USA > Michigan > Midland County > Portrait and biographical album of Midland County, Mich. containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 45
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MIDLAND COUNTY.
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His first venture proved satisfactory, he killing three large bears. He dressed then all nicely, and bear steaks were disposed of quite largely at supper. In fact, Alek ate bear meat so freely that it made him quite sick during the night. Feeling very uncomfort- able, he arose and tried to dress. By mistake he got hold of a pair of his little boy's pantaloons and thrust his foot as far through the leg as he was able. Failing in the endeavor to get them on, he became alarmed and danced over the floor, knocking the chairs right and left. He was suffering such pain that he became almost frantic, and vociferated loudly, "Get up, Jane, for God's sake, and make a light; I am swelled so big I can't get my pants on." The joke was too good to keep, and Alek is yet laughed at frequently about his first experience in eating bear steaks.
A Canuck "Hoodooed."
CARPENTER came down in the woods to do "tinkering " for Ellsmore at the camp on "Sixteen." He was a "Canuck," fresh from his native sod, and the boys soon learned that he was as " verdant " as he was cowardly. They told him "bear stories " when sitting around the camp fire at night, and also spoke of the
" gallipoo," a very large bird which infested the north woods, and had an especial fondness for "Canucks," three of them having been found in the craw of one that was killed the previous winter. He was in- formed that could he succeed in escaping its clutches for one year and become " acclimated," he would be in no danger, as it was never known to attack a man born here or who had lived a year in the State.
A deep snow came on soon after, and the tinker went into the woods to find some "Dray Crooks." Marvel Secord, an old hunter who for many years had hunted and trapped in that vicinity, always wore very large snow-shoes when atteading his trap in winter, and the Canuck came upon the old man's trail while wandering through the woods. The size and shape of the tracks verified the stories told by the lumber- man of the dreadful "gallipoo," and he became terribly frightened. Following the trail until it passed into the logging road that was well beaten down, he lost sight of it and made his way hurriedly to camp and told the men that he had found the place where the " gallipoo " had roosted and had followed its trail to the log road where he had become frightened and flown away. He left the camp at once, declaring his intention of going back to Canada, where such birds were unknown.
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XTUMBER ESTS.
HE greatest industry of Mid- ............... land County from its organiz- ation has been the lumber trade, and it yet shows little diminution. The finest pine lands in Michigan were in Saginaw, Bay and Midland Counties ; and when we estimate the annual cut of pine alone, which has been harvested from Midland for the past quarter of a century, it seems almost incred- ible. The most meager estimate of logs which are put into the Tittaba- wassee in this county alone, gives the annual total of 48,700,000 feet, while the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad frequently transports 4,000 cars of logs per month, which aver- ages for that time 13,928,900 feet. Multiply this by 12, and we have the grand total of 167,147,520 feet carried annually by the railroad in rough logs. Add to this the logs floated down the Tittabawassee, and we have in the rough 215,847,520 feet, while the different mills in the county manufacture and ship on an average the amount accredited to each.
Larkin & Patrick do the second largest business, their mill being located at Midland. Their cut amounts annually to 6,000,000 feet of lumber, 25,- 000,000 shingles, 1,283,425 staves and 102,694 head-
ings. In addition to this they manufacture annually 84,463 barrels.
Geo. Miller, of Coleman, manufactures 700,000 feet of lumber, and 4,000,000 shingles; J. & F. L. Post, 1,100,000 feet of lumber and 2,000,000 shin- gles; F. B. Simons, 7,000,000 shingles; John Ma- loney, 19,600,000 shingles; C. W. Stearns, 300,000 feet of lumber ; J. Thorington, 500,000 feet of lum- ber and 2,250,000 shingles, and C. M. Waldo, 2,500,000 shingles. Geo. Cooper, of Coleman, also cuts 40,000 shingles and 100,000 staves.
