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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
GENERAL HISTORY
OF THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN;
WITH
BIOGKAPEICAL SKETCHES,
PORTRAIT ENGRAVINGS,
AND NUMEROUS
ILLUSTRATIONS.
A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE PENINSULAR STATE FROM ITS
EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME.
COMPILED BY
CHARLES RICHARD ' TtTTTLE.
DETROIT:
R. D. S. TYLER & CO., 66 GRISWOLD STREET.
PRINTED BY THE DETROIT FREE PRESS COMPANY.
1873.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873,
BY CHARLES RICHARD TUTTLE,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
fstt
TO
THE MEN OF MICHIGAN,
WHO,
PROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS,
BY TIMELY PERSEVERANCE AND WELL DIRECTED
ENTERPRISE, HAVE WON WEALTH FOR
THEMSELVES OR FAME FOR THE
PENINSULAR STATE,
THIS VOLUME
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
SOME one has very properly written that the country is already
overloaded with histories of itself; and the same writer as properly
adds : " Not one of them pretends to constitute a general history
of the United States in volumes, embracing a complete history of
each State separately — a work that would be of incalculable value
to the archives of every Commonwealth of the American Repub
lic." It has been offered in reply to this, that " the early history
of the United States is so consolidated and intermingled as not to
admit of being divided into volumes that would adapt themselves
respectively to each State." The last argument holds good only
in so far as the task of compiling such a work is a difficult one,
involving much labor that can scarcely hope for just compensa
tion.
The work presented in this volume is threefold in its character,
embracing a general history of Michigan, from its earliest settlement
to the present time (unincumbered by the records of a neighboring
Commonwealth), including illustrations and brief descriptive
sketches of the most prominent features of the Peninsular State,
with portraits and short biographical sketches rf its present leading
business and professional men.
With regard to the first and most important feature, it is proper
to state that the works which the author has consulted freely, and
to which the perfection of this book is most indebted, are Lan-
man's History of Michigan, Sheldon's Early History of Michigan,
Bancroft's History of the United States, Parkman's Conspiracy of
Pontiac, Lanman's Red Book of Michigan, Tackabury's New
Atlas of the State of Michigan, Way's History of the Boundary
Difficulty, and numerous other volumes. The great aim has been
to condense from these works, and from more recent records, a
plain and truthful history of the State from its, earliest settlement
to the present time.
Vlll PREFACE.
In the second and third features, the aim has been to depict, by
descriptive sketches and engravings, the more prominent modern
features of the State, and to present the portraits with brief bio
graphical sketches of some of its leading citizens. In doing the
latter, care has been taken to select representative men in all the
departments of trade, and in the learned professions, without
regard to the accident of political prominence. The latter con
sideration has not, of course, been ignored in making the selection,
but preference has been given to those who have, by unaided
industry and native force of character, placed themselves in
prominent and leading positions in their chosen field of labor.
The labor of compiling this volume has been immense, and not
always pleasant. The object has been to furnish to the citizens of
the State a more complete history of the Commonwealth than has
yet been written ; and at the same time to give to the world, in a
condensed and popular form, reliable information in regard to the
resources of a State now truly imperial in wealth, population and
power. How well this task has been performed we leave to the
judgment of an indulgent and discriminating public.
It will be observed that the portrait engravings in this volume
are inserted without reference to chronological order. This became
necessary for the reason that printing was commenced before the
engravings were finished. The only order observed is that in
which the engravings reached the hands of the printer.
In conclusion, the publishers desire to express their gratitude to
the Detroit Free Press Company and its employes, for the faithful
ness and painstaking care with which they have carried the
mechanical part of the work forward to completion. The intelli
gence and skill displayed in this part of the work is patent to
every reader, and is in itself an illustration of the enterprise
which is characteristic of the men of Michigan, as well as of the
magnitude and excellence of the oldest printing house in the
Peninsular State.
DETROIT, December, 1873.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
MISCELLANEOUS.
New State Capitol (Frontispiece).
The Indian Council at St. Mary's Falls (1671) 89
La Salle in the Griffin 107
Death of La Salle 107
Old Fort Michilimackinac 191
Unveiling of the Conspiracy of Pontiac 249
Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit) in 1705 273
The First Churches Built in Michigan 355
Hon. T. J. Campau's Residence 373
Pear Trees in the Old Jesuit Garden 399
Residence of Isaac NewtorifeSwain 409
Country Residence of W. W. Backus 445
Burt's Solar Compass 517
Burt's Surveying Company (with Marquette in the distance) 521
Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument 541
Residence of James Nail, jr 591
University of Miphigan 603
Agricultural College, Lansing, Michigan 611
Map of Straits of Mackinaw 615
Michigan Female Seminary 627
Detroit Homeopathic College 631
Goldsmith's Bryant & Stratton Business College 635
Steamer W. L. Wetmore 651
Saugatuck Union School 669
Residence of M. Jacques Campau 677
The Joseph Campau Residence 687
View of the City of Grand Rapids 691
View of the City of Adrian 699
View of the City of Detroit 705
Second Presbyterian Church, Detroit 707
City Hall, Detroit 709
View of Fort Street, Detroit 711
View of the City of Flint 719
X ILLUSTRATIONS.
PORTRAITS.
Hon. Lewis Cass 21
Lieutenant-Governor Andrew Parsons 41
Governor John J. Bagley 61
Governor H. P. Baldwin 65
Hon. Frederick L. Wells 69
Hon. Elihu L. Clark 73
Henry Fish 77
Colonel Wm. M. Fenton 83
Hon. Martin S. Brackett 91
Hon. Timothy Jerome 95
Thomas P. Sheldon 99
Hon. Jonathan B. Tuttle 103
General Joseph O. Hudnut 113
Hon. J. W. Begole 117
Hon. James Watson 123
Hon. Peter Desnoyers 125
Captain John Clarke 129
Hon. JolmR. Kellogg 135
Hon. Charles W. Grant 141
Professor Duane Doty 145
Hon. J. G. Sutherland 149
Hon. John K Mellen 153
E. B. Ward , 157
Hon. Charles M. Garrison 161 ^
Hon. Lysander Woodward 167
Hon. Peter C. Andre '. 169
Hon. Charles S. May 173
Hon. B. W. Huston 177
Ray Haddock 183
Hon. George H. Durand 185
F. G. Russell 193
Hon. A. F. R. Braley 197
Dr. Edward W. Jenks 201
Hon. Samuel D. Pace 205
Hon. John Moore 209
E. T. Judd 213
Dr. J. B. White 217
Hon. Eleazer Jewett 221
R. W. Jenny 225
General Mark Flanigan 231
J. M. Stanley 235
James Shearer 241
Lorenzo B. Curtis 245
Right Reverend Samuel A. McCoskry 253
Hon. S. M. Green 257
Hon. Moses B. Hess . . .265
ILLUSTRATIONS. XI
Hon. James Birney , 269
M. S. Smith 277
Hon. James Turrill 283
Ezra Rust 285
David Preston 289
Hon. Bela W. Jenks 293
E.G. Haven, D.D., LL.D.. 297
Hon. John F. Driggs 305
Rev. J. M. Arnold 309
Hon. R. P. Eldredge 313
Hon. W. L. Webber 321
Chester B. Jones 325
Hon. James F. Joy 33l
Hon. Albert Miller 337
A. W. Wright 341
Hon. L. B. Parker 345
Hon. G. D. Williams 349
Colonel Wm. L. P. Little 357
Bradford Smith 361
Spencer Barclay 367
Hon. T. J. Campau 369
Hon. Alfred Russell 379
Dr. J. W. Kermott 381
Hon. Zachariah Chandler 385
Charles H. Borgman 389
Hon. A. B. Turner 395
Isaac Newton Swain 403
Aaron Dikeman 413
Major Lowell Hall 417
James Scribner 421
Hon. R. McClelland 425
M. V. Borgman 437
John P. Allison 443
Hon. George V. K Lothrop 449
Hon. R. A. Haire 459
E. H. Turner 461
Hon. K B. Eldredge 465
Captain J. F. Marsac 469
Hon. George W. Swift 473
Sandf ord Howard 481
Hon. D. Horton 485
Hon. George E. Hubbard 489
Rev. Marcus Swift 497
Dr. G. L. Cornell 505
Colin Campbell 509
Hon. Wm. A. Burt 513
Horace R. Gardner . 525
Xll ILLUSTRATIONS.
Hon. Thomas W. Ferry 529
Myron Butman 537
Hon. Thomas H. Bottomley 539
Hon. John Ball 545
Hon. Jay A. Hubbell 549
General J. G. Parkhurst 553
Smith R. Woolley 559
Hon. A. N. Hart 561
Dr. L. Younghusband 565
Hon. E. S. Eggleston 569
Professor David Parsons 573
General A. T. McReynolds 577
D. M. Ferry 583
Hon. Ira Mayhew 585
James Nail, jr 589
James W. Frisbie 593
J. H. Goldsmith ' 597
Hon. C. C. Comstock 601
Hon. Jonathan Shearer 605
Okemos 609
Edgar Conkling 613
Hon. John S. Barry 617
Hon. Moses Wisner 621
Hon. E. Ransom 625
Hon. Win. Woodbridge 629
Hon. O. D. Conger 633
Hon. Israel V. Harris 641
Hon. David H. Jerome 645
Hon. George Willard 649
Hon O. M Barnes 653
Hon. A. C. Baldwin 659
Hon. Charles Rynd, M. D 661
Hon. Henry H. Crapo 665
Hon. Joseph Campau 679
Hon. H. M. Look 693
Hon. J W. Gordon 701
Hon. Wm. L. Greenly 703
Hon. Wm. C. Duncan 713
Hon. Wm. W. Wheaton 716
Hon. Alexander H. Morrison 722
Hon. John S. Homer 725
Hon. Alpheus Felch 737
Hon. Kinsley S. Bingham 729
Hon. Stevens T. Mason . 731
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
France moves to establish a colony in America— Cartier proceeds to Canada—
His second voyage — Rpberval^s expedition — Other French expeditions—
Champlain's first expedition to the St. Lawrence— He forms a settlement at
Quebec 17
CHAPTER II.
Champlain and his infant colony— A pleasant winter in the new fort— Condition
of Indian afl'airs -The natives— New France ceded to England in 1629—
Champlain returns to France 29
CHAPTER III.
History of New France from the war with the English in 1629 to that of 1689—
The French and the Iroquois— Colonial history— The government of Fronte-
nac— Defeat of the English 38
CHAPTER IV.
History of New France from the administration of Frontenac to its overthrow
by the English, at Quebec, in 1759— The battle of Quebec- The fall of Wolfe
and Montcalm— Canada ceded to the English 58
CHAPTER V.
Progress of the French toward Michigan— The struggles and adventures of the
missionaries— Life and death of the great and good Marquette— Pioneer life, 81
CHAPTER VI.
Robert de la Salle— First vessel on Lake Erie— Loss of the Griffin— Unfortunate
expedition in search of the Mississippi— Mutinous conduct of LaSalle's
men— Death of LaSalle— His character— Fate of his companions 102
CHAPTER VII.
The Sault Ste. Marie— Fort St. Joseph— Detroit founded— Its early condition-
Attacked by the Ottawas— By the Foxes— Early French travelers through
the lake region 112
CHAPTER VIII.
Colonial emigrants— Merchants— The peasantry— French soldiers— Legal admin
istration — Policy of the French government— Mode of land distribution 122
CHAPTER IX.
War between the French and English colonies— Braddock's march — His defeat —
Acadia, Niagara and Crown Point- Battle of Lake George— Condition of
Canada 139
CHAPTER X.
The English take possession of the western outposts of Canada— March of
Major Rogers and the Provincial Rangers — Appearance of Pontiac— Surren
der of Detroit and Michilimackinac to the English — End of French rule in
Michigan 165
CHAPTER XL
Hostility between the northern Indians and the English— Experience of the
first English traders who visited Michilimackinac— Their persecutions— The
English soldiers take possession of Michilimackinac 172
XIV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XII.
Hostility between the Indians and the English — Its cause explained — The
Indians rising to drive the English from the country — Pontiac's message —
The council and speech in which the conspiracy is matured— The war 189
CHAPTER XIII.
Michilunackinac — Description of the place in 1762 — Assembling of hostile
Indians around Michilimackinac— Adventures of an English trader— The
Indians preparing for the massacre— The game of ball commenced 200
CHAPTER XIV.
The massacre at Fort Michilimackinac— Indians drinking the blood of English
men—Sufferings of English prisoners— The Ottawas espouse the cause of the
English and take possession of the fort— The Indian council 215
CHAPTER XV.
The English persecuted at Michilimackinac after the massacre— The adventure
of Henry— Prisoners divided between the Chippewas and the Ottawas— Lieu
tenant Gorell rescues the prisoners from the Ottawas, and the English leave
the country — Escape of Henry 229
CHAPTER XVI.
Conspiracy of Pontiac, continued— The plot to destroy the garrison of Detroit
discovered— Pontiac commences the siege— Captain Campbell's captivity—
Pontiac demands the surrender of the fort 248
CHAPTER XVII.
Conspiracy of Pontiac, continued— A council among the officers of the fort of
Detroit— Gladwyn determines to hold put— Difficulty between Pontiac and
the French— Fate of Cuyler's expedition — The horrors of Indian warfare
thickening around Detroit 264
CHAPTER XVIII.
Conspiracy of Pontiac. continued— Fate of the forest garrison— The massacre at
Fort St. Joseph— The fate of Sandusky, Miami, Ouatanon, Presque Isle, Le
Boeuf and Venango— The reign of blood and havoc— The bloody work of the
great Pontiac and his treacherous followers 276
CHAPTER XIX.
Conspiracy of Pontiac, continued— The siege of Detroit— Adventure of a British
schooner on the Detroit river— Mode of Indian warfare— Pontiac inviting the
French to join his army— Another council— Exchange of prisoners 282
CHAPTER XX.
Conspiracy of Pontiac, continued— The battle of Bloody Run— Captain Dalzell's
detachment slaughtered by the savages— Adventure of the schooner Glad
wyn— The Indians sue for peace— Approach of winter 296
CHAPTER XXI.
Conclusion of Pontiac's war— The siege of Detroit raised— Bradstreet in the
west— The English at peace— The Revolutionary War— Instigating savages
to take American scalps— Captain Byrd's expedition— Hamilton's expedition
— His capture — DePeyster commands at Detroit — American liberty trium
phant — Peace restored 312
CHAPTER XXII.
The retention of the western posts by Great Britain after the treaty of 1783—
Northwestern Territory organized— Indian troubles again— The great war
council at Detroit — Campaign of General Harmer — St. Clair's defeat-
Wayne's victories— Michigan surrendered to the United States 324
CHAPTER XXIII.
William Hull appointed governor of the Territory of Michigan— Tecumseh's
warriors assembling— An army raised in Ohio— It marches to Detroit under
General Hull— War declared between England and the United States— Hull
advances into Canada 330
CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTER XXIV.
Michilimackinac— Removal of the fort to Mackinaw island — Condition of the
fort and settlement in 1812— Captain Roberts' expedition captures the fort—
The garrison sent to Detroit— The English once more in possession of Mack
inaw 344
CHAPTER XXV.
General Hull's cowardice — He evacuates Canada— Alleged treason — A detach
ment sent to meet Colonel Brush— The fort surrendered to the British-
Indignation of the army— Colonel Brush escapes— Detroit again under the
British flag * 363
CHAPTER XXVI-
The British celebrating their success at Detroit— Account of General Brock's
expedition against Detroit— Scenes and circumstances in and about Detroit
after the surrender— The massacre at Chicago— Commodore Perry on Lake
Erie— Harrison's campaign— Recapture of the western posts, including
Detroit, by the United States 365
CHAPTER XXVII.
Mackinaw— Expedition under Commodore Sinclair and Colonel Croghan for its
reduction— Colonel Turner captures the Perseverance at St. Mary's and
reduces that post— Capture of the Mink— Destruction of goods belonging to
the Northwest Company— Landing of the forces at Mackinaw — Fall of Major
Holmes— Defeat of the Americans -Full account of the battle, etc 377
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The ordinance of 1787— Erection of the Territory of Michigan— Its boundary-
Judicial administration— The Woodward code of laws— Governor Hull— His
trial by court-martial 394
CHAPTER XXIX.
General Cass appointed governor— Defenseless condition of the Territory —
Indian depredations around Detroit— Bravery and energy of General Cass—
His treaty with the Indians— Condition of Michigan at the close of the war
— Expedition of General Cass to the Upper Peninsiila — Discoveries— Pros
perity of the Territory under Cass' administration— The treaty of Chicago-
Execution of Indians 402
CHAPTER XXX.
The administration of Governor Porter— The Black Hawk war— Construction
of roads— The lirst railroad company organized— Banks chartered— Common
Schools organized— Change in the method of disposing of public lands —
Death of Governor Porter 441
CHAPTER. XXXI.
The organization of a State government— The boundary question — The Toledo
war— Incidents and accidents— Settlement of the question— Admission of
Michigan into the Union 448
CHAPTER XXXII.
Michigan as a State— Resources and population— Administration of Governor
Mason — Woodbridge — Gordon — Barry — Felch— Greenly— Ransom— Barry —
McClelland -Biugham— Wisner , 480
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Administration of Governor Blair— The war of the rebellion— Patriotic action
of Michigan— The troops sent to the field— The draft — Governor Crapo's
administration— Close of the war— The troops return home— Financial con
dition of the State 494
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Governor Henry P. Baldwin's administration— S.teady growth of the State —
Constitutional amendment— Governor Bald'win's re-election— The State Cap
itol—The great and destructive fires in Michigan — The Soldiers' and Sailors'
Monument— Administration of Governor Bagley 536
Xvi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Present condition of Michigan railroads 544
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Mineral and forest wealth of Michigan— Iron— Copper— Salt— Gypsum— Coal—
Other minerals— Lumber 572
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Education in Michigan— The common school system— The University— Agricul
tural College— State Normal School— Albion College— Adrian College— Kala-
mazoo College- Hillsdale College— Olivet College— State Reform School-
State Public School— Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind— Michigan
Female Seminary — Detroit Medical College— Detroit Homeopathic College-
Goldsmith's Bryant & Stratton Business University— Mayhew's Business
College 596
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Agriculture— Manufactures— Commerce 640
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Mineral Springs of Michigan — Their discovery — Analyses of the waters— The
location of each— The St. Louis Spring— Alpena— Midland— Eaton Rapids-
Spring Lake— Lansing — Fruitport— Butterworth's — Owosso — Hubbardston —
Leslie— Mount Clemens 658
Governors and officers of Michigan 671
Population of Michigan 674
Sketch of Grand Rapids 689
Sketch of Adrian 698
Sketch of Detroit 706
Sketch of Flint 718
THE HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
CHAPTER I.
FRANCE MOVES TO ESTABLISH A COLONY IN AMERICA — CARTIER PRO
CEEDS TO CANADA — His SECOND VOYAGE — ROBERVAL'S EXPEDITION
—OTHER FRENCH EXPEDITIONS — CHAMPLAIN'S FIRST EXPEDITION
TO THE ST. LAWRENCE— HE FORMS A SETTLEMENT AT QUEBEC.
OTHER VOLUMES of this work, treating of other States, give a
complete narrative of the efforts of England and Spain to colonize
the New World. Hence, in this place, it is sufficient to trace only
the movements of France, in her unfortunate struggle to plant a
permanent branch of empire in America. This is the more expe
dient since only the name of the latter is associated with the first
settlement of Michigan.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century the discoveries of
Christopher Columbus and Sebastian Cabot were creating consid
erable excitement in France, and Francis I granted a commission
to Jacques Cartier, of St. Malo, authorizing him to prosecute dis
coveries in the far West. Carder's outfit for this expedition con
sisted of two ships, of sixty tons burden each, and a crew of sixty-
one efficient men. He set sail for America from St. Malo on the
20th of April, 1534.
This was by no means the first western movement of civilization.
The Spaniards already occupied Florida; the English had taken
possession of the middle portion of the continent, and the north
ern regions alone remained for the French. To the latter point
the brave commander directed his little fleet. He> made a safe
voyage, and after exploring the northern coast of Newfoundland,
he returned to France, reaching St. Malo on the loth of Septem
ber, 1534.
18 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
He gave a very favorable account of the new country to the
French court, which was well received ; but subsequent develop
ments proved that he had done little more than land on the north
western banks of Newfoundland. Fearing the consequences of
the autumnal storms upon his ships, he remained but a few weeks.
Nevertheless he had seen enough to persuade the belief that a
fruitful country lay beyond, in the direction of Michigan and the
surrounding States.
Immediately after Cartier's return to France preparations began
for a second expedition. Three vessels were fitted out with a view
to a more extended voyage. They were the Great Herminia, of
about one hundred and twenty tons ; the Little Herminia, of sixty
tons, and the Hermirillou, of forty tons. The first named was
the flag' ship.
The fleet set sail on the 15th of May, 1535. This was a very
important day at St. Malo. Every adventurer about to sail for
the New World was an object of much interest to the inhabitants,
and not a little pains were taken to celebrate their departure. In
the hour of separation from kindred and country, the priests of
their religion had sought to propagate their future comfort and
support by preparing a gorgeous pageant. The officers and crews
of the whole squadron confessed, and received the sacrament.
Afterwards they presented themselves before the altar in the great
cathedral at St. Malo, where the bishop, arrayed in sacerdotal
robes of rare magnificence, bestowed on them his benediction.
An account of the voyage, which was many years after pub
lished in a French journal, states that it was very tempestuous.
Many of the crew suffered unnumbered hardships, but after many
days of toil and discontent, the eastern banks of Newfoundland
again appeared to the eye of the adventurous commander. After
five or six hours' sail, the squadron being in a higher latitude than
Cartier had supposed, they passed the coast of the island, and still
continuing their course, they entered, on St. Lawrence day, a
broad gulf. In commemoration of this event, they gave the
name of St. Lawrence to the gulf, and to the great river that
flows into it, which they bear to this day.
Proceeding up the river's course, they found themselves, in a
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 19
few days, opposite the Indian village of Stadacona, then occupy
ing a portion of the ground on which the city of Quebec now
stands. As the vessels came to an anchor, the terrified natives
fled to the forest, where they gazed with mingled feelings of awe
and wonder on the "winged canoes" which had borne the pale-
faced strangers to their shores.
The Indians at once resolved on a wary intercourse with the
strangers. Their chief, Donacona, approached the vessels with a
fleet of twelve canoes, filled with armed warriors. Ten of these
canoes he directed to remain a short distance, while he proceeded
with the other two to ascertain the purport of the visit — whether
it was for peace or war. With this object in view, he commenced
an oration. Cartier heard the chief patiently, and with the aid
of a Gaspe Indian interpreter, he was enabled to open a conver
sation, and to quiet his apprehensions. An amicable understand
ing having thus been established, Cartier moored his vessels safely
in the River St. Charles, where, short! y afterwards, he received a
second visit from Donacona, who, this time, came accompanied by
five hundred warriors of his tribe.
Having thoroughly rested and refreshed himself and his men,
Cartier determined to explore the river to Hochelaga, another
Indian town, which he learned was situated further up its course.
With the view of impressing the Indians with the superiority of
the white man, he caused, prior to his departure, several cannon
shots to be discharged, which produced the desired result. Like
their countrymen of the South on the arrival of Columbus, the
red men of the St. Lawrence were alarmed by the firing of artil
lery; and, as its thunders reverberated among the surrounding
hills, a feeling of terror took complete possession of their minds.
Leaving his other ships safely at anchor, Cartier, on the 19th of
September, proceeded up the river with the Hermirillon and two
boats. He was compelled, however, owing to the shallowness of
the water, to leave the vessel at Lake St. Peter. Bold, and loving
adventure for its own sake, and at the same time strongly imbued
with religious enthu^asm, Cartier watched the shifting landscape,
hour after hour, as he ascended the river, with feelings of the
deepest gratification, which were heightened by the reflection that
20 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
he was the pioneer of civilization and of Christianity in that
unknown clime. "Nature," says MacMullen, "presented itself in
all its primitive grandeur to his view. The noble river, on whose
broad bosom he floated onward, day after day, disturbing vast
flocks of water fowl ; the primitive forests of the North, which
here and there presented, amid the luxuriance of their foliage,
the parasitical vine, loaded with clusters of luscious grapes, and
from whence the strange notes of the whippowil, and other birds
of varied tone and plumage, such as he had never before seen,
were heard at intervals; the bright sunshine of a Canadian
autumn; the unclouded moonlight of its calm and pleasant nights,
with the other novel accessories of the occasion, made a sublime
and profound impression upon the mind of the adventurer."
Cartier arrived, on the 2d of October, opposite the Huron vil
lage of Hochelaga, the inhabitants of which lined the shore on
his approach, and made the most friendly signs to him to land.
Supplies of fish and corn were freely tendered by the Indians,
in return for which they received knives and beads. Despite this
friendly conduct, however, Cartier and his companions deemed it
most prudent to pass the night on board their boats.
On the following day, headed by their leader, dressed in the
most imposing costume at his command, the exploring party
went in procession to the village. At a short distance from its
environs they were met by a sachem, who received them with that
solemn courtesy peculiar to the aborigines of America. Cartier
made him several presents. Among these was a cross, which he
hung round his neck and directed him to kiss. Patches of ripe
HON. LEWIS CASS.
THE late Hon. Lewis Cass was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, Octo
ber 9, 1782. Having received a limited education in his native place, at
the early age of seventeen he crossed the Alleghany Mountains on foot,
to seek a home in the " Great West," then an almost unexplored wilder
ness. Settled at Marietta, Ohio; he studied law and was successful.
Elected at twenty -five to the Legislature of Ohio, he originated the bill
which arrested the proceedings of Aaron Burr, which, as stated by Mr.
Jefferson, was the first blow given to what is known as Burr's conspiracy.
In 1807 he was appointed by Mr. Jefferson Marshal of the State, and held
HON. LEWIS CASS.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 23
corn encircled the village, which consisted of fifty well built huts,
secured from attack by three lines of stout palisades. It is
recorded that Cartier did all that he could to soothe the minds of
the savages, and that he even prayed with these idolaters, and dis
tributed crosses and other symbols of the Catholic faith among
them.
After the usual ceremonies with the Indians, Cartier ascended
the mountain behind the native village. Here he erected a cross
and a shield, emblazoned with the Fleur-de-lis, emblem of church
and State, and named the region of his discoveries " New
France."
Favorably as Cartier had been received, the lateness of the
season compelled his return to Stadacona. The adventurers win
tered in the St. Charles river, and continued to be treated with
apparent kindness and hospitality by the Indians in that vicinity,
who had fortunately laid up abundant stores of provisions.
Unaccustomed, however, to the rigor of a Canadian winter, and
scantily supplied with warm clothing, Cartier and his companions
suffered severely from the cold.
The long and tedious winter at length drew to a close ; the ice
broke up, and, although the voyage had led to no gold dis
coveries or profitable returns in a mercantile point of view, the
expedition prepared to return home. They compelled Donacona,
and two other chiefs and eight warriors, to bear them company to
France, where a greater part of these unfortunate men died soon
after their arrival. On reaching home Cartier reported to the
French Court that the country he had discovered was destitute of
gold and silver, and that its coast was bleak and stormy.
the office till the latter part of 1811, when he volunteered to repel Indian
aggressions on the frontier. He was elected Colonel of the Third Regi
ment of Ohio volunteers, and entered the military service of the United
States at the commencement of the war of 1812. Having by a difficult
march reached Detroit, he urged the immediate invasion of Canada, and
was the author of the proclamation of that event. He was the first to
land in arms on the enemy's shore, and, with a small detachment of
troops, fought and won the first battle, that of the Tarontoe. At the
subsequent capitulation of Detroit he was absent on important service,
24 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
This sad account had a most disastrous effect upon the energies
already awakened in France, and not until four years after Car-
tier's return was there a single movement in the whole empire
looking toward a third expedition. Early in the year 1540 Fran
cis I granted patents covering all the territory north of British
occupancy to Francoix de la Roque, Seigneur de Roberval. The
commission also invested him with supreme power within its
bounds.
In the summer of the same year a squadron of five vessels was
fitted out for New France. Cartier, who had already twice suc
cessfully reached the western hemisphere, was appointed to the
command, and accordingly the fleet set sail to convey the French
flag once more to America. After a very successful voyage, they
reached the lake and river that had received its name from Car-
tier four years previously, and, proceeding in a westerly course,
they subsequently arrived at Stadacona.
He was at first received with every appearance of kindness by
the Indians, who expected that he had brought back their chief
Donacona, as well as the other chiefs and warriors who had been
taken to France. On learning that some of these were dead, and
that none of them would return, they offered considerable resist
ance to the formation of a settlement in their neighborhood.
By these and other difficulties Cartier was induced to move
higher up the river to Cape Rouge, where he laid up three of his
vessels and sent the other two back to France with letters to the
king. His next proceeding was to erect a fort, which he called
Charlesbourg. Here, after an unsuccessful attempt to navigate
and regretted that his command and himself had been included in that
capitulation. Liberated on parole, he repaired to the seat of government
to report the causes of the disaster and the failure of the campaign. He
was immediately appointed a Colonel in the regular army, and soon after
promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, having in the meantime been
elected Major-General of the Ohio volunteers. On being exchanged and
released from parole, he again repaired to the frontier, and joined the
army for the recovery of Michigan. Being at that time without a com
mand, he served and distinguished himself as a volunteer aide-de-camp to
General Harrison at the battle of the Thames. He was appointed by
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 25
the rapids above Hochelaga, he passed a most uncomfortable
winter.
The promised supplies 'not having arrived, another severe winter
completely disheartened Cartier, and he accordingly resolved to
return home. Putting into the harbor of St. John, Newfound
land, he encountered Roberval, who was now on his way to Canada,
with a new company of adventurers, and an abundance of stores
and provisions. Cartier refused to return, and, to avoid forcible
detention,; he weighed anchor in the night. On the following
morning the viceroy arose and observed that his wearied servant
had departed. Roberval sailed up the river to Charlesbourg,
which he strengthened by additional fortifications, and where he
passed the ensuing winter. Leaving a garrison of thirty men
behind, he returned the following spring to France, where he was
detained by his sovereign to assist in the war against Charles V.
After the Peace of Cressy, Roberval, in company with his
brother Achille and a numerous train of adventurers, again set
out for this country. The fleet was never heard of after it put to
sea, and was supposed to have foundered, to the regret of the
people of France, who greatly admired the brothers for the gal
lant manner in which they had borne themselves in the war.
This loss completely discouraged Henry II, then (1543) King
of France, and he made no further efforts to effect a settlement in
Canada. It was not, therefore, till 1598 that any noticeable
movement was made by the French Government in projects of
trans-Atlantic colonization. In this year the Marquis de la
Roche, a nobleman of Brittany, encouraged by Henry, fitted out
President Madison, in October, 1813, Governor of Michigan. His posi
tion combined with the ordinary duties of chief magistrate of a civilized
community the immediate management and control, as Superintendent,
of the relations with the numerous and powerful Indian tribes in this
region of country. He conducted with success the affairs of the Terri
tory under embarrassing circumstances. Under his sway peace was
preserved between the whites and the treacherous and disaffected
Indians, law and order established, and the Territory rapidly advanced
in population, resources and prosperity. He held this position till July,
1831, when he was by President Jackson made Secretary of War. In the
26 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
a large expedition, which convicts were permitted to join, as it was
then difficult to find voluntary adventurers owing to former disas
ters. Armed with the most ample governmental powers, the Mar
quis departed to the new world, under the guidance of Chedotel,
a pilot of Normandy. But he lacked the qualities necessary to
insure success, and little is recorded of his voyage, with the excep
tion that he left forty convicts on Sable Island, a barren spot off
the coast of Nova Scotia. Owing to the failure of this adven
ture, and his attempts to equip another being thwarted at Court,
the Marquis fell sick shortly after his return home, and literally
died of chagrin. The unfortunate convicts whom he left behind
were entirely forgotten for several years, and suffered the most
intense hardships. Their clothes were soon worn out, their provi
sions exhausted. Clad in the skin of the sea-wolf, subsisting
upon the precarious supplies afforded by fishing, and living in
rude huts formed from the planks of a wrecked vessel, famine and
cold gradually reduced their number to twelve. After a residence
on the island of twelve years, these wretched men were found in
the most deplorable condition by a vessel sent out by the Parlia
ment of Rouen to ascertain their fate. On their return to France
they were brought before Henry, who pardoned their crimes in
consideration of the great hardships they had undergone, and
gave them a liberal donation in money.
In 1599 another expedition was resolved on by Chauvin, of
Rouen, a naval officer of reputation, and Poutgrave, a sailor mer
chant of St. Malo, who, in consideration of a monopoly of the
fur trade granted them by Henry, undertook to establish a colony
of five hundred persons in Canada. In the spring of 1600 two
vessels were equipped, and Chauvin, taking a party of settlers
latter part of 1836 President Jackson appointed him Minister to France,
where he remained until 1843, when he requested his recall and returned
to this country. In January, 1845, he was elected by the Legislature of
Michigan to the Senate of the United States, which place he resigned on
his nomination, in May, 1848, as a candidate for the Presidency by the
political party to which he belonged. After the election of his opponent
(General Taylor) to that office, the Legislature of Michigan, In 1849,
re-elected him to the Senate for the unexpired portion of his original
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 27
with him, arrived safely at Tadoussac. He erected a fort at this
place, aiid during the summer he obtained a considerable stock of
very valuable furs for the most trifling consideration. Being
anxious to dispose of these to advantage, he returned to France
on the approach o'f winter, leaving sixteen settlers behind. These
were slenderly provided with provisions and clothing, and in the
cold weather were reduced to such distress that they had to throw
themselves completely on the hospitality of the natives. From
these they experienced much kindness, yet so great were the hard
ships they endured that several of them died before succor arrived
from France. Chauvin's death, in 1603, left Canada without a
permanent white settlement, yet the spirit of enterprise that had
taken firm hold of the more adventurous did not become weak
ened.
After two more unsuccessful expeditions, one under the direc
tion of De Chaste, and the other under De Mots, the latter
obtained in 1607 a commission from King Henry for one year,
and, owing to the representations of Samuel Champlain, who had
conducted the expedition under De Chaste, he now resolved to
establish a French settlement on the St. Lawrence. Fitting out
two vessels, he placed them under the command of Champlain, a
bold and experienced navigator. The expedition set sail from
Harfleur on the 13th of April, 1608, and arrived at Tadoussac on
the 3d of June. Here Pontgrave remained to trade with the
Indians while Champlain proceeded up the river to examine its
banks, and determine upon a suitable site for the settlement he
was to found. After a careful scrutiny, he fixed upon a promon
tory distinguished by a luxuriant growth of vines, and shaded by
some noble walnut trees, called by the natives " Qubio " or " Que-
terai of six jrears. When Mr. Buchanan became President, he invited
General Cass to the head of the Department of State, which position he
resigned in December, 1860. He devoted some attention to literary pur
suits, and his writings, speeches and State papers would make several
volumes, among which is one entitled, "France, its King, Court and
Government," published in 1840.
He died in Detroit, June 17, 1866, and will long be remembered as the
most eminent and successful statesman of Michigan.
28 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
bee," and which was situated a short distance from the spot where
Cartier had erected a fort, and passed a winter sixty-seven years
before. Here, on the 3d of July, 1608, he laid the foundation of
the present city of Quebec. Rude buildings of wood were first
erected on the high grounds, to afford a shelter to his men. When
these were completed an embankment was formed above the reach
of the tide, where Mountain street now lies, on which the house
and battery were built. With the exception of Jamestown, in
Virginia, this was the first permanent settlement established in
North America.
Having followed the French in their repeated journeys across
the ocean, and left them in their first successful settlement, we
will next trace their footsteps in those western voyages of dis
covery and adventure that secured the early settlement of the
peninsular State.
CHAPTER II.
CHAMPLAIN AND His INFANT COLONY — A PLEASANT WINTER IN THE
NEW FOKT— CONDITION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS— THE NATIVES— NEW
FRANCE CEDED TO ENGLAND EN 1629 — CHAMPLAIN RETURNS TO
FRANCE.
SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN, as already observed, founded the settle
ment of Quebec in 1608. This was the first permanent foothold
of civilization in Canada. The little garrison passed the winter
of 1608 without suffering any of those extreme hardships which,
during the same period of the year, had distinguished the resi
dence of former adventurers in Canada. Their dwellings being
better protected from the cold, their persons more warmly clothed,
more abundantly supplied with provisions, and with a greater
amount of experience than their predecessors possessed, they dis
covered that a winter existence among the snows of the North
was not only possible, but even had its pleasures.
Winter gradually merged towards spring without producing
any incident of very great importance to the infant colony.
Meanwhile everything had been done to preserve a good under
standing with Indians who visited the fort. Champlain wisely
perceived that the success of the settlement of the country
depended upon their friendship. Nor were the Indians them
selves, who belonged to the Algonquin nation, averse to the culti
vation of a friendly understanding with the French.
The spring of 1609 seems to have been an early one with the
colony, and no sooner had the weather become sufficiently warm
to make traveling agreeable, than Champlain prepared to ascend
the river, and explore it above Mount Royal. He spent the sum
mer in the vicinity of the St. Lawrence, and made many valuable
discoveries. In the autumn a disarrangement in affairs in France
caused his return home. In the spring of 1610 he again visited
30 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
his little colony, and again returned to France in the autumn of
that year.
In 1611 Champlain returned to America, and determined to
establish a settlement further up the river than Quebec. After a
careful survey he fixed upon a site near Mount Royal. His
choice has been amply justified by the great prosperity to which
this place, under the name of Montreal, has subsequently risen.
Having cleared a considerable space of ground, he fenced it in by
an earthen ditch, and planted grain in the enclosure.
Champlain again returned to France with a view of* making
arrangements for more extensive operations. After meeting with
some difficulties, he sailed for Canada from Harfleur in the begin
ning of March, 1613, and arrived at Quebec on the 7th of May
following. He at once commenced the prosecution of discoveries.
On the 21st of May he arrived at Lachine Rapids, and proceeded
with his crew up the Ottawa. In the latter undertaking he expe
rienced severe hardships, and encountered numerous difficulties.
After traversing large tracts of country, and visiting several
Indian villages, Champlain, observing* the approach of winter,
and the need of supplies, returned to France on the 26th of
August, 1614.
In the following May, Champlain arrived at Quebec with a
new expedition. On board of this fleet came out four fathers of
the order of the Recollects, whose benevolence induced them to
desire the conversion of the Indians to Christianity. These were
the first priests who settled in Canada.
After adjusting matters in the little colony, Champlain set out
for the Indian headquarters at Lachine Rapids. He spent the
summer and the following winter among the natives, aiding them
in their wars with the Iroquois, and joining them in the hunt.
No sooner had the spring of 1616 set in, however, than he
returned to Quebec, and shortly afterward sailed for France.
Here he remained over two years, endeavoring to secure another
expedition. This was delayed by a difficulty between the Prot
estants and Roman Catholics, and not until July, 1620, did the
father of New France return to his charge.
Champlain's judicious management soon led to the arrival of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 31
additional settlers, and in 1623 the settlement of Quebec alone
had fifty inhabitants.
Without attempting the details in the early history of Canada,
we will push forward in the channel of events, toward the settler
ment of Michigan. The reader must remember, however, that
the early history of this State cannot be made authentic and com
plete without including much from the records of that country to
which our earliest settlements owe their existence.
On the first settlement of the French in Canada, three great
nations divided the territory — the Algonquins, the Hurons, and
the Iroquois or Five Nations. The dominion of the Algonquins
extended along the banks of the St. Lawrence about a hundred
leagues, and they were once considered as masters of this part of
America. They are said to have had a milder aspect and more
polished manners than any other tribe. They subsisted entirely
by hunting, and looked with disdain on their neighbors who con
descended to cultivate the ground. A small remnant of this race
is still to be found at the Lake of the Two Mountains, and in the
neighborhood -of Three Rivers.
The Hurons, or Wyandots, were a numerous people, whose very
extensive territory reached from the Algonquin frontier to the
borders of the great lake bearing their name. They were more
industrious, and derived an abundant subsistence from the fine
country they possessed, but they were more effeminate, and had
less of the proud independence of savage life. When first known
they were engaged in a deadly war with their kindred, the Five
Nations, by whom they were finally driven from their country.
A remnant of this tribe is still to be found in La Jeune Lorrette,
near Quebec.
The Iroquois, or Five Nations, destined to act the most conspic
uous part among all the native tribes, occupied a long range of
territory on the southern border of the St. Lawrence, extending
from Lake Champlain to the western extremity of Lake Ontario.
They were thus beyond the limits of what is now termed Canada,
but were so connected with the interests of this country that we
must consider them as belonging to it. The Five Nations, found
on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, embraced the Mohawks,
32 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas and Cayugas. They were the most
powerful of all the tribes east of the Mississippi, and were further
advanced in the few arts of Indian life than their Algonquin
neighbors. They uniformly adhered to the British during the
whole of the contest that took place subsequently between the
French and English. In 1714 they were joined by the Tusca-
roras, since which time the confederacy has been called the Six
Nations.
After the return of Champlain to France in 1616, the interests
of the colony were in great danger from the Prince of Conde,
Viceroy of Canada, being not only in disgrace, but in confinement
for the share taken by him in the disturbances during the minor
ity of Louis XIII. After a great deal of quarreling amongst
the merchants, the Due de Montmorency made an arrangement
with Cond£ for the purchase of his office of Viceroy, which he
obtained upon the payment of 11,000 crowns. Champlain con
sidered this arrangement as every way favorable, as the Due was
better qualified for such functions, and from his situation of High
Admiral possessed the best means of forwarding the objects of the
colonists.
Disputes between Rochelle and the other commercial cities, and
between the Catholics and Protestants, prevented the departure
of any expedition for several years. During this time attempts
were made to degrade Champlain from the high situation in which
he had been placed, but by virtue of commissions, both from
Montmorency and the king, he succeeded in crushing this oppo
sition; and in May, 1620, set sail with his family and a new expe
dition, and after a very tedious voyage arrived at Tadoussac. The
first child bom of French parents at Quebec, was the son of
Abraham Martin and Margaret L'Anglois; it was christened
"Eustache" on the 24th of May, 1621.
The office of Viceroy had been hitherto little more than a, name,
but at this period it came into the hands of a man of energy and
activity. The Due de Ventadour having entered into holy orders,
took charge as Viceroy of the affairs of New France solely with .
the view of converting the natives. For this purpose he sent
three Jesuits and two lay brothers, who were, fortunately, men of
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN. 33
exemplary character, to join the four Recollects at Quebec. These
nine were the only priests then in Canada.
The mercantile company, which had now been intrusted with
the affairs of the colony for some time, was by no means active,
and was in consequence deprived of its charter, which was given
to the Sieurs De Caen, uncle and nephew. On the arrival of the
younger De Caen at Tadoussac, Champlain set out to meet him,
and was received with the greatest courtesy. The appointment of
a superintendent could not have been very agreeable to Cham-
plain, who was certainly the person best fitted for the manage
ment of the local affairs of the colony. His amiable disposition
and love of peace, however, induced him to use conciliatory
measures. The new superintendent, on the contrary, acted in a
most violent manner, claimed the right of seizing on the vessels
belonging to the associated merchants, and actually took that of
De Pont, their favorite agent. Champlain remonstrated with him,
but without effect, as he possessed no power that could effectually
check the violence of this new dictator. Fortunately he thought
proper to return to France, and left with the settlers a good sup
ply of provisions, arms and ammunition. His conduct,~however,
induced the greater part of the European traders to leave the
colony ; so that, eventually, instead of its being increased by him,
it was considerably lessened, a spirit of discontent diffused, and
the settlers were reduced to forty-eight.
Having got rid of the troublesome superintendent, Champlain
set himself earnestly to terminate the long and desolating war
which now raged between the Hurons and the Iroquois. He
accompanied some of the chiefs to the headquarters of the Iro
quois, where they met with a very kind reception. The treaty
between the nations was about to be concluded when it was nearly
broken off by the relentless conduct of a savage Huron, who had
accompanied the party in the hope of making mischief and pre
venting peace. This barbarian, meeting one of the detested Iro
quois in a lonely place, murdered him. Such a deed in a member
of any civilized mission would have terminated all negotiations;
but, the deputies having satisfied the Iroquois that it was an indi-
3
34 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES
vidual act, lamented by the Huron nation, it was overlooked, and
the treaty was concluded.
The colony was at that time in a very unsatisfactory state,
the settlements at Quebec consisting only of fifty-five persons.
Indeed the whole of the available possessions in New France
included only the fort at Quebec, surrounded by some inconsider
able houses, a few huts on the island of Montreal, as many at
Tadoussac, and at other places on the St. Lawrence, and a settle
ment just commenced at Three Rivers.
The Indian affairs were also in disorder. The Iroquois had
killed a party of five on their way to attack a nation called the
Wolves, and a hostile spirit was kindled amongst these fierce
tribes. Cham plain did all in his power to check the spirit, but
he found it impossible to prevent a body of hot-headed young
Indians from making an inroad into the Iroquois territory.
This band, having reached Lake Champlain, surprised a canoe
with three persons in it, two of whom they brought home in tri
umph. The preparations for torturing them were already going
on when intelligence was conveyed to Champlain, who immediately
repaired to the spot. The sight of the captives quickened his
ardor in the cause of humanity, and he entreated that they might
be sent home unhurt, with presents to compensate for this wanton
attack.
This advice was so far adopted that one of them was sent back,
accompanied by a chief and one Mangan, a Frenchman. This
expedition had, however, a most tragical end. An Algonquin,
who wished for war, contrived to persuade the Iroquois that the
mission was devised with the most treacherous intentions. The
Iroquois, misled by this wicked man, determined to take cool and
deliberate revenge. When the poor prisoner, the chief and the
Frenchman arrived, they found the fire kindled and the cauldron
boiling, and, being courteously received, were invited to sit down.
The Iroquois then asked the Algonquin chief if he did not feel
hungry. On his replying that he did, they rushed upon him and
cut slices from different parts of his body, which soon after they
presented to him half cooked ; and thus continued to torture him
till he died in lingering agonies. Their countryman, who had
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN. 35
returned to them so gladly, attempted to escape, and was shot
dead on the spot; and the Frenchman was tormented to death in
the usual manner.
When the news of this dreadful tragedy reached the allies of
the French, the war-cry was immediately sounded, and Champlain,
though deeply afflicted, saw no longer any possibility of averting
hostilities. He felt that, as one of his countrymen had been
deprived of life, the power of the French would be held in con
tempt if no resentment were shown. Indeed he experienced no
little trouble amongst the friendly tribes who surrounded him, and
in several cases Europeans were murdered in an atrocious and
mysterious manner.
In the meantime the De Caens, though not resident in the col
ony, took an active interest in the fur trade. Being Huguenots,
however, and not likely to forward the Due's measures, Cardinal
Richelieu, prime minister to Louis XIII, revoked the privileges
which had been granted to them, and encouraged the formation of
a company, to be composed of a great number of men of property
and credit. A charter was granted to this company in 1637,
under the title of " The Company of One Hundred Associates."
This company engaged, first, to supply those that they settled
with lodging, food, clothing and implements for three years, after
which time they would allow them sufficient land to support them
selves, cleared to a certain extent, with the grain necessary for
sowing it; secondly, that the emigrants should be native French
men and Roman Catholics, and that no stranger or heretic should
be introduced into the country; and, thirdly, they engaged to
settle three priests in each settlement, whom they were bound to
provide with every article necessary for their personal comfort, as
well as the expenses of their ministerial labors, for fifteen years.
After which clear lands were to be granted by the company to the
clergy, for maintaining the Roman Catholic Church in New
France.
In return for these services the King made over to the company
the fort and settlement at Quebec, and all the territory of New
France, including Florida, with power to appoint judges, build
fortresses, cast cannon, confer titles, and take what steps they
36 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
might think proper for the protection of the colony and the fos
tering of commerce. He granted to them at the same time a
complete monopoly of the far trade, reserving to himself and
heirs only supremacy in matters of faith, fealty and homage as
sovereign of New France, and the presentation of a crown of gold
at every new succession to the throne. He also secured for the
benefit of all his subjects, the cod and whale fisheries of the gulf
and coast of St. Lawrence.
The company were allowed to import and export all kinds of
merchandise duty free. Gentlemen, both clergy and laity, were
invited to a share in the concern, which they readily accepted till
the number of partners was completed. This was a favorite
scheme of Richelieu's; and the French writers of the day speak
of it with great applause, as calculated, had it been strictly
adhered to and wisely regulated, to render New France the most
powerful colony in America.
This plan of improvement met with a temporary interruption
by the breaking out of the war between England and France in
1628. Charles I, of England, immediately gave to Sir David
Kirkt, a French refugee, a commission authorizing him to conquer
Canada. In consequence of this, after some offensive operations
at Tadoussac, he appeared with his squadron before Quebec, and
summoned it to surrender ; but he was answered in so spirited a
manner that he judged it prudent to retire.
In 1629, however, when Champlain was reduced to the utmost
extremity, by the want of every article of food, clothing, imple
ments and ammunition, and exposed to the attacks of the Iro-
quois, Sir David Kirkt, and his brothers Louis and Thomas,
appeared again with a squadron before Quebec. The deplorable
situation of the colony, and the very honorable terms proposed to
him by Kirkt, induced Champlain to surrender Quebec, with all
Canada, to the crown of England. The English standard was
thus for the first time raised on the walls of Quebec, just one hun
dred and thirty-five years before the battle of the Plains of
Abraham.
No blame can be attached to Champlain for this act, as famine
pressed so closely on the colonists, that they were reduced to an
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 37
allowance of five ounces of bread per day for each person. Kirkt's
generosity to the settlers, who were his own countrymen, induced
most of them to remain. Those who wished to go were allowed
to depart with their arms, clothes and baggage, and, though the
request to convey them home to France could not be complied
with, they were provided with a commodious passage by the way
of England.
Champlain, with two little native girls, whom he had carefully
educated, arrived at Dover, in England, on the 27th of October.
He proceeded thence to London, for the purpose of conferring
with the French ambassador. He soon afterward returned to
France, where, his counsels prevailing at the court of Louis XIII,
he was, upon the return of peace, again invested with the govern
ment of Canada.
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OP NEW FRANCE, FROM THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH IN 1629,
TO THAT OF 1689 — THE FRENCH AND THE IROQUOIS — COLONIAL
HISTORY — THE GOVERNMENT OF FRONTENAC — DEFEAT OF THE
ENGLISH.
THE English held possession of Canada for three years, but,
attaching little or no value to the territory, they readily restored
it to France at the Peace of St. Germain en Lage, which was con
cluded on the 19th of March, 1632. The great and good pioneer,
Samuel Champlain, had the pleasure of reentering his beloved
country once more with a squadron, containing all necessary sup
plies. He resumed the government of the colony which he had
so long fostered, and continued to administer all its affairs with
singular prudence, resolution and courage.
Champlain continued to prosper the colony till 1635, when, full
of honors and rich in public esteem and respect, he died, after an
occasional residence in Quebec of nearly thirty years. His obse
quies were performed with all the pomp the little colony could
command, and his remains were followed to the grave with real
sorrow by the clergy, the civil and military authorities, and the
inhabitants of every class, each feeling deeply the loss of a tried
friend.
The death of Champlaiu was the most grievous misfortune with
which Canada had yet been visited. During the greater part of
his active life the chief object of his heart was to become the
founder of the colony which he felt confident would attain to a
summit of extraordinary power and importance, and to civilize
and convert its native inhabitants. So great was his zeal for reli
gion that it was a common saying with him, " The salvation of
one soul was of more value than the conquest of an empire."
It was just about the period of his death that the religious
establishments, now so numerous, were commenced in Canada.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 39
Though they did little for the immediate improvement of the
colony, yet they formed the foundation on which arose those
morals and habits which still characterize the French Canadians,
and which in some instances merit admiration. The first mover
in this work of benevolence was the Marquis de Gamche, whose
fervor had led him to join the order of Jesuits. He conceived
the design of forming a college at Quebec, and was enabled by
his friends to offer six thousand gold crowns for this purpose.
His proposal was readily accepted and carried into effect. An
institution for instructing the Indians was also established at
Sillery, a few miles from Quebec. The Hotel Dieu, or House of
God, was founded two years afterwards by a party of Ursuliiie
nuns, who came out under the auspices of the Duchesse d'Aiguil-
lon. Madame de Peltrie, also, a young widow of rank, engaged
several sisters of the Ursulines at Tours, in France, whom she
brought out, at her own expense, to Quebec, where they founded
the Convent of St. Ursula.
The state of the Indian nations rendered the situation of M. de
Montmagny, the governor, who succeeded Champlain in 1635,
peculiarly critical. Owing to the weakness of the French, the
Iroquois had advanced by rapid steps to great importance. They
had completely humbled the power of the Algonquins, and closely
pressed the Hurons, scarcely allowing their canoes to pass up and
down the St. Lawrence. The governor was obliged to carry on a
defensive warfare, and erected a fort at the Richelieu, by which
river the Iroquois chiefly made their descents.
At length these fierce people made proposals for a solid peace,
which were received with great cordialty. The governor met
their deputies at Three Rivers, where the Iroquois produced seven
teen belts, which they had arranged along a cord fastened between
two stakes. Their orator then came along and addressed Mont
magny by the title of Oninthio, which signifies Groat Mountain ;
and, though it was in reference to his name, they continued ever
after to apply this term to the French governors, sometimes add
ing the respectful appellation of Father.
The orator declared their wish " to forget their songs of war,
and to resume the voice of cheerfulness." He then proceeded to
40 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
explain the meaning of the belts. They expressed the calming of
the spirit of war, the opening of the paths, the mutual visits to
be paid, the feasts to be given, the restitution of the captives, and
other friendly proceedings. In conformity to Indian etiquette,
the governor delayed his answer for two days, and then bestowed
as many presents as he had received belts, and through an inter
preter expressed the most pacific sentiments. Piscaret, a great
chief, then said, " Behold a stone which I place on the sepulchre
of those who were killed in the war, that no one may attempt to
move their bones, and that every desire of avenging their death
may be laid aside." Three discharges of cannon were considered
as sealing the treaty. This engagement was for some time faith
fully observed, and the Iroquois, the Algonquins and the Hurons
forgot their deadly feuds, and mingled in the chase as if they had
been one nation. M. de Montmagny appears to have commanded
the general respect of the natives, but, owing to a change in the
policy of the court, he was unexpectedly removed.
Montmagny was succeeded by M. d'Aillebout, who brought
with him a reinforcement of one hundred men. The benevolent
Margaret Bourgeois, too, at this time founded the institution of
the Daughters of the Congregation at Montreal, which is at pres
ent one of the first female seminaries in the colony.
While the French settlements were thus in Canada, those of
England on the eastern shore of America were making an equally
rapid progress. A union among them seemed so desirable to the
new governor that he proposed to the New England colonies a
close alliance between them and the French ; one object of which
LIEUT.-GOV. ANDREW PARSONS.
ANDREW PARSONS was born in the town of Hoosick, county of Rens-
selaer and State of New York, on the 22d day of July, 1817, and died
June 6, 1855, at the early age of thirty-eight years. He was the son of
John Parsons, born at Newburyport, Mass., October 2, 1782, who was
the son of Andrew Parsons, a revolutionary soldier, who was the son of
Phineas Parsons, the son of Samuel Parsons, a descendant of Walter
Parsons, born in Ireland in 1290. The name is still extant, and some one
hundred and thirty years ago Bishop Gibson remarked, in his edition of
Camden's Britannia, " The honorable family of Parsons have been
LIEUT.-GOV. ANDREW PARSONS.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 43
was an engagement to assist each other, when necessary, in mak
ing war "with the Five Nations. However desirous the English
colonies might have been on other accounts to form such an alli
ance, the condition with respect to the Indians was not acceptable
to them, and the negotiation was broken off. Of what effects this
union, if it had taken place, would have been productive, it is
impossible now to conjecture. There is no doubt but that the
failure of the proposition must have had an important bearing
upon the events which followed ; first, in the continued rivalry of
the two nations, and afterwards in the wars between them, which
did not end until the whole of Canada was subjected to Great
Britain.
At this period the missionaries began to combine with their
religious efforts political objects, and employed all their influence
in furthering the French power. Amongst other movements they
induced a number of Iroquois to leave their own country and
settle within the boundaries of the colony, but they do not appear
to have succeeded in civilizing them. They found'' the Hurons,
however, far more tractable and docile. It is said that nearly
three thousand of them were baptized at one time. A consider
able change soon appeared in this wild region, and the christian
ized Indians were united in the villages of Sillery, St. Joseph and
St. Mary.
During the administration of M. d'Aillebout, the Iroquois
renewed the war in all its fury, and these peaceable settlers found
that their enemies could advance like foxes and attack like lions.
While the missionary was celebrating the most solemn rites of his
advanced to the dignity of viscounts, and more lately Earls of Ross."
The following are descendants of these families :
Sir John Parsons, born 1481, was mayor of Hereford.
Robert Parsons, born in 1540, lived near Bridgewater, England. He
was educated at Ballial College, Oxford, and was a noted writer and
defender of the Romish faith. He established an English college at
Rome and another at Valladolid.
Francis Parsons, born in 1556, was Vicar of Roth well, in Nottingham.
Bartholomew Parsons, born in 1618, was author of various noted
sermons.
44 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
church iii the village of Sillery, the war cry was suddenly raised,
and an indiscriminate massacre took place amongst the four hun
dred families residing there. Soon after, a band of the same people,
amounting to a thousand, made an attack upon the mission of St.
Ignace, and carried off or killed all the inhabitants except three.
St. Louis was next attacked, and made a brave resistance, which
enabled many of the women and children to escape. The mission
aries could have saved themselves, but, attaching a high import
ance to the administration of the last sacrament to the dying,
they sacrificed their lives to the performance of this sacred rite.
Deep and universal dismay now spread over the whole Huron
tribe. Their land, lately so peaceable, was become a land of hor
ror and blood, and a sepulchre for the dead. At length the Iro-
quois began to make overtures of peace, to which it was found the
missionaries had powerfully contributed. At first these excellent
men had been regarded with extreme antipathy, but many of
them, after suffering protracted torture and partial mutilation, had
been spared and adopted into the Indian families. Their meek
deportment, their solemn ceremonies, and the fervor with which
they raised to God " hands without fingers," made a strong
impression on the savage breast. Hence deputies appeared asking
for peace. In their figurative language they said that " they
came to wipe away the blood which reddened the mountains, the
lakes and the rivers," and " to bring back the sun, which had
hidden its face during the late dreadful seasons of warfare."
They also solicited "Black Robes," as they called the mission
aries, to teach them the Christian doctrine, and to keep them in
the practice of peace and virtue.
In 1634 Thomas Parsons was knighted by Charles I.
Joseph and Benjamin, brothers, were born in Great Torrington, Eng
land, and accompanied their father and others to New England about
1630.
Samuel Parsons, born at Saulsbury, Mass., 1707; graduated H. C., 1730;
ordained at Rye, N. H., November 3, 1736; married Mary Jones, only
daughter of Samuel Jones, Esq., of Boston, October 9, 1739; died Janu
ary 4, 1789, at the age of eighty-two, in the fifty-third year of his ministry.
The grandfather of Mary Jones was Captain John Adams, of Boston,
grandson of Henry of Braintree, who was among the first settlers of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 45
The Viscount d'Argenson, the next Governor, considered it
necessary to accept these terms. The most amicable professions,
however, hardly procured a respite from hostility, for whilst one
party treated another attacked. In the following summer Abbe"
Montigny, titular bishop of Petre, landed at Quebec with a brief
from the Pope, constituting him apostolic vicar. Curacies were at
the same time established in Canada.
The Viscount d'Argenson, having requested his recall on
account of ill health, was relieved by the Baron d'Avangour, an
officer of great integrity and resolution. His decisive measures
seemed to have saved Canada. He represented the defenseless
state of the country, and its natural beauty and importance, to the
King in warm and forcible language, and excited a deep interest
for these distant possessions in the mind of his Majesty, who had
been hitherto ignorant of their value.
It was at length announced that a grand deputation was coming
from all the cantons with the intention of " uniting the whole
earth," and of " burying the hatchet so deep that it might never
again be dug up," and they brought with them a hundred belts of
wampum, each of which signified some condition of the proposed
peace. Unfortunately a party of Algonquins formed an ambus
cade and killed the greater part of them. Owing to this deplor
able event all prospects of peace were blasted, and war raged with
greater fury than ever.
The Iroquois, having seen the powerful effect of firearms in
their wars with the French, had procured them from the Dutch
at Manhattan (now New York), and thus acquired an additional
Massachusetts, and from whom a numerous race of the name are
descended, including two Presidents of the United States. The Par-
sonses have become very numerous, and are found throughout New
England, and many of the descendants are scattered in all parts of the
United States, and especially in the Middle and Western States.
Gov. Andrew Parsons came to Michigan in 1835, at the age of seven
teen years, and spent the first summer at lower Ann Arbor, where he for
a few months taught school, which he was compelled to abandon from
ill health.
In the fall of that year he explored the Grand Hiver valley in a frail
46 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
superiority over the wild tribes of the west. They attacked the
Ottawas, who did not even make an attempt at resistance, but
sought refuge in the islands of Lake Huron. They commenced a
desperate war with the Eriez, a name in their language signifying
cats, and after a hard struggle completely succeeded. It is
remarkable that this powerful nation has left no memorial of its
existence except the great lake which bears its name.
In 1663 the colony was visited by a most remarkable succession
of earthquakes, which commenced on the 6th of February and
continued for half a year with little intermission. They returned
two or three times a day, visiting both land and water, and
spreading universal alarm, yet without inflicting any permanent
injury or causing the loss of a single life.
This remarkable event was preceded by a great rushing noise,
heard throughout the whole extent of the country, which caused
the people to fly out of their houses as if they had been on fire.
Instead of fire they were surprised to see the walls reeling back
ward and forward, and the stones moving as if detached from each
other ; the bells sounded, the roofs of the buildings bent down, the
timbers cracked and the earth trembled violently. Animals were
to be seen flying about in every direction, children were crying
and screaming in the streets, and men and women, horror-stricken
and ignorant whither to fly for refuge, stood still, unable to move.
Some threw themselves on their knees in the snow, calling on the
saints for aid, while others passed this dreadful night in prayer.
The movement of the ground resembled the waves of the ocean,
and the forest appeared as if there was a battle raging between
canoe, the whole length of the river from Jackson to Lake Michigan, and
spent the following winter as clerk in a store at Prairie Creek, in Ionia
county, and in the spring went to Marshall, where he resided with his
brother, Hon. Luke H. Parsons, also now deceased, until fall, when he
went to Shiawassee county, then, with Clinton county, an almost unbro
ken wilderness, and constituting one organized township. In 1837 this
territory was organized into a county, and at the age of only nineteen
years he (Andrew) was elected County Clerk. In 1840 he was elected
Register of Deeds, re-elected in 1842, and also in 1844. In 1846 he was
elected to the State Senate, was appointed Prosecuting Attorney in 1848,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 47
the trees, so that the Indians declared in their figurative language,
" that all the trees were drunk." The ice, which was upward of
six feet thick, was rent and thrown up in large pieces, and from
the openings came thick clouds of smoke or fountains of dirt and
sand. The springs were impregnated with sulphur, many rivers
were totally lost, some became yellow, others red, and the St. Law
rence appeared entirely white down as far as the Tadoussac.
The extent of this earthquake was so great that one hundred
and eighty thousand square miles were convulsed on the same day.
Ther$ is nothing, however, in the whole visitation so worthy of
remark as the care and kindness which God showed to the people
in preserving them, so that not one was lost or had a hair of his
head injured.
Louis XIV resolved at this time to raise Canada to her due
importance, and no longer to overlook one of the finest countries
in the world, or expose the French power to contempt by allowing
it to be trampled on by a handful of savages. For this purpose
he sent out four hundred troops, accompanied by M. de Mesy as
Governor, to examine into and regulate the different branches of
administration.
Hitherto the Governor had exercised in person, and without
control, all the functions of government; but Louis resolved
immediately to erect Canada into a royal government with a
Council and Intendant, to whom should be intrusted the weighty
affairs of justice, police, finance and marine. In this determina
tion he was warmly seconded by his chief minister, the great Col
bert, who was animated by the example of Great Britain to
elected Regent of the University in 1851, and Lieutenant-Governor and
became acting Governor in 1853, elected again to the Legislature in 1854,
and, overcome by debilitated health, hard labor and the responsibilities
of his office and cares of his business, retired upon his farm, where he
died soon after.
He was a fluent and persuasive speaker, and well calculated to make
friends of his acquaintances. He was always true to his trusts, and the
whole world could not persuade nor drive him to do what he conceived
to be wrong. When Governor a most powerful railroad influence was
brought to bear upon him to induce him to call an extra session of the
48 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
improve the navigation and commerce of his country by colonial
establishments.
The company of the " One Hundred Partners " hitherto exer
cised the chief power in Canada. They were very attentive to
their own interests in rigidly guarding their monopoly of the fur
trade, but had been all along utterly regardless of the general
welfare of the colony. They were now, however, very unwillingly
obliged to relinquish their privileges into the hands of the crown.
M. de Mesy was succeeded by the Marquis de Tracy, who
arrived in Canada in 1665. He brought with him the whole
regiment of De Carignan Salieres, consisting of more than one
thousand men, the officers of which soon became the chief
seigneurs of the colony. The regiment had been employed for
some time in Hungary, and had acquired a high reputation. This,
with a considerable number of settlers, including agriculturists
and artisans, with horses and cattle, formed an accession to the
colony which far exceeded its former numbers.
The enlightened policy of Colbert, in thus raising Canada into
notice and consideration, was followed by the success it deserved.
To well regulated civil government was added increased military
protection against the Iroquois. Security being thus obtained, the
migration of French settlers increased rapidly, and, being pro
moted in every possible way by the government, New France rose
rapidly into consideration and importance. Owing to the pres
ence of so many soldiers, a martial spirit was imparted to the
population, and they began to prepare to defend properly the
country of their adoption.
Legislature. Meetings were held in all parts of the State for that pur
pose. In some sections the resolutions were of a laudatory nature,
intended to make him do their bidding by resort to friendly and nattering
words; in other places the resolutions were of a demanding nature, while
in others they were threatening beyond measure. Fearing that all these
influences might fail to induce him to call the extra session, a large sum
of money was sent him, and liberal offers tendered if he would gratify the
railroad interest of the State and call the extra session. But he returned
the money, and refused to receive any. favors whatever from any party
who would attempt to corrupt him by laudations, liberal offers, or by
HISTOKY OF MICHIGAN. 49
The new Viceroy lost no time in preparing to check the inso
lence of the Iroquois, and to establish a supremacy over them he
erected three forts on the river Richelieu, th« first at Sorel, the
second at Chambly, and the third further up the river. Over
awed by these movements, and by the report of a large force
inarching against them, three of the cantons sent deputies with
ample professions of friendship, proposing an exchange of all the
prisoners taken on both sides since the last treaty, to which the
Viceroy agreed.
The Marquis de Tracy continued in authority only a year and
a half, and on his return to France carried with him the affection
of the people. He maintained a state which had never been seen
before in Canada. Besides the regiment of Carignan, he was
allowed to maintain a body-guard, wearing the same uniform as
the Garde Royale of France. He always appeared on state occa
sions with these guards, twenty-four in number, who preceded
him, while four pages immediately accompanied him, followed by
five valets. It was thought at that time that this style gave
favorable impressions of royal authority.
Before this officer returned home he placed the country in a
state of defense, and established the Company of the West Indies,
as this new company was called from having been united to the
other French possessions in America, which we have not yet men
tioned. This very able Governor left M: de Courcelles to act as
Governor-General, with several officers of great ability under his
command.
As already stated, M. de Courcelles succeeded M. de Tracy in
the government of New France.
threats; 'and in a short letter to the people, after giving overwhelming
reasons, that no sensible man could dispute, showing that the circum
stances were not " extraordinary^ he refused to call the extra session.
This brought down the wrath of various parties upon his head, but they
were forced soon to acknowledge the wisdom and the justice of his
course.
One of his greatest enemies said, after long acquaintance: "Though
not always coinciding with his views, I never doubted his honesty of
purpose. He at all times sought to perform his duties in strict accord
ance with the dictates of his conscience and the behests of his oath."
4
50 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
During his administration little doubt was entertained as to the
permanency of the colony. The inhabitants began to extend
their settlements, and to cultivate their lands. The officers and
soldiers had liberal grants made to them, and a free trade was
granted to the country generally.
As the number of men greatly exceeded that of the women,
several hundreds were sent from France to Canada. As soon as
they arrived, an advertisement was published to let the people
know "that a supply had been sent over, and that such as had
the means of supporting a wife should have their choice." It is
said the collection consisted of tall, short, fair, brown, fat and lean.
So great was the demand that in about a fortnight the whole
cargo was disposed of.
In 1670 the church of Quebec was constituted a bishopric;
some important measures were also adopted for the better govern
ing of the country, and for maintaining peace with the savages.
The trade and agriculture of the country prospered; and the
clerical orders became more enthusiastic than ever in their efforts
to make proselytes of the Indians.
A fatal calamity, however, which had been hitherto unknown
in the New World, made its appearance among the tribes north of
the St. Lawrence, namely, the small-pox. This scourge, more
terrible to the savages than all the fire-arms in Europe, carried off
more than half their number, and spread a universal panic over
the land.
Courcelles had requested his recall, and in 1672, on his return
from a journey to Cataraqui, where he had fixed upon a spot for
His amiable widow is a sister of J. S. and Dr. D. O. Farrand, of this
city, and we understand she is now a member of the Doctor's family.
The following eiilogium from a political opponent is just in its concep
tion and creditable to its author : ' ' Governor Parsons was a politician of
the Democratic school, a man of pure moral character, fixed and exem
plary habits, and entirely blameless in every public and private relation
of life. As a politician he was candid, frank and free from bitterness;
as an executive officer, firm, constant and reliable."
The highest commendation we can pay the deceased is to give his just
meed — that of being an honest man.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 51
building a fort near the present site of Kingston, he found his
place supplied. His successor was Louis Count de Frontenac,
who was destined to act an important part in Canada.
Frontenac was able, active, enterprising and ambitious; but
proud, overbearing and subject to capricious jealousies. Entering,
however, cordially into his predecessor's views in regard to the
fort at Cataraqui, he caused it to be built immediately, and
actively promoted vast projects for exploring the interior regions
of this continent.
The brilliant talents of M. de Frontenac were sometimes
obscured by prejudices, but his plans for the aggrandizement of
Canada were splendid and just. He possessed, however, a spirit
which would not brook contradiction. For having neglected some
orders given by him, he imprisoned the Intendant-General, M. de
Chesnau; the Procurator-General he exiled; the Governor of
Montreal he put under arrest; and the Abbe de Salignac, Fenelon,
then superintending the seminary of the St. Sulpicians, at Mon
treal, he imprisoned under pretence of having preached against
him. His principal opponent was the Bishop, who, very properly,
disapproved of the sale of spirits to the Indians, which was found
to produce the most pernicious effects. The Count, however,
considered it as at once extremely profitable, and as a means of
attaching them to the French interest.
In 1682 Fronteuac was recalled, and M. de la Barre appointed
his successor. Soon after his arrival, the Iroquois assumed a tone
of defiance, and made formidable preparations for war. These
caused great apprehensions of a general war among the Indians,
and the state of Canada became alarming in the highest degree,
as the whole population consisted only of nine thousand persons.
The military strength of Canada had been reduced greatly in
consequence of many of the troops having become proprietors and
cultivators of land. M. de la Barre, 'however, determined upon
war, and, having obtained a reinforcement of two hundred men,
advanced up the St. Lawrence. He was met at Montreal by a
deputation from the cantons, who made strong professions of
friendship, but he considered them as unworthy of credit. He
directed all bis force against the Senecas, because it was through
52 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
their country that the English had penetrated to the fur trade on
the lakes. He found, however, that the tribes had determined to
make common cause, and had received ample assurance of aid
from New York, which had been taken possession of by the Eng
lish. Through their various settlements, the English held a kind
of dominion over the Iroquois country, and they endeavored, with
success, to alienate them from the French, chiefly by dealing with
the tribes on more advantageous terms.
The Iroquois soon found it to their interest not only to carry all
their furs to the English market, but to buy up those of the other
tribes in alliance with France. Heavy complaints were constantly
made by the French, but the Indians treated them with great
indifference. They shrewdly discovered, in the eager competition
between these two European nations, the means of rendering their
own position more secure and imposing.
After meeting the deputies at Montreal, M. de la Barre pro
ceeded to the northern shore of Lake Ontario, where he had
another interview with the Indians. He assumed a lofty tone,
complained of their inroads into the country of the tribes in
alliance with France, and of their having conducted the English
to the lakes, and enabled them to supplant the commerce of his
countrymen. He concluded by stating that, unless reparation
was made for these injuries, with a promise to abstain from them
in future, war and devastation of their country must be the imme
diate consequence. The deputies very coolly replied "that he
appeared to speak like one in a dream, and that if he would open
his eyes, he would see himself wholly destitute of the means of
executing these formidable threats." With regard to the English
they said, "that they had allowed them to pass through their
country on the same principle on which they had given permission
to his people to pass." They professed themselves anxious "that
the hatchet should still remain buried, unless the country granted
to them should be attacked." The Onondaga deputies guaranteed
reparation for any actual plunder inflicted on French traders, but
added that no more could be conceded, and that the .army must
be immediately withdrawn. Humiliating as these terms were
after such lofty threats and preparations, De la Barre had no
choice but to comply, and return to Quebec.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 53
Here he found that a fresh reinforcement had been landed.
The letters he received from court intimated the expectation that
he was carrying on a triumphant war with the Five Nations, and
conveyed from the King an absurd and cruel request that he would
send a number of Iroquois to man the galleys.
When the real issue of the campaign was reported at court,
great dissatisfaction was felt. The Governor was immediately pro
nounced unfit for his situation, and was superseded by the Mar
quis de Denonville.
This active and brave officer, immediately on his arrival, pro
ceeded to Cataraqui, now Kingston, with about two thousand
troops. After a very short time he declared his conviction that
the Iroquois could never be conciliated, and that it was necessary
either to extirpate them or reduce them to a state of entire
dependence. He proposed to erect a strong fort at Niagara, to
prevent them from introducing the English fur trade into the
Upper Lakes.
An instance of treachery stains the character of Deiionville.
Having, under various pretences, assembled a number of chiefs at
Fort Frontenac (Kingston), he iniquitously put them in irons, and
sent them off to France, to fulfill the king's absurd wishes. He
then proceeded towards the Seneca ^country, where he met with but
little opposition, and marched for ten days, burning and destroy
ing all grain and provisions not required by his troops. Although
the Governor of New York remonstrated with him, urging that
the Iroquois were the subjects of England, yet he persevered, and
carried into execution his plan of erecting and garrisoning a fort
at Niagara. He then found it necessary to return to the Canadian
side of Lake Ontario.
Scarcely had he reached home before the Iroquois showed that
they were masters of the country. They attacked Fort Niagara,
and razed it to the ground. They covered the lake with their
canoes, attacked Fort Frontenac, burned all the corn-stacks in the
neighborhood, and captured a French bark laken with provisions
and stores. The Indian allies of the French attacked the Iroquois
of Sorel, and committed many depredations on the English settle
ments, plundering the property and scalping the inhabitants.
