History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 2

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold
Number of Pages: 738

USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 2

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On July 24. 1701, Antoine de la Motte Cadillac founded the first European settlement at Detroit with 50 soldiers and 50 artisans. The stockade fort was named Fort Pontchar- train, and log houses thatched with grass fur- nished ample protection to the settlers. Ca- dillac was recalled in 1710, and the colony grew but slowly in the next 50 years.

As a result of the disastrous French and Indian War, the district now embraced in Michigan was abandoned to the English, and in October, 1760, Maj. Robert Rogers took

possession of Detroit with a military force of 200 provincial rangers. With the raising of the English flag over this the most important post in the Northwest, the colonial period be- gins for. Michigan. Mackinaw, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Joseph, the only other French posts in this territory, were occupied by the English in the fall of 1761. These places were the meagre results of a hundred years of French colonization.

The English were hardly in complete pos- session of this new country before their neglect and ill-treatment aroused the dormant passions of the Indians. The French missionaries had a strong hold on the red men, and in the war just ended they had fought the English with all the ferocity of their savage natures. In 1761 the Senecas and Wyandots conspired to surprise and massacre the garrison of Detroit, with its 2,500 inhabitants. The plot was barely thwarted by Captain Campbell, the com- mandant.

Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas, occupying that part of Michigan lying between Lake St. Clair and Lake Michigan, a born leader, effect- ive in speech, crafty and daring in war, a thoughtful and far-seeing general, probably the greatest man his race has ever produced, conceived the idea of uniting all the Indian tribes between the Alleghanies and the Missis- sippi in an overwhelming and simultaneous attack against all the English frontier settle- ments, and most of the tribes in that vast coun- try agreed to the massacre.

On April 27, 1763, the Indians held a great council of war on the Ecorces River near De- troit, where arrangements were made for at- tacking the posts early in May. On May 7th, Pontiac, accompanied by 60 apparently un- armed warriors, entered the fort at Detroit for a powwow with Major Gladwyn. This was at once one of the most dramatic and romantic

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

incidents in the early history of Michigan. The love of an Ojibwa Indian maiden for a pale face soldier foiled Pontiac's plot, and stopped a massacre, which if consummated would have retarded for years the advance of civilization. The Indian maiden warned Major Gladwyn of impending danger. Pontiac found the soldiers all under arms and ready for action when he entered, and the prearranged signal for the beginning of the slaughter was never given. On May 9th the savages proceeded to besiege the fort, and several white settlers outside of the stockade were ruthlessly murdered. On May 30th the Indians waylaid 23 batteaux, laden with stores and ammunition for the gar- rison, at Point Pelee. At daybreak the crews were massacred; one officer and 30 men es- caped in a boat to Sandusky. In July, Captain Dalzell succeeded in bringing needed supplies to the besieged fort. On July 31st, Captain Dalzell tried a foolhardy sortie; Pontiac am- bushed the party of 250 on Parent's Creek, now known as Bloody Run, killing the leader and 70 Englishmen and wounding 40 before they could regain the stockade. Famine com -. pelled the Indians to go hunting in October, and during their absence the stores in the fort were renewed. General Bradstreet relieved the fort the following spring. Fort St. Joseph was captured by Pottawatomies May 25, 1763; Ensign Schlosser and three men alone escaped the massacre. On June 2, 1763, some Indians were playing ball near the gates of Fort Mack- inaw, and the officers and soldiers, unsuspic- ious of danger, were looking on. The ball was thrown into the fort and the dusky warriors rushed after it through the gates; squaws handed to the warriors tomahawks they had concealed under their blankets, and another bloody massacre was enacted. Lieutenant Jamet and 69 men were killed and 27 were

taken prisoners, to be tortured, but Pontiac eventually secured their release.

Pontiac captured eight out of 12 posts he attacked, hundreds of pale faces were killed, but his endeavor to drive the English from the interior of the continent failed. In August, 1764, Pontiac gave up the struggle. The war- whoops ceased to terrorize the valleys of Mich- igan, the outposts of civilization were rebuilt and the pioneers again took their axes and plows into the wilderness to create new habi- tations.

The War of the Revolution caused but lit- tle stir in this maze of wood and swamp, far removed from the scene of actual conflict, and by the Treaty of Paris, in 1783, England sur- rendered all this vast territory to the United States, who took possession in July, 1796, which marks the beginning of our territorial period.

