USA > Michigan > Macomb County > History of Macomb County, Michigan > Part 17
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The Clinton River enters the county at the southwest corner of Section 18, Shelby Township. flows through a very tortuous channel in a southeasterly course, past the village of Utica, to the line between Section 24 of Sterling and Section 19 of Clinton, where it is joined by the waters of the South Branch, whence it pursues a seine-like course northeast to the confluence of the North Branch. At this point the channel is wide and deep, growing wider as it approaches the lake. The river may be said to form the natural boundary of the city of the future on the west, to
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divide the north city of the present from the south city of the prospective, and thence flow through a deep and winding channel to the lake.
The North Branch of the Clinton appears to rise everywhere in the county and far beyond its boundaries. Flowing southeast from Bruce, south from Ar- mada and Richmond, it is fed by numerous streams, it receives the waters of a dozen creeks, and joins the Middle Branch in Section 8 of Clinton.
The Middle Branch is a domestic river. It has its head waters in Washington and Shelby Townships, with many feeders in that and the adjoining towns of Shelby and Ray. These feeders unite in Section 6, Macomb Township, and form the stream known as the Middle Branch, which forms a confluence with the North Branch in Section 8 of Clinton, one-half mile west of the boundary of Mt. Clemens City.
The South Branch, commonly called Red Run, is fed by Bear, Beaver, and Plum Creeks and other small streams. This river and its tributaries drain the towns of Sterling and Warren, and lead the surplus waters to the main stream, with which a confluence is formed in Section 19, Clinton.
Belle River may be said to take its rise in the headwaters of Day Creek, Rich- mond Township. Although the main stream flows from the north west of its con- fluence with Day Creek, draining the country in the neighborhood of Memphis and Attica in Lapeer County, yet the river is unimportant until it receives the waters of the creek in Section 12, Richmond, whence it flows into the river St. Clair at Marine City.
La Reviere du Lait, or Milk River, falls into the lake a half-mile north of the southern line of Erin township.
Salt River rises near Richmond, flows south through Lenox, receives its main tributary in Section 2, Chesterfield, and enters the lake a few miles south of the ancient salt springs.
The Reviere Aux Vases and the Crapau fall into the lake in the neighborhood. The former rises in Chesterfield, watering Sections 21, 29 and 28 in its course ; the latter has its headwaters in St. Clair County, enters Chesterfield in Section 12, flows through New Baltimore, and empties into the lake a little south of that village.
The creeks commonly called Tuckar's and Ventre de Bœuf rise in Harrison Township and flow into the lake. Ambroise or Tremble Cr. and La Crique de Socier rise in the northern sections of Erin and flow into the lake.
Together with the rivers, streams, and streamlets named, there are numerous rivulets coursing throughout every section of the county, each acting its silent part in contributing to the prosperity of the people.
ARCHEOLOGICAL.
Macomb County was the Pagigendamowinaki or great cemetery of the abor-
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igines. Along the Clinton and its tributaries many mounds were found by the early settlers, some few still exist, all offer interesting subjects to the antiquarian of the present time. From time to time the search among the bones of the dead is rewarded by the discovery of one or other of the many articles placed in the earth with the dead. The number of mounds, and character of human remains found in them, point out the district as the necropolis of an extinct race. Stone hatchets and flint arrow heads, unnumbered skeletons, all remain to tell of their coming, their stay, of their rise and fall.
The free copper found within the tumuli, the open veins of the Superior and Iron Mountain copper mines, with all the modus operandi of ancient mining, such as ladders, levers, chisels and hammer-heads, discovered by the French explorers of the Northwest and the Mississippi, are conclusive proofs that a prehistoric people were civilized, and that many flourishing colonies were spread throughout the new- ly-formed land. While yet the mammoth, the mastodon, and a hundred other animals, now only known ty their gigantic fossil remains, guarded the eastern shore of the continent, as it were, against supposed invasions of the Tower Builders, who went west from Babel; while yet the beautiful isles of the Antilles formed an inte- gral portion of this continent, long years before the European Northman dreamed of setting forth on his voyage of discovery to Greenland, and certainly at a time when only a small portion of the American continent, north of latitude 45", was reclaimed, in the midst of the great ice-encumbered waste, a prehistoric people lived and died upon the land which the American and French pioneers of Macomb rescued from its wilderness state.