54 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
At length both parties desired peace, and a treaty was set on
foot for this purpose. Deputies from the Iroquois proceeded to
Montreal, leaving at two days' distance behind them twelve hun
dred of their countrymen, fit for immediate action. Proud of
their commanding situation, they demanded the restoration of the
chiefs, unjustly seized, and of all other captives. They allowed
the Governor only four days to consider the offer, threatening, if
not accepted, immediately to set fire to the buildings and corn
fields, and to murder the inhabitants. The deepest consternation
prevailed at Montreal, and Denonville found himself under the
necessity of accepting these humiliating conditions, and of request
ing back from France the chiefs he so basely sent thither. This
deep and deserved mortification was a just recompense for his
treachery to the Indians.
The state of affairs in Canada became desperate. The peace
with the Iroquois was soon ended in another war. The Fort of
Niagara had been destroyed. Fort Frontenac was blown up and
abandoned by the French, and two ships that were built for the
purpose of navigating Lake Ontario, were burned to prevent them
from falling into the hands of the Iroquois. War, famine and dis
ease seemed as if combined for the utter destruction of the colony.
In this extremity it was judged necessary to place at the head
of affairs an officer possessing energy of character and address in
dealing with the natives. These qualities were found united in
the Count de Frontenac, who, during his former administration,
had made himself both belo\^d and feared by the Indians.
The Count, in 1689, brought out with him the captive chiefs
whom Denonville had so unjustly seized. So fascinating were his
manners that he completely gained their favor, Oureonhare, the
principal one, remaining ever most strongly attached to him. All
the chiefs, indeed, had so great a regard for him that he enter
tained hopes of conciliating the Iroquois without much difficulty.
With this view he sent a deputy of that nation, with four of his
captive countrymen, to announce his return and his wish to
resume amicable relations. Oureonhare transmitted a message,
requesting them to send an embassy to their " Ancient Father,"
from whom they would experience much tenderness and esteem.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 55
The Iroquois council sent back the same deputies with six belts,
intimating their resolution, which was expressed in lofty and bitter
terms. Choosing to consider "Ouinthio" one and the same,
though they knew that Frontenac was not the offending person,
they complained " that his rods of correction had been too sharp
and cutting ; that the roots of the tree of peace, which he had
planted at Fort Froutenac, had been withered by blood, and the
ground had been polluted." They demanded atonement for these
injuries, and that Oureonhare and his captive companions should
be sent back previous to the liberation of the French prisoners.
" Oninthio would then be free," they said, " to plant again the
tree of liberty, but not in the same place."
Two circumstances emboldened the Iroquois to take so high a
tone at this period. The first was that, in consequence of the
revolution in England, the cause of James II was warmly
embraced by the French, and the two kingdoms were at open war.
On this account the Indians could depend upon the cordial coop
eration of the English. The second was that they were engaged
in a treaty with the Ottawas for a better market for their furs.
Frontenac, finding his attempts at negotiation fruitless, resolved
to act with such vigor as to humble the Iroquois. He therefore
collected his allies, and divided them amongst his regular troops,
and several English settlements were surprised and pillaged.
Schenectady, the frontier town of New York, was attacked by a
party of one hundred French and^a number of Indians. The
fort and every house were pillaged and burned, and all the horrors
of Indian warfare let loose upon the inhabitants. The English
accounts say that sixty-three men, women and children were mas
sacred in cold blood.
His next care was to send detachments to convey to Montreal
the furs which had been stored at Michilimackinac. This they
effected, and a large party, who attempted to attack them, was
completely defeated. Notwithstanding these successes, the Iro
quois maintained the same hostility and haughtiness. The old
allies of the French, seeing them resume their former energy,
determined to prefer them to the English. The Ottawas owned
that they had made some progress in a negotiation with the
56 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
English, but that, as soon as they had heard of the return of
their "Ancient Father," they had broken it off. The Hurons
denied " having entered into any treaty which could detach them
from their beloved Oninthio."
The attention of Frontenac was called in the autumn of this
year from the Indians to the English, who had determined to
strike a blow which, they hoped, would deprive the French of all
their possessions in America. This was a plan of attack on Can
ada, which was carried out by the English colonists at an expense
of £15,000. It was twofold : first, by land and inland naviga
tion on the southern frontier, and, second, by a fleet sent from
Boston to attack Quebec.
The squadron, under the command of Sir William Phipps,
appeared as far up the river as Tadoussac before the alarm reached
Quebec. Frontenac immediately hastened to strengthen the
defenses of the place, which consisted of rude embankments of
timber and earth, and to put it into as good condition as it was
possible for him to do in so short a time.
On the 16th of October the squadron, consisting of thirty-four
vessels of different descriptions, advanced as far as Beauport.
Sir William Phipps immediately sent a flag of truce on shore to
summon the town, to surrender. This was gallantly rejected by
Frontenac. This officer, who was a man of great pride, lived in the
castle of St. Louis, amidst all the splendor with which he could
possibly surround himself. Being resolved to astonish the Eng
lish officer who was sent on shore with the flag of truce, he caused
him to be met by a French major, who placed a bandage
over his eyes, and conducted him by a very circuitous route to
the castle. Every delusion was practiced to make him believe
that he was in the midst of a numerous garrison. On arriving at
the castle the bandage was removed, and he found himself in the
presence of the Governor-General, the Intendant, the Bishop, and a
large staff of French officers in full uniform, who were clustered
together in the middle of the hall. With the greatest self-posses
sion, the young officer presented to Frontenac a summons to sur
render, in the name of William and Mary, King and Queen of
England. Frontenac gave a most spirited answer, refusing to
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 5?
acknowledge any King of England but James II. The English
man wished to have his answer in writing. Fronteuac peremp
torily refused, saying, " I am going to answer your master by the
cannon's mouth. He shall be taught this is not the manner in
which a person of my rank ought to be summoned." The ban
dage being replaced, the officer was conducted with the same mys
teries to his boat, and was no sooner on board the Admiral's vessel
than the batteries began to play upon the fleet.
On the 18th fifteen . hundred English troops landed near the
River St. Charles, but not without sustaining great loss from the
constant fire kept up by the French from amongst the rocks and
bushes. Four of the largest vessels were anchored opposite the
town, and commenced a bombardment, but the fire from the bat
teries was directed with such effect as to compel them to move up
the river beyond Cape Diamond. A sharp skirmish took place
on the 19th, and on the 20th an action was fought, in which the
French made a gallant stand and compelled the English to retreat
to Beauport, leaving their cannon and ammunition. Two days
after they reembarked and returned to Boston.
Owing to the bad management of Sir William Phipps, this
expedition was attended with great loss of life, seven or eight of
his vessels being wrecked in the St. Lawrence. The expedition
against Montreal did not take place at the appointed time, owing
to a want of concert between the parties, and Frontenac was thus
enabled to concentrate all his strength and oppose the plans of
the English with vigilance and success.
CHAPTER IV.
HISTORY OF NEW FRANCE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRONTENAC
TO ITS OVERTHROW BY THE ENGLISH AT QUEBEC, IN 1759 — THE
BATTLE OF QUEBEC — THE FALL OF WOLFE AND MONTCALM —
CANADA CEDED TO THE ENGLISH.
DURING the year 1691 the Iroquois, with the English and
native allies, advanced along the Kiver Sorel or Richelieu to
attack Montreal. De Caillieres, a very able officer, then held the
command of that city. He had assembled nearly eight hundred
Indians in addition to his own countrymen, and the assailants,
after a very sharp contest, were obliged to retreat. They burned
thirty houses and barns, and carried off several prisoners, whom
they put to the most cruel torture.
At length, however, De Fronteuac, by the unremitting vigor of
his measures, secured the defense of the colony so far that in 1692
the inhabitants were enabled to cultivate their lands, and the fur
trade was renewed and carried on with considerable advantage.
In the beginning of 1694, the Iroquois made overtures of peace.
Two Onoudagos arrived at Montreal, and asked the Governor if
certain deputies, who were on their way, would be received.
Though they Avere answered in the affirmative, several months
elapsed before they appeared. They were well received, and
brought several belts with them, one of which expressed the most
friendly disposition, and solicited the restoration of the fort at
Cataraqui.
On their return home, Oureonhare accompanied them. When
he came back, he brought with him several persons of distinction,
who had been long held in captivity by the Indians. Though the
first belts brought by the deputies were friendly, the others were
obscure, and all attempts to obtain an explanation were fruitless.
All that was contemplated merely seemed to be " to suspend the
hatchet." The Count rejected all the belts except one, declaring
filSTORY OF MlCHiGAtf. 59
that, unless more friendly sentiments were entertained, he could
not long suspend the threatened blow.
Unwilling to come to an open rupture with a people who could
muster three thousand warriors, he endeavored to gain time. In
the meanwhile, he reestablished the fort at Cataraqui, and
strengthened the outposts, intending in the summer to commence
more active measures.
At length, in June, 1696, all the forces that could be mustered
at Cataraqui marched into the canton of Onondago. On reaching
a lake, they found suspended from a tree two bundles of rushes,
which intimated that fourteen hundred and thirty-four warriors
were waiting to engage them. They sailed across the lake immedi
ately, and formed themselves in regular order of battle, expecting
to engage their enemies. De Caillieres commanded the left wing,
the Chevalier de Vaudreuil the right, and De Frontenac, then
seventy-six years of age, was carried in the centre in an elbow-
chair. The Five Nations, however, did not appear, and their
principal fortress was found reduced to ashes. It soon, indeed,
became evident that the Indians had determined to let them
march through their country unmolested.
The Oneidas sent deputies to Frontenac, but he would accept
nothing short of unconditional surrender. De Vaudreuil marched
into their country and laid it waste. It had been determined to
treat the Cayugas in the same manner, but the Count returned
rather suddenly to Montreal, for which the French writers severely
censure him. He might, it is thought, have completely humbled
the Iroquois at this time. He could not, however, be prevailed
upon to destroy the canton of the Goyoquins (or Cayugas), of
which his friend Oureonhare was chief.
The shameful manner in which the Indian allies of the French
were treated with regard to their chief source of wealth, the fur
trade, gave continual cause of complaint and discontent. This
traffic was carried on by an adventurous but desperate race, called
"coureurs des bois" It was a strict monopoly, the merchants
fitting out the coureurs with canoes and merchandise, and reaping
profits so ample that furs to the value of 8,000 crowns were pro
cured by the French for 1,000 crowns.
60 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
As soon as the Indians found out the true value of their com
modities, they made loud and incessant complaints. In order to
conciliate them, it was proposed that they should bring their own
furs and dispose of them at Montreal. The Governor, however,
and the other members of the administration, objected that this
would bring the Indian allies from the retirement of their forests
into the immediate neighborhood of the Five Nations and of the
British ; and they dreaded that, while the profits of the fur trade
would be lost, a general confederation of the tribes might be
eifected.
In the meantime, the Iroquois continued the war with vigor,
though both they and the English began to wish for peace.
Negotiations were, however, entered into with them through
Oureonbare", in whom Frontenac placed great and deserved confi
dence, but his sudden death at Quebec retarded them. Their
success was, however, secured by the treaty of peace signed at
Ryswick, September 15, 1697, and the English and French Gov
ernors mutually entered into arrangements for maintaining
harmony among the Indians. The anxious desire manifested by
both nations to secure the friendship of the Iroquois flattered
that bold and deceitful people, and gave them an exalted opinion
of themselves. The object of both the French and English
should have been to diminish their power, but this rather tended
to increase their consequence and conceit.
Soon after the conclusion of peace, Louis Count de Frontenac
died, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, upwards of twenty of
which he had spent in Canada. His great personal abilities pre
served this colony to France, and always secured to him the
GOVERNOR J. J. BAGLEY. .
JOHN J. BAGLEY, the present Governor of the State of Michigan, was
born July 24th, 1832, in Orleans County, New York. His father settled
in St. Joseph County, in this State, 1840, where Mr. Bagley received a
common school education. In 1846 he removed to Shiawassee County,
and in 1847 to Detroit. He served his time at the tobacco trade with
Isaac 8. Miller. In 1853 he engaged in business for himself, and is still
conducting it.
Mr. Bagley has held various positions of public trust in the city gov-
GOVERNOR JOHN J. BAGLEY.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. bd
confidence of the King, the respect of his officers and the esteem
of the Indians. He was buried in the Recollect church at
Quebec, which formerly stood near the site of the present English
cathedral. The only memorial of him now to be found in the
city is in the street called from his family name Buade street.
Frontenac was succeeded by De Callieres, who had been for
some time Governor of Montreal. He administered the affairs of
the colony with more steadiness and prudence, and with equal
vigor and address, and in 1700 effected a general pacification
among the Indian tribes. Upon the exchange of prisoners which
took place at this period, a most surprising and mortifying fact
transpired. The natives early sought their homes ; the greater
part of the French captives, however, were found to have con
tracted such an attachment to the wild freedom of the woods, that
neither the commands of the King nor the entreaties of their
friends could induce them to quit their Indian associates.
Peace had scarcely been concluded between the savage tribes,
when it was broken by their civilized neighbors. The succession
of Philip of Anjou to the throne of Spain gave rise to a long and
eventful war between France and Spain. It was begun by Louis
XIV with every prospect of giving law to all Europe. Instead
of this, the exploits of the great Marlborough and Prince Eugene,
and the fields of Blenheim and Ramilies, reduced him to the
lowest condition, and at one time seemed to place his throne
in peril. The French colonists were thus left to their own
resources, while England conceived the bold design of uniting
within her territory the whole of North America.
The lamented death of De Callieres, its able Governor, placed
Canada in a critical state, and endangered the French power in
the colony.
eminent of Detroit, and in 1873 was Park Commissioner, Vice-President
of the American National Bank, President of the Detroit Safe Company,
Director of the Wayne County Savings Bank, Novelty Works, Detroit
Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and Michigan Mutual Life Insur
ance Company.
In the summer of 1872 Mr. Bagley was nominated by the Kepublican
State Convention for Governor, and was elected by a large majority.
64 C4ENEEAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The Count de Vaudreuil, who succeeded, proved himself worthy
of his high office, and for several years managed to prevent the
colonists from being molested, and to cherish the trade and culti
vation of the country. In 1708 he carried warlike operations into
the British frontier settlements, having previously negotiated for
the neutrality of the Iroquois, who were flattered by being treated
as an independent power. Little success, however, attended these
operations, and he was soon compelled again to resume a defensive
position.
The persecutions of the Protestants in France caused at this
time a religious animosity to be added to the hatred entertained
towards the French. This unfortunately encouraged a spirit of
discord amongst the colonists themselves. A people like the New
Englanders, who had themselves but just escaped from persecu
tion, could not look with indifference upon their persecuted French
Protestant brethren. Some of the persons in power amongst
them, however, did not sympathize in this sentiment, and estrange
ment from each other and opposition to authority increased daily.
During all the changes which took place in the colonies, it is
surprising how the Iroquois contrived to preserve their neutrality,
as they had it in their power to gain information on both sides.
The court that was paid to them by both powers probably fostered
in them habits of dissimulation. When the English called the Five
Nations to assist them against the French, they showed the great
est unwillingness. They alleged that "when they concluded a
treaty they intended to keep it, but that the Europeans seemed to
enter into such engagements solely for the purpose of breaking
them ;" and one old chief, with the rude freedom of his country,
intimated that " the nations were both drunk."
In 1709 a person of the name of Vetch laid before the court of
Queen Anne a plan for the conquest of Canada, and was supplied
with authority and resources, supposed to be sufficient for its
accomplishment. The English forces which had been destined
for the St. Lawrence were, however, required in Portugal, and
thus the Marquis de Vaudreuil had time to make better prepara
tions for defense.
The British in the meantime had occupied Lakes George and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
65
Champlain, and erected forts. But the Iroquois treacherously
deceived them, and attempted to poison the water they drank.
They immediately abandoned the enterprise and returned to New
York, after burning their canoes and reducing their forts to ashes.
GOVERNOR H. P. BALDWIN.
AMONG the numerous citizens of Michigan, who, from very small
beginnings, by honest perseverance have accumulated wealth and local
fame, ex-Governor Baldwin stands very prominent. He was born in
Coventry, R I., February, 1814, and was left an orphan boy at the ten
der age of eleven years, his parents having died previous to 1825. At the
age of twelve he secured a position in a mercantile house near his native
town, in which situation he remained eight years. In those days salaries
were small, consequently, Mr. Baldwin was unable to lay by very much;
but to say that he had not, during those eight years, accumulated a capi-
5
66 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Canada now enjoyed a short interval of repose, though it was
understood that the English were making active preparations for
a fresh expedition, and were sparing no pains to secure the cooper
ation of the Five Nations. At this time the French were
engaged in a desperate struggle with an Indian nation called the
Outagamis or Foxes. These people, who dwelt in the upper terri
tory, were at last reduced to the necessity of humbly soliciting
terms of peace, but the French were persuaded by their savage
auxiliaries to push matters to the last extremity, and this unfor
tunate tribe was nearly exterminated.
A combined land and sea expedition against Canada took place
in 1711. This expedition was shamefully managed, and the Brit
ish fleet, owing to tempestuous weather and ignorance of the
coast, met with so many disasters that it was obliged to return to
Boston. They lost, at the Seven Islands near the mouth of the
St. Lawrence, in one day, eight vessels and eight hundred and
eighty-four officers, soldiers and seamen.
tal that is more precious than gold, would be contradictory with the fol
lowing circumstances. At the age of twenty he left this situation, and,
entirely without capital of his own, began business for himself. Thus
will be seen Mr. Baldwin had already established himself in the confi
dence and esteem of the people of his own native State.
In 1838 Mr. Baldwin's keen penetration had foreseen the near future of
lake commerce, as guaranteed by the rapid development of the North
west, and he hastened to the scene of pioneer life. Having removed to
Detroit, he immediately resumed mercantile pursuits. Success followed
the effort, and has continuously attended all his business operations,
which have increased to considerable magnitude. He has taken an active
interest in many of the leading enterprises of Michigan, most of which
have vigorously advanced the growth, prosperity and honor of the State.
Prominent among these is the Second National Bank of Detroit. This
institution commenced business in 1863 with a capital of $500,000, which
was increased in 1865 to 81,000,000, and has been one of the most suc
cessful enterprises of the West, having already accumulated a surplus
fund of $600,000. Mr. Baldwin was its first president, and has continued
to hold that responsible position during its whole career to the present
time.
In relation to his political life, he has rather declined than sought after
office or emolument. He was a staunch Whig when that party existed,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 67
The restoration of peace between France and England, by the
treaty of Utrecht, took place in 1713, by which France retained
Canada, but ceded Acadia and Newfoundland, and made over to
Great Britain all her claims to the sovereignty of the Five
Nations. This once more left the colony an interval of rest,
which lasted ten years, during which her trade and resources were
greatly increased. The Marquis de Vaudreuil availed himself of
the peace to strengthen the fortifications of Quebec and Montreal ;
the training of the military, amounting to 5,000 in a population
of 25,000, was carefully attended to, and barracks were con
structed. An assessment was levied on the inhabitants, for the
support of the troops and the erection of fortifications. During
the remainder of M. de Vaudreuil's administration, which was
terminated by his death in 1726, the province prospered under his
vigilant, firm and just government.
The death of the Marquis de Vaudreuil in 1726, was deserv
edly lamented by the Canadians. He was succeeded, in 1726, by
and became as firm a Republican at the organization of that party. He
was twice nominated by his party to the mayoralty of Detroit, and in
1860 was elected to the State Senate. His career in the Senate was
marked with considerable ability. He was chosen Chairman of the
Finance Committee of the Senate, of the Joint Finance Committee of the
two Houses, and of the Joint Committee for investigating into the condi
tion of the State Treasury and the defalcation of John McKinney. It
will be remembered that when the Legislature met in 1861 the State
Treasury was without funds, the Treasurer being charged as a defaulter,
and the State finances being in a most embarrassed condition. Senator
Baldwin made a most thorough examination of the department, and
embodied in his report to the Legislature a complete statement setting
forth the irregularities by which the difficulty had been incurred, and
suggesting plans whereby the State finances could be advantageously
regulated and sustained in good condition. The report and measures
recommended by Mr. Baldwin were adopted, and have been the basis of
the successful management of the State finances up to the present time.
In 1804 Senator Baldwin's name was brought forward spontaneously
by the people for the distinguished office of Governor of Michigan. * At
the State Convention of that year his nomination was defeated by a single
vote. Had he even signified a desire to reach the gubernatorial chair, it
is generally believed that he would have been unanimously chosen by the
68 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the Marquis de Beauharnois. His ambitious administration
excited greatly the alarm of the English colonists of New York
and New England.
Beauharnois continued in power twenty years, and diligently
employed himself in promoting the interests of the colony. He
planned an enterprise to cross America to the South Sea, which
did .not succeed. He erected also the important fort at Crown
Point, on Lake Champlain, with several other forts at different
places, for the purpose of keeping the English within the Alle-
ghany Mountains, and preventing their approach to the lakes,
the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, and their tributary streams.
The war between Great Britain and France led to the reduction
of Cape Breton in 1745, by a British naval and military force,
assisted by the provincial troops of the New England colonies.
The successful battle of Fontenoy, in Europe, however, roused the
martial spirit of the Canadians to attempt the re-conquest of
Nova Scotia, in 1746 and 1747, in which they failed, and the
Convention, but, having not even sanctioned the voice of the people, his
nomination was carelessly though scarcely defeated.
In 1866 he was earnestly pressed to allow his name to be placed before
the Republican Convention for the same honorable office, but, as it had
been customary to renominate the Governor for a second term, he
declined absolutely. Notwithstanding this, he received more than sixty
votes at that time.
In 1868 he received the nomination of his party for the high office of
Governor, and was elected by the largest majority which, at that time,
had ever been given for a Governor of Michigan. In 1870 he was nomi
nated by acclamation, and reelected. In 1872 he was again strongly
pressed to accept the nomination, but positively refused* and, in a letter
addressed to the Republican Convention of that year, requested that no
votes should be cast for him.
Thus I have given, in a very concise manner, the most prominent fea
tures of Governor Baldwin's life. In point of perseverance, purity or
accomplishment, its estimation is enhanced by comparison. No stain
mars the pages of his short history of success. Pie came forth from the
obscurity of a humble orphan boy, and, through his own honest persever
ance, unaided by naught save that which integrity, energy and affability
merits, accumulated much wealth, and won a public name unblemished
by coarse associations.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in 1748, suspended further hostilities.
Commissioners were then appointed to settle a boundary line
between the British and French territories in North America.
The Canadian government immediately proceeded to survey the
HON. FREDERICK L. WELLS,
FREDERICK L. WELLS, the present Senator in the State Legislature for
the Twenty-second Senatorial District, was born in the town of Stanford,
Duchess county, New York, on the 24th of March, 1833, and emigrated
to Michigan in October, 1838, taking up his residence in the city of Port
Huron, where he now resides. This trip, at that early time of railroads,
consumed nearly a week, Mr. Wells traveling on the New York Central
from Albany to Fonda, which at that time comprised the whole length
of that road. From the latter place to Buffalo the passage was made on
70 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
projected line of demarcation, with a great display of military
pomp, calculated to impress on the minds of the Indians the idea
that France would assert her rights to the limits marked. Leaden
plates, bearing the arms of France, were sunk at such distances
upon this line as the Canadian Governor, in his liberality, pleased
to assign to England, and the whole ceremony was conducted with
much formality. Such an imprudent step seriously alarmed the
Indians, and terminated in their active cooperation with the
English, for the utter expulsion of the French from North
America.
About this time a royal edict directed that no country houses
should be built but on farms of one acre and a half in front and
forty back. This law had the effect of confining the population
along the banks of the river, and the Avhole shore, from Quebec
to Montreal, was soon settled with cultivated farms. A favorable
change took place, too, in the fur trade, and a more liberal and
equitable system appears to have been adopted. A large annual
fair was opened at Montreal, under judicious regulations, and
became the general centre of the trade.
The Count de Galissoniere, a nobleman of great acquirements,
succeeded M. de Beauharnois in 1747. He was superseded by the
Sieur de la Jonquiere in 1749, who was superseded temporarily
by the Baron de Longueuil, until the arrival of the Marquis du
Quesne as Governor-General in 1752.
a canal boat, and at Buffalo he embarked on the steamboat "James
Madison" for Port Huron, which boat was then considered first-class.
Upon his arrival at Port Huron, he found that the Indians were more
numerous than the whites ; and in his younger day he has often seen the
former participating in the "savage war dance" in the center of the
city, where now lie Huron avenue and Military street. He soon formed
an admiration for the beautiful forest scenes surrounding his new home,
and from early boyhood took a great interest in the welfare of his town.
By his rigid honesty, indomitable energy, and rare business qualifications,
he soon rose to the front rank among his townsmen.
Although Mr. Wells has never sought political honors, still his towns
men have see'n fit to acknowledge their appreciation of his abilities by
electing him to a large number of important official positions. In 1855
he was elected to the office of Village Recorder, and again, in 1857, he
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 71
Du Quesne appears, more openly than any other governor, to
have carried on the system of encroaching on the British Colonies.
So far did he proceed that the fort at Pittsburg, bearing his name,
was erected within the confines of Virginia.
The British immediately erected another in the immediate
vicinity, which they quaintly termed Necessity. To this a garrison
was dispatched, from Virginia, under the command of George
Washington, whose name afterward became so illustrious, and
who then held a lieutenant-colonel's commission in the British
army. Washington, on his march to assume the command of
Fort Necessity, was met by a party from Fort Du Quesne, under
M. de Jumonville, who peremptorily forbade the English to pro
ceed further. The mandate was answered by a burst of indigna
tion and a volley of musketry, which killed Jumonville and sev
eral of his men. The French at Fort du Quesne, however,
quickly commenced offensive hostilities, invested Necessity, and
obliged Washington to capitulate.
A great alarm was now spread through the English settlements,
and a plan of common defense was brought forward, in a conven
tion held at Albany in July, 1754. At this meeting Benjamin
Franklin proposed a general union of the colonies, to resist the
French. Though not then acted upon, this document was the
basis of the federal union subsequently formed for the overthrow
of the British dominion in the United States.
was chosen for the same position. In 1859 he was elected City Clerk,
and was reelected to the same office the two following years. He was
Chief Engineer of the Fire Department during the year 1862, and in
1863 was chosen Mayor of the city. He has also held the office of Alder
man for three terms of two years each, which makes him a city officer of
thirteen years' standing. After a spirited contest, in 1870, Mr. Wells
was elected to represent the Second District of St. Clair county in the
State Legislature. He filled this position so well that the people of St.
Clair county elected him to represent them as Senator in the Legislature
of 1872-3. He was a member of the standing committees of the Senate —
lumber interests, asylum for deaf, dumb and blind, and State capitol and
public buildings, being chairman of the first mentioned — where he zeal
ously looked after the interests of the State, performing a large amount
of arduous labor.
72 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
England was at this time preparing for an open war with
France, which the ambition of Frederick of Prussia, and the state
of Europe, soon rendered general. A strong fleet with troops,
was despatched from France to reinforce Quebec ; an English
fleet pursued it, but succeeded in capturing only two frigates, with
the engineers and troops on board, on the banks of Newfound
land.
The Marquis de Quesne having resigned, was succeeded by the
Sieur de Vaudreuil, the last French governor in Canada, in 1755.
This administration was auspiciously opened by the defeat of
the brave but rash General Braddock, in one of the defiles of the
Alleghany Mountains. Braddock, unaccustomed to Indian war
fare, neglected every precaution of scouts and outposts, and
refused to make proper preparations for the meeting of the French
and their Indian allies. When the British entered a gorge where
retreat was impossible, they poured upon them, from their ambus
cades, a deadly fire, under which numbers of the unfortunate sol
diers fell. Braddock himself was killed, and the remainder of
the army was saved only by the intrepidity of Colonel George
Washington, who now, for the first time, distinguished himself,
and won back the laurels he had lost at Fort Necessity.
These troops having afterward joined the provincial force under
Generals Johnson, Lyman and Shirly, repulsed an attack made
by the French under Baron Dieskau. After a battle of four
hours' duration the French retreated to Crown Point, with a loss
Mr. Wells has also taken a great interest in Free Masonry, having
received all the degrees to the " S. P. R. S.," thirty-second degree of the
A. & A. Scottish rite. He has held many important offices in the lodge
of which he is a member. He has been Worshipful Master of the Port
Huron Lodge, No. 58, for five years ; High Priest of Huron Chapter,
Royal Arch Masons, for two years, and has held for the past year, and
still holds, the office of Eminent Commander of the Port Huron Com-
mandery of Knights Templar.
For the past nineteen years, and at present, he is extensively engaged
in the manufacturing of lumber. He is also a partner in the banking
house of John Johnston & Co., Port Huron.
In all the positions Mr. Wells has held he has performed his duties
faithfully, and exhibited a large amount of business tact.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
73
of one ^thousand men and the capture ^of their leader, who was
severely wounded.
This success restored the drooping spirits of the British army,
and these battles helped to train the colonists for those contests
HON. ELIHU L. CLARK.
ELIHU L. CLARK, President of the Lenawee County Savings Bank, was
born in Wayne County, New York, on the 18th of July, 1811. Both of
his grandfathers served in the Revolutionary War, the one on his father's
side being one of Washington's Rangers, and the one on his mother's side
being in active service at the battles of Monmouth, Princeton and a num
ber of others.
Mr. Clark remained on the farm where he was born until he was nine
teen years of age, when he went to the village of Palmyra, in the same
county, and served as clerk in a dry goods store for one year. After-
74 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
which they were to wage with those very men by whose side they
now fought hand to hand against the French. Little did Wash
ington then contemplate the destiny that awaited him.
France, now fully aware of the importance of Canada, sent out
a chosen body of troops, under the command of the gallant and
experienced Marquis de Montcalm. He obtained a series of suc
cesses, terminating by the reduction of the important British forts
at Oswego, and Fort Edward, near Lake George. This victory
was stained by the barbarous murder of near two thousand Eng
lish prisoners, by the Indian allies of the French. This monstrous
deed completely roused the indignation of the English, and led to
those mighty preparations which finally destroyed the power of
France in America.
As some compensation for these losses, the fortified and garri
soned town of Louisburg, in the island of Cape Breton, was taken
in the most gallant manner by the English army under General
Amherst and Brigadier-General Wolfe, the future conqueror of
Canada. In 1758 Fort Frontenac, near Kingston, and Fort Du
Quesne, near the Ohio river, were captured by the colonists.
The campaign of 1759 was opened with a plan of combined
operations by sea and land. Canada was to be invaded at three
different points by Generals of high talent. The commander-in-
chief, General Amherst, undertook the reduction of the forts at
Crown Point and Ticonderoga. He was to cross Lake Champlain,
and, proceeding along the Richelieu, was to reach the St. Law
rence and join the other 'army before Quebec. The force destined
to proceed by sea to Quebec was under the command of the heroic
General Wolfe. General Prideaux, with another army and a
wards he was the owner of a mercantile establishment in the same town
for two years. In September, 1834, he married Miss Isabella T. Bean,
and in June of the following year he emigrated to Michigan, and at once
engaged in the mercantile business, in which he remained until 1848. In
the autumn of that year he was elected a Representative in the Legisla
ture of Michigan from Lenawee County, being the only Whig in the
Legislature from that county of five Representative districts. From
that time until 1870 he has been engaged in a private banking and bro
kerage business, accumulating considerable wealth. In 1870, upon the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 75
large body of friendly Indians, under Sir William Johnson, was
appointed to reduce the fort at Niagara.
Wolfe's army, amounting to about eight thousand men, was
conveyed to the vicinity of Quebec by a fleet of vessels of war and
transports, and landed in two divisions on the island of Orleans,
on the 27th of June. The Marquis de Montcalm made vigorous
preparations for defending Quebec. His armed force consisted of
about thirteen thousand men, of whom six battalions were regulars
and the remainder well disciplined Canadian militia, with some
cavalry and Indians. He ranged these forces from the river St.
Charles to the Falls of Montmorency, with the view of opposing
the landing of the British.
Wolfe first attempted the entrenchment of Montmorency, land
ing his troops under cover of the fire from the ships of war, but
was gallantly repulsed by the French. In consequence of this
repulse he sent dispatches to England, stating that he had doubts
of being able to reduce Quebec during that campaign. His pros
pects, indeed, were not encouraging. The great stronghold kept
up an incessant fire from its almost inaccessible position, bristling
with guns, defended by a superior force, and inhabited by a hostile
population. Above the city steep banks rendered landing almost
impossible ; below the country for eight miles was embarrassed by
two rivers, many redoubts and watchful Indians. A part of the
fleet lay above the town, and the remainder in the north channel,
between the island of Orleans and Montmorency.
Soon after this repulse, however, Wolfe roused his brave and
vigorous spirit, called a council of war, and proposed, it is gener
ally said at the instigation of his second in command, General
organization of the Lenawee County Savings Bank, he was chosen
President of that corporation, which office he still holds, performing the
duties to the entire satisfaction of the stockholders and depositors in the
bank.
During the late civil war, Mr. Clark was an active supporter of the
Union cause, and did much for the Michigan soldiers. One of his sons
sacrificed his life in defense of the nation. Mr. Clark is well known
throughout Lenawee and the adjoining counties, and is held in very high
esteem.
76 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Townsend, to gain the Heights of Abraham behind and above the
city, commanding the weakest part of the fortress. The council
acceded to this daring proposal, and their heroic commander com
menced his preparations, in the meanwhile making such active
demonstrations against Montcalm's position that the French still
believed it to be his main object.
On the llth of September the greater part of the troops landed
and marched up the south shore opposite Quebec, forded the river
Etchemin, and embarked on board the men-of-war and transports
which lay above the town. On the 12th the ships of war sailed
nine miles up the river to Cap Rouge. This feint deceived Mont-
calm, and he detached DeBougainville, who with his army of
reserve proceeded still farther up the river, to prevent the English
from landing. During the night the English troops dropped
silently down the river with the current in boats, and at four
o'clock in the morning began to land.
It is surprising how the troops contrived to laud, as the French
had posted sentries along the shore to challenge boats and give the
alarm. The first boat was questioned, when Captain Donald
McDonald, one of Frazer's Highlanders, who was perfectly well
acquainted with the French language and customs, answered to
" Qui vive?" which is their challenge, the word, "La France."
When the sentinel demanded, " A quel regiment/" the captain
replied, " De la Reine" which he knew by accident to be one of
those commanded by DeBougainville. The soldier took it for
granted that it was an expected convoy, and saying " Passe," the
boats proceeded without further question. One of the sentries,
more wary than the rest, running down to the water's edge, called
out, "Pourquoi, est-ce que vous ne parlez pas plus haut?" to which
the captain answered, in a soft tone of voice, " Tais-toi, nous serons
entendus. Thus cautioned, the sentry retired, and the boats pro
ceeded without further altercation, and landed at the spot now
celebrated as " Wolfe's Cove."
General Wolfe was one of the first on shore, and, on seeing the
difficulty of ascending the precipice, observed familiarly to Captain
McDonald, " I do not believe there is any possibility of getting up,
but you must do your endeavor." Indeed, the precipice here was
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
77
so steep that there seemed no possibility of scaling it, but the
Highlanders, grasping the bushes that grew on its face, ascended
the woody precipice with courage and dexterity. They dislodged
a small body of troops that defended a narrow pathway up the
HENRY FISH.
HENRY FISH, one of the present leading citizens of Port Huron, Michi
gan, was born five miles above Montreal, Canada, in 1824. His parents
were of New England birth, but removed to Canada at an early day. In
the year 1836 the family came to Michigan, and settled in Maconib
county. In the year 1848 Henry Fish moved to Port Huron, and engaged
in merchandising and lumbering. For the past eighteen years he, in
connection with his brother, has been engaged in the lumbering business
exclusively, the firm of A. & H. Fish being favorably and extensively
78 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
bank ; and, a few more mounting, the General drew up the rest in
order as they arrived. With great exertion they reached the sum
mit, and in a short time Wolfe had his whole army drawn up in
regular order on the plains above.
Montcalm, struck with this unexpected movement, concluded
that unless Wolfe could be driven from this position Quebec was
lost. Hoping, probably, that only a detachment had as yet
reached it, he lost his usual prudence and forbearance, and finding
that his opponent had gained so much by hazarding all, he, with
an infatuation for which it is difficult to account, resolved to meet
the British army.
He crossed the St. Charles on the 13th, sallying forth from a
strong fortress without field artillery, without even waiting the
return of Bougainville, who with two thousand men formed a
corps of observation. Before he could concentrate his forces, he
advanced with haste and precipitation, and commenced a most
gallant attack when within about two hundred and fifty yards of
the English line. The English moved forward regularly, firing
steadily until within thirty or forty yards of the French, when
they gave a general volley, which did great execution. The
English had only a light cannon, which the sa'lors had dragged
up the heights with ropes. The sabre, therefore, and the bayonet
decided the day. The agile Scotch Highlanders, with their stout
claymores, served the purpose of cavalry, and the steady fire of
known. Mr. Fish is one of the most active and influential lay members
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Michigan, being elected President
of the State Convention of that church, held at Albion, in 1871. The
Detroit Annual Conference, in company with Mr. John Owen, of Detroit,
elected him as lay delegate to the General Conference of Ma}^ 1872.
He was the candidate of the Prohibition party for Governor of Michi
gan in 1870 and a,gain in 1872. The National Prohibition party, yet in
its infancy, presented its first national ticket to the people in 1872. It
had its inception in a meeting of a few friends of temperance (of whom
Mr. Fish was a leading one), held in Detroit, on the 8th of January, 1867.
This meeting advised the formation of an independent political party,
because, as they stated, legal prohibition of the liquor traffic is such a
radical reform as cannot be accomplished through the agency of a politi
cal party composed of temperance men and the sellers and drinkers of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 79
the English fusileers compensated in some degree for the want of
artillery.
The heroism of Montcalm was as conspicuous as that of his
illustrious opponent ; both headed their men ; both rushed with
eagerness where the battle raged most fiercely. Often by their
personal prowess and example did they change the fortune of the
moment. Both were repeatedly wounded, but still fought on with
enthusiasm. And at last both these gallant commanders fell mor
tally wounded, whilst advancing to the last deadly charge at the
head of their respective columns.
Wolfe was first wounded in the wrist. He immediately wrapped
a handkerchief round his arm, and, putting himself at the head of
his grenadiers, led them on to the charge. He was then struck
with a second ball, but still pressed on, when, just as the enemy
were about to give way, he received a third ball in the breast and
groin, and sank. When they raised him from the ground he tried,
with a faint hand, to clear the death-mist from his eyes. He
could not see how the battle went, and was sinking to the earth,
when the cry, " They run ! they run ! " arrested his fleeting spirit.
"Who run?" asked the dying hero. "The French," replied his
supporter ; " they give way everywhere." " What ! " said he, " do
they run already? Now God be praised — I die happy; " and, so
saying, the youthful victor breathed his last. Such was the death
intoxicating liquors. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are so
composed, and are, therefore, organically disqualified to indorse prohibi
tion as a party measure, and without such indorsement no political party
can be depended upon, when in power, to enact and enforce laws prohib
iting the liquor traffic. Hence, they declared that both reason and expe
rience proved the necessity of independent political action on the part of
the friends of prohibition. As the result of this meeting, a State Conven
tion was held at Jackson, January 27th, 1869, and such a party formed.
The following year they nominated their first State ticket, headed by Mr.
Fish for Governor, and at the election in November he received a vote
exceedingly nattering to himself and his party. In 1872 he was again the
candidate of the same party for the same office, and with similar results.
Mr. Fish is a careful and competent business man, of far more than
average culture, and a very affable and agreeable gentleman.
80 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
of Wolfe at the early age of thirty-five, when but few men begin
even to appear on the theater of great events.
There is a small monument on the place of his death, with the
date and this inscription : " Here Wolfe died victorious." He
was too precious to be left even on the field of his glory ; England,
jealous of his ashes, had them laid with his father's in Greenwich,
the town in which he was born. The news of these events reached
Britain but forty-eight hours later than the first discouraging dis
patch, and spread universal joy for the great victory, and sorrow
for its price. Throughout broad England were illuminations and
songs of triumph ; one country village was, however, silent and
still — there Wolfe's widowed mother mourned her only son.
The chivalrous Montcalm also died nobly. When his wounds
were pronounced mortal, he expressed his thankfulness that he
should die before the surrender of Quebec. On being visited by
the commander of the garrison, M. de Ramzay, and by the com
mandant, De Rousellon, he entreated him to endeavor to secure
the retreat of the army beyond Cap Rouge.
Before he died he paid the victorious army this magnanimous
compliment : " Since it has been my misfortune to be discomfited
and mortally wounded, it is a great satisfaction to me to be van
quished by so brave and generous an enemy." Almost his last act
was to write a letter recommending the French prisoners to the
generosity of their victors. He died at five o'clock on the morn
ing of the 14th of September, and was buried in an excavation
made by the bursting of a shell, near the Ursuline convent.
The battle had scarcely closed before Bougainville appeared in
sight ; but the fate of Canada was decided, the critical moment
was gone. He retired to Pointe aux Trembles en bas, where he
encamped, and thence he retreated to Three Rivers and Montreal.
Had all the French forces been concentrated under Montcalm, it
is doubtful if the heroism of the British troops could have secured
the victory, so great was the valor displayed. On the 17th a flag
of truce came out of the city, and on the 18th a capitulation was
effected on terms honorable to the French, who were not made
prisoners, but conveyed home to their own country. General
Murray then assumed the command.
CHAPTER V.
PROGRESS OP THE FRENCH TOWARD MICHIGAN — THE STRUGGLES AND
ADVENTURES OP THE MISSIONARIES — LIFE AND DEATH OP THE
GREAT AND GOOD MARQUETTE — PIONEER LIFE.
HAVING followed the history of New' France to the end of
the French rule in Canada, we will now return and trace the west
ward movements of civilization to the borders of Michigan.
The French settlers who had established themselves upon the
banks of the St. Lawrence were never wanting in zeal and enter
prise in extending their explorations westward. It was early the
avowed object of the government to carry the cross of the Catho
lic Church to the remotest bounds of the western territory, and
thus to secure the advantages of its great resources. The princi
pal directors of the ecclesiastical establishments that were collected
at Quebec found it their policy to become informed of the con
dition of the domain of the great lakes, and as early as 1634 the
Jesuits Breboeuf and Daniel joined a party of Hurons, who were
returning from that walled city, and, passing through to the
Ottawa River, raised the first hut of the Society of Jesus upon the
shore of Lake Iroquois, a bay of Lake Huron, where they daily
rang a bell to call the savages to prayer, and performed all those
kind offices which wTere calculated to secure the confidence and
affection of the tribes on the lake shore. In order to confirm the
missions a college was founded in Quebec during the following
year, and a hospital was established at the same place for the
unfortunate of every class. A plan for the establishment of mis
sions, not only among the Algonquins of the north, but also south
of Lake Michigan and in Michigan, was formed within six years
after the discovery of Canada.
Carder was the pioneer, but Champlain was the founder of the
French power upon this continent. For twenty years succeeding
6
82 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the commencement of the seventeenth century he was zealously
employed in planting and rearing upon the banks of the St. Law
rence that infant colony which was destined to extend its branches
into Michigan, and finally to contest with its great rival the sover
eignty of North America.
We shall not here attempt to trace the progress of these remote
settlements, nor to mark the alternations of prosperity and adver
sity. They are in this work peculiarly interesting to us only as
they exhibit the gradual and successive steps by which a knowl
edge of the lake country was acquired, and its first settlements
founded. As the tide of French power flows toward Michigan,
we become more anxious to trace its principles and progress, and
to inquire into the motives and means of the hardy adventurers
who were every year ascending still further and further the
boundless waters before them. It was early discovered that a
profitable traffic in furs could be carried on with the Indians, and
the excitement of gain prompted those engaged in it to explore
every avenue by which the camp and hunting grounds of the
Indians could be approached. A better and nobler feeling, too,
brought to this work a body of learned and pious men, who left
behind them their own world, with all its pleasures and attach
ments, and sought in the depths of remote and unknown regions
objects for the exercise of their zeal and piety. The whole history
of human character furnishes no more illustrious examples of self-
devotion than are to be found in the records of the establishments
of the Roman Catholic missionaries, whose faith and fervor ena
bled them to combat the difficulties around them in life, or to
triumph over them in death.
By the operation of these causes a knowledge of the great fea
tures of the continent was gradually acquired, and the circle of
French power and influence enlarged. As early as 1632, seven
years only after the foundations of Quebec were laid, the mission
aries had penetrated to Lake Huron by the route of Grand River,
and Father Sagard has left an interesting narrative of their toils
and sufferings upon its bleak and sterile shores. The Wyandots
had been driven into that region from the banks of the St. Law
rence, by their inveterate enemies, the Iroquois, whose valor,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
83
enterprise and success constitute the romance of Indian history.
The good priests accompanied them in this expatriation, and if
they could not prevent their sufferings, they shared them. No
portion of those wide domains was secure from the conquering
COL. WM. M. FENTON.
WM. M. FENTON, one of the greatest of Michigan men, was born on
the 19th of December, 1808, in Norwich, Chenango county, New York.
Here his father, Hon. Joseph S. Fenton, was one of the first citizens in
wealth and social position, being a prominent banker, and an elder in
the. Presbyterian church, of which he was one of the main pillars of
support. His mother, a member of the same church, was distinguished
for devoted piety and an earnest zeal in every good work.
William was the eldest of nine children, and in early life, while under
the parental roof, was remarkable for his integrity and great love for
knowledge, which made him a most indefatigable student, so that when
84 GENERAL HI8TORY OF THE STATES.
Iroquois, and they pursued their discomfited enemies with relent
less fury. Little would be gained by an attempt to describe the
events of this exterminating warfare. " The details are as afflict
ing," says General Cass, " as any recorded in the long annals of
human vengeance and human sufferings." Villages were sacked;
and by night and by day, in winter and in summer, there was nei
ther rest nor safety for the vanquished. The character of the
missionaries did not exempt them from a full participation in the
misfortunes of their converts, and many of them were murdered
at the foot of the altar, with the crucifix in their hands and the
name of God upon their lips. Some were burned at the stake,
with all those horrible accompaniments of savage ingenuity which
add intensity to the pangs of the victims and duration to their
sufferings. But nothing could shake the fortitude of these apos
tles. They lived the life of saints, and died the death of martyrs.
It is now difficult to conceive what, however, is now well authen
ticated, that two hundred years ago the great central point of
Indian influence and intelligence was upon the southern shore of
but fourteen years of age he passed his examination, and entered Hamil
ton College. From this institution he graduated at the head of his class
in 1827, at the age of eighteen, when the most of students are only pre
pared to enter. From the college halls he went into the banking house
of his father. The confinement consequent upon this business was too
close for his feeble health, and after a service of but a few months, he
entered upon a seafaring life, shipping from Charleston, S. C., as a com
mon sailor. Four years later he left this occupation, having acquired
that physical culture and discipline, and gained that knowledge of
human nature, which proved of great service to him through the remain
der of his life. At the time of quitting his marine life he was mate of a
merchantman, and was offered the captaincy of a similar craft.
In April, 1834, he married a daughter of Judge James Birdsall, of
Norwich, and in July of the same year emigrated to Michigan, at the
age of twenty-six. After residing for two years at Pontiac, being
engaged in mercantile pursuits, he removed to Genesee county, and
purchased the land where the village of Fenton now stands.
In 1839 he commenced the study of law in Fentonville, and in 1841,
with Andrew Parsons, afterwards Governor, was admitted* to the bar.
Soon after he engaged in politics, and his talents as a lawyer, and his
extensive knowledge of men and things, at once made him a leader in
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 85
Lake Superior, and far toward its western extremity. This was
the seat of the Chippewa power, and here was burning the eternal
fire whose extinction foretold, if it did not occasion a national
calamity. " No fact," says General Cass, " is better established in
the whole range of Indian history, than the devotion of some, if
not all the tribes, to this characteristic feature of the ancient
superstition of the Magi. And it proves their separation from the
primitive stock at an early day, when this belief was prevalent
among the eastern nations. All the ceremonies attending the
preservation of this fire yet lived in Indian tradition, and it was
still burning when the French first appeared among them. There
were male and female guardians, to whose care it was committed ;
and when we recollect the solemn, and ritual, and dreadful impre
cations with which the same pledge of Roman safety was guarded
and preserved, it ought not to surprise us that such importance
was attached by the Indians, whose duration was to be coeval with
their national existence. The augury has proved but too true.
The fire is extinct, and the power has departed from them. We
have trampled on the one and overthrown the other."
the Democratic party, of which he was a member. In 1844 he was the
candidate of his party for representative in the State Legislature, but was
defeated. At the next election, however, he was chosen Senator from
the district comprising the counties of Oakland, Macomb, Genesee and
Livingston. He was twice elected Lieutenant-Governor, serving from
1848 to 1852 inclusive, while Governors Ransom and Barry were in office.
He presided with dignity and ability over the Senate, and had the party
to which he belonged continued in power, he would undoubtedly have
been raised to the office of Governor. He was twice nominated for Cir
cuit Judge by his party, and had he been elected he would have secured
the same praise which he so unanimously received while performing
other responsible public duties.
In 1850 Mr. Fenton removed to Flint, where he resided until his death.
He was appointed Register of the Land Office in that city by President
Pierce, in 1852, and held the position until the office was removed to
Saginaw. During the year 1856 he traveled through Europe with his
family, for the purpose of improving his wife's failing health. Return
ing, he was elected Mayor of Flint in 1858.
When the first murmurings of the late civil war were indistinctly
heard throughout our land, the voice of Mr. Fenton was raised far above
86 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
As the course of the French trade first took the route of the
Ottawa River, their establishment upon the upper lakes preceded
their settlements on the Detroit River. Soon after the middle of
the seventeenth century trading posts were established at Michili-
mackinac and the Sault Ste. Marie, at Oreen Bay, at Chicago and
at St. Joseph. It was soon known, from the reports of the
Indians, that a great river flowed through the country beyond the
lakes in a southerly direction.
In August, 1665, Father Claude Allouez founded the first per
manent white settlement on Lake Superior, among the kindly and
hospitable Indians of the northwest. He soon lighted the torch
of Catholicism at the council fires of more than twenty .nations.
He came in peace, the messenger of religion and virtue, and he
found warm friends. The Chippewas gathered round him to
receive instruction ; Pottawatomies, Sacs, Foxes, and even Illinois,
an hospitable race, having no weapon but the bow and arrow,
diminished in numbers by wars with the Sioux and the Iroquois,
came to rehearse their sorrows in the hearing of this devoted mis-
the din of party discord for his country, which he loved so well. He
had been and was a Democrat, but he was more than either Democrat or
Republican — he was a true patriot, and, dropping all considerations of a
party character, he offered his services to his country in a way that at
once attested his devotion to the principles of American union, and
proved how much dearer his country was to him than his life. His
wealth was also freely given to sustain the cause for which he fought,
and, when financial difficulties first faced the government, he telegraphed
to Governor Blair that the sum of $5,000 of his private means was at the
disposal of the State for the equipment of the State troops. Early in the
season of 1861 he was appointed a member of the State Military Board,
and shortly afterward he received the appointment of major of the Seventh
Infantry. On the 7th of August following, being commissioned by Gov
ernor Blair, colonel of the Eighth Infantry, he, with that regiment, started
for the seat of war in Virginia, on the 27th of September, 1861. This regi
ment he was mainly instrumental in recruiting, and he seemed to diffuse
his own courage through the entire command. No regiment has a better
record, and, while health permitted, his record and that of the Eighth
are identical. The rapidity and number of its marches were such as to
give it the name of the " wandering regiment." From the time that it
started for the seat of war until November 1st, 1861, a little more than
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 87
sionary. His curiosity was roused by their account of the noble
river on which they dwelt, and which flowed toward the south.
" They had no forests, but instead of them vast prairies, where
herds of deer, and buffalo, and other animals, grazed on the tall
grasses." They explained, also, the wonders of their peace pipe,
and declared it to be their custom to welcome the friendly stranger
with shouts of joy. " Their country," said Allouez, " is the best
field for the gospel ; had I leisure I would have gone to their
dwellings, to see with my own eyes all the good that was told me
of them."
In 1668 additional missionaries arrived from France, who, fol
lowing in the footsteps of those already mentioned, Dablon and
Marquette, founded the mission at St. Mary's Falls, on the shores
of Lake Superior. While residing at St. Mary's, Father Mar
quette resolved to explore the Mississippi, of whose magnificence
he had heard so much. Some Pottawatomie Indians, having
heard him express this resolution, attempted to turn him from his
purpose. " Those distant nations," said they, " never spare the
thirty clays, it had been engaged in nine battles, occurring in four differ
ent States, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland. From this
time until April 16th, 1862, it was engaged most creditably in several
battles, and afterwards became specially noted in the spirited engagement
at the reconnoissance made on board the steamer " Honduras," by Colonel
Fenton, at Wilmington Island, Ga., where, after landing from the boat,
it encountered the Thirteenth Georgia, about eight hundred strong, and
drove them from the field in confusion. On the 16th of June following
an assault was made on the enemy's works at Secessionville, on James's
Island, S. C. The direct attack was made by Colonel Fenton, under
General Stevens. Colonel Fenton led the brigade, while his own gallant
regiment was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Graves. This was one
of the most dashing assaults of the war, but made at a distressing sacri
fice of life.
Colonel Fenton's health failing, he was compelled to tender his resig
nation, which was accepted in March, 1863, after having clone his country
incalculable service. His name has passed into the history of his coun
try, and his gallantry and patriotism have become a part of the record of
which his State may well feel proud. When he could no longer serve in
the army, his whole energies and wide influence were given to aid the
government in its mighty struggle to remain intact.
88 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
stranger; the great river abounds with monsters which devour
both men and canoes."
" I shall gladly," replied Marquette, " lay down my life for the
salvation of souls." Such was the noble spirit of this brave and
worthy missionary, such his entire devotedness to the sacred prin
ciples of that religion of which he was the humble expounder.
Continued and peaceful commerce with the French having con
firmed the attachment of the Indian tribes of Canada and the
Northwest, a friendly alliance was . now sought with them which
was well calculated to extend the power of France on the conti
nent. In May, 1671, a grand Indian council was hold at the Falls
of St. Mary's. At this council, convoked by the agents of the
French government, it was announced to the tribes assembled
from the banks of the Mississippi, the head springs of the St.
Lawrence and the Red River, that they were placed under the
protection of the French king, formal possession being taken of
Canada and the Northwest by officers acting under his authority.
The Jesuit missionaries were present to consecrate the imposing
In 1864 lie was the Democratic candidate for governor of the State, in
opposition to Governor Crapo.
Upon his return from the seat of war, he gave his attention to the prac
tice of his profession, in which he ranked very high, and to the details of
his personal business, which was quite large. He built the magnificent
block in Flint which bears his name, was the founder of the Citizens'
National Bank in that city, and the president of it at the time of his
death. He was also chief engineer of the Fire Department of that city,
and, while in the performance of the arduous duties of that office, he met
with the accident which caused his death.
On the evening of May llth, 1871, hearing an alarm of fire, he ran
rapidly to the rescue, striking himself against a hitching post with great
violence, from which he received the injuries which resulted in his death
at eleven o'clock the following evening.
The death of Colonel Fenton was a blow felt throughout the State, but
more especially in his own city, where he occupied a position which but
few men can ever attain. On the day of his funeral, all places of business
in Flint were closed, and his remains were followed to their last resting
place by a funeral cortege which constituted the most striking and bril
liant spectacle ever witnessed in that city, being conducted under the
imposing ceremonies of the Knights Templar.
90 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ceremonial. A cross of cedar was erected, and by its side rose a
column of similar wood, on which was engraved the lilies of the
Bourbons. The authority and faith of France being thus pro
claimed, " the whole company, bowing before the image of man's
redemption, chanted to its glory a hymn of the seventh century."
On the 10th of June, 1673, Father Marquette, who had long
entertained the idea of exploring the Mississippi, the great river
of the West, accompanied by Joliet, five Frenchmen, and two
Algonquin guides, ascended to the head of the Fox River, and,
carrying their two bark canoes across the narrow portage which
divides the Fox River from the Wisconsin, launched them upon
the waters of the latter. The guides now left them, and for seven
days they floated down the stream, between alternate prairies and
hill sides, beholding neither man nor beast — through the solitudes
of a ^Iderness, the stillness of which overawed their spirits. At
length, to their inexpressible joy, their frail canoes struck the
mighty waters of the Mississippi, rolling through verdant prairies
dotted with herds of buffalo, and its banks overhung with primi
tive forests.
Having sailed down this noble stream for about sixty leagues,
they discovered, toward the close of June, an Indian trail on its
western bank. It was like the human footsteps which Robinson
Crusoe saw in the sand, and which had not been effaced by the
rising of the tides or the rolling of the waters. A little footpath
was soon found, and, leaving their companions in the canoes, Mar
quette and Joliet determined to brave alone a meeting with the
savages. After following the little path for about six miles, they
discovered an Indian village. First imploring the protection of
Divine Providence, they made known their presence to the Indi
ans by uttering a loud cry. " At this cry," says Marquette, " the
Indians rushed out of their cabins, and, having probably recog
nized us as French, especially seeing a ' black gown,' or at least
having no reason to distrust us, seeing we were but two, and had
made known our coming, they deputed four old men to come and
speak with us. Two carried tobacco pipes, well adorned and
trimmed with many kinds of feathers. They marched slowly,
lifting their pipes toward the sun, as if offering them to him to
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
91
smoke, but yet without uttering a single word. They were a long
time coming the little way from the village to us. Having
reached us at last, they stopped to consider us attentively. I now
took courage, seeing these ceremonies, which are used by them
HON. MARTIN S. BRACKETT.
MARTIN S. BRACKETT, one of the leading men of the Peninsular Rail
way of this State, was born at Elbridge, Onondaga County, New York,
December 19th, 1810. He is the youngest son of Captain Ezra Brackett,
who was one of the first settlers of Elbridge. Mr. Brackett's boyhood
days were passed with his father, on whose farm and in whose brickyard
he worked during the summers, and attended school during the winters.
At the age of fifteen he commenced his studies in the academy at Onon
daga Hollow, where he remained three terms. At the expiration of the
third term, he returned to his native town, and continued his studies
02 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
only with friends ; I therefore spoke to them first, and asked them
who they were. ' We are,' said they, ' Illinois,'- and, in token of
peace, they presented us their pipes to smoke. They then invited
us to their village, where all the tribe awaited us with impatience.
These pipes are called in the country calumets."
Our travelers having arrived at the village, an aged chief bid
them welcome to his cabin with uplifted hands, their usual method
of receiving strangers. " How beautiful," said the chief, " is the
sun, Frenchman, when tliou comest to visit us! Our whole vil
lage awaits thee ; thou shalt enter in peace into all our dwellings."
A grand council of the whole tribe was held, which Marquette
addressed on the subject of the Christian religion, informing them
at the same time that the French king had subjugated their ene
mies, the Iroquois, and questioning them respecting the Mississippi
and the tribes which inhabited its banks. The missionary having
finished, the sachem of the Illinois arose, and spoke thus : " I
thank thee, black gown, and thee, Frenchman," addressing M.
Joliet, " for taking so much pains to come and visit us. Never
has the earth been so beautiful, nor the sun so bright as to-day ;
never has our river been so calm, nor so free from rocks, which
your canoes have removed as they passed ; never has our tobacco
under the instructions of the Rev. Timothy Stowe, pastor of the Presby
terian church of that village, until the latter part of the summer of 1828.
At this time Mr. Bracket!, for his brother, took charge of a large number
of men and teams going overland to Washington, D. C., and assisted in
the construction of nine miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, in
which there were nine locks. This work occupied some two years, at
the end of which he again returned to Elbridge, and resumed his studies
with the reverend gentleman heretofore mentioned.
In the spring of 1881 he commenced civil engineering, under the super
vision of Judge Wright, in the State of New Jersey, and assisted in the
construction of the canal built through New Jersey at that time, and also
the partial excavation of the canal for the water works at Trenton. The
Trenton Company being enjoined from further proceedings, Mr. Brack -
ett went to Philadelphia, and took a contract on the Philadelphia, Ger-
mantown and Morristown Railroad. After finishing his contract on
this road, he went to New York City and contracted with Robert L.
Stevens, Esq. , to furnish the stone blocks for the Camden and Amboy
Railroad. Completing this contract, he returned to Onondaga and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 93
had so fine a flavor, nor our corn appeared so beautiful as we
behold it to-day. Here is my son that I give thee, that thou
raayest know my heart. I pray thee to take pity on me and all
my nation. Thou knowest the Great Spirit who has made us all,
thou speakest to him and hearest his word ; ask him to give me
life and health, and come and dwell with us that we may know
him."
" Saying this," says Marquette, " he placed the little slave near
us, and made us a second present, an all-mysterious calumet,
which they value more than a slave. By this present he showed
us his esteem for our governor, after the account we had given of
him. By the third he begged us, in behalf of the whole nation,
not to proceed further, on account of the great dangers to which
we exposed ourselves. I replied that I did not fear death, and
that I esteemed no happiness greater than that of losing my life
for the glory of Him who made all."
This council was followed by a festival of Indian meal, fish,
and the choicest products of the prairies. The town, consisting of
about three hundred cabins, was then visited. Its inhabitants,
who had never before seen a Frenchman, gazed at them with
astonishment, and made them presents. " While we marched
entered the law office of the Hon. James R. Lawrence, where he studied
the legal profession for over two years.
In 1836 the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad was commenced, and Mr.
Brackett contracted for and completed the heaviest work on the line. It
was also under his supervision that the Erie (.anal was enlarged from
Syracuse to Geddes.
In the spring of 1838 Mr. Brackett removed to Michigan, settling in the
village of Bellevue, where he still resides. He officiated as Deputy
County Clerk at the first term of the Circuit Court held in his county, in
in the autumn of 1838, the Hon. Judge Ransom presiding. The same
fall he entered the firm of Gibbs & Bradley, attorneys, in Marshall, and,
in the following year, was admitted to the practice of his profession in
all the courts of the State. During the autumn of this year he was
elected to the office of County Clerk, which position he held for three
successive terms, performing the duties of the office in a creditable and
highly satisfactory manner. Immediately upon the expiration of his
third term as County Clerk, the citizens of his county chose him as their
Prosecuting Attorney, in which official position he remained three years,
94 GENERAL flISTORY OE THE STATES
through the streets," says Marquette, " an orator was constantly
haranguing, to oblige all to see us without being troublesome.
We were everywhere presented with belts, garters, and other
articles, made of the hair of the bear and wild cattle, dyed red,
yellow and gray. These are their rarities, but, not being of con
sequence, we did not burden ourselves with them. We slept in
the sachem's cabin, and the next day took leave of him, promising
to pass back through his town in four moons. He escorted us to
our canoes with nearly six hundred persons, who saw us embark,
evincing in every possible way the pleasure our visit had given
them."
The following is a brief abstract from the account given by
Father Marquette of the manners and customs of the Illinois
Indians at the period of his visit. Happily, the Jesuits were
men of learning and observation, who felt the importance of their
position, so that while faithfully discharging the duties of their
religious profession, they carefully recorded the progress of events
around them :
" To say ' Illinois ' is, in their language, to say ' the men,' as if
other Indians compared to them were beasts. They are divided
into several villages, some of which are quite distant from each
holding it one year by appointment. In 1842 he received the nomination
of the Whig party for State Senator, but, with his party, was defeated at
the election. In 1848, finding himself differing* in many essential points
from the Whigs, he left that party and joined his fortunes with the Demo
crats, from whom he received the nomination for State Senator in 1856,
and for Lieutenant-Governor in 1864.
On the 7th of September, 1865, the Peninsular Railway Company was
organized in Mr. Brackett's office, in Bellevue, at which time he was
elected a director, and secretary and attorney of the company. He has
held these offices ever since, with the exception of the office of secretary,
which was held by the Hon. Charles W. Clisbie from February, 1868,
until March, 1869.
Mr. Brackett also held the office of Grand Worthy Chief of the Inde
pendent Order of Good Templars of the State, for three years.
As a man he has at all times contributed much towards the reformation
of the evils by which his fellow man was surrounded, and has ever
worked for the good of his town and State.
HIStO&Y OF MICHIGAN.
95
other, and which produces a diversity in their language, which in
general has a great affinity for the Algonquin. They are mild
and tractable in disposition, have many wives, of whom they are
extremely jealous ; they watch them carefully, and cut off their
HON. TIMOTHY JEROME.
TIMOTHY JEROME, of Saginaw City, was born in the vicinity of Tru-
mansburg, N. Y., in 1820. His parents settled in Detroit in 1828, and,
except from 1831 to 1834, he has resided in the Territory and State of
Michigan ever since — in St. Clair county until 1852, and from that time in
Saginaw county. During the whole period of his residence in the latter
county he has lived in the city of Saginaw, and there he has fixed his
permanent abode. During his boyhood the opportunities for education
in Michigan were limited, but he made the most of them. Though his
attainments as a scholar were not such as to give any particular direction
§6 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
noses and ears when they do not behave well ; I saw several who
bore the marks of their infidelity. They are well formed, nimble
and very adroit in using the bow and arrow. They use guns,
also, which they buy of our Indian allies, who trade with the
French ; they use them especially to terrify the nations against
whom they go to war. These nations have no knowledge of Euro
peans, are unacquainted with the use of either iron or copper, and
have nothing but stone knives." When the Illinois go to war, a
loud cry is made at the door of each hut in the village, the
morning and evening before the warriors set out. " The chiefs
are distinguished from the soldiers by a scarf, ingeniously made
of the hair of bears and wild oxen. The face is painted with red
lead, or ochre, which is found in great quantities a few days'
journey from the village. They live by game, which is abundant
in this country, and on Indian corn. They also sow beans and
melons. Their squashes they dry in the sun, to eat in the winter
and spring. Their cabins are very large, and lined and floored
with rush mats. They make all their dishes of wood, and their
spoons of the bones of the buffalo. Their only clothes are skins ;
their women are always dressed very modestly and decently,
while the men do not take any pains to cover themselves.
"It now only remains for me to speak of the calumet, than
which there is nothing among them more mysterious or more
esteemed. Men do not pay to the crowns and sceptres of kings
to his labors in later life, they were sufficient, with the practical training
of experience in his early manhood, to discipline his mind and develop
his versatile talent.
In business he has displayed a resolute courage and great fertility of
mental resource. He has succeeded as a lumberman, in steamboating,
and in important and delicate negotiations. As the fruit of his varied
operations, he has acquired a goodly property, and is recognized as one
of the solid men of the Saginaw Valley.
He served one term in the Michigan Legislature, as member of the
House for Saginaw county, in 1857-8. With that exception, and though
occasionally a zealous politician, he has not held nor sought office.
Socially he is genial, attractive in manner and conversation, surrounded
with hosts of friends and admirers. He is warm in his friendships, and
possesses an unusually long and grateful memory of little kindnesses.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 97
the honor they pay to it. It seems to be the god of peace and
war, the arbiter of life and death. Carry it about you and show
it, and you can march fearlessly amid enemies, who, even in the
heat of battle, lay down their arms when it is shown. Hence the
Illinois gave me one, to serve as a safeguard amid all the Indian
nations that I had to pass on my voyage."
Such is the account left by Marquette of the condition of .the
Illinois Indians, at the time of his visit, in 1673. Taking leave
of these hospitable savages, our adventurous travelers once more
launched forth on the broad waters of the Mississippi. As they
floated down this noble river day after day, they gradually entered
on the richer scenery of a southern climate. The sombre pines
of the woods of Canada, the forests of oak and maple, were, by
degrees, exchanged for the lofty cottonwood, the fan-like palmetto,
and the noble arborescent ferns of the tropics. They began to
suffer from the increasing heat, and from legions of mosquitos,
which haunt the swampy margin of the stream. At length they
arrived at that part of the stream which, upwards of a century
before, had been discovered by De Soto and his ill-fated compan
ions, in the country of the war-like Chickasaws. Here they were
attacked by a fleet of canoes filled with Indians, armed with bows
and arrows, clubs, and axes ; but when the old men got a fair
view of the calumet, or peace-pipe, which Marquette continually
held up to view, their hearts were touched, and they restrained the
In the ordinary routine and exigencies of business, he is prompt, diligent,
and quietly executive — he works out his plans without display. He has
ever been punctilious in the performance of his undertakings, and so
moderate and just in his dealings, that he has seldom, if ever, been a
party to any litigation.
It is apparent, from many interesting episodes in his life, that he sel
dom puts forth more than a minimum of his strength. When occasions
arise of such interest or importance as to thoroughly arouse him, he dis
plays powers of argument, ridicule and irony, amounting to genius.
None of these outbursts are the result of preparation ; they come from a
sudden impulse, like an inspiration ; they are eloquence in words and
action — quick, apropos and decisive. His antagonist is first astonished,
then confounded, then overwhelmed ; without the opportunity or power
of resistance, he is seized and subdued, as by a coup de main.
1
98 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
impetuosity of their young warriors by throwing their bows and
arrows into the two canoes, as a token of peace and welcome.
Having been hospitably entertained by these Indians, they were
escorted the following day by a deputation in a canoe, which pre
ceded them as far as the village of Akamsea (Arkansas). Here
they were received most kindly ; the natives continually bringing
wooden dishes of sagamity — Indian corn — or pieces of dog flesh,
which were, of course, respectfully declined. These Indians
cooked in earthen pots, and served their food on earthenware
dishes ; were very amiable and unceremonious, each man helping
himself from the dish, and passing it on to his neighbor.
It was here that the travelers wisely terminated their explora
tions. "M. Joliet and I," says Marquette, "held a council to
deliberate on what we should do — whether we should push on, or
rest satisfied with the discoveries we had made. After having
attentively considered that we were not far from the Gulf of
Mexico, the basin of which is 31° 40' north, and we at 33° 40',
so that we could not be more than two or three days' journey off;
that the Mississippi undoubtedly had its mouth in Florida, or the
Gulf of Mexico, and not on the east, in Virginia, whose seacoast
is 34° north. Moreover, we considered that we risked losing the
fruit of our voyage if we fell into the hands of the Spaniards,
who would undoubtedly make us prisoners ; and that we were not
in condition to resist the Indians who infested the lower parts of
the river. All these considerations induced us to return. This
we announced to the Indians, and, after a day's rest, prepared for
it."
On their return, they left the Mississippi at the thirty-eighth
degree of latitude, and entered the Illinois River, which greatly
shortened their voyage. The country through which this river
flows was found to be full of fertile and beautiful prairies, abound
ing in wild ducks, swans, parrots, and turkeys. The tribe of
Illinois living on its banks entreated Marquette and his compan
ions to come and live with them ; but as Marquette intimated his
anxiety to continue his voyage, a chosen party conducted him by
way of Chicago to Lake Michigan ; and before the end of Sep
tember all were once more safely landed at Green Bay. Joliet
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
99
returned to Quebec to announce the discoveries they had made,
whilst Marquette remained to preach the gospel to the Miamis, near
Chicago.
Father James Marquette having promised the Illinois Indians
THOMAS P. SHELDON,
THOMAS P. SHELDON, a leading banker of East Saginaw, Michigan,
was born in White Pigeon, St. Joseph county, Michigan, in 1832. His
parents removed to Detroit when he was but a child, where he remained
until the spring of 1862, when he permanently located in East Saginaw,
taking charge of the Saginaw Valley Bank. In 1867 he severed his con
nection with that institution, and organized a Savings Bank in, that city,
which he is still conducting with marked ability.
Mr. Sheldon is an energetic business man, well qualified to manage the
100 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
to return among them to teach them the gospel, had great diffi
culty in keeping his word. The hardships of his first voyage had
brought on a disease which deterred him from undertaking a
second. His malady, however, abating, and having obtained the
permission of his superiors, he set out for this purpose in the month
of November, 1674, with two men, one of whom had already
made his first voyage with him. During a month's navigation on
the Illinois Lake — Lake Michigan — his health became partially
restored ; but when winter set in, his old malady returned with
increased violence, and he was forced to stop in the river which
leads to the Illinois. Here he spent the winter in such want of
every comfort, that his illness constantly increased. The ice
breaking up on the approach of spring, and feeling somewhat bet
ter, he continued his voyage, and at length was enabled to fulfill
his promise to the Illinois, arriving at their town on the 8th of
April, where he was enthusiastically received. Being compelled
to leave them by the return of his malady, he resumed his voyage,
and soon after reached the Illinois Lake. His strength gradually
failed as he sailed along the shores of the lake, and his men
despaired of being able to carry him alive to the end of his jour
ney. Perceiving a little river, with an eminence on the bank not
far from its mouth, at his request his companions sailed into it,
and carried him ashore. Here they constructed a " wretched bark
cabin, where they laid him as little uncomfortably as they could ;
but they were so overcome by sadness that, as they afterward said,
they did not know what they were doing." Perceiving his end
approaching, he called his companions and embraced them for the
last time, they melting in tears at his feet. He then directed that
his crucifix, which he wore constantly around his neck, should be
held before his eyes ; and after repeating the profession of his
faith, he devoutly thanked God for his gracious kindness in allow
ing him to die as a humble missionary of Jesus Christ, and above
all to die as he had always prayed that he might die — in a rude
affairs of, a banking institution, and the material success which he has
fairly earned is alike beneficial to himself and to the place in which he
has labored.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 101
cabin in the forests, destitute of all human aid. He afterwards
became silent, his whole appearance denoting that he was con
versing inwardly with God. His countenance then suddenly
brightened with a smile, and he expired without a struggle.
His two poor broken-hearted companions, after shedding many
tears over his inanimate body, carried it devoutly to the grave,
and raised a large cross near it, to serve as a mark to passers by.
Did the savages respect that cross ? They did. We can pro
nounce no higher enlogium on Father James Marquette, than the
fact that the Kiskakon Indians, to whom he had preached the
gospel, returning from hunting on the banks of Lake Illinois,
repaired to the missionary's grave, and, after mature deliberation,
resolved to act with their father as they usually did with the best
beloved of their own tribe. They reverently disinterred the
remains, and putting them into a neatly constructed box of birch
bark, removed them from the wilderness to the nearest Catholic
church, where they were solemnly buried with appropriate cere
monies.
CHAPTER VI.
ROBERT DE LA SALLE — FIRST VESSEL ON LAKE ERIE — Loss OF THE
GRIFFIN — UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF THE MISSIS
SIPPI — MUTINOUS CONDUCT OF LA SALLE'S MEN — DEATH OF LA
SALLE — His CHARACTER — FATE OF His COMPANIONS.
ABOUT the time of the death of Father Marquette there dwelt,
at the outlet of Lake Ontario, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, an
adventurer of good family, who was educated by the Jesuits.
He was engaged in the fur trade with the Indians, in the prosecu
tion of which he had explored Lakes Ontario and Erie. His
energy and ability having attracted the attention of Frontenac,
the French Governor, he repaired to France, and, aided by Fron
tenac, obtained a patent of nobility, a monopoly of the trade with
the Iroquois, and an extensive tract of country in the neighbor
hood of Fort Frontenac, on the condition of his keeping the fort
in an effective state. Around this stronghold soon clustered the
huts of Indians and the dwellings of French traders. Their
flocks and herds increased, pasture-land and corn-covered clear
ings opened up the forest; groups of Iroquois built their cabins
in the environs ; the missionaries commenced their labors ; canoes
multiplied upon the borders of the lake; and La Salle, but yes
terday a poor adventurer, suddenly found himself invested with
all the power and opulence belonging to a feudal sovereign in the
wilderness.
