History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 8

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

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you now, yet will my spirit bird ever watch over you. I will whisper to you in the evening breeze, and when the morning comes you will know that I have been with you through the night. But the Good Spirit beckons me, and I must hasten. Let my body be laid in a quiet spot, with my tomahawk and pipe by my side. You need not fear that the wolf will disturb my rest, for the Great Spirit, I feel, will place a watch over me. Meet me in the Spirit Land, my children-farewell!" They buried him in a lonely spot in the prairie, on the opposite side of the great river, with his face toward the rising sun. His last resting place was never dis- turbed by bird or beast. So had the Great Spirit ordered it.

In the course of time, a tree arose over the grave, and spread its branches over it like a protecting wing, and in that tree lived a beauti- ful white owl, which the Great Spirit had sent to watch over it. So long as this "Lone Tree" stood, and the owl watched over it, the In- dians of the valley would thrive and prosper, but when the sacred owl would depart, their tribes would become scattered, and their race pass away. Strangely enough, all this came to pass. A great flood in 1838 laid bare the roots of the tree, and covered the prairie for miles and miles with water, killing all the trees that had withstood the previous rampages of the Saginaw. In 1837 the Indians gave up by treaty their last great hunting grounds in Mich- igan. During that very twelvemonth half their number were killed by smallpox, and their tribes became weak and scattered. The dead ash tree stood for several years longer, the white owl still keeping its vigil over the grave of Ke-wah-ke-won. In 1841, James J. McCormick came with his father's family to the wilderness in Portsmouth, as we have nar- rated. He knew nothing of the legend center- ing about that "Lone Tree," and the big white

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

owl perched ever in its decaying branches. While out hunting ducks on the river shore and marsh, he shot and killed the owl. A few years after, the tree was prostrated in a storm, and the last vestige of it soon disappeared. With it disappeared the Indians. They lin- gered for a time about their old haunts, where once they had been undisputed masters. But the colony of pale faces was growing stronger, game was becoming more and more scarce, and Poor Lo must retreat further into the Northern wilds. About 1840 the Philadelphia Evening Post published a poem on the "Lone Tree" and its messenger from Manitou the Great, watching over the weal and woe of the Indians of the valley of the Sauks, written by Miss Mather, daughter of a prominent pioneer of Flint. Hon. Artemas Thayer, of Flint, was enjoying with his bride and two friends, in- cluding Miss Mather, his wedding trip, on the ice and snow covering Saginaw River, from Flint to Portsmouth, when they saw the "Lone Tree" and the far-famed white owl. Shortly after writing that poem, Miss Mather died while visiting at the home of Hon. Horace Greeley, in New York.

William R. McCormick delighted to repeat these weird Indian legends around his cozy fireside in after years. He was also indefati- gable in gathering the relics which were found in large numbers in the sand hills and mounds of this part of the State. The oldest frame house in Bay City was built by the Trombleys in 1835, and in 1842 this was purchased by William R. McCormick's father. It stood then in a broad clearing on the western slope of an extensive mound, and is to-day the venerable old Center House on the corner of 24th and Water streets. In those mounds the McCor- micks found many skeletons, much broken pot- tery of strange make, stone knives, stone axes, stone arrow-heads and stone spears. Most

of the relics found in these and other mounds of this valley were presented by Mr. McCor- mick to the State Pioneer Collection, to muse- ums all over the country, and to the Smithso- nian Institute at Washington.

In company with kindred spirits, who loved to search these unexplored river banks for traces of other races, and for relics of a for- gotten past, he searched through every nook and corner of this county. A review of their findings cannot fail to interest even the layman. He was a confirmed believer in the theory, that this valley was at some prehistoric period the advanced position of the mysterious race of Mound Builders. He saw these mounds in a state of nature 70 years ago. He saw them plowed over, dug up to admit foundations for large modern buildings, and a few sand ridges carried away bodily for building purposes.