Within the last twenty years, great advances have been made toward the dis- covery of antiquities, whether pertaining to remains of organic or inorganic nature. Together with many telling relics of the aboriginal inhabitants, the fossils of pre- historic animals have been unearthed from end to end of the county, and in districts too, long pronounced by geologists of some repute to be without even a vestige of vertebrate fossils. Among the collected souvenirs of an age, about which so very little is known, are single and ossified vertebrae, supposed to belong to the creta- ceous period, when the Dinosaur roamed over the country from east to west, deso- lating the villages of the people. This animal is said to have been sixty feet long, and when feeding in the pine forests was capable of extending himself eighty-five feet, so that he might devonr the budding tops of those great trees.
Other efforts of our antiquarians may lead to great results, and culminate prob- ably in the discovery of a tablet, engraved by some learned Tower or Mound Builder, describing, in characters hieroglyphical, all those men and beasts whose history excites so much interest, and transform the speculative into certainty. The identity of the Mound Builders with the Mongolians, and the closer tie which
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bound the latter to the Egyptians might lead us to hope for such a consummation, might possibly result in proving that the Egyptian originally migrated from Cen- tral America, branched out toward China, and became the Mongolian, and in turn continued to travel eastward until the descendants of the first Americans returned to the cradle of their race, as set forth in an extract given in this work, from the writer's special paper on the Monnd Builders.
FORTS AND MOUNDS OF MACOMB.
The so-called Indian forts and mounds situated upon the North Branch of Clinton River in Macomb County, have long been the subject of much speculation and interest. Two of the three forts are entirely leveled by the plow, and it is only from memory, aided by that mysterious personage known as the oldest in- habitant, that the geography and description can be obtained.
Eighteen or twenty years ago the embankments were quite distinct. The first and, apparently, the most prominent of those forts, was situated upon the east bank of the North Branch of the Clinton, on the east line of the town of Brnce, three miles northeast of Rome. The branch is at this place about twenty feet wide, with a rapid current affording a constant supply of pure, cool water. The bank of the stream rises abruptly in a sort of bluff, some ten or twelve feet in height, and then is level to the fort some fifteen rods distant.
A little stream comes down from the northwest and passes about twenty rods to the south of the fort. Between this stream and the fort was the burial-ground of the inhabitants. The fort itself was nearly regular, about 350 feet in diameter. The wall upon the north was curved less than a true circle. The walls before being leveled by the plow, were four or five feet high, and some eight feet thick at the base.
If we take into consideration the length of time intervening between the build- ing of these walls and our carliest knowledge of them, and also the character of the soil of which they are composed-a loose gravel-we must conclude that they were at least double the height here given. The earth to form these walls was taken from the outside, and thus a deep and wide ditch was formed on all sides save a portion of the west, which was bounded by a marsh, covered by a tangle of water-vines and brush .. The openings, three in number, were about twenty feet wide, and just inside the open space of wall a mound was built entirely shutting off any view from the exterior. The mounds were probably as high as the walls them- selves and afforded a perfect shelter from objects projected from withont. A supply of water for the use of a garrison in time of seige, could be obtained from a small lake within the enclosure.
Between the fort and the small stream were situated a number of mounds or
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graves, each circular, and each containing the skeleton of one person. Many of the mounds were opened, and the contents exhumed ; but an entire skeleton has never been found, the smaller bones having become decomposed. The skulls and larger bones of the extremities were often found to be of extreme size. The under jaw, in one instance, easily slipped over the face of the finder-over flesh and whiskers. The thigh bone when placed beside that of a living person would pro- trude considerably beyond it. Perhaps there were giants in those days !
