the northern peninsula of Michigan, but there is no reason to believe
it is confined to this region. Coal and iron, the most valuable of all
minerals are found in various places in the northwest. The principal
and most valuable minerals found west of Mackinaw, are iron, copper,
and lead. A general view of the mineral region may be found in Owen's
Geological Survey of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Superior. Great
beds of iron are found in ridges or cliffs, some of which rise up to
an immense height. Some of these ore-beds of Lake Superior are fifteen
feet in thickness, and one of them contains iron enough to supply the
world for ages. Above them are immense forests, suitable for charcoal.
The discovery of the iron mountains and mines of Lake Superior was
made in 1846, but they were not fully developed until the year 1855,
when the ship canal at Saut St. Mary was completed. The mines are from
three to sixteen miles from Marquette, a thriving village of upward of
one thousand inhabitants, overlooking the lake, about one hundred and
forty miles above the Saut. The mine nearest the lake is about two and
a half miles distant from Marquette, and bears the name of Eureka. The
ore is said to be of surpassing richness, and yields an iron of the
best quality, adapted to cutlery. The Jackson iron mountain, and the
Cleveland iron mountain, are fourteen and sixteen miles distant. They
send to Marquette an aggregate of one thousand tons per week. These
mountains rise gradually to the height of six or seven hundred feet,
and are a solid mass of iron ore, yielding from 50 to 60 per cent. of
the best iron. The New England iron mountain is two and a half miles
beyond the Cleveland mountain, and abounds with ore of equal richness.
A mile or two further is the Burt mountain, and the same may be said
of this, both as it regards quantity and quality, as of the others. A
railroad has been constructed from Marquette to the iron regions, and
immense quantities of ore and iron are transported over it daily.
All the hills and mountains surrounding Lake Superior, abound in
valuable minerals of which copper is the most abundant. It exists in
every variety of form. According to the opinion of the lamented
Houghton, this region contains the most extensive copper mines in the
known world. The native copper boulder discovered by the traveler
Henry in the bed of the Ontonagon river, and now in Washington,
originally weighed thirty-eight hundred pounds. A copper mass of the
same material, found near Copper Harbor, weighed twelve hundred
pounds. At Copper Falls, there is a vein of solid ore which measures
nine feet in depth, and seven and a half inches in thickness. At Eagle
river a boulder was found weighing seventeen hundred pounds. The
number of mining companies in operation on the American shore is
upward of a hundred.
The Minnesota mine, fifteen miles from Ontonagon, during the year
ending January 1, 1857, produced 3,718,403 pounds of copper. The Cliff
mine during the year, produced 3,291,229 pounds of copper. The Portage
Lake District, including Isle Royale, Portage, Huron, Quincy and
Pewabic shipped 539 tons of copper in 1857.
The Lake Superior miners estimate the total shipment of copper mineral
from the lake during the year 1858, at 6,008 tons, of an average
purity of 67 per cent--making the product of ingot copper about 4,000
tons, worth in the market at present $1,840,000. Estimating the
population of the copper region at 6,500 persons, this gives an annual
product of about $280 for each man, woman and child. The shipments
were as follows: From Keweenaw Point 2,180 tons; from Portage Lake
1,152 tons; from Ontonagon District 2,676 tons; total 6,008 tons.
The extent and importance of the copper mines of Superior, in relation
to the general trade in that metal, may be estimated by the following
account of the amount of pure copper produced in other parts of the
world. The United Kingdom of Great Britain 14,465 tons, Norway 7,200
tons, Russia 4,000, Mexico 500, Hesse Cassel 500, Hartz Mountains 212;
Sweden 2,000, Hungary 2,000, East Germany 443; making a total, out of
America, of 30,820 tons. The single District of Ontonagon can produce
as much copper as the entire Kingdom of Great Britain. The copper
mines of the United States, are doing their part as effectually in
adding to the solid wealth of the country, as the gold mines of
California, or the silver mines of the Arizonia. The copper mining
countries are another illustration of the principle upon which success
is based, namely, that concentrated talent, effort and capital are
necessary to a development of the resources of a country.
When we look into the manufacture of this article, we shall find a new
element in the future growth of towns to arise in this region. At
present, a large portion of this copper is shipped abroad to be
smelted. But is there not every reason, as well of economy as of
material, for carrying on smelting, and all other manufacturing
processes, at the point of production? The cost of transporting the
raw material is greater than that of carrying the manufactured
product. But when all the elements of successful manufacturing exist
where the raw material is found, then the economy of the process is
doubled. Of metals, of navigation, of food, we have shown there is an
inexhaustible supply. But there is also coal near enough to supply the
last and only material which might be supposed wanting. Coal is found
in the Southern Peninsula of Michigan, in abundance and of good
quality. This coal is found at Jackson and at Lansing. This was a
matter of so much importance that Prof. Douglas, of the State
University, proceeded immediately to analyze it.
The following are the principal results of his analysis. It was made
chiefly in reference to the manufacture of gas:--
"The coal was of the bituminous variety, having a jet black color and
slaty structure. It was readily ignited, burning with a dull flame and
smoke, the fragments comminuting more or less by the heat. It had a
specific gravity of about 1.25.
"100 parts gave volatile matter 50.780, sulphur 4.028, iron 4.400,
ash 8.400, carbon (not volatilized) 41.600.
"The value of coal for the manufacture of gas is usually estimated by
the amount of volatile matter it yields at a full red-heat."
Of ten samples of English coal, this had more volatile matter than
six. Of American coals, it had more of the burning principle than any,
except one. The quality of this coal is unquestionably good, and its
distance from Mackinaw is no objection, since access can be obtained
both by water and railroad. Both the coal and iron used in the
manufactures of Cincinnati are brought from places distant from one
hundred to five hundred miles; and yet scarcely any place in America
has prospered more by manufactures than the Queen of the West.
Mackinaw has more than the advantages of Cincinnati for manufactures.
It not only has iron and coal, but copper and lead, near enough for
all the purposes of successful manufacture. Favorable indications of
coal exist within fifty miles south of the Straits, and indications
also exist of lead. When we consider these facts, and the vast extent
of country, of inland oceans, and of streams around it, why should not
Mackinaw be a point of concentration for manufactures, as well as of
distribution for commerce?
Mackinaw is centrally situated in the mineral region, and with coal
and hard wood for charcoal in perpetual abundance, and the cheapest
possible mode of transportation, will become a great manufacturing
point, and be able to manufacture innumerable articles, which are now
made in Europe, and which our people have been compelled to import for
use, simply because the material hitherto employed has been of a
quality unsuitable for such purposes. Besides the healthful and
bracing temperature of this locality, when compared with Ohio and
Pennsylvania, whose summers are found to be exceedingly enervating,
especially to those employed in the manufacture of iron, affords
advantages, and offers inducements which cannot be overlooked, since
in the physical strength and comfort of the workmen, is involved the
all-important question of economy. If it should be asked, is the site
such that a great city can be built upon it, without imperial wealth,
like to that of St. Petersburg, or with the artificial foundations
like to those of Chicago, or bankrupting successive companies like
Cairo on the Ohio,--the answer is at hand and decisive. At Mackinaw
there are no marshes to fill up or drain, no tide sands, no
flood-washed banks, no narrow and isolated rocks or ridges, to
intercept the progress of commercial growth and activity. On the
contrary, the lake rises under the heaviest rains but little, and
breaks its waves on a dry shore rising gradually far above its level.
There is no better natural site for the foundation of a city in the
world, nor one possessing more inviting or beautiful surroundings, and
when we consider its available resources, it is evident that nothing
can prevent its rise and progress. The straits are so completely the
key of the Upper Lakes, Mackinaw must, as in the days of the fur
trade, unlock the vast treasures of the entire northwest. The shore of
Lake Superior, being but about fifty miles north of Mackinaw and
dependent on a canal navigation, annually navigable sixty days less
than the straits, on account of ice, to say nothing of breakage, it is
perfectly obvious that there can be no competing city further north.
The following from the Toledo Blade shows the immense importance of
this point as a key position:
"The immense commerce of the lakes, the growth of which has been
unparalleled by anything in the history of the world, and the vast
mineral, timber and agricultural resources of their shores, which are
even now, only beginning to attract attention, may well awaken a
desire on the part of enterprise to get possession of the key position
which is to command and unlock the future treasures of this vast
empire. Already, six important commercial cities, with an aggregate
population of about 350,000 inhabitants, have sprung up on these
island waters, and are the most flourishing of any away from the
Atlantic coast. Others are struggling into notoriety on the borders of
Lake Superior, and must, at no very distant time, become important and
active places of business. But the place of all others, where we would
expect a city to spring up and grow rapidly into importance, is still
undeveloped.
"The Straits of Mackinaw, four and a half miles wide, make the only
natural ferry communication between the great peninsula, enclosed by
the lakes and the rich mineral region lying on the southern border of
Lake Superior; and must, hence, be the terminus of all the great
railroad lines that traverse Michigan longitudinally and compete for
the trade north of the straits, now rapidly growing up into
importance. It must therefore be the point of radiation, eastward,
through Canada; westward through the mineral region; and southward,
through Michigan. Canada has already made grants of land for several
important roads which must ultimately reach the straits; and lines are
also provided for by government grants, from the straits through the
Northern Peninsula, and from the straits southward to Fort Wayne by
the way of Grand Rapids, and to Toledo, through Lansing. The
culminating point being thus settled for several roads, all others
will naturally centre at the same crossing, even if the coast line had
not made such a thing inevitable.
"The point which projects northward into the lake, from the Michigan
Peninsula, to form this strait, is admirably located for a great city.
It is the site of old Fort Mackinaw, and in health and commercial
position, can have no rival in those southern waters. This point has
been selected by a company of capitalists, on which to plant the
commercial city of the north; the Venice of the Lakes, foreshadowed in
the extract which we have placed at the head of the article. This new
city is to bear the name of the ancient fort and strait, and to be
called Mackinaw. It will hold the key of all the northern lakes; and
should its growth be marked by energy and enterprise, will command the
trade of the greatest mining region in the world; be the chief depot
of the northern fisheries; the outlet of an immense lumber trade; and
the focus of a great network of railways, communicating with tropics
on the south, and stretching out its iron arms, at no distant day, to
the Atlantic on the east, and Pacific on the west.
"The proposed city will have the advantage of the most salubrious
climate to be found in the temperate zone, and will be the resort of
those seeking health, as well as those seeking wealth. It has a
northern position, being on the same parallel as Montreal; but the
winters are equable, and the summers though short, are mild and
pleasant, being modified by the great body of water which stretches
out on every side, except at the south. As a manufacturing point it
may well command universal attention. The Lake Superior iron is known
to be the best in the world, and coal and wood are at hand in the
greatest abundance; while communication by water is so wide as to
leave nothing to desire on that head. It should be as famous for
smelting as Swansea, in England, for it must have unbounded supplies
of iron and copper ore.
"But we have no space to speak of its commercial position. It must be
seen at a glance that, as all the produce which flows through Chicago,
Milwaukee, and the great West must sweep by on its way to the East,
and all the goods and merchandise of the East, must be borne by its
wharves on their way to the West, that it cannot fail to be a point
which must spring at once into importance. The government, too, must
have a fort, a light-house, and customhouse there, which with the
fisheries, must supply a large profitable business to its earlier
population."
CHAPTER VII.
Lake Huron -- Eastern shore of Michigan -- Face of the
country -- Picturesque view -- Rivers -- Grand -- Saginaw --
Cheboy-e-gun -- Natural scenery -- Fort Gratiot -- White Rock
-- Saginaw Bay -- Thunder Bay -- Bois Blanc Island --
Drummond's Island -- British Troops -- St. Helena Island --
Iroquois Woman's Point -- Point La Barbe -- Point aux Sable
-- Point St. Vital -- Wreck of the Queen City -- St. Martin's
Island -- Fox Point -- Moneto pa-maw -- Mille au Coquin --
Great fishing places -- Cross Village -- Catholic Convent.
Lake Huron, which, with Lake Erie and St. Clair, washes the eastern
boundary of the southern peninsula of Michigan, is two hundred and
fifty miles long and its average width is about one hundred miles. Its
depth is about eight hundred feet. The southeastern shore of Michigan
presents a level surface covered with a dense forest, at points
meeting the edge of the bank. The trees of this heavily-timbered land,
with their massive shafts standing close together, "cast a gloomy
grandeur over the scene, and when stripped of their foliage appear
like the black colonnade of a sylvan temple." In advancing into the
interior, a picturesque and rolling country opens to view, covered
with oak-openings or groves of white oak thinly scattered over the
ground, having the appearance of stately parks. The appearance of the
surface of the country is as if it was covered with mounds, arranged
without order, sometimes rising from thirty to two hundred feet in
height, producing a delightful alternation of hill and dale, which is
sometimes varied by a rich prairie or burr-oak grove.
The principal rivers of the State are the Grand, St. Joseph's,
Kalamazoo, the Raisin, the Clinton, the Huron, and the Rouge. The
Grand is two hundred and seventy miles in length, and has a free
navigation for steamboats which ply regularly between Lake Michigan
and Grand Rapids, a distance of forty miles. The Saginaw empties into
Lake Huron and is navigable for sixty miles. These, with the others we
have named, interlock their branches running through different parts
of southern Michigan, and while they beautify the landscape they
afford water-power and fertilize the soil.
The river Cheboy-e-gun is the largest stream in the northern portion
of the lower peninsula and empties into the Straits of Mackinaw
opposite Bois Blanc Island. At its mouth is a village containing two
steam saw mills and one water saw mill. A light-house stands a mile or
two east from this point. Brook-trout, bass, pike, pickerel, and
perch, are caught at the entrance of the river. In the fall and spring
numerous water-fowl resort to the upper forks of the river and to the
small lakes forming its sources. These lakes also abound with a great
variety of fish, which can be taken by spearing.