One of the highest elevations in Bay Coun- ty is the mound or ridge at the east approach to the Lafayette avenue bridge. In 1905 we find on it the massive buildings of the Bay City Brewing Company, a hotel, livery stable, the venerable old McCormick homestead, and, on the northern spur, the palatial home of Ex- Mayor George D. Jackson. The elevation com- prises about two acres. When William R. Mc- mick first saw this conspicuous landmark, just 70 years ago, he found timber all about it, with the exception of a duck pond in the rear of the mound, about an acre in extent. In excavating for the massive brewery, Indian skeletons were found four to five feet below the surface, while five feet deeper down were found skeletons of another and apparently an older race, buried . with oddly-formed burned pottery and quaint stone and copper implements. Some of these implements showed that this strange prehis- toric people had the art of hardening copper, and of working in metals. Unfortunately these skeletons had crumbled away to such an

PLANT OF THE MICHIGAN CHEMICAL COMPANY, Bay City, E. S.

PLANT OF THE W. D. YOUNG CHEMICAL COMPANY, Bay City, W. S.

NATIONAL CYCLE MANUFACTURING CO

MILL AND YARD OF THE NATIONAL CHICORY COMPANY, Bay City, E. S.

FACTORY OF THE NATIONAL CYCLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY Bay City, E. S.

7.7

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extent, that a touch, or a breath of air even, left nothing but a dust heap. In grading 22nd street, through the north end of this mound, three skeletons of very large stature were found at a depth of II feet, with large earthen pots placed at the head of each sarcophagus.

A large circular mound existed for many years near the C. J. Smith sawmill in the First Ward of the West Side, about 100 feet in diam- eter and from three to six feet above the level of the surrounding meadows. Old settlers found many strange stone weapons and other implements by grubbing around in this mound. It was leveled down and the dirt used to fill in a part of the river front, hence every trace of it is lost.

On the property of Hon. James G. Birney, at the west approach to the Michigan Central Railroad bridge, was another similar mound, but much higher than the Smith mound. The skeletons were much better preserved than any of the others, and the skulls were quite unlike those found in Indian graves. One well-pre- served skull, with a circular hole through the forehead, made by some sharp instrument, which undoubtedly caused death, was presented by Mr. McCormick to J. Morgan Jennison, of Philadelphia. Some boys found an exquisitely worked canoe, of silver, about five inches long, with the ends dipped in gold. A kettle made of copper, wrought into shape by hammering, having no seams, was also found in this mound, and placed with Mr. Jennison's collection in the State Capitol.

Another mound was a half mile south of this one, and several skeletons were dug from its side by Charles E. Jennison, one of the few pioneers of those early days still living in Bay City. Copper kettles and other implements were also found in this mound.

A half mile further south we find, even to this day, one of the most commanding views of

the river. Early settlers found a spring of water here, clear as crystal, and just shade enough to make it an ideal camping ground for the Indians. Here, according to tradition, was the main portion of the Sauk tribe when they were wiped out by the confederated tribes. Here they made their, most desperate stand against overwhelming numbers. And here their conquerors, the Hurons, would assemble all their tribes in the State for their perennial feasts, dances and councils. The main elevation covered three acres, and, like the McCormick mound almost directly across the river from it, there was a deep depression southwest of its abrupt sides. Down in that depression the soil is a clay loam mixed with black sand. North of the mound is a ridge of yellow sand, but the mound and the slope on its northern face were of the same soil as the facings of the mound. This led the explorers to conclude that the mounds were built artificially ages be- fore the white race came to this country. Rail- roads dug up this mound for ballasting pur- poses, and the village authorities of Wenona cut a street through it, so that little remains of the original mound as the early settlers found it. During these excavations in this Fitzhugh mound, many relics were found, showing con- clusively that it had been built by a strange people many centuries before. Among numer- ous skeletons were found quaint ornaments of silver, broken pottery, some of it with primitive ornamentation, together with the usual large number of burned stones and stone weapons.

The forts were very identical, usually from three to six acres in extent, with walls four to eight feet high, and 10 to 12 feet across at the top. The form of the mounds indicates that they are largely artificial, and with the primi- tive tools at the disposal of those ancient people must have required years to complete. The best proof of their construction by a human

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

race is the depression near each hill or mound, whose soil corresponds in each instance with the top dressing of these mounds, although the original surface soil is often of entirely differ- ent composition. Then their general plan and character show clearly that there was method and system in their work. Michael Dailey, the old Indian trader, Capt. Joseph F. Marsac, the much-traveled Indian fighter and explorer, and others, who often visited the Rifle and Au Sable rivers, reported a number of similar mounds and fortifications along those streams and their tributaries.

