A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 2

Author: Coolidge, Orville W
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

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The most picturesque feature of the land- scape, as it was presented to the eye of the first settler, was our "Oak Openings." Dotted over the county were extensive for- ests of large, handsome white oak trees, looking like stately parks. The trees were separated at some distance from each other, no underbrush grew between them, and a vehicle could pass through these forests in almost every direction with perfect ease. The trees were generally large, symmetrical and branching, and might fitly be called the "Kings of the Forest." They presented a scene of exquisite beauty and grandeur ; and the lover of nature, gazing at these majestic creations of God's handiwork, might fitly exclaim with the poet Bryant :

"The groves were God's first temples."

"Father, thy hand

Hath reared these venerable columns; thou didst weave

This verdant roof.

Grandeur, strength and grace,

Are here to speak of thee. Thou mighty Oak, not a prince In all that proud old world beyond the deep

E'er wore his crown as loftily as he

Wears the green coronal of leaves with which Thy hand has decked him.'

The county is well watered by streams and lakes. The principal streams are the St. . Joseph and Paw Paw rivers, and the follow- ing creeks: The Dowagiac, the Galien, the Hickory and the Pipestone. The St. Joseph is the second largest river in the state, being one hundred and seventy-five miles long. Its width varies for 100 miles from its mouth, from 300 to 400 feet. It rises in a small lake called Baw Beese, in Hillsdale county, runs in a northwesterly direction into Calhoun county, thence southwesterly through St. Joseph county to South Bend,

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

Indiana, where it bends to the northward and continues in a northwesterly direction to its mouth at St. Joseph. The length of the river from the point where it crosses the state line to its mouth is 55 miles. Throughout its whole extent it runs through a rich and fer- tile country. The current is generally rapid. Its high and picturesque bluffs often crowned with lofty trees, its numerous isl- ands. its graceful curves and meandering's and its rapid current moving unceasingly to mingle its waters with those of the great lake combine to render the St. Joseph a most romantic and beautiful stream, always pre- senting a charming landscape to the eye of the artist.

The valley of the St. Joseph was once visited by the great novelist, Fenimore Cooper, and in his story of the "Oak Open- ings" founded upon aboriginal life in south- western Michigan, he refers to this valley as "a region that almost merits the lofty ap- pellation of the garden of America."

In the early days the St. Joseph river played an important part in the business and commerce of southwestern Michigan and northwestern Indiana. Boats of different kinds were constantly plying on its waters. Merchandise from the east was brought through the Erie canal and the great lakes, via the St. Joseph river to Niles, South Bend, Mishawaka and Elkhart and even as far east as White Pigeon and Constantine. The subject of the early navigation of the river will be considered hereafter.

Two dams have been constructed across the river, one at Niles and one at Buchanan. Another, at Berrien Springs, is contem- plated. The river is crossed by thirteen bridges, viz. : one at Bertrand, five at Niles, one at Buchanan, two at Berrien Springs, one between Royalton and Sodus townships, one between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, and two in the city and township of St. Joseph. Of these, two at Niles, one at St. Joseph and one at Berrien Springs are used exclusively for railroad purposes. The long-

est and most massive structure is the one recently constructed by the Interurban Com- pany at Berrien Springs, which will be described later.

I quote the following verses upon St. Joseph river from a volume of poems writ- ten by Ben. F. King, Jr., a gifted musician and writer, who was born and grew to man- hood at St. Joseph, Michigan, and died in 1894.

"When the bumble bee sips, and the clover is red, And the zephyrs come laden with peach blow per- fumes,

When the thistle down pauses in search of the rose, And the myrtle and woodbine and wild ivy grows, When the cat-bird pipes up and it seems most divine, Off there in the branches of some lonely pine, Oh, give me the spot that I once used to know By the side of the placid old river St. Joe."

"When the tall grasses nod at the close of the day, And the sycamore's shadow is stealing away- When the whip-poor-will chants from a far distant limb,

Just as if the whole business was all made for him, Oh! it's now that my thoughts, flying back on the wings

Of the rail and the die-away song that he sings Brings the tears to my eyes that drip off into rhyme And I live once again in the old summer time, For my soul, it seems caught in old time's under-tow And I am floating away down the river St. Joe."

