and follow a good\nvision--a vision that might not only do us good, but also benefit\nmankind, if I could. She then left me, and for two days she did not\ncome near me, nor any human being, and I was left to my own\nreflections. The night of the sixth day, I fancied a voice called to\nme, and said: 'Poor child! I pity your condition; come, you are\ninvited this way;' and I thought the voice proceeded from a certain\ndistance from my lodge. I obeyed the summons, and going to the spot\nfrom which the voice came, found a thin, shining path, like a silver\ncord, which I followed. It led straight forward, and, it seemed,\nupward. After going a short distance I stood still and saw on my right\nhand the new moon, with a flame rising from the top like a candle,\nwhich threw around a broad light. On the left appeared the sun, near\nthe point of its setting. I went on, and I beheld on my right the face\nof Kau-ge-gag-be-qua, or the everlasting woman, who told me her name,\nand said to me, 'I give you my name, and you may give it to another. I\nalso give you that which I have, life everlasting. I give you long\nlife on the earth, and skill in saving life in others. Go, you are\ncalled on high.'\n\n\"I went on, and saw a man standing with a large, circular body, and\nrays from his head, like horns. He said, 'Fear not, my name is Monedo\nWininees, or the Little man Spirit. I give this name to your first\nson. It is my life. Go to the place you are called to visit.' I\nfollowed the path till I could see that it led up to an opening in the\nsky, when I heard a voice, and standing still, saw the figure of a man\nstanding near the path, whose head was surrounded with a brilliant\nhalo, and his breast was covered with squares. He said to me: 'Look at\nme, my name is O-shau-wau-e-geeghick, or the Bright Blue Sky. I am the\nveil that covers the opening into the sky. Stand and listen to me. Do\nnot be afraid. I am going to endow you with gifts of life, and put you\nin array that you may withstand and endure.' Immediately I saw myself\nencircled with bright points which rested against me like needles, but\ngave me no pain, and they fell at my feet. This was repeated several\ntimes, and at each time they fell to the ground. He said, 'wait and do\nnot fear, till I have said and done all I am about to do.' I then felt\ndifferent instruments, first like awls, and then like nails stuck into\nmy flesh, but neither did they give me pain, but, like the needles,\nfell at my feet as often as they appeared. He then said, 'that is\ngood,' meaning my trial by these points. 'You will see length of days.\nAdvance a little further,' said he. I did so, and stood at the\ncommencement of the opening. 'You have arrived,' said he, 'at the\nlimit you cannot pass. I give you my name, you can give it to another.\nNow, return! Look around you. There is a conveyance for you. Do not be\nafraid to get on its back, and when you get to your lodge, you must\ntake that which sustains the human body.' I turned, and saw a kind of\nfish swimming in the air, and getting upon it as directed, was carried\nback with celerity, my hair floating behind me in the air. And as soon\nas I got back, my vision ceased.\n\n\"In the morning, being the sixth day of my fast, my mother came with a\nlittle bit of dried trout. But such was my sensitiveness to all\nsounds, and my increased power of scent, produced by fasting, that\nbefore she came in sight I heard her, while a great way off, and when\nshe came in, I could not bear the smell of the fish or herself either.\nShe said, 'I have brought something for you to eat, only a mouthful,\nto prevent your dying.' She prepared to cook it, but I said, 'Mother,\nforbear, I do not wish to eat it--the smell is offensive to me.' She\naccordingly left off preparing to cook the fish, and again encouraged\nme to persevere, and try to become a comfort to her in her old age,\nand bereaved state, and left me.\n\n\"I attempted to cut wood, as usual, but in the effort I fell back on\nthe snow, from weariness, and lay some time; at last I made an effort\nand rose, and went to my lodge and lay down. I again saw the vision,\nand each person who had before spoken to me, and heard the promises of\ndifferent kinds made to me, and the songs. I went the same path which\nI had pursued before, and met with the same reception. I also had\nanother vision, or celestial visit, which I shall presently relate. My\nmother came again on the seventh day, and brought me some pounded corn\nboiled in _snow-water_, for she said I must not drink water from lake\nor river. After taking it, I related my vision to her. She said it\nwas good, and spoke to me to continue my fast three days longer. I\ndid so; at the end of which she took me home, and made a feast in\nhonor of my success, and invited a great many guests. I was told to\neat sparingly, and to take nothing too hearty or substantial; but this\nwas unnecessary, for my abstinence had made my senses so acute, that\nall animal food had a gross and disagreeable odor.\n\n\"After the seventh day of my fast (she continued), while I was lying\nin my lodge, I saw a dark, round object descending from the sky like a\nround stone, and enter my lodge. As it came near, I saw that it had\nsmall feet and hands like a human body. It spoke to me and said, 'I\ngive you the gift of seeing into futurity, that you may use it for the\nbenefit of yourself and the Indians--your relations and\ntribes-people.' It then departed, but as it went away, it assumed\nwings, and looked to me like the red-headed woodpecker.\n\n\"In consequence of being thus favored, I assumed the arts of a\nmedicine-woman and a prophetess: but never those of a Wabeno. The\nfirst time I exercised the prophetical art, was at the strong and\nrepeated solicitations of my friends. It was in the winter season, and\nthey were then encamped west of the Wisacoda, or Brule River, of Lake\nSuperior, and between it and the plains west. There were, beside my\nmother's family and relatives, a considerable number of families. They\nhad been some time at the place, and were near starving, as they could\nfind no game. One evening the chief of the party came into my mother's\nlodge. I had lain down, and was supposed to be asleep, and he\nrequested of my mother that she would allow me to try my skill to\nrelieve them. My mother spoke to me, and after some conversation, she\ngave her consent. I told them to build the _Jee-suk-aun_, or prophet's\nlodge _strong_, and gave particular directions for it. I directed that\nit should consist of ten posts or saplings, each of a different kind\nof wood, which I named. When it was finished, and tightly wound with\nskins, the entire population of the encampment assembled around it,\nand I went in, taking only a small drum. I immediately knelt down, and\nholding my head near the ground, in a position as near as may be\nprostrate, began beating my drum, and reciting my songs or\nincantations. The lodge commenced shaking violently, by supernatural\nmeans. I knew this by the compressed current of air above, and the\nnoise of motion. This being regarded by me, and by all without, as a\nproof of the presence of the spirits I consulted, I ceased beating\nand singing, and lay still, waiting for questions in the position I\nat first assumed.\n\n\"The first question put to me was in relation to the game, and _where_\nit was to be found. The response was given by the orbicular spirit,\nwho had appeared to me. He said, 'How short-sighted you are! If you\nwill go in a _west_ direction, you will find game in abundance.' Next\nday the camp was broken up, and they all moved westward, the hunters,\nas usual, going far ahead. They had not proceeded far beyond the\nbounds of their former hunting circle, when they came upon tracks of\nmoose, and that day they killed a female and two young moose, nearly\nfull-grown. They pitched their encampment anew, and had abundance of\nanimal food in this new position.\n\n\"My reputation was established by this success, and I was afterward\nnoted in the tribe, in the art of a medicine-woman, and sung the songs\nwhich I have given to you.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n    Marquette's visit to Iroquois Point -- Chapel and Fort -- Old\n    Mackinaw -- The French Settlement in the Northwest --\n    Erection of Chapel and Fort -- The Gateway of Commerce -- The\n    Rendezvous of Traders, Trappers, Soldiers, Missionaries, and\n    Indians -- Description of Fort -- Courriers des Bois --\n    Expedition of Marquette and Joliet to Explore the Mississippi\n    -- Green Bay -- Fox River -- Wisconsin -- Mississippi --\n    Peoria Indians -- Return Trip -- Kaskaskia Indians -- St.\n    Xavier Missions -- Mission to \"the Illinois\" -- Marquette's\n    Health declines -- Starts out on Return trip to Mackinaw --\n    Dies and is Buried at mouth of Marquette River -- Indians\n    remove his Remains to Mackinaw -- Funeral Cortege --\n    Ceremonies -- Burial in the Chapel -- Changes of time --\n    Schoolcraft on the Place of Marquette's Burial --\n    Missilimackinac -- Name of Jesuit Missions.\n\n\nIn the year 1670, the devoted and self-sacrificing missionary, Jean\nMarquette, with a company of Indians of the Huron tribe, subsequently\nknown as the Wyandots from the Georgian Bay, on the northeastern\nextremity of Lake Huron, entered for the first time the old Indian\ntown on the northern side of the Mackinaw Straits. During the time he\nwas planting his colony, and erecting his chapel at Iroquois Point,\nwhich he afterward designated St. Ignace, he resided on the Mackinaw\nIsland. In 1671, he furnished an account of the island and its\nsurroundings, which was published in \"The Relations Des Jesuits\". He\nsays:\n\n\"Missilimackinac is an island famous in these regions, of more than a\nleague in diameter, and elevated in some places by such high cliffs as\nto be seen more than twelve leagues off. It is situated just in the\nstrait forming the communication between Lakes Huron and Illinois\n(Michigan). It is the key, and, and as it were, the gate for all the\ntribes from the south, as the Saut, (St. Marie) is for those of the\nnorth, there being in this section of country only those two passages\nby water, for a great number of nations have to go by one or other of\nthese channels, in order to reach the French settlements.\n\n\"This presents a peculiarly favorable opportunity, both for\ninstructing those who pass here, and also for obtaining easy access\nand conveyance to their places of abode.\n\n\"This place is the most noted in these regions for the abundance of\nits fisheries; for, according to the Indian saying, 'this is the home\nof the fishes.' Elsewhere, although they exist in large numbers, it is\nnot properly their 'home,' which is in the neighborhood of\nMissilimackinac.\n\n\"In fact, beside the fish common to all the other tribes, as the\nherring, carp, pike, gold-fish, white-fish and sturgeon, there are\nfound three varieties of the trout--one common; the second of a larger\nsize, three feet long and one foot thick; the third monstrous, for we\ncannot otherwise describe it--it being so fat that the Indians, who\nhave a peculiar relish for fats, can scarcely eat it. Besides, the\nsupply is such that a single Indian will take forty or fifty of them\nthrough the ice, with a single spear, in three hours.\n\n\"It is this attraction which has heretofore drawn to a point so\nadvantageous, the greater part of the savages, in this country driven\naway by fear of the Iroquois. The three tribes at present living on\nthe _Baye des Puans_ (Green Bay) as strangers, formerly dwelt on the\nmain land near the middle of this island--some on the borders of Lake\nIllinois, others on the borders of Lake Huron. A part of them, called\n_Sauteurs_, had their abode on the main land at the West, and the\nothers look upon this place as their country for passing the winter,\nwhen there are no fish at the _Saut_. The Hurons, called\n_Etonontathronnons_, have lived for some years in the same island, to\nescape the Iroquois. Four villages of Ottawas had also their abode in\nthis quarter.\n\n\"It is worthy of notice that those who bore the name of the island,\nand called themselves Missilimackinac, were so numerous, that some of\nthe survivors yet living here assure us that they once had thirty\nvillages, all inclosed in a fortification of a league and a half in\ncircuit, when the Iroquois came and defeated them, inflated by a\nvictory they had gained over three thousand men of that nation, who\nhad carried their hostilities as far as the country of the\n_Agnichronnons_.\n\n\"In one word, the quantity of fish, united with the excellence of the\nsoil for Indian corn, has always been a powerful attraction to the\ntribes in these regions, of which the greater part subsist only on\nfish, but some on Indian corn. On this account many of these same\ntribes, perceiving that the peace is likely to be established with the\nIroquois, have turned their attention to this point so convenient for\na return to their own country, and will follow the examples of those\nwho have made a beginning on the islands of Lake Huron, which by this\nmeans will soon be peopled from one end to the other, an event highly\ndesirable to facilitate the instruction of the Indian race, whom it\nwould not be necessary to seek by journeys of two or three hundred\nleagues on these great lakes, with inconceivable danger and hardships.\n\n\"In order to aid the execution of the design, signified to us by many\nof the savages, of taking up their abode at this point, where some\nhave already passed the winter, hunting in the neighborhood, we\nourselves have also wintered here, in order to make arrangements for\nestablishing the mission of _St. Ignace_, from whence it will be easy\nto have access to all the Indians of Lake Huron, when the several\ntribes shall have settled each on its own lands.\n\n\"With these advantages, the place has also its inconveniences,\nparticularly for the French, who are not yet familiar, as are the\nsavages, with the different kinds of fishery, in which the latter are\ntrained from their birth; the winds and the tides occasion no small\nembarrassment to the fishermen.\n\n\"The winds: For this is the central point between the three great\nlakes which surround it, and which seem incessantly tossing ball at\neach other. For no sooner has the wind ceased blowing from Lake\nMichigan than Lake Huron hurls back the gale it has received, and\nLake Superior in its turn, sends forth its blasts from another\nquarter, and thus the game is played from one to the other--and as\nthese lakes are of vast extent, the winds cannot be otherwise than\nboisterous, especially during the autumn.\"\n\n\"Old Mackinaw,\" the Indian name of which is Pe-quod-e-non-ge, an\nIndian town on the south side of the Straits, became the place of the\nfirst French settlement northwest of Fort Frontenac, or Cadaraeque on\nLake Ontario. The settlement was made by father Marquette, in 1671.\nPe-quod-e-non-ge, as we have seen in a previous Chapter, with its\ncoasts and islands before it, has been the theatre of some of the most\nexciting and interesting events in Indian history, previous to the\narrival of the \"white man.\" It was the Metropolis of a portion of the\nOjibwa, and Ottawa nations. It was there that their Congresses met, to\nadopt a policy which terminated in the conquest of the country south\nof it--it was there that the tramping feet of thousands of plumed and\npainted warriors shook Pe-quod-e-non-ge, while dancing their war\ndances--it was from there that the startling sound of the war yell of\nthese thousands was wafted to the adjacent coast and islands, making\nthe peaceful welkin ring with their unearthly shouts of victory or\ndeath. In process of time a Chapel and Fort were erected, and it\nbecame a strong-hold and trading post of the greatest importance to\nthe entire region of the northwest, being the gateway of commerce\nbetween the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, and also the grand\navenue to the Upper Lakes of the north, and the rendezvous of the\ntraders, merchants, trappers, soldiers, missionaries and Indians of\nthe whole northwest. Villages of Hurons and Ottawas were located in\nthe vicinity of the Fort and Chapel. The Fort inclosed an area of\nabout several acres, and was surrounded with cedar pickets. The\nremains of the fort and buildings can still be seen. On an eminence\nnot far from the fort, the Ottawas erected a fortification. Within the\ninclosure of the Fort and adjoining the Chapel, the Jesuits erected a\nCollege, the first institution of the kind in the Western country. It\nwas also the great depot for the _Courriers des Bois_, or rangers of\nthe woods, who, from their distant excursions, would congregate here.\nThe goods which they had brought from Canada, for the purpose of\nexchanging for furs with the Indians of Green Bay and Illinois, and\nalong the shores of Lake Superior, and the region lying between that\nand the banks of the Mississippi, had to be deposited here, and they\nwere usually on hand a long time before they could be disposed of and\ntransferred to the distant marts of trade.\n\nIn the year 1672, while Marquette was engaged in his duties as priest\nat the Chapel, the site of which now bears the name of St. Ignatius,\nand also employed in instructing the Indian youth of the villages, he\nwas visited by Joliet, a member of the same order who bore a\ncommission from Frontenac, then Governor of Canada, empowering him to\nselect Marquette as a companion and enter upon a voyage of discovery.\nThe winter was spent by these men in making preparations to carry out\nthe commands of their superiors. The specific object of their mission\nwas to explore the Mississippi, which was supposed to empty into the\nGulf of California. That all possible information might be gained in\nregard to this unknown river, Marquette held conversations with all\nthe noted Indian explorers and trappers, as well as the rangers of the\nwoods within his reach. From the information thus gained he made out a\nmap of the river, including its source and direction, and all the\nstreams known to empty into it.\n\nSpring at length came, and on a bright, beautiful morning in the month\nof May, having bid adieu to his charge at his mission, and commended\nhis flock to God, Marquette and his companion, with five others\nselected for the purpose, entered their bark canoes with paddles in\nhand, and St. Ignatius was soon lost to the sight of the devoted\nmissionary forever. After sailing along the Straits they entered Lake\nMichigan, and continued their voyage until they arrived at Green Bay,\npassed the mouth of the Menominee River, finally reaching that of the\nFox River. On the 7th of June, having sailed upwards of two hundred\nmiles, the voyagers reached the mission of St. Francis Xavier. They\nhad now reached the limit of all former French or English discoveries.\nThe new and unknown West spread out before them, and the thousand\ndangers and hardships by river and land, heightened by tales of horror\nrelated to them by the Indians, were presented to their imagination.\nResolutely determined to prosecute the enterprise committed to their\ncharge, they knelt upon the shore of Fox River to renew their\ndevotions and obtain the divine guidance and protection. Encouraged by\npast success, and urged on by a strong faith, they launched their\ncanoes upon the bosom of the Fox River, and breaking the silence of\nits shores by the dip of their paddles, they sailed up its current.\nWhen they reached the rapids of that river, it was with difficulty\nthey were enabled to proceed. There was not power enough in the\npaddles of the two canoes to stem the current, and they were obliged\nto wade up the rapids on the jagged rocks, and thus tow them along.\nHaving made the voyage of the Fox they arrived at the portage, and\ntaking their canoes containing their provision and clothes upon their\nshoulders, they reached the Wisconsin and launched them upon that\nstream. They had no longer to breast a rapid current, as the waters of\nthe Wisconsin flowed west. With renewed courage they prosecuted their\nvoyage, and after ten days their hearts were made glad at the sight of\nthe broad and beautiful river which they were entering, and which they\nsupposed would bear them to the far-off western sea. They had reached\nthe \"father of waters.\" No sight could be more charming than that\nwhich presented itself to their vision as they beheld on either side,\nalternately stretching away to a vast distance, immense forests of\nmountain and plain.\n\nAt length, on the 25th of June, as they were sailing along near the\neastern shore, they discovered foot-prints in the sand. At sight of\nthese they landed and fastening their canoes, that they might again\nlook upon the face of human beings, they followed an Indian path which\nled up the bank. They were not long in finding two Indian villages,\nwhich proved to be those of the \"Pewa-rias\" and \"Moing-wenas.\" In\nanswer to a question proposed by Marquette, who addressed them in\nIndian, and inquired who they were; they answered, \"We are Illinois.\"\nAfter an exchange of friendly greetings with these peaceable Indians,\nthe voyagers re-embarked and passed on down the river. They continued\non their downward passage until they reached the mouth of the\nMissouri, which poured its turbid flood into the Mississippi; and\nstill further until they passed the mouth of the Ohio, and then on\ndown until they passed the Arkansas, and arrived within thirty miles\nof the mouth of the Mississippi. It was not necessary to proceed any\nfurther to satisfy the explorers that the river entered into the Gulf\nof Mexico, instead of that of California.\n\nHaving accomplished the end of the expedition, the company started out\nupon their return trip on the 17th of July. When they reached the\nmouth of the Illinois river, they determined on returning by that\nroute to Mackinaw. Arriving at the portage of that river they fell in\nwith a tribe of Indians who called themselves the Kaskaskias, who\nkindly volunteered to conduct them to Lake Michigan, where in due\ntime they arrived. After sailing along the western shore of the lake\nthey again found themselves at Green Bay, and were heartily welcomed\nby the brethren at the mission of St. Francis Xavier. Worn down with\nfatigue, Marquette determined to remain here to recruit his health\nbefore returning to his missionary labors. He spent his time at this\nmission post in copying his journal of the voyage down the Mississippi\nand back, which he accompanied by a map of the river and country, and\nsent by the Ottawa flotilla to his superiors at Montreal. The return\nof this flotilla brought him orders for the establishment of a mission\namong the Illinois, with whom he had so friendly an interview on his\nexploring voyage. Having passed the winter and succeeding summer at\nthe St. Xavier mission, he started out in the fall for Kaskaskia. The\ndifficulties of the journey were such, it having to be accomplished by\nland and water, that his health, which had been greatly enfeebled by\nhis former voyage, was not sufficient to enable him to endure the cold\nwinds of winter which had set in before the completion of the journey.\nOn reaching the Chicago River it was found closed, and he did not\nconsider it prudent to undertake an over-land journey. He therefore\nresolved to winter at that point, and giving his Indian companions\nwho accompanied him the proper instructions and pious counsel, he sent\nthem back to Green Bay. Two Frenchmen made an arrangement to remain\nwith him during the winter. The nearest persons to their lodge were\nfifty miles distant. They were French trappers and traders, one of\nwhom bore the title of a doctor. This latter person being informed of\nMarquette's ill-health paid him a visit, and did what he could for his\nrelief. He also received friendly offices from the Indians in the\nneighborhood, a party of whom proposed to carry him and all his\nbaggage to the contemplated mission at Kaskaskia. His health, however,\nwas such that it did not allow him to accept their kind offer, and he\nwas obliged to remain in his camp during the winter.\n\nSpring at length returned after a long and dreary winter, and\nMarquette, with some Indian companions, started out for the upper\nwaters of the Illinois River. In about two weeks he reached Kaskaskia,\nand at once entered upon the duties of his mission. After having\ninstructed the Indians, so as to enable them to understand the objects\nof his mission to them, he called them all together in the open\nprairie, where he had erected a rude altar surmounted by the cross,\nand adorned with pictures of the Virgin Mary. The chiefs and warriors,\nand the whole tribe, were addressed by him in their native tongue. He\nmade a number of presents to them, the more effectually to gain their\naffections and confidence, and then related to them the simple story\nof the cross, after which he celebrated mass. The scene was truly\nimpressive, and the effect upon the sons of the forest was all that\nthe missionary could desire. Bright and cheering were the prospects of\nconverting the Kaskaskias to Christianity, but the devoted missionary\nwas doomed to disappointment. His former malady returned, and assumed\na type of so alarming a nature, that he was satisfied his labors on\nearth would soon come to an end.\n\nThoughts of his beloved mission at Mackinaw, where he had spent so\nmany days in preaching to Ottawas and Hurons, and in teaching their\nyouth Christian science, filled his mind; and the Christian, not to\nsay natural, desire of his heart, was again to bow in the Chapel of\nSt. Ignatius, and again behold the parents and children of his former\ncharge. Having received the last rites of the church he set out to the\nlake, accompanied by the Kaskaskias who sorrowed much at his\ndeparture, but who were comforted by the dying missionary, who\nassured them that another would soon be sent to take his place. When\nthey reached the shore of Lake Michigan the Indians returned, and with\nhis two French companions Marquette embarked in a canoe upon its\nwaters. As they coasted along the eastern shore of the lake the health\nof Marquette continued to fail, and he at last became so weak that\nwhen they landed to encamp for the night they had to lift him out of\nthe canoe. Much further they could not proceed, as the journey of life\nwith the missionary was rapidly drawing to a close.\n\nConscious of his approaching dissolution, as they were gently gliding\nalong the shore, he directed his companions to paddle into the mouth\nof a small river which they were nearing, and pointing to an eminence\nnot far from the bank, he languidly said, \"Bury me there.\" That river,\nto this day, bears the name of the lamented Marquette. On landing they\nerected a bark cabin, and stretched the dying missionary as\ncomfortably as they could beneath its humble roof. Having blessed some\nwater with the usual ceremonies of the Catholic Church, he gave his\ncompanions directions how to proceed in his last moments. He\ninstructed them also in regard to the manner in which they were to\narrange his body when dead, and the ceremonies to be performed when\nit was committed to the earth. He then, for the last time, heard the\nconfessions of his companions, encouraging them to rely on the mercy\nand protection of God, and then sent them away to take the repose they\nso much needed. After a few hours he felt that he was about taking his\nlast sleep, and calling them, he took his crucifix and placing it in\ntheir hands, pronounced in a clear voice his profession of faith,\nthanking the Almighty for the favor of permitting him to die a Jesuit\nMissionary. Then calmly folding his arms upon his breast with the name\nof Jesus on his lips, and his eyes raised to heaven, while over his\nface beamed the radiance of immortality, he passed away to the land of\nthe blest.\n\nIn conformity with the directions of the deceased, in due time his\ncompanions prepared the body for burial, and to the sound of his\nChapel bell bore it slowly and solemnly to the place designated, where\nthey committed it to the dust, and erected a rude cross to point out\nto the passing traveler the place of his grave.\n\nJames Marquette was of a most ancient and honorable family of the city\nof Laon, France. Born at the ancient seat of his family, in the year\n1637, he was, through his pious mother, Rose de la Salle, allied to\nthe venerable John Baptist de la Salle, the founder of the institute\nknown as the Brothers of the Christian Schools. At the age of\nseventeen he entered the Society of Jesus, and after two years of\nstudy and self-examination had passed away, he was, as is usual with\nthe young Jesuits, employed in teaching, which position he held for\ntwelve years. No sooner had he been invested with the priesthood, than\nhis desire to become in all things an imitator of his chosen patron,\nSt. Francis Xavier, induced him to seek a mission in some land that\nknew not God, that he might labor there to his latest breath, and die\nunaided and alone. His desire was gratified. For nine years he labored\namong the Indians, and was able to preach to them in ten different\nlanguages; but he rests from his labors, and his works follow him. He\ndied, May 18, 1675.\n\nThe Indians of Mackinaw and vicinity, and also those of Kaskaskia,\nwere in great sorrow when the tidings of Marquette's death reached\nthem. Not long after this melancholy event, a large company of\nOjibwas, Ottawas, and Hurons, who had been out on a hunting\nexpedition, landed their canoes at the mouth of the Marquette river,\nwith the intention of removing his remains to Mackinaw. They had heard\nof his desire to have his body interred in the consecrated ground of\nSt. Ignatius, and they had resolved that the dying wish of the\nmissionary should be fulfilled. As they stood around in silence and\ngazed upon the cross that marked the place of his burial, the hearts\nof the stern warriors were moved. The bones of the missionary were dug\nup and placed in a neat box of bark made for the occasion, and the\nnumerous canoes which formed a large fleet started from the mouth of\nthe river with nothing but the sighs of the Indians, and the dip of\nthe paddles to break the silence of the scene. As they advanced\ntowards Mackinaw, the funeral cortege was met by a large number of\ncanoes bearing Ottawas, Hurons, and Iroquois, and still others shot\nout ever and anon to join the fleet.\n\nWhen they arrived in sight of the Point, and beheld the cross of St.\nIgnatius as if painted against the northern sky, the missionaries in\ncharge came out to the beach clad in vestments adapted to the\noccasion. How was the scene heightened when the priests commenced, as\nthe canoe bearing the remains of Marquette neared the shore, to chant\nthe requiem for the dead. The whole population was out, entirely\ncovering the beach, and as the procession marched up to the Chapel\nwith cross and prayer, and tapers burning, and laid the bark box\nbeneath a pall made in the form of a coffin, the sons and daughters\nof the forest wept. After the funeral service was ended, the coffin\nwas placed in a vault in the middle of the church, where the Catholic\nhistorian says, \"Marquette reposes as the guardian angel of the Ottawa\nmissions.\"\n\n\"He was the first and last white man who ever had such an assembly of\nthe wild sons of the forest to attend him to his grave.\n\n\"So many stirring events succeeded each other after this\nperiod--first, the war between the English Colonists, and the French;\nthen the Colonists with the Indians, the Revolutionary War, the Indian\nWars, and finally the War of 1812, with the death of all those who\nwitnessed his burial, including the Fathers who officiated at the\ntime, whose papers were lost, together with the total destruction and\nevacuation of this mission station for many years, naturally\nobliterated all recollections of the transaction, which accounts for\nthe total ignorance of the present inhabitants of Point St. Ignatius\nrespecting it. The locality of his grave is lost; but only until the\nArchangel's trump, at the last, shall summon him from his narrow\ngrave, with those plumed and painted warriors who now lie around him.\"\n\nThe Missionaries who succeeded Marquette, at Mackinaw, continued\ntheir labors until 1706, when, finding it useless to continue the\nmission, or struggle any longer with superstition and vice, they\nburned down their College and Chapel, and returned to Quebec. The\ngovernor, alarmed at this step, at last promised to enforce the laws\nagainst the dissolute French, and prevailed on Father Marest to\nreturn. Soon after the Ottawas, discontented at Detroit, a French\npost, which was served by the Recollects, and where the blood of a\nRecollect had been shed in a riot, began to move back to Mackinaw, and\nthe mission was renewed. In 1721, Charlevoix visited this mission, and\nthis is the last we hear of it.\n\nNearly two hundred years have passed away since that event. The Chapel\nof St. Ignatius has passed away, and with it the Chapel, and Fort, and\nCollege at Old Mackinaw. Nothing is left but the stone walls and\nstumps of the pickets which surrounded them, and which may be seen to\nthis day. To the Catholic, this consecrated spot, the site of one of\ntheir first Chapels, and their first College in the great northwest,\nmust possess unusual interest. As there is a difference of opinion in\nrelation to the burial place of Marquette, whether it was on the north\nor south side of the Straits, we give the following from\n\"Schoolcraft's Discovery of the Sources of the Mississippi.\" He says:\n\"They carried his body to the Mission of Old Mackinaw, of which he was\nthe founder, where it was interred. It is known that the Mission of\nMackinaw fell on the downfall of the Jesuits. When the post of\nMackinaw was removed from the peninsula to the island, which was about\n1780, the bones of the Missionary were transferred to the old Catholic\nburial ground, in the village on the island. There they remained till\na land or property question arose to agitate the Church, and when the\ncrisis happened the whole grave-yard was disturbed, and his bones,\nwith others, were transferred to the Indian village of La Crosse,\nwhich is in the vicinity of L'Arbre Croche, Michigan.\"\n\nThere is a difference of opinion also as to the point from whence\nMarquette and his companions started for the discovery of the\nMississippi. Schoolcraft says: \"Wherever Missilimackinac is mentioned\nin the Missionary letters, or in the history of this period, it is the\nancient Fort on the apex of the Michigan peninsula that is alluded\nto.\" In his Introduction to the above work, he says, that \"Father\nMarquette, after laying the foundation of Missilimackinac, proceeded\nin company with Sieur Joliet, up the Fox River of Green Bay, and\ncrossing the portage into the Wisconsin, entered the Mississippi in\n1673.\"\n\nIt is an established fact, that Marquette organized the Mission at Old\nMackinaw, in the year 1671, subsequently to that at the opposite\npoint, and that he remained there until the year 1673, when he\nembarked with Joliet on his exploring tour of the Mississippi.\nCharlevoix places the Mission of St. Ignace, on the south side of the\nStraits, adjoining the Fort, and has made no such designation on the\nnorth side, showing at least that this mission was more modern than\nthe other. Nearly all the Jesuit Missions bore the name of St.\nIgnatius, in honor of their founder, as those of the Franciscans bore\nthe name of St. Francis. Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier were the\nfounders of these sects.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n    La Salle's visit to Mackinaw -- English traders -- La\n    Hontan's visit -- Mackinaw an English fort -- Speech of a\n    Chippewa Chief -- Indian stratagem -- Massacre of the English\n    at the fort -- Escape of Mr. Alexander Henry -- Early white\n    settlement of Mackinaw -- Present description -- Relations of\n    the Jesuits -- Remarkable phenomena -- Parhelia --\n    Subterranean river.\n\n\nIn the summer of 1679 the Griffin, built by La Salle and his company\non the shore of Lake Erie, at the present site of the town of Erie,\npassed up the St. Clair, sailed over the Huron, and entering the\nStraits, found a safe harbor at Old Mackinaw. La Salle's expedition\npassed eight or nine years at this place, and from hence they\npenetrated the country in all directions. At the same time it\ncontinued to be the summer resort of numerous Indian tribes who came\nhere to trade and engage in the wild sports and recreations peculiar\nto the savage race. As a city of peace, it was regarded in the same\nlight that the ancient Hebrews regarded their cities of Refuge, and\namong those who congregated here all animosities were forgotten. The\nsmoke of the calumet of peace always ascended, and the war cry never\nas yet has been heard in its streets.\n\nIn Heriot's Travels, published in 1807, we find the following\ninteresting item:\n\n'In 1671 Father Marquette came hither with a party of Hurons, whom he\nprevailed on to form a settlement. A fort was constructed, and it\nafterward became an important spot. It was the place of general\nassemblage for all the French who went to traffic with the distant\nnations. It was the asylum of all savages who came to exchange their\nfurs for merchandise. When individuals belonging to tribes at war with\neach other came thither, and met on commercial adventure, their\nanimosities were suspended.'\n\nNotwithstanding San-ge-man and his warriors had braved the dangers of\nthe Straits and had slain a hundred of their enemies whose residence\nwas here, yet it was not in the town that they were slain. No blood\nwas ever shed by Indian hands within its precincts up to this period,\nand had it remained in possession of the French the terrible scenes\nsubsequently enacted within its streets would in all probability\nnever have occurred, and Old Mackinaw would have been a city of\nRefuge to this day.\n\nThe English, excited by the emoluments derived from the fur trade,\ndesired to secure a share in this lucrative traffic of the\nnorthwestern Lakes. They, accordingly, in the year 1686, fitted out an\nexpedition, and through the interposition of the Fox Indians, whose\nfriendship they secured by valuable presents; the expedition reached\nOld Mackinaw, the \"Queen of the Lakes,\" and found the El Dorado they\nhad so long desired.\n\nThe following interesting description, from Parkman's \"History of the\nConspiracy of Pontiac,\" of a voyage by an English merchant to Old\nMackinaw about this time, will be in place here: \"Passing the fort and\nsettlement of Detroit, he soon enters Lake St. Clair, which seems like\na broad basin filled to overflowing, while along its far distant verge\na faint line of forests separates the water from the sky. He crosses\nthe lake, and his voyagers next urge his canoe against the current of\nthe great river above. At length Lake Huron opens before him,\nstretching its liquid expanse like an ocean to the furthest horizon.\nHis canoe skirts the eastern shore of Michigan, where the forest rises\nlike a wall from the water's edge, and as he advances onward, an\nendless line of stiff and shaggy fir trees hung with long mosses,\nfringe the shore with an aspect of desolation. Passing on his right\nthe extensive Island of Bois Blanc, he sees nearly in front the\nbeautiful Island of Mackinaw rising with its white cliffs and green\nfoliage from the broad breast of waters. He does not steer toward it,\nfor at that day the Indians were its only tenants, but keeps along the\nmain shore to the left, while his voyagers raise their song and\nchorus. Doubling a point he sees before him the red flag of England\nswelling lazily in the wind, and the palisades and wooden bastions of\nFort Mackinaw standing close upon the margin of the lake. On the beach\ncanoes are drawn up, and Canadians and Indians are idly lounging. A\nlittle beyond the fort is a cluster of white Canadian houses roofed\nwith bark and protected by fences of strong round pickets. The trader\nenters the gate and sees before him an extensive square area,\nsurrounded by high palisades. Numerous houses, barracks, and other\nbuildings form a smaller square within, and in the vacant place which\nthey enclose appear the red uniforms of British soldiers, the grey\ncoats of the Canadians, and the gaudy Indian blankets mingled in\npicturesque confusion, while a multitude of squaws with children of\nevery hue stroll restlessly about the place. Such was old fort\nMackinaw in 1763.\"\n\nLa Hontan, who visited Mackinaw in 1688, says: \"It is a place of great\nimportance. It is not above half a league distant from the Illinese\n(Michigan) Lake. Here the Hurons and Ottawas have each of them a\nvillage, the one being severed from the other by a single palisade,\nbut the Ottawas are beginning to build a fort upon a hill that stands\nbut one thousand or twelve hundred paces off. In this place the\nJesuits have a little house or college adjoining to a church, and\ninclosed with pales that separate it from the village of the Hurons.\nThe Courriers de Bois have but a very small settlement here, at the\nsame time it is not inconsiderable, as being the staple of all the\ngoods that they truck with the south and west savages; for they cannot\navoid passing this way when they go to the seats of the Illinese and\nthe Oumamis on to the Bay des Puanto, and to the River Mississippi.\nMissilimackinac is situated very advantageously, for the Iroquese dare\nnot venture with their sorry canoes to cross the stright of the\nIllinese Lake, which is two leagues over; besides that the Lake of the\nHurons is too rough for such slender boats, and as they cannot come to\nit by water, so they cannot approach it by land by reason of the\nmarshes, fens, and little rivers which it would be very difficult to\ncross, not to mention that the stright of the Illinese Lake lies still\nin their way.\"\n\nAs rivals of the French, the English were never regarded with favor by\nthe various Indian tribes. Constant encroachments by the English from\nyear to year, though they were lavish of their gifts did not tend to\nsoften the hostility of the tribes. Thus matters continued until\nMackinaw passed into the hands of the English, which event took place\nafter the fall of Quebec in the year 1759. This transfer of\njurisdiction from a people that the Indians loved to one that they\nexperienced a growing hate for during three-quarters of a century,\nfilled them with a spirit of revenge. Such was the dislike of the\nIndians of Mackinaw to the English, that when Alexander Henry visited\nthat place in 1761, he was obliged to conceal the fact that he was an\nEnglishman and disguise himself as a Canadian voyager. On the way he\nwas frequently warned by the Indians to turn back, as he would not be\nreceived at Mackinaw, and as there were no British soldiers there as\nyet, he was assured that his visit would be attend with great hazard.\nHe still persisted, however, and finally, with his canoes laden with\ngoods he reached the fort, which, we have before remarked, was\nsurrounded with palisades, and occupied the high ground immediately\nback from the beach. When he entered the village he met with a cold\nreception, and the inhabitants did all in their power to alarm and\ndiscourage him.\n\nSoon after his arrival he received the very unpleasant intelligence,\nthat a large number of Chippewas were coming from the neighboring\nvillages in their canoes to call upon him. Under ordinary\ncircumstances this information would not have excited any alarm, but\nas the French of Mackinaw as well as the Indians were alike hostile to\nthe English trader, it was no difficult matter to apprehend danger. At\nlength the Indians, about sixty in number, arrived, each with a\ntomahawk in one hand and a scalping knife in the other. The garrison\nat this time contained about ninety soldiers, a commander and two\nofficers. Beside the small arms, on the bastions were mounted two\nsmall pieces of brass cannon. Beside Henry, there were four English\nmerchants at the fort. After the Indians were introduced to Henry and\nhis English brethren, their chief presented him with a few strings of\nwampum and addressed them as follows:\n\n\"Englishmen, it is to you that I speak, and I demand your attention.\nYou know that the French King is our father. He promised to be such,\nand we in turn promised to be his children. This promise we have kept.\nIt is you that have made war with this our father. You are his enemy,\nand how then could you have the boldness to venture among us, his\nchildren. You know that his enemies are ours. We are informed that our\nfather, the King of France, is old and infirm, and that being fatigued\nwith making war upon your nation, he has fallen asleep. During this\nsleep you have taken advantage of him and possessed yourselves of\nCanada. But his nap is almost at an end. I think I hear him already\nstirring and inquiring for his children, and when he does awake what\nmust become of you? He will utterly destroy you. Although you have\nconquered the French you have not conquered us. We are not your\nslaves. These lakes, these woods and mountains are left to us by our\nancestors, they are our inheritance and we will part with them to\nnone. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live\nwithout bread, and pork, and beef, but you ought to know that He, the\nGreat Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us in these\nspacious lakes and on these woody mountains.\n\n\"Our father, the King of France, employed our young men to make war\nupon your nation. In this warfare many of them have been killed, and\nit is our custom to retaliate until such time as the spirits of the\nslain are satisfied. But the spirits of the slain are to be satisfied\nin one of two ways; the first is by the spilling the blood of the\nnation by which they fell, the other by covering the bodies of the\ndead, and thus allaying the resentment of their relations. This is\ndone by making presents. Your king has never sent us any presents, nor\nentered into any treaty with us, wherefore he and we are still at war,\nand until he does these things we must consider that we have no other\nfather or friend among the white men than the King of France. But for\nyou, we have taken into consideration that you have ventured among us\nin the expectation that we would not molest you. You do not come\naround with the intention to make war. You come in peace to trade with\nus, and supply us with necessaries, of which we are in much need. We\nshall regard you, therefore, as a brother, and you may sleep\ntranquilly without fear of the Chippewas. As a token of friendship we\npresent you with this pipe to smoke.\"\n\nHenry was afterwards visited by a party of two hundred Ottawa warriors\nfrom _L'Arbre Croche_, about seventy miles southwest of Mackinaw. One\nof the Chiefs addressed him thus:--\n\n\"Englishmen: We, the Ottawas, were some time since informed of your\narrival in this country, and of your having brought with you the goods\nwe so much need. At this news we were greatly pleased, believing that,\nthrough your assistance, our wives and children would be able to pass\nanother winter; but, what was our surprise, when a few days ago we\nwere informed the goods which we had expected were intended for us\nwere on the eve of departure for distant countries, some of which are\ninhabited by our enemies. These accounts being spread, our wives and\nchildren came to us crying, and desiring that we should go to the Fort\nto learn with our ears the truth or falsehood. We accordingly\nembarked, almost naked as you see, and on our arrival here we have\ninquired into the accounts, and found them true. We see your canoes\nready to depart, and find your men engaged for the Mississippi and\nother distant regions. Under these circumstances we have considered\nthe affair, and you are now sent for that you may hear our\ndetermination, which is, that you shall give each of our men, young\nand old, merchandise and ammunition to the amount of fifty beaver\nskins on credit, and for which I have no doubt of their paying you in\nthe summer, on their return from their wintering.\"\n\nThe demands of the Indians upon the English, and their dissatisfaction\narising therefrom, had the effect to rouse the different tribes, and\nthey were noticed assembling from the surrounding country in great\nnumbers, and gathering in the vicinity of Mackinaw. One night four\nhundred Indians lay around the Fort, evidently plotting mischief. A\nChippewa chief apprised Henry of the impending danger; but when the\nsuspicions were communicated to the Commandant of the Fort, Major\nEtherington, he took no notice of it, supposing that the Indians only\nresorted to this for the purpose of intimidation. The next day being\nthe King's birthday, the Indians proposed to celebrate it by a game of\n_baggatiway_. It was played with bat and ball, and the contestants\nwere the Chippewas and Sacs. Major Etherington was present at the\ngame, and bet largely on the side of the Chippewas. In the midst of\nthe game, when all were in a high state of excitement, a warrior\nstruck the ball and sent it whizzing over the palisade into the Fort.\nInstantly the Indian war yell was heard, and the savages rushed within\nthe gate, not however for the ball, but to tomahawk and scalp every\nEnglishman within the Fort. The French stood by as silent spectators\nof the bloody scene, and were not attacked.\n\nHenry witnessed the dreadful slaughter from his window, and being\nunarmed he hastened out, and springing over a low fence which divided\nhis house from that of M. Langlade, the French Interpreter, entered\nthe latter, and requested some one to direct him to a place of safety.\nLanglade hearing the request, replied that he could do nothing for\nhim. At that moment a slave belonging to Langlade, of the Pawnee tribe\nof Indians, took him to a door which she opened, and informed him that\nit led to the garret where he might conceal himself. She then locked\nthe door and took away the key. Through a hole in the wall Henry could\nhave a complete view of the Fort. He beheld the heaps of the slain,\nand heard the savage yells, until the last victim was dispatched.\nHaving finished the work of death in the Fort, the Indians went out to\nsearch the houses. Some Indians entered Langlade's house and asked if\nthere were any Englishmen concealed in it. He replied that he did not\nknow, they might search for themselves. At length they opened the\ngarret door and ascended the stairs, but Henry had concealed himself\namong a heap of birch-bark vessels, which had been used in making\nmaple sugar, and thus escaped. Fatigued and exhausted, he lay down on\na mat and went to sleep, and while in this condition he was surprised\nby the wife of Langlade, who remarked that the Indians had killed all\nthe English, but she hoped he might escape. Fearing, however, that she\nwould fall a prey to their vengeance if it was found that an\nEnglishman was concealed in her house, she at length revealed the\nplace of Henry's concealment, giving as a reason therefor, that if he\nshould be found her children would be destroyed. Unlocking the door,\nshe was followed by several Indians, who were led by Wenniway, a noted\nchief. At sight of him the chief seized him with one hand, and\nbrandishing a large carving knife, was about to plunge it into his\nheart, when he dropped his arm, saying, \"I won't kill you. My brother,\nMusinigon, was slain by the English, and you shall take his place and\nbe called after him.\" He was carried to L'Arbre Croche as a prisoner,\nwhere he was rescued by a band of three hundred Ottawas, by whom he\nwas returned to Mackinaw, and finally ransomed by his Indian friend\nWawatam. At the capture of the place only one trader, M. Tracy, lost\nhis life. Captain Etherington was carried away by some Indians from\nthe scene of slaughter. Seventy of the English troops were slain. An\nEnglishman, by the name of Solomon, saved himself by hiding under a\nheap of corn, and his boy was saved by creeping up a chimney, where he\nremained two days. A number of canoes, filled with English traders,\narriving soon after the massacre, they were seized, and the traders,\ndragged through the water, were beaten and marched by the Indians to\nthe prison lodge. After they had completed the work of destruction,\nthe Indians, about four hundred in number, entertaining apprehensions\nthat they would be attacked by the English, and the Indians who had\njoined them, took refuge on the Island of Mackinac, Wawatam fearing\nthat Henry would be butchered by the savages in their drunken revels,\ntook him out to a cave, where he lay concealed for one night on a heap\nof human bones. As the Fort was not destroyed, it was subsequently\nreoccupied by British soldiers, and the removal to the Island did not\ntake place until about the year 1780.\n\nOld Mackinaw, the theatre of so many thrilling scenes and tragic\nincidents, has a history as a white settlement, reaching back to 1620,\nthe year of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. W. M. Johnson,\nEsq., of Mackinac Island, in describing its history, says: \"Mackinaw\nCity,\" for such has become the name of this wonderful point, \"with\nits coasts and the islands before it, has been the theatre of some of\nthe most exciting and interesting events in Indian history, previous\nto the arrival of the 'white man.' It was the metropolis of a portion\nof the Ojibwa and Ottawa nations. It was there that their Congresses\nmet, to adopt a policy which terminated in the conquest of the country\nsouth of it; it was there that the tramping feet of thousands of\nplumed and painted warriors shook Pe-quod-e-nonge--the Indian\nname--while dancing their war dances, it was from thence that the\nstartling sound of the war yell of these thousands was wafted to the\nadjacent coast and islands, making the peaceful welkin ring with their\nunearthly shouts of victory or death.\n\n\"How remarkable, in reflecting upon the early and sound judgment of\nthe Indians in seizing upon the points commanding all the natural\navenues and passes of the Lakes, when it is considered that there\nselections must necessarily have been the result of an intimate\nknowledge with the geographical features of the country! This has been\nyearly proved by the re-occupation of posts and places long neglected,\nbut the importance of which has become evident in proportion as we\nhave set a just value upon the Indian's judgment, with the natural\nadvantages of the country. Perhaps in no instance, is this more\nstrikingly exemplified than in Mackinaw City, the commanding position\nof which, although always known to the Indians, Traders, and\nMissionaries, and lately confirmed by Military Scientific Europeans;\n_but as yet not perceived by our Government_. It is the only point\nwhich can control the passage of the Straits of Mackinaw, and also the\nIndians living in numerous villages south of the Straits. The Island\nof Mackinac was merely occupied by the English to escape a second\nmassacre as in 1763; and which occupancy our Government has blindly\nfollowed, believing it, as an evidence of English military skill and\njudgment in the selection of commanding posts, while they at that\nperiod did not make this selection with any reference to a future\nhostile maritime power who might wish to pass, or force a passage\nthrough the Straits.\n\n[Illustration: Sugar Loaf--Mackinac.]\n\n[Illustration: Mackinac Island. 1. Lover's Leap. 2. Harbor. 3.\nVillage. 4. Fort. 5. Signal. 6. Sugar Loaf. 7. Mission. 8. Robinson's\nFolly.]\n\n\"The land rises gradually from the water at Mackinaw City, until it\nreaches an elevation of seventy-five feet, from which beautiful and\npicturesque views are obtained of the waters of the Straits, with the\nnumerous Islands sleeping on its bosom. The prospect from the City is\nbeautiful, beyond description--the Battery at New York can only be\ncompared to it, which is like it in its location. The visitor will\nenjoy the view presented of the Islands, Points, and adjacent shores;\nespecially on a calm day, for the lake, and the green woods upon isle\nand promontory, lie with a sleepy stillness before him, enhancing the\nbeauty of the prospect; and when the mind contemplates the events of\ntwo hundred and fifty years ago, when thousands of the red sons of the\nforest passed and repassed the site upon which he now stands, he will\nappreciate more fully the rapid strides of civilization.\n\n\"Two hundred and fifty years ago, bark canoes only dotted the surface\nof the Lake; this spell of quiet was then broken a few years afterward\nby the boisterous Canadian _Voyageur_ with his songs, as he rowed or\npaddled his _bateaux_ and large northwest canoe. Now, the roaring\nnoise of the wheels of steamers, the shrill whistle of the propeller,\nand the whitening sails of hundreds of vessels have succeeded to the\npast age of darkness and quiet. Civilization and commerce have broken\nthe charm which beautified Indian scenery in years forever gone by.\"\n\nA work, published under the auspices of the Canadian Government, in\nthree large octavo volumes, French, entitled \"Relations of the\nJesuits,\" containing the most remarkable events that transpired in\nthe missions of the Jesuits in New France, furnishes valuable\ninformation of the missions in the Mackinaw region. Among the\nremarkable phenomena which came under the observation of the Jesuit\nFathers in Mackinaw, was the appearance of a parhelion on the 21st of\nJanuary, 1671. This remarkable phenomenon occurred about two hours\nbefore sunset. It presented the form of a great crescent with its\npoints turned toward the sun. At the same time two other suns\nappeared, equidistant from it, partly covered by a cloud having all\nthe colors of the rainbow, very luminous and dazzling to the eye. The\nIndians said it was a premonition of great cold, which followed soon\nafter. On the 16th March the same parhelion appeared, and was seen\nfrom three different places more than fifty leagues apart. The\nobserver at the Mackinaw mission saw three suns distant some half\nleague from each other. They were seen twice the same day, one hour\nbefore sunrise and one hour before sunset. In the morning they were on\nthe south side of the true sun, and in the evening on the west side.\nThat on the south side was so accurate that it was difficult to\ndistinguish it from the true sun, excepting that it was partly\nsurrounded by a scarlet band on the side toward the sun. That on the\nother side had more the appearance of an oval iris than a sun,\nnevertheless it was an image like those which painters adorn with\ngolden rays, giving it a very magnificent appearance.\n\nThe same parhelion was seen on the island of Manitou in Lake Huron,\nand accompanied by a very remarkable appearance. Three suns appeared\nin the west, parallel with the earth. They were equal in size, but not\nin beauty. The true sun was west-by-southwest, and the false sun on\neach side. At the same time were seen parts of two circles parallel to\nthe horizon, having the colors of the rainbow, beside a fourth part of\nthe circle perpendicular to the horizon, having nearly the same color,\ntouched the false sun, which was in the southwest, and cutting the\nhalf circle parallel to the horizon, was mingled and lost in its rays.\nThe false suns disappeared from time to time, and even the true sun.\nFinally, a fourth sun was seen placed in a right line. When the false\nsuns disappeared they left after them two rainbows, as beautiful as\ntheir own light. The Indians, who attributed all these signs to the\nGenii, and who believe that they are married, wanted to know of the\nmissionary if these were not the wives of the sun. At this question it\noccurred to him that a favorable opportunity was presented for\nexplaining to them the mysteries of the Trinity. On the next day the\nIndian women, who before would not come to hear prayers, came and\npresented their children to be baptized.