USA > Michigan > Gazetteer of the State of Michigan, in three parts with a succinct history of the State, from the earliest period to the present time with an appendix, containing the usual statistical tables, and a directory for emigrants, &c > Part 2
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Its extreme length from the north-western point the mouth of the Pigeon river, to the south-eastern point the - northern cape of the Miami Bay, is computed to be, in a direct line, 540 miles. Its breadth is various. The Penin- sula Proper is 282 miles long from north to south; its breadth in the southern part from east to west is 170 miles ; its breadth, south of Saginaw Bay, 194 miles ; its average breadth, 140 miles. The north-western or Upper Penin- sula, from its extreme eastern point, the Point de Tour, to its extreme western point, the mouth of the Montreal river,
15
OF MICHIGAN.
NATURAL DIVISIONS .- AREA.
is 324 miles. Its extreme breadth, from north to south, in a direct line from the isthmus of the Kew-y-wee-non Penin- sula to the Lake of the Desert, 108 miles. It's average breadth about 60 miles.
NATURAL DIVISIONS. Michigan consists of two Grand Peninsulas-the Peninsula Proper, or southern peninsula, and the Northern or North-western Peninsula. . The former, by way of eminence, is usually termed the Peninsula ; the Jatter, in this work, for the purpose of distinction, will be designated as the Upper Peninsula, or Upper Michigan.
The Peninsula is bounded on the south by the States of Indiana and Ohio; east by Lake Erie, Strait of Detroit, Lake St. Clair, Strait of St. Clair, and Lake Huron; west by Lake Michigan. On the north it borders the two latter lakes, between which it terminates in a point at the Strait of Mackinac.
The Upper Peninsula borders Lake Superior on the north ; the Territory of Wisconsin on the west and south- west. The eastern portion terminates in a point at the confluence of the Strait of St. Mary with Lake Huron, hav- ing the Strait of St. Mary and the lower part of Lake Supe- rior on the north-east, and Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Strait of Mackinac and Lake Huron on the south-east .*
AREA.
The superficial contents of the whole State, as embraced in the boundaries established by Congress, (including both land and lake surface) are estimated at 96,844 square miles. The area of the Peninsula is estimated at
Acres. Sq. miles.
25,507,840 39,856
The Upper Peninsula at
13,224,960 20,664
60,520
Total land surface,
38,732,800
* In this work, the Western States, when occasion offers to allude to them, will be considered as including all the thirteen new States; the North- Western States, as including all the States north-west of the Ohio, and which formerly constituted the North-West Territory ; the South- Western States, as including the remaining western States, or the western slave-holding States.
16
GAZETTEER
UPPER PENINSULA.
The area of the part of Lake Michigan,
included within the State boundaries, 11,592
Lake Superior, do. do 15,660
Lakes Huron, St. Clair and Erie, do. do. 9,072
Total lake surface within the State, 36,324
96,844
Thus it will be perceived, that upwards of one third of the state, or 36,324 miles, is water, and the remainder, 60,- 520 miles, being less than two thirds, is land ; no estimate being made for the numerous rivers and interior lakes.
The surveyed part of the State, which is erected into counties organized and unorganized, contains 16,407,040 acres, or 25,636 square miles .* The unsurveyed part of the Peninsula, north of the surveyed portion, constituting one part of the county of Mackinac, is computed to contain 9,100,800 acres, or 14,220 square miles. To this add the Upper Peninsula, 20,664 square miles, and there remain 34,884 square miles, or 22,325,760 acres in the State which have not yet been surveyed.
That portion of the State lying in the Upper Peninsula between the Chocolate and Montreal rivers, to which the Indian title remains unextinguished, is computed at 12,- 888 square miles, or 8,248,320 acres.
That portion of the Upper Peninsula lying east of the Chocolate river, the Indian title to which has recently been extinguished, is computed at 7,776 square miles, or 4,976,640 acres. Thus it appears that little less than two thirds of that great section of the state remains in the pos- session of the aborigines.
UPPER PENINSULA.
Of this portion of Michigan, very little satisfactory in- formation is to be had, and that which is known, is of a
* This is not far from the present amount. Arenac and Gladwin, a small part of Isabella, Oceana, Ionia, Midland and Ottawa, are unsur- veyed, although the work is in progress. 'The amount of surveyed lands at the close of the year 1836, was about 21,963 square miles, or 14,056,320 acres.
