USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume I > Part 39
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SURFACE DRAINAGE
The map of the county shows that the drainage is, in general, south- eastward and from what has been said in regard to the surface slope it is apparent why this should be the case. Most of the streams make their way independently. North of the River Raisin there are some minor tributaries which join it finally only after paralleling it for a number of miles. Following the Raisin upon the south side and along many of the other streams there is more or less sand deposit outside of the main valleys. This was deposited probably as a delta upon either side of the stream, as the waters of the lakes were gradually withdrawn.
Two streams worthy of the names of rivers, enter the Raisin, however, in the southeastern part of Dundee township, the Macon and the Saline. These streams appear to have had a common bed from this point to the lake. From their point of union a broad depression extends southwest- ward for a number of miles into Lenawee county as shown by the sur- face contours. It is quite probable that this depression was occupied by a third small stream which also joined the Macon and Saline. The natural direction of the Raisin is southeastward across Lenawee county, but it takes a very abrupt turn and enters Monroe county flowing northeastward across Summerfield and Dundee townships. It seems very probable that this third stream referred to cut its way back into the watershed which
La Salle-
Michigan Central 15
Lake Shore 16
Stony Creek- Michigan Central 21
RIVER RAISIN LOOKING WESTWARD FROM MACOMB ST. BRIDGE
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separated it from the Raisin, until the latter stream was tapped and "captured." This bed furnishes a more direct route to the lake and the Raisin turned northeastward until it reached the common bed of the Macon and Saline.
PICTURE OF THE RIVER RAISIN
The curious alternate meandering and straightening of the Raisin has gone on for years within the easy memory of the older inhabitants; marked changes have occurred in the course of the stream, forest trees of respectable size are now growing where there had been good fishing and boating. The river has meandered a mile but advanced less than one hundred feet. The River Raisin at Monroe, where it still passes through the city, and is crossed by two bridges at Macomb street, and Monroe street, is from 210 to 220 feet broad, rendered shallow by the
FLOOD ON RIVER RAISIN, FEBRUARY 8, 1887 View on Front Street River Bank. Ice piled 8 to 10 feet high left by receding waters
layers of dolomite. Ice jams sometimes form in the stream opposite the city extending down to the great steel railroad bridges three of which span the river at this point. A notable freshet occurred in 1887, when the great presence of heavy ice carried away the steel passenger bridge at Macomb street. Great danger was caused by the encroachments of the water into quarters of the city thought to be entirely outside the flood dangers. An illustration of the scene taken at the time is herewith shown. The fall in the river from the Macon to Monroe is about sixty feet, giving an average of about four feet to the mile, as measured in a straight line. Dams have been constructed at Peters- burg, Dundee, Grape, and near the city of Monroe; the latter is of con- crete construction some four hundred feet long, and furnishes power for a flour mill with a capacity of about one hundred barrels daily, also for a woolen mill.
As the river swings from side to side on its course there is cut out of the drift deposits which cover the rock, a broad valley partly filled with river silt. During times of highest flood the river leaves its channel, spreads over all the region between the outer banks, and as the velocity of its water is checked, there is deposited a layer of sediment. In the
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course of time there is built up a flat terrace, the height of which is de- termined by the height to which the water may rise at each particular part of the stream. This constitutes the flood-plain of the river. In the case of the Raisin it may be followed from near the lake, continuously up stream, across the county. Where the valley is broad and the river has a chance to spread most during flood its height is less. On the other hand where the valley is narrowest, the flood-plain terrace is highest, as is well shown at Petersburg. Here the valley, which is ordinarily from one- quarter to one-half mile in width, narrows to about seven hundred feet and the terrace is fully eight feet above the general level of the river. In the western part of the county the banks vary from twenty to thirty feet above the bed of the stream, are twenty-six feet high at Dundee and gradually diminish towards the mouth.