\n\nAt the Saut St. Mary, seven false suns appeared around the true sun.\nThe true sun was in the centre of a circle formed by the colors of the\nrainbow. On either side were two false suns, and also one above and\none below. These four were placed on the circumference of the circle,\nand at equal distances directly opposite from each other. Beside this,\nanother circle of the same color as the first, but much larger, rested\nthe upper part of its circumference in the centre of the true sun,\nwhile below and on either side were the false suns. All these eight\nluminaries made a grand spectacle.\n\nAuroras, even in midsummer, are of frequent occurrence, and exhibit a\nbrilliancy and extent rarely observed in lower latitudes. The\nphenomena which most frequently occur are the following: A dark cloud\ntinged on the upper edge with a pale luminous haze, skirts the\nnorthern horizon. From this streaks of orange and blue colored light\nflash up, and often reach a point south of the zenith. They rapidly\nincrease and decrease, giving to the whole hemisphere the appearance\nof luminous waves and occasionally forming perfect corona. They\ncommence shortly after sunset and continue during the night. The\nvoyagers regard them as the precursors of storms and gales, and our\nown observations have confirmed the result. Occasionally broad belts\nof light are seen spanning the whole arc of the heavens, of sufficient\nbrilliancy to enable one to read. In the winter these phenomena are\nmuch more frequent, and the ground appears tinged with a crimson hue.\n\nWe find in these relations of the Jesuits other matters of equal\ninterest. The fathers of the missions in and around the Straits of\nMackinaw gave it as their opinion, that the waters of Lake Superior\nentered into the Straits by a subterranean passage, and in support of\nit, mention the wonderful fact that the current floats against the\nwind, and notwithstanding it drives furiously in one direction,\nvessels are enabled to sail in a contrary direction as rapidly as\nthough the wind were not blowing. In addition to this, they refer to\nthe constant boiling up of the waters. Without admitting this theory,\nthey affirmed that it was impossible to explain two things. The first\nis, that without such subterranean passage it is impossible to tell\nwhat becomes of the waters of Lake Superior. This vast lake has but\none visible outlet, namely, the river of the Saut, while it receives\ninto its bosom the waters of a large number of rivers, some twelve of\nwhich are of greater dimensions than the Saut. What then, they ask,\nbecomes of all these waters if they do not find an issue through a\nsubterranean river. The second reason for their belief in this theory\nis the impossibility to explain from whence come the waters of Lake\nHuron and Lake Michigan? But very few rivers flow into these lakes,\nand their size is such as to justify the belief that they must be\nsupplied through the subterranean river entering into the Straits.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n    Island of the Giant Fairies -- Possession by the English --\n    Erection of Government house -- French remain at Old Mackinaw\n    -- Finally abandoned -- Extent of the Island -- History --\n    Description -- Natural curiosities -- Arch Rock -- Sugar Loaf\n    Rock -- Scull Rock -- Dousman's Farm -- Davenport's Farm --\n    Robinson's Folly -- The Devil's Punch Bowl -- Healthful\n    atmosphere -- Transparency of the waters -- Compared with\n    Saratoga, Cape May, and Mt. Washington as a point for health\n    and recreation -- Description of a traveler in 1854 --\n    Arrival of steamers and sailing vessels at the port during\n    the year -- Mr. Johnson's reminiscences -- Indian name of Island\n    -- Mythology -- Three brothers of the great Genii -- Visit to\n    the subterranean abode of the Genii -- Vision -- Apostrophe\n    of an old Indian Chief -- Old buildings -- Door of\n    Marquette's Chapel -- John Jacob Astor and the fur trade --\n    Present support of the place -- Fort Mackinaw -- Fort Holmes\n    -- Fine view -- Interesting localities -- War of 1812 --\n    Death of Major Holmes -- Soil of the Island.\n\n\nThe old fort having been deserted by the English, as we have noticed\nin a previous chapter, and they having fled to the Island of Mackinaw,\nwhich, in the Indian name, signifies Island of the giant fairies,\npreparations were made for a settlement. Sir Wm. Johnston called a\ngrand council with those Indians who had been engaged in the massacre\nat Old Mackinaw. By this council, which was held in 1764, the spring\nfollowing the siege, a way was opened for St. Clair to negotiate for\nthe island, and also for the grants previously made by the Indians to\nthe French for military purposes. The first thing done after the\nisland had been obtained was the erection of a government house. The\nFrench and others who still remained at Old Mackinaw, amounting only\nto about three hundred, continued a few years, when they finally left,\nand everything was suffered to go into decay. A desolation reigned\nover it for many years, and, on account of the bloody siege, that\npoint, which was the most attractive as well as the most important to\nIndians, French, and English in all the Lake region was, as if by\ncommon consent, abandoned.\n\n[Illustration: Arch Rock.]\n\n[Illustration: Rock Castle--Pictured Rocks.]\n\nThe \"New Mackinaw,\" as it is called, distant seven miles from the Old,\nis on an island about nine miles in circumference, and covers an area\nof six thousand acres. Its extreme elevation above the lake is about\nthree hundred and twelve feet. The village and fortress are situated\non the southeastern extremity of the island, where there is a good\nharbor protected by a water battery. The island remained in possession\nof the British until 1793, when it was surrendered to the United\nStates. It was retaken in 1812, but restored again by the treaty of\nGhent, in 1814. It is situated in North lat. 45 deg. 54', West lon. 84 deg.\n30' from Greenwich, being 7 deg. 30' west from Washington. It is three\nhundred and fifty miles north of Chicago and about three hundred miles\nnorth from Detroit, and about two hundred and fifty miles west of\nCollingswood, Canada. The fort stands on an elevated ground about two\nhundred feet above the water. The town contains at present three\nhotels, six boarding houses, eight dry-goods stores, and seven\ngroceries. Its public buildings are a Court House, Jail, Custom House,\nPost Office, and Express Office. There are two Churches, the Roman\nCatholic and Presbyterian.\n\nThe first thing we shall notice as a natural attraction on the island,\nis what is called \"The Arch Rock.\" This is a natural arch projecting\nfrom the precipice on the northeastern side of the island, about a\nmile from the fort, and elevated about one hundred and forty feet\nabove the level of the water. Its abutments are formed of calcareous\nrock, and have been produced by the falling down of great masses of\nrock, leaving a chasm of eighty or ninety feet in height, and covered\nby the arch which spans it of fifty or sixty feet sweep. The scene\npresented by cliff and chasm is one of wild grandeur. Like the Natural\nBridge of Virginia, it possesses an attraction to all fond of natural\ncuriosities, sufficient of itself to justify a visit to the northern\nlakes. The view from the beach is particularly grand. Before you is a\nmagnificent arch suspended in mid air. Indian tradition says that this\nwonderful arch was formed by the giant spirits who inhabited this\nisland. Geological tradition, however, indicates that it was formed by\nthe action of the waters, which were at a remote period much higher\nthan at the present time.\n\nThe next object which strikes the attention of the visitors is the\n\"Sugar Loaf Rock,\" a high, isolated, conical rock which, resting upon\nthe elevated plateau that forms the next highest point of the island\nfrom that of Fort Holmes, exhibits a rise of some sixty to eighty\nfeet. This is but little less than the elevation of the ridge which\nforms the crowning plan of the island, and upon which the dismantled\npost of Fort Holmes is seen, being separated therefrom by a distance\nnot exceeding one hundred and fifty yards. By what violent throe of\nnature it has become severed from the adjacent ridge, of which it no\ndoubt, formed a part, is matter of curious inquiry. Has nature done\nthis by gradual recession, or by the slow upheaval of the land? On\ninspection, this rock is found cavernous, slightly crystalline, with\nits strata distorted in every conceivable direction. In its crevices\ngrow a few cedars and vines. As the visitor approaches it by the road\nside its effect is grand and imposing; still more so, perhaps, when\nbeheld from the top of the ridge, where its isolated position with its\nbold form, breaking the outline of the island, strikes the beholder\nwith wonder and admiration.\n\nRobinson's Folly is a high bluff, northeast from the village of\nMackinaw, half a mile from the mission house. Soon after the\nsettlement of the modern Mackinaw, Capt. Robinson, of the English\narmy, then commanding this port, had a summer house built on the brow\nof this bluff, now called Robinson's Folly, for the purpose of\nenjoying the prospect from that cool and elevated spot. Often he and\nhis brother officers resorted there during the summer days, to while\naway lonely and tedious hours. Pipes, cigars, and wine, were brought\ninto requisition. No Englishman at that period was without them; in\nfact, no hospitality or entertainment was complete without them. They\nwere indeed isolated; the nearest white settlements being then\nDetroit, Green Bay, Saut St. Mary, and Chicago. Communications with\nthese places were not frequent.\n\nA few years after, from the action of the elements, the brow of the\nbluff, where Robinson's Folly stood, was precipitated to the base of\nthe rock, where the fragments can now be seen, which disastrous event\ngave rise to its name.\n\nThe \"Scull Rock,\" half a mile or three quarters northwest from the\nrear of Fort Mackinaw, is chiefly noted for a cavern, which appears to\nhave been a receptacle for human bones, many of which were still to be\nobserved about its mouth a few years ago. The entrance is low and\nnarrow, and seems to promise little to reward the labors of\nexploration. It is here probably that Alexander Henry was secreted by\nthe chief Wawatam after the horrid massacre of the British garrison at\nOld Mackinaw.\n\nChimney Rock well repays the trouble of a visit, with the other points\nof interest on the island.\n\nDousman's Farm, two miles west from the Village of Mackinaw, consists\nof a section of land; the road to the English or British landing\npasses through it, also to Scott's or Flinn's Cave, which is on the\nnorthwestern portion of the farm. There are three springs of cold\ndelicious water on this farm, two of them are shaded by beech and\nmaple trees. This farm yields yearly from eighty to one hundred tons\nof hay, besides a large quantity of potatoes and other farm produce.\n\nDavenport's Farm, about one and a half miles from the village, is\nsituated on the southwestern portion of the Island. At the base of the\nbluff, on the south part of this farm, is the Devil's Caves, and near\nthem is a beautiful spring of clear cold water, shaded by evergreens\nand other trees. Half way up the bluff, which is nearly, if not fully,\nthree hundred feet high at this point; stands out, detached from the\nlimestone, an isolated rock, in appearance similar to the Sugar Loaf\nRock, which some persons have called the Lover's Leap; it is worth the\ntrouble of a visit, which a few minutes walk from the village\naccomplishes. There are several points called Lover's Leap, so called\nby romantic visitors, within the last few years. A gentleman from\nChicago, has purchased this farm, and report says that several\nsummer-houses are to be built upon it, which will enhance the beauty\nof this locality.\n\nWm. M. Johnston Esq., furnishes the following tradition of Lover's\nLeap:\n\n\"The huge rock called the 'Lover's Leap' is situated about one mile\nwest of the village of Mackinaw. It is a high perpendicular bluff, one\nhundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, rising boldly from\nthe shore of the lake. A solitary pine tree formerly stood upon its\nbrow, which some Vandal has cut down.\n\n\"Long before the pale faces profaned this island home of the Genii, a\nyoung Ojibwa girl, just maturing into womanhood, often wandered there,\nand gazed from its dizzy heights and witnessed the receding canoes of\nthe large war parties of the combined bands of the Ojibwas and Ottawas\nspeeding south, seeking for fame and scalps.\n\n\"It was there she often sat, mused and hummed the songs Ge-niw-e-gwon\nloved; this spot was endeared to her, for it was there that she and\nGe-niw-e-gwon first met and exchanged words of love, and found an\naffinity of souls existing between them. It was there she often sat\nand sang the Ojibwa love song--\n\n  'Mong-e-do-gwain, in-de-nain-dum,\n  Mong-e-do-gwain, in-de-nain-dum,\n  Wain-shung-ish-ween, neen-e-mo-shane,\n  Wain-shung-ish-ween, neen-e-mo-shane,\n  A-nee-wau-wau-sau-bo-a-zode,\n  A-nee-wau-wau-sau-bo-a-zode.'\n\nI give but one verse, which may be translated as follows:\n\n  A loon, I thought was looming,\n  A loon, I thought was looming:\n  Why! it is he, my lover,\n  Why! it is he, my lover;\n  His paddle, in the waters gleaming,\n  His paddle in the waters gleaming.\n\n\"From this bluff she often watched and listened for the return of the\nwar parties, for amongst them she knew was Ge-niw-e-gwon; his head\ndecorated with war-eagle plumes, which none but a brave could sport.\nThe west wind often wafted far in advance the shouts of victory and\ndeath, as they shouted and sang upon leaving Pe-quod-e-nong (Old\nMackinaw), to make the traverse to the Spirit, or Fairiy Island.\n\n\"One season, when the war party returned, she could not distinguish\nhis familiar and loving war shout. Her spirit, told her that he had\ngone to the Spirit-Land of the west. It was so: an enemy's arrow had\npierced his breast, and after his body was placed leaning against a\ntree, his face fronting his enemies, he died; but ere he died he\nwished the mourning warriors to remember him to the sweet maid of his\nheart. Thus he died far away from home and the friends he loved.\n\n\"Me-she-ne-mock-e-nung-o-qua's heart hushed its beatings, and all the\nwarm emotions of that heart, were chilled and dead. The moving, living\nspirit of her beloved Ge-niw-e-gwon, she witnessed continually\nbeckoning her to follow him to the happy hunting grounds of spirits in\nthe west--he appeared to her in human shape, but was invisible to\nothers of his tribe.\n\n\"One morning her body was found mangled at the foot of the bluff. The\nsoul had thrown aside its covering of earth, and had gone to join the\nspirit of her beloved Ge-niw-e-gwon, to travel together to the land of\nspirits.\"\n\nAnother point of interest and curiosity is the Devil's Punch Bowl,\nsituated south from the gateway, as you enter the farm of the late J.\nDousman, Esq.\n\nThis Island which rises like a gem on the brow of the lakes, is\nfavored by the clearest and most healthful atmosphere, and washed by\nthe purest and most transparent water in the world, imparting the most\npleasurable sensations imaginable. When this enchanting region shall\nbecome fully known, Saratoga, Cape May, and Mount Washington will be\nforgotten by those who fly from the heat and dust of our inland\ncities, to breathe a pure air and drink health-giving waters.\n\nA traveler in 1854, thus describes this interesting locality,\n\"Everything on the island is a curiosity, the roads or streets that\nwind around the harbor or among the grove-like forests of the island,\nare naturally pebbled and macadamized, the buildings are of every\nstyle, from an Indian lodge to an English house, the island is covered\nwith charming natural scenery, from the beautiful to the grand, and\none may spend weeks constantly finding new objects of interest, and\nnew scenes of beauty. The steamers all call here on their way to and\nfrom Chicago, and hundreds of small sail vessels in the fishing trade\nhave here their head quarters. Drawn upon the pebbled beach, or\ngliding about the bay, are bark canoes, and the far-famed Mackinaw\nboats, without number. These last are the perfection of light sail\nboats, and I have often been astonished at seeing them far out in the\nlake, beating up against winds that were next to gales.\"\n\nWe are indebted to Mr. Johnston for the following official list,\ngiving the number of sail vessels and steamers that have passed\nthrough the Straits of Mackinaw during the _day time_, as reported to\nthe Revenue department, for six months, ending September 30th, 1859.\n\n               Barques.  Brigs.  Schr's.  Steamers.\n  April,         14        9      101        47\n  May,            9       11      177        82\n  June,          15       13      221       194\n  Next 3 mon's   98       61      764       353\n                ---      ---      ---       ---\n                136       94     1263       586\n\n  Total, 2079.\n\nIt would be a pretty correct estimate to add at least one-third more\nof the total number for those that passed during the night,--which\nwould be a very low estimate of the shipping passing through our\nstraits.\n\nBut few of the vessels passing through the straits leave the main\nchannel, and go to the island some miles out of the way.\n\nThe lake traffic has of late years become perfectly enormous, the\nincrease of the western navigation being unprecedented. For example,\nthree thousand and sixty-five steamers passed up from Lake Erie to\nLakes Huron and Superior, by Detroit, in 1859, and three thousand one\nhundred and twenty-one passed down. The greatest number up in a single\nday was eighty-five--down seventy-three. Detroit statistics show that\nfive steamers, five propellers, four barques, seven brigs, and\neighty-five schooners have been more or less engaged in the Lake\nSuperior trade during the past season. Forty vessels left during the\nseason for European and seaboard ports, some of which have returned,\nand one has taken her second departure. Navigation at Detroit opened\nMarch 14th, and closed December 15th.\n\nWilliam Johnston, Esq., who has long resided on the island, says: 'The\nIndians, from the earliest times, have always regarded the Island of\nMackinaw with veneration. The Indian name is 'Moc-che-ne-mock-e-nug-gonge,'\nwhich, as before stated, signifies Island of Great or Giant Fairies.\n\n\"Indian mythology relates that three brothers of great or giant\nFairies, occupied different Islands in this section of the country.\nThe eldest occupied the Island Missilimackinac, the second lived on\nthe Island Tim-au Rin-ange-onge, in Lake Michigan, now called\nPottawattime Island, the youngest inhabited an Island called\nPe-quoge-me-nis, in Lake Huron. The heathen Indians, to this day, look\nupon them with awe and veneration, and in passing to and fro, by their\nshores, still offer to the Great Spirits tobacco and other offerings,\nto propitiate their goodwill. The stories they relate of these Great\nFairies, are very interesting and worthy of record.\n\n\"The present southern gate of Fort Mackinac overlooks the spot, where\nin olden times a door existed, to the entrance of the subterraneous\nabode of these Giant Fairies. An Indian Chees-a-kee, or spiritualist,\nwho once encamped within the limits of the present garrison, related,\nthat some time during the night, after he had fallen asleep, a fairy\ntouched him and beckoned him to follow. He obeyed and his spirit went\nwith the fairy; they entered the subterraneous abode, through an\nopening beneath the present gate near the base of the hill. He there\nwitnessed the giant spirits in solemn conclave in what appeared to be\na large beautiful wigwam. After being there some time, lost in wonder\nand admiration, the chief spirit directed one of the lesser ones, to\nshow the Indian spirit out and conduct him back to his body. This\nIndian could never be induced to divulge the particulars of what he\nwitnessed in his mysterious visit.\n\n\"An old Indian chief upon leaving this island, to visit his friends in\nLake Superior, thus soliloquized, as he sat on the deck of McKnight's\nsplendid steamer, the Illinois, while the darkness began dimly to\nshadow forth the deep blue outlines of the island:\n\n\"'Moc-che-ne-mock-e-nug-gonge, thou Isle of the clear, deep-water\nLake, how, soothing it is from amidst the curling smoke of my opawgun\n(pipe), to trace thy deep blue outlines in the distance; to call from\nmemory's tablets the traditions and stories connected with thy sacred\nand mystic character, how sacred the regard, with which thou hast been\nonce clothed by our Indian seers of gone-by days; how pleasant in\nimagination for the mind to picture and view, as if now present, the\ntime when the Great Spirit allowed a peaceful stillness to dwell\naround thee, when only light and balmy winds were permitted to pass\nover thee, hardly ruffling the mirror surface of the waters that\nsurrounded thee. Nothing then disturbed thy quiet and deep solitude,\nbut the chippering of birds, and the rustling of the leaves of the\nsilver-barked birch; or to hear, by evening twilight the sound of the\ngiant Fairies as they with rapid step, and giddy whirl, dance their\nmystic dance on thy lime-stone battlements.'\n\n\"Several old buildings are now standing, the frames of which were\nbrought from old Mackinaw in the year 1764, which gives an odd and\nvenerable appearance to the village. Mr. Schoolcraft had the door of\nMarquette's Chapel pointed out to him, which had been brought over\nfrom Mackinaw, and hung to one of the edifices of the town.\n\n\"The village formerly received its greatest support from the fur\ntrade, when in the hands of the late John Jacob Astor, Esq., being, at\nthat time, the outfitting and furnishing place for the Indian trade.\nHis outfits extended then to the head waters of the Mississippi, on\nthe northwest, south to Chicago, southwest by the way of Green Bay, to\nthe Mississippi, and Missouri Rivers, in fact his business was carried\non throughout all the then northwest Indian country. This trade became\nextinct in 1834, when Mr. Astor sold out to Ramsey Crooks, Esq., of\nNew York, and others, but it lacked the energy and controlling\ninfluence which had been characteristic of Mr. Astor's business, and\nafter languishing a few years, the new company became involved and\ntheir outposts were discontinued.\n\n\"The place since then has been mostly supported from the fisheries,\nwhich are excellent and extensive. It is estimated that twenty\nthousand barrels of white fish and trout are exported from this\ncountry alone annually, estimated worth, at this point, about one\nhundred and fifty thousand dollars. A material support is also derived\nfrom the immense amount of trade.\n\n\"The population is fluctuating, owing to the influx of strangers\nseeking health, traders, and Indians; but the permanent inhabitants of\nthe village are about one thousand and fourteen, as per census of\n1854.\n\n\"Fort Mackinac stands on a rocky eminence immediately above the town,\nand is at present garrisoned by a company of United States troops: a\nchaplain (Episcopalian) is attached to the garrison, and services are\nheld there every Sabbath. Fort Holmes occupies the highest bluff of\nthe island, and is not at present occupied: this fortress was erected\nby the English, while they held possession of the island, during the\nlast war, and by them named Fort George. But after the surrender of\nthe island in 1814, the name was altered in compliment to the memory\nof Major Holmes of the United States Army, who fell in the unfortunate\nattack upon the island by Col. Croghan. The gallant Holmes was killed\na little below the rise of ground, as you descend toward the Dousman\nfarm-house, on your way to the British landing. On Fort Holmes is a\ntriangular station for the government engineers, who have been at work\nsome years in the straits.\n\n\"Visitors mounting the station on a still clear day, have a view of\nthis island, the straits with its curves, islands and points, and the\nadjacent shores, which well repays them, especially on a calm day, for\nthe lake and green woods lie in stillness before them, taking the mind\nfor hundreds of years back, to the time when thousands of warriors\noccupied the prominent points brought within view.\n\n\"Off to the northwest, some four or five miles, lies the mixed\nCanadian and Indian settlement of Point St. Ignace and Moran Bay, with\na few farms, which give a more agreeable view to the otherwise\nsameness of wood and water. There the Indians, called the\nAu-se-gum-ugs, lived until driven away by the Ojibwas and Ottawas, as\nthey extended their conquests south and west. There also the Iroquois\nwere permitted to locate and live before the French reached and\nsettled on the St. Lawrence, there some of the Iroquois were massacred\nand driven off by the Ojibwas and Ottawas. North of this can be seen\nthe outlines of the bluff called \"Rabbit Sitting,\" northeasterly the\nSt. Martin Islands, the entrance of the Chenoux, and the dividing\nridge between this and the Saut St. Mary. On the northeast can be seen\nthe Detour, and to the south, Bois Blanc Light-House, and the\nCheboy-e-gun; and on the west the Straits of Lake Michigan, with\nWaugoohance Point and Light-House.\n\n\"To the northwest of the ridge, where the woods slope by a gradual\ndescent to the shores of the Island, is the place at which the English\nin the last war (1812), from six to eight hundred strong, composed of\na few English, Canadians, the majority being Indians, landed at night,\nand having secured Michael Dousman's cattle, at his farm adjoining the\nlanding, and succeeded during the night in reaching the hollow, which\nmay be seen on the way from Fort Mackinac to Fort Holmes, a little\nnorthwest of the present parade-ground, or nearly opposite the\nnorthwest rear gate of the present fort, with their cannon, which by\ndaylight, was placed in battery on the knoll south of the hollow\nbefore alluded to, which by its position completely commanded the\nwestern gate and the garrison itself, took their station.\n\n\"At dawn the citizens of the village were roused, and told to flee to\na place called the Distillery, west of the present village, as the\nEnglish troops were about to attack the American fort, and that the\nEnglish commanding officer had pledged his word for the safety of the\nlives of those citizens who would flee to the place designated. This\nwas the first intimation the citizens had of war being declared\nbetween the United States and Great Britain. Soon a cannon shot was\nfired over the fort, its booming being also the first intimation the\nAmerican garrison had of the country being in a state of war. An\nEnglish officer appeared with a flag to summon the garrison to\nsurrender, stating the overwhelming force they had in command. The\nAmerican garrison, being short of one full company of men, was\nsurrendered, and the few troops taken and sent to Detroit on parole.\nAfter this the English built and occupied Fort George, (now called\nFort Holmes) between the years 1812 and 1814. The English government\npaid ten thousand pounds as prize-money to the volunteers and\nsoldiers, and merchandise and arms to the Indians. In the year 1836 I\nexamined the list or pay-roll for this prize-money; the names of all\nthose who participated in the taking of Fort Mackinac were there\nenrolled, the money was divided according to rank, and each person\nreceipted for his individual share.\n\n\"It is worth knowing, that by the treaty of Paris, of 1783,\nacknowledging the independence of the United States, and fixing its\nboundaries, Fort Mackinac fell under the jurisdiction of the United\nStates, and was surrendered, according to McKenzie, in 1794. In 1812\nit was taken, as before stated, by the English and their Indian\nallies. It resisted an attack from a strong detachment of the American\narmy and navy in 1814, under Col. Croghan, and was finally restored to\nthe United States by the treaty of Ghent.\n\n\"In 1814 Col. Croghan landed at the English Landing, under cover of\nthe guns of the American vessels. The troops moved from the landing,\nand had reached Mr. M. Dousman's farm-house. The skirmishing with\nthe English and Indians had already commenced. East from the house is\na ridge over which the road lay. On this ridge and back of it, also on\neach side of the road, the English were posted in force. The gallant\nMajor Holmes, on reaching the clearing near the house, formed his men\nfor a charge upon the enemy posted on the ridge. To encourage his\ntroops he led the charge. The English and Indians, seeing the strong\nforce, had commenced retreating, when an English sergeant thought he\nmight as well discharge the cannon before retreating with his\ncomrades, so accordingly applied the match. At this instant, Major\nHolmes was either killed by a grape shot, or by an accidental musket\nball. His death threw the Americans into a panic, and they immediately\ncommenced a retreat, which ended in confusion.\n\n\"When the fleet first appeared before the island, there was only one\ncompany of troops in the fort--had Col. Croghan then summoned it to\nsurrender, it would have been given up; but he sailed away, went and\nburnt the trading-houses at Old St. Joseph's Island, and from thence\nsent an expedition to the Saut St. Mary, under Major Holmes, who\nburned the North West Fur Company Houses on the Canada side, and\ncarried away all the personal property of individuals on the American\nside. Thus ten or twenty days were lost. In the mean time, the Indians\nhad come to the defense of Fort Mackinac, and, on the second\nappearance of Col. Croghan, they were prepared, and our troops\nshamefully defeated.\n\n\"This island, although the bluffs present the appearance of sterility,\nis covered with a strong soil, which is continually renovated by the\nspontaneous decomposition of calcareous rock. The common growth of\ntrees on the island are the sugar-maple, beech, birch, white and\nyellow pine, white and red spruce, balsam fir, white cedar, iron wood,\nand the poplar; the trees now seen are the second and third growth. On\nthe northwestern part of Mr. Dousman's farm, a few of the old\npatriarchs of the forest are still standing.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n    Lake Superior -- Scenery -- Transparency of its waters --\n    Climate -- Isle Royale -- Apostles' Islands -- La Point --\n    Thunder Cape -- Cariboo Point -- A wonderful lake -- Romantic\n    scenery -- Pictured Rocks -- Rock Castle -- The Grand Portal\n    -- The Chapel -- Fluctuations in the waters of Lake Superior\n    -- Curious phenomena -- Retrocession of the waters -- Mirage\n    -- Iron mountains and mines -- Description of -- Products --\n    Shipments -- Copper -- Immense boulders -- Produce of the\n    mines for 1857 -- Shipment of copper from the Lake for 1858\n    -- Centre of the mining country -- Iron Mountains -- Copper\n    mines of Great Britain -- Coal -- Mackinaw, a great\n    manufacturing point -- Key to the Upper Lakes -- Commerce of\n    Lakes -- Growth of cities.\n\n\nLake Superior, though it possesses not all the vastness of the ocean,\nis yet equal in sublimity. In gazing upon its surface, whether spread\nout like a vast mirror reflecting the varying tints of the sky, or\nruffled by gently curling waves, or lashed into fury by the tempest,\none is impressed with the idea of the Infinite. It is known to be the\nlargest body of fresh water on the globe, being nearly four hundred\nmiles long from east to west, and one hundred and thirty wide. It is\nthe grand reservoir from whence proceed the waters of Michigan, Huron,\nand Erie. It gives birth to Niagara, the wonder of the world, fills\nthe basin of Ontario, and rolls a mighty flood down the St. Lawrence\nto the Atlantic.\n\nThis lake lies in the bosom of a mountainous region, where the Indian\nyet reigns and roams in his wonted freedom. Except an occasional\npicketed fort or trading house, it is yet a perfect wilderness. The\nentire country is rocky and covered with a stunted growth of\nvegetation such as is usual in high latitudes. The waters of this lake\nare marvelously clear, and, even at midsummer, are exceedingly cold.\nMr. Charles Lanman, who has written a most admirable book, entitled\n\"Summer in the Wilderness,\" says, \"In passing along its rocky shores,\nin my frail canoe, I have often been alarmed at the sight of a sunken\nboulder, which I fancied must be near the top, and on further\ninvestigation have found myself to be upward of twenty feet from the\ndanger of a concussion. I have frequently lowered a white rag to the\ndepth of one hundred feet and been able to discern its every fold or\nstain. The color of the water near the shore is a deep green; but off\nsoundings it has all the dark blue of the ocean.\"\n\nSpeaking of the climate, he says: \"In midsummer it is beyond compare,\nthe air is soft and bracing at the same time. A healthier region does\nnot exist on the earth, an assertion corroborated by the fact, that\nthe inhabitants usually live to an advanced age, notwithstanding the\nmany hardships. The common diseases of mankind are here comparatively\nunknown, and I have never seen an individual whose breast did not\nswell with a new emotion of delight as he inhaled the air of this\nnorthern wilderness.\"\n\nThe largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale. It is forty miles\nin length and from six to ten miles in width. Its hills reach an\naltitude of four hundred feet. During the winter season it is entirely\nuninhabited, but in the summer it is frequently visited, particularly\nby copper speculators. Near the western extremity of the lake are the\nApostles' Islands, which are detachments of a peninsula running out in\nthe same direction with Keweenaw, which is known as La Point. The\ngroup consist of three islands, which rise like gems from the water.\nThere is a dreamy summer about them which make them enticing as the\nHesperides of the ancients.\n\nThe two most prominent peninsulas are Thunder Cape and Cariboo Point.\nThunder Cape is about fourteen hundred feet high. It looms up against\nthe sky in grandeur, and is a most romantic spot. Cariboo Point is\nless lofty and grand in its appearance, but is celebrated for its\nunknown hieroglyphics painted upon its summits by a race which has\nlong since passed away. In the vicinity of the bluff are found the\nmost beautiful agates in the world.\n\nIn the northeastern part of the lake is an island situated about\ntwenty miles from the Canadian shore, which has a wonderful lake in\nits centre, about one mile in length. It is as beautiful as it is\nwonderful. It is imbosomed in the fastnesses of perpendicular cliffs,\nwhich rise to a height of seven hundred feet. It has but one outlet\nand is impassable even to a canoe. At the opening of this narrow chasm\nstands a column of solid rock which has a base of about one hundred\nfeet in diameter. The column rises, gradually tapering until it\nreaches a height of eight hundred feet. A solitary pine surmounts the\nsummit of this wonderful column. There it stands like the sentinel of\nthis calm, deep lake, whose silence and solitude are rarely ever\nbroken, and whose tranquil bosom has never been ruffled by the\nslightest breeze.\n\n[Illustration: Rock Chapel.]\n\n[Illustration: The Castles.]\n\nThe scenery on the shores of Lake Superior is in some places of the\nmost romantic character. About one hundred miles west of Saut St.\nMary, a range of cliffs are to be seen, what has been called the\n\"Pictured Rocks.\" They are a series of sandstone bluffs extending\nalong the shore of the lake for about five miles, and rising, in most\nplaces vertically from the water, from fifty to two hundred feet in\nheight. These towering cliffs have been worn away by the action of the\nlake, which for centuries has dashed an ocean-like surf against their\nbase. The surface of these rocks has been, in large portions,\nstrangely colored by bands of brilliant hues, which present to the eye\nof the voyager a singularly pleasing appearance. One of these cliffs\nresembles so much the turreted entrance and arched portal of some old\nfeudal castle that it has been called \"Rock Castle.\" Beyond this is\nanother architectural curiosity, denominated \"The Grand Portal,\" which\nconsists of an arched opening in the rocks. The cliff is composed of a\nvast mass, of a rectilinear shape, projecting out into the lake six\nhundred feet, and presenting a front of three hundred feet, and rising\nto a height of two hundred feet. An entrance has been excavated from\none side to the other, opening out into large vaulted passages which\ncommunicate with the great dome, some three hundred feet from the\nfront of the cliff. The Grand Portal, which opens out on the lake, is\nof magnificent dimensions, being one hundred feet high, and one\nhundred and sixty-eight feet wide at the water level. The distance\nfrom the verge of the cliff, over the arch to the water, is one\nhundred and thirty-three feet, leaving three feet for the thickness of\nthe rock above the arch itself. The extreme height of the cliff is\nabout fifty feet more, making in all one hundred and eighty-three\nfeet. It is impossible, adequately, to describe this wonderful scene.\nThe vast dimensions of the cavern, the vaulted passages, the rare\ncombination of colors, the varied effects of the light as it streams\nthrough the great arch and falls on the different objects; the deep,\nemerald green of the water, the unvarying swell of the lake, keeping\nup a succession of musical echoes; the reverberation of one's voice\ncoming back with startling effect, must all be seen and heard to be\nfully appreciated.\n\nNot far from this point is \"The chapel\" of the voyagers which nature\nhas cut out of the cliff thirty or forty feet above the lake. The\ninterior consists of a spacious vaulted apartment. An arched roof from\nten to twenty feet in thickness rests on four gigantic columns of\nrock. These columns consist of finely stratified rock, and have been\nworn into curious shapes. At the base of one of these pillars an\narched cavity or niche has been cut, access to which is had by a\nflight of steps formed by the projecting strata. The arrangement of\nthe whole resembles very much the pulpit of a church, while the arched\ncanopy in front, opening out to the voluted interior, with a flat\ntabular mass rising to a convenient height for a desk, and an isolated\nblock resembling an altar, all fashioned as appropriately as if formed\nby the hand of man, constantly impresses one that he is within the\nwalls of a church.\n\nIn the Geological Report, made by Foster and Whitney, to Congress, we\nfind the following remark: \"It is a matter of surprise, that so far as\nwe know, none of our artists, have visited this region, and given to\nthe world representations of scenery, so striking and so different\nfrom any which can be found elsewhere. We can hardly conceive of any\nthing more worthy of the artist's pencil, and if the tide of\npleasure-travel should once be turned in this direction, it seems not\nunreasonable to suppose, that a fashionable hotel may yet be built\nunder the shade of the pine groves near the chapel, and a trip thither\nbecome as common as one to Niagara now is.\"\n\nBeyond the grand portal, the rock, being less exposed to the force of\nthe waves, bears fewer marks of their destructive action. The entrance\nto Chapel river is at the most easterly extremity of a sandy beach,\nwhich extends for a quarter of a mile, and affords a convenient\nlanding place, while the drift terrace elevated about thirty feet\nabove the level of the lake, being an open pine plain, affords\nexcellent camping ground, and is the most central and convenient spot\nfor the traveler to pitch his tent, while he examines the most\ninteresting localities in the series which occur in the vicinity,\nparticularly the Castle and the Chapel.\n\nOne who had resided upon the shores of Lake Superior for several\nsummers says, \"Our attention has been directed to the fluctuations in\nthe level of its waters, and while we have failed to detect any ebb\nand flow corresponding with the tidal action, we have on the other\nhand noticed certain extraordinary swells, which appear to be\nindependent of the action of the sun and moon.\" The Jesuit Fathers in\n1670-1, had their attention called to these extraordinary swells. In\ntheir \"Relations,\" they say, \"We found at one time the motion of the\nwaters to be regular and at others extremely fluctuating. We have\nnoticed however, that at full moon and new moon, the tides change once\na day for eight or ten days, while during the remainder of the time\nthere is hardly any change perceptible. The currents set almost\ninvariably in one direction, namely toward Lake Michigan, and they\nalmost invariably set against the wind, sometimes with great force.\"\n\nMackenzie who wrote in 1789, relates a very curious phenomenon, which\noccurred at Grand Portage, on Lake Superior, and for which no obvious\ncause could be assigned. He says, \"the water withdrew, leaving the\nground dry, which had never before been visible, the fall being equal\nto four perpendicular feet, and rushing back with great velocity above\nthe common mark. It continued thus rising and falling for several\nhours, gradually increasing until it stopped at its usual height.\"\n\nProfessor Mather, who observed the barometer at Copper Harbor during\nthe prevalence of one of these fluctuations, remarks, \"As a general\nthing, fluctuations in the barometer accompanied the fluctuations in\nthe level of the water, but sometimes the water level varied rapidly\nin the harbor, while no such variations occurred in the barometer at\nthe place of observation. The variations in the level of the water may\nbe caused by varied barometric pressure of the air on the water,\neither at the place of observation or at some distant points. A local\nincreased pressure of the atmosphere at the place of observation would\nlower the water level, where there is a wide expanse of water; or a\ndiminished pressure, under the same circumstances, would cause the\nwater to rise above its usual level.\"\n\nIn the summer of 1834, according to the report of Foster and Whitney,\nmade to Congress, in 1850, an extraordinary retrocession of the waters\ntook place at Saut St. Mary. The river here is nearly a mile in width,\nand the depth of the water over the sandstone rapids is about two and\na half feet. The phenomenon occurred at noon. The day was calm but\ncloudy; the water retired suddenly, leaving the bed of the river bare,\nexcept for the distance of about twenty rods where the channel is\ndeepest, and remained so for the space of an hour. Persons went out\nand caught fish in the pools formed in the rocky cavities. The return\nof the waters was sudden and presented a sublime spectacle. They came\ndown like an immense surge, roaring and foaming, and those who had\nincautiously wandered into the river bed, had barely time to escape\nbeing overwhelmed. A similar event occurred in 1842, when the current\nset back from the rapids, and the water rose upward of two feet above\nthe usual mark.\n\nIn 1845, Foster and Whitney, while coasting in an open boat between\nCopper Harbor and Eagle River, observed the water rise up, at a\ndistance of a fourth of a mile to the northwest, to the height of\ntwenty feet. It curled over like an immense surge, crested with foam\nand swept toward the shore. It was succeeded by two or three swells of\nless magnitude, when the lake resumed its former tranquillity. At the\nsame time the mirage was beautifully displayed, and imaginary islands\nwere seen along the horizon. In 1849, they witnessed at Rock Harbor,\nIsle Royale, the ebbing and flowing of the water, recurring at\nintervals of fifteen or twenty minutes, during the entire afternoon.\n\nThe difference between the temperature of the air and the lake, gives\nrise to a variety of optical illusions known as _mirage_. Mountains\nare seen with inverted cones, headlands project from the shore where\nnone exist. Islands clothed with verdure or girt with cliffs rise up\nfrom the bosom of the lake. On approaching Keweenaw Point, Mount\nHoughton is the first object to greet the eye of the mariner. In\npeculiar stages of the atmosphere, its summit is seen inverted in the\nsky long before the mountain itself is visible. On the north shore the\nPaps, two elevated mountains near the entrance of Neepigon Bay, at one\ntime appear like hour glasses, and at another like craters, emitting\nlong columns of smoke, which gradually settles around their cones.\n\nThe mines and minerals of the northwest constitute the most striking\nfeature of the country, and at the present time one of the great\nsources of its wealth.\n\nThe centre of the mining country is called the Superior country, or\nthe northern peninsula of Michigan, but there is no reason to believe\nit is confined to this region. Coal and iron, the most valuable of all\nminerals are found in various places in the northwest. The principal\nand most valuable minerals found west of Mackinaw, are iron, copper,\nand lead. A general view of the mineral region may be found in Owen's\nGeological Survey of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Superior. Great\nbeds of iron are found in ridges or cliffs, some of which rise up to\nan immense height. Some of these ore-beds of Lake Superior are fifteen\nfeet in thickness, and one of them contains iron enough to supply the\nworld for ages. Above them are immense forests, suitable for charcoal.\n\nThe discovery of the iron mountains and mines of Lake Superior was\nmade in 1846, but they were not fully developed until the year 1855,\nwhen the ship canal at Saut St. Mary was completed. The mines are from\nthree to sixteen miles from Marquette, a thriving village of upward of\none thousand inhabitants, overlooking the lake, about one hundred and\nforty miles above the Saut. The mine nearest the lake is about two and\na half miles distant from Marquette, and bears the name of Eureka. The\nore is said to be of surpassing richness, and yields an iron of the\nbest quality, adapted to cutlery. The Jackson iron mountain, and the\nCleveland iron mountain, are fourteen and sixteen miles distant. They\nsend to Marquette an aggregate of one thousand tons per week. These\nmountains rise gradually to the height of six or seven hundred feet,\nand are a solid mass of iron ore, yielding from 50 to 60 per cent. of\nthe best iron. The New England iron mountain is two and a half miles\nbeyond the Cleveland mountain, and abounds with ore of equal richness.\nA mile or two further is the Burt mountain, and the same may be said\nof this, both as it regards quantity and quality, as of the others. A\nrailroad has been constructed from Marquette to the iron regions, and\nimmense quantities of ore and iron are transported over it daily.\n\nAll the hills and mountains surrounding Lake Superior, abound in\nvaluable minerals of which copper is the most abundant. It exists in\nevery variety of form. According to the opinion of the lamented\nHoughton, this region contains the most extensive copper mines in the\nknown world. The native copper boulder discovered by the traveler\nHenry in the bed of the Ontonagon river, and now in Washington,\noriginally weighed thirty-eight hundred pounds. A copper mass of the\nsame material, found near Copper Harbor, weighed twelve hundred\npounds. At Copper Falls, there is a vein of solid ore which measures\nnine feet in depth, and seven and a half inches in thickness. At Eagle\nriver a boulder was found weighing seventeen hundred pounds. The\nnumber of mining companies in operation on the American shore is\nupward of a hundred.\n\nThe Minnesota mine, fifteen miles from Ontonagon, during the year\nending January 1, 1857, produced 3,718,403 pounds of copper. The Cliff\nmine during the year, produced 3,291,229 pounds of copper. The Portage\nLake District, including Isle Royale, Portage, Huron, Quincy and\nPewabic shipped 539 tons of copper in 1857.\n\nThe Lake Superior miners estimate the total shipment of copper mineral\nfrom the lake during the year 1858, at 6,008 tons, of an average\npurity of 67 per cent--making the product of ingot copper about 4,000\ntons, worth in the market at present $1,840,000. Estimating the\npopulation of the copper region at 6,500 persons, this gives an annual\nproduct of about $280 for each man, woman and child. The shipments\nwere as follows: From Keweenaw Point 2,180 tons; from Portage Lake\n1,152 tons; from Ontonagon District 2,676 tons; total 6,008 tons.\n\nThe extent and importance of the copper mines of Superior, in relation\nto the general trade in that metal, may be estimated by the following\naccount of the amount of pure copper produced in other parts of the\nworld. The United Kingdom of Great Britain 14,465 tons, Norway 7,200\ntons, Russia 4,000, Mexico 500, Hesse Cassel 500, Hartz Mountains 212;\nSweden 2,000, Hungary 2,000, East Germany 443; making a total, out of\nAmerica, of 30,820 tons. The single District of Ontonagon can produce\nas much copper as the entire Kingdom of Great Britain. The copper\nmines of the United States, are doing their part as effectually in\nadding to the solid wealth of the country, as the gold mines of\nCalifornia, or the silver mines of the Arizonia. The copper mining\ncountries are another illustration of the principle upon which success\nis based, namely, that concentrated talent, effort and capital are\nnecessary to a development of the resources of a country.\n\nWhen we look into the manufacture of this article, we shall find a new\nelement in the future growth of towns to arise in this region. At\npresent, a large portion of this copper is shipped abroad to be\nsmelted. But is there not every reason, as well of economy as of\nmaterial, for carrying on smelting, and all other manufacturing\nprocesses, at the point of production? The cost of transporting the\nraw material is greater than that of carrying the manufactured\nproduct. But when all the elements of successful manufacturing exist\nwhere the raw material is found, then the economy of the process is\ndoubled. Of metals, of navigation, of food, we have shown there is an\ninexhaustible supply. But there is also coal near enough to supply the\nlast and only material which might be supposed wanting. Coal is found\nin the Southern Peninsula of Michigan, in abundance and of good\nquality. This coal is found at Jackson and at Lansing. This was a\nmatter of so much importance that Prof. Douglas, of the State\nUniversity, proceeded immediately to analyze it.\n\nThe following are the principal results of his analysis. It was made\nchiefly in reference to the manufacture of gas:--\n\n\"The coal was of the bituminous variety, having a jet black color and\nslaty structure. It was readily ignited, burning with a dull flame and\nsmoke, the fragments comminuting more or less by the heat. It had a\nspecific gravity of about 1.25.\n\n\"100 parts gave volatile matter 50.780, sulphur 4.028, iron 4.400,\nash 8.400, carbon (not volatilized) 41.600.\n\n\"The value of coal for the manufacture of gas is usually estimated by\nthe amount of volatile matter it yields at a full red-heat.\"\n\nOf ten samples of English coal, this had more volatile matter than\nsix. Of American coals, it had more of the burning principle than any,\nexcept one. The quality of this coal is unquestionably good, and its\ndistance from Mackinaw is no objection, since access can be obtained\nboth by water and railroad. Both the coal and iron used in the\nmanufactures of Cincinnati are brought from places distant from one\nhundred to five hundred miles; and yet scarcely any place in America\nhas prospered more by manufactures than the Queen of the West.\nMackinaw has more than the advantages of Cincinnati for manufactures.\nIt not only has iron and coal, but copper and lead, near enough for\nall the purposes of successful manufacture. Favorable indications of\ncoal exist within fifty miles south of the Straits, and indications\nalso exist of lead. When we consider these facts, and the vast extent\nof country, of inland oceans, and of streams around it, why should not\nMackinaw be a point of concentration for manufactures, as well as of\ndistribution for commerce?\n\nMackinaw is centrally situated in the mineral region, and with coal\nand hard wood for charcoal in perpetual abundance, and the cheapest\npossible mode of transportation, will become a great manufacturing\npoint, and be able to manufacture innumerable articles, which are now\nmade in Europe, and which our people have been compelled to import for\nuse, simply because the material hitherto employed has been of a\nquality unsuitable for such purposes. Besides the healthful and\nbracing temperature of this locality, when compared with Ohio and\nPennsylvania, whose summers are found to be exceedingly enervating,\nespecially to those employed in the manufacture of iron, affords\nadvantages, and offers inducements which cannot be overlooked, since\nin the physical strength and comfort of the workmen, is involved the\nall-important question of economy. If it should be asked, is the site\nsuch that a great city can be built upon it, without imperial wealth,\nlike to that of St. Petersburg, or with the artificial foundations\nlike to those of Chicago, or bankrupting successive companies like\nCairo on the Ohio,--the answer is at hand and decisive. At Mackinaw\nthere are no marshes to fill up or drain, no tide sands, no\nflood-washed banks, no narrow and isolated rocks or ridges, to\nintercept the progress of commercial growth and activity. On the\ncontrary, the lake rises under the heaviest rains but little, and\nbreaks its waves on a dry shore rising gradually far above its level.\nThere is no better natural site for the foundation of a city in the\nworld, nor one possessing more inviting or beautiful surroundings, and\nwhen we consider its available resources, it is evident that nothing\ncan prevent its rise and progress. The straits are so completely the\nkey of the Upper Lakes, Mackinaw must, as in the days of the fur\ntrade, unlock the vast treasures of the entire northwest. The shore of\nLake Superior, being but about fifty miles north of Mackinaw and\ndependent on a canal navigation, annually navigable sixty days less\nthan the straits, on account of ice, to say nothing of breakage, it is\nperfectly obvious that there can be no competing city further north.\n\nThe following from the Toledo Blade shows the immense importance of\nthis point as a key position:\n\n\"The immense commerce of the lakes, the growth of which has been\nunparalleled by anything in the history of the world, and the vast\nmineral, timber and agricultural resources of their shores, which are\neven now, only beginning to attract attention, may well awaken a\ndesire on the part of enterprise to get possession of the key position\nwhich is to command and unlock the future treasures of this vast\nempire. Already, six important commercial cities, with an aggregate\npopulation of about 350,000 inhabitants, have sprung up on these\nisland waters, and are the most flourishing of any away from the\nAtlantic coast. Others are struggling into notoriety on the borders of\nLake Superior, and must, at no very distant time, become important and\nactive places of business. But the place of all others, where we would\nexpect a city to spring up and grow rapidly into importance, is still\nundeveloped.\n\n\"The Straits of Mackinaw, four and a half miles wide, make the only\nnatural ferry communication between the great peninsula, enclosed by\nthe lakes and the rich mineral region lying on the southern border of\nLake Superior; and must, hence, be the terminus of all the great\nrailroad lines that traverse Michigan longitudinally and compete for\nthe trade north of the straits, now rapidly growing up into\nimportance. It must therefore be the point of radiation, eastward,\nthrough Canada; westward through the mineral region; and southward,\nthrough Michigan. Canada has already made grants of land for several\nimportant roads which must ultimately reach the straits; and lines are\nalso provided for by government grants, from the straits through the\nNorthern Peninsula, and from the straits southward to Fort Wayne by\nthe way of Grand Rapids, and to Toledo, through Lansing. The\nculminating point being thus settled for several roads, all others\nwill naturally centre at the same crossing, even if the coast line had\nnot made such a thing inevitable.\n\n\"The point which projects northward into the lake, from the Michigan\nPeninsula, to form this strait, is admirably located for a great city.\nIt is the site of old Fort Mackinaw, and in health and commercial\nposition, can have no rival in those southern waters. This point has\nbeen selected by a company of capitalists, on which to plant the\ncommercial city of the north; the Venice of the Lakes, foreshadowed in\nthe extract which we have placed at the head of the article. This new\ncity is to bear the name of the ancient fort and strait, and to be\ncalled Mackinaw. It will hold the key of all the northern lakes; and\nshould its growth be marked by energy and enterprise, will command the\ntrade of the greatest mining region in the world; be the chief depot\nof the northern fisheries; the outlet of an immense lumber trade; and\nthe focus of a great network of railways, communicating with tropics\non the south, and stretching out its iron arms, at no distant day, to\nthe Atlantic on the east, and Pacific on the west.\n\n\"The proposed city will have the advantage of the most salubrious\nclimate to be found in the temperate zone, and will be the resort of\nthose seeking health, as well as those seeking wealth. It has a\nnorthern position, being on the same parallel as Montreal; but the\nwinters are equable, and the summers though short, are mild and\npleasant, being modified by the great body of water which stretches\nout on every side, except at the south. As a manufacturing point it\nmay well command universal attention. The Lake Superior iron is known\nto be the best in the world, and coal and wood are at hand in the\ngreatest abundance; while communication by water is so wide as to\nleave nothing to desire on that head. It should be as famous for\nsmelting as Swansea, in England, for it must have unbounded supplies\nof iron and copper ore.\n\n\"But we have no space to speak of its commercial position. It must be\nseen at a glance that, as all the produce which flows through Chicago,\nMilwaukee, and the great West must sweep by on its way to the East,\nand all the goods and merchandise of the East, must be borne by its\nwharves on their way to the West, that it cannot fail to be a point\nwhich must spring at once into importance. The government, too, must\nhave a fort, a light-house, and customhouse there, which with the\nfisheries, must supply a large profitable business to its earlier\npopulation.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n    Lake Huron -- Eastern shore of Michigan -- Face of the\n    country -- Picturesque view -- Rivers -- Grand -- Saginaw --\n    Cheboy-e-gun -- Natural scenery -- Fort Gratiot -- White Rock\n    -- Saginaw Bay -- Thunder Bay -- Bois Blanc Island --\n    Drummond's Island -- British Troops -- St. Helena Island --\n    Iroquois Woman's Point -- Point La Barbe -- Point aux Sable\n    -- Point St. Vital -- Wreck of the Queen City -- St. Martin's\n    Island -- Fox Point -- Moneto pa-maw -- Mille au Coquin --\n    Great fishing places -- Cross Village -- Catholic Convent.