A. WV. Wright and P. H. Ketcham do the largest lumbering business in the county, and have eight camps. The amount of pine logs they are getting out is not enumerated, but they employ at least 500 men. They got out in 1883, in addition to their pine lumber, 400,000 feet of hard wood, and had on hand 300,000 feet of the same kind, with 100,000 feet of oak logs in their yard. The amount of pine logs handled annually by this firm is 40,000,000 feet. They own 14 miles of logging railroad in this county, which is fully equipped with locomotives, cars, etc. This road transports all their own logs, except hard- wood, to the Tittabawassee, where they are dumped into the river. In addition to their own work, this firm has handled 25,000,000 feet of logs annually for other parties during the past two years. At their headquarters in Lincoln Township they have a gen- eral stock of merchandise, where their men and many families in the neighborhood come to trade. A postoffice is also established there, making it quite convenient for everybody living near.
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The adept in figures can add this yearly estimate, then multiply by 25, or the number of years in which lumbering has been pushed on an extensive scale, when the wealth of the pine in Midland County can be estimated. Very few tracts of really excellent pine lands can now be found, but her soil is rich and productive, and agriculture will be promoted by the destruction of her forests. In 1880, 580,000,000 feet of logs was rafted on the Tittabawassee, and the jam of logs this year extends a distance of 40 miles above, with an estimate of 5,000,000 feet to the mile.
The Pine and Chippewa Rivers converge at Mid- land, each carrying a wealth of logs on its bosom nearly equaling that of the Tittabawassee. When we think of the number of years that this wholesale destruction of valuable timber has been going on, and see the millions of feet yet standing, it seems scarcely possible that the whole State, much less a few counties, could produce it. Yet the facts, as demonstrated by carefully compiled statistics, show that fully one-half of our timber is yet merchantable.
Life in a Lumber Camp.
EAL life in a lumber camp is so unique that a brief account of a visit to such a place may not be out of place. Every one who can do so should visit a camp, and see how the work of cutting and putting in logs is conducted. That is one thing that should be seen before wandering in foreign lands to feast one's eyes on strange and wondrous things, for nowhere abroad will he find what we have near home. The camp visited we found under the immediate super- vision and management of two gentlemen who had the contract for cutting and putting into the river the timber from 240 acres of land. The camp was in the midst of the forest, and consisted of six build- ings, situated conveniently near together, and of sufficient capacity to accommodate 70 men, 20 pairs of horses and 7 pairs of oxen.
The first is the "cook shanty," 20 by 52 feet in size and one story high, which serves for a kitchen and dining-room for the entire crew. The work of this department is performed by four girls and a chore-
boy, the latter bringing wood and water and making himself useful in a thousand ways. Two long tables, covered with enameled cloth, enable 42 men to take their meals at once. Two large cooking-stoves are kept constantly in use, and when told the amount of provisions consumed per day or week, the query naturally arises how so few hands can prepare such a quantity of food with only two stoves. Work in the woods creates an appetite like a furnace, and provis- ions disappear before a crew of seventy men like dry leaves in a whirlwind. The bill of fare consists of potatoes, beans, pork, bread and molasses, and other substantial food, one meal seldom varying materially from another, with strong tea three times a day. A full force of men consume each week about five bar- rels of flour, five barrels of pork, from fifteen to twenty bushels of potatoes, and other things in like proportion. In one end of this building a room is partitioned off which serves one of the contractors as a private residence and the sleeping apartments of the female help. An alarm clock at least three-quar- ters of an hour ahead of the true time awakens the inmates of the shanty at four in the morning, and the day's labor commences at once. The teamsters are first called, and while breakfast is being prepared they feed and harness their teams; while they are at breakfast, the choppers and other workmen rise and fill the second table. The teamsters are off to their work long before daylight, and usually make one trip to the river, a distance of two miles, and back before darkness disappears. Five trips consti- tute the day's work, and when that is accomplished they unhitch and do no more till the next morning, although it may be several hours before sundown.
The "men's shanty" is 26 x 36 feet in size and one and a half stories high. It is provided with thirty- two bunks, eighteen on the first floor and fourteen in the chamber, each designed for two men, though three can sleep in them very comfortably. They are made of boards, ranged on either side of the room, in tiers one above another, and are provided with a straw tick and blankets. The building is warmed with a large box stove and lighted at nights with kerosene lamps.
The barn proper is 30 x 52 feet, with a stable on either side fourteen feet wide, making it 52 x 58 feet on the ground. It is made warm and comfortable, and furnishes stabling for 40 horses and 14 oxen.