But his ambitious spirit would not let him rest contented with
what he had acquired. Having heard of the mighty river of the
far West, and the discoveries of Marquette, his imagination
became inflamed, and he was induced to undertake schemes of
colonization and aggrandizement, which ended in disaster and
death.
In 1677 La Salle sailed to France and sought an interview with
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
103
Colbert, then prime minister. To him he proposed the union of
New France with the valley of the Mississippi, and suggested
their close connection by a line of military posts. He proposed
also to open the commerce of Europe to them both. Colbert lis-
HON. JONATHAN B. TUTTLE.
JONATHAN BROWNE TUTTLE, the subject of this sketch, was born at
Lodi, Medina County, Ohio, on the loth day of August, 1841. His par
ents were New England people, who emigrated to Ohio at an early day.
Mr. Tuttle's early life was spent in his native village, and his education
obtained in the local schools and at Oberlin College. At the age of sev
enteen Mr. Tuttle began the study of law in the office of Wm. F. Moore,
and afterwards pursued a regular course of study at the Ohio State and
Union Law College, at Cleveland, Ohio, where he graduated in the early
104 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
tened with delight to the gigantic schemes of the young enthusiast,
and a royal commission was soon procured, empowering him to
explore the valley of the Mississippi, and giving him an exclusive
monopoly in the trade of buffalo skins.
On the 14th of July, 1678, La Salle sailed from France with
all needful supplies for the voyage, and merchandise for the Indian
trade, and in the month of September arrived again at Fort
Frontenac. Having built " a wooden canoe " of ten tons burden,
— the first that ever sailed on the Niagara River — he ascended
that river to 'the vicinity, of the great falls, and, above them, com
menced building a ship of 60 tons burden, which, in the summer
of 1679, was launched on the waters of Lake Erie, amid a salvo
from his artillery, and the chanting of the Te Deum. In this
vessel, which was called the Griffin, La Salle sailed across Lake
Erie, and up the Detroit, or strait which separates it from that
limpid sheet of water, to which he gave the appropriate name of
Lake St. Clair ; and having escaped from storms on Lake Huron,
and constructed a trading-house at Mackinaw, on Lake Michigan,
he cast anchor in Green Bay.
In Green Bay La Salle bartered his goods with the natives for
a rich cargo of furs, with which the Griffin was loaded and sent
back to Niagara, that the peltry might be sold and a remittance
made to his creditors. In the meantime La Salle and his com
panions, pending the return of the Griffiu with supplies, ascended
Lake Michigan to the mouth of the St. Joseph, where the mission
ary Allouez had established a station, and to which he now added
a fort, known as the Fort of the Miamis. His whole fortune
depended on the return of the Griffin, and of her no tidings were .
part of the year 1862, being the youngest of a graduating class of forty-
five. He began his practice the same year at Cleveland, in the office of
General John Crowell.
In the summer of the same year Mr. Tuttle entered the Union ariny as
a private soldier, and, after passing through various grades of promotion
to that of captain of infantry, was honorably discharged, by reason of
physical disability, in the summer of 1864. Soon after leaving the army,
Mr. Tuttle located at the city of Alpena, which then was a small hamlet,
and entered upon the practice of law.
OP MICHIGAN. 105
heard. Wearied with delay, he resolved to explore the Illinois
territory ; and leaving ten men to guard his little fort, La Salle,
with a chosen body of thirty followers, ascended the St. Joseph's
River, and transporting his bark canoes across a short portage,
entered the Kankakee, a branch of the Illinois River. Descend
ing its narrow stream, the travelers reached, by the end of Decem
ber, an Indian village on the Illinois, the natives of which were
absent on a hunting expedition. Being in great want of provi
sions, La Salle took advantage of their absence to help himself to
a sufficiency of maize, of which his followers found large quanti
ties hidden in holes under their wigwams. The corn having been
shipped they again set sail, and on the 4th of January, 1680,
entered Lake Peoria. The Illinois Indians on the banks of this
lake were friendly, and here La Salle erected another fort. As no
tidings had been received of his missing vessel, to proceed farther
without supplies was impossible ; his followers became discouraged,
and in great despondency he named his new fort " Creveco3ur " —
broken-hearted — in memory of his trials and misfortunes.
La Salle now perceived that he must go back himself to Fron-
tenac for supplies ; and to prevent the entire stagnation of dis
covery during his absence, he requested the Jesuit missionary,
Father Hennepin, who accompanied the expedition, to go to the
Mississippi, and explore that stream to its source, whilst Tbnti, a
veteran Italian, was chosen to command in his absence, with
instructions to endeavor to strengthen and extend his relations
among the Indians. He then, in the month of March, 1680, with
only three companions, set off on foot to travel a distance of at
least 1,200 miles, through marshes and melting snows, through
thickets and forests, with no supplies but what the gun afforded, a
In 1865 he was married to Miss Ross, a Canadian lady, by whom he
has one child — a daughter.
He has since held the offices of judge of probate, circuit court commis
sioner, prosecuting attorney, city attorney, and various other's, and con
tinues to practice his profession at Alpena, where he still resides, having
been identified with the growth and development of that active and
nourishing city. Mr. Tuttle is one of the leading lawyers in the northern
part of the State.
106 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
blanket and a few skins, with which to make moccasins, or Indian
shoes. No record exists of what befell him on that long journey,
which he, however, finally accomplished.
La Salle found, as he fully expected, that the Griffin had been
wrecked ; that his agents had cheated him ; and that his creditors
had seized his goods. His courage overcame every difficulty ; and
by midsummer, in 1680, he returned once more to his little garri
son in Illinois, with a body of new adventurers, large supplies of
merchandise, and storas for rigging a brigantine. But disasters had
befallen his agents during his absence, and the post in Illinois
was deserted. Having succeeded in finding Tonti, and collecting
his scattered followers, he constructed a capacious barge, and in
the early part of January, 1682, La Salle and his company
descended the Mississippi to the sea.
They landed on the bank of the most western channel, about
three leagues from its mouth. On the 7th, La Salle went to recon
noitre the shores of the neighboring sea, while Tonti examined
the great middle channel. They found there two outlets, beauti
ful, large and deep. On the 8th they reascended the river a little
above its confluence with the sea, to find a dry place beyond the
reach of inundations. Here they prepared a column and a cross,
and to the said column they affixed the arms of France, with this
inscription :
"Louis LE GRAND, Roi DE FRANCE ET DE NAVARRE, REGNE
NEUVIEME AVRIL, 1682."
The Te Deum was then sung, and after a salute of fire-arms, the
column was erected by La Salle, who laid claim to the whole of
the Mississippi valley for the French king, with the usual formali
ties. After erecting another fort, called St. Louis, and giving the
title of Louisiana to the newly discovered territory, La Salle, in
the autumn of 1683, returned in triumph to France.
The account given by him of the extraordinary beauty of the
Mississippi valley created the utmost enthusiasm among the
French people. Preparations were immediately commenced by
the agents of the king, to provide an extensive outfit, and on the
24th of July, 1684, four vessels, having on board two hundred
108 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
and eighty persons, ecclesiastics, soldiers, mechanics and emigrants,
left Kochelle full of ardor and expectation, for the far-famed
country of Louisiana. The soldiers had for their commander,
Joutel, a man of courage and truth, who afterwards became the
historian of this disastrous expedition.
Misfortunes overtook them from the very commencement of
their voyage. Difficulties arose between La Salle and the naval
commander, which impeded the voyage ; and on the 10th of Jan
uary, 1685, they unfortunately passed the mouth of the Missis
sippi. La Salle soon perceived their error,, and wished to return ;
but this the commander of the fleet refused to do, and they con
tinued their course until they arrived at the Bay of Matagorda,
in Texas. Completely tired of disputes with Beaujeau, the naval
commander, and conjecturing that the numerous streams which
had their outlet in the bay, might be branches of the Mississippi,
or might lead to its discovery, La Salle resolved to disembark.
As the vessels entered the harbor, the store-ship, on which the
infant colony mainly depended, was completely wrecked by the
carelessness of the pilot. Calming the terrible energy of his
grief, La Salle, by the aid of boats from the other vessels, suc
ceeded in recovering a part of the cargo, but night coming on,
and with it a gale of wind, the store-ship was utterly dashed to
pieces. To add to their distress, a party of Indians came down to
the shore to plunder the wreck, and murdered two of the volun
teers.
Several of the men who had now landed became discouraged,
and returned to the fleet, which immediately set sail, leaving La
Salle with a desponding company of two hundred and thirty souls,
huddled together in a miserable fort, built with fragments of the
wreck. Stimulated to extraordinary efforts by the energy and
example of La Salle, a beautiful spot was selected, and a more
substantial and comfortable fort constructed. La Salle was the
architect, and marked the beams, mortises and tenons himself.
This was the first settlement made in Texas. Desperate and des
titute as was the situation of the settlers, they still exceeded in
numbers those who landed in Virginia, or those who embarked on
board the Mayflower, and possessed "from the bounty of Louis
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 109
XIV, more than was contributed by all the English monarchs
together, for the twelve united colonies on the Atlantic."
The summer of 1685 was spent in the construction of this
second fort, which was named Fort St. Louis, and La Salle, having
finished its erection, set out with a selected party in canoes, in
search of the Mississippi. After an absence of about four months,
he returned in rags, having lost twelve or thirteen of his men, and
completely failed in his object. His presence, however, as usual,
inspired hope ; and in April, 1686, another expedition was
attempted, which was lured into the interior by brilliant fictions
of exhaustless mines on the borders of Mexico. This expedition
returned without effecting any other discovery than that of the
great exuberance and fertility of the soil in the immediate neigh
borhood of the fort. La Salle had succeeded in obtaining a sup
ply of maize and beans, and five horses from the Indians, but had
suffered greatly ; and of the twenty men he had taken with him
only eight returned, the remainder having either fallen sick, died,
or deserted. Affairs had been equally unprosperous at Fort St.
Louis, during his absence. The only remaining ship was a wreck,
and the colony had been rapidly thinned by privation, misery and
exposure, until there remained nothing but a mere handful of
desperate, disappointed men.
Amid the ruin of all his prospects, once so proud and flourish
ing, La Salle alone remained undaunted ; and, as a last resource,
determined to visit the French settlements in Illinois, or, if neces
sary, his feudal domain in Frontenac, in order to bring aid to
his perishing colony. On the 12th of January, 1687, La Salle
set out on his last expedition, accompanied by Joutel, across the
prairies and forests of Louisiana. In his company were two men,
Duhaut and L'Archeveque, who had both embarked capital in
this enterprise. Each regarded the other for immediate purposes
as his friend ; and both were actuated by a spirit of bitterness and
animosity against La Salle, whom they regarded as the author of
all the calamities that had befallen them. Moranget, a nephew
of La Salle, was also one of the party following the tracks of
buffaloes, who chose by instinct the best routes. La Salle marched
through groves and plains of astonishing fertility and beauty;
110 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
now fording the rapid torrents, and now building a bridge by
throwing some monarch of the forest across the stream, until he
had passed the Colorado, and came to a branch of the Trinity
River.
On the 17th of March, 1687, the whole party engaged in a buf
falo hunt. Duhaut and L'Archeveque, having been successful,
sent their commander word, who immediately despatched his
nephew Moranget to the camp. When Moranget came to the
spot where Duhaut and the rest were stopping, he found they had
reserved for themselves the very best parts of the buffaloes ; and
hasty and passionate, not considering where he was, nor with whom
he was dealing, he " took from them their choice pieces, threatened
them, and spoke harsh words." This enraged the mutinous spirits
of Duhaut and his companions, who secretly took counsel together
how to effect the destruction of Moranget and his associates.
Night came on apace, and Moranget and his party having supped,
wearied with their day's travel, laid themselves down to sleep on
the prairie. Liotot, the surgeon, now took an axe, and with a few
strokes killed Moranget and his comrades. Having good reason
to fear the resentment of La Salle, the murderers next resolved
to kill him also. Surprised at his nephew's delay, La Salle went
forth on the 20th to seek him. Perceiving at a distance birds of
prey, hovering as if over carrion, and suspecting himself to be in
the immediate neighborhood of his men, La Salle fired a gun,
which was heard by the conspirators, who were thus made aware
of his approach. Duhaut and his associate hastened secretly to
meet their victim — the former skulking in the grass, the latter
showing himself. " Where," said La Salle to L'Archeveque, " is
my nephew." Before an answer could be returned, Duhaut fired
and La Salle fell dead on the prairie. The murderers then
approached, and, with cruel taunts, stripped the corpse, leaving it
naked and unburied, to be devoured by the wild beasts of the
wilderness.
Thus perished La Salle, and with him that colonial settlement
which he had attempted to form. His fortitude and bravery must
ever command admiration, while his cruel and undeserved death
awakens feelings of pity and indignation. Although he was not
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. Ill
the discoverer, yet he was certainly the first settler of the Mississippi
valley, and the father of colonization in the "far West." As such
his memory is imperishable, and will ever be honored. The Illinois
settlements of Peoria, Kaskaskias, and Cahokia, are the fruit of
La Salle's labors. It is true he did not found these places, yet he
gave them their inhabitants, for it was by those whom he led
into the West that they were peopled. Perseverance and courage,
combined with a noble ambition to promote the interests of his
country, led him into a gallant but unsuccessful career of enter
prise. He did what he could to benefit his country ; and if he
had lived he might have achieved much more splendid results.
CHAPTER VII.
THE SAULT STE. MARIE — FORT ST. JOSEPH — DETROIT FOUNDED — ITS
EARLY CONDITION — ATTACKED BY THE OTTAWAS — BY THE FOXES-
EARLY FRENCH TRAVELERS THROUGH THE LAKE REGION.
No SETTLEMENT had at this time been made at Detroit, because
the traders and Jesuit missionaries had a more direct and safer
route to the upper lakes, from Montreal to Michilimackinac, by
the way of the Ottawa River. But this point had long been
regarded an eligible position for a settlement, as it commanded a
broad tract of country, and stood, as it were, at the gate of the
upper lakes, in a direct route from these lakes to the English col
onies of New York, by the way of Lake Erie.
The French and English both desired to obtain possession of
this post. But while the English were looking to its acquisition,
they were anticipated by their rivals. Taking counsel from the
movements of their opponents, the French called a grand meeting
of the Iroquois, or Five Nations, at Montreal. The chiefs of the
different tribes from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, attended
this meeting ; also the principal men and the Governor-General of
Canada. Here the establishment of a post at that place was dis
cussed, and the grounds on which the two nations based their
claims to it weighed. The Iroquois, however, said that, under
standing the French were about to make a settlement at that
point, they were opposed to the measure, as they had already pro
hibited the English from doing the same. The Governor-General
of Canada replied that the land belonged neither to the Iroquois
nor to to the English, but to the King of France, and that there
was already an expedition on the march for the purpose of erect
ing a colonial establishment at that place. In accordance with
this plan, Antoiue de la Motte Cadillac, lord of Bouaget, Mont
Desert, having been granted a tract of fifteen acres square, by
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
113
Louis XIV, left Montreal, accompanied by a Jesuit missionary
and one hundred men, and arrived at the point of the wilderness
which is now the site of Detroit, in the month of July, 1701, where
they commenced the foundation of the first permanent settlement
GEN. JOSEPH O. HUDNUT.
JOSEPH OPDYKE HUDNUT, son of Edward and Susan (Opdyke) Hudnut,
was born at West Sparta, Livingston county, New York, June 80, 1824.
He prepared for college at Genesee Academy, New York, under Prof.
Robinson, author of Robinson's series of mathematics. Since gradua
tion he has been engaged mostly in civil engineering, with the exception
of two years and a half in the army during the war of secession. In the
fall of 1849 he entered on his engineering profession, being engaged on
the State canals of New York. He remained on the canals during 1849,
8
114 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
in Michigan. Before, it had only been known by the French
missionaries as a trading post, and in 1620 it was occupied by an
Indian village, which was called Teuchsa Grondie. The TSault
Ste. Marie, as we have seen, had at that time been founded, and a
rude post was also erected at Fort Gratiot, which was a resting-
point for the fur trade.
This chain of fortifications was all the defense which was con
structed upon the lake shores for nearly a century and a half, and
it comprised a part of that line of forts that was projected by La
Salle, extending from the St. Lawrence down the Mississippi to
New Orleans. Their object was to furnish outposts by which the
territory of Canada on the borders of the lakes could be held, the
English settlements hemmed in, the Jesuit missionaries and set
tlers protected against the numerous and capricious tribes of sav
ages in this quarter, and by which the fur trade might circulate,
with full success, along the lakes and streams of the Northwest.
The forts of Detroit, Michilimackinac, St. Joseph and Green Bay,
were of rude construction, and the chapels erected by their sides
were used for the religious assemblies of the French settlers, who
were from thai time collected around the posts, and also for the
Indians who were under the special guardianship of the Jesuit
missionaries. These structures, minute points on the borders of
the forest, were either roofed with bark or thatched with straw,
and on their top was generally erected the cross. Tribes of
friendly Indians that could be induced to settle near them, had
1850 and 1851. In the spring of 1852 he went to Memphis, Tenn., and
run the first survey of the railroad from Memphis to Clarksville, Tenn.
In 1853, 1854 and 1855, he was on the Louisville & Nashville and Louis
ville & Covington Railroads, in Kentucky. In 1855 he removed to
Waverly, Iowa, and in that year and in 1856 he was on the Iowa Central
R. R. In 1858 he taught mathematics in the Genesee Academy, and in
1859 he taught in the Chicago High School. In the spring of 1860 he
returned to Iowa, and was engaged as civil engineer on the Hannibal &
St. Joseph R. -R. In the winter of 1861-2 he was a member of the Iowa
Legislature, and in May, 1862, he entered the army as Major of the 38th
Regiment of Iowa Volunteers. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel,
Colonel and Brigadier-General. While in the army he was much on
detached service as military engineer, most of the time on the fortifica-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 115
their villages or wigwams around these posts, and also their plant
ing grounds, in which they cultivated Indian corn, not only for
the French settlers, but also for the persons connected with the fur
trade. They derive their principal importance from the fact that
they were the only outposts of the French government in this
country before the English conquest, and, consequently, the thea
tres of the most interesting frontier operations.
About three years after Detroit was founded, the Ottawa Indians
in that vicinity were invited to Albany, in New York, upon what
was supposed to be a friendly visit. As St. Joseph was surrounded
by villages of the Hurons, Pottawatomies, and Miamis, so also
was Detroit, at that time, guarded by parts of the friendly tribes
of the Hurons and Pottawatomies near the settlements, and an
Ottawa village had been erected on the opposite bank of the river.
It would appear that while the Ottawas were in Albany, they had
been persuaded by the English, who even then wished to obtain
possession of the post of their rivals, that it was the design of the
French to wrest the dominion of the country from their hands ;
and they accordingly set fire to the town, but without success, as
the fire was' soon extinguished. At this time, also, groups of sav
ages of the same tribe, having made a successful expedition against
their enemies the Iroquois, and warm with victory, were seen
parading in hostile array in front of the fort ; but M. Tonti, who
was the commandant of the post, despatching the Sieur de Vin-
tions at Vicksburg, Miss., and afterwards in building a military railroad
fronr Brazos Harbor to Brownsville, Texas, with a shell bridge across the
Boca Chica. At the close of the war he was elected Professor of Civil
Engineering in the University of Chicago, which position he still retains,
with occasional leave of absence for engineering purposes. In 1860 he
made a survey and the estimates for a ship canal from Lake Michigan to
the Mississippi river. In 1867 he was on the location of the Chicago,
Rock Island & Pacific R. R., and the location of the bridge at Omaha,
Nebraska. In February, 1868, he went on the Union Pacific R. R,,
and located nearly all that part of it from the North Platte river to the
Humboldt Wells, and in the winter and spring of 1868 and 1869 he ran
the preliminary surveys for a railroad from the north end of Salt Lake,
through Idaho and Oregon, to Portland, Oregon, and Puget Sound.
Afterwards he was engaged as civil engineer on the St. Paul & Chicago
116 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
cennes against them, he dispersed their bands, and rescued the
Iroquois prisoners whom they left behind them in their flight.
The progress of operation on the lake shores was not at this
period marked with any very great interest, as the settlements
were few ; but they reflect, nevertheless, the spirit which prevailed
in France during their continuance. The lands lay sleeping in
their original silence and solitude, undisturbed by the plow.
Occasionally the settlers may have been surprised by their ancient
enemies the Iroquois, but the appearance of parts of these nations
excited only a surprise which soon settled down into peace. But
in 1712, the Ottagamies or Foxes, who had been before but little
known, but who were probably in secret alliance with the Iroquois,
projected a plan for the 'destruction of Detroit. They made their
arrangements in secret, and sent their bands to collect around the
new French settlement, which was then garrisoned by a force of
twenty soldiers, of whom M. Du Buisson was the commandant.
The occupants of the three French villages of Indians, the Otta-
was, Pottawatomies, and Hurons, were then absent on a hunting
excursion. A converted Indian, however, under the influence of
a Jesuit missionary, disclosed their plot before it was ripe for exe
cution, and Du Buisson immediately sent dispatches through the
forest to call in the aid of the friendly Indians, and prepare for an
effective defense.
On the 13th of May of that year, the Foxes made their onset
upon Detroit with fiendish yells. No sooner, however, was the
R. R, with headquarters at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Later he was Chief
Engineer of the Grand Rapids & Indiana R. R. , in the employ of the
Continental Improvement Company. In 1871 he went to the South in
the employ of a company of which Gen. George W. Cass was president,
and has been engaged in various railroad projects in that section ever
since. His present headquarters are at Greenville, S. C., but his perma
nent residence is at Big Rapids, Michigan.
Gen. Hudnut is a very eminent locating engineer, having within the
last twenty years located thousands of miles of railroad most skillfully.
He married Miss Marcia Webster, at Lima, N. Y., October 23, 1851.
He has had two children, viz: Edward Webster Hudnut, born December
15, 1852, and Byron Murray Hudnut, born March 21, 1858 ; died June
21, 1860.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
117
attack commenced, than portions of the friendly Indians were seen
through the wilderness, painted for battle as is their custom, and
the gates of the fort were opened to receive them. A consultation
was now held at the council house, and they renewed their league
HON. J. W. BEGOLE.
JOSIAH W. BEGOLE, the present Representative in Congress from the
Sixth District of Michigan, was born in the town of Groveland, Livings
ton county, New York, on the 20th of January, 1815. His younger days
were spent on a farm, where he received that physical training and cul
ture which contributed largely to his health and prosperity in after years.
Mr. Begole received a common school and academic education in his
native State, and emigrated to Michigan in 1836, settling in the then town
of Flint, where he still resides.
118 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
with Du Buisson, and expressed their determination, if necessary,
to die in the defense of the post. On the arrival of the friendly
Indians, the Foxes retreated to the forest which now adjoins the
eastern boundary of Detroit, and intrenched themselves in their
camp.
The French then sallied out from the fort, and, backed by their
savage allies, erected a block-house in front of their camp, in
order to force the enemy from their position. Here the latter
were closely besieged; being cut off from their supply of water,
and driven to desperation by thirst and famine, they in turn
rushed out from their strongholds upon the French and the
friendly Indians, and succeeded in getting possession of a house
near the village. This house they fortified, but they were here
attacked by the French cannon, and driven back to their former
intrenchment.
Finding that their attack was likely to prove unsuccessful, the
Foxes now sent despatches to the French commandant asking for
peace, which was denied them. Upon this they considered them
selves insulted, and, burning with revenge, they discharged showers
of blazing arrows upon the fort. The lighted matches they had
affixed to their arrows coming in contact with the dry roof's of the
houses, kindled them into flame, when the precaution was taken
to cover the rest with wet skins, and by this means they were pre
served. The desperation of the Foxes almost discouraged the
French commandant, and he had nearly determined to evacuate
Mr. Begole's first official position was that of school inspector for the
township of Genesee, which office he held from 1842 to 1844 inclusive.
He was promoted to the office of township clerk in 1845. From 1840 to
1853 he was an active justice of the peace, doing most of the business for
his own and three or four adjoining towns, never trying a case where he
could prevail upon the parties to settle it. In 1854 and 1855 he held the
office of supervisor in the same town. Performing the duties of these
minor offices in a thorough and systematic manner, his townsmen saw
fit to reward his services, in 1856, by electing him county treasurer of
Genesee county, to which position he was reflected three times, holding
the office eight consecutive years.
He, although constantly engaged in other business, has ever been a
practical and successful farmer, devoting considerable time to bringing
* HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 119
Detroit, and to retire to Michilimackinac, when his Indian allies
promised to redouble their efforts for his defense ; and the war-
songs and dances of their bands, heard through the solitude of the
forest, assured him that a more desperate effort was about to be
made in his behalf. The preparations having been finished, the
French and Indians advanced upon the Foxes with more deter
mined courage, and, pouring upon their intrenchments a deadly
fire, they were soon filled with the dying and the dead. Once
more the Foxes demanded peace. Before any capitulation, how
ever, was completed, the enemy retreated towards Lake St. Clair,
during a storm at midnight, on the nineteenth day of the siege.
The French and their Indian allies, as soon as they discovered
their flight, prepared for a pursuit, and soon came upon their
camps. An action began, which at the outset was in favor of the
Foxes, the French and Indians being repulsed. But a different
plan of operation was soon after adopted, and with better success.
At the end of three days a field battery was completed, and the
intrenchment of the Foxes fell before the French cannon.
The Foxes may be considered the Ishmaelites of the wilderness,
for they were at enmity with all the tribes on the lakes. They
collected their forces on the Fox River of Green Bay, where they
commanded the territory between the lakes and the Mississippi, so
that it was dangerous for travelers to pass through that region
except in large bodies, and armed, while their warriors were sent
out to seek objects of plunder and devastation. So great was the
that great branch of our industry as near perfection as possible. In 1865
he commenced his career as a lumberman in the vast pine forests of our
State, and has ever met an enviable success in this occupation, in which
he is still heavily engaged.
In 1869 he was again called upon to fill an important political position,
being elected State Senator from his Senatorial District, the duties of
which office he performed much to the satisfaction of his constituents.
He was chosen a delegate to the National Republican Convention, which
met in Philadelphia during the summer of 1872, and nominated General
Grant for President the second time. In the fall of the same year he was
nominated by his party for Representative in Congress from the Sixth
District of this State, to which position he was elected by a large
majority.
120 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
danger apprehended by the missionaries and traders in passing
through that territory, as well as by the French settlers, and so
great the injury already done by those tribes, that an expedition
was fitted out against them by the French, backed by their Indian
allies, who were rankling under a sense of repeated wrongs. This
warlike nation had stationed itself on the banks of the Fox River,
at a place then and now called by the French Butte des Morts, or
the Hill of the Dead, defending their position by a ditch and three
courses of palisades. Here they collected their women and chil
dren, and prepared for a desperate resistance. M. de Louvigny,
the commandant of the expedition, perceiving the strength of
their works, determined not to expose his men by a direct attack,
but entered upon a regular siege, and was preparing for the final
crisis when the Foxes proposed a capitulation. This was accepted ;
and the pride of the Foxes being thus humbled, they sank into
obscurity during the remainder of the French war.
Thus it is seen that, although the few French forts upon the
lakes were rudely constructed, and but poorly adapted to make a
serious and effective defense, they were nevertheless competent,
with their small garrisons, to protect the emigrants against the
disaffected tribes which were from time to time arrayed against
them. The pickets which surrounded them, composed of upright
stakes, furnished a line of concealment rather than strong bul
warks, and, together with the light cannon with which they were
mounted, enabled the French to suppress the disturbances that
occasionally sprang up around their posts.
The early missionaries and French travelers who journeyed
through the region of the lakes exhibit a peculiar form of char
acter. Tinctured with the spirit which prevailed in France at the
period of their immigration, the novel scenes around them
impressed them with those sentiments of romance so peculiar to
the French. They show the spirit under which the missionaries
and soldiers traveled, and the eloquence with which the scenes
around them tended to inspire their minds.
The forests amid which their lot was cast were calculated to fill
them with wonder and admiration. A vast chain of inland seas,
which appeared to them like oceans, stretched a watery horizon
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 121
along the borders of the wilderness. Flocks of water fowl of
varied plumage streamed along the shores of the lakes, and the
waters swarmed with fish. The face of nature, fresh in the luxu
riance of a virgin soil, was everywhere clothed with magnificent
vegetation. Did they travel through the Indian trails or bridle
paths which wound through the forest, extensive tracts of oak-
lands, that seemed like cultivated parks, met their eye, studded
with little crystal lakes and streams, and covered with flowers.
Herds of buffaloes wandered over the prairies, trampling down
the flowers which blushed in their track as they rushed on in
clumsy motion. Great numbers of moose and elk, which in the
size of their horns almost rivaled the branches of the trees,
bounded through the thickets. Deer were here and there seen
feeding upon the margin of the water courses. Flocks of wild
turkeys and other game filled the woods ; the prairies were alive
with grouse, and pigeons swept along like clouds above the forests,
in numbers which sometimes almost obscured the sky.
Beyond this, they beheld in the luxuriance of the soil the source
of inexhaustible wealth. Rich clusters of grapes hung from the
trees, which reminded them of the, champagne districts of France,
from which they had emigrated, and apples and plums abounded
in thrifty groves.
CHAPTER VIII.
COLONIAL EMIGH AN TS — MERCHANTS — THE PEASANTRY — FRENCH SOL
DIERS — LEGAL ADMINISTRATION — POLICY OF THE FRENCH GOVERN
MENT — MODE OF LAND DISTRIBUTION.
OWING to the frequent changes in the government of the west
ern outposts of Canada, as well as to the fact that, at various
periods in its early history, it was entirely withdrawn, consequent
either upon some freak of colonial policy in France, or resulting
from difficulties with the savages, it is quite as impracticable to
attempt a connected history of these settlements as it is impossible
to detail all the trials and hardships endured or overcome by the
colonists. The history of the French settlements in Michigan,
during that period in which France held possession of the terri
tory, is a record of constant changes, authenticated only by the
" Jesuit relations," and this being rather a diary of church mat
ters than a journal of political events, throws but a faint light
upon those greater circumstances which the modern world calls
history. Yet, after all, we are not left without a general history
of the first settlements of Michigan.
The posts were inhabited by a hardy race of people, who had
emigrated principally from Brittany and Normandy, provinces of
France. They were mostly working men, drawn from the more
dense settlements round Montreal and Quebec, and were sent out
by the government for the purpose of building up the posts, and
of protecting the fur trade carried v on through the chain of the
great lakes. The population of the posts consisted of the military
by which they were garrisoned, Jesuits, priests, merchants, traders
and peasants. These, however, were moved from place to place,
as the interests of the government seemed to require.
The French commandants were the most prominent individuals
of the posts, and, with their garrisons, constituted a little mon-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
123
archy. Their power was arbitrary, extending to the right of doing
whatever they might deem expedient for the welfare of the settle
ment, whether in making laws or punishing crime. The oldest
merchants were reverenced as the head men of their colony.
HON. JAMES WATSON.
JAMES WATSON, of Bay City, was born in Detroit, September 2, 1814.
He removed to his present place of residence, then called Lower Saginaw,
in 1850. He carried on a mercantile business successfully for several
years; then he turned his attention, with even greater profit, to lumber
ing, and continued in that business until 1870. He has been, and now
is, one of the solid men of Bay City. He has contributed largely to its
rapid growth by investing liberally in local improvements. He erected
and now owns a model brick block, known as the "Watson Block,"
124 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
They were careful and frugal in their habits, and exercised an
influence among the settlers calculated to secure a willing obedience.
Mr. Lanman, in his history of Michigan, states that the early
French settlers were wanting in virtue, and " often fostered a large
number of half-breed children around their posts, who were the
offspring of their licentiousness." To a careful reader of our early
history this statement, or charge, seems to be entirely unsupported
by truth. It would have appeared more reasonable, and less at
variance with the facts, had Mr. Lanman attributed the existence
of this race of half-breeds to the want of rigid virtue among the
soldiers and the rangers of the woods.
This peculiar class, no doubt engendered by the manner in
which the fur trade was conducted, were properly called bush
rangers, or coureurs des bois, half-civilized vagrants, whose chief
vocation was conducting the canoe of the traders along the lakes
and rivers of the interior. Many of them, however, shaking
loose every tie of blood and kindred, identified themselves with
the Indians, and sank into utter barbarism. " In many a squalid
camp," says Parkman, " among the plains and forests of the
West, the traveler would have encountered men owning the blood
and speaking the language of France, yet, in their swarthy vis
ages and barbarous costume, seeming more akin to those with
whom they had cast their lot. The renegade of civilization
caught the habits and imbibed the prejudices of his chosen asso
ciates. He loved to decorate his long hair with eagle feathers, to
make his face hideous with vermilion, ochre and soot, and to adorn
his greasy hunting frock with horse-hair fringe."
His dwelling, if he had one, was a wigwam. He lounged on a
bear skin while his squaw boiled his venison and lighted his pipe.
In hunting, in dancing, in singing, in taking a scalp, he rivaled
the genuine Indian. His mind was tinctured with the supersti
tions of the forest. He had faith in the magic drum of the con-
which is an ornament to the city. He has reared a large family, and is a
gentleman of fine presence, kind and affable, and wields a large influence
socially and politically. He has been twice elected county treasurer,
twice mayor of Bay City, has held the office of president of the Board of
Education, and served as president of the Bay City Temperance Society.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 125
juror. He was not sure that a thunder cloud could not be
frightened away by whistling at it through the wing-bone of an
eagle ; he carried the tail of a rattlesnake in his bullet-pouch, by
way of amulet, and he placed implicit trust in his dreams.
HON. PETER DESNOYERS.
PETER DESNOYERS, one of the most prominent men of Michigan during
its early history, was born in Detroit, Michigan, April 21st, 1800. His
father, Peter J. Dcsnoyers, was born in the city of Paris, France, in 1772,
came to America in 1790, and married Miss Marie Gobiel, of Detroit,
Mich. He lived in Galliopolis a number of years, and afterwards in Pitts-
burg, from which place he removed to Detroit with the army of "Mad
Anthony" Wayne, in August, 1796, where he resided until his death,
which occurred in 1846. He was one of the leading merchants and citi-
126 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The peasants, or that class of lake settlers who subsisted by
agricultural pursuits, within the narrow circle of their picket
fences, were not numerous. Their dress was peculiar, and even
wild. They wore surtouts of coarse blue cloth, fastened at the
middle with a red sash, a scarlet woolen cap, containing a scalping
knife, and moccasins made of deer-skin. Civilization was here
strangely mingled. Groups of Indians from the remotest shores
of the lakes, wild in their garb, would occasionally make their
appearance at the settlements with numerous canoes laden with
beaver skins, which they had brought down to these places of
deposit. Among them were intermixed the French soldiers of the
garrison, with their blue coats turned up with white facings, and
the Jesuits, with their long gowns and black bands, from which
were suspended by silver chains the rosary and crucifix, who,
" with the priests, had their stations round the forts and ministered
in the chapels."
Agriculture was not extensively encouraged by the policy of the
fur trade or the character of the population. It was confined to
a few patches of Indian corn and wheat, which they rudely culti
vated. They ground their grain in wind-mills, which were scat
tered along the banks of the Detroit river and the St. Clair lake.
The recreations of the French colonists consisted in attending the
religious services held in the rude chapels on the borders of the
zens of Detroit during his day, and his death was mourned by a large
circle of friends and acquaintances.
Mr. Desnoyers, the subject of this sketch, was in Detroit attending
school when the great fire of 1805 broke out, which entirely destroyed
the town, leaving the inhabitants houseless, and in a very destitute con
dition. He commenced business as a merchant in 1821, having just
attained his majority, and was eminently successful in this occupation.
He was the first county treasurer of Wayne county elected by the
popular vote, which occurred in 1826. At the next election he was
reelected to the same office. In 1827 he was chosen one of the aldermen
of the city of Detroit, and he also served some time in this position after
the division of the city into wards, representing the fourth ward in the
council.
In 1831 Mr. Desnoyers was appointed United States Marshal by Presi
dent Jackson, which position he held until the organization of the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 127
wilderness, in adorning their altars with wild flowers, in dancing
to the sound of the violin at each other's houses, in hunting the
deer, and in paddling their light canoes across the clear and silent
streams. The women employed themselves in making coarse cot
ton and woollen cloths for the Indian trade. In their cottages
were hung rude pictures of saints, the Madonna and child, and
the leaden crucifix supplied the place of one of silver. Abundance
of game roamed in the woods, and the waters were alive with fish.
The Jesuits, who were the most active agents of the government
in the exploration of these regions, were, as a class, men of high
intelligence. The narratives of their wanderings through the
wilderness throw a coloring of romance around the prairies, and
forests and lakes, which amounts almost to a classic spirit. Yet
they have left upon the lake shores but few monuments either of
their enterprise or Christian zeal. Their success in Christianizing
the Indians was limited when compared with the extent of their
labors. By the savages these Catholic missionaries were regarded
as medicine men and jugglers, on whom the destiny of life and
death depended; and although they were greatly feared, they
succeeded in making but few converts to their religious faith,
excepting young children, or Indians just about to die.
The administration of the law in the western outposts was
founded, as far as possible, on the contume de Paris, which was
Territory into a State in 1837. He was appointed city treasurer of
Detroit in 1838, and promoted to State treasurer in 1839 by Governor
Stevens T. Mason. He served in the latter position until the commence
ment of Governor Woodbridge's term, bringing great credit to himself
as a shrewd financier, and guarding the State moneys in an honorable
and trustworthy manner. In 1843 he was again elected county treasurer
of Wayne county, and again in 1851.
Mr. Desnoyers removed from Detroit to Hamtramck in 1849, and still
resides in the latter place.
In 1850 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention,
which met in Lansing during that year and framed our present State
Constitution. He was also a member of the State Constitutional Con
vention of 1867, which closed his public career. At present he is living
at Hamtramck in a very retired and quiet manner, enjoying the comforts
of an active and prosperous life.
128 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the law of all Canada. This code, although received and prac
ticed upon in the older and more populous settlements of the
lower province, was not adopted with any degree of uniformity
among these distant colonists. The commandants or governors of
the posts had the principal cognizance of the population around
them, and exercised their authority in an arbitrary manner.
There was at this time no system of education like that which
prevailed in New England, and all the knowledge acquired by
the children of the colonists was obtained from the priests.
The plan of distributing the land was calculated to prevent the
settlement of the country. A law was passed requiring the houses
of the inhabitants to be placed upon ground with a front of only
one acre and a half, and running forty acres back. This kept the
settlements in a close line along the banks of the streams. A
feudal and aristocratic spirit also controlled the grants of land.
The commandants of the forts had the power to convey lands,
with the permission of the Governor-General of Canada, subject
to the confirmation of the King of France, special rights being
reserved to the grantor.
As early as 1749, the post of Detroit and the others upon the
northwestern lakes, Michilimackiuac, Ste. Marie, and St. Joseph,
received an accession of immigrants. The last two were called
after the saints of those names in the Catholic calendar. Michili-
mackinac derives its name from the Indian words Michi-mackinac,
meaning a great turtle, from its supposed resemblance to that
animal, or from the Chippewa words Michine-maukinonk, signify
ing the place of giant fairies, who were supposed by Indian
superstition to hover over the waters around that beautiful island.
The origin of the word Detroit is the French word Detroit, signify
ing a strait, because the post was situated on the strait connecting
Lake Erie with Lake St. Clair.
During the whole period of the French domination, extending
from the first settlement of the country down to the year 1760,
the traffic of Michigan was confined principally to the trade in
furs. This interesting traffic upon the great lakes was carried on
by the French under peculiar circumstances. As the forests of
the lake region abounded with furs which were of great value in
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
129
the mother country, it became an important object with the Cana
dian government to prosecute that trade with all the energy in its
power. The rich furs of the beaver and otter were particularly
valuable, from the [great demand for them in Europe. Large
CAPT. JOHN CLARKE.
JOHN CLARKE, of St. Glair, one of the pioneers of Michigan, was born
at Bath, Maine, July 29, 1797. In 1812 he went to Augusta, Maine, and
accepted a situation in the mercantile establishment of T. Sargent, Esq.,
,but he, through ill health, was soon compelled to give up this position
and return to his home. Peace being declared between Great Britain
and the United States, his physicians advised him to make a trip to
Europe, and in April, 1815, he sailed for Bremen. After traveling
through Germany, England and Scotland, and witnessing the great
9
130 GENERAL HISTOKY OF THE STATES.
canoes made of bark, and strongly constructed, were despatched
annually to the lakes laden with packs of European merchandise,
consisting of blankets, printed calicoes, ribbons, cutlery, and
trinkets of various kinds, which the Indians used ; and Detroit,
Michilimackiuac and Ste. Marie, were their principal places of
deposit.
To secure the interests of the large companies, licenses for this
trade were granted by the Governor-General of Canada to the mer
chants, who sometimes sold them to the coureurs des bois. The
possessor of one of these licenses was entitled to load two large
canoes, each of which was manned by six men. The cargo of
one of these canoes was valued at about a thousand crowns. This
merchandise was sold to the traders on credit, and at about fifteen
per cent advance on the price it would command in ready money.
But the voyages were very profitable, and there was generally a
gain of about one hundred per cent on the sum invested in the
rejoicings in those countries over the defeat and capture of Napoleon
Bonaparte at Waterloo, he embarked from Liverpool with his uncle, Capt.
F. Clarke, in the ship Ellington, for Boston. When about in mid-ocean,
and during a severe gale, the vessel foundered, and the passengers and
crew were obliged to take to the small boats. After remaining in these
for three days, they were picked up by a dismasted brig from Scotland.
At4he expiration of three more days, the "James Madison," from Phila
delphia, came to their relief, and putting them on a short allowance of
food, in order to make it last, brought them in safety to Philadelphia,
after a lapse of thirty -two days. Upon arriving in the latter city, Mr.
Clarke was unable to find his uncle (who, to gain time, had taken a
steamer as soon as they entered the river), and having no money, wan
dered around for three days without food. His condition becoming
known, he was assisted by the kind hearted citizens, and his uncle, who
had preceded him by steamer, finding him, gave him money with which
to reach his home.
Arriving there, he received a clerkship in a store, and after serving in
this position for a short time, he accepted of a similar one in the whole
sale house of Page & Gitchell, in Hallowell, in 1817, receiving the
highest salary paid for similar labors, which was only seventy-five dollars
per year.
Mr. Clarke here united with the Baptfst Church, of which he is still a
member, and at once took a deep interest in Sabbath schools. He still
HISTORY OF MICHIGA'N. 131
enterprise. The traders endured most of the fatigue, and the mer
chants received most of the profit. On the return of one of these
expeditions, six hundred crowns were taken by the merchant for
his license, and as he had sold the thousand crowds' worth of
goods at their prime cost, from this sum he also deducted forty
per cent for bottomry; the remainder was then divided among
the six coureurs des bois, who were thus left with but a small
compensation for all their perils and hardships.
The coureurs des bois were the native agents of the fur trade.
Thoroughly acquainted with the navigation of the lakes, they
fearlessly swept along the waters of these inland seas, encamping
at night upon their shores. Of mixed white and Indian, blood, they
formed the connecting link between civilization and barbarism.
Their dress was also demi-savage. Lively and sanguine, they
were at all times ready to join the Indians in the dance, or pay
respect to their ceremonies. Their French fathers had familiarly
retains his activity in this class of labors, although he has reached the
advanced age of seventy-six years.
In 1818 he removed to Belfast, and engaged in the mercantile business,
with more than average prosperity. He married Miss Mary Sherbun, of
Hallowell, in December, 1819.
Upon attaining his majority he espoused the principles of the Jefferson
republican party, and gave his support to the administrations of Madison
and Monroe, and worked faithfully for the election of General Jackson
during the following presidential campaign, which resulted in the elec
tion of John Quincy Adams by the House of Representatives. Although
he resolutely refused to accept any political position, he undertook many
difficult tasks for his party, and performed his work in a manner to elicit
the highest praise from the then Governor of Maine, and other prominent
officials.
His health again failing him, he closed his business in Belfast, with the
intention of coming to Michigan, but his friends prevailed upon him to
return to Hallowell, where he took an active part in all political issues.
In 1829 Mr. Clarke was called to Washington on business, and while
there was received by President Jackson in the kindest manner, and an
intimate friendship soon sprung up between them.
He came to Michigan in 1830, arriving at Detroit in October of that
year, and in the following December opened a mercantile establishment
on Woodward avenue, two doors from Jefferson avenue, in a building
132 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
associated with the native tribes, and their mothers and wives
were the inmates of Indian camps. In many respects their char
acter resembled that of mariners upon the ocean, for the same
general cause might be said to operate upon both. Instead of
navigating the high seas in ships tossed by storms, and ploughing
the waves from port to port, it was their lot to propel their light
canoes over the fresh water seas of the forest, where, hurried from
one Indian village to another, like the mariner on the ocean, they
acquired all those habits which belong to an unsettled and wan
dering life.
Advancing to the remote shores of Lake Superior or Lake
Michigan, and following the courses of the rivers which flow into
them, as soon as they reached the points where the Indians were
in the habit of resorting, they at once encamped. Here they
opened their packages of goods, exhibited them to their savage
customers and exchanged them for furs ; and having disposed of
owned by Robert Smart, Esq. In the fall of 1832 lie purchased a large
tract of land on the St. Clair river, where he now resides, and in the fol
lowing spring removed to where the city of Port Huron now stands, and
at which place there were then only three frame buildings. He took
charge of the steamer Gen. Gratiot about this time, and sailed her on the
route from Port Huron to Toledo. In 1835 he removed to his present
residence, in the town of China, a few miles below the city of St. Clair,
on the river of that name.
He was one of the delegates chosen from St. Clair county to the State
convention for the framing of a State Constitution, which met in Detroit
on the llth of May, 1835. As a member of this important body he per
formed much good work, and his actions won him many influential
friends.
Pending the admission of Michigan into the Union, at the request of a
number of the influential men of the Territory he visited Washington,
and upon arriving there found the objectionable bill had passed the very
day he had started. He presented the facts in the case to President
Jackson, and that official expressed his regrets that Mr. Clarke had not
arrived sooner, as he would not have signed the bill had the matter been
fully explained to him before. During his stay at the capitol, the Gov
ernor of his Territory and other prominent men arrived in Washington.
These gentlemen called upon the President, in the presence of the Secre
tary of State, and after some discussion upon the admission of the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 133
all their merchandise, and loaded their canoes with the peltries it
had procured, they bade adieu to their Indian friends, and started
on their voyage back, with feathers stuck in their hats, keeping
time with their paddles to the Canadian boat songs.
La Hontan, in his Journal, which was published in France, and
a translation of which was afterwards published in this country,
gives an interesting account of the fur trade, showing the general
course of that traffic while the Canadas were under the French.
The author resided at Montreal. At this time (1688) Michili-
mackinac wras the principal stopping place for the traders on their
way from Montreal and Detroit to the forests bordering on Lake
Superior. Here their goods were deposited, and here the furs
were collected for their return freight. Sometimes, however, the
traders, accompanied by numerous canoes of the Ottawas, would
proceed directly to the older settlements on the St. Lawrence,
Territory, President Jackson made this statement to them : " You have
no influence with the Cabinet. We look to Mr. Clarke for all the infor
mation we desire. We know him, and have the fullest confidence in
him." The Secretary of State, meeting Mr. Clarke afterwards, informed
him that he had but to mention what he desired in the gift of the Presi
dent, and he should receive it. Mr. Clarke, however, declined accepting
any office.
At the first election under the State Constitution, he having received
the nomination of both parties, was elected State Senator for the Fifth
Senatorial District without an opposing vote, and to which position he
was reflected at the following election. Every effort was made by his
friends at this time for permission to place his name before the Legisla
ture as a candidate for the United States Senate, but he would not
consent.
In 1837, President Jackson appointed him one of two commission
ers to acquire the title of the Indians to the lands they claimed in
Michigan, which duty he performed in a very satisfactory manner.
Afterwards he received the appointment of Receiver of the Land Office
at Ionia, from President Van Buren, with whom he had been acquainted
from 1829. Mr. Clarke declined to accept this position.
He was a member of the State Convention of 1850, for the revision of
the State Constitution, and took a prominent part in the deliberations of
that body.
With the nomination of James Buchanan for the presidency by the
134 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
where they supposed they might be able to dispose of their car
goes to greater advantage than at the interior posts.
The following is La Hontan's account of the fur trade at the
period referred to:
" Much about the same day," says he, " there arrived twenty-
five or thirty canoes, being homeward bound from the great lakes,
and laden with beaver skins. The cargo of each canoe amounted
to forty packs, each of which weighs fifty pounds, and will fetch
fifty crowns at the farmer's office. These canoes were followed by
fifty more of the Ottawas and Hurons, who come down every year
to the colony in order to make a better market than they can do
in their own country of Michilimackinac, which lies on the banks
of the Lake of Hurons, at the mouth of the Lake of Illinese
(Michigan). Their way of trading is as follows :
" Upon their arrival they encamp at a distance of five or six
hundred paces from the town. The first day is spent in ranging
Democrats, Mr. Clarke left that party, and gave his support to General
Fremont, whom he claimed represented the true principles of Jefferson
and his associates.
In 1857 Mr. Clarke was again elected to the State Legislature, and dur
ing its session exerted great influence in securing the passage of good
laws, and the defeat of those he considered would be injurious to the
State. At this session he used his entire influence, and no doubt aj^ed
materially in the election of' the Hon. Zachariah Chandler to the United
States Senate.
Mr. Clarke is a very prominent and influential Free Mason, having
united with this order at Belfast, Maine, as early as 1820. Upon being
admitted he strove to advance and learn its great principles, and traveled
a distance of over fifty miles to receive the Chapter degrees. Upon its
revival after the Morgan affair, he took an active part in perpetuating its
existence and principles. He was elected E. C. of the John Clarke Com-
mandery, of St. Clair, and was afterwards elected to the same position in
the Port Huron Commandery. From their establishment until the pres
ent time, over sixteen years, he has not been absent from a meeting of
either of these bodies. Mr. Clarke has conferred more knightly orders
than any other E. C. in the State. He was elected R E. G. C. of Michi
gan, and appointed V. E. G. C. G. by the Hon. B. B. French, M. E. G. M.
of the G. G. E. of the United States. He is known throughout the
Union as a prominent Free Mason, and has received a number of valu
able presents from the fraternity.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
135
their canoes, unloading their goods, and pitching their tents, which
are made of birch bark. The next day they demand audience of
the Governor-General, which is granted them that same day, in a
public place.
HON. JOHN R. KELLOG.
JOHN R. KELLOG, a prominent man in Michigan during the time of
Lewis Cass, was born at New Hartford, Oneida county, New York, in
1793. His father was one of the hardy pioneers of the New England
States, the farm upon which he resided in New Hartford, being pur
chased from George Washington and George Clinton. The original con
tract of this purchase is still in existence and is now in the possession of
A. J. Kellog, the youngest son of the subject of this sketch, who resides
in Allegan, Michigan.
When he was six years of age, the parents of Mr. John R. Kellog
136 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
" Upon this occasion each nation makes a ring for itself. The
savages sit upon the ground, with pipes in their mouths, and the
governor is seated in an arm-chair ; after which there starts up an
orator or speaker from one of these nations, who makes a
harangue, importing that his brethren are come to visit the Gov
ernor-General, to renew with him their wonted friendship ; that
their chief view is to promote the interest of the French, some of
whom, being unacquainted wTith the way of traffic, and being too
weak for the transporting of goods from the lakes, would be una
ble to deal in beaver-skins if his brethren did not come in person
to deal with them in their own colonies. That they knew very
well how acceptable their arrival is to the inhabitants of Mon
treal, in regard to the advantage they reap from it ; that, in
regard to the beaver-skins, they were much valued in France, and
the French goods given in exchange were of an inconsiderable
value ; and that they mean to give the French sufficient proof of
their readiness to furnish them with what they desire so earnestly.
" That, by way of preparation of another year's cargo, they are
come to take in exchange fusees, and powder and ball, in order to
hunt great numbers of beavers, or to gall the Iroquois in case
they offered to disturb the French settlements; and, in fine, in
removed from New Hartford to Skaneateles, New York, taking him
along with them. At the age of thirteen he went to Lowville, New York,
as a clerk for Messrs. Leonard, in which occupation he remained until
he was twenty-two years of age. From here he went to New York city
as a clerk for John Glover, Esq. While in this city he united with the
Presbyterian Church, Dr. John M. Mason, pastor, and lived an earnest
and faithful Christian the remainder of his life.
In 1817 he married Miss Mary Otter son, of New York, a young lady
highly respected for her many good qualities, who still survives him.
From this city with his wife and two children he returned to New
Hartford in 1817, remaining one year, when he again removed and set
tled in Marcellus, Onondaga county, New York. Here he retained his
residence until 1836, being engaged in mercantile pursuits. In this year
he emigrated to Michigan and served in the Legislature of the State dur
ing the winter of 1837-38. In the latter year he settled in Allegan, Alle-
gan county, Michigan, where he resided until his death, which occurred
in 1868.
Mr. Kellog was a member of the State Board of Education for six
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 137
confirmation of their words, that they throw a porcelain collar
(belt of wampum), with some beaver-skins, to the kitchi-okima
(so they call the Governor-General), whose protection they laid
claim to in case of any robbery or abuse committed upon them in
the town. The spokesman having made an end of his speech,
returns to his place and takes up his pipe, and the interpreter
explains the substance of the harangue to the Governor, who
commonly gives a very civil answer, especially if the presents be
valuable, in consideration of which he likewise makes them a
present of some trifling things. This done, the savages rise up
and return to their huts, to make suitable preparation for the
ensuing truck.
" The next day the savages make their slaves carry the skins to
the houses of the merchants, who bargain with them for such
clothes as they want. All the inhabitants of Montreal are
allowed ' to traffic with them in any commodity but rum and
brandy, these two being excepted upon the account that, when the
savages have got what they want, and have any skins left, they
drink to excess, and then kill their slaves ; for, when they are
in* drink, they quarrel and fight, and, if they were not held by
those who are sober, would certainly make havoc one of another.
years, and while in this position he did much for the advancement of
education, and to him in a great measure are we indebted for the high
position which Michigan occupies to-day when compared with her sister
States in an educational point of view.
He was associate judge of Allegan county two years, during the judi
cial term of Judge Ransom, and performed the responsible duties of that
position in a manner that elicited the highest praise from that distin
guished gentleman.
He was one of the main movers in his section of the State in organiz
ing the association and raising the necessary funds for the erection of
the Soldiers and Sailors' monument which now beautifies the Campus
Martins in the City of Detroit.
Mr. Kellog's public history is well known throughout the State, as he
occupied an enviable position during his life in all matters of importance
concerning the government of the State and its welfare and prosperity.
He was an intimate friend of Secretary Seward and General Cass,
and maintained a friendly correspondence with them until separated by
death.
138 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
" However, you must observe that none of them will touch
either gold or silver. As soon as the savages have made an end of
their truck, they take leave of the Governor, and . return home
by the River Ottawa. To conclude, they do a great deal of good,
both to the poor and rich, for you will readily apprehend that
everybody turns merchant upon such occasions."
To the question what was the condition of the Northwestern
Territory when it was claimed and occupied by France, we can
furnish a ready answer. It was a vast ranging ground for the
numerous Indian tribes, who roamed over it in all the listless indo
lence of their savage independence ; of the Jesuit missionaries,
who, under the garb of their religious orders, strove to gain the
influence of the red men in behalf of their government as well as
their church, by their conversion to the Catholic faith ; the theatre
of the most important military operations of the French soldiers
at the West ; and the grand mart where the furs, which were
deemed the most valuable products of this region, were collected
for shipment to France, under a commercial system which was
originally projected by the Cardinal de Richelieu.
The condition of a country, although often in some measute
modified by the nature of the climate and the soil, is more gener
ally founded upon the character of the people and that of its laws.
This is clearly exhibited in the case of the Northwest ; for, while
that domain was rich in all the natural advantages that could be
furnished by the soil, it wras entirely barren of all those moral and
intellectual fruits springing from bold and energetic character,
directed by a free, enlightened, and wholesome system of juris
prudence.
CHAPTER IX.
WAR BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH COLONIES — BRADDOCK'S
MARCH — His DEFEAT — ACADIA, NIAGARA AND CROWN POINT —
BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE — CONDITION OF CANADA.
SCARCELY had the French established themselves in Canada,
when a chain of circumstances occurred that resulted in their
overthrow. The people of the northern English colonies had
learned to regard their Canadian neighbors with the bitterest
enmity. With them, the very name of Canada called up horrible
recollections and ghastly images ; the midnight massacre of Sche-
nectady, and the desolation of many a New England hamlet ;
blazing dwellings and reeking scalps, and children snatched from
their mothers' arms, to be immured in convents, and trained up in
the abominations of Popery. To the sons of the Puritans, their
enemy was doubly odious. They hated him as a Frenchman, and
they hated him as a Papist.
• Hitherto, he had waged his murderous warfare from a distance,
wasting their settlements with rapid onsets, fierce and transient as
a summer storm ; but now, with enterprising audacity, he was
intrenching himself on their very borders. The English hunter,
in the lonely wilderness of Vermont, as by the warm glow of sun
set he piled the spruce boughs for his woodland bed, started, as a
deep, low sound struck faintly on his ears — the evening gun of Fort
Frederic, booming over lake and forest. The erection of this fort,
better known among the English as Crown Point, was a piece of
daring encroachment, which justly kindled resentment in the
northern colonies. But it was not here that the immediate occa
sion of a final -rupture was to arise. By an article of the treaty
of Utrecht, confirmed by that of Aix la Chapelle, Acadia had
been ceded to England ; but, scarcely was the latter treaty signed,
when debates sprang up touching the limits of the ceded province.
140 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Commissioners were named on either side, to adjust the disputed
boundary ; but the claims of the rival powers proved utterly irrec
oncilable, and all negotiation was fruitless. Meantime, the French
and English forces in Acadia began to assume a belligerent atti
tude, and indulge their ill blood in mutual aggression and
reprisal. But, while this game was played on the coasts of the
Atlantic, interests of far greater moment were at stake in the
West.
The people of the middle colonies, placed by their local posi
tion beyond reach of the French, had heard with great composure
of the suiferings of their New England brethren, and felt little
concern at a danger so doubtful and remote. There were those
among them, however, who, with greater foresight had been quick
to perceive the ambitious project of the rival nation ; and, as early
as 1716, Spotswood, Governor of Virginia, had urged the expedi
ency of securing the valley of the Ohio by a series of forts and
settlements. His proposal was coldly received, and his plan fell
to the ground. The time at length was come when the danger
was approaching too near to be slighted longer. In 1748, an
association, called the Ohio Company, was formed, with the view
of making settlements in the region beyond the Alleghanies ; and,
two years later, Gist, the company's surveyor, to the great disgust
of the Indians, carried chain and compass down the Ohio as far as
the falls at Louisville. But, so dilatory were the English, that,
before any effectual steps were taken, their agile enemies appeared
upon the scene. In the spring of 1753, the middle provinces were
startled at the tidings that French troops had crossed Lake Erie,
fortified themselves at the point of Presque Isle, and pushed for
ward to the northern branches of the Ohio. Upon this, Governor
Dinwiddie, of Virginia, resolved to despatch a message requiring
their removal from territory which he had claimed as belonging
to the British crown ; and, looking about him for the person best
qualified to act as -messenger, he made choice of George Washing
ton, a young man twenty-one years of age, Adjutant-General of
the Virginia militia.
Washington departed on his mission, crossed the mountains,
descended to the bleak and leafless valley of the Ohio, and thence
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
141
continued his journey up the banks of the Alleghany, until the
fourth of December. On that day he reached Venango, an Indian
town on the Alleghany, at the mouth of French Creek. Here
was the advanced post of the French, and here, among the Indian
HON. CHARLES W. GRANT.
CHARLES WESLEY GRANT, of East Saginaw, was born March 15, 1817,
at Suiithville, Chenango county, New York. He came to Michigan at the
age of twenty years, and settled in Saginaw county in the spring of
1849. At that time there being no railroad nor plank road, and scarcely
any other leading to that county, he came in a skiff down Flint river from
the then village of Flint with the late George R. Cummings, Esq. , who
had just received a commission from Governor Ransom as prosecuting
attorney for Saginaw county.
142 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
log cabins and huts of bark, he sa.w their flag flying above the
house of an English trader, whom the military intruders had
unceremoniously ejected. They gave the young envoy a hospita
ble reception, and referred him to the commanding officer, whose
headquarters were at Le Bceuf, a fort which they had just built on
French Creek, some distance above Venango. Thither Washing
ton repaired, and on his arrival was received with stately courtesy
by the officer, Legarduer de St. Pierre, whom he describes as an
elderly gentleman of very soldier-like appearance. To the mes
sage of Dinwiddie St. Pierre replied that he would forward it to
the Governor-General of Canada ; but that, in the meantime, his
orders were to hold possession of the country, and this he should
do to the best of his ability. With this answer, Washington,
through all the rigors of the midwinter forest, retraced his steps,
with one attendant, to the English borders.
While the rival nations were beginning to quarrel for a prize
which belonged to neither of them, the unhappy Indians saw, with
alarm and amazement, their lands becoming a bone of contention
between rapacious strangers. The first appearance of the French
on the Ohio excited the wildest fears in the tribes of that quarter,
among whom were those who, disgusted by the encroachments of
the Pennsylvanians, had fled to those remote retreats to escape the
intrusion of the white men. Scarcely was their fancied asylum
gained, when they saw themselves invaded by a host of armed men
from Canada. Thus, placed between two fires, they knew not
which way to turn. There was no union in their counsels, and
they seemed like a mob of bewildered children. Their native jeal-
In 1850, as a partner of A. M. Hoyt, the proprietor of the incipient city
of East Saginaw, he built the first mill erected there, and for himself, the
first dwelling house. He was one of the five voters who organized the
township of Buena Vista in 1851. At that election he was elected town
ship clerk, commissioner of highways, justice of the peace, school inspec
tor, etc.
In 1856 he was elected sheriff of Saginaw county, and held that office
for the four following years.
During President Buchanan's administration, and for two years after
wards, he served as deputy United States marshal under Col. Rice, Col.
Davis and John S. Bagg.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 143
ousy was roused to its utmost pitch. Many of them thought that
the two* white nations had conspired to destroy them, and then
divide their lands. " You and the French," said one of them, a
few years afterwards, to an English > emissary, " are like the two
edges of a pair of shears, and we "are the cloth which is cut to
pieces between them."
The French labored hard to conciliate them, plying them with
gifts and flatteries, and proclaiming themselves their champions
against the English. At first, these arts seemed in vain, but their
effect soon began to declare itself; and this effect was greatly
increased by a singular piece of infatuation on the part of the pro
prietors of Pennsylvania.
During the summer of 1754, delegates of the several provinces
met at Albany, to concert measures of defense in the war which
now seemed inevitable. It was at this meeting that the memor
able plan of a union of the colonies was brought forward ; a plan,
the fate of which was curious and significant, for the crown
rejected it as giving too much power to the people, and the people
as giving too much power to the crown. A council was also held
with the 'Iroquois, and though they were found but lukewarm in
their attachment to the English, a treaty of friendship and alliance
was concluded with their deputies. It would have been well if the
matter had ended here, but, with ill-timed rapacity, the proprie
tary agents of Pennsylvania took advantage of this great assem
blage of sachems to procure from them the grant of extensive
tracts, including the lands inhabited by the very tribes whom the
French were at that moment striving to seduce. When they heard
Mr. Grant came to Saginaw poor in purse, but rich in energy and cour
age. Having satisfied his taste for public office, he turned his attention to
lumbering, which he has diligently and successfully pursued ever since.
By the exercise of his business talent, which is of a high order, he has
built up an enviable credit and amassed an ample fortune. He is an exam
ple of that steady advance in wealth and social standing that is invariably
achieved by a young man of good habits and persevering industry, who
has the good sense to husband his income and make it productive by
judicious investment. He resides on the "James Riley Reservation,"
where he has erected a palatial residence. Here he enjoys his well earned
wealth, and dispenses an elegant hospitality.
144 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
that, without their consent, their conquerors and tyrants, the Iro-
quois, had sold the soil from beneath their feet, their indignation
was extreme ; and, convinced that there was no limit to English
encroachment, many of them from that hour became fast allies of
the French.
The courts of London and Versailles still maintained a diplo
matic intercourse, both protesting their earnest wish that their
conflicting claims might be adjusted by friendly negotiation ; but,
while each disclaimed the intention of hostility, both were hasten
ing to prepare for war. Early in 1755, an English fleet sailed
from Cork, having on board two regiments destined for Virginia,
and commanded by General Braddock ; and, soon after, a French
fleet put to sea from the port of Brest, freighted with munitions
of war and a strong body of troops, under Baron Dieskau, an
officer who had distinguished himself in the campaigns of Marshal
Saxe. The English fleet gained its destination, and lauded its
troops in safety. The French were less fortunate. Two of their
ships, the Lys and the Alcide, became involved in the fogs of the
banks of Newfoundland ; and, when the weather cleared, they
found- themselves under the guns of a superior British force,
belonging to the squadron of Admiral Boscowen, sent out
for the express purpose of intercepting them. " Are we at
peace or at war ?" demanded the French commander. A broad
side from the Englishman soon solved his doubts, and, after a
stout resistance, the French struck their colors. News of the cap
ture caused great excitement in England, but the conduct of the
aggressors was generally approved ; and, under pretence that the
French had begun the war by their alleged encroachments in
America, orders were issued for a general attack upon their marine.
So successful were the British cruisers, that; before the end of the
year, three hundred French vessels and nearly eight thousand
sailors were captured and brought into port. The French, unable
to retort in kind, raised an outcry of indignation, and Mirepoix,
their ambassador, withdrew from the Court of London.
Thus began that memorable war, which, kindling among the
forests of America, scattered its fires over the kingdoms of Europe
and the sultry empire of the Great Mogul ; the war made glorious
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
145
by the heroic death of Wolfe, the victories of Frederic, and the
exploits of Olive ; the war which controlled the destinies of
America, and was first in the chain of events which led on to her
Revolution, with all its vast and undeveloped consequences. On
PROF. DUANE DOTY.
DUANE DOTY, the present Superintendent of Public Instruction for the
city of Detroit, was born in the State of Ohio. He, with his parents,
came to Michigan during his early childhood, and in this State received
a thorough education, graduating from the literary department of the
Michigan University, in 1856.
With the exception of five years devoted to travel, army and editorial
life, his whole time since his graduation has been occupied by educa
tional work. In 1865 he was appointed Superintendent of Public
10
146 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the old battle-ground of Europe the contest bore the same familiar
features of violence and horror which had marked the strife of
former generations — fields ploughed by the cannon ball, and walls
shattered by the exploding mine, sacked towns and blazing sub
urbs, the lamentation of women, and the license of a maddened
soldiery. But in America, war assumed a new and striking aspect.
A wilderness was its sublime arena. Army met army under the
shadows of primeval woods ; their cannon resounded over wastes
unknown to civilized man. And, before the hostile powers could
join in battle, endless forests must be traversed, and morasses
passed, and everywhere the axe of the pioneer must hew a path for
the bayonet of the soldier.
Before the declaration of war, and before the breaking off of
negotiations between the courts of France and England, the English
ministry formed the plan of assailing the French in America on
all sides at once, and repelling them, by one bold push, from all
their encroachments. A provincial army was to advance upon
Acadia, a second was to attack Crown Point, and a third Niagara ;
while the two regiments which had lately arrived in Virginia,
under General Braddock, aided by a strong body of provincials,
were to dislodge the French from their newly-built fort of Du
Quesne. To Braddock was assigned the chief command of all
the British forces in America ; and a person worse fitted for the
office could scarcely have been found. His experience had been
ample, and none could doubt his courage ; but he was profligate,
Instruction for the city of Detroit, which difficult and laborious position
he has acceptably filled for eight years. During his term of office many
important improvements have been made ; the school work and school
business have all been thoroughly systematized, and the city supplied
with good school buildings.
Mr. Doty's organizing ^nd administrative ability is conceded to be of a
very high order, and he belongs emphatically to the class of workers who
richly merit the honors conferred upon them. His work and efforts in
the cause of popular education have secured him an enviable reputation,
and, besides this, he is well known for his knowledge of the vast and
increasing resources of his country, and for availing himself of every
opportunity for adding to his abundant fund of information on all sub
jects.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 147
arrogant, perverse, and a bigot to military rules. On his first
arrival in Virginia, he called together the Governors of the sev
eral provinces, in order to explain his instructions and adjust the
details of the projected operations. These arrangements complete,
Braddock advanced to the borders of Virginia, and formed his
camp at Fort Cumberland, where he spent several weeks in train
ing the raw backwoodsmen who joined him into such discipline as
they seemed capable of; in collecting horses and wagons, which
could only be had with the utmost difficulty ; in railing at the
contractors, who scandalously cheated him ; and in venting his
spleen by copious abuse of the country and the people. All at
length was ready, and early in June, 1755, the army left civiliza
tion behind, and struck into the broad wilderness as a squadron
puts out to sea.
It was no easy task to force their way over that rugged ground,
covered with an unbroken growth of forest ; and the difficulty was
increased by the needless load of baggage which encumbered their
march. The crash of falling trees resounded in the front, where
a hundred axemen labored with ceaseless toil to hew a passage for
the army. The horses strained their utmost strength to drag the
ponderous wagons over roots and stumps, through gullies and quag
mires ; and the regular troops were daunted by the depth and
gloom of the forest which hedged them in on either hand, and
closed its leafy arch above their heads. So tedious was their pro
gress, that, by the advice of Washington, twelve hundred chosen
men moved on in advance, with the lighter baggage and artillery,
leaving the rest of the army to follow, by slower stages, with the
heavy wagons. On the eighth of July, the advanced body reached
the Monongahela, at a point not far distant from Fort du Quesne.
The rocky and impracticable ground on the eastern side debarred
their passage, and the General resolved to cross the river in search
of a smoother path, and re-cross it a few miles lower down, in
order to gain the fort. The first passage was easily made, and the
troops moved, in glittering array, down the western margin of the
water, rejoicing that their goal was well nigh reached, and the hour
of their expected triumph close at hand.
Scouts and Indian runners had brought the tidings of Braddock's
148 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
approach to the French at Fort du Quesne. Their dismay was
great, and Contrecour, the commander, thought only of retreat,
when Beaujeu, a captain in the garrison, made the bold proposal
of leading out a party of French and Indians to waylay the Eng
lish in the woods, and harass or interrupt their march. The offer
was accepted, and Beaujeu hastened to the Indian camp.
Around the fort and beneath the adjacent forest were the bark
lodges of savage hordes, whom the French had mustered from far
and near: Ojibwas and Ottawas, Hurons and Caughnawagas,
Abenakis and Delawares. Beaujeu called the warriors together,
flung a hatchet on the ground before them, and invited them to
follow him out to battle ; but the boldest stood aghast at the peril,
and none wrould accept the challenge. A second interview took
place, with no better success ; but the Frenchman was resolved to
carry his point. " I am determined to go," he exclaimed. " What,
will you suffer your father to go alone ?" His daring proved con
tagious. The warriors hesitated no longer ; and when, on the
morning of the ninth of July, a scout ran in wTith the news that
the English army was but a few miles distant, the Indian camps
were at once astir with the turmoil of preparation. Chiefs
harangued their yelling followers, braves bedaubed themselves
with war-paint, smeared themselves with grease, hung feathers in
their scalp-locks, and whooped and stamped till they had wrought
themselves into a delirium of valor.
That morning, James Smith, an English prisoner, recently cap
tured on the frontier of Pennsylvania, stood on the rampart, and
saw the half-frenzied multitude thronging about the gateway, where
kegs of bullets and gunpowder were broken open, that each might
help himself at will. Then band after band hastened away
towards the forest, followed and supported by nearly two hundred
and fifty French and Canadians, commanded by Beaujeu. There
were the Ottawas, led on, it is said, by the remarkable man whose
name stands so prominently on the pages of this history ; there
were the Hurons, of Lorette, under their chief, whom the French
called Athanose, and many more, all keen as hounds on the scent
of blood. At about nine miles from the fort they reached a spot
where the narrow road descended to the river through deep and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
149
gloomy ^woods, and where two ravines, concealed by trees and
bushes, seemed formed by nature for an ambuscade. Beaujeu
well knew the ground ; and it was here that he had resolved to
fight ; but he and his followers were well nigh too late ; for, as
HON. J. G. SUTHERLAND,
JABEZ G. SUTHERLAND was born October 6, 1825, in Onondaga county,
New York; removed with his lather to Michigan in 1836, and has ever
since resided in the counties of Genesee and Saginaw. He commenced
the study of law in 1844, and came to the bar in 1848. In 1849 he settled
in Saginaw county, and was appointed by the Governor prosecuting
attorney of that county. He served as delegate in the Constitutional
Convention of 1850, and in 1853 as a member of the lower branch of the
Legislature. In 1858 he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for
150 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
they neared the ravines, the woods were resounding with the roll
of the British drums.
It was past noon of a day brightened with the clear sunlight of
an American midsummer, when the forces of Braddock began, for
a second time, to cross the Monongahela, at the fording-place,
which, to this day, bears the name of their ill-fated leader. The
scarlet columns of the British regulars, complete in martial appoint
ment, the rude backwoodsmen, with shouldered rifles, the trains of
artillery and the white-topped wagons, moved on in long proces
sion through the shallow current, and slowly mounted the opposing
bank. Men were there whose names have become historic : Gage,
who, twenty-one years later, saw his routed battalions recoil in
disorder from before the breastworks on Bunker Hill ; Gates, the
future conqueror of Burgoyne ; and one destined to a higher fame,
George Washington, a boy in years, a man in calm thought and
self-ruling wisdom.
With steady and well-ordered march the troops advanced into
the great labyrinth of woods which shadowed the eastern borders
of the river. Rank after rank vanished from sight. The forest
swallowed them up, and the silence of the wilderness sank down
once more on the shores and waters of the Monongahela.
Several engineers and guides and six light horsemen led the
way ; a body of grenadiers under Gage was close behind, and the
army followed, in such order as the rough ground would permit,
along a narrow road, twelve feet wide, tunneled through the dense
and matted foliage. There were flanking parties on either side,
but no scouts to scour the woods in front, and, with an insane con
fidence, Braddock pressed on to meet his fate. The van had
passed the low grounds that bordered the river, and were now
ascending a gently rising ground, where, on either hand, hidden by
thick trees, by tangled undergrowth and rank grasses, lay the two
fatal ravines. Suddenly, Gorden, an engineer in advance, saw the
French and Indians bounding forward through the forest and
Attorney-General; in 1863 was elected circuit judge of the tenth circuit,
and reflected in 1869 without opposition. In 1870 he was elected to
Congress, and thereupon resigned his judgeship.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 151
along the narrow track, Beaujeu leading them on, dressed in a
fringed hunting-shirt, and wearing a silver gorget on his breast.
