USA > Michigan > History of Michigan, civil and topographical, in a compendious form; with a view of the surrounding lakes > Part 23
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Besides the ample provision which has been made for pub- lic education by the establishment of common schools and libraries, the erection of the university of Michigan will ex- exhibit a literary institution, as founded on a wider scale, and with a more liberal endowment, than any other on this side of the Atlantic. Its design, as expressed in the statute under which it is organized, is "to provide the inhabitants of the State with a means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of literature, science, and the arts." The government of the university is vested in a board of twelve regents, and the course of instruction is divided into three grand departments :- 1, Law; 2, Medicine ; 3, Literature, Science, and the Arts. In the department of literature, science, and the arts, are established fifteen professorships ; con- sisting of one of the ancient languages, the modern languages, rhetoric and oratory, philosophy of history, logic and pliiloso- phy of the human mind, moral philosophy and natural theo- logy, including the history of all religions, political economy, mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry and pharmacy, geology and mineralogy, botany and zoology, the fine arts, civil engineering and architecture. The department of law is constituted of three professorships ; one of natural, internatio- nal and constitutional law, one of common and statute law and of equity, and also one of commercial and maritime law. The department of medicine consists of a professorship of anatomy, surgery, physiology and patholy, practice of physic, obstetrics, and the diseases of women and children, and also one of materia medica and medical jurisprudence.
This chapter cannot perhaps be concluded better than by showing, in a tabular form, the names of the several governors and administrators under whose jurisdiction Michigan has been placed since the erection of the royal government in 1663 .* * See Bouchette's British dominions. Vol. I. p. 4.17.
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
FRENCH.
DATE OF OFFICE.
Sieur de Mesy
1663.
Sieur de Courcelle
1665.
Sieur de Frontenac
1672.
Sieur de Barre
1682.
Sieur Marquis de Nonville
1685.
Sieur de Frontenac
1689.
Sieur Chevalier de Callières
1699.
'The Marquis de Vaudreuil
1703.
The Marquis de Beauharnois
1726.
Sieur Comte de la Gallisoniere
1749.
Sieur de la Jonquiere
1749.
The Marquis du Quesne de Menneville 1752.
Sieur de Vandreuil de Cavagnal
1755.
ENGLISH GOVERNORS AFTER THE CONQUEST.
James Murray 1765.
Paulus Emelins Irving, Pres. 1766.
Guy Carleton, Lieut. Gov. and Com. in Chief
1766.
Hector T. Cramalé, Pres.
1770.
Guy Carleton
1774.
Frederick Haldimand
1774.
Henry Hamilton, Lieut. Gov. and Com. in Chief 1774.
Henry Hope, Lieut. Gov. and Com. in Chief
1775.
Lord Dorchester, Gov. General of Canada 1776.
Alured Clarke, Lieut. Gov. and Com. in Chief 1791.
Lord Dorchester
1798.
AMERICANS.
William Hull
1805.
Lewis Cass
1814.
George B. Porter
1832.
Stevens T. Mason, Act. Gov.
1834.
John S. Horner
1835.
Stevens T. Mason
1836.
CHAPTER XIII.
Face of the country-Rivers-Soil-Timbered land-Oak openings-Prairies -Burr-oak plains-Animals-Interior Lakes-Geological structure-Mine- rals-Cost of clearing lands-Roads-Climate-Beauty of the scenery-Fea - tures of the north-western part of the State-Aboriginal monuments and orga- nic remains-Indian topographical names-Internal Improvement.
