History of Michigan, civil and topographical, in a compendious form; with a view of the surrounding lakes, Part 27

Author: Lanman, James Henry, 1812-1887
Publication date: 1839
Publisher: New York, E. French
Number of Pages: 430


USA > Michigan > History of Michigan, civil and topographical, in a compendious form; with a view of the surrounding lakes > Part 27


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37


The character of the people of Michigan is in a very wide sense generous and republican. It is entirely independent. in thought and action. In the New England States, the land of strong minds, honest hearts, and brave arms, the social sys- tem is settled ; society is divided and subdivided into clearly defined castes. Prescribed forms of opinion, strengthened by 38


298


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.


age and influence, are marked out ; and the youth are con- fined to the shadows of the cloister ; large masses of wealth are accumulated and hoarded up. Here it is far otherwise. The people find themselves the occupants of a wide and bounteous soil, and in a community which is organized by themselves. The spirit of our institutions seems to impress them with a conviction of their own independence. They are bound down by no prescriptive forms of opinion, because no prescriptive forms of opinion exist. Wealth is so easily accumulated, that it does not possess that social influence which is discernible in the older States. Throughout the whole extent of the State there is a commonwealth of associ- ation, because there is a commonwealth of action. The settler in his log-cabin, or the mechanic in his workshop, is actuated by a spirit of sturdy independence, which holds nothing above him but " God and the laws." He has no re- verence for stars, or garters, or crowns. While the minds of men have become liberalized by contact with large interests, the circle of enterprise is widened in the same proportion. To build a city, is deemed a labor of less importance than formerly to construct a house. Space is abridged ; and a jour- ney of two hundred miles on horseback through the wilder- ness, is considered a fourfold less labor than was the same distance, twenty years ago, in the eastern States.


Although the colleges of the east have doubtless sent out a great number of professional men into Michigan, as well as the other western States, literature is very far from being the characteristic spirit of the people. They, in fact, seem to have little confidence in that theoretic knowledge which men ac- quire from books, and great confidence in that practical infor- mation which is derived from the study of men and things ; consequently a greater share of practical business men are found in Michigan than in most of the States,-men, who are unacquainted with the classic literature of Greece or Rome, but with human nature and the facts about them. In all matters of religion and government they are liberal and inde- pendent. Doubtless large masses of ignorance prevail in the more remote sections of the State, which give ground to fana-


299


POPULATION.


ticism ; but common sense is more frequently the guide in matters of religion. To all arguments which would show the inequality in men, they would interpose that wide doc- trine of the declaration of Independence, which declares "that all men are born free and equal." Throughout the whole range of enterprize, the constantly advancing progress of the country, and the motives to exertion, which are continually pressing upon the mind, induce a constant stimulus to great excitement ; and the labors which the emigrant encounters, and the subjects with which he thus comes in contact, neces- sarily bring to his mind an amount of knowledge, which could be scarcely acquired where the foundations of the so- cial system have been already constructed and settled. If the literature and the blandishments of an older form of society are wanting, there is a counterbalancing advantage in that freshness and vigor of utilitarian pursuit, which seems to en- gross the mind.


The French are the offspring of the colonies which emigrat- ed during the possession of the country by France, and also the scattered settlers, who have from time to time crossed over from Canada to the American shores. These are spread along the banks of the principal streams upon the Michigan frontier, and their houses border the Detroit River for a long distance. They may be known from their antique construc- tion, and the picket fences which surround their farms. The French population of Michigan are a quiet and courteous race of men, who are content to live upon the domain of their ancestors without exercising any considerable degree of en- terprise. From long connexion with the Indians, the French population in the interior seem to have become somewhat in- corporated with them in sympathies and pursuits; and you see many in the remote villages arrayed in a demi-savage dress. Some have intermarried with the savages, and not a few possess in their veins an intermixture of Indian blood. In the advancing progress of the country, their lands, which are of the most eligible location, and which have also been confirmed to them by the laws of the United States, are the sites of important towns. They are distrustful of the whites,


300


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.


1


and are not generally anxious to sell their property, although many have been made rich by the advanced value of real estate.


The following is the population of Michigan according to the census of 1837.


1


CENSUS OF MICHIGAN IN OCTOBER, 1837.