The natural scenery of Michigan is imposing. The extensive tracts of
dense forests, clothed with the richest verdure, fresh as when it
first came from the hands of the Creator; the prairies and lakes which
abound, the wide parks, whose soil is entirely covered for miles with
large and rich flowers, present a striking and agreeable contrast. The
beech and black walnut, the elm, the maple, the hickory, and the oaks
of different species and large size, the lind and the bass-wood, and
various other kinds of forest trees, plainly indicate the fertility of
the soil from whence they spring. Grape vines often hang from the
branches a foot in circumference, clustering around their trunks, or
thickening the undergrowth along the banks of rivers; and, while the
glades open to the sun like cultivated grounds, the more
thickly-timbered forests, shut out from the sky by the mass of
vegetation, present in summer a gloomy twilight.
In traveling along the main roads of Michigan, splendid tracts of
park-like lawns sweep along the path for miles covered with flowers,
broken by prairies, thick forests, and lakes.
Fort Gratiot stands at the foot of Lake Huron and commands the
entrance to the upper lakes. Advancing along the western shore of this
lake the voyager sees a long, alluvial bank covered with a forest of
pine, poplar, beech, and hemlock.
On advancing further the banks become more elevated until they rise to
forty feet in height. About fifty miles from Fort Gratiot, a large
rock rises to the surface of the lake, a mile or so from the shore,
which is called the "White Rock." From the earliest period this rock
has been regarded as an altar or a landmark. It was to the early
voyagers a beacon to guide them in their course; but to the Indians it
was a place of oblation, where they offered sacrifices to the spirits
of the lakes.
Saginaw Bay is a large indentation of the shoreline like to that of
Green Bay in Lake Michigan, but not so large. Near its centre are a
number of small islands. Twenty miles from its mouth stands the
thriving town of Saginaw. From the northwesterly cape of Saginaw Bay
to Flat Rock Point, the shore of Lake Huron presents a bank of
alluvial soil, with a margin of sand along its border intersected with
frequent masses of limestone rock, in some places ground to fragments
by the surging of the waves.
Thunder Bay is also another indentation made by the Lake. It was thus
called from the impression that at this point the air was more than
ordinarily charged with electricity.
Bois Blanc Island, at the head of Lake Huron, stretches in the form of
a crescent between the Island of Mackinac and the lower peninsula of
Michigan. It is from ten to twelve miles in length by three or four in
breadth. The lower part of this island is sandy, but the larger
portion of it is covered with a fertile soil bearing a forest of elm,
maple, oak, ash, whitewood and beech. It has been surveyed and a
government light-house stands on its eastern point.
In the northern part of Lake Michigan are located Beaver Islands.
There are five or six of this group bearing different names. Big
Beaver is the most considerable, and contains perhaps forty square
miles. These islands all lie in the vicinity of each other, and within
a few miles northwest of Grand and Little Traverse Bays in Lake
Michigan. The Big Beaver was, up to July, 1856, in possession of the
Mormons, who claimed it as a gift from the Lord.
Another interesting locality is Drummond's Island, between the Detour
and the False Detour. It was taken possession of by the British troops
when they surrendered Fort Mackinaw in 1814. On this island they built
a fort and formed quite a settlement. Upon an examination of the
boundary line between the United States and Great Britain, it was
ascertained that this island was within the jurisdiction of the
former, and it was accordingly evacuated by the British in 1828. The
British subjects living on the island followed the troops, and the
place was soon deserted and became a desolation.
St. Helena Island is a small island near the Straits of Mackinaw, not
far from the shore of the northern peninsula, containing a few acres
over a section of land. It is a great fishing station, and enjoys a
good harbor protected from westerly winds. Its owner, who has exiled
himself _a la Napoleon_, spends his time in fishing, and other
pursuits adapted to his mind.
In addition to the numerous islands constituting the surroundings of
Mackinaw there are a number of interesting localities denominated
"Points", that we must not omit to mention. The first, because the
most important, and one which is connected with many historic
associations which we shall direct attention to, is the "Iroquois
Woman's Point," the Indian name for Point St. Ignatius on the opposite
side of the straits from Mackinaw, distant between three and four
miles, about the same as from the Battery at New York to Staten
Island. The original inhabitants with their descendants have long
since passed away. Its present occupants are principally Canadians. It
has a Catholic chapel.
Point La Barbe, opposite to Green Island Shoals and Mackinaw, is a
projection of the upper peninsula into the straits. It is four miles
distant from Gross Cape, and derives its name from a custom which
prevailed among the Indian traders in olden time on their annual
return to Mackinaw of stopping here and putting on their best apparel
before making their appearance among the people of that place.
About half way between Mackinaw and Cheboy-e-gun, a projection from
the lower peninsula into the straits, is Point aux Sable. Point St.
Vital is a cape projecting into Lake Huron from the southeastern
extremity of the upper peninsula. There is a reef of rocks off this
point where the steamer Queen City was wrecked. On a clear day this
point may be seen from Fort Holmes, and it presents an enchanting
view. The St. Martin's Islands are also in full view from this point.
In the southwestern part of the straits, about twenty miles distant
from Mackinaw, is Fox Point. A light-house has been erected on a shoal
extending out two miles into the lake. Moneto-pa-maw is a high bluff
still further west, on the shore of Michigan, where there are fine
fisheries, and is a place of considerable resort. Further west, near
the mouth of the Mille au Coquin river which empties into Michigan,
there are also excellent fisheries, and to those who are fond of this
kind of sport apart from the profit connected with it, there is no
place in the world possessing half the attractions as Mackinaw and its
surroundings, while the "Mackinaw trout," with the "Mackinaw boat" and
the "Mackinaw blanket," are famous over the world.
Between Little Traverse and Mackinaw is the village of Cross, or La
Crosse. The following interesting account of a visit to that place is
taken from the Mackinaw Herald in 1859:
"The name of this village--'Cross,' recalls to one's mind, some
reminiscences connected with the early history of the Indian
Missions. Suffice it to observe, that it derives its name from the
circumstance of a large cross having stood for many years on the brow
of the hill, on which the present Indian village stands, planted there
by some of the followers of James Marquette, during their explorations
and missions in this part of the country. The old cross was of oak,
and was still standing about forty-five years ago. Recently it has
been replaced by another. An old Indian, called _The Short-Arm_, over
whose head some eighty winters had passed, was still living in 1836,
and who, when a little boy, recollected to have seen the last
Missionary of this place. 'I am old, my children,' said the aged
Missionary, 'and I wish to die among my own people--I must leave you.'
He left; and in the course of time the Arbre-Croche Indians relapsed
into Paganism. They continued in this state until a young Christian
Ottawa, named _Aw-taw-weesh_, who had just returned from among the
Catholic Algonquins in Canada, appeared among them and taught
religion. He became also, in some respects, what Cadmus was of old, or
Guess among the Cherokees--the first teacher of letters, among his
people. As writing paper was then scarce, at least among the Indians,
he taught them to write on birch bark, with sharpened sticks, instead
of pens. This man is still living. He is now old, poor, almost
entirely blind; and although having been a real benefactor to his
people, he may go down to his grave, unpitied, and unknown.
"But awakened by his teachings, the Indians afterward called loudly on
Missionaries to come among them, and they have had them during the
past thirty or forty years.
"At this day two Catholic Clergymen and a Convent of four Brothers and
twelve Sisters--being a religious community, of the Third Order of St.
Francis--are stationed at this place. But, to return: As rough
voyaging generally gives keen appetite, so the party did ample justice
to the eatables, which had been prepared by the Indians. Perhaps some
reader at a distance might suppose this supper to have been taken in a
_wigwam_; with the fire-place in the centre, a hole above for the
escape of smoke; and the party squatting down upon the ground, with
legs crossed in tailor fashion, around a single dish: no, no; but it
was prepared in a good, substantial house; on a table with a
table-cloth, with crockery, dishes, tea-cups and saucers, and knives
and forks, such as are used by common white folks. Then there stood
the waiters, ready to assist the double-handed manipulations going on
at the table. At a convenient hour, the party separated for the night;
the agent was put in possession of the clergyman's house, then
temporarily absent on a mission, by the Rev. Mr. Weikamp, the Superior
of the Convent.
"The next day, after the forenoon services of the church at the
village, the agent and party, according to previous invitation, went
to the Convent for dinner. Arrived there, they were introduced first
into a log cabin, situated at some distance in the rear of the
convent, occupied by the four Brothers, belonging to the order, and
the Rev. Superior. He occupies a single room, in real new-settler
style. This is his sitting-room, library, study and bed-room. He has
traveled in Europe, and some parts of Asia; he has various objects of
curiosity; and among these is a silver coin of about the size and
value of a Mexican quarter of a dollar, which he brought with him from
Jerusalem. This piece of money is said to be one of the kind of which
Judas received thirty pieces, from the chief priests and magistrates,
the price for which he sold his Divine Master. Another thing, is a
Turkish pipe, with its long, pliable stem, with which the lover of the
'weed' could regale himself without being annoyed by the smoke, as
usual; for the pipe, which is made somewhat in the shape and of the
size of a small decanter and half filled with water is so arranged
that while the wet tobacco is burning in the cup on the top, the
smoke, during suction at the stem, descends through a tube into the
water, and none of it escapes visibly, into the open air. The Rev. Mr.
Weikamp, the Superior, is a German, and speaks English fluently. He is
in the prime of life, and is full of energy and perseverance. He is
not one of those who, from the fact of belonging to a religious order,
may be supposed to be gloomy, with head bowed down, not hardly daring
to cast his eyes up into the beautiful light of the heavens; but he
converses with freedom, ease and assurance; and he relishes a joke as
well as any man, when it comes _a propos_. A fanciful peculiarity,
though nothing strange in it, attends his steps wherever he goes, in
the shape of a small black dog called "Finnie," with a string of small
horse-bells round his neck. "Finnie" has two black, watery and
glistening spots in his head for eyes, which seem ready to shoot out
from their sockets, especially when spoken to. When told in German, to
speak, 'Finnie' begins to tremble--he shakes his head--jingles his
bells; and utters a kind of guttural snuffling, and half-suppressed
growl or bark. But, as we are not acquainted with the German language,
we cannot say, that "Finnie" pronounces it well!
"Dinner being announced at the convent, the party went over with the
Superior to partake of it. Everything about the table was scrupulously
neat--an abundance of the substantial of good living had been prepared
by the Sisters. Some time after dinner the vesper bell rang at the
convent; and by special permission, the party were shown into the
choir usually occupied by the Brothers alone during the services of
the church. This was on one side of the altar; and on the other, was a
similar choir for the sisters. In the body of the church, the Indians
or others are admitted. For a few moments after entering, all was
silence;--but the priest having intoned the vespers, the sweet tones
of a large melodeon suddenly swelled through the sanctuary, mingling
with the voices of the sisters. This for a time had a singular effect.
To hear music in these wild woods, far away from civilized society
where instrumental music forms part of the ordinary pleasures and
amenities of life, served to recall to one's memory other days and
other climes. After vespers, the Superior of the convent conducted the
party through the building to view it. The dimensions are: 160 feet
long, 80 wide, and 28 feet high. There are two court yards, each 40 by
40 feet, and the church also 40 by 40, placed between them. When
finished, this building will contain 108 bedrooms, a large schoolroom,
carpenter and blacksmith shops, dining-rooms, kitchen, store-rooms,
halls, corridors, &c. It will be separated into two parts; one to be
occupied exclusively by the Sisters, and the other by the Brothers. At
the time of this visit, there were some cultivated flowers yet in
bloom in the court-yard. So much for the material building: and now a
hasty sketch of this religious order may not be unacceptable to some
of our readers.
"This religious community, is the Third Order of St. Francis, of
Assisi, instituted in Europe by this saint in 1221. It was established
for persons married or single living in the world, united by certain
pious exercises, compatible with a secular state. It soon spread over
all Europe, and even kings and queens on their thrones vied with the
poorest peasants in eagerly entering this order, to share the labors
of the mission within its sphere, and to participate in its spiritual
benefits. Among the persons of this order, who were expelled from
their cloister homes during the revolution which agitated Europe in
1848, was Sister Teresa Hackelmayer. This nun, at the proposal of a
missionary father in America, and by permission of her Superior, came
to New York in the winter of 1851, to establish a community of her
order in that State. But meeting with disappointment there, she
finally established a convent at Oldenburg, in the State of Indiana.
In 1851, a second convent of this order was founded at Nojoshing, four
miles from Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan. In 1853, the Rev. J. B.
Weikamp founded, in West Chicago, the third convent of this order, and
also formed a community of Brothers;--and in October 1855, with the
understanding of Bishop Baraga, then Vicar Apostolic of Upper
Michigan, he transferred those two communities to 'Cross Village'--his
present location.