The charter of this great new Northwest Territory was passed by Congress in 1787, and was framed with much wisdom, being the model of all future territorial governments in America. It provided for freedom of wor- ship, a bill of rights, inviolability of contracts, encouraged schools and general education, proclaimed all waters free to commerce, and the sixth and last article declared that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude should ever be allowed in the new Territory. Thus at the very dawn of our political existence this vast region was pledged to education, freedom and equal rights for all. Gen. Arthur. St. Clair, far- famed as an Indian fighter, was the first terri- torial Governor.

In 1802 the Lower Peninsula became part of the Territory of Indiana. In 1804, Con- gress passed an act providing for the disposal of public lands within the Territory, to which the Indian title had been extinguished, for the

THIRD STREET BRIDGE

MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD DEPOT, BAY CITY, E. S.

SOLDIERS' REST MONUMENT, PINE RIDGE CEMETERY

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

use of public schools. By this act was laid the germ for the University Fund of Michigan and of the Primary School Fund.

On January 11, 1805, Congress passed the act creating the Territory of Michigan. "It was to comprise all that portion of Indiana Territory lying north of a line drawn east from the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan, until it intersected Lake Erie, and lying east of a line drawn from the same southern extreme of Lake Michigan to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States."

In June, 1805, Detroit was destroyed by fire, and when General Hull, the first territorial Governor, arrived, he found the people camped in the open fields with scanty food and cloth- ing. Undaunted by misfortune, these pioneers erected a new city on the old site, and Detroit became the territorial capital. Instigated by Tecumseh, another noted Indian chief, the red- skins again took the war-path in 1811, but the battle of Tippecanoe on November 7th of that year quieted this region.

Then came the second war with England. On July 17, 1812, the English captured Fort Mackinac, garrisoned by only 67 men. On August 16, 1812, General Hull surrendered Detroit to the English without a fight, and only his good record in the Revolutionary War saved him from being shot for cowardice and criminal neglect of duty. General Winchester, advancing to the recapture of Detroit, was sur- prised by the English and Indians under Gen- eral Proctor at River Raisin, January 22, 1813, and compelled to surrender. The following night the Indians butchered all the wounded Americans and the helpless inhabitants of Frenchtown. Commodore Perry's victory over the English fleet at Put-in-Bay, Septem- ber 10, 1813, opened the way for the recapture of Michigan. General Harrison's campaign

in Canada caused Proctor to leave Detroit, to fight the disastrous battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh was killed, and for the last time a foreign foe was driven from the terri- tory. On September 29, 1813, Col. Lewis Cass took possession of Detroit, and on Octo- ber gth of that year he was made Governor of Michigan Territory.

The population of Michigan was small, less than 7,000, and confined to a few settlements on the eastern border. The great interior was an unknown wilderness, inhabited only by wandering Indians. The first steamboat on the Great Lakes, the "Walk-in-the-Water," reached Detroit in the summer of 1818, and after that Westward-bound pioneers came to Michigan in large numbers. Governor Cass made treaties with the Indians, secured the cession of their lands and proved to the outside world that the interior was something better than an unhealthy, impenetrable swamp, as it had previously been regarded. The lands were surveyed and opened to settlers. The building of public roads, and the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, stimulated trade and commerce in the Territory, and by 1835 Michigan had more than 60,000 population, and clamored to be admitted into the Union as a State. A boun- dary dispute with Ohio, involving land on which the city of Toledo is situated, delayed the admission to statehood, and caused the ex- citing but bloodless "Toledo War." Governor Mason called out the Michigan militia and marched to Toledo, determined to prevent Ohio from organizing Lucas County. Con- gress hastened to pacify both parties, by giving Michigan the extensive territory comprising the Upper Peninsula while Ohio retained the disputed strip. Time has revealed the rich min- eral contents of that Upper Peninsula and Michigan has never regretted the settlement.

The first State convention was held in De-

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

troit during May, 1835, and in October, Ste- vens T. Mason was elected Governor, Edward Mundy, Lieutenant-Governor, and Isaac E. Crary, first Representative to Congress. The Legislature in November, 1835, elected John Norvell and Lucius Lyon, United States Sena- tors from Michigan. Finally, by act approved January 26, 1837, Michigan was admitted as the 26th State of the Union.

