USA > Michigan > History of Michigan, civil and topographical, in a compendious form; with a view of the surrounding lakes > Part 33
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mate could be formed of the quantity discharged, but it was inferred to be in- considerable. The temperature of the water at the bottom of the gum was found to be 50°, while that of the stream was 66° Fah.
On the opposite side of the stream, and only a few rods from that last describ- ed, a very small quantity of saline water issued from a bed of clay. That num- bered 17, Tables 1 and 2, was taken from this place. Numerous similar indi- cations occur in the immediate vicinity.
South-west from the springs last noticed, and about twelve miles distant, in- dications of a very similar character appear on a small stream which discharges into the middle branch of Clinton River. Here, upon a bed of clay, and searce- ly elevated above the small creek which passes through it, is a tremulous inarsh, in which brackish water is seen at numerous points. A shaft has been sunk here, through strata of clay, sand, and gravel, to a depth of twenty-three feet ; and from this the water which was the subject of the analysis, numbered 18, in Tables 1 and 2, was procured. The water rose in the curb surrounding the well about one foot above the level of the stream, and had a temperature of 50° Fah. The quantity of water discharged is small, and does not appear to have been materially improved by the slight excavation which has been made, ex- cept so far as the curb may serve to exclude the surface water.
About four miles north from that last noticed, and in a small marsh where there does not appear to have been any distinct spring, but simply brackish wa- ter upon the surface, a shaft has been sunk fifty feet through clay, sand, and gravel. The water which was subjected to the analysis, No. 19, Tables 1 and 2, was taken from this shaft. Although the water stood at an elevation of about one foot in the tube, there did not appear to be any discharge of water from it.
In the valley of Saline River in Washtenaw County, near the village of Sa- line, brine springs, closely resembling those already noticed in Macomb County, have long been known. They are seen issuing from a bed of silt, superimposed on clay, at the bottom of a somewhat deep valley, and giving rise to several small pools and marshes, as also appearing in one or two instances in the shape of springs, which discharge small quantities of water. That from which the analysis numbered 15, Tables 1 and 2, was taken, appears to be of the most importance.
In a communication from an intelligent gentleman of Saline on the subject of this spring, he says: "From the stories of Indians and reports of the old French inhabitants, both of Detroit and Monroe, we are assured, that at an carly day salt was manufactured here in considerable quantities. And from the condition in which the spring was found when we first explored the coun- try, we have good reason to place confidence in these reports.
" When I first visited this place, in 1823, the spring was about sixteen feet deep, firmly set round with pickets of logs, and the surrounding water excluded by an embankment. Tho spring is now filled up, the pickets destroyed, and the embankment trod down by the cattle, or washed away by the operation of the water."
Thus having described, perhaps somewhat more minutely than the subject under ordinary circumstances would have called for, the principal brine springs examined during the past season, it becomes a matter of primary importance to
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inquire what practical conclusions can be drawn from these examinations. The question will naturally present itself under two somewhat distinct heads ; first, will the water, from either of the springs examined (by the simple exclusion of the surface water,) contain sufficient salt, and is it discharged in sufficient quantity to enable a profitable manufacture to be carried on ? Secondly, can the water be improved in strength, purity, and quantity ?
The first of these questions involves so few considerations as to admit of a ready and positive answer ; for, although the strongest of our brine contains nearly two-thirds as much salt as would be contained in an equal quantity of sea water, (taken at a distance from the coast,) and by a simple exclusion of the surface water, might, undoubtedly, be obtained of a strength fully equal, and of much greater purity, from our proximity to extensive manufacturcs where water of a superior quality is used, and with the facilities for transportation which now exist, we would be enabled to procure our salt from abroad at a cheaper rate than it could possibly be manufuctured at home. And again, no spring, which was examined, discharges a sufficient quantity of water to war- rant the erection of works ; although, in several instances, that objection might possibly be removed by a simple and very slight excavation.