The Paw Paw river rises in Van Buren county and flows southwesterly till it empties into the St. Joseph river about three-quarters of a mile above the mouth of the latter. It has furnished an excellent water power for many mills. The largest lumber mill in the county during the timber period, was located upon this stream at the village of Watervliet. Keel boats were used upon the Paw Paw in the early days and ran as far as Paw Paw village.

The Dowagiac is an important stream. It rises in Cass county, runs through the city of Dowagiac and empties into the St. Joseph, at the northern boundary of the city of Niles. It has furnished water power for numerous mills and factories. Its width at

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

its mouth is about 75 feet. It is noted for its meandering channel, its rapid current, high bluffs and great natural beauty.

The following charming verses on Dowa- giac creek, written by Mrs. Lena Lardner of Niles, are taken from her volume of poems and tales entitled "This Spray of Western Pine."

"Tortuous and clear thou flowest on, fair streamlet, Unheeded by the city's busy throng ; Yet art thou beautiful as storied river

And should inspire a worthier poet's song.

"Thou flowest swiftly through the farm and wood- land,

And all along thy banks, sweet nooks are found, Where lured by Nature, weary man may ponder Over thy wondrous gifts to sight and sound.

"Thy murmuring ripples in our tongue translated Might tell of dusky maidens' bliss and woe, Of savage rivals striving in these waters, Which closed above them many years ago.

"The red man named thee and the red man loved thee, In light canoe he skimmed thy surface free; But driven Westward, toward the reddening sunset, Left thee to man less picturesque than he."

Pipestone creek enters the St. Joseph about seven miles from its mouth on its left bank. In the early settlement, its width at this point was 100 feet.

The Galien river is formed by several streams which unite their waters in the southern part of Berrien county, emptying into Lake Michigan at New Buffalo. This stream with its various branches, flows through a region originally covered with im- mense forests of valuable timber. Formerly numerous lumber mills doing an extensive business were located on this stream.

To these creeks may be added the Hick- ory, which empties into the St. Joseph about two miles southeast of the city of St. Joseph, and McCoy's creek which empties into the St. Joseph at Buchanan. Several factories are located on the latter stream.

When the early settlers arrived, the streams and lakes swarmed with fish; prairie chickens were abundant on the

prairies, duck in the marshes, and partridge, quail, wild turkey and other wild game in the forests. Pigeons came in immense flocks, and deer were plentiful. Nature, with the indulgence of a kind mother, fur- nished the pioneer, poorly equipped and plunging generally into an unbroken wilder- ness, with abundance of health-giving food. Other animals furnished both pastime and profit to the hunter and trapper. The wolf, bear, fox, panther, and also fur bearing animals such as the wolverine, muskrat, raccoon, beaver, otter, mink and marten were common. Our state has been called the "Wolverine State" from the fact that wol- verines were abundant in the pioneer period throughout the whole territory. It was one of the largest fur-bearing animals and was really an uncommonly large, clumsy and shaggy marten. Its fur was very valuable. It was bear-like in form, and of a deep, blackish-brown color. It had great strength, and extraordinary cunning, being regarded by the Indians and trappers as a notorious and successful thief.

The most remarkable of all the animals named was the beaver. The fur of this ani- mal is extremely valuable and was formerly the staple of the fur trade in the northwest. In the year 1829 no less than 100,000 beaver skins were exported to Europe from the ter- ritory of Michigan. When the early settler came to Michigan, picturesque beaver huts and dams constructed upon ponds and streams in wooded districts were numerous. The average length of the beaver was two feet and its weight about 35 pounds. Their houses were constructed of earth, stones and sticks. The walls of these houses were about about two feet thick, and surmounted by a dome generally rising about four feet above them. The entrance was always at least three feet below the surface of the water. Their homes were often permanent. Their food consisted of the bark and tender branches of trees. In the summer they pro- vided for their winter subsistence by piling-

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

a large heap of the bark and branches of trees under the water, adjacent to their habi- tation. In order to give them sufficient depth of water to give clear ingress to their homes and to afford room for the winter storage of provisions, they constructed dams across the stream upon whose bank they had located. For this purpose they gnawed down trees sometimes two or three feet in diam- eter, dragged or floated them to the spot and laid them lengthwise across the current. To these they added stones, roots, sod and mud to keep them in place. By constant repairs they often succeeded in forming a solid bank capable of resisting a great force of water

and ice. They also constructed canals into the woods from the streams, by means of which they could float down the trees and other material to the dam and bark and branches to their habitation.