There is a faint tradition, that the faithful dog of the Indian together with his gun and pipe, were buried with him for his pleasure and benefit in the Happy Hunting Grounds ; but if those were Indian graves the facts dispose the theory, as no such contents have been brought to light. Broken pieces of pottery were often and are still sometimes found in the cultivated fields adjoining the mounds ; and in one instance an entire dish was turned up by the plow. This was of the shape of the smaller half of an egg-shell, and would hold from twelve to fifteen gallons. It was surmounted by a rim or border which was ornamented by checks, cut in the clay. It had the appearance of having been dried in the sun, and soon fell to decay by the action of the atmosphere. Flint arrow-heads and stone weapons are often found ; also amulets and other curious objects, the use of which it is difficult to con- jecture .Of the mode of their manufacture it is vain to speculate. There are many of these specimens now in my possession, hard as adamant, and yet which have received and retained through all these years the most perfect polish, and are fault- less in shape.
THE SECOND MOUND.
Across the stream, some twenty rods to the south, was situated a large mound, surrounded by a number of smaller ones. Upon the summit of the larger one is still standing a large oak tree, which may have been planted there or gained its position by accident. It has been thought by some that a chief was buried there, standing with his back against the tree, and so the mound raised about him, and as members of his family died they were interred about him. Others have it that he was buried lying horizontal, and the tree planted at his head. The mound was opened years ago, and the position of the bones in the grave seemed to confirm the latter conclusion. It was expected that something real and strange would be found in this grave, but the expectations were not realized.
STONE MOUNDS.
In various parts of the county were found mounds of stone. Those were stone-piles built up, in a symmetrical form, to the height of four feet or more, hav- ing the shape of an old-fashioned straw bee-hive. One of these standing on the farm of Ido Warner, was surmounted by a tree, the roots of which running over the sides,
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served to keep the stones in place until it was cut away, and the grave opened. The contents did not differ from those of the other mounds save that the bones had the appearance of having been charred by fire. It was thought by many that these stone mounds had been formed in clearing the fields near by for cultivation ; but it is abundantly proved that such was not the case. And now a word in regard to these fields. In many places in the brush or light timbered land, where the soil is sand or light loam, distinct rows of hills may be traced. They are in many places so prominent as to interfere with the first plowing of the land. Undoubtedly the same hills were employed year after year, by simply opening the top of the hill for the reception of the seed, and then in the way of cultivation, pulling up the earth around the growing plant.
FORT NUMBER TWO
Was situated about a mile up the branch from the one formerly described, upon the farm of B. H. Thurston. His house and farm buildings now occupy the ground. The soil here is a rich, sandy loam, about ten feet above the bed of the stream, on the west side, and facing the south with an easy slope.
The fort was oblong in shape ; its length extending to the southwest at right angles to the stream, about 500 feet ; its greatest breadth about 250 feet. The em- bankments presented the same general characteristics as regards form, height, as the one formerly mentioned. There was but one opening on the river front, and the two ends of the circle of wall were made to overlap each other, thus shutting off all view from the exterior. There were a few mounds upon the south side of the fort, also across the stream about half a mile north. Numerous stone hatchets, flint arrow-heads, amulets, and bits of crockery were found in the vicinity of these mounds, but never in or upon them.
FORT NUMBER THREE
Is the extreme northwest corner of the county, and is about one mile west of the North Branch. This fort is still in its natural condition, covered with a low growth of oak timber. The embankments are in many instances fonr feet high from the bottom of the ditch. They describe a circle slightly flattened upon the north, and meeting in something like a corner at the north west, where there is an opening about eight feet wide. The fort is 225 feet in diameter in each direction. Along the south ran a little stream with a margin of marsh ; along the edge of this marsh the walls are nearly defaced. The ground upon the interior of this fort descends to the south more rapidly than either of the others. Unlike the others, there seems to have been no arrangement for the protection of the entrance. Mounds have been found in various places in the vicinity.
