USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 15
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In August, 1860, W. H. Fennell, now of Bay City, shipped the first hundred barrels of Saginaw salt that left the Saginaw Valley.
OPERATIONS AT BAY CITY.
As soon as the existence of salt at Saginaw was demonstrated, Bay City "came down" with the fever, and two companies were formed in March, 1860. The Portsmouth Salt Company was or- ganized March 13, 1860, and its articles of association filed with the county clerk, March 20th. The Bay City Salt Manufacturing Company was organized March 23,-and its articles of association filed May 18, 1860. The principal stockholders of the first named company were James J. McCormick, Appleton Stevens, A. D. Brad- dock & Co., B. F. Beckwith, Judge Miller, William Daglish, Martin Watrous, C. E. Jennison and W. R. McCormick. Their well was sunk to a depth of about 600 feet, and the first salt made in Bay County was made by them in the Summer of 1861. The well was on the present site of the McGraw Mills, and W. R. McCormick was the first superintendent and secretary. Various changes oc- curred in the company, and its property was finally sold to John McGraw, about the year 1868.
The Bay City Company stock was mostly owned by James Fraser, D. H. Fitzhugh, H. M. Fitzhugh and Messrs. Munger. Mr. H. M. Fitzhugh afterwards became the principal proprietor of the stock. Their works were on the present site of the Michigan Pipe Company's works. Their well was sunk to a greater depth than the Portsmouth well, and they made their first salt in the early Autumn of 1861. These works were continued for several years, and were changed from the kettle to the pan block, and the prop- erty finally sold to the Pipe Works.
Other works followed in rapid succession. Messrs. Harkness & Sohne sunk a well to a depth of 900 feet, and erected works with one block of kettles and one of pans, with a capacity of 100 barrels of salt in twenty-four hours.
Messrs. Hayden & Co. sank a well to a depth of 1,000 feet, and established works at Portsmouth, afterwards purchased by Appleton Stevens & Co. This was a kettle block.
In 1862 Mr. A. C. Braddock came here and superintended the construction of works for the New York Salt Works. The depth of the well was 1,016 feet, and the site occupied seven and a half acres with a river frontage of 200 feet. The process of manufac- ture was by kettles and solar covers.
The Lower Saginaw Salt Company, Dolsen & Walker and the Altantic Salt Company followed in 1862-'63, and Leng & Bradfield also sunk a well at Bangor. By the close of 1864 there were twenty-six salt concerns in Bay County. The manufacturers, cap- ital invested, and product were as follows:
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54
HISTORY OF
BAY COUNTY.
SALT STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR 1864.
FIRM.
LOCATION. INVESTMENT BARRELS.
O. A. Ballou & Co
Kawkawlin. .. $40,000 3,000
F. A. Kaiser
20,000
6,000
F. Lloyd.
Bangor
20,000
1,800
Beckwith, Moore & Smith
66
20,000
4,000
Taylor & Moulthrop.
10,000
600
Moore, Smith & Co
66
5,000
C. C. Fitzhugh
Salzburg.
20,000
17,000
Fisk & Clark
66
20,000
2,000
Chicago & Milwaukee Salt Co
66
65,000
13 500
Onpola Works.
Bay City
40,000
12,000
Atlantic Salt Co .. .
40,000
11,000
Saginaw Bay Salt Co
15,000
8,500
Saratoga Salt Co
30,000
4,306
Fowler & Tucker.
30,000
1,300
Dolsen & Walker
15,000
6,000
Lower Saginaw Salt Co.
27,000
7,595
Bay City Salt Mfg. Co.
66
26,000
11,000
Samuel Pitts.
25,000
5,500
N. B. Bradley .
15,000
11,527
A. Stevens & Co.
Portsmouth
6,000
8,000
Hayden & Co.
20,000
3,500
New York Salt Co.
25,000
8,000
Portsmouth Salt Co
66
25,000
3,000
Total
$622,000 167,328
The first process of manufacture was by the kettle block, but it was not long before they had to be abandoned. Then came the pan block, and they too, in time, were found to require too much fuel, and gave way for the present system. Between 1864 and 1868 various changes occurred. Some suspended operations and new works were constructed. The manufacturers and products of 1867-'68 were as follows:
PRODUCT OF 1867-'68.
1867. 1868.