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OF MICHIGAN.
UPPER PENINSULA .- SURFACE.
character devoid of much interest. It is inhabited, almost exclusively, by Indians, in a wild, uncivilized state, who are visited by traders to obtain peltry and furs. It might be expected that this latter class of persons would possess particular knowledge of the country, but it seems that they are mostly men whose tact and talent lie either in this pe- culiar occupation alone, or else, when possessed of intelli- gence, the exclusive abstraction of mind, induced by this species of commerce, precludes any considerable attention to extraneous subjects. Hence the dearth of geographical knowledge. Most of the information therefore, respecting this region, is to be had from the observations of intelli- gent travellers.
The surface of the Upper Peninsula is much diversified by mountains, hills, valleys and plains. The eastern por- tion, from the head of the peninsula to the Pictured Rocks, is represented as undulating, rising gradually from Lakes Michigan and Superior to the interior, where it terminates in more elevated table land, with a shore on the north, sandy, and, on the south, calcarious rock. Proceeding westward, the country becomes broken into hills, with in- tervening plains, until it is interrupted by the Porcupine Mountains which form the dividing ridge, separating the tributary waters of Lake Superior from those of Lake
Michigan. The highest peaks, toward the western bound- ary, have been estimated at from 1,800 to 2,000 feet high .* Their true position and extent appear to be undetermined. The ridge is often broken through by the larger streams, bordered by extensive valleys. The spurs of these moun- tains project in different directions, often exhibiting their denuded cliffs upon the northern shore.
This ridge has a greater proximity to the northern coast, which it lines with rock, from the Pictured Rocks to the western extremity of this peninsula, except when interrupt- ed by occasional plains of sand. The structure of a part of the northern and eastern portion is of the primitive, and the southern, of the secondary formation. Many parts, and especially the belt embracing the northern portion, exhibits little else than " developments of sublime scenery." Al- most entirely unfrequented by man, (or by beast, except the
* Capt. Douglass.
2*
18
GAZETTEER
UPPER PENINSULA .- FORESTS .- NAVIGATION.
more obnoxious species) some portions appear like a dreary, deserted solitude, surrounded by all the frightful terrors incident to such northern latitudes.
The greater portion of this peninsula, the sand plains excepted, is covered with immense forests principally of white and yellow pine ; a proportion of spruce, hemlock, birch, oak, and aspen, with a mixture of maple, ash, and elm, especially upon the rivers. Of the pine lands, there are millions of acres, and much of a superior quality, un- scathed by fire, stretching between the strait of St. Mary, the Ontonagon and Montreal rivers. To convert this into lumber, there are discharging into the Lakes, 40 large and 60 smaller streams, whose descent warrant the belief of their furnishing many hundred mill sites of sufficient hy- draulic power to answer all desirable purposes.
These streams, the longest of which does not exceed 150 miles, irrigate the country abundantly, and by their facility for navigation, furnish easy access to every part of the in- terior. The head branches of the opposite lake streams often interlock, and, when they do not communicate, fur- nish an easy portage from one to the other by which navi- gation from each lake is easily effected with the lighter craft. The lake coast alone has been estimated at between 700 and 800 miles in extent, and that five-sevenths of the entire peninsula may be reached by the common lake ves- sels. There can be no doubt, that these pine lands, will, from the universal and increasing scarcity of lumber, be- come very valuable, and their produce an article of export.
This peninsula, (the northern part of which has some- times been called the Siberia of Michigan,) it is probable, will never be noted for its agricultural productions, or im- mediately for the density of its population. With the ex- ception of the fertile intervals on the rivers, the soil of the northern portion has all the evidences of sterility, as is. exhibited in its mountains and barren sand plains. The southern part, in climate and soil, is more congenial to ag- riculture. This is the lime stone region, which extends to an undetermined line, separating the primary and secondary formations. Throughout this region, we find the sugar maple in abundance, interspersed with the white and red oak, the beech, and, occasionally, tracts of spruce, and other forest trees. It is here that the more even and fertile
19
OF MICHIGAN.
UPPER PENINSULA .- FISHERIES .- MINERALS.
tracts of land are found, and where, at some future day, will cluster an enterprising population.