For each individual stream there seems to be a limit to the amount of wandering of which it is capable, and hence to the breadth of its valley. In the formation of the great ox-bows a neck of land is produced into which the stream cuts on opposite sides until it is completely eaten across and the channel is straightened. The abandoned portion of the bed forms a crescent shaped marsh or lagoon, numerous examples of which may be found along nearly all of the streams. The erosive action of the water is thus confined mainly to the terrace deposit of its own making, rather than to the valley banks and this is torn down and built up many times over in the history of the river. In places, however, new work is being done upon the original drift deposits and the valley correspondingly broadened until the stream is again straightened and the water with- drawn. Besides the one above mentioned, other factors contribute to the periodic straightening of the river channel.
MACON AND SALINE RIVERS
The Macon and the Saline rivers, with their branches drain the northwestern part of the county, the southern part of Washtenaw and the northeastern portion of Lenawee. They are simply the Raisin in miniature, each showing the broad valley, the elevated flood plain over which they pursue their winding courses. The banks are about twenty- five feet high where they join the Raisin, but gradually diminish to less than half this height.
THE HURON AND OTHER STREAMS .
The Huron forms the northern boundary of Berlin township, but re- ceives no tributaries of any size from this county. It has about the same length as the Raisin and carries about the same volume of water. It rises in the western part of Oakland county, flows southwest across the south- eastern part of Livingston, between great morainic ridges and through a chain of lakes, then taking a wide southeasterly course across Washtenaw and Wayne and entering the lake just below the mouth of the Detroit river. The banks are from ten to fifteen feet high and about sixty rods apart. The stream itself is about ninety feet wide and flows with a swift current. The width varies considerably; near Ann Arbor the river is broad and shallow, nearly as wide as the Raisin, but at South Rockwood it is confined in a space one-half the width. From Flat Rock eastward the river forms numerous characteristic meanders, similar to those noticed in the Raisin. The banks are gradually reduced in size until in section 23 of Berlin they are not more than two feet high and the flood-plain merges into the broad flat delta. The stream current has here been lost although but two miles from its mouth and there is simply an ebb and flow from the lake. A strong easterly wind will cause a rise of two feet
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in the water. Some thirty or forty years ago this little stream was navigable for small sail craft as far as South Rockwood and Hon. John Strong of South Rockwood built, and used in the transportation of staves to Detroit and other ports, a small steamer, but nothing of the kind is now attempted there, although the United States Coast Chart shows a depth of ten to sixteen feet. Such a depth in this portion of the stream, where there is practically no current is quite unusual. Between the Huron and the Raisin, Swan Creek, Stony Creek and Sandy Creek enter the lake directly, each with relatively broad valleys and flood-plain terraces. As has been previously pointed out rock is struck for a short distance in the bed of each. South of the Raisin we have an essentially similar set of streams, Plum, Otter, Muddy, Bay and Halfway Creeks being the principal ones. These drain mainly the region that lies east of Forest Beach, but in the case of the latter stream the surface drainage of Whiteford to the west is brought to the lake. This cuts through the beach one and one-half miles south of Lambertville, being assisted by considerable dredging and blasting. The presence of the Arkona and Forest beaches has considerably interfered with the natural drainage of Whiteford and the southern half of Summerfield townships and has necessitated the construction of extensive artificial drains.
UNDERGROUND DRAINAGE
In the region of obstructed drainage just referred to, nature has in part obviated the difficulty by sending the surplus water to the lake under the beach, instead of over it. Sink holes and subterranean rock channels have been produced by the solution of the dolomite, so that farms are sometimes drained into old wells. In deepening wells which enter the rock it sometimes happens that the entire quantity of water is lost by opening communication with one of these underground channels. It is reported that sometimes running water may be heard by placing the ear to the ground. In the southern part of section 2, of Whiteford, there occur two large depressions, known respectively as the "Big Sink" and "Little Sink." The latter is the site of Cummins' quarry. The "Big Sink" is a large depression, fifteen to eighteen feet deep, one-half mile long and about one-quarter broad. A ditch from the northwest drains into this and in the spring the depression fills to overflowing and becomes confluent with "Little Sink," forming a veritable lake as shown in illustration. Each season it becomes stocked with fish from Lake Erie, by means of Halfway Creek, and carp weighing ten to fifteen pounds are said to be caught. In the bottom of the bed there is a small ravine in which occurs the opening shown in the illustration. Through this the water finally escapes, sometimes very rapidly and with whirlpool effect. It is possible that an ice plug may be formed during the winter and as long as this remains intact the sink retains its water. Whatever the ob- struction may be, it is always disposed of in time for cultivation of the land.