Internal improvements were the crying needs of the hour, and one of the first acts of the State Legislature provided for a loan of $5,000.000 to construct and operate the Mich- igan Central and Southern railways. This work was begun in 1835, but by 1846 the State authorities were ready to dispose of the rail- roads to private corporations and the two par- tially completed roads were sold for $2,500,- 000, which was much less than the State had expended.

Equally unsatisfactory was Michigan's ex- perience with "wild-cat" banking. Fifteen banks were doing business in Michigan, when admitted to statehood. Among the theories of the times was the notion that banking, like farming or storekeeping, should be free to all. In 1837 a law was passed allowing any 10 free- holders to organize a bank with capital not less than $50,000 nor more than $300,000. The provisions for the security of the public were loosely framed and utterly worthless. Banks were started by mere adventurers. When the bank commissioners were making their rounds of inspection, the 30 per cent. of specie de- manded by the law was carried from bank to bank during the night, so that on each day the commissioners counted the same coin, but for different people. Banks were located any- where and everywhere. One was located in an old sawmill, and it was humorously asserted that a "hollow stump" to serve as a "vault" was all that was needed to start a bank. By

1839 most of the "wild-cat" banks were put out of business, but more than a million dol- lars worth of worthless bills had been put in circulation. In 1844 the general banking law was revised, and the State's finances placed on a safer basis.

In 1837, Governor Mason appointed Rev. John D. Pierce, a Congregational clergyman, engaged in missionary work among the pio- neers of Central Michigan, as the first Super- intendent of Public Instruction, not only of this State, but of the entire country. "Father" Pierce, as he was affectionately called, was the founder of the Michigan school system, and his plan, passed by act of the Legislature in 1837, contained most of the essential features of our present school system, a living monu- ment to the wisdom and foresight of the foun- der of the Michigan schools. He placed the primary school money within the reach of every child in the State, and provided for the establishment of a State University, for the higher culture of advanced students.

In 1847 a colony of Mormons, led by James J. Strang, located on Beaver Island. By vigorous proselyting the colony of five families was increased to 2,000 persons by 1856. In that year internal dissensions arose, and Strang was assassinated. Soon after, the colony was dispersed by an armed band of fishermen from neighboring shores, and the Mormons were given only 24 hours to leave the State.

From 1701 the capital of the Territory and later of the State had been at Detroit. In 1847 the capitalsite was selected by the Legis- lature at Lansing, then covered by a dense for- est, and 40 miles from any railroad. The selec- tion was generally condemned and ridiculed at the time, but experience has proven the selec- tion a happy one from every standpoint. A constitutional convention at Lansing in 1850

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drew up a new constitution, providing for the election of all heads of departments direct by the people, and this was ratified by the voters.

When Michigan was admitted to the Un- ion, the Democratic party was in power, and the Governor was a member of that party. Dissatisfaction with the existing financial mis- management brought the Whigs into power under Governor William Woodbridge, 1839- 1840. From 1841 to 1854, the Democrats were again in power. In 1854 the Republican party, on the anti-slavery issue, was organized "under the oaks" at Jackson, and elected its candidates, and with the exception of two terms-1883-85 and 1891-93-when the Dem- ocrats prevailed on free trade issues, the Re- publican party has continued in control of the political destinies of the State. Roosevelt car- ried the State by over 250,000 plurality in 1904, carrying every Republican with him.

Michigan, under War Governor Austin Blair, during the four years of the Civil War. furnished 93.700 men, of whom 14,855 died in the service of the nation. Few States were more prompt in furnishing financial and moral support to the United States government in its hour of direst need. When the late la- mented President Mckinley issued his call for 125,000 volunteers to serve in the war with Spain in 1898, Michigan furnished five regi- ments of infantry, the 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th and 35th, consisting of 5.376 enlisted men, and 235 officers. The 33rd and 34th regi- ments, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, served with General Shafter's army before Santiago. and the Michigan Naval Reserves, detailed on the auxiliary cruiser "Yosemite," saw serv- ice at Guantanamo and San Juan de Puerto Rico.

