History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 20

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

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es. Still the crania of the Mound Builders, it must be acknowledged, present characteristics, which, in the language of Foster, 'indicate a low intellectual organization, little removed from that of the idiot.' And this skull from the Detroit River mound must be placed in the same category. Prof. Wyman, in his sixth annual report of the Peabody Museum, in referring to this skull, goes on to say : 'In ordinary skulls, the ridges of the temporal muscles on the two sides of the head are separated by a space of from three to four inches, seldom less than two, while in the Detroit mound skull this space measures only three-quarters of an inch; and in this respect it presents the same conditions as the skull of a chimpanzee.' It is interesting to re- member that the 'flattest tibia on record,' already referred to, were taken by me from this mound; and all the tibiæe had more or less saber-like curvature associated with the platycuemism. It remains for me in this connection to call attention to the fact that the perforation of the humer- us is another remarkable characteristic which I have observed to pertain to those platycuemic men of our region. I refer to the communication of the two fosse situated at the lower end of the humerus. This is of great interest, as this peculiarity is most frequently met with in the negro race; it has also been observed in the Indian, and though not always present, is quite general in the apes, while it is very seldom seen in the white races.

MOUNDS OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

One of the most remarkable and extensive series of tumuli which are known to exist in this part of the lake region, it was my good fortune to discover in the year 1872. I refer to the mounds situated at the head of the St. Clair River, and at the foot of Lake Huron. They extend in continuous succession for about one mile and one-half northward, as I have satisfac- torily determined. Strange to say, those who lived in their immediate vicinity knew nothing of their character. A paper which I wrote on the subject, embodying the principal facts, sub- sequently formed a part of the sixth annual report of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and was afterward copied into several of the leading periodicals of the country, in-

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

cluding the American Journal of Science. The general publicity thus given the discoveries precludes the necessity of more than a passing notice here. The numerous mounds, with few exceptions, are of similar character, having been largely used for burial purposes. One of them presented some features distinctive of the 'refuse heaps' of our Atlantic Coast, and of the north of Europe, a wide area at one end being covered with a solid crust of black ashes from eighteen inches to two feet thick, containing the bones of various animals used for food, broken pottery and stone implements. The relics from the burial mounds, in addition to those usually found, consisted of an extraordinarily large number of broken stone hammers of the rudest kind; a plate of mica five by four inches, and two necklaces, one made of small bones, mostly cervical vertebra, stained a beautiful green color, resembling enamel, the other composed of the teeth of the moose, finely perforated at the roots, alternating with well- wrought beads of copper, and the bones of birds stained green as in the first instance. In the mound containing the last-mentioned ornaments, several interments had been made, and the decayed stump of a scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea, Wang.), two feet in diameter, surmounted the summit, the roots spreading above the contents in all directions. All the tibiæe noticed by me exhibited the com- pression characterizing platycuemic men. In dwelling on this circumstance, in connection with my previous discoveries in the same direction, I make the remark, 'I cannot but believe, from what I have seen, that future investigation will extend the area in which this type of bone is predominant to the entire region of the great lakes, if not of the great West; or, in other words, that at least our northern Mound Builders be found to have possessed this trait in the degree and to the extent denoted;' which prediction recent discoveries in Wisconsin and Iowa would seem in a fair way of fulfilling.