Inland lakes of clear water were com- mon throughout the county. The largest of these lakes is Paw Paw lake, which is about four miles long. This lake has become a leading resort in the summer time. It is es- timated that during the summer of 1905, there were about 5,000 people residing in cottages and boarding at the hotels during most of the season, and 30,000 resorters in all.

CHAPTER II

THE ABORIGINES AND EARLY FRENCH OCCUPATION.

Not grand or famous, but with pride It makes our senses quiver ; Dearer than any stream beside Is our St. Joseph River.

It bore the red man's light canoe Which brought the Fathers saintly ;

They preached the cross with courage true Not fearfully, nor faintly.

A mound beside it markes the place Where Father Alouez lieth. God to his servants granted grace, As the church testifieth.

Their dark-browed converts journeyed on To where the sun is setting ; The pale-face these fair scenes had won, Useless was all regretting.

The lower peninsula of Michigan, when the French missionaries first entered the ter- ritory, was occupied by Ottawas, Ojibways, or . Chippewas, Miamis, Pottawatomies and Hurons or Wyandots. The St. Joseph val- ley was then mainly inhabited by the Mi- amis, whose possession however was short. According to tradition the Pottawatomies formerly occupied a large portion of the lower peninsula, but toward the latter part of the seventeenth century, were driven by other tribes north and westerly to the region of Green Bay. About the year 1705 they were permitted to return south under the protection of the French. A portion of them

And sturdy men with foresight keen Prepared their humble dwelling; Their brave wives toiled with brow serene No tale of hardship telling.

Now glides the stream by pleasant homes, And thro' the tangled wildwood; As by its banks we stand there comes Fond memory of childhood.

The pioneers have "crossed the bar" And now their sons and daughters, Neath morning sun and evening star, Row on its rippling waters.

It seems to murmur "On I flow Tho' human ties must sever ;

"For men may come and men may go But I go on forever."

LENA B. LARDNER.

migrated to the region of Chicago but the larger portion returned to southern Michi- gan and northern Indiana. The St. Joseph valley became the favorite habitation of this portion of the tribe and the villages of the Pottawatomies along or near the bank of St. Joseph river were numerous when the pioneers first settled Berrien county.

The early settlers regarded the Potta- watomies as peaceable, compared with other Indian tribes. This may, however, have been attributable to previous contact for many years with French missionaries and traders, and especially to the fact that many of them had been converted, through the la-

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

bors of French Catholic priests, to Chris- tianity.

They inherited and preserved, however, in the main, the general physical and mental traits of the Algonquin family to which they belonged. A hard and stern physiognomy characterized all their movements, being stoical in their nature and trained to exhibit no emotion of joy or grief. They were naturally brave, and proud, and a savage love of individual liberty and hatred of all re- straint were prominent in their character. Their powers of perception and observation, within the range of their experience, were re- markably acute, while their reasoning pow- ers were correspondingly weak.

The squaws generally did the work, planting the corn, cultivating and harvest- ing it, dressing the skins, getting the wood, doing the camp work and gathering rushes to weave into mats. Most of the Indians had ponies and dogs. The ponies were ob- tained from the spoils of Braddock's defeat in 1755.

The following description of the wearing apparel and general outfit of the Pottawa- tomies is taken from an article by A. B. Copley in the Michigan Pioneer and Histor- ical Collections.