\n\n\nLake Huron, which, with Lake Erie and St. Clair, washes the eastern\nboundary of the southern peninsula of Michigan, is two hundred and\nfifty miles long and its average width is about one hundred miles. Its\ndepth is about eight hundred feet. The southeastern shore of Michigan\npresents a level surface covered with a dense forest, at points\nmeeting the edge of the bank. The trees of this heavily-timbered land,\nwith their massive shafts standing close together, \"cast a gloomy\ngrandeur over the scene, and when stripped of their foliage appear\nlike the black colonnade of a sylvan temple.\" In advancing into the\ninterior, a picturesque and rolling country opens to view, covered\nwith oak-openings or groves of white oak thinly scattered over the\nground, having the appearance of stately parks. The appearance of the\nsurface of the country is as if it was covered with mounds, arranged\nwithout order, sometimes rising from thirty to two hundred feet in\nheight, producing a delightful alternation of hill and dale, which is\nsometimes varied by a rich prairie or burr-oak grove.\n\nThe principal rivers of the State are the Grand, St. Joseph's,\nKalamazoo, the Raisin, the Clinton, the Huron, and the Rouge. The\nGrand is two hundred and seventy miles in length, and has a free\nnavigation for steamboats which ply regularly between Lake Michigan\nand Grand Rapids, a distance of forty miles. The Saginaw empties into\nLake Huron and is navigable for sixty miles. These, with the others we\nhave named, interlock their branches running through different parts\nof southern Michigan, and while they beautify the landscape they\nafford water-power and fertilize the soil.\n\nThe river Cheboy-e-gun is the largest stream in the northern portion\nof the lower peninsula and empties into the Straits of Mackinaw\nopposite Bois Blanc Island. At its mouth is a village containing two\nsteam saw mills and one water saw mill. A light-house stands a mile or\ntwo east from this point. Brook-trout, bass, pike, pickerel, and\nperch, are caught at the entrance of the river. In the fall and spring\nnumerous water-fowl resort to the upper forks of the river and to the\nsmall lakes forming its sources. These lakes also abound with a great\nvariety of fish, which can be taken by spearing.\n\nThe natural scenery of Michigan is imposing. The extensive tracts of\ndense forests, clothed with the richest verdure, fresh as when it\nfirst came from the hands of the Creator; the prairies and lakes which\nabound, the wide parks, whose soil is entirely covered for miles with\nlarge and rich flowers, present a striking and agreeable contrast. The\nbeech and black walnut, the elm, the maple, the hickory, and the oaks\nof different species and large size, the lind and the bass-wood, and\nvarious other kinds of forest trees, plainly indicate the fertility of\nthe soil from whence they spring. Grape vines often hang from the\nbranches a foot in circumference, clustering around their trunks, or\nthickening the undergrowth along the banks of rivers; and, while the\nglades open to the sun like cultivated grounds, the more\nthickly-timbered forests, shut out from the sky by the mass of\nvegetation, present in summer a gloomy twilight.\n\nIn traveling along the main roads of Michigan, splendid tracts of\npark-like lawns sweep along the path for miles covered with flowers,\nbroken by prairies, thick forests, and lakes.\n\nFort Gratiot stands at the foot of Lake Huron and commands the\nentrance to the upper lakes. Advancing along the western shore of this\nlake the voyager sees a long, alluvial bank covered with a forest of\npine, poplar, beech, and hemlock.\n\nOn advancing further the banks become more elevated until they rise to\nforty feet in height. About fifty miles from Fort Gratiot, a large\nrock rises to the surface of the lake, a mile or so from the shore,\nwhich is called the \"White Rock.\" From the earliest period this rock\nhas been regarded as an altar or a landmark. It was to the early\nvoyagers a beacon to guide them in their course; but to the Indians it\nwas a place of oblation, where they offered sacrifices to the spirits\nof the lakes.\n\nSaginaw Bay is a large indentation of the shoreline like to that of\nGreen Bay in Lake Michigan, but not so large. Near its centre are a\nnumber of small islands. Twenty miles from its mouth stands the\nthriving town of Saginaw. From the northwesterly cape of Saginaw Bay\nto Flat Rock Point, the shore of Lake Huron presents a bank of\nalluvial soil, with a margin of sand along its border intersected with\nfrequent masses of limestone rock, in some places ground to fragments\nby the surging of the waves.\n\nThunder Bay is also another indentation made by the Lake. It was thus\ncalled from the impression that at this point the air was more than\nordinarily charged with electricity.\n\nBois Blanc Island, at the head of Lake Huron, stretches in the form of\na crescent between the Island of Mackinac and the lower peninsula of\nMichigan. It is from ten to twelve miles in length by three or four in\nbreadth. The lower part of this island is sandy, but the larger\nportion of it is covered with a fertile soil bearing a forest of elm,\nmaple, oak, ash, whitewood and beech. It has been surveyed and a\ngovernment light-house stands on its eastern point.\n\nIn the northern part of Lake Michigan are located Beaver Islands.\nThere are five or six of this group bearing different names. Big\nBeaver is the most considerable, and contains perhaps forty square\nmiles. These islands all lie in the vicinity of each other, and within\na few miles northwest of Grand and Little Traverse Bays in Lake\nMichigan. The Big Beaver was, up to July, 1856, in possession of the\nMormons, who claimed it as a gift from the Lord.\n\nAnother interesting locality is Drummond's Island, between the Detour\nand the False Detour. It was taken possession of by the British troops\nwhen they surrendered Fort Mackinaw in 1814. On this island they built\na fort and formed quite a settlement. Upon an examination of the\nboundary line between the United States and Great Britain, it was\nascertained that this island was within the jurisdiction of the\nformer, and it was accordingly evacuated by the British in 1828. The\nBritish subjects living on the island followed the troops, and the\nplace was soon deserted and became a desolation.\n\nSt. Helena Island is a small island near the Straits of Mackinaw, not\nfar from the shore of the northern peninsula, containing a few acres\nover a section of land. It is a great fishing station, and enjoys a\ngood harbor protected from westerly winds. Its owner, who has exiled\nhimself _a la Napoleon_, spends his time in fishing, and other\npursuits adapted to his mind.\n\nIn addition to the numerous islands constituting the surroundings of\nMackinaw there are a number of interesting localities denominated\n\"Points\", that we must not omit to mention. The first, because the\nmost important, and one which is connected with many historic\nassociations which we shall direct attention to, is the \"Iroquois\nWoman's Point,\" the Indian name for Point St. Ignatius on the opposite\nside of the straits from Mackinaw, distant between three and four\nmiles, about the same as from the Battery at New York to Staten\nIsland. The original inhabitants with their descendants have long\nsince passed away. Its present occupants are principally Canadians. It\nhas a Catholic chapel.\n\nPoint La Barbe, opposite to Green Island Shoals and Mackinaw, is a\nprojection of the upper peninsula into the straits. It is four miles\ndistant from Gross Cape, and derives its name from a custom which\nprevailed among the Indian traders in olden time on their annual\nreturn to Mackinaw of stopping here and putting on their best apparel\nbefore making their appearance among the people of that place.\n\nAbout half way between Mackinaw and Cheboy-e-gun, a projection from\nthe lower peninsula into the straits, is Point aux Sable. Point St.\nVital is a cape projecting into Lake Huron from the southeastern\nextremity of the upper peninsula. There is a reef of rocks off this\npoint where the steamer Queen City was wrecked. On a clear day this\npoint may be seen from Fort Holmes, and it presents an enchanting\nview. The St. Martin's Islands are also in full view from this point.\n\nIn the southwestern part of the straits, about twenty miles distant\nfrom Mackinaw, is Fox Point. A light-house has been erected on a shoal\nextending out two miles into the lake. Moneto-pa-maw is a high bluff\nstill further west, on the shore of Michigan, where there are fine\nfisheries, and is a place of considerable resort. Further west, near\nthe mouth of the Mille au Coquin river which empties into Michigan,\nthere are also excellent fisheries, and to those who are fond of this\nkind of sport apart from the profit connected with it, there is no\nplace in the world possessing half the attractions as Mackinaw and its\nsurroundings, while the \"Mackinaw trout,\" with the \"Mackinaw boat\" and\nthe \"Mackinaw blanket,\" are famous over the world.\n\nBetween Little Traverse and Mackinaw is the village of Cross, or La\nCrosse. The following interesting account of a visit to that place is\ntaken from the Mackinaw Herald in 1859:\n\n\"The name of this village--'Cross,' recalls to one's mind, some\nreminiscences connected with the early history of the Indian\nMissions. Suffice it to observe, that it derives its name from the\ncircumstance of a large cross having stood for many years on the brow\nof the hill, on which the present Indian village stands, planted there\nby some of the followers of James Marquette, during their explorations\nand missions in this part of the country. The old cross was of oak,\nand was still standing about forty-five years ago. Recently it has\nbeen replaced by another. An old Indian, called _The Short-Arm_, over\nwhose head some eighty winters had passed, was still living in 1836,\nand who, when a little boy, recollected to have seen the last\nMissionary of this place. 'I am old, my children,' said the aged\nMissionary, 'and I wish to die among my own people--I must leave you.'\nHe left; and in the course of time the Arbre-Croche Indians relapsed\ninto Paganism. They continued in this state until a young Christian\nOttawa, named _Aw-taw-weesh_, who had just returned from among the\nCatholic Algonquins in Canada, appeared among them and taught\nreligion. He became also, in some respects, what Cadmus was of old, or\nGuess among the Cherokees--the first teacher of letters, among his\npeople. As writing paper was then scarce, at least among the Indians,\nhe taught them to write on birch bark, with sharpened sticks, instead\nof pens. This man is still living. He is now old, poor, almost\nentirely blind; and although having been a real benefactor to his\npeople, he may go down to his grave, unpitied, and unknown.\n\n\"But awakened by his teachings, the Indians afterward called loudly on\nMissionaries to come among them, and they have had them during the\npast thirty or forty years.\n\n\"At this day two Catholic Clergymen and a Convent of four Brothers and\ntwelve Sisters--being a religious community, of the Third Order of St.\nFrancis--are stationed at this place. But, to return: As rough\nvoyaging generally gives keen appetite, so the party did ample justice\nto the eatables, which had been prepared by the Indians. Perhaps some\nreader at a distance might suppose this supper to have been taken in a\n_wigwam_; with the fire-place in the centre, a hole above for the\nescape of smoke; and the party squatting down upon the ground, with\nlegs crossed in tailor fashion, around a single dish: no, no; but it\nwas prepared in a good, substantial house; on a table with a\ntable-cloth, with crockery, dishes, tea-cups and saucers, and knives\nand forks, such as are used by common white folks. Then there stood\nthe waiters, ready to assist the double-handed manipulations going on\nat the table. At a convenient hour, the party separated for the night;\nthe agent was put in possession of the clergyman's house, then\ntemporarily absent on a mission, by the Rev. Mr. Weikamp, the Superior\nof the Convent.\n\n\"The next day, after the forenoon services of the church at the\nvillage, the agent and party, according to previous invitation, went\nto the Convent for dinner. Arrived there, they were introduced first\ninto a log cabin, situated at some distance in the rear of the\nconvent, occupied by the four Brothers, belonging to the order, and\nthe Rev. Superior. He occupies a single room, in real new-settler\nstyle. This is his sitting-room, library, study and bed-room. He has\ntraveled in Europe, and some parts of Asia; he has various objects of\ncuriosity; and among these is a silver coin of about the size and\nvalue of a Mexican quarter of a dollar, which he brought with him from\nJerusalem. This piece of money is said to be one of the kind of which\nJudas received thirty pieces, from the chief priests and magistrates,\nthe price for which he sold his Divine Master. Another thing, is a\nTurkish pipe, with its long, pliable stem, with which the lover of the\n'weed' could regale himself without being annoyed by the smoke, as\nusual; for the pipe, which is made somewhat in the shape and of the\nsize of a small decanter and half filled with water is so arranged\nthat while the wet tobacco is burning in the cup on the top, the\nsmoke, during suction at the stem, descends through a tube into the\nwater, and none of it escapes visibly, into the open air. The Rev. Mr.\nWeikamp, the Superior, is a German, and speaks English fluently. He is\nin the prime of life, and is full of energy and perseverance. He is\nnot one of those who, from the fact of belonging to a religious order,\nmay be supposed to be gloomy, with head bowed down, not hardly daring\nto cast his eyes up into the beautiful light of the heavens; but he\nconverses with freedom, ease and assurance; and he relishes a joke as\nwell as any man, when it comes _a propos_. A fanciful peculiarity,\nthough nothing strange in it, attends his steps wherever he goes, in\nthe shape of a small black dog called \"Finnie,\" with a string of small\nhorse-bells round his neck. \"Finnie\" has two black, watery and\nglistening spots in his head for eyes, which seem ready to shoot out\nfrom their sockets, especially when spoken to. When told in German, to\nspeak, 'Finnie' begins to tremble--he shakes his head--jingles his\nbells; and utters a kind of guttural snuffling, and half-suppressed\ngrowl or bark. But, as we are not acquainted with the German language,\nwe cannot say, that \"Finnie\" pronounces it well!\n\n\"Dinner being announced at the convent, the party went over with the\nSuperior to partake of it. Everything about the table was scrupulously\nneat--an abundance of the substantial of good living had been prepared\nby the Sisters. Some time after dinner the vesper bell rang at the\nconvent; and by special permission, the party were shown into the\nchoir usually occupied by the Brothers alone during the services of\nthe church. This was on one side of the altar; and on the other, was a\nsimilar choir for the sisters. In the body of the church, the Indians\nor others are admitted. For a few moments after entering, all was\nsilence;--but the priest having intoned the vespers, the sweet tones\nof a large melodeon suddenly swelled through the sanctuary, mingling\nwith the voices of the sisters. This for a time had a singular effect.\nTo hear music in these wild woods, far away from civilized society\nwhere instrumental music forms part of the ordinary pleasures and\namenities of life, served to recall to one's memory other days and\nother climes. After vespers, the Superior of the convent conducted the\nparty through the building to view it. The dimensions are: 160 feet\nlong, 80 wide, and 28 feet high. There are two court yards, each 40 by\n40 feet, and the church also 40 by 40, placed between them. When\nfinished, this building will contain 108 bedrooms, a large schoolroom,\ncarpenter and blacksmith shops, dining-rooms, kitchen, store-rooms,\nhalls, corridors, &c. It will be separated into two parts; one to be\noccupied exclusively by the Sisters, and the other by the Brothers. At\nthe time of this visit, there were some cultivated flowers yet in\nbloom in the court-yard. So much for the material building: and now a\nhasty sketch of this religious order may not be unacceptable to some\nof our readers.\n\n\"This religious community, is the Third Order of St. Francis, of\nAssisi, instituted in Europe by this saint in 1221. It was established\nfor persons married or single living in the world, united by certain\npious exercises, compatible with a secular state. It soon spread over\nall Europe, and even kings and queens on their thrones vied with the\npoorest peasants in eagerly entering this order, to share the labors\nof the mission within its sphere, and to participate in its spiritual\nbenefits. Among the persons of this order, who were expelled from\ntheir cloister homes during the revolution which agitated Europe in\n1848, was Sister Teresa Hackelmayer. This nun, at the proposal of a\nmissionary father in America, and by permission of her Superior, came\nto New York in the winter of 1851, to establish a community of her\norder in that State. But meeting with disappointment there, she\nfinally established a convent at Oldenburg, in the State of Indiana.\nIn 1851, a second convent of this order was founded at Nojoshing, four\nmiles from Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan. In 1853, the Rev. J. B.\nWeikamp founded, in West Chicago, the third convent of this order, and\nalso formed a community of Brothers;--and in October 1855, with the\nunderstanding of Bishop Baraga, then Vicar Apostolic of Upper\nMichigan, he transferred those two communities to 'Cross Village'--his\npresent location.\n\n\"The company having ranged through the building, as observed, took a\nwalk outside. From the south side of the convent, a broad walk is laid\nout reaching to an inclosure of some forty feet square, at the\ndistance of about fifteen rods. Another and narrower walk through the\ncentre of this inclosure leads to a small square building, on the\nopposite side, having a four-sided roof meeting in a point, and\nsurmounted by a cross. On entering this building, a lounge or settee,\nstands in front, and on the wall above it, hangs a piece of board or\ncanvass, painted black, on which are human skulls of different sizes,\neach with two cross bones painted in white. A trap-door is raised from\nthe floor, and a deep, spacious vault is opened to view: this is the\nplace of burial for the Superior of the convent. On the outside, the\nspaces on either side of the little walk are intended to be the last\nresting-places of the brothers and sisters. It is a solemn thought to\nsee men thus prepare deliberately for _Death!_ But as the party\nretraced their steps in such cheerful, good humor, loitering toward\nthe convent, one might have supposed that the beautiful weather, the\nbright sunshine, and the bracing air had, for the time, scattered away\nall thoughts of death. Among the questions proposed to the Superior\nwas, 'Whether at any time the brothers and sisters were allowed to\nhave social, familiar intercourse with each other?' The Superior\nanswered, in substance, that they were not; nor even allowed to speak\nto each other, without permission of the Superior. 'Then according to\nyour principle,' some one rejoined, 'the world would soon come to an\nend!' The remark raised a general laugh, in which the Superior himself\njoined heartily.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n    Three epochs -- The romantic -- The military -- The\n    agricultural and commercial -- An inviting region -- Jesuit\n    and Protestant missions -- First Protestant mission -- First\n    missionary -- Islands of Mackinac and Green Bay -- La Pointe\n    -- Saut St. Mary -- Presbyterians -- Baptists -- Methodists\n    -- Revival at Fort Brady -- Ke-wee-naw -- Fon du Lac --\n    Shawnees -- Pottawatimies -- Eagle River -- Ontonagon -- Camp\n    River -- Iroquois Point -- Saginaw Indians -- Melancholy\n    reflections -- Number of Indians in the States and\n    Territories.\n\n\nThe history of this region, in the language of one, exhibits three\ndistinct and strongly marked epochs. The first may be properly\ndenominated the romantic, which extends to the year 1760, when its\ndominion passed from the hands of the French to the English. This was\nthe period when the first beams of civilization had scarcely\npenetrated its forests, and the paddles of the French fur trader swept\nthe lakes, and the boat songs of the _voyageurs_ awakened the tribes\non their wild and romantic shores.\n\nThe second epoch is the military, which commenced with the Pontiac\nwar, running down through the successive struggles of the British, the\nIndians, and the Americans, to obtain dominion of the country, and\nending with the victory of Commodore Perry, the defeat of Proctor, the\nvictory of General Harrison and the death of Tecumseh, the leader of\nthe Anglo-savage conspiracy on the banks of the Thames.\n\nThe third may be denominated the enterprising, the hardy, the\nmechanical, and working period, commencing with the opening of the\ncountry to emigrant settlers, the age of agriculture, commerce, and\nmanufactures, of harbors, cities, canals, and railroads, when the\nlandscapes of the forest were meted out by the compass and chain of\nthe surveyor, when its lakes and rivers were sounded, and their\ncapacity, to turn the wheel of a mill or to float a ship, were\ndemonstrated, thus opening up avenues of commerce and industry. Its\nwild and savage character has passed away, and given place to\ncivilization, religion, and commerce, inviting the denizens of\nover-crowded cities to its broad lakes and beautiful rivers, its rich\nmines and fertile prairies, and promising a rapid and abundant\nremuneration for toil.\n\nWe have alluded to the labors and sacrifices of the Jesuit\nmissionaries in the early period of the history of the northwest, and\nit is right and proper that the labors of the Protestant missionaries,\nthough of a much later period, should not be forgotten. The Jesuit\nfathers were not alone in sacrifice and toil in introducing the Gospel\namong the tribes of the northwest. The first Protestant missions\nestablished in this region, as far as we have been able to learn, were\nthose of the Presbyterian Church on the Island of Mackinac and at\nGreen Bay.\n\nThe first missionary who visited Mackinaw was the Rev. David Bacon,\nfather of the Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D., of New Haven. He was sent out\nby the Connecticut Missionary Society in 1800, and commenced his\nmission in Detroit, where, after remaining a year or two, he\nrelinquished his field to a Moravian missionary, Rev. Mr. Denky, and\nvisited the Indians on the Maumee. From this he returned to Detroit,\nand from thence went to Mackinac, where he remained until the\nmissionary society was compelled, from want of funds, to recall their\nmissionary.\n\nThe following interesting account was given by C. J. Walker, Esq.,\nbefore the Historical Society of Detroit:\n\n\"The Connecticut Missionary Society is, I believe, the oldest\nMissionary Association in America. It was organized in June, 1795,\nthe General Association of Connecticut, at its annual meeting that\nyear, having organized itself into a society of that name. Its object\nwas 'to Christianize the heathen in North America, and to support and\npromote Christian knowledge in the new settlements within the United\nStates.' For some years its efforts were principally directed to\nsending missionaries 'to the new settlements in Vermont, New York, and\nPennsylvania,' and subsequently 'New Connecticut,' or the Western\nReserve of Ohio, became an important field of its operations. The\ntrustees, in June, 1800, determined 'that a discreet man, animated by\nthe love of God and souls, of a good common education, be sought for,\nto travel among the Indian tribes south and west of Lake Erie, to\nexplore their situation and learn their feelings with respect to\nChristianity, and so far as he has opportunity to teach them its\ndoctrines and duties.' A very sensible letter of 'Instructions' was\nadopted and a long message 'to the Indian tribes bordering on Lake\nErie' prepared, showing very little knowledge of Indian mind and\ncharacter. Mr. David Bacon presented himself as a candidate for this\nsomewhat unpromising field of labor. His son says he was one of those\nmen who are called visionary and enthusiasts by men of more prosaic\nand plodding temperament. He had not a liberal education, but was a\nman of eminent intellectual powers and of intensely thoughtful habits,\nand beside a deep religious experience, he had endeavored diligently\nto fit himself for a missionary life, the self-denying labors of which\nhe ardently coveted. On examination Mr. Bacon was accepted.\n\n\"On the 8th of August, 1800, Mr. Bacon left Hartford on foot with his\npack upon his back, and on the 4th of September he was at Buffalo,\nhaving walked most of the distance. On the 8th, he left on a vessel\nfor this city, which he reached after a quick and pleasant voyage on\nthe 11th. He was made welcome at the house of the commandant, Major\nHunt, where, I believe, his first religious services were held. Gen.\nUriah Tracy, of Litchfield, Conn., General Agent of the United States\nfor the Western Indians, was then here, and, together with the local\nIndian agent, Jonathan Schieffelin, took an active interest in the\nmission of Mr. Bacon. John Askin, Esq., the same liberal-minded\nmerchant, who so essentially befriended the Moravians twenty years\nbefore, and Benjamin Huntington, a merchant here, formerly of Norwich,\nConn., rendered him valuable information and assistance. Learning from\nthese sources that the Delawares at Sandusky, were about to remove,\nthat the Wyandottes were mostly Catholics, and that there were no\nother Indians 'south and west of Lake Erie,' among whom there was an\ninviting field of labor, his attention was turned to the north, and,\nwith the advice of these judicious friends, on the 13th of September,\nhe took passage with General Tracy in a government vessel bound for\nMackinac, and went to Harson's Island, at the head of Lake St. Clair,\nnear which there was quite an Indian settlement. Although only forty\nmiles distant, he did not reach there until the 17th, being four days\nupon the voyage. Jacob Harson or Harsing, as it was originally\nspelled, the proprietor of this island, was an Albany Dutchman, who,\nin 1766, on appointment of Sir Wm. Johnson, came to Niagara as Indian\nblacksmith and gunsmith, and his original commission or letter of\nappointment, written by Sir William, is now before me. On the breaking\nout of the Revolution, finding Mr. Harson friendly to the Americans,\nthe British stripped him of his property and sent him, sorely against\nhis will, to this frontier. He established himself upon the island as\nearly as 1786, where his descendants now reside, acquired great\ninfluence with the Indians, and lived in a very comfortable manner. He\nreceived Mr. Bacon in this beautiful retreat, with great kindness and\nhospitality, and he thanks the Lord that he is provided a comfortable\nhouse, a convenient study, and as good a bed and as good board as I\nshould have had if I had remained in Connecticut. I know of no place\nin the State of New York so healthy as this, I believe the water and\nthe air as pure here as in any part of New England, and I have never\nbeen before where venison and wild geese and ducks were so plenty, or\nwhere there was such a rich variety of fresh-water fish. There were\nmany Indians in the vicinity. Mr. Harson encouraged the establishment\nof a mission, and Mr. Bacon deemed it a most favorable opening.\nBernardus Harson, a son of Jacob, was engaged as interpreter. He\nreturned to Detroit on the same vessel with General Tracy, Sept. 30th,\nto attend an Indian Council which was held here on the 7th of October,\nwhen he was formally introduced to the Indians by General Tracy, and\nwas most favorably received. He returned to the island and remained\nuntil the Indians departed for their winter hunting grounds, when he\nleft for Connecticut, where he arrived about the middle of December.\nHe was soon ordained to the ministry, and I believe married, for he\nreturned with a young wife of whom nothing is heard previously.\n\n\"Late in January 1801, Mr. Bacon commenced his return journey with\nhis wife and her brother, Beaumont Parks, Esq., now of Springfield,\nIllinois, a young man who came with him to learn the Chippewa language\nand to become a teacher. The sleighing leaving them they remained at\nBloomfield, Ontario county, New York, until spring, and did not reach\nhere until May 9th. Mr. Bacon's plan was to remain at Detroit, until\nhe became so familiar with the Indian language that he could\nsuccessfully prosecute his mission. He remained here until the spring\nof 1802, holding regular religious services in the Council House. For\na time he preached twice upon the Sabbath, but the afternoon\nattendance being thin, he accepted a call from the settlement on the\nriver Rouge to preach to them half a day. To aid in defraying expenses\nhe commenced keeping a school in the house where he lived on St. James\nstreet, just in the rear of the Masonic Hall, and in this he was\nassisted by his wife. One at least of our present fellow citizens was\na pupil of Mr. Bacon, and has pleasant memories of that little school.\nAmid many discouragements the study of the Chippewa was pursued by\nthis missionary family, and although they made 'but slow progress' and\nit was 'hard work to commit their words to memory' and 'extremely\ndifficult to construct a sentence according to the idioms of their\nlanguage,' they 'hope and expect we shall be able to surmount every\ndifficulty.'\n\n\"While thus toilfully but hopefully preparing for his anticipated\nwork, getting acquainted with Indians, their life and character, and\nas yet uncertain at what precise point to commence his mission, Mr.\nDenhey, a Moravian missionary, desired to occupy the field upon the\nSt. Clair River, which Mr. Bacon in some measure occupied the year\nbefore, and to this Mr. Bacon assented. His attention had been called\nto Mackinac and L'Arbre Croche, but he resolved to visit the Indians\nupon the Maumee, and ascertain by personal interviews and examination\nwhat encouragement there was for a mission in that vicinity. For this\npurpose, with his brother-in-law and a hired man, on 29th of April,\n1802, he left in a canoe for the 'Miami,'as the Maumee was then\ncalled. He found most of the Indian chiefs engaged in a drunken\ndebauch, and it was not until the 14th of May, and after repeated\nefforts, that he succeeded in gathering a full council, and addressing\nthem upon the subject of establishing a mission among them. He felt it\nhis duty to have translated the message sent to the Indians by the\nMissionary Society. The poor savages listened courteously to this long\npiece of abstruse theological narrative and argument, but they must\nhave been terribly bored, notwithstanding Mr. Bacon's efforts to\n'express the ideas in language better adapted to the capacity and more\nagreeable to their ways of speaking.' No wonder that Little Otter was\n'too unwell to attend in the afternoon.' After this translation, Mr.\nBacon made a well conceived speech of considerable length, setting\nforth the advantages which the Indians would derive from a mission.\nThere was no little point in the polished reproof of Little Otter, in\nthe commencement of his speech, who said: 'Now brother, if you will\nlisten to us we will give you an answer. But it is our way to be very\nshort. Our white brothers, when they make speeches, are very lengthy.\nThey read and write so much that they get in a great many little\nthings. But it is not so with your red brothers. When we go on any\ngreat business and have any great things to say, we say them in a few\nwords.' With no little ingenuity, but with apparent courtesy, these\nsons of the forest declined a mission in their midst. The gist of the\nreply is contained in the following sentence: 'Brother, your religion\nis very good; but it is only good for white people. It will not do for\nIndians, they are quite a different sort of people.'\n\n\"On the following day Mr. Bacon started for Detroit, and remained\nhere until June 2d, when, with his family, he removed to\nMissilimackinac, then the great centre of Indian population in our\nTerritory. Here he remained until August 1804, perfecting himself in\nthe language, teaching, preaching and pursuing the other labors\nincident to his mission. He very clearly saw that a successful Indian\nmission involved no inconsiderable expenditure in establishing schools\nand in educating the Indians in agriculture and the ruder arts of\ncivilization. These expenditures were too large for the means of the\nMissionary Society, and in January, 1804, they directed the mission to\nabandoned, and that Mr. Bacon should remove to the Western Reserve.\nThe intelligence of this reached Mr. Bacon in July, and in August he\nremoved and became the first founder of the town of Tallmadge, Ohio.\nThus ended this first Protestant effort to convert the Indians of\nMichigan to the faith of the cross. It was while Mr. Bacon was\nresiding here that Rev. Dr. Bacon was born. We may therefore, with\npride, claim him as a native of our beautiful city.\"\n\nSometime after a mission was established at La Pointe near the\nsouthern extremity of Lake Superior. The Mission at Mackinac was\nsubsequently revived and continued until 1837, when the population\nhad so entirely changed, and the Indians had discontinued their\nvisits for purposes of trade, that it was deemed best to abandon it,\nwhich was done, and the property sold. The Rev. Mr. Pitezel, in his\n\"Lights and Shade of Missionary Life,\" who visited the island in 1843,\nthus speaks of this mission: \"We visited the mission establishment\nonce under the care of the Presbyterian Church, but now abandoned. It\nis a spacious building, and was once thronged with native and\nhalf-bred children and youth, there educated at vast expense. Little\nof the fruit of this self-sacrificing labor is thought now to be\napparent, but the revelations of eternity may show that here was a\nnecessary and a very important link in the chain of events, connected\nwith the Christianization of benighted pagans.\" During the time of Mr.\nPitezel's visit, a large number of Indians of different tribes had\nassembled at the island, for the purpose of receiving their annuity,\namong which were several Christian Indians, from Saut St. Mary, Grand\nTraverse, and elsewhere. The Rev. Mr. Daugherty, a Presbyterian\nminister, from the latter place, accompanied his Indians, and had his\ntent among them for the purpose of keeping his sheep from the hands of\nthe wolfish white man, who would first rob him of his religion, and\nthen of his money.\n\nIn 1828, the Baptists established a mission at Saut St. Mary. This\nmission was opened under the most favorable auspices by the Rev. A.\nBingham, and continued in a state of prosperity for many years. In\n1843 it was still under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Bingham,\nwho for twenty years had been laboring to bring the Indians under\nChristian influence. Indian children were boarded in the mission\nestablishment, and a school was kept up, which, in the language of\none, would have been a credit to any land. The Rev. Mr. Porter, a\nCongregationalist missionary, also labored here. The labors of these\nmissionaries were greatly blessed, and numbers of officers and\nsoldiers at the fort and garrison, as well as Indians, were converted.\n\nThe Baptist missionaries extended their labors to various points on\nthe northern peninsula and on the shores of Lake Superior.\n\nThe Methodists commenced a mission at Saut St. Mary, under the labors\nof \"John Sunday,\" a converted Indian, soon after that established by\nthe Baptists. In 1831 a portion of the Oneida Indians removed to Green\nBay, and the Rev. John Clark was sent out as a missionary among them\nthe following year. In a report made by the missionary to the Board,\nhe thus describes his field of labor: \"The white settlement is located\non the left bank of the Fox River, extending up the river about five\nmiles from the head of the bay. The population is about one thousand,\nbut greatly amalgamated with the Menominee Indians, over whom it is\nsaid they have great influence. The Indian settlement is about\ntwenty-five miles from this place, on the left bank of the Fox river.\"\nMr. Clark preached at this settlement and at Green Bay on alternate\nSabbaths. Messrs. Marsh and Stevens, of the Presbyterian church, were\nlocated here, laboring among the Stockbridge Indians and kindly\nwelcomed Mr. Clark among them. These Indians emigrated from\nStockbridge, Mass., and were at one time under the pastoral care of\nJonathan Edwards. While this distinguished divine was missionary among\nthese Indians, at Stockbridge, he wrote his famous \"Treatise on the\nWill.\" Mr. Clark was cordially received by the Indian agent, Mr.\nSchoolcraft.\n\nIn 1833, he visited Saut St. Mary, and found a revival in progress.\nNearly all the officers, and thirty or forty soldiers, in Fort Brady\nhad been converted. The command was soon after removed to Chicago, and\nwas succeeded by another. A gracious revival followed his labors at\nthe fort, and officers and soldiers were seen bowing at the same\naltar, happy in the enjoyment of a common salvation. Still holding his\nconnection with Green Bay, he visited that place and preached in Fort\nHoward and also among his Indians who had removed to Duck Creek.\n\nAt Ke-wee-naw, John Sunday commenced a mission among the Chippewas,\nand in 1834 Mr. Clark visited that interesting field. He continued to\nsuperintend the missions in this region, until he volunteered as a\nmissionary for Texas, and the superintendence of the Indian mission\nwas given to the Rev. W. H. Brockway. The Rev. Mr. Pitezel labored at\nKe-wee-naw with great success for several years, preaching at the\ndifferent mines on the shores of Lake Superior. The Methodists also\nestablished a mission at Fon du Lac near the east shore of the\nWinnebago Lake. In the year 1830, a branch mission was organized among\nthe Wyandottes and Shawnees on the Huron river, and also one among the\nPottawatimees at Fort Clark on the Fox river, at which place, in 1837,\nupward of one hundred were converted.\n\nIn 1847 a mission was established at the Cliff Mine, on Eagle River, a\nstream which empties into Lake Superior, about twenty miles west of\nCopper Harbor. The Methodists have missions also at Ontonagon and\nCarp River, all of which are more or less prosperous.\n\nAt present this church has maintained missions and schools among small\nbands of Indians collected on reserves in Isabella and Oceana counties\nin the lower peninsula of Michigan. The Indians at the old mission in\nthe vicinity of Saut St. Mary, are assembling at Iroquois Point at the\nlower end of Lake Superior, and are supplied with a missionary. A\nmission was also established in the Bay Shore Reservation, among the\nSaginaw Indians, which still exists.\n\nIt is a matter of melancholy reflection, that the immense tribes, each\nof which could muster thousands of warriors in this vast region, have\ndwindled down to small and feeble bands. The same remark will apply to\nall the tribes in North America. The race is rapidly passing away, and\nthe nation, like that of Edom, will at no distant day become entirely\nextinct. The last report of the Secretary of the Interior, states,\nthat the whole number of Indians within the limits of the States and\nTerritories of the Union, does not now exceed three hundred and\ntwenty-five thousand.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n    Indian name of Michigan -- Islands -- Lanman's Summer in the\n    wilderness -- Plains -- Trees -- Rivers -- A traditionary\n    land -- Beautiful description -- Official report in relation\n    to the trade of the lakes -- Green Bay -- Grand Traverse Bay\n    -- Beaver Islands -- L'Arbre Croche -- Boundaries of Lake\n    Michigan -- Its connections -- Railroad from Fort Wayne to\n    Mackinaw -- Recent report of -- Amount completed -- Land\n    grants.\n\n\nThe Indian name of the State of Michigan, is Michi-sawg-ye-gan, the\nmeaning of which in the Algonquin tongue is the Lake country.\nSurrounded as it is almost entirely by water, it possesses all the\nadvantages of an island. It has numerous streams which are clear and\nbeautiful, abounding in fish. The surface of the western half (we\nallude now to the lower or southern peninsula) is destitute of rocks,\nand undulating. In the language of Lanman in his \"Summer in the\nWilderness,\" \"It is here that the loveliest of lakes and streams and\nprairies are to be found. No one who has never witnessed them can\nform any idea of the exquisite beauty of the thousand lakes which gem\nthe western part of Michigan. They are the brightest and purest\nmirrors the virgin sky has ever used to adorn herself. On the banks of\nthese lakes, grow in rich profusion, the rose, the violet, the lily\nand the sweet brier.\n\n\"A great proportion of Michigan is covered with white-oak openings.\nStanding on a gentle hill, the eye wanders away for miles over an\nundulating surface, obstructed only by the trunks of lofty\ntrees,--above you a green canopy, and beneath, a carpet of velvet\ngrass, sprinkled with flowers of every hue and form.\n\n\"The prairies are another interesting feature of Michigan scenery.\nThey meet the traveler at every point, and of many sizes, seeming\noften like so many lakes, being often studded with wooded islands, and\nsurrounded by shores of forests. This soil is a deep black sand. Grass\nis their natural production, although corn, oats and potatoes flourish\nupon them. Never can I forget the first time I entered White Pigeon\nPrairie. Sleeping beneath the shadows of sunset, as it was, the effect\nupon me was like that which is felt on first beholding the\nocean,--overpowering awe. All that the poet has said about these\ngardens of the desert is true.\n\n\"Burr Oak Plains. The only difference between these and the oak\nopenings, is the character of the trees and the evenness of their\nsurface. The soil is a mixture of sand and black loam. They have the\nappearance of cultivated orchards, or English parks; and on places\nwhere the foot of the white man has never trod, a carriage and four\ncould easily pass through. They produce both wheat and corn.\n\n\"The wet prairies have the appearance of submerged land. In them the\ngrass is often six or seven feet high. They are the resort of\nwater-fowl, muskrats, and otters.\n\n\"But the best and most fertile soil in Michigan is that designated by\nthe title of timbered land. It costs more to prepare it for the\nplough, but when once the soil is sown it yields a thousand-fold. And\nwith regard to their beauty and magnificence, the innumerable forests\nof this State are not surpassed by any in the world, whether we\nconsider the variety or grandeur of their production. This timber is\nneeded for prairie States, Lake cities, and exports.\n\n\"A friend of mine, now residing in western Michigan, and who once\nspent several years in Europe, thus writes respecting this region:\n\n\"'Oh, such trees as we have here! Magnificent, tall, large-leafed,\numbrageous. Vallombrosa, the far-famed Vallombrosa of Tuscany, is\nnothing to the thousand Vallombrosas here! A fig for your Italian\nscenery! This is the country where nature reigns in her virgin beauty;\nwhere trees grow, where corn grows; where men grow better than they do\nanywhere else in the world. This is the land to study nature in all\nher luxuriant charms, under glorious green branches, among singing\nbirds and laughing streams; this is the land to hear the cooing of the\nturtle-dove, in far, deep, cool, sylvan bowers; to feel your soul\nexpand under the mighty influences of nature in her primitive beauty\nand strength.'\n\n\"The principal inland rivers of Michigan, are the Grand River, the\nKalamazoo, the St. Joseph, the Saginaw, and the Raisin. The first\nthree empty into Lake Michigan, and are about seventy miles apart.\nTheir average length is about two hundred and fifty miles, and they\nare about thirty or forty rods in width. At present, they are\nnavigable about half their length for small steamboats and bateaux.\nTheir bed is of limestone, covered with pebbles. I was a passenger on\nboard the Matilda Barney, on her first trip,--the first steamer that\never ascended the St. Joseph, which I consider the most perfectly\nbeautiful stream that I ever have seen. I remember well the many\nflocks of wild turkeys and herds of deer that the 'iron horse'\nfrightened in his winding career. The Indian canoe is now giving way\nto the more costly but less beautiful row-boat, and those rivers are\nbecoming deeper and deeper every day. Instead of the howl of the wolf,\nthe songs of husbandmen now echo through their vales, where may be\nfound many comfortable dwellings.\n\n\"The Saginaw runs toward the north and empties into Lake Huron,--that\nsame Huron which has been celebrated in song by the young poet, Louis\nL. Noble. This river is navigable for sixty miles. The river Raisin is\na winding stream, emptying into Lake Erie, called so from the quantity\nof grapes that cluster on its banks. Its Indian name is Nummasepee,\nsignifying River of Sturgeons. Sweet river! whose murmurs have so\noften been my lullaby, mayst thou continue in thy beauty forever. Are\nthere not streams like thee flowing through the paradise of God?\n\n\"Notwithstanding the comparative newness of Michigan, its general\naspect is ancient. The ruin of many an old fort may be discovered on\nits borders, reminding the beholder of wrong and outrage, blood and\nstrife. This was once the home of noble but oppressed nations. Here\nlived and loved the Algonquin and Shawnese Indians; the names of\nwhose warrior chiefs--Pontiac the proud, and Tecumseh the brave--will\nlong be treasured in history. I have stood upon their graves, which\nare marked only by a blighted tree and an unhewn stone, and have\nsighed deeply as I remembered their deeds. But they have gone--gone\nlike the lightning of a summer day!\n\n\"It is traditionary land. For we are told that the Indian hunters of\nold saw fairies and genii floating over its lakes and streams, and\ndancing through its lonely forests. In these did they believe, and to\nplease them was their religion.\n\n\"The historian, James H. Lanning, Esq., of this State, thus writes, in\nalluding to the olden times: 'The streams rolled their liquid silver\nto the lake, broken only by the fish that flashed in their current, or\nthe swan that floated upon their surface. Vegetation flourished alone.\nRoses bloomed and died, only to be trampled by the deer or savage; and\nstrawberries studded the ground like rubies, where the green and sunny\nhillsides reposed amid the silence, like sleeping infants in the lap\nof the forest. The rattlesnake glided undisturbed through its\nprairies; and the fog which hung in clouds over its stagnant marshes\nspread no pestilence. The panther, the fox, the deer, the wolf, and\nbear, roamed fearless through the more remote parts of the domain, for\nthere were none to dispute with them their inheritance. But clouds\nthickened. In the darkness of midnight, and silence of the wilderness,\nthe tomahawk and scalping knife were forged for their work of death.\nSpeeches were made by the savages under the voice-less stars, which\nwere heard by none save God and their allies; and the war-song echoed\nfrom the banks of lakes where had never been heard the footsteps of\ncivilized man.'\n\n\"Then followed the horrors of war; then and there were enacted the\ntriumphs of revenge. But those sounds have died away; traced only on\nthe page of history, those deeds. The voice of rural labor, the clink\nof the hammer, and the sound of Sabbath-bells now echo in those\nforests and vales. The plough is making deep furrows in its soil, and\nthe sound of the anvil is in every part. A well-endowed University,\nand seminaries of learning are there. Railroads and canals, like veins\nof health, are gliding to its noble heart. The red man, in his\noriginal grandeur and state of nature, has passed away from its more\nfertile borders; and his bitterest enemy, the pale face is master of\nhis possessions.\"\n\nFrom a report made, by order of Congress, by Israel D. Andrews, in\n1853, in relation to the trade of the great lakes and rivers, we\nextract the following \"Michigan is the second of the great lakes in\nsize, being inferior only to Lake Superior, and in regard to situation\nand the quality of the surrounding soil and the climate is, in many\nrespects, preferable to them all. Its southern extremity, rising south\nin fertile regions, nearly two degrees to the south of Albany, and the\nwhole of its great southern peninsula being imbosomed in fresh waters,\nits climate is mild and equable, as its soil is rich and productive.\nThe lake is three hundred miles long by sixty in breadth, and contains\nsixteen thousand nine hundred and eighty-one square miles, having a\nmean depth of nine hundred feet. On the western shore it has the great\nindentation of Green Bay; itself equal to the largest lakes in\nEngland, being one hundred miles long and thirty broad. It is well\nsheltered at its mouth by the Traverse Islands, and has for its\naffluent the outlet of Winnebago and the Fox River.\n\n\"Grand Traverse Bay is a considerable inlet of Lake Michigan, which\nsets up into the lower peninsula, one hundred miles south from the\nIsland of Mackinac. It is a good farming and lumbering country. There\nare two mission stations and six or seven steam and water mills\nlocated at this point. It is now an organized county called Grand\nTraverse. The county seat is at Grand Traverse City, West Bay, where\nthey have a court-house and jail.\n\n\"L'Arbre Croche Village is an old Indian town, situated about\ntwenty-five miles southwest from Mackinaw, on the lower peninsula. It\nis composed mostly of Indians. It has a Catholic Church and a Home\nMission Station, with a teacher and other assistants to instruct the\nIndians in the English language. It has extensive clearings for miles,\nalong the banks of the lake shore, and extending from one to six miles\nback into the interior, indicating that once a large population must\nhave inhabited this section of the country.\n\n\"The principal tributaries of Lake Michigan are the Manistee, Great\nKalamazoo, and St. Joseph's rivers, from the southern peninsula of\nMichigan, the Des-Plaines, the O Plaines and Chee rivers, from\nIndiana, Illinois, and from the northern peninsula, the Menominee,\nEscambia, Noquet, White Fish and Manistee rivers. The lake is bounded\nto the eastward by the rich and fertile land of the southern\npeninsula, sending out vast quantities of all the cereal grains, equal\nif not superior in quality to any raised in the United States. It is\nbounded on the south and southwest by Indiana and Illinois, which\nsupply corn and beef of the finest quality, in superabundance, for\nexportation. On the west it is bounded by the productive grain and\ngrazing lands and lumber district of Wisconsin, and on the northwest\nand north by the invaluable and not yet half-explored mineral district\nof northern Michigan.\n\n\"The natural outlet of its commerce, as of its waters, is by the\nStraits of Mackinaw into Lake Huron, thence by the St. Clair River\ndown to the lower marts. Of internal communications it already\npossesses many, both by canal and railroad, equal to those almost of\nany of the older States, in length and availability, and inferior to\nnone in importance. First, it has the Green Bay, Lake Winnebago, and\nFox River improvement connecting it with the Wisconsin River, by which\nit has access to the Mississippi River, and thereby enjoys the\ncommerce of its upper valleys, and its rich lower lands and prosperous\nStates;--and second, the Illinois and Michigan canal, rendering the\ngreat commercial valley of the Illinois tributary to its commerce. By\nrailways, perfected and projected, it has, or will soon have,\nconnection with the Mississippi in its upper tributaries and lead\nregions by way of the Milwaukee and Mississippi, and Chicago and\nGalena lines. To the eastward, by the Michigan Central and Southern\nRailroad, it communicates with the lake shore road, and thence with\nall the eastern lines from Buffalo to Boston. To the southward it will\nspeedily be united by the great system of projected railroads.\n\n\"A road is now in progress extending from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to\nMackinaw. From a recent report made of this road, which will prove of\nvast importance in developing the immense resources of Michigan, we\nextract the following:--\n\n\"The distance from point to point, as measured by the engineers, are\nas follow:\n\n\"From Fort Wayne to the 'Air-line Railroad, Indiana, 28 miles; the\nAir-line railroad, to Wolcottville, 6; Wolcottville to Lagrange, 10;\nLagrange to Lima, 5; Lima to Sturgis, Mich., 5-1/2; Sturgis to Mendon,\n14; Mendon to Brady, 8; Brady to Kalamazoo, 12; Kalamazoo to Grand\nRapids, 47; Grand Rapids to Laphamville, 13; Laphamville to Little\nTraverse Bay, 169; Little Traverse to the Straits of Mackinaw, 27.\nTotal; 344.\n\n\"The work of construction now performed, is mostly between\nWolcottville and Kalamazoo. Between Lagrange and Sturgis the\nearth-work and bridges are nearly done--$1,500 will complete it for\nthe ties. About one-fourth of the earth-work, bridges and ties, of the\nremainder of the line from Wolcottville to Kalamazoo, is done.\nBetween Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, work to the amount of $8,000 has\nbeen done.\n\n\"The construction of the road bed, bridging, ties, ballasting, &c.,\nfrom Kalamazoo to the north bank of the Muskegon River, one hundred\nand three miles, is let to Daniel Beckel, Esq., of Dayton, Ohio. Near\ntwo hundred hands are engaged on the work--on the twenty miles north\nof Grand Rapids. It is the intention of the company, as we are\ninformed, to complete this twenty miles early the coming summer.\n\n\"We are informed by the annual report, that on July 21st, $216,316 18\nhad been collected and expended.\n\n\"The land grant made by Congress is of great value. The portion of the\nroad to which it attaches, extends from Grand Rapids to Little\nTraverse Bay; the precise length of which is, as adopted by the proper\ndepartments at Washington, one hundred and eighty-two miles and three\nthousand and sixty-seven feet. Under the rules of adjustment adopted\nby the department, the quantity of lands granted will be somewhere\nfrom 600,000 to 674,161 acres.\n\n\"These lands are generally timbered farm lands--of the best quality,\nin timber, soil and water. Some are pine lands, some pine and hard\nwood mixed; and a small portion are cedar swamp lands. But there is\nnone too much of either description for the value of the lands and the\nprosperity of the country. Nature has distributed and interspersed\nthem in such proportions as will best contribute to the support of a\npopulous and well improved agricultural country. The great bulk of\nthese lands are what are generally denominated 'beech and sugar-tree\nlands.' The soil is generally rich sandy loam. The estimated value of\nthe lands, when the road is completed, has been put, by different\nparties, from $4 to $10 per acre.\n\n\"The lands granted are the odd numbered sections within six miles of\nthe line; and if any such sections are sold or pre-empted, then the\ncompany has the right to select other sections outside of the six\nmiles and within fifteen miles of the road, to make up such deficit.\n\n\"The odd numbered sections, outside of the six-mile limits, and within\nthe fifteen-mile limits, are set apart to this company, out of which\nto select lands to make up any deficit that may occur in the six\nmiles.\n\n\"By those best acquainted with the value of these lands--and who are\nfamiliar with that portion of the State--they are estimated at $10\nper acre, on the completion of the road. This will give the company\nthe sum of $6,600,000. And if the road when fully equipped costs\n$30,000 per mile, then the gross cost will be $10,500,000; which by\nthe proceeds of the land grant will be reduced to the sum of\n$3,900,000, and will reduce the actual cost of the road to $11,142,85\nper mile. Anything like fair success in the construction of the road\nwill enable the company to do it, after applying the proceeds of the\nland grant, for about _eleven thousand dollars per mile_. Such a\nresult will not only give to the country all the advantages of this\nmuch-needed work; but when done the capital stock must prove to be a\ngood paying investment.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n    Mackinaw, the site for a great central city -- The Venice of\n    the lakes -- Early importance as a central position --\n    Nicolet -- Compared geographically with other points --\n    Immense chain of coast -- Future prospects -- Temperature --\n    Testimony of the Jesuit fathers -- Healthfulness of the\n    climate -- Dr. Drake on Mackinaw -- Resort for invalids --\n    Water currents of commerce -- Surface drained by them -- Soil\n    of the northern and southern peninsulas of Michigan --\n    Physical resources -- Present proprietors of Mackinaw -- Plan\n    of the city -- Streets -- Avenues -- Park -- Lots and blocks\n    for churches and public purposes -- Institutions of learning\n    and objects of benevolence -- Fortifications -- Docks and\n    ferries -- Materials for building -- Harbors -- Natural\n    beauty of the site for a city -- Mountain ranges -- Interior\n    lakes -- Fish -- Game.\n\n\nFerris, in his \"States and Territories of the Great West,\" says: \"If\none were to point out, on the map of North America, a site for a great\ncentral city in the lake region, it would be in the immediate vicinity\nof the Straits of Mackinaw. A city so located would have the command\nof the mineral trade, the fisheries, the furs, and the lumber, of the\nentire North. It might become the metropolis of a great commercial\nempire. It would be the Venice of the Lakes.\" Mackinaw, both straits\nand peninsula, was so naturally the key point of the great system of\nnorthern lakes and their connection with the Mississippi, that while\nthe New England colonies were yet but infant and feeble settlements,\nthe Indians of the northwest, the Jesuit missionaries, the French\nvoyagers, all made Mackinaw the point from whence they diverged--in\nall directions. When Philadelphia and Baltimore had not begun, and\nwhen the sites of Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and St. Louis were unknown\nplaces in the wilderness, Nicolet took his departure from Quebec in\nsearch of the mysterious river of the west. In passing to meet the\nIndians at Green Bay, he was the first to notice the Straits of\nMackinaw. About thirty years after, James Marquette established, on\nthe northern shore of the straits, the Mission of St. Ignace. Here,\namidst the wilds and solitudes of the North American forests, and on\nthe shores of its great inland seas, Marquette and Joliet planned\ntheir expedition as we have already described, and it was Mackinaw and\nnot New Orleans or New York that the lines radiated from to the\nearliest settlements of the west.