part of the territory, intending to take a look at Lake Michigan from
the mouth of the St. Joseph’s River. Our way lay through forests and
openings similar to those through which we had passed for days, but
afterwards we struck into the more heavily timbered land, which the
growth of the advancing season had clad with cumbrous garments of
foliage, closing up the vistas of beauty and light; in places denying
the summer sun its right to rest upon the flowers and shrubs it had
but lately warmed into being. At nearly noon, we came upon the edge
of a large prairie, the largest in the Territory, which although
much smaller than those spread farther westward, had still all the
distinctive features of those vast and undulating plains. The landscape
was expanded and beautiful, and yet one can scarcely make intelligible
the penetrating sentiment of its beauty. Perhaps the first influence
consisted in the sense of relief from the pent up feeling we had
experienced in the close pressure as it were, of the deep, dark forest
from which we emerged. In the centre of this plain was a collection of
‘innumerous boughs’ like an island in the midst of circling waters. The
prairie was begirt by a belt of timbered land, though the outline was
so dim in the distance, as rather to look like a lazy cloud resting for
support upon the verge of the horizon. We gave our horses the reins,
and they cantered merrily across the rich plain, the whole covered
in this early summer with short and close grass. Innumerable flowers
raised their variegated heads between the tiny meshes of network woven
by the wild pea, while the butterflies, with their bright tints and
quick fluttering wings, were perpetually upspringing, startled by our
approach. After crossing the prairie we again struck into the forest,
having previously stopped at the island inn for some refreshment.
“Towards evening, as was our wont, we felt that we must look along our
way for some lodging for the night. Our custom had been, except in the
villages, not to seek accommodation at the inns scattered at irregular
distances along the road. The new settlers continually moving in toward
their purchases, and the number of speculators in pursuit of locations
on which to raise, not dwellings, but future fortunes, so completely
filled them up, as to render it an impossibility to find for a lady
even momentary seclusion, much less repose. Our practice was as soon as
we found the shadows beginning to lengthen, to stop at the first decent
log house and ask for a drink of water. Getting the water afforded
time and opportunity for reconnoitering; and if the tin cup or basin
in which the draught was offered looked clean, and the premises in
any way inviting by comparison, we made the request that we could be
accommodated for the night. We had not on this evening seen any houses,
the tract of country through which we had been passing for some hours
being without settlement.
“On coming up to some woodmen whose gleaming axes told that their
whereabouts was near at hand, we stopped, and after exchanging mutual
glances of inquiry, my husband asked if they could tell us where we
could find a tavern? They looked at each other and then askance at
us. The question was repeated again; they looked bewildered, when
my husband thoughtfully changed his phrase and said--‘Where can I
stay to-night, and have good care taken of my horses?’ The answer
then came quickly--‘Oh, at Nicholas B--’s, the Hooshier’s, he has a
first-rate place, and takes in every night a great many folks.’ We made
two or three further inquiries and passed on, with our expectations
considerably raised in prospect of the promised accommodation.
“Just after sunset, we reached the place designated by the woodman, and
peering through the gloaming, I espied a good-sized frame barn, with
an enclosure, and all the appearance of a well stocked barn and rick.
I fairly screamed with delight, so important to our further journey
was the welfare of our horses, and so certain did the indication
seem of a comfortable resting place for my own wearied limbs. We
soon came out of the forest, upon the edge of a small prairie; there
stood the barn in very truth, but I looked around in vain for the
house which I had pictured in such glowing colors to myself, as
presenting some comparison in size and comfort to the barn. A sudden
chill of loneliness came over us. There lay the prairie, about three
hundred acres in extent, shrubless and bare, except the patches of
recent cultivation, which, however, in the dim light, gave but little
indication of richness or growth. The trees shut us in completely, and
after traversing the deep forest as we had been for hours, we could not
even let imagination picture a livelier or brighter scene beyond. Night
came rapidly on, while we stood baffled, without a present sign of
human existence. Our horses had for a mile or two been lagging, perhaps
in memory of the morning scamper and noon-day refreshment; and now the
whole group seemed peculiarly sensible of the influence of solitude,
which in us soon resolved itself into utter dreariness. A fresh glance
of scrutiny, however, enabled us to descry a very small hut jutting
into the woods, as uninviting a log house as we had seen in all our
wanderings. We both looked at it for some moments without speaking,
so completely paralyzed were all our high raised expectations. I then
exclaimed, ‘We cannot stay in that hovel.’ But fastidiousness was soon
displaced by eagerness with me, when my husband calmly said--‘We must
find shelter there or in the barn, for no further can we go to-night.’