N. B. Bradley & Co, Bay City
9 520
9,500
Samuel Pitts & Co,
8,150
10,000
Titus Duncan,
6,155
3,000
Smith & Hart,
7,000
4,000
Bay City Salt Mfg. Co.,
5,369
13,000
Dolsen & Walker,
5,500
7,000
Lower Saginaw Co.,
8,500
8,500
Atlantic Salt Co.,
.10,200
12,000
A. Stevens & Co., Portsmouth
6,634
11,000
A. C. Braddock,
"
5,100
5,100
Leng & Bradfield,
"
.10,000
15,000
Keystone S. & L. Co., =
9 006
8,000
Moore, Smith & Co.,
400
F. Fitzhugh, Salzburg. 1,400
4,000
Hill & Son,
7,000
Johnson & Walsh, Salzburg.
2,000
3.000
Huron Salt & Lumber Company, Salzburg. 7.500
10,000
O. A. Ballou, Kawkawlin
9,786
10,000
118,820 155,800
.
REVIEW OF THE BUSINESS.
In 1871 Mr. H. M. Fitzhugh, president of the Saginaw & Bay City Salt Company, prepared an article which was published for the information of members of Congress, from which we quote as follows:
"The salt manufacture of the Saginaw Valley has had an ex- istence of about ten years. Brine was discovered in 1860, but no considerable development occurred till 1861. In that year large investments were made in the new enterprise, and the growth of the business, stimulated by a war demand and war prices, was very rapid.
"The production of salt at Saginaw may be considered in two phases; one in which it appears as a separate and independent
business, and the other where it is a mere parasite of the lumber manufacture.
"At the start all the conditions seemed to favor the production of salt as an exclusive business. There were-for distribution-a fine navigable river, emptying about midway in the chain of the great lakes; for saline material, an inexhaustible supply of the very strongest brine, underlying many thousand square miles of terri- tory; and for fuel, the dense original forest of Northern Michigan. Accordingly, the business was entered upon in the fullest confi- dence that if salt would not be made at a profit here, it could not be made anywhere in the United States.
"It must be admitted that the investments were not all judicious, and that in the inception of this, as of most new enterprises, some losses were incurred from want of experience; but this was less the case in this instance than usually happens, as the model on which the orignal Saginaw Salt Works were built existed at Syracuse, N. Y., which also supplied all the peculiar machinery and such skill as was required at a comparatively moderate expense.
"It should be said that the salt produced at Saginaw, in the earlier period of the manufacture, though not as good as it is now, was a fair article. It had to be sold everywhere alongside the product of the New York works, which had had the benefit of more than a half century's experience; it must, therefore, have compared not very disadvantageously with Onondaga salt, in order to com- mand nearly the same price, which it always did.
"However bright the prospects which induced early investments in the manufacture of salt at Saginaw, it was very soon discovered that they were delusive. The expense account of the manufacturers soon swelled to largely more than double its original proportions by the advance in labor as well as in fuel and other materials of manu- facture.
"The great difficulty in making salt, the tendency to overproduc- tion, began to appear at an early period,and within four years of the commencement of the manufacture it had become a losing business to such an extent that the production largely declined,and salt property had hardly a quotable value. I can not recall a single instance in which an original, independent investment in the salt manu- facture in the Saginaw Valley, has offered a reasonable profit as a result of the manufacture itself. This may seem a bold assertion in the face of the fact that the production of salt on the whole has increased, and that it has without doubt added largely to the value of real estate. The annual distribution of large sums in this manu- facture has undoubtedly had a favorable influence on the general prosperity, but the business itself has been anything but a profit- able one.
"After the vast profits of the independent salt business were seen to be imaginary, it was discovered that it might be more profitably conducted as an adjunct of the saw mills. These lumber manufac- tories make a vast amount of refuse which must be disposed of in some way, or the mills would soon be buried in their own waste. Hence it was found highly economical to employ their slabs, edgings, sawdust and exhaust steam in the production of salt. A manufacture of this kind has now grown up which is more or less profitable in proportion to the skill with which the several manu- facturers avail themselves of their advantage in this respect; indeed, the entire manufacture of the Saginaw Valley, at the present time, may be said to depend on the saw mills, because even in the cases where they have no salt works directly connected with them, and under the same management, their refuse is sold at a small figure or given away to the nearest salt works, which are thus enabled to run at a reduced expense; in fact, little or no cordwood is now used for fuel at any of the salt works of the Saginaw Valley."