He stopped, turned and waved his hat, and his French followers,
crowding across the road, opened a murderous fire upon the head
of the British column ; while, screeching their war cries, the Indians
thronged into the ravines, or crouched behind rocks and trees on
both flanks of the advancing troops. The astonished grenadiers
returned the fire, and returned it with good effect ; for a random
shot struck down the brave Beaujeu, and the courage of the
assailants was staggered by his fall. Dumas, second in command,
rallied them to the attack ; and while he, with the French and
Canadians, made good the pass in front, the Indians from their
lurking places opened a deadly fire on the right and left. In a
few moments all wras confusion. The advance guard fell back on
the main body, and every trace of subordination vanished. The
fire soon extended along the whole length of the army, from front
to rear. Scarce an enemy could be seen, though the forests
resounded with their yells ; though every bush and tree was alive
with incessant flashes ; though the lead flew like a hail-storm, and
the men went down by scores. The regular troops seemed bereft
of their senses. They huddled together in the road like flocks of
sheep ; and happy did he think himself who could wedge his way
into the midst of the crowd, and place a barrier of human flesh
between his life and the shot of the ambushed marksmen. Many
were seen eagerly loading their muskets, and then firing them
into the air, or shooting their own comrades, in the insanity of their
terror. The officers, for the most part, displayed a conspicuous
gallantry ; but threats and commands were wasted alike on the
panic-stricken multitude. It is said that, at the outset, Braddock
showed signs of fear ; but he soon recovered his wonted intrepid
ity. Five horses were shot under him, and five times he mounted
afresh. He stormed and shouted, and, while the Virginians were
fighting to good purpose, each man behind a tree, like the Indians
themselves, he ordered them, with furious menace, to form in pla
toons, where the fire of the enemy mowed them down like grass.
At length, a mortal shot silenced him, and two provincials bore
Mm off the field. Washington rode through the tumult, calm and
152 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
undaunted. Two horses were killed under him, and four bullets
pierced his clothes ; but his hour was not come, and he escaped
without a wound. Gates was shot through the body, and Gage,
also, was severely wounded. Of eighty-six officers only twenty-
three remained unhurt ; and of twelve hundred soldiers, who
crossed the Monongahela, more than seven hundred were killed
and wounded. None suffered more severely than the Virginians,
who had displayed throughout a degree of courage and steadiness
which put the cowardice of the regulars to shame. The havoc
among them was terrible, for, of their whole number, scarcely one-
fifth left the field alive.
The slaughter lasted three hours, when, at length, the survivors,
as if impelled by a general impulse, rushed tumultuously from the
place of carnage, and, with dastardly precipitation, fled across the
Monongahela. The enemy did not pursue beyond the river, flock
ing to the field to collect the plunder, and gather a rich harvest of
scalps. The routed troops pursued their flight until they met the
rear division of the army, under Colonel Dunbar ; and then their
senseless terrors did not abate. Dunbar's soldiers caught the
infection. Common baggage, provisions and wagons were
destroyed, and all fled together, eager to escape from the. shadows
of those awful woods, whose horrors haunted their imagination.
They passed the defenseless settlements of the border, and hurried
on to Philadelphia, leaving the unhappy people to defend them
selves as they might against the tomahawk and scalping-knife.
The calamities of this disgraceful rout did not cease with the
loss of a few hundred soldiers on the field of battle ; for it brought
upon the province all the miseries of an Indian war. Those among
the tribes who had thus far stood neutral, wavering between the
French and English, now hesitated no longer. Many of them had
been disgusted by the contemptuous behavior of Braddock. All
had learned to despise the courage of the English, and to regard
their own prowess with unbounded complacency. It is not in
Indian nature to stand quiet in the midst of war ; and the defeat
of Braddock was a signal for the western savages to snatch their
tomahawks and assail the English settlements with one accord,
murdering and pillaging with ruthless fury, and turning the fron-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
153
tier of Pennsylvania and Virginia into one wide scene of havoc
and desolation.
The three remaining expeditions which the British ministry had
planned for that year's campaign were attended with various
HON. JOHN N. MELLEN.
JOHN N. MELLEN, the present State Senator from the twenty first sena
torial district of this State, was born in the town of Garry, Chautauqua
county, New York, September 30, 1831. His father, Leander Mellen,
was born at Shaftsbury, Bennington county, Vt., February 17, 1797.
Mr. Mellen emigrated to Michigan in 1837, and settled in the town of
Washington, Macomb county. He received a thorough common school
education in the schools of that county, and removed to the town of
Lenox, in the same county, in 1841. In 1869 he again changed his place
of residence, and settled in the village of Romeo, where he still resides.
154 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
results. Acadia was quickly reduced by the forces of Colonel
Monkton ; but the glories of this easy victory were tarnished by
an act of cruelty. Seven thousand of the unfortunate people,
refusing to take the prescribed oath of allegiance, were seized by
the conquerors, torn from their homes, placed on shipboard, like
cargoes of negro slaves, and transported to the British provinces.
The expedition against Niagara was a total failure, for the troops
did not even reach their destination. The movement against
Crown Point met with no better success, as regards the main object
of the enterprise. Owing to the lateness of the season, and other
causes, the troops proceeded no farther than Lake George ; but
the attempt was marked by a feat of arms, which, in that day of
failures, was greeted, both in England and America, as a signal
victory.
General Johnson, afterwards Sir William Johnson, had been
charged with the conduct of the Crown Point expedition ; and his
little army, a rude assemblage of hunters and farmers from New
York and New England, officers and men alike ignorant of war,
lay encamped at the southern extremity of Lake George. Here,
while they languidly pursued their preparations, their active enemy
anticipated them. Baron Dieskau, who, with a body of troops,
had reached Quebec in the squadron which sailed from Brest in
the spring, had intended to take forcible possession of the English
fort of Oswego, erected upon ground claimed by the French as a
part of Canada. Learning Johnson's movement, he changed his
plan, crossed Lake Champlain, made a circuit by way of Wood
From 1847 until 1853 Mr. Mellen was actively engaged in the govern
ment surveys of the Upper Peninsula, and explored the wild and pic
turesque scenery of the Lake Superior region. During the winter of
1853-54 he made a trip to the Pacific coast, and remained two years
among the gold mines, becoming thoroughly conversant with the man
ners and customs of those bold adventurers who, in search of wealth,
had forsaken their comfortable homes in the East, and exposed them
selves to the dangers and hardships of this new country, peopled with
hostile Indians. He was with Lieutenant Richardson on a topographical
survey of Northern California, Oregon and Washington Territory, in
1856, and while on this expedition learned a considerable of the habits of
the different tribes of Indians dwelling in those regions.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 155
Creek, and gained the rear of the English army, Avith a force of
about two thousand French and Indians. At midnight, on the
seventh of September, the tidings reached Johnson that the army
of the French baron was but a few miles distant from his camp.
A council of war was called, and the resolution formed of detach
ing a thousand men to reconnoitre. If they are to be killed, said
Hendrick, the Mohawk chief, they are too many ; if they are to
fight, they are too few. His remonstrance was unheeded ; and the
brave old savage, unable from age and corpulence to fight on foot,
mounted his horse and joined the English detachment, with two
hundred of his warriors. At sunrise, the party defiled from the
camp, and, entering the forest, disappeared from the eyes of their
comrades.
Those who remained behind labored with all the energy of
alarm to fortify their unprotected camp. An hour elapsed, when,
from the distance, was heard a sudden explosion of musketry.
The excited soldiers suspended their work to listen. A rattling
fire succeeded, deadened among the woods, but growing louder and
nearer, till none could doubt that their comrades had met the
French, and were defeated.
This was indeed the case. Marching through thick woods, by
the narrow and newly-cut road which led along the valley south
ward from Lake George, Williams, the English commander, had
led his men full into an ambuscade, where all Dieskau's army lay
in wait to receive them. From the woods on both sides rose an
appalling shout, followed by a storm of bullets. Williams was
soon shot down ; Hendrick shared his fate ; many officers fell, and
In 1857 lie returned to "the States," and was engaged in government
surveys at the head of the Red River of the North, in the State of Min
nesota. Here he acquired much valuable information of the soil, climate
and products of that region, and also increased his knowledge of the
peculiar traits of the red man. In 1860 he was occupied on surveys in
the northern portion of Wisconsin, with Alfred Millard, Esq. , and Har
vey Mellen. He was employed in the early surveys of Dacota Territory
in 1861-2-3, under the supervision of G. D. Hill, surveyor-general. Since
that time Mr. Mellen has been engaged in exploring the unsettled por
tions of the States of Wisconsin and Michigan, in search of pine lands
and minerals, in which he is an extensive dealer.
156 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
the road was strewed with dead and wounded soldiers. The Eng
lish gave way at once. Had they been regular troops, the result
would have been worse ; but every man was a woodsman and a
hunter. Some retired in bodies along the road ; while the greater
part spread themselves through the forest, opposing a wide front to
the enemy, fighting stubbornly as they retreated, and shooting
back at the French from behind every tree or bush that could
afford a cover. The Canadians and Indians pressed them closely,
darting, with shrill cries, from tree to tree, while Dieskau's regu
lars, with steadier advance, bore all before them. Far and wide
through the forest rang shout and shriek and Indian whoop, min
gled with the deadly rattle of guns. Retreating and pursuing, the
combatants passed northward towards the English camp, leaving
the ground behind them strewn with dead and dying. A fresh
detachment from the camp came in aid of the English, and the
pursuit was checked. Yet the retreating men were not the less
rejoiced when they could discern between the brown columns of
the woods, the mountains and waters of Lake George, with the
tents of their encampments on its shores. The French followed no
farther. The blast of their trumpets was heard recalling their
scattered men for a final attack.
During the absence of Williams' detachment, the main body of
the army had covered the front of their camp with a breastwork —
if the name can be applied to a row of logs — behind which the
marksmen lay flat on their faces. This preparation was not yet
complete, when the defeated troops appeared issuing from the
woods. Breathless and perturbed, they entered the camp, and lay
down with the rest ; and the army waited the attack in a frame of
mind which boded ill for the result. Soon, at the edge of the
woods which bordered the open space in front, painted Indians
were seen, and bayonets glittered among the foliage, shining, in
the homely comparison of a New England soldier, like a row of
icicles on a January morning. The French regulars marched in
column to the edge of the clearing, and formed in line, confronting
the English at the distance of a hundred and fifty yards. Their
complete order, their white uniforms and bristling bayonets, were
a new and startling sight to the eyes of Johnson's rustic soldiers,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
157
who raised but a feeble cheer in answer to the shouts of their ene
mies. Happily, Dieskau made no assault. The regulars opened a
distant fire of musketry, throwing volley after volley against the
English, while the Canadians and Indians, dispersing through the
E. B. WARD.
EBER B. WARD was born in Canada in 1811, his parents having fled
into that country from Vermont, to escape the ravages consequent upon
" the war of eighteen hundred and twelve." But he was not destined to
remain long in the enemy's country. As soon as the smoke had died
away from the last battle-field, the family returned to their pleasant home
in Rutland county, Vermont, wrhere they remained until Mr. Ward was
about six years old. At this period, the future of the American States
being fixed, civilization again resumed its westward march. Vermont,
among other New England States, contributed to the movement, and in
1817 many of the best families of the Green Mountain State were seeking
158 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
morasses on each flank of the camp, fired sharply, under cover of
the trees and bushes. In the rear, the English were protected by
the lake, but on the three remaining sides they were hedged in by
the flash and smoke of musketry.
The fire of the French had little effect. The English recovered
from their first surprise, and every moment their confidence rose
higher and their shouts grew louder. Leveling their long hunting
guns with cool precision, they returned a fire which thinned the
ranks of the French, and galled them beyond endurance. Two
cannon were soon brought to bear upon the morasses which shel
tered the Canadians and Indians ; and, though the pieces were
served with little skill, the assailants were soon terrified by the
crashing of the balls among the trunks and branches, that they
gave way at once. Dieskau still persisted in the attack. From
noon until past four o'clock, the firifag was scarcely abated, when,
at length, the French, who had suffered extremely, showed signs
of wavering. At this, with a general shout, the English broke
from their camp and rushed upon their enemies, striking them
down with the butts of their guns, and driving them through the
woods like deer. Dieskau was taken prisoner, dangerously
wounded, and leaning for support against the stump of a tree.
The slaughter would have been great, had not the English gen
eral recalled the pursuers, and suffered the French to continue
their flight unmolested. Fresh disasters still awaited the fugitives ;
a more lucrative inheritance in the boundless West and South. Mr.
Ward's parents were among the travelers. They had set out for Ken
tucky, but being delayed at Waterford, Pennsylvania, for some time,
owing to a disarrangement in their plans for transportation, a sad dispen
sation of Providence interrupted their journey. Mr. Ward's mother, after
a severe illness, died, and was buried at this place. Changing their
course, the father and son went into Ohio. Subsequently events led them
westward until they were permanently located in Michigan.
Mr. Ward.first landed in Detroit in 1821, when he was only nine years
old. Then he was a poor boy, without even the prospect of fortune and
success; but, observe the course he pursued, and the results that attended
his efforts. Nature seems to have qualified him to battle the perils of
pioneer life; and, as if to increase the hardships that apparent ill fortune
had already visited upon him, at the age of twelve years he secured the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 159
for, as they approached the scene of that morning's ambuscade,
they were greeted by a volley of. musketry. Two companies of
New York and New Hampshire rangers, who had come out from
Fort Edward as a scouting party, had lain in wait to receive them.
Favored by the darkness of the woods — for night was now
approaching — they made so sudden and vigorous an attack, that
the French thought them far superior in numbers, were totally
routed and dispersed. This memorable conflict has cast its dark
associations over one of the most beautiful spots in America.
Near the scene of the evening fight, a pool, half overgrown by
weeds and water lilies, and darkened by the surrounding forest, as
pointed out to the tourist, and he is told that beneath its stagnant
waters lie the bones of three hundred Frenchmen deep buried in
mud and slime.
The war thus began was prosecuted for five succeeding years
with the full energy of both nations. The period was one of suf
fering and anxiety to the colonists, who, knowing the full extent
of their danger, spared no exertion to avert it. In the year 1758,
Lord Abercrombie, who then commanded in America, had at his
disposal a force amounting to fifty thousand men, of whom the
greater part were provincials. The operations of the war
embraced a wide extent of country, from Cape Breton and Nova
Scotia to the sources of the Ohio ; but nowhere was the contest so
actively carried on as in the neighborhood of Lake George, the
waters of which, joined with those of Lake Champlain, formed
humble position of cabin boy on a small schooner on the lakes. Thus
was modestly inaugurated Captain Ward's marine life. It is inexpedient
to tax the reader with all the changing scenes that came over his life
since this dedication of boyhood to the interests of navigation. It is
enough to say that from these humble beginnings, by hard industry and
timely enterprise, he has won success for lake navigation, and wealth for
himself. His accumulations are said to exceed five millions, and may be
summed up as follows: $1,000,000 in Chicago Rolling Mills stock,
$500,000 in Milwaukee Rolling Mills stock, $500,000 in Wyandotte Roll
ing Mills stock, $500,000 in floating property, and over $2,000,000 in real
estate.
Mr. E. B. Ward is now about sixty -two years of age, but is prosecuting
his enormous business with all the vigor and exactness of his youth.
160 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the main avenue of communication between Canada and the Brit
ish provinces. Lake George is more than thirty miles long, but
of width so slight that it seems like some broad and placid river,
enclosed between ranges of lofty mountains ; now contracting into
narrows, dotted with islands and shadowed by cliffs and crags, now
spreading into a clear and open expanse. It had long been known
to the ^ French. The Jesuit, Isaac Jogues, bound on a fatal mis
sion to the ferocious 'Mohawks, had reached its banks on the eve of
Corpus Christi Day, and named it Lac St. Sacrement. Its soli
tude was now rudely invaded. Armies passed and re-passed upon
its tranquil bosom. At its northern point the French planted
their stronghold of Ticonderoga ; at its south stood the English
fort, William Henry ; while the mountains and waters between
were a scene of ceaseless ambuscades, surprises, and forest skir
mishing. Through summer and winter, the crack of rifles and the
cries of men gave no rest to their echoes ; and at this day, on the
field of many a forgotten fight, are dug up rusty tomahawks,
corroded bullets, and human bones, to attest the struggles of the
past.
The earliest years of the war were unpropitious to the English,
whose commanders displayed no great degree of vigor or ability.
In the summer of 1756, the French general, Montcalm, advanced
upon Oswego, took it, and leveled it to the ground. In August of
the following year, he struck a heavier blow. Passing Lake
George with a force of eight thousand men, including about two
thousand Indians, gathered from the farthest parts of Canada, he
laid siege to Fort William Henry, close to the spot where Dieskau
had been defeated two years before. Planting his batteries against
it, he beat down its ramparts and dismounted its guns, until the
garrison, after a brave defense, were forced to capitulate. They
marched out with the honors of war ; but, scarcely had they done
so, when Montcalm's Indians assailed them, cutting down and
scalping them without mercy. Those who escaped came into Fort
Edward with exaggerated accounts of the horrors from which they
fled, and a general terror was spread through the country. The
inhabitants were mustered from all parts to repel the advance of
Montcalm ; but the French general, satisfied with what he had
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
161
done, re-passed Lake George, and retired behind the walls of
Ticonderoga.
In the year 1758, the war began to assume a different aspect,
for Pitt was at the head of the government. Sir Jeffrey Amherst
HON. CHARGES M. GARRISON.
CHARLES M. GARRISON, a leading citizen of Detroit, Michigan, was
born near Mt. Vernon, Ohio, on the 17th of March, 1837. His father,
John J. Garrison, commenced business in Detroit in 1829 as a wholesale
grocer. After being burned out and losing his entire stock on two differ
ent occasions, he established himself a third time, and, in the midst of
unbounded success, he retired in 1863, being succeeded by his son, the
subject of this sketch.
Charles M. Garrison spent his youthful days, as he has his entire life,
11
162 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
laid siege to the strong fortress of Louisburg, and at length reduced
it ; while in the South, General Forbes marched against Fort du
Quesne, and, more fortunate than his predecessor, Braddock, drove
the French from that important point. Another successful stroke
was the destruction of Fort Frontenac, which was taken by a pro
vincial army, under Colonel Bradstreet. These achievements were
counterbalanced by a great disaster. Lord Abercrombie, with an
army of sixteen thousand men, advanced to the head of Lake
George, the place made memorable by Dieskau's defeat and the
loss of Fort William Henry. On a brilliant July morning, he
embarked his whole force for an attack on Ticonderoga. Many
of those present have recorded with admiration the beauty of the
spectacle — the lines of boats, filled with troops, stretching far down
the lake, the flashing of oars, the glittering of weapons, and
the music ringing back from crags and rocks, or dying, in mel
lowed strains, among the distant mountains. At night, the army
landed, and, driving in the French outposts, marched through the
woods towards Ticonderoga. One of their columns, losing its way
in the forest, fell in with a body of the retreating French ; and,
in the conflict that ensued, Lord Howe, the favorite of the army,
was shot dead. On the eighth of July, they prepared to storm
the lines which Montcalm had drawn across the peninsula, in
front of the fortress. Advancing to the attack, they saw before
them a breastwork of uncommon height and thickness. The
French were drawn up behind it, their heads alone visible,
as they leveled their muskets against the assailants ; while, for a
in the city of Detroit, receiving a thorough education in her common
schools.
At the age of sixteen he entered his father's store, and has been con
stantly engaged in the wholesale grocery trade ever since, building up
one of the most extensive and important establishments in Michigan.
Mr. Garrison has filled a number of positions of importance and trust,
and has ever been known to perform liis duties faithfully and well. In
1871 he was elected president of the Board of Trade without opposition,
and his performance of the duties of that responsible position was such
as to secure his unanimous reelection to the same office in 1872.
When the disastrous fires of the fall of 1871 swept over the northern
and western portions of our State, laying whole towns in ashes, and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 163
hundred yards in front of the work, the ground was covered with
felled trees, with sharpened branches, pointing outwards. The
signal of assault was given. In vain, the Highlanders, screaming
with rage, hewed with their broadswords among the branches,
struggling to get at the enemy. In vain the English, with their
deep-toned shout, rushed on in heavy columns. A tempest of
musket balls met them, and Montcalm's cannon swept the whole
ground with terrible carnage. A few officers and men forced their
way through the branches, passed the ditch, climbed the breast
work, and, leaping among the enemy, were instantly bayonetted.
The English fought four hours with determined valor, but the
position of the French was impregnable ; and at length, having
lost two thousand of their number, the army drew off, leaving
many of their dead scattered upon the field. A sudden panic
seized the defeated troops. They rushed in haste to their boats,
and, though no pursuit was attempted, they did not regain their
composure until Lake George was between them and the enemy.
The fatal lines of Ticonderoga were not soon forgotten in the
provinces ; and marbles in Westminster Abbey preserve the mem
ory of those who fell on that disastrous day.
This repulse, far from depressing the energies of the British
commanders, seemed to stimulate them to new exertion ; and the
campaign of the next year, 1759, had for its object the immediate
and total reduction of Canada. This tmhappy country was full
of misery and disorder. Peculation and every kind of corruption
prevailed among its civil and military chiefs, a reckless licentious-
doing incalculable damage to our pine forests and farming interests, and
rendering hundreds of families houseless and destitute, Mr. Garrison did
his utmost to render assistance, and contributed largely to that end. He
was appointed chairman of the State relief committee, by Governor
Baldwin, and in this position he did a work that prevented a large
amount of suffering, and brought happiness to many an unfortunate
family throughout the desolate region traversed by the fires.
In the autumn of 1872 he was chosen to represent the fourth ward of
Detroit in her Common Council, and in the proceedings of that body he
exerts considerable influence, and is ever found on the side of economy
and honesty.
164 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ness was increasing among the people, and a general famine seemed
impending ; for the population had of late years been drawn
away for military service, and the fields were left untilled. In
spite of their sufferings, the Canadians, strong in rooted antipathy
to the English, and highly excited by their priests, resolved on
fighting to the last. Prayers were offered up in the churches,
masses said, and penance enjoined, to avert the wrath of God
from the colony, while everything was done for its defense which
the energies of a great and patriotic leader could effect.
The details of the fall of Quebec, and the death of Montcalm
and Wolfe, having been given in another chapter, we will now
follow the English army to Western Canada, Detroit, and other
western outposts.
CHAPTER X.
THE ENGLISH TAKE POSSESSION OF THE WESTERN OUTPOSTS OF CANADA
— MARCH OF MAJOR ROGERS AND THE PROVINCIAL RANGERS —
APPEARANCE OF PONTIAC — SURRENDER OF DETROIT AND MICHILI-
MACKINAC TO THE ENGLISH — END OF FRENCH RULE IN MICHIGAN.
CANADA had fallen ! Montcalm, her bold defender, had also
fallen, and now the plains around Montreal were dotted with
three victorious English armies. The work of conquest was com
plete. Canada, with all her dependencies, had yielded to the
British Crown. It remained only for the English to take posses
sion of those western outposts, where the lilies of France were
still flying from the flag staff. The execution of this very
dangerous task was assigned to Major Robert Rogers, a provincial
officer, and a native of New Hampshire.
Rogers commanded a body of provincial rangers. Putnam and
Stark were his associates ; and it was in this woodland warfare
that the former achieved many of those startling adventures
which have made his name familiar at every New England fire
side.
On the twelfth of September, 1760, Rogers, then at the height
of his reputation, received orders from Sir Jeffrey Amherst to
ascend the lakes with a detachment of rangers, and take posses
sion, in the name of his Britannic Majesty, of Detroit, Michili-
mackinac, and other western posts included in the capitulation of
Montreal. He left the latter place on the following day with two
hundred rangers in fifteen whale boats.
They gained Lake Ontario, skirted its northern shore, amid
rough and boisterous weather, and, crossing at its western extrem
ity, reached Fort Niagara on the first of October. Carrying
their boats over the portage, they launched them once more above
the cataract and slowly pursued their voyage ; while Rogers and
166 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
a few attendants hastened on in advance to Fort Pitt, to deliver
dispatches, with which he was charged, to General Monkton.
This accomplished, he re-joined his army at Presque Isle, about
the end of the month, and the whole proceeded together along the
southern margin of Lake Erie. " The season was far advanced,"
says Parkman, " the wind wras chill, the lake was stormy, and the
woods on shore were tinged with the fading hues of autumn."
On the seventh of November they reached the mouth of a river,
called by Rogers, the Chogage. No body of troops under the
British flag had ever penetrated so far before. The day was dull
and rainy, and, resolving to rest until the weather should improve,
Rogers ordered his men to prepare their encampment in the
neighboring forest.
Soon after the arrival of the rangers, a party of Indian chiefs
and warriors entered the camp. They proclaimed themselves an
embassy from Pontiac, ruler of all that country, and directed, in
his name, that the English should advance no further until they
had had an interview with the great chief, who was already close
at hand. In truth, before the day closed, Pontiac himself
appeared ; and it is here, for the first time, that this remarkable
man stands forth on the pages of the History of Michigan. He
greeted Rogers with the haughty demand, what was his business
in that country, and how dared he enter it without his permission.
Rogers informed him that the French were defeated, that Canada
had surrendered, and that he was on his way to take possession of
Detroit, and restore a general peace to white men and Indians
alike. Pontiac listened with attention, but only replied that he
should stand in the path of the English until morning. Having
inquired if the strangers were in need of anything which his
country could afford, he withdrew, with his chiefs, at nightfall,
to his own encampment ; while the English, ill at ease, and sus
pecting treachery, stood well on their guard throughout the night.
In the morning, Pontiac returned to the camp, with his attend
ant chiefs, and made his reply to Rogers' speech of the previous
day. He was willing, he said, to live at peace with the English,
and suffer them to remain in his country, as long as they treated
him with due respect and deference. The Indian chiefs and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
167
provincial officers smoked the calumet together, and perfect har
mony seemed established between them. Up to this time, Pontiac
had been the fast ally of the French, but it is easy to see the
motive that impelled him to renounce his old allegiance. The
HON. LYSANDER WOODWARD.
LYSANDER WOODWARD, one of the most prominent men in Oakland
county, was born in the town of Columbia, Tolland county, Connecticut,
November 19, 1817. His parents, Asahel Woodward and Harriet House,
were natives of that State.
In 1825, with his parents, he removed to the town of Chili, Monroe
county, N. Y. From here he emigrated to Michigan in the fall of 1838.
He married Miss Peninah A. Simpson on the llth of May, 1843, and
settled near the village of Rochester, Oakland county, where he still
resides.
168 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
American forests never produced a man more shrewd and ambi
tious. Ignorant as he was of what was passing in the world, he
could clearly see that the French power was on the wane, and he
knew his own interest too well to prop a falling cause.
A cold storm of rain set in, and the rangers were detained sev
eral days in thejr encampment. During this time Rogers had
several interviews with Pontiac, and was constrained to admire
the native vigor of his intellect, no less than the singular control
which he exercised over those around him. On the twelfth of
November the detachment was again in motion, and within a few
days they had reached the western end of Lake Erie. Here they
heard that the Indians of Detroit were in arms against them, and
that four hundred warriors lay in ambush at the entrance of the
river to cut them off. The powerful influence of Pontiac being
exerted in favor of his new friends, the warriors abandoned their
design, and the rangers continued their march toward Detroit, now
near at hand.
Lieutenant Brehm was sent forward by Rogers to inform Cap
tain Beletre, the commandant at Detroit, that Canada had capitu
lated, that his garrison was included in the capitulation, and that
an English detachment was approaching to relieve it. Captain
Beletre, in great wrath at these tidings, disregarded the message
Mr. Woodward's chief occupation is that of a farmer, but lie lias held
many important offices in his township. In 1800 he was elected Repre
sentative from the first district of Oakland county to the State Legislature,
and served with considerable distinction during one regular and two
extra sessions. He was county treasurer of Oakland county two terms,
from 1866 to 1870, and performed his duties in a thoroughly satisfactory
manner. Mr. Woodward was also president of the Oakland County
Agricultural Society for three years, and in this position did great service
in advancing the agricultural interests of his county. He was among the
first to conceive and advocate the building of the Detroit & Bay City
Railroad, and has been instrumental in canvassing for and promoting its
construction. He was chosen the first president of this company in 1871,
which important office he held up to May 15, 1873, and he still remains
one of the directors of the company.
Mr. Woodward owns one of the largest and best cultivated farms in
Oakland county.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
169
as an informal communication, and resolved to keep a hostile atti
tude to the last. He did his best to rouse the fury of the Indians,
but his faithless allies showed symptoms of defection in his hour
of need.
HON. PETER C. ANDRE.
PETER CHARLES ANDRE, of Saginaw, was born in Detroit, Michigan,
October 25, 1817. His grandfather, Joseph Andre, was the'founder and
proprietor of Vincennes, Indiana, whence Joseph Clark Andre, the
father of Peter C., removed in 1801 to Detroit, where, on July 29, 1813,
he married Clemelia, daughter of Capt. John Fearson, of Boston, Mass.,
who is known as among the earliest navigators of the upper lakes. Of
the issue of this marriage there are still surviving, besides the subject of
this sketch, Julia, wife of Major Placedus Ord, U. S. A., Elias C. and
Alexander Andre, Josephine Schick and Louisa Calnon.
170 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Rogers had now entered the mouth of the Detroit River, whence
he sent forward Captain Campbell with a copy of the capitulation
and a letter from the Marquis de Vaudreuil, directing that the
place should be given up, in accordance with the terms agreed
upon between him and General Amherst. Beletre was forced to
yield, and with a very ill grace, declared himself and his garrison
at the disposal of the English commander.
The whale boats of the rangers moved slowly upwards between
the low banks of the Detroit, until at length they came in sight
of the little town. Before them, on the right side, they could see
the village of the Wyandots, and on the left, the clustered lodges
of the Pottawattomies, while a little beyond, the flag of France was
flying for the last time above the bark roofs and weather-beaten
palisades of the little fortified settlement.
The rangers landed on the opposite bank, and pitched their tents
upon a meadow, while two officers, with a small detachment, went
across the river to take possession of the place. In obedience to
their summons, the French garrison defiled upon the plain, and
Mr. Andre's family consists of Ins wife (formerly Miss Clarissa M.
Stark), two daughters and himself.
At a very early age he entered the dry goods store of 8. P. Fletcher,
then in the " John R. Williams Block," Detroit, as a clerk. After spend
ing a few years in that capacity, and before reaching his majority, he
went into the mercantile, forwarding and commission business, on his
own account, at Grand Haven, Michigan, and in 1843 established five
trading posts in the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula. These he
conducted until 1846, when he removed to Saginaw and opened a mer
cantile house, which he continued until 1803. Since then he has been,
and still is, engaged largely in the real estate business.
Mr. Andre's fortune is among the largest in Saginaw; and it is perhaps
due him to say that his tact, sagacity and energy, have carried him suc
cessfully through the great financial troubles of the last forty years.
He has been mayor of Saginaw and register of deeds for Saginaw
county, and has held responsible positions under the general government.
He has always taken a lively interest in all matters pertaining to the
development and growth of his city and county. His advice and opin
ions are much sought in the councils of both, and he contributes freely
and generously to every enterprise tending to their prosperity and wel
fare.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 171
laid down their arms. Thefleur de Us was lowered from the flag
staff, and the cross of St. George rose aloft in its place, while
seven hundred Indian warriors, lately the active allies of the
French, greeted the sight with a burst of triumphant yells.
The Canadian militia were next called together, and disarmed.
The Indians beheld these actions with amazement, being quite at
a loss to understand why so many men should bow before so few.
" Nothing," says Parkman, " is more effective in gaining the respect
or even attachment of Indians, than a display of power." The
savage spectators conceived- the loftiest ideas of English prowess,
and were astonished at the forbearance of the conquerors in not
killing their vanquished enemies on the spot.
Thus, on the 29th of November, 1760, Detroit fell into the
hands of the English. The garrison were sent as prisoners down
the lake, but the Canadian inhabitants were allowed to retain
their farms and houses, on condition of swearing allegiance to the
British crown. An officer was sent southward to take possession
of the forts Miami and Ouatanon, which guarded the communica
tion between Lake Erie and the Ohio ; while Rogers himself, with
a small party, proceeded northward, to relieve the French garri
son of Michilimackinac. The storms and gathering ice of Lake
Huron forced him back, without accomplishing his object, and
Michilimackinac, with the three remoter posts of Ste. Marie,
Green Bay, and St. Joseph, remained for a time in the hands of
the French. During the next season, however, a detachment of
the Sixtieth Regiment, then called the Royal Americans, took pos
session of them, a full account of which will be found farther on.
Nothing now remained within the power of the French, except
the few posts and settlements on the Mississippi and the Wabash,
not included in the capitulation of Montreal. The fertile wilder
ness beyond the Alleghanies, over which France had claimed
sovereignty — that boundless forest, with its tracery of interlacing
streams, which, like veins and arteries, gave it life and nourish
ment—had passed into the hands of England. The French in
America were completely subdued, and, to the English mind, there
wTas little to be feared from the red man. The lapse of two years,
however, sufficed to show how complete and fatal was the mistake.
CHAPTER XI.
HOSTILITY BETWEEN THE NORTHERN INDIANS AND THE ENGLISH —
EXPERIENCE OF THE FIRST ENGLISH TRADERS WHO VISITED MICH-
ILIMACKINAC — THEIR PERSECUTIONS — THE ENGLISH SOLDIERS TAKE
POSSESSION OF MICHILIMACKINAC.
WITH the change of jurisdiction narrated in the preceding chap
ter a new scene opens before us. The victory on the Heights of
Abraham gave to England the possession of a wide extent of terri
tory ; but that territory was vast forest, broken only here and
there by a prairie, a lake, or an Indian clearing. The emblems of
power in these illimitable wastes were the log forts which had
been, here and there, erected by the French for trading posts.
The English took possession of these, garrisoned them with a few
men, seemingly oblivious of the dangers by which they were sur
rounded, dependent, as they were, upon the Indians for supplies,
and weakened by the long distances which separated them from
each other. But, weak as they were, their presence alarmed the,
Indians. The untutored mind of the savage could not comprehend
by what right the British flag was unfurled over their dominions,
or why the English should claim any right to their lands because
of a victory over the French. Hence, from the first, they were
filled with suspicion and dislike ; and the conduct of the English
was such as to foster, rather than allay, the feeling. The French
had always treated the red man as a brother. " They called us
children," said a Chippewa chief, " and we found them fathers."
But the English were cold and harsh. The French had made
them liberal presents ; but the English spurned them from their
doors. The French traders had dealt honestly by them ; but the
English had cheated them and outraged their families.
Another source of discontent was the advent of English set
tlers. Their choicest lands were invaded, and the graves of their
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
173
ancestors desecrated. These things aroused some of the tribes to
the highest pitch of excitement.
In the meantime, the French were not idle. Every advantage
was taken of the conduct of the English and the natural fears of
HON. CHARLES S. MAY.
CHARLES SEDGWICK MAY was born at Sandisfield, Berkshire county,
Mass., March 22, 1830. In the year 1834, his father's 1'amily removed to
Richland, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, being among the earliest settlers
of the town. Until his fifteenth year he worked upon his father's farm,
attending district school during the winter months. He then entered as
a student the Kalamazoo branch of the Michigan University, and was in
attendance with more or less regularity for four years, acquiring some
knowledge of Latin and Greek, and laying the foundations of the
rhetorical and oratorical excellence for which he has since been so well
known. At the age of twenty he had acquired a command of both
174 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the Indians. They told the Indians that the English were deter
mined to exterminate them, or drive them from their homes and
their hunting grounds ; that the King of France had been asleep,
but was now awake, and hastening with a vast army to the assist
ance of his red children.
Another cause which tended to increase their excitement, and
hasten an outbreak, was the appearance of a prophet among the
Delawares. He taught them to lay aside everything which they
had received from the white man, and thus strengthen and purify
their natures, and make themselves acceptable to the Great Spirit.
He told them that by so doing the favor of the Great Spirit would
be conciliated, and the white man would be forever driven from
their dominions.
This excitement soon led them to action. In the spring of 1761,
Captain Campbell, then commanding at Detroit, learned that a
deputation of Senecas had come to the neighboring village of the
Wyandots, for the purpose of instigating the latter to destroy him
and his garrison. Upon examination, the plot was found to be
general, and other posts were to share the fate of his own ; but his
promptness in sending information to the other commanders
extemporaneous and written oratory rarely met with in so young a man.
This naturally led him to the choice of law as a profession. After read
ing at home for some time such elementary law books as he could obtain,
he pursued his legal studies more regularly at Bennington, Vermont, and
at Battle Creek, Michigan, while at the same time he was a frequent
contributor to the anti-slavery journals of the State. He was duly admit
ted to the bar of Michigan in 1854. From November, 1855, to October,
1856, he was associate political editor of the Detroit Daily Tribune, acting
a considerable portion of that time as its editorial correspondent in
Washington. Finding this employment too confining, he returned to
the practice of law at Battle Creek, and in September, 1857, removed to
Kalamazoo, where he has since resided, practicing his profession.
In November, 1860, Mr. May was elected Prosecuting Attorney for
Kalamazoo county. Immediately after the bombardment of Sumter, in
April, 1861, he resigned his office to raise a company for the Second
Regiment of Michigan infantry, and, with his men, started at once for
the seat of war. After serving through the first campaign of the Army
of the Potomac, participating with honor in the battles of Blackburn's
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 175
nipped the conspiracy in the bud. During the following year, a
similar design was detected and suppressed. But these proved to
be only warnings of what was to come. In the spring of 1763, a
scheme was matured, " greater in extent, deeper, and more com
prehensive in design — such a one as was never, before or since,
conceived or executed by a North American Indian." It contem
plated, first, a sudden and contemporaneous assault upon all the
English forts around the lakes ; and, second, the garrisons having
been destroyed, the turning of a savage avalanche of destruction
upon the defenseless frontier settlements, until, as many fondly
believed, the English should be driven into the Atlantic Ocean,
and the Indians reinstated in their primitive possessions.
But, before we proceed further with the narration of the events
of this conspiracy, let us turn our attention to the condition of
Michilimackinac, and note the events which were there transpir
ing. The Indians of that locality as deeply regretted the change
whick had taken place as their more southern neighbors, and for
the same causes.
This post, it will be remembered, did not fall into the hands of
the English until about one year after the surrender of Detroit.
Ford and Bull Run, he was compelled by ill health to resign his commis
sion, and return to his home and profession.
In the fall of 1862, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Michigan;
as such, presiding over the State Senate during its sessions, though the
youngest member of that body, with signal ability and general approval.
He was universally conceded to have been one of the ablest presiding
officers that had ever occupied the chair of the Senate chamber.
On the 9th of February, J863, he addressed the Senate, in a carefully
prepared speech, urging the Legislature to sustain the government in
putting down the rebellion. The speech was widely circulated by his
Republican friends, and was admitted, even by his political opponents,
to be an effort of great power.
On the 25th of January, 1864, during the extra session, at the unani
mous request of the Republican members of both branches of the
Legislature, Mr. May made a speech in the Hall of Representatives, enti
tled " Union, Victory and Freedom," of such clearness of statement and
force of argument, that it was published as a pamphlet and very widely
circulated, and copied into many of the leading Republican journals
176 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Our purpose is now to narrate some of the important events which
transpired during the last year of French occupation of this
ancient Indian metropolis. The English flag floated over every post
in the lake region save this. Here, alone, the fleur de Us still
waved in the breeze ; and here were collected those savages who
were most hostile to the Eoglish. The French constantly goaded
their Indian allies to greater hostility to the English — determined
to harass the enemy they could not conquer. The feeling which
animated these Indians cannot be better described than by nar
rating some of the adventures of Alexander Henry, the first Eng
lish trader who ventured among them. No treaty having been
made, it was with difficulty that Henry secured permission to
trade. But consent was at last given, and, on the third of August,
1761, he began his perilous journey. Reaching Michilimackinac,
he secured a house, but was immediately warned by the inhabit
ants that his position was far from safe. They advised him to lose
no time in returning to Detroit ; but he disregarded their admo
nitions, and concluded to take his chances, his friend Campion
having declared his belief that the Canadian settlers were more
hostile than the Indians, and that their admonitions were prompted
by jealousy of English traders.
throughout the West. Since the close of his term as Lieutenant-
Governor, he has held no public office.
In the national and State campaigns from 1856 to 1870, he was actively
engaged as a political orator on the Republican side. During the cam
paign of 1872, he supported Horace Greeley for President, running as
elector at large on the Liberal State ticket. Although prevented by a
severe and protracted illness from participating in the campaign to any
extent that season, yet on the 27th of September, while still much enfee
bled, and suffering from disease, he made a notable and powerful speech
at Union Hall, in Kalamazoo, in vindication of the Liberal movement,
which was widely read and circulated throughout the State.
In conclusion, the subject of this sketch is well known as a man of
uncompromising integrity, and of indomitable and undaunted moral
courage in his advocacy of the great principles of justice, temperance,
morality and equal rights, and both for his own high character and his
unquestioned ability, he commands the respect and confidence of his
fellow men.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
177
Fort Michilimackinac was built by order of the Governor-Gen
eral of Canada, and garrisoned with a small number of militia,
who, having families, soon became less soldiers than settlers. The
fort and settlement stood on the south side of the strait connecting
HON. B. W. HUSTON.
BENJAMIN W. HUSTON, of Vassar, Tuscola county, was born near the
city of Rochester, New York, March 5, 1831. His father, B. W. Huston,
Sr. , removed from the State of New York in the spring of 1836, and set
tled upon a farm in the township of Canton, Wayne county, Michigan,
where he is still living.
Mr. Huston, Jr., the subject of this sketch, when very young, evinced
a strong desire for an education, but the moderate means of his parents
prevented them from gratifying this desire only in a limited manner. At
12
178 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The settlement had an area of
two acres, and was inclosed with pickets of cedar wood, and was
so near the water's edge, that when the wind was from the west,
the waves broke against the stockade. On the bastions were two
small pieces of English brass cannon. Within the stockade were
thirty houses, neat in their appearance, and tolerably commodious,
and a church, in which mass was celebrated by a Jesuit priest.
The number of families was nearly equal to that of the houses,
and their subsistence was derived from the Indian traders, who
assembled there on their voyages to and from Montreal. Michili-
mackinac was the place of deposit, and point of departure between
the upper countries and the lower. Here the outfits were prepared
for the countries of Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, Lake
Superior and the Northwest ; and here the return, in furs, was
collected and embarked for Montreal.
Henry was not released from the visits and admonitions of the
inhabitants of the fort before he received the equivocal intelli
gence that the whole band of Chippewas, from the Island of Mich-
ilimackinac, was arrived, with the intention of paying him a visit.
There was in the fort a Mr. Farley, an interpreter, lately in the
eight years of age he was taken from the district school and placed at
work on his father's farm, and from that time until he was nineteen
years of age he seldom received over a month or six weeks' schooling
during the year, and that in the winter season, when his services could
not be made available on the farm. At the age of nineteen his health
failed him to such an extent that he could not perform the laborious
duties of a farmer, and, consequently, he enjoyed the benefits of an eleven
weeks' term at the seminary, in Ypsilanti. He taught school the follow
ing winter, and worked on the farm the two succeeding summers,
attending the Ypsilanti seminary during the fall terms of those years.
In the spring of 1853, Mr. Huston entered the office of Hon. C. Joslin,
of Ypsilanti, as a law student. At this time he was destitute of all pecu
niary assistance, and had to rely entirely upon his own resources to
acquire the desired knowledge. He, however, pushed his le-gal studies
diligently, and was admitted to the bar at Ann Arbor in September, 1854.
At the time he was reading law he married Miss Nancy J. Vought, of
Superior township, Washtenaw county, Mich.
In the spring of 1855 he removed from Ypsilanti to Tuscola county,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 179
employ of the French commandant. He had married a Chippewa
woman, and was said to possess great influence over the nation to
which his wife belonged. Doubtful as to the kind of visit which
he was about to receive, Henry sent for this interpreter, and
requested, first, that he would have the kindness to be present at
the interview ; and, secondly, that he would inform him of the
intention of the band. Mr. Farley agreed to be present ; and, as
to the object of the visit, replied, that it was consistent with a uni
form custom, that a stranger, on his arrival, should be wraited
upon and welcomed by the chiefs of the nation, who, on their
part, always gave a small present, and always expected a large
one ; but as to the rest, declared himself unable to answer for
the particular views of the Chippewas on this occasion, he
being an Englishman, and the Indians having made no treaty with
the English. He thought there might be danger, the Indians
having protested that they would not suffer an Englishman to
remain in their part of the country. This information was far
from agreeable ; but there was no resource except in fortitude and
patience.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Chippewas visited Mr.
Henry, at his house, about sixty in number, and headed by Mina-
and settled in the town of Vassar, where he still resides. When he
reached Vassar he found himself in a county that was almost an unbroken
wilderness, having only two thousand inhabitants inside its boundaries.
His possessions consisted of ninety dollars worth of law books, a loving
wife, and several hundred dollars of debts. This was rather a discour
aging start in life, but Mr. Huston showed himself equal to the heavy
task before him. He received the appointment of prosecuting attorney
for his county, at a salary of $150 a year, and with this, and what he
earned by hard work at his profession, succeeded in maintaining himself
for several years, until his county grew, and his practice with it.
From the time of attaining his majority until the breaking out of the
rebellion, Mr. Huston acted with the Democratic party. In 1856 he
received the nomination of prosecuting attorney of his county from that
party, but the county being strongly Republican, he was defeated. In
1858 he was elected prosecuting attorney and circuit court commissioner
on the Democratic ticket, although that party was still in the minority.
At the following election he was defeated for the same office by only
180 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
vavana, their chief. They walked in single file, each with his
tomahawk in one hand and scalping-knife in the other. Their
bodies were naked from the waist upward, except in a few
instances, where blankets were thrown loosely over their shoulders.
Their faces were painted with charcoal, worked up with grease ;
their bodies with white clay, in patterns of various fancies. Some
had feathers thrust through their noses, and their heads decorated
with the same. It is not proper to dwell here on the sensations
with which Henry beheld the approach of this uncouth, if not
frightful assemblage.
The chief entered first, and the rest followed, without noise.
On receiving a sign from the former, the latter seated themselves
on the floor. Minavavana appeared to be about fifty years of age.
He was six feet in height, and had in his countenance an inde
scribable mixture of good and evil. Looking steadfastly at
Henry, where he sat — with an interpreter on either side, and several
Canadians behind him — he entered at the same time into conversa
tion with Campion, Henry's friend, inquiring how long it was
since Mr. Henry left Montreal, and observing that the English, as
it would seem, were brave men, and not afraid of death, since
they dared to come, as Henry had done, fearlessly among their
enemies.
twenty-one votes. At this election he supported Stephen A. Douglass for
the presidency, but has not acted with the Democratic party since.
In 1802, at the request of the war committee of his county, he raised
and organized Co. "D," of the 23d Michigan Infantry Volunteers, and
went out with it as captain. He started for the seat of war on the 18th
of September, 1862, and remained with the regiment until the winter of
1865. Capt. Huston was in active service in many of the most important
engagements during the war, among which were Morgan's raid, the battle
of Campbell's Station, and the siege of Knoxville. He was engaged in
the whole campaign in East Tennessee, and was with Gen. Sherman in
the campaign against Atlanta. Being previously promoted to major,
and owing to the sickness of Col. Spaulding, he was in command of the
regiment during the greater portion of this campaign. Major Huston
took an active part in the engagements around Lost Mountain and at
Resaca. At the latter place he displayed great courage, remaining on the
field after all the men and officers had retreated to the cover of the woods.
With the exception of two short leaves of absence of twenty days each,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 181
The Indians now gravely smoked their pipes, while llenry
inwardly endured "the torture of suspense. At length, the pipes
being finished, as well as a long pause by which they were suc
ceeded, Minavavana, taking a few strings of wampum in his hand,
began the following speech :
" Englishman, it is to you that I speak, and I demand your
attention. Englishman, you know that the French king is our
father. He promised to be such, and we, in return, promised to be
his children. This promise we have kept. Englishman, it is you
that have made war with this our father. You are his enemies,
and how, then, could you have the boldness to venture among us,
his children ? You know that his enemies are ours. Englishman,
we are informed that our father, the King of France, is old and
infirm, and that, being fatigued with making war with your nation,
he has fallen asleep. During his sleep, you have taken advantage
of him, and possessed yourselves of Canada. But his nap is almost
at an end. I think I hear him already stirring and inquiring for
his children, the Indians ; and when he does awake, what must
become of you? He will destroy you utterly. Englishman,
although you have conquered the French, you have not yet con
quered us ! We are not your slaves ! These lakes, these woods
and mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are our
one of which was on account of injuries, Mr. Huston was not, absent
from duty a single day from the time he entered the service until he left
tho same, in January, 1865.
In the spring of 1865, he returned to Vassar, and again renewed the
practice of his profession. In 1866 he was elected circuit court commis
sioner of his county, which position he soon after resigned. He was
elected a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1867, without
opposition. In this convention he succeeded in winning the confidence
and esteem of his associates. In the fall of 1868 he was elected as a
Representative to the State Legislature by a large -majority, and served
as chairman of the committee on public lands, being also a member of
the judiciary committee. Mr. Huston was reflected to the House in 1870,
and was a prominent candidate for the speakership before the Republican
caucus, being defeated by only one ballot, and that in the absence of a
number of his friends. He served as speaker pro tern of the House during
the sessions of 1869 and 1871-2, and was chairman of the judiciary com
mittee during the latter session. As a member of the Constitutional
182 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
inheritance, and we will part with them to none. Your nation
supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live without bread,
and pork, and beef. But you ought to know that He, the Great
Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us in these spacious
lakes, and on these woody mountains.
" Englishman, our father, the King of France, has employed our
young men to make war upon your nation. In this warfare many
of them have been killed, and it is our custom to retaliate, until
such time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. But the spirits
of the slain are to be satisfied in either of two way? : the first is
by the spilling of the blood of the nation by which they fell ; the
other, by covering the bodies of the dead, and thus allaying the
resentment of their relations. This is done by making presents.
"Englishman, your king has never sent us any presents, nor
entered into any treaty with us, wherefore he and we are still at
war ; and until be does these things, we must consider that we have
no other father or friend among the white men but the King of
France. But, for you, we have taken into consideration that you
have ventured your life among us in the expectation that we
should not molest you. You do not come armed, with an inten
tion to make war ; you come in peace, to trade with us, and supply
Convention and the Legislature, Mr. Huston was one of the most untir
ing and faithful workers in those bodies, never being absent from roll
call of either of them during their entire sessions. He was one of the
managers in the impeachment trial of Commissioner Edmonds, and he is
said to have made the most convincing speech, from the facts that were
proven, that was made on the part of the prosecution. He was one of
the delegates to the Republican National Convention, which met in
Philadelphia, in 1872, and nominated General Grant for a second term of
the presidency.
As a lawyer, he has been remarkably successful, and although he
started in a new country, and under very discouraging circumstances, he
has, through the dint of hard labor, built up a large and lucrative prac
tice.
As a man, he is social and pleasant in his intercourse with his fellow
men. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and superin
tendent of their Sunday school. He contributes freely to all charitable
and religious purposes, and has the entire confidence of the community in
which he resides.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 183
us with necessaries, of which we are much in want. We shall
regard you, therefore, as a brother ; and you may sleep tranquilly,
without fear of the Chippewas. As a token of our friendship, we
present you this pipe to smoke."
RAY HADDOCK.
RAY HADDOCK, county clerk of Wayne county, was born in Herkimer
county, New York, in the year 1815. He early manifested a strong pre
dilection for the " art preservative of all arts," and commenced his appren
ticeship in a printing office, in Little Falls, in 1830, closing it in Columbus,
Ohio, whither he went with his parents, in 1832. He worked as a
journeyman printer in Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, New
Orleans, Natchez, Jackson and Clinton, Mississippi ; established the
Republican at Brandon, in the same State, in 1837; returned north in 1839,
and was connected successfully with the Cincinnati Message, Ohio States
man, Cleveland Times, and Sandusky Mirror; came to Detroit in April,
1857, and accepted the position of commercial editor of the Detroit Tri
bune, continuing in the same capacity upon the Advertiser and Tribune, after
the consolidation of the two journals, a position which he resigned in
1866, to accept a situation upon the Detroit Post. Mr. Haddock was
appointed secretary of the Detroit Board of Trade in 1860, which
appointment he held for nearly 13 years, tendering his resignation in the
184 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
As the chief uttered these words, an Indian presented Henry
with a pipe, which, after he had drawn the smoke three times, was
carried to the chief, and after him to every person in the room.
This ceremony ended, the chief arose, and gave Henry his hand,
in which he was followed by all the rest. Being again seated, the
chief requested that his young men might be allowed to taste, what
he called Henry's English milk (meaning rum), observing that it
was long since they had tasted any, and that they were very desi
rous to know whether or not there was any difference between the
English milk and the French.
Henry's former adventures with Indians had left an impression
on his mind which made him tremble when Indians asked for rum,
and he would, therefore, have willingly excused himself in this
particular ; but, being informed that it was customary to comply
with the request, and, withal, satisfied with the friendly declara
tions which he had received, he promised to give them a small cask
at parting. After this, Henry, by the aid of an interpreter, made
a reply to the speech of the chief, declaring that it was the good
character, which had been reported to him, of the Indians, that
had emboldened him to go among them ; that their late father,
the King of France, had surrendered Canada to the King of Eng
land, whom they ought to regard now as their father, and who
would be as careful of them as the other had been.
Henry continued his speech at some length, and, at the parting,
distributed a small quantity of rum among the Indians.
Henry now imagined himself free from cause for anxiety, as to
the treatment which he was to receive from the Indians. He
assorted his goods which he had taken with him, and hired Cana
dian interpreters and clerks, in whose care he was to send them
into various parts of the country. Everything was ready for their
departure, when new dangers sprang up and threatened to over
whelm him. This new danger came from a village of the Otta-
was. Nearly everything was in readiness for the departure of the
goods, when accounts of the approach of two hundred warriors
fall of 1872, having been nominated as the Republican candidate for
county clerk, to which office he was elected in November of the same
year.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
185
was received. They assembled in the house which had been built
for the commandant, and ordered Henry's attendance, and also
that of the other merchants who had already joined him from
Montreal, viz : Stanley Godderd and Ezekiel Solomons*
HON. GEORGE H. DURAND.
THE subject of this sketch is one of the prominent and well known
young men of Michigan, and is properly classed among those who, with
large natural gifts, that have been utilized and strengthened by con
tinued and well rewarded labor, have done so much to give character to
our beautiful peninsula, and whose sterling qualities have demanded
and received esteem, respect and acknowledgment. Mr. Durand was
born at Cobleskill, Schoharie county, New York, in 1838. His educa
tion was acquired through his own exertions entirely, his vacations being
186 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
After these men had entered the council room and taken their
seats, one of the chiefs commenced an address, which he concluded
as follows : " Englishmen, we see your canoes ready to depart,
and find your men engaged for the Mississippi, and other distant
regions. Under these circumstances, we have considered the affair,
and you are now sent for that you may hear our determination,
which is, that you shall give to each of our men, young and old,
merchandise and ammunition to the amount of fifty beaver skins,
on credit, and for which I have no doubt of their paying you in
the summer, on their return from the wintering."
A compliance with this demand would have stripped them of
nearly all their resources. They, therefore, tried to lessen the
employed ia earning the necessary means to enable him to prosecute his
studies. He removed to Michigan in 1856, and like many of our promi
nent citizens, Mr. Durand, at the time of his arrival in this State, possessed
neither friends, influence or wealth. His future was an enigma to be
solved only by passing years — to be solved, not by impotent resolve nor
errant purpose, but by that strong and indefatigable will, which overcomes
difficulties and dangers, and which is certain to bring to the man of intel
lect that meed of success which is the test of merit.
Very soon after his arrival here he commenced the study of the law,
and after pursuing his studies with great diligence, he was admitted to
to the bar in 1858, when he immediately located in the enterprising city
of Flint, where he has ever since resided. A young lawyer, under the
most favorable auspices, has much to contend with, but young Durand,
with no capital and no friends or influence at Flint, had still more than
is usual to combat. He was brought in professional contact with such
men as the late Hon. Wm. M. Fenton, Hon. Wm. Newton, the late Hon.
Levi Walker and other distinguished lawyers, whose names are well
known in the best legal circles of the State, and who had grown gray in
the arduous labors of the courts ; but he persisted, and by his courteous
and gentlemanly manners, his clear perception and great good judg
ment, he gained not only the respect of his brothers in the profession but
also- the confidence of the community, and his future as a lawyer was
thus assured. For fifteen years Mr. Durand has followed his profession,
devoting himself to it with much earnestness and industry, and has
acquired a large and lucrative practice.
With politics he has had as little to do as is possible for a man of his
ardent nature and his clear ideas of right and wrong. His sentiments,
perhaps, more nearly affiliate with the Democracy of the conservative
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 187
demand ; but was informed that all had been said that would be
said, and were given till the next day for reflection. The assur
ance was also offered them that if the demand was not complied
with, their goods would be taken by force.
They then retired for consultation. In the evening, Farley, the
interpreter, informed them that their massacre had been determined
upon, and advised them to accede to the demand. But this they
determined not to do, as they suspected the interpreter of a design
to prey upon their fears, and drive them from the post. They then
barricaded their house, armed about thirty of their followers, and
slept upon their arms. They were not molested, however, but the
next morning were summoned to another council, which they
refused to attend. There were none without in whom they had
school than with any other party, still, he may not be reckoned as a
party man in the strictest sense. He was an ardent advocate of the war
for the suppression of the rebellion, and has always been eminently
patriotic in his views. Although preferring to remain in private life,
attending to the ordinary duties of his profession, his ability and counsel
have been sought after in other capacities, and, as a consequence, he has
for years taken an active and leading part in public matters, political and
otherwise, in his section of the State. He has often been nominated and
frequently elected to office, always running largely ahead of his ticket,
and at the municipal election held in Flint, in April, 1873, although run
ning on the Democratic ticket, and against a worthy competitor, he was
elected mayor of that strongly republican city by a majority greater than
was ever given to any public officer in that place. This responsible office
he now holds, as well as that of D. D. G. M., in the Masonic fraternity,
for the eighth Masonic district of Michigan. In all of his official posi
tions he invariably conducts himself with moderation and.good judgment,
while his advice is peculiarly winning and convincing, and his personal
character admirable. Mr. Durand, although but thirty-five years of age,
has made for himself a record which is indeed an enviable one, and what
ever of prominence or success, whether in his profession or the more
liberal pursuits, whether in the political field or the world of letters, shall
attend him in the future, it will be, as in the past, the result of a steady
determination on his part to do whatever he undertakes in a careful,
painstaking and intelligent manner, united with a special gift of unusual
ability, whether as writer, orator or counselor. The lesson of his life
may be easily gathered from a knowledge of its character, a study of its
purposes, and a familiarity with its accomplishments.
188 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
any confidence, save Campion. From him they learned, from time
to time, whatever was rumored among the Canadian inhabitants
as to the designs of the Ottawas, and from him, toward sunset,
they received the gratifying intelligence that a detachment of
British soldiers, sent to garrison Michilimaekinac, was distant only
five miles, and would enter the fort early the next morning.
Near at hand, however, as relief was reported to be, their anxiety
could not but be great, for a long night was to be passed, and their
fate might be decided before the next morning. To increase their
apprehension, about midnight they were informed that the Ottawas
were holding a council, at which no white man was permitted to
be present, Farley alone excepted ; and him they suspected, and
afterwards knew to be their greatest enemy. The Englishmen,
on their part, remained all night upon the alert ; but at daybreak,
to their surprise and joy, they saw the Ottawas preparing to depart.
By sunrise, not a man of them was left in the fort. The inhabit
ants, who, while the Ottawas were present, had avoided all con
nection with these Englishmen, now came with congratulations.
They related that the Ottawas had proposed to them that, if joined
by the Canadians, they would march and attack the troops, which
were known to be advancing on the fort ; and they added that
it was their refusal which had determined the Ottawas to depart.
At noon, three hundred troops of the Sixtieth Regiment, under
command of Lieutenant Leslie, marched into the fort. This
arrival dissipated all the fears the Englishmen had, and somewhat
reversed their position in regard to the French. After a few days,
detachments were sent into the Bay des Puans, by which was the
route to the Mississippi, and at the mouth of St. Joseph, which led
to the Illinois. The Indians from all quarters were eager to pay
their respects to the commandant ; and the three English mer
chants dispatched their canoes, though it was late in the season.
We will now leave Michilimaekinac to notice events elsewhere,
but will return at the proper point, and resume our account of the
adventures of Mr. Henry and his associates, of which the most
thrilling part is yet to come. Interwoven with this narrative will
also be found a true account of the massacres and barbaric wars
in and around this northern fort.
CHAPTER XII.
HOSTILITY BETWEEN THE INDIANS AND THE ENGLISH — ITS CAUSE
EXPLAINED — THE INDIANS RISING TO DRIVE THE ENGLISH FROM
THE COUNTRY— PONTIAC'S MESSAGE— THE COUNCIL AND SPEECH IN
WHICH THE CONSPIRACY is MATURED — THE WAR.
IT MUST not be supposed that the hostility between the Indians
and the English was confined to Michilimackinac. France had
scarcely yielded up her claim to the country, when smothered
murmurs of discontent began to be audible among the Indian
tribes throughout the entire Northwest. In every wigwam and
hamlet of the forest a deep-rooted hatred of the English increased
with rapid growth. Nor is this to be wrondered at. " We have
seen with what sagacious policy," says Parkman, " the French had
labored to ingratiate themselves with the Indians ; and the
slaughter of the Monongahela, with the horrible devastation of the
Western frontier, the outrages perpetrated at Oswego, and the
massacre at Fort William Henry, bore witness to the success of
their efforts. Even the Delawares and Shawanoes, the faithful
allies of William Penn, had at length been seduced by their blan
dishments ; and the Iroquois, the ancient enemies of Canada, had
half forgotten their former hostility, and well nigh taken part
against the British colonists. The remote nations of the West had
also joined in the war, descending in their canoes for hundreds of
miles to fight against, the enemies of France. All these tribes
entertained towards the English that rancorous enmity which an
Indian always feels against them to whom he has been opposed in
war."
It would seem that, under these circumstances, the English
would have used the utmost care in their conduct towards the
Indians. But, even when the conflict with the French was impend
ing, and the alliance with the Indian tribes was of the greatest
190 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
importance, they treated them with careless indifference and
neglect They were not likely to adopt a different course now
that their friendship seemed a matter of no consequence. In
truth, the intentions of the English were soon apparent. The fol
lowing paragraphs, from Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac, car
ries us to the point I desire to reach so admirably, that I will
take the liberty to use them :
" In the zeal for retrenchment which prevailed after the close
of hostilities, the presents which it had always been customary to
give the Indians, at stated intervals, were either withheld alto
gether, or doled out with a niggardly hand ; while, to make the
matter worse, the agents and officers of the government often
appropriated the presents to themselves, and afterwards sold them
at an exorbitant price to the Indians. When the French had pos
session of these remote forts, they were accustomed, with a wise lib
erality, to supply the surrounding Indians with guns, ammunition
and clothing, until the latter had forgotten the weapons and gar
ments of their forefathers, and depended on the white man for
support. The sudden withholding of these supplies was, there
fore, a grievous calamity. Want, suffering and death were the
consequences ; and this cause alone would have been enough to
produce general discontent. But, unhappily, other grievances
were added. The English fur trade had never been well regu
lated, and it was now in a worse condition than ever. Many of
the traders and those in their employ were ruffians of the coarsest
stamp, who vied with each other in rapacity, violence and profli
gacy. They cheated, cursed and plundered the Indians, and out
raged their families; offering, when compared with the French
traders, who were under better regulation, a most unfavorable
example of the character of their nation. The officers and sol
diers of the garrison did their full part in exciting the general
resentment. Formerly, when the warriors came to the forts, they
had been welcomed by the French with attention and respect.
The inconvenience which their presence occasioned had been dis
regarded, and their peculiarities overlooked, but now they were
received with cold looks and harsh words by the officers ; and,
as we have already noticed, at Michilimackinac, which, as we now
192 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
observe, was no exception to the general rule of the whole western
country, with oaths and ofttimes blows from the more reckless of
the garrison. When, after their troublesome and intrusive fash
ion, they were lounging everywhere about the fort, or lazily reclin
ing in the shadow of the walls, they were met with muttered ejac
ulations of impatience, or abrupt orders to be gone, enforced,
perhaps, by a touch from the butt of a sentinel's musket. These
marks of contempt were unspeakably galling to their haughty
spirit."
But what most contributed to the growing discontent of the
tribes was the intrusion of settlers upon their lands, which was at
all times a fruitful source of Indian hostility. Its effects, it is
true, could only be felt by those whose country bordered upon the
English settlements ; but among these were the most powerful and
influential of the tribes. The discontent of the Indians gave
great satisfaction to the French, who saw in it an assurance of safe
and bloody vengeance on their conquerors. Canada, it is true,
was gone beyond the hope of recovery ; but they still might hope
to revenge its loss. Interest, moreover, as well as passion,
prompted them to inflame the resentment of the Indians ; for
most of the inhabitants of the French settlements upon the lakes
and the Mississippi were engaged in the fur trade, and, fearing the
English as formidable rivals, they would gladly have seen them
driven from the country. Traders and all classes of this singular
population accordingly dispersed themselves among the villages of
the Indians, or held councils with them in the secret places of
the woods, urging them to take up arms against the English.
They exhibited the conduct of the latter in its worst light, and
spared neither misrepresentation nor falsehood.
It is difficult to determine which tribe was the first to raise the
cry of war. There were many who might have done so, for all
the savages in the backwoods were ripe for an outbreak, and the
movement seemed almost simultaneous. The Delawares and Sene-
cas were the most incensed, and Kiashuta, chief of the latter, was,
perhaps, foremost. It, however, required a greater chief than he
to give method and order to what would else have been a wild
burst of fury. But for Pontiac, the whole might have ended in a
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
193
few troublesome inroads upon the frontier, and a little whooping
and yelling under the walls of Fort Pitt.
There has been some dispute as to the nationality of Pontiac.
Some hold that he was a member of the tribe of the Sacs or Loa-
F. G. RUSSELL.
FRANK G. RUSSELL, the present city attorney of Detroit, was born in
Green Oak, Livingston county, Michigan, in April, 1837. His father was
a farmer, and Mr. Russell spent his youth at home, assisting in agricul
tural pursuits. He had all the advantages of a common school, and was
at an early age sent to the State Normal School, at which institution he
graduated in the spring of 1858. He was principal of the Lansing Union
School from the autumn of 1858 to the spring of 1861, when he resigned
the position to accept a situation in the Interior Department at Washing-
13
194 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
kies, but by far the greater number have placed him among the
Ottawas. .His home was about eight miles above Detroit, on
Pechee Island, which looks out upon the waters of Lake St. Glair.
His form was cast in the finest mould of savage grace and strength,
and his eye seemed capable of penetrating, at a glance, the secret
motives that actuated the savage tribes around him. His rare
personal qualities, his courage, resolution, wisdom, address and
eloquence, together with the hereditary claim to authority which,
according to Indian custom, he possessed, secured for him the
esteem of both the French and the English, and gave him an
influence among the lake tribes greater than that of any other
individual. Early in life he distinguished himself as a chieftain
of no ordinary ability. In 1746 he commanded a powerful body
of Indians, mostly Ottawas, who gallantly defended the people of
Detroit against the formidable attack of several combined north
ern tribes, and it is supposed that he was present at the disastrous
defeat of Braddock, in which several hundred of his warriors were
engaged. He had always, at least up to the time when Major
Rogers came into the country, been a firm friend of the French,
and received many marks of esteem from the French officer, Mar
quis de Montcalm.
How could he, then, the bravest chief of the great West, do
ton, D. C. He was engaged in the last mentioned capacity, principally
as examiner of pension claims, from the spring of 1861 to the summer of
1864, when he resigned and came to Detroit. He was successfully
engaged at the latter place for two years in the prosecution of war claims,
and in 1866 returned to his home in Green Oak, and assumed charge of
his father's farm, remaining there until the autumn of 1867, when he
returned to Detroit, and commenced the study of law. He was admitted
to the bar in the Supreme Court in October, 1868, and commenced the
practice of law in the following spring.
In the practice of law, Mr. Russell has met with substantial success.
Being favorably known in the whole State, both for ability and integrity,
he immediately came into public favor, and has found unceasing demand
for his professional labors. In the spring of 1869 he was appointed pri
vate secretary to Governor H. P. Baldwin, holding this position till the
inauguration of Governor Bagley, January 1, 1873. He was elected city
attorney of Detroit in 1871.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 195
otherwise than dispute the English claim to his country ? How
could he endure the sight of this people driving the game from
his hunting grounds, and his friends and allies from the lands
they had so long possessed? When he heard that Rogers was
advancing along the lakes to take possession of his country, his
indignation knew no bounds, and he at once sent deputies, request
ing him to halt until such time as he could see him. Flattering
words and fair promises induced him, at length, to extend the
hand of friendship to Rogers. He was inclined to live peaceably
with the English, and to encourage their settling in the country,
as long as they treated him as he deserved ; but if they treated
him with neglect, he would shut up the way and exclude them
from it. He did not consider himself a conquered prince, but he
expected to be treated with the respect and honor due to a king.
While a system of good management might have allayed
every suspicion, and engendered peace and good-will, a want of
cordiality increased the discontent, and Pontiac soon saw that the
fair promises which had been made him were but idle words. The
Indians were becoming more and more dissatisfied, and he began
seriously to apprehend danger from the new government and peo
ple. He saw in the English a boundless ambition to possess them
selves of every military position on the northern waters, an
ambition which plainly indicated to his far-reaching sagacity that
soon, nothing less than undisputed possession of all his vast
domain would satisfy them. He saw in them a people superior in
arms, but utterly destitute of that ostensible cordiality, personally,
to which his people had been accustomed during the golden age
of French dominion, and which they were apt to regard as neces
sary indications of good faith. There seemed no disposition for
national courtesy, individual intercourse, or beneficial commerce
of any kind. All those circumstances which made the neighbor
hood of the French agreeable, and which might have made their
own at least tolerable, they neglected. Their conduct never gave
rest to suspicion, while that of the French never gave rise to it.
Hence, the Indians felt that they had " no father among the white
men but the King of France," and Pontiac resolved, as he had
threatened, to " shut up the way." His plan was to make a con-
196 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
temporaneous assault upon all the British posts, and thus effec
tually extinguish the English power at a single blow. This was
a stroke of policy that evinced an extraordinary genius, and
demanded for its successful execution an energy and courage of the
highest order. But Pontiac was fully equal to the task. He was
as skillful in executing as he was bold in planning. He knew that
success would multiply friends and allies, but friends and allies
were necessary to insure success.
First, then, a council must be called, and, for this, purpose, at
the close of 1762, he sent out his ambassadors to all the different
nations. With the war-belt of wampum, and the tomahawk,
stained red in token of war, these swift-footed messengers went
from camp to camp, and from village to village, throughout the
north, south, east and west, and in whatever tribe they appeared,
the sachems assembled to hear the words of Pontiac. The mes
sage was everywhere heard with approbation, the war-belt accepted,
and the hatchet seized, as an indication that the assembled chiefs
stood pledged to take part in the war.
The Grand Council assembled on the twenty-seventh day of
April, 1763, on the banks of the little river Ecorse, not far from
Detroit. The pipe went round, and Pontiac stepped forth, plumed
and painted in the full costume of war. He called into requisi
tion all the eloquence and cunning of which he was master. He
appealed to their fears, their hopes, their ambition, their cupidity,
their hatred of the English, and "their love for their old friends,
the French. He displayed to them a belt, which he said the
King of France had sent him, urging him to drive the English
from the country, and open the way for the return of the French.
He painted in glowing colors the common interests of their race,
and called upon them to make a stand against a common foe. He
told them of a dream, in which the Great Manitou had appeared
to a chief of the Abenakis, saying : " I am the Maker of heaven
and earth, the trees, lakes, rivers, and all things else. I am the
Maker of mankind ; and because I love you, you must do my will.
The land on which you live I have made for you, and not for
others. Why do you suffer the white man to dwell among you ?
My children, you have forgotten the customs and traditions of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
197
your forefathers. Why do you not clothe yourselves in skins, as
they did, and use the bows and arrows, and the stone-pointed
lances which they used ? You have bought guns, knives, kettles,
and blankets from the white men, until you can no longer do with-
HON. A. F. R. BRALEY.
ALFRED F. R. BRALEY, of Saginaw City, was born October 20, 1828,
at Albion, Orleans county, N. Y. He received an academic education at
his native place, and studied law four years with Church & Davis, who
have a national reputation as jurists. He attended lectures at the Albany
Law School, and at a general term of the Supreme Court at Albany, in
1852, was admitted to the bar. In the spring of the following year he
commenced practice at Toledo, Ohio. Ill health induced him to spend
the winter of 1853-4 in the South, and suspended his labors for a period
of five years. He returned discouraged to Albion. He was justice of
198 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
out them ; and, what is worse, you have drunk the poison fire
water which turns you into fools. Fling all these things away ;
live as your wise forefathers lived before you ; and, as for these
English — these dogs dressed in red, who have coine to rob you of
your hunting grounds and drive away the game — you must lift the
hatchet against them. Wipe them from the face of the earth, and
then you will win my favor back again, and once more be happy
and prosperous. The children of your great father, the King of
France, are not like the English. Never forget that they are
your brothers. They are very dear to« me, for they love the red
men, and understand the true mode of worshiping me."
Such an appeal to the passions and prejudices of credulous and
excited savages was well calculated to produce the desired effect.
If the Great Spirit was with them, it was impossible to fail.
Other speeches were doubtless made, and, before the council broke
up, the scheme was well matured.
Thus was the crisis hastening on. While every principle of
revenge, ambition and patriotism in the savage was thus being
roused up to the '^highest pitch, and the tomahawk was already
lifted for the blow, scarce a suspicion of the savage design found
its way to the minds of the English. Occasionally, an English
trader would see something in their behavior which caused him to
suspect mischief, or some scoundrel half-breed would be heard
the peace there from 1859 to the spring of 1862, when he came to the
City of Saginaw. Here his health being reestablished, he engaged in the
manufacture of salt until 1866. He then opened a private banking office
in company with Harry and Wm. M. Miller, under the name of Miller,
Braley & Co. They did a successful business until their concern was
merged in the First National Bank of Saginaw, of which Mr. B. has
since been the cashier.
He has served two terms as recorder of the city of Saginaw, and three
terms as mayor.
He is a gentleman of excellent business qualifications; he is honest and
universally recognized as honest. Socially he is popular and entertaining.
He is a good listener and a good talker; he can tell a good story, and
when he does relate an anecdote, the moral is apparent, and the listener
knows where the "laugh comes in." No man in Saginaw has more
friends.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 199
boasting that, before the next summer, he would have English
hair to fringe his hunting frock ; but these things caused no alarm.
Once, however, the plot was nearly discovered. A friendly Indian
told the commander of Fort Miami that a war-belt had been sent
to the warriors of a neighboring village, and that the destruction
of himself and garrison had been resolved upon ; but, when
information of this had been conveyed to Major Gladwyn, of
Detroit, that officer wrote to General Amherst, stating that, in his
opinion, there had been some irritation among the Indians, but
that the affair would soon blow over ; and that, in the neighbor
hood of his own fort all was tranquil. Amherst thought that the
acts of the Indians were unwarrantable, and hoped they would be
too sensible to their own interests to conspire against the English ;
he wished them to know that if they did, in his opinion, they
would make a " contemptible figure." He asserted that they
would be the sufferers, and, in the end, it would result in their
destruction.
But the English were deluded. Almost within rifle-shot of
Gladwyn's quarters was Pontiac, the arch-enemy of the English
and the prime mover in the plot, and the sequel proved how " con
temptible " was the figure which the savages made.