The soil is admirably fitted for the grasses and all escu- lent roots. The superior quality of the potato is not ex- ceeded by any section of country. Garden vegetables grow with luxuriousness. Wheat and the other small grains may be cultivated, but for corn the country or climate ap- pears to be uncongenial.
Of the other sources of wealth, the fisheries are destined to be of no inconsiderable importance. The very excel- lent quality, and inexhaustible supply of the fish on the shores of this peninsula, are notorious; and their increas- ing demand will add to the increasing commerce of the State. The wandering bands of Indians inhabiting this region, . in the abandonment of the chase, subsist upon fish as their dependence, which is attributable to their ex- cellence, and the facility with which they are taken.
The other remaining source of wealth will exist in the development of its mineral resources. Without anticipat- ing the result, which the future geological exploration may bring to light, it may be proper to observe, that from the earliest discoveries of this region, by the French, to the present time, it has enjoyed the reputation of a valuable mineral district : though ignorance of geological structure has prevented all enterprising experiments for working its mines, from producing any available profit. Iron, copper, lead, &c. are supposed to exist here. Indications of these metals are exhibited by the vast quantities of iron sand upon the coast, iron pyrites, found in the interior and upon some of the rivers, and the masses of native copper discov- ered upon the Ontonagon. But time and examination will better determine the question.
The fur trade and fisheries are the only present produc- tive sources of profit arising from this territory, and the former is on the decline.
The climate opposes the greatest obstacle to vegetation, though decidedly favorable to health. The summers are shorter than in lower Michigan, but vegetation is quicker in growth and maturity. Native and acclimated exotic plants can be profitably cultivated. Summer commences and terminates of a sudden, and winter departs or succeeds
20
GAZETTEER
PENINSULA .- FACE OF THE COUNTRY.
often without the intervention of spring or autumn. In fact, the two latter seem scarcely to be known. The atmos- phere of St. Mary's is subject to great changes. It is not unusual for the thermometer to stand at 70°, 80°, and 90° above in summer, and in winter at 20°, 25°, and lower, below zero. In dry, cold winter mornings, smoke rises from the chimney tinged with a reddish hue-a phenomenon refera- ble to atmospheric origin. The mean temperature of June and July is from 60° to 64°. Strawberries ripen at Ke- weena portage the 25th of June, and potatoes are planted at the village of the falls the 20th. Although climate has, undoubtedly, a check upon the growth of vegetation, yet it is believed the indolence and improvident habits of its population have a greater ; and that, with proper attention and husbandry, scattered tracts of this peninsula might be- come farming districts, which, in conjunction with the wealth of the forests, fisheries, and mines, would yield am- ple rewards to the industry of an enterprising population. (See Climate and Health.)
PENINSULA.
FACE OF THE COUNTRY.
The surface of the surveyed part of the Peninsula is, generally, either level, undulating, or rolling, and, in some instances, broken or hilly. The eastern portion, extending from the southern boundary to Point aux Barques, of a width varying from 5 to 25 miles, is mostly level. Pro- ceeding westward, the land gradually rises into an irregular ridge, in some parts of which, it attains a height of between 6 and 700 feet. This ridge has a much greater proximity to the eastern than to the western margin, and serves to separate the tributaries discharging into Lake Michigan, from those flowing eastward.
The portion of the southern part of the State denomin- ated hilly, branches off from the principal ridge, in differ- ent directions, through parts of the counties of Hillsdale, Washtenaw, Jackson, Ingham, Oakland, Livingston, Ionia,
21
OF MICHIGAN.
PENINSULA .- FACE OF THE COUNTRY.
Barry, Kent, and Eaton. "The hills consist of an irreg- ular assemblage of somewhat conical elevations, occasion- ally attaining an elevation of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, but ordinarily not more than from 30 to 40 feet."
From the main portion of table land, progressing west- ward to the Lake, the country, with the above exceptions, assumes a very gradual descent, exhibiting a gently undu- lating, but very rarely broken surface.
Of the unsurveyed part of the peninsula, north of a line passing east and west through the middle of Saginaw Bay, as little is known as of the Upper Peninsula.
·The ridge of land before spoken of, again takes its rise near the mouth of Sauble river, and is seen from the lake to stretch on for many miles along and beyond the coast. This ridge receives its name from the Sauble river, and is called the Highlands of Sauble. Its height has not been ascertained, but it has heretofore been estimated to be much the highest part of this peninsula .* A considerable portion of it has generally been unfavorably represented, as being interspersed with sand ridges and marshes, having an abrupt descent from the Highlands, eastward, and a gradual slope towards the west. Taking the great extent of this peninsula into consideration, it may, in a compara- tive point of view, be said to possess a great evenness of surface, with a sufficient declivity, however, to allow its waters to drain off in lively and healthful streams.