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12
Leng, Bradfield & Co
16,000
700
W. S. Talman.
13,000
6,000
H. B. Parmelee
34,000
11,500
Portsmouth Salt Co.,
7,000
11,800 3,500
Taylor & Moulthrop, Bangor
S
55
MANUFACTURERS AND PRODUCT FOR 1877-'78-'79.
1877.
1878.
1879
A. Rust & Co
29,000
29,113
34,018
Bousfield & Co.
2,698
H. W. Sage & Co ..
65,609
67,752
61,304
Keystone Salt & Lumber Co.
11,047
11,426
22,202
W. H. Malone
22,522
21,367
23,935
L. L. Hotchkiss & Co
34,278
30,397
35,364
Moore, Smith & Co
7,543
14,099
1,788
William Peter.
18,933
34,874
36,306
N. B. Bradley, (trustee)
37,047
47,549
62,803
Albert Miller
35,536
57,094
63,713
McGraw & Co
51,135
27,794
37,263
S. H. Webster.
26,290
26,336
S. McLean & Son.
39,189
41,469
37,074
Hay, Butman & Co
19,121
31,492
25,744
N. W. G. & Water Pipe Co
2,947
A. Chesbrough .
18,885
24,439
11,972
Eddy, Avery & Co
53,574
51,304
59,522
Carrier & Co
5,388
16,076
18,339
J. R. Hall
38,422
48,824
48,066
John McEwan
17,508
17,888
18,337
Dolsen, Chapin & Bro
39,688
48,864
58,560
Folsom & Arnold .
22,918
19,695
22,971
Chapin & Barber
45,881
35,747
29,885
Moulthrop & Lewis
12,491
17,677
24,084
Laderach Bros.
13,243
16,811
14,293
Atlantic Salt Co.
3,538
3,346
1,050
Ayrault, Smith & Co.
12,837
2,830
11,491
Pitts & Cranage
23,376
43,661
52,760
B. F. Webster
22,578
Murphy & Dorr.
37,148
Peter Smith & Sons.
Total. 707,697
792,352
899,061
THE SALT DISTRICTS.
The salt producing territory of the state is divided into seven districts, having a manufacturing capacity as follows:
District No. 1, Saginaw County .- Employs four deputy salt in- spectors, has fifty-six salt companies, with forty-three steam, eighteen pan blocks, and 4,000 solar salt covers, having a manu- facturing capacity of 1,400,000 barrels of salt.
District No. 2, Bay County .- Employs three deputy salt in- spectors, with thirty-eight steam blocks, thirty-one salt companies, and 500 solar salt covers, with a manufacturing capacity of 1,300,000 barrels of salt.
District No. 3, Huron County .- Employs four deputy salt in- spectors, has ten salt companies, with five steam and eight pan blocks, with a manufacturing capacity of 400,000 barrels of salt.
District No. 4, Iosco County .- Employs two deputy salt in- spectors, has eight salt companies, with eight steam blocks, having a manufacturing capacity of 300,000 barrels of salt.
District No. 5, Midland County .-- Employs one deputy salt in- spector, has four salt companies, with one steam and three pan blocks, having a manufacturing capacity of 100,000 barrels of salt.
District No. 6, Manistee County .- Employs one deputy salt in- spector, has one salt company, with one steam block now in opera- tion, with a manufacturing capacity of 50,000 barrels of salt.
District No. 7, Gratiot County .- Employs one deputy salt in- spector, has one salt company, with one pan block having a manu- facturing capacity of 40,000 barrels of salt.
NUMBER OF BARRELS INSPECTED IN BAY COUNTY IN 1882.
The following table is taken from the state salt inspector's re- port, and shows the amount of salt inspected during the year. This does not show the full amount manfactured :
L. L. Hotchkiss
54,860
Laderach Bros.
17,217
W. H. Malone.
28,665
H. W. Sage & Co
64,352
J. D. Ketcham.
5,697
Keystone Salt & Lum. Co
31,593
Burt & Lewis.
3,006
C. E. Lewis
23,888
Smith & Sons
29,239
Birdsall & Barker
70,508
A. Chesbrough
580
G. C. Myers.
17,662
Murphy & Dorr.