" On the west bank of the Black River, a tributary of the St. Clair, is a burial-mound, which contributed some unusual features. A road having been cut through the easterly slope of this mound, the consequent excavation revealed a large number of human bones, pottery, stone implements and other relics. Stone lance or spear heads of great length were taken out, two of them being each over a foot long, and one sixteen inches in length. But the most inter- esting feature of this repository of relics was a grave, the interior of which was described to me as being lined with pottery similar to that of which the vases, pots, etc., are formed. This was so peculiar a circumstance, no other instance of the kind having come to my knowledge, that, at first, I considered the statement highly improbable. But I availed myself of an oppor- tunity of visiting the locality not long after to make a special examination. Though the con- struction of the road through the mound had destroyed most of the original features, and scattered a multitude of valuable remains, further excavation revealed a considerable quantity of fragments of the pottery above referred to as having been said to have lined the grave. This certainly appeared to confirm the statement. I found this pottery to be of rather a coarser description than usual, and marked abundantly with the cord pattern, known to be of such frequent employment, but in this instance made with a large cord or small rope. The side so ornamented was invariably concave, while the other side was convex and unsmoothed, different from any other specimens I have seen elsewhere. So rough and unfinished was the unornamented side that it had every appearance of having been pressed upon the ground while yet plastic, and sand, and even gravel, adhering to it, confirmed this impression. After having viewed the evidences, I had no longer any great difficulty in receiving the statements previously made. My chief informant was perfectly uneducated in such matters, and even attributed the peculiar formation lining the sides of the grave to the coagulation and final hardening of blood, accounting for its presence in such large quantity by presuming a battle to have been fought in the vicinity. The few fragments of human bones, which on this occasion were exhumed with the pottery, were in the last stages of decay. A remarkable series of those works occurs at Beaver Harbor, on Beaver Island, in Lake Michigan. A very limited and hurried examination which I made of the group in 1871 sufficiently satisfied me as to their ancient origin. They appear to be of the same character as the mounds on the Detroit River, and those at the foot of Lake Huron. They were probably largely used for purposes of sepulture. From the success attending my brief labors it would appear that the more valued relics of the Mound Builders have been here deposited in unusual abundance. Highly-wrought stone implements, many of

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

them being of uncommonly skillful workmanship, are frequently encountered. They are formed of a great variety of stone, such as diorite, or greenstone, sienite, shale and chert, many of them being finely polished. One of the handsomest stone axes I ever saw was taken out at this place: it is made from sienite, a favorite material for this implement, and the hand- icraft displayed in its construction is of the highest order."

At intervals, residents along the rivers and lake discover relics of the aborigines. June 29, 1870, a boy named Daniel Tyrell went up the lake shore in June, 1870, to pick strawberries, and upon returning homeward, while wading in the lake, he lifted something which he thought was a very curious looking stone. Upon examining it, he saw it was the tooth of some enor- mous animal, and brought it home. It created much curiosity. The weight of the tooth is three pounds and eleven ounces, and seems to have been the back tooth of the lower jaw. It is seven and a half inches in length, and five inches in depth, but the animal seems to have been an old one, as the tubercular points are much worn by attrition, similar to the molars of an old person.

Daniel Cottrell, in digging a hole for a fence post, in June, 1875, at a depth of three feet below the surface, exhumed a tomahawk, the skull of an Indian, and a large number of silver ornaments and trinkets, the aggregate weight of which was about two pounds. The ornaments found comprise buckles, earrings, bracelets, brooches, and other rude designs, such as were worn a century ago by chiefs. The silver is rolled very thin, made as showy as possible; the workmanship is that of a white man; the bracelets are two inches in width, and bear the stamp of the early American confederation of ten States-the eagle with outspread wings, and ten stars in the shape of a crescent overhead.

In August, 1875, Mathew Kemp, living on the southwest corner lot at St. Clair, dug down in the earth a few feet to get some sand for building purposes, and a day or two afterward his little daughter discovered something of a sparkling nature in the earth that had been excavated, and brought it into the house to find out what it was. Upon cleaning it up Mr. Kemp found it to be a lump of quartz and copper mixed with stone, in the proportion of two of each of the former to one of the latter. The specimen is a very fine one. How it came there is merely a matter of conjecture. It may have been dropped accidentally by some person-Indian or white man-years ago, or it may have been transported thither during the drift period.

