USA > Michigan > Saginaw County > History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume I > Part 28
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" Proceeding down the river to the inouth of the Tittabawas- see, at a place formerly called Green Point, a favorite camping ground of the Indians in olden time and where they had their corn fields, quite a distance back from the river on the prairie, contrary to all previous experience, we discovered two very large mounds. I think when I first saw them in 1836 they were 60 feet long and 30 wide by four or five feet high. They are on very low ground and subject every spring to be inundated by the river, and for con- venience I shall call them the Green Point mounds. I also saw
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one after it had been opened, and the whole interior appeared to be of a whitish substance, evidently of decomposed Indian bones, the decomposition being more rapid than for the same length of time elsewhere, owing to the lowness of the land and the overflow of the river. What the relic hunters found in these mounds I never ascertained.
"We now proceed up the Tittabawassee river some four miles, to the farm on which the late James Fraser first settled when hic came to the Saginaw Valley, where there is one very large mound, which I shall call Fraser's mound. This is also situated on the bluff in the elbow of the river. This mound comprises nearly half an acre of ground. No one ever imagined this to be a mound until some years since, when the river had worn away the bank and the ice in the spring had torn away the side so that the bones fell into the river.
"From this point we will proceed up the Cass river to the farm of A. Lull, now the village of Bridgeport, which is about six niles from East Saginaw. Mr. Lull informs me that there were several inounds there. And I have been informned by the old In- dian traders that when they first came to the Saginaw Valley, at the bend of the Cass where the village of Bridgeport now stands, there was also a regular earth-work fortification, comprising sev- eral acres. I have never examined these mounds, but have got my information from M. A. Lull, who is an old pioneer, a mem- ber of this society, and from other old settlers. The present In- dians say this fortification was built by another race of people bc- fore the Indians came here, and that they were more like white people, as they made kettles and other dishes of clay. I have in my possession several specimens of pottery, which I have taken out of mounds.
"On the Saginaw river, toward its mouth, when we come to what is now the corner of Twenty-fourth and Water streets in Bay City, where the Center House now stands, we find the old McCor- mick homestead. Here were two large mounds in the garden, which my father plowed and scraped down. They contained a number of skeletons, stone axes, knives, and quite an amount of broken pottery. Some thirty rods below, on Water street, between Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets, is an elevation, the highest on the river, on which is located the Bay City brew- ery, Barney hotel, the residence of W. R. McCormick and other residences, comprising nearly two acres. I wish to describe this elevation as I saw it, in a state of nature, over forty-five years ago. For many years it was considered to be a natural elevation of the land, but subsequent excavations have proved it to have been constructed by some remote race of people.
"When I first became acquainted with the location it was cov- ered with a dense growth of timber, with the exception of the mound and about an acre and a half in the rear of it, where the earth was taken from to build the mound. It was then a duck pond, with water three feet deep, grown up with alder bushics. In
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grading Twenty-second street through the north end of the mound, some years since, we found at a depth of 11 feet three skeletons of very large stature with large earthen pots at the head of each. In excavating for the cellar of the Bay City brewery, we found at the depth of four feet the remains of Indians in a good state of preser- vation, with high cheek bones and receding forehead, while, below these again, at the depth of four or five feet, the remains of a more ancient race, of an entirely different formation of skull, and with those burned stone implements and pottery were found. I have been unable to preserve any of these skulls, as they crum- bled to dust when exposed to the air. I found one skeleton in a sitting position, facing the west, with a very narrow head, and long, as if it had been compressed. I laid it aside in hopes to preserve it, but in a few hours it had crumbled to pieces. This mound is full of the remains of ancient pottery and small stones that have been through the action of fire. A friend of mine found an awl made of copper which was quite soft with the exception of about an inch from the point which was so hard that a file would scarcely make an impression on it. This seems to me to show that the Mound- Builders had the art of hardening copper. We also find that they had the art of working in metals, as we will show. This comprises the mounds on the east side of the Saginaw river.
"We will now pass over to the west side near the mill of More, Smith & Co. There was here, 45 years ago, a mound just above the mill about 100 feet across in a circular form and about three feet high. Originally it must have been much higher. I have never examined this mnound, but have understood from old settlers that there was a great many stone implements found in it. The plow has nearly leveled it, so that it is scarcely noticed any more.