The work of extirpation soon began, and extended from north
to south, and from east to west. Numbers of English traders, on
their way from all quarters of the country to the different posts,
were taken, and their goods made the prize of the conquerors.
Large bodies of savages were seen collecting around the different
forts ; yet, strange to say, without creating any serious alarm.
When the blow was struck, nine out of twelve of the British posts
were surprised and destroyed ! It will, doubtless, be interesting to
notice in detail these surprises, three of which properly come
within the scope of the History of Michigan.
CHAPTER XIII.
MICHILIMACKINAC — DESCRIPTION OF THE PLACE IN 1762 — ASSEMBLING
OF HOSTILE INDIANS AROUND MICHILIMACKINAC — ADVENTURES OF
AN ENGLISH TRADER — THE INDIANS PREPARING FOR THE MASSA
CRE — THE GAME OF BALL COMMENCED.
BEFORE entering upon an account of the massacre at Fort
Michilimackinac, we may, perhaps, entertain the reader with a
short description of the place as it appeared just before the war
broke out, in the spring of 1763.
Michilimackinac was the most northern English port in the
lake region. It was located on the extreme northern point of the
Southern Peninsula of Michigan, on the site of the present city
of Mackinaw. The fort stood near the water's edge, and near by
was a cluster of white Canadian houses, roofed with bark, and
protected by fences of strong round pickets. As the visitor
entered the gate of the fort he could see before him an extensive
square area, surrounded by high palisades. Numerous houses,
barracks, and other buildings, formed a smaller square within,
and in the vacant space which they inclosed, appeared the red
uniforms of British soldiers, the gray coats of Canadians, and the
gaudy Indian blankets, mingled in picturesque confusion, while a
multitude of squaws, with children of every hue, strolled rest
lessly about the place. Such was Fort Michilimackinac in 1763.
Though buried in the wilderness, it was still of no recent origin.
As early as 1671 the Jesuits had established a mission of the same
name on the northern side of the strait, and a military force was
not long in following, for, under the French dominion, the priest
and the soldier went hand in hand. Neither toil, nor suffering,
nor all the terrors of the wilderness, could damp the zeal of the
undaunted missionary ; and the restless ambition of France was
always on the alert to seize every point of advantage, and avail
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
201
itself of every means to gain ascendency over the forest tribes.
Besides Michiliniackinac there were two other posts in the north
ern region, Green Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. Both were founded
at an early period, and both presented the same characteristic
DR. EDWARD W. JENKS.
EDWARD W. JENKS, one of the leading medical professors of the State,
was born in* the town of Victor, Ontario county, New York, in 1833,
where his father was a prominent business man at that time. In 1843,
he, with his father, emigrated to Indiana, where the latter gentleman
founded a town called Ontario, and endowed a collegiate institute called
La Grange College.
The principal part of Dr. Jenks' earlier years was passed in New York
and Indiana, where he received his general education. His medical
training was pursued at the Medical University of New York, until ill
202 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
features — a mission house, a fort, and a cluster of Canadian dwel
lings. They had been originally garrisoned by small parties of
militia, who, bringing their families with them, settled on the spot,
and were the founders of these little colonies. Michilimackinac,
much the largest of the three, contained thirty families within the
palisades of the fort, and about as many more without. Besides
its military value, it was important as the center of the fur trade,
for it was here that the traders engaged their men, and sent out
their goods in canoes, under the charge of subordinates, to the
more distant regions of the Mississippi and the Northwest.
The Indians near Michilimackinac were the Ojibwas and Otta-
was, the former of whom claimed the eastern section of Michigan,
and the latter the western ; their respective portions being sepa
rated by a line drawn southward from the fort itself. The princi
pal village of the Ojibwas contained about a hundred warriors,
and stood on the island of Michilimackinac, now called Mack
inaw. There was another smaller village near the head of Thun
der Bay. The Ottawas, to the number of two hundred and fifty
warriors, lived at the settlement of L'Arbre Croche, on the shores
of Lake Michigan, some distance southward from the fort. This
health compelled him to make a change, when he went to Ver
mont, graduating from Castleton Medical College in 1855. Dr. Jenks,
however, was determined to be proficient in his profession, and after
wards took an additional degree of medicine at Bellevue Hospital
Medical College. After receiving this last degree, Dr. Jenks practiced
medicine very successfully in New York and Indiana, where he made
numerous professional friends. About this time, his health again failed,
and his sufferings were such as compelled him to constantly change
climate in order to retain his already shattered health. He, however,
practiced his profession wherever his health permitted him to remain
long enough, until 1864, when he came to Michigan and settled in Detroit.
In that city he at once acquired an extensive practice, and he has ever
since been known throughout this State and those adjoining, for his
remarkable success in the treatment of difficult diseases.
He was one of the founders, in 1868, of the Detroit Medical College,
and has occupied the presidency in that institution since its organization,
and besides holds the honorable position of Professor of Medical and
Surgical Diseases of Women and Clinical Gynascology. He has worked
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 203
place was then the seat of the old Jesuit mission of St. Ignace,
originally placed by Father Marquette on the northern side of the
straits. Many of the Ottawas were nominal Catholics. They
were all somewhat improved from their original savage condition,
living in log houses, and cultivating corn and vegetables, to such
an extent as to supply the fort with provisions besides satisfying
their own wants. The O jib was, on the other hand, were not in
the least degree removed from their primitive barbarism.
At this time both these tribes had received from Pontiac the
war belt of black and purple wampum, and painted hatchet, and
had pledged themselves to join in the contest. Before the end of
May the Ojibwas, or Chippewas, received word that the blow had
already been struck at Detroit, and, wrought up to the highest
pitch of excitement and emulation, resolved that peace should
last no longer. Eager to reap all the glory of the victory, or
prompted by jealousy, this tribe neither communicated to the
Ottawas the news which had come to them, nor their own resolu
tion to make an immediate assault upon Michilimackinac ; hence,
the Ottawas, as we shall presently learn, had no part in that
most bloody tragedy. There were other tribes, however, who,
with no ordinary amount of zeal to make the Detroit Medical College one
of the leading institutions of that kind in the West, and the success of his
efforts is shown in the very flattering report made by the committee
appointed by the State Medical Society to examine into its condition.
He was appointed surgeon of the department of diseases of women at
St. Mary's Hospital in 1868. He was connected with Harper Hospital
from its organization until 1872, when he resigned. Dr. Jenks ranks
high as a surgeon in the Northwest, being called to practice this branch
of his profession over a large extent of territory. He is a prominent
member of numerous medical societies, being Professor of Medical and
Surgical Diseases of Women in Bowdoin College; a member of the Ameri
can Medical Association; corresponding member of the Gynaecological
Society; President of the Detroit Academy of Medicine; an active mem
ber and President of the State Medical Society, and a member of a num
ber of other institutions.
Dr. Jenks was one of the original publishers of the Detroit Eemew of
Medicine and Pharmacy, filling the position of editor on that magazine for
some time with marked ability.
204 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
attracted by rumors of impending war, had gathered at Michili-
mackinac, and who took part in the struggle.
We will now return to the Englishman, Mr. Henry, whom we
left at Michilimackinac, at the close of the previous chapter, and
relate his adventures simultaneously with an account of the mas
sacre.
The British having taken possession of the fort, Henry's fears
were entirely dispersed, and he spent the winter at Michilimack
inac, amusing himself as best he could by hunting and fishing.
But few of the Indians, he tells us, came to the fort, excepting
two families. These families lived on a river five leagues below,
and came occasionally with beaver flesh for sale. Their chief was
an exception to the rule, for instead of being hostile towards the
English, he was warmly attached to them. But, in this case, the
exception proved the rule to a demonstration. He had been taken
prisoner by Sir William Johnson, at the siege of Fort Niagara ;
and had received from that intelligent officer, his liberty, the
medal usually presented to a chief, and the British flag. Won by
these acts of unexpected kindness, he had returned to Michili-
mackiuac, full of praise of the English, and hoisted his flag
over his lodge. This latter demonstration of his partiality nearly
cost him his life ; his lodge was broken down, and his flag torn
to pieces. The pieces he carefully gathered up and preserved
with pious care, and whenever he visited the fort he drew them
out and exhibited them. On these occasions it grew into a custom
to give him as much liquor as he said was necessary to make him
cry over the misfortune of losing his flag. The commandant
would have given him another, but he thought he could not
accept it without danger.
Upon the opening of navigation, Mr. Henry left Michilimack
inac to visit the Sault Ste. Marie. Here he made the acquaintance
of M. Cadotte, an interpreter, whose wife was a Chippewa, and,
desirous of learning that language, he decided to spend the suc
ceeding winter in the family of his new found friend. Here, also,
there was a small fort, and during the summer, a small detach
ment of troops, under the command of Lieutenant Jamette,
arrived to garrison it. Late in the fall, however, a destructive
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
205
fire, which consumed all the houses except Cadotte's, and all the
fort supplies, made it necessary to send the garrison back to
Michilimackinac. The few that were left at this place were now
crowded into one small house, and compelled to gain a subsistence
HON. SAMUEL D. PACE.
SAMUEL D. PACE, of Port Huron, Mich., was born in the township of
Yarmouth, Canada West, April 29, 1835. His father, a carpenter by
trade, was a native of the State of New Jersey. His mother was a
descendant of a New England family.
During the winter months of his early boyhood, he attended the dis
trict school in the neighborhood where he was born, and in the summer
season he was principally engaged with his father working as a carpenter.
At the age of fifteen he removed with his father to Kacine, Wisconsin,
where he shipped as a sailor on the schooner Amelia. He followed a
206 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES
by hunting and fishing. Thus inuring themselves to hard
ships, a very good opportunity was afforded them of becoming
familiar with the Chippewa tongue. Here Henry passed the
second winter of his sojourn in the wilderness of the upper lakes.
Early in the succeeding spring, 1763, he was visited by Sir Robert
Dover, an English gentleman, who was on a " voyage of curios
ity," and with whom Henry again returned to Michilimackinac.
Here he intended to remain until his clerks should come from the
interior, and then go back to the Sault.
When Henry reached Michilimackinac he found several other
traders who had arrived before him, from different parts of the
country, and who, in general, declared the dispositions of the
Indians to be hostile to the English, and even apprehended some
attack. One M. Laurent Ducharme distinctly informed Major
Ethrington that a plan was absolutely conceived for destroying
him, his garrison, and all the English in the upper country ; but
the commandant believing this and other reports to be without
foundation, proceeding only from idle or ill-disposed persons, and
of a tendency to do mischief, expressed much displeasure against
M. Ducharme, and threatened to send the next person who should
sailor's life for two years on the lakes, and in the month of November,
1852, while on board the sloop Ranger, was shipwrecked on Lake
Michigan, a short distance south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The vessel,
after being tossed about three days and nights without rudder or sail,
stranded and became a total loss. During this time he suffered intensely
from hunger and cold. His wardrobe, by no means extensive, was
materially diminished by this misfortune, as most of his personal effects
shared the fate of the vessel, and he found himself on the streets of Mil
waukee without hat, boots or coat. His loss in this respect, however,
was more than made good by a kind-hearted Jew, who took pity on the
shivering sailor boy, and presented him with substitutes for the garments
he had lost, making the characteristic remark, "Dese cost you netting."
It may be mentioned as a coincidence that at the time, Mr. Pace had just
exactly nothing with which to pay for them.
At school, he was invariably at the head of his class, and he also took
the lead in most kinds of boyish mischief. As a school boy, he mani
fested a determination to succeed, which trait has never since left him.
Although married at twenty-one years of age, he has never ceased to be
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 207
bring a story of the same kind a prisoner to Detroit. The garri
son consisted at this time of thirty-five men with their officers.
The white inhabitants of the fort numbered about one hundred,
and but few entertained anxiety concerning the Indians, who
had no weapons but small arms. Meanwhile the Indians from
every quarter, were daily assembling in unusual numbers, but
with every appearance of friendship, frequenting the fort and dis
posing of their peltries, in such a manner as to dissipate almost
any one's fears. It was reported that not less than four hundred
warriors were encamped near the fort.
As I have promised, I shall associate the account of Henry's
adventures with a rehearsal of the horrible massacre at the fort.
Shortly after his first arrival at Michilimackinac, in the preced
ing year, a Chippewa, named Wawatam, began to go often to his
house, betraying in his demeanor strong marks of personal regard.
After this had continued for some time, he went, on a certain day,
taking with him his whole family, and at the same time a large
present, consisting of skins, sugar and dried meat. Having laid
these in a heap, he commenced a speech, in which he informed
Henry that some years before, he had observed a fast, devoting him
self, according to the custom of his nation, to solitude and mortifi-
a student. Medicine was always a favorite study with him, but owing to
the up-hill road which poverty compelled him to travel, he did not reach
the acme of his ambition in this respect until 1860, when he commenced
the practice of his profession in Port Huron, Michigan. As a physician
he was eminently successful.
In politics, Dr. Pace is a radical Republican, his first vote being cast for
Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. In 1864, he agreed with President Lincoln
that it was dangerous "to trade horses whilst crossing a stream," and
consequently took an active part in the campaign which ended in the
defeat of Gen. McClellan. In 1868, Dr. Pace took the stump for Gen.
Grant, and again in 1872 he took an active part in the presidential cam
paign.
In the spring of 1869 he was by President Grant appointed United
States Consul, at Port Sarnia, Canada, a position which he still occupies.
In religion, Dr. Pace is also a radical. A reverence for the things and
ideas of the past is not a leading trait with him, and he refuses to be tied
to any article of faith.
208 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
cation of his body, in the hope to obtain from the Great Spirit
protection through all his days ; that on this occasion he had
dreamed of adopting an Englishman as his son, brother and
friend ; that from the moment in which he first beheld him he had
recognized him as the person whom the Great Spirit had been
pleased to point out as his brother; that he hoped that Henry
would not refuse his present, and that he should forever regard
him as one of his family.
Henry could not do otherwise than accept the present. He
also declared his willingness to have so good a man for his friend
and brother. Henry offered a present in return for the one he had
received, which Wawatam accepted, and then, thanking Henry for
the favor which he said he had rendered him, he left the house,
and soon after set out 011 his winter's hunt.
Twelve months had now elapsed since the occurrence of this
incident, and Henry had almost forgotten the person of his brother,
when, on the second day of June, Wawatam again visited his
house, in a mood visibly melancholy and thoughtful. He said he
had just returned from his wintering ground, and went on to say
that he was very sorry to find his old friend returned from the
Sault ; that he had intended to go to that place himself immedi
ately after his arrival at Michilimackinac ; and that he wished
Henry and his family to go there with him the next morning. To
all this Wawatam added an inquiry as to wiiether or not the com
mandant had heard bad news, adding that, during the winter, he
had himself been frequently disturbed with the noise of evil winds ;
and further suggesting that there were numerous Indians near the
fort, many of whom had never shown themselves within it.
Wawatam was about forty-five years of age, of an excellent char
acter among his nation, and a chief.
Referring much of what he had heard to the Indian character,
Henry did not pay all the attention to the entreaties and remarks
of his visitor which they were found to have deserved Henry said
that he could not think of going to the Sault as soon as the next
morning, but would follow him there after the arrival of his clerks.
Finding himself unable to prevail, Wawatam withdrew for that
day, but early the next morning he returned, bringing with him his
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
209
wife, and a present of dried meat. At this interview, after stating
that he had several packs of beaver, which he intended to
trade with Henry, he expressed a second time his apprehensions
from the numerous Indians who were around the fort, and earnestly
HON. JOHN MOORE.
JOHN MOORE, the present circuit judge of the tenth judicial circuit
of this State, was born in the city of London, England, July 7, 1826.
When four years of age, he, with his family, removed to the State of
New York, and four years afterwards he emigrated to this State, and
resided upon a farm in Milford, Oakland county, until the spring of 1846,
when he commenced the study of law in the office of Hon. Augustus C.
Baldwin, then of Milford, but now residing in Pontiac. In the spring of
1848, he entered the law office of Lothrop & Duffield, of Detroit, and in
October of that year was admitted an attorney of the Supreme Court, at
14
210 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
pressed his English friend to consent to an immediate departure
for the Sault. As a reason for this particular request he assured
Henry that all the Indians proposed to come in a body that day
to the fort, to demand liquor of the commandant, and that he
wished his friend to be away before they should grow intoxicated.
This was as much as Wawatam dare reveal, but of course he had
full knowledge of the plan for the awful massacre that followed.
Henry had made, at the period to which I am now referring, so
much progress in the language in which Wawatam addressed him
as to be able to hold an ordinary conversation in it. Yet after
all, Henry tells us, that the Indian manner of speech is so extrav
agantly figurative, that it is only a very perfect master that can
follow and comprehend it entirely. " Had I been further advanced
in this respect," says Henry, " I think that I should have gathered
so much information from my friendly monitor, as would
have put me "into possession of the designs of the enemy, and
enabled me to save others as well as myself; as it was, it unfortu
nately happened that I turned a deaf ear to everything, leaving
Wawatam and his wife, after long and patient efforts, to depart
alone, with dejected countenances, and not before they each let
fall some tears."
a session of that body held in Pontiac. Mr. Moore commenced the prac
tice of his profession soon afterwards in Fentonville, Genesee county,
and remained there until the spring of 1851, when he removed to Sagi-
naw, where he has ever since resided, engaged in professional business.
Mr. Moore was prosecuting attorney of -Saginaw county from 1855 to
1858, inclusive. He was also mayor of Saginaw City from 1861 to 1863,
inclusive, and a member of the Board of Education for about fifteen
years prior to June, 1870, when he declined to serve longer, his time
being too much occupied with the business of his profession.
In 1868, Mr. Moore was the Democratic candidate for Governor of the
State, in opposition to Governor Baldwin, and received thirty thousand
more votes than any Democratic candidate for that office had ever
received prior to that date, and above thirteen thousand more than any
candidate of that party has since received for that office.
A vacancy occurred in the office of circuit judge of the tenth circuit,
by the resignation of Judge Sutherland, January 1, 1871, and a meeting
of the bar of that circuit was held shortly afterwards, and Mr. Moore
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 211
In the course of the same day, Henry observed that the Indians
came in great numbers into the fort, purchasing tomahawks, and
frequently desiring to see silver arm-bands, and other valuable
ornaments. These ornaments, however, they in no instance pur
chased ; but after turning them over, left them, saying that they
would call again the next day. Their motive, as it afterward
appeared, was no other than the very artful one of discovering, by
requesting to see them, the peculiar places of their deposit, so that
they might lay their hands on them, in the moment of pillage,
with greater certainty and despatch. At nightfall, Henry
turned his mind to the visits of Wawatam ; but, although they
excited uneasiness, nothing induced him to believe that serious
mischief was at hand.
The next day, being the fourth of June, was the King's birthday.
The morning was sultry. A Chippewa visited Henry, and told
him that his nation was going to play at , boggattaway with the
Sacks, another Indian nation, for a high wager. He invited
Henry to witness the sport, adding that the commandant was to be
there, and would bet on the side of the Chippewas. In conse
quence of this information, Henry went to the commandant, and
expostulated with him a little, representing that the Indians might
«
was requested, by an unanimous vote, to accept the office — a deserved
compliment to his legal ability and standing in the profession. The
members of the bar, and the leading men of the circuit, united, irrespec
tive of party distinctions, in requesting Governor Baldwin to appoint Mr.
Moore to the office, on the ground of his eminent ability and fitness of
the position. He was accordingly appointed on the first day of February,
1871, to fill the vacancy until an election could be held. A special elec
tion was held the following spring, at which the Republican and Demo
cratic parties united in the nomination of Judge Moore, and he was
elected without opposition. He has continued to discharge the duties of
the office until the present time, and his work upon the bench has fully
justified the expectations of his numerous friends, and has already given
him an enviable reputation throughout the State. The business of his
circuit, measured by the magnitude and variety of the interests involved,
is second to none in the State, and has been administered by him, it is
believed, with entire satisfaction to the profession and the public. When
called to the bench he stood at the head of his profession in the circuit,
212 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
possibly have some sinister end in view ; but the commandant only
smiled at his suspicions.
The game of boggattaway, which the Indians played upon that
memorable occasion, was the most exciting sport in which the red
men could engage. It was played with bat and ball. The bat,
so called, was about four feet in length, and one inch in diameter.
It was made of the toughest material that could be found. At
one end it was curved, and terminated in a sort of racket, or, per
haps, more properly, a ring, in which a net-work of cord was
loosely woven. The players were not allowed to touch the ball
with the hand, but caught it in this net-work at the end of the
bat. At either end of the ground a tall post was planted. These
posts marked the stations of the rival parties, and were sometimes
a mile apart. The object of each party was to defend its own post,
and carry the ball to that of the adversary. This is, undoubtedly,
the same game which is now called Lacrosse, and which is very
popular in Canada and some parts of the United States.
At the beginning of the game the main body of the players
assemble half-way between the two posts. Every eye sparkles,
and every cheek is already aglow with excitement. The ball is
tossed high into the air, and a general struggle ensues to secure it
and was in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice. In the surrender of his
handsome income from this source for the pitiful salary of his office, Mr.
Moore displayed a public spirit as commendable as it is rare.
As a judge, he is distinguished for his quick and clear discrimination,
keen powers of analysis, thorough legal knowledge, and sound judgment
in the application of the law, as well as promptness and impartiality in
the discharge of his official duties.
Mr. Moore commenced life with habits of industry, energy and good
character, and from this beginning he has risen to his present high posi
tion, having occupied a place among the prominent men of his profession
in the State for the past fifteen years, and been identified with nearly all
,the important litigation in his section.
In politics he is known as a Democrat, and highly esteemed for his
always moderate and independent course. During the war he did as
much as any person in that portion of the State to unite popular senti
ment in support of President JUncQln's war policy, without regard to men
pr measures.
OF MICHIGAN.
213
as it descends. He who succeeds, starts for the goal of the adver
sary, holding it high above his head. The opposite party, with
merry yells, are swift to pursue. His course is intercepted, and,
rather than see the ball taken from him, he throws it, as a boy
E. T. JUDD.
E. T. JUDD, of East Saginaw, Michigan, was born in Geneva, New
York, in 1823. At an early age he commenced business for himself in
his native town, and continued it for eight years, winning many friends
and prospering copiously. Closing up this business, he removed to Ham
ilton, Canada West, where he remained until 1865, when he removed to
East Saginaw, and has resided there ever since. On the 17th of June, of
the same year, the First National Bank of East Saginaw was opened,
with Mr. Judd as president, which position he still occupies. Under the
management of Mr. Judd, this bank has secured a wide patronage, and
proved a good investment to its stockholders, becoming one of the per
manent institutions of the Saginaw Valley.
214 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
throws a stone from a sling, as far towards the goal of his adver
sary as he can. An adversary in the game catches it and sends it
whizzing back in the opposite direction. Hither and thither it
goes ; now far to the right, now as far to the left ; now near to
one, now as near to the other goal ; the whole band crowding con
tinually after it in the wildest confusion ; until, finally, some agile
figure, more fleet of foot than others, succeeds in bearing it to the
goal of the opposite party.
Persons still living at Michilimackinac, who, having seen this
game played by the Indians, and themselves participated in it, say
that often a whole day is insufficient to decide the contest. When
such is the case, the following day is taken, and the game begun
anew. As many as six or seven hundred Indians sometimes engage
in a single game, while it may be played by fifty. In the heat of
the contest, when all are running at their greatest speed, if one
stumbles arid falls, fifty or a hundred, who are in close pursuit, and
unable to stop, pile over him, forming a mound of human bodies,
and frequently players are so bruised as to be unable to proceed in
the game.
This game, with its attendant noise and violence, was well calcu
lated to divert the attention of officers and men, and thus permit
the Indians to take possession of the fort. To make their success
more certain, they prevailed upon as many as they could to come
out of the fort, while at the same time their squaws, wrapped in
blankets, beneath which they concealed the murderous weapons,
were placed inside the inclosure. The plot was so ingeniously laid
that no one suspected danger.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE MASSACRE AT FORT MICHILIMACKINAC — INDIANS DRINKING THE
BLOOD OF ENGLISHMEN — BUFFERINGS OF ENGLISH PRISONERS — THE
OTTAWAS ESPOUSE THE CAUSE OF THE ENGLISH AND TAKE POSSES
SION OF THE FORT — THE INDIAN COUNCIL.
THE discipline of the garrison was relaxed, and the soldiers
permitted to stroll about and view the sport without carrying
weapons of defense ; and even when the ball, as if by chance, was
lifted high in the air, to descend inside the pickets, and was fol
lowed by four hundred savage warriors, all eager, all struggling,
all shouting, in the unrestrained pursuit of a rude, athletic exer
cise, no alarm was felt until the shrill war-whoop told the startled
garrison that the work of slaughter had actually begun.
Mr. Henry, of whom I have been speaking, did not attend the
match which I have just described. There being a canoe prepared
to depart on the following day for Montreal, he employed himself
in writing letters to his friends. While thus engaged, he heard an
Indian war cry and a noise of general confusion. Going instantly
to his window, he saw a crowd of Indians, within the fort, furi
ously cutting down and scalping every Englishman they found.
In particular, he witnessed the fate of Lieut. Jamette. He had
in the room in which he was a fowling-piece, loaded with swan-
shot. This he immediately seized, and held it for a few moments,
waiting to hear the drum beat to arms. In that dreadful interval
he witnessed the scene of several of his countrymen falling under
the tomahawk, and more than one struggling between the knees of
an Indian, who, holding him in this manner, scalped him while yet
living. At length, disappointed in the hope of seeing resistance
made to the enemy, and knowing that no effort of his own unas
sisted arm could avail against four hundred Indians, he thought
only of seeking shelter. Amid the slaughter which was raging, he
216 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
observed many of the Canadian inhabitants of the fort calmly
looking on, neither opposing the Indians, nor suffering injury, and,
from this circumstance, he conceived a hope of finding security in
their houses.
Between the yard-door of his own house and that of M. Lang-
lade, his next neighbor, there was only a low fence, over which he
easily climbed. On entering, he found the whole family at the
windows, gazing at the scene of blood before them. He addressed
himself immediately to M. Langlade, begging that he would
put him into some place of safety until the heat of the affair
should be over, an act of charity by which he might, perhaps, be
preserved from the general massacre. But, while he uttered his
petition, M. Langlade, who had looked for a moment at him,
turned again to the window, shrugging his shoulders, and intimat
ing that he could do nothing for him.
With Henry this was a moment of despair ; but the next, a
Pawnee woman, a slave of M. Langlade, beckoned him to follow
her. She led him to a door, which she opened, desiring him to
enter, and telling him that it led to the garret, where he- must go
and conceal himself. Henry joyfully obeyed her directions ; and
she, having followed him up to the garret door, locked it after
him, and took away the key. This shelter obtained, Henry
became anxious to know7 what might still be passing without.
Through an aperture, which ' afforded him a view of the area of
the fort, he beheld, in forms the foulest and most terrible, the fero
cious triumphs of barbarian conquerors. The dead were scalped
and mangled ; the dying were writhing and shrieking under the
unsatiated knife and tomakawk ; and, from the bodies of some,
ripped open, their butchers were drinking the blood, scooped up
in the hollow of joined hands, and quaffed amid shouts of rage
and victory. Henry was shaken, not only with horror, but with
fear. The sufferings which he witnessed, he seemed on the point
of experiencing himself. Not long elapsed before, every one being
destroyed who could be found, there was a general cry of, "All is
finished !" At the same instant, Henry heard some of the Indians
enter the house in which he had taken shelter. The garret was
separated from the room below only by a layer of single boards.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
217
The prisoner could, therefore, hear everything that passed ; and
the Indians no sooner came in than they inquired whether or not
any Englishmen were in the house. M. Langlade replied that he
could not say ; they might examine for themselves, and would
DR. J. B. WHITE.
JOHN B. WHITE was born January 13, 1826, in the town of Pompey,
Onondaga county, New York. His father was a farmer, and he remained
with him on the farm until about his eighteenth year, receiving such
education as could be obtained at a country school and village academy.
He studied medicine with Dr. H. B. Moore, of Manlius, New York, who
was then the leading surgeon of that part of the countiy. He attended
his first course of medical lectures at Geneva, New York, where he
became clinical assistant to the professor of surgery. The following
year he went to Philadelphia, and graduated at the Philadelphia College
218 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
soon be satisfied as to the object of their question. Saying this,
he conducted them to the garret door.
The state of Henry's mind at this juncture may be imagined.
When they arrived at the door, some delay was occasioned, owing
to the absence of the key, and a few moments were thus allowed
Henry in which to look round for a hiding place. In one corner
of the garret was a heap of those vessels of birch bark used in
making maple sugar.
The door was unlocked and opened, and the Indians ascended
the stairs before Henry had completely crept into a small opening
which presented itself at one end of the heap. An instant later,
four Indians entered the room, all armed with tomahawks, and all
besmeared with blood upon every part of their bodies. The die
appeared to be cast. Henry could scarcely breathe, and he was
sure that the throbbing of his heart occasioned a noise loud enough
to betray him. The Indians walked in every direction about the
garret, and one of them approached him so closely that, at a par
ticular moment, had he put forth his hand, he could have touched
him. Still, he remained undiscovered, a circumstance to which
the dark color of his clothes, and the want of light in the room,
must have contributed. In short, after taking several turns in the
room, during which they told Langlade how many they had killed
and how many scalps they had taken, they returned down stairs ;
and Henry, with sensations not easily expressed, heard the door
locked for the second time.
of Medicine, and in the spring of 1860 received an ad eundem degree from
the medical department of Pennsylvania College. Soon after his gradua
tion he returned to New York, and practiced his profession, with his old
preceptor, for about two years, and while there received the appointment
of demonstrator of anatomy in the New York College of Dental Surgery,
but on the earnest solicitation of his old friend and room mate of the
village academy (now the Hon. J. G. Sutherland), who had located and
was practicing law at Saginaw City, Michigan, he was induced to remove
to that city, where he arrived July 1, 1854. He early succeeded in
acquiring a large and extensive practice, which declining health has now
compelled him to partially abandon. He now devotes his time chiefly to
the practice of gynaecology, and is medical advisor and acting surgeon of
the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Division of the Michigan Central R. R.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 219
There «was a feather bed on the floor, and on this, exhausted as
he was by agitation of mind, he threw himself down and went to
sleep. In this condition he remained till the dark of the even
ing, when he was awakened by a second opening of the door.
The person who now entered was M. Langlade's wife, who was
much surprised at finding him, but advised him not to be uneasy,
observing that the Indians had killed most of the Englishmen,
but that she trusted he would escape. A shower of rain having
begun to fall, she had come to stop a hole in the roof. On
retiring, Henry begged her to send him a little water to drink,
which she did.
As night was now advancing, he continued to lie on the bed,
thinking of his condition, but unable to discover a source from
which he could hope for life. A flight to Detroit had no probable
chance of success ; the distance from Miehilimackinac was four
hundred miles ; he was without provisions, and the whole length
of the road lay through Indian countries — countries of an enemy
in arms — where the first Indian he should meet would take his
life. To stay where he was threatened nearly the same thing.
As before, fatigue of mind, and not tranquillity, suspended his
cares, and procured him further sleep.
The respite which sleep afforded him during the night was ended
by the return of morning. At sunrise, he heard the family stir
ring, and presently after, Indian voices, informing M. Langlade
that they had not found an Englishman named Henry among the
Dr. White has always been a diligent student, and taken great interest in
the advancement of medical education, especially in the medical schools
of our State, and is an active working member of the county and State
medical societies. He is also a permanent member of the National Medi
cal Association. As a practitioner, he has taken high rank, and by steady
observance of the professional amenities, has ever been on good fellow
ship and popularity with other members of his profession. He is a firm
upholder of the dignity of the profession. Charlatanry, of whatever
form or kind, is confronted boldly. He is unyielding in his opposition
to all of the sophism of the day, convinced that whatever there is of
value in the healing art is mainly due to the discoveries and investiga
tions of those who continue to walk in the path of regular and legitimate
medicine.
220 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
dead, and that they believed him to be somewhere concealed.
M. Langlade appeared from what followed, to be, by this time,
acquainted with the place of Henry's retreat, of which, no doubt,
he had been informed by his wife. The poor woman, as soon as
the Indians mentioned Henry, declared to her husband, in the
French tongue, that he should no longer shield the Englishman,
but deliver him up to his pursuers, giving as a reason that, should
the Indians discover his instrumentality in the matter, they might
avenge it on her children. M. Langlade resisted at first, but soon
suffered her to prevail, informing the Indians that he had been
told Henry was in the house ; that he had come there without
his knowledge, and that he would put him into their hands.
This was no sooner expressed than he began to ascend the stairs,
the Indians following at his heels. Henry now resigned himself to
his fate ; and, regarding every attempt at concealment as vain, he
arose from the bed, and presented himself in view to the Indians,
who were entering the room. They were all in a state of intoxi
cation, and entirely naked, except about the middle. One of
them, named Wenniway, whom he had previously known, walked
up to him, and seized him with one hand by the collar of the coat,
while in the other he held a large carving-knife, as if to plunge it
into his breast; his eyes, meanwhile, were fixed steadfastly on
Henry's. At length, after some seconds of the most anxious sus
pense, he dropped his arm, saying, " I won't kill you !" To this
he added that he had been frequently engaged in war against the
English, and had brought away many scalps ; that, on a certain
occasion, he had lost a brother, whose name was Musinigon, and
that Henry should be called after him. He then ordered him
down stairs, and there informed him that he was to be taken to
his cabin. Here, as indeed everywhere else, the Indians were all
mad with liquor. Death, again, was threatened, and not as possi
ble only, but as certain. Henry mentioned his fears on this subject
to M. Lauglade, begging him to represent the danger to his mas
ter. Langlade, in this instance, did not withhold his compassion,
and the Indian immediately consented that Henry should remain
where he was, until he found another opportunity to take him
away.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN. 221
Thus far secure, lie reascended the stairs, in order to place him
self the farthest possible out of the reach of insult from drunken
Indians ; but he had not remained there more than an hour, when
he was called to the room below, in which was an Indian who said
HON. ELEAZER JEWETT.
ELEAZER JEWETT was born in the State of New Hampshire, April 29,
1799. He came to Michigan and settled on the Saginaw river in Septem
ber, 1826, traveling from Pontiac on foot, alone, carrying in a pack all
his worldly goods. The country was then new and unsettled. Eight miles
north of Pontiac was the residence of Alpheus Williams, father of Harvey
Williams, one of the pioneers of the Saginaw Valley. There was no
other trace of civilization on the way, except at Grand Blanc and the
Grand Traverse of Flint River (now city of Flint). At the latter place a
half-breed named Campau had a log hut on the south side of the river,
222 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
that the Englishman must go with him out of the fort, Wenniway
having sent for him. Henry had also seen this man before. In
the preceding year he had allowed him to take goods on credit,
for which he still owed ; and some short time previous to the sur
prise of the fort he had said, upon being asked for the amount,
that " he would pay the Englishman before long." This speech
now came fresh in Henry's memory, and led him to suspect that
the fellow had formed a design against his life. He communicated
his suspicion to Langlade, but that gentleman gave for an answer,
that he was not his own master, and must do as the Indian had
ordered.
The Indian, on his part, directed the Englishman to undress
himself before leaving the house, declaring that his coat and shirt
would become an Indian better than they did Henry. His pleas
ure in this respect being complied with, no other alternative was
left to Henry than either to go out naked, or to put on the clothes
of the Indian, which he freely gave him in exchange. His motive
for thus stripping him of his own apparel was no other, as Henry
afterwards learned, than that it might not be stained with blood
when he killed him.
The Englishman was now ordered to proceed, and his driver fol
lowed him close until he had passed the^gate of the fort, when he
near where the principal bridge stands. Between Flint river, at this place,
and Saginaw, was an unbroken wilderness, and only an Indian trail to
guide the adventurous traveler. There was no settlement in the Saginaw
Y alley, except on the site where the city of Saginaw now is. Here was
a narrow clearing on the margin of the river. Besides the Indian farmers
and blacksmiths, provided by the government, the American Fur Com
pany had a small trading establishment in charge of a Frenchman named
Reauine. They constituted the civilized population.
Mr. Jewett went into the employ of the American Fur Company for
two years, then he built a block house on Green Point and commenced
trading with the Indians on his own account. He continued this trade
for ten years.
He married in 1831. His eldest child, a daughter, now the wife of Dr.
N. D. Lee, was the first white child born in the Saginaw Valley.
In 1832, Mr. Jewett purchased at Steben's mill, on Thread river, near
the Grand Traverse of Flint river, 10,000 feet of pine boards, of which
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 223
turned toward the spot where he knew the Indians to be encamped.
This, however, did not suit the purpose of the Indian. He seized
Henry by the arm, drew him violently in the opposite direction,
to the distance of fifty yards above the fort. Here, finding that
he was approaching the bushes and sand hills, Henry determined
to proceed no farther, but told the Indian that he believed he
meant to murder him, and that if so, he might as well strike
where he was as at any greater distance. The Indian replied with
coolness, that the Englishman's suspicions were correct, and that
he meant to pay him, in this manner, for his goods. At the same
time he produced a knife, and held Henry in a position to receive
the intended blow. Both this and that which followed were neces
sarily the affairs of a moment. By some effort, too sudden, and
too little dependent on thought to be explained or remembered,
Henry was enabled to arrest his arm, and give him a sudden push,
by which he turned from him and became released from his grasp.
This was no sooner done than Henry ran towards the fort with all
the swiftness in his power, the Indian following him, and the pur
sued expecting every moment to feel the knife of the pursuer.
Henry succeeded in his flight, and on entering the fort, he saw
Wenniway standing in the midst of the area, and hastened to
him for protection. Wenniway desired the Indian to desist ; but
he formed a raft in Flint river. Unaided, he floated this raft down to
the driftwood at the mouth of Flint river. Of this lumber he constructed
a frame house on the opposite side of the river from Green Point, in which
he afterwards resided and continued his business.
In January, 1837, when Saginaw City had attained considerable size as
a village, he placed his house on four sleds and drew it with four pair of
oxen down the river on the ice to the "city," where, notwithstanding
some other migrations, it is still standing.
In 1828, he brought the first swine to 8aginawT county.
On the 4th of July, 1832, he invited the entire population of the Sag
inaw Valley to a celebration of the national anniversary at his home on
Green Point. All the inhabitants, old and young — twenty-nine in num
ber — came at his hospitable invitation. The ceremonies were patriotic
and interesting. They were enlivened by music and conviviality— the
music on a bass drum, brought and played, solo, by Abraham Butts, a
respected pioneer, who died only two years ago; the conviviality, aided
224 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the latter still pursued him around the chief, making several
strokes at Henry with his knife, and foaming at the mouth with
rage at the repeated failure of his purpose. At length Wenuiway
drew near to M. Langlade's house, and, the door being open,
Henry ran into it. The Indian followed him, but on entering it
he voluntarily abandoned the pursuit.
Preserved so often, and so unexpectedly, as it had already been
his lot, he returned to his garret, with a strong inclination to
believe that, through the will of an overruling Providence, no
Indian enemy could do him hurt. Exhausted with fear, he threw
himself upon the bed and was soon relieved by sleep. At ten
o'clock in the evening he was again aroused, and once more desired
to descend the stairs. Not less, however, to his satisfaction than
surprise, he was summoned only to meet Major Etherington, Mr.
Bostwick, and Lieutenant Leslie, who were in the room below.
These gentlemen had been taken prisoners, while looking at the
game without the fort, and immediately stripped of all their
clothes. They were now sent into the fort under the charge of
Canadians, because, the Indians having resolved on getting drunk,
the chiefs were apprehensive that they would be murdered if they
continued in the camp. Lieutenant Jamette and seventy English
had been killed, and but twenty Englishmen, including soldiers,
were still alive. These were all within the fort, together with
more than double their number of Canadians.
by the spirituous beverage of the time, which was innocent of all the
corruptions that at a later date have rendered it obnoxious. His three
sons grew to manhood. One fell in the service of his country at Gettys-
burgh ; the others reside at Saginaw, worthy examples of industry and
thrift.
Mr. J. was elected justice of the peace at an early day, and has since
served in that capacity for nearly thirty years. He also served as county
surveyor for nearly twenty years, immediately succeeding the inaugura
tion of Saginaw county, and served fourteen years as judge of probate.
He is the sole survivor of the first pioneers. In his prime, he was a
man of courage and muscle. He is still in robust health, residing quietly
and in comfort at .his country seat in Kochville. He does not appeal-
to be the worse for the exposure and hardships of his rough pioneer
experience.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
225
It was suggested among the English prisoners that an effort to
regain possession of the fort might successfully be made. The
Jesuit missionary was consulted on the subject, but his words dis
couraged the idea. Thus the fort and prisoners remained in the
R. W. JENNY.
ROYAL W. JENNY came to Michigan in 1834, and engaged at his trade
in Detroit, where he worked six years. In 1840, he launched the Lapeer
Sentinel on his own account. This journal was first edited by Mr. Henry
W. Williams, and at a later period by Col. J. R. White, who is still living
at Lapeer. He moved to Saginaw City in the spring of 1844, where he
edited and published the North Star, at that time the most northerly paper
in the United States. Mr. Jenny not only edited and printed the Star,
unaided by help of any kind, but for quite a period filled the responsible
position of town clerk of Saginaw; was one of the superintendents of
15
226 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
hands of the Indians, though through the whole night the prisoners
and whites were in actual possession. That whole night, or the
greater part of it, was passed in mutual condolence. In the morn
ing Henry was visited by Wenniway, and ordered to accompany
that chief. He led him to a small house within the fort, where,
in a narrow room which was almost dark, he found his old friend
Solomons, an Englishman from Detroit, and a soldier, both pris
oners. With these he remained in painful suspense as to the scene
that was next to present itself. At ten o'clock in the forenoon,
an Indian arrived, and immediately marched them to the lake
side, when a canoe appeared ready for departure, and in which
they were ordered to embark. Their voyage, full of doubt as it
was, would have commenced immediately, but that one of the
Indians who was to be of the party was absent. His arrival was
to be waited for, and this occasioned a very long delay, during
which the Englishmen were exposed to a keen northwest wind.
An old shirt was all that covered Henry, and he suffered much
from the cold. At noon the party was collected, the prisoners all
the poor of Saginaw county, and deputy postmaster. At this period,
Judge G. D. Williams was postmaster at Saginaw, which was the only
postoffice in all the territory now embraced within the counties of Sagi
naw, Tuscola, Bay and Midland.
Mr. Jenny was married to Mrs. Sophia A. Hill, a sister of the late
lamented James N. Gotee and Jerome H. Gotee, at Saginaw, in February,
1847. His wife is an estimable lady, of rare literary culture, and who,
soon after her removal to Flint with her husband in 1849, wrote the con
stitution and by-laws of the Ladies' Library Association of that city, and
organized it. This was the first institution of the kind formed in the
Northwest, and has become the model for the hundreds of similar
associations scattered throughout Michigan and the whole Northwest.
In this great field of usefulness, Mrs. Sophia A. Jenny has won the
highest esteem of the people of this State, and endeared her memory to
coming generations.
Since Mr. Jenny's removal to Flint, he has published the Genesae Demo
crat — a journal which has ever been high-minded in discussion, honest in
politics, and deserving of the extensive patronage which it has always
enjoyed. During the late war, Mr. Jenny urged, through the columns of
his journal, the "raising of men and money" that the general govern
ment might need to suppress the rebellion. Major E. W. Lyon, at that
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 227
embarked, and they started for the Isles du Castor, in Lake Michi
gan. The Indians in the canoe numbered seven, the prisoners
four. The soldier was made fast to a bar of the canoe, by a rope
tied around his neck, as is the manner of the Indians in trans
porting their prisoners. The others were left unconiined, but pad
dles were put into their hands, and they were ordered to use them.
After paddling along for some time, keeping near shore on account
of a dense fog that prevailed, they approached 'the land of the
Ottawas, at Fox Point, eighteen miles from Michilimackinac.
After the Indians had made their war whoop, an Ottawa appeared
upon the beach and signaled them to land. When the canoe
arrived in shallow water, a hundred Ottawas sprung from among
the bushes, and dragged the prisoners out of it amid a terrifying
shout. They gave as a reason for this action, that the Chippewas
had insulted them by attacking the English without consulting
them, and consequently they were friends of the English and ene
mies of the Chippewas. They added that what they had done
time a partner with Mr. Jenny, at once raised a company for Col. Fen-
ton's regiment, in which he was effectually aided by Mr. Jenny.
A few years ago, participating in the celebration of the completion of
the railroad from East Saginaw to Bay City, Mr. Jenny, in response to a
call, said: " You of the Saginaws do not duly appreciate your geographi
cal position and the advantages you will receive in the not distant future.
Quicker than you now dream will you find yourselves on the great line of
communication between the orients and the Occidents. The Northern
Pacific Railroad finished — now, I admit, only talked of — and the people
of China and Japan will throng your streets and solicit your acquaintance
and trade. You gentlemen over the table who laugh at my credulity,
please remember my predictions."
If the reader will remember that those words were uttered when
northern Michigan was a wilderness, and that his predictions have been
already more than realized, it will be easy to appreciate the value of such
a man to the infant growth of our State. It has been stated that Mr.
Jenny has ' ' built in his paper " nearly every work of improvement pro
jected in the northern part of the State, at least half a dozen times before
they were undertaken by active operations. Two projects only now
remain, heretofore advocated by him, but the lookout for these is not
very encouraging. They are slack-water navigation of the Flint river
from Flint to Saginaw, and the " Bad River Canal" in Saginaw county.
228 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
was for the purpose of saving their lives, aa the Chippewas were
carrying them to the Isles du Castor to kill and eat them.
The prisoners were soon embarked again in an Ottawa canoe,
and carried back to Michilimackinac, where they were marched
into the fort by the Ottawas in view of the Chippewas, who were
confounded at seeing their brothers of the forest opposing them.
The Ottawas, being of sufficient numbers, at once took possession
of the fort. The prisoners who had changed hands were lodged
in the house of the commandant, and vigilantly guarded.
Early the next morning a general council was held, in which
the Chippewas complained of the conduct of the Ottawas in rob
bing them of their prisoners, and urging them to join in the war,
as the English were meeting with destruction in every part of the
world. As the Indians rarely make their answers until the day
following the hearing of the arguments offered, the council
adjourned for that purpose.
CHAPTER XV.
THE ENGLISH PERSECUTED AT MrcHiLiMACKmAC AFTER THE MASSACRE
— THE ADVENTURE OF HENRY — PRISONERS DIVIDED BETWEEN THE
OHIPPEWAS AND THE OTTAWAS— LIEUTENANT GORELL RESCUES THE
PRISONERS FROM THE OTTAWAS, AND THE ENGLISH LEAVE THE
COUNTRY — ESCAPE OF HENRY.
THE prisoners, whose fate was thus in controversy, were unac
quainted at the time with this transaction, and, therefore, enjoyed
a night of tolerable tranquillity. The result of the council was
that the prisoners were returned to the Chippewas. While in the
hands of the Ottawas, the prisoners had been informed that the
former intended to kill them and make broth of them ; hence, we
may imagine their feelings at being restored to their old enemies.
The Chippewas marched them into a village of their own, and put
them into a lodge, already the prison of fourteen soldiers, tied two
and two, each having a rope about his neck that was made fast to
a pole of the lodge. Henry was left untied ; but he passed a night
sleepless and full of wretchedness. His bed was the bare ground,
and his only clothing was the old shirt, already mentioned. He
was, besides, in want of food, having for two days eaten nothing.
Henry relates that, while he was in the canoe with the Chippewas,
they offered him bread, but that it had been cut from the loaf
with the same knives the Indians used in the massacre — knives
still covered with blood. The blood they moistened with spittle,
and, rubbing it on the bread, offered it to the prisoners, telling
them to eat the blood of their countrymen.
Such was the situation of the Englishmen at Michilimackinac
on the seventh of June, 1763, but a few hours produced an event
that gave still a new color to Henry's lot. Toward noon, when
the great war chief, in company with Wenniway, was seated at the
opposite end of the lodge, his friend, Wawatam, suddenly entered.
In passing by he gave Henry his hand, but went immediately
230 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
toward the great chief, and sat down beside him. The most
uninterrupted silence prevailed ; each smoked his pipe ; and,
this done, Wawatam arose and left the lodge, saying to Henry,
as he passed, " Take courage !" An hour elapsed, during which
several chiefs entered, and preparations appeared to be making
for a council. At length, Wawatam reentered the lodge, followed
by his wife, and both loaded with merchandise, which they carried
up to the chiefs, and laid in a heap before them. Some moments of
silence followed, at the end of which Wawatam delivered a speech.
" Friends and relations," he began, " what is it that I shall
say ? You know what I feel. You all have friends, and brothers,
and children, whom, as yourselves, you love ; and you — what
would you experience, did you, like me, behold your dearest
friend, your brother, in the condition of a slave-^-a slave, exposed
every moment to insult and to menaces of death. This case, as
you all know, is mine. See there (pointing to Henry) my friend
and brother among slaves — himself a slave. You all well know
that, long before the war began, I adopted him as my brother.
From that moment he became one of my family, so that no danger
of circumstances could break the cord which fastened us together.
He is my brother ; and, because I am your relation, he is, there
fore, your relation, too ; and how, being your relation, can he be
your slave ?
" On the day on which the war began you were fearful lest, on
this very account, I should reveal your secret; you requested,
therefore, that I should leave the fort, and even cross the lake. I
did so ; but I did it with reluctance. I did it with reluctance,
notwithstanding that you (naming the chief) who had the com
mand in this enterprise, gave me your promise that you would
protect my friend, delivering him from all danger, and giving him
safely to me. The performance of this I now claim. I come not
with empty hands to ask it. I bring these goods, to buy off
every claim which any man among you all may have on my
brother, as his prisoner."
Wawatam having ceased, the pipes were again filled ; and, after
they were finished, a further period of silence followed. At the
end of this, Minavavana arose and gave his reply :
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
231
" My relation and brother," said he, " what you have spoken is
truth. We were acquainted with the friendship which subsisted
between yourself and the Englishman, in whose behalf you have
now addressed us. We knew the danger of having our secret dis-
GEN. MARK FLANIGAN.
MARK FLANIGAN was born in the county of Antrim, Ireland, in the
year 1825. His parents, who belonged to the sect of Presbyterians
known as Covenanters, emigrated to Canada in 1833, whence the subject
of this sketch came to the United States in 1841, and settled in Detroit,
Michigan, in 1845.
In 1847 he engaged in business, in which he continued down to the
breaking out of the rebellion, soon after which he volunteered to serve
during the war, entering the 24th Michigan Infantry, of which regiment
he was made lieutenant-colonel. He served with distinction under all
the generals who commanded the army of the Potomac.
232 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
covered, and the consequences that must follow ; and you say
truly that we requested you to leave the fort. This was done out
of regard for you and your family ; for, if a discovery of our
design had been made, you would have been blamed, whether
guilty or not ; and you would thus have been involved in difficul
ties from which you could not have extricated yourself. It is also
true that I promised to take care of your friend ; and this promise
I performed by desiring my son, at the moment of the assault, to
seek him out, and bring him to my lodge. He went, accordingly,
but could not find him. The day after, I sent him to Langlade's,
where he was informed that your friend was safe ; and, had it not
been that the Indians were then drinking the rum which had been
found in the fort, he would have brought him home with him,
according to my orders. I am very glad to find that your friend
has escaped. We accept your present, and you may take him home
with you."
Wawatam thanked the chiefs, and, taking Henry by the hand,
led him to his lodge, which was at the distance of a few rods only
from the prison-lodge. His entrance appeared to give joy to the
whole family ; food was immediately prepared for him, and he now
ate the first hearty meal which he had made since his capture.
He found himself one of the family ; and, but that he had still
his fears as to the other Indians, he felt as happy as the situation
could allow. In the course of the next morning, he was alarmed
by a noise in the prison-lodge ; and, looking through the opening
of the lodge in which he was, he beheld seven dead bodies of white
men dragged forth. Upon inquiry, he was informed that a certain
For gallant conduct at Fitzhugh Crossing, Va., Lieut. -Col. Flanigan
was made colonel by brevet, and received the further brevet rank of
brigadier-general of volunteers for the bravery shown, and the valuable
services rendered, at Gettysburg, in which famous battle he lost a leg.
On his return home, after partially recovering from his wound, he was
received by the city of Detroit with the most nattering tokens of the
regard and approbation of her citizens.
In addition to an honorable military record, Gen. Flanigan has long
occupied a prominent position in civil affairs. An active member of the
old Detroit fire department, he was for many years foreman of Phoenix
Co. No. 5, and also held the position of member of the board of trustees
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 233
*
chief, called by the Canadians, Le Grand Sable, had not long
before arrived from his winter's hunt ; and that he, having been
absent when the war began, and being desirous of manifesting to
the Indians at large his hearty concurrence in what they had done,
had gone into the prison-lodge, and there, with his knife, put the
seven men to death. Shortly after, two of the Indians took one
of the dead bodies, which they chose as being the fattest, cut off
the head, and divided the whole into five parts, which were put
into five kettles, hung over as many fires, kindled for this purpose
at the door of the prison-lodge. Soon after, the horrible prepara
tions were deemed completed, and the warriors were invited to the
feast. The invitations are given by the master of the feast.
Small cuttings of cedar wood, of about four inches in length,
supply the place of cards ; and the bearer, by word of mouth,
states the particulars. The Indians attend, each taking with him
his dish and spoon. , Henry tells us that his friend Wawatam did
not appear to have relished the repast, having returned, after an
absence of about an hour and a half, bringing in his dish a human
hand and a large piece of flesh.
In the evening of the same day, a large canoe was seen advanc
ing to the fort. The Indian cry was raised in the village, a general
muster ordered, and, to the number of two hundred, the savages
marched up to the fort, where the canoe was expected to land.
The occupants of the canoe, who were English traders, suspected
nothing, and came boldly to the fort, when they were seized,
and treasurer of the department. He was an alderman of the city in
1859 and 1860, and sheriff of Wayne county in 1861 and 1862, until he
entered the army.
The wound received at Gettysburg having unfitted him for further ser
vice in the field, he was made provost-marshal at Detroit, and was
afterwards assessor of internal revenue for the first district of Michigan.
On the consolidation of revenue offices, and the reduction of the force,
he was made collector of internal revenue at Detroit, which office he now
holds. Gen. Flauigan's labors in the cause of free schools, during the
many years he has been a leading member of the Detroit Board of Edu
cation, are too well known to need comment or praise from us. It is
sufficient to say that their results have uniformly been such as to add to
the respect and regard felt for him by his fellow-citizens.
234 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
I
dragged through the water, beaten, reviled, marched to the prison,
and there stripped of their clothes and confined.
Of all the English traders who fell into the hands of the Indians
at the capture of the fort, Mr. Tracy was the only one who lost his
life. Mr. Solomons and Mr Henry Bostwick were taken by the
Ottawas ; and, after the peace, carried to Montreal, and there ran
somed. One account says that, out of ninety troops, seventy were
killed. This is probably incorrect, as there were only about
thirty-five soldiers, with their officers, in the fort. It is only rea
sonable to suppose that of the seventy killed, many were women
and children, wives and children of the soldiers.
The peculiarities of the Indian character readily explain the
part which the Ottawas played in this transaction. They deemed
it a gross insult that the Chippewas had undertaken an enterprise
of such vast importance without consulting them or asking their
assistance. They had, therefore, rescued Henry and his compan
ions in tribulation from the hands of their captors, and borne
them back to the fort. After the council between the two nations,
of which we have already spoken, some of the prisoners, among
whom was Henry, were given up, but the officers and several of
the soldiers were retained, and carried by the Ottawas to L'Arbre
Croche. Here they were treated with kindness. From this point
Ethrington dispatched two letters, one by Father Janois, to Major
Gladwyn, of Detroit; and the other, by an Ottawa Indian, to
Lieutenant Gorell, at Green Bay. These letters contained a brief
account of the massacre, and an earnest entreaty for assistance.
When Father Janois reached Detroit, he found the place closely
besieged ; and, consequently, no assistance could be had from that
quarter ; but at Green Bay the Indian messenger was more for
tunate. With seventeen men, Lieutenant Gorell had taken pos
session of that post in 1761, and, by a system of good management,
had succeeded in allaying the hostility of the savages, and secur
ing the friendship of at least a part of the tribes around him.
On receiving Ethrington's letter^ Gorell told the Indians what
the Chippewas had done, and that he and his soldiers were
going to Michilimackinac to restore order, adding that, during
his absence, he commended the fort to their care. Presents
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
235
were distributed among them, and advantage taken of every cir
cumstance that could possibly be made to favor the English
cause ; so jthat, when the party was ready to embark, ninety
warriors proposed to escort the garrison on its way.
J. M. STANLEY.
JAMES M. STANLEY, the leading delineator of Indian character, was
a man of more than national reputation as an artist, and no mere bio
graphical sketch can do justice to his achievements. He was born at
Canadaigua, N. Y., on the 17th of January, 1814. At an early age he
was thrown upon his own resources for a livelihood, and he spent the
greater portion of his boyhood in Buffalo, N. Y. In 1834, he removed
to this State, and, in 1835, commenced his profession of portrait painting
in the city of Detroit. He remained there until 1837, when he went to
236 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Arriving at L'Arbre Croche, where Captain Ethrington, Lieu
tenant Leslie, and eleven men were yet detained as prisoners,
Gorell received an intimation that the Ottawas intended to dis
arm his soldiers ; but he promptly informed them that such an
attempt would meet with a vigorous resistance. Several days
were now spent in holding councils. The soldiers from Green Bay
requested the Ottawas to set their prisoners at liberty, to which
the latter at length assented. Thinking only of how they might
escape their troublesome foes, they prepared to depart. One dif
ficulty, however, yet remained. The Ojibwas (Chippewas) had
declared that they would prevent the English from passing down
to Montreal ; and again they had recourse to a council. A revul
sion of feeling, as we shall soon see, had already taken place
among the Chippewa chiefs ; and at length, though reluctantly,
they yielded the point. On the eighteenth day of July, 1763,
Chicago, residing there and at Galena, Illinois, until 1839, where he spent
much of his time in painting portraits of the Indians, and taking sketches
of the Indian country in the region of Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Sub
sequently he followed his profession in New York City, Philadelphia,
Penn., Baltimore, Md., and Troy, K Y. In 1842, having in the mean
time become imbued with a love for Indian scenes and adventures, he
traveled extensively over the great prairies of the West, painting the
portraits in full costume of the leading warriors around Fort Gibson,
Arkansas, and in Texas and New Mexico. He accompanied the Kearney
and Emory expeditions across the Rocky Mountains, and, after perform
ing much important labor for the United States government in California,
he visited Oregon and traversed the greater portion of the Columbia
river, taking a large number of sketches of the scenery along the route
and transferring them to canvas. Afterwards, he spent over a year in
the Sandwich Islands, and, in 1851, settled in Washington, where he
resided until 1863, when he returned to Detroit, residing there until his
death, which occurred on the 10th of April, 1872, being caused from
heart disease.
During his residence in Washington, he placed in the Smithsonian
Institute a large and very valuable collection of portraits of the leading
Indian chiefs of this country, and when a portion of that building was
destroyed by fire on January 24, 1865, these pictures were burned with
it. This collection was the result, substantially, of eleven years of travel
and labor, and their pecuniary value cannot be estimated. This gallery
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 237
escorted by a fleet of Indian canoes, the English left L'Arbre
Croche, and, on the thirteenth day of August, the whole party
arrived in safety at Montreal, leaving not a British soldier in the
region of the lakes except at Detroit.
For a little more than a year after the massacre, Michilimacki-
nac was only occupied by the coureurs des bois, and such Indian
bauds as chose to make it a temporary residence ; but, after the
treaty with the Indians, Captain Howard, with a sufficiently
large detachment of troops, was sent to take possession of that
post ; and, once more, the English flag was a rallying point and
the protection of the adventurous trader at Michilimackinac.
We will now turn back, in point of time, and follow Mr. Henry
to the end of his thrilling adventures, after which we will
resume our narrative of the nine surprisals by Pontiac and his
brave warriors.
comprised one hundred and fifty-two paintings, mostly life-size, of the
prominent chiefs and leading men of forty-two distinct tribes.
The opportunities that Mr. Stanley had for acquiring a thorough insight
into the habits and manners of the North American Indians will, per
haps, best be inferred from a brief outline of his labors and travels as a
delineator of Indian life and character. These may be said to date from
the visit to Fort Gibson, heretofore- referred to. During his sojourn at
this frontier post, he painted the portraits of Alligator, Wild Cat, Tiger,
Big Warrior, and many other prominent Seminole chiefs, then living.
From Fort Gibson, Mr. Stanley went with the party of Col. Pierce M.
Butler, U. S. Commissioner, to attend a council of the Texas tribes of
Indians at Wacco village on the Brazos river, where terms of a treaty
were discussed, but not finally settled. From Wacco village he returned
with the Butler party to Fort Smith, Arkansas, by a circuitous route,
crossing the Red river of the South at Shreveport, Louisiana, the whole
distance being traversed^ without a military escort. Shortly after his
return, Mr. Stanley left Fort Smith to visit a council of Indians at
Talequah, attended by seventeen different prairie and border tribes, where
he found an excellent opportunity to study savage life in some of its most
striking and interesting phases. Upon this occasion, over fifteen thou
sand Indians went daily through their favorite ball plays, dances and
other diversions, and the opportunities thus afforded for enriching his
portfolio were fully improved. In 1843, he attended a council near Cache
Creek, on the Red river of the South, and, in 1846, in the capacity of
238 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
On the morning of the ninth of Jnne, a general council was
held, at which it was resolved to remove to the Island of Macki
naw, situated in the Straits of Mackinac, to the north, as a more
defensible situation, in the event of an attack by the English.
The Indians had begun to entertain apprehensions of a want of
strength. No news had reached them from the Pottawattamies, in
the Bay des Paunts, and they were uncertain whether or not the
Monomins would join them. They even feared that the Sioux
would take the English side. Their minds made up on this
point, they prepared for a speedy retreat. At noon, the camp was
broken up, and they embarked, taking with them the prisoners
that were still undisposed of, among whom was Henry, the hero
of this romantic adventure. By the approach of evening, they
reached the island in safety, and the women were not long in
erecting their cabins. In the morning, there was a muster of the
topographical draughtsman, he went with Gen. Kearney to New Mexico
and California, passing along the Gila river, and this was the first time
the American flag was ever unfurled in the Gila Valley. This expedition
was frequently intercepted by Indians, but under the direction of the
famous mountain guide and explorer, Kit Carson, they fought their way
through. The march occupied three months. The expedition was
severely handled at San Pasquale and San Bernardino, and, although Mr.
Stanley lost all his clothing and other effects, he saved his sketches, paints
and canvas.
From San Diego, California, the artist proceeded to San Francisco,
where he completed his official engagement, and severed his connection
with the public service. In 1847, he took with him some Indian guides,
and made, at his own expense, a tour through the whole extent of the
territory of Oregon. Having diligently observed the manners, customs
and habits of the aborigines, sketched the beautiful scenery, and painted
the principal chiefs and warriors of the different tribes, he returned to
San Francisco, and engaged passage in a vessel homeward bound, by the
Cape from Honolulu. On the way back, the artist passed some time on
the Sandwich Islands, where he was engaged to paint the portraits of King
Kamehameha I and his consort. It was from the Sandwich Islands that
he shipped to the Atlantic States a large and valuable number of Indian
curiosities collected in Oregon, which were unfortunately lost in the ship
wreck of a whaler.
Mr. Stanley's fourth journey was made in the spring of 1853, when he
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 239
Indians, at which there were found three hundred and fifty fight
ing men. In the course of the day, a canoe arrived from Detroit,
with ambassadors, who endeavored to prevail on the Indians to
repair thither, to the assistance of Pontiac ; but fear was now the
prevailing passion. A guard was kept during the day, and a
watch by night, and alarms were very frequently spread. Had an
enemy appeared, all the prisoners would have been put to death.
It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of Henry and his fellow-
prisoners at this time.
One morning an alarm was given, and the Indians, in large
numbers, ran toward the beach. In a short time it was ascer
tained that canoes from Montreal were in sight. All the Indian
canoes were immediately manned, and those from Montreal sur
rounded and seized. The goods were consigned to a Mr. Levy,
and would have been saved if the canoe-men had called them
formed one of the party that accompanied Isaac L. Stevens, the first
Governor of Washington Territory, on his survey of the Northern
Pacific Railway route. In this tour, he traversed the continent from the
head waters of the Mississippi river via Forts Benton and Union, the
Rocky Mountain chain, and the Bitter Root Mountains (to the west of
the Rocky), to Fort " Coldville, one of the old Hudson Bay Company's
stations, down the Columbia river to Fort Vancouver, and thence back
by the Isthmus. It was with this party that Mr. Stanley became per
sonally and intimately acquainted with all the tribes on the upper waters
of the Missouri — the Creeks, Assiniboins, Crows, Sioux, Blackfeet and
others, dwelling in the regions east of the Rocky Mountains; and renewed,
on this occasion, his acquaintance with the tribes on the Upper Colum
bia, whom he had already visited in 1847-48, after the Keftrney expedition.
In these eleven years, during which Mr. Stanley explored all that vast
region vaguely described on the older maps as the "Indian Country,"
but which now comprises the States and Territories of Texas, New
Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Dacota,
Montana, Idaho, and the British Possessions, he had every opportunity
to become familiar with the Nomads, whose home the}T have been since
time immemorial. Mr. Stanley was thrown into more or less immediate
contact with nearly all the tribes in the Western country, and he wras
therefore with justice regarded as one of the highest authorities on
Indian life and character. The time when the red men, who were once
the sole occupants of our prairies and forests, will survive only in song
240 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
French property ; but they were so terrified that they disguised
nothing. In the canoes was a large quantity of liquor — a dan
gerous acquisition, and one which threatened disturbance among
the Indians, from their bloodthirsty recklessness while under its
influence.
Wawatam, always watchful of Henry's safety, no sooner heard
the sounds of drunken revelry, in the evening, than he repre
sented to Henry the danger of remaining in the village, and
owned that he could not himself resist the temptation of joining
his comrades in the debauch. That he might escape all mischief,
the Indian requested Henry to accompany him to the mountain,
where he was to remain hidden till the liquor should be drunk.
They ascended the mountain, accordingly. After walking more
than half a mile, they came to a rock, at the base of which was
an opening, dark within, and appearing to be the entrance of a
and story, is not far distant; and these truthful and yet vivid delineations
of a once great race of human beings will then constitute one of their
best and most authentic records.
To enumerate all of this artist's productions would be too extended an
undertaking for a limited sketch like this. His most important recent
work, " The Trial of Red Jacket," is well known and has become popu
larized by the faithful chromo reproductions of the original work, which
were executed in Berlin, Prussia. This celebrated painting was exhibited
in all the principal cities of this country and many in Europe, and is
now in Detroit at the residence of Mrs. Stanley. It is valued at $30,000.
Among his productions are several of great interest, depicting events in
the history of Michigan, which have also been reproduced in chromolitho
graphs; and creditable portraits of distinguished men from all parts of the
country have been painted by him. He endeavored, by all means in his
power, to cultivate a love for art matters wherever he resided, and several
years since, by the expenditure of a great amount of labor and time, he
succeeded in organizing the Western Art Association, and opening a
gallery of paintings, which is now a permanent and valuable acquisition
to Detroit.
Personally, he was a man among men. He was quiet, unobtrusive and
gentlemanly — a thorough artist, and one who always had a good worcl
for his fellows. He was greatly loved by those who knew him, and his
death was lamented by all who were fortunate enough to have formed
his acquaintance.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
241
cave. Here Wawatam recommended that Heiiry should take up
his lodgings, and by all means remain till he returned.
The entrance to the cave was nearly ten feet wide ; and, on
going in, he found the further end rounded like an oven, but with
JAMES SHEARER.
JAMES SHEARER, of Bay City, Michigan, was born in the city of
Albany, i^ew York, in 1823.
In 1837, he emigrated to Michigan and settled in Detroit, where he
resided until 1846, being engaged in business as an architect and builder.
He was identified with many of the public and private enterprises con
tributing to the development of that city during his residence there, and
enjoyed the entire confidence of his fellow citizens.
In 1864, he removed to Bay City, Michigan,[and engaged in lumbering,
16
242 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
a further aperture — too small, however, to be explored. After
thus looking around him, he broke small branches from the trees,
and spread them for a bed, then wrapped himself in his blanket,
and slept till daybreak. On waking, he found himself incom
moded by some object upon which he was lying, and, removing it,
found it to be a bone. This he supposed to be that of a deer, or
some other animal ; but, when daylight visited his chamber, he
discerned, with some feelings of horror, that he was lying on
nothing less than a heap of human bones and skulls, which cov
ered the bottom of the cave. Henry passed the day without the
return of Wawatam, and without food. As night approached, he
found himself unable to meet its darkness in the charnel-house,
which he had made his home during the day. He chose, there
fore, an adjacent bush for this night's lodging, and slept under it ;
but, in the morning, he awoke hungry and dispirited, and almost
envying the repose of the dead in the mountain cave, to the view
of which he returned. At length the sound of a foot reached his
ear, and his Indian friend appeared, making many apologies for
his long absence, the cause of which was an unfortunate excess in
the enjoyment of his liquor.
On returning to the lodge Henry experienced a cordial wel
come from the family, which consisted of the wife of his friend,
his two sons, of whom the eldest was married, and whose wife and
a daughter of thirteen years of age completed the list.
A few days after this occurrence, Minavavana, chief of the vil
lage of Michilimackinac, Visited the lodge of Wawatam, and
when the usual ceremony of smoking was finished, he observed
banking, real estate and other occupations, with more than average suc
cess. Mr. Shearer has been President of the First National Bank, of
Bay City, since January, 1868; President of the Lumberman's Associa
tion since its organization in 1870; President of the Bay City Water
Works Commission since its formation in 1871; and is one of the present
Commissioners on the building of the State Capital at Lansing. He is
also a director in a number of other business associations in his city, and
has frequently declined many offices of trust and honor, preferring rather
to follow in the quiet channel of a business life, than to travel the
tumultous road of the public servant.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 243
that Indians were daily arriving from Detroit, some of whom
had lost relations in the war, and who would certainly retaliate
on any Englishman they found, upon which account he advised
that Henry should be dressed like an Indian, an expedient by
which he might hope to escape all future insult. He could not
but assent to the proposal, and the chief was so kind as to
assist Wawatam in effecting, that very day, the desired change.
His hair was cut off, and his head shaven, with the exception of a
spot on the crown of about twice the diameter of a silver dollar.
His face was painted with three or four different colors, some
parts of it red, and others black. A shirt was provided for him,
painted with vermilion, mixed with grease. A large collar of
wampum was put round his neck, and another suspended on his
breast. Both his arms were decorated with large bands of silver
above the elbows, besides several smaller ones on the wrists ; and
his legs were covered with mitasses, a kind of hose, made of scar
let cloth. A scarlet mantle, or blanket, was placed on his shoul
ders, and his head was decorated with a large bunch of feathers.
Protected in a great measure by this disguise, he felt himself
more at liberty than before, and the season being arrived in which
his clerks from the interior were expected, and a portion of his
property recovered, he begged the favor of Wawatam that he
would enable him to pay a short visit to Michilimackinac. The
Indian complied, and Henry found his clerks, but, owing to their
misconduct, he obtained nothing. Indeed, he now began to think
that he should require nothing during the remainder of his life.
To fish and to hunt, to collect a few skins and exchange them for
necessaries, was all that he seemed destined to do and to acquire
for the future.
He returned to the Indian village, where at this time much
scarcity of food prevailed. They were often for twenty-four hours
without eating a morsel, and when, in the morning, they had no
victuals for the day before them, the custom was to black their
faces with charcoal, and exhibit thorough resignation and a tem
per as cheerful as if in the midst of plenty. A continuance of
this famine, however, soon compelled them to leave the island in
search of food ; and they departed for the Bay of Boutchitaouy,
244 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
distant eight miles, where they found plenty of wild fowl and fish.
Leaving the bay mentioned, Henry, with his friend Wawatam,
and family, went to St. Martin's Island, where, in the enjoyment
of an excellent and plentiful supply of food, they remained till
the twenty-sixth of August. It was now proposed by Wawatam,
to Henry's great joy, to go to his wintering quarters. Prepara
tion being made, they proceeded to the mouth of the River Aux
Sables, and, " as they hunted along their way," says Henry, " I
enjoyed a personal freedom, of which I had long been deprived,
and became as expert in the Indian pursuits as the Indians them
selves." The winter was spent in the chase ; and, by degrees,
Henry became familiarized with that kind of life ; and, had it not
been for the idea, of which he could not divest his mind, that he
was living among savages, and for the whisper of a lingering hope
that he should one day be released from it, he could have
enjoyed as much happiness in this as in any other situation.
At the approach of spring, the hunters began their prepara
tions for returning to Michilimackinac ; but their faces were no
sooner turned towards the scene of the massacre, than all began
to fear an attack from the English. On the twenty-seventh of
April, 1764, they landed at the fort of Michilimackinac. The
Indians who had arrived before them were few in number, and,
as yet, Henry was treated with great civility.
With his earnings of the winter's chase Henry procured clothes,
of which he was much in need, having been six months without
a shirt! In addition, he purchased a good store of ammunition
and tobacco, which exhausted his resources. Eight days had
passed in tranquillity, when there arrived a band of Indians from
the Bay of Saguenaum. They had assisted at the siege of
Detroit, and were now trying to muster recruits for that service.
Henry was soon informed that, as he was the only Englishman in
the place, they proposed to kill him, in order to give their friends
a mess of English broth, to raise their courage. This intelligence
was not of the most agreeable kind, and he requested his Indian
friend to carry him to the Sault Ste. Marie, at which place he
knew the Indians to be peaceably inclined, and that M. Cadotte,
a resident of that place, enjoyed a powerful influence over their
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
245
COD duct. They considered Cadotte as their chief, and it is said he
was a friend to the English. It was by him that the Chippewas
of Lake Superior were prevented from joining Pontiac. Wawa-
tam complied, and that same night transported. Henry and his
LORENZO B. CURTIS.
LORENZO B. CURTIS, of Saginaw City, was born in Boston, Erie county,
New York, May 3, 1821. He emigrated to Michigan with his father,
Benjamin Curtis, in September, 1830, and settled in Vicksburg, Wash-
tenaw county. In the spring of the succeeding year his father purchased
a farm in the township of Green Oak, Livingston county, and there the
family immediately moved. They, with the family of Mr. Stephen Lee,
were the first white settlers in the county.
It was in the common schools of this county that the subject of this
sketch received his education. His father dying in the summer of 1834,
246 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
own lodge to Point St. Ignace, on the opposite side of the Strait.
Here they remained till daylight. The following day, Henry
hailed a canoe on the way .to the Sault, and, finding that it con
tained the wife of Cadotte, already mentioned, he obtained per
mission to accompany the party. Henry bid his Indian friends
farewell ; and, putting on his Canadian suit, took his seat in the
canoe. After an, agreeable journey, they arrived safe at the Sault,
where Henry received a generous welcome from Cadotte. He had
been at this place but six days, when he was informed that a
canoe full of warriors was approaching, with the intention of kill
ing him. Nearly at the same time he received a message from
the chief of the village, telling him to conceal himself. A garret
was, a second time, his place of refuge ; and, through the influence
of Cadotte, his life was spared.