The Mound Builders appear to have had their outpost at the Straits of Mackinac, and to have been particularly numerous in the Sagi- naw Valley. Along the Cass and Flint rivers a number of mounds have been systematically explored, and the relics and skeletons added to the collection of antiquities. These relics are never found except in these elevations or mounds. William R. McCormick had his own theory about the many burned and broken stones invariably found in these mounds. He con- tended that their pottery would not stand the action of fire, hence they would heat stones, and cast them into their pottery to boil their water. Michael Dailey and others, who were fishing near Duck Island in Lake Huron, found kettles, bowls, weapons and implements very similar to those found in these mounds. Cer- tain it is, that the oldest remains of civilization in America are those of the Mound Builders. Their vast earthworks in the Ohio and Missis- sippi valleys must have taken many generations to complete. Yet not even the faintest tradi- tion remains to tell who built them. That they were a very civilized race there can be no question. They must have been mentally far superior to the savage races that supplanted them. Their sway ex- tended at one time or other from Mexico to

Lake Superior. In the copper mines of our Upper Peninsula are found old shafts, with the wedges and chisels they used at their work, together with detached masses of copper ore. All our antiquarians are agreed that their works in Michigan were mere outposts. The main works are in the South. There are found pottery, ornaments of silver, of bone, of mica, and of sea shells from the Gulf of Mexico. Lance-heads, axes, adzes, hammers and knives of stone, exactly like those found in Bay County, are found in those great earthworks of the South. Spear-heads, lances and arrow- heads made of obsidian, a volcanic substance only found and used in Mexico, prove that they had some connection with that country. Crude spinning implements found in all these mounds prove that they knew the art of weaving and spinning, which was unknown to the Indians.

Some historians contend that these Mound Builders came originally from Mexico, and that owing to climatic conditions they were eventually driven back to their original homes, and that they are the ancestors of the Toltecs of Mexican history. Toltecs means architects or builders, which name would seem to have been a fitting one for that industrious race. Other historians contend that the entire race of Mound Builders was destroyed either by a great flood, an epidemic of disease, or a war to the death with a more primitive, but more numerous and more powerful race. But as we read the conjectures of historians and students of this ancient race, we cannot help but feel that even these prehistoric Mound Builders ap- preciated the splendid location of this valley for all the needs and comforts of the human race.

Nowhere in the Northwest are there as many relics of these prehistoric people to be found, than in this section of Michigan. Hunt- ing for these evidences of an earlier civilization

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formed, for many of the early pioneers here, an exhilarating diversion. They wearied of the chase and fishing became nauseating after a few years. Places of recreation there were none. Communication with the outside world was irregular, and confined to the receipt of newspapers often weeks and months out of date, and at their best containing but little real news. The settlements for years were few in number and widely separated, as if each new arrival sought solitude above all else. Often for weeks at a time these rugged settlers did not see a living person. Hence they devoted much of their leisure time to exploring the vicinity of their new homes. Then when they did meet at one another's firesides, they would exchange ideas on the many odd and strange things their investigations of a country that was entirely new to them had brought forth. Even in re- cent years many quaint relics, mostly of the Indian period, have been found along the riv- ers and the bay shore. Justice of the Peace Frank G. Walton, of the West Side, has a stone battle-axe that is believed to be the largest ever found in Michigan. It was picked up on the shore of the Kawkawlin River, which was always a favorite hunting ground for the abor- igines. Unfortunately, the residents of Bay County have never had a permanent pioneer society, and consequently there has been no system in these researches. The demand for more room to accommodate the increasing business of Bay City has caused so many im- provements, that most of the old landmarks and mounds have been obliterated and forgotten.

Little is known by the present generation of the names and deeds of our pioneers. At long intervals, outside enterprise gives to us a record of those early days, brought down to their respective periods, but that is all. This is not as it should be. The lives and deeds of our pathfinders and pioneers should never be

given over to oblivion. Their noble self-sacri- fice, amid the dangers and hardships of life in the unknown wilderness, should prove an inspi- ration to the coming generations. Bay County should have an active pioneer, society to keep alive the spirit of our forefathers, to treasure the stirring records of our early history and to delve deeper into the wealth of research still possible in this valley, beloved of the an- cients.