THE State of Michigan yet bears the general aspect of a vast wilderness, occasionally studded with villages, intersected by numerous streams, and nearly surrounded by mediterranean seas, which are comprised in Lakes Erie, St. Clair, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. In approaching its eastern border from New-York through Lake Erie, the face of the country appears low. consisting of lands heavily timbered with a class of forest trees, growing from a rich soil of clay loam, or a sort of muck, which is composed of decayed vegetable matter. This character of land seems to prevail upon a belt, varying from five to forty miles along the borders of the lakes, which gives evidence that it has been once submerged. The trees of this heavily timbered land, with their massive shafts standing close together, cast a gloomy grandeur over the scene ; and when stripped of foliage appear like the black colonnade of a vast sylvan temple. The streams on this level and densely wooded soil are sluggish. In advancing into the interior, a more picturesque and rolling country opens to view, covered with oak openings, or groves of white oak thinly scattered over the ground, which have the appearance of stately parks. The configuration of the soil is as if it was covered with mounds disposed without order, sometimes rising to the height of two hundred feet, but more usually maintain- ing an elevation of only about thirty or forty. Accordingly there is a delightful alternation of hill and dale, which is' sometimes varied by a rich prairie or a burr oak grove, which
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250
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
resembles a cultivated orchard studded with the largest pear trees. The peninsular portion of the State exhibits no rocks of granitic character, excepting the boulders, which seem to be foreign to the soil. The rocky formation is comprised of lime, sand-stones, and shales; the first of which forms the beds of many of the streams. This undulating portion of the State extends through a great part of the counties of Hillsdale, Jackson, Washtenaw, Ingham, Eaton, Livingston, Oakland, Ionia, and Kent; and also far north of the Grand River, through the unsurveyed district. The character of that por- tion of the country bordering on Lake Superior is, however, far different. There the soil gives evidence of primary for- mation, and is broken into deep valleys and rugged mountain chains, covered with pine, generally barren, with the excep- tion of the valleys and the elevated plains. These furnish a fertile soil.
The rivers and streams which water the State are small, but numerous. The principal are, the Grand, the St. Joseph, the Kalamazoo, the Saginaw, the Raisin, the Clinton, the Hu- ron, and the Rouge. The first of these streams is the largest in Michigan. It is two hundered and seventy miles in length, about fifty rods broad at its mouth, and has a free navigation for steamboats and batteaux which now ply from Lake Michi- gan to the Grand Rapids, a distance of about forty miles. The St. Joseph River, another beautiful and clear stream, wa- ters a fertile and picturesque tract of the State, consisting of oak openings, prairies, and heavily timbered land ; and emp- ties into lake Michigan about seventy-five miles south of the Grand River. That river maintains an average breadth of about thirty rods for one hundred and twenty miles from its mouth. The Kalamazoo is a small, winding, and trans- parent stream, running over a bed of lime-stone rock, and pebbles. This also empties into Lake Michigan. The Sagi- naw, which is on the northern part of the peninsula, runs into Lake Huron, and is navigable for sixty miles from its mouth. The Raisin, so called from the grapes which flourish on its banks, is a small stream, winding through a considerable por- tion of thickly timbered land. It affords water power, and emp-
251
SCENERY, SOIL, AND PRODUCTION.
ties into Lake Erie. The Clinton is also a beautiful stream, which waters the eastern portion of the State. These rivers, beside numerous others of less size, interlock their branches through different parts of the State; and while they beautify the landscape, afford water power and navigation, and at the same time fertilize the soil.
The soil of Michigan is various. It may be divided into, heavily timbered land, barrens, oak openings, burr-oak plains, and prairies ; and the growth of the vegetation indicates the character of the land. The heavily timbered land, comprised of the largest class of forest trees, indicates a soil of clay, a wet muck, or a dry, black, sandy loam, based on a close soil of reddish earth. The two last species of soil are highly pro- ductive, and will yield, with the careless tillage of a new country, from twenty to thirty-five bushels of wheat by the acre ; and they bear in abundance every kind of grain which is produced in the State of New-York. This soil, although as productive as any in the State, is more difficult to clear, as it usually costs from ten to fifteen dollars an acre to fit it for cultivation. There is, however, one advantage in the tim- bered land to an emigrant with small means. After the tim- ber is cut down, the soil does not require ploughing ; a harrow drawn by one yoke of oxen will render it fit for cultivation, as the surface of the land is highly mellow.
The barrens are a soil but thinly covered with stunted oaks ; and it is found, that although not the most fertile, they pro- duce well.