We urged our horses to the door; a well stood directly in front of
it, a rare and great treasure in a new settlement, and after grateful
notice of this, my husband entered the dwelling. He asked the woman
civilly, ‘if she could accommodate us for the night.’ Her answer came
quick in utterance and shrill in tone. ‘I suppose I shall have to,
any way.’ Such was our welcome. But necessity here giving no scope to
pride, or even wonted self-respect, obliged me to dismount and receive
the favor so grudgingly bestowed. The woman was perhaps about thirty
years of age, plain in feature, and old-fashioned beyond my memory in
attire. Her dress was a thick striped material, woven to defy time and
its ravages. It was unlike any fabric to which I had been accustomed.
It fitted the figure almost closely, low in the neck, with sleeves just
coming below the elbow. The dress was extremely short-waisted, without
a particle of fulness in the skirt, save the ordinary plaiting just
behind essential to convenience. She had on no shoes or stockings, and
a faded bandana handkerchief was tied in a loose knot around her neck.
Her hair was bound straight about her head, and fastened with some sort
of a metal comb, just large enough to perform its office.
“On my entrance a wooden chair was handed me, after being hurriedly
dusted; it was low and rickety, but it instantly bestowed the promise
of rest, which I so much craved after sitting so many hours in the
saddle. My husband, without entering the hut, went on the woman’s
vague direction to find the landlord, that our horses, whose prospects
of accommodation were so far beyond ours, might speedily receive
attention. As soon as he was gone, I essayed an acquaintance with my
hostess, and soon believed that her want of courtesy at our reception
proceeded more from a fear of not being able to make us comfortable,
than from vexation at the present trouble. Two children, the eldest
of them not more than two years of age, divided her care with the
present bustle of preparing a meal and entertaining me by rapid
talking. Her face became almost pleasant with the interest it soon
showed in transforming me into a newspaper, from which she could
extract without much trouble the information desired by woman, let
her nook of the world be ever so obscure, or her connection with the
things without ever so slight. I had in my daily progress become quite
used to this sort of questioning, and in some instances had to make
my tarrying a lasting memorial of usefulness, by drawing patterns
of certain garments, collars, caps, etc., with a coal on the floor
or table, where paper could not be had, so that when cloth could be
procured the latest mode might be used in its fashioning. While thus
engaged in conversation, growing in self importance every moment, and
quite forgetting that I was an unwished-for guest, I took a survey of
the house. It was, of course, built of logs, fourteen feet by sixteen;
its sides five feet six inches in height, and the roof covered with
strips of bark. A few scattering boards made the floor. It had not
the ordinary stick and round chimney common to log houses, but a sort
of box was made of split logs at one end of the room; this was filled
in with dirt and ashes, and the fire built in the centre of it. An
opening in the ill-made roof permitted the smoke to find egress, though
occasional puffs during the process of getting supper, advised us of
its loitering presence. After my survey of the room itself, I began
to take notice of the furniture, and more especially of its sleeping
facilities. Two bedsteads, each sustained by _one_ post---quite an
anomaly in my previous experience of cabinet furniture; a large chest,
which had evidently borne journeying when the essay at house-keeping
was made away from the paternal home; a small box of home manufacture,
and some other absolute essentials to the wants of even the poorest
dwelling, constituted its wealth. I must add a note of description of
the bedsteads. Two sides were formed by the projection of the logs of
which the hut was made into the room; the _one_ post supported the
other two pieces, which were on the other ends inserted into the sides
of the house. Feather-beds were heaped high upon them, and these were
covered with blue and white woollen coverlids, doubtless part of the
portion brought by the young wife to her husband. Small pillows, with
clean-looking cotton pillow-cases, completed their decoration.