"The company having ranged through the building, as observed, took a
walk outside. From the south side of the convent, a broad walk is laid
out reaching to an inclosure of some forty feet square, at the
distance of about fifteen rods. Another and narrower walk through the
centre of this inclosure leads to a small square building, on the
opposite side, having a four-sided roof meeting in a point, and
surmounted by a cross. On entering this building, a lounge or settee,
stands in front, and on the wall above it, hangs a piece of board or
canvass, painted black, on which are human skulls of different sizes,
each with two cross bones painted in white. A trap-door is raised from
the floor, and a deep, spacious vault is opened to view: this is the
place of burial for the Superior of the convent. On the outside, the
spaces on either side of the little walk are intended to be the last
resting-places of the brothers and sisters. It is a solemn thought to
see men thus prepare deliberately for _Death!_ But as the party
retraced their steps in such cheerful, good humor, loitering toward
the convent, one might have supposed that the beautiful weather, the
bright sunshine, and the bracing air had, for the time, scattered away
all thoughts of death. Among the questions proposed to the Superior
was, 'Whether at any time the brothers and sisters were allowed to
have social, familiar intercourse with each other?' The Superior
answered, in substance, that they were not; nor even allowed to speak
to each other, without permission of the Superior. 'Then according to
your principle,' some one rejoined, 'the world would soon come to an
end!' The remark raised a general laugh, in which the Superior himself
joined heartily."
CHAPTER VIII.
Three epochs -- The romantic -- The military -- The
agricultural and commercial -- An inviting region -- Jesuit
and Protestant missions -- First Protestant mission -- First
missionary -- Islands of Mackinac and Green Bay -- La Pointe
-- Saut St. Mary -- Presbyterians -- Baptists -- Methodists
-- Revival at Fort Brady -- Ke-wee-naw -- Fon du Lac --
Shawnees -- Pottawatimies -- Eagle River -- Ontonagon -- Camp
River -- Iroquois Point -- Saginaw Indians -- Melancholy
reflections -- Number of Indians in the States and
Territories.
The history of this region, in the language of one, exhibits three
distinct and strongly marked epochs. The first may be properly
denominated the romantic, which extends to the year 1760, when its
dominion passed from the hands of the French to the English. This was
the period when the first beams of civilization had scarcely
penetrated its forests, and the paddles of the French fur trader swept
the lakes, and the boat songs of the _voyageurs_ awakened the tribes
on their wild and romantic shores.
The second epoch is the military, which commenced with the Pontiac
war, running down through the successive struggles of the British, the
Indians, and the Americans, to obtain dominion of the country, and
ending with the victory of Commodore Perry, the defeat of Proctor, the
victory of General Harrison and the death of Tecumseh, the leader of
the Anglo-savage conspiracy on the banks of the Thames.
The third may be denominated the enterprising, the hardy, the
mechanical, and working period, commencing with the opening of the
country to emigrant settlers, the age of agriculture, commerce, and
manufactures, of harbors, cities, canals, and railroads, when the
landscapes of the forest were meted out by the compass and chain of
the surveyor, when its lakes and rivers were sounded, and their
capacity, to turn the wheel of a mill or to float a ship, were
demonstrated, thus opening up avenues of commerce and industry. Its
wild and savage character has passed away, and given place to
civilization, religion, and commerce, inviting the denizens of
over-crowded cities to its broad lakes and beautiful rivers, its rich
mines and fertile prairies, and promising a rapid and abundant
remuneration for toil.
We have alluded to the labors and sacrifices of the Jesuit
missionaries in the early period of the history of the northwest, and
it is right and proper that the labors of the Protestant missionaries,
though of a much later period, should not be forgotten. The Jesuit
fathers were not alone in sacrifice and toil in introducing the Gospel
among the tribes of the northwest. The first Protestant missions
established in this region, as far as we have been able to learn, were
those of the Presbyterian Church on the Island of Mackinac and at
Green Bay.
The first missionary who visited Mackinaw was the Rev. David Bacon,
father of the Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D., of New Haven. He was sent out
by the Connecticut Missionary Society in 1800, and commenced his
mission in Detroit, where, after remaining a year or two, he
relinquished his field to a Moravian missionary, Rev. Mr. Denky, and
visited the Indians on the Maumee. From this he returned to Detroit,
and from thence went to Mackinac, where he remained until the
missionary society was compelled, from want of funds, to recall their
missionary.
The following interesting account was given by C. J. Walker, Esq.,
before the Historical Society of Detroit:
"The Connecticut Missionary Society is, I believe, the oldest
Missionary Association in America. It was organized in June, 1795,
the General Association of Connecticut, at its annual meeting that
year, having organized itself into a society of that name. Its object
was 'to Christianize the heathen in North America, and to support and
promote Christian knowledge in the new settlements within the United
States.' For some years its efforts were principally directed to
sending missionaries 'to the new settlements in Vermont, New York, and
Pennsylvania,' and subsequently 'New Connecticut,' or the Western
Reserve of Ohio, became an important field of its operations. The
trustees, in June, 1800, determined 'that a discreet man, animated by
the love of God and souls, of a good common education, be sought for,
to travel among the Indian tribes south and west of Lake Erie, to
explore their situation and learn their feelings with respect to
Christianity, and so far as he has opportunity to teach them its
doctrines and duties.' A very sensible letter of 'Instructions' was
adopted and a long message 'to the Indian tribes bordering on Lake
Erie' prepared, showing very little knowledge of Indian mind and
character. Mr. David Bacon presented himself as a candidate for this
somewhat unpromising field of labor. His son says he was one of those
men who are called visionary and enthusiasts by men of more prosaic
and plodding temperament. He had not a liberal education, but was a
man of eminent intellectual powers and of intensely thoughtful habits,
and beside a deep religious experience, he had endeavored diligently
to fit himself for a missionary life, the self-denying labors of which
he ardently coveted. On examination Mr. Bacon was accepted.
"On the 8th of August, 1800, Mr. Bacon left Hartford on foot with his
pack upon his back, and on the 4th of September he was at Buffalo,
having walked most of the distance. On the 8th, he left on a vessel
for this city, which he reached after a quick and pleasant voyage on
the 11th. He was made welcome at the house of the commandant, Major
Hunt, where, I believe, his first religious services were held. Gen.
Uriah Tracy, of Litchfield, Conn., General Agent of the United States
for the Western Indians, was then here, and, together with the local
Indian agent, Jonathan Schieffelin, took an active interest in the
mission of Mr. Bacon. John Askin, Esq., the same liberal-minded
merchant, who so essentially befriended the Moravians twenty years
before, and Benjamin Huntington, a merchant here, formerly of Norwich,
Conn., rendered him valuable information and assistance. Learning from
these sources that the Delawares at Sandusky, were about to remove,
that the Wyandottes were mostly Catholics, and that there were no
other Indians 'south and west of Lake Erie,' among whom there was an
inviting field of labor, his attention was turned to the north, and,
with the advice of these judicious friends, on the 13th of September,
he took passage with General Tracy in a government vessel bound for
Mackinac, and went to Harson's Island, at the head of Lake St. Clair,
near which there was quite an Indian settlement. Although only forty
miles distant, he did not reach there until the 17th, being four days
upon the voyage. Jacob Harson or Harsing, as it was originally
spelled, the proprietor of this island, was an Albany Dutchman, who,
in 1766, on appointment of Sir Wm. Johnson, came to Niagara as Indian
blacksmith and gunsmith, and his original commission or letter of
appointment, written by Sir William, is now before me. On the breaking
out of the Revolution, finding Mr. Harson friendly to the Americans,
the British stripped him of his property and sent him, sorely against
his will, to this frontier. He established himself upon the island as
early as 1786, where his descendants now reside, acquired great
influence with the Indians, and lived in a very comfortable manner. He
received Mr. Bacon in this beautiful retreat, with great kindness and
hospitality, and he thanks the Lord that he is provided a comfortable
house, a convenient study, and as good a bed and as good board as I
should have had if I had remained in Connecticut. I know of no place
in the State of New York so healthy as this, I believe the water and
the air as pure here as in any part of New England, and I have never
been before where venison and wild geese and ducks were so plenty, or
where there was such a rich variety of fresh-water fish. There were
many Indians in the vicinity. Mr. Harson encouraged the establishment
of a mission, and Mr. Bacon deemed it a most favorable opening.
Bernardus Harson, a son of Jacob, was engaged as interpreter. He
returned to Detroit on the same vessel with General Tracy, Sept. 30th,
to attend an Indian Council which was held here on the 7th of October,
when he was formally introduced to the Indians by General Tracy, and
was most favorably received. He returned to the island and remained
until the Indians departed for their winter hunting grounds, when he
left for Connecticut, where he arrived about the middle of December.
He was soon ordained to the ministry, and I believe married, for he
returned with a young wife of whom nothing is heard previously.
"Late in January 1801, Mr. Bacon commenced his return journey with
his wife and her brother, Beaumont Parks, Esq., now of Springfield,
Illinois, a young man who came with him to learn the Chippewa language
and to become a teacher. The sleighing leaving them they remained at
Bloomfield, Ontario county, New York, until spring, and did not reach
here until May 9th. Mr. Bacon's plan was to remain at Detroit, until
he became so familiar with the Indian language that he could
successfully prosecute his mission. He remained here until the spring
of 1802, holding regular religious services in the Council House. For
a time he preached twice upon the Sabbath, but the afternoon
attendance being thin, he accepted a call from the settlement on the
river Rouge to preach to them half a day. To aid in defraying expenses
he commenced keeping a school in the house where he lived on St. James
street, just in the rear of the Masonic Hall, and in this he was
assisted by his wife. One at least of our present fellow citizens was
a pupil of Mr. Bacon, and has pleasant memories of that little school.
Amid many discouragements the study of the Chippewa was pursued by
this missionary family, and although they made 'but slow progress' and
it was 'hard work to commit their words to memory' and 'extremely
difficult to construct a sentence according to the idioms of their
language,' they 'hope and expect we shall be able to surmount every
difficulty.'
"While thus toilfully but hopefully preparing for his anticipated
work, getting acquainted with Indians, their life and character, and
as yet uncertain at what precise point to commence his mission, Mr.
Denhey, a Moravian missionary, desired to occupy the field upon the
St. Clair River, which Mr. Bacon in some measure occupied the year
before, and to this Mr. Bacon assented. His attention had been called
to Mackinac and L'Arbre Croche, but he resolved to visit the Indians
upon the Maumee, and ascertain by personal interviews and examination
what encouragement there was for a mission in that vicinity. For this
purpose, with his brother-in-law and a hired man, on 29th of April,
1802, he left in a canoe for the 'Miami,'as the Maumee was then
called. He found most of the Indian chiefs engaged in a drunken
debauch, and it was not until the 14th of May, and after repeated
efforts, that he succeeded in gathering a full council, and addressing
them upon the subject of establishing a mission among them. He felt it
his duty to have translated the message sent to the Indians by the
Missionary Society. The poor savages listened courteously to this long
piece of abstruse theological narrative and argument, but they must
have been terribly bored, notwithstanding Mr. Bacon's efforts to
'express the ideas in language better adapted to the capacity and more
agreeable to their ways of speaking.' No wonder that Little Otter was
'too unwell to attend in the afternoon.' After this translation, Mr.
Bacon made a well conceived speech of considerable length, setting
forth the advantages which the Indians would derive from a mission.
There was no little point in the polished reproof of Little Otter, in
the commencement of his speech, who said: 'Now brother, if you will
listen to us we will give you an answer. But it is our way to be very
short. Our white brothers, when they make speeches, are very lengthy.
They read and write so much that they get in a great many little
things. But it is not so with your red brothers. When we go on any
great business and have any great things to say, we say them in a few
words.' With no little ingenuity, but with apparent courtesy, these
sons of the forest declined a mission in their midst. The gist of the
reply is contained in the following sentence: 'Brother, your religion
is very good; but it is only good for white people. It will not do for
Indians, they are quite a different sort of people.'
"On the following day Mr. Bacon started for Detroit, and remained
here until June 2d, when, with his family, he removed to
Missilimackinac, then the great centre of Indian population in our
Territory. Here he remained until August 1804, perfecting himself in
the language, teaching, preaching and pursuing the other labors
incident to his mission. He very clearly saw that a successful Indian
mission involved no inconsiderable expenditure in establishing schools
and in educating the Indians in agriculture and the ruder arts of
civilization. These expenditures were too large for the means of the
Missionary Society, and in January, 1804, they directed the mission to
abandoned, and that Mr. Bacon should remove to the Western Reserve.
The intelligence of this reached Mr. Bacon in July, and in August he
removed and became the first founder of the town of Tallmadge, Ohio.
Thus ended this first Protestant effort to convert the Indians of
Michigan to the faith of the cross. It was while Mr. Bacon was
residing here that Rev. Dr. Bacon was born. We may therefore, with
pride, claim him as a native of our beautiful city."
Sometime after a mission was established at La Pointe near the
southern extremity of Lake Superior. The Mission at Mackinac was
subsequently revived and continued until 1837, when the population
had so entirely changed, and the Indians had discontinued their
visits for purposes of trade, that it was deemed best to abandon it,
which was done, and the property sold. The Rev. Mr. Pitezel, in his
"Lights and Shade of Missionary Life," who visited the island in 1843,
thus speaks of this mission: "We visited the mission establishment
once under the care of the Presbyterian Church, but now abandoned. It
is a spacious building, and was once thronged with native and
half-bred children and youth, there educated at vast expense. Little
of the fruit of this self-sacrificing labor is thought now to be
apparent, but the revelations of eternity may show that here was a
necessary and a very important link in the chain of events, connected
with the Christianization of benighted pagans." During the time of Mr.
Pitezel's visit, a large number of Indians of different tribes had
assembled at the island, for the purpose of receiving their annuity,
among which were several Christian Indians, from Saut St. Mary, Grand
Traverse, and elsewhere. The Rev. Mr. Daugherty, a Presbyterian
minister, from the latter place, accompanied his Indians, and had his
tent among them for the purpose of keeping his sheep from the hands of
the wolfish white man, who would first rob him of his religion, and
then of his money.
In 1828, the Baptists established a mission at Saut St. Mary. This
mission was opened under the most favorable auspices by the Rev. A.