ALLEGAN COUNTY.


BRANCH COUNTY.


Townships.


Batavia


357


Allegan


621


Bronson


635


Newark


190


Cold water


960


Otsego


341


Elizabeth


177


Gerard


448


Goliad


184


Ovid


209


Quincy


569


Sherwood


217


Union


260


Township.


Barry


512


Total, 4,016


BERRIEN COUNTY.


Albion


773


Athens


288


Berrien


496


Bertrand


1,262


Eckford


530


Buchanan


172


Homer


1,019


New Buffalo


199


Marengo


737


Niles ·


1,497


Marshall


1,801


Oronoko


248


Milton


1,632


Royalton


175


Sheridan


353


St. Joseph


599


Tekonsha


278


Weesaw


116


Total, 7,960


Total, 4,863


CALHOUN COUNTY.


Bainbridge


99


Burlington


378


Convis


170


Plainfield


317


Total, 1,469


BARRY COUNTY.


Total, 512


301


POPULATION.


-


CASS COUNTY.


GENESSEE COUNTY.


Calvin


201


Argentine


434


Howard


366


Flint


1,288


Jefferson


395


Grand Blanc


691


La Grange


699


Mundy


234


Mason


224


Vienna


107


Ontwa


1,012


Penn


693


Total, 2,754


Pokagon


506


Porter


442


HILLSDALE COUNTY.


Adams


279


Allen


353


Fayette


685


Florida


156


Total, 5,296


Litchfield


314


Moscow


496


Pittsford


550


Reading


277


St. Marie


366


Scipio


469


Somerset


441


Total, 366


Wheatland


729


CLINTON COUNTY.


Total, 4,729


Dewitt


INGHAM COUNTY.


Watertown


Aurelius


Ingham


Total, 529 Stockbridge


-


EATON COUNTY.


Total, 822


Bellevue


438


IONIA COUNTY.


Eaton


330


Ionia


511


Vermontville


145


Maple


517


Total, 913


Total, 1,028


Silver Creek


108


Volinia


427


Wayne


223


CHIPPEWA COUNTY.


-


302


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.


JACKSON COUNTY.


Bristol Hadley


Concord


La Peer


East Portage


Lomond


Grass Lake


Beckfield


Hanover


Jackson


Total, 2,602


LENAWEE COUNTY.


Blissfield


559


Cambridge


523


Dover


680


Fairfield


203


Franklin


989


Hudson


Lenawee


1,151


Logan


1,962


Macon


1,111


Medina


420


Comstock


1,383


Cooper


386


Palmyra


898


Kalamazoo


1,373


Raisin


1,076


Pavilion


548


Rollin


508


Prairie Ronde


665


Rome


826


Seneca


431


Tecumseh


2,414


Woodstock


541


KENT COUNTY.


Byron


362


Kent


1,660


LIVINGSTON COUNTY.


Total, 2,022


Byron


317


Deerfield


369


Genoa


361


Green Oak


1,435


Atlas


Hamburg


490


Rives


Sandstone


Spring Arbor


West Portage


Total, 8,702


KALAMAZOO COUNTY.


Brady


1,292


Ogden


198


Richland


720


Total, 6,367


Total, 14,540


LA PEER COUNTY.


Leoni


Liberty


Napoleon


Parma


303


POPULATION.


Hartland


404


La Salle


826


Howell


442


London


456


Marion


202


Milan


270


Putnam


367


Monroe


2,795


Raisinville


614


Summerfield


1,128


Whiteford


257


MACKINAW COUNTY.


Total, 10,646


Holmes


664


OAKLAND COUNTY.


Addison


343


Avon


1,289


Bloomfield


1,485


Brandon


263


Armada


1,001


Commerce


747


Bruce


889


Farmington


1,724


Clinton


1,193


Groveland


664


Harrison


502


Highland


440


Hickory


249


Independence


668


Jefferson


523


Lyon


1,051


Lenox


234


Milford


667


Macomb


736


Novi


1,335


Orange


297


Oakland


803


Bay


786


Orion


593


Shelby


1,153


Oxford


384


Washington


1,329


Pontiac


1,700


Rose


202


Royal Oak


8:25


Southfield


956


Springfield


403


Troy


1,439


Ash


1,011


Waterford


828


Bedford


431


West Bloomfield


1,004


Erie


999


White Lake


363


Exeter


156


Frenchtown


1,503


Total, 20,176.