Southwest of these two sinks, occurs a much larger one known as Ottawa Lake, lying mainly in sections 17, 18, 19 and 20 of Whiteford townships. This has a length of more than two miles and exceeds one- half mile in its greatest breadth, although it is narrow throughout the greater part of its extent. Each season this fills up and becomes stocked with bass, perch, carp and pike as in the above instance. By midfall this lake has practically disappeared, partly by evaporation but mainly through openings into the rock beneath. The illustration, Bed of Ottawa Sink, on page 276, shows the bed of the lake, taken from the head looking south, when all the water has gone except the small pool
ROCK OPENING, BIG SINK, LEADING TO UNDERGROUND CURRENTS
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in the foreground. Fish are said to be caught in large numbers as the water subsides, while those left behind to die render the air offensive for some distance. It is stated that near the foot of the lake had been seen an opening "as large as a room" leading into the rock and that it had been entered twelve to fourteen feet, but it was seen some dis- tance further that it contained much mud with fish, turtles and snakes. Search was made for this opening but all that was found was a bowl shaped depression in the mud fifteen to sixteen feet in diameter and five feet deep containing about a peck of young cat fish. During the past summer the bed of the outlet has been lowered by the county so that the level of the full lake will be reduced four feet, by which means many acres of marsh land on the south and east will be reclaimed. In the northern part of Sec. 15, Bedford township, there is a small body of water upon the "ridge," known as Little Lake. At the time of Rominger's survey of this region (1873 to 1876) this was dry and showed conspic- uous rock crevices in its bed. It has not been dry for a number of years and it is not now regarded by local residents as a sink. It seems prob- able that the subterranean exits have become temporarily clogged and that they may again become functional upon being cleared. A somewhat similar case occurred just south of the Lulu quarry in Sec. 16, of Ida township, where there is a depression covering five acres and about nine feet deep. This has filled each spring with water which has had to slowly evaporate. In 1896 it appears to have found an outlet, or to have opened a former one, since it was filled several times and each time emptied itself in three days. Just south of the Big Sink, in the N. W. 144, Sec. 11, Whiteford, there is situated a sink which has become inoperative. Upon the place of Daniel Rabideu there are two small sinks in the S. W. 1/4, N. W. 1/4, Sec. 10, of Whiteford. In Sec. 8, N. E. 14, N. W. 1/4, there are minor sinks and sink holes, into one of which a man and horse are said to have broken through.
It is very probable that there exists throughout this region a series of underground galleries and chambers, but probably of no great dimen- sions. The openings are not known to show air currents, which would probably be the case if they communicated with extensive caverns. These subterranean channels seem to extend below the lake and hence must have been cut when the land stood at a higher level. The water which enters these sinks supplies the great springs, which are found to the east along the lake shore. Some of it also very probably reappears in the artesian wells of the region and some of it may reach the lake di- rectly, without coming to the surface.