Bingham, and continued in a state of prosperity for many years. In
1843 it was still under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Bingham,
who for twenty years had been laboring to bring the Indians under
Christian influence. Indian children were boarded in the mission
establishment, and a school was kept up, which, in the language of
one, would have been a credit to any land. The Rev. Mr. Porter, a
Congregationalist missionary, also labored here. The labors of these
missionaries were greatly blessed, and numbers of officers and
soldiers at the fort and garrison, as well as Indians, were converted.
The Baptist missionaries extended their labors to various points on
the northern peninsula and on the shores of Lake Superior.
The Methodists commenced a mission at Saut St. Mary, under the labors
of "John Sunday," a converted Indian, soon after that established by
the Baptists. In 1831 a portion of the Oneida Indians removed to Green
Bay, and the Rev. John Clark was sent out as a missionary among them
the following year. In a report made by the missionary to the Board,
he thus describes his field of labor: "The white settlement is located
on the left bank of the Fox River, extending up the river about five
miles from the head of the bay. The population is about one thousand,
but greatly amalgamated with the Menominee Indians, over whom it is
said they have great influence. The Indian settlement is about
twenty-five miles from this place, on the left bank of the Fox river."
Mr. Clark preached at this settlement and at Green Bay on alternate
Sabbaths. Messrs. Marsh and Stevens, of the Presbyterian church, were
located here, laboring among the Stockbridge Indians and kindly
welcomed Mr. Clark among them. These Indians emigrated from
Stockbridge, Mass., and were at one time under the pastoral care of
Jonathan Edwards. While this distinguished divine was missionary among
these Indians, at Stockbridge, he wrote his famous "Treatise on the
Will." Mr. Clark was cordially received by the Indian agent, Mr.
Schoolcraft.
In 1833, he visited Saut St. Mary, and found a revival in progress.
Nearly all the officers, and thirty or forty soldiers, in Fort Brady
had been converted. The command was soon after removed to Chicago, and
was succeeded by another. A gracious revival followed his labors at
the fort, and officers and soldiers were seen bowing at the same
altar, happy in the enjoyment of a common salvation. Still holding his
connection with Green Bay, he visited that place and preached in Fort
Howard and also among his Indians who had removed to Duck Creek.
At Ke-wee-naw, John Sunday commenced a mission among the Chippewas,
and in 1834 Mr. Clark visited that interesting field. He continued to
superintend the missions in this region, until he volunteered as a
missionary for Texas, and the superintendence of the Indian mission
was given to the Rev. W. H. Brockway. The Rev. Mr. Pitezel labored at
Ke-wee-naw with great success for several years, preaching at the
different mines on the shores of Lake Superior. The Methodists also
established a mission at Fon du Lac near the east shore of the
Winnebago Lake. In the year 1830, a branch mission was organized among
the Wyandottes and Shawnees on the Huron river, and also one among the
Pottawatimees at Fort Clark on the Fox river, at which place, in 1837,
upward of one hundred were converted.
In 1847 a mission was established at the Cliff Mine, on Eagle River, a
stream which empties into Lake Superior, about twenty miles west of
Copper Harbor. The Methodists have missions also at Ontonagon and
Carp River, all of which are more or less prosperous.
At present this church has maintained missions and schools among small
bands of Indians collected on reserves in Isabella and Oceana counties
in the lower peninsula of Michigan. The Indians at the old mission in
the vicinity of Saut St. Mary, are assembling at Iroquois Point at the
lower end of Lake Superior, and are supplied with a missionary. A
mission was also established in the Bay Shore Reservation, among the
Saginaw Indians, which still exists.
It is a matter of melancholy reflection, that the immense tribes, each
of which could muster thousands of warriors in this vast region, have
dwindled down to small and feeble bands. The same remark will apply to
all the tribes in North America. The race is rapidly passing away, and
the nation, like that of Edom, will at no distant day become entirely
extinct. The last report of the Secretary of the Interior, states,
that the whole number of Indians within the limits of the States and
Territories of the Union, does not now exceed three hundred and
twenty-five thousand.
CHAPTER IX.
Indian name of Michigan -- Islands -- Lanman's Summer in the
wilderness -- Plains -- Trees -- Rivers -- A traditionary
land -- Beautiful description -- Official report in relation
to the trade of the lakes -- Green Bay -- Grand Traverse Bay
-- Beaver Islands -- L'Arbre Croche -- Boundaries of Lake
Michigan -- Its connections -- Railroad from Fort Wayne to
Mackinaw -- Recent report of -- Amount completed -- Land
grants.
The Indian name of the State of Michigan, is Michi-sawg-ye-gan, the
meaning of which in the Algonquin tongue is the Lake country.
Surrounded as it is almost entirely by water, it possesses all the
advantages of an island. It has numerous streams which are clear and
beautiful, abounding in fish. The surface of the western half (we
allude now to the lower or southern peninsula) is destitute of rocks,
and undulating. In the language of Lanman in his "Summer in the
Wilderness," "It is here that the loveliest of lakes and streams and
prairies are to be found. No one who has never witnessed them can
form any idea of the exquisite beauty of the thousand lakes which gem
the western part of Michigan. They are the brightest and purest
mirrors the virgin sky has ever used to adorn herself. On the banks of
these lakes, grow in rich profusion, the rose, the violet, the lily
and the sweet brier.
"A great proportion of Michigan is covered with white-oak openings.
Standing on a gentle hill, the eye wanders away for miles over an
undulating surface, obstructed only by the trunks of lofty
trees,--above you a green canopy, and beneath, a carpet of velvet
grass, sprinkled with flowers of every hue and form.
"The prairies are another interesting feature of Michigan scenery.
They meet the traveler at every point, and of many sizes, seeming
often like so many lakes, being often studded with wooded islands, and
surrounded by shores of forests. This soil is a deep black sand. Grass
is their natural production, although corn, oats and potatoes flourish
upon them. Never can I forget the first time I entered White Pigeon
Prairie. Sleeping beneath the shadows of sunset, as it was, the effect
upon me was like that which is felt on first beholding the
ocean,--overpowering awe. All that the poet has said about these
gardens of the desert is true.
"Burr Oak Plains. The only difference between these and the oak
openings, is the character of the trees and the evenness of their
surface. The soil is a mixture of sand and black loam. They have the
appearance of cultivated orchards, or English parks; and on places
where the foot of the white man has never trod, a carriage and four
could easily pass through. They produce both wheat and corn.
"The wet prairies have the appearance of submerged land. In them the
grass is often six or seven feet high. They are the resort of
water-fowl, muskrats, and otters.
"But the best and most fertile soil in Michigan is that designated by
the title of timbered land. It costs more to prepare it for the
plough, but when once the soil is sown it yields a thousand-fold. And
with regard to their beauty and magnificence, the innumerable forests
of this State are not surpassed by any in the world, whether we
consider the variety or grandeur of their production. This timber is
needed for prairie States, Lake cities, and exports.
"A friend of mine, now residing in western Michigan, and who once
spent several years in Europe, thus writes respecting this region:
"'Oh, such trees as we have here! Magnificent, tall, large-leafed,
umbrageous. Vallombrosa, the far-famed Vallombrosa of Tuscany, is
nothing to the thousand Vallombrosas here! A fig for your Italian
scenery! This is the country where nature reigns in her virgin beauty;
where trees grow, where corn grows; where men grow better than they do
anywhere else in the world. This is the land to study nature in all
her luxuriant charms, under glorious green branches, among singing
birds and laughing streams; this is the land to hear the cooing of the
turtle-dove, in far, deep, cool, sylvan bowers; to feel your soul
expand under the mighty influences of nature in her primitive beauty
and strength.'
"The principal inland rivers of Michigan, are the Grand River, the
Kalamazoo, the St. Joseph, the Saginaw, and the Raisin. The first
three empty into Lake Michigan, and are about seventy miles apart.
Their average length is about two hundred and fifty miles, and they
are about thirty or forty rods in width. At present, they are
navigable about half their length for small steamboats and bateaux.
Their bed is of limestone, covered with pebbles. I was a passenger on
board the Matilda Barney, on her first trip,--the first steamer that
ever ascended the St. Joseph, which I consider the most perfectly
beautiful stream that I ever have seen. I remember well the many
flocks of wild turkeys and herds of deer that the 'iron horse'
frightened in his winding career. The Indian canoe is now giving way
to the more costly but less beautiful row-boat, and those rivers are
becoming deeper and deeper every day. Instead of the howl of the wolf,
the songs of husbandmen now echo through their vales, where may be
found many comfortable dwellings.
"The Saginaw runs toward the north and empties into Lake Huron,--that
same Huron which has been celebrated in song by the young poet, Louis
L. Noble. This river is navigable for sixty miles. The river Raisin is
a winding stream, emptying into Lake Erie, called so from the quantity
of grapes that cluster on its banks. Its Indian name is Nummasepee,
signifying River of Sturgeons. Sweet river! whose murmurs have so
often been my lullaby, mayst thou continue in thy beauty forever. Are
there not streams like thee flowing through the paradise of God?
"Notwithstanding the comparative newness of Michigan, its general
aspect is ancient. The ruin of many an old fort may be discovered on
its borders, reminding the beholder of wrong and outrage, blood and
strife. This was once the home of noble but oppressed nations. Here
lived and loved the Algonquin and Shawnese Indians; the names of
whose warrior chiefs--Pontiac the proud, and Tecumseh the brave--will
long be treasured in history. I have stood upon their graves, which
are marked only by a blighted tree and an unhewn stone, and have
sighed deeply as I remembered their deeds. But they have gone--gone
like the lightning of a summer day!
"It is traditionary land. For we are told that the Indian hunters of
old saw fairies and genii floating over its lakes and streams, and
dancing through its lonely forests. In these did they believe, and to
please them was their religion.
"The historian, James H. Lanning, Esq., of this State, thus writes, in
alluding to the olden times: 'The streams rolled their liquid silver
to the lake, broken only by the fish that flashed in their current, or
the swan that floated upon their surface. Vegetation flourished alone.
Roses bloomed and died, only to be trampled by the deer or savage; and
strawberries studded the ground like rubies, where the green and sunny
hillsides reposed amid the silence, like sleeping infants in the lap
of the forest. The rattlesnake glided undisturbed through its
prairies; and the fog which hung in clouds over its stagnant marshes
spread no pestilence. The panther, the fox, the deer, the wolf, and
bear, roamed fearless through the more remote parts of the domain, for
there were none to dispute with them their inheritance. But clouds
thickened. In the darkness of midnight, and silence of the wilderness,
the tomahawk and scalping knife were forged for their work of death.
Speeches were made by the savages under the voice-less stars, which
were heard by none save God and their allies; and the war-song echoed
from the banks of lakes where had never been heard the footsteps of
civilized man.'
"Then followed the horrors of war; then and there were enacted the
triumphs of revenge. But those sounds have died away; traced only on
the page of history, those deeds. The voice of rural labor, the clink
of the hammer, and the sound of Sabbath-bells now echo in those
forests and vales. The plough is making deep furrows in its soil, and
the sound of the anvil is in every part. A well-endowed University,
and seminaries of learning are there. Railroads and canals, like veins
of health, are gliding to its noble heart. The red man, in his
original grandeur and state of nature, has passed away from its more
fertile borders; and his bitterest enemy, the pale face is master of
his possessions."
From a report made, by order of Congress, by Israel D. Andrews, in
1853, in relation to the trade of the great lakes and rivers, we
extract the following "Michigan is the second of the great lakes in
size, being inferior only to Lake Superior, and in regard to situation
and the quality of the surrounding soil and the climate is, in many
respects, preferable to them all. Its southern extremity, rising south
in fertile regions, nearly two degrees to the south of Albany, and the
whole of its great southern peninsula being imbosomed in fresh waters,
its climate is mild and equable, as its soil is rich and productive.
The lake is three hundred miles long by sixty in breadth, and contains
sixteen thousand nine hundred and eighty-one square miles, having a
mean depth of nine hundred feet. On the western shore it has the great
indentation of Green Bay; itself equal to the largest lakes in
England, being one hundred miles long and thirty broad. It is well
sheltered at its mouth by the Traverse Islands, and has for its
affluent the outlet of Winnebago and the Fox River.
"Grand Traverse Bay is a considerable inlet of Lake Michigan, which
sets up into the lower peninsula, one hundred miles south from the
Island of Mackinac. It is a good farming and lumbering country. There
are two mission stations and six or seven steam and water mills
located at this point. It is now an organized county called Grand
Traverse. The county seat is at Grand Traverse City, West Bay, where
they have a court-house and jail.
"L'Arbre Croche Village is an old Indian town, situated about
twenty-five miles southwest from Mackinaw, on the lower peninsula. It
is composed mostly of Indians. It has a Catholic Church and a Home
Mission Station, with a teacher and other assistants to instruct the
Indians in the English language. It has extensive clearings for miles,
along the banks of the lake shore, and extending from one to six miles
back into the interior, indicating that once a large population must
have inhabited this section of the country.
"The principal tributaries of Lake Michigan are the Manistee, Great
Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph's rivers, from the southern peninsula of
Michigan, the Des-Plaines, the O Plaines and Chee rivers, from
Indiana, Illinois, and from the northern peninsula, the Menominee,
Escambia, Noquet, White Fish and Manistee rivers. The lake is bounded
to the eastward by the rich and fertile land of the southern
peninsula, sending out vast quantities of all the cereal grains, equal
if not superior in quality to any raised in the United States. It is
bounded on the south and southwest by Indiana and Illinois, which
supply corn and beef of the finest quality, in superabundance, for
exportation. On the west it is bounded by the productive grain and
grazing lands and lumber district of Wisconsin, and on the northwest
and north by the invaluable and not yet half-explored mineral district
of northern Michigan.
