A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 3

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273

USA > Indiana > LaPorte County > A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana > Part 3

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Cadwell, Edward S., 450 Callard, Henry D., 592 Cannon, Henry S., 535 Cannon, John H., 589 Campbell, John M., 576 Case, Aurora, 139 Cathcart, Charles W., 98 Cathcart, Henry N., 96 Church, Edward J., 716 Clark, John, 118 Clark, Mary T., 415 Closser, Nicholas W., 102 Clybourn, Henley, 733 Coe, Albert, 538 Cole, Albert W., 445 Collins, Jeremiah B., 811 Collom, William H., 437 Conboy, John L., 522 Condon, David W., 455 Conlon, Thomas, 762 Cook, Frank J., 562 Coote, Henry L. B., 700 Corbin, William R., 801

Couden, Chauncey B., 812 Coulter, Marques C., 619 Coulter, William S., 660 Cowgill, Paul A., 709 Craft, Seth, 412 Crawford, George, 729 Crosby, Harry E., 809 Crumpacker, John W., 734 Culbert, Uriah, 529 Cullander, Adolph, 436 Cummings, Henry L., 673 Cunningham, S. C. V., 451 Cutler, The Family, 101

Dabbert, Charles A., 583 Daggy, Ben A., 664 Dakin, George M., 552 Dale, C. T., 571 Dalson, Charles H., 806 Daniels, E. D., 491 Darling, Nelson S., 507 Darrow, Lemuel, 566 Davidson, James A., 674 Davidson, John W., 510 Davis, Eugunius W., 547 Dawson, George, 498 Dempsey, Thomas, 601 Denison, George S., 660 De Wolfe, Charles E., 158 De Wolfe, James R., 482 Dibble, Cephas T., 449 Dolman, Edward, 676 Dolman, Joseph, 546 Donly, William H., 693 Doran, Philo Q., 647 Dorand, J. Vene, 725 Draves, H. F., 540

Early, Hilary, 696 Eaton, William, 464 Eichstaedt, Jacob, 529 Eichstaedt, Roman, 578 Eickhoff, F. H., 579 Emery, John, 505 Etherington, Edmund, 694

Fail, Benajah S., 475 Fail, D. Philip, 735 Fail, John N., 459 Faulknor, John B., 462

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Feallock, William J., 563 Fenker, Fred, 538 Fethke, Charles L., 713 Fisher, William S., 686 Fitch, L. S., 808 Folant, Frank C., 681 Forney, Mathias R., 559 Fox, Samuel, 668 ' Freese, Albert C., 503 Frehse, Albert W., 736 Fudenski, Peter, 759 Fuller, Wilbur W., 678

Garwood, John 770 Garwood, Thomas J., 517 Geist, Clarence H., 648 Gielow, William A., 777. Gilpin, A. W. L., 707. Goodhue, Charles S., 578. Goodhue, William H., 453. Goodwin, Clayton S., 760 Grant, David, 736 Groth, Otto, 620 Gruse, Roman, 426

Haines, Jesse, 783 Hall, Albert S., 624 Hall, Charles E., 627 Hall, Jacob R., 464 Hall, Stephen E., 628 Hall, William A., 727 Haller, John J., 701 Harding, Lucius T., 740 Harmison, George R., 807 Harris, C. H., 683 Harris, Harvey R., 646 Harris, Richard, 134 Harris, William H., 747 Hartman, George W., 630 Harvey, Caleb, 472 Hatfield, The Family, 795 Hay, Harriet A., 739 Hay, Samuel S., 483 Hays, Calvin W., 730 Hecker, William H., 755 Heckman, David L., 666 Heckman, Jacob S., 671 Henry, Harry W., 643 Herrold, Charles E., 526 Herrold, Henry, 597 Herrold, Hiram B., 527 Herrold, James T., 634 Hews, Charles D., 599 Hewson, John W., 794 Hickman, Edgar W., 676 Hickman, J. V., 463 Hicks, Theodore . M., 741 Higgins, William E., 569 Hildebrand, August, 499 Hinsey, John A., 442 Hitchcock, Henry V., 589 Hobart, Frank M., 752 Hoch, J. G., 761 Hoelocker, George J., 663 Holland, Richard H., 791 Hollenbeck, Benjamin W., 560 Holman, Arthur J., 675 Hooton, George R., 738

INDEX.