There is evidence that these underground waters are inhabited by a special fauna similar to that found in caverns. Sometime in the 70's there were pumped from a well in the N. W. 14, N. W. 14, Sec. 32, of Summerfield township, three small fish which are said to have shown no trace of eyes. The well was eighty to ninety feet deep and stands upon land now belonging to J. Cosgroy. The fish were seen swimming in a pail by the late Mr. Ezra Lockwood, who gave the length of the largest as about one and one-half inches, dark brown in color, slender in form, "shaped like a mullet" but with much enlarged paired fins and the dorsal fin extending to the tail. A similar find was reported from Utica, north of Detroit, in Macomb county, some years ago. Two larger fish were obtained from a well, neither of which according to the owner, showed any trace of eyes. Very unfortunately a cat made a meal of them before they could be secured. Similar discoveries may reasonably be expected in the future. So long ago that the time cannot be expressed in years, certain internal forces of the earth disturbed the originally horizontal beds of shale limestone, dolomite and sandstone. These were tilted so
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that they dipped to the northwest in this region, and their outcropping edges were thus given a northeast and southwest direction. The differ- ent degrees of hardness of these beds caused them to weather unevenly, and subjected them to unequal degrees of aqueous erosion, so that broad valleys were cut out having the same direction as the beds themselves. To a greater or less extent the pre-glacial topography determined the di- rection of local movement of the great ice sheet and hence the direction of maximum ice gouging. The direction of the advance of the ice dis- posed of the deposits of till, moraines and boulders as we find them, and gave to the county its present topography. "There are no means of know- ing at this remote day, what factors determined the direction of the operation," says Prof. Sherzer, "of these potent forces. Could these be but identified and traced to their origin, we could better understand the sage remark of some far seeing scholar, that if a single grain of sand on the seashore occupied the position of its neighbor, the history of the earth would have been different." *
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CHAPTER XXIII ANIMALS, BIRDS AND FISHES
MUSKRAT LORE-THE BEAVER-MOST COMMON VARIETIES OF BIRDS- LAKE AND MARSH BIRDS-THE DUCK FAMILY-THE WILD TURKEY AND ITS WAYS-THE BALD HEADED EAGLE-THE PASSENGER PIGEON -THE GERMAN CARP-THE STURGEON.
It would be heartless, not to say inexcusable, to pass over, without a word, that portion of the animal creation in Monroe county which has ever contributed to its interest and attractions, to say nothing of its substantial value. A description of its animals, birds and fishes is there- fore here given space, although less than the subjects deserve and cer- tainly less than the author originally intended that they should occupy.
MUSKRAT LORE
Stretching along the western shores of Lake Erie, from the mouth of the Detroit river southward towards Maumee Bay, in Ohio, for many miles, bordering the lagoons and bayous as well as fringing streams of clear water that flow into the larger body, lie the vast marshes which from the present to dates that are so old that they are lost in the mists of antiquity, have been the homes and the playgrounds of hordes of waterfowl of every name and description known to this latitude. Can- vasback, redhead, mallard, blue and green-winged teal, the whistler, wid- grow, gadwall, as well as the more plebeian mud hen which is the per- manent resident.
Nor is the graceful swan and the Canadian goose ashamed to claim the distinction of making his marsh his habitat d'eté. They are all here in their proper season-hidden away perhaps, among the extensive fields of wild rice, and the lilies and the cattails, but they are here. What a captivating scene was this when first discovered by La Salle, Charlevoix Hennepin and others of the earliest explorers! They were nature lovers -appreciative of the wonders that excited their admiration and filled their larders here at the very gates of the unknown wilderness, which lay beyond.
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Listen to the words of the enthusiastic Charlevoix and of La Salle in their journals of voyages and adventures amid the lakes and streams, in their batteaux * and canoes propelled by the hardy voyagers: "Great
* The batteaux were light and shapely vessels, very different from the birch canoe, calculated for rapid and rocky streams, and to be carried over long portages on mens' shoulders; they were from twenty to thirty feet long and only four or five feet wide, sharp at both ends, like a canoe, but reaching seven or eight feet over the water, flaring from the bottom to the gunwale in order that they might slip easily over the rocks and other obstructions in their way. They were favorites with the lumber jacks and river men also, in managing the extensive "runs" of saw logs down the streams. They were made light, only two boards to a side, generally secured to maple or other hardwood knees, but inward only the clearest and widest
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and luxuriant fields of wild rice and the sweet flags, of grapes and berries extend ahead of us and around us for miles; the streams and the trees along their borders are festooned with magnificent vines bearing the great clusters of purple grapes, and the morasses swarming with waterfowl. We asked our Courier de bois, who proceeded us up this stream to which we gave the name of La Riviere aux Raisins-if there was much game where he had been. "So much," he replied that the waterfowl dress up in lines to let our boats pass through, and the noise of the vast flocks that soared over our heads and alighted again in the tall reeds, was like the rushing of mighty winds!" Even making full allowance for the enthusiastic exaggeration of the emotional Frenchmen of the expeditions, the place can well be imagined as one to delight the nature lover, and the sportsman, and a visit to the scene today might easily convince one that the early descriptions could not have been alto- gether flights of fancy. The early explorers have something pleasant to say about the fish in these waters: "The fish are here nourished and bathed by living waters of crystal clearness and their astonishing abund- ance makes them none the less delicious. Swans are so numerous that one might take for ponds of lilies the spaces of water which they cover" and so the narrative goes on, page after page, of glowing descriptions of this great, beautiful natural game preserve.