"The natural outlet of its commerce, as of its waters, is by the
Straits of Mackinaw into Lake Huron, thence by the St. Clair River
down to the lower marts. Of internal communications it already
possesses many, both by canal and railroad, equal to those almost of
any of the older States, in length and availability, and inferior to
none in importance. First, it has the Green Bay, Lake Winnebago, and
Fox River improvement connecting it with the Wisconsin River, by which
it has access to the Mississippi River, and thereby enjoys the
commerce of its upper valleys, and its rich lower lands and prosperous
States;--and second, the Illinois and Michigan canal, rendering the
great commercial valley of the Illinois tributary to its commerce. By
railways, perfected and projected, it has, or will soon have,
connection with the Mississippi in its upper tributaries and lead
regions by way of the Milwaukee and Mississippi, and Chicago and
Galena lines. To the eastward, by the Michigan Central and Southern
Railroad, it communicates with the lake shore road, and thence with
all the eastern lines from Buffalo to Boston. To the southward it will
speedily be united by the great system of projected railroads.
"A road is now in progress extending from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to
Mackinaw. From a recent report made of this road, which will prove of
vast importance in developing the immense resources of Michigan, we
extract the following:--
"The distance from point to point, as measured by the engineers, are
as follow:
"From Fort Wayne to the 'Air-line Railroad, Indiana, 28 miles; the
Air-line railroad, to Wolcottville, 6; Wolcottville to Lagrange, 10;
Lagrange to Lima, 5; Lima to Sturgis, Mich., 5-1/2; Sturgis to Mendon,
14; Mendon to Brady, 8; Brady to Kalamazoo, 12; Kalamazoo to Grand
Rapids, 47; Grand Rapids to Laphamville, 13; Laphamville to Little
Traverse Bay, 169; Little Traverse to the Straits of Mackinaw, 27.
Total; 344.
"The work of construction now performed, is mostly between
Wolcottville and Kalamazoo. Between Lagrange and Sturgis the
earth-work and bridges are nearly done--$1,500 will complete it for
the ties. About one-fourth of the earth-work, bridges and ties, of the
remainder of the line from Wolcottville to Kalamazoo, is done.
Between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, work to the amount of $8,000 has
been done.
"The construction of the road bed, bridging, ties, ballasting, &c.,
from Kalamazoo to the north bank of the Muskegon River, one hundred
and three miles, is let to Daniel Beckel, Esq., of Dayton, Ohio. Near
two hundred hands are engaged on the work--on the twenty miles north
of Grand Rapids. It is the intention of the company, as we are
informed, to complete this twenty miles early the coming summer.
"We are informed by the annual report, that on July 21st, $216,316 18
had been collected and expended.
"The land grant made by Congress is of great value. The portion of the
road to which it attaches, extends from Grand Rapids to Little
Traverse Bay; the precise length of which is, as adopted by the proper
departments at Washington, one hundred and eighty-two miles and three
thousand and sixty-seven feet. Under the rules of adjustment adopted
by the department, the quantity of lands granted will be somewhere
from 600,000 to 674,161 acres.
"These lands are generally timbered farm lands--of the best quality,
in timber, soil and water. Some are pine lands, some pine and hard
wood mixed; and a small portion are cedar swamp lands. But there is
none too much of either description for the value of the lands and the
prosperity of the country. Nature has distributed and interspersed
them in such proportions as will best contribute to the support of a
populous and well improved agricultural country. The great bulk of
these lands are what are generally denominated 'beech and sugar-tree
lands.' The soil is generally rich sandy loam. The estimated value of
the lands, when the road is completed, has been put, by different
parties, from $4 to $10 per acre.
"The lands granted are the odd numbered sections within six miles of
the line; and if any such sections are sold or pre-empted, then the
company has the right to select other sections outside of the six
miles and within fifteen miles of the road, to make up such deficit.
"The odd numbered sections, outside of the six-mile limits, and within
the fifteen-mile limits, are set apart to this company, out of which
to select lands to make up any deficit that may occur in the six
miles.
"By those best acquainted with the value of these lands--and who are
familiar with that portion of the State--they are estimated at $10
per acre, on the completion of the road. This will give the company
the sum of $6,600,000. And if the road when fully equipped costs
$30,000 per mile, then the gross cost will be $10,500,000; which by
the proceeds of the land grant will be reduced to the sum of
$3,900,000, and will reduce the actual cost of the road to $11,142,85
per mile. Anything like fair success in the construction of the road
will enable the company to do it, after applying the proceeds of the
land grant, for about _eleven thousand dollars per mile_. Such a
result will not only give to the country all the advantages of this
much-needed work; but when done the capital stock must prove to be a
good paying investment."
CHAPTER X.
Mackinaw, the site for a great central city -- The Venice of
the lakes -- Early importance as a central position --
Nicolet -- Compared geographically with other points --
Immense chain of coast -- Future prospects -- Temperature --
Testimony of the Jesuit fathers -- Healthfulness of the
climate -- Dr. Drake on Mackinaw -- Resort for invalids --
Water currents of commerce -- Surface drained by them -- Soil
of the northern and southern peninsulas of Michigan --
Physical resources -- Present proprietors of Mackinaw -- Plan
of the city -- Streets -- Avenues -- Park -- Lots and blocks
for churches and public purposes -- Institutions of learning
and objects of benevolence -- Fortifications -- Docks and
ferries -- Materials for building -- Harbors -- Natural
beauty of the site for a city -- Mountain ranges -- Interior
lakes -- Fish -- Game.
Ferris, in his "States and Territories of the Great West," says: "If
one were to point out, on the map of North America, a site for a great
central city in the lake region, it would be in the immediate vicinity
of the Straits of Mackinaw. A city so located would have the command
of the mineral trade, the fisheries, the furs, and the lumber, of the
entire North. It might become the metropolis of a great commercial
empire. It would be the Venice of the Lakes." Mackinaw, both straits
and peninsula, was so naturally the key point of the great system of
northern lakes and their connection with the Mississippi, that while
the New England colonies were yet but infant and feeble settlements,
the Indians of the northwest, the Jesuit missionaries, the French
voyagers, all made Mackinaw the point from whence they diverged--in
all directions. When Philadelphia and Baltimore had not begun, and
when the sites of Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and St. Louis were unknown
places in the wilderness, Nicolet took his departure from Quebec in
search of the mysterious river of the west. In passing to meet the
Indians at Green Bay, he was the first to notice the Straits of
Mackinaw. About thirty years after, James Marquette established, on
the northern shore of the straits, the Mission of St. Ignace. Here,
amidst the wilds and solitudes of the North American forests, and on
the shores of its great inland seas, Marquette and Joliet planned
their expedition as we have already described, and it was Mackinaw and
not New Orleans or New York that the lines radiated from to the
earliest settlements of the west.
Mackinaw presents one of the most remarkable geographical positions
on the earth. Constantinople on the Bosphorus, the Straits of
Gibraltar, Singapore on the Strait of Malacca, and the Isthmus of
Panama, are the only ones which seem to present a parallel. The two
former have been for ages renowned as the most important in the
commercial world. Singapore has rapidly become the key and centre of
Asiatic navigation, at which may be found the shipping and people of
all commercial nations, and Panama is now the subject of negotiation
among the most powerful nations with a view to the exceeding
importance of its commercial position. Geographically, Mackinaw is not
inferior to either. From the northwest to the southeast, midland of
the North American continent, there stretches a vast chain of lakes
and rivers dividing the continent nearly midway. This chain of Lakes
and rivers is in the whole nearly three thousand miles long. At the
Straits of Mackinaw the whole system of land and water centres. The
three greatest lakes of this system, Superior, Huron, and Michigan,
are spread around, pointing to the straits, while between them three
vast peninsulas of land press down upon the waters until they are
compressed into a river of four miles in width. On the north is the
peninsula of Canada, on the south that of Michigan, and on the west
that of the copper region, all of which are divided only by the narrow
Straits of Mackinaw. Here are three inland seas of near eighty
thousand square miles and about five thousand miles of coast. From
coast to coast and isle to isle of this immense expanse of waters,
navigation must be kept up, increasing with the ever-increasing
population on their shores till tens of millions are congregated
around. Of all this vast navigation and increasing commerce, Mackinaw
is the natural centre around which it exists, and toward which it must
tend by an inevitable law of necessity. Superior, Huron, and Michigan
have no water outlet to each other but that which flows through the
Straits of Mackinaw, and its geographical position is unrivaled in
America. Whoever lives twenty years from this time will find Mackinaw
a populous and wealthy city, the Queen of the Lakes.
If any serious objection be made to the site of a city at this place,
it can only be that the climate is _supposed_ to be cold. But, what is
climate? Climate is relative and composed of many elements. The first
is temperature, as determined by latitude. The Straits of Mackinaw are
in the _latitude_ of 45 deg. 46'. North of this lies a part of Canada,
containing at least a million of inhabitants. North of this latitude
lies the city of Quebec in America; London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin,
Vienna, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, in Europe;
Odessa and Astracan, in Asia. North of it, are in Prussia, Poland, and
Russia, dense populations, and a great agricultural production. The
latitude of Mackinaw, therefore, is in the midst of that temperate
zone, where commerce, population, cities, and the arts have most
flourished. The climate, however, is actually milder than the latitude
represents. The isothermal line, which passes through Mackinaw, also
passes in Wisconsin, nearly as low as 43 deg., and in the east also
deflects south. This is the true line of vegetation; and thus it
appears that the actual climate of Mackinaw is about that of 43 deg. 30'.
The same isothermal line, passes through Prussia and Poland, the
finest grain countries of Europe. The climate of the straits is,
therefore, as favorable as that of most civilized States, either for
the production of food or the pursuits of commerce.
The Marquette Journal gives some items relative to the winter of that
locality. The mercury was not below zero until the evening of January
8th, and then only 2 deg. below. The highest point reached in January, was
20 deg. above, and lowest 16 deg. below zero. In February, the highest point
was 55 deg. above, the lowest 20 deg. below zero. The average temperature for
the three winter months had been about 15 deg. above zero. In the
"Relations of the Jesuits," 3d. volume, 1671, it is stated that the
"winter in Mackinaw is short, not commencing until after Christmas and
closing the middle of March, at which time spring begins."
The Lake Superior Journal for February 23, 1859, says:--
"We are now within five days of the first spring month, and have
scarcely had a brush of winter yet. But very few days has the
thermometer been below zero, and but a single day as low as ten
degrees below. Most of the time it has been mild. For two weeks past,
there has been a blandness and mellowness in the atmosphere, which was
enough to cause the moodiest heart to sing for joy. There was a
flare-up, however, for a single day (the 20th), when the storm
descended, the wind blew, and there was great commotion in the
elements, but the next day all was calm and delightful as before. We
have quite a depth of snow on the ground, have had fine sleighing
since the 10th of November. But our bay has not been closed more than
a week at a time this winter, and but a few days in all. It is open
now, and 'the stern monarch of the year,' seems to be melting away
into spring.
"In regard to the healthfulness of Mackinaw, it may be remarked that
the northern regions of the earth are everywhere the most healthy. Yet
there are differences in situation and exposure which make differences
in health. Mackinaw has now been known and settled for two hundred
years, a period long enough to have both tested its healthiness, and
created a permanent reputation. The Jesuit Missionaries, the frontier
traders, and the French voyageurs, have lived and died there; yet we
have never heard of any prevalent disease, or local miasm. It seems to
have been the favorite resort of all the frontiers men, who inhabited
or hunted in the region of the Northern Lakes. In recent years, it has
been visited by men of science, and accomplished physicians, and their
report has been uniformly in favor of its superior healthiness. Dr.
Drake, who visited Mackinaw in 1842, for the express purpose of
examining the climate and topography, says, 'From this description, it
appears, that the conditions which are held to be necessary to the
generation of autumnal fever, are at their _minimum_ in this place;
and when we consider this fact, with its latitude nearly 46 deg., and its
altitude above the sea, from six to eight hundred feet, we are
prepared to find it almost exempt from that disease; and such from
the testimony of its inhabitants is the fact, especially in reference
to the intermittent fevers, which, I was assured by many respectable
persons, never originated among the people, and would cease
spontaneously in those who returned, or came with it from other
places.'
"Speaking of this region as a place of resort for invalids, the same
writer says:
"'The three great reservoirs of clear and cold water, Lakes Huron,
Michigan, and Superior, with the Island of Mackinac in their
hydrographical centre, offer a delightful hot-weather asylum to all
invalids who need an escape from the crowded cities, paludal
exhalations, sultry climates and officious medication. Lake Erie lies
too far south, and is bordered by too many swamps to be included in
the salutiferous group.'
"'On reaching Mackinaw, an agreeable change of climate is at once
experienced.' 'To his jaded sensibilities all around him is fresh and
invigorating.'" Dr. Drake looked upon Mackinaw as one of the
healthiest portions of the whole Northwest, and to which, in time,
tens of thousands of persons, even from the furthest south, would
resort to be reinvigorated in body, refreshed in mind, and delighted
with the contemplation of the sublime and beautiful scenery in that
region of expansive waters, of rocky coasts, of forest-bearing lands,
and distant islands.
"Here the great currents, which are the natural lines of _movement_
for the people, commerce, and productions of half North America,
concentrate around a single point. No other place has the same
advantage of _radial lines_. Quebec is relatively on the Atlantic. The
upper end of Lake Superior is comparatively on an inhospitable land.