Hoover, Isaac, 481 Hopkins, James V., 118. Hoppener, Charles, 577 Hostetler, Joseph, 580 Howe, Martin A., 586 Howell, Gaius L., 605 Huckins, James D. M., 726 Hundt, Ludwig, 637

Hunsley, William C., 412 Hunt, A. B., 440 Hunt, Albert P., 773 Huntley, Henry E., 690 Hupp, Theodore, 424

Hutchinson, John L., 524

Jessup, Abiezer, 461 Jessup, Gaylord, 613

Johnson, Andrew C., 426

Johnson, Andrew W., 629

Johnson, C. E., 616

Johnson, Emil, 782

Johnson, Henry W., 634

Keebler, Edward F., 490

Keil, Julius T., 776

Kelly, Jon N., 425

Kent, Allen A., 649

Kewley, J. J., 796

King, Otis, 423 King, Polaski, 154 Koch, Henry E., 555 Kregle, August, 558 Kreidler, J. F., 438

Krueger, Martin T., 467

Kuhn, Casper, 121 Kuss, Christian, 626

Ladies' Home Library Ass'n, 350 Larsen, Samuel W., 744 Larson, Charles O., 772 Lay, Harry M., 487 Lay, Sebastian F., 486

Leeds, Alfred W., 682 Leeds, Offley, 157 Leeds, Walter O., 632

Leeson, George M., 576 Leist, Albert H., 506 Lewis, Israel G., 452 Lewis, Milton W., 596 - Linard, Julius P., 539 Long, Albert M., 538 Long, H. H., 501 Lonn, Edward J., 720 Lonn, John, 720 Low, Daniel, 114 Ludlow, John W., 518 Ludlow, Oliver P., 136 Lybrook, Jacob, 503

Malone, Wilson, 134 Mann, Amenzo, 542 Manny, William B., 708 Marks, Gottlieb, 508 Marr, Thomas, 483 Martin, Charles E., 532 Martin, Harvey H., 766 Martin, H. H., 798

Martin, Isaac F., 631 Martin, Jacob S., 771 Mathews, John G., 758 Matott, Fabian, 636 Mayes, James, 749 McCabe, Edward, 659 McCarty, Charles W., 677 McClung, Charles S., 451 McCormick, Harmon, 495 McCurdy, John N., 756 McLane, Bird, 115 McLane, George L., 466 McLaughlin, John, 797 Meissner, Frederick W., 793 Merrill, Francis M., 558 Meyer, C. Elijah, 701 Meyer, J. H. W., 722 Michael, Edward. F., 750 Michael, Ellis, 748 Miles, Harry M., 712 Mill, Henry, 731 Mill, Peter, 745 Miller, Charles A., 535

Miller, Charles H., 505

Miller, John, 695

Miller, Samuel E., 608

Miner, Henry N., 439

Misener, Richard H., 703 Morris, Henry B., 644

Morrison, Harry E., 528 Mott, John G., 652 Moyer, John, 485 Murphy, James F., 800 Myers, David S., 584

Nesbitt, Miner, 434 Nichols, Alonzo S., 642 Niles, John B., 519 Niles, William, 519 Noakes, Thomas, 800 Noe, Henry C., 762 Norton, Willard D., 509 Noyes, Daniel, 41I

. Oglesby, Jesse, 781 O'Hara, George G., 458 Oliver, Joseph, 750 Orr, Joseph, 141 :

. Orr, Motier. L., 655 Osborn, Clarence E., 777 Osborn, Frank E., 594 Osborn, Jonathan W., 646 Osborn, William N., 724 1

Paddock, Harvey S., 737 Paddock, Morrison, 536 Page, William P., 574 Palmer, Ziba W., 119 Park, J. W., 607 Parker, J. C., 545

Pash, Martin, 759 : Paul, Louis G., 795 Peffley, William F., 501 Pfau, J. J., 599 Phillips, Addison J., 767 Phillips, William S., 551 Pietz., Carl, 782 Pitner, Frank J., 434 Place, Willard A., 137

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INDEX.