By whom were these forts erected ? We have become so accustomed to the
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phrase, Indian Mounds and Forts, that at first thought we can answer-the Indians, of course. But when we call to mind the American Indians' aversion to all kinds of labor, also their well-known mode of warfare, seeking only the shelter of a tree, from behind which they could fling a stone or shoot an arrow, we may pause before reaching a definite conclusion. So far as we know of the natives of this locality, they have never shown either energy or skill, sufficient to plan and execute the work of building a fort, or making a stone hatchet or arrow-head. We are told that the graves of the Indians contain more than their bodies,-we are certain that these mounds contain nothing but human bones. The Indians living in the vicinity of the forts, at the time of the first settlement by Whites, were as ignorant of their ways as the whites themselves. It is possible, perhaps probable, that they were the work of a race or tribe of people possessing a higher degree of intelligence and skill than the American Indian. Be this as it may, it is doubtful if any decisive conclusion will ever be reached, and these forts and mounds of Macomb will ever remain a prolific source of speculation and interest. The foregoing statements are based on reports made by County Surveyor Hollister in 1841, and by George H. Cannon in 1874.
From a letter addressed to Dr. Cooley, by John B. Hollister, under date April 10, 1830, it is learned that the North Fort was located on the east half of the north- east quarter of Fr. Section 3, Township 5 north of Range 12 east. The East Fort was on the west half of the southwest quarter Fr. Section 18, Township 5, north of Range 13 east. The South Fort stood on the west half of the northeast quarter of Section 25, Township 5 north of Range 12 east. Those were important positions, and doubtless formed the principal strongholds in Northeastern Michigan of a race of savages unremembered even by the ancient Wyandots.
SURVEY BY S. L. ANDREWS.
The mounds, three miles north of Romeo, and two miles east on the northeast quarter of Section 25, Bruce, were again examined, about the year 1859, by Dr. S. L. Andrews. At the same time the old fort in the same neighborhood on Section 19, Armada, known as the Donaldson Farm, was opened, and an exploration made. The embankment surrounding the first-named fort was about four feet high at that time, with a lap opening. Then there were a number of stone heaps, the most remarkable of which were near Armada Center, and near the fort just referred to.
Four miles north, and three miles west of Romeo, on the farm of Benjamin Cooley, were a number of excavations, one of which contained an earthen pot, differing entirely from anything known to Indian civilization.
There were the remains of an old fort on the bank of a streamlet flowing into Salt River, in 1837. The walls were circular with a gateway leading to the stream.
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At the time of its exploration by Robert P. Eldredge, a white oak tree, at least three feet in diameter, sprung from the very center of the fortress, but whether this was planted by the builders, or grew up since the fort was constructed, the explorers were unable to state.
The Indian corn field on the north bank of Salt River was easily found so late as 1827. Here the savages had a thousand little hills, the pinnacle of cach was annually cultivated, leaving the base and sides untouched by the rude instruments of agriculture which the cultivators used.
HUGE SKELETONS.
E. P. Sandford, of Romeo, visited the mounds on the Mahaffy farm, near the farm of J. C. Thompson, in the Fall of 1980. The mounds are thrown up from two to four feet high and are made round. Having reached the mounds he dug into the first one, for the purpose of finding implements of some kind, when he reached the depth of about three feet the spade struck what he supposed to be a stone, but by careful digging was found to be the skull of a large person. A little farther in he took out six skeletons, three being grown persons and three children. All seemed to have been placed in a kneeling position with their heads on their knees forming a semicircle facing the southwest. The large bones of the grown persons were in good state of preservation, the bones of the children were all decayed, with the exception of the frontal bone of each and very few of the smaller bones. The skull of the large one measured twenty-one inches round ; the teeth were very even and in excellent condition ; the thigh bones measured twenty-one inches and were very solid. These are the only discoveries that have been made in this place for about eighteen years.
There is a large mound at the southwest corner of the field overlooking all the rest, which measures twenty feet across the base and is about four and a half feet high. This mound is called the chief mound. There was an oak tree in the center of it which was cut down eight years ago by J. C. Thompson. At the time he cut it down he counted two hundred and forty rings, which are supposed to represent 240 years growth. It is supposed that the tree was put there at the time of the burial. There have been many attempts made to uncover this mound, but so far each has been a failure, the roots of the tree being so large and strong, they prevent one from going deep enough to accomplish anything. At the north of this field about eighty rods we find what is called the fort, it was built on the top of a hill, the outlines can be seen very distinctly to this day.