At this juncture the village was astir, on account of a canoe
which had just arrived from Niagara. The straDgers bore a mes
sage from Sir William Johnson, desiring the Indians of the Sault
to send deputies to a great council, or feast, to be held at
he, being the oldest of seven children, was left in charge of the family.
To fulfill this duty he carried on his father's farm for the two succeeding
years, when, his mother marrying again, he started out in life for him
self, working at farming and taking jobs at clearing land during the
summer seasons, and attending school during the winters. In 1845 he
removed to Genesee county, and purchased a saw mill ten miles north of
Flint. After running this for two years it burned down, and with it
about half a million feet of lumber, his barn and house, leaving him pen
niless and |1,000 in debt. Nothing daunted, he removed to Saginaw in
the spring of 1848, and at once went into the employ of Judge Gardner
D. Williams, with whom he remained until he spring of 1852. He then
was engaged by Capt. Millard, and after working for him one year, he
rented the captain's saw mill, and shortly afterwards purchased it. Since
that time he has been constantly engaged in the lumbering business, first
in the firm of Curtis & King, until 1864, next in the firm of Curtis &
Corning, until 1870, and since that time in the firm of L. B. Curtis & Co.
Mr. Curtis was appointed swamp land State road commissioner by
Governor Crapo in 1867, and held the position during the different admin
istrations until the fall of 1872, when he resigned. He has held several
other important offices in his town and city, and has given universal
satisfaction in all the positions he has filled.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 247
Niagara. After a short consultation, it was agreed to send
twenty deputies. Henry seized upon this opportunity of leaving
the country; and, having received the permission of the great
chief to accompany the deputation, he did so, and thereby escaped
from the hands of his persecutors, after trials and tribulations
seldom paralleled in the romance of Indian history.
CHAPTER XVI.
CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC CONTINUED — THE PLOT TO DESTROY THE GAR
RISON OF DETROIT DISCOVERED — PONTIAC COMMENCES THE SIEGE —
CAPTAIN CAMPBELL'S CAPTIVITY — PONTIAC DEMANDS THE SURREN
DER OF THE FORT.
WE NOW turn from Michilimackinac to the events that were
transpiring elsewhere. On the fifth of May, 1763, a Canadian
woman left her home at Detroit, and passed over to the Ottawa
village, on the eastern side of the river, for the purpose of obtain
ing a supply of venison from the Indians of that village. She
noticed several of the warriors filing off the barrels of their guns,
so as to reduce them, stock and all, to the length of about a yard.
Returning home in the evening, she told her neighbors what she
had seen. This, and other circumstances, excited the suspicions
of the Canadians who had the welfare and peace of the commu
nity at heart; and one M. Gouin, an old and wealthy settler,
went to the commandant, and warned him to stand upon his guard,
but Gladwyn, a man of fearless temper, slighted the advice. It
is difficult to determine who Gladwyn's informant was ; but,
before the next day had closed, he was in possession of a com
plete knowledge of the plot, and actively preparing to meet the
emergency. On the following page we present an engraving,
which, if there be truth in tradition, illustrates the unveiling of
this conspiracy. The story, as related to Carver, is as follows :
In the Pottawattamie village lived an Ojibwa girl, who could
boast of a larger share of beauty than is common in the wigwam.
She had attracted the eye of Gladwyn, and there is no doubt
that she loved the British officer with all the ardor of her untu
tored mind. On the afternoon of the sixth, Catherine, as she was
called by the officers of the fort, came to Detroit, and repaired to
Gladwyn's quarters, bringing with her a pair of elk-skin mocca
sins, ornamented with porcupine work, which he had requested
250 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
her to make. There was something unusual in her look and
manner. Her face was sad and downcast. She said little, and
soon [left the room ; but the sentinel at the door saw her still
lingering at the street corner, though the hour for closing the
gates was nearly come. At length, she attracted the notice of
Gladwyn himself, and, calling her to him, he pressed her to
declare what was weighing upon her mind. Still she remained
for a long time silent ; and it was only after much urgency, and
many promises not to betray her, that she revealed her momentous
secret. " To-morrow," she said, " Pontiac will come to the fort,
with sixty of his chiefs. Each will be armed with a gun, cut
short, and hidden under his blanket. Pontiac will demand to
hold a council, and, after he has delivered his speech, he will offer
a peace-belt of wampum, holding it in a reversed position. This
will be the signal of attack. The chiefs will spring up and fire
upon the officers, and the Indians in the street will fall upon the
garrison. Every Englishman will be killed, but not the scalp of
a single Frenchman will be touched." Whether or not this was
the true source of Gladwyn's information, it is difficult now to
determine ; but he was, through some instrumentality, told that
an attempt would be made, on the seventh, to capture the fort,
through treachery.
He summoned his officers and told them what he had heard.
The defenses of the place occupied a large area, and were quite
feeble, and the garrison was too weak to repel a general assault.
The force of the Indians at this time is variously estimated at
from six hundred to two thousand ; and the commandant greatly
feared that some wild impulse might change their plans, and that
they would storm the fort before the morning. Gladwyn, accord
ingly, prepared his garrison for a sudden emergency. He ordered
half the soldiers under arms, and the officers to spend the night
upon the ramparts. Night came on, and, from sunset till dawn,
an anxious watch was kept from the slender palisades of Detroit.
The soldiers were all ignorant of the danger, and the sentinels
were anxious to know why their numbers were doubled. Again,
and again, through that long and dreary night, the commandant
mounted his wooden ramparts, and looked forth into the gloom.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 251
All was still, save at intervals, when the wind bore from the dis
tance the sound of the Indian drum, and the wild chorus of
Indian yells, as the warriors danced the war dance round their
camp-fires on Belle Isle.
The night passed away quietly at the fort, but, with the morn
ing, came evidences of intended massacre. The sun rose clear,
and the fresh fields seemed to smile with the verdure of spring.
The morning mists were scarcely dispelled, when the little garri
son observed a fleet of canoes crossing the river from the western
shore, not more than a cannon shot above the fort. Only two or
three warriors could be seen in each, but the slow 'and steady
motion of the canoes indicated greater numbers. In truth, they
were full of savages, lying flat upon their faces, that their num
bers might not be the cause of suspicion among the English. As
the morning advanced, the common behind the fort was thronged
with squaws, children and warriors ; some naked, and others dec
orated with all the fantastic bravery of savage costume. Many
of them moved toward the gate, and all were admitted; for
Gladwyn determined not only to prove to them that he had
detected their plot, but that he despised their hostility. The
whole garrison was ordered under arms; the merchants closed
their stores, many of them arming themselves, with the intention
of aiding the garrison in the defense of the fort, and all stood
waiting, in cool confidence, the result that was soon to follow.
Meanwhile, Pontiac was approaching along the river road, at the
head of sixty chiefs, all marching in Indian file. At ten o'clock,
the great chief reached the fort, with his treacherous followers.
All were wrapped to the throat in colored blankets. Some were
crested with hawk, eagle, or raven plumes ; others had only the
fluttering scalp-lock of the crown ; while others wore their long,
black hair flowing loosely at their backs, or wildly hanging about
their brows, like a lion's mane. For the most part they were tall,
strong men, and all had the gait and bearing of brave war
riors. " As Pontiac entered," says Parkman, " it is said that he
started, and that a deep ejaculation half escaped his lips." Well
might his stoicism fail, for, at a glance, he read the ruin of his
plot. On either hand, within the gateway, stood ranks of sol-
252 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
diers and hedges of glittering steel. The swarthy engages of the
fur-traders, armed to the teeth, stood in groups at the street cor
ners, and the measured tap of a drum fell ominously on the ear.
Soon regaining his composure, Pontiac strode forward into the
narrow streets, and his chiefs filed after him in silence, while the
scared faces of women and children looked out from the windows
as they passed. Their rigid muscles betrayed no signs of emo
tion ; yet, looking closely, one might have seen their small eyes
glance from side to side with restless scrutiny. Traversing the
entire length of the little town, they reached the door of the
council house, a large building near the margin of the river. On
entering, they saw Gladwyn, with several of his officers, seated in
readiness to receive them, and the observant chiefs did not fail to
remark that every Englishman wore a sword at his side, and a
pair of pistols in his belt. The conspirators eyed each other with
uneasy glances. " Why," demanded Pontiac, " do I see so many
of my father's young men standing in the street with their guns ?"
Gladwyn replied, through his interpreter, La Butte, that he had
ordered the soldiers under arms for the sake of exercise and dis
cipline. With delay, and many signs of distrust, the chiefs sat
down on the mats prepared for them, and, after the customary
pause, Pontiac rose to speak. Holding in his hand the wampum
belt, which was to have given the fatal signal, he addressed the
commandant, professing strong attachment to the English, and
declaring, in Indian phrase, that he had come to smoke the pipe
of peace and brighten the chain of friendship. The officers
watched him keenly as he uttered these hollow words, fearing
lest, though conscious that his designs were suspected, he might
still attempt to accomplish them. And once, it is said, he raised
the wampum belt, as if about to give the signal of attack ; but,
at that instant, Gladwyn signed slightly with his hand. The
sudden clash of arms sounded from the passage without, and a
drum rolling the charge, filled the council room with its stunning
din. At this, Pontiac stood like one confounded. Seeing Glad-
wyn's unruffled brow, and his calm eye fixed steadfastly upon
him, he knew not what to think, and soon sat down, in amaze
ment and perplexity. Another pause ensued, and Gladwyn com-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
253
menced a brief reply. He assured the chiefs that friendship and
protection should be extended towards them as long as they con
tinued to deserve it, but threatened vengeance for the first act of
aggression. The council then broke up. The gates of the fort,
RT. REV. SAMUEL A. M'COSKRY.
SAMUEL A. McCosKKY, the present Bishop of the Episcopal Church,
for the Diocese of Michigan, was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Novem
ber (J, 1804.
254 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
which had been closed during the conference, were again flung
open, and the savages were suffered to depart unmolested.
" Gladwyn," says Parkman, " has been censured, and, perhaps,
with justice, for not detaining the chiefs as hostages for the good
conduct of their followers." Perhaps the commandant feared
that, if he should arrest the chiefs when gathered at a public
council, and guiltless of open violence, the act might be regarded
as cowardly and dishonorable. Further than this, he was not
aware of the magnitude of the plot. He regarded the affair as
one of those impulsive outbreaks, so common among the Indians,
and he hoped that the threatening cloud would soon blow over.
Disappointed in his aims of treachery, Pontiac withdrew to his
village, enraged and mortified, yet determined to persevere.
After a consultation with his chiefs, he resolved to visit the fort
again ; and, accordingly, on the following day, he repaired to the
council room, with three of his chiefs, bearing in his hand the
sacred calumet, or pipe of peace. Offering it to the commandant,
he addressed him and his officers to the following effect : " My
fathers, evil birds have sung lies in your ears. We that stand
before you are friends of the English. We love them as our
brothers ; and, to prove our love, we have come this day to smoke
Bishop McCoskry's early studies were pursued under the direction of
Major Kearsley, of Detroit, who, after the war of 1812, took charge of
the grammar school in Dickinson College.
In 1820, he received a cadetship appointment to the Military Academy
at West Point, then in charge of Colonel Thayer, of the U. 8. Engineers,
Colonel Worth being the commandant of the cadets. He entered this
institution with a very large class, at the age of fifteen years and eight
months, and found the discipline and studies very severe. The first year
he was third in mathematics and sixth in French, which made him rank
fourth in general average. In military studies, he stood with the first,
and was appointed a non-commissioned officer — the highest rank he could
obtain in the class. He remained at West Point nearly two years, when,
on the death of his brother, who was a surgeon in the United States
Army, he resigned and returned to his home in Carlisle.
Dickinson College was then under the care of the celebrated Dr. John
M. Mason, who had associated with him some of the most distinguished
scholars in the country. Bishop McCoskry passed through the four years
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 255
the pipe of peace." When Pontiac left the fort, he gave the
pipe to Captain Campbell, as a further pledge of his sincerity.
On the following day, the ninth of May, the Indians began to
congregate on the common, near the fort ; and Pontiac advanced,
once more, to the gate. It was closed against him. He demanded
of the sentinels, in a haughty manner, an explanation ; but Glad-
wyn replied that there was no objection to the great chief enter-
. ing, if he chose ; but that the crowd he had brought with him
must remain outside. Pontiac asked permission for his chiefs to
enter with him, but to this he received a prompt refusal. Pon
tiac then turned from the gate in great rage, and strode toward
his followers, who lay, in great numbers, flat upon the ground,
just beyond the reach of gun-shot. At his approach, they all
leaped up and ran off towards the house of an English woman,
who lived, with her family, on a distant part of the common.
They beat down the doors, and rushed in. In a few moments,
they had brutally murdered all the inmates. Another large
party ran down to the river's edge, leaped into their canoes, and
paddled, with all speed, to the Isle au Cochon, where an English
man, named Fisher, resided. They dragged him from his hiding-
place, murdered him on the spot, and took his scalp. Pontiac
course of this institution in two years and three months, and received
the fourth honor in the graduating class.
He entered upon the study of the Jaw, under the distinguished lawyer,
Andrew Carothers, Esq. , at Carlisle, and was admitted to practice in
eighteen months'from the time he commenced studying. After practic
ing one year, he was appointed deputy attorney-general for his county,
which position he held two years. He remained at the bar for six years,
building up a large and lucrative practice.
Having been for several years a member of St. John's Episcopal
Church, at Carlisle, under the care of the Rev. L. Hare, he then com
menced the study of Divinity, under the charge of the Right Reverend
H. IT. Underdook, then Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania. During his
probation studies, he was invited to take charge of Christ Church,
Reading, Pennsylvania, as a lay reader. The church would not call a
pastor, and he continued to officiate in it for one year, when and where
he was ordained a Deacon by Bishop Underdook. He was called to
take ^charge of the parish the day of his ordination, and remained
256 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
had not taken any part in these murders. When he saw his
second plan defeated, he turned towards the shore, no man daring
to follow him in his terrible mood. Pushing a canoe from the
bank, he paddled it to the opposite shore, where stood a village
of the Ottawas. Arriving at this place, he ordered the inhabit
ants to cross the stream, and encamp on the western shore, that
the river might no longer interpose a barrier between his followers
and the English. Preparation for the removal was made at
once; but, before the embarkation, Pontiac delivered his great
war speech. He was surrounded by his warriors, who, catching
his enthusiasm, commenced the hideous war dance, circling round
and round, with frantic gestures, and startling the distant garri
son with their unearthly yells. When this performance was over,
the work of transporting the tribe and their movables to the
opposite side of the river was commenced ; and, long before the
morning, the transfer was completed. The whole Ottawa popu
lation crossed the river, and pitched their wigwams on the western
side, just above Parent's Creek, afterwards appropriately named
Bloody Run. During the same evening, fresh news of disaster
reached the fort. Two English officers, Sir Robert Davers and
Captain Robertson, had been waylaid and murdered by the
Indians, above Lake St. Clair. The same messenger declared
its pastor one year, when he was invited to take charge of St. Paul's
Church, in Philadelphia, which invitation he accepted at the earnest
solicitation of Bishop White, remaining in the parish two years.
At the close of this time, he was nominated by the same Bishop to the
Bishopric of Michigan, and the nomination was concurred in by the
Bishops, and he was consecrated in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia,
July 7, 1836.
He entered upon his duties as Bishop of Michigan and Rector of St.
Paul's Church, Detroit, on the 28th of August, 1836. Bishop McCoskry
performed these twofold duties, without an assistant, for twenty-seven
years, when he was relieved of the care of a parish, sufficient funds
having been provided to support him as the Bishop of the diocese with
out other labors.
In the discharge of the responsible work of this important position,
Bishop McCoskry has continued in uninterrupted good health, and with a
thankful heart for the help of God in his labors.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
257
that Pontiac had just been reinforced by a large band of Ojibwas,
from Saginaw Bay.
Every man in the fort was now ordered under atms, and the
little garrison spent the night full of anxiety, expecting every
HON. S. M. GREEN.
SANFORD M. GREEN, of Bay City, was born May 30, 1807, at Grafton,
iiensselaer county, N. Y. He is a descendant of the Greens of Rhode
Island.
His father was a farmer of limited estate, and uneducated. He per
mitted this son to purchase his time at the age of sixteen years, and at
that early age, he left the parental roof. During the next three years he
labored on a farm for wages, and applied himself to study in the inter
vals of labor, under a private instructor. Up to this time, he had never
had any instruction in, nor given any attention to, geography or English
17
258 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
moment to hear the war-whoop under the walls of the fort.
Gladwyn walked the ramparts throughout the whole night, for he
had now begun to have serious apprehensions for the fate of his
command. The night was quiet, but, with the dawn, came a burst
of Indian yells, and in a moment the warriors swarmed to the
attack. The bullets from the savage guns rapped hard and fast
against the palisades, and the soldiers within flew to their posts,
expecting that the Indians would make a rush against the weak
barrier that surrounded them. The savages were firing from
behind hills, trees, barns, or whatever afforded them shelter, and
the guns of the fort replied with steadiness, and, in some
instances, with good effect. A short distance from the fort
stood a cluster of out-buildings, behind which a large number
of Indians found shelter and opportunity to harass the garrison.
A cannon was brought to bear upon them, loaded with red-hot
spikes. The buildings once in flames, the Indians ran toward the
woods, yelping with rage. The assault continued for six hours ^
until, seeing their efforts were futile, the Indians slackened their
grammar. At the age of nineteen, he had qualified himself to teach,
though he had only attended school, and that a common school, for three
months. For two years he taught school in winter and continued to
labor on a farm through the remainder of the year.
In 1829, he commenced the study of law, and, in the same year, cast
his first vote for President Jackson. He read law for a time with
Geo. C. Sherman, and afterwards with Judge Ford, eminent lawyers of
New York; still later, he pursued his reading in the office of Stirling &
Bronson, .of Watertown.
Having pursued his studies for five years, he was admitted to the bar
as an attorney at law and solicitor in chancery. He went into practice
at Brownville, N. Y., and pursued it there until 1835, when he removed
to the city of Rochester, where he became partner of the late Hon. H. L.
Stevens. On Mr. Stevens removing to Michigan, a year afterwards, he
formed a partnership with I. A. Eastman, Esq., with whom he continued
until 1837. In the spring of that year he became interested in the land
on which the city of Owosso, Michigan, has since been built, and went
there to reside. He assisted in laying the foundation of that thriving
town, and continued to live there for six years. During this period, he
held the offices of justice of the peace, supervisor, assessor of a school
district and prosecuting attorney of Shiawassee county.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 259
wild yells, and retired. During this engagement, five of the
British had been wounded, while the injury sustained by the
Indians was but trifling.
The garrison was once more enjoying peace, when Gladwyn,
still deeming the attack which they had just suffered was
only an outburst of Indian restlessness, and, being in great
want of provisions, determined to open negotiations with the
Indians by which he might be able to obtain the necessary sup
plies. La Butte, the interpreter of the fort, was despatched to
the camp of the great chief with a message from Gladwyn, offer
ing to redress any real grievances of which he might complain.
Two old Canadians, named Chapeton and Godefroy, offered to
accompany the interpreter, and advance any measure looking
toward a peace between the Indians and the English. The gates
of the fort were now thrown open, and the three deputies
departed, to hold an interview with the Indian king. Pontiac
received them with kindness. La Butte delivered his message,
and Pontiac seemed much pleased with his offer, when the inter
preter withdrew, leaving the two Canadians to urge the case still
At the election, in 1842, he was elected State senator, and served for
two years. At the close of his term as senator, in 1844, he was appointed
by the chancellor and judges of the supreme court to revise the statutes of
the State, and was required to report his revision at the commencement
of the legislative session of 1846. He served, during this term, in the
Senate as chairman of the judiciary committee. As such he reported the
bill providing for that revision, and for the appointment, by the governor,
of a commissioner to prepare it. The bill was passed by the Senate
in this form. After it went to the House the question was started, who
should be appointed commissioner. Senator Green was the general
choice; but, under the bill which he reported, and as it passed the Sen
ate, he was ineligible, as the then constitution prohibited the appointment
by the governor of any person to an office created by the Legislature of
which he was a member. To obviate this objection, the House amended
the bill so as to transfer the appointing power to the judiciary, and the
amendment was concurred in by the Senate. His appointment was
recommended by the entire Senate, with one or two exceptions, and by
all the professional men in the House.
In 1843, he removed to Pontiac, and there he prepared his revision.
It was reported at the time prescribed; was adopted by the Legislature,
260 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
further. Returning to the fort, he informed the commander that
the Indians could be easily pacified by giving them a few pres
ents ; but, when he returned to the Indian camp, he found, to his
great dissatisfaction, that his companions had made no progress
with the chief whatever. Although professing a strong desire for
peace, he haughtily refused to accept any definite proposal.
When La Butte again returned, all the Indian chiefs withdrew,
to hold a consultation among themselves. After a short absence,
they returned, and Pontiac declared that, wishing to come to a
satisfactory understanding, he and his chiefs desired to hold a
council with their English fathers themselves. This seemed a
very reasonable proposition, and the deputies returned to the fort
and cheerfully announced Pontiac's request. They stated that
the chiefs would be satisfied to negotiate with Captain Campbell,
with whom they had always been on the most friendly terms.
When Gladwyn heard this, he suspected treachery, and advised
Captain Campbell not to go ; but the latter gentleman, feeling a
confidence in his influence with the Indians, urged the command
ant to permit him to comply with Pontiac's request. At length,
with, some amendments, and went into effect March 1st, 1847. He was
reelected to the Senate immediately before making his report.
On the resignation of Judge Ransom, in 1848, after his election as gov
ernor, and the transfer of Judge Whipple to the third circuit to fill the
vacancy, .Judge Green was appointed to fill the vacancy in the fourth cir
cuit as Judge Whip pie's successor. In this position of circuit judge,
and ex. offitio judge of the supreme court, of which he was presiding judge
for two years, he served until the reorganization of the latter court in
1858. After this change in the judiciary, he continued to hold the office
of circuit judge of the sixth circuit, until 1867, when he resigned. He
immediately removed to Bay City, and thenceforth devoted himself to
the practice of the law, until he was appointed, in June, 1872, circuit
judge of the eighteenth circuit, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
Judge Greer. In this position he is still acting.
In 1860, he prepared and published a work on the practice of the circuit
courts. An edition of twelve hundred copies was issued, and so eagerly
was it sought for by the profession, that nearly every copy has been sold.
The important and conspicuous part performed by Judge Green, offi
cially and otherwise, in giving judicious form and system to the statutes
and the practice of the courts of this State, and in improving its general
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 261
lie gave his consent, and Campbell left the fort, accompanied by
Lieutenant McDougal, La Butte, and several Canadians. When
the)'- reached the Indian camp, Pontiac came forward and shook
them by the hand, and led them to his camp, where, mats being-
spread for the purpose, he ordered them to be seated. Instantly,
the lodge was thronged with savages. Pontiac spoke a few words,
when the usual pause ensued. This was ended by Campbell, who
addressed the Indians in a short speech. It was heard in per
fect silence, and fully an hour passed before the Indians made
any reply, or turned their scrutinizing gaze from the officers. At
length, Captain Campbell, conscious of the danger which threat
ened him, and being determined to fully ascertain his true position,
rose, and signified his intention of returning to the camp. At
this, Pontiac made a sign that he should resume his seat, and
said, " My father will sleep to-night in the lodges of his red chil
dren."
The Indians were resolved to kill Campbell and his English
companions on the spot, but Pontiac would not allow them to do
so. He protected them from injury and insult, and conducted
them to the house of M. Meloche, near Parent's Creek, where decent
jurisprudence, is worthy of a more extended notice than is admissible in
this brief memoir.
The revised statutes of 1846 have remained now for a quarter of a cen
tury, and no effort has been made to supersede it by another. Two com
pilations have been made to bring together in convenient form the
numerous changes made necessary by national events, by the expanding
enterprise of the times, and the rapid development of cur local resources,
but the general features of that revision remain. His judicial record,
for over twenty years as a nisi prim judge, and for ten years in the court
of last resort, is creditable alike to the State and to him. The opinions of
the court prepared and read by him, published in the first four volumes
of the Michigan Reports, are clear and forcible in style; they show a
thorough acquaintance with the subjects involved, a modest deference to
the current of decisions by other courts, a clear perception of the ethical
philosophy of the law, a constant appreciation of its great purpose, and
a bold adherence to recognized principles. These contain the results of
his mature judgment after deliberate consideration. But he has exhi
bited, in his long service at the circuit, a wider range of judicial qualities
than can be called into exercise in a purely appellate court. He possesses
262 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
quarters were assigned them. Their danger was diminished by
the fact that Gladwyn, at the same time, detained two Indians,
for some offense, as prisoners in the fort. When La Butte
returned to the fort, and informed the commandant of the deten
tion of the officers, a sadness and melancholy pervaded the whole
garrison.
Pontiac now began operations with greater vigor than ever.
Receiving additional reinforcements, he made several changes in
the disposition of his forces. A band of warriors were ordered
to lie in wait along the river bank, below the fort, while others
concealed themselves in the woods. Another band was stationed
in the neighborhood of the fort. These were ordered to conceal
themselves, and shoot down any soldier or trader who might hap
pen to expose his person, when no general attack was in progress.
These arrangements were completed on the eleventh of May,
1763, when a number of Canadians visited the fort, and advised
the commandant to abandon the post, saying that it would be
stormed, in less than an hour, by fifteen hundred Indians. Glad
wyn refused, and, in half an hour afterward, the savages renewed
the attack on the fort. This was kept up till evening, when the
rare qualifications for the nisi prius bench, for the trial of questions of
fact. His analytical mind enables him at once to put aside what is for
eign to the subject of inquiry, and to so classify the material evidentiary
facts, as to disentangle the most intricate case, and bring order out of
apparent chaos. His knowledge of the law is profound; he has mastered
and digested it as a great moral science. In the administration of it, he
is ready without being precipitate, dignified without austerity, patient
and attentive to arguments, and independent and uniformly impartial in
his decisions. He is ever serene and self-possessed, however the bustle
and excitement of important trials may affect parties, counsel or the pub
lic. He is popular with the profession, and enjoys the fullest confidence
of the public. On his retirement from the bench, in 1867, he was ten
dered a public dinner at Pontiac, and the festive occasion was empha
sized by the presentation of a beautiful silver service, with toasts and
speeches abounding in compliments, well merited, and which had the
ring of "well done, good and faithful servant." Nor is Judge Green
a mere judge or jurist; his reading has been extensive. He is, in short,
a man of refinement and general culture, of broad and liberal views,
social, public spirited — a just and good man. S.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 263
Indians retired. Soon after, a Canadian visited the fort, with a
summons from Pontiac, demanding Gladwyn to surrender the post
at once, and promising that, in case of compliance, the English
should be allowed to go on board of their vessels unmolested,
leaving their arms and effects behind. To this the commandant
gave a flat refusal.
CHAPTER XVII.
CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC CONTINUED — A COUNCIL AMONG THE OFFICERS
OF THE FORT OF DETROIT — GLADWYN DETERMINES TO HOLD OUT
— DIFFICULTY BETWEEN PONTIAC AND THE FRENCH — FATE OF
CUTLER'S EXPEDITION — THE HORRORS OF INDIAN WARFARE
THICKENING AROUND DETROIT.
THE officers of the fort of Detroit now assembled to consider
what measures would be most advisable in the emergency. It is
recorded that Gladwyn was alone in the opinion that the defense
of the place should be continued — the others urging the policy of
an immediate surrender and embarkation for Niagara. Their
condition was, indeed, a deplorable one. The provisions on hand
would not sustain the garrison more than three weeks, * within
which time it was madness to hope for succor. But this was not
their only source of fear. The wooden houses of the fort were
thatched with straw, and might be set on fire, and the enemy
might make a general onset, and cut or burn their way
through the pickets. Kesistance would then be useless. " Day
after day," says Parkman, " the Indians continued their attacks,
until their war cries and the rattle of their guns became familiar
sounds. For many weeks no man lay down to sleep, except in
his clothes, and with his weapons by his side. Parties of volun
teers sallied, from time to time, to burn the out-buildings, which
gave shelter to the enemy. They cut down orchard trees and lev
eled fences, until the ground about the fort was clear and open,
and the enemy had no cover left from whence to fire. The two
vessels in the river, sweeping the northern and southern curtains
of the works with their fire, deterred the Indians from approach
ing those points, and gave material aid to the garrison. Still,
worming their way through the grass, the pertinacious savages
would crawl close to the palisades, and shoot arrows, tipped
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
265
with burning tow, upon the roofs of the houses ; but water was
everywhere provided against such an emergency, and these
attempts proved abortive. The little church, which stood near
the palisades, was particularly exposed, and would probably have
HON. MOSES B. HESS.
MOSES B. HESS, an enterprising citizen of East Saginaw, was born in
the town of Verona, Oneida county, New York, July 3, 1821.
At ten years of age, lie emigrated to Michigan and took up his residence
at Hartland, Livingston county, where he worked on a farm until he
removed to Brighton, in the same county. Here he served two years in
the copper, tin and sheet-iron business.
In 1847, and before the State buildings were erected, he moved to
Lansing, where he was assistant postmaster and State librarian until
266 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
been set on fire, had not the priest of the settlement threatened
Pontiac with the vengeance of the Great Spirit, should he be
guilty of such sacrilege. Pontiac neglected no expedient that his
savage tactics could supply. He went further, and begged the
French inhabitants to teach him the European method of attack
ing a fortified place by regular approaches ; but the rude Cana
dians knew as little of the matter as he ; or if, by chance, a few
were better informed, they wisely preferred to conceal their
knowledge. Soon after the first attack, the ^Ottawa chief had
sent in to Gladwyn a summons to surrender ; assuring him that,
if the place were at once given up, he might embark on board
the vessels, with all his men, but that, if he persisted in his
defense, he would burn him alive. To this Gladwyn made answer
that he cared nothing for his threats. The attacks were now
renewed with increased activity; and the assailants were soon
after inspired with fresh ardor by the arrival of a hundred and
twenty Ojibwas. Every man in the fort now slept upon the
ramparts, yet confidence and cheerfulness still prevailed among
the weary garrison."
Had it not been for the assistance of a few Canadians, who
lived on the opposite side of the river, and who provided the gar
rison with food, Detroit would have been abandoned, or destroyed.
1850. His services in the latter office were such as to merit and receive
a special resolution of thanks from the State senate.
In 1850, he removed to what is now East Saginaw, and still makes that
his home. From that time, he has been closely identified with the
growth of that portion of our prosperous State. When he settled there,
Buena Vista included what is now East Saginaw, Buena Vista and
Blumfield.
He has held the offices of supervisor, town clerk, school inspector and
highway commissioner. He was treasurer of the village of East Saginaw
two terms, and, while in that office, paid every order when presented,
often using his own personal funds to do it. Mr. Hess was also register
of the United States land office for several years, and as such was faith
ful and vigilant, and contributed largely to turning the tide of emigration
to this State and removing the false opinions prevalent about its health -
fulness and natural resources.
He was one of the few who, in 1858-59, had implicit faith in the saline
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 26?
These supplies were carried to the fort in boats, at night, with
out exciting the suspicion of the Indians. No sooner had the
garrison been relieved from apprehensions of immediate famine,
than the Indians themselves began to suffer from hunger. Think
ing to have taken Detroit at a single stroke, they had neglected
to provide against the exigencies of a siege, and now, in small
parties, they plundered the Canadian families along the river
shore. These acts called forth a remonstrance from the Canadian
settlers, and a number of them visited the camp of the great
Ottawa chief, and urged him to prevent their continuance. He
yielded to their requests ; and, in order to effectually put a stop
to his young men committiDg further depredations, Pontiac
organized a commissary department. He visited, in person, all
the Canadian families ; and, inspecting the property belonging to
them, he assigned to each the share of provisions which it must
furnish. The contributions thus levied were all collected at the
house of M. Meloche, Pontiac's headquarters, and the prison of
Captain Campbell and his companions.
Pontiac, not wishing to offend the French, and being unable to
make compensation for the provisions he had exacted, had
recourse to a remarkable expedient. He issued promissory notes,
drawn upon birch bark, signed with the figure of an otter, the
resources of the Saginaw Valley, and his energy, influence and money
contributed largely toward getting the legislation and capital to sink the
first well of the East Saginaw Salt Manufacturing Company. The success
of this adventure, which contributed more to the prosperity and marvel
ous growth of that region than any other one thing, is too well known to
need comment here.
Mr. Hess was a pioneer in the work of dredging out the Saginaw river,
and was one of the first movers and a director of the East Saginaw Street
Railway.
He has always affiliated with the Democratic party, and for many years
was a prominent politician in local and State affairs. For several years
his ill health has kept him from all participation in public matters, but
this has not prevented him from taking a deep interest in all public and
private improvements.
In both public and private life, by his energy, uprightness, faithfulness
and candor he won and retained the esteem of all.
268 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
" totem " to which he belonged, and it is authoritatively recorded
that they were all faithfully redeemed.
The measures the chief had adopted allayed the anger of the
French, and contributed largely to his own welfare. None of his
followers would cross the cultivated fields of the French, but
always followed the beaten paths, as Pontiac had commanded
them.
But we will now turn to the work of the siege. " While perils
were thickening around the garrison at Detroit," says Parkman,
" the British commander-in-chief, at New York, remained igno
rant of its danger. Indeed, an unwonted quiet had prevailed, of
late, along the borders, and about the neighboring forts. With
the opening of spring, a strong detachment had been sent up the
lakes, with a supply of provisions and ammunition, for the use of
Detroit, and other western posts. The boats of this convoy were
now pursuing their course along the northern shore of Lake Erie,
and Gladwyn's garrison, aware of their approach, awaited their
arrival with an anxiety which every day increased. Day after
day passed on, and the red cross of St. George still floated above
Detroit. The keen-eyed watchfulness of the Indians had never
abated, and woe to the soldier who showed his head above the
palisades, or exposed his person before a loop-hole. Strong in his
delusive hope of French assistance, Pontiac had sent messengers
to M. Neyon, commandant at the Illinois, earnestly requesting
that a force of regular troops might be sent to his aid ; and Glad-
wyn, on his side, had ordered one of the vessels to Niagara, to
hasten forward the expected convoy. The schooner set sail ; but,
on the next day, as she lay becalmed at the entrance of Lake
Erie, a multitude of canoes suddenly darted out upon her from
the neighboring shores. In the prow of the foremost the Indians
had placed their prisoner, Captain Campbell, with the dastardly
purpose of interposing him. as a screen between themselves and
the fire of the English. But the brave old man called out to the
crew to do their duty, without regard to him. Happily, at that
moment, a fresh breeze sprang up, and the schooner bore prosper
ously on her course towards Niagara, leaving the savage flotilla
far behind. The fort, or, rather, town of Detroit, had by this
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
269
time lost its wonted vivacity and life. Its narrow streets were
gloomy and silent. Here and there strolled a Canadian, in red
cap and gaudy sash ; the weary sentinel walked to and fro before
the quarters of the commandant ; an officer, perhaps, passed
HON. JAMES^ BIRNEY.
JAMES BIRNEY is a native of Danville, Kentucky, and the eldest son of
the late James G. Birney. His collegiate education was obtained at
Centre College, Kentucky, and at Miami University, Ohio. At the latter
institution he graduated in 1836. During the two succeeding years he
was employed in the University as professor of the Greek and Latin
languages.
During the next two years he attended the law lectures of Judge Stom
and Professor Hitchcock, of the law school of Yale College, at New
Haven, Connecticut.
270 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
along, with rapid step and anxious face ; or an Indian girl, the
mate of some soldier or trader, moved silently by, in her finery of
beads and vermilion. Such an aspect as this the town must have
presented on the morning of the thirtieth of May, when, at about
nine o'clock, the voice of the sentinel sounded from the southeast
bastion, and loud exclamations in the direction of the river,
roused Detroit from its lethargy. Instantly, the place was astir.
Soldiers, traders and inhabitants, hurrying through the water-
gate, thronged the canoe wharf and the narrow strand without.
The half-wild courgurs des bois, the tall and sinewy provincials,
and the stately British soldiers, stood crowded together, their
uniforms soiled and worn,' and their faces haggard with unremit
ting watching. Yet, all alike wore an animated and joyous look.
The long-expected convoy was full in sight. On the farther side
of the river, at some distance below the fort, a line of boats was
rounding the woody projection, then called Montreal Point, their
oars flashing in the sun, and the red flag of England flying from
the stern of the foremost. The toils and dangers of the garrison
were drawing to an end. With one accord they broke into three
hearty cheers, again and again repeated ; while a cannon, glanc
ing from the bastion, sent its loud voice of defiance to the enemy,
and welcome to approaching friends. But, suddenly, every cheek
grew pale with horror. Dark, naked figures were seen rising, with
Subsequently Mr. Birney removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and entered
upon the practice of the law. He devoted himself to this business for
eleven years, and acquired a desirable position in the profession.
Mr. Birney, while in New Haven, married Miss Moulton, step-daughter
of Nathaniel Bacon, Esq., of that city. Of this marriage there were five
children, the eldest of whom distinguished himself in the army as
Captain in the 7th Regiment of Michigan Volunteers, and died while an
officer of the U. S. regular army.
In 1858, Mr. Birney was elected a member of the State Senate for the
Saginaw district; was chairman of the committee on public instruction,
and a member of the judiciary committee of that body.
In 1860, he was nominated by the State Republican Convention to the
office of lieutenant-governor and elected by a majority of over 20,000.
By virtue of this office] he became president of the State Senate, and as
a presiding officer received great favor.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 271
wild gestures, in the boats, while, in place of the answering
salute, the distant yell of the war-whoop fell faintly on their
ears. The convoy was in the hands of the enemy. The boats
had all been taken, and the troops of the detachment slain, or
made captive. Officers and men stood gazing, in mournful
silence, when an incident occured which caused them to forget
the general calamity in the absorbing interest of the moment.
Leaving the disappointed garrison, we will pass over to the prin
cipal victims of this deplorable misfortune. In each of the boats,
of which there were eighteen, two or more of the captured sol
diers, deprived of their weapons, were compelled to act as rowers,
guarded by several armed savages, while many other Indians, for
the sake of further security, followed the boats along the shore.
In the foremost, as it happened, there were four soldiers, and only
three Indians. The larger of the two vessels still lay anchored
in the stream, about a bow-shot from the fort, while her com
panion, as we have seen, had gone down to Niagara, to hasten up
this very reinforcement. As the boat came opposite this vessel,
the soldier who acted as steersman conceived a daring plan of
escape. The principal Indian sat immediately in front of another
of the soldiers. The steersman called, in English, to his comrade
to seize the savage and throw him overboard. The man answered
While he was lieutenant-governor, a vacancy occurred in the office of
circuit judge for the district of which he was a resident. The governor
tendered the appointment to him, and it was accepted. He presided as
circuit judge during the next four years. He was unanimously renomin-
ated by the Republican Judicial Convention, but the district having a
Democratic majority he has not elected.
After serving as judge, Mr. Birney returned to the practice of the law.
In 1871, he established the Bay City Chronicle as a weekly Republican
paper. In June, 1873, he commenced the publication of the Morning
Chronicle.
In 1872, Governor Baldwin nominated Mr. Birney to President Grant
as Centennial Commissioner for Michigan to celebrate the Hundredth
Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1876.
Mr. Birney is now residing at Bay City, and is devoting himself to the
care of his estate and the editorial duties of the daily and weekly Chronicle.
His son Arthur M. Birney is associated with him in business.
272 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES
that he was not strong enough ; on which the steersman directed
him to change places with him, as if fatigued with rowing — a
movement which would excite no suspicion on the part of their
guard. As the bold soldier stepped forward, as if to take his
companion's oar, he suddenly seized the* Indian by the hair,
and, griping with the other hand the girdle at his waist, lifted
him by main force, and flung him into the river. The boat
rocked till the water surged over her gunwale. The Indian
held fast to his enemy's clothes, and, drawing himself upward, as
he trailed alongside, stabbed him again and again with his knife,
and then dragged him overboard. Both went down the swift
current, rising and sinking ; and, as some relate, perished, grap
pled in each other's arms. The two remaining Indians leaped
out of the boat. The prisoners turned, and pulled for the distant
vessel, shouting aloud for aid. The Indians on shore opened a
heavy fire upon them, and many canoes paddled swiftly in pur
suit. The men strained with desperate strength. A fate inex
pressibly horrible was the alternative. The bullets hissed thickly
around their heads ; one of them was soon wounded, and the
light, birch canoes gained on them with fearful rapidity. Escape
seemed hopeless, when the report of a cannon burst from the side
of the vessel. The ball flew close past the boat, beating the
water in a line of foam, and narrowly missing the foremost canoe.
At this, the pursuers drew back in dismay ; and the. Indians on
shore, being further saluted by a second shot, ceased firing, and
scattered among the bushes. The prisoners soon reached the ves
sel, where they were greeted as men snatched from the jaws of
fate ; " a living monument," writes an officer of the garrison,
" that fortune favors the brave." They related many particulars
of the catastrophe which had befallen them and their companions.
Lieutenant Cuyler had left Fort Niagara as early as the thir
teenth of May, and embarked from Fort Schlosser, just above the
Falls, with ninety-six men, and a plentiful supply of provisions
and ammunition. Day after day he had coasted the northern
shore of Lake Erie, and seen neither friend nor foe amid those
lonely forests and waters, until, on the twenty-eighth of the
month, he landed at Point Pelee, not far from the mouth of the
274 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
River Detroit. The boats were drawn on the beach, and the
party prepared to encamp. A man and a boy went to gather fire
wood, at a short distance from the spot, when an Indian leaped
out of the woods, seized the boy by the hair, and tomahawked
him. The man ran into camp with the alarm. Cuyler immedi
ately formed his soldiers into a semi-circle before the boats. He
had scarcely done so when the enemy opened, their fire. For an
instant, there was a hot blaze of musketry on both sides ; then the
Indians broke out of the woods in a body, and rushed fiercely
upon the center of the line, which gave way in every part, the
men flinging down their guns, running in a blind panic to the
boats, and struggling, with ill-directed efforts, to shove them into
the water. Five were set afloat, and pushed off from the shore,
crowded with the terrified soldiers. Cuyler, seeing himself, as
he says, deserted by his men, waded up to his neck in the lake,
and climbed into one of the retreating boats. The Indians, on
their part, pushing two more afloat, went in pursuit of the fugi
tives, three boat-loads of whom allowed themselves to be re-cap
tured, without resistance ; but the remaining two, in one of which
was Cuyler himself, made their escape. They rowed all night,
and landed in the morning upon a small island. Between thirty
and forty men, some of whom were wounded, were crowded in
these two boats ; the rest, about sixty in number, being killed or
taken. Cuyler now made for Sandusky, which, on his arrival, he
found burnt to the ground. Immediately leaving the spot, he
rowed along the south shore to Presque Isle ; from whence he pro
ceeded to Niagara, and reported his loss to Major Wilkins, the
commanding officer. The actors in this bold and well executed
stroke were the Wyandots, who, for some days, had lain in
ambush at the mouth of the river, to intercept trading boats, or
parties of troops. Seeing the fright and confusion of Cuyler's
men, they had forgotten their usual caution, and rushed upon
them in the manner described. The ammunition, provisions, and
other articles taken in this attack, formed a valuable prize ; but,
unfortunately, there was, among the rest, a great quantity of
whisky. This the Indians seized, and carried to their respective
camps, which, throughout the night, presented a scene of savage
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 275
revelry and riot. Dormant jealousies were awakened ; old, for
gotten quarrels kindled afresh ; and, had not the squaws taken
the precaution of hiding all the weapons they could find, before
the debauch began, much blood would, no doubt, have been spilt.
As it was, many were wounded, of whom two died in the morning ;
and several others had their noses bitten off — a singular mode of
revenge, much in vogue upon similar occasions among the Indians
of the upper lakes. The English were gamers by this scene of riot ;
for, late in the evening, two Indians, in all the valor and vainglory
of drunkenness, came running directly towards the fort, boasting
their prowess in a loud voice ; but, being greeted with two rifle
bullets, they leaped into the air, like a pair of wounded bucks,
and fell dead on their tracks. It will not be proper to pass
over in silence the fate of the unfortunate men taken prisoners in
this affair. After night had set in, several Canadians came to the
fort, bringing vague and awful reports of the scenes that had
been enacted at the Indian camp. A cloud of deep gloom sank
down upon the garrison ; and none could help reflecting how
thin and frail a barrier protected them from a similar fate. On
the following day, and for several succeeding days, they beheld
frightful confirmation of the rumors they had heard. Naked
corpses, gashed with knives and scorched with fire, floated down
on the pure waters of the Detroit, whose fish came up to nibble
at the clotted blood that clung to their ghastly faces.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC CONTINUED — FATE OF THE FOREST GARRISON
— THE MASSACRE AT FORT ST. JOSEPH — THE FATE OF SANDUSKT,
MIAMI, OUATANON, PRESQUE ISLE, LE BOETJF, AND VENANGO — THE
REIGN OF BLOOD AND HAVOC — THE BLOODY WORK OF THE GREAT
PONTIAC AND His TREACHEROUS FOLLOWERS.
SUCH was the work of death and desolation around the forest
garrisons, in 1763 — such the scenes enacted on the soil of Michi
gan one hundred years ago. But we must hasten to close our
narrative of Pontiac and his woeful war, as other events of great
importance must not be crowded out ; and in this we will be
guided by the authority of Francis Parkman. Late one after
noon in May, 1763, the garrison were again greeted with the
dismal cry of death, and a host of naked warriors was seen issu
ing from the woods in the rear of the fort. Each savage was
painted black, and each bore a scalp, fluttering from the end of a
pole. It was now plain that some new disaster delighted the
blood-thirsty savages ; and, in truth, this was so ; for, during the
same evening, news reached the fort that Sandusky had been
taken, and all its garrison slain, or made prisoners. This post
had been attacked by the Wyandots, living in its neighborhood,
aided by a detachment from the army of Pontiac. Among the
few survivors of the slaughter was the commanding officer, Ensign
Paully, who had been conducted to Detroit by the savages, bound
hand and foot, and assured on the passage that he would be
burnt alive, beside the camp of the great chief. .On being taken
to the lodge of Pontiac, he was surrounded by a crowd of Indians,
who pelted him with stones, and forced him to dance and sing.
A worse infliction seemed in store for him, when, happily, an old
woman, whose husband had lately died, chose to adopt him, in
place of the deceased warrior. Seeing no alternative but the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
277
stake, Paully accepted the proposal; and, having been first
plunged in the river, to wash the white blood from his veins, he
was conducted to the lodge of the widow, and treated thence
forth with all the consideration due an Ottawa warrior. The gar-
M. S. SMITH.
MARTIN S. SMITH, the senior partner of the firm of Messrs. M. S. Smith &
•Co., the present leading jewelers of Detroit, was born in Lima, Livings
ton county, State of New York, in 1834. At an early age he came to
Michigan in company with his parents. In 1859, Mr. Smith established
himself in the jewelry business in Detroit, and has conducted since that
time, or from a period not long after, the leading jewelry establishment
in Michigan.
In the summer of 1868, he visited Europe, and returned in the follow
ing autumn, an importer of jewelry and such other goods as are usually
278 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
rison at Detroit soon received a letter from him, through a
Canadian, giving a full account of the capture of Fort Sandusky,
which had taken place on the sixteenth of the same month.
A brief account of the surprise of this fort is as follows :
Paully, the commandant, was informed that seven Indians were
waiting at the gate to see him. As several of the number were
well known to him, he ordered them to be admitted. Arriving
at his headquarters, two of his treacherous visitors seated them
selves on each side of the commandant, while the rest were dis
posed in various parts of the room. The pipes were lighted, and
the conversation began ; when an Indian, who stood in the door
way, suddenly made -a signal, by raising his head. Upon this,
the astonished officer was instantly pounced upon and disarmed ;
while, at the same moment, a confused noise of shrieks and yells,
the firing of guns, and the hurried tramp of feet, sounded from
the area of the fort without. This soon ceased, and Paully, led by
his captors from the room, saw the parade ground strewn with
the corpses of his murdered garrison. During the night, he was
conducted to the margin of the lake, where several birch canoes
lay in readiness ; and, when the party had pushed out from the
shore, Paully looked back through the darkness, to see the fort,
associated with gold and silver wares. About this time, a new spirit of
enterprise seized the people, and the commerce of Detroit was nearly
doubled in every important branch. Consequent upon this interchange
with the outside world came all the wholesome characteristics of refined
society.
With this favorable combination of circumstances and events, it is not
a difficult matter to account for Mr. Smith's great success in business. In
1860, it may be observed, his sales touched only the modest figures of
$17,000, but with a steady increase, year after year, reached the astound
ing sum of $300,000 in 1872. A natural accompaniment of this commercial
prosperity was the exchange of a small store, occupied at the time of
purchasing the establishment, for the magnificent house on the corner of
Woodward and Jefferson avenues which he now occupies. This building
is richly ornamented with a large stock of American and imported
jewelry, bronzes, etc., comprising one of the most complete establish
ments of the kind in the Northwest.
Mr. Smith's deportment in business transactions has been such as to
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 279
lately under bis command, bursting on all sides in sheets of flame.
Such was the fate of Sandusky, in 1763.
Detroit was next startled with the news of the massacre of the
garrison at Fort St. Joseph. This was on the fifteenth of June,
when the soldiers noticed a number of Indians approaching the
gate of the fort, bringing with them four English prisoners ; who
proved to be Ensign Schlosser, lately commanding at St. Joseph's,
together with three private soldiers. The Indians wished to
exchange them for several of their own tribe, who had been, for
nearly two months, prisoners in the fort. After some delay, this
was effected ; and the garrison then learned the unhappy fate of
their friends. St. Joseph stood near the mouth of the river
bearing the same name, near the head of Lake Michigan. The
garrison of that post seemed to have apprehended no danger,
when, on the twenty-fifth of May, early in the morning, the officer
was informed that a large party of Pottawattamies, of Detroit,
had come to pay a visit to their relations of that place. Pres
ently, a chief, named Washashe, with three or four followers,
visited the commandant's quarters, as if to hold a council ; and
soon after, a Canadian arrived, with the intelligence that the fort
was surrounded by Indians, who evidently had hostile intentions.
win the highest confidence of the whole public, and already the people
are pointing to him with messages of public trust. He has been for some
time a member of the Board of Police Commissioners and Vice-President
of the Detroit Trust and Safe Deposit Company. He is also director in
the Wayne County Savings Bank, director in the American National
Bank, American Plate Glass Company, and in the Mutual Life Insurance
Company.
Mr. Smith went forth from a humble home at the age of twelve years,
unaccompanied by assistance. From these obscure beginnings, by that
perseverance which secures good will as well as material prosperity, he
has done much to promote the commerce of Michigan, and secured fame
as a merchant of Detroit. The character of his business has had a most
salutary influence on society. When the first waves of civilization broke
away the coldness of pioneer life, or the dignity of increasing wealth
sent forth the demands for new luxuries, he was among the first to sup
ply these wants, or even by keeping in advance of them to create a taste
for the more expensive characteristics of refinement.
280 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
At this, Schlosser ran out of the apartment, and, crossing the
parade, which was full of Indians and Canadians, hastily entered
the barracks. These were also crowded with savages, very inso
lent and disorderly. While busying himself in getting his men
under arms, he heard a wild cry from within the barracks.
Instantly, all the Indians in the fort rushed to the gate, toma
hawked the sentinel, and opened a free passage to their comrades
without. In less than two minutes, eleven men were killed, and
himself, with the three survivors, made prisoners, and bound fast.
They were then conducted to Detroit, as already shown. Three
days after these tidings were received, the news of the massacre
at Michilimackinac came to the fort. Of this terrible event we
have already given a full account in a previous chapter.
News of disaster was now the order of the day, and the wea
ried garrison seemed to read their own fate in every tale of
woe. Next came the tidings of the fate of Ouatanon, a fort
situated on the Wabash, a little below the site of the present
town of Lafayette. Lieutenant Jenkins commanded at this fort ;
and, on the first of June, he and his garrison were made prison
ers by the surrounding Indians, who spared their lives.
Close upon these tidings came the news that Fort Miami was
taken. This post stood on the Maumee River, and was com
manded by Ensign Holmes, who suspected the intention of the
savages, and was, therefore, on his guard. On the twenty-seventh
of May, a young Indian girl, who lived with him, told him that
a squaw lay dangerously ill in a wigwam, near the fort, and
urged him to come to her relief. Having confidence in the girl,
Holmes forgot his caution, and followed her out of the fort.
When Holmes came in sight of the Indian wigwams, the Indian
girl pointed out the lodge in which the sick woman lay. When
he drew near the lodge, two guns flashed from behind the hut,
and he fell lifeless on the grass. The shots were heard at the
fort, and the Sergeant rashly went out to learn the cause of the
firing. He was taken prisoner at once, amid a tumult of Indian
war whoops. The soldiers in the fort were next summoned to
surrender, with a promise that, if they did so, their lives would be
spared, but that otherwise they would all be killed, without
mercy. The terrified men gave themselves up as prisoners.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 281
The news of the loss of Presque Isle reached Detroit on the
twentieth of June. This fort stood on the southern shore of
Lake Erie, at the site of the present town of Erie, and was com
manded by Ensign Christie. After a long and formidable resist
ance, he surrendered to the Indians. One Gray escaped, while
the rest were conducted prisoners to Detroit. Christie soon
after effected his escape, and succeeded in reaching the fort at
Detroit in safety. After Presque Isle, Le Boeuf and Venango
shared its fate ; while farther south, at the forks of the Ohio, a
host of Indian warriors were gathering round Fort Pitt, and
blood and havoc reigned along the whole frontier.
We will now return to Detroit, and follow the half-famished
garrison through their sufferings and their battles. We will also
see what became of Captain Campbell and his companions, who,
when sent as deputies from Gladwyn, were detained by the great
Pontiac, and lodged as prisoners in the house of M. Meloche, near
Parent's Creek.
CHAPTER XIX.
CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC CONTINUED— THE SIEGE OF DETROIT — ADVEN
TURE OF A BRITISH SCHOONER ON THE DETROIT RIVER — MODE OF
INDIAN WARFARE — PONTIAC INVITING THE FRENCH TO JOIN HIS
ARMY — ANOTHER COUNCIL — EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS.
ON THE nineteenth of June, a rumor reached Detroit that one
of the vessels had been seen near Turkey Island, several miles
below the fort. It will be remembered that this vessel had, sev
eral weeks before, gone down Lake Erie to hasten the advance of
Cuyler's expected detachment. She passed these troops on her
way, and sailed to Niagara, where she remained until the return
of Cuyler, with the remnant of his men. After the latter had
related his sad mishap, he was ordered to embark in the vessel
that had come from Detroit, with as many soldiers as could be
spared from the fort at Niagara, and return to Detroit. This
order had been carried out, and now, as the rumor purported, the
vessel was near the point of her destination, although the most
dangerous part of the journey was yet to be traversed. The
river channel was, in many places, narrow, and more than eight
hundred Indians were on the alert to intercept their passage.
Several days passed, and no tidings of the expected craft reached
the garrison ; when, on the twenty -third, a great commotion was
visible among the Indians, a large portion of whom were seen to
pass along the outskirts of the woods, in the rear of the fort.
The cause of this movement could not be conjectured till evening,
when a Frenchman arrived at the fort, with the intelligence that
the vessel was again attempting to ascend the river, and that all
the Indians had gone to attack her. Upon this, two cannon were
fired, that the crew might know that Detroit was still in the
hands of the English ; and now all remained in great anxiety as
.to the result. The schooner soon began to move slowly up the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
283
river, with a gentle breeze. About sixty men were crowded on
board, of whom only ten or twelve were visible on deck. The
officers had ordered the rest to lie hidden below, in hopes that the
Indians, encouraged by their apparent weakness, might make
HON. JAMES TURRILL.
JAMES TUKRILL, of Lapeer, was born in Shoreham, Addison county,
Vermont, September 24, 1797.
Leaving his father's farm at the age of twenty-one, he engaged in
general merchandising in his native town, and at Bridport, in the same
county. Mr. Turrill pursued his mercantile labors in the two places
above mentioned, with very gratifying and remunerative results, until
1836, when he came to Michigan, and invested extensively in lands at
and near the present nourishing city of Lapeer. Returning to Vermont,
he continued his business until 1842, when he brought out his family,
consisting of his wife and eight children — three sons and five daughters —
284 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
an open attack. Just before reaching the narrowest part of the
channel, the wind died away, and the anchor was dropped.
Immediately above, and within gun-shot of the vessel, the Indians
had thrown up a breastwork of logs, carefully concealed by
bushes, on the shore of Turkey Island. Here they lay, in great
force, waiting for the schooner to pass. Ignorant of this, but still
cautious and wary, the crew kept a strict watch from the moment
the sun went down. Hours wore on, and nothing had disturbed
the deep repose of the night. At length, the sentinel could dis
cern, in the distance, various moving objects upon the dark sur
face of the water. The men were ordered up from below, and all
took their posts in perfect silence. The blow of a hammer on the
mast was to be the signal to fire. The Indians, gliding steadily
over the water, had advanced to within a few rods of their sup
posed prize, wrhen, suddenly, the dark side of the slumbering
and located in the village of Lapeer. Here he again turned his attention
to mercantile affairs, dealing largely in real estate at the same time. Suc
cess attended his efforts, and after a lapse of thirteen years he retired
from active business, and has since given his attention to the cultivation
of his farms and the management of his pine land interests. He is now,
and has been for some time, one of the banking firm of R G. Hart & Co.
He was one of the directors of the Port Huron & Lake Michigan Rail
road, and aided largely with his means and advice, at a time when others
were quite discouraged, in getting it completed from Port Huron to
Flint. After that was done he retired from the directorship, at his own
request, but remained quite active and efficient in the work.
Although Mr. Turrill has never been ambitious for public life, still his
fellow-citizens have seen fit on several occasions to place him in positions
of honor and trust. He was several times elected one of the trustees, and
afterwards president of the village of Lapeer, and upon its incorporation
as a city, he was chosen its first mayor. Mr. Turrill was also elected to
the House of Representatives of the State Legislature in the fall' of 1848,
and served in that body during the sessions of 1848-9. During the war
he took an active part in putting down the rebellion, and his eldest son,
Capt. J. Henry Turrill, a brave and noble-hearted officer of the 7th Michi
gan Infantry, lost his life at the battle of Antietam.
In manner Mr. Turrill is dignified, but not overbearing. He is a man
of strict integrity, liberal in the support of religious and charitable insti
tutions, and gives with a free hand to the poor and needy.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
285
vessel burst into a blaze of cannon and musketry. Grape and
musket shot flew tearing among the canoes, destroying several of
them, killing fourteen Indians, wounding as many more, and driv
ing the rest in consternation to the shore. Recovering from their
EZRA RUST.
EZRA RUST, of Saginaw City, was born September 23, 1832, at the
town of Wells, Rutland county, Vermont, When he was five years of
age, his parents removed to Newport, St. Clair county, Michigan. They
were in limited circumstances and unable to provide him with an educa
tion beyond that afforded by the common schools of the place. His
advantages, though limited, were thoroughly improved. He developed
a strong taste for mechanics in his boyhood, and, before he was sixteen
years of age, was employed as second engineer of the steamer Pacific;
and such was his skill and ability that in his seventeenth year he was
286 GENERAL HtSTOJlY OP THE STATES.
surprise, they began to fire upon the vessel from behind their
breastwork, upon which she weighed anchor, and dropped down,
once more, beyond their reach, into the broad river. Several
days afterwards she attempted to ascend. This time she met with
better success. As she passed the Wyandot village, she sent a
shower of grape among its yelping inhabitants, by which several
were killed ; and then, furling her sails, lay peaceably beside her
companion, abreast of the fort. She brought to the garrison a
much needed supply of men, ammunition and provisions. She
bore, also, the important tidings that peace had been concluded
between France and England. The great struggle of the French
war, which had disturbed the peace of the whole continent of
North America since the year 1755, although virtually ended on
the Plains of Abraham, and by the junction of the three British
armies at Montreal, was not completely settled till the formal
treaty of peace. To most of the French this peace was odious.
They went about among the settlers and Indians, declaring that
the pretended news of peace was only an invention of Major
Gladwyn ; that the King of France would never abandon his
children ; and that a great French army was even then ascending
the St. Lawrence, while another was approaching from the country
of the Illinois. These Indians believed these falsehoods, and
thus the war continued. Pontiac himself clung to this delusive
hope, and began the work of subduing the fort with renewed
promoted to the position of first engineer of the same steamer. During
the three following years he held the same situation on the steamer
Arctic. In 1854, he was transferred to the E. K. Collins, and was first
engineer of that ill-fated steamer when she was burned near Maiden, in
the same year.
For the three years following, he was engaged in manufacturing lum
ber for his brothers, A. & D. W. Rust, at their mill in Newport. In the
summer of 1858, his health failing, he went to Cuba, where he remained
nearly a year, employed as an engineer upon Aldama's sugar estate,
"Santa Rosa."
Upon his return, in 1359, he entered into partnership with Mr. James
Hay, under the firm name of Rust & Hay, in the business of lumbering
upon the tributaries of the Saginaw river, and since that time he has
resided in Saginaw.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 287
vigor. He sent a message to Gladwyn, urging him to surrender,
and advising him of the expected arrival of eight hundred Ojib-
was, who, he said, would take the scalp of every Englishman in
the fort. To this advice Gladwyn returned a brief and con
temptuous answer.
Pontiac now resolved to gain the assistance of the French
inhabitants, and for this purpose he called them together in coun
cil. Near the camp of the Ottawas, the French inhabitants and
Indians, headed by Pontiac, were convened. All was silent, and
several pipes were passing round from hand to hand, when Pontiac
rose and threw down a war-belt at the feet of the Canadians, and
spoke as follows :
" My brothers, how long will you suffer this bad flesh to remain
on your lands ? I have told you before, and I now tell you again,
that when I took up the hatchet, it was for your good. This year
the English must all perish throughout Canada. The Master of
Life commands it ; and you, who know him better than I, wish to
oppose his will. Until now, I have said nothing on this matter.
I have not urged you to take part with us in the war. It would
have been enough had you been content to sit quiet on your mats,
looking on while we wrere fighting for you. But you have not
done so. You call yourselves our friends, and yet you assist the
English with provisions and go about as spies among our villages.
This must not continue. You must be either wholly French or
wholly English. If you are French, take up that war-belt and
In 1861, he, in company with others, sunk a salt well and constructed
works for the manufacture of salt, which business he carried on success
fully for two years following.
In the year of 1865, the firm of Rust, Eaton & Co. was formed, with
Mr. Rust at its head, and he has, until the present time, continued to
manage the extensive business of that firm, as well as that of Rust & Hay,
with unvarying success.
As a business man, Mr. Rust is distinguished for his quick and correct
perception and prompt decision — his unswerving honesty and unerring
judgment. He is possessed of fine social qualities and a sympathetic
nature, which manifests itself in kindness to his employes to a remark
able degree. He is justly entitled to a prominent position among the
successful and wealthy lumbermen of Michigan.
288 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
lift the hatchet with us ; but if you are English, then we declare
war upon you. My brothers, I know this is a hard thing. We
are all alike children of our great father, the King of France, and
it is hard to fight among brethren for the sake of dogs. But
there is no choice. Look upon that belt and let us hear your
answer."
One of the Canadians replied, holding a copy of the capitula
tion of Montreal in his hand :
" My brothers, you must first untie the knot with which our
great father, the King, has bound us. In this paper, he tells all
his Canadian children to sit quiet and obey the English until he
comes, because he wishes to punish his enemies himself. We dare
not disobey him, for then he would be angry with us. And you,
my brethren, who speak of making war upon us if we do not do
as you wish, do you think you could escape his wrath if you
should raise the hatchet against his French children. He would
treat you as enemies, and not as friends, and you would have to
fight both English and French at once. Tell us, my brethren,
what can you reply to this ? "
For some moments Pontiac remained silent, when a rough
Canadian trapper came forward and took up the belt, much to the
disgust of the better class of the French present. He and his
comrades joined the Indians, but this could not, in the least
degree, be construed as indicating that the French inhabitants of
Detroit had joined their Indian friend in the war.
On the following night, a party of these renegades, joined by
about an equal number of Indians, approached the fort and
intrenched themselves in order to fire upon the garrison. At day
break, they were observed, the gate was thrown open, and a file of
men, headed by Lieutenant Hay, sallied forth to dislodge them.
This was effected without much difficulty. This party had retired
to the fort, when, at about four o'clock in the afternoon, a man
was seen running towards it, closely pursued by Indians. On his
arriving within gunshot, the Indians gave up the chase, and the
fugitive arrived safely in the fort, He proved to be the com
mandant of Sandusky, who, having, as before mentioned, been
adopted by the Indians, and married to an old squaw, now seized
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
289
the first opportunity of escaping from her embraces. Through this
man, the garrison learned the sad news that Captain Campbell
had been killed. It appeared that an Indian, killed in the morning
and scalped by Lieutenant Hay's party, was a nephew of Wasson,
DAVID PRESTON.
DAVID PRESTON, of Detroit, Michigan, was born in Harmony, Chau-
tauqua county, New York, September 20, 1826.
He received a common school education in the schools of this county,
and emigrated to Michigan in 1848, arriving in Detroit on the 4th of
November of that year. Upon his arrival in that city Mr. Preston was
without money and friends, having borrowed twelve dollars to pay his
fare. During the first year of his residence in Detroit he received a salary
of $150, the second year it was increased to 0200, and the third found him
getting $350, while the fourth brought a further advance to $350.
Mr. Preston commenced the banking business in Detroit in Mny, 1852,
with a capital of but $450, and out of which he furnished his house, hav-
19
290 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
chief of the Ojibwas. On hearing of his death, Wasson had
immediately blackened his face in sign of revenge, called together
a party of his followers, and, repairing to the house of Meloche,
where Captain Campbell was kept prisoner, had seized upon him
and tomahawked him on the spot, brutally mutilating his body.
His heart is said to have been eaten by his murderers, to make
them courageous. The corpse was thrown into the river, and
afterwards brought to shore and buried by the Canadians. The
other captive, McDougal, had previously escaped.
The two schooners anchored opposite the fort were now become
objects of awe and aversion to the Indians. This is not to be
wondered at, for, besides aiding in the defense of the place by
sweeping two sides of it with their fire, they often caused great
terror and annoyance to the besiegers. Several times they had
left their anchorage, and taking up a convenient position, had
battered the Indian camps and villages with no little effect. Once,
in particular, and this was the first attempt of the kind, Gladwyn
himself, with several of his officers, had embarked on board the
smaller vessel, while a fresh breeze was blowing from the north
west. The Indians, on the banks, stood watching her as she
tacked from shore to shore, and pressed their hands against their
mouths in amazement, thinking that magic power alone could
enable her thus to make her way against wind and current.
ing been married but a short time previous. In May, 1854, through
industry, honesty and strict attention to his business, Mr. Preston found
that the small capital with which he had commenced banking two years
previous had increased to the snug little sum of $5,000. With this
amount he opened another banking house in Chicago, and, directly fol
lowing this adventure, came the failure of A. Klernm, of New York,
who had $6,000 of Mr. Preston's money in his possession. Although by
this misfortune he lost his entire capital, still he was not discouraged,
and going to work with renewed vigor, he soon placed himself on a
firmer foundation than ever. His banking houses both here and in
Chicago are widely known, and have enjoyed the confidence of the
moneyed men of the country for a long term of years.
During the money panic of September, 1873, the banking house of D.
Preston & Co., in Detroit, was obliged to suspend for a few days, not
because they had sustained any loss, or of the defalcation of any person
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 291
Making a long reach from the opposite shore, she came on directly
towards the camp of Pontiac, her sails swelling, her masts leaning
over until the black muzzles of her guns almost touched the water.
The Indians watched her in astonishment. On she came, until
their fierce hearts exulted in the idea that she would run ashore
within their clutches, when suddenly a shout of command was
heard on board, her progress was arrested, she rose upright, and
her sails flapped and fluttered as if tearing loose from their fasten
ings. Steadily she came round, broadside to the shore; then,
leaning once more to the wind, bore away gallantly on the other
tack. She did not go far. The wondering spectators, quite at a
loss to understand her movements, soon heard the hoarse rattling
of her cable as the anchor dragged it out, and saw her furling her
vast white wings. As they looked unsuspectingly on, a puff of
smoke was emitted from her side, a loud report followed, then
another and another ; and the balls, rushing over their heads, flew
through the midst of their camp and tore wildly among the forest
trees beyond. All was terror and consternation. The startled
warriors bounded away on all sides ; the squaws snatched up their
children, and fled, screaming ; and, with a general chorus of yells,
the whole encampment scattered in such haste that little damage
was done, except knocking to pieces their frail cabins of bark.
This attack was followed by others of a similar kind ; and now
the Indians seemed resolved to turn all their energies to the
connected with the firm, but entirely on account of their not being able
to convert their securities into currency fast enough to supply the
demand of their depositors. This suspension was only temporary, and
within a very short time the doors were thrown open again and business
proceeded with as usual. The Chicago firm of Preston, Kean & Co., of
which Mr. Preston has been a member for the past ten years, were able
to pass through the above mentioned financial trouble without any
serious difficulty.
Mr. Preston is best known, however, to the people of Michigan for his
unbounded generosity. No object of a charitable nature is ever pre
sented to him for his aid, without receiving substantial assistance.
Within the last ten years he has given away over $65,000 to forward
various charitable enterprises, and has thus engrafted himself into the
affections of the people of the whole Northwest.
292 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
destruction of the vessel which caused them such annoyance. On
the night of the tenth of July, they sent down a blazing raft,
formed of two boats, secured together with a rope, and filled with
pitch, pine, birch-bark, and other combustibles, which, by good
fortune, missed the vessel and floated down the stream without
doing injury. All was quiet throughout the following night; but
about two o'clock on the morning of the twelfth, the sentinel on
duty saw a glowing spark of fire on the surface of the water, at
some distance above. It grew larger and brighter ; it rose in a
forked flame, and at length burst forth into a broad conflagration.
In this instance, too, fortune favored the vessel ; for this raft,
which was larger than the former, passed down between her and
the fort, and burned until its last hissing embers were quenched
in the river.
Though twice defeated, the Indians would not abandon their
plan, but, soon after this second failure, began another raft of
different construction from the former and so large that they
thought it certain to take effect. Gladwyn, on his part, provided
boats which were moored by chains at some distance above the
vessels, and made other preparations of defense so effectual that
the Indians, after working four days upon the raft, gave over their
undertaking as useless.
About this time, a party of Shawanoe and Delaware Indians
arrived at Detroit, and were received by the Wyandots with a
salute of musketry, which occasioned some alarm among the
English, who knew nothing of its cause. They reported the pro
gress of the war in the south and east ; and, a few days after, an
Abenaki, from Lower Canada, also made his appearance, bringing
to the Indians the flattering falsehood that their great father, the
King of France, was at that moment advancing up the St. Law
rence with his army. It may here be observed that the name of
father, given to the kings of France and England, was a mere
title of country or policy, for, in his haughty independence, the
Indian yields submission to no man.
It was now between two and three months since the siege began ;
and, if one is disposed to think slightingly of the warriors whose
numbers could avail so little against a handful of half-starved
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 293
English and provincials, he has only to recollect that where bar
barism has been arrayed against civilization, disorder against
discipline, and ungoverned fury against considerate valor,, such
has seldom failed to be the result.
HON. BELA W. JENKS.
BELA W. JENKS, one of the citizens of St. Clair, Michigan, was born
at Crown Point, Essex county, New York, June 6, 1824.
His father was a farmer, and being in moderate circumstances, was
unable to give his son the advantages of an education. • However, the
young man was industrious and diligent in his studies, and, by his own
unaided exertions, received a fair instruction in the schools of Charlotte,
Chittenden county, Vermont.
Mr. Jenks emigrated to Michigan in 1848, and settled in St. Clair, St.
Clair county, where he has ever since resided. He at once engaged in
294 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
At the siege of Detroit, the Indians displayed a high degree of
comparative steadiness and perseverance ; and their history cannot
furnish another instance of so large a force persisting so long in
the attack of a fortified place. Their good conduct may be
ascribed to their deep rage against the English, to their hope of
speedy aid from the French, and to the controlling spirit of
Pontiac, which held them to their work. The Indian is but ill
qualified for such attempts, having too much caution for an assault
by storm, and too little patience for a blockade. The Wyandots
and Pottawattamies had shown, from the beginning, less zeal than
the other nations ; and now, like children, they began to tire of
the task they had undertaken. A deputation of the Wyandots
came to the fort, and begged for peace, which was granted them ;
but when the Pottawattamies came on the same errand, they
mercantile pursuits, and soon built himself up a lucrative trade. Later,
lie branched out in the lumbering business and also commenced dealing
quite extensively in real estate. He is still engaged in these two latter
occupations, and is constantly adding to his already ample wealth, while
at the same time he is doing much to advance the interests of his city
and State.
For some years past, Mr. Jenks has taken quite an active part in local
and State politics, always acting with the Republican party. He has held
a number of important official positions in the government of the city of
St. Clair, performing his duties in a manner to elicit the praise of even
his political opponents.
In the fall of 1869, he was elected State senator from the twenty-fourth
senatorial district, comprising St. Clair county, and was reflected to the
same position in 1871. While occupying a position in the Senate, he won
the confidence of that body and took a leading part in much of the
legislation of the one extra and two regular sessions which were held
during the time he was a member. He was chairman of the committee
on rules and joint rules, and a member of the committees on division of
towns and counties, on public lands and on drainage during the session
of 1869-70; and in the session of 1871-72 he was chairman of the com
mittee on public lands, and a member of the committees on constitutional
amendments and on the select committee on apportionment.
As a man, Mr. Jenks is social and pleasant, and his manners and
general bearing is such as to win him the high regard and esteem of his
fellow-citizens. He is a man of unswerving honesty and indomitable
energy, seldom failing to secure the object for which he labors.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 295
insisted, as a preliminary, that some of their people who were
detained prisoners by the English should first be given up.
Gladwyn demanded, on his part, that the English captives known
to be in their village should be brought to the fort, and three of
them wrere accordingly produced. As these were but a small part
of the whole, the deputies were sharply rebuked for their duplicity,
and told to go back for the rest. They withdrew, angry and
mortified ; but, on the following day, a fresh deputation of chiefs
made their appearance, bringing with them six prisoners. Having
repaired to the council room, they were met by Gladwyn, attended
only by one or two officers. The Indians detained in the fort
were about to be given up, and a treaty concluded, when one of
the prisoners declared that there were several others still remain
ing in the Pottawattamie village. Upon this, the conference was
broken off, and the deputies ordered instantly to depart. On
being thus a second time defeated, they were goaded to such a
pitch of rage, that, as afterwards became known, they formed the
desperate resolution of killing Gladwyn on the spot, and then
making their escape in the best way they could ; but, happily, at
that moment the commandant observed an Ottawa among them,
and, resolving to seize him, called upon the guard without to
assist in doing so. A file of soldiers entered, and the chiefs, seeing
it impossible to execute their design, withdrew from the fort, with
dark and sullen brows. A. day or two afterwards, however, they
returned with the rest of the prisoners, on which peace was granted
them, and their people set at liberty.
CHAPTER XX.
CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC CONTINUED — THE BATTLE OF BLOODY EUN —
CAPTAIN DALZELL'S DETACHMENT SLAUGHTERED BY THE SAVAGES
— ADVENTURE OF THE SCHOONER GLADWYN— THE INDIANS SUE FOR
PEACE — APPROACH OF WINTER.