“I had noticed that my hostess, during her bustle and constant chat
with me, had gone frequently to the door, and looked anxiously into the
increasing darkness, I of course supposed from no other motive than
a desire to find out whether my husband had found hers, and secured
attention for our horses. But not so interested was she in her stranger
guests. At another visit to the low door, her anxiety could not be
restrained, and she exclaimed, ‘I wonder where my children can be!
They ought to have been here more than an hour ago; they are always
out of the way when I want them.’ I looked aghast. More children!
How many--how old! What could be done with them! I had been puzzling
myself to know how _six_ of us could be accommodated in the two beds,
and in this tiny room; and now an indefinite number to be expected,
how could we be made even tolerably comfortable? Speculation--quiet
though it was--was soon to be ended by more precise apprehension, when
_four_ children, three boys and a girl, came rushing from the woods
into the house, animated by all the buoyancy of hungry little mortals
just liberated from a day’s confinement and control. It being quite
dark without, the light, small as it was within the dwelling, formed a
strong contrast, and the little urchins were so suddenly arrested upon
perceiving a stranger, that they stood like so many statues, incapable
of thought or movement. The remonstrance of the mother quickly restored
them, and then began importunate demands for something to eat. Thus
there were six children, the father and mother, with ourselves, to be
stowed away for the night. It was in vain for me to speculate upon the
probable disposition of these numbers, so trusting as I had often done
before to the elastic capabilities of these log houses, I determined to
bide my time.
“Our host came in with my husband, both bending low in passing through
the door. My husband gave a wistful glance at me, and seemed reassured
when a _widened_ rather than a _lengthened_ face was turned upon him.
Truth to tell, I was almost convulsed with laughter at some of the
previous proceedings of my hostess. The ill-jointed planks which served
for our floor, were quickly brushed hither and thither with an Indian
broom (made of wood finely splintered); the flying dust seeming to
have no particular destination, save to seek new places of deposit.
The children were repeatedly hushed and pushed into sundry nooks and
corners, while the cooking of the supper went on. The little urchins
peered at the stranger, and anon played tricks with each other, when
a sudden burst, caused by outbreaking mischief, would occasion a new
effort at quieting. In process of time our supper was served, and ere
long we gathered to the meal. The table was an oaken plank, supported
by three stout sticks put into bored holes, for legs. A table-cloth
being altogether a superfluous luxury, we dispensed with it; some
bread, baked in an open kettle, pork fried in the same utensil, and
tea with maple sugar, formed the variety presented to us. Neither
milk nor butter were afforded, and yet we were at a regular house of
entertainment, kept by a large landed proprietor. Strange to say, the
meal was quite palatable, eaten with a healthful appetite after a
day’s ride on horseback of some thirty-five miles. Soon after tea, the
children being fed by pieces put into their hands during the time we
were supping, I ventured to hint, that as I was very tired I should
like to go to bed. The woman went to the chest which I had before
noticed, took out two clean sheets, spread them upon one of the feather
beds, and again put on the woollen coverlet, although it was a June
night, a fire burning briskly, and ten persons were to inhabit the
small apartment. Immediately after the bed was prepared, the hostess
said in an authoritative tone to her husband, ‘Nicholas, the lady
wishes to go to bed; turn your face to the wall.’ Nicholas, as if
accustomed to this nightly drill, wheeled swiftly about, and stood as
still as if suddenly become one of the scanty articles of furniture.