In closing this chapter, it is well to speak a word to those who cannot comprehend fully the eccentricities of geology. Recently a foreign author adopted the theory that the days in Genesis first are long periods of time, and endeavors to show that the facts of geology corre- spond in a wonderful manner with the panoramic description of Moses in a great number of particulars. To those who are satisfied with his interpretations of Scripture the argument will seem clear and convincing. There will, however, be others, great numbers, to whom it will not appear probable that Moses should have had a scientitic revelation of the process of the world's creation which could not be understood by a single reader, until, thousands of years after his death, the true meaning was developed by modern geology. It will also be regarded as quite incredible that the explicit references to six mornings and evenings point to immeasurable periods of light and darkness, contrary to the established uses of these words in all languages. The work, in a scientific point of view, is highly interesting and instructive. But its exegetical side seems exceedingly defective. The whole subject of the " days," "even- ings and mornings," in Genesis, first demands a renewed examination in the light, not of science, but of philology and exegesis. As the matter now stands, it may be well questioned whether Hebrew scholars have not too far given up the true principles of exposition for the purpose of seeming to reconcile Genesis and geology. It is high time this question should be carefully reviewed. Skeptics will never accept unnatural and forced interpretations of the Scripture as affording sufficient answers to their objections. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan may be taken as a subject lesson by them. That land of iron and copper was fashioned by God in a moment to provide for the present time; millions of years could not have formed these iron hills, even as time, previous to 1846, never suggested a development of their mineral resources.

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

CLIMATOLOGY AND METEOROLOGY.

The varied climatological changes resulting from settlement are many and serious. There are many theories afloat concerning the effect of reclaiming the soil and the destruction of its forests. To us, a new people and a new State, the question is one of great moment, the more so that it is still in our power not only to watch the effects of such changes but still more so to control them in a measure for our good. As to the effect upon animal and vegetable life, it would appear that so far as relates to the clearing away of forests, the whole change of condi- tions is limited to the surface, and dependent for the most part on the retention and slow evap- oration in the forests, in contrast with the rapid drainage and evaporation in the open space. The springs diminishing in number and volume in our more settled parts of the State, do not indicate a lessening rainfall. It is a well-ascertained fact that in other places so denuded, which have been allowed to cover themselves again with forests, the springs re-appear, and the springs are as full as before denudation. With us, happily, while the destruction of forests is going on in various parts of the State, the second growth is also going on, both in the pineries, where new varieties of hard wood take the place of the pine, and in the more cultivated parts of the State, cultivation forbidding, as it does, the practice so much in vogue some years ago, of running fires through the undergrowth. Thus, though the renewal of forests may not be keeping pace with their destruction, it would seem clear that as time advances the springs and streams in the more cultivated parts of the State will fill and flow again, increasing in proportion as the second growth increases and expands. The change, however, from denudation, though strictly limited to the surface, affects the surface in other ways than simply in the retention and evap- oration of rain. When the winter winds are blowing, the want of sheltering protection of belts of trees is bitterly felt, both by man and beast. And so, too, in the almost tropical heats of summer, both languish and suffer from the want of shade. Nor is the effect of denudation less sensibly felt by vegetable life. The growing of our more delicate fruits, like the peach, the plum, he pear, the better varieties of the cherry and gooseberry, with the beautiful half-hardy flow- ering shrubs, all of which flourished so well in a number of our older counties some twenty years ago, are as a rule no longer to be found in those localities, having died out, as is believed, from exposure to cold winds, to the southwest winds in particular, and for want of the protect- ing influence of the woods. In fruits, however, we have this compensation, that, while the more tender varieties, especially of apples, have been increasing, while the grape (than which nothing speaks better for climatology), of which we grow some 150 varieties, the strawberry, the rasp- berry, blackberry and currant, etc., hold their ground. Nor are the cattle suffering as much as formerly, or as much as is perhaps popularly believed, from this want of forest or tree shelter. With the better breeds which our farmers have been able of late years to purchase, with better blood and better food, and better care, our stock, instead of dwindling in condition, or in num- ber, from the effect of cold, has progressed in quality and quantity, and competes with the best in the Chicago and New York markets. There can, however, be no doubt that the planting of groves and belts of trees in exposed localities would be serviceable in many ways, in tempering the air and imparting to it an agreeable moisture in the summer, in modifying the severity of the cold in winter, in moderating the extreme changes to which our climate is subject, and thus in a measure preventing those discomforts and diseases which occur from sudden changes of temperature. Besides, these plantings, when made between homes or villages and malarial marshes, serve (by the aid of the prevailing southwest winds) to break up-to send over, and above and beyond the malarial substratum of air to which we are otherwise injuriously exposed. The effects of reclaiming the soil, or " breaking," as it is called in the West, have years ago, when the State first began to be settled, been disastrous to health and life. The moist sod be- ing turned over in hot weather, and left to undergo, through the summer, a putrifying, foment- ative process, gave rise to the worst kind of malarial, typhoid (bilious) and dysenteric disease. Not, however, that the virulence or mortality altogether depended upon the soil emanations. This was undoubtedly aggravated by the condition of the early settlers, who were wanting in many things, such as in proper homes, proper food and proper medical attendance, medicines and nursing. These fevers have swept the district years ago, particularly in the autumns of 1844 and 1845, but are now only observed from time to time in limited localities, following in