Ida


200


· Unadilla


642


Total, 5,029


Total, 664


MACOMB COUNTY.


Total, 8,892


MONROE COUNTY.


304


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.


OTTAWA COUNTY.


Florence


449


Flowerfield


406


Total, 628


Leonidas


374


Mottville


497


Nottawa


713


Sherman


1,043


Saginaw


920


Total, 920


Total, 6,337


VAN BUREN COUNTY.


Antwerp


232


Clinch


108


Covington


183


Decatur


224


La Fayette


248


Lawrence


202


South Haven


65


ST. CLAIR COUNTY.


China


603


Clay


394


Clyde


339


Columbus


85


Ann Arbor


2,994


Augusta


559


Ira


202


Bridgewater


923


Lexington


205


Dexter


596


Port Huron


824


Freedom


795


St. Clair


501


Lima


895


Lodi


1,063


Lyndon


361


Manchester


805


Northfield


793


ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.


Pitt


1,208


Bucks


782


Salem


1,354


Colon


368


Saline


1,130


Constantine


842


Scio


-1


1,442


Burns


Owasso


Shiawassee


Vernon


Total, 1,184


Total, 1,262


WASHTENAW COUNTY.


Cottrelville


520


Total, 3,673


White Pigeon


872


SHIAWASSEE COUNTY.


SAGINAW COUNTY.


POPULATION. 305


Sharon


782


Ecorce


709


Superior


1,378


Greenfield


897


Sylvan


480


Hamtramch


1,772


York


1,197


Huron


481


Ypsilanti


2,280


Livonia


1,076


Monguagon


404


Nankin


1,160


Plymouth


2,246


Redford


1,021


Romulus


389


Springwells


990


Brownstown


846


Van Buren


799


Canton


1,050


Dearborn


1,317


Total, 23,400


Detroit


8,273


COLORED POPULATION.


Calhoun County


24 Wayne


228


Chippewa


3


Jackson


9


Mackinaw


1


Monroe


35


St. Joseph


4


Oakland


13


Washtenaw


62


Total, 379


INDIANS TAXED.


Cass County


24


Chippewa


1


Genessee


2


Total, 27


TOTAL WHITE POPULATION.


Allegan


1,469


Chippewa


366


Barry


512 Clinton


529


Berrien


4,863


Eaton


913


Branch


4,016


Genessee


2,754


Calhoun


7,960


Hillsdale


4,729


Cass


5,296


Ingham


822


39


Webster


832


Total, 21,817


WAYNE COUNTY.


306


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.


Ionia


1,028


Oakland


20,163


Jackson


8,693


Ottawa


628


Kalamazoo


6,367


Saginaw


920


Kent


2,022


Shiawassee


1,184


La Peer


2,602


St. Clair


3,673


Lenawee


14,540


St. Joseph


6,337


Livingston


5,029


Van Buren


1,262


Mackinaw


664


Washtenaw


21,817


Macomb


8,892


Wayne


23,400


Monroe


10,611


Total white population,


174,369


Colored population,


379


Indians taxed,


27


Add for two townships not returned, say


425


Population, exclusive of Indians not taxed


175,000


The other class of people in Michigan are the Indians ; and they consist, for the most part, of mutilated fragments of tribes, which war and civilization have spared from the general de- clension of their race. They are comprised chiefly of the Ottawas, the Wyandots, the Potawatamies, the Menommies, and the Chippewas. The origin of this singular race has been the subject of voluminous discussion, but no certain con- clusion has been yet established. The better opinion seems to be, that they are of Chinese or Tartar stock, and that they passed over to America from the peninsular portion of Kam- schatka across Bhering's Strait. This is confirmed by a simi- larity in language, mode of wearing the hair, and certain cus- toms, between the savages of Asia and America. The sava- ges are scattered throughout this wilderness in rude huts made of bark, and attached to poles, which are stuck in the ground for support. During the early periods of the country, before European manufactures were introduced, they dressed entire- ly from the skins of wild beasts,-the bear, the elk, the deer, or the buffalo, wrought with colored porcupines' quills, and tan- ned into considerable pliancy and neatness. Their shoes or moc- casins were made from buffalo or deer skins, sometimes formed with the hair inside. Their ornaments were curiously cut out