However, Michigan's greatest renown is in the arts and pursuits of peace. In 1837 the interior, was sparsely settled, and the forests

and prairies showed few signs of human in- dustry. Wagon roads were scarce and poor corduroy, and there was no completed rail- road. Postal arrangements were inconvenient, and correspondence was an expensive luxury. Cities there was none. Schools, churches and newspapers were few in number and crudely equipped. The privations of pioneer life were many and severe. The passing years have changed the wilderness into more than a hun- dred thousand farms, in a high state of culti- vation. Eight thousand miles of good rail- roads afford good market and traveling facili- ties. The Federal census of 1900 and State census of 1904 show a population of nearly 2,500,000 people, having 12,000 schools, 10,000 churches, hundreds of modern news- papers, city and rural telephone and mail lines, and miles of new electric transit lines. Hun- dreds of fast and commodious passenger and freight boats ply the Great Lakes and the rivers of Michigan.

Well-kept highways and an excellent coun- ty and State drain system have helped to de- velop and enrich the agricultural possibilities of the "Peninsular" State.

Lying in the very heart of this great State, the annals of Bay County are inseparably linked with the fortunes of Michigan. To understand the recital of local events, one must know and comprehend the varying historical periods of the State at large. Certain it is, that even as the vast country comprised within the confines of Michigan has provided many interesting and instructive records for the pages of our national history, and just as the achieve- ments of Michigan's favorite sons have quick- ened our national life, and by deeds of valor and self-sacrifice, by industry, enterprise and culture, left their imprint on the "sands of time," even so has Bay County contributed its might to the greatness and prosperity of our

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

beloved commonwealth. Hence it is fitting and right that a review of the main events in the creation and government of the great "Peninsular" State, should precede the more detailed sketch of the "Garden Spot of Michi- gan,"-Bay County.

A song to thee, fair State of mine, Michigan, my Michigan, But greater song than this is thine, Michigan, my Michigan. The thunder of the inland sea, The whisper of the towering tree Unite in one grand symphony- Michigan, my Michigan.

I sing a State of all the best- Michigan, my Michigan. I sing a State with riches blest- Michigan, my Michigan.

Thy mines unmask a hidden store, But richer thy historic lore, More great the love thy builders bore- Michigan, my Michigan.

How fair the bosom of thy lakes, Michigan, my Michigan. What melody each river makes, Michigan, my Michigan. As to thy lakes the rivers tend Thy exiled ones still to thee send Devotion that shall never end. Michigan, my Michigan.

Rich in wealth that makes a State, Michigan, my Michigan. Great in the things that make men great, Michigan, my Michigan. Eager the voice that sounds thy claim Upon the golden roll of Fame ; Willing the hand that writes the name- Michigan, my Michigan.

LOWER SAGINAW (NOW BAY CITY) IN 1837.

CHAPTER II.

THE ABORIGINAL PERIOD

VIRGIN FORESTS, TRACKLESS SWAMPS AND LAKE-BOUND PRAIRIES - "O-SAUK-E-NON," THE "LAND OF THE SAUKS"-INDIAN TRIBES AND CHIEFTAINS-MANNERS, CUS- TOMS AND MODES OF LIFE OF THE ABORIGINES-THIE OVERTHROW OF THE SAUKS BY THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES-THE INDIANS AS FOUND BY THE PIONEERS-THIE IN- DIANS OF TO-DAY.

So came the autumn, and passed, and the winter,-yet Gabriel came not ; Blossomed the opening spring, and the notes of the robin and bluebird Sounded sweet upon wold and in wood, yet Gabriel came not. But on the breath of the summer winds a rumor was wafted Sweeter than song of bird, or hue or odor of blossom. Far to the north and east, it said, in the Michigan forests, Gabriel had his lodge by the banks of the Saginaw River. And, with returning guides, that sought the lakes of the Huron, Saying a sad farewell, Evangeline went from the Ozark Mission. When over weary ways, by long and perilous marches, She had attained at length the depths of the Michigan forests Found she the hunter's lodge on the Saginaw deserted and fallen to ruin! -Adapted from Longfellow's Evangeline.

Shade of Evangeline! A spot far-famed, whence comes mysterious legends of the red children of the forest! Scenes of which the poets have sung and the artists reveled! His- toric shores of lake and river, where emanate romantic traditions and soul-stirring reminis- cences! But yesterday the veiled wilderness, beckoning to the explorer! To-day an equally attractive field for the scientist and the statis- tician! Wooded shores, ribboned by placid streams that bring melodious greetings from distant inland vales, stand guard over Lake Huron's most favored harbor! With the vis- ion of a seer, the poet portrays the scene, and bemoans the tragedies of ages agone :

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,

Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,

Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic, Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.