54,079
S. McLean Son & Co
25,623
A. Rust & Bro. .
58,418
Hay, Butman & Co
26,298
N. B. Bradley & Sons.
61,412
W. Peter.
39,588
F. E. Bradley
37,818
Eddy, Avery & Eddy
59,081
Pitts & Cranage
55,484
J. F. Ewing.
13,686
R. J. Briscoe. .
32,000
Folsom & Arnold.
30,349
Eddy Bros. & Co
31,556
Atlantic Salt Co
4,800
Rouse Bros
18.914
J. R. Hall.
53,569
Carrier & Co.
26,583
McEwan Bros.
34,831
Dolsen, Cbapin & Co.
56,675
Total ..
1,158,279
SHIPMENTS BY WATER FOR 1882.
April
53,937
May
87,722
June
47,194
July .
32,311
Angust
62,831
September
37.629
October.
68.225
November.
50,147
Total. 439,996
The shipments by rail during the year were about 500,000 bar- rels, making the total shipments for the year 939,996 barrels.
The total number of barrels inspected in Bay County during 1881 was 1,125,290.
The total salt product of the state in 1869 was 560,818 barrels. In 1881 it was 2,750,299 barrels.
Most of the production now is by the grainer system. Steam blocks are used and evaporation is procured by the use of exhaust steam from the engines which drive the saw mills. The expense of fuel is thus reduced to the minimum, as were the steam not used in the salt manufacture, it would be suffered to escape without fur- ther service. This mode of manufacture has practically superseded all others, because of the economy of fuel.
In 1873 the product of Bay City amounted to a little more than 352,000 barrels, which was sold at an average of $1.40 per barrel.
In 1882 there were thirty-four salt making establishments, and the amount inspected was 1,193,479 barrels. The total product for the year was considerably more than that.
In the early days of salt manufacture here, the prices reached as high as $3.50 a barrel. The past year the average price has been about seventy cents.
YEARLY PRODUCT AND PRICE.
The salt manufacture in this state commenced in 1860, and the
28,018
McGraw & Co
37,300
Miller & Lewis.
24,930
Hamilton, McGregor & Co.
1,481
11,070
F. E. Bradley
15,421
6
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
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56
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
inspection law was not enacted until 1869. Previous to the inspec- tion law the annual product was as follows:
Barrels.
Barrels.
1860
4,000
1865
.477,200
1861.
125,000
1866
.407,077
1862
243,000
1867
474,721
1863.
466,356
1868
.555,690
1864
529,073
The product since 1869, at which time the inspection law took effect, is as follows:
Barrels.
Barrels.
1869.
560,818
1876.
1,462,729
1870.
621,350
1877.
1,960,997
1871.
728,175
1878.
1,855,884
1872.
724,481
1879.
2,058,040
1873.
823,346
1880 ..
2,676,588
1874.
1,028,979
1881.
2,750,299
1875
1,081,865
1882
3,037,317
AVERAGE PRICES.
The average net price to manufacturers for the salt product during a series of years show as follows:
Average price per barrel, 1866
$1 80
1867
1 77
1868
1 85
1869
1 58
66
66
1870.
1 32
66
1871
1 46
1872
1 46
1873
1 37
¥
66
1874
1 19
1875.
1 10
1876.
1 05 85
85
1 02
1880
75
1881.
8323
66
1882
70
SALT ASSOCIATIONS.
The association of salt manufacturers of the salt producing counties of Michigan, organized in 1876, under the title of "Michi- gan Salt Association," and reorganized in 1881, under the name of "Salt Association of Michigan," has, during its few years of exist- ence, met with flattering success on all sides, the consumer of salt as well as the producer being profited thereby.
Early in the history of the great industry, associations from time to time were organized and operated, one of these being the tay County Salt Company, in 1865. This concern lasted two or three years, when the Saginaw & Bay Salt Company took its place. This corporation was organized about the year 1868, the most prominent salt manufacturers along Saginaw River being members. The capital stock was $200,000, with 8,000 at $25 each. The amount actually paid in was $19.25 per share. The officers of the company were as follows:
President, H. M. Fitzhugh; vice-president, Newell Barnard ; secretary, J. S. Judson; treasurer, N. B. Bradley. Executive com- mittee, H. M. Fitzhugh, J. F. Bundy, N. Barnard, T. Cranage, Jr., N. B. Bradley.