\n\nMackinaw presents one of the most remarkable geographical positions\non the earth. Constantinople on the Bosphorus, the Straits of\nGibraltar, Singapore on the Strait of Malacca, and the Isthmus of\nPanama, are the only ones which seem to present a parallel. The two\nformer have been for ages renowned as the most important in the\ncommercial world. Singapore has rapidly become the key and centre of\nAsiatic navigation, at which may be found the shipping and people of\nall commercial nations, and Panama is now the subject of negotiation\namong the most powerful nations with a view to the exceeding\nimportance of its commercial position. Geographically, Mackinaw is not\ninferior to either. From the northwest to the southeast, midland of\nthe North American continent, there stretches a vast chain of lakes\nand rivers dividing the continent nearly midway. This chain of Lakes\nand rivers is in the whole nearly three thousand miles long. At the\nStraits of Mackinaw the whole system of land and water centres. The\nthree greatest lakes of this system, Superior, Huron, and Michigan,\nare spread around, pointing to the straits, while between them three\nvast peninsulas of land press down upon the waters until they are\ncompressed into a river of four miles in width. On the north is the\npeninsula of Canada, on the south that of Michigan, and on the west\nthat of the copper region, all of which are divided only by the narrow\nStraits of Mackinaw. Here are three inland seas of near eighty\nthousand square miles and about five thousand miles of coast. From\ncoast to coast and isle to isle of this immense expanse of waters,\nnavigation must be kept up, increasing with the ever-increasing\npopulation on their shores till tens of millions are congregated\naround. Of all this vast navigation and increasing commerce, Mackinaw\nis the natural centre around which it exists, and toward which it must\ntend by an inevitable law of necessity. Superior, Huron, and Michigan\nhave no water outlet to each other but that which flows through the\nStraits of Mackinaw, and its geographical position is unrivaled in\nAmerica. Whoever lives twenty years from this time will find Mackinaw\na populous and wealthy city, the Queen of the Lakes.\n\nIf any serious objection be made to the site of a city at this place,\nit can only be that the climate is _supposed_ to be cold. But, what is\nclimate? Climate is relative and composed of many elements. The first\nis temperature, as determined by latitude. The Straits of Mackinaw are\nin the _latitude_ of 45 deg. 46'. North of this lies a part of Canada,\ncontaining at least a million of inhabitants. North of this latitude\nlies the city of Quebec in America; London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin,\nVienna, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, in Europe;\nOdessa and Astracan, in Asia. North of it, are in Prussia, Poland, and\nRussia, dense populations, and a great agricultural production. The\nlatitude of Mackinaw, therefore, is in the midst of that temperate\nzone, where commerce, population, cities, and the arts have most\nflourished. The climate, however, is actually milder than the latitude\nrepresents. The isothermal line, which passes through Mackinaw, also\npasses in Wisconsin, nearly as low as 43 deg., and in the east also\ndeflects south. This is the true line of vegetation; and thus it\nappears that the actual climate of Mackinaw is about that of 43 deg. 30'.\nThe same isothermal line, passes through Prussia and Poland, the\nfinest grain countries of Europe. The climate of the straits is,\ntherefore, as favorable as that of most civilized States, either for\nthe production of food or the pursuits of commerce.\n\nThe Marquette Journal gives some items relative to the winter of that\nlocality. The mercury was not below zero until the evening of January\n8th, and then only 2 deg. below. The highest point reached in January, was\n20 deg. above, and lowest 16 deg. below zero. In February, the highest point\nwas 55 deg. above, the lowest 20 deg. below zero. The average temperature for\nthe three winter months had been about 15 deg. above zero. In the\n\"Relations of the Jesuits,\" 3d. volume, 1671, it is stated that the\n\"winter in Mackinaw is short, not commencing until after Christmas and\nclosing the middle of March, at which time spring begins.\"\n\nThe Lake Superior Journal for February 23, 1859, says:--\n\n\"We are now within five days of the first spring month, and have\nscarcely had a brush of winter yet. But very few days has the\nthermometer been below zero, and but a single day as low as ten\ndegrees below. Most of the time it has been mild. For two weeks past,\nthere has been a blandness and mellowness in the atmosphere, which was\nenough to cause the moodiest heart to sing for joy. There was a\nflare-up, however, for a single day (the 20th), when the storm\ndescended, the wind blew, and there was great commotion in the\nelements, but the next day all was calm and delightful as before. We\nhave quite a depth of snow on the ground, have had fine sleighing\nsince the 10th of November. But our bay has not been closed more than\na week at a time this winter, and but a few days in all. It is open\nnow, and 'the stern monarch of the year,' seems to be melting away\ninto spring.\n\n\"In regard to the healthfulness of Mackinaw, it may be remarked that\nthe northern regions of the earth are everywhere the most healthy. Yet\nthere are differences in situation and exposure which make differences\nin health. Mackinaw has now been known and settled for two hundred\nyears, a period long enough to have both tested its healthiness, and\ncreated a permanent reputation. The Jesuit Missionaries, the frontier\ntraders, and the French voyageurs, have lived and died there; yet we\nhave never heard of any prevalent disease, or local miasm. It seems to\nhave been the favorite resort of all the frontiers men, who inhabited\nor hunted in the region of the Northern Lakes. In recent years, it has\nbeen visited by men of science, and accomplished physicians, and their\nreport has been uniformly in favor of its superior healthiness. Dr.\nDrake, who visited Mackinaw in 1842, for the express purpose of\nexamining the climate and topography, says, 'From this description, it\nappears, that the conditions which are held to be necessary to the\ngeneration of autumnal fever, are at their _minimum_ in this place;\nand when we consider this fact, with its latitude nearly 46 deg., and its\naltitude above the sea, from six to eight hundred feet, we are\nprepared to find it almost exempt from that disease; and such from\nthe testimony of its inhabitants is the fact, especially in reference\nto the intermittent fevers, which, I was assured by many respectable\npersons, never originated among the people, and would cease\nspontaneously in those who returned, or came with it from other\nplaces.'\n\n\"Speaking of this region as a place of resort for invalids, the same\nwriter says:\n\n\"'The three great reservoirs of clear and cold water, Lakes Huron,\nMichigan, and Superior, with the Island of Mackinac in their\nhydrographical centre, offer a delightful hot-weather asylum to all\ninvalids who need an escape from the crowded cities, paludal\nexhalations, sultry climates and officious medication. Lake Erie lies\ntoo far south, and is bordered by too many swamps to be included in\nthe salutiferous group.'\n\n\"'On reaching Mackinaw, an agreeable change of climate is at once\nexperienced.' 'To his jaded sensibilities all around him is fresh and\ninvigorating.'\" Dr. Drake looked upon Mackinaw as one of the\nhealthiest portions of the whole Northwest, and to which, in time,\ntens of thousands of persons, even from the furthest south, would\nresort to be reinvigorated in body, refreshed in mind, and delighted\nwith the contemplation of the sublime and beautiful scenery in that\nregion of expansive waters, of rocky coasts, of forest-bearing lands,\nand distant islands.\n\n\"Here the great currents, which are the natural lines of _movement_\nfor the people, commerce, and productions of half North America,\nconcentrate around a single point. No other place has the same\nadvantage of _radial lines_. Quebec is relatively on the Atlantic. The\nupper end of Lake Superior is comparatively on an inhospitable land.\nChicago is at a lateral point on the south end of Lake Michigan,--three\nhundred miles from the main channel of commerce. At Mackinaw\nconcentrate all the radial lines of water navigation in the upper\nlakes. Which will be seen, if we take the following distances of\ndirect navigation from this point to the principal points on the upper\nlakes:\n\n\"From Mackinaw to Fon du Lac (west end of Lake Superior), 550 miles;\nto Chicago, 350; to east end of Georgian Bay, 300; to Detroit, 300; to\nBuffalo, 700; to Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1,600.\n\n\"Here are two important points to be observed. Any city which, by\ncompetition, or the rivalry of production, or the power of wealth, can\nbe supposed to interfere with the growth of Mackinaw, must arise on\nLakes Michigan or Superior; for _there_ only can be any commercial\nmart to receive and distribute the products around those immense\nbodies of water. But in consequence of the form and surface of those\nlakes, no lines of transit to the waters of the St. Lawrence can be\nmade so short or cheap as the water transit through the Straits of\nMackinaw. The concentration of products will, therefore, be ultimately\nmade at Mackinaw, for all that immense district of country which lies\naround the upper lakes. Again, it will be seen that as the water\ntransportation to that point is the best, so the radial line from that\npoint to the Atlantic by water, is much the shortest. A steam\npropeller, leaving any one of the principal points on the upper lakes\nfor either Buffalo or the Gulf of St. Lawrence, must, as compared with\nMackinaw, pass over the following lines of transit, viz., From Fon du\nLac (west end of Lake Superior) to Buffalo, 1,250 miles; Chicago,\nIll., 1,000; Mackinaw, Michigan, 700; Fon du Lac to the Gulf of St.\nLawrence, 2,150; Chicago to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1,900; Mackinaw\nto the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1,600.\n\n\"It must be granted, at once, that for any water communication with\nthe ports of the Atlantic, Mackinaw has greatly the advantage over any\ncommercial point in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Northern\nMichigan, or Northwest Canada. How great this advantage is, we shall\nsee from the consideration of the surface drained by the water\ncurrent of Mackinaw. An inspection of the map will show that from Long\nLake, above latitude 50 deg., to the south end of Lake Michigan, below\nlatitude, 40 deg., and from the Lake of the Woods, longitude 95 deg., to\nSaginaw Bay, longitude 83 deg., the country is entirely within the\ndrainage of lakes and river whose currents concentrate at the Straits\nof Mackinaw. This surface comprehends a square of over six hundred\nmiles on the side, or nearly four hundred thousand square miles.\nDeducting the surface of the lakes, it is enough to make eight States\nas large as Ohio. In that whole surface, there is not a single point\nwhich can rival Mackinaw as a point of _distribution for the products\nof that country_. That the advantage by water lines is in favor of\nMackinaw, we have shown. That it will be equally so by railroad, is\nevident, from the fact that Mackinaw city to Port Huron, and thence to\nBuffalo, need not exceed four hundred miles, while that from Chicago\nto Buffalo, in a direct line is five hundred and fifteen miles.\n\n\"From any other point of Lakes Michigan or Superior, where a city can\nbe built, it is further. Mackinaw is, therefore, the natural centre of\ndrainage and distribution for a surface equal to that of eight large\nStates, and whose products, whether of field, fruit, or mines, are\nsuperabundant in whatever creates commerce, sustains population, or\naffords the materials of industry.\n\n\"We are now considering Mackinaw in a state of nature, and must look\nto its natural products as the first and greatest elements of success.\nWe have considered its climate, its water currents, its lines of\nnavigation, and the surface drainage for its support. The latter\nwithin a space where there can be no competition, we have found to be\nbut little less than 400,000 square miles. Vast as this is, it could\nnot support a great commercial city, if that were a barren plain.\n\n\"Hence, we must now consider how far the products of the earth will\nsustain the city, which such lines of navigation, such means of\ncommerce, and such an extensive, surface leads us to anticipate.\n\n\"The soil is the first thing to be examined. The peninsula of\nMichigan--that of Wisconsin and the Copper region--of Minnesota and\nCanada, which make up the larger portion of surface drained by the\ncurrents of Mackinaw, has been supposed to be cold and wet. But is it\nmore so than northwestern Ohio or northern Illinois, which, but twenty\nyears since, were scarcely inhabited, but now are found to afford some\nof the richest lands in the country? On this point, we have numerous\nand competent witnesses, and whatever character they give to the\ncountry, we shall adopt as the true criterion of its producing\nresources.\n\n\"First of the Superior Country, the least agricultural portion of this\ndistrict, we have the concurrent testimony of geologists, miners,\nsettlers, and travelers, that it is one of the richest mining\ndistricts in the world. But in the midst of it are found some fertile\nsections. Of these, Mr. Ferris, in his account of the Great West,\nsays: 'The surveyors report some good agricultural lands (of which\nmany townships are specially enumerated), and these tracts of fertile\nland will become of great value, when the rivers shall have been\nopened and a mining population introduced, creating a sure and\nconvenient home market for the productions of the farm.'\n\n\"_Disturnell_, an accurate authority, speaking of the Superior region,\nsays: 'The traveler finds the whole district to within a few miles of\nLake Superior, abounding in every resource which will make a country\nwealthy and prosperous. Clear, beautiful lakes are interspersed, and\nthese have plenty of large trout and other fish. Water and water\npowers are everywhere to be found, and the timber is of the best\nkind--maple groves, beech, oak, pine, etc. No thing is now wanted but\na few roads to open this rich country to the settler, and it will\nsoon teem with villages, schools, mills, farming operations, and every\nindustrial pursuit, which the more southern portion of our State now\nexhibits.'\n\n\"Turning to the immense territory north and northwest of Superior and\nthe Straits, now constituting a portion of the British Dominions, and\nevery part of which must be tributary to Mackinaw, we find that it\naffords, like Prussia and Poland, a fine agricultural region for all\nthe breadstuffs and vegetables which are raised in the northern part\nof Europe. A writer in the _Toronto Globe_, exhibiting the value of a\ncanal from Georgian Bay to Toronto--(a canal, the whole commerce of\nwhich coming from the northwest, must first have passed the Straits of\nMackinaw) says: 'Westward we possess vast and fertile countries\nadapted to all the pursuits of agriculture life, countries susceptible\nto the highest cultivation and improvement. Between Lake Superior and\nthe Lake of the Woods (above 49 deg. of latitude), we possess a country of\nthis description, in soil and character inferior to no part of\nMinnesota, and bordering upon this territory lies the valley of the\nAssinibone, or the Red River, as it is sometimes called. As a wheat\ngrowing country, it will rival Canada. It does so now in soil and\nclimate.' The writer is here speaking of British possessions north of\nLake Superior, and several degrees north of Mackinaw. He says they\nare as fertile and grain-growing as Canada, and Canada we know already\nproduces not only its own breadstuffs, but large quantities for\nexportation. The valley of the Assinibone, referred to, and the whole\nregion west of Superior to the Lake of the Woods and the Red River,\ncan have no market outlet except through Lake Superior, and thence\nnear the Straits of Mackinaw. The writer sees this, and says: 'The\nfuture products of these immense countries must seek the seaboard, and\nall the canals and railroads which can be constructed will scarce\nsuffice to afford facilities for the products of the West.'\n\n\"Let us next examine the Southern Peninsula of Michigan. If the\ncountry far north of it is so productive, it can scarcely happen that\nthis can be very deficient, although not ranked among the most fertile\ndistricts. On this point, we need only cite the same accurate\nauthority to which we have referred. He says: 'The numerous streams\nwhich penetrate every portion of the peninsula, some of which are\nnavigable for steamboats a considerable distance from the lake, being\nnatural outlets for the products of the interior, render this whole\nregion desirable for purposes of settlement and cultivation.' Even as\nfar north as the Straits of Mackinaw, the soil and climate, together\nwith the valuable timber, offer great inducements to settlers; and if\nthe proposed railroads under the recent grant of large portion of\nthese lands by Congress, are constructed from and to the different\npoints indicated, this extensive and heavily timbered region will\nspeedily be reclaimed, and become one of the most substantial and\nprosperous agricultural portions of the West.' After speaking of the\ntimber in that country, the same writer adds: 'But as the timber is\nexhausted, the soil is prepared for cultivation, and a large portion\nof the _northern part_ of the southern peninsula of Michigan will be\nsettled and cultivated, as it is _the most reliable wheat-growing\nportion of the Union_.'\n\n\"The Detroit Daily Tribune of 1857, says: \"Michigan is greatly\nundervalued because greatly unknown. The tide of emigration sweeps\npast us to Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, because the public\ndo not know--what is but the sober truth--that Michigan possesses\nadvantages unrivaled by any sister State in the Northwest, and an\nundeveloped wealth that will far exceed any one of those named. This\nis not a random statement, originating in State pride or\nself-interest, but the simple truth which is slowly being found out by\nthe shrewd among men. We propose to speak of some of the advantages\nwhich we possess in the northern half of our lower peninsula, as yet\nalmost uninhabited and unknown.\n\n\"'No other State can boast of such valuable forests of such perfect\ntimber. Already our lumber trade exceeds in value and importance that\nin any other staple products, not excepting wheat, while if it were to\nincrease in the ratio of the past five years, in five years more it\nwould exceed all the other staples united, excepting only copper. But\nsuch a rate of increase would exhaust the pine timber to a great\nextent within ten years' time. Yet the demand for pine lumber is\nabsolutely unlimited, and cannot be met.\n\n\"Look for a moment at the vast region depending upon the pineries of\nMichigan for its supply of lumber for building purposes of every\nkind--houses, fence and shelter of every description. The great States\nof Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, and the Territory of Minnesota,\ndepend almost solely upon Michigan, and must do so. The present\nseason, lumber has been taken from the forest of southwestern New York\nand northern Pennsylvania, and sold in the market of St. Louis, so\nurgent is the demand and so entirely inadequate are the present or\nprospective rates of supply for that demand. We have before us the\nstatistics of the lumber trade of the different States and the\nprincipal markets in the country, but of what use is a parade of\nfigures when a simple fact will show that the value of the pine forest\nof Michigan _must_ be? Take the State Iowa alone. If every quarter\nsection were to be enclosed with a common post and board fence, it\nwould take every foot of pine on the soil of Michigan! Leave out of\nsight the great Territory of Minnesota, which can find but a mere drop\nof supply from the pineries of the Upper Mississippi. Leave out of\nsight the great State of Illinois, which depends upon us wholly.\nForget entirely that villages are springing up like magic all along\nthe lines of a dozen railroads running from Lake Michigan to the\nMississippi; that cities are growing and spreading with unprecedented\nrapidity--and that every town and village, and city, and farm, must\nhave its dwellings, and that the cheapest and best material for\nconstruction is pine. Leave all these out of the calculation, and\nremember only that one of these States would consume all our vast\nforests of pine in _fence boards alone_, and the dullest comprehension\ncan perceive, with all these other demands of which we have spoken, in\nall those other regions, the value of the pine region is as certain as\nthough it were a gold mine. And when we consider the pressing need for\nmaterial whereof to build over all the western prairies, the wealth\nof northern Michigan cannot be put at any low amount. It must be\nimmense--untold.\n\n\"After the timber shall have been removed in obedience to the pressing\ndemands of a cash market and high prices, the value of northern\nMichigan will just begin to be developed. The soil possesses riches of\nwhich the heavy growth of timber is the outcropping. Rich as any\nprairie land, even more substantial in the elements of fertility, with\na genial climate, southern Michigan, itself a garden, we predict will\nhave to yield the palm of productive wealth to this portion of the\nState. Any one who will take the trouble to examine a map of this half\nof the State, projected on an extended scale, cannot fail to be struck\nwith the superabundant water privileges that exist. It is literally\ncovered with navigable rivers, and their tributaries, large streams,\nlike the veins in the human system. These waters reach the remotest\npart and thread every portion, affording unfailing supplies and\nthousands of valuable sites for mills of every description and of all\nmagnitudes. The State is divided near its geographical centre by a\nslight ridge, sufficient to divide the course of its streams. Two of\nthe largest rivers of the State, the Manistee and the Eastern Au\nSauble, rise within about three miles of each other, run parallel,\nsouthward, for twenty miles or more, approaching then within half a\nmile of each other, then turning abruptly almost due east and west,\nemptying into Lakes Michigan and Huron respectively on almost the same\nparallel of latitude.\n\n\"The Grand Traverse region, embracing the valley of the Manistee, is\nalso one of the finest agricultural regions of the State; lying in the\nnortherly portion, this region still has a mild climate, and the\nfinest grains and fruits are raised at the settlements, as far north\nas the bay.\n\n\"Much might be said of other counties throughout this region. The\nwhole slope of the peninsula embracing the courses of the Muskegon and\nManistee Rivers, and from Grand River to Mackinaw, is a region of rich\nsoil, excellent timber of all kinds, good climate, and of easy access.\n\n\"The counties in the eastern part of the State, Alpena, Alcona, Iosco,\nArrenac, and others north of Saginaw Bay, well situated, having a\nlarge extent of coast on Lake Huron, are not so well adapted for\nagricultural purposes, there is much good farming land in them all;\nbut the forests of pine extending to within a few miles of the coast,\nrender them very desirable. Alcona county, watered by Thunder Bay\nRiver, with some smaller streams emptying into Lake Huron, is almost\nwholly a pine region. Some of the finest specimens of yellow, or\nNorway pine, in the whole State are found in this country. The white\nand yellow pine is nearly equally distributed in this region,\nextending also into the counties south, and reaching Rifle River in\nSaginaw and Arrenac counties, having an outlet on Saginaw Bay.\n\n\"This part of the State, upon whose advantages we have not space to\nparticularize as we would like, will be very soon penetrated by\nrailroads.\n\n\"There are _three_ roads contemplated by the Act of Congress granting\nlands to this State at its last session. These, if built, will add\nmore to the development of the natural wealth of Michigan than\nanything heretofore proposed in the way of public improvement.\n\n\"The different routes pass through some of the best counties in the\nState, and the opening of such thoroughfares will induce a tide of\nemigration, such as will soon render northern Michigan what it ought\nto be, one of the most important points in the West.\n\n\"The State of Michigan is in all respects more favorably situated than\nany of the Western States, being surrounded by the lakes and with\nrailroads extending in every direction, affording the most\nextraordinary opportunities to reach markets of every class, great or\nsmall.\n\n\"With these natural advantages of transportation considered with the\nimmense natural resources of this region (soil and timber) no one will\ndoubt the very great value of Michigan lands.\n\n\"Fruit of all kinds is abundant in every part of this State. All our\nexchanges from the interior are acknowledging presents of luscious\npeaches, plums, pears, apples, etc., etc. This is as it should be. May\nthey all, each succeeding year, be remembered in like manner.\n\n\"What is here said of the northern part of Michigan, is directly\napplicable to Wisconsin, the northern half of which must contribute\ndirectly to Mackinaw. Of the agricultural capacity of this new State,\nwe need say no more, than that it has already attained half a million\nof inhabitants, and pours forth its surplus products though the ports\nof Lake Michigan.\n\n\"Of Minnesota, and its productiveness, less is known. As three-fourths\nof that rich and beautiful country, and the regions around the heads\nof the Mississippi, must contribute to the commercial importance of\nMackinaw, let us glance at its agricultural capacity and prospects.\nMinnesota, of which we heard but yesterday, has now two hundred\nthousand inhabitants, produces this year two millions of bushels of\nwheat. St. Paul, its principal town has fourteen thousand inhabitants,\nand far to the northwest from St. Peters to the Red River, and\nAssinibone, the settlers are crowding in to till farms and create\ntowns, where but recently the wild wolf and the wilder savage, alone\npossessed the face of the earth. In latitudes higher than that of\nMackinaw, Michigan or Canada West, settlements are forming, and it\nrequires no flight of imagination to see that beautiful land of lakes,\nrivers, forests, and prairies,--cold as it may be in winter--settled,\ntilled, and civilized. The fact of its rapid progress in population,\nis sufficient proof of its agricultural capacity; but we shall again\nrefer to the testimony of actual observers. Turning to Mr. Ferris's\nfirst description of the Northwest, we find his summing of the\nclimate, and agricultural advantages of Upper Minnesota. 'Minnesota is\ndestined to become a great agricultural, and grazing region. Its\nupland and lowland plains would support a dairy that would enrich an\nempire. All the principal grains, and roots thrive there in great\nvigor, as high toward the north as Pembina, below the dividing line\nbetween the United States and British America. Latitude does not\nalways indicate the climate as has already been shown. The character\nof the soil has great influence upon the temperature of the air. A\nquick warm soil makes a warm atmosphere. The autumns of Minnesota are\ngreatly lengthened out by the Indian summer, that smoky, dreary, balmy\nseason, which protects the surface from frost, like a mantle flung\nupon the earth. The cold nips the vegetation, about as early along the\nOhio, as along the St. Peters. The winters of Minnesota are cold; but\nthen they are still and calm, and the icy air does not penetrate, as\nit does in a windy climate.'\n\n\"In the brief review of the agricultural advantages of that great\nnorthwestern region, whose centre of commerce must ever be at\nMackinaw; we have arrived at the certain fact, that except small\nportions of the Superior country, where mining and mines absorb all\nother interests, no country in the northern part of America or Europe,\nhas greater advantages. It is filled with inexhaustible springs, and\nstreams; fertile in soil, rich in production, and only needs the\ncultivating hand of man, to render it capable of sustaining such dense\npopulations as now inhabit the same isothermal parallel in Prussia and\nPoland.\n\n\"Let us now turn to its forests, mines, fisheries and resources, which\nthough not bread, are those from which the implements, conveniences,\nand much of the wealth of civilization is derived. Of forests,\nfurnishing almost illimitable quantities of timber and lumber--this is\nthe very centre. Of this, we have evidence in the wharves of Chicago,\nMilwaukee, Detroit, and far down the lakes. The testimony of actual\nobservers on this point, is so strong as to seem almost incredible. We\nshall cite but two or three unquestionable authorities. The peninsula,\nof Michigan is at the present moment, one of the greatest depositories\nof lumber in the world. Mr. Ferris says: 'On going toward the north,\nthe lumber becomes more and more plentiful. Beeches begin to mingle\nwith the oaks, and in a day or two beeches and maples will predominate\nover other varieties of timbers; large white-woods and bass-woods will\nbe seen towering above the forest. The white ash, the shag bark, the\nblack cherry, will have become abundant. The woods will seem to have\nbeen growing deeper and denser every mile of the way. Soon the\ntraveler will doubt, whether Omnipotence himself could have planted\nthe trees larger, taller, and thicker together, than they are.'\n\n\"Pressing still forward, the emigrant will enter the great pine woods\nof the north. For a while, however, before reaching them, he will have\nbeen wandering through groves of oak, and along the borders of\nnatural meadows, and through clumps of beech and maple. But soon, as\nwith a single step, the timber has become all pine--yellow pine,\nmoaning overhead, darkening all the ground, shutting out the sun,\nshutting out the wind.\" The tall trunks support the dark green canopy\nfull fifty feet above the earth. This belt of pine woods, stretches\nacross the peninsula of Michigan from Saginaw Bay. After a while as\nyou proceed further to the north, the pine grows thinner, and is\nsucceeded by other timber. \"The level lands again become covered with\nbeech and maple, of a full and convenient growth, with here and there\na gigantic Norway pine, six feet through without limb, till it begins\nto stretch up half its length above the surrounding trees.\n\n\"In northern Wisconsin, we find another great pinery, in which, in one\nyear, was sawed not less than two hundred millions of feet of pine\ntimber. The same authority to which we have frequently referred, says:\n\"Still further north and northwest, is one of the finest tracts of\npine land in America, through which the streams tumbling down frequent\nfalls, afford an incalculable amount of water-power, just where it is\nmost needed for the manufacture of lumber. The Wisconsin forest of\nevergreens is perfectly immense, covering one-third the State. The\nprairies of the Upper Wisconsin and its tributaries, are at the\npresent most extensive, and those are distinguished still more for the\nfine quality, than for the inexhaustible quantities of the timber.\"\n\nIn the same manner, an immense forest extends over the upper part of\nMinnesota, while far to the northwest in the British possessions,\nextend deep forests of pine, spruce, and hemlock. It is evident,\ntherefore, that on the great current of the Straits of Mackinaw, there\nwill float for generations to come, all the timber and lumber, which\nare necessary for the markets of commerce, or the uses of a growing\npopulation.\n\nNor are the fisheries to be neglected, in any right estimate of the\nnatural resources of that region. Not only do the one hundred thousand\nsquare miles of lakes and streams, furnish illimitable quantities of\nfish; but they furnish varieties, which are nowhere else to be found,\nand which an epicurean taste has long since pronounced among the\nrichest luxuries of the palate. The lake trout, the Mackinaw trout,\nthe Muskelunge, and the white fish, are celebrated throughout America.\nGood fishing grounds occur all along the north shore of Lake Superior,\naffording a bountiful supply. On the south shore, there are fisheries\nat White Fish Point, Grand Island near the Pitcairn's Rodes, Keweenaw\nPoint, La Point, and Apostles' Islands, and at different stations on\nIsle Royal, where large quantities are taken and exported. Mackinac\nIsland alone exports yearly a quarter million of dollars' worth.\n\nThe site of Old Mackinaw, now the county seat of Emmet county, and its\nsurroundings, belonged to the Government of the United States until\nthe year 1853, when Edgar Conkling, Esq., of Cincinnati, realizing its\nimportance as a vast commercial centre, and one of the finest\npositions for a great city, formed a company consisting of seven\npersons, and entered at the Land Office in Ionia, Michigan, near one\nthousand eight hundred acres. In 1857 that portion embracing the\nancient site of Old Mackinaw was surveyed and divided into lots. Mr.\nConkling has, recently, become the sole proprietor of the city, and\nintends devoting his energies to its development. A pamphlet,\npublished some time since, describes it as follows:\n\n\"The streets of the city are laid out eighty feet in width, and the\navenues from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet respectively. In\nthe deed of dedication to the public, of these streets and avenues,\nprovision is made for side-walks fifteen feet in width on each side,\nto be forever unobstructed by improvements of any kind, shade trees\nexcepted, thus securing a spacious promenade worthy of a place\ndestined to become a principal resort for health and pleasure.\nProvision is also made for the proper use of the streets and avenues\nby railroad companies adequate to the demands of the business of a\ncity. The lots, with the exception of those in fractional blocks, are\nfifty by one hundred and fifty feet, thus affording ample room for\npermanent, convenient, and ornamental improvement.\"\n\nThe park, now laid off and dedicated to the city, embraces the grounds\nof Old Fort Mackinaw, sacred in the history of the country. These\ngrounds, now in their natural condition, are unequaled for beauty of\nsurface, location, soil, trees, etc., by any park in any city in the\ncountry, and when the skillful hand of the horticulturist has marked\nits outline and threaded it with avenues and paths, pruned its trees,\nand carpeted its surface with green, it will present the very\nperfection of all that makes a park delightful. The character of the\nsoil, being a sandy loam, with sand and gravel underlying it, renders\nit capable of the easiest and most economical improvement, securing\nwalks always dry, hard, and smooth. The park, with suitable blocks and\nlots for county and city purposes, such as public buildings,\nschoolhouses, etc., will be duly appropriated to those uses, whenever\nthe proper authorities are prepared to select suitable sites; and lots\nfor churches, institutions of learning, and charity, will be fully\ndonated to parties contemplating early improvements. Thus the\nproprietor proposes to anticipate, by avoiding the errors of older\ncities, the wants of Mackinaw city in perpetuity, and free forever its\ncitizens from taxation for any grounds required for the public good.\nHe also designs to place it in the power of the General Government, to\nsecure, by like donation at an early day, the grounds necessary for\nsuch fortifications as the wants of the country and commerce may\nrequire, on the simple condition of speedy improvement. This liberal\npolicy will best promote the true interests of the city and country,\nand at the same time be productive of pecuniary profit to the\nproprietors and all who may make investments at that point.\n\nThe proprietor intends also to expend a large portion of the income\nfrom sales in providing for the public wants by the construction of\ndocks at the most important points, and the establishment of ferries,\nfor which he has purchased the land on the opposite side of the\nstraits. He intends to make loans also, as his means will justify, to\naid parties in the establishment of manufactories.\n\nBuilding materials of great variety and in abundance are at hand.\nLumber can be had for the mere cost of preparation, and the soil, at\nno distant point, is suitable for making bricks; while for immediate\nuse, Milwaukee can furnish the articles of the best kind in any\nquantities. The shores of Lake Superior abound with exhaustless\nquantities of granite, sandstone and marble; the limestone and sand\nare on the spot.\n\nThree fine harbors adjoin Mackinaw; the one on the east being the most\nspacious, and the best protected. The new United States charts show\nthe depth of water sufficient for vessels of the largest size\nnavigating the lakes. As many as thirty vessels have been at anchor in\nthis harbor. The country in the rear of Mackinaw rises gradually\nuntil, at the distance of a mile or two, it rises into an elevation of\nhigh table land, from points of which there is a fine view of the\nstraits and surrounding islands. A mountainous ridge extends up to\nwithin two miles of Mackinaw, covered with a dense forest of hard\nwood. The southern extremity of this range reaches to the head waters\nof the Grand and Saginaw rivers. From two to ten miles south of\nMackinaw are several beautiful lakes, surrounded by a rich, warm soil\nof great fertility and covered with a heavy forest of hard wood, some\nof which has attained a gigantic growth. These lakes abound with fish\nof different varieties. Turtles have been taken from them, measuring\nfrom one and a half to two feet in diameter. Almost every kind of game\ncan be found in the woods bordering upon these lakes, such as the\nblack bear, raccoon, martin, fox, lynx, rabbit, ducks, partridges and\npigeons.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n    The entrepot of a vast commerce -- Surface drained --\n    Superiority of Mackinaw over Chicago as a commercial point --\n    Exports and imports -- Michigan the greatest lumber-growing\n    region in the world -- Interminable forests of the choicest\n    pine -- Facilities for market -- Annual product of the\n    pineries -- Lumbering, mining and fishing interests --\n    Independent of financial crises -- Mackinaw, the centre of a\n    great railroad system -- Lines terminating at this point --\n    North and South National Line -- Canada grants -- Growth of\n    northwestern cities -- Future growth and prosperity of\n    Mackinaw -- Chicago -- Legislative provisions for opening\n    roads in Michigan -- The Forty Acre Homestead Bill -- Its\n    provisions.\n\n\nThe physical resources of this region are of such a nature and variety\nas to make Mackinaw city the entrepot of a vast commerce. This will\nappear, if we consider that it is the nearest point of that extensive\ndistrict, including the entire north of the lakes inaccessible to\nChicago. When all the lines of internal communication are completed,\nand the different points on the lakes settled down upon, then the\nreal limits of Mackinaw will drain a geographical surface of three\nhundred thousand square miles; deducting the surface of the lakes from\nwhich, there will remain two hundred and eighty thousand square miles\nof country, with all the resources of agriculture and mining in the\nmost extraordinary degree. It will be nearly three-fold that which can\nbe drained by Chicago, and in point of territory, whether of quantity\nor quality, Mackinaw is vastly superior, as a commercial point. With\nthe exception of a small portion of the mineral region, the\nagricultural advantages of Michigan, Upper Wisconsin, Minnesota,\nCanada West, and the Superior country, are at least equal, at the\npresent time, to the district shipping at Chicago, while it is more\nextensive, and will have a large home market in a country affording\ndiversity of employment. Nothing can be more obvious, than the\nsuperior advantages of Mackinaw, as a manufacturing point, over any\nother on the lake coast.\n\nThe value of exports and imports which flow through the Straits of\nMackinaw and the Saut St. Mary was estimated a year or two since at\nover _one hundred millions of dollars_. But, who can estimate a\ncommerce which every year increases in many fold? In 1856, there were\nsent through the St. Mary Canal 11,000 tons of raw iron, 1,040 tons\nof blooms, and 10,452,000 lbs. of copper; and the commercial value of\nwhat passed through the canal amounted to upward $5,000,000. But\nperhaps the most correct idea of the rapid increase of commerce in\nLake Superior may be taken from the arrivals at Superior City for the\nlast three years, taken from the Superior Chronicle of January, 1857.\n\nIn 1854 there were two steamboats and five sail vessels. In 1855 there\nwere twenty-three steamers, and ten sail vessels; and in 1856 forty\nsteamers and sixteen sail vessels.\n\nWe thus see that in three years the increase was seven-fold. It is\nscarcely possible to imagine the limits of northwestern commerce on\nthe lake, when a few years shall have filled up with inhabitants the\nsurrounding territories.\n\nAccording to the testimony of Senator Hatch, made on the floor of\nCongress on the 25th of February, 1859, there were over one thousand\nsix hundred vessels navigating the northwestern lakes, of which the\naggregate burden was over four hundred thousand tons. They were manned\nby over thirteen thousand seamen, navigating over five thousand miles\nof lake and river coast, and transporting over six hundred millions of\nexports and imports, being greater than the exports and imports of\nthe United States.\n\nThe State of Michigan is the greatest lumber-growing region in the\nworld, not only on account of its interminable forests of the choicest\npine, but in the remarkable facilities for getting it to market. With\na lake coast, on the lower peninsula alone, of over one thousand\nmiles--with numberless watercourses debouching at convenient distances\ninto her vast inland seas--she enjoys advantages which mighty empires\nmight envy. Her white-winged carriers are sent to almost every point\nof the compass with the product of her forests, which, wherever it may\ngo, is the sign of improvement and progress, while by the large\nexpenditures involved in the manufacture, and the employment of\nthousands of hardy laborers, the general prosperity is materially\nenhanced, and a market opened within her own borders for a\nconsiderable share of the surplus production of her own soil.\n\nThe annual product of the pineries alone amount to the sum of _ten and\na half millions of dollars_. The lumbering, mining, and fishing\ninterest combine to furnish by far the best home market in the Union,\nand one which in seasons when a large surplus is not compelled to seek\na market, can boast its independence of the \"bulls\" and \"bears\" of\nthe great commercial metropolis. The dense forests in the interior of\nthe State have not yet been reached, and when the contemplated roads\nare made, a field will be presented for the investment of capital of a\nmost remunerative character.\n\nThe government has already taken such steps as will soon make Mackinaw\nthe centre of a great railroad system. We need only refer to the\nactual facts in order to make this clear. Congress, by an act passed\nin 1855-6, granted to the State of Michigan a large body of land for\nrailroad purposes, designating four routes. 1. From Little Noquet Bay\nto Marquette, in the Superior country. 2. From Amboy, on the\nState-line of Ohio, through Lansing to or near Mackinaw. 3. From Grand\nRapids to Mackinaw. 4. From Grand Haven to Port Huron. It will be seen\nthat this plan is formed on the basis of a direct line from Lake\nSuperior through the mineral regions to Lake Michigan. The law\nfortunately permitted the last two companies to make their lines at or\n_near_ Traverse Bay, and as Mackinaw is but comparatively a short\ndistance, both companies have wisely concluded to terminate their\nlines at Mackinaw. It is at once evident that the Michigan line,\ncentering at Mackinaw, must be met _there_, by railroads penetrating\nvarious sections of the northern peninsula. This is evident, and we\nunderstand is already foreseen, and measures will be adopted to\naccomplish that end. In the mean time, let us examine the prospects\nand influence of the two long lines of Michigan railway terminating at\nMackinaw. The whole amount of land granted to the Michigan railways is\nestimated to be about 3,880,000 acres. From this, however, there will\nbe some deduction in consequence of lands already selected, and which\nmay not be supplied by the quantity within the limited distance. The\ndeficiency will not be great, and we understand that the amount\nestimated for the two Mackinaw roads will scarcely be less than _two\nmillions of acres_. Of the quantity and value of these lands, we give\nthe estimate made by these roads, as well as the cost of construction.\nThe estimate made by the _Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad_ is as\nfollows:\n\n\"The proximity to lake navigation; having several navigable rivers\npassing through them, the abundance of hydraulic power, the\nhealthfulness of the climate, the fertility of the soil; and lying\nimmediately on the line of this road, are facts which contribute to\nenhance the value of these lands.\n\n\"The length of this road from the Straits of Mackinaw to Fort Wayne,\nwill be about three hundred and fifty miles. If the company meet with\nas good success as the merits of the enterprise deserve, the entire\ncost of the road should not be over $25,000 per mile, which makes an\naggregate sum of $8,759,000.\"\n\nOn the supposition that the minimum amount of land is obtained and\nsold, at half the price above stated, there will yet be broad enough\nbasis to secure the construction of the work.\n\nThe Amboy and Lansing Company are equally confident of success. They\nhave also located a large quantity of land, and expect their value to\nbe equivalent to the construction of their road. Accordingly, they\nhave put a portion of their road under contract, and have obtained\nlarge local subscriptions.\n\nBoth these lines of railroad will terminate at Mackinaw, on the north,\nand Cincinnati on the south; hence they will be carried south till\nthey terminate at Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and Pensacola, thus\nforming the grandest and most extensive system of railroads on the\ncontinent. Nothing in America equals it--nothing in Europe can compare\nwith it! When all the links shall have been completed, it will stand\nout the greatest monument to human labor and genius which the world\npresents.\n\nThe single line from Mackinaw to Pensacola has been looked upon as one\nof the most important undertakings of the age. We extract from the\n\"Exposition of its Plan and Prospects,\" by E. D. Mansfield, Esq., some\nof the facts, which exhibit its importance, and bearing, and influence\non Mackinaw City.\n\n\"To illustrate,\" says the Exposition, \"the value of this North and\nSouth National Line, by its power of producing commerce, mark, in a\ntabular form, the natural products of each degree of latitude, thus:--\n\n  _States._ _Latitude._ _Productions._\n\n  Florida,    31 deg.    Oranges.\n     \"        31  \"      Sugar.\n     \"        31  \"      Cotton.\n  Alabama,    32  \"         \"\n     \"        33  \"         \"\n     \"        34  \"      Cotton, Corn.\n  Tennessee,  35  \"         \"      \"\n     \"        36  \"      Cotton, corn, tobac., iron.\n  Kentucky,   37  \"      Corn, tobac., coal, iron.\n     \"        38  \"      Corn, wh't, cat. tob. h'mp.\n  Ohio,       39  \"      Corn, wh't, cat. h'gs, wine.\n\n      \"       40  \"      Wh't, c'rn, h'gs, cat., flax.\n      \"       41  \"      Wheat, corn, cattle.\n  Michigan,   42  \"      Wheat, cattle, hay, wool.\n      \"       43  \"      Pine, cedar, coal.\n      \"       44  \"      Pine, cedar, coal.\n      \"       45  \"      Pine, hemlock, cedar.\n      \"       46  \"      Pine, copper, lead, fish.\n\n\"This statement is enough to show an extraordinary stimulus to\ncommerce, on a line of railway. The length of the entire line will be\nless than half that which is proposed to be made from Cincinnati and\nother cities to San Francisco; yet, will pass through varieties of\nproduction, which that line cannot have. In two days, every inhabitant\non that line may be supplied, from their native source, with sugar,\ncotton, corn, wheat, tobacco, iron, coal, lead, copper, pine, cedar,\nwith wool, flour, hemp, and fruits of every description; with fish of\nthe sea and fish of the lakes; with bread, and oil, and wine; in fine,\nwith everything that supports, clothes, or houses man; with everything\nthat supplies his wants, or contributes to his material happiness.\"\n\nIt is obvious, that such a line of railroad as this--peculiar in its\nresources, vast in its comprehensions, and embracing in its grasp all\nthe products of tropic or of temperate climes--must, of itself, rear,\nat its _termini_, commercial towns of great importance. But, this is\nnot all. The road from Grand Haven to Port Huron will intersect the\nAmboy and Lansing line about midway, and then a railroad will at once\nbe made in the direction of the Canada lines and Buffalo--completing\nthe _radii_ from the far northwest through Mackinaw, to the eastern\nAtlantic. The natural point of termini for the Northern Pacific and\nCanada Railroads is also at the Straits of Mackinaw. The one giving\nfinancial strength and business to the other, connecting Portland with\nthe mouth of Columbia by the nearest possible route.\n\nCanada has already granted four million acres of land to railroads\nrunning to Saut St. Mary. Those having the management of the Northern\nPacific railroad will do well to consider the propriety of\nco-operating and uniting with the Canada and Pacific Railroad at the\nStraits.\n\nThe following from the New York Daily News is valuable in this\nconnection. It is from the pen of E. Conkling, Esq.:--\n\n\"You will please excuse me for calling your attention, not to the\nimportance of a Pacific railroad, for that is conceded, and our\ncountry is suffering from want of it, but to the mode of getting the\nmeans to construct the Northern Pacific railroad. I don't remember to\nhave noticed as yet any allusion to this method, or any other\npractical one, and I trust you will consider the suggestions, and add\nthereto any other methods.\n\n\"The railroads now provided for and made to St. Paul, and Crow Wing\nfrom Chicago and Milwaukee will have exhausted local means, State aid\nand available land grants. However desirable it may be to sustain\nthose roads by a business beyond that, and to the country beyond that,\nby extending the Northern Pacific Railroad, yet for want of means it\ncannot be done, unless foreign capitalists can be induced by land\ngrants, at least to invest sufficient to make the road finally, and be\nmade to see that their present large unproductive investments in\nCanada railroads can be made productive in the use of more of their\ncapital.\n\n\"Canada railroads lie _too far North_ to receive any benefit in\nbusiness from railroads terminating from the northwest as far south as\nChicago, and but little from the railroads terminating at Milwaukee,\nas the cost of transhipment and delay to cross by steam ferry eight\nmonths yearly at Milwaukee with eighty-five miles ferriage, must\ndivert the trade and travel either to the north or south end of Lake\nMichigan, and every year will render that delay and cost more\nunpopular. And yet to get that trade the Great Western Railroad of\nCanada have permanently invested $750,000, in the Detroit and\nMilwaukee Railroad, and recently loaned a half a million more,\ndemonstrating the idea I shall advance, that to make good present\ninvestments more means can be had. The State of Michigan itself will\nfurnish a good trade to roads through it and to roads east of it.\n\n\"The Straits of Mackinaw is the great natural ferry of about four\nmiles wide for roads of Michigan and Canada to centre, the point\nnecessarily for the passage of lake commerce, and for a large\npopulation north of it to cross, naturally attracting and combining\nelements of great importance to railroads.\n\n\"Land grants are now made to the straits from the south. The Grand\nTrunk and Great Western Railroads of Canada can go to the Straits of\nMackinaw, aided by those grants. The Ottawa and Huron Railroad to Saut\nSt. Mary, may also go to the Straits, aided by land grants from Saut\nSt. Mary. From there the three Canadian railroads, aided by land\ngrants yet to be made, can go to Crow Wing or near there, and there\nform a junction with the Chicago roads--thence to the Pacific, aided\nby land grants.\n\n\"By affording the Canada interest a chance for a portion of the\nPacific trade, and thus making present Canada investments profitable,\nit is made the interest of foreign capitalists to make our Northern\nPacific railroad.\n\n\"This protective interest to Canada railroads is the greatest\ninducement to be offered them.\n\n\"They will not invest in the road beyond Crow Wing, simply for the\nsake of grants of lands, made valuable only by the outlay of their\nmoney; even should the lands finally redeem the previous outlay for\nthe road, that is no object, because the road will not pay more than\ncost of running and sustaining it, and if it should some beyond that,\nit will be frittered away by bad management and stealing. At least it\nis fair to suppose so, and hence they must be assured of enough of\nland grants to finally make the road, which of itself will pay\nnothing, only in the way of affording the roads east of Crow Wing,\nowned by them, fair dividends. This consideration will of itself\ninduce them to furnish capital to the Pacific, and it is in the power\nof the government thus to interest them. No other proposed route can\nclaim foreign aid because of such good reasons. Our government can aid\nonly in lands; in valueless lands she is or may be wealthy. No bill\ncan pass Congress, only by affording equal aid in lands to the\nNorthern, Central and Southern routes, each standing on their\ncommercial merits before capitalists.\n\n\"The chance for us thus to enlist them, is but for a limited time.\nSoon they will become committed to the North Canada Pacific Road,\nnorth of Lake Superior, when they will not help ours, and thus\nprotract ours for want of means and competing road. At present, two of\nthe most important Canada roads can be enlisted in the above views,\nbecause if the Canada road north of Lake Superior is made, it will\ndivert the trade from them, they being too far south to be benefited.\nBut by going to the Straits of Mackinaw, they secure a division of the\nWestern trade--among the three roads. The road through the mineral\nregions will develop that country and afford a good market for the\nproduce of the country west of it.\n\n\"Chicago is no more on the direct route from the East to Iowa, than is\nMackinaw city on the direct route to the northwest from New York.\n\n\"Lake Michigan naturally forces such a division of the Western and\nNorthwestern trade, and the Strait of Mackinaw is most favorably\nsituated for crossing. Cars can be transferred by ferry boat from\npoint to point, without delay or cost of train shipment.\n\n\"That country is nearer to market than any other Western State;\ncheaper lands and good soil, and healthy climate, and a superior wheat\ncountry, affording employment in lumbering, fishing, mining,\nmanufacturing, &c., offering great inducements to foreigners, and of\ninterest to New York, to be settled.\"\n\nThe history of the West has presented some remarkable facts, contrary\nto the ordinary experience of human progress. It is assumed, as an\nhistorical fact, in European or Asiatic progress, that the growth of\ntowns and states must be slow. It requires generations to bring them\nto maturity, and even imperial power has failed to create cities,\nwithout the aid of time and gradual increase. But, this has been\nreversed in America. We cannot take it for granted that because the\nnatural site of a town is now clothed with the forest, and remote from\nhabitations, that it will not become a prosperous city, within a\nhalf-dozen years. For, we know that in the Northwest, cities have\narisen on a substantial basis, to a numerous population, in a space so\nbrief that history has no record of their existence, and the school\nmaps no name for the place of their being.\n\nChicago which commenced its growth in 1834, had a population in 1857,\nof 100,000, Milwaukee in twenty-one years rose to 50,000, St. Paul in\nfifteen years to 15,000; Keokuk in eighteen years to 15,000, Grand\nRapids in twelve years to 8000; Saginaw city in twenty-two years 4000,\nand Superior city in the short space of two years to 4000.\n\nWe thus see, that, in the Northwest, cities do grow up, in the midst\nof the wilderness, and the wilderness itself soon blooms as the rose.\nTo say, then, that a point affording every natural and commercial\nadvantage for the growth of a large city is not _now_ a city, is to\nsay nothing against its position or prospects. Within the memory of a\ngeneration the five great States, (which have heretofore been termed\nthe Northwest,) contained less then a half a million of people, and\nCleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, were not even\ndots on the map of States. A mission or a military fort was all they\ncould boast. These States now contain six millions of inhabitants, and\nthe towns on the lake shore two hundred and fifty thousand. But to\npresent the point of growth, in the clearest point of view, let us\nconsider it dependent wholly on that of the surrounding country. This\nwe can tell almost precisely. We know the rate of growth in Michigan,\nWisconsin, Minnesota and Canada West.\n\nCanada West in 1840, had a population of 640,000, in 1850, of\n982,000, and in 1857, 1,100,000, Michigan in 1840, was 212,000, in\n1850, 397,000, and in 1857, 700,000. The population of Wisconsin in\n1840, was 30,000, in 1850, it was 305,991, and in 1857, it was\n600,000. The increase in Minnesota in seventeen years was 200,000.\n\nThe annual _increment_ from 1840 to 1850, was 50,000 per annum, or\nabout six per cent. The annual increment from 1850 to 1857, was\n172,000, or about twelve per cent. The _ratio_ of increase is,\ntherefore, increasing, and we may assume it will not be less than\n_ten_ per cent, per annum till 1860. This will give 3,380,000 for\n1860, or _fourfold the population_ of 1840! At a diminishing ratio the\nterritory round Mackinaw will contain 5,400,000 in 1870, and\n(8,000,000) _eight millions_ in 1880. The principal city of the\ndistrict (wherever it may be) must then contain about _one hundred\nthousand inhabitants_.