"The squaws were usually dressed in blue broadcloth leggins with fringes per- haps one and a half inches wide on the out- side of either limb; a blue figured domestic calico short gown, over which was worn a blanket. On their feet they wore mocca- sins of dressed deer skin. The blanket was supported by a belt at times, especially if there was a pappoose a year or two old, who rode on the back of the mother inside the blanket. If the child was young, it was strapped to a board and hung on the back by a belt over the mother's forehead. The hair was wound up on a chip about two inches square and fastened just back of the head ; another style was braided and hang- ing down the back. If the weather was in- clement, the blanket was brought up over

the head, otherwise there was no head cov- ering. The carrying strap was an indispen- sable article of female use; it consisted of a leather 4 to 6 feet in length, 2 inches broad in the centre where it crossed the forehead, the rest being about an inch in width-for convenience in tying up the pack of goods or utensils to be moved.

"The Indian men wore leggins, mocca- sins, a calico shirt generally of a lighter color; the blankets were generally light colored, the fringes consisting of the colored border seen on Mackinac blankets. A blanket was belted at the waist and worn loose over the shoulders. In the belt was carried a knife, (protected by a leather sheath) and a small axe or tomahawk, while depending from the right shoulder hung on the left side, the powder horn and charger and bullet pouch containing bullets, bullet molds, bullet starter, patch cloth and extra flints, for flint locks were in common use, and any other needed extras for the chase, also not forgetting the pipe and tobacco. On the head was almost invariably worn a large colored cotton handkerchief wrapped around in somewhat of a turban style. This dress, with a rifle across the shoulder, the lock of which was protected from dampness by a fox squirrel skin, completed the costume. Sometimes a feather or two was added, es- pecially if the party was high in rank."

The Pottawatomies, Chippewas and Ottawas, were evidently at one time one peo- ple. Mr. Schoolcraft. whose intimate knowledge of the Indian tribes of Michigan entitles his opinion to great weight, states that this is indicated "from their general re- semblance in person. manners, customs and dress. but above all. by their having one council fire and speaking one language."

At the treaty of Chicago in 1821. an Ot- tawa chief said "The Chippewas, the Pot- tawatomies and the Ottawas were originally one nation. We separated from each other near Mackinac."

A chief of the Chippewas following said :

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

"My brethren, you have heard the man who has just spoken. We are all descended from the same stock. The Pottawatomies and the Chippewas, we consider ourselves as one."

These three tribes were not only closely related in blood, language and customs but were bound by a compact to support each other in peace and war. The Pottawatomies were divided into two bands at the begin- ning of the 18th century, one being known as the "Pottawatomies of the Woods" (those of Michigan and Northern Wisconsin) and the other as the "Pottawatomies of the Prairies" (those of Illinois).

Unlike other Indian races, the Potta- watomies were not divided into separate tribes, but their different bands moved sep- arate or united according to the abundance or scarcity of game or the emergencies of war. The name Pottawatomie signifies "We are making a fire."

The first mention which is made of the Pottawatomies, is to be found in the "Jesuit Relations." This is a work of 73 volumes edited by the learned antiquarian, Reuben G. Thwaites of Madison, Wisconsin, and consists mainly of correspondence and jour- nals of the French priests in North America during the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- turies.

In the journal of Father Allouez, pre- served in the Jesuit Relations, and written in 1666, he says that "the Pottawatomies are a people whose country is about the lake Ill-'i-mouch (Michigan).

"They are a warlike people, hunters and fishers. Their country is good for Indian corn of which they plant fields, and to which they repair to avoid the famines that are too frequent in these quarters. They are in the highest degree idolaters, attached to ridicu- lous fables, and devoted to polygamy.

"Of all the people that I have associated with in these countries they are the most do- cile and affectionate toward the French."

The Pottawatomies at this time did not

reside in the St. Joseph valley, but in the region of Green Bay and on the northwest- ern coast of Lake Michigan. It appears from a letter written by Pere Daublon, a French missionary from the mission at Green Bay, in 1670, that the Pottawatomies had formerly occupied a good portion of the southern peninsula of Michigan, but that about the middle of the seventeenth century they had been forced to fly northward on account of the frequent incursions of the Iroquois.

The Iroquois, originally consisting of the "five nations," the Mohawk, the Senecas, the Oneidas, the Cayugas and the Onon- dagas, was the most intellectual and power- ful of all the Indian races in America and had their headquarters in the state of New York. Owing to a blunder of Champlain who allied himself with the Hurons, a bitter enemy of the Iroquois, early in the seventeenth cen- tury, the Iroquois, became the deadly enemy of the French and the constant friend of the English. This fact had a most important bearing on the whole history of North America. It is the opinion of leading histo- rians that the powerful aid of the Iroquois to the English during the whole colonial period, decided the downfall of French dom- ination in North America, or at least mate- rially hastened it.