In order to arrive at satisfactory conclusions upon the second question, it may not be misplaced to institute a comparison between those springs which occur on the peninsula, and those in other sections of the United States.
The springs of New-York, which are perhaps more universally and descrv- they known than any others, and which have been to that State a source of so much wealth, are so differently situated that we can scarcely institute a satis- factory comparison between those and our own. Emanating as they do, from the direct outcropping edge of the rock, forming a great saliferous basin, their waters possess all the requisites of purity, strength, and quantity, without any other than superficial excavation. Thus, while the springs of New-York are discharged directly from the edge of the saliferous rock, those of our peninsula, so far as examined, rise to the surface through a superincumbent mass of lime- stone, sandstone, and shale.
The general resemblance between the geology of the valley of the Ohio and that of our own state has already been noticed ; but from facts which it is un- necessa y to detail at this time, I am led to infer that the rock formations of our saliferous district are somewhat lower in the series than those occurring at the principal salines on the Ohio. If this inference be correctly drawn, it Would follow that the salt-bearing rock would lie nearer the surface here than at the points mentioned in Ohio, and that the borings would not be required to be carried to so great a depth in our own as in that state.
In pursuing this subject, we may arrive at some general conclusions by a comparison of the surface waters subjected to analysis, and of which the re- sults are given in Tables numbered 1 and 2, with that which was first used on the Kenhawa, and of which a general description has been given. It has al- ready been stated that the making of salt was commenced on the Kenhawa when the borings had been carried in the rock to the depth of twenty-six feet, the gum occupying a space of fourteen feet of superincumbent sand and gravel, and that three hundred gallons were required to manufacture a bushel of salt.
46
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APPENDIX.
If fifty-six pounds be taken as the standard weight of a bushel of salt,* it will be found, by calculation, that it will require of the water numbered 1, in Table 1, and which, it will be recollected, was taken under most unfavorable circum- stances, three hundred and thirty-seven gallons nearly, to produce that quanti- ty. Now, since this water was taken where the water of the river was from two to two and a half feet deep, and under such circumstances that the free ac- cess of large quantities of fresh water could not be prevented, I think it will be safe to say that the waters of this spring are quite equal to that first used on the Kenhawa, even after the excavation of forty fcet, which had been made at the last-mentioned salines.
The importance of this comparison is much enhanced by the striking sımi- Iarity of circumstances under which the salines of our own state and those of Ohio appear ; but, aside from these comparisons, when the geological relations of those portions of our state in which these springs occur are considered, we cannot fail to look upon them as capable of being vastly improved, and as being subjects of vital importance to the state. It will be recollected, that at the spring mentioned on the Kenhawa, where originally three hundred gallons of the water were required for the manufacture of a bushel of salt, seventy gallons are now sufficient to produce that quantity. As on the Ohio and its tributaries, shafts are required to be sunk to unequal depths, and water of very unequal strength and purity is obtained, so in our own state we may look for great va- riation in this respect.
We can only hope to obtain a permanent supply of brine, of sufficiens strength, from the springs of our state by sinking shafts through the rocky strata, until the salt-bearing rock be reached, be the distance more or less. If judi- ciously conducted, a reasonable doubt could scarcely be entertained but this would be attended with success, and that our springs might be made to produce a supply of salt more than sufficient for the wants of the state. But it must not be imagined that this will be unattended with difficulties ; for, after the most minute examinations of our salt region have been made, and those points which offer the most reasonable prospects of success selected for the commencement of operations, no little skill, labor, and expense will be required to sink such shafts as may be of any permanent benefit. I allude to this subject the more particularly, since excavations are not unfrequently commenced by individuals without " counting cost," under the delusive expectation that a simple superfi- cial excavation is all that is required. The result is a failure to attain the ob- ject sought, and a distrust of the whole matter. Since it is not yet known to what depths the boring will require to be carried at any of the points in the galt district, and the sinking of a shaft to any great depth being attended with considerable expense, individuals should enter upon these experiments, (for they must be looked upon in this light,) with extreme caution. When the depths to which shafts must be sunk are fully determined, the expense and pro- bability of success may be calculated with considerable certainty ; but it is not by any means to be presumed that water will be procured of equal strength and purity at all the points which have been enumerated, or that operations might be commenced at all those points with prospects of success.