Loud from its misty caverns, the deep-voiced neighbor- ing lake

Speaks, and with rythmic lullaby soothes the lisping voices of the forest.

This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it

Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman? * * *

Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands,

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven ?

-Adapted from Longfellow's Evangeline.

Truly this great country of ours has few localities more blessed by Nature, and few in- deed can offer as much in folk-lore and tradi- tion, than the far-famed valley of the Sagi- naw. Its very name is pregnant with historic lore of an heroic people. The primitive In- dians called it "O-Sauk-e-non," meaning the "Land of the Sauks." Centuries ago, their exact number none can tell with precision, the Sauks, a warlike and powerful tribe of In- dians, held undisputed sway over all the vast and varied region comprised in what is now Eastern Michigan.

If we are to accept the scientist's theory of the prehistoric glacial and rainy periods, and the subsequent upheavals, that gave to our globe its present formation, we may readily believe that one of the very last spots in this vast region to rise above the level of the all- pervading waters was this same valley of the Sauks or Saginaw.

The earliest explorers still found much of the valley a seemingly endless swamp, a tangle of primitive forest on its margin, alive with wild beasts of forest and prairie, with gamy myriads of the deep, and the winged hosts of this vast lake region. It must have been infi- nitely more impenetrable at the time the Sauk nation made this valley their favorite hunting ground, and seat of their great tribe councils. This valley is to-day a paradise of fish and game, and it will require no great stretch of imagination to picture to oneself the ideal liv- ing conditions presented here to the simple- hearted children of the wilderness. Wood for the camp-fire, water clear as crystal for the family cooking in their primitive earthern and stone vessels, fish and game for the mere sport of the hunter, and, last but not least, a safe re-

treat in times of trouble and defeat. For who but the native child of these vast forests would be able to thread its trackless wastes and treacherous river bottoms with safety and with dispatch? And the warlike Sauks no doubt knew the defensive value of river fords and sand ridge, of wood and plain. The Romans of the Old World sallied forth from their strong city to conquer the world, confident of a safe retreat in times of disaster and tempo- rary defeat, and of quite a similar character are the annals of these earliest known inhabi- tants of this gem of the Great Lakes. Certain it is that the Sauks held a foremost place among the Indians of their day. Indian tra- ditions are replete with the recital of their war- like deeds, even centuries after the tribe was wiped from the face of the earth by a combi- nation of weaker tribes inhabiting other por- tions of the lake regions, who disliked the domination of the Sauks, and probably cov- eted their rich hunting grounds. Hardly half a century has passed, since this beautiful val- ley was indeed a happy hunting ground. Buf- falo, elk, moose and deer roamed at will through the prairie-bound forests. Black and brown bears, wolves, panthers, wild cats and other wild beasts infested the wilderness, fero- cious foes of almost equally ferocious aborig- ines. Even to this day most of these animals are to be found in the thinly settled portions of this section of Michigan. What wonder then, that the Sauks waxed strong, and that with all the fiery instincts of their savage souls they enjoyed a fight, and spoiled for lust of blood and conquest !

The earliest annals of Bay County tell of the Indian traditions of the Sauks, as they were handed down from generation to genera- tion, an inspiration for young warriors, and a song of victory for the sages of the tribes, who on the very site of Greater Bay City extermi-

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nated, in a desperate two-days battle, the last remnants of the once powerful tribe of Sauks.

Jean Nicollet, believed to be the first white man to have visited the harbor of what is now Bay City, in his explorations of the western and northern shores of Lake Huron in 1634 speaks of the land of the Sauks in his official report to Governor Champlain of New France. He was hospitably received by the Indians, after interpreters he had with him had over- come their fears, for he was the first white man most of them had seen. The next au- thentic report of the land of the Sauks is found in the annals of Pere Marquette and Pere Dablon, who about 1668 were exploring the western shore of Lake Huron, and the latter tells of a council with the natives on a great river, undoubtedly the Saginaw, which for a time was thought to be connected with the Mississippi River. This river flowed through the center of the land of the Sauks, which is described as extending from the western shore of Lake Huron to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, and from Mackinaw in the north to the land of the Shiawassees in the south. The Indians then inhabiting this vast region were easily won over by the earnest and de- voted missionaries.

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History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 2

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872- Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold Number of Pages: 738

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold
Number of Pages: 738