"The mound which was located near the west end of the De- troit & Bay City railroad bridge, for reference I will call the Birney mound, as it is located on the lands of that great phil- anthropist, the late Hon. James G. Birney. This mound was not so large in circumference, but much higher than the one just no- ticed. In this were also found human bones, in a much better state of preservation than any of the rest. I procured from this mound a skull with a hole in it just above the temple bone, pro- duced by a sharp instrument, which undoubtedly caused death. This skull I presented to J. Morgan Jennison, of Philadelphia. It was of an entirely different formation from the Indian skull of the present day, as it did not have their high cheek bones nor their receding forehead, but a very intellectually developed head, showing that it was of a different race of people from the Indian. Some years since some boys were digging in the side of the mound, as they had often done before, to get angle-worms for fishing, when they came across a small silver canoe, about five inches long. A gentleman who was fishing with them, offered them 50 cents for it, which they accepted. After cleaning it up, he found it to be of exquisite workmanship, with the projecting
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ends tipped with gold. A rough copper kettle of peculiar shape and make, having been wrought into shape by hammering, with- out any seam, was also taken from one of these mounds, and is now in the State capitol amongst Mr. Jennison's collections of antiquities.
"The next mound was about half a mile up the river, and for- merly stood in the center of Linn street, West Bay City, but has been graded down many years since. I was not there at the time, but was informed by others that it contained human bones and stone implements. Charles E. Jennison, a pioneer of Bay City, informs me that he dug up two skeletons many years ago, in the side of this mound. He found with the skeletons two copper ket- tles, which he has still in his possession. I am inclined to think these were not the remains of the original Mound-Builders, but a race of a subsequent period.
"We now proceed a half-mile more up the river, to the rise of ground in the rear of Frank Fitzhugh's grist-mill. This eleva- tion, 45 years ago, when I first saw it, was the most picturesque spot on the Saginaw river. Here was also a beautiful spring of cold water, and was a favorite camping ground of the Indians. It was also, according to the Indian tradition, the original site of the Sauk village, and where the great battle was fought when the Chippewas exterminated that nation. This I will call the Fitz- hugh mound, as it is on the lands of Frank Fitzhugh. This eleva- tion, comprising two or three acres, was always thought to be natural; but I am satisfied from recent excavations, and a low place to the southwest, that the earth has been taken from this point to raise the mound higher than the surrounding land, and that it is, therefore, mostly artificial. Then again, the land ad- joining on the north is a yellow sand, while on the south the land fell off abruptly, and is composed of the same kind of soil as the mound, black sand and loam, from where the earth was taken. I am now speaking of this mound as it appeared 45 years ago. Since then the railroad company have excavated a part of it for ballasting up their road, and many other excavations and altera- tions have taken place, so that it has not the same appearance it had when I first saw it. Some years since Mr. Fitzhugh, or the village authorities of Wenona, now West Bay City, excavated a street through this mound, which brought to light many relics and proved beyond a doubt that this eminence was a mound built in re- mote ages. A great many skeletons were exhumed, together with a great many ornaments of silver, broken pottery, stone imple- ments, etc., and, like the McCormick mound on the opposite side of the river, was full of broken stone which had been through the ac- tion of fire.
"There are also four fortifications on the Rifle river, in township 22 north. They contain from three to six acres each, containing several mounds of large size. They are also situated on the bluffs. The walls can yetbe traced, and are from 3 to 4 feet high and from 8 to 10 feet wide, with large trees growing upon them.
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A friend of mine opened one of these mounds and took from it a skeleton of larger size than an ordinary person. He says he also saw several large mounds on the Au Sable river.
"I have thus given the society an idea of how these mounds ap- peared before the hand of man had destroyed and leveled them down. Many of them can yet be seen, but the plow has helped to level many of them, with the exception of the Fraser, Fitzhugh and McCormick mounds. And to prove that the last three are arti- ficial and not natural is the fact that in the rear of all these are low places, showing where the earth had been taken from to build the mounds, which had taken the work of years. Again, the soil on the mounds differs from the soil around them, with the exception of the low places referred to from where the earth was taken; and finally, the most convincing proof of all is that you can dig down until you come to the original surface and will find various kinds of stone implements, broken pottery and great quantities of stone broken by the action of fire. And in no part of the valley will you find those relics except in those mounds. The main ob- jection to my theory is, How could so large an elevation and of such extent be built by so primitive a people as the Fitzhuglı, Fraser and McCormick mounds? but more extensive works have been found in Butler county, Ohio. I account for so much small broken stone being in these mnounds by the manner in which they cooked their food. As their pottery was not made to stand fire, the stones were heated and then put into the vessels to cook their food, which occasioned their breaking to pieces when they came in contact with the water."