These are the general features of the surface of the inte- rior. The coasts form an exception. The coast of both Michigan and Huron is someitmes exhibited in high, steep banks. The coast of the former, is frequently seen in bluffs and banks of sand, varying in height from one hundred to three hundred feet.
To the traveller, the country presents an appearance em- inently picturesque and delightful. In a considerable por- tion of the surveyed part, the surface of the ground is so
* A more geological, but rather uncouth view of the State, would con- sider the surrounding lakes exhausted of their waters, in which case, Michigan would exhibit an immense mountainous ridge more than 600 miles in extent, partially broken by a chasm or gap at Mackinac, rising in the north-west more than 4000 feet, and in the south upwards of 2500 feet above its valleys-the bottom of the great lakes before mentioned.
22
GAZETTEER
SOIL.
even and free from underbrush, as to admit of carriages being driven through the uncultivated woodlands and plains, with the same facility as over the prairie or common road. The towering forest and grove, the luxuriant prai- rie, the crystal lake and limpid rivulet, are so frequently and happily blended together, especially in the southern section of the peninsula, as to confer additional charms to the high finishing of a landscape, whose beauty is probably unrivalled by any section of country.
SOIL.
The soil is of various kinds, but it is subject to a general classification sufficient for the present purpose. It is generally free from stone, and of a deep, dark, sandy loam, frequently of the richest quality, and often mixed with various proportions of gravel, and sometimes of argile or clay. It may be classed agreeably to its natural cover- ing, or the aspect of its surface, as the pine lands-tim- bered lands-openings-plains -- and prairies.
Respecting that portion of the peninsula, which is unsur- veyed, especially all that section lying north-west of Saginaw Bay, very little accurate information has been received. As was previously observed, it has been unfavorably rep- resented, and the aspect of the shores around it is of the most forbidding character.
But little reliance, however, can be placed on those reports which are not the result of actual survey and intelli- gent examination. It should not be forgotten, that during the long period, from the discovery of Michigan to the time of its survey, it was characterized either as an interminable morass or a sandy waste, and that the older geographies gave circulation to similar representations. It is said, even some of the first attempts to survey it, were abandoned for like reasons. But as it was surveyed and brought into market, its superior excellence gave it the reputation of one of the best agricultural regions in the western country.
Very flattering accounts have been given of the south- western portion of the unsurveyed part, lying on the tribu-
23
OF MICHIGAN.
SOIL .- TIMBERED LAND.
taries to Lake Michigan, north of Grand river, and it is not improbable, that it will be found to possess tracts of excellent land.
On the north-eastern border, the evergreens seem to pre- dominate, as pine, spruce, hemlock, &c. and in the north- ern part, extending into the interior, are found large forests of pine and extensive tracts of well timbered land. Ex- tensive groves of beech, birch, sugar maple, and other for- est trees, are common. The sandy soil of the pine lands in the surveyed part, is generally well known, though it is stronger and more productive than it is commonly believed to be, by those unacquainted with it, as may be seen by reference to the Second Part of this work.
The Timbered Land is found mostly upon the intervals, the low and wet and the elevated broken lands. It gener- ally consists of such tracts as have either too moist a soil to admit fire to overrun them, or of a dry soil, otherwise protected from its ravages. It often appears in dense and lofty forests and scattered groves, interspersed with timber of the largest size. Forest trees of almost every variety found in this latitude, are found here. Those which pre- dominate are black and white walnut, hickory and oak of every species, hard maple (commonly called the sugar maple), soft maple, elm, all the different kinds of ash, bass or lin- den, sycamore, hackberry, cottonwood, aspen, locust, butter- nut, box or dogwood, poplar, whitewood beech, cherry, sas- safras, white, yellow and Norway pine, hemlock, spruce, tam- arack, cedar, cypress, chestnut, pawpaw, &c. &c. together with a great variety of the smaller trees and shrubs, as the willow, alder, sumac, honeysuckle, &c. including most of the varieties found in the Middle and Eastern States.