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the autumn the summer's "breaking." But it is pleasing to be able to add that through the advancing prosperity of the county, the greater abundance of the necessities and comforts of life, and the facilities for obtaining medical care, the diseases spoken of are much less common and much less fatal than formerly.

The relations of climatology to sanitary status form a subject for inquiry. One of the principal reasons for gathering climatological observations, is to obtain sanitary information, which serves to show us where man may live with the greatest safety to his health. Every country, we might perhaps correctly say every State, has, if not its peculiar diseases, at least its peculiar type of diseases. And by nothing is either this type or variety of disease so much influenced as by climate. Hence the great importance of the study of climatology to health and disease, nay, even to the kind of medicine, and to the regulating of the dose to be given. It is, however, best to caution the reader that these meteorological observations are not always made at points where they would most accurately show the salubrity of a geographical district, by reason of the fact that the positions were chosen not for this special purpose, but for purely military purposes. We allude to the military posts, from which statistics for the most part come. Another caution, it is also well to bear in mind in looking over the class of diseases reported at these stations in connection with their observations, the diseases are those of the military of the period, a class from which no very favorable health reports could be expected, considering their habits, exposure, and the influences incidental to frontier life. The geography of disease and climate is of special interest to the public, and a knowledge especially necessary to the State authorities, as it is only by such a knowledge that State legislation can possibly restrain or root out the endemic diseases of the State. In connection with the gather- ing of vital statistics must go the collection of meteorological and topographical statistics, as without these two latter the former is comparatively useless for sanitary purposes. More par- ticularly does this apply to the malarial diseases. Acclimation is very rarely discussed, or even alluded to, by our people in relation to this State, for the reason that, come from what- ever part of Europe men may, or from the Eastern States, acclimation is acquired for the most part unconsciously, rarely attended by any malarial affection, unless by exposure in such low, moist localities, where even the natives of the district could not live with impunity. It seems to be well enough established that where malaria exists, whether at Detroit, New York or Chicago, where the causes of malarial disease are permanent, the effects are permanent, and that there is no positive acclimation to malaria. Hence it should follow that since life and malaria are irreconcilable, we should root out the enemy, as we readily can, by drainage and cultivation, or, where drainage is impossible, by the planting of those shrubs or trees which are found to thrive best, and thereby prove the best evaporators in such localities. Our climate, approximating, as it does, the forty-fifth degree (being equidistant from the equator and pole), would, a priori, be a common ground of compromise and safety, and from this geographical position is not liable to objections existing either north or south of us.

HISTORY OF DISEASE.

In searching for historical data of disease, we are able to go back to the year 1766, com- mencing with the aborigines. "The Indians," says Carver, in his chapter on their diseases, "in general are healthy, and subject to few diseases." Consumption from fatigue and exposure he notices, but adds that the disorder to which they are more subject is pleurisy. They are likewise afflicted with dropsy and paralytic complaints. It is to be presumed that, while Carver is speaking generally, he means his remarks to apply, perhaps, more particularly to those Indians with whom he lived so long, the Sioux of the Northwest. That they were sub- ject to fevers, is gathered from the use of their remedies for fever, the "fever bush" being an ancient Indian remedy, and equally valued by the inhabitants of the interior parts of the colonies. Besides this, they had their remedies for complaints of the bowels, and for all inflam- matory complaints. These notices sufficiently indicate the class of diseases which have certainly followed in the wake of the Indian, and are still occurring to his white brother, making it plain enough that lung diseases, bowel complaints, and fevers are in fact native to the State. The fact must not be ignored that the Indian is subject to the same diseases as the human race