That the valley of the Saginaw was inhabited at the time when Egypt, the East Indies and the Chinese Empire wallowed in luxury cannot be questioned. That it was settled when the Delaware filled its valley to overflowing; while yet the lands south of it were covered with the waters of a great lake, may be taken for granted. Its settlement may have occurred prior to the age of the Neanderthal man; but that it was accomplished in later days by the Mound-Builders, or their kinsmen, the Cave-Dwellers, must be conceded. The deposits, the depth at which relics have been found, the repetition of soils, impressions in rocks and location of boulders and fire-stones -- all indicate its occupation by that race of beings which has left only mute memorials of their stay to guide inquiry.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
The region of the Saginaw presents a comparatively level appear- ance, which does not vary even in the valley proper. The Sagi- naw Ridge, known to geologists as the western limits of the Lake Erie of ancient days, runs through the county, and forms a continu- ation of the " lake ridge " running southeast through the southern townships of Washtenaw to the beginning of the formation in Monroe county. When the settlers first entered this district the
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beech and maple flourished along this eminence, with the more sturdy pine forests stretching away on each side. Since that time the trees have disappeared beneath the advance of the lum- ber-man and agriculturist, and what formed the fairest portion of the wilderness is now transformed into the most productive and richest grain garden in the valley. Along the Saginaw and Tittabawassee the lowlands are simply muskeg formations-rich in every component of soil, but so liable to inundation that their utilization as farm lands must be brought about by the labors of another generation.
Throughout the county there are many acres of marsh land easily drained and capable of high cultivation. Great advances liave been made in this direction during the last quarter of a century. A large portionof the tract on which the city of East Saginaw now stands, was, within the memory of the pioneers, a land ofreptiles and miasins; but the reptiles disappeared before the advance of man, the slug- gish waters flowed off through channels made by enterprise, a few short years sufficed to convert the muskeg into solid land, and a few more to render it fit for the crection of the vast buildings of a great northern city.
The soil is all that the farmer could desire. A deep, dark, sandy loam, with a yellow or blue clay subsoil, is found through- out the valley. At intervals a small boulder formation may occur, but generally the rich soil is free from rock. The land approaches that of the Red River valley in almost every particular, notwith- standing the fact of its pine production, and as capable of produc- ing cereals as is the alluvial soil of the treeless and inhospitable Northwest. Within the limits of the county are several thriving towns and villages, every one with its circle of lumber, salt, and agricultural resources. Important rivers and streams course through the county, each forming an avenue of prosperity. Railroads spread out in every direction, communicating with the older and duller world beyond the woods, and bearing to that world large supplies of lumber and salt and even grain-all wrung from the bosom of this land. Enterprise directs all,-front the newly built log cabin to the great marts of the two cities of the county, business rules supreme, winning men from thoughts of idle hours to the higher and nobler ones of building up a new land, of serving others of the present, and preparing for those of the future while winning for themselves a competence and the honors to which their industry and enterprise entitle them.
THE WATER COURSES
of the district comprise the Sac-haw-ning, or home of the Sacs; the Onottoway-se-be-wing, or river of the Onottoways, now called Cass river; the Pe-wa-ne-go-ink-se-be, or Flint river; the Tit-ta-ba-was-see, or river running parellel with the shore; the Shiawassee, or beauti- ful stream; the O-gah-haw-ning, or Pickerel river, now called the Kaw-kaw-lin; the Mich-te-gay-ock; the Ma-qua-na-ke-see, or Bear
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creek; the Che-boy-gun; Matchi-sibi, or Bad river; Mis-sa-bos-sibi, or Hare river; Zau-wis-haw-ning, or Bass river; Squa-hawning, or Last Battle river.