\n\nOf the cities and towns we have above enumerated, the greatest and\nmost rapid in its development is Chicago, whose first warehouse lot\nwas sold in 1834, and which, in 1857, is said to contain near one\nhundred thousand inhabitants. Let us, for a moment, compare the\n_material advantages and resources_ of that place, with those of\nMackinaw city. Dean Swift said, that a large city must combine the\nresources of agriculture, commerce and manufactures. Cities have\nrisen, however, to large size almost exclusively on commerce. Witness\nTyre and Palmyra. But commerce, we concede, when left to itself, is so\nfluctuating, that the cities it builds, like Tyre and Palmyra, may, in\nthe decay of commerce, be left to ruin and desolation. Cities may,\nlikewise, be built up almost exclusively on manufactures, such as\nBirmingham and Sheffield; and it is quite remarkable that the oldest\nand most stable cities have depended largely on manufactures.\nDamascus, the oldest historical city--which has resisted all the\ndestructive influences of time and revolution--has always been a\nmanufacturing town. Paris, Lyons, Lisle, the great interior towns of\nFrance, depend very largely on the manufacture of fine and fashionable\narticles, distributed throughout Europe and America. Of the great\nelements of civic success, we consider manufactures the most\nimportant; but, to make a city of the first magnitude, it is obviously\nnecessary to have all the resources of food, industry and commerce.\nChicago is remarkable chiefly as a grain city--like Odessa, on the\nBaltic. But, whence is the grain derived? By the construction of\nrailroads, at that point, from Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin\nand Iowa, the whole mass of surplus grain in that region--amounting\nto more than twenty millions of bushels per annum--has been exported\nfrom Chicago. But, this is the drainage of three hundred thousand\nsquare miles, two-thirds of which will not export through Chicago when\nrailroads extend directly east to Milwaukee, Superior and Mackinaw,\nfrom Wisconsin and Iowa, and connect, from the south, at Cairo, with\nMissouri and Illinois. Reduced to its own proper limits, the\nagricultural resources of Chicago must be confined to half the surface\nof Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, or about one hundred thousand square\nmiles. This is but little over one-third the surface drained of\nagricultural products toward the Straits of Mackinaw. Will it be said\nthat this new region of the Northwest is less productive in\nagriculture? The contrary, for the great element of breadstuffs, is\nlikely to be true. Attentive observers of agricultural production have\nremarked, that the different grains _produced most on the northern\nedge of the belt_, in which _they will grow at all_. Is it not so in\nEurope? The _isothermal line_ of Mackinaw passes in the midst of those\ncountries which alone produce the surplus grain of Europe, viz.,\nPrussia, Pomerania, Poland, Southern Russia. As if to place this\nbeyond a doubt, the crops of Canada West have, in fact, failed much\nless frequently than those of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. In regard\nto agricultural production, it will be difficult to show that the\ncountry drained by Chicago, has any advantage over that which will be\ndrained by the Straits of Mackinaw.\n\nIn regard to commerce--the natural position of Mackinaw is far superior\nto Chicago. Mackinaw is at the _head_ of Lake Michigan--Chicago, at\nthe _foot_. Mackinaw is at the junction of _three_ great lakes;\nChicago at the foot of one. Mackinaw will concentrate the navigation\nof _eighty thousand_ square miles of water _surface_; Chicago of\n_twenty-four thousand_. Mackinaw is three hundred and fifty miles\nnearer the Atlantic by water; three hundred miles nearer the upper\nextremity of the lakes, and as much nearer any of the Eastern Lake\nports which are points of distribution. The comparison need be made no\nfurther, for whoever looks upon the map will see, that, while Chicago\ntouches one end of a single lake, a world of waters gather round\nMackinaw. For an internal water commerce, it has no equal.\n\nIt will be said, that railroads now carry commerce. This is true, but,\nrailroads do not carry commerce over the surface of lakes, and the\nmultiplication of vessels on the lakes proves that _that_ commerce\nwill ever be great and increasing. But what railroad commerce can be\ngreater than that which will concentrate at Mackinaw, when it\nconnects, in a direct line, not only with the cities of the Ohio\nValley, but with those of the far South. To Cincinnati, to Louisville,\nto Charleston, Savannah, and Pensacola, will the cars move, laden with\nthe people and products of the North. Lastly, neither Chicago nor any\nother point can be superior to Mackinaw in the elements necessary to\nsupport manufactures, the great support of cities, these elements we\nhave already exhibited in detail. Copper, iron, lead, coal, wood,\ntimber, bread, in fine, everything which can feed machinery, give\nmaterial for its work, or feed the people who gather in the great\nworkshops of industry, and distribute the products of labor. Here\nmaterials all lie near enough for the purposes of either work or\ndistribution. Birmingham, Manchester, Lyons, and Cincinnati, have\ntheir materials no nearer. There, if anywhere, is a site peculiarly\nproper for a manufacturing town.\n\nBut, neither agriculture, commerce, nor manufactures are the only\nthings necessary to build up a large city. Healthiness is more\nimportant than either. Here again, Mackinaw has more advantage over\nChicago. Mackinaw has been proved by two hundred years experience to\nbe one of the healthiest points in America. Chicago is generally\nhealthy, but is subject to more severe epidemics. The cholera visited\nit in 1832 and in 1849, with fearful force; while its very low\nposition and muddy streets expose its inhabitants to those diseases\nwhich arise from damps.\n\nThe Legislature of Michigan, recently passed a bill to provide for the\ndrainage and reclamation of the swamp lands of the State by a system\nof State roads, accompanied by a lengthy and able report. The bill\nprovides among others, a road from Ionia north to the straits, and\nthence to Saut St. Mary.\n\nThey also passed a bill entitled the \"Forty Acre Homestead Act.\" This\nact requires the commissioners of the State Land office to issue a\ncertificate of purchase to every settler on the swamp lands belonging\nto the State, for forty acres of said lands, whenever such settler\nshall have resided upon it for five continuous years, and when he has\ndrained the same so as to comply with the provisions of the Act of\nCongress making this grant to the State. Before the settler can\nacquire the right thus to occupy and drain any of the swamp lands, he\nis required to file with the commissioner his application, accompanied\nby an oath of his intention to settle upon and drain it for the\npurpose of obtaining a title thereto. And he must also make oath that\nhe is not already the owner of forty acres of land in any State of the\nUnited States. It is also expressly provided that he shall not cut or\ncarry away any timber from said land, unless it be to clear it for\ncultivation, under such penalties as are now prescribed for\ntrespassing upon State lands. It will be seen, therefore, that the\nobject of the law is to provide homes for the homeless, and at the\nsame time promote the actual, _permanent_ settlement of the northern\nportion of the State. No man who possesses forty acres of land either\nin Michigan or anywhere else, is entitled to the benefits of the act.\nIt is emphatically a law for the poor man. To all such it secures a\n_home_, without money and without price. All it requires of him is to\nsettle upon and cultivate it. How many are there in Detroit and other\nportions of the State, who will avail themselves of this beneficent\nrepublican measure?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n    The Great Western Valley -- Its growth and population --\n    Comparison of Atlantic with interior cities -- Relative\n    growth of river and lake cities -- Centre of population --\n    Lake tonnage -- Progress of the principal centres of\n    population.\n\n\nThe following chapter on the population and growth of the Great\nWestern Valley is taken from De Bow's Review:--\n\nThe westward movement of the Caucasian branch of the human family from\nthe high plains of Asia, first over Europe, and thence, with swelling\ntide, pouring its multitudes into the New World, is the grandest\nphenomenon in history. What American can contemplate its results, as\ndisplayed before him, and as promised in the proximate future, without\nan emotion of pride and exultation?\n\nOur nation has the great middle region of the best continent of the\nworld, and our people are descendants from the most vigorous races.\nWestern Europe, over-peopled, sends us her most energetic sons and\ndaughters, in numbers augmenting with each succeeding decade. Asia is\nbeginning to send forth a portion of her surplus population to our\nshores. Though of inferior race, the Eastern Asiatics are industrious\nand ingenious cultivators and artisans. A large influx of these\nlaborers, though it may lower the average character of our people,\nwill, it is hoped, in a greater degree elevate theirs; and thus, while\nadding to the wealth and power of a nation, do something toward the\ngeneral amelioration of the race. While, then, we contemplate with\npatriotic pride the position which, as a nation, we hold in the\nworld's affairs, may we not indulge in pleasant anticipations of the\nnear approach of the time, when the commercial and social heart of our\nempire will occupy its natural place as the heart of the continent,\nnear the centre of its natural capabilities?\n\nNew York has long been, and for some decades of years it will continue\nto be, the necessary chief focal point of our nation. But, in all\nrespects, it is not the true heart. In its composition and dealings,\nit is almost as much foreign as American. Located on our eastern\nborder, fronting the most commercial and the richest transatlantic\nnations, and of easy access to extensive portions of our Atlantic\ncoast, it is the best point of exchange between foreign lands and our\nown, and for the cities of the sea border of our Republic. As Tyre,\nAlexandria, Genoa, Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam, in their best days,\nflourished as factors between foreigners and the people of the\ninterior regions, whose industries were represented in their markets,\nso New York grows rich as the chief agent in the exchange-commerce\nbetween the ocean shores and the interior regions of our continent. As\nour numbers have swelled, since we became a nation, from three and a\nhalf millions to thirty millions, so New York, including Brooklyn and\nother suburbs, has increased in population and wealth still more\nrapidly, to wit, from twenty-five thousand to more than one million.\nWhile the nation has increased less than tenfold, New York has grown\nmore than four times tenfold. In 1790 the city of New York contained\nthirty-three thousand, and the State of New York three hundred and\nforty thousand--the city having less than one-tenth of the people of\nthe State.\n\nBelieving that this most prosperous of the Atlantic cities will be\neclipsed in its greatness and glory by one or more of the interior\ncities of the great plain, we have selected it as the champion of the\nAtlantic border, to hold up its progress during the thirty years from\n1830 to 1860, the most prosperous years of its existence, in\ncomparison with the progress, during the same period, of the aggregate\ncities and towns of the plain. The result of our investigation, the\nsumming up, will be found in the following table. It will be seen that\nmany of the items are put down in round numbers--no document being\naccessible or in existence to furnish the exact number of many of the\nnew towns, in 1830. The estimate for 1860 may, in some instances, be\nabove the figures which the census will furnish, but the over-estimate\nfor 1830 is believed to be in a larger proportion to actual numbers at\nthat time. Making a liberal allowance for errors, the result of the\naggregate cannot be materially varied from that at which our figures\nbring us:\n\n                               1830.      1860 Est.     Increase.\n  New York, including Brooklyn\n  and other suburbs           234,438     1,170,000     5 times.\n\n  Cities and chief towns of\n  the great plain             270,094     2,706,300     10 \" nearly\n\nLeaving out the exterior cities of the plain, to wit, New Orleans,\nMobile, Galveston, Quebec and Montreal, the comparison between New\nYork and suburbs, and the interior cities of the plain will be shown\nby the following figures:\n\n                               1830.     1860 Est.  Increase.\n  New York and accessories    234,448   1,170,000    5 fold\n  Interior cities and town of\n  the plain                   172,000   2,346,000    13 \"\n\nThe five largest cities of the Atlantic border exhibit a growth, as\ncompared with the five largest cities of the plain, as follows:\n\n                              1830.    1860 Est.\n  New York and dependencies  235,000  1,170,000\n  Philadelphia     \"         170,000    700,000\n  Baltimore        \"          83,000    250,000\n  Boston           \"          80,000    200,000\n  Charleston       \"          31,000     60,000\n\n                             599,000  2,380,000\n\n  Cincinnati and suburbs      28,000    250,000\n  New Orleans     \"           47,000    170,000\n  St. Louis       \"            6,000    170,000\n  Chicago         \"              100    150,000\n  Pittsburg       \"           17,000    145,000\n\n                              98,000    885,000\n\nThis table shows the five Atlantic cities to have quadrupled, and the\nfive cities of the interior plain have increased nine times. Is this\nrelative rate of increase of the exterior and interior cities to be\nchanged, and, if it is to be changed, when is the change to commence?\nWe can foresee no cause adequate to that effect, or tending toward it.\nOn the contrary, it seems to us certain as any future event, that the\nrate of growth of the interior cities, compared with those on the\nAtlantic border, will be increased.\n\nThe proportion which their present numbers bear to the numbers of the\nrural population does not exceed one to six, whereas the urban\npopulation of the Atlantic border is not less than one to three of the\nrural. This disproportion of city and rural population will hereafter\nchange more rapidly in favor of the interior than the Atlantic cities,\nbecause of the greater fertility of soil producing more food from an\nequal amount of labor; and also, by reason of the more rapid growth of\nthe general population, of which an increasing proportion will prefer\ncity to country life. Will it not be so? Will not the general increase\nof population be greater in the interior States? Will not the\nproductions of the soil increase faster? And can there be a doubt that\nthe large disproportion in the distribution of the population between\ncity and country, in the interior, will be lessened, so that, instead\nof being, as now, only one to five or six, they will rapidly approach\nthe proportion of one to two or three? Here, then, are the sources of\nsuperior increase so obviously true, as to need only to be stated to\ninsure conviction.\n\nLet us now compare the growth, for the thirty years since 1830, of the\nfive largest Atlantic cities, with the five largest cities of the\nplain, and, by its side, extend the comparison to 10, 15, and 20 of\nthe largest city of each section:\n\n                             1830.    1860 Est.\n\n  New York and accessories  235,000  1,170,000\n  Philadelphia    \"         170,000    700,000\n  Baltimore       \"          83,000    250,000\n  Charleston      \"          31,000     60,000\n\n                            599,000  2,380,000\n                            Increase 4 times.\n\n                             1830.    1860 Est.\n  Cincinnati and suburbs     28,000    250,000\n  New Orleans    \"           47,000    270,000\n  St. Louis      \"            6,000    170,000\n  Chicago        \"              100    150,000\n  Pittsburg      \"           17,000    145,000\n\n                             98,000  2,885,000\n                             Increase 9 times.\n\nLet us now compare the _ten_ largest of each section.\n\n                                     _Atlantic._\n                                  1830.  1860 Est.\n  The aggregate of the five\n    largest as above            579,000  2,370,000\n  Providence                     17,000     55,000\n  Lowell                          6,500     40,000\n  Washington                     19,000     60,000\n  Albany                         24,000     65,000\n  Richmond                       16,000     35,000\n                                -------  ---------\n                                661,000  2,625,000\n                                  Increase 4 times.\n\n                                     _Interior._\n                                  1839.  1860 Est.\n  Aggregate as above             98,000    885,000\n  Buffalo                         9,000    100,000\n  Louisville                     10,500     80,000\n  Milwaukee                          50     75,000\n  Detroit                         2,000     80,000\n  Cleveland                       1,000     70,000\n                                -------  ---------\n                                120,550  1,290,000\n                                  Increase 10 7-10.\n\nAggregate of the ten, with five more of each section added, added, to\nwit:\n\n                                  1830.  1860 Est.\n    Aggregate as above          661,000  2,625,000\n    Troy                         11,500     35,000\n    Portland                     12,500     30,000\n    Salem                        14,000     25,000\n    New Haven                    10,000     30,000\n    Savannah                      7,500     15,500\n                                -------  ---------\n                                716,500  2,760,500\n                              Increase 3 8-10 times.\n\n                                  1830.  1860 Est.\n    Aggregate as above          120,550  1,290,000\n    Toronto                       1,700     65,000\n    Rochester                     9,000     50,000\n    Mobile                        3,000     30,000\n    Memphis                       1,500     25,000\n    Hamilton                      1,500     25,000\n                               --------   --------\n                                137,000  1,485,000\n                               Increase 16 7-10 times.\n\nAggregate of the fifteen, with five more added in each section:\n\n                                  1830.  1860 Est.\n  Aggregate as above            716,500  2,760,500\n  Springfield, Mass               7,000     24,000\n  Worcester,    \"                 4,500     24,000\n  Bangor, Me.                     3,000     23,000\n  Patterson, N. J.                5,000     22,000\n  Manchester, N. H.                  50     22,000\n                                -------  ---------\n                                736,500  2,875,500\n                               Increase 3 8-10 times.\n\n                                  1830.  1860 Est.\n  Aggregate as above            137,250  1,485,000\n  Dayton                          3,000     24,000\n  Indianapolis                    1,500     22,000\n  Toledo                             30     20,000\n  Oswego                          3,200     20,000\n  Quincy                          1,500     20,000\n                                -------  ---------\n                                149,700  1,591,000\n                               Increase 10 6-10 times.\n\nFrom the above tables, we see that the city of New York, with its\nneighboring dependencies, will have made in growth in thirty years,\nbetween 1830 and 1860, increasing its population 5 times. During the\nsame period,\n\n  The 5 largest Atlantic cities and suburbs,\n      including New York, increased                4  1-10 times.\n  The 10 largest Atlantic cities and suburbs,\n      including New York, increased                4    \"\n  The 15 largest Atlantic cities and suburbs,\n      including New York, increased                3  8-10  \"\n  The 20 largest Atlantic cities and suburbs,\n      including New York, increased                3  8-10  \"\n\n  And that the 5 largest cities of the great plain,\n      during the same period, increased            9    \"\n  And the 10 largest cities of the great plain,\n      during the same period, increased           10  7-10  \"\n  And the 15 largest cities of the great plain,\n      during the same period, increased           10  7-10  \"\n  And the 20 largest cities of the great plain,\n      during the same period, increased           10  6-10  \"\n\nIf the number of cities and towns of each section were increased to\ntwenty-five, thirty, and thirty-five of each section, the disparity\nwould increase in favor of the interior cities, most of these to be\nbrought into comparison, having come into existence since 1830.\n\nWe commend the comparison between the old and the new cities so far\nback as 1830, to give the former a better chance for a fair showing.\nIf a later census should be chosen for a starting point, the\nadvantages would be more decidedly with the interior cities.\n\nIn the article on the great plain, in the May number of this Review,\nwe gave prominence to the two great external gateways of commerce\noffered to its people in their intercourse with the rest of the world:\nthat is to say, the Mississippi river entrance into the Gulf of\nMexico, and the outlet of the lakes through St. Lawrence and Hudson\nrivers. These constitute the present great routes of commerce of the\npeople of the plain, and draw to the cities on the borders of the\ngreat lakes and rivers the trade of the surrounding country. Between\nthe cities of the great rivers and lakes there has of late sprung up a\nfriendly rivalry, each having some peculiar advantages, and all, in\nsome degree, drawing business into their laps for the benefit of their\nrivals. That is to say: river cities gather in productions from the\nsurrounding districts which seek an eastern market through lake\nharbors; and lake cities perform the same office for the chief river\ncities. Each year increases, to a marked extent, the intercourse which\nthese two classes of cities hold with each other; and it may be safely\nanticipated that no long period will elapse before this intercourse\nwill become more important to them than all their commerce with the\nworld beside.\n\nIn comparing the interior cities of the great plain, situated on the\nnavigable rivers, with those located on the borders of the lakes, two\nconsiderations bearing on their relative growth should be kept in\nview. The river cities were of earlier growth, the settlement from the\nAtlantic States having taken the Ohio river as the high-road to their\nnew homes, many years before the upper lakes were resorted to as a\nchannel of active emigration.\n\nThis gave an earlier development to country bordering the central\nrivers, the Ohio, Wabash, Illinois, and Lower Missouri. The States of\nKentucky and Tennessee, also, had been pretty well settled, in their\nmore inviting portions, before any considerable inroad had been made\non the wilderness bordering on the upper lakes. Owing to these and\nother circumstances, the river cities, Pittsburg, Cincinnati,\nLouisville, and others of less note, were well advanced in growth,\nbefore the towns on the lakes had begun, in any considerable degree,\nto be developed. Another advantage the river cities possessed in their\nearly stage, and which they still hold; that of manufacturing for the\nplanting States bordering the great rivers. For many years, in a\ngreat variety of articles of necessity, they possessed almost a\nmonopoly of this business. Of late, transportation has become so\ncheap, that the planters avail themselves of a greater range of choice\nfor the purchase of manufactured articles, and the lake cities have\ncommenced a direct trade with the plantation States, which will\ndoubtless increase with the usual rapidity of industrial development\nin the fertile West.\n\nIf we claim for the upper lake country some superiority of climate for\ncity growth over the great river region, we do not doubt that the\nfuture will justify the claim. More labor will be performed for the\nsame compensation, in a cool, bracing atmosphere, such as\ndistinguishes the upper lake region, than on the more sultry banks of\nthe central affluents of the Mississippi, where are the best positions\nfor the chief river cities.\n\nRefraining from further comment, let us bring the actual development\nof the interior cities--on the navigable rivers and on the lakes--into\njuxtaposition for easy comparison. As our comparison of Atlantic\ncities with the cities of the plain has been made for thirty years,\nfrom 1830 to 1860, we continue it here for the same period, between\nthe river cities and lake cities. We select twenty cities, now the\nlargest of each region, and put down the population in round numbers\nas nearly accurate as practicable. That for 1860, is of course, an\nestimate only, but it is certainly near enough to the truth to\nillustrate the growth, positive and comparative, of our interior\ncities.\n\nThis table exhibits a growth of the interior cities on the navigable\nwaters of the Mississippi and its affluents, which brings their\npopulation, in 1870, up to 11-1-10 that of 1830. This is,\nunquestionably, much beyond the expectation of their most sanguine\ninhabitants, at the commencement of that period, being three times\nthat of the chief cities of the Atlantic border. Yet even this rapid\ndevelopment is seen, by our figures, to fall far behind that which has\ncharacterized the cities created by lake commerce during the same\nperiod.\n\n  Interior River Cities         1830.     1860.\n\n  Cincinnati and dependencies, 25,500   250,000\n  Pittsburg,      \"            15,500   155,000\n  St. Louis,      \"             6,000   180,000\n  Louisville,     \"            11,000    80,000\n  Memphis,        \"             2,500    25,000\n  Wheeling,       \"             6,000    20,000\n  New Albany,     \"             1,500    20,000\n  Quincy,         \"             1,000    19,000\n  Peoria,         \"               800    18,000\n  Galena,         \"             2,000    18,500\n  Keokuk,         \"                50    16,000\n\n  Dubuque,        \"               100    16,000\n  Nashville,      \"             6,000    15,000\n  St. Paul,       \"                      15,000\n  Madison, Ind.,  \"             2,500    13,000\n  Burlington, Ind.,  \"                   12,000\n  La Fayette, Ind.,  \"            300    13,000\n  Rock Island,  \"                         8,000\n  Jeffersonville,  \"              800     8,000\n\n                               81,550   914,000\n\n  Lake Cities.                  1830.     1860.\n\n  Chicago and dependencies        100   150,000\n  Buffalo,           \"          8,663   100,000\n  Detroit,           \"          2,222    80,000\n  Milwaukee,         \"             50    75,000\n  Cleveland,         \"          1,047    70,000\n  Toronto, C. W.,               1,667    65,000\n  Rochester,         \"          9,269    50,000\n  Hamilton, C. W.,   \"          5,500    25,000\n  Kingston, C. W.,   \"          2,500    20,500\n  Oswego,            \"          3,200    20,500\n  Toledo,            \"             30    20,000\n  Sandusky City,     \"            350    14,000\n  Erie,              \"          1,000    10,000\n  G. Rapids, Mich.,  \"            300    10,000\n  Kenosha,           \"                   10,000\n  Racine,            \"                   10,000\n  St. Catharine's, C. W., \"       400    10,000\n  Waukegan,          \"                    8,000\n  Port Huron,        \"            100     8,000\n  Fon du Lac,        \"             20     8,000\n\n                                32,408  764,000\n\nThese, according to the table, exhibit a growth which makes them, in\n1860, more than _twenty-three_ times as populous as they were in 1830.\nThis is double the progress of the river cities, and more than five\ntimes that of the cities of the Atlantic coast. In the face of these\nfacts, how can intelligent men continue to hold the opinion that New\nYork is to continue long to be, as now, the focal point of North\nAmerican commerce and influence? Yet well informed men _do_ continue\nto express the opinion that New York will _ever_ hold the position of\nthe chief city of the continent. Every one at all familiar with the\nlocation and movement of our population, knows that the central point\nof its numbers is moving in a constant and almost unvarying direction\nwest by north. An able investigator, now Professor of Law in the\nUniversity of Michigan, Thomas M. Cooley, five years ago, entered into\nan elaborate calculation to ascertain where the centre of population\nof the United States and Canadas was, at that time. The result showed\nit to be very near Pittsburg. It is generally conceded that it travels\nin a direction about west by north, at a rate averaging not less than\nseven miles a year. In 1860, it will have crossed the Ohio River, and\ncommenced its march through the State of Ohio. As our internal\ncommerce is more than ten times as great as our foreign commerce, and\nis increasing more rapidly, it is plain that it will have the chief\nagency in building the future and permanent capital city of the\ncontinent. If the centre of population were, likewise the centre of\nwealth and industrial power, other things being equal, it would be the\nposition of the chief city, as it would be the most convenient place\nof exchange for dealers from all quarters of the country. But this\ncentre of wealth and industrial power does not keep up, in its western\nmovement, with the centre of population! nor, if its movement were\ncoincident, would it be at or near the right point for the\nconcentration of our domestic and foreign trade, while traversing the\ninterior of Ohio. If we suppose our foreign commerce equal to one\nfifteenth of the domestic, we should add to the thirty-three millions\nof the States and Canadas, upward of two millions of foreigners, to\nrepresent our foreign commerce. These should be thrown into the scale\nrepresented by New York. This, with the larger proportion to\npopulation of industrial power remaining in the old States, would\nrender it certain that the centre of industrial power of our nation\nhas not traveled westward so far as to endanger, for the present, the\nsupremacy of the cities central to the commerce of our Atlantic coast.\nUntil the centre of industrial power approaches a good harbor on the\nlakes, New York will continue the best located city of the continent\nfor the great operations of its commerce. That the centre of wealth\nand consequent industrial power is moving westward at a rate not\nmaterially slower than the centre of population, might be easily\nproved; but, as those who read this article with interest must be\ncognizant of the great flow of capital from the old world and the old\nStates to the New States, and the rapid increase of capital on the\nfertile soil of the new States, no special proof seems to us to be\ncalled for. The centre of power, numerical, political, economical, and\nsocial, is then, indubitably, on its steady march from the Atlantic\nborder toward the interior of the continent. That it will find a\nresting place somewhere, in its broad interior plain, seems as\ninevitable as the continued movement of the earth on its axis. The\nfigures we have submitted of the growth of the principal lake cities\nplainly show great power in lake commerce, so great as to carry\nconviction to our mind that the _principal city of the continent will\nfind its proper home and resting-place on the lake border, and become\nthe most populous capital of the earth_. A full knowledge of the\ngeography of North America will tend to confirm this conviction in the\nmind of the fair inquirer. The lakes penetrate the continent to its\nproductive centre. They afford, during eight or nine months of the\nyear, pleasant and safe navigation for steam-propelled vessels. Their\nwaters are pure and beautifully transparent, and the air which passes\nover them exceedingly invigorating to the human system. Their borders\nare replete with materials for the exercise of human industry and\nskill. The soil is fertile and very productive in grains and grasses.\nCoal in exhaustless abundance crops out on or near their waters, to\nthe extent of nearly one thousand miles of coast. The richest mines of\niron and copper, convenient to water transport, exist, in aggregate\namount, beyond the power of calculation. Stone of lime, granite, sand,\nand various other kinds suitable for the architect and the artist, are\nfound almost everywhere convenient to navigation. Gypsum of the best\nquality crops out on the shores of three of the great lakes, and salt\nsprings of great strength are worked to advantage, near lakes Ontario\nand Michigan. Timber trees in great variety and of valuable sorts,\ngive a rich border to the shores for thousands of miles. Of these, the\nwhite oak, burr oak, white pine, whitewood or tulip tree, white ash,\nhickory and black walnut, are the most valuable. They are of noble\ndimensions, and clothe millions of acres with their rich foliage.\nNowhere else on the continent are to be seen such abundance of\nmagnificent oak, and the immense groves of white pine are not\nexcelled. Heretofore little esteemed, the great tracts of timber\nconvenient to lake navigation and to the wide treeless prairies of the\nplain, are destined soon to take an important place in the commercial\noperations of the interior. Already, oak timber, for ship-building and\nother purposes, finds a profitable market in New York and Boston. The\ngreat Russian steamship \"General Admiral,\" was built in part from the\ntimber of the lake border. A great trade is growing up, based on the\nproducts of the forest. Whitewood (Diriodendron tulipifera), oak\nstaves, black and white walnut plank, and other indigenous timber, are\nshipped, not only to the Atlantic cities, but to foreign ports. The\nlumber yards of Albany, New York, Philadelphia, as well as those of\nChicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland and Buffalo, receive\nlarge supplies from the pineries bordering the great lakes. Cincinnati\nand other Ohio river cities, receive an increasing proportion of pine\nlumber from the same source. These great waters are also, as is well\nknown, stocked with fish in great variety, whose fine gastronomic\nqualities have a world-wide reputation.\n\nAs before stated, these lakes penetrate the continent toward the\nnorthwest as far as its productive centre. They now have unobstructed\nconnection with the Atlantic vessels of nine feet draft and three\nhundred tons burden, by the aid of sixty-three miles of canals\novercoming the falls of the St. Mary, Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers,\nwith a lockage of less than six hundred feet. By enlarging some of the\nlocks and deepening the canals, at a cost of a very few millions,\nnavigation for propellers of from one thousand to two thousand tons\nmay be secured with the whole world of waters. The cost is much within\nthe power of the Canadas and the States bordering the lakes, and will\nbe but a light matter to these communities when, within the next\nfifteen years, they shall have doubled their population and trebled\ntheir wealth. The increase of the commerce of the lakes, during the\nlast fifteen years, is believed to be beyond any example furnished by\nthe history of navigation. A proportionate increase the next fifteen\nyears, would give for the yearly value of its transported articles,\nthousands of millions. According to the best authorities it is now\nover four hundred millions. In 1855, that portion of the tonnage\nbelonging to the United States was one fifteenth of the entire tonnage\nof the Union. During the same year the clearances of vessels from\nports of the United States to the Canadas, and the entrance of\nvessels from the Canadas to ports of the United States, as exhibited\nin the following table, show a greater amount of tonnage entered and\ncleared than between the United States and any other foreign country:\n\nClearances from ports in the United States to ports in Canada in 1855:\n\n  Number of American vessels         2,369\n    \"       Canadian  \"              6,638\n\n  Whole number                       9,067\n  Tonnage American                 890,017\n     \"    Canadian                 903,502\n\n  Total cleared from the States, 1,793,519\n\nThe registered tonnage of all the States, the same year, was\n2,676,864; and the registered and enrolled together, 5,212,000.\n\nThe value of lake tonnage was, in 1855, $14,835,000. The total value\nof the commerce of the lakes, the same year, was estimated, by high\nauthority, (including exports and imports) at twelve hundred and\nsixteen millions ($1,216,000,000.) This seems to us an exaggerated\nestimate, though based principally on official reports of collectors\nof customs. Eight hundred millions would, probably, be near to the\ntrue amount. It will surprise many persons to learn that the trade\nbetween the United States and Canadas, carried on chiefly by the lakes\nand their connecting waters, ranks third in value and first in\ntonnage, in the table of our foreign commerce; being, in value, only\nbelow that of England and the French Empire, and in tonnage above the\nBritish Empire.\n\n  American goods to Canada       $9,950,764\n  Foreign goods                   8,769,580\n\n                                $18,720,344\n  Canadian goods to the States,  12,182,314\n\n                                $30,902,658\n\nWe here append a table showing the progress, from decade to decade, of\nthe principal centres of population of the plain since 1820. It has\nbeen made with all the accuracy which our sources of information\nenable us to attain. There are in it, no doubt, many errors, but it\nwill be found, in the main, and for general argument, substantially\ncorrect. For future reference, it will be valuable to persons who take\nan interest in the development of our new urban communities. Included\nin each city are its outlying dependencies--such as Newport and\nCovington with Cincinnati, and Lafayette with New Orleans.\n\n                        1830.   1840.    1850.    1860.\n\n    New Orleans        46,310  90,000  130,565  180,000\n    Cincinnati         21,831  47,000  130,739  250,000\n    St. Louis           5,852  16,469   82,000  180,000\n    Chicago               100   4,650   29,963  150,000\n    Pittsburg          12,568  25,000   71,595  125,000\n    Buffalo             8,653  18,213   42,265  100,000\n    Montreal           30,000  40,000   55,000   90,000\n    Louisville         10,341  21,210   43,194   89,000\n    Detroit             2,222   9,162   21,019   80,000\n    Milwaukee              50   1,730   20,061   75,000\n    Cleveland           1,047   6,071   19,377   70,000\n    Toronto             1,677  13,500   27,500   70,000\n    Rochester           9,269  20,191   36,409   50,000\n    Quebec             26,250  32,500   41,200   55,000\n    Columbus, O.        2,450   6,671   17,882   40,000\n    Mobile              3,194  12,672   20,515   35,000\n    Hamilton, C. W.     1,500   4,200   13,000   25,000\n    Memphis             1,500   3,500    8,839   25,000\n    Nashville           5,566   6,929   10,478   25,000\n    Dayton              2,954   6,067   10,977   25,000\n    Indianapolis        1,000   2,692    8,034   22,000\n    Wheeling, Va.       5,221   7,885   11,435   20,000\n    Kingston, C. W.     2,500   5,500   10,000   20,000\n    Lockport, N. Y.     3,800   6,500   12,323   20,000\n    Oswego              3,200   4,665   12,205   20,000\n    Toledo                 30   1,229    3,829   20,000\n    Zanesville          3,000   6,000   12,355   20,000\n                         est.    est.\n    New Albany          1,500   4,000    9,895   20,000\n                         est.   est.\n    Peoria                800   2,000    5,095   20,000\n                         est.   est.\n    Quincy, Ill.        1,000   3,000    6,902   20,000\n    Galena              2,000   4,000    6,004   20,000\n    Dubuque               200   1,500    3,108   16,000\n    Keokuk                ...   1,000    2,478   16,000\n    Davenport             ...     500    2,478   12,000\n    Burlington, Ia.       ...   1,000    1,848   12,000\n    Columbus, Ga.       1,000   4,000    5,052   10,000\n    Alton, Ill.           250   2,500    3,585   10,000\n    Steubenville        2,964   5,203    6,140    9,000\n    Chillicothe         2,840   3,977    7,100    9,000\n    Grand Rapids, Mich.   300   1,500    3,148    9,000\n    Huntsville, Ala.    1,200   1,500    2,863    6,000\n    Adrian, Mich.         200   1,800    3,006    9,000\n    Ann Arbor             200   2,000    4,868    9,000\n    Sandusky City         350   2,000    8,500   13,000\n    Fort Wayne, Ia.       100   1,600    4,282   13,000\n    Madison, Ia.        2,500   4,500    8,508   13,000\n    St. Paul              ...     ...    1,012   15,000\n    Lafayette, Ia.        200   2,000    6,129   13,000\n    Maysville, Ky.      1,800   2,741    4,256    9,000\n    Terre Haute, Ia.      600   2,000    4,900    9,000\n    Evansville, Ia.       300   1,500    3,235    9,000\n    Jeffersonville, Ia.   500   2,000    3,487    9,000\n    Portsmouth, Ohio    1,000   2,000    4,011    9,000\n    Marietta, O.        1,200   1,815    5,254    9,000\n    Springfield, Ill.     800   2,579    4,553    9,000\n    Rock Island City      ...     400    1,711    8,000\n    Chattanooga, Ten.     500   1,000    3,500    8,000\n    Bytown, or    }\n    Ottawa, C. W. }       500   2,000    5,000   10,000\n    London, C. W.         500   2,000    5,000   10,000\n    St. Catharines, do.   200     800    4,000   10,000\n    Galveston, Texas    1,200   2,000    4,177   10,000\n    Houston, \"            ...     500    3,000   10,000\n    Erie, Pa.           1,260   3,500    5,858   10,000\n    Lexington, Ky.      4,500   6,997    9,180   10,000\n    Ogdensburg          1,500   3,000    6,500   10,000\n    Natchez, Miss.      2,000   3,000    4,434    9,000\n    Three Rivers, C. E.   800   2,000    4,000    8,000\n    Racine, Wis.          ...   1,000    5,111    9,000\n    Waukesha              ...     200    2,313    8,000\n    Marshall, Mich.       200   1,200    2,822    8,000\n    Pontiac,   \"          150   1,300    2,820    8,000\n    P't Huron  \"          100     400    2,313    8,000\n    Jackson    \"          150   1,000    3,051    6,000\n    Kalamazoo  \"          150     900    2,363    6,000\n    Mineral Pt., Wis.     500     800    2,584    6,000\n    Kenosha       \"       ...     500    3,055    8,000\n    Fon du Lac,   \"       ...   1,000    3,451    6,000\n    Janesville    \"       ...   1,200    2,782    7,000\n    Beloit        \"       ...     500    2,732    6,000\n    Madison       \"       ...     100    1,500    7,000\n    Elgin         \"       ...     100    2,359    5,000\n    Oshkosh,      \"       ...     ...    2,500    6,000\n    Monroe, Mich.         400   2,000    2,813    5,000\n    Lansing  \"            ...     100    1,229    5,000\n    Columbus, Miss.       800   1,500    2,611    5,000\n    Jacksonville, Ill.    800   1,500    2,745    5,000\n    Waukegan       \"      ...     800    2,949    6,000\n    Lasalle        \"       50   1,000    3,201    6,000\n    Joliet         \"      ...   1,000    2,659    6,000\n    Jefferson City, Mo. 1,000   2,000    3,000    5,000\n    St. Joseph      \"     ...   1,000    2,557    5,000\n    Independence    \"     ...     500    3,500    6,000\n    Iowa City, Iowa       ...     ...    1,582    5,000\n    Muscatine   \"         ...     400    2,540    6,000\n    Springfield, Ohio   1,080   2,094    5,108    8,000\n    Newark        \"     1,000   2,705    3,654    7,000\n    Hamilton  \"           800   1,409    3,210    7,000\n    Lancaster  \"        1,000   2,120    3,483    5,000\n    Akron   \"             800   1,664    3,266    6,000\n    Mt, Vernon \"          800   2,363    3,711    7,000\n    Tiffin    \"           ...     728    2,718    7,000\n    Urbana   \"            400   1,070    3,414    6,000\n    Massillon  \"          600   1,300    2,697    5,000\n    Lawrenceburg, Ia.     600   2,000    3,487    6,000\n    Richmond, Ia.         500   1,000    1,443    5,000\n    Knoxville, Tenn.    1,800     ...    2,076    6,000\n\nThe preceding table is instructive, showing, as it does, the steady\nand rapidly increasing tendency of the people of the plain to seek a\nhome in cities and villages, notwithstanding the great temptation\nwhich fertile, cheap, and easily-improved lands hold out to become\ntillers of the soil and growers of cattle. Stock farming is largely\nremunerative, but our western people--wild and uncultivated as they\nare supposed to be by those unacquainted with their true\ncharacter--prefer homes where the advantages of education and social\nintercourse is a constant enjoyment. Nowhere in the world are\neducational establishments on a better footing or more universally\naccessible than in some of the new States of the centre, as in Ohio,\nMichigan, Wisconsin and other States.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n    Michigan Agricultural Reports for 1854 -- Professor Thomas's\n    Report -- Report of J. S. Dixon -- Products of States --\n    Climate -- Army Meteorological Reports.\n\n\nFrom the Agricultural Reports of the State of Michigan we take the\nfollowing:--\n\n\"From old Fort Mackinaw to the Manistee River, the land immediately\nupon the lake shore, and not unfrequently extending back for many\nmiles, is considerably elevated, and occasionally rises very abruptly\nto the height of from one hundred to three or four hundred feet. The\ncountry (more particularly the northern portion) continues to rise as\nwe proceed into the interior, until it attains an elevation equal to\nany other portion of the peninsula.\n\n\"This is more particularly the case in the rear of Traverse Bay, where\nthis elevation continues for many miles into the interior, giving to\nthe landscape a very picturesque appearance when viewed from some of\nthe small lakes, which abound in this as well as in the more southern\nportion of the State.\n\n\"The tract of country under consideration is based on limestone,\nsandstone, and shales, which are covered, excepting at a few points,\nwith a deposit of red clay and sand, varying in thickness from a few\ninches to more than four hundred feet. The interior of the northern\nportion of the peninsula, west of the meridian, is generally more\nrolling than that on the east. It is interspersed with some extensive\ncedar swamps and marshes, on the _alluvial_ lands, and in the vicinity\nof heads of streams and some of the lakes. The upland is generally\nrolling, has a soil of clay, loam and sand, and is clad with evergreen\ntimber, intermixed with tracts of beech and maple, varying in extent\nfrom a few acres to several townships. Several of the most extensive\nof these tracts are in the vicinity of the Cheboygan and Tahweegon\nrivers, their lakes and tributary streams. There are also large tracts\nof beech and maple timber lying between the head of Grand Traverse\nBay, and the Manistee and Muskeegon rivers.\n\n\"The elevated portion of land on the shore of Lake Michigan, known as\nthe 'Sleeping Bear' as well as Manitou Island, (see latitude 45)\nwhich, when viewed from a distance, has the appearance of sand, is\nfound to be composed of alternate layers of highly marly clay and\nsand. The clay is of a deep red color, and in many places its strata\nare much contorted.\n\n\"The hilly region, to which allusions have been made, is mostly\nheavily timbered with beech, maple, bass, oak, ash, elm, birch, etc.,\ninterspersed with an occasional cedar swamp. In the vicinity of Grand\nTraverse Bay, this character of country extends into the interior for\nmany miles, bordering on a series of small and beautiful lakes, which\nvary in length from two to eighteen miles, and are generally free from\nmarsh and swamp. This country, as also that in the interior from\nLittle Traverse Bay, is well adapted to the purposes of agriculture.\n\n\"Passing south of this rolling district, the country becomes less\nelevated and more variable, the soil assuming a more sandy character,\nand being generally clad with evergreen timber. There are, however,\nexceptions to this in some fine tracts of beech and maple near the\nlake coast, also, in the vicinity of some of the streams in the\ninterior.\n\n\"It is nevertheless true, that there are many extensive swamps and\nmarshes in this part of the peninsula, but it is doubted whether, upon\nthe whole, they exceed the quantity or extent of those of the more\nsouthern part of the State.\n\n\"In point of soil and timber, this portion of the State is not\ninferior to the more southern--and such are the advantages it offers\nto the settler, that the day is not distant when it will be sought as\na place of residence by the agriculturist.\n\n\"The beauty of its lakes and streams is not anywhere surpassed. Such\nis the transparency of their waters as to permit objects to be\ndistinctly seen at the depth of more that thirty feet.\n\n\"That part of the peninsula situate north of Grand River is usually\nregarded by many of the inhabitants of the more southern part of the\nState, as being either an impenetrable swamp, or a sandy barren waste,\nand as possessing too rigorous a climate to admit of its successful\napplication to purposes of agriculture.\n\n\"This is an erroneous opinion, and one which will most certainly be\ncorrected, as the facts with regard to this part of our State come\nmore fully to be known. The inhabitants of Flat, Royale, Muskegon and\nWhite Rivers, and the Ottawa Indians, living on the Grand and Little\nTraverse Bays, and on the Manistee River, have extensive cultivated\nfields, which uniformly produce abundant crops.\n\n\"The country on Flat and Royale Rivers is generally rolling,\ninterspersed with level and knobby tracts; but none is so rough as to\nprevent it from being successfully cultivated. The timber in the\nvicinity of the streams consists of black, white, and burr oak, which\nis scattering, and forms what is denominated openings and plains;\nsmall tracts of pine barrens, beech, maple and oak lands, interspersed\nwith tracts of white pine.\n\n\"Settlements are rapidly advancing in this part of our State, and much\nof the land under cultivation produces excellent crops of wheat, oats,\ncorn, potatoes, etc., and so far as experience has been brought to the\ntest, is not inferior to, or more subject to early frosts in the fall,\nthan more southern counties of the State.\n\n\"The soil varies from a light sand to a stiff clay loam.\n\n\"The country on the Muskegon is rolling, and may be considered as\ndivided into beech and maple land, pine lands, pine barrens, oak\nopenings, plains and prairies. Small tracts of the latter are situated\nnear the forks of the river, about forty-five miles from its mouth,\nand between thirty and forty-five miles north of the Grand River.\n\n\"Crops of corn, oats, wheat, etc., were here as flourishing as those\nof the more southern part of State. The soil of the prairies and\nopenings is sandy, while that of the beech and maple lands is a sand\nand clay loam.\n\n\"The Indians on Grand and Little Traverse Bays and vicinity, also\nobtain good crops of corn, potatoes, squashes, etc. Some of the most\nintelligent Indians informed me that they were seldom injured by\nfrosts in the fall or spring. They also have many apple trees which\nproduce fruit in considerable quantities.\n\n\"The soil is strictly a warm one, and, exposed as the whole country,\nbordering on Lake Michigan, is to the influence of the southern winds\nduring summer and parts of spring and fall, it seldom fails to be\nproductive.\"\n\nProfessor Thomas, Geologist, has placed in our hands the following\nreport of the Geology of Mackinaw, Michigan:\n\n\"From the site of old Fort Mackinaw, at the very extremity of the\npeninsula, south to the Manistee River, a direct distance of about one\nhundred and forty miles, the immediate shores of the lake are almost\ninvariably considerably elevated, sometimes rising abruptly to a\nheight of from three to four hundred feet.\n\n\"The soil of the vicinity, in consequence of the large amount of\ncalcareous matter which enters into its composition, possesses a\nfertility that a superficial observer would scarcely ascribe to it.\n\n\"The limestone chiefly consists of an irregular assemblage of angular\nfragments united by a tufaceous cement. These fragments usually appear\nat first sight to have a compact structure, but a more minute\nexamination shows them to contain _minute_ cells, sufficiently large\nto admit water, which, by the action of frost, subjects the rock to\nrapid disintegration. Portions of the rock may, nevertheless, be\nselected partially free from this difficulty, and which are possessed\nof sufficient compactness to render them of value as a coarse building\nstone; horn-stone, striped jasper (imperfect); hog-toothed spar,\ncalcareous spar, and fluor spar, are imbedded in the rock, although\nthe latter is of rare occurrence.\n\n\"Lime rock again occurs at the Straits of Mackinaw, and in the\nvicinity, it appears upon the Island of Mackinac, together with the\nBois Blanc, Round, and St. Martin's Islands, as also upon the northern\npeninsula north from Mackinaw.\n\n\"Gypsum occurs on the St. Martin's group of islands, and also upon the\nnorthern peninsula between Green Bay and Mackinac.\n\n\"MACKINAW LIMESTONE.--The rock is of a light color, and the fragments\nof which it is composed frequently contain numberless minute cells.\nThese were undoubtedly once filled with spar, which has been washed\nout of the exposed part of the rock by the action of water. The upper\npart is unfit for building purposes, but the lower is more compact,\nand has marks of regular stratification.\n\n\"COAL.--The coal is highly bituminous, a character in common with all\nthat has been seen in the State, and it may safely be said, that none\nother may be looked for in the peninsula.\n\n\"From the facts now before me, I am led to hope that coal will be\nfound in the elevated hills of the northern part of the peninsula,\neasterly from Little Traverse Bay, a circumstance which, should it\nprove to be the case, will add much to the value of that portion of\nthe State.\"--_Houghton Geological Reports of Michigan._\n\n\"Foster and Whitney, United States Geologists, in their Reports to the\nGovernment, laid down the Onondago Salt Group of rocks as extending\nover a portion of the southern part of the northern peninsula of\nMichigan, not a great distance from Mackinaw, and also as existing on\nthe St. Martin's and Mackinaw Islands.\n\n\"ONONDAGA SALT GROUP.--As a whole, it is an immense mass of\nargillo-calcareous shaly rocks, inclosing veins and beds of gypsum;\nhence this has been designated by some as the 'gypseous shales.'\n\n\"Four divisions have been distinguished in the description of the\nOnondaga Salt Group, though the lines of separation are by no means\nwell defined.\n\n\"1. Red and greenish shales below.\n\n\"2. Green and red marl, shale, and shaly limestone with some veins of\ngypsum.\n\n\"3. Shaly, compact, impure limestone, with shale and marl, embracing two\nranges of plaster beds with hopper-shaped cavities between.\n\n\"4. Drab-colored, impure limestone with fibrous cavities; the\n'magnesian deposit of Vanuxem.' Of these, the third is the only one\nthat has yielded gypsum in profitable quantities. The included masses\nof gypsum, though, for the most part, even-bedded at their base, are\nusually very irregular at their upper surface, often conical. The\nplaster beds are supposed to be separations by molecular attraction\nfrom the marl.\n\n\"This third division contains not only the gypseous beds, but is most\nprobably the source of all the salt so extensively manufactured at\nOnondaga, Cayuga, and Madison; at least Vanuxem informs us that,\nexcept in these gypseous beds, there is no evidence of salt existing\nin the solid state in any of the other divisions of the Onondaga Salt\nGroup.\n\n\"The fourth division is remarkable for a fine columnar structure, or\nneedle-formed cavities, dispersed through the mass.\n\n\"In the middle counties of New York, the entire thickness of the\nOnondaga Salt Group must be from six hundred to a thousand feet.\nNotwithstanding its great thickness, this formation is very barren in\nfossils. The corals and shells of the Niagara group suddenly ceased to\nexist, perhaps, as Hall suggests, being overwhelmed by a sudden\noutbreak of a buried vulcano at the bottom of the ocean, by which the\nwaters became surcharged not only with argillaceous sediment, but\nbecame contaminated, either with free sulphuric acid, or sulphate of\nmagnesia and soda.\n\n\"The country through which the Onondaga Salt Group extends, is usually\nmarked by a series of low, gravelly hills, and clayey valleys, on\nwhich a stunted growth of timber prevails, known by the name of 'Oak\nOpenings.' Small portions of sulphate of strontia, galena, and blende,\nwith rhomb spar, occur in the upper portion of the group. Gypsum and\nsalt are, however, the only minerals of economical value: of the\nformer many thousand tons are excavated. Several acidulous springs\nissuing from these deposits, have been found to contain free\nsulphuric acid.\"--_D. D. Owen's Review of the N. Y. Geological\nReports._\n\nJules Marcou, in his Geology of the United States, places the northern\nportion of the southern peninsula of Michigan in the Terrain Devonian.\n\nReport of J. S. Dixon and others, on Grand Traverse Bay, p. 523, in\nMichigan Agricultural Reports for 1834, says:\n\n\"The atmosphere is moist and wholesome--no disease, and healthy as any\nportion of country. It is a well established fact, that water cools\nfirst on the surface, then sinks while the warm water rises, and\nconsequently ice never forms till the whole body of water has been\ncooled to thirty degrees. Now, from this fact, the philosopher will at\nonce deduce the climate of this region. Traverse Bay is from one\nhundred to nine hundred feet deep and the water never cools to\nthirty-two degrees till the middle of February, and in Lake Michigan\nin the middle never, and so long as the water in these continuous\nreservoirs is warmer than the air, the former must obviously warm the\nlatter.\n\n\"It is accordingly well known that in England, on the east side of the\nAtlantic 7 deg. or 8 deg. farther north than Traverse Bay, the climate, as it\nregards cold in winter, is about equal to that of Washington City,\nand so it is on the east side of the Pacific ocean, in Oregon. Hence\nit is evident that the seasons on the east side of Lake Michigan must\nbe uniform.\n\n\"Around Traverse Bay the frost seldom kills vegetables till in\nNovember, and seldom occurs in spring later than the 1st of May. In\nNovember it gets cold enough to freeze. The vapors arising from the\nlake and bay fall in snow and cover the ground before the frost has\npenetrated it at all; it accumulates several months till it is two\nfeet deep, sometimes deeper, and remains till April; and when it goes\noff; cattle find enough to eat in the woods. This region is much more\nsunny between the middle of March and December than southern Michigan,\nand every vegetable physiologist will at once state that the influence\nof this on vegetation must be very great, and accordingly spring crops\ngrow with such rapidity that corn is fit to be cut by the 1st of\nSeptember. From December to March, as above, the atmosphere is hazy,\ncloudy, and frosty, though the thermometer never sinks so low as in\nthe south of Michigan by ten or twelve degrees (8 or 10 degrees below\nzero, being the lowest yet known), and a winter thaw is unknown here.