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Near by is the granary, a small building, where the grain for the teams is kept.
In another building a blacksmith and a worker with edge tools, sometimes called a "wood-butcher," find employment,-the latter doing the wood-work on the logging sleds, putting in ax-handles, etc., while the former does the horse-shoeing, irons the sleds, repairs broken chains, etc.
In a small building near the cook shanty, the other contractor resides, with family, and "keeps store," his stock consisting chiefly of tobacco, luni- bermen's clothing and such other commodities as the hands require. A large bell, suspended on a pole, the strokes of which can be heard for two or three miles, calls the men to their meals.
A logging sleigh is an institution deserving more than a passing notice, for it never fails to at- tract the attention of the novice. In appearance it resembles a cross between a pile-driver and a toll- gate. It consists of a pair of "bobs" with runners three inches thick, and shod with iron three inches
wide. The beams and other parts are correspond- ingly heavy ; crosswise each sled is a beam of timber called a "bunk," seven feet in length, with a huge spike in either end to prevent the load from sliding off. They are built low and wide, the runners being from four to five feet apart, to prevent capsizing on uneven ground. On this vehicle an ordinary pair of horses move a load of from five to fifteen logs, scal- ing from 1,500 to 2,500 feet, board measure, and making a load in bulk nearly or quite as large as a load of hay. To haul such loads the roads must be in good condition, and it is well-known that the logging roads are the best in Michigan.
This description of one camp will give an idea of all camps, though of course no two are alike. This camp had turned into the river 4,500,000 feet in three months, and 1,000,000 feet more had been cut and rejected by the scaler, for some defect. The labor on this 1,000,000 feet was all lost.
With this for a sample, some idea may be formed of Wright & Ketcham's camps in this county, where from 400 to 600 men are employed.
ducational.
INCE the first schools were or- ganized in Midland County, the system of education has under- gone a complete change. The vast difference between the old and new methods is plainly ap- parent. In "ye olden times" the pre- ceptor's word was supreme law in his little kingdom, and this law was enforced by a generous distribution of strokes from the well seasoned birch rod. To execute a pencil sketch upon a slate was deemed a misdemeanor, or one which merited at least twelve strokes from the same reformer, wielded by the sturdy arm of an incensed pedagogue. To ask assist-
ance in the solution of a perplexing problem in math- ematics more than twice during school hours, con- signed the unfortunate pupil to a seat on the "dunce block," the most observed, but not the most envied, personage in the room.
The old straight-backed benches and pine desks, smeared with butter and molasses, and defaced by the big boys' "jack-knives," have been superseded by the the modern single desk, where each student has all the comforts and conveniences he can desire.
The text-books were, at that date, of a miscellane- ous character, nearly every family having preserved the remnants of books which their fathers and moth- ers had studied during their school days, and were now brought into use by their children to save expense, being deemed by the parents quite good
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enough for anybody. Every pupil possessed a Ray's Arithmetic, the only text-book of which there 3 were a half-dozen alike. Geography was represented by "Peter Parley" and Monteith's Manual; readers, 3, by McGuffey, Saunders, Eclectic and National series ; grammar, by Pinneo, Clark's Easy Method and Brown's Parsing Lessons. Webster's Elementary, Cobb's, Worcester's and the Eclectic Spellers were used in- discriminately. The scholars could hardly be classi- fied, much less graded. Now, the systematic man- ner of grading pupils, the uniformity of text-books, with improved methods of teaching by object lessons and otherwise, give pupils of this day advantages not dreamed of 20 years ago. Students 12 years of age are in many instances further advanced in rhetoric, physiology and mathematics then were the less for- tunate pupils who attended public schools during the entire time perscribed by law not two decades since.
The Facts in This County.
IDLAND County is rapidly advancing in an educational way. The Township of Midland leads with the number of pupils and value of school property. There are two brick, four frame and one log school-house, with a total valuation of $28,500. The num- ber of scholars enrolled in the several districts is 863. The amount paid for tuition last year was $4,642.20. The largest school building in the county is at Mid- land City; this is a magnificent brick structure, three stories in height, exclusive of the basement. which is large and airy. The building is heated by furnaces, and especial regard has been paid to ventilation and obtaining proper light in its construction. It was erected in 1869, and cost, with its furniture $23,000. Six teachers are employed, in as many, departments. A handsome and valuable library, containing 708 volumes, belongs to this building, thus adding largely to the interest of school work.