* The legal weight of a bushel of salt in the state of New-York, by the act of 1797 ; but the measurod bushel will considerably exceed this.
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Comparatively little is yet known of the minute geology ot our salt district, or even of its geographical extent; and since we may reasonably hope to find those portions, yet to be examined, rich in brine springs, the policy of imme- diately commencing the improvement of those which bid most fair to produce a strong brine in sufficient quantities, demands serious consideration. While it is of vital importance to the state that operations be commenced with the least possible delay, it is also desirable that the very best points should be first selected, and that the subject should be as perfectly understood as circumstances will permit ; but should it be deemed advisable to take the steps preparatory to this improvement, I do not hesitate to give it as an opinion, drawn from a care- ful examination of the subject, that points may be selected where these opera- tions may be conducted with the strongest prospects of eventual success.
Clay.
Marly clay, of rather a coarse character, is distributed quite universally through the different counties of the state. These deposites of clay are fre- quently associated with pebbles of lime, which render them unfit for the manu- facture of bricks ; but since these pebbles in many instances assume a stratified and alternating position, the ciay may, with a little care, be obtained nearly or quite free from them.
In Washtenaw county, near Ann Arbor, a bed has been opened, and the clay used in the manufacture of earthen ware with very good success.
Near the middle branch of the Clinton river, in Macomb county, a bed of clay occurs, of superior quality, both in fineness of texture and freedom from calcareous matter, and is better fitted for the manufacture of pottery than any I have seen in our state .*
Sand.
Nearly the whole western coast of the peninsula, immediately upon Lake Michigan, is bordered by a succession of sand dunes, or hills of loose sand, not unfrequently attaining a considerable altitude. These hills are in many places free from all vegetation, while in others they are covered by a growth of dwarf pines and cedar ; and, more rarely, by other timber. When free from vegeta- tion, the hills are constantly undergoing change from the action of the winds, the sand gradually encroaching upon the land. The moveable sands, which are now unnoticed, may hereafter become matters of serious inconvenience, more particularly in those portions where the timber may be hecdlessly removed. These dunes are not unfrequently composed of sand tolerably well adapted to the manufacture of glass, though its value is unfrequently much impaired by the presence of particles of dark-colored minerals.
Five to six miles north-west of Monroe, the disintegration of a siliceous lime- rock has given rise to a bed of sand of a very superior quality, and of consider- able extent. The sand is of a snowy whiteness, formed of exceedingly small and angular grains, and is nearly pure quartz. These qualities render it better adapted to the manufacture of glass than any other that has been seen in the state.
* My attention was called to this by Isaac W. Avcrill, Esq. who exposed the bed while conducting operations with a view of improving the salt springs of Macomb county.
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Marl.
Our state abounds in deposites of marl, composed of recent shells, and in some few instances it has been used in the manufacture of lime. Inexhausti- ble beds exist in the northern part of St. Joseph and the adjoining counties, and, as a manure, will prove invaluable to the agricultural interests of those portions of our state. Several extensive beds were seen in Jackson county, as also in Monroe county, near the city of Monroe.
The great value of these beds of marl to the agricultural interests of our state is by no means appreciated, and its value as a manure appears to be but little understood by those to whom the information is of the utmost practical impor- tance. My mind was called more emphatically to this subject from having seen, in the early part of the season, one of our farmers making use of plaster (transported from a distance and at a great expense,) upon the sandy portions of his lands, while the marl, in his immediate neighborhood, and which would have answered his purpose nearly equally well, was wholly neglected.
Bog Iron ore.
Deposites of bog iron ore were seen at numerous points on the peninsula, but it exists in so small quantities at most of the places examined as to be of little value.