Place, Willard W., 597. Planett, Charles F., 765 Porter, Charles, 565 Pottinger, John W., 521 Powell, Charles G., 758 Powell, James, 752 Preston, Calita, 728 Preston, Enoch L., 479 Provolt, John, 653 Purdy, Charles H., 600

Quinn, James F., 790

Ransom, Levi, 100 Rawlings, Wilbur L., 705 Reed, Joseph, 640 Reese, Elmer E., 458 Rehm, Andrew J., 718 Replogle, William H., 511 Reynolds, George W., 117 Richman, Christian L., 448 Ridgway, John W., 732 Ridgway, Melinda, 732 Riley, John, 473 Robb, Charles-J., 779 Roeske, Christopher, 706 Rogers, George W., 714 Rogers, Jesse B., 588. Root, Henry A., 742 Rosenbaum, Henry C., 522 Rosenbaum, John W., 639 Rosenbaum, William F., 612 Rowley, Noah S., 438 Rumely, Meinrad, 407 Russell, Charles E., 723

Sanborn, Ann E., 630 Schaeuffele, Louis F., 699 Scholl, Peter, 803 Schreiber, Henry J., 593 Schumm, Louis, Sr., 764 Schultz, John C., 446 Schweitzer, John G., 625 Scott, Emmet H., 422 Scott, Ezra T., 417 Seberger, Mathias, 607 Seymour, George F., 469 Seymour, George S., 140 Shafor, John H., 686 Shultz, August, 654 Shultz, John E., 572 Shurte, Andrew J., 616 Shurte, Lewis M., 791 Sibbrell, Samuel M., 615 Siegele, August, 626 Siljestrom, Olaf J., 460 Small, Phineas, 121 Small, Phineas O., 719.

Smith, Charles P., 656 Smith, Everel S., 456 Smith, Henry E., 697 Smith, John W., 476 Smith, Leroy T., 534 Snavely, William, 117 Snook, Jonathan, 510 Snyder, Louis C., 447 Snyder, William I., 603 Spence, Adam, 670 Spiro, Isidore I., 691 Staiger, George J., 810 Standiford, A. G., 454 Stedman, John J., 480 Steigely, William A., 708

Stewart, John D., 134

Stielow, Fred, 605 Stoltz, Carl, 504 Stoner, Jacob, 710 Stoner, John D., 763 Stoner, Martha, 710 Stoner, Susan C., 760

. Storey, George H., 738 Struss, Charles F., 702 Strutz, Frederick L., 742 Sutherland, Orlando L., 698 Swanson, Andrew, 603

Talmage, Martha B., 638

Tappan, George, 685 Taylor, Albert H., 445

Taylor, Arthur W., 604

Taylor, James H., 784 Taylor, John H., 792

Taylor, John, Sr., 481 Teegarden, Abraham, 414 Teeter, Edwin J., 564 Thomas, George, 134

Tilden, Walter S., 780 Tillotson, A. G., 754

Timm, Michael J., 609 Travis, Brook, 428 Travis, Charles, 537

Travis, Edwin, 540

Travis, George W., 497

Travis, Jay W., 534

Travis, John A., 499

Travis, Julius C., 665

Travis, Noah, 502

Travis, William W., 116 Truesdell, Harvey, 156 Trump, John M., 416 Tryon, Charles C., 811 Tryon, Orville, 670

Tuthill, Harry B., 418

Vail, Edward, 138

Vail, Walter, 512 Van Deusen, Gerritt S., 572 Vankirk, John P., 746 Van Pelt, Sutton, 138 Van Riper, Alvin H., 806 Vorhes, Charles H., 718 Vreeland, Albert T., 556

Wagner, H. Clay, 667 Walker, Frank, 508 Walker, John, 133 Walkinshaw, William, 678

Wanbaugh, John A., 473 Wardner, Horace, 774 Warwick, Henry, 692 Wasser, George E., 516

Watson, Joshua, 684 Way, Othie, 550 Weaver, John R., 513 Webber, Leroy D., 639 Webster, William B., 582

Weed, Timothy, 413 Weiler, Jacob, 570 Weller, Henry, 650 Wells, Charles F., 720 Wells, Theodore H., 745 Westervelt, Andrew J., 517

1 White, Ambrose P., 600 White, Daniel A., 435 White, John H., 488 White, Julius M., 477

Will, (see !1 1)

Wilcox, Franklin T., 697 Wilkinson, Lewis A., 99 Wilkinson, Van E., 662

Williams, Azariah, 420 Williamson, Henry C., 669 Wilson, Hubert W., 568 Wilson, James, 581 Willson, Jeremiah, 117

Wilson, T. B., 431 Wilson, William H., 757 Wilson, Willis B., 533 Wineholt, Hiram, 500

Wing, Abram, 478 Wing, Charles W., 544 Wolf, John, 444 Wolfe, George H., 478 Wood, John A., 555 Woodmansee, Jehu L., 785 Worden, H. W., 606 Wozniak, John, 622 Wright, Moses S., 610

Young, Henry H., 559

Zaring, Noah, 804 Zippel, Carl, 429 Zorn, Philip, 723

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY

CHAPTER I.