In Hope Township there are two whole districts and two fractional ones. The number of children in the township between the ages of five and twenty years is 209. There are two frame school-houses and two log, and the total amount of money paid out for wages of teachers for the year 1883 was $938.25.
Edenville contains two whole districts and one fractional. The number of children enrolled is 140. One of these three districts is furnished with a frame and the other two with log school-houses. The amount of wages paid to teachers was $7 18.75.
Warren has three districts, two of which are whole and one fractional. The number of children enrolled in the township is 154. Two of the school buildings are frame structures, with modern conveniences, and the remaining one is of logs. The total amount of money paid to teachers is $610.
Larkin Township paid a total of $940.50 to its teachers for the year 1883; in this township we find five districts, all entire. The number of children en- rolled is 94. Three of the school-houses are frame buildings, while two districts still use the log school- house.
There are but two organized school districts in Lincoln, both of which are entire. There are only 63 children in the township who are entitled to school privileges, and of these, only 48 attend. One of their school-houses is a frame and the other a log building. Three hundred and forty-five dollars was disbursed during the past year for the payment of teachers'sal- aries.
In Jerome Township there are but 91 children who are privileged to attend school, and only 45 of these take advantage of the privilege. One of the buildings is a frame and the other a log school-house, there being but two districts in the township. The total amount of wages paid to teachers during the year was $303.
In Geneva 62 children attend school regularly out of 104 who are entitled by law to these benefits. There are but two districts, both of which are provided with substantial and commodious frame buildings. The total amount paid teachers, male and female, for the past year was $369.
Homer has three whole districts, all of which are supplied with good frame buildings. Five hur.dred and seventy-two dollars was paid out for teacher's salaries for the school year of 1883. There are en- rolled in this township 572 school children.
Lee has paid out to its teachers of 1883 the sum of $467.45. It is divided into four districts, all of which are entire and all together enroll only 54 scholars. Two frame and two log school-houses comprise the whole.
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Greendale has but one school district, it being an ungraded one. 1I. L. Voorhese is Director for the present year. Eighteen pupils are enrolled, 12 of whom attend reguarly. A handsome frame building was erected in 1884, costing about $500. The school property is valued at $500, and $120 was paid the teachers of 1883.
Ingersoll contains one fractional district and four whole ones. The number of pupils as shown by the last school census is 322. Each district is provided with an excellent frame school building, fitted up with all modern conveniences. Ingersoll paid to her teachers last year the sum of $1,043.83.
Mt. Haley registers 103 children between the ages of five and twenty years, and the three fractional school districts which she controls are provided with log houses for school purposes. The total wages of teachers for the last school year was $530.70.
The four whole districts into which Porter Town- ship is divided are furnished with frame school build- ings, which are large and roomy and well ventilated. The amount of wages paid to teachers for 1883 was $651.78. The number of children enrolled was 136.
Jasper Township has expended the sum of $833 in teachers' pay for the last school year. It contains five districts, all of which are whole. The total num- ber of children enabled by law to attend school in this township is 161. Out of the five buildings designed for school purposes only one is built of logs, the rest of frame.
For a county containing less than 7,000 inhabitants the above statement is quite flattering. It is now being settled up with good citizens more rapidly than at any time in its history, and the next ten years will nearly double the figures given above.
The Press.
HE press of Midland County has had a checkered career. Newspaper enterprises have done more to develop pub- lic interests than all other means combined. Through the papers come first the news of any and every locality; in it the moral, theological and politi- cal sentiments of all are given voice. Through the press of Midland County the untold resources of this beautiful county have been given to the public, and from far and near have hastened men of every clime and nation to enrich themselves and develop more thor- oughly the splendid body of agri- cultural lands contained within her boundaries.
Midland Sentinel.