Near the village of Kalamazoo, a somewhat extensive bed of this ore was seen, which, it is conceived, may prove of some practical importance. It was cursorily examined over an extent of perhaps forty to fifty acres, and was found to vary from a few inches to three or four feet in thickness. Three specimens of the ore subjected to analysis gave the following mean result for one hundred grains
Peroxid of iron,
78,45 grains.
Silica and alumina,
7,95
Carbonate of lime,
1,10
Water,
12,50
¥
100,00 grains.
At a distance of six or seven miles north-west from Detroit, and in the county of Wayne, bog ore occurs at intervals, over an extent of several hundred acres, but I have not been able to examine it with sufficient care to determine its ex- tent ; I think, however, there can be little doubt but it exists in sufficient quan- tities to be turned to practical account.
Near the mouth of Grand river, in Ottawa county, is a somewhat limited bed of bog ore, but the specimens subjected to examination were found to con- tain too many impurities to be of much if any value.
Mineral Springs.
Several springs, charged with sulphuretted hydrogen, occur near Monroe, in Monroe county, and the waters being also charged with carbonate of lime, give rise to considerably elevated mounds of calcareous tufa, and from which the wa- ter is usually discharged in a constant stream. A spring of much larger size occurs in a marsh near the town of Havre in that county. This latter spring, which has a circumference of a hundred and fifty feet and a depth of thirty- five feet, discharges a sufficient quantity of water, were it favorably situated,
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to turn a mill. The quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen contained by this spring, as also those near the city of Monroe, though not great, is sufficient to characterize them, and to render them of considerable value in the treatment, more particularly, of cutaneous diseases.
The departments of Botany and Zoology, under the more immediate di- rection of Dr. Abraham Sager, principal assistant, have received due atten- tion.
Extensive collections of plants have been made, and the preparatory steps taken towards arranging a Flora of the state.
The season was considerably advanced before we were enabled to turn our attention to the zoology of the state, yet several hundred specimens, mostly in the departments of Ornithology and Herpetology, have been collected, and will furnish aid in studying these departments of natural history.
Topographical maps of the several counties of the state, reduced from the original United States surveys, are in as rapid progress as circumstances will permit, and we hope during the progress of the geological survey to be enabled to render them minutely accurate.
In order to place our state university in such a condition that it may hold a rank among the institutions of our country, it is very important that the parent institution, as well as it branches, be amply supplied with a collection of all that appertains to the natural history of our own state at least. This may be accom- plished during the continuance of the geological survey which is in progress, but not without much labor and expense. Since the making these collections would so far cripple our operations in the other departments, in consequence of the inadequacy of the appropriation, it remains to be decided whether these de- partments, which are being carried forward with so much zeal by the states around us, shall be continued as commenced, or shall be abandoned to a bare catalogue.
In conclusion it may not be misplaced to allude to the numerous difficulties to which we are subjected in carrying forward the investigations before us. Our state is in its infancy ; and although it is rapidly populating with an intelligent and industrious people, they are at present, (with the exception of those in a ve- ry few of the counties,) thinly spread over a large district of country. The nu- merous difficulties and privations by which they are surrounded have prevent- ed much attention even to the general character of the country around them. For this reason, the amount of local information, which can be obtained, is small, and exceedingly liable to error. We have on the peninsula no mountain chains, no lofty mural walls or deep valleys, where the actual superposition of the rocks can be seen at a glance ; our quarries of stone have scarcely been opened, all which subject us to many difficulties. In addition to all this, those portions to which the immediate interests of the state call our attention, have no avenues by which they can be reached, excepting by the streams or the trails of the Indians. The ascent of a rapid stream by canoe, the only feasible mode of travelling, and the only manner by which examinations can be satisfactorily conducted, is attended by fatigue, labor, and hardships of the most severe kind. Wading the streams by day, and annoyed by mosquetoes at night, separated for weeks together from all society, were it not that the mind is constantly oc- cupied in the contemplation of objects which, from their symmetry and beauty,
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furnish a constant mental feast, there would be nothing which could possibly compensate for the hardships endured.