This association was discontinued in 1871, and from that time until 1875 there was no regular organization to take hold of and han- dle the saline article. The salt producer during that time saw the real necessity for an organization. A number of salt manufacturers in the Saginaw Valley had a meeting, and on the 8th of July, in that year, organized an association, known as the Saginaw Salt Company. Its purpose was the marketing of all salt its stockhold-
ers manufactured, and such as was delivered to it for that purpose by others, and in connection therewith, the establishing of agen- cies for the sale of salt in principal markets, and the buying, sell- ing and manufacture of salt. The capital stock was $500,000, of 20,000 shares of $25 each. The amount of capital stock paid in was $18,000. This company was of a few months' existence. On March 31st, in 1876, the Michigan Salt Association was formed, to exist as an organization for five years. At its first annual election following officers and committees were chosen :
President, W. R. Burt, East Saginaw; vice-president, Albert Miller, Bay City; secretary, D. G. Holland, East Saginaw; treas- urer, Thomas Cranage, Jr., Bay City. Board of directors, J. L. Dolsen, H. C. Moore, J. R. Hall, H. M. Bradley, John McEwan, of Bay City; W. R. Burt, W. J. Bartow, G. L. Remington, Ezra Rust, Newell Barnard, G. F. Williams, H. A. Batchelor, of the Sagi- naws; W. R. Stafford and James Ayers, of Port Hope; E. F. Holmes, of Oscoda. Executive committee, H. M. Bradley, J. L. Dolsen, of Bay City; W. R. Burt, W. J. Bartow, N. Barnard, East Saginaw.
The capital stock was $200,000, of 8,000 $25 shares. The amount actually paid in was $2 per share. This organization was probably the most successful one in the history of the Saginaw Valley. Its stock-holders numbered forty-eight, twelve of whom resided in East Saginaw, fifteen in Bay City, two in West Bay City, fourteen in Saginaw City, and one each in Port Austin, Caseville, New River, White Rock, and Port Hope. It appointed a committee consisting of Thomas Cranage, Jr., N. Barnard, and one other member, who drafted an amendment to the salt law, which was passed by the Legislature, and it is now considered the best that could be drawn, it covering all the points desired.
In 1881, on March 31st, the organization expired by limitation. At that time a new combination was organized under the name of the Salt Association of Michigan. This company is in existence at the present day, and is doing effective work. Its officers are about the same as of the old association. The purpose for which this or- ganization was formed is the manufacture of and dealing in salt, and to engage in the transportation of its products to market. The capital stock is $200,000, divided into 8,000 shares of $25 each. The amount actually paid in is $2 per share. The affairs of the asso- ciation are managed by the Board of Directors, who are all man- ufacturers of salt. The places for the transaction of the associa- tion's business are Bay City and East Saginaw.
Any manufacturer of salt in this state is entitled to become a stockholder of the association by signing articles of association, and designating the number of shares taken, which shall not exceed one share of the capital stock for every barrel of the daily average of his manufactory on a fair estimate. From the proceeds of the salt sold, there is paid an annual dividend of 8 per cent to each stock- holder on the amount paid in, payable on the 30th days of March and September, which together with all losses sustained and all expenses incurred in handling and selling, together with the inspec- tion fees, are charged up as expenses before a division of the proceeds of sales are made. Annual meetings of the stockholders are held on the third Thursday in January, in each year. Special meetings are held at times when the president or directors shall appoint.
Every manufacturer, in becoming a member of the associa- tion, is obliged to execute and deliver to it a contract for all salt manufactured by him, or a lease of his salt manufacturing prop- erty. Each stockholder makes salt solely on the association's ac- count. The board of directors has power to determine the rate of advance in the price of salt, and it also has power to appoint traveling or resident agents for the sale of salt.
6
1877
1878
1879.
57
6
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
RIVER NAVIGATION.
The history of Saginaw River navigation extends over a period of about fifty-two years, and the exhibits of its traffic at the pres- ent time indicate to what extent the industries of this region have attained. The first craft to dispute the right of way upon the highway of this river, was a vessel or sloop called the "Savage," probably so called from its appearance rather than anything it was likely to accomplish. This craft was of about forty tons burden, and owned by the American Fur Company. It made occasional trips to the company's station at Saginaw from about 1831 to 1837 or 1838.