Here, too, is the habitat of that "Grand Seignieur" M'sieu le Mus- quash, the most numerous family in this great commonwealth. For many, many years, perhaps two hundred (or two thousand, who knows ?) has his kingdom been established here, not without interference it is true, nor free from the predatory visits of four-footed neighbors, and two-legged invaders of his possessions-yet, notwithstanding these untoward cir- cumstances the numbers do not suffer any apparent decrease. Though warred upon and mercilessly followed into his very castle, by spear and gun and trap he has maintained his ground (and water) and is still found "doing business at the old stand." You may call him by his scientific name the ondata or you may confer upon him his Indian Muskwa; you may even designate him by the plain, every day local and universal term of muskrat-yet even with this most plebeian name, he is still the same quiet, well-behaved, keen-eyed, shrewd and industrious rodent, Fiber zibetheous. He is simply indifferent to all. He likes clean water and clean food, preferably vegetable-very preferable, in fact, and it must be, beyond question, clean. Seldom are fishbones found in his habitation, though he is not averse to a nice perch sometimes, when his favorite food is not obtainable. He is particular, but not foolish about his table-he likes not hunger. As an architect, M'sieu le Mus- quash cannot be said to be progressive. His domicile is constructed on the same lines as it has been constructed during all time-he doesn't believe in a change unless the change is also an improvement.
As for the animal himself, his color scheme is brown, dark upon the upper portion of the body, and lighter beneath, tinged to a slightly red- dish tint upon the neck, ribs and legs, the belly being an ashen grey. The tail about six or eight inches long, and flat, having been constructed more for utility than beauty, is perhaps an inch or an inch and a half wide, covered very sparsely with coarse hair. The long existing preju- dice against the use of muskrat's flesh as food for humans was a fortu- nate one for the muskrat, in connection with his life, liberty and the
of white pine stuff was used. They were very durable, but the rough usage that they received in contact with rocks and stones, generally exhausted the best of them in two years. They were the ideal craft for the purpose for which they were designed and originated with the Indians and French in the very early days of fur trading in the Northwest.
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pursuit of happiness, also that his fur was not valuable enough to stimulate general hunting and trapping for it, but it finally became known that muskrat meat was one of the great delicacies of the winter. One, Xavier Francis, an expert muskrat hunter and cook, was the dis- coverer, and when he declared that "you cook h'it wid h'onion you shan't tole it from duck," the question was considered as settled, and the rodent was ever after much sought for. The tail is the titbit.
One of the most popular recent functions of the Monroe Yacht Club was the Annual Muskrat Banquet, which occurred about Christmas time and attracted guests from many surrounding towns. At one of these recent feasts over eight hundred persons partook of the festive musquash -cooked in a dozen different ways. He builds a good serviceable habita- tion that serves his purpose very well, on the same plans and specifica- tions observed by his ancestors and predecessors as far back as there are any records of the animal. His houses are alike every year, and he never uses one more than one season. He is somewhat fastidious about the interior arrangements for his family, which consists of some seven or eight members. The dining room and living room are separate and the latter is utilized as sleeping quarters, also. The house is quite a large affair for the size of the animal, and constructed to meet the de- mands of the season, for the muskrat is able to "discount the future" so far as weather is concerned, and his preparations for a cold or mild winter are watched with due attention by hunter and trapper and his weather bulletins are eagerly awaited by the prospective layer in of the winter's coal. If a long cold winter is foreseen by this sagacious ob- server, he proceeds to build a thick walled house of sticks, mud and reeds, near an abundance of water, if possible. The general design of this house is not remarkable for its beauty, it resembles in shape one of the old style conical beehives, with an entrance (generally two of them) well beneath the surface of the water. It is comfortably lined with leaves, twigs and grass. The hinder feet of the ondata are well webbed and their imprint on the soft mud is very like that of a duck, the only animal that frequents this locality that is so provided.
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