“This said Nicholas looked somewhat like a barbarian, his bushy head
and unshaven beard presenting quite a wild appearance. He however
seemed intelligent enough for his locality and business, and took
most excellent care of our horses. My toilet for the night was very
speedily made, and I threw myself on the bed, having first removed the
odious coverlet. Still no new developements were made in reference to
the accommodation of the youthful group; ere long, however, sundry
signs of sleepiness appeared, betokened by fretfulness and some
quarrelling, and then the mother proceeded to lift out two trundle beds
made of pieces of board nailed together. The absence of rollers made
the operation rather laborious, but the husband and father vouchsafed
not his aid. It was finally done by the woman alone, and into these
five of the little ones were speedily placed. Very soon after, the dim,
flickering light was put out, and we were left utterly abandoned, as I
feared, to suffocation. I remonstrated decidedly against the shutting
of the door, but was told there was fear of the wolves; and indeed
before morning our ears were saluted with the shrill, though somewhat
smothered howl of these prowlers of the forest. I bore the heat and
bad air for several hours, and then in desperation for want of a pure
breath, I commenced picking the chinking out from between the logs at
the side of the bed, and in this way secured for myself a breathing
place, amid the enjoyment of which I fell asleep, and awaked not until
the broad sunbeams were laughing in my face.
* * * * *
“During the last week we have made an excursion into the upper part
of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Early in the morning of Monday,
we left the village and crossed the Ke-Kalamazoo in a miserably
constructed scow, and soon after receiving a wrong direction, lost our
way. Pursuing, however, a trail for some distance, not knowing whither
it would lead us, we came to an Indian trader’s house, pleasantly
located upon the banks of the river. We met before we reached this
place, some Indians curiously and fantastically dressed with feathers,
ribbons, &c. They were mounted on ponies, and seemed bound on some
official expedition. They all appeared happy and good-natured. The
trader gave us very vague directions for our onward way, but perhaps
as definite as a route through an uninhabited forest could be made.
The direction was after this fashion:--Take the right hand trail, then
the left, and afterwards strike across the woods to the right of the
sun, with some intimation that at certain distances lakes would be
seen, and openings which would give us fresh energy and perseverance.
Making practical these suggestions as far as we might, aided by a
pocket compass and the extra bestowment of shrewdness with which my
husband is endowed, we reached a prairie where there was a small
settlement, and stopped for a few moments to avail ourselves of the
intelligence, if so be we could find any, of a man loitering by the
side of the trail, in hopes of further direction, and then passed
into the dense wilderness. Our destination was an Indian village at a
distance of twenty-six miles. The interval had no human habitation, and
we were carefully charged to follow without deviation the particular
trail to the village. Here and there were traces of a recent Indian
encampment, and in one or two places we saw the smoke ascending from
their unextinguished fires. The country had the same beauty with which
we had become so familiar. The few clouds were motionless, the water
in the many lakes we passed sparkled, but scarcely showed the tiniest
ripple. As before nature’s deep repose was broken, when the many
birds swelled out their rich choruses, and every little trill met our
ears with peculiar distinctness. We passed over a number of small but
beautiful prairies, like garden spots covered in wild luxuriance with
flowers of every form and hue emitting delicate and delicious perfume.
This last seemed rather peculiar to this part of the country, for in
spite of what philosophers tell us, wild flowers have ordinarily no
fragrance to common perception. In some districts we rode through dark
and tangled forest, the straggling, yet by its heavy masses closely
plaited foliage, bounding our vision to a few feet on either side,
and then almost before we felt the confinement we passed out into an
opening, where the bright sunbeams darting quick lines of light left
the shadowed portion darker from the contrast. Again we would ride
among the trees on the smooth turf, not a shrub or a brush marring
the velvet surface, while the lofty trees overarching in their rich
foliage, canopied our pathway.