307


THE INDIANS.


from shells into beads, which were called wampum, and worn about their necks and suspended from their ears. The most distinguished warriors wore necklaces of bears' claws, and upon their heads the plumes of the war eagle. They adorned their hair with ornamented skins, and wore copper upon their breasts. Their weapons of war were hatchets and daggers of stone, and wooden war-clubs and bows made from the trees, and arrows barbed with flint. Pipes of clay or redstone were used both as a luxury and as symbols of peace. They navigated the streams in canoes of bark ; and their domestic utensils were of the rudest form. Their food consisted of corn, which they cultivated, wild rice, fish, and the flesh of beasts.


Since the advancement of the whites, they have preserved the same general garb, but use a different material. They clothe themselves with blankets enclosed with a woolen or leathern girdle, in which is stuck a steel scalping knife or a tobacco pouch ; leggins of red or blue cloth reach from the ancle above the knee, so as to leave the thigh bare. They have substituted the rifle and the steel tomahawk for the bow and the stone hatchet, and silver or tin ornaments for those of stone, shells, or copper ; but in all their essential habits they are the same as when Jacques Cartier first ascended the St. Lawrence. The squaws generally wear blankets like the men ; and leggins and moccasins, adorned with beads or porcupines' quills ; but the whole of their persons are generally covered, with the exception of the head, upon which they wear hats. Their hair, which is smooth and glossy, is worn combed be- hind their ears. They often wear a calico frock inside of the blanket, which is covered upon the breast with silver broaches, or thin plates of the same metal in a circular or crescent form. Some of these medals are given to the chiefs both by the British and American Governments. These people are similar in their general traits to the savages of the other sections of the United States.


It would seem that the tribes of this region had accustomed themselves to migrations from remote points in the forest, and these migrations have been pretty accurately traced. In the


308


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 4


year 1649, when the Algonquin nations of the Ottawa River were nearly destroyed by the Iroquois, a portion of the Otta- was of that river, as well as a part of those who lived on the western shores of Lake Huron, accompanied by five hundred Hurons, constituting in all about one thousand, removed to the south-western shore of Lake Superior ; and in 1671 the Potawatamies were settled on the island called Noquet, near the entrance of Green Bay. Forty years afterwards this last tribe migrated to Chicago, and the river St. Joseph upon the southern bank of Lake Michigan ; occupying those lands which had before been held by the Miamis in 1670. About the year 1671, the Ottawas of Lake Superior had removed to the vicinity of Michilimackinac, and finally retired to their ancienthunting-grounds on the west side of Lake Huron, send- ing back word to the Miamies that they were " tired of fish and must have meat." In the year 1721 the Missisagies, according to Charlevoix, had villages near the outlet of Lake Ontario, and also near Niagara and Detroit. Until within a recent date, the Ottawas occupied a considerable portion of the penin- la of Michigan north and west of the Potawatamies; and the Chippewas are situated chiefly around Lake Superior. On the dispersion of the Algonquin tribes upon the river Ottawa in the middle of the seventeenth century, a part sought protection from the French, and reside in Lower Canada ; and the Nepissings and other tribes escaped to Michilimackinac, the Falls of St. Marie, and the northern shores of Lake Superior. About the year 1800 a considerable portion of the peninsula of Michigan was occupied by the Ottawas ; and the Potawatamies held that portion of territory upon the shore of Lake Michigan ; the Wy- andots occupied the eastern shore of Lake Huron, and the Chippewas the southern bank of Lake Superior .*


The character of the savages is made up of mixed traits of good and evil. They are barbarians, and can never ap- preciate the advantages of civilization. In their customs,


See Synopsis of the Indian Tribes of North America, by the Hon. Albert Gallatin, published in the second volume of the collections of the American An- tiquarian Society.