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in general. After Carver, we may quote Maj. Long's expedition in 1824. The principal dis- ease of the Sacs, appears to be a mortification of the intestinal canal, more common among men than women, the disease proving fatal in four days if not relieved. It is unaccompanied with pain, and is neither hernia, dysentery, nor hemorrhoids. Intermittents were prevalent, and small-pox visited them at different periods. As the Otchipwes have a common Algonquin origin with the Sacs, and as their home and customs were the same, it may be expected that their diseases were similar. The principal disease to which the Otchipwes are liable is con- sumption of the lungs, generally affecting them between the ages of thirty and forty; they linger along for a year or two, but always fall victims to it. Many of them die of a bowel complaint which prevails every year. This disease does not partake, however, of the nature of dysentery. They are frequently affected with sore eyes. Blindness is not common. Many of them become deaf at an early age. Small pox and cholera have ravaged many an Indian town, even as they have stricken the cities of the white race.

THE BIG SNOWS.

The traditions of the Chippewas and Wyandots point out the years 1755 and 1775 as the winters of the great snows. Those severe storms which swept over the Peninsula within two decades, destroyed great numbers of forest animals, the bones of which in after years, literally encumbered the wilderness. Within the pioneer period, the snow of 1822-23 was the heaviest. It fell to a depth of four feet on the level, and was accompanied with such an icy current, that large numbers of deer, wolves and bears perished before its withering advance. In1830-31, the snow storms set in early in November, and continued throughout the month, destroying the wild animals in large numbers and inflicting many hardships on the Indians and pioneers. In the month of August, 1831, a severe frost set in, which occasioned many serious troubles and disappointments.

THE BLACK DAYS.

On the morning of Sunday, November 8, 1819, the sun rose upon a cloudy sky, which assumed, as the light grew upon it, a strange greenish tint, varying in places to an inky black- ness. After a short time, the whole sky became terribly dark; dense black clouds filled the atmosphere, and those changes were followed by a down-pour of rain, which appeared to be something of the nature of soapsuds, and which was found to have deposited, after settling, a substance resembling soot. The atmosphere assumed its usual form that afternoon, and the following day was dry and frosty. On the morning of Tuesday, 10th, heavy clouds again appeared, changed rapidly from a deep green to a pitchy black, and the sun, when seen occa- sionally through thein, was sometimes of a dark brown, or an unearthly yellow color, and again bright orange or a blood red. The clouds constantly deepened in color and density. and later on, a heavy vapor seemed to descend to the earth; the day became as dark as night, and the gloom increased or diminished most fitfully. The French traders looked on the phenomenon with a peculiar curiosity, while the Indians were actually alarmed. The more sensible concluded that the western pine woods were ablaze, others that the recently explored prairies were burn ing, while others stated that a volcanic eruption was in progress. The Indians quoted the prophecy that one day the Peninsula would be destroyed by an earthquake, while others looked upon the signs as signaling the close of this world. About the middle of the afternoon a great body of clouds seemed to rush suddenly across the country, and immediately everything was hidden in an appalling darkness. A pause and hush succeeded for a moment, and then a most glaring flash of electricity flamed over the land-next the thunder seemed to shake the very earth to its center. Another pause followed, and then fell a slight shower of rain similar to that which introduced the phenomenon two days previously. After this shower, the day grew brighter, but an hour later it was as dark as ever. Another rush of clouds, and another flash of lightning introduced the climax of the scene. The sky above and around was as black as ink; but right in one spot, in mid air above the Indian village, the lightning danced for some minutes in a fairy circle, then rushed eastward and was not seen again. The darkest hour had come and gone. The gloom gradually subsided and gave place to dawn, the people grew less fearful; the real night came on, and when next morning dawned the elements were at peace, and the world seemed as natural as before.

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History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 20

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818