Chicago is at a lateral point on the south end of Lake Michigan,--three
hundred miles from the main channel of commerce. At Mackinaw
concentrate all the radial lines of water navigation in the upper
lakes. Which will be seen, if we take the following distances of
direct navigation from this point to the principal points on the upper
lakes:
"From Mackinaw to Fon du Lac (west end of Lake Superior), 550 miles;
to Chicago, 350; to east end of Georgian Bay, 300; to Detroit, 300; to
Buffalo, 700; to Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1,600.
"Here are two important points to be observed. Any city which, by
competition, or the rivalry of production, or the power of wealth, can
be supposed to interfere with the growth of Mackinaw, must arise on
Lakes Michigan or Superior; for _there_ only can be any commercial
mart to receive and distribute the products around those immense
bodies of water. But in consequence of the form and surface of those
lakes, no lines of transit to the waters of the St. Lawrence can be
made so short or cheap as the water transit through the Straits of
Mackinaw. The concentration of products will, therefore, be ultimately
made at Mackinaw, for all that immense district of country which lies
around the upper lakes. Again, it will be seen that as the water
transportation to that point is the best, so the radial line from that
point to the Atlantic by water, is much the shortest. A steam
propeller, leaving any one of the principal points on the upper lakes
for either Buffalo or the Gulf of St. Lawrence, must, as compared with
Mackinaw, pass over the following lines of transit, viz., From Fon du
Lac (west end of Lake Superior) to Buffalo, 1,250 miles; Chicago,
Ill., 1,000; Mackinaw, Michigan, 700; Fon du Lac to the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, 2,150; Chicago to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1,900; Mackinaw
to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1,600.
"It must be granted, at once, that for any water communication with
the ports of the Atlantic, Mackinaw has greatly the advantage over any
commercial point in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Northern
Michigan, or Northwest Canada. How great this advantage is, we shall
see from the consideration of the surface drained by the water
current of Mackinaw. An inspection of the map will show that from Long
Lake, above latitude 50 deg., to the south end of Lake Michigan, below
latitude, 40 deg., and from the Lake of the Woods, longitude 95 deg., to
Saginaw Bay, longitude 83 deg., the country is entirely within the
drainage of lakes and river whose currents concentrate at the Straits
of Mackinaw. This surface comprehends a square of over six hundred
miles on the side, or nearly four hundred thousand square miles.
Deducting the surface of the lakes, it is enough to make eight States
as large as Ohio. In that whole surface, there is not a single point
which can rival Mackinaw as a point of _distribution for the products
of that country_. That the advantage by water lines is in favor of
Mackinaw, we have shown. That it will be equally so by railroad, is
evident, from the fact that Mackinaw city to Port Huron, and thence to
Buffalo, need not exceed four hundred miles, while that from Chicago
to Buffalo, in a direct line is five hundred and fifteen miles.
"From any other point of Lakes Michigan or Superior, where a city can
be built, it is further. Mackinaw is, therefore, the natural centre of
drainage and distribution for a surface equal to that of eight large
States, and whose products, whether of field, fruit, or mines, are
superabundant in whatever creates commerce, sustains population, or
affords the materials of industry.
"We are now considering Mackinaw in a state of nature, and must look
to its natural products as the first and greatest elements of success.
We have considered its climate, its water currents, its lines of
navigation, and the surface drainage for its support. The latter
within a space where there can be no competition, we have found to be
but little less than 400,000 square miles. Vast as this is, it could
not support a great commercial city, if that were a barren plain.
"Hence, we must now consider how far the products of the earth will
sustain the city, which such lines of navigation, such means of
commerce, and such an extensive, surface leads us to anticipate.
"The soil is the first thing to be examined. The peninsula of
Michigan--that of Wisconsin and the Copper region--of Minnesota and
Canada, which make up the larger portion of surface drained by the
currents of Mackinaw, has been supposed to be cold and wet. But is it
more so than northwestern Ohio or northern Illinois, which, but twenty
years since, were scarcely inhabited, but now are found to afford some
of the richest lands in the country? On this point, we have numerous
and competent witnesses, and whatever character they give to the
country, we shall adopt as the true criterion of its producing
resources.
"First of the Superior Country, the least agricultural portion of this
district, we have the concurrent testimony of geologists, miners,
settlers, and travelers, that it is one of the richest mining
districts in the world. But in the midst of it are found some fertile
sections. Of these, Mr. Ferris, in his account of the Great West,
says: 'The surveyors report some good agricultural lands (of which
many townships are specially enumerated), and these tracts of fertile
land will become of great value, when the rivers shall have been
opened and a mining population introduced, creating a sure and
convenient home market for the productions of the farm.'
"_Disturnell_, an accurate authority, speaking of the Superior region,
says: 'The traveler finds the whole district to within a few miles of
Lake Superior, abounding in every resource which will make a country
wealthy and prosperous. Clear, beautiful lakes are interspersed, and
these have plenty of large trout and other fish. Water and water
powers are everywhere to be found, and the timber is of the best
kind--maple groves, beech, oak, pine, etc. No thing is now wanted but
a few roads to open this rich country to the settler, and it will
soon teem with villages, schools, mills, farming operations, and every
industrial pursuit, which the more southern portion of our State now
exhibits.'
"Turning to the immense territory north and northwest of Superior and
the Straits, now constituting a portion of the British Dominions, and
every part of which must be tributary to Mackinaw, we find that it
affords, like Prussia and Poland, a fine agricultural region for all
the breadstuffs and vegetables which are raised in the northern part
of Europe. A writer in the _Toronto Globe_, exhibiting the value of a
canal from Georgian Bay to Toronto--(a canal, the whole commerce of
which coming from the northwest, must first have passed the Straits of
Mackinaw) says: 'Westward we possess vast and fertile countries
adapted to all the pursuits of agriculture life, countries susceptible
to the highest cultivation and improvement. Between Lake Superior and
the Lake of the Woods (above 49 deg. of latitude), we possess a country of
this description, in soil and character inferior to no part of
Minnesota, and bordering upon this territory lies the valley of the
Assinibone, or the Red River, as it is sometimes called. As a wheat
growing country, it will rival Canada. It does so now in soil and
climate.' The writer is here speaking of British possessions north of
Lake Superior, and several degrees north of Mackinaw. He says they
are as fertile and grain-growing as Canada, and Canada we know already
produces not only its own breadstuffs, but large quantities for
exportation. The valley of the Assinibone, referred to, and the whole
region west of Superior to the Lake of the Woods and the Red River,
can have no market outlet except through Lake Superior, and thence
near the Straits of Mackinaw. The writer sees this, and says: 'The
future products of these immense countries must seek the seaboard, and
all the canals and railroads which can be constructed will scarce
suffice to afford facilities for the products of the West.'
"Let us next examine the Southern Peninsula of Michigan. If the
country far north of it is so productive, it can scarcely happen that
this can be very deficient, although not ranked among the most fertile
districts. On this point, we need only cite the same accurate
authority to which we have referred. He says: 'The numerous streams
which penetrate every portion of the peninsula, some of which are
navigable for steamboats a considerable distance from the lake, being
natural outlets for the products of the interior, render this whole
region desirable for purposes of settlement and cultivation.' Even as
far north as the Straits of Mackinaw, the soil and climate, together
with the valuable timber, offer great inducements to settlers; and if
the proposed railroads under the recent grant of large portion of
these lands by Congress, are constructed from and to the different
points indicated, this extensive and heavily timbered region will
speedily be reclaimed, and become one of the most substantial and
prosperous agricultural portions of the West.' After speaking of the
timber in that country, the same writer adds: 'But as the timber is
exhausted, the soil is prepared for cultivation, and a large portion
of the _northern part_ of the southern peninsula of Michigan will be
settled and cultivated, as it is _the most reliable wheat-growing
portion of the Union_.'
"The Detroit Daily Tribune of 1857, says: "Michigan is greatly
undervalued because greatly unknown. The tide of emigration sweeps
past us to Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, because the public
do not know--what is but the sober truth--that Michigan possesses
advantages unrivaled by any sister State in the Northwest, and an
undeveloped wealth that will far exceed any one of those named. This
is not a random statement, originating in State pride or
self-interest, but the simple truth which is slowly being found out by
the shrewd among men. We propose to speak of some of the advantages
which we possess in the northern half of our lower peninsula, as yet
almost uninhabited and unknown.
"'No other State can boast of such valuable forests of such perfect
timber. Already our lumber trade exceeds in value and importance that
in any other staple products, not excepting wheat, while if it were to
increase in the ratio of the past five years, in five years more it
would exceed all the other staples united, excepting only copper. But
such a rate of increase would exhaust the pine timber to a great
extent within ten years' time. Yet the demand for pine lumber is
absolutely unlimited, and cannot be met.
"Look for a moment at the vast region depending upon the pineries of
Michigan for its supply of lumber for building purposes of every
kind--houses, fence and shelter of every description. The great States
of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, and the Territory of Minnesota,
depend almost solely upon Michigan, and must do so. The present
season, lumber has been taken from the forest of southwestern New York
and northern Pennsylvania, and sold in the market of St. Louis, so
urgent is the demand and so entirely inadequate are the present or
prospective rates of supply for that demand. We have before us the
statistics of the lumber trade of the different States and the
principal markets in the country, but of what use is a parade of
figures when a simple fact will show that the value of the pine forest
of Michigan _must_ be? Take the State Iowa alone. If every quarter
section were to be enclosed with a common post and board fence, it
would take every foot of pine on the soil of Michigan! Leave out of
sight the great Territory of Minnesota, which can find but a mere drop
of supply from the pineries of the Upper Mississippi. Leave out of
sight the great State of Illinois, which depends upon us wholly.
Forget entirely that villages are springing up like magic all along
the lines of a dozen railroads running from Lake Michigan to the
Mississippi; that cities are growing and spreading with unprecedented
rapidity--and that every town and village, and city, and farm, must
have its dwellings, and that the cheapest and best material for
construction is pine. Leave all these out of the calculation, and
remember only that one of these States would consume all our vast
forests of pine in _fence boards alone_, and the dullest comprehension
can perceive, with all these other demands of which we have spoken, in
all those other regions, the value of the pine region is as certain as
though it were a gold mine. And when we consider the pressing need for
material whereof to build over all the western prairies, the wealth
of northern Michigan cannot be put at any low amount. It must be
immense--untold.
"After the timber shall have been removed in obedience to the pressing
demands of a cash market and high prices, the value of northern
Michigan will just begin to be developed. The soil possesses riches of
which the heavy growth of timber is the outcropping. Rich as any
prairie land, even more substantial in the elements of fertility, with
a genial climate, southern Michigan, itself a garden, we predict will
have to yield the palm of productive wealth to this portion of the
State. Any one who will take the trouble to examine a map of this half
of the State, projected on an extended scale, cannot fail to be struck
with the superabundant water privileges that exist. It is literally
covered with navigable rivers, and their tributaries, large streams,
like the veins in the human system. These waters reach the remotest
part and thread every portion, affording unfailing supplies and
thousands of valuable sites for mills of every description and of all
magnitudes. The State is divided near its geographical centre by a
slight ridge, sufficient to divide the course of its streams. Two of
the largest rivers of the State, the Manistee and the Eastern Au
Sauble, rise within about three miles of each other, run parallel,
southward, for twenty miles or more, approaching then within half a
mile of each other, then turning abruptly almost due east and west,
emptying into Lakes Michigan and Huron respectively on almost the same
parallel of latitude.
"The Grand Traverse region, embracing the valley of the Manistee, is
also one of the finest agricultural regions of the State; lying in the
northerly portion, this region still has a mild climate, and the
finest grains and fruits are raised at the settlements, as far north
as the bay.
"Much might be said of other counties throughout this region. The
whole slope of the peninsula embracing the courses of the Muskegon and
Manistee Rivers, and from Grand River to Mackinaw, is a region of rich
soil, excellent timber of all kinds, good climate, and of easy access.
"The counties in the eastern part of the State, Alpena, Alcona, Iosco,
Arrenac, and others north of Saginaw Bay, well situated, having a
large extent of coast on Lake Huron, are not so well adapted for
agricultural purposes, there is much good farming land in them all;
but the forests of pine extending to within a few miles of the coast,
render them very desirable. Alcona county, watered by Thunder Bay
River, with some smaller streams emptying into Lake Huron, is almost
wholly a pine region. Some of the finest specimens of yellow, or
Norway pine, in the whole State are found in this country. The white
and yellow pine is nearly equally distributed in this region,
extending also into the counties south, and reaching Rifle River in
Saginaw and Arrenac counties, having an outlet on Saginaw Bay.
"This part of the State, upon whose advantages we have not space to
particularize as we would like, will be very soon penetrated by
railroads.
"There are _three_ roads contemplated by the Act of Congress granting
lands to this State at its last session. These, if built, will add
more to the development of the natural wealth of Michigan than
anything heretofore proposed in the way of public improvement.
"The different routes pass through some of the best counties in the
State, and the opening of such thoroughfares will induce a tide of
emigration, such as will soon render northern Michigan what it ought
to be, one of the most important points in the West.
"The State of Michigan is in all respects more favorably situated than
any of the Western States, being surrounded by the lakes and with
railroads extending in every direction, affording the most
extraordinary opportunities to reach markets of every class, great or
small.
"With these natural advantages of transportation considered with the
immense natural resources of this region (soil and timber) no one will
doubt the very great value of Michigan lands.
"Fruit of all kinds is abundant in every part of this State. All our
exchanges from the interior are acknowledging presents of luscious
peaches, plums, pears, apples, etc., etc. This is as it should be. May
they all, each succeeding year, be remembered in like manner.