,


309


THE INDIANS.


their feasts, their wars, their dress, and their amusements, they resemble the savages of other nations, although they are of more elevated caste. Their minds do not grasp great con- sequences, and they are deficient in the power of reasoning. In their enterprises they seldom overstep a prescribed circle of action ; for their future state, they never look beyond the western sky. All those qualities which are founded in in- stinct and habit they possess in a high degree, and but few of the higher qualities of intellect. Their oratorical efforts are impassioned and figurative, but seldom contain arguments. The ideas which are expressed in these efforts are founded in obvious suggestions, and entirely fail in close logic. Their vanity exceeds that of most savage nations ; and it is this which induces them to paint their faces, to cover their heads with feathers, and adorn their bodies with gewgaws. To their friends they are generous, and will share with them the last morsel of venison and the shelter of their lodge. Their enemies they will fawn upon and flatter, only to watch the time for their destruction. As a general fact, it will not be established that they are brave in battle. They rather prefer to delude by hypocritical assurances of friend- ship, and to surprise like assassins. With the exception of the Iroquois, the history of the north-west furnishes but few instances of honorable and open Indian combat. Pontiac, in 1763, devised the destruction of the English forts by a rank and fraudulent deception; and the Prophet, in the battle of Tippecanoe, practised a miserable stratagem, which would rank him not much above a murderer. Their rules of war are base and disgusting when tested by the code of civilized nations. They will scalp an unarmed and fallen enemy, a woman or an infant ; torture them and drink their blood, or eat their flesh. Individual instances of signal genius have been exhibited ; and the character of Garangula, Pontiac, Brant, and Tecumseh, stands out, among merely barbarian communities, for courage and eloquence, when adjudged by barbarian standards. If they have exhibited occasional suc- cess, it has been generally when they could escape danger by standing behind trees and shooting their enemies. Their


310


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.


manliness is exhibited by binding upon the women burdens which belong to the stronger sex. Combined with this is a lofty bearing, which impresses us with a sense of respect ra- ther than disgust at their presence, which would arise in the absence of that quality.


A stoic in his temperament, the north-western savage seems to be a fatalist, and will look with the same composure on success or misfortune ; he is contented to remain in the woods, and to gain a scanty subsistence from the forest ; or when that is wanting, owing to his indolence, he kills and consumes his horses or dogs. As civilization advances, the means of his subsistence diminish. There are many examples of Indian gratitude and humanity which relieve this dark picture ; and he is honest and true to his word. We do not blame him for what he is, because the savage is ingrained in his consti- tution ; we only describe what he seems to be.


In their dispositions the Indians of the lakes are peace- able, and they will meet you in the forest with the French words of salutation, Bon Jour. During the early spring they retire from their villages to what are called Sugar Camps, where they manufacture a large quantity of maple sugar, and collect it in mococks of bark ; either for their own consump- tion, or for sale at the settlements of the whites, in exchange for head trinkets, cloths, or intoxicating liquors. The furs which they may have collected at such times are sold for the same articles. It is useless to remark that intoxication is their besetting sin when the means are obtained.


This singular race will long remain an enigma to the mind. Unchanged in their habits and opinions, they have defied the efforts of civilization to improve their condition. What- ever may be the soundness of the logic which claims that civilization had a right to this soil because it was uncultiva- ted and occupied by savages, an argument which would wrest a considerable portion of the world from the hand of its pre- sent possessors ; it is clear that the Indians have been defraud- ed less by government than by individuals. The enactment of the United States, which declares that their land shall not be taken without their consent, is founded in justice ; but improper


311


THE INDIANS.


influence has doubtless been exercised by individuals to in- duce them to sell their lands. Many will soon retire west of the Mississippi ; and as the plough-share is driven over their hunting-grounds, cities are built on the site of their ancient camps ; and civilization digs up the bones of their forefathers in order to lay the foundation of a canal or rail-road, dissipa- ting their fading memorials like ghosts at the rising sun ; it should be our most cherished consciousness, that, as a nation, we have acted in justice, and softened the pangs of their mis- fortunes.


INDIAN POPULATION OF MICHIGAN IN 1837.


TRIBE, OR BAND.


RESIDENCE.


POPULATION.


Wyandots,


Monroe County,


estimate


60


Chippewas of Swan Creek,


Macomb do.


Do.


180


Chippewas of Black River,


St. Clair do.


D


230


Chippewas of Saginaw,


Valley of the Saginaw,


Do.