NOTE XI. PRINCIPAL RIVERS.
KALAMAZOO AND GRAND RIVER.
(J. Almy's Report of the Survey of the Kalamazoo and Grand River.) To the Hon. JUSTICE BURDICK,
President of the Board of Internal Improvement :
Sir: In obedience to my instructions, and in pursuance of the act of the legislature, authorizing the surveys of certain rivers, I have made an examina- tion and survey of the Kalamazoo and Grand rivers, which were committed to iny charge.
In performing the responsible duties appertaining to this service, I have en- deavored to adopt such a system of examination as would best enable me to lay before your honorable board the information sought for, or contemplat- ed by the act making appropriations for this object.
Such of the rivers as have been designated as objects of attention, so much so as to be embraced in the general system of internal improvement, have, no doubt, merited this distinction from the well-known fact of their having al- ready afforded unusual facilities for transportation ; and upon the principle that the rights and interests of the citizens of the state should be equally cherished and protected. It is believed to be the duty of the government to extend the operations of internal improvement as far as a just regard for the interests of all, and the capabilities of the treasury, will permit, to the navigable rivers and waters within our state.
Every day brings with it additional proof of their intrinsic value to the agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial interests of the state.
But a few years have elapsed since the birch canoe of the Indian and the batteau of the trader were the only craft to be seen upon their placid waters ; now the imposing spectacle of a " steamboat" arrests the attention of the re- tiring son of the forest, teeming with emigrants and implements of husbandry, ready to deface the last print of his foot in that soil once so dear to him and to his nation.
Some facts may be stated in regard to what facilities are now offered by these rivers for navigation and transportation, and such a statement would seem to be necessary for the purpose of enabling those unacquainted with the circum- stances to arrive at a just conclusion as to the propriety of making appropria- tions for improvements.
I would here remark, that most of the rivers flowing out of this peninsula have a greater distance from their mouths than any other streams of equal vo- lume of water within my observation or knowledge: this is accounted for from the fact that they have a very uniform descent, and the fall not so great in a given distance as to produce a very rapid flow of the element ; and in many Instances it only requires a reasonable amount of labor and money to be ex- pended, in order to render these natural channels available for all the purposes of navigation.
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But to return to the notice of certain facts, as connected with the navigation of the Kalamazoo and Grand rivers. I would call the attention of the board to that which must produce an impression favorable as regards their improve- ment.
A brief statement of the number of boats of various descriptions, which have been employed on the Grand river the past season in the business of transpor- tation, will, I trust furnish some data for an estimation of the value and con- venience of this medium of communication.
Individual enterprise and private capital is not often appropriated to any ob- ject in the way of business without reference to a profitable investment. The conclusion, therefore, is inevitable, especially when we take into consideration the fact, that measures are taking to increase the number of craft to be used for transportation, that no more capital has been invested than was profitable and absolutely required.
During the season of 1836, such of the boats as were employed on Grand river were generally of the tonnage and construction of those used in the New- York canals. There were four of this description of craft in constant use be- tween the mouth of the river and Grand Rapids. These, together with a class of open boats, carrying from ten to fifteen tons, were found insufficient to do the required business, in consequence whereof a large amount of goods and pro- visions destined for the Rapids and the country above lay in the store-house at Grand Haven the preceding winter.
A steamboat, respectable both as to size and accommodation, built and owned by Messrs. Godfroy & Co. at the village of Grand Rapids, was launched from their wharf on or about the first of July past.
This boat draws, when light, about three and a half feet of water, and has, to the close of navigation, performed her regular trips between the mouth of the river and Grand Rapids daily. She has in the mean time made several trips to the different ports on Lake Michigan, among which may be mentioned the mouth of the Kalamazoo, North Black, river and Muskegon ; and it is admit- ted by her enterprizing owners that their most sanguine expectations have been realized as to her performance and profits.
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