"What is here said of the northern part of Michigan, is directly
applicable to Wisconsin, the northern half of which must contribute
directly to Mackinaw. Of the agricultural capacity of this new State,
we need say no more, than that it has already attained half a million
of inhabitants, and pours forth its surplus products though the ports
of Lake Michigan.
"Of Minnesota, and its productiveness, less is known. As three-fourths
of that rich and beautiful country, and the regions around the heads
of the Mississippi, must contribute to the commercial importance of
Mackinaw, let us glance at its agricultural capacity and prospects.
Minnesota, of which we heard but yesterday, has now two hundred
thousand inhabitants, produces this year two millions of bushels of
wheat. St. Paul, its principal town has fourteen thousand inhabitants,
and far to the northwest from St. Peters to the Red River, and
Assinibone, the settlers are crowding in to till farms and create
towns, where but recently the wild wolf and the wilder savage, alone
possessed the face of the earth. In latitudes higher than that of
Mackinaw, Michigan or Canada West, settlements are forming, and it
requires no flight of imagination to see that beautiful land of lakes,
rivers, forests, and prairies,--cold as it may be in winter--settled,
tilled, and civilized. The fact of its rapid progress in population,
is sufficient proof of its agricultural capacity; but we shall again
refer to the testimony of actual observers. Turning to Mr. Ferris's
first description of the Northwest, we find his summing of the
climate, and agricultural advantages of Upper Minnesota. 'Minnesota is
destined to become a great agricultural, and grazing region. Its
upland and lowland plains would support a dairy that would enrich an
empire. All the principal grains, and roots thrive there in great
vigor, as high toward the north as Pembina, below the dividing line
between the United States and British America. Latitude does not
always indicate the climate as has already been shown. The character
of the soil has great influence upon the temperature of the air. A
quick warm soil makes a warm atmosphere. The autumns of Minnesota are
greatly lengthened out by the Indian summer, that smoky, dreary, balmy
season, which protects the surface from frost, like a mantle flung
upon the earth. The cold nips the vegetation, about as early along the
Ohio, as along the St. Peters. The winters of Minnesota are cold; but
then they are still and calm, and the icy air does not penetrate, as
it does in a windy climate.'
"In the brief review of the agricultural advantages of that great
northwestern region, whose centre of commerce must ever be at
Mackinaw; we have arrived at the certain fact, that except small
portions of the Superior country, where mining and mines absorb all
other interests, no country in the northern part of America or Europe,
has greater advantages. It is filled with inexhaustible springs, and
streams; fertile in soil, rich in production, and only needs the
cultivating hand of man, to render it capable of sustaining such dense
populations as now inhabit the same isothermal parallel in Prussia and
Poland.
"Let us now turn to its forests, mines, fisheries and resources, which
though not bread, are those from which the implements, conveniences,
and much of the wealth of civilization is derived. Of forests,
furnishing almost illimitable quantities of timber and lumber--this is
the very centre. Of this, we have evidence in the wharves of Chicago,
Milwaukee, Detroit, and far down the lakes. The testimony of actual
observers on this point, is so strong as to seem almost incredible. We
shall cite but two or three unquestionable authorities. The peninsula,
of Michigan is at the present moment, one of the greatest depositories
of lumber in the world. Mr. Ferris says: 'On going toward the north,
the lumber becomes more and more plentiful. Beeches begin to mingle
with the oaks, and in a day or two beeches and maples will predominate
over other varieties of timbers; large white-woods and bass-woods will
be seen towering above the forest. The white ash, the shag bark, the
black cherry, will have become abundant. The woods will seem to have
been growing deeper and denser every mile of the way. Soon the
traveler will doubt, whether Omnipotence himself could have planted
the trees larger, taller, and thicker together, than they are.'
"Pressing still forward, the emigrant will enter the great pine woods
of the north. For a while, however, before reaching them, he will have
been wandering through groves of oak, and along the borders of
natural meadows, and through clumps of beech and maple. But soon, as
with a single step, the timber has become all pine--yellow pine,
moaning overhead, darkening all the ground, shutting out the sun,
shutting out the wind." The tall trunks support the dark green canopy
full fifty feet above the earth. This belt of pine woods, stretches
across the peninsula of Michigan from Saginaw Bay. After a while as
you proceed further to the north, the pine grows thinner, and is
succeeded by other timber. "The level lands again become covered with
beech and maple, of a full and convenient growth, with here and there
a gigantic Norway pine, six feet through without limb, till it begins
to stretch up half its length above the surrounding trees.
"In northern Wisconsin, we find another great pinery, in which, in one
year, was sawed not less than two hundred millions of feet of pine
timber. The same authority to which we have frequently referred, says:
"Still further north and northwest, is one of the finest tracts of
pine land in America, through which the streams tumbling down frequent
falls, afford an incalculable amount of water-power, just where it is
most needed for the manufacture of lumber. The Wisconsin forest of
evergreens is perfectly immense, covering one-third the State. The
prairies of the Upper Wisconsin and its tributaries, are at the
present most extensive, and those are distinguished still more for the
fine quality, than for the inexhaustible quantities of the timber."
In the same manner, an immense forest extends over the upper part of
Minnesota, while far to the northwest in the British possessions,
extend deep forests of pine, spruce, and hemlock. It is evident,
therefore, that on the great current of the Straits of Mackinaw, there
will float for generations to come, all the timber and lumber, which
are necessary for the markets of commerce, or the uses of a growing
population.
Nor are the fisheries to be neglected, in any right estimate of the
natural resources of that region. Not only do the one hundred thousand
square miles of lakes and streams, furnish illimitable quantities of
fish; but they furnish varieties, which are nowhere else to be found,
and which an epicurean taste has long since pronounced among the
richest luxuries of the palate. The lake trout, the Mackinaw trout,
the Muskelunge, and the white fish, are celebrated throughout America.
Good fishing grounds occur all along the north shore of Lake Superior,
affording a bountiful supply. On the south shore, there are fisheries
at White Fish Point, Grand Island near the Pitcairn's Rodes, Keweenaw
Point, La Point, and Apostles' Islands, and at different stations on
Isle Royal, where large quantities are taken and exported. Mackinac
Island alone exports yearly a quarter million of dollars' worth.
The site of Old Mackinaw, now the county seat of Emmet county, and its
surroundings, belonged to the Government of the United States until
the year 1853, when Edgar Conkling, Esq., of Cincinnati, realizing its
importance as a vast commercial centre, and one of the finest
positions for a great city, formed a company consisting of seven
persons, and entered at the Land Office in Ionia, Michigan, near one
thousand eight hundred acres. In 1857 that portion embracing the
ancient site of Old Mackinaw was surveyed and divided into lots. Mr.
Conkling has, recently, become the sole proprietor of the city, and
intends devoting his energies to its development. A pamphlet,
published some time since, describes it as follows:
"The streets of the city are laid out eighty feet in width, and the
avenues from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet respectively. In
the deed of dedication to the public, of these streets and avenues,
provision is made for side-walks fifteen feet in width on each side,
to be forever unobstructed by improvements of any kind, shade trees
excepted, thus securing a spacious promenade worthy of a place
destined to become a principal resort for health and pleasure.
Provision is also made for the proper use of the streets and avenues
by railroad companies adequate to the demands of the business of a
city. The lots, with the exception of those in fractional blocks, are
fifty by one hundred and fifty feet, thus affording ample room for
permanent, convenient, and ornamental improvement."
The park, now laid off and dedicated to the city, embraces the grounds
of Old Fort Mackinaw, sacred in the history of the country. These
grounds, now in their natural condition, are unequaled for beauty of
surface, location, soil, trees, etc., by any park in any city in the
country, and when the skillful hand of the horticulturist has marked
its outline and threaded it with avenues and paths, pruned its trees,
and carpeted its surface with green, it will present the very
perfection of all that makes a park delightful. The character of the
soil, being a sandy loam, with sand and gravel underlying it, renders
it capable of the easiest and most economical improvement, securing
walks always dry, hard, and smooth. The park, with suitable blocks and
lots for county and city purposes, such as public buildings,
schoolhouses, etc., will be duly appropriated to those uses, whenever
the proper authorities are prepared to select suitable sites; and lots
for churches, institutions of learning, and charity, will be fully
donated to parties contemplating early improvements. Thus the
proprietor proposes to anticipate, by avoiding the errors of older
cities, the wants of Mackinaw city in perpetuity, and free forever its
citizens from taxation for any grounds required for the public good.
He also designs to place it in the power of the General Government, to
secure, by like donation at an early day, the grounds necessary for
such fortifications as the wants of the country and commerce may
require, on the simple condition of speedy improvement. This liberal
policy will best promote the true interests of the city and country,
and at the same time be productive of pecuniary profit to the
proprietors and all who may make investments at that point.
The proprietor intends also to expend a large portion of the income
from sales in providing for the public wants by the construction of
docks at the most important points, and the establishment of ferries,
for which he has purchased the land on the opposite side of the
straits. He intends to make loans also, as his means will justify, to
aid parties in the establishment of manufactories.
Building materials of great variety and in abundance are at hand.
Lumber can be had for the mere cost of preparation, and the soil, at
no distant point, is suitable for making bricks; while for immediate
use, Milwaukee can furnish the articles of the best kind in any
quantities. The shores of Lake Superior abound with exhaustless
quantities of granite, sandstone and marble; the limestone and sand
are on the spot.
Three fine harbors adjoin Mackinaw; the one on the east being the most
spacious, and the best protected. The new United States charts show
the depth of water sufficient for vessels of the largest size
navigating the lakes. As many as thirty vessels have been at anchor in
this harbor. The country in the rear of Mackinaw rises gradually
until, at the distance of a mile or two, it rises into an elevation of
high table land, from points of which there is a fine view of the
straits and surrounding islands. A mountainous ridge extends up to
within two miles of Mackinaw, covered with a dense forest of hard
wood. The southern extremity of this range reaches to the head waters
of the Grand and Saginaw rivers. From two to ten miles south of
Mackinaw are several beautiful lakes, surrounded by a rich, warm soil
of great fertility and covered with a heavy forest of hard wood, some
of which has attained a gigantic growth. These lakes abound with fish
of different varieties. Turtles have been taken from them, measuring
from one and a half to two feet in diameter. Almost every kind of game
can be found in the woods bordering upon these lakes, such as the
black bear, raccoon, martin, fox, lynx, rabbit, ducks, partridges and
pigeons.
CHAPTER XI.
The entrepot of a vast commerce -- Surface drained --
Superiority of Mackinaw over Chicago as a commercial point --
Exports and imports -- Michigan the greatest lumber-growing
region in the world -- Interminable forests of the choicest
pine -- Facilities for market -- Annual product of the
pineries -- Lumbering, mining and fishing interests --
Independent of financial crises -- Mackinaw, the centre of a
great railroad system -- Lines terminating at this point --
North and South National Line -- Canada grants -- Growth of
northwestern cities -- Future growth and prosperity of
Mackinaw -- Chicago -- Legislative provisions for opening
roads in Michigan -- The Forty Acre Homestead Bill -- Its
provisions.
The physical resources of this region are of such a nature and variety
as to make Mackinaw city the entrepot of a vast commerce. This will
appear, if we consider that it is the nearest point of that extensive
district, including the entire north of the lakes inaccessible to
Chicago. When all the lines of internal communication are completed,
and the different points on the lakes settled down upon, then the
real limits of Mackinaw will drain a geographical surface of three
hundred thousand square miles; deducting the surface of the lakes from
which, there will remain two hundred and eighty thousand square miles
of country, with all the resources of agriculture and mining in the
most extraordinary degree. It will be nearly three-fold that which can
be drained by Chicago, and in point of territory, whether of quantity
or quality, Mackinaw is vastly superior, as a commercial point. With
the exception of a small portion of the mineral region, the
agricultural advantages of Michigan, Upper Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Canada West, and the Superior country, are at least equal, at the
present time, to the district shipping at Chicago, while it is more
extensive, and will have a large home market in a country affording
diversity of employment. Nothing can be more obvious, than the
superior advantages of Mackinaw, as a manufacturing point, over any
other on the lake coast.
The value of exports and imports which flow through the Straits of
Mackinaw and the Saut St. Mary was estimated a year or two since at
over _one hundred millions of dollars_. But, who can estimate a
commerce which every year increases in many fold? In 1856, there were
sent through the St. Mary Canal 11,000 tons of raw iron, 1,040 tons
of blooms, and 10,452,000 lbs. of copper; and the commercial value of
what passed through the canal amounted to upward $5,000,000. But
perhaps the most correct idea of the rapid increase of commerce in
Lake Superior may be taken from the arrivals at Superior City for the
last three years, taken from the Superior Chronicle of January, 1857.
In 1854 there were two steamboats and five sail vessels. In 1855 there
were twenty-three steamers, and ten sail vessels; and in 1856 forty
steamers and sixteen sail vessels.
We thus see that in three years the increase was seven-fold. It is
scarcely possible to imagine the limits of northwestern commerce on
the lake, when a few years shall have filled up with inhabitants the
surrounding territories.
According to the testimony of Senator Hatch, made on the floor of
Congress on the 25th of February, 1859, there were over one thousand
six hundred vessels navigating the northwestern lakes, of which the
aggregate burden was over four hundred thousand tons. They were manned
by over thirteen thousand seamen, navigating over five thousand miles
of lake and river coast, and transporting over six hundred millions of
exports and imports, being greater than the exports and imports of
the United States.