The white oak openings, which constitute a great propor- tion of the soil of the State, is entirely different from the tim- bered lands. Extending as far as the eye can reach, like lof- ty parks, their surface is covered with a thin layer of black vegetable mould intermixed with gravel. A proportion of marl is found under this surface; and lime-stone, pebbles, sand, and frequently clay and yellow loam, may be found in the second stratum. This species of soil is eminently favor- able for the production of wheat, and is supposed by many practical farmers to be the most valuable wheat lands in the country. It is easy of tillage, and seldom fails to produce a
252
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
good crop during the most unfavorable seasons. Although not favorable for grass, oats and corn thrive well. These oak openings present the finest trait of scenery in Michigan. Their scattered and lofty trees, resembling the most cherished parks in England, now swell into mound like hills, and now sweep down to a level prairie, a deep glen, or the brow of a lake. This land presents uncommon motives for settlement. The only disadvantage is, that the soil, from the thick tuft of the matted grass on its surface requires four or five yoke of oxen to break it up for the seed. The low grounds are often covered with tamerack groves.
The prairies, which are scattered over the State, resem- bling lakes, sometimes studded with wooded islands, bordered by shores of forest, and indented with bays, consist of a black vegetable mould, intermixed in small measure with clay, sand, or gravel. This mould varies in point of depth from one to five feet, and is based on a stratum of clay, rock, or gravel. In some instances a deep black sand constitutes the first stra- tum. The prairies are particularly favorable for Indian corn and oats ; grass is their natural product. Wheat grows in great abundance, but the last is generally inferior in quality to that of the oak openings, as it is less clean. From the fact of the abundant produce, this species of land is sought by set- tlers in preference to other lands, as it requires no clearing, and produces abundantly. There are two kinds of prairies, the wet and the dry. The last have been noticed. The wet prairies are marshes, and seem to have been once the beds of lakes ; and there is evidence of the subsidence of the waters in the little islands of timber which are frequently set upon their surface. They are usually covered in summer with a long and coarse grass, which is suitable for winter stock. By drain- ing, these may be made into good meadow land. The prin- cipal productions of Michigan, at the present time, are wheat, rye, corn, oats, buck-wheat, flax, pot ashes, pearl ashes, and hemp. Fruit also thrives well ; and this is demonstrated by the old French apple and pear trees which prevail, although they are but little cultivated .*
* It has been seen that La Hontan alludes to the plum and apple as growing
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SCENERY, SOIL, AND PRODUCTION.
The burr-oak plains appear like cultivated orchards. The soil is comprised of a mixture of the earth of the prairies and the white oak openings. These bear a scattering growth of small timber of rough bark and a deep green foliage. From the intermixture of lime, which makes up a great proportion of the soil, this land is eminently productive, and, next to the prairies, is preferred by the farmers. That part of the State which lies on the north has been but little explored. It would appear, from the description of those who have examined it, that it contains extensive groves of pine ; and that the land, al- though broken by small hillocks and swamps, is in many parts favorable for agriculture.
The wild animals of Michigan have been much diminished by the advance of emigration and the progress of the fur trade. Bears, beavers, otters, wolverines, porcupines, panthers, be- sides numerous smaller animals, abound in the State. In the northern parts of the peninsula numerous herds of elk traverse the silent landscape ; and in winter it is not unfre- quent to see packs of wolves in pursuit of the deer across the crusts of snow.
Nearly the whole surface of the peninsula is studded with small lakes of clear water, which abound with fish. These afford, in some cases, water power. The transparency of the lakes, the alternations of forest and prairie, the clear streams which wind their current through the scenery, and the new villages, which stud the principal roads at wide distances, im- press the scene with a freshness which makes up for the ab- sence of any very interesting works of art.
The peninsular portion of Michigan being of alluvial for- mation, does not abound in minerals ; sand-stone, lime-stone, coal, gypsum, salt, iron, and sulphur springs, marl, sand, clay and bog iron ore, exist in different parts of the State; and the in- vestigation, now progressing under the geological departments, are constantly developing new treasures, while the upper por-
upon the shores of Lake Erie. Ife refers to the wild apple and wild plum, which are indigenous to Michigan. Charlevoix says the citron is found, but this ap- pears to be a mistake. It is possible that he means the pawpaw.
254
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
tion of the State, along Lake Superior, abounds in copper, lead, and iron, radiated zeolyte, crystal, irid quartz, chalcedony, prase, jaspar, opal, agate, sardonyx, and cornelian.