These are some of the varieties of timber found in Mich- igan, growing of course on soils suited to each respective- ly. Some of these trees are scarce, .as the chestnut, the hemlock, &c. though the latter is plentiful on the coasts.
Trees growing on every kind of land in this State, owing to the great depth and lightness of soil, take an unusually deep root, and often appear to have sunk in the ground. Hence, it is very rare to see a tree blown down by the wind, although heavy winds are sometimes experienced. The soil of interval, timbered lands, is usually black, and composed of decomposed vegetable matter, of great fertili-
24
GAZETTEER
SOIL .- OPENINGS.
ty. The soil of timbered lands is, generally, not warm. It is admirably fitted for the grasses, and produces the best crops of oats, potatoes, &c., and when dry and sufficiently warm, excellent crops of corn. It is not so congenial to wheat. The interval or " bottom lands," in this State, are not in better estimation than the uplands ; but the coun- try on the Kalamazoo and St. Joseph is in high repute.
The Openings are sometimes distinguished into openings and timbered openings, owing to the different density of their timber. The major part of the unsurveyed portion of this peninsula is open land, or openings. These general- ly consist of table lands, lying between the rivers, and often bordering the streams themselves. They are sometimes deficient in timber, though frequently skirted with "plains" and woodlands. They are usually but very sparsely inter- spered with oak trees, of different varieties, often of a good size, but of a diminutive height. There is no underbrush, and the trees are in appearance unthrifty ; the cause of which may be traced to the annual fires which have been suffered to pass through them. But after these fires have been kept out for a few years, an undergrowth of timber springs up, with a thriftiness that proves the congeniality of the soil to the forest tree. A thick grass sward cov- ers the soil, and, although it requires no labor to prepare the way for the plough, it requires the strength of three or four yoke of oxen to break it up the first time ; yet, afterward it is cultivated with the same ease as the older lands. The soil is a loam, with a mixture of clay and sand, generally of a dark color, dry and stiff in its struc- ture.
There seems to be very little or no covering of decom- posed vegetable matter on this soil, but there is another more durable principle, universal in the table lands, at- . tributable to the mixture of lime, which not only makes the soil fertile, but makes it increase in fertility the more it is improved. This is superior for wheat growing. There is another characteristic which is rather unaccount- able. ' In some of the uplands there are found tracts of land, with a scarcity of timber, and a yellow or reddish soil, which to the casual observer is apparently sterile, or, at least, second or third rate lands. But these are often the best of lands. On being ploughed and exposed to the
-
25
OF MICHIGAN.
SOIL .- PLAINS .- PRAIRIES.
action of the atmosphere, the soil undergoes a chemical change, its color very soon turns black, and it is found to be in the highest degree productive.
The Plains very much resemble the openings, except the soil usually contains more sand or gravel in its compo- sition. They are often covered with a beautiful growth of timber, free from underbrush, and appear like cultivated orchards, or groves planted by the hand of man. They are easily improved, and are said to be much fertilized by the addition of plaster. The timbered lands, openings and plains, yield according to circumstances; of corn, from 40 to 80 bushels and upwards ; of oats, from 40 to 50 bushels to the acre. It is not unusual for the plains and openings to produce 30 bushels of wheat to the acre; sometimes more ; the average may perhaps be placed at 25 bushels.
The Prairies are mostly small, the largest but a few miles in circumference. They are found in different sec- tions, but mostly in the southern and south-western portion of the Peninsula. There is less prairie land in this, . than in several other of the North-western States. This land is known by two appellations, the wet and the dry prairie. Prairie is the French word for meadow, and is properly wild or natural meadow land. They are free from all tim- ber and shrubs of every description, and covered only with grass.
The dry prairies are often a little undulating, by means of which the water is conducted off, and they make arable farm land, possessing a rich soil, of easy cultivation, and producing the largest crops of grass, and every species of grain. Many of the prairies near the Kalamazoo and St. Joseph rivers, have a black, deep, rich, consistent soil, in- ferior to none in the western country. Vegetation is so luxuriant, that after the seed is deposited, they require little or no farther cultivation. From 30 to 50 bushels of corn per acre, have been raised upon them the first season, with- out being ploughed or hoed after planting ; and after the soil has been subdued, from 30 to 80 bushels of corn, and 40 of wheat, are usually raised to the acre. Other vegetation flourishes in the same proportionate luxuriance.
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