The State of Michigan is the greatest lumber-growing region in the
world, not only on account of its interminable forests of the choicest
pine, but in the remarkable facilities for getting it to market. With
a lake coast, on the lower peninsula alone, of over one thousand
miles--with numberless watercourses debouching at convenient distances
into her vast inland seas--she enjoys advantages which mighty empires
might envy. Her white-winged carriers are sent to almost every point
of the compass with the product of her forests, which, wherever it may
go, is the sign of improvement and progress, while by the large
expenditures involved in the manufacture, and the employment of
thousands of hardy laborers, the general prosperity is materially
enhanced, and a market opened within her own borders for a
considerable share of the surplus production of her own soil.
The annual product of the pineries alone amount to the sum of _ten and
a half millions of dollars_. The lumbering, mining, and fishing
interest combine to furnish by far the best home market in the Union,
and one which in seasons when a large surplus is not compelled to seek
a market, can boast its independence of the "bulls" and "bears" of
the great commercial metropolis. The dense forests in the interior of
the State have not yet been reached, and when the contemplated roads
are made, a field will be presented for the investment of capital of a
most remunerative character.
The government has already taken such steps as will soon make Mackinaw
the centre of a great railroad system. We need only refer to the
actual facts in order to make this clear. Congress, by an act passed
in 1855-6, granted to the State of Michigan a large body of land for
railroad purposes, designating four routes. 1. From Little Noquet Bay
to Marquette, in the Superior country. 2. From Amboy, on the
State-line of Ohio, through Lansing to or near Mackinaw. 3. From Grand
Rapids to Mackinaw. 4. From Grand Haven to Port Huron. It will be seen
that this plan is formed on the basis of a direct line from Lake
Superior through the mineral regions to Lake Michigan. The law
fortunately permitted the last two companies to make their lines at or
_near_ Traverse Bay, and as Mackinaw is but comparatively a short
distance, both companies have wisely concluded to terminate their
lines at Mackinaw. It is at once evident that the Michigan line,
centering at Mackinaw, must be met _there_, by railroads penetrating
various sections of the northern peninsula. This is evident, and we
understand is already foreseen, and measures will be adopted to
accomplish that end. In the mean time, let us examine the prospects
and influence of the two long lines of Michigan railway terminating at
Mackinaw. The whole amount of land granted to the Michigan railways is
estimated to be about 3,880,000 acres. From this, however, there will
be some deduction in consequence of lands already selected, and which
may not be supplied by the quantity within the limited distance. The
deficiency will not be great, and we understand that the amount
estimated for the two Mackinaw roads will scarcely be less than _two
millions of acres_. Of the quantity and value of these lands, we give
the estimate made by these roads, as well as the cost of construction.
The estimate made by the _Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad_ is as
follows:
"The proximity to lake navigation; having several navigable rivers
passing through them, the abundance of hydraulic power, the
healthfulness of the climate, the fertility of the soil; and lying
immediately on the line of this road, are facts which contribute to
enhance the value of these lands.
"The length of this road from the Straits of Mackinaw to Fort Wayne,
will be about three hundred and fifty miles. If the company meet with
as good success as the merits of the enterprise deserve, the entire
cost of the road should not be over $25,000 per mile, which makes an
aggregate sum of $8,759,000."
On the supposition that the minimum amount of land is obtained and
sold, at half the price above stated, there will yet be broad enough
basis to secure the construction of the work.
The Amboy and Lansing Company are equally confident of success. They
have also located a large quantity of land, and expect their value to
be equivalent to the construction of their road. Accordingly, they
have put a portion of their road under contract, and have obtained
large local subscriptions.
Both these lines of railroad will terminate at Mackinaw, on the north,
and Cincinnati on the south; hence they will be carried south till
they terminate at Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and Pensacola, thus
forming the grandest and most extensive system of railroads on the
continent. Nothing in America equals it--nothing in Europe can compare
with it! When all the links shall have been completed, it will stand
out the greatest monument to human labor and genius which the world
presents.
The single line from Mackinaw to Pensacola has been looked upon as one
of the most important undertakings of the age. We extract from the
"Exposition of its Plan and Prospects," by E. D. Mansfield, Esq., some
of the facts, which exhibit its importance, and bearing, and influence
on Mackinaw City.
"To illustrate," says the Exposition, "the value of this North and
South National Line, by its power of producing commerce, mark, in a
tabular form, the natural products of each degree of latitude, thus:--
_States._ _Latitude._ _Productions._
Florida, 31 deg. Oranges.
" 31 " Sugar.
" 31 " Cotton.
Alabama, 32 " "
" 33 " "
" 34 " Cotton, Corn.
Tennessee, 35 " " "
" 36 " Cotton, corn, tobac., iron.
Kentucky, 37 " Corn, tobac., coal, iron.
" 38 " Corn, wh't, cat. tob. h'mp.
Ohio, 39 " Corn, wh't, cat. h'gs, wine.
" 40 " Wh't, c'rn, h'gs, cat., flax.
" 41 " Wheat, corn, cattle.
Michigan, 42 " Wheat, cattle, hay, wool.
" 43 " Pine, cedar, coal.
" 44 " Pine, cedar, coal.
" 45 " Pine, hemlock, cedar.
" 46 " Pine, copper, lead, fish.
"This statement is enough to show an extraordinary stimulus to
commerce, on a line of railway. The length of the entire line will be
less than half that which is proposed to be made from Cincinnati and
other cities to San Francisco; yet, will pass through varieties of
production, which that line cannot have. In two days, every inhabitant
on that line may be supplied, from their native source, with sugar,
cotton, corn, wheat, tobacco, iron, coal, lead, copper, pine, cedar,
with wool, flour, hemp, and fruits of every description; with fish of
the sea and fish of the lakes; with bread, and oil, and wine; in fine,
with everything that supports, clothes, or houses man; with everything
that supplies his wants, or contributes to his material happiness."
It is obvious, that such a line of railroad as this--peculiar in its
resources, vast in its comprehensions, and embracing in its grasp all
the products of tropic or of temperate climes--must, of itself, rear,
at its _termini_, commercial towns of great importance. But, this is
not all. The road from Grand Haven to Port Huron will intersect the
Amboy and Lansing line about midway, and then a railroad will at once
be made in the direction of the Canada lines and Buffalo--completing
the _radii_ from the far northwest through Mackinaw, to the eastern
Atlantic. The natural point of termini for the Northern Pacific and
Canada Railroads is also at the Straits of Mackinaw. The one giving
financial strength and business to the other, connecting Portland with
the mouth of Columbia by the nearest possible route.
Canada has already granted four million acres of land to railroads
running to Saut St. Mary. Those having the management of the Northern
Pacific railroad will do well to consider the propriety of
co-operating and uniting with the Canada and Pacific Railroad at the
Straits.
The following from the New York Daily News is valuable in this
connection. It is from the pen of E. Conkling, Esq.:--
"You will please excuse me for calling your attention, not to the
importance of a Pacific railroad, for that is conceded, and our
country is suffering from want of it, but to the mode of getting the
means to construct the Northern Pacific railroad. I don't remember to
have noticed as yet any allusion to this method, or any other
practical one, and I trust you will consider the suggestions, and add
thereto any other methods.
"The railroads now provided for and made to St. Paul, and Crow Wing
from Chicago and Milwaukee will have exhausted local means, State aid
and available land grants. However desirable it may be to sustain
those roads by a business beyond that, and to the country beyond that,
by extending the Northern Pacific Railroad, yet for want of means it
cannot be done, unless foreign capitalists can be induced by land
grants, at least to invest sufficient to make the road finally, and be
made to see that their present large unproductive investments in
Canada railroads can be made productive in the use of more of their
capital.
"Canada railroads lie _too far North_ to receive any benefit in
business from railroads terminating from the northwest as far south as
Chicago, and but little from the railroads terminating at Milwaukee,
as the cost of transhipment and delay to cross by steam ferry eight
months yearly at Milwaukee with eighty-five miles ferriage, must
divert the trade and travel either to the north or south end of Lake
Michigan, and every year will render that delay and cost more
unpopular. And yet to get that trade the Great Western Railroad of
Canada have permanently invested $750,000, in the Detroit and
Milwaukee Railroad, and recently loaned a half a million more,
demonstrating the idea I shall advance, that to make good present
investments more means can be had. The State of Michigan itself will
furnish a good trade to roads through it and to roads east of it.
"The Straits of Mackinaw is the great natural ferry of about four
miles wide for roads of Michigan and Canada to centre, the point
necessarily for the passage of lake commerce, and for a large
population north of it to cross, naturally attracting and combining
elements of great importance to railroads.
"Land grants are now made to the straits from the south. The Grand
Trunk and Great Western Railroads of Canada can go to the Straits of
Mackinaw, aided by those grants. The Ottawa and Huron Railroad to Saut
St. Mary, may also go to the Straits, aided by land grants from Saut
St. Mary. From there the three Canadian railroads, aided by land
grants yet to be made, can go to Crow Wing or near there, and there
form a junction with the Chicago roads--thence to the Pacific, aided
by land grants.
"By affording the Canada interest a chance for a portion of the
Pacific trade, and thus making present Canada investments profitable,
it is made the interest of foreign capitalists to make our Northern
Pacific railroad.
"This protective interest to Canada railroads is the greatest
inducement to be offered them.
"They will not invest in the road beyond Crow Wing, simply for the
sake of grants of lands, made valuable only by the outlay of their
money; even should the lands finally redeem the previous outlay for
the road, that is no object, because the road will not pay more than
cost of running and sustaining it, and if it should some beyond that,
it will be frittered away by bad management and stealing. At least it
is fair to suppose so, and hence they must be assured of enough of
land grants to finally make the road, which of itself will pay
nothing, only in the way of affording the roads east of Crow Wing,
owned by them, fair dividends. This consideration will of itself
induce them to furnish capital to the Pacific, and it is in the power
of the government thus to interest them. No other proposed route can
claim foreign aid because of such good reasons. Our government can aid
only in lands; in valueless lands she is or may be wealthy. No bill
can pass Congress, only by affording equal aid in lands to the
Northern, Central and Southern routes, each standing on their
commercial merits before capitalists.
"The chance for us thus to enlist them, is but for a limited time.
Soon they will become committed to the North Canada Pacific Road,
north of Lake Superior, when they will not help ours, and thus
protract ours for want of means and competing road. At present, two of
the most important Canada roads can be enlisted in the above views,
because if the Canada road north of Lake Superior is made, it will
divert the trade from them, they being too far south to be benefited.
But by going to the Straits of Mackinaw, they secure a division of the
Western trade--among the three roads. The road through the mineral
regions will develop that country and afford a good market for the
produce of the country west of it.
"Chicago is no more on the direct route from the East to Iowa, than is
Mackinaw city on the direct route to the northwest from New York.
"Lake Michigan naturally forces such a division of the Western and
Northwestern trade, and the Strait of Mackinaw is most favorably
situated for crossing. Cars can be transferred by ferry boat from
point to point, without delay or cost of train shipment.
"That country is nearer to market than any other Western State;
cheaper lands and good soil, and healthy climate, and a superior wheat
country, affording employment in lumbering, fishing, mining,
manufacturing, &c., offering great inducements to foreigners, and of
interest to New York, to be settled."
The history of the West has presented some remarkable facts, contrary
to the ordinary experience of human progress. It is assumed, as an
historical fact, in European or Asiatic progress, that the growth of
towns and states must be slow. It requires generations to bring them
to maturity, and even imperial power has failed to create cities,
without the aid of time and gradual increase. But, this has been
reversed in America. We cannot take it for granted that because the
natural site of a town is now clothed with the forest, and remote from
habitations, that it will not become a prosperous city, within a
half-dozen years. For, we know that in the Northwest, cities have
arisen on a substantial basis, to a numerous population, in a space so
brief that history has no record of their existence, and the school
maps no name for the place of their being.
Chicago which commenced its growth in 1834, had a population in 1857,
of 100,000, Milwaukee in twenty-one years rose to 50,000, St. Paul in
fifteen years to 15,000; Keokuk in eighteen years to 15,000, Grand
Rapids in twelve years to 8000; Saginaw city in twenty-two years 4000,
and Superior city in the short space of two years to 4000.
We thus see, that, in the Northwest, cities do grow up, in the midst
of the wilderness, and the wilderness itself soon blooms as the rose.
To say, then, that a point affording every natural and commercial
advantage for the growth of a large city is not _now_ a city, is to
say nothing against its position or prospects. Within the memory of a
generation the five great States, (which have heretofore been termed
the Northwest,) contained less then a half a million of people, and
Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, were not even
dots on the map of States. A mission or a military fort was all they
could boast. These States now contain six millions of inhabitants, and
the towns on the lake shore two hundred and fifty thousand. But to
present the point of growth, in the clearest point of view, let us
consider it dependent wholly on that of the surrounding country. This
we can tell almost precisely. We know the rate of growth in Michigan,
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada West.
Canada West in 1840, had a population of 640,000, in 1850, of
982,000, and in 1857, 1,100,000, Michigan in 1840, was 212,000, in
1850, 397,000, and in 1857, 700,000. The population of Wisconsin in
1840, was 30,000, in 1850, it was 305,991, and in 1857, it was
600,000. The increase in Minnesota in seventeen years was 200,000.
The annual _increment_ from 1840 to 1850, was 50,000 per annum, or
about six per cent. The annual increment from 1850 to 1857, was
172,000, or about twelve per cent. The _ratio_ of increase is,
therefore, increasing, and we may assume it will not be less than
_ten_ per cent, per annum till 1860. This will give 3,380,000 for
1860, or _fourfold the population_ of 1840! At a diminishing ratio the
territory round Mackinaw will contain 5,400,000 in 1870, and
(8,000,000) _eight millions_ in 1880. The principal city of the
district (wherever it may be) must then contain about _one hundred
thousand inhabitants_.