FOR SOME time after this peace with the Wyandots and
Pottawattamies, nothing of importance occurred at Detroit, except
that the garrison was continually harassed by the Ojibwas and
Ottawas. But, in the meantime, Gladwyn's little band was being
reinforced. Captain Dalzell had left Niagara with twenty-two
barges, bearing two hundred and eighty men, with several small
cannon and a fresh supply of provisions and ammunition. This
detachment reached Detroit at the end of July, 1763, and landed
amid the cheers of the garrison. The detachment was composed
of soldiers from the 55th and 80th regiments, with twenty inde
pendent rangers, commanded by Major Rogers. The barracks in
the place being too small to receive them, they were all quartered
among the inhabitants.
On the day of his arrival, Captain Dalzell had a conference
with Gladwyn, and strongly insisted that the time wras come
when an irrecoverable blow might be dealt at Pontiac. Gladwyn,
better acquainted with the position of the enemy, was averse to
the attempt; but Dalzell, still urging his request, at last
obtained the commandant's consent.
Owing to the delay of marching out as at first contemplated, their
plans became known to the great chief, and he prepared himself for
the battle. However, early the following morning, the thirty-first
of July, the gates were thrown open in silence, and the detachment,
two hundred and fifty in number, marched out. They filed two
deep along the river road, while two bateaux, each bearing a
swivel, rowed up the river abreast of them. Lieutenant Brown
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
297
led the advance guard of twenty-five men, the centre was com
manded by Captain Gray, and the rear by Captain Grant. The
morning was close and sultry. On their right lay the river and
on their left a succession of Canadian houses, with barns, orchards
E. O. HAVEN, D. D., LL. D.
ERASTUS OTIS HAVEN was born in 1820, and it is his double good fortune
to have been a Boston boy and a farmer boy. In intervals of work, he
found time to gratify varied and keen intellectual tastes ; and made
thorough preparation for college. Entering at Middletown, in 1838, he
not only mastered liberal studies but acquired their uses also. In 1843,
he began — as instructor in the New York Anieuia Seminary (of which he
became principal in 1846) — a career in the comparatively brief course of
which he has left hardly a branch of higher knowledge untaught or ill-
298 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
and corn fields. The inhabitants, roused from sleep, looked from
the windows in astonishment and alarm. Thus the English
moved forward to the attack, little thinking that behind every
available shelter Indian scouts watched every movement, and still
less suspecting that Pontiac, aware of their plan, had broken up
his camp and was marching against them with all his warriors,
armed and painted for battle.
" A mile and a half from the fort," says Parkman, " Parent's
Creek, ever since that night called Bloody Run, descended
through a wild and rough hollow, and entered the Detroit amid a
growth of rank grass and sedge. Only a few rods from its
mouth, the road crossed it by a narrow, wooden bridge, not exist
ing at the present day. Just beyond this bridge, the land rose
in abrupt ridges, parallel to the stream. Along their summits
were rude intrenchments, made by Pontiac to protect his camp,
which had formerly occupied the ground immediately beyond.
Here, too, were many piles of fire-wood, belonging to the Cana
dians, besides strong picket fences, inclosing orchards and gar
dens connected with the neighboring houses. Behind fences,
wood-piles and intrenchments crou.ched an unknown number of
Indian warriors, with leveled guns. They lay silent as snakes,
taught, scarcely a form of wholesome discipline or an element of generous
culture unutilized. His services as a minister of the Gospel, as an
ecclesiastical journalist, as a public lecturer on various topics, and as a
legislator, have been no less distinguished. From 1848 to 1853, he was
pastor, successively, over three churches of New York; from 1853 to
1854, professor of Latin, and from 1854 to 1856, professor of rhetoric and
English literature, in the University of Michigan; from 1856 to 1863,
editor of Zioris Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), the organ of New Eng
land Methodism — performing at the same time the duties of member of
the local school committee, member of the State board of education, and
(1862, 1863) of State senator from the first Middlesex district, being chair
man of the joint committee of the legislature on education; from 1863 to
1869, president of the University of Michigan ; and, from 1869 to 1872,
president of the Northwestern University.
While in the Massachusetts legislature, Dr. Haven introduced and
secured the enactment of laws— excusing Roman Catholic children from
reading the Bible in the public schools, and permitting it to be read by
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 299
for now they could hear the distant tramp of the approaching
column. The sky was overcast, and the morning exceedingly dark.
As the English drew near the dangerous pass, they could discern
the oft-mentioned house of Meloche, upon a rising ground to the
left, while in front, the bridge was dimly visible, and the ridges
beyond it seemed like a wall of undistinguished blackness. They
pushed rapidly forward, not wholly unsuspicious of danger. The
advance guard were half way over the bridge, and the main
body just entering upon it, when a horrible burst of yells rose
in front, and the Indian guns blazed forth in general discharge.
Half the advanced party were shot down ; the appalled survivors
shrank back aghast. The confusion reached even the main
body, and the whole recoiled together; but Dalzell raised his
clear voice above the din, advanced to the front, rallied the men,
and led them forward to the attack. Again the Indians poured
in their volley, and again the English hesitated ; but Dalzell
shouted from the van, and, in the madness of mingled rage
and fear, they charged at a run across the bridge, and up the
heights beyond. Not an Indian was there to oppose them. In
vain the furious soldiers sought their enemy behind fences and
intrenchments. The active savages had fled ; yet still their guns
the teacher; creating an agricultural college and endowing the Institute
of Technology; enlarging the scope of Normal schools, and granting
much needed State aid to the Museum of Natural Science, of which
Agassiz is the head.
The State of Michigan, during the three years of his first connection
with its great Universitj^, he may be said to have canvassed. His services
to the University during this time have scarcely been appreciated at their
true value. The men gathered at Ann Arbor, in 1853, under the presi
dency of Henry P. Tappan, numbered not a few of the most accomplished
proficients in the various branches of liberal learning, and masters in the
art of teaching them, of their day. The University — its single academic
course antiquated, its faculty discordant and disorganized, its students
scattered, the public confidence gone, the mere tool of sects and the sport
of politicians — was on the point of being utterly broken up. The legis
lature required that the University should have a scientific department,
to which young men should be admitted without classical preparation.
The constitution of this department was intrusted to a special committee
300 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
flashed thick through the gloom, and their war-cry rose with
undiminished clamor. The English pushed forward amid the
pitchy darkness, quite ignorant of their way, and soon became
involved in a maze of outhouses and inclosures. At every pause
they made, the retiring enemy would gather to renew the attack,
firing back hotly upon the front and flanks. To advance further
would be useless, and the only alternative was to withdraw, and
wait for daylight. Captain Grant, with his company, recrossed
the bridge, and took up his station on the roa/1. The rest fol
lowed, a small party remaining to hold the enemy in check while
the dead and wounded were placed on board the two bateaux,
which had rowed up to the bridge during the action. This task
was commenced amid a sharp fire from both sides ; and, before it
was completed, heavy volleys were heard from the rear, where
Captain Grant was stationed. A great force of Indians had fired
upon him from the house of Meloche and the neighboring
orchards. Grant pushed up the hill, and drove them from the
orchards at the point of the bayonet — drove them, also, from the
house, and, entering it, found two Canadians within. These men
told him that the Indians were bent on cutting off the English
from the fort, and that they had gone in great numbers to occupy
the houses which commanded the road below.
of the professors, of which Haven and Boise (who was then in the chair
of Greek) were members. Its history is a record unsurpassed of unbroken
progress — keeping equal pace with every advance of science, and
instantly meeting the current demands of practical affairs. It was neck
to neck with the classical course in a race in which each competitor
enjoyed all that the other gained.
In Ib63, he was invited to the vacant presidency. The summons was
by telegraph; likewise the response. The motives which induced a step
that seemed to many sudden and unadvised, do honor to Haven's head
and heart. The true friends of the University were again in a panic of
terror. Knowing that Dr. Tappan would not be reflected — in thorough
sympathy with the idea of the institution; enjoying the manly respect of
all parties to the recent conflict, and the affectionate esteem of nearly all;
familiar with the people of the State and the genius of jits institutions —
he was inspired with a chivalrous desire to return and help to make the
University a success. Suffice it to say that, having in hand the most
difficult and delicate " case" of college management that ever arose, even
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 301
It was now evident that instant retreat was necessary ; and, the
command being issued to that effect, the men fell back into
marching order, and slowly began their retrograde movement.
Grant was now in the van, and Dalzell at the rear. Some of the
Indians followed, keeping up a scattering and distant fire ; and,
from time to time, the rear faced about, to throw back a volley of
musketry at the pursuers. Having proceeded in this manner half
a mile, they reached a point where, close upon the right, were
many barns and outhouses, with strong picket fences. Behind
these, and in a newly-dug cellar close at hand, lay concealed an
immense multitude of Indians. They suffered the advanced party
to pass unmolested ; but, when the center and rear came opposite
their ambuscade, they raised a frightful yell, and poured a volley
among them. The men had well nigh fallen into a panic. The
river ran close on their left, and the only avenue of escape lay
along the road in front. Breaking their ranks, they crowded
upon one another, in blind eagerness to escape the storm of bul
lets ; and, but for the presence of Daizell, the retreat would have
been turned into a flight.
" The enemy," writes an officer who was in the fight, " marked
him for his extraordinary bravery ; and he had already received
in our wayward and capricious community, he within a month achieved
the promise of success; and at the end of two years there remained —
neither in the University nor out of it — a trace of the bitter dissension
that threatened to rend and ruin the institution.
Under his presidency, the number of students was nearly doubled,
though the standards for admission were materially raised; the internal
economy was renovated and improved; the "Senate" of the faculties
exercised its proper and useful functions; efficient discipline was secured,
though "personal government" scarcely made itself felt. The Univer
sity, however, had but fairly begun its mature growth, though its income
was at the maximum. President Haven determined that the State should
grant pecuniary aid to the University. He spent several weeks with the
legislature of 1866. An act was passed, granting aid on condition of the
appointment to the medical department of a professor of homoeopathy.
The condition reflected tl<3 opinion of a large minority of citizens. Dr.
Haven simply urged the necessity of making the medical department
(like that of the universities of Europe) strictly and broadly scientific.
302 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
two severe wounds. Yet his exertions did not slacken for a
moment. Some of the soldiers he rebuked, some he threatened,
and some he beat with the flat of his sword ; till, at length,
order was restored, and the fire of the enemy returned with effect.
Though it was near daybreak, the dawn was obscured by a thick
fog, and little could be seen of the Indians, except the incessant
flashes of their guns amid the mist, while hundreds of voices,
mingled in one appalling yell, confused the faculties of the men,
and drowned the shout of command. The enemy had taken
possession of a house, from the windows of which they fired down
upon the English. Major Kogers, with some of his provincial
rangers, burst the door with an axe, rushed in, and expelled them.
Captain Gray was ordered to dislodge a large party from behind
some neighboring fences. He charged them with his company,
but fell, mortally wounded, in the attempt. They gave way, how
ever ; and now, the fire of the Indians being much diminished,
the retreat was resumed.
No sooner had the men faced about, than the savages came
darting through the mist upon their flank and rear, cutting down
stragglers, and scalping the fallen. At a little distance lay a
sergeant of the Fifty-fifth, helplessly wounded, raising himself on
These views carried such weight with all who loved, not their favorite
system less but the University more, that the next legislature, removing
this onerous condition, provided for a slight increase of the State tax —
$15,000 annually. The income from this and other sources was nearly
doubled. Every department has reaped the fruits — the medical, in a
course of pharmacy and a hospital ; the literary, by new material of study ;
the scientific school, by the addition of mining and mechanical engineer
ing; the law, by substantial enlargement of its facilities.
Another engrossing question was appealed to the legislature — the admis
sion of women. Dr. Haven, while maintaining that in theory men and
women should enjoy equal advantages, did not, as president of the
University, advise the opening of its doors to women, until the legislature,
having twice decided to make no other provision, finally recommended
their admission. He then advised that the University, instead of waiting
to have the matter thrust upon it, should talfe up the new policy and
guide and shape it. The question was thus decided.
Dr. Haven finally accepted the call to the .Northwestern University, and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 303
his hands, and gazing, with a look of despair, after his retiring
comrades. The sight caught the eye of Dalzell. That gallant
soldier, in the true spirit of heroism, ran out, amid the firing, to
rescue the wounded man, when a shot struck him, and he fell
dead. Few observed his fate, and none durst turn back to recover
his body. The detachment pressed on, greatly harassed by the
pursuing Indians. Their loss would have been much more severe,
had not Major Rogers taken possession of another house, which
commanded the road, and covered the retreat of the party.
He entered it with some of his own men, while many panic-
stricken regulars broke in after him, in their eagerness to gain a
temporary shelter. The house was a large and strong one,
and the women of the neighborhood had crowded into the
cellar for refuge. While some of the soldiers looked, in blind
terror, for a place of concealment, others seized upon a keg
of whisky in one of the rooms, and quaffed the liquor with eager
thirst ; while others, again, piled packs of furs, furniture, and all
else within their reach, against the windows, to serve as a barri
cade. Panting and breathless, their faces moist with sweat, and
blackened with gunpowder, they thrust their muskets through the
openings, and fired out upon the whooping assailants. At inter-
before he severed his connection with that institution it was placed on a
firm foundation. In the short time he was at its head, it developed from
a college to a university, and promises to be one of the largest denomina
tional institutions in the country.
The general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, in 1872,
established a board of education, to have supervision over the whole
subject of education in the church, and unanimously elected Dr. Haven
its corresponding secretary or superintendent, since which time his
residence has been in New York City.
The lesson of the life here sketched is sufficiently apparent in- the life
itself. To bring principle the most exalted and character the purest to
practical affairs, thereby to make the most of the common opportunities
and the common things of to-day, by the exercise of powers which are
men's common endowment — such is, as we conceive, the problem of the
"higher life" in our crowded, intense and practical civilization.
Of this perfection of the practical, Haven is so preeminently an
example that it may be said that it is his genius; but it is a genius rich
304 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
vals, a bullet flew sharply whizzing through a crevice, striking
down a man, perchance, or rapping harmlessly against the parti
tions. Jacques Campau, the master of the house, stood on a trap
door, to prevent the frightened soldiers from seeking shelter
among the women in the cellar. A ball grazed his gray head,
and buried itself in the wall, where, a few years, since, it might
still have been seen. The screams of the half-stifled women
below, the quavering war-whoops without, the shouts and curses
of the soldiers, mingled in a scene of clamorous confusion ; and
it was long before the authority of Rogers could restore order.
In the meantime, Captain Grant, with his advanced party, had
moved forward about half a mile, where he found some orchards
and inclosures, by means of which he could maintain himself
until the center and rear should arrive. From this point he
detached all the men he could spare to occupy the houses below ;
and, as soldiers soon began to come in from the rear, he was
enabled to reinforce these detachments, until a complete line of
communication was established with the fort, and the retreat
effectually secured. Within an hour the whole party had arrived,
with the exception of Rogers and his men, who were quite unable
to come off, being besieged, in the house of Campau, by full two
hundred Indians.
in inspiration to multitudes who may never attain the high ideal. What
ever else he is, he is always practical. His discourses have been sometimes
criticised by those who are so shallow as to confound the art of bringing
thought to the surface with superficiality. They rarely fail to gather up
and utilize the profoundest thoughts, the remotest theorizings, the largest
generalizations. But his style is a means, not an end; like the air, itself
invisible, it reveals all things; its charm is that of purity, giving clear
vision — never distortion or mirage. The still waters of his discourse run
deep; his words always " set hearts beating pure," if rarely "fast."
At Detroit, in 1869, he innocently raised a tempest in the ecclesiastical
tea-pot by doing what he had often done in the East — preaching a
Christian sermon in a Unitarian pulpit. It fails to appear, however, that
on these occasions he deviated from the orthodox standard of doctrine in
his church. It is, at the same time, the habit of his mind, as it is the
instinct of his pure heart and generous nature, to recognize and acknow
ledge truth in doctrine and excellence in character wherever found.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
305
The two armed bateaux had gone down to the fort, laden with
the dead and wounded. They now returned, and, in obedience
to an order from Grant, proceeded up the river to a point oppo
site Campau's house, where they opened a fire of swivels, which
HON. JOHN F. DRIGGS.
JOHN F. DRIGGS was born at Kinder-book, Columbia county, New
York, March 8, 1813.
His parents were natives of the State of Connecticut, their ancestors
having emigrated there at a very early period in the history of our
country. His grandsires were both revolutionary soldiers.
When Mr. Driggs was but a small boy, his father moved from Kinder-
hook, and settled, for a few years, on the banks of the Hudson, near
West Point. It was while residing here, that Mr. Driggs first heard the
history of the war of independence from the lips of many of the old
20
306 ' GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
swept the ground above and below it, and completely scattered the
assailants. Rogers and his party now came out, and marched
down the road, to unite themselves with Grant. The two bateaux
accompanied them closely, and, by a constant fire, restrained the
Indians from making an attack. Scarcely had Rogers left the
house at one 4oor, when the enemy entered it at the other, to
obtain the scalps from two or three corpses left behind. Fore
most of them all, a withered old squaw rushed in, with a shrill
scream, and, slashing open one of the dead bodies with her knife,
scooped up the blood between her hands, and quaffed it with a
ferocious ecstacy.
Grant resumed his retreat, as soon as Rogers had arrived back,
from house to house, joined in succession by the parties sent to
garrison each. The Indians, in great numbers, stood whooping
and yelling, at a vain distance, unable to make an attack — so well
did Grant choose his positions, and so steadily and coolly conduct
the retreat. About eight o'clock, after six hours of marching
and combat, the detachment entered once more within the shel
tering palisades of Detroit. In this action, the English lost fifty-
soldiers who lived in that patriotic region. From their stories, he imbibed
those strong sentiments of hatred for slavery and oppression, and that
love of liberty and justice which has so prominently influenced and con
trolled his after life.
His father soon moved again, and took up his residence in the village
of Tarrytown, also on the Hudson. He did not remain here long, how
ever, as he shortly afterwards located in New York City, where he lived
the remainder of his life.
In consequence of the frequent removals of his father, Mr. Driggs had
but few opportunities of acquiring an education until he settled in New
York City at the age of fourteen, and then such only as a natural strong
mind, perseverance and an academy afforded. Of these opportunities he
made the most.
Having been apprenticed to and learned the trade of sash, blind and
door making, he followed that occupation — first as a journeyman, then
for many years as a master mechanic.
Shortly after his marriage, and without application, he received the
appointment, from the common council of the city of New York, of
superintendent of the penitentiary and public institutions on Blackwell's
Island, and his wife received at the same time the appointment of matron
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 307
nine men killed and wounded. The loss of the Indians could not
be ascertained ; but it certainly did not exceed fifteen or twenty.
At the beginning of the fight their numbers were probably much
inferior to those of the English, but fresh parties were continu
ally joining them, until seven or eight hundred warriors must
have been present. The Ojibwas and Ottawas alone formed the
ambuscade at the bridge, under Pontiac's command ; for the
Wyandots and Pottawattamies came later to the scene of action,
crossing the river in their canoes, and passing round through the
woods, behind the fort, to take part in the fray.
In speaking of the fight of Bloody Bridge, an able writer in
the " Annual Register" for the year 1763, observes, with justice,
that, although in European warfare it would be deemed a mere
skirmish, yet in a conflict with the American savages, it rises to
the importance of a pitched battle; since these people, being
thinly scattered over a great extent of country, are accustomed
to conduct their warfare by detail, and never take the field in
any great force.
The Indians were greatly elated by their success, and reinforce-
of the penitentiary. The duties of these positions were performed to
the entire satisfaction of the publi<t and all parties.
Though, in early life, Mr. Driggs had formed a preference for the
Democratic principles of Thomas Jefferson, his strong opposition to
slavery brought him in full sympathy and cooperation with such early
advocates of emancipation as Leroy Sunderland, Orange Scott, Alvin
Stewart, Lewis and Arthur Tappan, Friend Hopper and their co-laborers.
His abolition sentiments prevented a sympathy between him and either
of the dominant parties in 1836. Yet, in choosing between the two, he
gave the preference to the Democrats, but these he virtually left when he
cast his vote for Martin Van Buren for President on the Free Soil
platform.
Leaving the city of New York in 1856, he, with his family, settled at
East Saginaw, Michigan, where he entered into the mercantile and
lumber business. The second year after his locating there, he was elected
president of the village and held that position when East Saginaw
was incorporated as a city. In 1859, he was elected to the State Legisla
ture for two years, and, in 1861, was appointed register of United States
land office for the Saginaw district. While holding this position, he was
elected to Congress from the then Sixth Congressional District, compris-
308 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ments soon began to come in to swell the force of Pontiac.
" Fresh warriors," writes Gladwyn, " arrive almost every day, and
I believe that I shall soon be besieged by upwards of a thousand."
The English, on their part, were well prepared for resistance,
since the garrison now comprised more than three hundred effec
tive men ; and no one entertained a doubt of their ultimate suc
cess in defending the place. Day after day passed on ; a few
skirmishes took place, and a few men were killed ; but nothing
worthy of notice occurred until the night of the fourth of Sep
tember, at which time was achieved one of the most memorable
feats of which the chronicles of that day can boast.
The schooner Gladwyn, the smaller of the two armed vessels
so often mentioned, had been sent down to Niagara with letters
and dispatches. She was now returning, having on board Horst,
her master, Jacobs, her mate, and a crew of ten men, all of whom
were provincials, besides six Iroquois Indians, supposed to be
friendly to the English. On the night of the third she entered
the River Detroit, and, in the morning, the six Indians asked to
be set on shore, a request which was foolishly granted. They dis-
ing the Upper Peninsula of thirty counties, being nearly one-half of the
territory in the entire State. He was feelected twice by largely increased
majorities, but, refusing to leave his post at Washington to secure a
fourth nomination, he was, after a protracted session, defeated in the
convention by one. Two years subsequent to this, he was again nomin
ated by the Republican party and defeated, after an extraordinary contest,
by Judge Sutherland, the Democratic nominee. The extraordinary
means resorted to, to accomplish Mr. Driggs' defeat in the cKstrict where
it is universally admitted that he made an enviable record as a faithful,
patriotic and energetic representative, are well known to the people of
his State, and cannot be further alluded to in this sketch. Suffice it to
say, that during his congressional career, he established a record for
fidelity, industry and patriotism, of which he may well be proud.
Near the close of the war, under the last call, he raised a full regiment
in sixty days, while the other six regiments called for had to be consoli
dated to fill their ranks, before leaving for the front.
Mr. Driggs still resides at East Saginaw, where he is much respected
and largely engaged in the manufacture of salt and in real estate trans
actions. He may well be included among the most worthy and prominent
citizens of Michigan.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
appeared in the woods, and probably reported to Pontiac's war
riors the small number of the crew. The vessel stood up the
river until nightfall, when, the wind falling, she was compelled to
anchor about nine miles below the fort. The men on board
REV. J. M. ARNOLD.
JOHN M. ARNOLD, one of the most widely known ministers of the
Methodist Episcopal church in this State, was born in Durham, Greene
county, New York, on the 15th of October, 1824. He began life as a
farmer, and early attained a fair education. During his boyhood, he
acquired an insatiable desire for knowledge, and soon became a constant
reader, which laid the foundation of that general inf ormation and literary
discrimination which has since characterized him and been the occasion
of directing him to the peculiar sphere of activity that he now occupies.
Mr. Arnold came to Detroit in 1861, as pastor of the First Methodist
Episcopal church, and at the close of his term with that church he com-
310 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
watched with anxious vigilance. The night set in with darkness
so complete, that, at the distance of a few rods, nothing could be
discerned. Meantime, three hundred and fifty Indians, in their
birch canoes, glided silently down the current, and were close
upon the vessel before they were seen. There was only time to
fire a single cannon shot among them before they were beneath
her bows, and clambering up her sides, holding their knives
clenched fast between their teeth. The crew gave them a close
fire of musketry, without any effect ; then, flinging down their
guns, they seized the spears and hatchets, with which they were all
provided, and met the assailants with such furious energy and
courage, that, in the space of two or three minutes, they had
killed and wounded more than twice their own number. But
the Indians were only checked for a moment. The master of the
vessel was killed, several of the crew were disabled, and the
assailants were leaping over the bulwarks, when Jacobs, the mate,
called out to blow up the schooner.
This desperate command saved her and her crew. Some Wyan-
dots, who had gained the deck, caught the meaning of his words,
and gave the alarm to their companions. Instantly, every Indian
leaped overboard in a panic, and the whole were seen diving and
menced the organization of the Detroit Book Depository, under the
auspices of his denomination, which has since grown into a large and
flourishing business institution, and is now conducted under the name of
J. M. Arnold & Co. Mr. Arnold is widely known as an enthusiastic and
penetrating book dealer, buying and selling, under protest only, any pub
lication that does not tend to improve the head or heart, and has built up
his present business without pandering in the least to that class of
literature which tends to demoralize the younger portion of our popu
lation.
Aside from attending to his business, Mr. Arnold continues to fill some
one of the various pulpits of his own and other denominations, through
out the State, during the majority of the Sabbaths in the year, in a highly
acceptable manner. For a number of years, he has held from his
conference the appointment of Sabbath school agent. In performing the
duties of this position, he travels extensively, lecturing and preaching in
all portions of the State, and is a man of wide personal influence in his
own and other denominations.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 311
swimming off in all directions, to escape the threatened explosion.
The schooner was cleared of her assailants, who did not dare to
renew the attack ; and, on the following morning, she sailed for
the fort, which she reached without molestation. Six of her crew
escaped unhurt. Of the remainder, two were killed, and four
seriously wounded ; while the Indians had seven men killed upon
the spot, and nearly twenty wounded, of whom eight were known
to have died within a few days after. As the action was very
brief, the fierceness of the struggle is sufficiently apparent from
the loss on both sides.
The appearance of the men, says an eye-witness who saw them
on their arrival, was enough to convince every one of their brav
ery, they being as bloody as butchers, and their bayonets, spears
and cutlasses bloody to the hilt. The survivors of the crew were
afterwards rewarded as their courage deserved. The schooner, so
boldly defended by her crew against a force of more than twenty
times their number, brought to the fort a much needed supply of
provisions. It was not, however, adequate to the wants of the
garrison, and the whole were put upon the shortest possible allow
ance.
CHAPTER XXI.
CONCLUSION OP PONTIAC'S WAR — THE SIEGE OP DETROIT RAISED —
BRADSTREET IN THE WEST — THE ENGLISH AT PEACE — THE REVOLU
TIONARY WAR — INSTIGATING SAVAGES TO TAKE AMERICAN SCALPS —
CAPTAIN BYRD'S EXPEDITION — HAMILTON'S EXPEDITION — His CAP
TURE — DE PEYSTER COMMANDS AT DETROIT — AMERICAN LIBERTY
TRIUMPHANT — PEACE RESTORED.
IT WAS now the end of September. The Indians had pressed
the siege with a determination unknown to their race, since the
beginning of May ; but at length their constancy began to wane.
The tidings that Major Wilkins was approaching with a strong
detachment reached their camp, and they began to fear the con
sequences of an attack, especially as their ammunition was nearly
expended. By this time, most of the tribes around Detroit were
disposed to sue for peace. They wished to retire unmolested to
their wintering grounds, and renew the war in the spring. Accord
ingly, on the twelfth of October, Wapocomoguth, great chief of
the Mississaugas, visited the fort with a pipe of peace. He made;
a speech to Major Gladwyn, asking for peace, to which the conn
mandant replied, telling him that he could not himself granli
peace, but would consent to a truce. This was accepted, and
Gladwyn availed himself of the opportunity to collect provisions
from the Canadians, and succeeded so well that the fort was soor
furnished for the winter. After overtures of peace, Pontiac with
drew, with his chiefs, to the Maumee, to stir up the Indians ii
that quarter, with a view of resuming the war in the spring.
About the middle of November, after quiet had been restore*
around the fort at Detroit, two friendly Indians visited the fort
and one of them took a closely folded letter from his powdei
horn and handed it to Gladwyn. The note was from Major Wij
kins, and contained the disastrous news that the detachmerj
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
313
under his command had been overtaken by a storm ; that many
of the boats had been wrecked ; that seventy men had perished ;
that all its stores and ammunition had been destroyed, and the
detachment forced to return to Niagara. This intelligence had
HON. R. P. ELDRIDGE.
ROBERT P. ELDRIDGE, a prominent lawyer of the Sixteenth Judicial
Circuit, was born on the banks of the Hudson, in the township of Green
wich, Washington county, New York, in 1808.
The winter after he was six years of age, his father moved to Lebanon,
Madison county, and from there to the township of Hamilton, on the east
side of the west branch of the Chenango river, in the same county. The
spring after he reached his fourteenth year, he was sent to the academy
at the village of Hamilton to prepare for a collegiate education, but his
314 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
an effect upon the garrison which rendered the prospect of
the cold and cheerless winter yet more dreary and forlorn. But
the winter came, and was endured by these hardy soldiers ; and,
with the return of spring their savage enemies began to appear.
They endured their assaults until the twenty-sixth of August,
when Bradstreet's fleet came sailing up the river, to the relief of
the disconsolate garrison. They were welcomed by the cannon of
the garrison, and cheer after cheer pealed forth from the crowded
ramparts. Well might Gladwyn and his soldiers rejoice at the
approaching succor. They had been beset for more than fifteen
months by their savage enemies; and, though there were times
when not an Indian could be seen, yet woe to the soldier who
should wander into the forest in search of game, or stroll too far
beyond range of the cannon.
The army had no sooner landed than the garrison was relieved
and fresh troops substituted in their place. Bradstreet next
inquired into the conduct of the Canadians of Detroit, and pun
ished such of them as had given aid to the Indians. A few only
were found guilty, the more culpable having fled to the Illinois,
on the approach of the army. Pontiac, too, was gone. The great
war chief — his vengeance unslaked, and his purpose unshaken —
mother dying when he was sixteen, his father's family was broken up;
the children, of which there were eight, were separated and never again
were they all assembled under the one roof. From this time, he was
compelled to teach school winters in order to study summers, and from
necessity was obliged to abandon the idea of "going through college."
In his seventeenth year, at the earnest request of his father, he entered
the law office of Stowe & Girdly, one of the most eminent law firms of
Madison county, New York. While in this law office, he was required
to labor very hard at the table, copying; yet he received much valuable
information from Judge Girdly, in the science of the profession he was
destined to pursue.
At the close of his school in the spring of 1826, after paying his little
necessary indebtedness, he found himself the owner of twenty dollars,
and with this amount he started for the territory of Michigan, being
utterly unacquainted with the world, and with no practical experience in
any business, except school teaching.
Mr. Eldridge landed in Detroit on the 26th day of May, 1826, poorly
OF MICHIGAN. 31 5
had retired to the banks of the Maumee, whence he sent a
haughty defiance to the English commander. The Indian vil
lages near Detroit were half emptied of their inhabitants, many
of whom still followed the desperate fortunes of their indomitable
leader. Those who remained were, for the most part, brought by
famine and misery to a sincere desire for peace, and readily obeyed
the summons of Bradstreet to meet him in council.
The council was held in the open air, on the morning of the
seventh of September, with all the accompaniments of military
display which could inspire awe and respect among the assembled
savages. The tribes, or, rather, fragments of tribes, represented
at this meeting, were the Ottawas, Ojibwas, Pottawattamies,
Miamis, Sacs, and Wyandots. The Indians of Sandusky kept
imperfectly the promise they had made, the Wyandots of that
place alone sending a full deputation ; while the other tribes were
merely represented by the Ojibwa chief, Wasson. This man, who
was the principal chief of his tribe, and the most prominent
orator on the present occasion, rose and opened the council. He
frankly confessed that the tribes which he represented were all
justly chargeable with the war, and now deeply regretted it.
Bradstreet would grant peace only on condition that they should
clad, and with ten shillings as the sum total of his capital. After a short
time, some gentlemen in Detroit with the under-sherifF of Wayne county,
fitted up the " debtors room," in the jail, for a school room, and he went
to teaching their boys at $8.00 per quarter. At the end of six weeks,
pleasantly occupied in conducting his school, he was stricken down by a
severe attack of bilious fever, which, had it not been for the kind care of
a Mr. Seymour, with whom he boarded, and a naturally strong constitu
tion, woujd have proved fatal. Recovering, he collected what was due
him, paid his debts, and with the remainder, one dollar and a half, paid
his stage fare to Pontiac, Michigan, where he had engaged to teach
school during the winter of 1826-27. While teaching this school, he
devoted his evenings and Saturdays to recording deeds in the register of
deeds office for Oakland county. Aside from this, he found some time
to pursue his legal studies in the office of Governor Richardson. During
this winter, he was severely afflicted with inflammation of the eyes, the
healing of which cost him more than what he had earned teaching
school.
316 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
become subjects of the King of England, and acknowledge that
he held over their country a sovereignty as ample and complete
as over any other part of his dominions. Nothing could be more
impolitic than this demand ; but, happily, not a savage present
was able to comprehend it. The terms, therefore, met with a
ready assent. They promised in the future to call the English
King father, instead of brother.
A deputation was sent to Pontiac, who had retired to the Mau-
mee, and that chief agreed to lead the nations to war no more ;
but declared that he would never become a friend to the English ;
although, two years afterwards, he was declaring himself the fast
friend of that nation, in a speech to Sir William Johnson. In
1769, this great chief and warrior met his death, in Illinois, at
the hands of an Indian of the Kaskaskia tribe, who was induced
to commit the crime for a barrel of whisky, by an Englishman,
named Williamson.
Bradstreet left Detroit, to compel Indian submission elsewhere ;
and left the little garrison enjoying the luxury of peace. Now
that the insurrection was quelled, the British adopted a system of
conciliatory measures, to secure the good-will of the disaffected
tribes ; small grants of land were made around the posts, and the
In the following summer, he found it necessary to seek a new location,
and, borrowing a friend's horse, he rode down to Mt. Clemens, in Macomb
county, and, after an examination, decided to locate there. Accordingly,
on the 3d of July, 1827, he started out on foot from Pontiac, and after a
fatiguing march reached Mt. Clemens the next day. Here he went into the
employ of a merchant by the name of Ashley, working for his board.
In the fall following, his father sent him a few law books, mostly
elementary. Being obliged to leave Mr. Ashley's house on account of
sickness in that family, he commenced keeping bachelor's hall, and
reading his law books preparatory to being admitted by the supreme
court of the territory as soon as he attained his majority. In the fall of
1828, he applied for admission. His examination was in open court, and
after being thoroughly quizzed by six of the ablest lawyers in Detroit,
before Judges Sibley and Chipman, he was admitted as an attorney at law
and solicitor in chancery. The court at that time was held in the old
State capital, and he was stopping at "Uncle Ben's Steamboat Hotel,''
but in going from the former to the latter, after passing his examination,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 317
Indians themselves were induced to cede portions of their terri
tory for a trifling consideration. The French settlements extended
in a short time along the banks of the Detroit and St. Clair riv
ers to a distance of about twenty miles above and below Detroit.
The latter continued to be the most prominent post, and in 1766
the town contained more than a hundred houses, independent of
the barracks. To the west of the latter lay the commons, which
was also called the King's Garden. The post was surrounded by
pickets, mounted with small cannon, and was garrisoned by two
hundred soldiers.
Meanwhile, the Hudson's Bay Company extended its operations
through the wilderness which had, for a century previous been the
ranging ground of the French traders. This company had been
chartered, in 1669, by Charles II. That charter, granted to a
company of English merchants, authorized them to occupy a very
extensive region, for the prosecution of the fur trade ; to estab
lish military posts for their defense, and to traffic with the native
tribes. In 1766, individual adventurers began to extend their
operations along the lake shores, in the same track that had for
merly been pursued by the French, and soon came in collision
with the large companies, which were striving to occupy the whole
territory for their exclusive benefit.
he has no recollection of passing any houses or pedestrians on the way.
Returning to Mt. Clemens, he "put out his shingle." Mr. Eldridge was
then the only lawyer in that county, and the good people in it were sober
and industrious, and derived more pleasure and profit in cultivating their
farms than in contentions and law suits, which made the prospects for a
young lawyer, without means, relatives or influential friends to aid him,
look very gloomy indeed. He would undoubtedly have sought a new
location, only that poverty held him there with a firm grip. The county
improved rapidly, however, settlers increased and grew wealthy, another
lawyer located in the county, and then many suddenly discovered that
they had received injuries at the hands of their neighbors, which their
duty to themselves and society required them to have righted. From this
time, Mr. Eldridge found it easy to support himself and family and to
put away a few dollars for future contingencies.
He soon took an active part in politics, and, having been educated a
Democrat, he was a warm supporter of Jackson and Van Buren, and the
Democratic nominees for _State and county offices. In February, 1842,
318 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The English made but little change, either in the laws or in
their administration, and pursued the same general policy as their
predecessors, the French. The commandants of the posts,
although responsible to the Governor-General at Quebec, were
still possessed of a discretionary power which was all but abso
lute, and which they exercised in a highly arbitrary manner. In
1774, while Governor Hamilton was commanding at Detroit, an
act was passed, called the Quebec Act, establishing the bounda
ries of Canada, including Michigan, and extending thence to the
Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, on the south, and north, from the St.
Lawrence to the latitude of 52°, or, to the lands of the Hudson's
Bay Company. This act granted to the Catholic inhabitants the
free exercise of their religion, the undisturbed possession of their
church property, and the right, in all matters of litigation, to
demand a trial according to the former laws of the province.
But this right was not extended to the settlers on lands granted
by the English Crown. The criminal laws of England were
introduced into Canada, and the Crown reserved to itself the right
of establishing courts of civil, criminal and ecclesiastical juris
diction.
The enterprise of the people was not wholly confined to the fur
trade. As early as 1773, the mineral regions of Lake Superior
Mr. Eldridge was appointed to the prominent position of secretary of State
by Governor Barry, which office he held by reappointment during the
four years of Governor Barry's administration. In the fall of 1846, he
was elected a member of the State senate, and, in the winter of 1847,
attended as a senator the first session of the legislature held at Lansing.
With the close of that session, he ended his public labors, and severed
his connection with politics so far as holding or seeking to hold any
office was concerned.
Upon the expiration of his term of office as secretary of State, he
resumed the practice of his profession at Mt. Clemens, and now, at the
age of sixty-five, he is actively engaged in the pursuit of it. He is as
attached to it now as when compelled to depend upon its receipts to sup
port his family and educate his children. He looks upon the law as a
noble science; he esteems and reverences it; he loves its practice, and he
is now and ever has been an honor to the profession, occupying a position
among the eminent lawyers of the State.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 819
were visited ; and a project was formed for working the copper
ore discovered there, and a company in England had obtained a
charter for that purpose. A sloop was purchased and the miners
commenced operations, but soon found, however, that the expenses
of blasting and of transportation were too great to warrant the
prosecution of the enterprise, and it was abandoned. In 1783,
several influential merchants, who had been individually engaged
in the fur trade, entered into partnership for its more successful
prosecution, and established what was styled the Northwest Fur
Company. In 1787, the shareholders appointed from their num
ber special agents, to import from England such goods as might
be required, and to store them at Montreal. This plan of con
ducting the trade was not dissimilar to that which had been pur
sued by the French. Storehouses were erected at convenient
places on the borders of the lakes ; and the posts formerly occu
pied by the French were used for the same purpose. Agents were
sent to Detroit, Mackinaw, the Sault Ste. Marie, and the Grand
Portage, near Lake Superior, who packed the furs and sent them
to Montreal, for shipment to England. The most important
point of the fur trade was the Grand Portage of Lake Superior.
Here the proprietors of the establishment, the guides, clerks and
interpreters, messed together in a large hall, while the canoe men
were allowed only a dish of " hominy," consisting of Indian corn
boiled in a strong alkali, and seasoned with fat. Thus, this inter
esting trade, which had been carried on for more than a century,
still continued to circulate in its ordinary channels, along the
waters of the lakes.
But the spirit of mercantile rivalry was carried to a great
extent, and unhappily, excited the worst passions of those inter
ested in the several companies. The employes of the Hudson's
Bay and Northwest Companies, the boundaries of which were not
very clearly defined, often came into active and desperate con
flict, and made repeated attacks upon the trading posts of each
other. Lord Selkirk, however, having placed himself at the head
of the Hudson's Bay Company, succeeded at length in uniting
the stock of the two companies, and this put an end to the strife.
These two companies held dominion over the territory bordering
320 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
on the lakes, and studied only to keep it a barren wilderness, that
their trade might be preserved and prolonged.
The American revolution was already bursting forth ; but,
during this eventful struggle, the territory of the present State
of Michigan, from its remote situation, was but little affected by
the war, though the Indians within its borders were employed to
harass the American settlements upon the frontiers of New York,
Pennsylvania and Virginia. Detroit and Michilimackinac were,
during this period, the points of greatest interest. At these posts
the Indian warriors were assembled, and furnished with arms
and ammunition, and from thence they were dispatched against
the nearest American settlements, to burn and destroy, and to
massacre and scalp the defenseless inhabitants. On their
return from such murderous expeditions, these savage allies were
met by the British commanders in the council houses of Michili
mackinac and Detroit, and there paid a stipulated price for the
scalps which they brought. In some instances, the Indians were
supported in these expeditions by the regular troops and local
militia.
One of these joint expeditions, commanded by Captain Byrd,
set out from Detroit to attack Louisville. It proceeded in boats
as far as it could ascend the Maumee, and from thence crossed
over to the Ohio, and marched to Ruddle's Station. This post
surrendered at once, without fighting, under the promise of being
protected from the Indians. This promise, however, was violated,
and the prisoners were all massacred. A small stockade, called
Martin's Station, was also taken by the same commander, and his
march through the whole region was attended with the utmost
consternation.
Another expedition, under Governor Hamilton, the command
ant of Detroit, started out in 1778. The commander appeared
before the fort of Vincennes, in December, with an army of thirty
regulars, fifty French volunteers, and four hundred Indians. The
people living in the neighborhood of the fort made no effort to
defend it, and the only garrison within its walls wras Captain
Helm, and a private soldier, called Henry. Seeing the troops at
a distance, they loaded a cannon, which they placed in the open
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
- 321
gateway ; and the commandant of the fort, Captain Helm, stood
by the cannon with a lighted match. When Governor Hamilton
and his military approached within hailing distance, Helm called
out with a loud voice, " Halt !" This show of resistance made
HON. W. L. WEBBER.
WILLIAM L. WEBBER, of East ^Saginaw, was born July 19, 1825, at
Ogden, Monroe county, New York.
In June, 1836, lie came with his father and family to Michigan, and
settled in Hartland, Livingston county. He studied medicine two years,
in 1847-8, at Milford, Oakland county, when, discovering that the law
would be more congenial to his taste, he changed his reading to fit him
self for the latter profession, and was admitted to the bar in 1851. He
removed to East Saginaw in March, 1853, where he at once took a lead-
21
322 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
Hamilton stop and demand a surrender of the garrison. " No
man," exclaimed Helm, with an oath, "enters here until I know the
terms." Hamilton replied, " You shall have the honors of war."
Helm thereupon surrendered the fort, and the whole garrison,
consisting of the two already named, marched out and received
the customary marks of respect for their brave defense. Hamil
ton was afterwards met by General Clark, to whom he surren
dered. The British soldiers were suffered to return to Detroit ;
but their commander, who was known to have been active in
instigating Indian barbarities, was placed in irons, and sent to
Virginia as a prisoner of war.
The pious Moravian missionaries, on the banks of the Mus-
kingum, did not escape the hand of the English at Detroit. They
were suspected of holding a secret correspondence with the Con
gress at Philadelphia, and of contributing their influence, as well
as that of their Indian congregation, to aid the American cause.
Deputies were therefore sent to Niagara, and a grand council of
the Iroquois was assembled, at which those Indians were urged to
break up the Indian congregation collected by the Moravians.
These tribes, not wishing to have anything to do with it, sent a
message to the Chippewas and Ottawas, with a belt, stating that
they gave the Indian congregation into their hands, "to make
soup of."
ing position as a lawyer. For many years he has been one of the
prominent lawyers of Northern Michigan. As a practitioner he was studi
ous, mastering all the law applicable to his cases, painstaking to learn
all the facts from his client, alert to find out whatever was to be known
in advance about the plans of his adversary, self-possessed and dignified
in his conduct on the trial of cases, affable and fair to his brethren in the
profession, and, withal, zealous for his client. He was ever candid and
faithful in his relations, professional and otherwise, keeping faith with
everybody, as a matter of conscience and honor.
Latterly, for several years, he was been intimately associated with the
Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad as its attorney, and commissioner for
the care and disposition of its large land grant. For this position he
gave up general practice. By his judicious management of this land
department, he has very largely contributed to the interior of the State
north of the Saginaw river. He is at present mayor of the city of East
Saginaw.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 323
In 1781, these Moravian missionaries arrived at Detroit, when
they were brought before De Peyster, the commandant. A war
council was held, and the council house completely filled with
Indians. Captain Pipe, an Indian chief, addressed the assembly,
and told the commandant that " the English might fight the
Americans if they chose ; it was their cause, and not his ; that
they had raised a quarrel among themselves, and it was their
business to fight it out. They had set him on the Americans, as
the hunter sets his dog upon the game." By the side of the
British commander stood another war chief, with a stick in his
hand, four feet in length, strung with American scalps. This
warrior followed Captain Pipe, saying : " Now, father, here is
what has been done with the hatchet you gave me. I have
made the use of it that you ordered me to do, and found it
sharp."
Such were the scenes at Detroit that occurred frequently, from
the close of the Pontiac war till the advent of the " stars and
stripes." During the whole course of the revolutionary war, the
savage tribes in this vicinity were instigated to commit the most
atrocious cruelties against the defenseless American settlements.
Every avenue was closed whereby a different influence might be
introduced among them, and they were made to believe that the
Americans were only seeking to possess themselves of their lands,
and to drive them away from the territory they had inherited
from their fathers. But, at last, the great cause of American free
dom was triumphant. The treaty of Versailles was concluded in
1783, and the settlers of Michigan were once more permitted to
renew their labors in comparative peace.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE RETENTION OF THE WESTERN POSTS BY GREAT BRITAIN AFTER
THE TREATY OF 1783 — NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY ORGANIZED —
INDIAN TROUBLES AGAIN — THE GREAT WAR COUNCIL AT DETROIT
— CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL HARMER — ST. GLAIR'S DEFEAT — WAYNE'S
VICTORIES —MICHIGAN SURRENDERED TO THE UNITED STATES.
WE HAVE said that the war was ended and peace established ;
but no sooner was a treaty of peace concluded, than new troubles
began to arise. We have seen how, during the revolutionary war,
the western outposts of Great Britain were instrumental in send
ing the savages against the weak settlements ; and, now that the
Americans had been victorious, England refused to withdraw her
troops from the garrisons in the lake region. However, by the
second article of Jay's treaty, in 1794, it was provided that the
British troops should be withdrawn from all the posts assigned to
the United States by the former treaty of 1783, on or before the
first day of June, 1796. This matter being settled, the American
people turned their attention to the Northwest, with a view to its
settlement ; and measures were accordingly taken for its tempo
rary government. The circumstance which had more particu
larly directed the public attention to the western domain was a
memorial from the soldiers and officers of the Revolutionary army,
presented to General Washington in 1783, setting forth their
claims to a portion of the public lands. One difficulty that lay
in the way was that the territory northwest of the Ohio was
claimed by several of the Eastern States, on the ground that it
was included within the limits indicated by their charter from
the English Crown. But, in answer to the wishes of the govern
ment and people, these States, in a patriotic spirit, surrendered
their claims to this extensive territory, that it might constitute a
common fund, to aid in the payment of the national debt.
Many of the native tribes conveyed to the United States their
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
325
rights to territory in this domain, and thus was the way prepared
for the erection of the territory northwest of the Ohio. A gov
ernment was formed for this extensive region, with Arthur St.
Clair as Governor; and, on the seventh of April, 1788, a com-
CHESTER B. JONES.
CHESTER B. JONES, the subject of this sketch, was born in Western
Pennsylvania, September 11, 1823.
At an early age he passed through an academic course of education, at
Erie. This finished, he emigrated to Kentucky, and taught school there
and in other Southern States for several years. Having a desire for an
active business life, he connected himself with a mercantile house, and
traveled extensively through the Union representing their interests.
In 1853, he became connected with a wealthy lumber firm in Albany,
326 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
pany of forty-seven individuals landed at the site of the present
town of Marietta, and there commenced the settlement of Ohio.
We have seen that the western posts were still retained by the
British government. This gave rise to several questions of no
little interest, which excited unfriendly feelings between the two
nations, and which largely governed their policy. Debts due by
Americans to British subjects, the payment of which had been
guaranteed by the treaty, were not paid ; and, on the other hand,
the slaves belonging to Americans, and who had been taken away
by British officers, were not restored. In consequence of these,
and other unsettled matters, when Baron Steuben was sent by
General Washington to Sir Frederic Haldimand, at Quebec, to
arrange for the occupation of these posts, with instructions to
proceed to Michigan, and along the line of the lake frontier, for
the purpose of taking possession of them, he was informed that
they would not be given up, and was refused passports to Niagara
and Detroit.
In addition to the retention of the western posts by the English,
a new confederacy among the savages was organizing. In Decem
ber, 1786, a grand council of the different tribes was held near
the mouth of the Detroit river. At this council were delegates
from all the nations inhabiting the Northwest. The principal
subject of discussion appears to have been the question of bound-
New York, and on the first day of April in that year arrived in East
Saginaw, to manage their interests in that section. Although where East
Saginaw now stands was then a wilderness, he had the foresight to see
that the time was not far distant when the great lumber resources of that
region would build up a large and influential city. With this idea in
view, he at once went to work with the intention of permanently locating
there. Being an energetic, Christian young man, and faithful to the
trusts consigned to his care, he soon built up an enviable reputation for
integrity and good business qualities. Outsiders availed themselves of
his knowledge and good judgment, and he rapidly became a prominent
purchaser and shipper of lumber. He is also largely interested in real
estate, and is intimately connected with the growth of his adopted city.
Being of a retiring disposition, he has many times refused offices of
public trust, which his fellow-citizens wished to bestow upon him.
However, he is very active in all educational affairs, and has served
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 327
ary. It was contended by the Indians that the United States had
no right to cross the Ohio. This pending outbreak among the
savages was undoubtedly the work of the English, who were again
seeking their aid to harass the Americans.
England set forth as a plea for retaining the western posts, that
the extensive and valuable country in which they were situated
had been ceded away through some oversight on the part of the
commissioners, or from their ignorance of the geography of the
country ; and now, aided by the savages, they hoped to retain
their possessions in the West, It was at this juncture that Alex
ander McKenzie, an agent of the British government, visited
Detroit, painted like an Indian, and stated that he had just
returned from the remote tribes of the upper lakes, who were all
in arms, and prepared to oppose the claims of the Americans to
the western lands ; that large bodies of warriors had already
assembled, and that they were about to attack the infant settle
ment of Ohio. These stories, gotten up by McKenzie, succeeded
as he had desired. In 1794, an agent was sent from the Spanish
settlements, on the banks of the Mississippi, for the same object,
and to hasten the organization of the Indian confederacy against
the United States. Excited by his speeches, bands of savage war
riors, armed with the tomahawk and scalping-knife, were seen
hastening toward the lake posts, and the great Indian confeder
acy was formed against the Americans, equaling that constituted
several years as a member of the board of education of his city. As
chairman of the building committee of that body, he has been very
efficient, as the many beautiful school-houses in East Saginaw, erected
under his supervision, bear witness. He is now president of the board.
He was married to Miss Caroline H. Smith, daughter of Hon. Jeremiah
Smith, of Grand Blanc, Michigan, on the llth of January, 1859.
In religious matters, Mr. Jones is liberal and generous, and takes a
prominent part in the advancement of all good works. From his indus
try he has secured a competency, which is freely used in comforting the
sick and supplying the wants of the poor. He is a true friend to indus
trious young men, and many have secured positions through his influence.
He is truly one of that class of men that are an aid to the community in
which they dwell, and is recognized as one of the public spirited pioneers
and solid men of the Saginaw valley.
328 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
a quarter of a century previous, under the great Pontiac, against
the English themselves.
The border incursions commenced immediately, and again the
work of desolation reigned among the infant settlements on the
Ohio. These outbreaks, which were believed to be the work of
the British, induced the American government, in 1790, to send
General Harmer, an able officer, with an army to quell them. He
advanced against the hostile tribes with a force amounting to four
teen* hundred men; but, imprudently dividing his army, he was
taken by surprise and defeated by a body of Indians, led by Little
Turtle. Harmer having failed, General St. Clair advanced into the
Indian country, in 1792, with two thousand men. This army was
defeated by a large body of Indians who lay in ambush, and com
pelled to retreat. Efforts were now put forth to increase the
army ; and, in 1793, General Anthony Wayne succeeded St.
Clair in the command of the western army. Advancing through
the forest to the spot which had been rendered memorable by
the defeat of St. Clair, he there constructed a fort, and called it
Fort Recovery.
Advancing further into the wilderness, he found many Indian
villages deserted. At the Rapids of the Maumee he erected
Fort Deposit, where he stored his supplies. They were now
within a few miles of a British post, which had been garrisoned
by soldiers sent from Detroit, for the purpose of aiding the
Indians. General Wayne had been instructed to use his English
opponents according to the usages of war ; and, with a bold deter
mination, he pushed forward to the enemy's fort. The Indian
force, their whole strength being collected at this point, was, in
numbers, about the same as that of the Americans. The Indians
were stationed in a dense forest, and protected by the bank of the
river and a breastwork of fallen trees, and they were disposed in
three lines, within supporting distance of each other. The bat
tle soon followed ; and, through stratagem, Wayne was successful,
and completely routed the savages. He destroyed the Indian
villages and corn fields on the banks of the Maumee, and pro
ceeded towards Fort Defiance. Before he left the battle ground,
however, he paraded his force in front of the British post, that
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 329
they might see its strength ; while he advanced towards the
glacis, to examine the character of the position, and to ascertain,
as far as was possible, what were the intentions of the garrison.
The American officers, as they drew near, could discover the Brit
ish soldiers, with matches lighted and standing by their guns,
ready for any emergency that might arise. General Wayne
finally concluded a treaty with the Indians, at Greenville, which
effectually broke up the whole confederacy.
In 1795, a project was started, which, had it been successful,
would have injured the interests of the West. Robert Randall
and Charles Whitney, of Vermont, in connection with several
merchants of Detroit, entered into a compact, for the purpose of
appropriating to themselves a vast territory, comprising nearly
twenty millions of acres, situated between Lakes Erie and Michi
gan. The land was to be divided into a number of shares, and
distributed among the purchasers and the members of Congress
who should exert their influence in procuring the passage of the
necessary law. But, as soon as the corrupt character of the plot
had been discovered, the two principal projectors were brought
before the bar of the House of Representatives. On hearing the
evidence, Randall was discharged, but Whitney was fined the
amount of the costs, and received a severe reprimand.
Wayne's victory having broken the Indian power, and the
treaty of Greenville binding them from further aggressions, the
Island of Mackinaw and the fort of Detroit were surrendered
by the English, but the retiring garrisons, to show their spite,
locked the gates of the fort, broke all the windows in the bar
racks, and filled the wells with stones, so as to annoy the new occu
pants as much as was in their power.
It was in the beginning of June, 1796, that Captain Porter,
with a detachment of American troops, entered the fort, which
had been previously evacuated by the British. The American
flag was displayed, and the dominion of the country peaceably
transferred.
CHAPTER XXIII.
WILLIAM HULL APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF THE TERRITORY OF MICHI
GAN — TECUMSEH'S WARRIORS ASSEMBLING — AN ARMY RAISED IN
OHIO — IT MARCHES TO DETROIT UNDER GENERAL HULL — WAR
DECLARED BETWEEN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES — HULL
ADVANCES INTO CANADA.
IT WAS a considerable time before the Territory of Micnigan,
now in the possession of the United States, was improved or
altered by the increase of settlements. The Canadian French
continued to form the principal part of its population. The
interior of the country was but little known, except by the Indians
and the fur traders. The Indian title not being fully extinguished,
no lands were brought into market, and consequently the settle
ments increased but slowly. The State of Michigan at this time
constituted simply the county of Wayne in the Northwest terri
tory. It sent one representative to the legislature of that territory,
which was held at Chilicothe. A court of common pleas was
organized for the county, and the general court of the whole
territory sometimes met at Detroit. No roads had as yet been
constructed through the interior, nor were there any settlements,
except on the frontiers. The habits of the people were essentially
military, and but little attention was paid to agriculture, except
by the French peasantry. A representation was sent to the gen
eral assembly of the Northwest territory at Chilicothe until 1800,
when Indiana was erected into a separate territory. Two years
later Michigan was annexed to and continued to be a part of the
Territory of Indiana until 1805, when, in the month of January
of that year, it was erected into a separate territory, and William
Hull appointed its first governor.
We will not interrupt the narrative here to notice the acts of
Governor Hull's administration in detail, as this information will
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
331
be found in succeeding chapters devoted to the political history of
Michigan.
We have seen that Michigan had but just emerged from a suc
cession of Indian wars, and now another was evidently preparing.
HON. JAMES F. JOY.
JAMES F. JOY, of Detroit, was born at Durham, New Hampshire,
December 2, 1810.
His father, a manufacturer of scythes and other implements, was a man
of iron muscles, large brain, and great mental as well as moral power.
Like all the strong men of New England, he appreciated the value of
education, and a moral and religious culture for his children, and so he
labored earnestly day by day that they might enjoy those advantages
which honest poverty had denied to him. He was a man who practiced
332 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
This was in the shape of another confederacy, which was directly
instigated by the English. The old story was revived, that the
Americans were about to drive the Indians from the lands, that
they might occupy them themselves. The chief projectors of this
war were Tecumseh and his brother, the prophet. Tecumseh led
the nations to war, while his brother, Elkswatawa, operated on
the minds of the savages by means of superstition, and excited
them to a high pitch of ferocity. These new troubles were indeed
nothing more than the Americans might have expected. The
Indians saw a new power encroaching upon the inheritance that
had been handed down to them from their ancestors. It was not
difficult, therefore, to unite them in one last desperate effort to
resist this usurping power. Their titles had been only partially
extinguished, and they complained that, where this had been done,
the treaties had been unfairly conducted ; that the Indians had
been deceived ; that they were in a state of intoxication at the
time they signed away their lands, and that, even under these
circumstances, only a part of the tribes had given their consent.
The dissatisfaction existing among them was artfully fomented by
himself and taught his family all the virtues of the New England
calendar.
Having fitted himself for college with such aid as his father could give
him, James F. Joy entered Dartmouth, and graduated therefrom in 1838,
having the rank of the first scholar of his class and winning the valedic
tory assigned to him as such. From Dartmouth College, with all its hoty
and inspiring associations and memories as the school of Webster and
Choate, and such men, and as the subject of Webster's grand constitu
tional argument and most eloquent appeal to the supreme court, Joy went
to -Cambridge, where, during the years 1833 and 1834, he had the benefit
of the teaching and example, and was cheered, encouraged and stimulated
by the friendship of Story and Greenleaf, and where he laid broad and
deep the foundations for that great structure he has since reared thereon.
Being poor, however, he was compelled to leave the law school and
enter the academy at Pittsfield as its preceptor, and while there he was
employed as tutor in Dartmouth College, to instruct the classes in Latin,
which he did for a year, and then returned to the law school in Cam-
Abridge, where he completed his studies and spent another year.
Mr. Joy was a thorough classical scholar, and, during all the labors of
the last thirty years, while engaged in his profession, or in those vast
OF MICHIGAN. 333
the agents of the Northwest Fur Company, who foresaw that if
the Americans were permitted to occupy this country they would
be cut off from a valuable portion of their trade ; while the
English government, which ceded away this extensive tract with
out any very definite idea of its resources, looked with complacency
on any attempts made by the savages to retain it in their hands.
The American pioneers of the West had, no doubt, slighted the
rights of the Indians, and wrongs had been inflicted which required
correction. Taking advantage of this, the traders and the English
generally were indefatigable in rousing the Indians to war. The
prophet commenced his mission in 1806, and did all that supersti
tion could do to excite the fury of the Indians against the
Americans. The plan for the league was not unlike that formed
by Pontiac. Tecumseh's plan was to surprise the posts of Detroit,
Fort Wayne, Chicago, St. Louis and Vincennes, and to unite all
the tribes from the borders of New York to the Mississippi. As
early as the year 1807, the Shawanese chief and his brother, the
prophet, were actively engaged in sending their emissaries, with
presents and war-belts, to the most distant tribes, to induce them
railroad enterprises which he has founded and constructed with such
eminent ability and success, has never neglected to keep up, as far as
possible, his early studies. Although the railway king of the Northwest,
he is more than this— he is a ripe scholar, a man of great literary attain
ments and a most eminent and able lawyer, who, to-day, has few
superiors in this country in all that vast code of law that has grown up
as a part and parcel of the railway system of the United States, and is a
thorough master of constitutional law. Take him away to-day from his
avocation as president of several long lines of railway, place him
at Cambridge, and he would be a most competent and able lecturer
on the law; transfer him back to Dartmouth, and he would prove, even
now, a thorough, capable teacher of Latin or nearly any other depart
ment of learning.
In September, 1836, he came to Detroit and entered the law office of
Hon. Augustus S. Porter. At that time, he was not worth a hundred
dollars in the world. During the year that he remained in the office with
Mr. Porter, he attracted attention to his character for industry, steadiness
of purpose, devotion to business and high moral principles; and, when
admitted in 1837, he at once entered on a fine and large practice.
Soon after he came to the bar, he became a partner of George F.
334 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
to join in the confederacy ; and when the comet appeared in 1811,
the latter artfully turned it to account, by practicing on the super
stitions of the savages. On the' 4th of May, a special mission,
consisting of deputies from the Ottawas, was sent to a distant post
upon the borders of Lake Superior, and a grand council being
there assembled, it was addressed by Le Marquoit, or the Trout.
He told the Indians that he had been sent by the messenger and
representative of the Great Spirit, and that he was commissioned
to deliver to them a speech from the " first man whom God had
created, said to be in the Shawanese country." He then informed
them what were the instructions of that Great Spirit in the suc
ceeding address : " I am the Father of the English, of the French,
of the Spaniards, and of the Indians. I created the first man,
who was the common father of all these people as well as of our
selves, and it is through him, whom I have awakened from his long
sleep, that I now address you. But the Americans I did not
make. They are not my children, but the children of the evil
spirit. They grew from the scum of the great water when it was
troubled by the evil spirit, and the froth was driven into the
Porter, a former banker, and a man of much practical business knowledge,
and to Mr. Joy he was invaluable. Joy & Porter soon became the
attorneys and counselors of the Dwights of Boston, Arthur and Frederick
Bronson, of New York, and in 1847, when John W. Brooks came from
Boston to Michigan to purchase the then Detroit & St. Joseph Railroad,
he came consigned to Joy as the man to take the legal charge of all the
negotiations and to act as counsel for the new stockholders in that great
enterprise. Brooks intrusted to Mr. Joy all the negotiations, and by him
the purchase was made from the State, the acts drawn and passed, the
purchase money secured, and the Michigan Central Railroad, now one of
the best in the world, was born into existence with Joy as the legal
accoucheur at its birth.
With the completion of the new line to Chicago, he at once started to
extend it to the Missouri river, and, organizing the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy Railroad, he built up one of the most lucrative and best
regulated and managed roads in the United States. Not only has he built
this grand road, but he has paid regular dividends and more than
quadrupled its stock out of its earnings. Instead of appropriating these
earnings to his own private wealth like the officers of many other similar
corporations, he has given them all to the stockholders. Mr. Joy is
OF MicfiiGAtf. 335
woods by a strong east wind. They are enormous, but I hate
them. My children, you must not speak of this talk to the
whites ; it must be hidden from them. I am now on the earth,
sent by the Great Spirit, to instruct you. Each village must send
me two or more principal chiefs, to represent you, that you may
be taught. The bearer of this talk must point out to you the
path to my wigwam. I could not come myself to L'Arbre
Croche, because the world is changed from what it was. It is
broken and leans down, and as it declines the Chippewas and all
beyond will fall off and die ; therefore, you must come to see me
and be instructed. Those villages which do not listen to this talk
will be cut off from the face of the earth."
It was through these means that the savages were roused to
attack the frontier settlements of the West, and, later, to unite
with the English during the memorable war of 1812.
In 1805, as shown elsewhere, Detroit was destroyed by fire, and,
on being rebuilt, the stockade was dispensed. But now that the
forests were again filled with hostile Indians, a new stockade was
constructed around the new town of Detroit for its better defense.
president and a director of the Michigan Central, president and director
of the Hannibal & St. Joseph road, the Missouri River & Council
Bluffs Railroad and their different branches, and is an officer and stock
holder in several others. He and Mr. Brooks also organized the company
for the construction of the St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal, connecting the
navigation of Lake Superior with that of the lower lakes for all classes of
vessels — a work of great national importance.
Since the close of the war, he has mainly devoted himself to the con
struction of railroads, for the most part in this State. It was through
his efforts that the Detroit, Lansing & Lake Michigan Railroad has thus
far been completed. The road from Detroit to Bay City, and also the
Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, extending from New Buffalo
to Pent water, with branches to Grand Rapids, and Big Rapids, have also
been built by his means and influence. He did much also to promote
the construction of the Grand River Valley, and the Jackson, Lansing &
Saginaw roads, while at the same time also he was engaged in similar
works in Kansas and Nebraska. Perhaps it is not too much to say, that
no single man in the West has done so much to promote and push for
ward the public improvements and contributed so much to the develop
ment of the resources and wealth of the great West as he has done.
336 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
In September, 1809, a special counciLof the Hurons was called
near Brownstown, and, at the instigation of their principal chief,
Walk-in-the- Water, they freely spoke of their grievances to Gov
ernor Hull. The speech addressed by this chief to the Governor,
setting forth the title of his tribe to a large tract of territory near
the Detroit river, which was claimed by the United States, under
the treaty of Greenville, shows how dissatisfied they were with
this treaty, and with the encroachments of the American people.
In the midst of all these evidences of war, the Territory of Michi
gan remained in a comparatively defenseless state. There were
at this time, in the whole territory, but nine settlements of any
importance ; nor were the inhabitants of these villages calculated
to show any considerable resistance to the approaching incursions
of the savages. These settlements were situated on the Rivers
Miami and Raisin, on the Huron of Lake Erie, on the Ecorse,
Rouge and Detroit rivers, on the Huron of St. Clair, the St.
Clair river, and the Island of Mackinaw. In addition to these
there were, here and there, a group of huts belonging to the
French fur traders. The villages upon the Maumee, the Raisin,
and the Huron of Lake Erie, contained a population of about
Mr. Joy's habits of mind and life are too rigid to allow him to be a
politician, yet, at the commencement of the great war, he was induced
to go to the legislature of the State, where his ability and influence did
much to prepare the State for the great contest which was impending.
He was chairman of the committee of ways and means, and had a large
influence in settling the financial policy of the State, which has since
relieved it from all embarrassment, and enabled it rapidly to extinguish
its funded debt.
What his fortune is, no one but himself can state, but that it is very
large all must know; yet all his habits of life, his dress, his home, his
equipage, though rich and genteel, are simple and unostentatious. He
neither indulges in the use of tobacco or intoxicating liquors. He never
wastes his time in the follies of society, but devotes it to the improving
of his mind, making the most of every hour and achieving something
for the future; and yet he has neither became a miser or a greedy lover
of money. As a member of the Congregational Church, he is consistent
and liberal; and as a father, he has watched carefully over his children,
giving them all the benefit of a thorough education, and training them to
lives of industry and integrity.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
337
thirteen hundred ; the post of Detroit and the settlements on the
Rivers Rouge and Ecorse, and on the Huron of Lake St. Clair, num
bered about two thousand two hundred ; the Island of Mackinaw
about one thousand. Detroit was garrisoned by ninety-four men,
HON. ALBERT MILLER.
ALBERT MILLER was born at Hartland, Windsor county, Vermont,
May 10, 1810.
His father, Jeremy Miller, who was of English descent, was a native of
Middletowu, Connecticut; and his mother was a native of Hartland, her
maternal grandfather having been the first settler in that town, and her
ancestors on her father's side were among those who landed at Plymouth
Rock, in 1620.
Jeremy Miller died in March, 1817, leaving the subject of this sketch,
who was the youngest of four children, to the care of a devoted mother,
22
338 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
and Mackinaw by seventy-nine. Thus, the entire population of
the State was only about four thousand eight hundred, four-fifths
of whom were French, and the remainder Americans.
An Indian war being now apparent, a memorial was presented
to Congress, setting forth the defenseless condition of the Terri
tory, and praying for aid from that body. This memorial
was signed by the principal inhabitants of Detroit, and sent to
"Washington on the twenty-seventh of December, 1811. Tecum-
seh had collected his warriors, and was now ready for action.
The first hostile demonstration was in the shape of marauding
parties, going from one settlement to another and committing
depredations.
On the banks of the Kalamazoo river, a smith's forge had
been erected, where hatchets and scalping-knives were made by
the savages ; and, at no great distance from this, the Indian
women were cultivating corn, with which to supply the warriors
with food. All the plans having been fully matured, the contest
at length began, on the banks of the Wabash, at the Prophet's
town. The Indian warriors from all quarters came to join
with but limited means ; and whatever success has attended him is
attributable alone to his own exertions and the judicious training received
from his mother.
Until he was nine years of age, he attended the district school in his
n'ative town the three summer months of each year, and from that time
until he was eighteen, he attended six months in the year. At this age,
he had acquired sufficient education to teach a district school, and occu
pied himself at that work the two succeeding winters. Determined to
receive a thorough education, in 1830 he entered the Kimball and Union
Academy, at Meriden, New Hampshire, to prepare himself for college,
but, within four weeks after entering the academy, he was prostrated by
a severe illness, which so enfeebled him that he was obliged to give up
his long cherished wish to obtain a collegiate education.
Mr. Miller, upon recovering his health, decided to come West, and
started from his home on the 2d of September, 1830, and arrived in
Detroit, Michigan, on the 22d of the same month. The people of that
town then pointed to its size with pride — it contained 2,222 inhabitants.
Being joined by his father's family in the spring of 1831, he located and
settled on eighty acres of land at Grand Blanc, Genesee county. In 1833,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 339
Tecumseh, and the English, on the opposite shores, looked on with
deep interest upon what was passing, regarding the savages as
important allies in the conflict in which they expected shortly to
be engaged.
A body of troops was collected in Ohio, consisting of about
twelve hundred men, raised by order of the President of the
United States ; and this number was largely increased by volun
teers. These troops were formed into three regiments, under the
command of Colonels McArthur, Finelly and Cass ; and a fourth
regiment, about three hundred strong, under Colonel Miller, after
wards joined them, the whole being under the command of Gen
eral Hull, the Governor of Michigan. With this force, General
Hull marched from Dayton towards Detroit.
While under march, near the River Raisin, on the third of
July, 1812, General Hull received dispatches from Washington
City, announcing the declaration of war against England. Two
days after, they reached the River Huron, where a floating bridge
was constructed, so that the entire army, with all the baggage and
stores, passed over in safety. On the fifth of July, the army passed
he purchased from the government a tract of land on the east side of the
Saginaw river, at the junction of the Shiawassee and Tittabawassee rivers
with it, and settled there in February of that year.
At the spring election of that year, he was elected to an office which
constituted him one of the inspectors of election for his township, and
during his residence there of fifteen years, he was a constant member of
the board of inspectors, and never ' absent from a single election. Upon
the organization of the county of Saginaw, in 1835, he was appointed
judge of probate for the county, by Stevens T. Mason, then acting gover
nor of the territory, which office he held for nine years. He was also a
justice of the peace for the township of Saginaw for thirteen successive
years. In 1847, he represented the county of Saginaw in the State legis
lature. At this session, the capitol was removed from Detroit to Lansing.
He was one of the committee of arrangements at the laying of the corner
stone of the new State capitol.
Judge Miller was married to Miss Mary Ann Daglish, of Detroit,
February 6, 1838. Of this marriage, there has been six children, only
one of whom is still living.
In December, 1838, Judge Miller and wife both united with the Presby-
340 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the Indian council ground at Brownstown, crossed the River
Rouge, and encamped at Springwells, about three miles below
Detroit. The Fourth Regiment marched to the fort, and occupied
it, on the following day. The volunteers took up their position
near the fort, and a movement was made to procure a large num
ber of boats, for the purpose of transporting the army into
Canada. Orders were accordingly issued for the army to be in
readiness to cross the river early on the following morning ; and,
at this time, the army moved up the river to a point opposite the
lower end of Hog Island. It was now daylight, of a delightfully
bright summer morning. The whole line entered the boats,
which had on the previous evening been taken from opposite the
fort, at a point near Sandwich, in order to mislead the enemy as
to the place selected for their advance. The army was not
attacked on landing in Canada, as they expected, and marched
down the road along the bank of the river, to a point opposite the
town, presenting a fine appearance from the opposite shore. The
inhabitants, nearly all Canadian French, welcomed the troops as
friends, and white handkerchiefs and flags waved from every
terian church, and to-day they are still members of this denomination.
He has materially aided the churches of the Saginaw valley from their
infancy, and has twice represented the Presbytery of Saginaw in the
general assembly — at Philadelphia, in 1863, and in 1870.
Judge Miller is now residing at Bay City, where he 'caused the town of
Portsmouth to be laid out in 1836, and near where he built the second
saw mill that was put in operation on the Saginaw river. He has resided
here since 1848.
Judge Miller has always sustained the highest reputation for integrity,
and, as a consequence, has enjoyed the fullest confidence of the com
munities in which he has lived. He is gentle and affable in his manner
to all classes; he has ever been in fellowship with the good, and full of
sympathy for the poor.
Though he has borne the burden and seen all the vicissitudes of pioneer
life, he has not been demoralized by its vices nor prematurely aged by its
hardships. He is enjoying in competence a contented retirement. He
witnesses with fatherly interest the varied activities that distinguish the
Saginaw valley, without permitting the serenity of his old age to be dis
turbed by an unseemly greed and scramble for more wealth.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 341
house, and many greeted the army with shouts of, " We like the
Americans !" A vacant, unfinished, two-story brick house, belong
ing to Colonel Baby, with extensive grounds, became the head
quarters and intrenched camp of the northwestern army in
A. W. WRIGHT.
AMMI WILLARD WKIGHT, of Saginaw City, was born at Graf ton, Ver
mont, July 5, 1822.
He emigrated to Michigan in 1850, remaining in Detroit for over a
year. From here he removed to Portsmouth, now a part of Bay City,
where he settled in November, 1851, making that his home until 1852.
During the winter of 1852, he commenced his lumbering operations,
and has continued to deal heavily in this commodity ever since. In 1859,
he entered the lumber manufacturing firm of Miller, Paine & Wright,
342 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Canada. The roof of the house was shingled, the floors laid, and
the windows in ; otherwise, it was entirely unfinished. A parti
tion of rough boards was put up on each side of the hall, which
ran entirely through the building. General Hull, with his aids,
occupied the north half of the house ; General James Taylor,
Quartermaster-General of the army, with his two assistants, occu
pied the south side. The councils of war were held in the
second story, over the room occupied by the Commanding Gen
eral, access to which was had by a rough stairway. General
Hull, and his son, Captain Hull, lodged, most of the time, at
headquarters ; General Taylor, being unwell, lodged in Detroit.