THE SAGINAW
forms the great receiver of all these rivers and streamlets. The Cass flows into it from the east; the Tittabawassee from the North- west; the Flint and Shiawassee from the south, -all contributing to render the Saginaw a great navigable river. The length of the river proper is estimated at 25 miles, and with its great feeders and neighboring streams, drains 3,390,400 acres. The estimated length of these feeders is set forth as follows: The Cass 125 miles, the Flint 103 miles, the Shiawassee 95 miles, the Bad 54 miles, and the Tittawabassee, 105 miles. The Saginaw pursues a northeast- erly course and flows into the head of Saginaw Bay. It varies in depth from 15 to 20 feet, and its average width is 240 yards. The banks of the river are in some places bold, while in others they are low and skirted with wet prairie. Numerous bayous or extensions are formed by this river and its tributaries, in some instances ex- tending miles into the country. Long years ago these extensions were bordered with a plentiful supply of wild rice, and formed a camp ground for wild fowl. To this time the rich and fertile valley of the Saginaw is indebted for its wealth, its wonderful growth and prosperity.
THE CASS RIVER
has its source in Sanilac county, whence it flows southwest, and forms a confluence with the Saginaw, three miles south of the city. Like the main stream, its banks are steep in some places and low in others. Along its entire lengtli of 125 miles, so much driftwood accumulated that up to the clearance of a drive-way in 1837 by E. W. Perry, even travel by canoe upon its waters was impracticable.
THE TITTABAWASSEE
takes its rise in Roscommon county, and flowing southeasterly, forms a confluence with the Saginaw near the city. The average depth of the river is about 10 feet, and its average width about 140 feet, throughout its entire length of 105 miles. The oldest farms of the historic period were established on the banks of this river by the American pioneers, and there are sufficient evidences that in the distant past the mysterious people who dwelt in the land formed their garden beds there. The Tittabawassee Boom Co., organized in 1864, commenced operations immediately, and within a few years placed several miles of boom upon its waters.
THE FLINT RIVER
has its source in Lapeer county, whence it flows in its Seine-like course, and joins its waters with the Saginaw a few miles south of
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Saginaw City. In 1831 this river was so completely filled with flood-wood that it was impossible to bring a boat down stream. About that year Eleazer Jewett loaded a flat-boat with lumber for building his house opposite Green Point, but owing to such ob- structions he was compelled to haul the boat ashore, attach his oxen to it, and have it thus portaged past each mass of drift-wood. Like the other streams, it has been cleared of obstructions, and now forms a link in that chain of waters on which wealth is floated to the Saginaws.
SHIAWASSEE RIVER.
This river is 95 miles in length from its head waters in Living- ston county to its confluence with the Flint or Saginaw, a few miles south of Saginaw City. The river is all that its name implies; along its banks are numerous happy homes, highly cultivated farms and valuable forests.
The Missabos, or Hare river, with its tributary, the Bad river, flows northerly and forms a confluence with the Shiawassee 12 miles south of Saginaw City, after a course of 54 miles.
CREEKS.
Cheboy creek rises in Tuscola county, and flowing in a north- westerly direction, through the townships of Blumfield, Buena Vista and Zilwaukee, enters the Saginaw above Bay City.
Squahauning creek (south branch) rises in the township of Koch- ville, and flowing northeasterly enters the Saginaw river about six miles from the mouth. In addition to these streams are Beaver creek, Swan creek and numerous streamlets.
THE SAGINAW VALLEY.
W. L. Webber, in an address delivered before the Farmer's In- stitute of Saginaw in 1877, quotes Prof. Winchell as follows: " Viewing the peninsula as a whole, we discover, first of all, a re- markable depression stretching obliquely across from the head of Saginaw Bay, up the valley of the Saginaw and Bad rivers, and down the Maple and Grand rivers, to Lake Michigan. This de- pression attains nowhere an elevation greater than 72 feet above Lake Michigan. This elevation is in the interval of three miles separated, the waters flowing in the opposite directions. * * * It is obvious that when the lakes stood at their ancient elevations, their waters communicated freely across this depression, and divided the peninsula into two portions, of which the northern was an island. This depression, for convenience of reference, may be designated the "Grand Saginaw Valley."