800


Ottawas of Grand River,


Valley of Grand River, Pay rolls of 1837, 945


Ottawas of Maskigo,


Maskigo River,


Do.


87


Ottawas & Chippewas of White Ri- East Coast of Lake


ver,


Michigan,


Do.


142


Chippewas of Manistee,


Do.


Do.


33


Do.


of Osigomico,


Do.


Do.


8


Do.


of Carp River,


Do.


Do.


103


Do. of Grand Traverse Bay,


Do.


Do.


292


Ottawas of Little Traverse Bay,


Do.


Do.


249


Do. Village of the Cross,


Do.


Do.


305


Do. L'Abre Croche,


Little Traverse Bay,


Do


426


Ottawas of Cheboigon,


S. coast of Lake Huron


Do


102


Chippewas of Thunder Bay,


Do.


Do.


103


Chippewas of the Beaver Islands, Lake Michigan,


Do.


105


Chippewas & Ottawas of Drummond Island,


Lake Huron,


Do.


61


Chippcwas of the Chenoux,


N. coast Lake Huron,


Do.


56


Do. bands of Ance & Missutigo Do. (straits of Michili-


mackinac)


Do.


104


Do. of North Manistee,


Do.


Do.


83


Do. Shawonegeezhig's band,


Do.


Do.


86


Do. Esconabee River,


Do.


Do.


88


Do. of Chocolate River,


S. East Lake Superior,


Do.


75


Do. of Grand Island,


Do.


Do.


Do.


53


Do. of Tacquimenon River,


Do.


Do.


Do.


61


Do.


do. Pierre Marquette R.


Do.


Do.


63


Do. of Little Bay de Nocquet, N. end of Green Bay,


Do:


76


312


HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.


TRIBE, OR BAND.


RESIDENCE. POPULATION.


Chippewas of Sault St. Marie,


Straits of St. Mary. Pay rolls of 1837, 152


Chippewas & Ottawas of the Islands of Bois-blanc & Mackinaw, Lake Huron,


`Do. 59


Ottawas south of Grand River,


E. coast Lake Michigan estimate 200


Potawatamies of the St. Joseph's,


Do.


Do. 150


Monomonies N. of Monomonee Ri- ver, Green Bay,


Do.


90


Chippewas of Upper Michigan, west


of Chocolate River,


Lake Superior, Do


2,200*


The policy of the government, it is well known, has been exercised to remove the savages of the country to the west of the Mississippi, and a considerable portion of the Indians of Michigan have consented to this removal. It is not improba- ble that the number has been already much diminished by emigration. Indeed, we witnessed, during the last year, a large encampment on the banks of the Detroit River, who were understood to be making arrangements for that object.


* For this census I am indebted to the kindness of Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq., Indian Agent for the United States.


CHAPTER XVII.


General features of the Lake Country-Its commercial advantages-Ohio-In- diana-Michigan-Illinois-Wisconsin-National importance of the great lakes-Causes of the former slow growth of the country-Relative importance of Michigan-Future prospects of this region.


MICHIGAN, as a prominent State of the north-west, opens a brilliant prospect of future opulence and power. Adjoining a territory of remarkable extent and resources, its future pro- gress must depend not only upon its own local enterprize and means, but also upon the inducements which that territory holds out to immigration and settlement from other parts of the United States, as well as from abroad. At the thresh- hold, we are forcibly struck with the physical features of what may be denominated the lake region of the country. Un- like most of the older States of the east, which spread out their rugged and sometimes mountainous scenery, abounding with the luxuries of civilization, their cultivated fields, cities, villages, farm-houses, and monuments, broken only by limited groves of primeval forest, which remain as the solitary reliques of the departed wilderness, we feel, in advancing to that region, as if we were entering more directly the dominion of nature. While the arts of civilization, in the older sections of the coun- try, have moulded almost the entire face of nature to their own ends, the domain of the north-west seems to have been but partially invaded. While man has been ranging almost every other part of the globe, building up and demolishing empires, this domain seems to have been reserved from his his dominion. It seems as if the veil which enveloped it had been but recently drawn aside, and disclosed to view, as the last theatre of human action, a gigantic scene of woods and waters, fresh, silent, solitary, magnificent.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.