SUNDRY DISCOVERIES.
J. W. Preston found some relics of the Indians, on his farm in February, 1877 ; Rev. P. R. Hurd, now of Detroit, found a silver cross in the neighborhood of Romeo,
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supposed to belong to one of the early French priests who visited this neighborhood ; O. C. Dudley found an Indian tomahawk on his farm a number of years ago, the upper part of the weapon had the shape of a pipe, and was used for smoking purposes.
William Stone, a farmer residing a few miles south of Romeo, discovered a piece of pure native copper, weighing eleven pounds, just as it was unearthed by the ploughshare, in January, 1879.
Elijah Thorington had a large piece of native copper that was plowed up on his farm in the town of Addison, in October, 1878. How it came there is a ques- tion for scientists to solve. It is hardly possible that the piece is a portion of a copper mine on the premises, and the most reasonable theory is that it either came down from Lake Superior during the drift period or was packed by some lordly aborigine, on the back of his patient and long suffering squaw to be carried over- land for the purposes of a pipe or tomahawk.
Charles Hunt, found in October, 1878, a curious stick. It was cut from the center of a large tree and shows unmistakably the blaze marks of some fellow that must certainly have been around at least an hundred years ago.
H. J. Miller, who lives near Mount Vernon, discovered one of the greatest curiosities met with in the county. It is nothing less than a petrified dish-cloth or towel, which at some time has been wrung out and twisted up and in this condition it has petrified. The fiber of the cloth is plainly perceptible.
That big bone discovered in June, 1875, upon the premises of J. L. Benjamin, just south of the village of Romeo, attracted a good deal of attention. It measures twelve inches in circumference at the narrowest point, while at the largest it reaches the extraordinary size of twenty-three inches. It was found imbedded in the soft earth, at least, four feet beneath the surface. There is a difference in opinion as to just what portion of the anatomy of the animal it belonged, but is generally con- ceded to have been a portion of what must have been one of the most formidable kickers on record and of truly mastodonic proportions. Speaking on this subject the editor of the Observer remarks: " The contemplation of this relic of the class of mammoths, long since extinct, opens up a wide field of speculation, and almost induces one to believe that if it could be thoroughly impressed upon the minds of the people that a few live specimens of this animal might still be ranging through our beautiful groves, it would have a wholesome effect upon society in general."
During the progress of improvement on Mr. Benjamin's farm, many evidences of submersion appear. The prairie, cedar, oak and tamarack epochs may be read as in a book, and later the peat forming epoch is made manifest. The collections of G. A. Waterbury, J. E. Day, Drs. Andrus, Douglass, G. H. Cannon, and others afford much subject to the geologist and antiquarian on this subject.
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ZOOLOGICAL.
The changes wrought by Time have, as it were, lightened the task of dealing with the zoology of this county. All the great animals of the wilderness, known to the pioneers, have ceased long years ago to make their home in Macomb. The remains of the prehistoric animals are hidden beneath the conformation of ages ; the millions of reptiles, which preceded and lived through the long summer, lie buried hundreds of fathoms down.
BIRDS.
All that is left to remind us of uncultivated nature are the beautiful birds, which visit the county periodically, or make it their home. Of these feathered citizens, there are about 250 species known to the people of this county-a large number has been seen only at long intervals, others have been seen once and disap- peared, such as the summer red bird. The Connecticut warbler is one of the most recent settlers and evidently, one which shows a disposition to make the county her home. Others have settled here since the county was organized, while others still date their advent away in the long past. In the following pages an effort is made to deal with the feathered tribe.
The robin, or Turdus migratorius, is a resident during spring and autumn and even throughout such winters as that of 1881-2.
The wood-thrush or Turdis Mustelinus, is a common summer bird. The hermit- thrush has been found breeding here during the spring and fall, and is accom- panied by the olive-backed-thrush. Wilson's thrush visits the county in the spring and sometimes builds its nest here. The Thrasher or brown-thrush resides with us during the summer months.
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