HIS paper was established in April, 1858, by Nathan T. Carr. When the proposition to organize this village was made, he changed the name to "Midland City Sentinel." In 1862, Carpenter & Bailey purchased the same,
- under whose management it was continued until 1865. when George H. Gies purchased it and changed the name to " Midland Journal." He con- tinued it only a few weeks, when Geo. W. Hughes purchased the outfit and the name was again changed, this time to The Independent. Mr. Carpenter still held a mortgage upon the press and material, but subsequently sold his claim to F. F. Hopkins. In 1866, W. H. H. Bartram purchased Hughes' interest and associated with himself Mr. Hopkins as a part- ner. In 1868, Bartram disposed of his interest to Hopkins, who soon afterward disposed of a half in-
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terest to James Porter and John Haines. They con- tinued the paper until 1871, when M. W. Ellsworth purchased Porter's interest. Subsequently F. S. Bur- ton purchased a half interest from Haines, and later he, together with Ellsworth, purchased Haines' entire interest. In the fall of 1872 E. N. Burton bough Ellsworth's share, and the succeeding spring, F. S. Burton purchased his brother's interest and continued its management alone until disposed of, Jan. 1, 1881, to T. W. Crissey, who changed the name of the paper to the "Midland Republican."
The Republican is not only a fine paying invest- ment, but in direct line of succession is the oldest paper in the county.
Midland Times.
OON after Mr. Bartram sold the Independent, he established another paper in the village, which was christened "The Midland City Times." This had an ephemeral existence, living only a few weeks. Upon the ruins of this venture in journalism he commenced the publication of another journal, which was appropri- ately named " Bartram's Cheek (.)," which flourished for a few months and was removed to Saginaw, where it was soon engulfed in obscurity.
Bartram was full of energy, and would not down ; and, coming back to Midland, secured the financial aid of a few leading citizens, who purchased a fine outfit-the best, in fact, that Midland had ever known-and a new paper was launched upon the journalistic sea, and was called "The Midland Times." This was in the spring of 1872, and the effort gave every appearance of success, backed as it was by the leading men of the village. Geo. W. Hughes was associated as editor, and soon as- suming that position purchased the interest Bartram had in the concern and continued the paper under his own management until the office was sold under a chattel mortgage three years later.
Midland Sun.
HE next venture in journalism was the establishing of the " Midtand Courier," by George McConnell, in 1878. He sold this paper to Smalley and the Stair Bros., who re- named it " The Review," and made it purely Democratic in tone. Edward Cornelius pur- chased the Review in ISSo, and the name of course was changed, this time to " The Midland Democrat." The Democracy of this county not being strong enough, or else unwilling, to support their party organ, allowed it to starve for want of sustenance, and it faded away like frost before the morning sun.
F. S. Burton, thinking this a good opportunity for investment, purchased the material, and, adding $2,000 worth of new material, launched the "Mid- land Sun." This paper is the Greenback organ of this county, and with it Mr. Burton has done effective work for his party. The Sun was at the beginning purely Republican, but time with its changes has wrought a complete conversion of its editor and manager, Mr. Barton. A splendid job office is a part of the Sun's outfit, and the patronage of the same is excellent.
Coleman Advocate.
HIS paper, edited by H. F. Linton, is a spicy, interesting acquisition to the press of Midland County. The Advocate is do- ing more to build up the interests of Coleman and the western part of the county than any and all means heretofore used by individuals. Mr. Linton is a live man and a working editor, as the columns of his paper attest. Fully alive to the in- terests of his patrons, he has left no means untried to give them a valuable journal, and well has he succeeded.
The first issue of the Advocate bears date of Aug. 11, 1883, and its columns contain a well written arti- cle upon the merits of Warren Township. We are pleased to record The Coleman Advocate as the most enterprising journal in the county.
nell
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MIDLAND COUNTY.
MISCELLANEOUS.
S a concluding chapter to this work, we class under the above head several interest- 020 ing articles which, although brief, are none the less impor- tant. Such are the material resources and developments of the county, in respect to agriculture, railroads, finances, wild game, and , also the county buildings, poor farm, the part taken by Midland County in the war, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, etc. The accounts here given are sub- stantially correct, and from them the reader may glean much information that will be of service. The principal material in- terest, however,-that of lumber,-has been already treated in a distinct department.
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