In June, 1832, a vessel that could carry fifty tons came into the river, and after discharging some freight for the Fur Company, sailed up the Tittabawassee and took a load of potatoes from Dun- can Mclellan's farm, and carried them to Detroit. This was the first export of farm produce from the Saginaw Valley.
In August, 1837, Capt. George Raby sailed into the Saginaw River as master of the schooner "North America." He settled his family at Portsmouth. He died about the year 1860.
Capt. J. Davis Smith, brother of Dr. George E. Smith, of Bay City, commanded the "Richmond," formerly the "Conneaut Packet" for a year or two, until she was wrecked on the Canada shore of Lake Huron. Dr. George E. Smith was sailing with his brother on the boat at the time. About this time Capt. Wilson commanded a little schooner called the "Mary," which sailed be- tween Saginaw and Detroit. She was also wrecked on the Canada shore.
About 1850, the steamer "Columbia" ran weekly between De- troit and Saginaw. She was commanded at one time by George H. Cottrell, and his brother C. B. Cottrell, now of Bay City, was clerk. The "Columbia" was afterwards purchased by Capt. Cole. Then came the "Charter" and "Snow."
In 1853, the tug "Lathrop" was brought here for towing pur- poses.
In 1854, the steamer "Fox," commanded by Capt. Wolverton, ran on the river.
Then came the "Ariel," "Ruby," "Magnet," and "Evening Star."
In 1858 the Bay City & Alpena Line was started by Capt. Cole with the "Columbia." This line is still operated by the firm of Cole & Holt. There are three boats on the line doing a good business.
About 1866 the "L. G. Mason" came here and is still running. The bar at the mouth of the river was for a long time a serious obstruction to navigation, but nothing definite about its removal was reached until 1867, when the work of dredging was com- menced, and completed the following year. This work elevated the port of Bay City to rank with any on the lakes.
There are now two established passenger steamboat lines-the Bay City & Alpena, and Saginaw River Line of steamers.
There are also a large number of tug, propeller, barge and towing lines.
THE SEASON OF 1882.
The Bay City Tribune reviewed the season of 1882, as follows: "This season of navigation on the Saginaw River has closed, and most of the crafts have gone into Winter quarters. The river is covered with ice except in a few spots, and it is doubtful if an- other boat can enter this port this year after to-day. The propeller 'Saginaw Valley' left Alpena yesterday for Bay City, and she is the last boat to start for this port. She was at Tawas last evening and will endeavor to feel her way in to-day. She is well ironed off, and being broad and of light draught can travel through the ice without
much difficulty, if last night did not make too much of the congealed liquid.
"The season opened in April with lumber freights at $2 per thousand to Buffalo and $1.75 to Ohio ports. The large lumber fleet rushed into port, and by May freights had taken a drop of 25 cents per 1,000 feet. As the season advanced a further reduction of 25 cents took place, making it $1.50 to Buffalo and $1.25 to Ohio. Loads became very scarce with wages and expenses high, and the worst season on record was looked for. The lowest charter reported was a barge from Crow Island to Buffalo at $1.25, which rate was accepted in order to fill out the tow of the propeller 'Passaic.' Freights remained steady and quiet at the figures named until Sep- tember 1st, when a reaction took place, an advance of 25 cents being made upon the demand of owners of lumber carriers. Another 25 cent advance speedily followed and then another, making the rate $2 to Buffalo and $1.75 to Ohio. A brisk demand for Buffalo boats sent the rate up another quarter, only on Buffalo and Tonawanda boats, however. As soon as the chilling Fall winds set, freights again in- creased a quarter, fixing them at $2.50 and $2, and from then until the close of the season they remained firm at those figures. Better freights were obtained, in some instances, but as a rule, those were the going rates. The steam-barge 'Ontonagon' and barges 'Wm. Lewis' and 'R. J. Carney,' were the last regular lumber traders to leave for Buffalo. The tug 'Albert J. Wright' and barges 'Mills' and 'W. A. Sherman' came here and loaded, and they were in reality the last craft for Buffalo, where they reached safely on Monday morning last. The barge 'B. B. Buckhout' was the last craft to load for Ohio. She was towed out to Tawas by the tug 'Cheney' and from there was towed to Cleveland by the steam-barge 'Geo. L. Col- well.'
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