\nHence we never have mud in winter, and but little at any season.\n\n\"With the very defective cultivation hitherto used here, yield of\ncrops are as follows:--Potatoes, free of rot, 150 to 300 bushels to\nthe acre; oats 25 to 60; corn 25 to 50; wheat (spring) the largest yet\nraised 27 bushels. Wheat raised here is much more plump than in\nsouthern Michigan, and there is no instance of its being smothered or\ninjured by snow, because the snow never thaws and alternately freezes\ninto a hard crust, or ice, so as to exclude the air from the wheat, as\nin other places.\n\n\"We confidently predict that this will become the most prolific wheat\nregion in the west; rust and insects are unknown. All experience goes\nto prove that this will be a great fruit country. The Indian apple and\npeach trees, although few in number bear well every year; and as to\nwild blackberries and raspberries, both as to size and flavor, there\nis absolutely no end. They serve all the inhabitants and millions of\npigeons for several months.\"\n\nUnited States census, 1850, shows products of States.\n\n             Average per acre of\n               Wheat.        Oats   Corn.  Potatoes.\n  Michigan      10  Bushels   26     32       140\n  Illinois      11     \"      29     33       105\n  Indiana       12     \"      20     33       100\n  Iowa          14     \"      36     32       100\n\n             Average per acre of\n               Wheat.        Oats   Corn.  Potatoes.\n  Ohio          12     \"      21     36\n  Wisconsin     14     \"      35     30\n  Pennsylvania  15     \"             20\n  New York      12     \"      25     27\n\nCLIMATE.--Council Bluffs is in latitude 41-1/2 deg., Dubuque 42-3/4 deg.,\nGreen Bay 43-1/2 deg., and Mackinaw City about 46 deg.. By reference to the\nfollowing tables of temperature, it will be seen that these points are\nabout on the same isothermal line, practically removing, by these\ntables, the prejudices generally existing against the climate of\nnorthern Michigan--see Blodgett's Climatology and Army Meteorological\nReports of United States.\n\n    Quebec, Canada.  average in January above  zero,  13 deg.\n    Montreal,  \"                   \"      \"      \"    16\n    Hampden, Maine                 \"      \"      \"    17\n    Portland,  \"                   \"      \"      \"    21\n    Cannel,    \"                   \"      \"      \"    15\n    Burlington, Vt.                \"      \"      \"    19\n    Deerfield, Mass.               \"      \"      \"    21\n    Granville, N. Y.               \"      \"      \"    22\n    Potsdam,    \"                  \"      \"      \"    18\n    Plattsburgh, \"                 \"      \"      \"    20\n    Gouverneur, \"                  \"      \"      \"    20\n    Lowville,   \"                  \"      \"      \"    22\n    Oneida,     \"                  \"      \"      \"    22\n    Buffalo,    \"                  \"      \"      \"    23\n    Silver Lake, Pa.               \"      \"      \"    22\n    Concord, N. H.                 \"      \"      \"    22\n    Boston, Mass.                  \"      \"      \"    28\n    Albany, N. Y.                  \"      \"      \"    24\n    Chicago, Illinois              \"      \"      \"    24\n    Ottawa,    \"                   \"      \"      \"    23\n    Muscatine, Iowa                \"      \"      \"    20\n    Detroit, Michigan              \"      \"      \"    27\n    Pittsburgh, Pa.                \"      \"      \"    29\n    Philadelphia, \"                \"      \"      \"    32\n    Cincinnati, Ohio               \"      \"      \"    30\n    Green Bay, Wis.                \"      \"      \"    19\n    Dubuque, Iowa                  \"      \"      \"    20\n    Council Bluffs                 \"      \"      \"    19\n    Mackinaw City                  \"      \"      \"    19\n\nThese extremes of latitude of Philadelphia and Mackinaw include the\nprincipal agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and commercial\ninterests of America, elements naturally pertaining to Michigan, and\nsecond in their variety and extent to no State of the Union.\n\n  Archangel, Russia,       in January, averages above zero  6.60 deg.\n  St. Petersburg,               \"         \"      \"     \"   15.70\n  Christiana, Norway,           \"         \"      \"     \"   21.30\n  St. Bernard, Switzerland,     \"         \"      \"     \"   14.40\n  Moscow, Russia,               \"         \"      \"     \"   13.60\n  Erzeroum, Turkey,             \"         \"      \"     \"   18.\n  Taganwa, Sea of Azof,         \"         \"      \"     \"   20.70\n  Astracan, Caspian Sea,        \"         \"      \"     \"   21.30\n  Kasow (Volga) Russia,         \"         \"      \"     \"    3.50\n  Stockholm, Sweden,            \"         \"      \"     \"   24.30\n  Cracow, Poland,               \"         \"      \"     \"   23.40\n  Pekin, China,                 \"         \"      \"     \"   26.00\n  Odessa, S. Russia,            \"         \"      \"     \"   25.20\n  Berlin, Prussia,              \"         \"      \"     \"   27.70\n\nExtremes below zero, 1835.\n\n  Bangor, Maine      January 4,    below 40 deg.\n  Bath      \"            \"           \"   40\n  Portland, \"            \"           \"   21\n  Boston, Mass.          \"           \"   15\n  Salem,    \"            \"           \"   17\n  Chicago, Ill.      February 8,     \"   22\n  St. Louis, Mo.         \"           \"   22\n  Cincinnati, O.         \"           \"   18\n  Lexington, Ky.         \"           \"   20\n  Nashville, Tenn.       \"           \"   10\n  Huntsville, Ala.       \"           \"    9\n  Philadelphia, Pa.      \"           \"    6\n  Lancaster, Pa.         \"           \"   22\n  Washington City        \"           \"   16\n  Clarksville, Geo.      \"           \"   15\n\nArmy Meteorological Reports for 1854.\n\n                      January.     Range.    above  below\n                        Mean.  Max'm. min'm. mean.  mean.\n  Fort Hamilton, N. Y. 31.49 deg.   50.   12.    18.5   19.5\n  Fort Niagara,  \"     25.04    48.    6.    23.    19.\n  Alleghany, Pa.       29.08    64.    5.    34.9   24.1\n  Fort Delaware, Md.   32.38    54.   10.    21.6   17.4\n  Cincinnati, Ohio     31.78    54.    1.    22.2   32.8\n  Fort Snelling, Min.   1.30    45.   36.    43.7   37.3\n  \" Leavenworth, Kan.  24.68    67.    8.    32.3   32.7\n  \" Mackinaw, Mich.    13.09    34.   15.    10.9   28.1\n\nBlodgett's and Army Rain Charts, showing rain and snow in inches for a\nseries of years.\n\n                         Jan.   Feb.  M'ch.  Dec. Total in year.\n  Mack'w Island, Mich.   1.25    .82  1.14   1.24   23.87\n  Fort Kent, Maine.      3.73   2.60  1.77   3.36   36.46\n  Portland,    \"         3.37   3.39  2.92   4.17   45.25\n\n                         Jan.   Feb.  M'ch.  Dec. Total in year.\n  Charleston, Mass.      2.66   2.22  4.08   2.27   35.83\n  Montreal, Canada       2.84   1.84  2.69   2.58   47.28\n  Fayetteville, Vt.      3.93   3.91  4.07   3.55   53.99\n  Cincinnati, Ohio.      3.35   3.51  3.93   4.29   46.89\n  Green Bay, Wis.        1.19   0.87  1.70   1.30   34.65\n  Detroit, Mich.         2.18   1.38  2.86   1.30   30.07\n  St. Louis, Mo.         1.93   3.37  3.82   1.99   41.95\n  Fort Hamilton, N. Y.   2.98   3.67  3.65   3.84   43.65\n  Pittsburgh, Pa.        2.18   2.17  2.70   3.13   34.96\n  Philadelphia, Pa.      3.09   2.94  3.43   4.03   43.56\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n    Agricultural interest -- Means of transportation -- Railways\n    and vessels -- Lumber -- Vessels cleared -- Lake cities and\n    Atlantic ports -- Home-market -- Breadstuffs -- Michigan\n    flour -- Monetary panics -- Wheat -- Importations --\n    Provisions -- Fruit -- Live stock -- Wool -- Shipping\n    business -- Railroads -- Lake Superior trade -- Pine lumber\n    trade -- Copper interest -- Iron interest -- Fisheries --\n    Coal mines -- Salt -- Plaster beds.\n\n\nWe copy from the Detroit Tribune of 1860, a somewhat elaborate and\nlengthy article containing recent and highly important information in\nregard to the industrial interests of Michigan. Though there are\nportions of this article which we have to some extent anticipated in\nsome of our previous chapters, we consider it highly important to\nextract largely from it, because of its more recent date. To all\ninterested in the development and future growth of the Northwest, it\nwill prove most valuable. The writer, Mr. Kay Haddock, commercial\neditor of the Tribune, says:--\n\n\"We know of no similar extent of country on the globe so highly\nfavored by nature as our own State, which but twenty-three years since\nemerged from the chrysalis condition of a territory, but which to day,\nby the quickening influence brought to bear upon her natural\nadvantages by an enterprising and enlightened people, possesses\nelements of wealth and greatness that might well be coveted by\nempires. The characteristics for which she is pre-eminent are neither\nfew in number nor ordinary in character. She occupies the very front\nrank in respect to important minerals, as well as in the extent and\nquality of her forest products, while her fisheries are altogether\nunrivaled, and, like her mines and forests, are the source of\nexhaustless wealth. With regard to the extent and diversity of her\nnatural resources, it would indeed seem difficult to over-estimate\nthem. Predictions that seem visionary to-day, are to-morrow exceeded\nby the reality, as some new treasure is revealed. A glance at the map\nis of itself the most eloquent commentary that could be presented with\nreference to her geographical position. As nature does nothing in\nvain, the shipping facilities afforded by the noble inland seas that\nclasp our shores, are a sign and promise of the commercial greatness\nthat awaits us in the future. We may well be proud of the condition\nof our agricultural interest--that great interest which underlies\nevery other; which alike gives to the wealthy his opulence and the\nbeggar his crust. Our farmers have unmistakably indicated their\ndetermination to accept of no secondary position in the quality of\ntheir wheat, and their wool is not only rapidly gaining the first rank\nas respect the amount produced, but is sought for with avidity for its\nsuperior quality by all the principal manufacturers of the country.\nPomona, too, has thrown her influence in the scale. The region that\nhas thus far been devoted to the culture of fruit, in proportion to\nits extent, cannot be surpassed in the Union, if indeed it can be\nequaled. Such is a faint picture of the 'Peninsular State.'\n\n\"The snail-like progress hitherto made in the settlement of a large\nshare of the State, is an enigma to those not versed in our early\nhistory. While occupying the position of a dependent of the central\npower at Washington, we were so unfortunate in some instances as to\nhave men placed over us with whom personal interests were paramount to\nthe great interests of the territory, which, at the critical period\nwhen the seeds of prosperity should have been planted, was fatal to\nour advancement. Next came the era of Utopian projects of internal\nimprovement, by which our people were saddled with an onerous load of\ndebt. In the mean time immigrants were misled by false reports\nconcerning the character of the soil in the interior of the State, and\nthere were no roads by means of which they could satisfy themselves of\nthe true character of the country. They therefore passed on to find\nhomes upon what then seemed the most attractive prairies of the far\nWest. But there is at last a great change in the tide of affairs. The\nvalue of our timber is justly regarded as greatly overbalancing the\ndoubtful advantage of settling upon prairie land, and the active\ndemand that has recently sprung up for it must constantly make a still\ngreater difference in our favor. Lands long held in the iron grasp of\nspeculators are rapidly coming into the possession of actual settlers.\nOur State is being intersected by a system of roads, which will ere\nlong demonstrate the necessity of an extension of the system. Our\ncourse is indeed onward and upward.\n\n\"Having seen a statement, given upon the authority of some gazeteer,\nto the effect that about six million dollars were invested in this\nState in manufacturing, which we felt assured was a libel upon the\nState, we have taken steps to procure statistics of the more important\nindustrial establishments throughout the entire State. We find that in\nthe manufacture of pine lumber alone, there are about seven million\ndollars invested, exclusive of the standing timber of proprietors,\nwhich perhaps might properly be included as part of the capital.\"\n\nSuch indications of thrift, enterprise, and prosperity in a region\nthat twenty-four years ago was a howling wilderness, it may be safely\nsaid, is without a parallel. The other counties, we are tolerably safe\nin estimating, will swell the amount to $10,000,000, making, with the\nlumber manufactories, and the $2,148,500, invested in the iron\nmanufacture, more than twenty million dollars!\n\nThe apathy of the citizens of Detroit in availing themselves of the\nmagnificent advantages possessed by the city for prosecuting\nmanufacturing upon an extensive scale, is wholly inexplicable. There\nis a mine of unproductive wealth in our midst that might at once be\nplaced at compound interest. It now lies dormant in the sinewy arms of\nmen and the nimble fingers of women and children. There is thus a\nmoral aspect in this question that addresses itself with peculiar\nearnestness to the philanthropic. But it were a philanthropy that\nwould lay up treasures on earth. Daily, almost hourly, raw material\ntakes its departure from our city destined to be received at eastern\nmanufactories, there to be worked up and returned to us for our\nconsumption, by which we are taxed with the freight both ways, in\naddition to losing the profit of the manufacture. Every property\nholder has a direct interest at stake. If a liberal sum were to be\nsubscribed to-morrow for investment in this important branch of\nenterprise, the direct benefit that would accrue to the real estate of\nthe city would be at least double the amount invested.\n\nThe Western States look with deep interest to the Grand Trunk Railway,\nand are hopeful that it may prove a great benefit to them in enabling\nproducers to reach the markets of European consumers at a cheap rate\nfor carriage. Unquestionably great benefits will grow out of the\nopening up of the great thoroughfare. At the same time there are\nquestions of grave importance to shippers which will soon have to be\nmet, and nothing can be lost, while something may be gained, by\nmeeting them at the outset.\n\nWe set out, then, with the proposition that the bulky products of the\nWest must be carried by water and not by rail, and will state a few\nfacts that in our humble opinion will place this proposition beyond\nall cavil. So for as figures can be obtained, and correct calculations\nmade, it has been demonstrated that freight cannot be moved on\nAmerican railroads for less than one cent per ton per mile. This is\nactually the _first cost_, even in the coal regions of Pennsylvania.\nIt is therefore fair to presume that the Grand Trunk, with conceded\nadvantages of superior and economical management, cannot move freight\nat a less cost, and that the figure named will yield nothing to the\nstockholders in the shape of dividend. It is true that freight has\nbeen carried at an actual loss, and, as we are about to show, the same\nthing will to some extent be done again, but if persevered in this can\nonly result in ruin, and no one will assert that it ought to be taken\nas a legitimate basis for future calculations. It follows, then, that\n$8,80 is the lowest sum for which a ton can be moved from Detroit to\nPortland, the distance between the two cities being eight hundred and\neighty miles. This showing may not be relished by those most\nimmediately interested in the Grand Trunk Railway, nor may it be\npalatable to the producers of the West, who have built high hopes on\nthis road as an outlet to the Atlantic, but it is useless to attempt\nto shut our eyes to obvious facts. The West has for years possessed\nshorter and consequently cheaper routes to the seaboard, and in winter\nthe cost of reaching-the Atlantic cities has always been and now is\nfrom 100 to 200 per cent, greater by rail than during the navigation\nseason by the cheaper mode. This is easily proved. Let us look at the\ndistance by the old route by the way of Suspension Bridge:\n\nDetroit to Suspension Bridge, is 232 miles; the Bridge to Albany, 300;\nAlbany to Boston 200; total 732.\n\nThus we see that the whole distance from Detroit to Boston is seven\nhundred and thirty-two miles, or one hundred and forty-eight _less_\nthan from Detroit to Portland. As regards shipments from Detroit to\nBoston, via the Grand Trunk, the matter is worse, for we have to add\none hundred and three miles from Portland to Boston, making the old\nroute two hundred and fifty-three miles shorter to that point than by\nthe newly opened road. It is evident therefore, that the West is not\nlikely to gain anything permanently by the new route, except in so far\nas it may open up some local trade, which, inconsiderable at first,\nmay eventually assume considerable importance. Of course, what is true\nregarding Detroit, is also true with respect to every point west of\nus.\n\nEvery one conversant with trade must admit that goods can be carried\nas cheap from any port in Europe to New York as to Portland. The\ndistance from New York to Detroit, _via_ Albany and Suspension\nBridge, is six hundred and eighty-two miles, or one hundred and\nninety-eight miles less than from Portland to Detroit. Goods ought\ncertainly to be carried cheaper from New York to Detroit than by a\nroute near two hundred miles further.\n\nWe learn that the New York Central Railroad Company are now perfecting\na plan for ticketing passengers and goods from any point in the\nWestern, Southern, and Southwestern States, and _vice versa_. Thus at\nleast one important advantage to the West is already apparent, growing\nout of the comprehensive action of the Grand Trunk managers, while the\naction of the New York Central is the sure precursor of a momentous\nera in railroad annals. The present year is likely to witness the\nfirst battle in a war for the European and domestic trade of the West,\nthat may in the end turn the entire current into other channels. It\nwill be a strife of giants, and the prize the most magnificent ever\nbattled for, either in the tented field or in the nobler contests of\nnations for commercial supremacy. That prize is the carrying trade of\nan empire fast rising into manly vigor, and destined to attain to a\npoint during the present generation that will dazzle the world with\nits vastness and grandeur. On one side will be arrayed the Grand Trunk\nRailway, with its sixty million dollars of capital, backed by the\ngovernment of Canada, and sustained by every merchant of the British\nNorth American colonies, aided by powerful friends in Europe--men of\ncharacter, standing and capital, who will strain every nerve to supply\ntheir darling road with business, in which they will have the sympathy\nof the whole English people--for in both England and Canada the Grand\nTrunk is looked upon as a great triumph of national engineering skill,\nwhile at the same time it gratifies the national pride, as it gives\nthe world one more convincing proof of that indomitable pluck that is\nthe chief secret of the great celebrity attained by the merchants of\nthe \"fast anchored isle\" for commercial enterprise.\n\nOn the other side will be marshaled the forces of the \"Grand Trunk\"\nlines of railroad leading to the Western States from the Atlantic\nseaboard. The most prominent on the list is the New York Central\nRailroad, with her natural allies, the Great Western of Canada, the\nHudson River Railroad, and the Western Railroad of Massachusetts. Next\nin order, as parties in the struggle, are the New York and Erie, the\nPennsylvania Central, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, not to\nspeak of the local roads in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, that will be\naffected more or less in the contest for supremacy.\n\nThe Grand Trunk will fight under one banner, and that banner will\ncarry on its broad folds the commercial prestige of the British\nEmpire, and will have the sympathy of the British people. This, which\nwill probably carry with it, as a coincident, plenty of the \"sinews of\nwar,\" will be decidedly a vantage ground to stand upon.\n\nThe American interests will come into the field under different\nleaders, having no unity of action, and hating and fearing each other;\nwho have never had confidence in each others' words or actions; who\nhave never displayed any generosity toward each other; whose dealings\nwith each other have been marked by cheating and bad faith, as the\nbreaking of all convention treaties has proved. Under such a load of\ndemoralization, all of them combined are perhaps not more than a match\nfor the Grand Trunk. One of the American roads will have to stand in\nthe van and sustain the first onset, and the elected one will be the\nNEW YORK CENTRAL. In every point of view it is the one best able to do\nso. It is managed and controlled by men of large experience and iron\nwill--men who do not know what defeat is, and who, come what may,\nwill show that their metal has the true ring.\n\nThe result of such a contest none can foresee; albeit after the smoke\nof the battle is cleared away, the wreck will only show that it has\nbeen a costly and useless fight for the stockholders, and the\nconviction that God's highways are superior to man's will gain\nstrength, insomuch as to assume far more practical importance than it\nhas hitherto attained. The only method of carrying on a successful\ntrade between the Western States and the seaports of Europe, is by\nwater, and to this conclusion all must come, in the end, on both sides\nof the Atlantic.\n\nIn order to make the trade productive of substantial benefit to all\ninterested in it, the West must have free course down the St.\nLawrence, and an enlargement of the Canadian canals, so that vessels\nof say eighteen hundred tons can pass down to the ports of Montreal\nand Quebec without unloading, and continue on their way to Europe\nwithout breaking bulk. A depth of fourteen feet water, with locks of\ncorresponding capacity on the canals would accomplish this important\nend. The multifarious and rapidly increasing products of the Great\nWest, her timber, flour, wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, pork, beef,\nbutter, lard, cheese, meal, and every description of agricultural\nproduce could then be laid down in the ports of England so cheaply\nthat it would greatly reduce the cost of the necessaries of life, and\ngive a new impetus to the manufacturing interest of Great Britain. At\nthe same time it would directly tend to cheapen every article that the\nWest requires to import, thus proving of double advantage to our\nproducers. In both cases the producer and consumer would be brought\nface to face, to the obvious advantage of all concerned. The\nmanufacturing prosperity of England depends upon an unlimited supply\nof cheap labor, and that supply cannot be had unless she can supply\nsuch laborers with an unlimited supply of cheap food. The West has the\ncapacity not only to furnish an inexhaustible quantity of cheap food,\nbut it can purchase and consume a larger amount of the productions of\nEnglish skill and labor than any other section of the world. Why,\nthen, cannot both parties hit on some scheme that will bring them more\nclosely into the fellowship of trade? It can be done, if both will\nunite to obtain an unimpeded outlet via the St. Lawrence for vessels\nand steamers of heavy burden. So far as Quebec and Montreal are\nconcerned, it is very difficult to say whether the consummation of the\nproposed enlargement would redound most to their benefit, or to that\nof our Western lake cities. In both cases the gain would be beyond\ncomputation. The two important Canadian cities named would become at\nonce important seaports. They would become two of the depots for the\nvast commerce of two continents, and would derive great benefits from\nthe opening up of a local traffic with the West, which at present\namounts to but very little, so far as they are concerned. Our lake\ncities would all become large commercial centres, and would supply the\npopulation of the region tributary to them, respectively, with dry\ngoods, crockery, hardware, paints, oils, and all kinds of imported\nmerchandise, at a cheaper rate by a considerable per centage, than\nthey could be purchased at New York, or any city on the Atlantic.\nDetroit would be much nearer Liverpool than Buffalo now is by the\nusual route, and Chicago and Milwaukee would be almost as near,\npractically.\n\nA few figures will show the decided advantage of water over rail as a\nmedium of transporting the bulky products of the West to market.\n\nIt has already been shown that a ton of any kind of freight cannot be\nlaid down at Portland from Detroit, by rail, under $8.80, without a\nloss to the stockholders, nor to Boston under $9.65, except with the\nsame result; nor at New York _via_ the Great Western, New York\nCentral, and Hudson River roads under $6.82, without actual loss to\nthose roads, so that the case would stand thus:--Detroit to Portland,\nper ton, _via_ G. T. R., $8.80; Detroit to Boston, do. do., $9.85;\nDetroit to New York, $6.82. Add $4.00 per ton for ocean freights, and\nwe have in each case respectively, $12.80, $13.85, and $10.82 per ton\nto Liverpool.\n\nNow we maintain that a screw steamer of 1800 tons burden, costing,\nwhen completed, $150,000, can carry much cheaper than a road like the\nGrand Trunk, costing $60,000,000, or the New York Central and its\nconnections. A steamer of that capacity would carry 1,500 tons of\nfreight; 600 tons of coal would run her across the Atlantic, and she\ncould coal from Chicago or Detroit to Newfoundland, and from the\nlatter point to Liverpool. By doing this, she could carry 300 tons\nmore freight than if she coaled for the entire voyage from Chicago to\nLiverpool. All the principal exports and imports of Michigan, Indiana,\nWestern Ohio, Kentucky, &c., would find their way to Detroit, and this\npoint would of necessity become the great centre of the direct trade\nbetween Europe and the States above mentioned.\n\nTwo steamers per week could be run with profit on the route during the\nseason of navigation; each steamer would make two round trips and a\nhalf per season of seven months' navigation, allowing two months for\neach round trip. At this rate sixteen ocean steamers would be required\nto make up a semi-weekly line, and were the Canadian canals enlarged\nand ready for use by the middle of next April, there would be at once\nsufficient trade to sustain them, at much cheaper rates for freight\nand passage than is now charged by any route or combination of routes\nin existence, as the following will show conclusively:\n\nEach round trip would give the following sums for freight and\npassage:--1500 tons of freight at $6 per ton, $9,000; 40 cabin\npassengers at $50 each, $2,000; 50 steerage do. do. $25 each, $1,250.\nTotal for the trip out, $12,250. Inward bound:--600 tons freight at\n$6, $3,600; 75 cabin passengers at $60, $4,500; 300 steerage do. do.,\n$30, $9,000--$17,100. Add outward receipts, $12,250. Total, $29,350.\nThe total cost of the trip, including insurance, would not exceed\n$14,000. Total net profits, $15,250.\n\nIt will be seen by the above figures that our staple products can be\ncarried to England in the right kind of vessels, at one half the cost\nthat railroads and connecting steamers can perform the same service,\neven when the latter carry at a rate that brings no profit to the\nshareholders, while the former would pay large dividends. At the rates\nnamed for passage (but little more than one-half the present cost of\ngoing from Detroit to England) crowds of the European settlers in this\ncountry would flock to the mother country to see dear friends and\nrelatives, and tens of thousands of the American people would embrace\nthe opportunity to behold the tombs and temples and wonders of the\nland from whence their ancestors came. A feeling of friendship of the\ntrue stamp would spring up spontaneously between the Anglo-Saxon races\non each side of the Atlantic that never could be severed, and which\nwould alternately shed the blessings of Christianity and civilization\nto every corner of the world. Such free intercourse would show that to\nbe appreciated by each other they only need to be better acquainted.\nAnd it is our firm belief, that the day that beholds the commencement\nof direct trade between the old world and in the inland seas of the\nGreat West, by vessels of the class named, will see a day of glory and\npromise brighter and greater than has ever yet dawned on any efforts\nput forth to subdue the world by human means, to peace and universal\nbrotherhood.\n\nOur readers are aware that a trade of great importance has sprung up\nwithin two or three years between Detroit and other lake ports, and\nthe leading seaports of Europe. The particulars of its inauguration\nare already familiar to the public. Of the vessels which cleared hence\nin this trade in 1858, one was owned and sent out by a merchant of\nthis city; another was loaded by a Cleveland house; the others were\nall owned or chartered by Capt. D. C. Pierce, the enterprising pioneer\nof the trade. His first venture on the _Kershaw_, notwithstanding some\nfew incidental circumstances that worked to his disadvantage, was\nproductive of some direct profit, but a much greater profit inured to\nhimself, and those who followed him in this important commerce, by his\nbecoming well versed in the European trade, insomuch as to be enabled\nto avail himself of the peculiar advantages offered by each market, as\nwell as in determining the character of freight most profitable to\ncarry. The cheapest, best and safest means of transporting the\ndiversified products of the West, and particularly the region of which\nDetroit is the centre, to the European markets, returning with foreign\nfabrics in exchange, had long challenged the attention of capitalists,\nwho saw in it the germ of a mighty commerce, but seemed to lack the\npractical knowledge and tact to put the ball in motion. Last year\ntwenty-one vessels cleared from the different lake ports, mostly from\nDetroit.\n\nAnother important point which is now in a fair way to be gained, is\nthe making of European consumers acquainted with the fact that their\nwants can be supplied to any desired extent. When this information\nbecomes general the consumption must be vastly stimulated, affording\none of the most inviting fields for enterprise known in the commercial\nannals of the world. The resources of the State are amply sufficient\nto afford employment for half a century to a tenfold larger number of\nvessels than have yet engaged in it. By a carefully compiled estimate,\nit has been ascertained that in prosperous times the annual product of\nour _pineries_ is hard upon TEN MILLION DOLLARS. Large as this sum is,\nit is the opinion of those who are well qualified to form an estimate,\nthat it may easily be surpassed by the product of our hard timber.\nTake for example the region around Saginaw Bay, which is perhaps the\nmost remarkable locality in the world as respects the quality and\nvariety of hard wood timber. Here, for near a hundred miles in extent,\nupon streams debouching into the bay, are dense forests of the\nchoicest oak, with a profusion of hickory, black walnut, white ash,\nwhitewood, and other desirable varieties. The manufacture of\nagricultural implements, as well as many other articles that afford\nemployment to the toiling millions of the old world, must receive a\nnew impetus when it is found that wood admirably adapted to their\nconstruction can be had direct from our forests at the moderate rate\nat which it will bear transportation. So of birds-eye maple for\ncabinet ware, red elm for carriage hubs, and other varieties\napplicable to specific uses. We have designated only such as abound in\ngreat plenty. The profusion of the growth is in fact equaled only by\nits accessibility, the whole country being so permeated by streams\nthat it can be floated off with very little trouble.\n\nThe Saginaw District, important and extensive as it is, comprises but\na small portion of our hard-wood lumber region. In addition to\nnumerous almost interminable forests in the north, equally accessible\nand almost equally valuable, there are extensive regions in the\ninterior where timber abounds of such choice quality as to abundantly\nwarrant railroad transportation hither. Although some of the shipments\nlast season were of the far-famed Canada oak, shippers all concur in\nassuring us that the Michigan timber was held in as high estimation,\nif not higher, than any other offered in the foreign market. A most\nsignificant fact, coming right to the point, came under our\nobservation a few months since. In the summer of 1858, five passenger\ncars for the Michigan Southern Road were built at Adrian, which\nunprejudiced judges pronounced the finest ever built in the United\nStates. Every foot of timber in them--as well as every pound of\niron--was of Michigan production. Last spring, after being in use some\ntwenty months, these cars were for the first time overhauled for\nrepairs, along with a number of eastern cars which had been in use for\na like period of time, when it was found that the latter, owing to the\ninferior quality of timber, cost for repairs nearly as many dollars as\nthe Michigan cars did cents! We have the authority of gentlemen of the\nhighest respectability for stating this as a literal fact.\n\nThe following is a complete list of the vessels which cleared for\nEuropean ports the past year, together with the character of their\ncargoes, respectively, and the port to which they sailed:--\n\n  Bark D. C. Pierce,     Staves,              Liverpool.\n   \"   Allies,           Lumber and staves,   Cork.\n   \"   W. S. Pierson,    Lumber and staves,   Greenock.\n   \"   Massillon,        Lumber and staves,   Liverpool.\n  Brig J. G. Deshler,    Staves,              Glasgow.\n   \"   Caroline,         Lumber and staves,   Liverpool.\n   \"   Black Hawk,       Staves,              London.\n  Schr R. H. Harmon,     Staves,              Liverpool.\n   \"   J. F. Warner,     Staves,              Liverpool.\n   \"   Gold Hunter,      Staves,              Cork.\n   \"   Dousman,          Staves,              London.\n   \"   Valeria,          Lumber and staves,   Liverpool.\n   \"   Vanguard,         Staves,              Liverpool.\n   \"   Grand Turk,       Lumber,              Hamburg.\n   \"   St. Helena,       Lumber and staves,   Cork.\n   \"   Chieftain,        Lumber and staves,   London.\n   \"   C. H. Walker,     Lumber and staves,   Liverpool.\n   \"   M. S. Scott,      Lumber,              Hamburg.\n   \"   E. Bates,         Lumber and staves,   Liverpool.\n   \"   H. Barclay,       Staves,              London.\n   \"   Republican,       Lumber and staves,   Cadiz.\n   \"   Messenger,        Staves, &c.          Calais.\n\nOf the above, Messenger cleared from Buffalo; the Pierson and\nRepublican hailed from Milan, Ohio; the Massillon and Valeria from\nCleveland; the Scott loaded at St. Joseph, and was sent out by a\nMilwaukee house; all the others either loaded at this port, or were\nowned or chartered here. Eight of the number were chartered by Messrs.\nAspinwall & Son, and two of the others were owned here.\n\nThe following is the aggregate amount of lumber and staves shipped to\nEurope the past year, exclusive of the cargoes from Cleveland, Milan,\nand Buffalo:--\n\n  West India staves No.      692,057\n  Standard pipe staves, No.  142,662\n  Lumber, feet               474,693\n\n[A Quebec standard pipe is equal to four West India staves.]\n\nThe Lily of Kingston, was the first vessel that ever passed down from\nthe lakes to the ocean, bound to an European port. Her destination was\nLiverpool. This was about the year 1847. She afterward sailed in the\nQuebec and Liverpool trade, but was lost, we believe, on her third\nocean voyage.\n\nAs collateral to this trade, an important commerce has sprung up\nbetween the lake cities and the Atlantic ports which promise to\nincrease rapidly. Prior to 1857, the passage of vessels from the\nWelland Canal to the ocean was of very rare occurrence. As a matter of\ncuriosity, we present a complete statement of the vessels which have\npassed through the canal bound for Atlantic or European ports, with\nthe year of sailing, avoiding a repetition of the list above given.\nThe Dean Richmond, and those clearing in 1857 and 1858, all sailed for\nEurope. Those designated in this list as having sailed in 1859, all\ncleared for Atlantic ports:\n\n    1847   American steam revenue cutter Dallis.\n     \"     Canadian barque Arabia.\n    1848   American barque Eureka.\n    1850   Canadian schooner Scotia.\n    1854   Canadian schooner Cherokee.\n    1855   Canadian bark Reindeer.\n    1856   American schooner Dean Richmond.\n    1857   American bark C. J. Kershaw.\n      \"    English schooner Madeira Pet.\n    1858   American brig Black Hawk.\n      \"    American schooner R. H. Harmon.\n      \"    American schooner Col. Cook.\n      \"    American schooner Correspondent.\n      \"    American bark D. C. Pierce.\n      \"    American schooner D. B. Sexton.\n      \"    American schooner John E. Warner.\n      \"    American bark H. E. Warner.\n      \"    American bark C. J. Kershaw.\n      \"    American schooner C. Reeve.\n      \"    American schooner Harvest.\n      \"    American bark Parmelia Flood.\n    1859   American bark Magenta.\n      \"    American brig Sultan.\n      \"    American brig Indus.\n      \"    American brig Kate L. Bruce.\n      \"    Canadian schooner Union.\n      \"    American schooner Kyle Spangler.\n      \"    American schooner Muskingum.\n      \"    American schooner Adda.\n      \"    American schooner Clifton.\n      \"    American schooner Metropolis.\n      \"    American schooner Energy.\n      \"    American schooner W. B. Castle.\n      \"    American schooner Alida.\n      \"    American tug Uncle Ben.\n      \"    American tug Cushman.\n      \"    American schooner Typhoon.\n      \"    American schooner Sarah Hibbert.\n\nPresuming that those who may hereafter become interested in this\ncommerce, would like the benefit of the experience of those who have\nalready embarked it, we have procured some valuable information for\ntheir benefit. First, as to the kind of timber most profitable to\nship: Although black walnut appears to be growing in favor, and where\nonce it has been used is again inquired for, yet a decided preference\nis given to oak, with the qualities of which all are entirely\nfamiliar. Choice, selected oak commands more money for cabinet\npurposes in all the foreign markets than the same quality of black\nwalnut. Contrary to previous expectation, it is not likely that the\nlatter can ever be brought into general use in Great Britain. It is\nthe greatest mahogany market in the world, and that wood is in\nuniversal use, particularly the common or cheap kind. If ever so\ncommon, it is not liable to warp, which cannot be said of black\nwalnut, although, as we have before intimated, those who have worked\nit, praise it very highly. Beech, elm and ash, are used for a great\nmany purposes, and are in good demand, but oak commands more money\nthan either of them, and is therefore the most profitable to ship at\npresent.\n\nThe fact is not generally known, but the information has been\npurchased at a dear rate, that the purchase of lumber for the foreign\nmarket by board-measure, instead of cubic, involves a heavy loss. In\nEuropean markets all lumber is sold by the cubic foot, so that the\ncost of sawing is completely thrown away. Black walnut, for example,\ncannot be laid down in Detroit, or any lake port, under $18 to $20 per\nM., while the lumber can be obtained for $125 to $150 per M. cubic\nfeet, 1,000 feet cubic measure being equal to 12,000 feet board\nmeasure. Thus in purchasing by cubic measure, the buyer pays only $125\nto $150 for an amount that by board measure would cost $216 to $240,\nmaking a clear difference of _ninety dollars_ upon only one thousand\ncubic feet, equal to $900 upon a cargo of some of the vessels engaged\nin the trade last year. The same rule would apply substantially to\nother kinds of lumber. Independent of this, a decided preference is\ngiven to lumber in the log, owing to the good condition in which it\ncan be delivered. There is one more point which manufacturers as well\nas shippers should bear in mind. The value of much of the lumber sent\nout was greatly impaired by being attached to the heart, which is the\nmost porous part of the tree, and therefore most liable to crack. To\nobviate this objection the saw should pass upon each side of the\nheart, thus leaving the whole of it attached to a single piece of\ntimber, instead of one or more pieces, and thereby making only one\ncull. By observing this rule a difference will be made in the market\nof thirty or forty per cent.\n\nAre staves or lumber the more profitable to ship? This depends upon\ncircumstances. Last year it was very dull for both. For staves\nespecially the season could not, for various reasons, have been more\nunfavorable. In the first place, the grape crop was a very short one,\nnot only in France, but in all the vine countries, including the\nCanaries. This, of course, greatly lessened the demand for staves, and\nthere were consequently very few taken from England to France,\nalthough French vessels are in the habit of taking them for ballast at\na merely nominal rate, owing to the difficulty they experience in\nprocuring return freights from England. The short crops in Canada and\nthe great scarcity of money, forced an unusual number of laborers in\nthat country into the stave and lumber business. Under advices that\nheavy shipments were in prospect, coupled with the general check upon\nbusiness on account of the war, prices became depressed.\nNotwithstanding all this, the shipments hence, being early in the\nmarket, sold to advantage, and may therefore be considered as a signal\nsuccess, under the circumstances. The smallest vessel going out from\nhere netted a freight of $3,500.\n\nThe most striking feature with regard to Detroit, in a commercial\npoint of view, is her admirable location, which constitutes her the\nmetropolis of a vast region, than which no city off the seaboard can\nboast one equally grand or important. The region embraces a circuit of\nsome three thousand miles, composed of land and water, which both seem\nto vie with each other in contributing to the material prosperity of\nour city, while every interest involved is benefited in some degree by\nher. In the far north, where the rugged coast of the upper peninsula\nis lashed by the waters of the monarch of lakes, Detroit enterprise\nassists in redeeming the hidden treasures of the earth from their\nstate of profitless inertion. There is not a hardy delver in the mines\nwho is not familiar with the skill of Detroit machinists, nor an echo\nin all the majestic wilds skirting that noble expanse of waters, that\nhas not been awakened by Detroit steamers. Further down upon the\nlimpid waters of Lake Huron, where the army or rather the navy of\nfishermen set their nets for the capture of the finny tribes, here,\ntoo, our city possesses an interest almost as direct as if the canvas\nof their tiny crafts were spread within sight of her spires, the\nproduct comprising one of the most important staples in her multiform\ncommerce. Last, but not least, is the great lumber region with which\nthe prosperity of Michigan is so largely identified. The population of\nthis region, as well as of the others we have referred to, raise\nalmost literally nothing for their own consumption, their respective\npursuits being inconsistent with that of tillers of the soil, so that\nin addition to the usual stores required by farmers, they have to\npurchase their breadstuffs and similar supplies. The bulk of these are\nbought of our dealers, this being not only the most convenient, but\nthe cheapest and best market, as is amply proven by experience.\n\nUnder the appropriate head will be found a complete and authentic\nstatement of the commerce of the Saut St. Mary Canal, by which it will\nbe seen that the aggregate value of the upward-bound freight is\nestimated at $5,298,640. The up-freight nearly all carried by\nsteamers, of which the number running the entire season was seven,\nthree from Detroit, one from Chicago, and three from Cleveland. The\nDetroit boats have generally been loaded to their utmost capacity,\nwhile we have the word of the Cleveland captains to the effect that\ntwo-thirds of their cargoes are usually taken on at this port. We\nmust therefore be clearly within bounds in claiming that\nthree-fourths of the above amount is part and parcel of the commerce\nof our city which would show our Lake Superior exports to be\n$3,960,000. In seasons in which the crops of our Canadian neighbors\npartially fail--a common occurrence within the past few years, but\nwhich we hope may never occur again--they naturally become our\ncustomers; and since the partial destruction of the wheat crop in Ohio\nlast summer by frost, there have been considerable shipments of\nbreadstuffs to Cleveland, Toledo, Sandusky, etc., which may very\nproperly be included in the home traffic.\n\nThe shipments of flour and grain for the supply of our home trade by\nlake craft, from the opening of navigation for the year 1859, as\nappears by the books of our Custom House, are as follows:\n\n                          Flour.   Wheat.    Corn.\n    Port Huron            10,885      253    6,916\n    Saginaw                3,790       30\n    Cleveland              6,155   28,057    1,146\n    Thunder Bay              106\n    Green Bay                175\n    Northport                175\n    Sandusky                 705\n    Huron, O.                660\n    Toledo                   665      616\n    Lake Superior         11,321\n    Other American ports     245\n    Malden                 1,289      160   14,548\n    Chatham                3,671    1,736\n    Wallaceburg              705\n    Goderich                          318    1,274\n    Saugeen                  168\n    Bayfield                          200\n    Other Canadian ports   1,330       95      749\n\nThere were also 7,446 bushels oats to Port Huron, and 588 bushels do.\nto other ports, beside 3,400 bushels corn, and 11,962 bushels oats\nwhich were included in the heavy shipments to Lake Superior. We give\nthe places for which vessels cleared; many of the shipments were for\nintermediate ports. Besides the flour and grain there were large\nshipments of pork, butter, lard, meal, etc., etc.\n\nThe above were all by water. There were in addition large local\nshipments to various points on the Great Western, the Detroit and\nMilwaukee, and other roads, that may with equal propriety be regarded\nas pertaining to the home trade.\n\nThe article of corn is one to secure customers, for in Canada it is\nnot essential there should be short crops there. Large amounts are\ntaken for the supply of the numerous distilleries on that side. A\nsingle house in our city has sold the past year 100,000 bushels for\nthat purpose.\n\nDuring the year commodities have been interchanged by lake craft\nbetween Detroit and no fewer than sixty-three lake and river ports, to\nsay nothing of the hundreds of towns and cities on the various\nrailroads that are daily trading with us. We have not included those\nports to which the bulk of our surplus produce is forwarded, but only\nsuch as come strictly within the scope of our subject. There are few\nplaces where trade develops statistics of similar character, or\nanything approximating thereto, while there are plenty of cities of no\ninconsiderable pretensions, and even great advantages, that would\nthink themselves made if they possessed one-fourth the commercial\nfacilities we enjoy.\n\nWithin the past year, by the opening up of new and most important\nchannels of railway communication, our position with respect to the\ngreat railway system of the continent, is rendered all that could be\ndesired. In that regard it is indeed difficult to point out how any\nimprovement could be made. With respect to our local advantages,\nhowever, admirable as they are, there is yet much in store for us. The\nsigns are far more favorable than at any former period for the rapid\nsettlement of the State, as well as for the more adequate development\nof her resources. We are constantly receiving intelligence that some\nnew source of wealth has been revealed within our borders, or that one\npreviously discovered is likely to surpass the expectations at first\nentertained. These events must not only tend directly to hasten the\nsettlement of the State, but also add in a still greater ratio to her\ncommercial importance and her wealth.\n\nIf we were to fail to refer, in this connection, to the law passed by\nour legislature last winter, providing for the reclamation of the\n\"swamp lands,\" technically so called, and inaugurating an admirable\nsystem of State roads throughout all the upper portions of the State,\nwe should be ignoring decidedly the most pregnant of the signs of\npromise. In adopting so well-timed and beneficent a measure, our\nlaw-givers have proved themselves worthy guardians of a commonwealth\nwhose interests so plainly bespeak a much greater degree of wise\nlegislation than has heretofore been wielded for her benefit. Next in\nimportance to these wholesome measures, is the law providing for the\nappointment of Commissioners of Emigration--one resident here, and the\nother stationed in New York. Those seeking homes in the West have only\nto be made aware of the unequaled inducements presented by our\nState, to secure immense accessions to our population.\n\nDetroit does not alone reap the benefit of her advantageous position.\nIt is shared by all interests, but perhaps by none others to so great\nan extent as the tillers of the soil. It is a most significant fact\nthat breadstuffs and provisions not unfrequently bring as high prices\nhere as in New York, giving producers all the advantages at home of a\nseaboard market, and virtually putting the cost of shipment into their\npockets. Thus a farmer whose land possesses a nominal value of ten or\ntwenty dollars per acre, can enjoy all the pecuniary advantages of a\nlocation near one of the largest eastern cities, where farms are\nvalued at one to two hundred dollars per acre. This fact alone should\ngo very far toward transforming our northern wilderness into\ncultivated fields.\n\nAs a matter of interest, and to some extent of curiosity, we present a\ncomparative statement exhibiting the ruling prices of extra Michigan\nflour twice a month throughout the year, in Detroit, New York and\nLiverpool, and also the prices in the latter market, for the\ncorresponding dates in the year 1858:\n\n         Liverpool, '58.   Liv'L, '59.   N. York, '59.   Detroit, '59.\n  Jan. 1st.  5 76a6 74     4 80a5 04       4 95a5 15       5 00a5 12\n  \" 15th.    5 76a6 24     4 80a5 04       5 60a5 85       5 00a5 12\n  Feb. 1st.  5 76a6 24     4 80a5 04       5 90a6 40       5 75a6 00\n  \" 15th.    5 52a6 00     4 80a5 04       5 90a6 25       6 25a6 50\n  Mar'h 1st. 5 52a6 24     4 80a5 04       6 30a6 50       6 25a6 50\n  \" 15th.    5 52a6 24     4 80a5 04       6 50a6 75       6 50a6 75\n  April 1st. 5 28a5 52     4 80a5 04       6 30a6 75           a6 75\n  \" 15th.    5 28a5 76     4 80a5 04       6 00a6 60           a6 50\n  May 1st.   5 28a5 52     5 04a5 28       6 25a6 75           a6 50\n  \" 15th.    5 28a5 52     6 00a6 24       7 30a7 85           a8 00\n  June 1st.  5 04a5 28         a5 76       7 00a7 40           a7 50\n  \" 15th.    5 04a5 28         a5 76       6 70a7 05       7 12a7 25\n  July 1st.  5 04a5 28         a           6 00a6 50           a7 25\n  \" 15th.    5 08a5 40     5 04a5 28       5 45a6 00       7 00a7 12\n  Aug. 1st.  5 28a5 40     4 80a5 52       4 90a5 50       4 75a4 87\n  \" 15th.    5 04a5 28     5 04a5 52       4 30a4 65       4 50a4 75\n  Sept. 1st. 5 16a5 40     5 04a5 52       4 40a5 00       4 62a4 75\n  \" 15th.    5 16a5 40     4 80a5 52       4 65a4 85       4 25a4 50\n  Oct. 1st.  5 04a5 28     5 28a5 76       4 75a5 10       4 62a4 75\n  \" 15th.    5 04a5 28     5 28a5 76       4 80a5 20           a4 75\n  Nov. 1st.  5 04a5 28     5 52a6 00       5 00a5 30           a5 00\n  \" 15th.    4 80a5 04     5 76a6 24       5 24a5 45           a5 12\n  Dec. 1st.  4 80a5 04     6 76a7 00       5 45a5 65           a5 12\n  \" 15th.    4 80a5 04     6 76a7 00       5 48a5 65           a5 12\n\nThe Detroit mills manufacture excellent flour, and it is to be\nregretted that they are not capable of making a much larger quantity\nof their well-known brands. There are six flouring mills of different\ncapacities in the city, and although they are generally at full work\nsuch is the demand for flour they make, that they are very often not\nable to supply their customers. These mills ought to be enlarged, or\nothers built. Detroit, the commercial metropolis of a great\nwheat-growing State, should be capable of manufacturing an immense\nquantity of flour. The increased expenditure of money, in the purchase\nof wheat, would be very beneficial to the trade of the city.\n\nFor the last fifteen years, the exports of breadstuffs from the United\nStates have fluctuated very much. In 1846 they amounted to nearly\ntwenty-eight millions of dollars, and rose in 1847 to sixty-nine\nmillions. In 1848 they fell to thirty-seven, and in 1852 to twenty-six\nmillions. In 1853 they amounted to nearly thirty-three millions, and\nin 1854 they rose to about sixty-millions, but fell in 1855 to about\nthirty-nine millions, and again rose in 1857 to seventy-seven\nmillions. In 1858 they again declined to about fifty millions. We\ncannot accurately detail the exports of 1859, but they have been very\nlight on account of fall in the European market, after the termination\nof the war in Italy. During these years there were various causes for\nthe remarkable fluctuations which we have noted; namely, famine in\nIreland, the Crimean war, and the failures of the harvest at home and\nabroad, nor have these exportations been regularly divided or spread\nover the various months of each year. They have increased or\ndiminished according to the European demand, governed by the supply at\nhome and regulated by advices from the other side of the Atlantic. It\nis likely that the export of breadstuffs in 1860 will be very\nconsiderable.\n\nMichigan possesses many advantages over her sister States, and these\nenable her to bear up against monetary panics better than they. Her\nimmense length of lake coast is indented with excellent harbors, which\ninvite commerce from every quarter, and furnish excellent outlets for\nher surplus produce or mineral wealth. The great and diversified\nresources of the State support her in the evil day, and bring her\nthrough a commercial crisis in safety. From the ushering in of the\nyear to the close, there is not a day in which the marts of commerce\nare not enlivened by the contributions of grain or live stock from our\nfields, fish from our lakes, lumber from our forests, or ores of\nvarious kinds from our inexhaustible mines.\n\nAccording to the census returns of 1840, the State of Michigan\nproduced 2,157,108 bushels of wheat, there were 190 flouring mills at\nwork, employing 491 hands, and producing 202,880 barrels of flour\nannually. In 1853 this State produced 7,275,032 bushels of wheat,\nthere were 245 flouring mills at work, employing 604 persons, and\nmanufacturing 1,000,000 barrels of flour in a year. It will be seen\nthat the flouring mills have increased greatly both in number and\ncapacity since 1840, and that very large quantities of flour are now\nmanufactured in the interior of the State, a circumstance which partly\naccounts for the comparatively small quantity of wheat that is now\nexported. The number of flouring mills have doubtless increased since\n1853, and as steam power has been applied in many instances their\nmanufacturing capacity must now be very great. Farmers are beginning\nto understand the importance of disposing of their produce near home,\nand having the surplus exported in a manufactured state, instead of\nsending away the raw material; the bran and \"shorts\" being very\nvaluable for mixing with the food of horses, cattle, and swine. A\nflouring mill is a great benefit in a rural district, it furnishes the\nfarmer with a home market, and when he receives the price of his\nproduce, there are many domestic wants which must be supplied, and on\nthis account we always see stores and mechanics' shops clustering\naround a mill, and villages springing up in places where the solitude\nof the forest was, until lately, unbroken by a sound. It is evident\nthat the mill power of Michigan is increasing rapidly, and that in\nfuture the greater part of the surplus grain crop will be exported in\na manufactured state.\n\nIn former years the prices of grain in the United States were\ncontrolled by the European markets, and consequently the grain trade\nof the Western States was governed by the produce merchants in the\nAtlantic ports, but lately the whole order of things seems to have\nbeen reversed, as breadstuffs of every kind were dearer in the Western\nthan in the Eastern markets. There were several reasons for this\nanomaly. On account of the ravages of insects, and other causes which\nwe have alluded to, farmers were induced to place very little reliance\non the wheat crop, and many were driven into other branches of\nhusbandry, and in some places wheat became scarce. Add to this the\nrapid increase of the population which created a local demand for all\nkinds of food, and caused immense quantities of breadstuffs to be\nrequired in places where a few years before there was no market for\nanything. The rapid and extraordinary growth of Detroit and all the\nWestern cities, and the formation of new settlements, created a home\nmarket for Western produce, for the population of cities being\nconsumers of the fruits of the land, instead of producers, have\nalways a wonderful effect on the markets of their localities, and the\npioneers in the forest or prairie must for a time depend on the older\nsettlements for subsistence.\n\nFrom a defective system of agriculture the soil of the old States has\nbeen deteriorating for several years. In Massachusetts the hay crop\ndeclined twelve per cent. from 1840 to 1850, notwithstanding the\naddition of 90,000 acres of mowing lands and the grain crop\ndepreciated 6000 bushels, although no less than 6000 acres had been\nadded to the tillage lands of that State.\n\nIn 1840 the wheat crop of New York was about twelve and a quarter\nmillions of bushels, and only nine millions in 1850, a decrease of 25\nper cent., while the Indian corn in the same State increased during\nthe same period from about ten to twenty millions of bushels. The\nharvest of 1859, found several parts of the country entirely destitute\nof flour, and the farmers with a fixed and firm determination never\nagain to allow themselves to run out of the staff of life.