Mr. Webber proceeds: " Assuming this as a correct definition of the Valley, so far as this depression has eastern slope, in other words, that portion the waters of which flow into the Saginaw river
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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
and Bay to constitute the Saginaw Valley, we have a territory well entitled to the term of ' Grand Saginaw Valley.' Its extreme length north and south is something over 125 miles; its extreme breadthı about 120 miles. That portion of it, the waters of which drain through the Saginaw river proper, comprises about 170 town- ships, as per Government survey, over 6,000 square miles, and over 4,000,000 of acres. If we add that portion which is drained into the Saginaw Bay through streams which do not empty into the Saginaw river, like the Kawkawlin, the Rifle, Au Gres, etc., it will increase the size of the valley by about 50 townships, mak- ing a total of about 220 townships, -about 7,800 square miles.
" The Saginaw Valley is the largest in Michigan. Grand river valley is next in size, and that contains about 150 townships. It was in 1831 that the French philosopher, DeTocqueville, visited the Saginaw Valley. He came to see nature untouched by civil- ization. He wanted to see the forests in their primitive condition. Inquiring at Detroit of Maj. Biddle, the register of the land office, as though he desired to purchase land, he inquired indifferently toward which side of the district the current of emigration had up to that time least tended, and received for answer, 'Toward the northwest. About Pontiac and its neighborhood some pretty fair establishments have lately been commenced, but you must not think of fixing yourselves further off; the country is covered by an almost impenetrable forest, which extends uninterruptedly toward the northwest, full of nothing but wild beasts and Indians. The United States proposes to open a way through it immediately, but the road is only just begun and stops at Pontiac. I repeat that there is nothing to be thought of in that quarter.'
"DeTocqueville came; for it was this quarter that he desired to visit. He came, crossed the Saginaw river, and landed at the point now known as 'Saginaw City,' which then contained 30 persons, including men, women, old people, and children. While at Saginaw, concerning his views of the present and future, he wrote as follows: 'In a few years these impenetrable forests will have fallen; the sons of civilization and industry will break the silence of the Saginaw; its echoes will cease; the banks will be imprisoned by quays; its current, which now flows on unnoticed and tranquil through a nameless waste, will be stemmed by the prows of vessels. More than a hundred miles sever the solitude from the great European settlements, and we are, perhaps, the last travelers allowed to see its primitive grandeur.'
" Think of it! Only 46 years ago, no highway from Detroit into the Saginaw Valley! A road had been but just begun, but it stopped at Pontiac. The advice which Maj. Biddle gave to De- Tocqueville seems to have been the advice which was given to all who desired to settle in the tlien Territory of Michigan. Northwest from Detroit was not to be thought of. The heavy forests shut out the sun, the face of the country generally level, the water- courses choked with logs and brush. The effect was that the waters were not carried away by evaporation, and only slowly found
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their way into the principal streams, leaving the surface of the ground to a considerable extent wet. It was reputed as an un- healthy country to settle in, fevers and agues were supposed to lurk in its forests, and nothing but the wealth of its timber tempted men to wish themselves inside its boundaries. A few years have changed not only the face of the country, but its reputation. The population of all the territory embraced within the valley (over 200 townships) at the different periods, is substantially as follows: In 1840, 12,290; in 1850, 28,621; in 1860, 72,597; in 1864, 85,258; in 1870, 152,141; in 1874, 184,346.
"Concerning the health of the valley. I can speak, after 25 years' residence, and I have no hesitation in saying that its aver- age healthfulness will equal that of any other portion of the State. There are many, even among the people who reside in the south- ern portion of our own State, who suppose Saginaw to be very far to the northward. In some way -- I do not know how -- they have associated Saginaw and Mackinaw together, and imagine that they are near each other, when in fact they are 150 miles apart. They do not understand the geography of their own State, and this being so, we cannot wonder that those who do not reside in Michigan should labor under a like erroneous idea. As a matter of fact, the geographical center of the lower peninsula of Michigan is, on the authority of Prof. Winchell, to be found on section 24, in township 13 north, of range 3 west, being in the township of Code, which is the southeast corner town of Isabella county. If a line be drawn from the straits of Mackinaw to the south boundary line of the State, its center will be on the same parallel with the central por- tion of the Saginaw Valley. Mackinaw is about 462 º north lati- tude, the southern boundary of the State being about 41} º .. The Saginaw Valley is about the same latitude and has fully as favored a climate as the formerly famed wheat region of Western New York and the now famed dairy region of the Mohawk Valley.
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