“The hours of the day seemed long in passing, from the necessity
of carefully watching the trail, and not having any incident linked
to humanity to enliven us. About half an hour before the summer sun
was to sink to his rest, we came upon the edge of a wet prairie or
marsh about half a mile in extent. I shrank from crossing it, as the
uncertain tread of my horse’s feet upon the yielding turf made my
seat unsteady, and altogether annoyed and repelled me. But there was
no alternative; the trail wound across it in its zigzag line, and we
dared not at that hour run the risk of delay, lest we should lose in
the deepening twilight its uncertain guidance. We pressed on, feeling
at every step that our horses at the next might sink their hoofs too
deeply for extrication. The peculiarity of this marsh was in the fact
that there was not the slightest appearance of mud; all was a bright
green sward, or would have been in the glowing sunshine, but this was
resting on a watery bed, into which it sank at every pressure. We
however at last safely crossed the marsh after some toil, when lo,
a new anxiety awaited me. A dark stream intervened between us and
the solid ground, and as the spot where we stood was evidently the
ford, cross it we must. The pool, or creek, or whatever might be its
appropriate designation, was black as Erebus, with sloping banks, and
though narrow, looked so deep in the uncertainty, that I quite feared
it would engulph us. My husband bade me tarry until he had crossed it,
and I felt quite sick with fear for him when I saw him plunge in. The
struggling of his large and powerful horse tended not to reassure me,
but when safely across, he said he would return and exchange horses
with me. I could not think of permitting him to do so, and this gave me
a momentary spasm of courage, trusting to the agility, if not strength
of my own animal. The moment of descent into the pool was the last of
distinct consciousness, and I was borne through I know not how. When
I recovered I found myself sitting upon the ground, the muddy water
streaming down my face, where it had been thrown in profusion by my
terrified husband. He had expected to see me fall from my horse into
the stream. I had not been well for a day or two, and this descent into
the turbid waters quite unnerved me.
“To our dismay we perceived our horses had strayed, and already it
was almost too dark to see the trail, our sole guide. I immediately
anticipated an unguarded night in the wild wood before us; but a
kind Providence induced our steeds to regard my husband’s well known
whistle, and both returned to our eager grasp. Ere it was quite night
we heard the cheering sound of a woodman’s axe, and guided by its
repeated stroke, soon perceived a dim light in the distance. On coming
up to the man, who seemed to be cutting wood for culinary purposes of
the night, we asked for the trader; the man said he was about home,
and could accommodate us and our horses for the night. We passed on.
I entered the dwelling; it was laid up with logs, some fifty or sixty
feet square, and but very recently erected. It had neither door,
window, nor division between earth and roof. There was no floor laid,
except for a small part of it, which formed a sort of dais, on which
were two bedsteads and beds. A large pleasant-looking Frenchwoman met
me, and in imperfect English gave me a cheerful welcome. I believe she
was really delighted to greet me, so seldom did a woman find her way
to her far-off dwelling. I was utterly weary, but the large, bare,
unfurnished room gave but little promise of seclusion or quiet. Supper
was soon served, venison, cranberries and bread, with a good cup of
tea, sweetened with maple sugar, forming our meal. I soon found that
eleven men, with the trader and his wife, and her maid of all work,
were to occupy the same sleeping apartment with my husband and myself.
I was too much jaded, however, to regard the absence of even such
proprieties of life with much sensibility, and begged to go to bed,
as my only prospective comfort on earth. In this I was gratified, and
within an hour after my arrival I had taken possession of one of the
two visible beds. My fellow-lodgers I believe rested on buffalo skins
strewn at their will about the earth enclosed by the logs.
“Soon after going to bed I discovered what my husband had carefully
kept from me--that we were surrounded by some two hundred Indians, who
were now sheltered in the hut the trader had abandoned for this new
one, and were preparing to hold, this night, one of their peculiar
festivals. Soon after they commenced their hideous singing and dancing,
accompanied by the beating of sticks upon something that resembled
a gong, altogether forming a combination of sound and movement as
revolting as any thing I ever saw or heard. In the intervals when they
paused for rest, the night hawks, wheeling close to our low hut, by
their wild shrill cries effectually set sleep at defiance. Never amid
earth’s varied experiences shall I forget that night.