\n\nThe number and capacity of the flouring mills have increased\nconsiderably since 1853, so that it is probable that there are at\npresent more than three hundred of them at work in the State, and the\nnumber of hands employed by them cannot be much less than twelve\nhundred. It is probable that they are now capable of manufacturing\n1,25,000 barrels of flour annually, and this quantity would require\n5,625,000 bushels of wheat. Add to this the large quantity of seed\nrequired for sowing an increased breadth of land, and the portion of\nthe crop kept for domestic use, and the result will be sufficient to\nexplain the reason why so little wheat has been exported from Michigan\nthis season. There are about 50,000 families in this State who depend\non agriculture for subsistence; all of these had suffered more or less\ninconvenience from failure of the wheat crop, and the high price of\nflour for the last few years, and it is no wonder that they should\nendeavor to secure a full supply of wheat or flour of the produce of\nthe late harvest, and a very large portion of the crop was disposed of\nin this way.\n\nSince the Reciprocity Treaty came into operation, there has been\nconsiderable exportation of flour from Detroit to Canada on account of\nthe repeated failures of the wheat crop in that country, and thus a\nnew market for Michigan produce has been opened near home.\n\nSome of these sources of demand are trifling when standing alone, but\nthe aggregate makes a very large amount. It is considered that about\nhalf the produce of the wheat crop still remains in the hands of the\nfarmers and may be expected to reach the market gradually.\n\nMichigan wants woolen and cotton, and various other factories to\nprovide employment for the over-crowded population of her cities and\nvillages, and to open a market for all her produce. The farmers of\nGreat Britain and Ireland could not pay the high rents and taxes which\nare imposed on them, were it not for their proximity to the great\nmanufacturing cities of England. The cotton factories of Manchester,\nthe woolen factories of Leeds and Huddersfield, the hardware works of\nBirmingham and Sheffield, and the potteries of Staffordshire, employ\nhundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, who consume the\nfruits of the soil, and create a steady demand for the farmer's stock\nand grain. All these manufactures were fostered by protective laws\nuntil they had attained a magnitude and importance which enabled them\nto protect themselves by the wealth of their proprietors and the\nexcellence of their products. Large cities always afford a market for\nfarm produce, and on this account exert a very beneficial influence on\nagriculture. The population of London is about two and a half\nmillions, and they are possessed of so much wealth, and are so\nfastidious in their requirements, that almost every part of the world\ncontributes to supply them with the necessaries or luxuries of life.\nThe rapid growth of the cities of Michigan afford a home market for\nthe fruits of the soil. A great deal of land in the old\nsettlements of this State has been exhausted by a too frequent\nrepetition of the wheat crop, and is now being employed as pasture for\nsheep and cattle. After remaining in grass for a few years, this land\nwill be in excellent condition for producing wheat, especially when\nfertilized with that plentiful supply of barn-yard dung which the\nraising of stock always produces.\n\nThere are some varieties of wheat which are much better suited to the\nclimate and soil of Michigan than others, as they are in a great\nmeasure able to withstand the combined attacks of wheat insects and\nthe various diseases to which the plant is liable. These are now fast\nsupplanting the worn out grain, and as every malady has its cure or\npreventive, it is probable that the introduction of the best kind of\nseeds, the alternation between grass and tillage, and the supply of\nrich manure which the raising of stock creates will have a very great\ntendency to improve the wheat crop of this State.\n\nIt is remarkable fact although the wheat crop has rather declined in\nthe majority of States, the corn crop has steadily increased in all of\nthem. Thus in 1840, the entire corn crop of the United States amounted\nto 400,000,000 of bushels; in 1850 it was nearly 600,000,000, of\nbushels. The crop of 1855 was between 7 and 800,000,000 and that of\n1858 was fully 800,000,000 of bushels. Taking into consideration\nthe large breath of land planted in 1859 and the damage by frost, we\nmight with safety set down the crop as amounting to 800,000,000\nbushels.\n\nLast year our importations from Indiana were large, but since the new\ncrop came in, that State has been shipping largely toward the Ohio\nriver, and we get comparatively little. The immense distilleries of\nCincinnati consume a very large quantity of corn annually, and Indiana\nis beginning to find a good market in that quarter. The demand for\nMichigan corn is always active on account of its excellent milling\nqualities, and on this account it generally sells from wagons as high,\nor a shade higher than the outside figure for Western corn from store.\nThe corn crop of Illinois has been much injured by the frosts of June\nand July, and on this account the receipts in Chicago up to this date\nhave been much lighter than usual. The European potato crop has been\ngreatly damaged by rot, and it is probable that a large export of corn\nwill take place from this country in order to supply a deficiency\noccasioned by this failure. It is said that several New York\ncapitalists have gone west and purchased corn and provisions, storing\nthem up until next spring, anticipating at that time a considerable\nadvance in price. The generality of farmers have sorted their corn\ncarefully this year and used up the unripe and inferior part for\nfeeding hogs and cattle: there is a large quantity of very good corn\nin the country, which will no doubt command a good price in the\nspring.\n\nIndian corn is one of the staple productions of Michigan, and can be\nraised with success in any suitable soil in the lower peninsula.\nAccording to the statistics of 1850 this State produced nearly\n6,000,000 of bushels that year. It is probable that the census of the\npresent year will show a vast increase in the amount. In 1850 the\nvalue of this crop in all the States amounted to nearly $300,000,000,\nbeing about equal to the united values of the wheat, hay, and cotton\ncrops, and it has perhaps doubled since that date. In fact the value\nof the corn crop to Michigan and all the other States can not be\nestimated, as it is much used for the food of man and all the domestic\nanimals, and to it the American farmer is indebted for much of his\nprosperity, for without it he would not be able to bring his cattle\nand hogs into the market at the right time and in proper condition.\n\nHeretofore the amount of pork packed has always been insufficient to\nmeet the demand, and the deficiency has been supplied by importations\nfrom other cities, chiefly from Cincinnati. This season not only has\nthere been a considerable increase in the number packed, but the\nmarket opens a great deal duller than last year, when the Canada trade\nand the building of the Detroit and Port Huron link of the Grand Trunk\nRailway induced a fair demand.\n\nCincinnati is the greatest provision market on the continent or in the\nworld. At that place speculation has been quite rife for the past two\nor three years, operators obtaining a controlling interest in the\nstock for the purpose of putting up prices. Last year the plan did not\nwork well, owing to various causes, one of which was the small number\nof works in progress, such as railroads, etc., the supply of the\nlaborers upon such works, being the life of the provision trade.\nHeavy losses were sustained, but it is said that the sufferers were a\ndifferent class from that regularly engaged in the trade. This season\nthe speculative fever has again prevailed. The issue has yet to be\nrevealed.\n\nLast year nearly 1,000 head of cattle were slaughtered here, all of\nwhich were forwarded to Lake Superior as soon as packed. The price of\nmess beef has ranged from $8.50 to $12.00. About the first of July\nprices reached their highest point. During the fall the range has been\nfrom $8.50 to $10.00.\n\nWhen the marshy lands, skirting our watercourses in St. Clair, Macomb,\nWayne, and Monroe counties, shall have been drained, (which will, no\ndoubt, be consummated at no distant day,) a large tract will be\nrendered available for grazing, which will prove equal for that\npurpose to any in the Union. Butter and cheese will then become a\nleading article in our commerce.\n\nPotatoes constitute another of our staple products, and, in seasons of\nscarcity elsewhere, large purchases are made for shipment, but being\ngenerally based on present demand, they can hardly be called\nspeculative. The crop of 1857 was rather meagre, and last spring and\nsummer prices ruled high, going up to $1.20 for a short time in June.\nLast year we had an abundant crop, since which, under a limited\nexport demand, prices have ruled low. The receipts at this point,\nfrom all sources, did not vary greatly from 175,000 bushels, of which\n80,500 bushels were exported, chiefly to Ohio and the upper country.\n\nIt is claimed, that southern Michigan produces more fine fruit than\nany other locality of the same extent in the United States, if not on\nthe globe. At the same time almost every quarter of the State is\nconstantly improving both in quality and quantity. This fact is\ncreditable to the sagacity of our agriculturists, for probably in\nnothing else can an equal amount of profit be realized with the same\noutlay.\n\nOur market is not an important one for live stock, much of the greater\nshare of the receipts by rail being through freight. Our wholesale\nmarket is mainly governed by that at the East, buyers for shipment are\nalways on the look-out, and whenever anything can be purchased that\naffords even a moderate margin, it is promptly taken. Extra cattle are\nalways sought for by our butchers, and command full rates. A spirit of\nemulation on the subject of fine stock is pervading the minds of our\nfarmers, and, as a consequence, its quality is rapidly improving. At\nthe last State Fair, the display of cattle was such as to elicit the\nadmiration of good judges from abroad. There are so many interests\nclaiming the attention of our agriculturists, that the idea of\nbecoming famous as to _quantity_, is perhaps precluded; if so, they\nmay well rest content in the attainment of high rank in point of\n_quality_.\n\nThe raising of fine sheep is constantly attracting more and more\nattention, and from the progress already made by our State, she bids\nfair at no distant day to take a position in advance of all her sister\nStates.\n\nThe year 1859 opened with rather flattering prospects for\nwool-growers. The last year's stock was nearly exhausted before the\nnew clip came into the market. Prices of woolen fabrics were\nadvancing, and bid fair to rule high. On the eve of the wool season\nprices declined in the Eastern markets, although there was no\nparticular reason for this unfavorable turn. It was considered at the\ntime, that the fall in prices was occasioned by a regular combination\namong buyers to break down the market. The news of the passage of the\nTicino by the Austrians, and the actual commencement of hostilities in\nItaly, arrived in this country before the wool was brought into the\nmarket, and this circumstance was seized on as a pretext for lowering\nthe price of the new clip. Buyers were very industrious in circulating\nreports that a general European war was commencing, and, as it was\nnot known how affairs would terminate, it would be unsafe for American\nbuyers to make investments in the wool trade, except at prices that\nwould leave a large margin for profit. It was fortunate that farmers\ndid not take the same view of transatlantic complications, for they\nrefused to sell except at remunerating prices, a decision which caused\nsome of the Eastern buyers to retire from the market in disgust.\nAlmost the entire press of Michigan supported the views of the farmers\non this occasion, and declared that they could see no reason why the\nwar in Italy should affect the prices of wool in America, especially\nas all the domestic clip, and a very large quantity of foreign wool\nwould be manufactured in this country. Michigan produces excellent\nwool. There are numerous flocks of French, Spanish, and Saxon Merinos\nin this State, which have been selected or bred with the greatest\ncare, and the wool produced by them cannot be surpassed in any of the\nWestern States. There are also flocks of coarse-wooled sheep which\nproduce heavy fleeces, and when fattened for the butcher make\nexcellent mutton. In 1840 the wool clip of this State was about\n150,000 lbs., in 1850 something over 2,000,000 lbs., and 1859 it\namounted to nearly 4,000,000 lbs. It will be seen by these figures\nthat it has nearly doubled during the last nine years. There are but\nfew woolen manufactories in Michigan, and the most of the wool clip of\nthis State is purchased by Eastern manufacturers. A considerable\nportion of it goes to Boston and other parts of Massachusetts. We want\na large woolen factory in Detroit, where everything that is necessary\nfor its operation can be easily procured. We want more manufactories\nof every kind in Michigan.\n\nOur city is largely interested in the shipping business, and its trade\ngives employment to a larger number of side-wheel steamboat lines than\nany other three cities on the entire chain of lakes. During the last\nseason, the following regular lines of steamers were in successful\noperation:\n\n  Detroit and Cleveland.\n  Detroit and Toledo.\n  Detroit and Sandusky.\n  Detroit and Saginaw.\n  Detroit and New Baltimore.\n  Detroit and Maiden.\n  Detroit, G. Bay and Buffalo.\n  Detroit and Lake Superior.\n  Detroit and Port Huron.\n  Detroit and Chatham.\n  Detroit and Wallaceburg.\n  Detroit and Gibraltar.\n\nTwo of the above routes sustain opposition lines, and to the list\nmight be added the line of lake steamers to Buffalo, and the line to\nGoderich, which though not run last year, will probably be in\nsuccessful operation the coming season, making in all sixteen lines.\nIt is significant that the late financial revulsion, which fell with\nsuch crushing weight upon the shipping interest all over the country\ndid not occasion the withdrawal of any of our steamboat lines, save\none. As a still more striking fact, we may state that until last\nseason none of the cities located in the vast region between the foot\nof Lake Michigan and the foot of Lake Erie, has for many years past\nsupported a single line of steamers that did not make Detroit a\nterminus. Last year a line was put in successful operation between\nBuffalo and Cleveland, and another between the latter place and\nToledo, but it ought to be added that both of these were established\nby Detroit enterprise.\n\nIn addition to the line above enumerated, we have daily lines of\npropellers to Ogdensburg, Buffalo, Dunkirk and to the Upper Lakes,\nwhich do an immense freighting business.\n\nWe are indebted to Captain J. H. Hall, the public-spirited proprietor\nof the Detroit shipping-office for following statement of the number\nof vessels that passed Detroit in 1859:\n\n_Number of Vessels passing Detroit, 1859._\n\n    No.               Times.\n\n  Steamers passed up,    194\n  Propellers,     \"      492\n  Barks,          \"      273\n  Brigs,          \"      295\n  Schooners,      \"    1,811\n                       -----\n  Total number up,     3,065\n\n    No.               Times.\n  Steamers passed down,  195\n  Propellers,       \"    503\n  Barks,            \"    284\n  Brigs,            \"    314\n  Schooners,        \"  1,825\n                       -----\n  Total number down,   3,121\n\nGreatest number passed up in one day, eighty-five; greatest number\ndown, seventy-three.\n\nThe number of entries and clearances reported at the Custom House\nduring the year is as follows:\n\n       Arrived.   Cl'd.\n  Jan.    48       70\n  Feb.    49       71\n  March  161      288\n  April  334      375\n  May    438      586\n  June   458      568\n  July   403      597\n  Aug.   461      519\n  Sept.  316      481\n  Oct.   288      319\n  Nov.   294      316\n  Dec.    45       71\n\nDuring the past year the amount of total losses has been light, not\ngreater, probably, than the number of vessels built, so that although\nthe classification is slightly changed, there is no material change so\nfar as concerns the aggregate tonnage. Detroit owns, therefore,\n_nearly one-sixth of the entire tonnage of the lakes_.\n\nAs a matter of some interest we present a comparative statement\nshowing the tonnage, steam, and total, of a number of the more\nimportant maritime places in the country, taken from the report of the\nRegister of the Treasury on Commerce and Navigation:\n\n              Steam tonnage.  Total tonnage.\n  New York         118,638     1,432,705\n  New Orleans       70,072       210,411\n  Philadelphia      22,892       219,851\n  Baltimore         18,821       194,488\n  Pittsburg         42,474        56,824\n  Cincinnati        23,136        26,541\n  Chicago            8,151        67,001\n  St. Louis         55,515        61,266\n  Boston             9,452       448,896\n  Buffalo           42,640        73,478\n  Detroit           35,266        62,485\n  Charleston, S. C.  8,230        60,196\n\nThe following exhibits the number and tonnage of vessels owned in this\ndistrict--nearly all of them in this city--on the 31st of December,\n1859:\n\n                      Number  Tons.  95ths\n  Steamers               73  29,175   02\n  Propellers             32   6,090   81\n  Barks                   4   1,337   08\n  Brigs                   7   1,877   75\n  Schooners             131  19,671   56\n  Scows and all others  136   4,322   68\n                        ---  ------   --\n  Total                 383  62,485   05\n  In 1857               301  52,991   50\n                        ---  ------   --\n  Increase in two years  82   9,493   50\n\nThe following was the aggregate tonnage of the lakes in December 1858:\n\n  AMERICAN.\n    69 Side-wheel steamers register tons   44,562\n   110 Propellers                do.       45,562\n    70 Tugs (propellers)         do.        6,880\n    46 Barks                     do.       18,788\n    79 Brigs                     do.       22,558\n   711 Schooners                 do.      166,725\n   109 Scows                     do.       11,848\n  ----                                    -------\n  1194  Total                             316,923\n\n  CANADIAN.\n    67 Side-wheel steamers, register tons  25,966\n    16 Propellers                do.        4,631\n     4 Tugs (propellers)         do.          388\n    19 Barks                     do.        5,697\n    16 Brigs                     do.        2,988\n   186 Schooners                 do.       19,311\n    13 Scows                     do.          609\n  ----                                    -------\n   321  Total                              59,580\n\nThe Michigan Central was the first railroad built in the State, and\nsince its completion has been known as one of the best managed in the\nWest. Its beneficial effects to the region of country through which it\npasses, is incalculable. On its line, have sprung up a number of\nbeautiful towns and villages as if by magic, while many of those that\nhad an existence prior to its construction have grown into flourishing\ncities. Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Marshall, Battle Creek,\nAlbion, Kalamazoo, Niles, and others that might properly be included,\nall located upon this road, are beautiful places, noted for their\nthrift and enterprise as well as for their rapid advances in all that\npertains to well-regulated cities. Their commerce is rapidly\nincreasing and the country along the entire route will vie with that\ntraversed by the great thoroughfares of any of the older States along\nthe seaboard.\n\nThe Central was commenced and partially built by the State, but in\n1844, passed into the possession of the company now owning it, who\ncompleted it to Chicago. A telegraph line has been in use for some\nyears past along the entire line of the road, with an office at each\nstation, by which means the exact position of each train may be at all\ntimes known at each and every point. To this admirable system may be\nattributed in a very great degree the extraordinary exemption of the\nroad from serious accidents, while its advantages are very great in\nevery point of view respecting the general management. The eastern\nterminus of the road being at Detroit, it has the full advantages of\nthe numerous connections at this point, the Great Western and Grand\nTrunk Railways, the important steamboat route from Cleveland, the\nlines of Detroit and Buffalo propellers with their immense freight\ntraffic, as well as the numerous other steamboat routes of which our\ncity is the nucleus. At Chicago it has the advantages of connection\nwith all the roads radiating from that flourishing city. Freight is\nnow taken from Chicago to Portland without breaking bulk but once. An\nimportant \"feeder\" is the Joliet Cut-off, by means of which it has a\ndirect connection with St. Louis, via the Chicago, Alton, and St.\nLouis Railroad. An important arrangement was consummated last summer\nwith the latter road, for the direct transmission of freight between\nthis city and St. Louis. Fifty cars have been diverted to this route,\nunder the name of the \"Detroit and St. Louis Through Freight Line.\"\nThe time between the two cities is thirty-eight hours. The advantages\nof this line to shippers are very considerable, and the arrangement is\nadding, and will continue to add, materially to the commerce of our\ncity.\n\nA commendable progressive spirit has latterly been evinced by the\nmanagers generally, of our railroads, in the transmission of freight,\nespecially live stock and grain. The improvement is a most grateful\none to shippers, who have ordinarily quite enough anxiety and vexation\nto suffer in the fluctuations of the market and subjection to unlooked\nfor and onerous charges, without having superadded unreasonable\nexposure and deterioration of their property while en route to market.\nIn this movement the management of the Central has fully sympathized.\nTheir stock and grain cars have received high commendations from those\nfor whose benefit they were intended. The entire equipment of the road\nis such as to comport with them; the safety, comfort and convenience\nof the public, being constantly kept in view, regardless of the cost\nincurred.\n\nThe three staunch and magnificent steamers belonging to the company,\nthe Plymouth Rock, Western World and Mississippi, owing to the hard\ntimes have been laid up at their dock since the fall of 1857, to the\ngreat regret of the public generally, as well as to the detriment of\nthe business interest of our city. With the return of a more\nprosperous era they will doubtless be again placed in commission. The\nline formed by these boats is the most pleasant and expeditious medium\nof communication between the East and the West and Southwest, and\ncannot fail to be well patronized, especially now that the Dayton and\nMichigan Railroad is completed, which will bring a large amount of\nboth freight and passenger traffic by way of Detroit that formerly\nsought other routes.\n\nThe rolling stock now on the road consists of ninety-eight engines,\nseventy first class passenger cars, twelve second class cars;\ntwenty-nine baggage cars, and two thousand seven hundred and\nseventy-eight freight cars, making a total of two thousand eight\nhundred and eighty-nine cars and all of which were built in the\ncompany's own shops.\n\nThis road is one hundred and eighty-eight miles long, and has been in\noperation throughout its whole extent since November, 1858. It is\ndeserving of the distinctive appellation of the _Back Bone Road of\nMichigan_, having been of incalculable value in developing the\nresources of the region through which it is located, decidedly one of\nthe richest and most important in the West. The principal towns and\ncities upon its line are Pontiac, Fentonville, St. Johns, Ionia, Grand\nRapids and Grand Haven. The growth of these places has received a\ngreat impetus since its completion, while numerous villages have also\nsprung into being as if by magic at various points along the line.\nThese changes are plainly visible in the improved trade of our city,\nand the increase from the same cause, must continue to be strongly\nmarked. Last season over one-fourth of the wheat and wool received\nhere was by this new route, and a number of vessels loaded at the\ncompany's noble and spacious wharf for European ports direct.\n\nWithin the year past, the company have completed one of the finest\nrailway wharves in the world. It is 1,500 feet long by 90 broad, the\nwest end of which is occupied by the freight house, the dimensions of\nwhich are 450 by 132 feet.\n\nOne of the most important events to Detroit and the entire West, that\nhas transpired for many years, is the completion of this great\nthoroughfare. The link from Port Huron to this city was opened to\ntraffic on the 21st of November, since which date the businesses\ncrowding upon it has fully equaled its capacity. It is the Minerva of\nrailways, having reached at a single bound a condition of prosperity\noutrivaling many of the oldest established roads on the continent.\n\nIt possesses important advantages over any other road both for freight\nand passenger traffic. Being of uniform gauge, no change of cars will\nbe necessary from Sarnia to Portland; and being also under the\nmanagement of one corporation, it affords better facilities for the\nprotection of passengers and the preservation of their baggage than\nwhere they are required to pass over lines under the control of\ndifferent and perhaps conflicting corporations. Having only one set\nof officers quartered upon its exchequer, it can afford to do business\nat lower proportionate rates, than a number of shorter lines, each\nhaving a different set to salary, while the delay and vexation which\nnot unfrequently arise from short routes, being compelled to wait upon\neach other's movements, will all be avoided, which is certainly no\nsmall consideration both to passengers and shippers.\n\nThe harbor of Portland is one of the finest and most eligible in the\nworld, and our immediate connection with a point of such importance is\nof itself a matter deserving particular mention. Portland district, as\nappears by the official statement of the tonnage of the United States,\nmade to June, 1857, then owned 145,242 tons of shipping, being the\nninth port in the Union in point of tonnage; she is very largely\ninterested in the West India trade, her annual imports of molasses\nexceeding those of any port in the United States. She offers,\ntherefore, to the Western States, peculiar facilities for procuring at\na cheap rate the products of the West Indies. The harbor is without\nany bar, and so easy of access that no pilots are required, and\nstrangers, with the sailing directions given in the American Coast\nPilot, have brought their ships into it with safety. There are no\nport charges, harbor dues, or light-house fees, excepting the official\ncustom house fees.\n\nThe Grand Trunk Railway is likely to become the avenue through which\nan immense tide of immigration will pour into Michigan. It will be a\nfavorite route for emigrants, who will thus avoid the rascally\nimpositions of the swindlers and Peter Funks of New York, who have\ngiven that city an unenviable notoriety throughout the world. It is\npredicted that more immigrants will hereafter come by the new route\nthan by all others put together. There is no valid reason why this\nprediction should not prove strictly true. This is therefore a matter\nlikely to be of vast importance to our State, with a large share of\nher territory as yet an unbroken wild, offering tempting inducements\nto the hardy settler.\n\nThe completion of this stupendous bond of connection between the\nEastern and Western States, Canada and Europe, will render markets\navailable which were before difficult of access, and enable\nfar-distant countries to exchange their products at all seasons. The\nGrand Trunk may be called the first section of the PACIFIC RAILROAD,\nas it already communicates with the Mississippi through Michigan,\nIllinois and Wisconsin Railroads, and we expect to see the line\ncompleted from the Mississippi to California. It is not easy to form\nan estimate of the amount of traffic and intercourse that the 1,150\nmiles of Grand Trunk Railway will bring to Michigan and the\nneighboring States. A junction has been already formed with that model\nof western lines the Michigan Central by which freight and passengers\nreach Chicago and the numerous lines which diverge from that great\ncommercial city. It is probable that another junction will be made\nwith the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway by means of a branch from Port\nHuron to Owasso. In this case there will be a direct line across\nMichigan connecting with the Milwaukee railroads by the ferry across\nthe lake, and penetrating into Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Oregon\nby lines which have not yet been traced on the railway maps of the\nUnited States.\n\nThe ostensible western terminus of this road is at Windsor, opposite\nour city, but it is practically as much a Detroit road as any that can\nbe named. The connections with the other routes centering here is made\nby a number of ferry boats of the most staunch and powerful\ndescription. The receipts by this route of general merchandise\nconsigned to the cities and points westward of us is immense, and it\nenjoys a large and growing local traffic.\n\nThe main line of the Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana Railroad,\nwhich taps a rich and important portion of Michigan, is 461 miles in\nlength. The business on this line has recently shown a decided\nimprovement.\n\nThe D. and T. Road, which is 65 miles in length, was opened to traffic\nin January 1857. It was built by the \"Detroit, Monroe, and Toledo\nRailroad Company,\" who leased it to the Michigan Southern Road. It is\nnow an important link in the great railway system extending from the\nEast to the Great Southwest, of which system, Detroit, from its\nfavorable position, has become the centre and soul. Since the opening\nof the Grand Trunk, in November, a large amount of freight has passed\nthrough, billed for Liverpool direct, a species of freight which must\nsteadily increase.\n\nL. P. Knight is agent at Detroit. The office is in the depot building\nof the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway.\n\nThe Dayton and Michigan Railroad was completed last fall, placing us\nwithin a few hours' ride of the Queen City of the West. This is justly\nregarded as a most important route to our city, and will develop new\nfeatures to some of our leading business interests. The consumer of\nour State will have the benefit of lower prices for the products of\nKentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and the West Indies. The want of\ndirect communication between Detroit and New Orleans has long been\nfelt. Sugars and molasses can now be laid down here for fifty cents\nper 100 lbs., including all charges from New Orleans, via the\nMississippi and Ohio Rivers, and D. and M. Railway, giving us, in a\nword, the benefits of as low freights in winter as in summer. With the\ncost of transportation thus reduced to a merely nominal standard,\nprices of Southern products will be upon an average no higher here\nthan in Louisville. It is more than probable, nay, quite certain, that\nthe advantages which must ultimately accrue to the State from our\nconnection with Cincinnati _per se_, if not so general, will be even\nmore marked and important than those to which we have above referred.\nThe prices of provisions will be equalized, giving our lumbermen and\nminers the benefit of reduced rates throughout most of the year, and\nwhen speculation is rampant, and the price of pork, the great staple\nof our neighbors, reaches an extreme figure--as has been the case for\ntwo successive seasons, and will be the case again--our farmers will\nreap the benefit of the movement. The growth of Cincinnati is\naltogether without parallel in the world, taking into account the\ncharacter of that growth--its _quality_, so to speak. All its great\ninterests, particularly its manufactures, have kept pace with its\nnumerical increase. It is indeed difficult to determine whether\nmanufactures or commerce is most intimately identified with its\nprosperity. The connection with her will give us new and desirable\ncustomers for some of our surplus products, particularly our choice\nlumber.\n\nThe entire line of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad, as located,\nis 172-1/2 miles; track laid and completed, 7-3/4 miles; additional\nlength graded 24-1/2 miles, the ties for which have all been\ndelivered.\n\nIt is thought that hereafter twenty miles per year will be completed\nwithout difficulty until the whole is completed. This road will be\nimportant in developing the resources of a very rich tract of country.\n\nOn the line of Amboy, Lansing, and Grand Traverse Railroad, the entire\ndistance from Owasso to Lansing, twenty-six miles, is ready for the\niron, except three miles. On the division from Lansing to Albion,\nthirty-six miles, the work of grading and furnishing ties is\nprogressing, and some one hundred men at work. Between Owasso and\nSaginaw, thirty-three miles, arrangements are nearly completed to\nstart the work. The work of grading and preparing for the iron is\ndone by local subscriptions, of which $3,000 per mile has been\nsubscribed and is being paid.\n\nThe existence of copper on the shores of Lake Superior appears to have\nbeen known to the earliest travelers, but it has been only a few years\nsince it has entered largely into Western commerce. But the country\nhad long been a favorite resort for fur traders, and as long ago as\n1809, and perhaps still further back, the Northwest Company (British)\nowned vessels on Lake Superior. This organization was at that period\nthe great trading company of the region in question, the operations of\nthe Hudson's Bay Company being confined chiefly to the region further\nnorth. At the period of which we speak, the bulk of the trading was\ndone by means of birch canoes, some of them large enough to carry two\nor three tons. With these, the traders passed up to the Indian\nsettlements in the fall, with goods, provisions, and trinkets, usually\nreturning to the trading posts during the month of June with the furs\nwhich they had procured in exchange. Mackinac and the Saut were\ntrading posts at an early day. At a somewhat later period, the\nNorthwest Company had an agency on an island in Lake Huron, not far\nfrom the month of Saut river. The formation of the American Fur\nCompany was of more recent date, that company dating its origin during\nthe war of 1812, or soon after.\n\nPrior to the building of the canal, a number of steamers had been\ntaken over the portage to Lake Superior, but so far as our knowledge\nextends, only one or two craft larger than a canoe were ever taken\nover the rapids, one of which was the schooner Mink. She was built of\nred cedar, on Lake Superior, about the year 1816, and was of some\nforty tons burden. She became the property of Mack & Conant, who had\nher brought down the rapids. In making the descent she suffered some\ninjury by striking against a rock, but, notwithstanding this mishap,\nshe lived long enough to ride out many a stormy sea, running for\nseveral years in the trade between Buffalo and the City of the\nStraits. Shubael Conant, Esq., at this day an honored citizen of\nDetroit, was one of the firm that purchased the Mink.\n\nIn the spring of 1845, the fleet on Lake Superior consisted of the\nschooner White Fish, belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, the\nSiscowit, belonging to the American Fur Company, and the Algonquin,\nowned by a Mr. Mendenhall. The same year the schooners Napoleon,\nSwallow, Uncle Tom, Merchant, Chippewa, Ocean, and Fur Trader, were\nall added. In 1845, the propeller Independence, the first steamer that\never floated on Lake Superior, was taken across the portage, and the\nnext year the Julia Palmer followed her, she being the first\nside-wheel steamer. In the winter of 1848-9, the schooner Napoleon was\nconverted into a propeller. In 1850, the propeller Manhattan was\nhauled over by the Messrs. Turner, and the Monticello in 1851, by Col.\nMcKnight. The latter was lost the same fall, and Col. McK. supplied\nher place the next winter with the Baltimore. In 1853 or 1854, E. B.\nWard took over the Sam Ward, and Col. McKnight took the propeller\nPeninsula over in the winter of 1852 or 1853.\n\nIn the spring of 1855, the Saut Canal was completed, since which date\nthe trade with that important region has rapidly grown into commanding\nimportance. It will be seen by the table below that the importations\nof machinery, provisions, supplies, and merchandise, for the past year\namounted to $5,298,640, while the exports of copper, iron, fur and\nfish amount to $3,071,069.\n\nThe following are the names of the steam craft now regularly employed\nin this trade:\n\n    S. B. Illinois.          Prop. Mineral Rock.\n    S. B. Lady Elgin.        Prop. Montgomery.\n    S. B. North Star.        Prop. Northern Light.\n    Prop. Marquette.         Prop. Iron City.\n\nA number of other steam-craft made occasional trips last year, and\nnext season it is expected that another line will be placed on the\nroute permanently. The Detroit shipping-office has published the names\nof ninety-six sail vessels that have been engaged in the iron trade\nthe past year.\n\nRapid as this trade has increased, it is destined, no doubt, to yet\nundergo a still greater transformation. The latent resources of the\nUpper Peninsula are of a character and magnitude that defy all\nestimates of their future greatness. With regard to the importance of\nthe trade to our city, and the steps to be taken to retain it, ample\ncomments have already appeared in the _Tribune_, both editorially and\nin the form of communications, to which we can add nothing.\n\nThe aggregate amount of tolls collected in May, July, August and\nSeptember, was $10,374.18, a large increase over the corresponding\nmonths last year. Including the probable amount for the months not\nreported, and we have at the lowest not less probably than $16,000, as\nthe tolls for 1859.\n\nNumber of passengers: May, 2,493; June, 1,764; July, 2,116; August,\n2,617; September, 1,538; October, 1,015.\n\nIt is _now_ almost universally admitted that the State of Michigan\npossesses in her soil and timber the material source of immense\nwealth. While in years past it has been difficult to obtain\nsatisfactory information concerning the real condition and natural\nresources of a large portion of the surface of the Lower Peninsula,\nthe re-survey of portions of the government land, the exploration of\nthe country by parties in search of pine, the developments made by the\nexploring and surveying parties along the lines of the Land Grant\nRailroads, and the more recent examinations by the different\ncommissions for laying out the several State roads under the Acts\npassed by the last Legislature, have removed every doubt in reference\nto the subject. The universal testimony from all the sources above\nmentioned, seems to be that in all the natural elements of wealth the\nwhole of the northern part of the Peninsula abounds.\n\nThe pine lands of the State, which are a reliable source of present\nand future wealth, are so located and distributed as to bring almost\nevery portion of the State, sooner or later in connection with the\ncommerce of the lakes. The pine timber of Michigan is generally\ninterspersed with other varieties of timber, such as beech, maple,\nwhite-ash, oak, cherry, etc., and in most cases the soil is suited to\nagricultural purposes. This is particularly the case on the western\nslope of the Peninsula, on the waters of Lake Michigan and along the\ncentral portion of the State. On the east and near Lake Huron, the\npine districts are more extensively covered with pine timber, and\ngenerally not so desirable for farming purposes. There are good\nfarming lands, however, all along the coast of Lake Huron and\nextending back into the interior.\n\nA large proportion of the pine lands of the State are in the hands of\nthe Canal Company, and individuals who are holding them as an\ninvestment, and it is no detriment to this great interest, that the\nwhole State has been thus explored and the choicest of the lands\nsecured. The developments which have thus been made of the quality and\nextent of the pine districts, have given stability and confidence to\nthe lumbering interest. And these lands are not held at exorbitant\nprices, but are sold upon fair and reasonable terms, such as practical\nbusiness men and lumber men will not usually object to.\n\nIt is a remarkable fact that almost every stream of water in the\nState, north of Grand River, penetrates a district of pine lands, and\nthe mouths of nearly all these streams are already occupied with\nlumbering establishments of greater or less magnitude. Those lumber\ncolonies are the pioneers, and generally attract around them others\nwho engage in agriculture, and thus almost imperceptibly the\nagricultural interests of the State are spreading and developing in\nevery direction. The want of suitable means of access alone prevents\nthe rapid settlement of large and fertile districts of our State,\nwhich are not unknown to the more enterprising and persevering\npioneers, who have led the way through the wilderness, and are now\nengaged almost single-handed in their labors, not shrinking from the\nprivations and sufferings which are sure to surround these first\nsettlements in our new districts.\n\nThe Grand Traverse region, with its excellent soil, comparatively mild\nclimate, and abundance of timber of every description, is attracting\nmuch attention, and extensive settlements have already commenced in\nmany localities in that region. The coast of Lake Michigan, from Grand\nRiver north, for upward of one hundred miles to Manistee River,\npresents generally a barren, sandy appearance, the sand hills of that\ncoast almost invariably shutting out from the view the surrounding\ncountry.\n\nNorth of the Manistee, however, this characteristic of the coast\nchanges, and the hard timber comes out to the lake and presents a fine\nregion of country extending from Lake Michigan to Grand Traverse Bay\nand beyond, embracing the head waters of the Manistee River. This\nlarge tract of agricultural land is one of the richest portions of the\nState, and having throughout its whole extent extensive groves of\nexcellent pine timber interspersed, it is one of the most desirable\nportions of the Peninsula. Grand Traverse Bay, the Manistee and the\nRiver Aux Becs Scies are the outlets for the pine timber, and afford\nample means of communication between the interior and the lake for\nsuch purposes. The proposed State roads will, if built, do much toward\nthe settlement of this region.\n\nA natural harbor, which is being improved by private enterprise, is\nfound at the mouth of the River Aux Becs Scies, and a new settlement\nand town has been started at this point. This is a natural outlet for\na consideration portion of the region just described.\n\nThe lands here, as in other localities in the new portions of the\nState, are such as must induce a rapid settlement whenever the means\nof communication shall be opened.\n\nThe valley of the Muskegon embraces every variety of soil and timber,\nand is one of the most attractive portions of the Peninsula. The pine\nlands upon this river are scattered all along the valley in groups or\ntracts containing several thousand acres each, interspersed with hard\ntimber and surrounded by fine agricultural lands.\n\nThe Pere Marquette River and White River, large streams emptying into\nLake Michigan, pass through a region possessing much the same\ncharacteristics. This whole region is underlaid with lime rocks, a\nrich soil, well watered with living springs, resembling in many\nfeatures the Grand River Valley. Beds of gypsum have been discovered\non the head waters of the Pere Marquette.\n\nThe unsettled counties in the northern portion of the State, the\nnorthern portion of Montcalm and Gratiot, Isabella, Gladwin, Clare and\na portion of Midland, are not inferior to any other portion. There is\na magnificent body of pine stretching from the head of Flat River in\nMontcalm county to the upper waters of the Tettibiwassee, and growing\nupon a fine soil well adapted to agriculture.\n\nThis embraces a portion of the Saginaw Valley, and covers the high\nground dividing the waters of Lakes Huron and Michigan. The eastern\nslope of the Peninsula embraces a variety of soil and timber somewhat\ndifferent in its general features from other portions of the State.\nThe pine lands of this region are near the coast of the lake, and lie\nin large tracts but with good agricultural land adjoining. There are\nin the Lower Peninsula, in round numbers, about 24,000,000 acres of\nland.\n\nTaking Houghton Lake, near the centre of the State, as a point of\nview, the general surface may be comprehended as follows: The Muskegon\nValley to the southwest following the Muskegon River in its course to\nLake Michigan. The western slope of the Peninsula directly west,\nembracing the pine and agriculture districts along the valleys of\nseveral large streams emptying into Lake Michigan. The large and\nbeautiful region to the northwest embracing the valley of the Manistee\nand the undulating lands around the Grand Traverse Bay. Northward, the\nregion embraces the head-waters of the Manistee and Au Sauble, with\nthe large tracts of excellent pine in that locality, and beyond, the\nagricultural region extending to Little Traverse Bay and the Straights\nof Mackinaw. To the northeast, the valley of the Au Sauble, and the\npine region of Thunder Bay. To the east, the pine and hard timber\nextending to Saginaw Bay. To the southeast, the Saginaw Valley; and to\nthe south, the high lands before described in the central counties.\n\nThat portion of the State south of Saginaw and the Grand River Valley\nis so well known that a description here would be unnecessary.\n\nThus we have yet undeveloped over half the surface of this Peninsula,\nembracing, certainly, 12,000,000 to 15,000,000 of acres, possessing\nstores of wealth in the timber upon its surface, reserving soil for\nthe benefit of those, who, as the means of communication are opened,\nwill come in and possess it, and thus introduce industry and\nprosperity into our waste places.\n\nWe have not the figures at hand, but it is probable that at least\none-tenth of the area north of the Grand River is embraced in the pine\nregion. The swamp lands granted to the State will probably cover\nnearly double the area of the pine lands proper. The remainder for the\nmost part is covered with a magnificent growth of hard timber suited\nto the necessities of our growing population and commerce.\n\nThe statistics herein furnished will give some idea of the importance\nand value of the lumber traffic in this States. The trade in pine\ntimber, lumber, shingles and other varieties of lumber, with the\ntraffic in staves form one of the most important branches of\nmanufacture and commerce in our own State, and this trade alone is now\naccomplishing more for the development and settlement of the country\nthan all other causes in operation.\n\nThe lumber manufactories in Detroit and its suburbs are eleven in\nnumber. The following are the names of the proprietors and the amount\ncut last year by each:\n\n                            FT. LUMBER.  PCS. LATH.\n  H. A. & S. G. Wight        6,500,000   2,220,000\n  Samuel Pills               3,500,000     482,000\n  -- Moffat (est)            1,500,000\n  H. B. Benson               3,254,029\n  W. Warner & Co.              194,370\n  Brooks & Adams             3,800,000\n  Baughman, Hubbard & Co.    3,378,080   1,043,300\n  Kibbee, Fox & Co.          3,000,000     800,000\n  N. Reeve                     800,000      20,000\n  Davis & David              2,000,000\n  Copeland                   1,000,000\n                            ----------   ---------\n  Total                     29,426,479   4,745,300\n\nThe aggregate of capital employed by these mills is $1,440,000. The\nabove amount is no criterion of their capacity. The same mills cut\n46,000,000 feet in 1856, and nearly the same in 1857, and their\nprobable capacity is 54,000,000. Warner & Co., run their mill only\nabout five weeks last year, and are now about retiring from business.\nOne of the others sustained a temporary loss of business by fire. The\nproduct will in the aggregate be doubled next season.\n\nThe logs sawed in Detroit are procured from St. Clair River, Black\nRiver, Mill Creek and, Belle River. As a large share of that sold here\nhas been on contract, there has been no great fluctuation in the\nmarket at this point. On the first of July the rates by the cargo were\n$25a$26 for clear and $19a$20 for second clear; on the first of\nOctober, $24 for clear, and $18 for second clear.\n\nLast winter and spring were very unfavorable for lumbering. Owing to\nthe small quantity of snow, but few logs were got out, and many of\nthem being on small streams, owing to the failure of the usual spring\nfreshets, were not sawed, so that upon the whole the mills of the\nState turned out only about half the amount of their capacity.\n\nThe market opened in the spring with flattering prospects. Buyers from\na number of important points in the Eastern States, previously\nderiving their supplies from Maine, visited our State, anxious to\nsecure contracts for choice lumber, and the opinion prevailed that the\ndemand would exceed the supply. The prospect encouraged manufacturers\nto make unwonted exertions in turning out all the stock that could be\nrendered available, which involved increased expense. In some places,\nas was the case at Saginaw, a very large amount was got out in the\nearly part of the summer. About the close of June, the market\nexperienced a sudden and unlooked-for depression, after which prices\ntended speedily downward, falling to such a low point before the close\nof the season that manufacturers on the west coast generally suspended\ntheir shipments. Those on the east coast continued to ship, but their\nshipments to a very great extent still remain unsold. We are cognizant\nof 7,000,000 feet held in that way by only four manufacturers.\n\nThe accounts this winter are very favorable, but the idea that\nobtains, fixing the amount at a very high figure, is vague and\nerroneous. The true state of the case is, that manufactures, as a\ngeneral thing, in view of the depressed condition of the trade, have\nbeen making calculations to do a light business, and got out their\nlogs sooner than they expected, and will on the whole do rather more\nthan they had anticipated, having gone into the woods lighthanded. The\nmost experienced judges concur in fixing the amount of logs got out\nthis winter on River St. Clair, at Port Huron and Saginaw Bay, but not\nincluding the rivers above, at 175,000,000 feet. In the Saginaws, it\nis ascertained that about 100,000,000 will be got out. Taking the\nentire east coast, it is thought the logs this winter would exceed\nthose of last by fifteen to twenty per cent.\n\nBy Custom House statements of shipments, added to actual receipts at\none of the receiving points--Chicago--it will be seen below that for\n1859 a little over 269,000,000 feet is the amount of shipments arrived\nat. These figures, taken in connection with the estimates of those\ncompetent to judge, render it certain that the actual amount shipped\nout of the State did not vary materially from 400,000,000 feet. There\nbeing no penalty involved in the failure of masters of vessels to\nreport, there is great carelessness in the matter. The Cleveland,\nToledo and Sandusky shipments, are at the outside, not more than half\nreported. Those reported to Buffalo, Oswego, etc., are a little nearer\nthe truth, but they fall considerably below the mark.\n\nThe amount made in 1859, did not vary materially from that shipped. In\nthe district embracing the River St. Clair, Port Huron and the Lake\nShore, 6,000,000 feet more were wintered over last year than this. On\nthe west coast it was different generally, so that the variation in\nthe aggregate cannot be much either way. The capacity of the mills in\nthe pine lumber region is 900,000,000 feet, or possibly a little more.\n\nAs regards the amount of shingles made, even dealers are much in the\ndark. To add 50 per cent. to the Custom House returns would certainly\nbe within bounds for the eastern coast. This would give 120,000,000\nas the amount. For the west coast, if we take the amount received at\nChicago, say 165,000,000, with an additional twenty-five per cent. for\nthat received at Milwaukee, and then estimate that two-thirds of the\nwhole amount were from the west coast of Michigan, which is doubtless\ntrue, we have 137,500,000 as the amount shipped by the coast, making\n267,500,000 for the whole State.\n\nThe improved demand for staves has greatly stimulated the production,\nand in localities where the production of pine lumber is decreasing,\nthat of staves is taking its place. At Saginaw 2,500,000 were got out\nlast year, and this year there will be full as much, or more. The\ngreatest activity prevails, and dressing by machinery has been\nstarted. At Lakeport, Burchville, Lexington, Port Sanilac, Forester,\nPoint aux Barque, and Foresterville, 850,000 were got out last year;\nfrom Port Huron and St. Clair 750,000. The amount turned out in the\nwhole State could not have been short of 20,000,000.\n\nAn immense amount of lath were turned out. A mill that can turn out\nthree millions of lumber, generally makes one million of lath. On this\nbasis about 133,000,000 must have been turned out. The supply\ngenerally exceeds the demand.\n\nThe lumber on the east coast is worth at the mills $9 per M.; that on\nthe west coast $7. At the average of $8, the amount made last year\nwould be worth $3,200,000. The value of shingles at $2 per M., was\n$515,000, and the lath at $1 per M., are worth $133,000.\n\nWe are enabled to present a nearly complete list of names of owners,\nwith the amount of capital respectively, which will be of some\ninterest, both at home and abroad. So far as the east coast is\nconcerned, the figures are in the main entirely reliable, being upon\nthe authority of one of the best men in the State who knows whereof he\nadvises. Those for the west coast, thought not perhaps so strictly\ncorrect as the others, will as a general thing be found within bounds.\nWe hope the statistics will prove an incentive to lumbermen to be more\nparticular hereafter in furnishing information:\n\n    BLACK RIVER.\n\n      Name.             Capital.\n    J. & J. Bayard      $15,000\n    Sweetser & Bayard     7,000\n    Comstock mill         7,000\n    Davis' mill           8,000\n    R. Wadham's mills    10,000\n\n    MILL CREEK.\n    Bunce's mill          4,000\n    L. Brockway 2 mills   5,000\n    John H. Westbrook     4,000\n\n    PORT HURON.\n    G. S. Lester         24,000\n    Haynes & Baird       24,000\n    Howard & Bachelor    15,000\n    Fish, two mills      35,000\n    Welles               24,000\n    Avery                75,000\n    Bunce                24,000\n    Hibbard              40,000\n    Black River mill     35,000\n\n    LOCKPORT.\n    Farrand              10,000\n\n    BURCHVILLE.\n    Woods, two mills     30,000\n    John S. Minor         7,000\n\n    LEXINGTON.\n    Hubbard               8,000\n    Jenks & Co.          20,000\n    Stevens & Davis      10,000\n    Hitchcock & Co.      30,000\n\n    BARK SHANTY.\n    Oldfield             10,000\n\n    FORESTER.\n    Emely                50,000\n\n    GIBRALTAR.\n    Colin Campbell       10,000\n\n    ALGONAC.\n    Daniels & Ripley     15,000\n    Smith                24,000\n\n    NEWPORT.\n    E. B. Ward           20,000\n    Rust                 10,000\n    B. S. Horton         10,000\n\n    ST. CLAIR.\n    Moore & Scott        20,000\n    W. Truesdale 2 mills 60,000\n    E. Smith             15,000\n    Smith & Chamberlin    5,000\n    Oaks & Holland, two\n              mills      40,000\n    St. Clair            30,000\n\n    FORESTVILLE\n    E. B. Ward           50,000\n    Breckinridge          2,000\n\n    VICKSBURG.\n    Williams & Mills,\n         three mills     55,000\n\n    CHEBOYGAN.\n    Three mills         100,000\n\n    CHERRY CREEK.\n    Peninsular Bank      15,000\n\n    HURON COUNTY.\n    Luddington           12,000\n    Hubbard & Co.        50,000\n    Donahue              30,000\n    Armstrong & Co.      10,000\n    Smith & Co.          50,000\n    W. R. Stafford       15,000\n    Pt Austin Company   100,000\n    Crawford & Co.       10,000\n\n    BAY CITY.\n    Clark, Ballou & Co.  35,000\n    Moore & Smith        30,000\n    Geo. Lord & Co.      24,000\n    Saml. Pitts          30,000\n    Beeson & Wheeler     24,000\n    Beebe & Atwood       10,000\n    Henry Doty           35,000\n    McEwing & Brother    30,000\n    Bangor mills         35,000\n    Drake mills          24,000\n    Henry Raymond        30,000\n    Catlin & Jennison    10,000\n    Miller & Butterfield 14,000\n    Frost & Bradley      35,000\n\n    PORTSMOUTH.\n    J. J. McCormick      10,000\n    Portsmouth mill      15,000\n    Budd's mill          14,000\n    Partridge mill       24,000\n    H D Braddack & Co.   14,000\n    Watson & Southard    14,000\n\n    ZILWAUKEE.\n    J. J. Westervelt     35,000\n\n    CARROLLTON.\n    Name Unknown         35,000\n\n    EAST SAGINAW.\n    Garrison & Co.       24,000\n    I. Hill              20,000\n    Holland              10,000\n    Copeland & Co.       10,000\n    Cushing & Co.        36,000\n    L. B. Curtis         24,000\n    Wm. Gallagher        14,000\n    Atwater mill         30,000\n\n    SAGINAW CITY.\n    V. A. Payne          30,000\n    Curtis & King        30,000\n    New mill             20,000\n    G D Williams & Son   20,000\n    D. Rust & Brother    50,000\n\n    TITTIBIWASSEE, PINE RIVER AND SWAN CREEK.\n    Eight mills          65,000\n\n    CASS, BAD, AND SHIAWASSEE RIVERS.\n    Seven mills          50,000\n\n    LAPEER.\n    D. Farrer             8,000\n    W. Williams          15,000\n    Crofoot & Baldwin    15,000\n    Manwaring & Co.      21,000\n    Wm. Peters           14,000\n    Thorp's mill         14,000\n    H. D. Torner          8,000\n    Lawrence & M'Arthur   7,000\n    Wm. Peter            30,000\n    Sixteen small mills  85,000\n    N. H. Hart           21,000\n    Rogers & Jenness     24,000\n    Smith & Jenness      15,000\n    Smith                14,000\n    J. B. Wilson         14,000\n    James Farrell        10,000\n    White & Peter        10,000\n    W. H. Crapo          60,000\n    H. L. Hemingway       6,000\n\n    PINE RUN.\n    McFarren             20,000\n\n    MONTROSE.\n    Name unknown         30,000\n\n    ALPENA AND VICINITY.\n    G. N. Fletcher & Co. 35,000\n    Lockwood & Miner     25,000\n    Harris & Co.         35,000\n    Smith & Chamberlain  15,000\n    D. D. Oliver          5,000\n    Whitmore & Co.       25,000\n\n    SANILAC COUNTY.