No history of Bay County would be com- plete without a mention of the greatest of the Chippewa chiefs of the last century. One of the numerous bands of that tribe of the race of Hurons had their wigwams for many years on the banks of the Tittabawassee, a worthy branch of the Saginaw. About 1794 there was born in that band, O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to, one of the greatest chieftains of his race. His tribe consisted of a dozen bands, each headed by a hereditary chief, and these chiefs in turn elected the head chief. In 1819, although but 25 years old, O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to was chosen head chief, and was the leader of the Indians in the councils with General Cass, then Governor of Michigan Territory. He was then in the full vigor of young manhood, over six feet in height and, according to General Cass, at once a perfect type of the American Indian, an elo- quent orator, and a born leader of his race. The pale face trappers who had married In- dian squaws, and the half-breeds living with the Chippewas, together with many of the minor chiefs, were in favor of giving up at once all their possessions to the government, in return for a liberal money consideration. O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to alone opposed giving up their lands. In an address to more than 2,000 of his people, he held them spellbound for two hours. To General Cass and his staff he said : "You cannot know our needs. You do not know our condition. Our people wonder what

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

has brought you so far from your homes. Your young men have invited us to come and light the council fires ; we are here to smoke the pipe of peace, but not to sell our lands. Our Ameri- can Father wants them. Our English Father treated us better. He never asked for our lands. You flock to our shores; our waters grow warm; our lands melt like a cake of ice. Our possessions grow smaller and smaller. The warm wave of the white man rolls in on us and melts us away. Our women reproach us, and our children want homes. Shall we sell from under THEM the spot where they spread their blankets? We have not called you here; yet do we smoke with you the pipe of peace."

He alone held out for the 40,000 acre reser- vation in which was included the hunting ground of his own band and, despite all that General Cass and his interpreters could do, O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to had his way, before the treaty was finally ratified. He loved this val- ley, and wanted it kept forever as the hunting ground of his people. Many stories of his in- domitable will and bravery were told by the early pioneers. About 1835 two Indians of his band proceeded to settle a quarrel with their ever ready hunting knives, while under the in- fluence of liquor. O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to jumped between them, and with his body stopped a cut intended by one of the warriors for the other. A portion of his liver protruded from the terri- ble cut in his side. While being nursed back to health, he sliced off the protruding piece of liver with his knife, threw it on the coals of the fire in his wigwam, and after roasting it, calmly ate it. To the warriors about him he remarked, that if there was a braver man in the Chippewa nation than he, he would like to see him. Incredible though this story may ap- pear at this distance, it was vouched for 70 years ago by Joseph Trombley, Ephraim S.

Williams, and Peter Grewett, Indian traders of that period, and Mr. McCormick and Judge Albert Miller never doubted its accuracy. They knew this warrior, knew of his many other reckless deeds of daring, and never questioned the veracity of this incident. Strangely enough this operation hastened his cure. It also strengthened the hold he had on his tribesmen, for the Indian admires reckless daring above all other virtues.

O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to was one of the seven chiefs who went to Washington in 1837 to negotiate the sale of their remaining reserva- tion. The sage chief recognized that the set- tlers were coming into that part of Michigan in such numbers, that its usefulness as a hunting ground would soon be gone forever, and he made his last stand for such favorable terms of sale, as he could command. President Thomas Jefferson rather admired the eloquent and im- posing warrior, and he presented him with a solid silver medal, of oblong shape, five inches long, bearing this inscription: "Presented to O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to by Thomas Jefferson." On one side was the heroic figure of an Indian chief, and on the other a cut of the President. Red Jacket, the famous chief of the Senecas, was the only other living Indian who received this mark of distinction from Thomas Jeffer- son. After this treaty was ratified at Flint, where his eloquence again smoothed the way for a peaceful settlement, he did everything in his power to see that the Indians observed their solemn obligation to the white settlers, who then began to swarm over his old hunting ground. Yet it galled the proud chief to see his people driven to a mere corner of their for- mer possessions. To the settlers it seemed often as if he courted death, and not infre- quently he resorted to strong fire-water to quench the anguish of his stout old heart. With

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heroic self-sacrifice he worked for his people when the Grim Reaper swept them away by scores during the smallpox epidemic.