The western tribes belonging to the Al- gonquin family, on the contrary, were gen- erally allied to the French, but they were weaker than the Iroquois, who kept them in constant fear and partial subjugation. Among these western tribes, none were more devoted to the French than the Pottawato- mies.

Their religion. before conversion to Christianity, was dreamy and obscure. Like all of the Indian races, they endowed all Nature with divine attributes. Every stream and lake was the embodiment of a supernatural power. The sun was a god and the moon a goddess. Hence their religious belief was essentially pantheistic. They ap-

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

pear to have had a species of belief in the ex- istence of a good spirit who was lord of all, although any conception of the nature and attributes of this spirit was extremely ob- scure. The same obscure belief existed as to a bad spirit.

It was a tradition among them that the souls of the departed are obliged on their way to the great prairie, to cross a large stream over which a log is placed but that this is in such constant agi- tation that none but the spirits of good men can pass over in safety, while those of the bad slip from the log into the water and are never after heard of.

Major Long in his report of his expedi- tion among the Indians in 1823, states that the Pottawatomies then numbered about 3,000 and that their musical instruments consisted solely of a drum, a rattle and a kind of flageolet. He further says that they were for the most part well proportioned, about five feet eight inches high, possessed of much muscular strength in the arm, but rather weak in the back, with a strong neck, endowed with considerable agility.

Until late in the seventeenth century these Indians were the sole occupants of the St. Joseph valley. The first white men to pen- etrate the wilderness were undoubtedly the runners for French traders of Quebec and Montreal, engaged in the fur trade. They were called "coureurs des bois" or "run- ners of the woods," and came in advance of the missionaries or soldiers. That innate courtesy, tact and power of adaptation which have characterized the French race beyond all otlier races, were inherent in these French runners, and at once attracted the friendship of the western Indians. A natural alliance grew up between the Frenchmen and the western Indians which was strengthened by intermarriage between French men and In- dian women, and which was never broken.

But the advent of the French race into the wilds of the West was destined to be suc- ceeded by a French occupation much more

important than the visits of the French "coureurs des bois." The Court of Ver- sailles, having gained possession of Canada, was now engaged in a dream of conquest, embracing a vast continent. While the Eng- lish colonists remained contented with the possessions of a narrow belt of territory along the Atlantic coast, the French were now determined to occupy that vast territory which lay between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi and between the lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. This plan-of conquest was rapidly developed, and by the close of the seventeenth century, nearly all this region had been formally taken possession of by the French with little opposition from the Indians, and dotted over with frequent military posts. In this occu- pation, explorers, missionaries and sol- diers joined. The desire to make this ter- ritory a New France and to convert the In- dian to Christianity went hand in hand. Every missionary became an explorer, and every fort was at once followed by a mission.

In this crusade, the same tact, and power of adaptation which attracted the Indian to the "coureurs des bois" secured his friend- ship for the explorer, the missionary and the soldier. No cruelties, such as marked the conquests of the Spaniard in both North and South America, attended the peaceful mis- sion of the French. Everywhere they treated the Indian with kindness and for- bearance. In their labors for the good of the Indian race, the Catholic priests en- cured all manner of privation and suffering and displayed a fortitude and heroism which have never been surpassed. The main idea which possessed the minds of the French priests appears to have been to Christianize and civilize the Indian races and leave them in the possession of the lands which they oc- cupied. They did not favor any considerable cession of lands by the Indians to the white man, nor any extensive schemes of coloniza- tion. Their scheme contemplated the build- ing up of the Indian tribes into civilized

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

communities owing allegiance to the French government, but preserving their lands and property rights. In this, they were destined to be disappointed by the British conquest and the subsequent policy of the American government, which was essentially hostile to the Indian races east of the Mississippi.

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A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 2

Author: Coolidge, Orville W Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Coolidge, Orville W
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1314