The cost of clearing the heavily timbered soil, it has been seen, is about fifteen dollars by the acre. This is done in the following mode : the trees are felled, and if not split into rails for the fences, the logs are rolled together and burned. The oak openings are a lighter soil than the timbered land, but from the grubs and matted grass upon its surface, it will re- quire a team of about five yoke of oxen to break it up for the seed. The cost will be about twelve dollars, though varying according to circumstances. Such land requires but little clearing, and the trees are generally girdled to let in the sun. The burr-oak plains require about the same physical strength to break up the soil. This is probably the most valuable kind of land. The trees are cut down or girdled, the deep and mel- low land is ploughed up, and in a few months it waves with a golden harvest of wheat, producing from twenty to forty bushels to the aere, and other products in the same proportion.
During the spring and fall, the roads across the State are such as to try the patience of the traveller. Those on the level and heavily timbered land are almost impassable. Along the most muddy tracts, however, a rail-road has been constructed, namely, from Detroit to Ypsilanti, and from To- ledo to Adrian. These are now in operation. Composed, as the soil is, of a new rich loam and clay, which retains and mixes with the water, it forms a deep mud, excepting during the summer and the winter, when it is dried up or frozen. The climate of Michigan is more mild than that of New England within the same parallels of latitude, and comparatively lit- tle snow falls during the winter. Whatever exaggerated descriptions may have occurred regarding the natural scenery of the State, it must be admitted that nature, when in full vegetation, presents a most imposing scene. The ex- tensive tracts of dense forests, clothed with the richest verdure, fresh as when it first came from the hand of the Almighty ; the prairies and the lakes, which stud almost its entire sur- face ; the wide parks, whose soil is entirely covered for miles
255
SCENERY, SOIL, AND PRODUCTION.
with large and rich flowers, present a striking and agreeable contrast. The beach and black walnut, the elm, the maple, the hickory, the oaks of different species and of large size, the lynn and the bass wood, and various other kinds of forest trees, indicate the fertility of the soil from which they spring. Grape-vines often hang from the branches a foot in circumference, cluster around their trunks, or thicken the undergrowth along the banks of the streams; and while the glades open to the sun like cultivated grounds, the more thiekly-timbered forest, shut out from the sky by the mass of vegetation, and dampened by the rains which saturate the soil, present in summer a gloomy twilight.
To the character of mere beauty, which marks the penin- sula, there is a contrast in the aspect of the scenery upon the southern shore of Lake Superior, the north-western boundary of the State. Those undulating traets of alluvial soil, the lofty oak-lands, the rich burr-oak groves, and the waving prai- ries, are no where to be seen. As a general fact, it is cold, broken, and barren. Well might La Hontan call that region " the fag end of the world " when he passed through it in 16SS. To him it might have appeared like an ocean in a storm sculptured in granite. The heaps of rocks, and the deep dells, the fragments of rocky mountains, which seem wrenched from their beds by violent convulsions of nature, and the extreme solitude of that region one hundred and fifty years ago, warranted the remark.
In travelling along the main roads of Michigan, splendid traets of park-like lawns sweep along your path for miles, carpeted with flowers, broken by prairies, thiek forests, and lakes. Here a field of wheat or oats is spread out to the eye, and there a well-built house, constructed of boards or logs, or a tavern sign, painted with all the art that the coun- try ean furnish, holds out its inducements to the traveller. Presently you will come upon a new village, indicating a re- markable freshness and vigor in the enterprise of its found- ers. Wagons, loaded with household furniture and the families of emigrants, are met at numerous points during the season of emigration ; and in looking away from the roads,
256
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
you will see clearings through the woods, and the curl of the smoke from the prostrate trunks of smouldering trees, which show that the emigrant is there with his axe. The settler goes into the country for the purpose of practising agriculture. When he has made a selection, his neighbors, for miles around, assist him in building a house of logs. The droves of cattle, which he has carried with him, feed upon the herbage which surrounds his hut ; without expense he clears and ploughs his land ; and the next year, perhaps, finds him an independent freeholder, with a market for his pro- duce at his own door. The emigration has heretofore ex- ceeded the produce of the soil ; but it is well known that large quantities of wheat, during the past year, have been exported. The settler, however, must expect to grapple with hardships ; billious attacks, which are the prominent diseases of that country, may surprise him ; and the labor of clearing his land may be greater than was expected ; but under ordinary circum- stances, by the exercise of industry, the second or third year will find him in comfort and independence; for he derives a threefold advantage in his labor, -- he derives an annual product from the soil, increases the actual value of the land cultivated, and also that of the surrounding land, by his improvement. It is not, however, to be understood that the country is destitute of handsome houses, although, in their construction, comfort is less regarded than it should be. Not only does the frontier of Michigan along Lake Erie and the Detroit River exhibit very handsome specimens of architecture, but the interior villages present many tasteful and substantial buildings, and particularly the banks of some of the lakes. These, however, seem to be less designed for show than for the convenience of a working population.