He did not long survive the misfortunes of his tribe. While camping with his band near the Fitzhugh mound on the west side of the river, he felt his time had come. He called his people around him, and bade them farewell. His last words were for, peace, and good-will to the settlers, many of whom he had learned to love and respect. He had loved this valley, and wished to be buried on the highest point of this vicinity. During the closing days of 1839 he was buried with great pomp and cere- mony on the McCormick mound on the east side of the river.

Joseph Trombley, who had known and re- spected the old warrior for many years, fur- nished the lumber for the coffin. Some years later when lumber became plentiful and cheap in the valley, Mr. McCormick erected a little house over his last resting place, with a flag- staff over it, that could be seen for a long dis- tance. Years rolled by, the little house was neglected and finally obliterated by people who built near by. In the course of time the mound was plowed over and crops grew over his sepulchre. In August, 1877, the city had grown to such dimensions, that the mound was wanted for building purposes. In excavating for a foundation, portions of a wooden box were found, in which was a skeleton wearing the uniform of a colonel of the Continental Army. Then it was recalled that O-ge-ma-ke- ga-to had been buried there, wearing the uni- form President Jefferson had given him during his visit to Washington in 1837. The uniform was in a good state of preservation. His copper kettle was bottomless and badly demoralized by rust, but his tomahawk, knife and pipes were still by his side. The medal has never been found. The man who found the remains

kept them on exhibition until the Indians of the vicinity protested against this indignity to their great chief. By their request, Mr. McCormick buried the remains in his own dooryard, and a stone furnished by E. B. Denison marks the last resting place of O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to, the last great chief of the Chippewas.

After the death of Ton-dog-a-ne and O-ge- ma-ke-ga-to, Nau-qua-chic-a-me became the head of the Chippewas. He wandered about with his band, following the run of the fish and the little game left in these parts, finally settling with his band at Saganing, where he died in October, 1874.

Much missionary work was done among the natives after they retired permanently to their own settlements and reservations, and many became devout converts to the Christian faith. James Cloud was for many years the missionary among his tribesmen on the Kaw- kawlin. His work was one of helpfulness to his people and of love for his Master. For his years of labor he received nothing. So even in matters of religion these poor natives are left largely to their own resources, which are pitiable enough in the light of the 20th cen- tury.

The early settlers saw more of the Indians than they did of their own race, and conse- quently were much dependent upon them for many of the little acts of kindness that make life worth the living. Judge Albert Miller was always one of the best friends the Indians of this vicinity had, and he never wearied of championing their cause. He always con- tended that Poor Lo left to himself was not at all a wicked or mean person. He often related incidents in his own life to prove that the na- tives were both honest and hospitable. During the winter of 1835-36 he sent some horses and cattle down the Quanicassee River to feed, during the period of snow and ice, on the

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

rushes along that river. When it was no longer possible to get supplies to the men who were in charge of the animals, the latter were left to shift for themselves. Mr. Miller was living at the time near Crow Island. In April, 1836, he started with B. F. Trombley across the flooded prairie to look after his stock. Nearly a foot of water covered the low lands, but this did not stop these hardy pioneers. They crossed Cheboyganing Creek, then a roaring torrent owing to the floods, on a fallen tree, and reached the Quanicassee. None of the horses or cattle had been stolen, although a few horses had died. It rained all day, and a cold wave, so peculiar to this region of the lakes, froze everything that night. Rather than camp out in their frozen blankets another night, the two pioneers started for home. On the prairie the water was steadily rising and freez- ing, so that every step soon became an agony. The ice would not hold them up, and this con- tinual breaking through soon wore out Trom- bley's moccasins, so he tied his mittens on his feet and followed closely in Miller's footsteps. But the cold was benumbing, and to make mat- ters worse the fallen tree had been washed away, and there was no way to cross Cheboy- ganing Creek. As a last resort, Miller gave a lusty Indian war-whoop and to their great relief this brought an Indian in his canoe, who took the bleeding, starved and frozen travelers into his wigwam for the night. The two pale faces never forgot the terrors of that night, and next day when they reached Miller's cabin, two miles away, each looked as though he had passed through a serious illness. They were quite certain that they would have perished in that blizzard on the prairie, but for the timely help of that solitary Indian, who happened to be hunting ducks up-stream, and was returning to his lone wigwam, pitched in a grove of maple

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History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 8

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