\n    J. L. Woods & Co.     5,000\n    Mason & Luce         17,500\n    Stevenson & Davis    20,000\n\n    AU SAUBLE HIGHLANDS.\n    Harris's mill        24,000\n\n    RIFLE RIVER, SAGANIN, COQUALIN, AND SAND BEACH.\n    Six mills            85,000\n\n    TUSCOLA COUNTY.\n    A. Watson            10,000\n    W. A. Hart           10,000\n    Perry                 5,000\n    Others               30,000\n    Edmunds & North      14,000\n    Richardson & Bro.    14,000\n    Holmes                5,000\n\n    FLINT AND VICINITY.\n    Eleven mills        715,000\n\nThere are also others on the east slope of the lower peninsula,\nrepresenting a capital of say--$120,000.\n\nBeyond the lower peninsula, there are some very heavy manufactories,\nparticularly around Green Bay, (Michigan) generally estimated at\n$1,000,000, but which it would be safe to put at--$750,000.\n\nTotal capital, including Detroit,-- $5,360,000\n\n    WESTERN SLOPE--OTTAWA COUNTY.\n      Name.             Capital.\n    Ferry & Co.          50,000\n    W. M. Ferry, Jr.     50,000\n    Joseph Weld & Co.    30,000\n    T. W. White & Co.    50,000\n    Becker & Spoons      40,000\n    Richard Roberts      24,000\n    Jno. Haire           24,000\n    E. Jewitt            15,000\n    Plugger & Nyn        24,000\n    Howard & Co.         14,000\n    Ryerson & Morris, 2\n              mills      65,000\n    Chapin, Marsh & Foss 50,000\n    Smith, Forbes & Co.  35,000\n    Trowbridge, Way &\n              Son        65,000\n    J. B. Bailey         14,000\n    Porter & Slyfield    14,000\n    C. Davies & Co.      50,000\n    Durkee, Truesdell &\n         Co.             40,000\n    George Ruddmain      40,000\n    Lewis & Davis        24,000\n    Eldridge & Co.       24,000\n    Carleton & Co.       24,000\n    Ferry & Son          40,000\n    Lind & Slater        50,000\n    Young, Savedge & Co. 30,000\n    Amos Norton          40,000\n    Benj. Smith          30,000\n    Rhodes, Cloyn & Co.  24,000\n    Hatch & Merritt      15,000\n    C. Hart              10,000\n    L. G. Mason & Co.    35,000\n    Beidler & Co.        40,000\n    Mears & Co.          24,000\n    Hill & Co.           24,000\n    Colgrove & Co.       18,000\n    Wm. Thompson         14,000\n    Harris & Co.          8,000\n    Jno. Ford             8,000\n    Denton & Co.         14,000\n    Carleton & Co.       10,000\n    Jos. Dalton & Bro.   10,000\n    S. Lawrence          12,000\n    Edward Dalton         8,000\n    E. W. Merrill & Co.  14,000\n    Reed & Co.           10,000\n    Brown & Grist         8,000\n\n    KENT COUNTY.\n    Jennison & Bro.      14,000\n    W. T. Powers          2,000\n    Seymour              24,000\n    Gooch & Webber        5,000\n    A. McFarland          4,000\n    Thos. Myers          21,000\n    George Funck          8,000\n    S. Lapham             5,000\n    A. House              5,000\n    Farrell & Sons       10,000\n    J. C. Clements       15,000\n    T. Spencer            8,000\n    Dewey & Co.          14,000\n    Reed & Plum           5,000\n    N. H. Withey          5,000\n    Knickerbuck           4,000\n    Robert Konkle        10,000\n    A. Roberts & Son     25,000\n    White, Worden & Co.  25,000\n    C. C. Comstock        9,500\n    D. Porter             5,000\n    Chase, Harris & Co.   8,000\n    C. W. Taylor          6,000\n    D. Caswell           12,000\n    Hubbard, Hitchcock\n          & Co.          16,000\n\n    NEWAYGO COUNTY.\n    Newaygo Company      80,000\n    Name unknown         24,000\n    J. M. Wood, 2 mills  25,000\n    James Botchford      10,000\n    R. P. Mitchell        5,000\n    Weaver                3,000\n    Amos Bigelow,         4,000\n\n    STONY CREEK, OCEANA COUNTY.\n    Campbell, Wheeler\n          & Co.          25,000\n\n    PERE MARQUETTE, BLACK CREEK AND BIG SAUBLE.\n    C. Mears & Co.,\n          3 mills        95,000\n\n    SPRING CREEK.\n    Hopkins & Co.        24,000\n\n    MANISTEE.\n    Coles                80,000\n    McVicker &Ingleman   24,000\n    One near Manistee    24,000\n    John C. Haines       55,000\n    John Stranch         40,000\n\n    GRAND TRAVERSE.\n    Hanna, Lay & Co.     32,000\n    A. S. Wadsworth      15,000\n\n    WHITE RIVER.\n    Amos Rathbone        24,000\n\n    MECOSTA.\n    Leonard, Ives, & Co. 20,000\n\n    MONTCALM COUNTY.\n    Bruce                10,000\n    Slaght               14,000\n    E. Gregory & Co.     20,000\n\n    LELANAW COUNTY.\n    Averill & Son         2,000\n\n    BEC SCIE'S RIVER.\n    R. Gardner           15,000\n    Chamberlin & Co.     20,000\n    Name unknown          2,000\n    Harris & Co.         10,000\n\n    IONIA COUNTY.\n    Estimated Aggregate                    100,000\n    All others, on West Slope, estimated   350,000\n    Capital Western Slope                2,669,500\n          Total Capital of State        $8,029,500\n\nAn intelligent gentleman who, at our instance, visited all the\nestablishments around Saginaw, and procured statistics, reports the\namount of lumber manufactured as follows:\n\n    Place.   No. of Mills.  Feet.\n  Bay City       11        20,000,000\n  Portsmouth      4         5,000,000\n  Zilwaukee       1         3,000,000\n  Carrollton      1         2,800,000\n  East Saginaw    8        19,750,000\n  Saginaw City    4        14,000,000\n  Bad River       2         4,500,000\n  Rafted Lumber             4,000,000\n                           ----------\n  Total                    73,050,000\n    Valuation, at $8.50 per M. $620,925\n\nOf the above lumber, 63,000,000 has been shipped; the rest is now on\nthe docks.\n\n  Shingles manufactured 25,000,000 at $2.50  $62,500\n  Lath         \"         5,000,000 at  1.00    5,000\n  Oak Staves\n  and shipped            2,000,000 at 30.00   60,000\n  Add Lumber                                 620,925\n                                            --------\n  Total                                     $748,425\n\nThe supply of pine in some few localities is becoming exhausted, and\nsome few mills have ceased operating. This is the case at Lexington,\nbut the machinery and capital have been taken elsewhere. At the\npresent ratio of consumption, the supply of pine must rapidly become\ndiminished, but profitable employment will then be found in the\nmanufacture of hemlock and hard-wood. Some little has already been\ndone in the way of turning out hemlock. The manufacture of hard-wood\nlumber is increasing very rapidly.\n\nThe copper interest of Michigan was first brought into public notice\nby the enormous speculations and the mad fever of 1845. The large spur\nof country which projects far out into the lake, having its base\nresting on a line drawn across from L'Anse Bay to Ontonagon, and the\nPorcupine Mountains for its spine, became the El Dorado of all\ncopperdom of that day. In this year the first active operations were\ncommenced at the Cliff Mine, just back of Eagle River harbor. Three\nyears later, in 1848, work was undertaken at the Minnesota, some\nfifteen miles back from the lake at Ontonagon.\n\nThe history of the copper mines on Lake Superior shows that even the\nbest mines disappointed the owners in the beginning. We give the facts\nrelative to the three mines at present in the Lake Superior region to\nillustrate this. The Cliff Mine was discovered in 1845, and worked\nthree years without much sign of success; it changed hands at the very\nmoment when the vein was opened which proved afterward to be so\nexceedingly rich in copper and silver, producing now on an average\n1,500 tons of stamp, barrel, and mass copper per annum.\n\nThe Minnesota Mine was discovered in 1848, and for the first three\nyears gave no very encouraging results. The first large mass of native\ncopper of about seven tons was found in a pit made by an ancient race.\nAfter that discovery much money was spent before any other further\nindications of copper were found. This mine yields now about 2,000\ntons of copper per annum, and declared, for the year 1858, a net\ndividend of $300,000. The dividends paid since 1852 amount to upward\nof $1,500,000 on a paid-up capital of $66,000.\n\nThe same has been experienced at the Pewabic Mine. That mine commenced\noperations in the year 1855, with an expenditure of $26,357, which\nproduced $1,080 worth of copper; the second year it expended $40,820,\nand produced $31,492 of copper; in 1857 $24,484 of expenses produced\n$44,058 worth of copper; 1858, the amount expended was $109,152, and\nthe receipts for copper $76,538; the total expense amounts to\n$235,816, and the total receipts for copper to $153,168, leaving an\nexcess of expenses amounting to $82,648, which is, however, amply\ncovered by the extensive works established above and below ground at\nthe mine.\n\nThe Pewabic will undoubtedly take its place among the dividend-paying\nmines of the present year.\n\nIt is scarcely ten years that mining has been properly commenced in\nthat remote region. At that time it was difficult, on account of the\nrapids of St. Mary's River, to approach it by water with large craft.\nBeing more than a thousand miles distant from the centre of the Union,\ndestitute of all the requirements for the development of mines; every\ntool, every part of machinery, every mouthful of provisions had to be\nhauled over the rapids, boated along the shores for hundreds of miles\nto the copper region, and there often carried on the back of man and\nbeast to the place where copper was believed to exist. Every stroke of\nthe pick cost tenfold more than in populated districts; every disaster\ndelayed the operations for weeks and months.\n\nThe opening of the Saut Canal has changed all this and added a\nwonderful impetus to the business, the mining interests, and the\ndevelopment of the Lake Superior country. Nearly one hundred different\nvessels, steam and sail, have been engaged the past season in its\ntrade, and the number of these is destined largely to increase year\nby year, an indication of the growth of business and the opening up of\nthe country. For the growth in the copper interest we have only to\nrefer to the shipments from that region year by year. These, in gross,\nare as follows:\n\n  1853  2,535  tons.\n  1854  3,500    \"\n  1855  4,544    \"\n  1856  5,357    \"\n  1857  6,094    \"\n  1658  6,025    \"\n  1859  6,245    \"\n\nThe same facts of development would hold generally true, with regard\nto the other industrial interests of that vast country.\n\nIt remains yet almost wholly \"a waste, howling wilderness.\" At\nMarquette, Portage Lake, Copper Harbor, Eagle River, Eagle Harbor, and\nOntonagon, and the mines adjacent, are the only places where the\nprimeval forests have given place to the enterprise of man, and these\nin comparison with the whole extent of territory embraced in this\nregion, are but mere insignificant patches. What this country may\nbecome years hence, it would defy all speculations now to predict, but\nthere seems no reason to doubt that it will exceed the most sanguine\nexpectations.\n\nThe copper region is divided into three districts, viz., the\nOntonagon, the most northern, the Keweenaw Point, the most eastern,\nand the Portage Lake, lying mostly below and partially between the\nrange of the two. In the first are situated the Minnesota, the\nRockland, the National, and a multitude of other mines of lesser note,\nprofit, or promise. In the Cliff, the Copper Falls, and others. In the\nlast are the Pewabic, Quincy, Isle Royale, Portage, Franklin, and\nnumerous others. Each district has some peculiarities of product, the\nfirst developing the masses, while the latter are more prolific in\nvein-rock, the copper being scattered throughout the rock.\n\nThere have been since 1845 no less than 116 copper-mining companies\norganized under the general law of our State. The amount of capital\ninvested and now in use, or which has been paid out in explorations\nand improvements, and lost, is estimated by good judges at $6,000,000.\nThe nominal amount of capital stock invested in all the companies\nwhich have charters would reach an indefinite number of millions. As\nan offset to this, it may be stated that the Cliff and Minnesota mines\nhave returned over $2,000,000 in dividends from the beginning of\ntheir operations, and the value of these two mines will more than\ncover the whole amount spent in mining, and for all the extravagant\nundertakings which have been entered upon and abandoned. While success\nhas been the exception and failure the rule in copper speculations,\nyet it must be admitted that these exceptions are remarkably tempting\nones. Doubtless there is immense wealth still to be developed in these\nenterprises, and this element of wealth in the Lake Superior region is\nyet to assume a magnitude now unthought of.\n\nThe copper is smelted mainly in this city, Cleveland, and Boston, the\nworks in this city being the largest. There is one establishment at\nPittsburg which does most of the smelting for the Cliff Mine, we\nbelieve; one at Bergen, N. Y., and one at New Haven, Conn. There are\ntwo at Baltimore, but they are engaged on South American Mineral. The\nBruce Mines on the Canada side of Lake Huron have recently put\nsmelting works in operation on their location. Prior to this the\nmineral was barreled up and shipped to London, being taken over as\nballast, in packet ships, at low rates.\n\nThe amount of copper smelted in this city we can only judge by the\namount landed here, but this will afford a pretty accurate estimate.\nThe number of tons landed here, in 1859, was 3,088. The copper yield\nof Lake Superior will produce between 60 and 70 per cent, of ingot\ncopper, which is remarkably pure. The net product of the mines for\n1859, is worth in the markets of the world nearly or quite $2,000,000.\nThis large total shows the capabilities of this region and affords us\nsome basis of calculation as to the value and probable extent of\nfuture development.\n\nBeside the amount already noticed as landed here there were 1,268 tons\nbrought to this city from the Bruce Mines, and sent on to London. The\nmineral of this location is of a different quality from that of Lake\nSuperior and not near so productive of pure copper. The price of ingot\ncopper in New York the past season has arranged from 20-1/2 to 23-1/2\ncents per pound, averaging full 22-1/2 cents.\n\nThere are indications that Michigan is slowly but surely taking the\nrank to which she is entitled in the manufacture as well as production\nof iron. The first shipment of pig iron of any consequence was made by\nthe Pioneer Company in the fall of 1858. Dr. Russell, of this city, is\nturning out large quantities. His works went into operation about two\nyears and a half ago, but were burned after running sixty days. They\nwere immediately rebuilt by the enterprising proprietor.\n\nThe Lake Superior iron has been proclaimed the best in the world, a\nproposition that none can successfully refute. Its qualities are\nbecoming known in quarters where it would naturally be expected its\nsuperiority would be admitted reluctantly, if at all. It is now sent\nto New York and Ohio, and even to Pennsylvania--an agency for its sale\nhaving been established in Pittsburg. For gearing, shafting, cranks,\nflanges, and, we ought by all means, to add, car-wheels, no other\nshould be used, provided it can be obtained.\n\nA large amount of capital is invested in the iron interest in\nMichigan, as the following figures prove:\n\n  Pioneer                                  $150,000\n  Jackson                                   300,000\n  Collins                                   150,000\n  Cleveland                                 300,000\n  Lake Superior and Iron Mountain R. R. Co. 700,000\n  Northern Michigan Iron Company            110,000\n  Wyandotte Rolling Mills                   236,000\n  Eureka Iron Company                       117,000\n  Dr. G. B. Russell's                        60,000\n  Ford & Philbrick's Steam Forge             25,000\n                                          ---------\n                                          2,148,000\n\nMarquette is the only point on Lake Superior where the iron ore\ndeposits have been worked. There are deposits of iron in the mountains\nback of L'Anse, but this wonderful region leaves nothing more to be\ndesired for the present. At a distance of eighteen miles from the\nlake, are to be found iron mountains named the Sharon, Burt, Lake\nSuperior, Cleveland, Collins, and Barlow, while eight miles further\nback lie the Ely and St. Clair mountains. Three of these mountains are\nat present worked, the Sharon, the Cleveland, and the Lake Superior,\nand contain enough ore to supply the world for generations to come.\nThe mountains farther back embrace tracts of hundreds of acres rising\nto a height of from four to six hundred feet, which, there is every\nreason to believe, from the explorations made, are solid iron ore. The\nextent of the contents of these mountains is perfectly fabulous, in\nfact, so enormous as almost to baffle computation. The ore, too is\nremarkably rich, yielding about seventy per cent. of pure metal. There\nare now in operation at Marquette three Iron Mining Companies, and two\nblast furnaces for making charcoal pig iron, the Pioneer and Meigs.\nThe Pioneer has two stacks and a capacity of twenty tons of pig iron\nper day; the Meigs one stack, capable of turning out about eleven\ntons. The Northern Iron Company is building a large bituminous coal\nfurnace at the mouth of the Chocolate River, three miles south of\nMarquette, which will be in operation early in the summer.\n\nEach of the mining companies, the Jackson, Cleveland and Lake\nSuperior, have docks at the harbor for shipment, extending out into\nthe spacious and beautiful bay which lies in front of Marquette to a\nsufficient length to enable vessels of the largest dimension to lie by\ntheir side and to be loaded directly from the cars, which are run over\nthe vessels and dumped into chutes, which are made to empty directly\ninto the holds. The process of loading is therefore very expeditious\nand easy.\n\nThe amount of shipments of ore for 1859, from Marquette to the ports\nbelow, reaches 75,000 gross tons in round numbers, and the shipments\nof pig iron, 6,000 gross tons more. To this must be added the amount\nat Marquette when navigation closed, the amount at the mines ready to\nbe brought down, and the amount used on the spot. This will give a\ntotal product of the iron mines of Michigan for the past year of\nbetween _ninety and one hundred thousand tons_. These mining companies\nsimply mine and ship the ore and sell it. Their profit ranges between\nseventy-five cents and one dollar per ton.\n\nThe quality of the iron of Lake Superior is conceded by all to be the\nbest in the world, as the analysis of Prof. Johnson, which we\nreproduce, shows. The table shows the relative strength per square\ninch in pounds.\n\n  Salisbury, Conn., iron       58,009\n  Swedish (best)               58,184\n  English cable                59,105\n  Centre county, Pa.           59,400\n  Essex county, N. Y.,         59,962\n  Lancaster county, Pa.        58,661\n  Russia (best)                76,069\n  Common English and American  30,000\n  Lake Superior                89,582\n\nThe manufacture of pig iron at Marquette will probably be carried on\neven more extensively as the attention of capitalists is directed to\nit. The following may be considered a fair statement of the cost of\nproducing one ton of pig iron at the Pioneer Iron Co.'s works:\n\n  1-1/2 tons iron ore, at $1.50 per ton      $2 50\n  125 bushels charcoal at 7 cents per bushel  8 75\n  Fluxing                                       50\n  Labor                                       2 50\n  Incidental expenses                         1 00\n                                            ------\n  Cost at the works                          15 00\n  Freight on R. R. and dockage                1 37\n                                            ------\n  Cost on board vessel                      $16 36\n\nThe quantity of wood required for charcoal for both furnaces, is\nimmense. The pioneer furnace requires 2,500 bushels of coal in\ntwenty-four hours; and in blast as they are, day and night, for six\nmonths, and at a yield of forty bushels of coal to a cord of wood, it\nwould require 15,000 cords of wood to keep them going. The company has\nhad 120,000 cords chopped this season. This vast consumption of wood\nwill soon cause the country to be completely stripped of its timber.\nCoal will then come into use. The business of manufacturing pig iron\nmay be extended indefinitely, as the material is without limit, and\nthe demand, thus far, leaving nothing on hand.\n\nThese facts exhibit the untold wealth of Michigan in iron alone, and\npoint with certainty to an extent of business that will add millions\nto our invested capital, dot our State with iron manufactories of all\nkinds, and furnish regular employment to tens of thousands of our\ncitizens, while our raw material and our wares shall be found in all\nthe principal markets of the world.\n\nThe superior fish, found in such profusion in our noble lakes and\nrivers, while they afford a highly-prized luxury for immediate\nconsumption, from one of our leading articles of export, and are very\njustly regarded as constituting one of our greatest interests.\n\nIt is estimated by men of intelligence that the value of our yearly\ncatch of fish is greater than that of all taken in fresh waters in the\nthirty-two remaining States of the Union. This may at first blush seem\nlike a broad assertion, but it is no doubt strictly within bounds. If\nthe claim be not too much of the nature of a truism, we may add that\nso far as quality is concerned the superiority of our finny tribes is\neven more strongly marked than in regard to quantity. In the sluggish\nstreams that abound in \"ten degrees of more effulgent clime,\" the fish\npartake of the slimy properties of their native element; it is only in\nthe limpid waters of the North that they are found of flavor so\nunexceptionable as to please an epicurean taste, or exalt them to the\ndignity of a staple of commerce. Fish possess peculiar qualities to\ncommend them as an article of food, independent of the arbitrary\npreference of the epicure. They are universally esteemed as a\nwholesome and nutritious diet. In that pleasant work, Irving's\n\"Astoria,\" a tribe of Indians are described who subsisted entirely on\nfish, whose rotund appearance contrasted strongly with the physique of\ntheir brethren of the forest. The profusion with which the finny\ntribes propagate their species is a peculiarity said to be imparted to\nthose who partake freely and regularly of them for food, a supposition\nwhich would seem to be strongly supported by facts. Fishermen are\nproverbial for the number of their descendants. One of the tribe who\ndries his nets in Sarnia, is the happy father of nineteen children,\nand we can cite numerous proofs almost equally striking in support of\nthis theory.\n\nThe fisheries have always been a leading subject in the government\npolicy of seaboard nations. They are a prime source of revenue, and\nhave been the cause of numerous wars. The serious controversy between\nthe United States and Great Britain concerning the Newfoundland\nfisheries, is still fresh in the memory of our readers. Recently the\nearnest attention of the French government has been directed to\npropositions for the artificial propagation of fish, as a means of\naffording good and cheap food to the people at a merely nominal cost.\nThe gradual diminution of the species, as well as the ultimate\nextinction of the large birds and quadrupeds, is everywhere a\ncondition of advanced civilization and the increase and spread of an\nindustrial population. To provide a remedy for the evil, the science\nof pisciculture has latterly attracted no small degree of attention,\nand, at this time, gentlemen prominently identified with our fishing\ninterest have it in contemplation to stock lakes in the interior of\nMichigan with a view to the prosecution of the science.\n\nMost of the fish packed on Lake Huron, and rivers St. Clair and\nDetroit, find their way into the Ohio market. The trade with that\nState has rapidly increased, but in its early stages it had some\ndifficulties to contend with, to one of which we will briefly allude.\nSome twelve or fourteen years ago, a large quantity of fish, not less\nthan 8,000 to 10,000 barrels, which had been caught in Lake Superior,\nwere in the possession of a single dealer, who had them stored in the\nlarge warehouse recently torn down at the Detroit and Milwaukee\nRailway depot. He had opportunities to dispose of them at $8 per\nbarrel, but refused to sell them for less than $10, and the result was\nthat they were kept so long that many of them spoiled. They were\ncomplained of as a nuisance, and 1,500 barrels were turned out into\nthe river at one time. Part of the lot was, however, sent to Ohio, and\nthe effect was, for a time, extremely prejudicial to our trade,\nrequiring a great deal of explanation before the Cincinnati dealers\ncould be again induced to stand in the position of customers. But when\nconfidence once more became fairly restored, the circumstance seemed\nto have the effect to precipitate the trade between the two cities. At\nleast it grew rapidly from that day, our neighbors purchasing freely\nof our staple articles and sending us sugar and molasses in return.\nThus, as in Samson's time, honey was gathered from the carcass of the\ndead lion. Ohio has become a very large consumer of our fish, and her\ninfluence is being extended rapidly into Indiana.\n\nThe habits of fish are as interesting as anything in the animal\neconomy, constituting a beautiful study for the lover of nature; but\nthis branch does not come within the scope of our article, and we must\ncontent ourselves with a brief description of the principal varieties,\nparticularly such as are held in highest repute for packing, with such\nstatistics as we have been able to procure.\n\nWhitefish are more highly prized than any other kind found in our\nwaters, being decidedly the most delicious in a fresh state, and when\npacked command a higher price than any other by $1 per bbl. They are\nfound in the Straits and all the Lakes. They spawn in the fall, in the\nStraits, and in shoals and on reefs about the Lakes. They are caught\nin seines, gill nets, trap nets, and with spears; never with hooks.\nThose found in Detroit river come up from Lake Erie regularly in the\nfall to deposit their spawn. They were found in our lakes and rivers\nin vast quantities when the white men first visited their shores. They\nconstituted, with other kinds, the principal food of the white and\nIndian voyagers as they coasted around the lakes, and were invaluable\nto the first settlers of the country, who, perhaps in some cases, but\nfor the assistance they afforded, would have been compelled to\nrelinquish their settlements. They could catch a supply at any time,\nand they then had an unfailing resort when their crops failed.\nWhitefish were a great favorite with the Indians. They would give many\ntimes their weight in trout or any other species in exchange for them.\nIt is said that a person can subsist longer upon them than upon any\nother kind.\n\nTheir ordinary weight is from 3 to 5 lbs, length 15 inches, though\nsome have been caught weighing not less than 18 lbs. They are a\nbeautiful fish, and when first taken out of the water and struggle and\nflounder in the sun, they exhibit all the colors of the rainbow, but\nthey soon expire, and when dead they are of a delicate white color.\nThe trout, pike, and muscalonge devour them without mercy. Some of\nthese voracious kinds have been caught with the remains of six\nwhite-fish in them.\n\nThe Detroit River white-fish are more juicy and better flavored than\nthose caught in the upper lakes, probably from the fact that they feed\non more delicate food, but those found in Lake Superior surpass all\nothers in size. They were once so numerous that eight thousand were\ntaken at a single haul. At present a haul of one or two thousand is\nthought a very good one. In all the rivers they are growing scarce\nvery gradually, but surely. The ratio of decrease cannot be arrived at\nwith any degree of precision. A few years ago they were mostly taken\nwith gill nets, and when they fell of in one place, a corresponding\nincrease would be found in another. Now they are taken with trap nets\nalong the shore. The trap nets are a decided advantage over gill nets.\nThey allow the fish to be kept alive, and they are taken out at\nleisure; they are therefore of better quality.\n\nPickerel are also held in high esteem. They are good either fresh, or\nsalted and dried, and for packing, rank next in value to white,\nalthough held nominally at the same price as trout when packed. They\ngenerally run up the rivers and lakes in the spring to spawn, where\nthey are caught in considerable numbers. Average weight, 2 lbs; large,\n20 lbs; common length, 15 inches.\n\nLake or Mackinaw trout are as voracious as pike. They are chiefly\ncaught on Lake Huron with gill nets and hooks. Saginaw Bay appears to\nbe a favorite resort with them. Some winters large quantities are\ncaught in the Bay through the ice, with a decoy fish and spear. They\nspawn in the fall, generally in the bays and inlets. Average weight 5\nlbs; large 75 lbs.\n\nSiscowits are mostly found in Lake Superior, and are preferred by some\nto any other kind. They are of the trout family, and for fat are\nunequaled; they are mostly taken in gill nets. They spawn in the fall,\nand are very superior for packing. They are also of some value for\ntheir oil. Common weight 4 pounds, length 16 inches.\n\nLarge herrings are very good fish, found only in the straits and large\nlakes. They spawn in the fall; but few are caught. Average weight\n1-3/4 pounds; common length 10 inches.\n\nIn addition to the above the muskelonge--a large and delicious\nvariety--black and white bass, rock bass, perch, sturgeon, and at\nleast twenty other kinds, abound in our waters; a minute description\nof which we are compelled to forego. Whitefish are taken both spring\nand fall, chiefly the latter; spring is the season for pickerel; trout\nare taken at all seasons.\n\nSomething over a year since some excitement was occasioned by a mode\nof fishing adopted by a party of fishermen on Detroit river, who\nstationed nets over a mile and a half in extent across the mouth of\nthe stream, a proceeding that was not only calculated to destroy the\nvalue of the seine fisheries above, but which would ultimately have\ndriven the fish out of the river altogether. A formidable opposition\nwas of course arrayed against this unusual and unwarrantable\nproceeding, and the party found it expedient to desist, but the\nLegislature, which met shortly after, failed to pass an inhibitive\nmeasure. This action, or rather want of action, would have been\nconsidered extraordinary in a State less favored by nature.\n\nWe have fortunately been able to procure estimates of the amount of\nthe catch at all the various fisheries, together with other leading\nstatistics; and with the view of imparting to the subject a more\ngeneral interest, we include two or three points beyond the limits of\nthe State. The estimates are furnished by gentlemen of intelligence\nand experience, and may be relied on as substantially correct:\n\n  Sandusky fisheries, catch mostly sold fresh:\n\n  Whitefish, valuation         $50,000\n  Pickerel, bass, etc           40,000\n  Value of seines and fixtures  16,000\n  Paid for wages                37,000\n\nMaumee River, pickerel, white bass, etc., etc., mostly sold fresh:\n\n  Valuation                    $50,000\n  Seines and fixtures          $15,000\n  Paid for wages                12,000\n\nMaumee Bay and Monroe County, Michigan, white fish and pickerel:\n\n  Valuation                    $20,000\n  Pounds, seines, and fixtures   9,000\n  Paid for wages                10,000\n\nDetroit River, nearly all white:\n\n  Valuation                    $75,000\n  Seines, fishing grounds, and\n   fixtures                     40,000\n  Paid for wages                20,000\n\nSt. Clair River and Rapids, mostly pickerel:\n\n  Valuation                    $11,000\n  Cost of fixtures               2,000\n  Paid for wages                 1,200\n\nPort Huron to Point au Barque, 3,000 barrels, mostly white:\n\n  Valuation                    $25,000\n\nAu Sauble 6,000 barrels, 3/4 white, the rest trout:\n\n  Valuation                    $50,000\n  Boats, nets, etc.             13,000\n  Paid for wages                 7,000\n\nThunder Bay and vicinity, above Sauble River, 6,000 barrels, mostly\nwhite:\n\n  Valuation                    $50,000\n\nSaginaw Bay and River, 2,000 barrels pickerel and 1,500 white and\ntrout:\n\n  Valuation                    $32,000\n\nTawas, 600 barrels, mostly white:\n\n  Valuation                     $5,000\n\nBetween Thunder Bay and Mackinac, 500 barrels, mostly white:\n\n  Valuation                     $4,500\n\nMackinac, including all brought there, 7,500 barrels, 3/4 or 7/8\nwhite:\n\n  Valuation                    $62,000\n\nBeaver Islands and neighborhood, 7,000 barrels, nearly all white:\n\n  Valuation                    $59,000\n\nGreen Bay in Michigan, 3,000 barrels, all white:\n\n  Valuation                    $25,500\n\nIsland between De Tour and the Saut, 1,000 barrels, 2/3 white, the\nrest trout:\n\n  Valuation                     $8,000\n\nGreen Bay in Wisconsin, 2,500 barrels white and 500 barrels pickerel,\nall packed:\n\n  Valuation                    $25,000\n\nOf the catch of Lake Huron, only an inconsiderable amount are sold\nfresh. On Detroit River about 4,000 barrels were packed last year.\n\nHaving procured specific information of the cost of outfit and amount\npaid for wages at the Sauble fisheries, we have taken such\nexpenditures as the basis for those of all the upper lake fisheries in\nproportion to the catch, which in the main will doubtless prove\nsubstantially correct. At the Sauble last season there were sixteen\nboats employed for two months, and eight for the rest of the season.\nThe value of the boats was $200 each, and the nets, etc., cost an\nadditional sum of $600 for each, making the aggregate value of the\nboats and their outfit about $13,000. About forty men were employed on\nan average during the season, receiving a probable aggregate of $7,000\nfor wages. Taking these outlays, etc., as a fair average, and we have\nthe following result:\n\nFrom Port Huron to the Beavers, inclusive, together with Green Bay in\nMichigan, and the Saut Islands:\n\n  Cost of outfit           $83,500\n  Amount paid for wages     45,000\n  Average number of men        300\n\nThe amount shipped from Lake Superior, as appears from the report of\nthe Superintendent of the Saut canal is 4,000 barrels. This is\nprobably not a tithe of what might be done. The mouth of almost every\nstream in that region affords good fishing grounds, which is also true\nof most of the islands, particularly Isle Royale, where the siscowit\nis very abundant.\n\nThe fisheries on the east coast of Lake Michigan have for about six\nyears past increased very rapidly in importance, some years gaining\n100 per cent, on the year preceding. A few years since a party of\nNorwegians came on and embarked in the business, which they have\nprosecuted ever since with advantage and profit. Trained in the severe\nschool of their rugged northern home, they exhibit the greatest\ndaring, going out in their tiny craft during the heaviest gales. They\nfrequently venture out twenty-five miles from shore, almost meeting\ntheir countrymen from the Wisconsin side of the lake, who are engaged\nin the same hazardous calling. We have the following returns:\n\nLittle Traverse, 600 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                               $4,000\n  300 nets and 6 boats, worth              1,800\n  Paid for wages                             575\n\nBig Point Sauble, 1,500 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $12,000\n  600 nets and 8 boats                     3,600\n  Paid for wages                           1,700\n\nLittle Point Sauble, 2,000 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $16,500\n  750 nets and 10 boats                    4,500\n  Paid for wages                           2,000\n\nWhite Lake, 1,500 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $12,000\n  500 nets and 5 boats                     3,000\n  Paid for wages                           1,600\n\nGrand Haven, 4,000 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $32,800\n  800 nets and 8 boats                     4,000\n  Paid for wages                           5,000\n\nSaugatuck, 2,000 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $16,000\n  600 nets and 6 boats                     3,600\n  Paid for wages                           2,500\n\nSouth Haven, 2,100 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $16,800\n  600 nets and 6 boats                     1,200\n  Paid for wages                           2,500\n\nSt. Joseph's 3,500 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $28,000\n  1,200 nets and 9 boats                   7,500\n  Paid for wages\n\nNew Buffalo, 300 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                               $3,000\n  400 nets and 5 boats                     2,600\n  Paid for wages                             450\n\nMichigan City, 3,000 barrels:\n\n  Valuation                              $30,000\n  1,020 nets and 18 boats                  8,000\n  Paid for wages                           4,400\n\nShowing an aggregate of 21,000 barrels, of which about 18,000 barrels\nare salted; valuation $169,800; value of fixtures $43,600; estimated\namount paid for wages, $22,000.\n\nThe fishing grounds of Michigan City are almost entirely within our\nState. The number of barrels include those sold fresh as well as\nsalted, there being a considerable quantity of the former, in some of\nthe fisheries last named, Michigan City and New Buffalo especially,\nfrom whence they are sent packed in ice to the different towns in\nMichigan; also to Lafayette and Indianapolis, Indiana, to Louisville,\nKentucky, to Cincinnati, and also to Chicago, where they are repacked\nin ice, and some of them find their way to St. Louis, Cairo, etc. From\nSt. Joseph and Grand Haven there are large quantities sent fresh to\nChicago and Milwaukee, where they are repacked in ice.\n\nAt a fair estimate for the few small fisheries on this coast from\nwhich we have no return, together with those on the west coast of Lake\nMichigan, they are worth at least $60,000, but we have no data by\nwhich to form an estimate of the proportion packed.\n\nThe number of men employed, and the consequent expense, varies\naccording to the method employed. With seines the occupation is very\nlaborious, and requires a much stronger force than pound nets. One set\nof hands can manage a number of the latter. Some of the fisheries on\nDetroit and St. Clair rivers use seines altogether, to draw which,\nhorse-power is brought into requisition in some cases. A double set\nof men are employed, working alternately day and night, and the\nexposure is a most disagreeable feature of the business, particularly\nin bad weather. The great bulk of the aggregate catch continues to be\ntaken with seines or gill nets, but pound (or trap) nets are on the\nincrease. They have been in use below Lake Huron more or less for the\npast four or five years, but it is only about two years since their\nintroduction in the upper lakes. With these nets 100 barrels of\nwhite-fish have been taken at a single haul. Of course their general\nuse must produce a material diminution in the supply.\n\nAs regards capital invested, there is in particular instances a wide\ndifference. George Clark, Esq., nine miles below Detroit, has $12,000\ninvested in his grounds, owing mostly to the cost of removing\nobstructions. But this is an exception.\n\nThe barrels for packing constitute no inconsiderable item of this vast\nand important trade. Their manufacture is a regular branch in Port\nHuron, but most of them are made by the fishermen when not engaged in\ntheir regular vocation. They are made at all the villages and fishing\nstations on Lake Huron, pine being generally easy of access. The\nbarrels are worth 62-1/2 cents each; half-barrels, 50 cents. Over\ntwo-thirds of the packages used are halves, but our estimated totals\nof the catch represent wholes.\n\nFormerly the nets used also to be made almost entirely by the\nfishermen, who usually procured the twine from Detroit. Latterly, many\nof them have been brought from Boston already made.\n\nSalt is another large item. For packing and repacking, about\none-fourth of a barrel is used to each barrel of fish. For the amount\npacked, therefore, in the fisheries we have described, about 20,000\nbarrels are used.\n\n  Total proceeds of Michigan fisheries    $620,000\n  Total proceeds of all enumerated         900,000\n  Total capital invested                   252,000\n  Paid for wages                           171,000\n  Aggregate of barrels salted, say 80,000 bbls.\n  Cost of packages                          70,000\n  Cost of salt                              22,000\n\nThe catch at the Sauble and Thunder Bay showed a falling off last\nseason, owing not to the want of fish, but to the unfavorable weather.\nAt these points they congregate only from October to the close, and\nthe weather being very rough last fall, the catch was comparatively\nlight.\n\nMackinac has been famous as the greatest fishing point on the lakes.\nGill nets are mostly in vogue. The work in that locality is mostly\ndone by half-breeds, in the employ of the merchants, the latter\nfurnishes the salt, and paying them in trade, of which the outfit\ngenerally constitutes a part. But with the late general depression,\nprices declined some thirty or forty per cent., and consequently the\nbusiness, previously quite lucrative, lost its attraction for the time\nbeing. The merchants advanced the means in summer, and could not\nrealize until the ensuing year. Small holders were obliged to sell,\nsome of the time by forcing the market, and this added to the\ndifficulty experienced by large holders in obtaining returns.\n\nMuch has been said in reference to the coal fields of Michigan, and\nwithin the past two or three years, explorations, with a view of\ndeveloping these deposits, have been conducted in different portions\nof the State. There is no longer any doubt of the existence of a\nvaluable field of coal in central Michigan. There have been openings\nat different points in the State; at Jackson and Sandstone, in Jackson\ncounty; at Owasso and Corunna in Shiawassee county; at Flint in\nGenesee county, and at Lansing, coal has been found deposited in veins\nof from twenty inches to four feet in thickness. Most of the openings\nhave been upon veins outcropping at the surface of the ground, and\nthere has been little difficulty in procuring samples of coal from\nthese veins in many localities in the State. These deposits of coal\nfound at, and near the surface, are producing coal in limited\nquantities in different localities, but no works have been prosecuted\nwith a view to supplying any but a limited local demand. From the\nsurface evidences of a coal field on the line of the Detroit and\nMilwaukee Road near Owasso, and from explorations and developments\nalready made, some specimens of the coal having been produced and\nshipped to Detroit, it has been determined to prosecute the work at\nthat point.\n\nIn Jackson county, however, the matter of mining has become an\nenterprise of some magnitude, and we are enabled to give some facts\nand figures which exhibit in some measure the importance to the State\nof this new branch of industry. There are several \"workings\" of coal\nin the vicinity of Jackson, and several companies have been formed for\nthe purpose of mining coal. Considerable coal has been mined and sold\nfrom these different workings and mines. The principal mine, and one\nwhich in all its arrangements and provisions is equal to any mine in\nthe country, is that of the Detroit and Jackson Coal and Mining\nCompany. The works of this Company are at Woodville station on the\nline of the Michigan Central Railroad, about three and a half miles\nwest of Jackson city.\n\nThe mine is situated on the north side of the Railroad and about half\na mile from the main track. The Coal Company have built a side track\nfrom the Central Road to the mouth of their shaft. The shaft from\nwhich the coal is taken is ninety feet deep, and at the bottom passes\nthrough a vein of coal about four feet in thickness. This vein has\nbeen opened in different directions for several hundred feet from the\nshaft, and with a tram-road through the different entries the coal is\nreached and brought from the rooms to the shaft, and then lifted by\nsteam to the surface. This coal has been transported to different\npoints in the State and is rapidly coming into use for all ordinary\npurposes, taking the place of many of the Ohio coals and at a reduced\ncost. The mine to which reference is made is within _four hours'_ ride\nof Detroit, on the Central Road, and a visit of two hours (which can\nbe accomplished any day, by taking the morning train, leaving the city\nat 9 45 and returning so as to reach here at half past six in the\nevening,) will repay any one for the trouble. The station is called\nWoodville, and is only three and a half miles west of Jackson.\n\nMichigan, hitherto a heavy importer of salt, is in a fair way not only\nto have amply sufficient for her own wants, but something perhaps to\nspare. To aid in developing our saline resources, the Legislature\nwisely provided a bounty upon the production, which has already\nbrought forth good fruits. At Grand Rapids, salt water has been\ndiscovered much stronger than that of the Syracuse springs, requiring\nonly twenty-nine gallons to produce a bushel.--Arrangements have been\nalmost perfected for commencing the manufacture upon a very extensive\nscale.\n\nAt Saginaw, within a few days, at the depth of 620 feet, copious\nvolumes of brine were revealed. This is also stronger than any in New\nYork. From some cause, it is sought to keep this information a secret,\nbut it is fair to presume it would soon have leaked out. The salt both\nat Grand Rapids and Saginaw, is a beautiful article, of great purity.\n\nWhen Nature formed the Grand River and Saginaw valleys, she seems to\nhave been engaged in an animated contest with herself. The\ndevelopments are such as to warrant the conviction that other and\nperhaps equally valuable salt springs lie hidden in the intervening\nspace between those valleys. These and other discoveries plainly\nindicate that the employment of a large amount of capital in\ndeveloping the latent resources of Michigan would amply \"pay.\"\n\nThe inexhaustible plaster beds of Grand Rapids constitute one of the\nprime sources of prosperity of that enterprising metropolis of the\nGrand River Delta. Our whole State has also a great interest in the\ntrade, the material being, it is admitted, a better fertilizer than\nthe imported article.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n    Desirableness of a trip to the Lakes -- Routes of travel --\n    Interesting localities -- Scenery -- Southern coast --\n    Portage Lake -- Dr. Houghton -- Ontonagon -- Apostles'\n    Islands -- Return trip -- Points of interest -- St. Mary's\n    River -- Lake St. George -- Point de Tour -- Lake Michigan --\n    Points of interest -- Chicago.\n\n\nA trip to the northern lakes, for variety and beauty of scenery to\nsuch as are seeking enjoyment and pleasure, possesses advantages over\nevery other route of travel in the United States, and with the\nexception of the works of art and the classical associations of the\nold world, is unsurpassed by any on the globe. To such as are in quest\nof health, no comparison can be instituted, as it has been\ndemonstrated that the Northwest, especially in the region of the\nlakes, possesses the most invigorating climate in the world. A\nreference to the mortuary tables removes all doubt on this point. In\nthe town of Marquette, on Lake Superior, containing a population of\nover three thousand, there were during the last year but eight\ndeaths, and only a portion of that number was from disease.\n\nOur object in this chapter is to notice the various routes of travel\nto the interesting localities in the Northwest. During the summer\nmonths the most pleasant mode of conveyance is by water. The Hudson\nRiver boats, compared with which no inland steamers are superior,\nleave, every day, the foot of Courtland street for Albany. By taking\npassage on an evening boat, after a quiet night's rest the traveler\nwill find himself at Albany the next morning, where he can take the\ncars for Buffalo, at which point he will be able to take a steamer for\nDetroit. From thence he can take a steamer for Superior City, passing\nthrough Lakes St. Clair and Huron, and up the Saut St. Mary to Lake\nSuperior. On the route from the Saut he will pass the following\npoints, Point Iroquois, White-Fish Point, Point Au Sable, Pictured\nRocks, Grand Island, Marquette, Manitou Island, Copper Harbor, Eagle\nHarbor, Eagle River, Ontonagon, La Point, Bayfield and Point De Tour.\nThe usual time occupied in passing over this route is about\ntwenty-four hours. In leaving the Saut above the Rapids the steamer\nenters Lequamenon, passing Iroquois Point fifteen miles distant on the\nsouthern shore, while Gros Cap, on the Canada shore, can be seen\nabout four miles distant. The porphyry hills, of which this point is\ncomposed, rise to a height of seven hundred feet above the lake, and\npresent a grand appearance. North of Gros Cap is Goulais Bay, and in\nthe distance a bold headland named Goulais Point can be seen. Indeed\nthe whole north shore presents a scene of wild grandeur. Near the\nmiddle of Lequamenon Bay is Parisien Island which belongs to Canada;\nopposite to this island on the north is seen Croulee Point, an\ninteresting locality in the vicinity of which are numerous islands.\nStill further on the steamer passes Mamainse Point, another bold\nheadland once the seat of the works of the Quebec Copper Mining\nCompany, but now abandoned in consequence of their unproductiveness;\nsome fifteen or twenty miles further north, is located the Montreal\nCompany's copper mine. The traveler has now fairly entered the vast\nmineral region of Lake Superior, and passes along a coast hundreds of\nmiles in extent, \"abounding in geological phenomena, varied mineral\nwealth, agates, cornelian, jasper, opal, and other precious stones,\nwith its rivers, bays, estuaries, islands, presque isles, peninsulas,\ncapes, pictured rocks, transparent waters, leaping cascades, and bold\nhighlands, lined with pure veins of quartz, spar and amethystine\ncrystals, full to repletion with mineral riches, reflecting in\ngorgeous majesty the sun's bright rays, and the moon's mellow blush;\novertopped with ever verdant groves of fir, cedar, and mountain ash,\nwhile the back ground is filled up with mountain upon mountain, until,\nrising in majesty to the clouds, distance loses their inequality\nresting against the clear vault of Heaven.\"\n\nOn the southern shore, beyond White Fish Point, immense sand hills can\nbe seen rising from four hundred to one thousand feet in height. After\npassing Pictured Rocks, which we have elsewhere described, the steamer\napproaches Grand Island, the shores of which present a magnificent\nappearance. This island is about one hundred twenty-five miles from\nthe Saut and is about ten miles long and five wide. It is wild and\nromantic. The cliffs of sandstone broken into by the waves form\npicturesque caverns, pillars, and arches of great dimensions.\nForty-five miles further is the town of Marquette one of the most\nflourishing places on the borders of the lake, and the entrepot of the\nvast mineral wealth in that region. Near this place are the Carp and\nDead rivers, both which have rapids and falls of great beauty. Sailing\nin a northwestern direction the steamer passes Standards Rock, a\nsolitary and dangerous projection, rising out of the lake at the\nentrance of Keweenaw Bay. At the head of this bay stands the harbor\nof L'Anse a short distance from which are located a Roman Catholic and\nMethodist mission house and church, both of which, on each sides of\nthe bay where they are located, are surrounded by Indian tribes and\nsettlements.\n\nPassing along, the steamer enters Portage Lake an extensive and\nbeautiful sheet of water extending nearly the entire breadth of the\npeninsula of Keweenaw Point, which is a large extent of land jutting\nout into Lake Superior, from ten to twenty miles wide and sixty in\nlength. This whole section abounds in silver and copper ores. After\npassing Manitou Island, Copper Harbor, one of the best on the lake is\nreached. At this place there is a flourishing village. The next points\nare Agate Harbor, Eagle Harbor, and Eagle River Harbor. It was at this\npoint that the lamented Dr. Houghton was drowned in October 1845. He\nwas the State Geologist of Michigan, and while coming down from a\nportage to Copper Harbor, with his four Indian companions _du voyage_,\nthe boat was swamped in a storm about a mile and a half from Eagle\nRiver. Two of the _voyageurs_ were saved by being thrown by the waves\nupon the rocks ten feet above the usual level of the waters.\n\nThe next point, three hundred and thirty-six miles from the Saut, is\nOntonagon situated at the mouth of a river of the same name. A\nflourishing town is located here having several churches. In its\nvicinity are the Minnesota, Norwich, National, Rockland, and several\nother copper mines of great productiveness; silver is also found\nintermixed with the copper ore, which abounds in great masses. La\nPoint, four hundred and ten miles from the Saut and eighty-three from\nSuperior City, which is next reached, is situated on Madeline Island,\none of the group of the Twelve Apostles. It was settled at an early\nday by the Jesuit Missionaries and the American Fur Traders. The\npopulation is mixed, consisting of Indians, French, Canadians and\nAmericans. It has long been the favorite resort of the \"red man\" as\nwell as the \"pale face,\" and possesses a historic interest to\ntravelers. The adjacent islands of the Twelve Apostles grouped\ntogether a short distance from the main land, present during the\nsummer months a most lovely and beautiful appearance. Cliffs from one\nto two hundred feet, may be seen rising above the waters, crowned with\nthe richest foliage. Passing Rayfield, a village on the mainland, and\nAshland, a settlement at the head of Chag-wamegon Bay, and the Maskeg\nand Montreal Rivers, the steamer, after rounding Point de Tour,\nenters Fon du Lac, a noble bay at the head of Lake Superior, twenty\nmiles in width and fifty miles in length, on the shore of which stands\nSuperior City, near the mouth of St. Louis River. This is a\nflourishing place, possessing great commercial importance, and which,\nat no distant day, must be connected with the mouth of the Columbia\nRiver and Puget Sound. On the return trip coasting along the\nnorthwest, the steamer passes numerous points of interest. At the\nextreme west end of Lake Superior, seven miles northwest from Superior\nCity, stands the village of Portland. Along the shore northward are\nbold sandy bluffs and highlands which are supposed to be rich in\nmineral wealth. Encampment, the name of a river, island, and village,\nis a romantic spot. Immense cliffs of greenstone are to be seen rising\nfrom two hundred to three hundred feet above the water's edge;\nnorthward along the shore porphyry abounds in great quantity. This\npoint is noted for the singular agitation of the magnetic needle.\nHiawatha, Grand Portage, Pigeon Bay, Pie Island, Thunder Cape, and\nThunder Bay, surrounded by grand scenery; Isle Royale, Fort William, a\nstrong post of the Hudson Bay Company. Black Bay, Nepigon Bay, on the\nextreme north of the lake. St. Ignace Island, State Islands, Pic\nIsland Michipicoten Island, formerly the seat of Lake Superior Silver\nMining Company of Canada. Montreal Island, Carabon Island and other\npoints of interest.\n\nRe-entering the Saut the steamer shapes her course for Mackinaw. The\nGarden River settlement, an Indian village ten miles below the Saut,\nis on the Canada shore. A mission church and several dwellings\noccupied by Chippewa Indians may be found here. The St. Mary's River\npresents the finest scenery. A traveler in describing it says, \"There\nis a delicious freshness in the countless evergreen islands that dot\nthe river in every direction from the Falls to Lake Huron.\" The next\npoint is Church's Landing on Sugar Island, opposite to which is\nSquirrel Island belonging to the Canadians. Lake George twenty miles\nbelow the Saut is an expansion of the River which at this point is\nfive miles wide. The steamer soon enters the Nebish Rapids, after\npassing Lake George, and the main land of Canada, stretching out to\nthe north in a dreary wilderness, is lost sight of. Sugar Island which\nis a large body of fertile land belonging to the United States, near\nthe head of St. Joseph's Island is next reached, and then in\nsuccession, Nebish Island, Mud Lake, another expansion of the river,\nLime Island, Carltonville, St. Joseph's Island, a large and fertile\nbody of land belonging to Canada, once the site of a fort; Drummond\nIsland, belonging to the United States, and Point De Tour, at the\nmouth of the river, the site of a light-house and settlement. The\nother points of interest are Round Island, Bois Blanc, at the head of\nLakes Huron and Mackinac, all of which we have elsewhere described. At\neast the steamer enters the Straits of Mackinaw, and the site of the\nold fort and town heave in view. These straits are from four to twenty\nmiles in width, and extend east and west about twenty miles.\n\nLake Michigan now spreads out its beautiful sheet of water, second in\nsize to Superior, and invites the traveler to sail along its shores\nand among its islands. The points of interest are, La Gros Cap, a\npicturesque headland; Garden and Hog Islands, Great and Little Beaver\nIslands, Fox Island, on the west of which is the entrance to Green\nBay, and on the east the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay, the Great or\nnorth Manitou, and the Little or south Manitou Islands, Kewawnee, Two\nRivers, Manitoulin and Sheboygan, Port Washington, Milwaukee, Racine,\nWaukegan and other places of minor importance. After passing the\nlocalities on the western shore, at length Chicago is seen in the\ndistance, stretching along for miles and presenting a fine\nappearance. From this point the traveler can return to New York, by\nway of Detroit, through Canada on the railroad, or he may if he\nchooses take a southern route. Such are the facilities for travel that\nthe tourist will be at no loss during the entire season in finding\nexcellent steamers and good accommodations. Steamers of the first\nclass leave Cleveland on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays of\neach week, for Lake Superior, touching at the various ports on the\nroute. Persons in the West or South, who may desire to visit the lakes\ncan thus be at any time accommodated.\n\nShould the tourist prefer taking another route from Buffalo, instead\nof passing over Lake Erie and up the Detroit River, he can go direct\nto Collingwood at the foot of Georgian Bay, and from thence can take\nsteamer for Saut St. Mary, Chicago or any other point he may desire in\nthe Northwest.\n\n\nTHE END.","title":"Old Mackinaw; Or, The Fortress of the Lakes and its Surroundings","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":84857}