Michigan contains, so far as is known, but few of those ancient monuments of an unknown race which are scattered over the western soil, increasing in magnitude and spendor, from the southern shores of Lake Erie, to the City of Mexico. The imagination of antiquarians, looking for forms of art where they do not exist, has doubtless exaggerated extraor- dinary appearances on the surface of the soil into evidences
257
ABORIGINAL MONUMENTS, &c.
of cultivation. Many hypotheses have been formed regard- ing these ancient works, and the arguments which were in- tended to establish them have ended where they commenced, in darkness. After all, it must be granted that circum- stances furnish a foundation for the belief that a race of men have lived in this country previous to the voyages of Jacques Cartier, who were much further advanced in civilization than the present race of Indians. Whatever may be the opinion of men regarding the origin of these remains, it is well known that fortifications have been discovered, many of which are constructed on exact principles of mathematical science ; and specimens of art are also exhumated, which have been made from materials not now used by the savages ; and that earthen images, of Chinese form,-vases, crucibles, bowls, bracelets, and implements of unknown use,-are found buried in the earth throughout a great part of the west ; par- ticularly in the States of Ohio, Kentucky, and along the banks of the Mississippi. Vegetable remains of plants, whose spe- cies are now extinct, are also excavated below the surface of the soil. If this is the fact, and it cannot be denied, as the articles, thus found, may be seen in the different cabinets of the United States, and the ruins of these ancient works still remain, then it must be granted that these reliques of art sprang from a higher degree of civilization than is possessed by the present race of Indians. The degree of civilization which these works evince, has probably been magnified, and utensils and ornaments, which might have been left by the early French emigrants, are attributed to that unknown race. But the remains of rude fortifications, villages, and wells ; and the several utensils which have been discovered, evince a high- er degree of civilization than that which is possessed by the Indians. Some of these works occupy places which were once covered with water. The utensils give evidence of a more remote date, than the immigration of the French. Their form is not of French origin ; and it is clear that they were manufactured by a distinct race of men, or that the Indians have gone back from a certain degree of civilization.
It is somewhat remarkable that the State of Michigan is
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258
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
in a great measure destitute of these ancient works in the more complex forms. Mounds exist in different parts of the State, principally along the banks of the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the Grand River, besides appearances on the soil near Kalamazoo and the Grand River, which resemble the remains of flower gardens. In Wisconsin, mounds are discovered in the shape of mammoths, elephants, and turtles. The mounds which have been opened in Michigan are of a round form, and they generally stand in lines. Bones have been dug out from some of them. These mounds are similar to those which are found in connexion with the larger works. Whether they have had any relation, is a matter of uncertain- ty. These works are, at best, but semi-barbarous remains ; and although the opinions of those who have examined the subject are concurrent that the Indians did not produce them, their arguments can only have a conjectural foundation. Besides these aboriginal works, there have been found in Michigan the remains of a mammoth, in Van Buren county, near the bank of the Paw-paw River. One tusk, it is alleg- ed, was about seven feet long ; and parts of the back-bone were collected which were of immense size. Most of these fragments crumbled on exposure to the air. They were dis- covered about seven feet below the surface. We have seen a tooth which weighed three pound ten ounces. This was dug up at that place, and it appears to be in a state of petrifaction. It is probable that the future explorations of the State will develope more of these organic remains.
It is contended by many that these ancient reliques belong to the Indians ; and the condition of Montreal, when Cartier first visited that place, might lead somewhat to confirm the fact, because it would seem to evince a somewhat higher degree of civilization than the Indians now possess .* But the hearths and fire-places which have been found along the Ohio River six feet below the surface, the chimneys on the banks of the Muskinghum, at its mouth and also at Point Harmar, oppo- site Marietta, the patriarchal wells near Portsmouth, the wall-
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