NATURE.

"Man finds history to be like great woods, in the middle of which are silence, night birds, and birds of prey, and whose borders only are filled with light and song.' -JEAN PAUL RICHTER.

Before writing of the early settlement of La- Porte county it may be well to consider briefly its condition before the advent of the white settler. For hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years this section of country remained in a state of nature. It was not "an unbroken wilderness," but a region of beauty through which French missionaries and adventurers, the soldiers of different nations, hunters, trappers and explorers passed and re- passed, but which was inhabitated only by the red man and the native animals. Here wild flowers bloomed and faded, great trees grew and decayed, deer roamed the forests and prairies, and numer- ous birds lived in the leafy groves. Beautiful sheets of water lay like mirrors on the surface of the country, sportive fish flopped their silver sides into the sunshine, and in all the west there was no more lovely region.

The impression which has generally prevailed of the contour and surface arrangement of La- Porte county is, that there is a well marked belt of ridges running across the country at the north, a prairie belt running irregularly east and west through the center, and a well marked belt of marsh land running irregularly northeast and southwest at the south, extending to the Kanka- kee river. Probably this impression has been

deepened by Packard's History, which presents this view of the subject. That there is a line of ridges at the north, is well known; but that there is a belt of marsh land at the south, is a great mistake. The first settlers of the county, and until recently the later settlers, have been de- ceived in the matter. It is quite true that many thousands of acres of marsh grass have grown on the low lands of the Kankakee, and there is much of this growing there yet. This, however, is not because the Kankakee valley is a marsh, or any- thing of the kind, but simply because good prairie land has been under water. The land in this val- ley is not fen, bog, morass, swamp or quagmire. There is comparatively little swamp or bog land in the county. This region has been overflowed simply because the crooked Kankakee was so sluggish that it could not carry off the water rap- idly enough, hence it has spread over the adjacent level country, and the result has been a dense growth of coarse marsh grass. But of late years powerful syndicates have bought up the land, and by an excellent system of ditching and draining, which they are carrying out on a mammoth scale, they have reclaimed many thousands of acres in the Kankakee valley, and once the water is drawn off, the soil is seen to be a dark, sandy loam, mixed

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

with clay, and in many places reaching to a great depth; it is just as really a prairie soil as any other. There are now good, hard, travelled roads where once it was thought impossible to make them, and what has been known as the "Kankakee marshes" and "the Kankakee swamps" are among the most fertile lands in the world. These lands produce Indian corn which is truly wonderful in both quality and quantity, they are adapted to raise wheat, oats and other crops, and on the roadsides and in the fallow fields blue grass and clover are taking possession of soil where it was thought only slough grass would grow.

The valley lands are exceedingly level in the southwest part of the county, which is not so much the case farther up the river. Approaching the eastern boundary of the county, even the val- ley lands become slightly undulating. This is the case also with the prairie on the higher lands. Toward the east it becomes more undulating, and even rolling, until it stretches away like a billowy sea.

To the early settler, there was a clearly de- fined, irregular strip of marsh at the south of the county, while on higher ground two broad prai- ries, dotted with groves, stretched in an irregular way nearly east and west. A little to the west there was a 'narrow opening through a dense grove from one part of the prairie to another, forming a door which was destined to become historic. Tall prairie grass grew in abundance, flowers bloomed gorgeously, and no prairie region east of the Mississippi could exceed in beauty those broad stretches which were afterward called Rolling Prairie and Door Prairie. There were also smaller stretches of prairie each with its distinctive name, as for instance Dormaine prairie in the western part of Noble township, which some say was named after an Indian chief, who was called by that term, while others say it is the Indian word for corn.

To the north, nestling in their basins, sur- rounded by hills and wooded shores, were a num- ber of beautiful lakes, jewels on the bosom of mother earth. In the spring time she was clad in robes of verdure and decked with gems to cele- brate her marriage with an incoming civilization. Indian trails led from different points northward to the summit or highest point of land between

the prairie and the great lakes. This was a ridge running irregularly across the country, neariy parallel with, and eight to ten miles from, the shores of Lake Michigan, to which it bore a close relation. This ridge divided the watershed be- tween the north and south. On the east its north- ern declension gradually fell toward the St. Jo- seph river; on the west the declension was more abrupt, making a rapid descent to the shore of Lake Michigan.

Northward there was a magnificent scene. The descending country was marked by several wooded ridges, each lower than the preceding, presenting the appearance of a rolling, umbra- geous sea ; while in the background beyond a misty line at the edge of the forest, rose the blue waters of the great lake. All through this northern de- clension of the country were numerous streams, which would furnish ample power for the mills soon to be built upon them.

There were two or three kinds of prairie grass, the tall blue-point, and slough grass, some of which still grows in the Kankakee valley. There were golden rod, indigo, boneset, wild sunflowers and ferns. These have been replaced with blue grass, timothy and other growths, bringing with them, unfortunately, many weeds.

There was an abundance of native fruit, such as wild grapes, crab apples, red and yellow wild plums, wild strawberries, wintergreen berries and sand-hill cherries. Huckleberries grew in abund- ance, especially on the sand ridges of the northern slope, and afterwards became an industry there. In some parts of the county there were marshes where cranberries were plentiful, and thousands of bushels were gathered and sent away in wagon loads to the nearest markets. In the woods there were white and black walnuts, hickory, beech and hazel nuts. And in the northwestern part of the county there were great maples which in the springtime yielded their delicious syrup and sugar.

There was an abundance of timber to be cut and sawed in the mills. In the southern part of the county there were red oak, hickory and tam- arack ; in the prairie groves there were burr-oak, maple, elm, pig-nut, shell-bark hickory, bass- wood and sassafras; and on the hilly portions to the north and east, there were beech, white and red oak, elm, poplar, maple, white and blue ash,

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

shell-bark hickory, bass-wood, black and white walnut, cherry, sycamore, sassafras, cotton-wood and tamarack, with a few red cedars; and nearer Lake Michigan there was an abundance of white pine. A growth of these white pines covered much of the spot where Michigan City now stands.

There were wild pigeons so numerous that their flight sometimes darkened the sky. They gathered acorns from the oaks, and grass seed from the prairies. There were wild turkeys in the thick woods, thousands of prairie chickens on the prairies, wild geese, brents and ducks of vari- ous kinds in the waters. When the country be- gan to settle up, hundreds of thousands of these were killed in a year. A species of ducks known as "old wives" was frequently taken in the nets which the fishermen set on the bottom of Lake Michigan, in one hundred and eighty feet of water. Even at such a depth the fishermen de- clared that these birds were often caught in their nets, and on one occasion they report the capture of three hundred at one haul. This is on the authority of former State Geologist Cox. There were loons and mud hens, various kinds of cranes and other water birds. There were blackbirds, meadow-larks, mourning-doves, robins, blue-jays, cat-birds, wrens, thrushes, martins, swallows, hawks, grouse, pheasants, eagles, and many others, which it is not necessary to mention as this does not presume to be a scientific work but only to give a general idea of the nature of the country.

In the rivers and inland lakes there were white and yellow cat-fish, bull-heads or horned- pouts, suckers, different kinds of minnows, chubs, pike, bass, sun-fish, perch, shiners and other varieties. The waters were not "fished to death" as now, the finny tribes were less shy of the bait, and the fisherman was rewarded more abundantly for less exertion. And in Lake Mich- igan there were muskalonge-from the Ojibway, maskanonya, long-snout, and several other kinds, and more numerous than all, the excellent and palatable whitefish. This was a land of plenty for the pioneer ; he could subsist and at the same time enjoy the best of sport while building a home for his family and reducing the soil to cul- tivation.

It is not probable that bison were here in any

number. Some remains of them have been found but it is the opinion of authorities on the subject that they were only small, straggling herds. But there were deer, opossums, squirrels, wood- chucks, rabbits, badgers, weasles, common prairie and gray wolves, foxes, and many other animals. Of reptiles there were many, which we will not name. The rattlesnake is often found still, es- pecially in Galena township and in the Kankakee valley. A young man while pitching hay in Dewey township, last summer, found two of them writhing in his forkful. There were valuable fur-bearing animals such as a few beavers, and an abundance of otter, mink, raccoons and musk- rats. In short, Lake Michigan, the Kankakee river, numerous small streams and the inland lakes, together with the swamps, valleys, prairies, groves, loam, clay and sandhills, produced a great variety of conditions, and made this region the home of numerous species of animals. It would be difficult to find an equal area more advantage- ous in this respect. Hence it was a most inviting spot for the pioneer. It is no wonder that the Indians were unwilling to leave the country, and that many of them tarried here long after the great body of their people had passed to the west- ward. .

Elevation is one of the most important of the factors which determine the climate of a locality. This is seen from the fact that even in the torrid zone, if there is a sufficient elevation, as in the mountains, the heat is less intense and the climate is healthful. The country which comprises La- Porte county is greatly favored in this respect. W. S. Blatchley, Indiana State Geologist, and his assistant, George H. Ashley, tell us that the more important railroad stations are as follows, in feet above sea level: Hanna, 703 ; Haskells, 771 ; La- Crosse, 675; LaPorte, 812; Michigan City, 600; Oakwood, 727; Otis, 765; Rolling Prairie, 820; Stillwell, 731 ; Wanatah, 730; Westville, 789. Taking these figures, the Kankakee river, even at its lowest point where it flows out of the county is over 75 feet higher than Lake Michigan ; that is to say, if it were not for the intervening ridges, the waters of the Kankakee would flow north- ward into Lake Michigan instead of southward into the Gulf of Mexico. They who would dig a canal and turn the water of Lake Michigan into the Kankakee, should remember this. The water

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

would run the other way, and that too, without sufficient volume for locks and navigation. At least there would not be sufficient water during a large part of each year.

Not only has this section of country a high elevation relatively to the ocean, but relatively to the neighboring waters. E. T. Cox, former State Geologist, gives the following elevations of sev- eral railroad stations above Lake Erie: LaPorte, city, 250 feet ; Wanatah, 150 feet ; LaCrosse, 102 feet. He says again that, starting from Lake Michigan and coming south toward the city of LaPorte, the first sand ridge along the present shore line rises above the water level from 30 to 85 feet, though broken at intervals by valleys, and consisting of irregular peaks some higher than others. Just over this ridge, on the south side, is a space or valley of half a mile, which is from 15 to 20 feet above the lake. Here Michi- gan City now stands. The top of the second ridge is 50 feet ; and just over this, still coming south, is another valley of about half a mile, which is 35 feet above the water. The third ridge is 45 feet, the fourth 95, and the fifth 225 feet above the lake. Professor Cox does not say at what points he took these elevations. It is well known that two miles north of LaPorte the crest which di- vides the southward drainage from the northward is 270 feet above Lake Michigan. The country therefore slopes 270 feet from the summit north- ward to Lake Michigan, interrupted by ridge after ridge. Professor Blatchley makes Lake Michigan to be 600 feet above sea level. Other authorities make it to be less. But taking Profess- or Blatchley's figures, the country slopes south- ward from the summit to LaPorte 58 feet ; from LaPorte to Otis, 47 feet; from LaPorte to Still- well, 81 feet ; from LaPorte to Westville, 23 feet ; from Westville to Wanatah, 59 feet; and from Wanatah to LaCrosse, 55 feet. Thus the south- ern slope of the county is 137 feet from LaPorte City to LaCrosse. To quote Professor Blatchley :

"The entire surface is of glacial origin, the Valparaiso moraine with a width of six miles passing northeastward across the northwestern corner of the county. The crest of this moraine lies from 225 to 300 feet above the level of Lake Michigan." For the remainder of the passage Professor Blatchley quotes from Frank Leverett,

of the United States Geological Survey, as fol- lows: "This moraine rises very abruptly on its northwest border above the low plain which lies between it and Lake Michigan, but on its south- east border a gravel outwash from the moraine is built up nearly to the level of the crest, and the descent is gradual from the moraine to the Kan- kakee marsh. The marsh stands fully 100 feet above Lake Michigan in eastern LaPorte county, and about 75 feet at the western border of the county. It is therefore 150 to 200 feet or more below the crest of the moraine. The gravel plain makes a descent of 75 or 100 feet in the interval of eight or ten miles between the moraine and the marsh."

The writer does not quote the above figures for their absolute correctness, but only to give a general idea of the elevation of the country. And from all this it will be seen that a region could . hardly be situated more advantageously for pur- poses of drainage. The Kankakee river broadens into a lake at the east, this river and its tributaries, the Little Kankakee, Hood Creek, Mill Creek, Hog Creek, and the great ditches, drain the southern declination ; northwest of the summit the drainage is into Lake Michigan through Trail Creek and other streams; and northeast of the summit the drainage is into Lake Michigan through tributaries of the St. Joseph river.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 3

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1273

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273