While at these headquarters, General Hull issued a lengthy
proclamation to the people of Canada. In this document he
promised protection to life and property, if the inhabitants main
tained a strict neutrality ; but that, if the barbarous policy of
Great Britain, in letting loose the Indians to murder American
citizens, was pursued, the war would become a war of extermina-
and after doing business for a number of years, this firm was dissolved.
Mr. Wright went into a co-partnership with J. H. Pearson, Esq., of
Chicago, in the spring of 1865, under the firm name of A. W. Wright &
Co. In June following the formation of this firm, their mill burned
clown, and they immediately rebuilt it on the old site on a much larger
scale, and with many improvements. Afterwards, they erected another
large mill, farther down the river, and carried on a very extensive lumber
manufacturing business until they sold out their mill property. This
firm still exists, but they are no longer engaged in the manufacture of
lumber.
Mr. Wright stands in the front rank of the sterling business men of
the Saginaw valley, and though shrinking from notoriety, has been a
leading spirit in many public enterprises. He was president of the
Saginaw & St. Louis Plank Road Company; is treasurer, director and a
heavy stockholder in the Saginaw Valley & St. Louis Railroad Company;
is a director in the Saginaw & St. Clair Railroad; is vice-president and
director of the First National Bank; president and superintendent of the
Tittabawassee Boom Company, and holds many other important business
positions.
In manner, Mr. Wright is pleasant and social, of a kind disposition,
and possessed of a generous nature. He is benevolent to his employes
and ever enjoys their hearty good will.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 343
tion. He warned them that no white man caught fighting by the
side of an Indian would be taken prisoner, but would instantly
be put to death ; and closed with the hope that the Divine Ruler
would guide them in their choice to a result most compatible with
their rights, interests and happiness. This address is said to have
been written by Governor (then Colonel) Cass.
CHAPTER XXIV.
MlCHILIMACKINAC — REMOVAL OF THE FORT TO MACKINAW ISLAND —
CONDITION OF THE FORT AND SETTLEMENT IN 1812 — CAPTAIN
ROBERTS' EXPEDITION CAPTURES THE FORT — THE GARRISON SENT
TO DETROIT — THE ENGLISH ONCE MORE IN POSSESSION OF MACKI
NAW.
LEAVING Hull and his army at Sandwich, in Canada, we will
now return to long-forgotten Michilimackinac. We have seen
how, about one year after the massacre, the British again sent
troops, under Captain Howard, to garrison the fort. After this,
the next event that attracts our notice was the removal of the
fort. In 1779, a party of British officers from the post of Michili
mackinac visited the Island of Mackinaw, which lies in the
straits separating the two peninsulas of Michigan, for the purpose
of selecting a suitable site for the fort. This done, they gained
permission from the Indians to occupy it, and the fort was
removed to the Island in the summer of 1780, the troops tak
ing possession July fifteenth. The removal of the inhabitants
from the mainland was gradual, and the fort, which was built
on the site of the present one, was not completed until 1783.
In 1795, when the British gave up Fort Mackinaw to the
Americans, they repaired to the Island of St. Joseph, which is
situated in the St. Mary's river, about twenty miles above
Detour, and there constructed a fort. At the commencement
of the war of 1812, the fort was garrisoned by a small detach
ment of British regulars, under command of Captain Roberts.
At this time, the garrison of Fort Mackinaw consisted of only
fifty-seven effective men, under the command of Lieutenant
Hanks. The walls, which had been built by the English in 1780,
and which are still standing, were surmounted by a palisade of
cedar pickets, about ten feet high, intended as a defense against
the Indians. To make it impossible to scale this palisade, each
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
345
picket was protected at the top by sharp iron prongs. Through
it were numerous port-holes, through which a leaden shower of
death might be poured upon any foe that should come near.
Two or three guns, of small calibre, were planted at convenient
HON. L. B. PARKER.
L. B. PARKER, a prominent citizen and a leading physician of St.
Glair county, was bora at Moores, Clinton county, N. Y., July 19, 1818.
His father was a man of limited means, and unable to give his children
such assistance as was essential to secure them a liberal education, but the
subject of this sketch being well supplied with the "never give up "
principle, found means to give himself the instruction requisite in the
important positions he was destined to fill.
In 1824, his father moved to Fairfax, Vermont, and here he attended
the common school for some time and until a high school was opened at
346 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
places upon the walls, and one small piece in each of the three
block houses, which are yet standing. The town, at the time, was
small. Except the old distillery, which stood upon the beach,
some little distance from the present western limits of Shanty-
town, no building had been erected west of the house recently
occupied by Mr. A. Davenport, and none east of the fort garden,
except one small shanty, which stood near the present site of the
old mission church. With one exception, the houses were all one-
story buildings, built of cedar, and roofed with cedar bark. The
several traders then on the Island had each a store, and there
was one dock, so called, which consisted of two cribs, filled with
stone, and connected with each other and with the beach by ten
logs, placed side by side.
When war was declared, there was an unpardonable negligence
on the part of the War Department, in not furnishing the west
ern frontier with information of that important event. Owing
to this negligence, the English opposite Detroit were in posses
sion of the news before it reached the American side, and the
English commander, taking advantage of that fact, hastened to
Fairfax Centre, three miles distant, by Professor Hartwell Farrar. He
attended this high school two terms. Leaving home at fifteen years of
age, he, from that time, received no assistance, save from friends whom
he had won by his manly exertions in his own behalf. Teaching school
winters, he thus secured the means to attend the academy at St. Albans,
during the summer seasons.
Mr. Parker commenced his medical studies with Drs. Hall and Ballou,
of St. Albans, in 1839, and graduated at Castleton College, Castleton,
Vermont, in June, 1842. He immediately commenced the practice of his
profession at Cambridge, in the same State, where he remained two
years and a half.
Dr. Parker emigrated to Michigan in 1846, and settled in Newport (now
Marine City), St. Clair county, where he still resides. Here he soon built
up a large and lucrative business, and he is now one of the leading and
most successful physicians in that county.
He married Miss Jane Sparrow, of Algonac, July 6, 1852. Of this
marriage, there has been seven children, six of whom are still living-
four boys and two girls.
Dr. Parker has ever taken an active part in politics, and, being educated
a Democrat, he still advocates the principles of that party. Yet, he is not
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 347
transmit the intelligence to all his outposts, and take such steps
as would best secure the interests of the British Crown. With
almost incredible dispatch, a messenger was sent to the Island of
St. Joseph, situated in St. Mary's river, bearing a letter to Cap
tain Roberts, containing the information of the declaration of
war, and also the suggestion of an immediate attack on Fort
Mackinaw. Roberts was but poorly prepared for an enterprise
of such moment, yet, entering warmly into the views of his
superior officer, and being cordially supported by the agents of
the Northwest Fur Company, he was not long in deciding upon
his course. The Ottawas and ChippeAvas, two neighboring Indian
tribes, soon flocked to his standard in large numbers. The French,
jealous of the Americans, still further augmented his strength ;
and, in the short space of eight days, he had a force, naval and
military, of more than a thousand men at his command. On
the sixteenth day of July, he embarked for Mackinaw.
But all this was unsuspected by the little garrison and the
inhabitants of Mackinaw. The first intimation which they
received that all was not right was from the conduct of the
a bitter party man, but lends Ms influence and aid to the support of
whatever is patriotic and tends to produce harmony and advance the
condition of the State and Union. During the rebellion, he was known
as a war Democrat, and did much to assist the government in its efforts
to sustain the Union. In 1848, he was nominated by the Democrats as
their candidate for representative in the State legislature from the first
district of St. Clair county, but, that party being in the minority, he was
not elected. He served as vice-president of the St. Clair county agricul
tural society one year, and, in 1860, was elected to the State senate from
St. Clair county and served in that body during the sessions of 1861-62.
He has also held a number of important offices in the village in which he
resides, and has taken a great interest in educational matters, being one
of the union school trustees and president of the board of education for
a number of years.
Dr. Parker is a man of strong determination, and performs his duties
without fear or favor. He is universally honest and upright in all his
dealings with his fellow men, and by his strict integrity and constant
application to his profession, has secured an ample fortune, being now
engaged in lumbering, and is also the owner of some valuable vessel
property.
348 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
Indians. In obedience to the summons of Captain Roberts, they
were going toward the Sault in large numbers. This caused
some uneasiness, and Lieutenant Hanks, with the citizens of the
place, made every effort to learn from them the object of their
journey. Several councils were called, but in vain. Seegeenoe,
chief of the Ottawas, was questioned closely, but not a word could
be elicited from him which in any way explained their conduct.
Failing to get any satisfaction from the Indians, they next
called a public meeting of the citizens, where it was resolved to
make yet another effort to unravel the mystery. One Mr. Dous-
man, an American fur trader, had, some time before, sent two of
his agents into the Lake Superior region, to trade with the
Indians for furs. He had heard of their return to the Sault,
but knew of no reason why they had not returned to his head
quarters at Mackinaw. He, therefore, on the sixteenth of July,
under the pretense of ascertaining the reason of their delay, but
really to learn what it was that called so many of the Indians
in that direction, set out for the Sault. He had not gone far
before he learned the whole truth ; for, meeting Captain Roberts'
expedition, he was taken prisoner, barely escaping with his life.
In the evening of the same day, when the expedition was near-
ing the Island, it was proposed by Captain Roberts to send one
Oliver, a British trader, to the people of the town, to inform them
of his approach, and conduct them to a place of safety. Mr.
Dousman now urged upon Captain Roberts that the people
would, perhaps, be slow to believe such a report from a stranger ;
and, anxious for the safety of his friends, asked leave to return on
that mission himself. This he was permitted to do, having first
taken oath that he would not give information of their approach
to the garrison. He returned to the harbor, in front of the town,
and, an hour before day, proceeded to the house of Mr. A. R. Daven
port, and rapped loudly at the door. Mr. Davenport, on learning
who was at the door, rose hastily, and went out, where he learned
from his friend that war had been declared, and that the British
had come to take the fort, being already upon the island. The
news spread rapidly from one settler to another, yet the fort
remained in ignorance of danger, for none dare betray the secret.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
349
Word was circulated that if the citizens took refuge in the dis
tillery, they would be safe. Like wild-fire, the message went from
mouth to mouth, until every man, woman and child were on their
way to the place of promised safety.
HON. G. D. WILLIAMS.
GARDNER D. WILLIAMS, late of the city of Saginaw, was a descendant
of a Welsh family. His ancestor, Robert Williams, settled in Roxbury,
Massachusetts, in 1638, only eighteen years after the arrival of the
Mayflower.
The branch of the family from which Judge Williams descended
remained in Roxbury for five generations. His father, Oliver Williams,
removed to Concord, Massachusetts, about the year 1794, where the sub
ject of this sketch was born, September 7, 1804.
350 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Meanwhile, Captain Roberts proceeded to the northwest side of
the Island, landed his forces, and began his march toward the
fort. At the farm near the landing they took possession of a
number of cattle, and, before the dawn of day, reached the hol
low which may be seen a short distance to the rear of the fort.
Upon a little ridge, which separates this hollow from the parade
ground, they planted a gun in the road, and anxiously awaited the
approach of day. The dawn appeared, and the unsuspecting gar
rison began to move. As Lieutenant Hanks looked out from his
quarters, he was surprised at the unusual quiet that prevailed in
the town below. No smoke was seen curling from the chimney-
tops, and no footsteps were heard in the streets. This looked
strange, and he ordered Lieutenant Darrow, with two men, to go
down and ascertain the reason.
When this officer arrived at the distillery, the truth flashed
upon him. Under a strong guard which had been sent by Cap
tain Roberts, the inhabitants of the place were awaiting the deci
sion that would again make them subjects of the British Crown.
Darrow entered the distillery, and shook hands with its inmates ;
Oliver Williams came to Detroit in 1807, leaving his family in Concord.
He engaged in business there as a merchant, and was one of the largest
dealers in Detroit. He brought from Boston at one time, for his trade,
$64,000 in goods. About the year 1811, he built the sloop "Friend's
Good Will," on board of which he visited Mackinaw in 1812. At that
place, his vessel was chartered by the government to go to Chicago for
furs. He proceeded to that place under the charter, and took on board
ninety-nine packs of furs belonging to the government, besides a quantity
of his own. On his return voyage, his vessel was captured by the
British at Mackinaw, that post having capitulated in his absence. The
capture was effected by a ruse of the enemy. On approaching the
fortress, Mr. Williams saw the American flag flying, and a sentry in
American uniform on guard, and had no suspicion that the post had
changed hands. He was undeceived only when too late to escape. He
lost his vessel and cargo; and it is little to the credit of the government
that it never made up to him the loss. The British changed the name of
the vessel to the "The Little Belt." It was one of the vessels captured
by Commodore Perry, in the battle of Lake Erie.
The family of Oliver Williams, including Gardner D., arrived at Detroit
November 5, 1815, where they continued to reside until 1819. At that
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 351
but, when he started to return to the fort, the guards proposed to
make him prisoner. Taking a pistol in each hand, and demand
ing permission to return, he faced the guards, and, followed by
his men, walked backwards till beyond their reach, when he
returned, without molestation, to the fort. But Lieutenant Hanks
did not have to wait for the return of Darrow, to learn the state
of affairs below, for the sharp report of a British gun soon told
him all. The report had scarcely died away, when a British
officer, with flag in hand, appeared and demanded a surrender,
emphasizing the demand by a statement of the overwhelming
numbers of the invading army, and a threat of indiscriminate
slaughter by the savages at the first motion towards resistance.
When the inhabitants of the town had been gathered under
guard at the distillery, Messrs. Davenport, Abbot, Bostwick,
Stone and Dousinau, who were among the leading citizens, were
advised to go at once to the landing, and give themselves up to
Colonel Dickinson, who had been left at that point by Captain
Roberts, for that purpose. This they accordingly did. They
were then urged by Colonel Dickinson to petition Lieutenant
time, they removed to Silver Lake, in Oakland county, being among the
first to settle in that now populous and thriving county.
In 1827, Judge Williams, accompanying his brother Ephraim L., went
to Saginaw and engaged, for the American Fur Company, in the fur
trade. Here he continued to reside until his death, December 10, 1858.
During his eventful life, he held several important offices. He was a
member of the first convention to form a constitution for the State of
Michigan. He was successively a member of each branch of the State
legislature, commissioner of internal improvements, county judge, and
treasurer of Saginaw county. He was the first mayor of the city of
Saginaw, and held that office at the time of his decease.
He was no ordinary man. Though deprived of opportunities in youth
for education, yet by native force of character he was equal to the
requirements of all the positions he was called to occupy. He had broad
views of public affairs, and enjoyed the full confidence of his fellow
citizens. He was eminently honest, kind and genial. He was married
in 1829, and left three sons surviving him, who, continuing the lumber
ing business established by the father, and in which he was a pioneer;
have amassed liberal fortunes. They are respected socially, and classed
among the best citizens of the Saginaw valley.
352 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Hauks to surrender the fort at once, stating that the Indians
would be entirely unmanageable in case there should be any
resistance. This they did promptly. Lieutenant Hanks' position
can now be easily imagined. Not having received intelligence
of the declaration of war, he was wholly off his guard, and unpre
pared to defend himself. The British troops, though less in num
bers than the garrison under his command, had a position which
commanded the fort, and were supported by nearly a thousand
Indian warriors, who had been instructed to show no mercy, in
case that any resistance was made. Under these circumstances,
Lieutenant Hanks surrendered the fort at once, and his men were
paroled and sent to Detroit.
Some have censured Lieutenant Hanks for his precipitate sur
render ; but, when it is considered that the first act of resistance
would have been the signal for an indiscriminate massacre of the
garrison, the justice of such censures may well be questioned.
After the surrender, the citizens were assembled at the Govern
ment House, and the oath of allegiance to the British Crown
administered to them. They were generally willing to take the
oath, but Messrs. Davenport, Bostwick, Stone, Abbot and Dous-
maii refused to turn traitors. These men were immediately sent
away with the soldiers, and were not permitted to return till after
the declaration of peace. Captain Roberts and his men were
highly complimented by the British government, and richly
rewarded, for thus surprising and capturing the fort. Prize
money, to the amount of ten thousand dollars, was distributed
among the volunteers and soldiers, and merchandise and arms
given to the Indians.
Having thus easily and cheaply succeeded in wresting from the
American people one of their most important military positions,
the English at once set about strengthening themselves in their
new possession. Fearing that they would not be able to hold
what they had so easily gained, they hastened to construct a forti
fication on the crowning point of the island, which, in honor of
their reigning sovereign, they called Fort George. The remains
of the old fort, afterwards called Fort Holmes, may still be seen.
CHAPTER XXV.
GENERAL HULL'S COWARDICE — HE EVACUATES CANADA — ALLEGED
TREASON — A DETACHMENT SENT TO MEET COLONEL BRUSH — THE
FORT SURRENDERED TO THE BRITISH — INDIGNATION OF THE ARMY
— COLONEL BRUSH ESCAPES — DETROIT AGAIN UNDER THE BRITISH
FLAG.
WE WILL now return to General Hull's army, at Sandwich,
Canada. Here the troops quartered for four weeks, during which
time a detachment, under the command of Colonel McArthur,
marched up the Thames river, and returned with large supplies
of flour, wheat, beef, cattle, and about a thousand sheep. The
latter were all sent over the river, and were permitted to range at
large upon the extensive common back of the fort, where they
remained until after the surrender of the army, when they were
killed by Indians, and the meat appropriated to their use. A
reconnoissance in force, under Colonels McArthur and Cass,
marched to the vicinity of Maiden, where they dislodged a picket-
guard, posted at the bridge over the Canard river, fourteen miles
from camp, and four miles above Maiden.
Another reconnoissance, by the Light Infantry and a small
detachment of the Fourth U. S. Regiment, commanded by Cap
tain Snelling, was made about the twentieth of July, by which it
was ascertained that the enemy had withdrawn his outpost at the
Canard bridge, and had stationed a vessel, named the Queen Char
lotte, off and near the mouth of the Canard river, in a position
of observation. A plan was formed by these officers and others
to construct some floating batteries, place a twenty-four pound gun
upon each, and, with the addition of a few gunners and sailors
then in Detroit, to descend along the shore of the river on the
first dark night, and capture the Queen Charlotte. This project
met with a refusal at headquarters, and all that could be obtained
23
354 GENERAL aiSfORY OF THE STAfES.
was a permission to make a further reconnoissance, and ascertain
the exact position of the vessel. In making this reconnoissance,
it was intended, if possible, to carry her by boarding, but the
attempt, for the want of the batteries and sailors, and owing to
the night brightening after twelve o'clock, did not succeed.
At this time, the British had posted a small Indian force on
the line of communication between Detroit and Ohio, and had
captured a bearer of dispatches from headquarters, as well as
private correspondence, which of course were taken to Maiden.
General Hull, therefore, ordered Major Vanhorne, of the Second
Regiment of Volunteers, with two companies of infantry, a part
of a company of volunteer cavalry, together with a part of a rifle
company, to escort the mail and dispatches, as well as a few gen
tlemen, belonging to the commissary department, returning to
Ohio. He proceeded down the same road the army had marched
up on its approach to Detroit, and, on reaching a point nearly
opposite Maiden, about the center of Grosse Isle, was attacked,
and, after the loss of many brave men and officers, compelled to
retreat back to the fort. This, together with the reception at
headquarters of the news that Fort Mackinaw had been captured
by Roberts, seemed to have shocked the commanding general,
and to have divested him of all control over his fears.
From the twentieth of July, the army was in hourly expecta
tion of orders to march on Maiden. The enemy's weakness was
well known, and it is believed that the English would have made
but a small resistance. But time passed on, and no such orders
were given. On the evening of the seventh of August, march
ing orders were given. At eleven o'clock, tents were struck and
loaded, and the wagon train was moving ; but, instead of moving
down the road, in the direction of the enemy, it was driven to the
landing, and taken by ferry-boats across the river, and stationed
on the common, north of the fort. Orders were issued during
the night to break up camp, and the army recrossed to Detroit.
This act created astonishment and indignation among the soldiers,
and it was freely whispered that General Hull had disgraced him
self and the army.
This act of Hull's is the more astonishing, when we consider
356 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
that the enemy's force was known to him to be slight, and hourly
becoming weaker. It had already been reduced by desertion
from six hundred and sixty Canadian militia to one hundred and
sixty ; from one hundred Indians, under Tecumseh, to sixty, and
having but two hundred and twenty-five regulars. It was also
known to Hull that the British officers had already sent their
most valuable effects on board their vessels in the port, prepara
tory to a precipitate evacuation of the post. Such were the forces,
and such the condition of the British. Now let us see what was
the strength of the American army. According to the official
report of the Brigade Major, acting as Adjutant-General of the
army, the forces numbered 2,300 effective men, well supplied with
artillery, independent of the guns of the fort and advanced bat
teries. As we have already seen, there was an abundance of pro
visions, and nothing was wanting to secure the most favorable
action of the troops. But, with this superiority of numbers, with
the enemy already defeated with alarm, General Hull ingloriously
surrenders Detroit and his whole army to a handful of Eoglish !
But we shall see more particularly how this was done. On the
ninth of August a strong detachment was marched down the road,
with orders to attack the enemy, who had crossed from Maiden
in force, and taken up a position nearly opposite the center of
Grosse Isle, cutting off the road of communication with Ohio.
The detachment reached them at three o'clock in the afternoon,
and immediately charged upon their lines, and drove them three
miles to their boats, when, as it had become dark and was rain
ing, the most of them escaped to Maiden. In this action, some
say that the forces 'were about equal; but it is probable that the
Americans had the strongest force. The British brought into the
field a large part of their regulars, together with all the Indian
contingent, the whole being under the command of Major Muir.
The following day, the American detachment, after sending for
ward the mails and dispatches, returned to the fort. The Ameri
cans lost sixty-eight men in the battle ; the English loss was
somewhat less. This action is known as the Battle of Browns-
town.
This fight developed the fact that a largely increased Indian
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
357
force had joined the standard of Tecumseh, who had circulated
the news of the fall of Mackinaw among the tribes, and sum
moned them to him with promises of plunder. Instead of sixty
men under his command, he had now nearly six hundred ; and,
COL. WM. L. P. LITTLE.
WILLIAM L. P. LITTLE, one of the earliest pioneers of the Saginaw
valley, was born in Avon, Livingston county, New York, Novem
ber 26, 1814.
He was the second son of Dr. Charles Little, who made the first entry
of government lands on the Saginaw river, which entry comprised a
large portion of the territory now included in the corporation limits of
East Saginaw.
His son, the subject of this sketch, received a common school educa-
358 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
by the sixteenth, seven hundred warriors had joined him, who,
as a body of savages, were probably never equaled for bravery.
" A suspicion, strongly grounded and deeply felt, on the part
of the most active and intelligent of the volunteers," says Col. W.
S. Hatch, " had now risen to such a point, that there was no
longer any confidence reposed in the valor or patriotism of the
commanding general. A consultation was held, and it was
decided to get up a ' Round Robin' — a written document, signed
by names in a ring or circle, so as not to show who signed it first
— addressed to the colonels of the Ohio volunteers, requesting the
arrest or displacement of the general, and devolving the command
on the eldest of the colonels, McArthur." This was on the
twelfth of August, and on the following day it was reported that
an armistice, or, at least, a temporary cessation of hostilities, had
been agreed upon by the British authorities and the American
armies on the Niagara and northern frontier ; and that Major-
General Brock, Governor of Upper Canada, an officer of high
reputation, had arrived at Maiden, to conduct operations in that
quarter.
" The suspicion and distrust of the army," says Colonel Hatch,
tion in the State of New York, and in early life developed to a remark
able degree that indomitable energy, rare financial capacity —
" iron will,
With axe-like edge, unturnable,"
and mathematical exactness in matters of business, which were his
distinguishing characteristics throughout a long and ever crowded active
business life.
Mr. Little settled in Saginaw in 1836, and shortly afterwards was
appointed a colonel in the State militia. He went into the employ of the
Saginaw City Improvement Company in that year and remained with
them until 1840, when he commenced mercantile business with his
brother-in-law, Hiram L. Miller.
In 1851, he removed to East Saginaw, and entered into partnership
with Jesse Hoyt, in general merchandising. Their establishment being
consumed by fire on the 5th of July, 1854, they closed up their business.
In November, 1855, Colonel Little opened the banking office of W. L.
P. Little & Co., in the then village of East Saginaw, and managed its
affairs without the least aid from a cashier, teller, book-keeper, clerk or
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 359
" was increased by General Hull's peremptory refusal to allow
that distinguished officer, Captain (afterwards Colonel) Snelling,
to cross the river in the night, to carry and destroy an unfinished
battery, which was being constructed on the opposite bank, under
the direction of Captain Dixon, of the Royal Artillery. This
was the only battery of any consequence established by the
enemy, and the only one that injured the Americans. It opened
on the afternoon of the fifteenth, and continued its cannonade
during the morning of the sixteenth, when one of its balls struck,
and instantly killed, Lieutenant Hanks, who had been in com
mand at Mackinaw." The same ball passed on and mortally
wounded Surgeon Reynolds, of the Third Regiment of Volun
teers.
On Thursday, August thirteenth, it was absolutely necessary
that the greatest vigilance should be maintained, and that the
outlying pickets should be largely increased. At eleven o'clock
of this evening a boat was discovered approaching the fort from
the Canadian side of the river, and, as it neared the shore, two
men were noticed sitting aft, and two more at the oars. On being
challenged, the boat came up, and one of the gentlemen gave the
countersign. " He was well known, and known to have the con-
messenger, for one year. This was the first banking house on the Saginaw
river. At the expiration of that time, Mr. James F. Brown, the present
president of the Merchants' National Bank of East Saginaw, entered into
the employ of the firm, and together they conducted the business for
three years, when other help was required, and Mr. Douglass Hoyt was
made assistant cashier. From this time, the business of the firm rapidly
increased, and, on January 1st, 1866, it opened as the Merchants' National
Bank of East Saginaw, with Colonel Little as its president; James F.
Brown, cashier, and Douglass Hoyt, assistant cashier. Aside from
Colonel Little's banking business, he was largely engaged in real estate
and general commercial transactions. He was also largely interested in
the development of the salt interest, and was one of the heaviest dealers
and manufacturers of lumber in the Saginaw valley. Every local
improvement, both of a public and private nature, secured his influence
and aid.
At the first charter election of the city of East Saginaw, held in March,
1859, Colonel Little was elected to the mayoralty by a handsome major
ity, notwithstanding that the Democratic party, with which he always
360 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
I
fidence of the commanding general more than any other officer,"
says the same authority, already quoted, " and, in almost every
instance, had been intrusted with the duty of intercourse by flag
with the enemy. The other gentleman appeared, as near as could
be judged by the dim light, to be young, well formed, and of mili
tary bearing. They directed their steps to the headquarters of the
commanding general, remaining there three hours. They then
returned to the boat, and crossed to the Canadian shore. The
boat came back ; but one of the gentlemen only was with her.
He gave the word, and passed on. At that time, on that night,
the capitulation of the fort and the surrender of the northwestern
army was agreed upon. The parties to that agreement were
General Hull, and, on the part of the British, Major Glegg, one
of the aids-de-camp of General Brock."
Colonel Hatch further substantiates his views as follows : " This
is a historic fact, which Major Glegg, if alive, will corroborate, as,
after the war, in 1815, at a hotel in Philadelphia, he communi
cated his participation in the act, as above stated, to the late
Quartermaster-General of the northwestern army, General James
Taylor, of Newport, Kentucky."
Previous to this time, a reinforcement of two hundred and
acted, was then in the minority in the city. The duties of this position
he discharged with zeal and fidelity.
Under President Buchanan's administration, he held the position of
receiver of the United States land office, Moses B. Hess being the
register, and it was mainly through the efforts of these gentlemen that
the transfer of that office from Flint to East Saginaw was effected.
Just past the meridian of life, in full possession of every comfort and
luxury wealth could bestow — the result of years of unremitting toil —
surrounded by associates ever ready to yield an unquestioning assent to
the suggestions of his ripe judgment and experience; happy to all appear
ance in the possession of an attractive home, an affectionate family and
a devoted circle of relatives and friends; a fearful malady seized his
over-worked brain — filled for the time with clouds and shadows — and in
an instant of temporary hallucination of mind, that terrible energy of
character which had so often before seemingly wrought miracles in his
behalf, was turned to the horrid work of self-destruction. This tragical
event occurred on Monday, the 9th of December, 1867, and his funeral
was conducted by the Masonic fraternity on the following Wednesday.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
361
thirty men, under the command of Colonel Henry Brush, of Chilli-
cothe, Ohio, conveying supplies, including one hundred head of cat
tle, had arrived at the little French settlement at the crossing of the
River Raisin, thirty-five miles from the fort. Here they halted,
BRADFORD SMITH.
BRADFORD SMITH was born at Moira, Franklin county, New York, on
the 15th of November, 1820.
He is a lineal descendant of William Bradford, of "Mayflower"
memory, who was for thirty years Governor of Plymouth Colony.
He is a graduate of St. Lawrence Academy, and was connected with
Oberlin College, in the capacity of pupil and teacher, for four years,
receiving the degree of A. M. from that institution in 1870. As early as
1853, he moved to Detroit, where he has ever since resided.
362 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
in consequence of the threatening attitude of the enemy, and
reported to the commandiog general, who issued orders on the
afternoon of Friday, the fourteenth of August, for a detachment
of about three hundred and sixty men, under command of the
colonels of the First and Third Regiments of Ohio Volunteers,
to march at twilight on the line of a circuitous route or trail,
which passed by the River Rouge, several miles above its mouth,
and continued far into the interior, passing the Huron, and
striking the Raisin, and passing down that stream to French-
town. Accompanying the order was the information that Colonel
Brush had been ordered to move from his camp up this route,
and would doubtless be met between the Rouge and the Huron,
and at a distance not exceeding twelve miles from the fort ; but
the detachment was to continue its march till he was met.
" The officers of the detachment," says Colonel Hatch, " believ
ing that they would meet Colonel Brush and party, and return
with it to Detroit by two or three o'clock A. M. ; and, desiring
the troops to march light and rapid, directed that no food or bag
gage be taken along, not even their blankets, nor would they
remain for supper. This order, at the time, excited no particular
suspicion. The course adopted was attributed to timidity, over-
Since his removal to Detroit, he has had much to do with the educa
tional interests of the city. Fifteen years of his life have been devoted to
teaching. Eight years of this time, he was principal of what is now
known as the Houghton school, and superintendent of the schools
connected therewith. He has also been a member of the board of
managers of the Young Men's Christian Association, and was president
of that society for two years. He was also chairman of the employment
committee of the Young Men's Christian Association, and as such has
proved a most useful member of society. Hundreds of young men
acknowledge their indebtedness to him for their first start in life. No
worthy young man ever appealed to him in vain for reasonable aid, or
assistance to obtain employment. He takes a lively interest in all public
improvements of the city and State of his adoption, particularly those
which tend to render them beautiful, healthful and attractive. But his
chief delight is in improvements of an intellectual, moral and religious
character, especially such as promote the culture of the young. He
believes in education, sanctified by the spirit of truth, free from all sec-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 363
ruling sagacious and prompt military conduct on the part of the
commanding general. But here all were deceived, as no order
had been sent to Colonel Brush to move in the direction stated,
or to move at all. The sole object of the movement was to
reduce the active force at the fort, preliminary to carrying into
effect the capitulation which had already been agreed upon, to
get rid of a large number of officers and men known to be keenly
sensitive to an honorable success, and had been openly hostile to
the inaction of the army when in Canada, and to the recrossing
the river ; and who, if present, would have resisted, to the extrem-
est point, regardless of all or any consequences, any attempt to
surrender the fort or the army."
The detachment left the fort at dusk, and entered the woods
just in rear of the common. They continued their march until
thirty-five miles from Detroit, when, ascertaining that Colonel
Brush had not started from his camp, they returned. As they
neared the fort a brisk cannonading was heard, from which it was
supposed that the enemy had crossed the river below the town,
and made an attack on the fort. " If the firing had continued
until the detachment had reached the little settlement on
the River Rouge," says the same authority, " it would have
tarian bias. He is ever found, as time will allow, in the various schools
of the city, cheering the teachers in their noble vocation, and inspiring
the pupils by words of counsel and encouragement. On the Sabbath, he
is in the Bible class, " studying," as he says, " the Book." He is also one
of the board of trustees of the Mayberry avenue mission — now the
Calvary Presbyterian Church.
As a business man, he is ever prompt, reliable and efficient, carrying
into his every day transactions the principles of morality and Christi
anity, which form the guiding star of his existence. His benevolence is
only bounded by his ability to give relief to the needy or assistance to
works of charity. It is not too much to say that, in proportion to his
means, he gives in charity as much as any other man in Detroit.
He never aspired to political honors, rather choosing to be the means
of doing good, and assisting others, in the private walks of life. In the
fall of 1873, however, he was nominated for mayor of Detroit, on the
Prohibition ticket, but, at his own earnest solicitation, his name was
withdrawn.
364 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
entered by the Springwells road, and have come in on the left
flank and rear of the enemy ; and, doubtless, as we believed,
would have captured the entire of the British forces, as they
would have been between the fires of our volunteers in front
of the fort, and ours in their rear. Entertaining these exhilarat
ing hopes, although without food for so long a time, the troops
composing this detachment, without exception, appeared stimu
lated by the anticipated and hoped for conflict. With these high
and cheering expectations, they not only marched in double-quick
time, but actually kept up with the slow trot of the horses for at
least twenty miles, when the cannonading ceased. We resumed
this unusual march, and, without once halting until we arrived,
at about midnight, at the edge of the woods which we had entered
the night before ; when to our utter astonishment and indigna
tion, we beheld the British flag floating from the flag-staff of the
fort, and the Indians in the extensive common before us, taking
horses and cattle."
The fort of Detroit and the northwestern army had been sur
rendered. The detachment that we have just followed was also
included, as well as that under Colonel Brush, at the Kaisin.
Colonel Brush, however, decided that he would not be surren
dered. He detained the British flag, sent to inform him of the
capitulation, only long enough to obtain supplies for his soldiers,
and the whole force was then started for Ohio, which they
reached in safety.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE BRITISH CELEBRATING THEIR SUCCESS AT DETROIT — ACCOUNT OF
GENERAL BROCK'S EXPEDITION AGAINST DETROIT — SCENES AND CIR
CUMSTANCES IN AND ABOUT DETROIT AFTER THE SURRENDER — THE
MASSACRE AT CHICAGO — COMMODORE PERRY ON LAKE ERIE— HAR
RISON'S CAMPAIGN — RECAPTURE OF THE WESTERN POSTS, INCLUDING
DETROIT, BY THE UNITED STATES.
ON the 17th day of August, at noon, the British celebrated
their success by firing a salute, General Brock and his aids appear
ing in full dress. They used on this occasion one of the brass
six-pounders belonging to the fort, which had been taken at the
great revolutionary triumph at Saratoga, on the 16th of October,
1777, which was recorded on it in raised letters of brass. The
salute was responded to by the Queen Charlotte, which came
sweeping up the centre of the river, replying to each discharge.
This same brass field piece came again into the possession of the
Americans at the battle of the Thames.
Let us now return and follow General Brock through the short
campaign. He arrived at or near Maiden on the 12th of August,
where he found everything looking prosperous for the English
cause. General Hull had already broken up his camp, and
recrossed the river on the night of the 7th and morning of the
8th. He also received, at the same time, the additional and most
gratifying intelligence, obtained from intercepted dispatches, that
General Hull had, at a council of war, held prior to this date,
spoken of the probability of his having to capitulate at no dis
tant day.
On the thirteenth he reconnoitered the position of his enemy ;
and receiving, whilst at the little village of Sandwich, a flag from
General Hull, with some excuses as to the burning of a house
in the afternoon after his evacuation of Canada, detained the flag
until late at night, and then dispatched his aid, Major Glegg, with
366 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
the return flag to General Hull, demanding a surrender of the
fort and army in the following language : " Sir, the forces at my
disposal authorize, me to require of you the immediate surrender
of Fort Detroit. It is far from my inclination to join in a war
of extermination ; but you must be aware that the numerous
body of Indians, who have attached themselves to my troops, will
be beyond my control the moment the contest commences."
On the fifteenth, General Brock established his headquarters
at Sandwich, and made his arrangements for crossing the river.
On the sixteenth, he crossed the river, formed in column, and
marched up to within one mile of the fort, and halted. His
Indian force, organized and led by Tecumseh, under the command
of Colonel Elliott and Captain McKee, landed one mile below,
and moved up in the edge of the woods west of the common,
keeping a mile and a half distant. The strength of his force,
according to his report to Lieutenant-Gen eral Prevost, was as
follows : Royal Artillery, 30 men ; Forty-first Regiment, 250 ;
Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 50 ; militia, 400 ; and about 600
Indians — making a total force of 1,330 men, with three six-
pounders and two three-pounders.
We will now read the reply of General Hull to General
Brock's demand for the surrender of the fort : " I have no
other reply to make than to inform you that I am prepared to
meet any force which may be at your disposal, and any conse
quences which may result from any exertion of it you may think
proper to make," etc. This bold reply contrasts strangely with
his act of the following morning, when he invited the enemy to
receive his surrender of the fort and army, without even firing
a gun.
There is a mystery surrounding this surrender. If we say it
was brought about through cowardice, how shall we explain away
the sending out of the detachment to meet Colonel Brush ?
General Hull is chargeable with cowardice or treason. The
reader must judge for himself between these two offenses, or say
that it was probably both.
General Brock lost no time in returning to the Niagara fron
tier. Paroling the volunteers not to serve until exchanged, fur-
HISTORY OF MIC&IGAK.
36?
nishing them with boats and vessels to pass the lake to Cleveland,
sending General Hull and the regular troops to Montreal, and
his militia to their homes, issuing his proclamation to the inhabit
ants of his conquered territory, and leaving Colonel Proctor in
SPENCER BARCLAY.
SPENCER BARCLAY, one of the most extensive business men in Michi
gan, was born in Lyons, Wayne county, New York, on the 22d of June,
1835. In that State, he carded on the meat packing business for four
years, then changing, he commenced as a merchant, in which occupation
he remained seven years.
Mr. Barclay emigrated to Michigan in 1855, settling in Grand Rapids
during September of that year. He at once started in the mercantile
trade, which he followed for three years with a somewhat varied success.
Afterwards, he removed to Ionia, where for the same length of time he
368 GENERAL HISTORY OF TSE STATES.
command, he went on board the Queen Charlotte, and on the
next day, the eighteenth, sailed down the lake, stopping at Fort
Erie and Fort George, arriving in triumph, on the twenty-second,
at his seat of goverment, which he had left on the fifth.
In this short period of twelve days he had moved two hundred
and fifty miles against his enemy, effected a surrender of a strong
fort and well equipped army of 2,300 effective men, and one of
the territories of the United States.
A provisional government was established by the British at
Detroit, and a small force placed in the fort. The Indians, who
were numerous, and claimed large rewards for their cooperation,
and who were but slightly, if at all restrained by the garrison,
carried plunder and devastation into almost every house, and
through almost every farm in the Territory. The miserable
inhabitants had no alternative but to submit, or incur the hazard
of more aggravated outrage. Most of the citizens of Detroit were
sent into exile, and distress and ruin appeared to be the inevitable
lot of all.
Contemporaneously with these events on the eastern side of the
peninsula of Michigan, another disaster, rendered memorable by
the folly which led to it and the blood which accompanied it,
occurred on the western side, under the walls of Chicago. While
yet in Canada, General Hull, actuated, no doubt, by the appre
hensions which made him regard all things under his control with
trembling anxiety, sent orders to Captain Heald, who commanded
at Chicago, to evacuate that post, and retreat to Fort Wayne.
Every order of this unfortunate general appeared to be pregnant
with misfortune. That which was issued at this time to Captain
Heald, involved a garrison, which had ample means of defense at
its post, in disgrace and blood.
was again engaged in the packing business. From here, he moved to
East Saginawinl862, and commenced the same business that he followed
in the latter place, having only $900 as a capital. However, he went to
work with renewed zeal and a determination to succeed, and success has
nobly crowned his efforts, as he is now doing a business of from $75,000
to $100,000 per year, which is the result of an undivided and earnest
attention to business, aided by a keen penetration and a sound judgment.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 369
The order for evacuation was received on the ninth of August.
Captain Wells, of the Indian department, who, with a few faithful
Miamis, was to guide the retreat, mistrusting the fidelity of the
Pottawattamies, recommended an immediate evacuation, before
HON. T. J. CAMPAU.
THEODORE J. CAMPAU, the fifth son of the late Joseph Campau, was
born in Detroit.
On his return from college at Notre Dame, Indiana, in 1846, he entered
his father's office and remained there sixteen years. He was a young
man of energy and good business habits, possessing the entire confidence
of his father. Having had the advantage of sixteen years' experience in
the management of the estate during his father's life-time, it made him
familiar with all the details of it, every house being described in his rent
books. The antecedents, recommendations and disadvantages of his
24
370 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
that tribe should have time to concentrate around the fort. His
recommendation was disregarded, and, in a short time, more than
four hundred of them had collected in the neighborhood. In
order to secure their forbearance, a promise was made to them
that all of the surplus stores should be left at their disposal.
Captain Heald prudently foresaw that large quantities of whisky
and powder, such as were then on hand, might be dangerous
gifts to the Indians, and resolved to destroy clandestinely as much
of them as possible before the evacuation. He, accordingly,
during the nights when the Indians were not present, threw most
of the powder into a well, and wasted a greater part of the
whisky. The Indians are said to have obtained some intima
tion or knowledge of these nocturnal transactions ; and, regarding
them as an infringement on their1 rights, may have then conceived
the plan of vengeance which they afterwards so fearfully exe
cuted. After the Pottawattamies had assembled in such num
bers, both Captain Wells and Mr. Kenzie (who was an Indian
agent at the place, and knew well the character and feelings
of these Indians) [represented to Captain Heald that a retreat
would then be unsafe. But their representations had no effect.
He had neglected to make it at a time when no obstacles were
in the way, and by delaying, in order to destroy the surplus
tenants were always entered with a full description of the property
rented. The labor of doing this was immense, but the system was com
plete and the information needed always on hand. Every lease granted
by him and every receipt taken is regularly indorsed and alphabetically
filed away for each year.
He continues to occupy the old homestead, 140 Jefferson avenue, as
his office, it being one of the parcels allotted to him as his share of his
father's estate.
Mr. Canipau has held many positions of trust and honor, being a mem
ber of the State legislature for two years. He was appointed to the
Democratic national convention, held at Chicago on the 29th of August,
1864, which nominated General George B. McClellan for the presidency.
He once received and declined the nomination for school inspector of his
ward in the city of Detroit, and, in 1862, was twice nominated alderman
of his ward, but declined each time. In 1863, he received the nomina
tion for mayor of Detroit, and withdrew in favor of K. C. Barker, who
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 371
whisky and ammunition, had deprived himself of the means
of remaining, when it had become prudent and proper to do so.
On the fifteenth of August, the garrison, consisting of fifty-four
regular troops and twelve militia -men, together with several
families, evacuated the fort. When about a mile on its march,
Captain Heald observed that the Indians were preparing for an
attack, and made dispositions for defense. A short conflict
ensued, in which about one-half of the garrison, and some women
and children, were killed, when Captain Heald surrendered. The
fort was burnt by the Indians the next morning, and the prison
ers were distributed among the bands.
The most distinguished victim of this short and sanguinary
action was Captain Wells. In his chagrin and despondency at
the fate which the Willfulness and blindness of Captain Heald
was bringing upon the whole retreating party, he had, according
to the custom of the savages under such feelings, blackened his
face, and was thus found among the slain. We have already
alluded to his services and gallantry in General Wayne's cam
paign. His singular and eventful life, the energy and boldness
of his character, entitle him to a passing notice. He was, while
a child, captured by the Indians, and became the adopted son
of Little Turtle, the most eminent forest warrior and statesman
was elected by an overwhelming majority. He was chairman of the
Democratic city convention in 1863, and again in 1865. In 1864, he was
appointed administrator of his father's estate; he was elected chairman
of the second senatorial district Democratic committee in 1864 and 1866,
and chairman of the first congressional Democratic committee four years
— from I860 to 1870. In 1864, and again in 1866, he was nominated to
the office of State senator, but declined the honor. He was appointed,
in 1871, a commissioner of the plan of the city of Detroit, and also one
of the committee on the location of the Detroit park.
Very many of our past and present prominent men owe their position
to Mr. Campau. He is considered one of the most influential men of the
Democratic party in Detroit, as well as a leading spirit among its mem
bers. Mr. Campau is a prudent, sagacious and trustworthy gentleman,
and a true Democrat. In social life, he is modest and unassuming;
charitable to a fault, punctual to his engagements, but in business an
autocrat in bearing.
372 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
of his time. In the defeats of Harmer, on St. Clair, he took a
distinguished part, commanding, in the latter action, three hun
dred young warriors, who were posted immediately in front of the
artillery, and caused much carnage among those who served the
pieces.
After this sanguinary affair, his forecast led him to anticipate
the final ascendency of the whites, who would be roused by these
reverses to such exertions as , must be successful, with their pre
ponderance of power ; and he resolved to abandon the savages.
His mode of announcing this determination was in accordance
with the simple and sententious habits of a forest life. He was
traversing the woods in the morning, with his adopted father,
Little Turtle, when, pointing to the heavens, he said : " When
the sun reaches the meridian, I leave you for the whites ; and,
wherever you meet me, in battle, you must kill me, as I shall
endeavor to do the same with you." The bonds of affection and
respect which had bound these two singular and highly gifted
men together were not severed or weakened by this abrupt declar
ation. Captain Wells soon after joined Wayne's army ; and, by
his intimacy with the wilderness, his perfect knowledge of the
Indians' haunts, habits, and modes of warfare, became an invalu
able auxiliary to the Americans. He served faithfully and fought
bravely through the campaign ; and, at the close, when peace
had restored amity between the Indians and the whites, rejoined
his foster-father, Little Turtle, and their friendship and connec
tion was broken only by the death of the latter. When his body
was found among the slain, at Chicago, the Indians are said to
have drunk his blood, from a superstitious belief that they should
thus imbibe his warlike endowments, which had been considered
by them as preeminent.
During the fall and winter succeeding these events, General
Harrison had been collecting an army, for the purpose of recover
ing the northwestern frontier. Having advanced as far as San-
dusky, he detached General Winchester, in advance, to the
Maumee. General Winchester sent forward a foraging party as
far as the River Raisin, which reached that place on the eighteenth
of January, 1813, and dislodged a body of Indians found there.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
373
The next day, General Winchester, with his main body, joined
this advance, having a force of about one thousand men. He
encamped on the left bank of the river; but, although fore
warned of the approach of a hostile party from Maiden, it does
HON. T. J. CAMPAU'S RESIDENCE.
The above illustration of Mr. Campau's residence shows that he lives
in a style becoming his wealth and position. His brick mansion, situated
at 500 Jefferson avenue, was erected by himself in 1869, and is furnished
in princely style. The stables, which contain a fine assortment of
374 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
not appear that lie made any disposition of his troops to meet the
emergency. On the twenty-second, early in the morning, his
camp was attacked by the British and Indians. Portions of the
line defended themselves with obstinacy and success, particularly
the left, under Major Madison. General Winchester himself
had taken lodgings on the opposite side of the river, at some dis
tance from the scene of action ; and it is said that he was cap
tured before he joined his troops. Being without any general
direction, the line, with the exception before mentioned, soon fell
into confusion and gave way, retreating across the river ; but the
savages, who anticipated such a movement, were in readiness
there to meet the fugitives, and few escaped the slaughter. Major
Madison continued to defend himself, until informed by General
Winchester — then a prisoner — that his party had been surren
dered.
The bloody scene which followed this disastrous morning has
given celebrity to the spot, far beyond the importance of this
event. The massacre at the River Raisin will, ever remain a san
guinary blot on the military fame of Great Britain. Most of the
wounded were collected in one or two houses near the battle
ground. General Winchester, whose situation enabled him to
observe the conduct and disposition of the savages, felt an appre
hension for the fate of those unfortunate sufferers, and frequently
reminded General Proctor of his solemn engagements to protect
them. Whether his comparatively small number of regular
troops could not control the cannibal ferocity of his allies ; or,
whether he looked on their bloody orgies without opposition or
remonstrance, may be left undetermined by the charity of his
tory, as long as the proofs are at all questionable. There appears
to be a dark shadow, suited to the blackness of the transaction,
resting over it, and nothing, perhaps, is distinctly known, except-
blooded horses, and which are the pride of Mr. Campau, are situated in
the yard, and are a marvel of unrivaled convenience and comfort. The
front part contains the carriage house, harness room, wash house and
the coachman's room, and in the rear are the stables. His noted trot
ting horses are White Bird, Ida, Mary, Ned and Prince, each one being
kept in a box stall.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 375
ing the horrible result. Butchery and conflagration were at
work through the night, and these unhappy victims, who trusted
to the mercy or honor of the British character, were mostly, if
not all, buried under a heap of smoldering ruins.
This series of events, so unfortunate for the Americans, and so
triumphant for the British, filled the inhabitants of Michigan
with despondency. General Harrison's operations on the frontier
of Ohio threw an occasional gleam on their dark fortunes. The
signal triumph of Croghan, at Sandusky, and some of the events
at Fort Meigs, showed that victory might still revisit the Ameri
can arms. These operations, however, had no immediate influ
ence on the condition of the Territory, until Perry's victory, on
the tenth of September, 1813, opened a passage over the lake for
the American forces. This brilliant and important naval action,
which was so instrumental in restoring Michigan to the Union,
deserves particular notice, as an essential part of her history.
Commodore Perry's fleet had been built, under great disadvan
tages, at Erie, Pennsylvania. The bar at the mouth of the har
bor would not permit the vessels to pass out with their armament
on board. For some time after the fleet was ready to sail, the
British commodore continued to hover off the harbor, well
knowing it must either remain there inactive, or venture out with
almost a certainty of defeat. During this blockade, Commodore
Perry had no alternative but to ride at anchor at Erie. For
tunately, early in September, the enemy relaxed his vigilance,
and withdrew to the upper end of the lake. Commodore Perry
seized the opportune moment to pass the bar, and fit his vessels
for action. This triumph over the vigilance of the British was a
presage of the still greater triumph that followed.
On the tenth of September, at sunrise, while at anchor at
Put-in-Bay, Commodore Perry discovered the enemy towards the
head of the lake. He immediately got under weigh, and, with a
favoring wind, brought him to action a few minutes before noon.
His flag vessel, the Lawrence, was engaged with the whole force
of the enemy for nearly two hours before the wind permitted her
consorts to join in close combat. She gallantly maintained the
unequal fight, until all her rigging was cut to pieces, every gun
376 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
rendered useless, and the greater part of her crew either killed or
wounded. In this perilous condition, Commodore Perry adopted
one of those bold, decisive resolutions which often enable a great
commander to convert an apparent defeat into a certain victory.
He caused his boat to be lowered, and launched himself and his
fortunes upon the bosom of the lake, amid the showers of death
that fell around him. Reaching the Niagara in safety, which was
just coming into close action, with a swelling breeze, he at once
determined to break through the enemy's fleet, already somewhat
crippled by the contest with the Lawrence. The Niagara had
every rope and spar, every gun and man untouched. She broke
into the enemy's line, and, ranging by the vessels in succession,
poured in her broadsides, compelling them, one by one, to lower
their flags in token of submission, until they all were " ours." In
achieving this decisive victory, the Niagara was assisted by the
smaller vessels, which were brought into cooperation by Captain
Elliott, who had volunteered in this service when Commodore
Perry assumed command of his vessel. Not long after Commo
dore Perry boarded the Niagara, the Lawrence struck her colors.
She was, however, but a fleeting trophy ; for, before she could be
taken possession of, every British flag had followed her humiliat
ing example.
This consummate victory opened the lake to General Harrison,
who, soon after, crossed his army to the Canadian shore, and, in
the course of a short campaign, which was brilliantly finished
by the battle of the Moravian towns, drove the enemy from the
northwestern frontier. On the twenty-ninth of September, 1813,
Detroit was occupied by a detachment of his army. An armis
tice was concluded with the Indians on the eighteenth of October
following, thus restoring tranquillity and security to the Territory.
General Harrison soon after moved down, with his main body,
to the Niagara frontier, and left General Cass in command at
Detroit. No military movements took place during the winter
following, excepting an incursion into the interior of the upper
province by Major Holmes, who was attacked near Stony Creek,
and maintained his ground with great bravery and success.
CHAPTER XXVII.
MACKINAW — EXPEDITION UNDER COMMODORE SINCLAIR AND COLONEL
CROGHAN FOR ITS REDUCTION — COLONEL TURNER CAPTURES THE
PERSEVERANCE AT ST. MARY'S, AND REDUCES THAT POST—CAPTURE
OF THE MINK — DESTRUCTION OF GOODS BELONGING TO THE NORTH
WEST COMPANY — LANDING OF THE FORCES AT MACKINAW — FALL OF
MAJOR HOLMES — DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS — FULL ACCOUNT OF
THE BATTLE, ETC.
So FAR as the Northwest was concerned, the war was now prac
tically closed, yet there was one post of great importance which
had not been wrested from the English. That was Fort Macki
naw. Active steps were soon taken to dispossess the English of
this stronghold, and drive them wholly from the American soil.
Immediately after the battle of the Thames, an expedition to the
upper lakes was contemplated ; but, unfortunately, it was pre
vented by the non-arrival of two schooners, which had been sent
to Cleveland and Bass Islands for provisions. These vessels had
arrived off Maiden, but a storm from the west drove them to the
lower end of the lake, where they were stranded. Early in the
following April, 1814, this expedition up Lake Huron was again
proposed, the object being twofold — the capture of Fort Macki
naw, and the destruction of certain vessels, which it was said the
English were building in Gloucester, or Matchadash Bay, at the
southeast extremity of the lake. But this plan was also aban
doned ; partly from a want of men, partly from the belief that
Great Britain did not, as had been supposed, intend to make an
effort to regain the commerce of the upper lakes; and partly,
also, from a misunderstanding between General Harrison and
Colonel Croghan, who commanded at Detroit, on the one hand,
and the Secretary of War on the other. No sooner had this plan
been abandoned than it was revived again, in consequence of new
information of the establishment at Matchadash Bay.
378 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Accordingly, orders were issued on the second day of June,
and ample preparations were soon made. A squadron was fitted
out, consisting of the United States sloops-of-war Niagara and
Lawrence, carrying twenty guns each, with the smaller schooners,
Caledonia, Scorpion, Tigress, Detroit, and others, and a land force
of seven hundred and fifty men, placed on board. Commodore
Sinclair was the naval commander, and Lieutenant - Colonel
Croghan, a young man who had gallantly and successfully
defended Sandusky during the early part of the war, had charge
of the militia.
The squadron reached Lake Huron on the twelfth of June, on
its way to Matchadash Bay. Disappointment, however, awaited
them. Every possible effort was made to gain the desired bay
and destroy the imaginary vessels there building, but in vain. No
pilot could be found for that unfrequented part of the lake.
Islands and sunken rocks were numerous, and threatened destruc
tion to the fleet. The lake was almost continually covered with
a dense fog, and, from the time already consumed in the fruitless
attempt, provisions were growing short, hence, that part of the
work was abandoned, and the squadron proceeded to Mackinaw.
When nearing the place of destination, a council was called, to
decide whether they should proceed at once to the capture of Fort
Mackinaw, or first repair to St. Joseph's, and destroy the enemy's
works at that place. It was urged that an immediate attack upon
the fort was policy, inasmuch as the English, having had no
intimation of their approach, were, probably, without Indian
allies, and unprepared to defend the island ; that, should they
first proceed to St. Joseph's, time would thus be given the English
to call in these savage auxiliaries, and so strengthen themselves,
that, upon their return, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to
take the place; but Sinclair thought that, by leaving a part
of the squadron to cruise around the island during his absence,
this could be prevented ; hence, in spite of salutary advice from
those who knew the Indian character far better than themselves,
it was agreed between the naval and military commanders to
proceed at once to St. Joseph's. This was a fatal error, as will
be seen in the sequel.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
379
On the twentieth of July, they arrived at St. Joseph's, and
found the British establishment at that point deserted. This
they burned, but left untouched the town and Northwest Com
pany's storehouses. While wind-bound at this point, Sinclair
HON. ALFRED RUSSELL.
ALFRED RUSSELL, one of Detroit's most distinguished members of the
bar, was born at Plymouth, Grafton county, New Hampshire, March 18,
1830. Mr. Russell graduated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1850,
and at the Dane law school of Harvard University in the class of 1852.
He was admitted to the bar at Meredith Bridge, New Hampshire, Novem
ber, 1852, and emigrated to Michigan during the same month and settled
in Detroit. Soon after his arrival in that city, he entered the law office
of Hon. James F. Joy — studied law with that gentleman for a brief
380 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
captured the Northwest Company's schooner, Mink, on her way
from Mackinaw to St. Mary's, with a cargo of flour, and by this
means received intelligence that the schooner Perseverance was
lying above the Falls of St. Mary, at the foot of Lake Superior,
in waiting to transport the Mink's cargo to Fort Williams. Upon
the receipt of this intelligence, he dispatched Lieutenant Turner,
an active and enterprising officer, to capture her, and, if possible,
get her down the falls. Colonel Croghan dispatched Major
Holmes, with a party of regulars, to cooperate in the expedition,
in which the capture of St. Mary's was included. The following
official report of Lieutenant Turner to Sinclair will give the
reader a clear idea of what was effected by this movement. It is
dated U. S. schooner Scorpion, off Michilimackinac, July 28th,
1814:
" SIR — I have the honor to inform you that, agreeably to your
orders of the 22d instant, I proceeded on the expedition to Lake
Superior, with the launches. I rowed night and day ; but, hav
ing a distance of sixty miles against a strong current, informa
tion had reached the enemy, at St. Mary's, of our approach,
about two hours before I arrived at that place, carried by Indians,
in their light canoes, several of whom I chased, and by firing on
them, and killing some, prevented their purposes ; some I cap
tured and kept prisoners until my arrival ; others escaped. The
force under Major Holmes prevented anything like resistance at
period as did he also with the Messrs. Walker. Mr. Russell was admitted
to the bar of Michigan in 1853, and, in 1854, formed a partnership with
the Messrs. Walker, which lasted until 1861. During that year, Mr.
Russell was appointed United States district attorney for Michigan, by
President Lincoln, and was reappointed by President Johnson in 1865.
Mr. Russell was originally a Whig of the New England Federal party
school, and acted with the Free Soilers during the existence of that
party. Upon the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, he took a prom
inent part in the organization of the Republican party in Michigan, and
has since been more or less closely identified with that organization. Mr.
Russell is, however, a free thinker and an independent actor in politics.
As a lawyer, he stands in the front rank of the profession, and is known
throughout the State as an eminently useful citizen, and, in his social
relations, as a polished gentleman.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
381
the fort, the enemy, with their Indians, carrying with them all the
light, valuable articles, peltry, clothes, etc. I proceeded across
the strait of Lake Superior without a moment's delay ; and, on
my appearance, the enemy, finding they could not get off with
DR. J. W. KERMOTT.
AMONG the numerous professional men represented in this work will
be found many who have, through their own unaided industry, raised
themselves from small beginnings to positions of usefulness and import
ance. This may be truly said of Dr. J. W. Kermott. He was born in
the province of New Brunswick, in 1819. At the very early age of
nineteen, he emigrated to Canada West, where, after availing himself,
through many obstacles, of such educational advantages as his industry
could command, he began to teach school. In this occupation, he made
valuable progress for himself. The advantages were twofold, for while
382 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the vessel I was in quest of, set fire to her in several places, and
left her. I succeeded in boarding her, and, by considerable exer
tions, extinguished the flames, and secured her from sinking. I
then stripped her and prepared for getting her down the falls.
Adverse winds prevented my attempting the falls until the twenty-
sixth, when every possible effort was used, but, I am sorry to say,
without success, to get her over in safety. The fall, in three-
quarters of a mile, is forty-five feet, and the channel very rocky.
The current runs from twenty to thirty knots, and in one place there
is a perpendicular leap of ten feet, between three rocks. Here
she bilged, but was brought down so rapidly that we succeeded
in running her on shore, below the rapids, before she filled, and
burned her. She was a fine, new schooner, upwards of one hun
dred tons, called the Perseverance, and will be a severe loss to the
Northwest Company. Had I succeeded in getting her safe, I
could have loaded her to advantage from the enemy's store
houses. I have, however, brought down four captured boats,
loaded with Indian goods, to a considerable amount ; the balance,
contained in four large and two small storehouses, was destroyed,
amounting in value to from fifty to one hundred thousand dollars.
All private property was, according to your orders, respected.
The officers and men under my command behaved with great
activity and zeal, particularly Midshipman Swartwout."
On the return of the launches to St. Joseph's, the squadron
proceeded to Mackinaw, where it arrived on the twenty-sixth.
his duties in the school room brought moderate pecuniary gain, the
nature of his labors had a most salutary effect in training his mind in all
those practical questions so requisite for the foundation of the profes
sional studies with which he was soon after deeply absorbed.
Prudence and perseverance, at the end of several years' teaching,
enabled him to proceed to Philadelphia, where, at the most celebrated
medical university in America, he entered upon the study of medicine.
In this institution, he displayed that energy characteristic of his life, and
prosecuted his most difficult studies with marked success. Graduating
in due time, he returned to his adopted home in Canada West, where he
entered upon the practice of his profession. Not many years previous,
he had arrived in the same place a stranger to its inhabitants and without
means. Now he was welcomed by warm friends and enjoyed the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 383
Daring the time that had now elapsed since the first appearance
of the fleet off Lighthouse Point, Colonel McDonall, British
commander at Mackinaw, had been strengthening his position ;
and such aid as the country afforded had been summoned to
his assistance. Nor was this aid inconsiderable. Under the
unfortunate circumstances attending the attack, more efficient
auxiliaries could not have been found than those very savages,
who, during that brief period of delay had gathered, in large
numbers, upon the island. Batteries had been planted at various
places on the heights which best commanded the approaches to
the island. One was situated on the height overlooking the old
distillery, another upon the high point just west of the fort, and
others along the ridge back of the present town, from the fort
to Robinson's Folly. Thus that officer, though he had but few
men, comparatively, in command, and must have surrendered at
once had an immediate attack been made upon him, was able,
with the advantages he had now gained, to withstand a strong
force.
Sinclair pushed up as near to the channel between Round and
Mackinaw islands as he dared, on account of the batteries of the
enemy, and as close to the eastern extremity of Round Island as
safety would permit, and anchored. Scarcely, however, had the
anchors reached the bottom, when the English opened a brisk
fire upon him, and he concluded to move to a. more respectful
distance.
When the fleet had been moved further away toward Bois
accomplishments of his recent efforts at college. He at once entered
upon a most flattering practice, and in a few years accumulated a large
fortune, which, it should be mentioned here, he afterwards lost in an
unfortunate speculation.
In 1856, he emigrated to Detroit, where he has since remained, enjoying
a practice only due to his usefulness and professional abilities. In 1860,
he commenced the manufacture of medicines, which he has continued
until the present date with remarkable success.
Dr. Kermott is rendering himself useful to society in religious as well
as medical labors. He is an active member of the Central Methodist
Church, and his efforts, with other useful men in that church, have been
productive of much good.
384 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Blanc, out of the reach of the enemy's guns, Croghan dispatched
an officer, with a number of men, to Round Island, to reconnoiter
the enemy's position, and, if possible, find some advantageous
point at which to erect a battery. They landed, and selected, as
the most advantageous position for a battery, a point just above
the old lime kiln, which is the crowning point of the island.
No sooner, however, had the movement been discovered by the
British, than two or three hundred birch bark canoes, with sev
eral bateaux and other boats, were launched, and a large party
of Indians started in pursuit. Discovering the movement, the
party hastened back. When they reached their boats, the Indians
could be seen skulking through the woods after them, and one
of their number, a Frenchman, who had been a little behind, was
captured. They now sprang into their boats and pushed off, with
as much dispatch as possible ; but, at a short distance from the
beach, scarcely out of reach of the enemy's fire, the boat struck
a rock, which was just beneath the surface of the water, and
swung around, as though on a pivot. At this the savages, who
were fast emerging from the thickets and approaching the beach,
fired upon them. The fire was returned, but without execution
on either side. Fearing that the Indians, upon arriving at the
point from which they had embarked, would be able to reach
them, the officer ordered the soldiers to cease firing and endeavor
to clear the boat from the rock. This accomplished, they returned
without further mishap to the fleet. Upon learning that one
of the party sent out had been captured by the Indians, Sinclair
ordered a small vessel of one gun to pass round to the further
side of the island, that, if possible, he might be retaken. A
strong wind was blowing from the west, against which the little
bark had to make her way through the narrow channel that
separates Round and Bois Blanc islands ; hence the task was diffi
cult. She had scarcely laid her course, when the beach was
thronged with savages, and, as often as she came in reach, in
beating through this channel, these savages poured upon her a
shower of musket-balls. This fire was returned with much spirit,
but neither party suffered loss. The Indians now began their
return to Mackinaw, with their victim, chanting the death-dirge.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
385
A shot was fired at them from the Lawrence, but without effect.
As they neared the island, the Indians that had remained came
down to meet them, and the prisoner would have been killed
and feasted upon by his inhuman captors, had not the British
HON. ZACHARIAH CHANDLER.
ZACHARIAH CHANDLER was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, Decem
ber 10, 1813, received an academic education, settled in Detroit, Mich.,
in 1833, where he became an eminently successful dry goods merchant.
In politics a Whig, while that party was in existence, he was elected
mayor of Detroit in 1851, but, while leading the Whig ticket largely,
was defeated for governor of Michigan in 1852. He was the first Repub
lican senator in Congress from Michigan, succeeding Senator Cass in
office, taking his seat in the Thirty-fifth Congress in 1857, and served as
25
386 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
commander sent a strong guard of soldiers and rescued him, the
moment the canoes touched the shore.
During the next day, as the Lawrence was cruising about the
island, a thick fog suddenly came down, and enveloped all in
obscurity. When, later in the day, this fog lifted, the commander
found that he was within a very short distance of the southwest
part of the island, with scarcely any wind, and in range of the
enemy's guns. A vigorous fire was opened upon him from the
battery near the west end of the fort ; but with such want of
skill that he suffered no damage from it. He fired a single shot
in return, but could not elevate his guns sufficiently to batter the
walls of the fort. Unfavorable weather prevented operations for
several days, when Colonel Croghan, having learned something
of the strength of the enemy's fortifications, and of the number
and spirit of the savage allies which the English had called to
their assistance, despaired of being able to take the place by
storm, as he had hoped. He therefore determined to effect a land
ing, and establish himself on some favorable position whence he
might annoy the enemy, by gradual and slow approaches, under
cover of his artillery, which he knew to be superior to that of
the foe.
On the fourth of August, the vessels of the fleet were ranged
in line at the distance of three hundred yards from the beach,
and the small boats made ready to carry the army to the island.
Scarcely, however, had the work of embarkation commenced,
a member of the committee on the District of Columbia, the committee
on commerce, and the committee on revolutionary claims.
At the first session of the Thirty-seventh Congress, in July, 1861, the
Democratic senators from the Southern States having withdrawn from
the United States Senate, leaving the Republicans in the majority for the
first time, Mr. Chandler was appointed chairman of the committee on
commerce, which position he has held during each succeeding Congress
to the present time, he having been reflected to the Senate in 1863, for
the full term of six years, and again in 1869, for the term ending in 1875.
In addition to his important position on the committee on commerce,
after the committee on mines and mining was formed, he was a member
of that committee, and was also a member of each of the celebrated joint
congressional committees on the conduct of the war, during the Thirty-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 387
when the adjacent thickets were observed to be full of savages,
plumed and painted for the strife. When all was ready, and the
word of command had been spoken, they moved toward the land
ing, with measured dip of the oar, and, meanwhile, a brisk can
nonading cleared the thickets of their lurking foes. Under cover
of the guns the landing was easily effected, and the best possible
arrangements of the troops made preparatory to the marching.
Colonel Croghan quickly formed his line, and advanced to the
edge of the clearing, where he received intelligence that the
enemy was in waitiug for him, and ready to dispute his progress.
In a few seconds after he received this information, a fire was
opened upon him from the enemy's battery. He now carefully
surveyed the clearing before him, and became convinced that the
enemy's position was well selected ; but, by a vigorous movement,
he hoped to outflank him and gain his rear. Accordingly, he
decided to change his own position, and advance Major Holmes'
battalion of regulars on the right of the militia. This move
ment was immediately ordered, and, to encourage his men, Major
Holmes led them in person; but, while gallantly pressing on to
the charge, a destructive fire was opened by some Indians con
cealed in a thicket, near the American right, and the brave Major
fell, mortally wounded. The battalion, having now lost the ser
vices of its commander, fell into confusion, from which the best
efforts of its remaining officers were not able to recover it.
Finding it impossible to gain the enemy's left, owing to the
seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses, and was a member of the joint
committee on Southern outrages since the war. He strongly advocated
all practical measures for the discomfiture of the rebels and their allies,
and for the suppression of the rebellion.
During the war, his relations with President Lincoln were of a most
cordial and intimate character, and he was a member of the national
committee appointed to accompany the remains of the martyred chief
magistrate to Illinois. His faith in the maintenance of the integrity of
the Republic against the assaults of its foes never faltered nor wavered
during the darkest hours of the great conflict.
He was an earnest and powerful advocate of our admirable national
banking system, and aided materially in its establishment upon a broad
and substantial basis, and his efforts in behalf of the commercial and
388 GENERAL HISTORY OF TfiE STATES.
impenetrable thickness of the woods, a charge was ordered to be
made by the regulars immediately against the front. This
charge, though made in some confusion, served to drive the enemy
back into the woods, whence an annoying fire was kept up by the
Indians. Lieutenant Morgan was now ordered up with a light
piece, to assist the left, which at this time was particularly galled,
and the excellent service of this piece forced the enemy to retire
to a greater distance.
Croghan had now reached the point at which he had hoped to
fortify himself, and thence harass the enemy at pleasure ; but he
found it by no means tenable, on account of the thickets and
ravines surrounding it. He therefore determined no longer to
expose his troops to the fire of an enemy having every advantage
which could be obtained from numbers and a knowledge of the
position, and ordered an immediate retreat to the place of land
ing. When the troops had regained the shipping, the fleet again
moved round towards Bois Blanc, and anchored.
While the forces were preparing to disembark, previous to the
engagement, Mr. Davenport had urged Major Holmes to
exchange his uniform for a common suit, stating that the Indians
would otherwise certainly make a mark of him ; but Holmes
replied that his uniform was made to wear, and he intended to
wear it ; adding that, if it was his day to fall, he was willing.
The sequel showed how unwise he was in not listening to this
advice. The party of Indians posted on the right were Winne-
other vital interests of the country have been during his whole public
career assiduous and untiring, accompanied with a large degree of suc
cess. During the presidential campaign of 1872 he was chairman of the
Union Republican Congressional Executive Committee, and the skill and
energy with which this very successful campaign was conducted was due
largely to his efforts.
Throughout his long and successful Congressional career he has been
particularly noted for his unswerving devotion to the interests of the
State he represents, winning, even from his opponents, unqualified
approval. Amidst all the temptations which necessarily surround a
leader of a great and successful party, he has never stained his hands
with corruption, and even his political enemies admit that his official
career has been distinguished by the most rigid integrity.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
bagoes, from Green Bay, the most savage and cruel of all the
British allies, and they, indeed, did make a mark of him. Five
well-aimed bullets simultaneously entered his breast, and he
expired almost instantly. Captain Desha also felt the fury of
CHARLES H. BORGMAN.
CHARLES H. BORGMAN, the present city clerk of Detroit, and for many
years a teacher of the German language in that city, is a native of
Prussia.
He came to the United States at, a very early age, and, after receiving a
substantial education in Cincinnati, Ohio, removed to Michigan.
His first active employment in this State was the execution of several
railroad contracts. Subsequently he entered upon the duties of teacher
of the German language in Detroit, in which capacity he labored zeal
ously for ten years, achieving much success and winning considerable
local popularity as a professor of that difficult language. These duties
brought him in connection with the better class of citizens, and seems to
390 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
those savages, but, fortunately, escaped with his life. Captain
Vanhorn and Lieutenant Jackson, both brave, intrepid young
men, also fell, mortally wounded, at the head of their respective
commands. Twelve privates were killed ; six sergeants, three cor
porals, one musician, and twenty-eight privates wounded, and two
privates missing.
The most shocking barbarities were practiced on the bodies of
the slain. They were literally cut to pieces by their savage con
querors. Our informant remembers seeing the Indians come to the
fort, after the engagement, some with a hand, some with a head, and
some with a foot or limb ; and it is officially stated by Sinclair, upon
the testimony of two ladies (Mrs. Davenport and Mrs. John Dous-
man), who were present and witnessed it, that the hearts and
livers of these unfortunate men were taken out, and actually
cooked and feasted on — and that, too, in the quarters of the
British officers, sanctioned by Colonel McDonall — by the savages.
Fragments of these bodies were taken to the Indian graveyard,
west of the village, and placed on poles over the graves, where
they remained for ten days. The body of Major Holmes, whicji,
by neglect of the soldiers in whose hands it had been placed, had
been left on the field, escaped mutilation. During the action,
these men concealed the body by covering it with rails and
leaves, so that the Indians did not find it. It had, however, been
stripped, but the British commander threatened to hang the rob
bers of the dead if the articles taken were not immediately
returned. This threat soon brought the clothes, watch, papers,
etc., which had been stolen by two Frenchmen, into his posses
sion, and, with the body, they were given up to the Americans.
have been the secret force that secured his popular majority at the elec
tion of city officers in 1871.
Mr. Bergman's performance of the duties of city clerk was marked
with care, ability and faithfulness. In the fall of 1873, he was reflected
by the largest majority given to any candidate before the people at that
election.
Mr. Borgman has also made considerable progress as a merchant, hav
ing established, in connection with Mr. Ling, a large book, music and
musical instrument store, on Monroe avenue, corner of Randolph street,
Detroit, Michigan.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 391
Thus, in loss and disgrace, ended the effort to wrest Fort
Mackinaw, and the island upon which it stands, from the English.
When the fleet first appeared off Lighthouse Point, there was
but a single company of troops in the fort, and but few, if any,
Indian auxiliaries upon the island ; and, had Colonel Croghan at
once demanded a surrender, instead of at first going to St.
Joseph's, the post would doubtless have passed back into the
hands of the Americans without bloodshed, and with as little
parley as, two years before, it had passed into the hands of the
English. Or, had a prompt and willing surrender been refused,
a vigorous attack must have quickly reduced it, as the American
force was greatly superior to the English. But the delay was
pregnant with disaster and disgrace.
Having failed in the reduction of Fort Mackinaw, which Sin
clair denominated a perfect Gibraltar, measures were now taken
to starve it into submission, by cutting off its supplies. The
troops, with the exception of three companies, were dispatched
in two vessels, to join General Brown on the Niagara, and the
remainder of the squadron, a pilot having been now secured,
directed its course to the east side of the lake, to break up any
establishments which the enemy might have in that quarter.
While the Americans were masters of Lake Erie, there were
only two practicable lines of communication between the remote
garrison of Fort Mackinaw and the lower country. The first
of these was with Montreal by way of the Ottawa, Lake Nip-
pising and French river ; and the second with York, by means
of Lake Simcoe and the Nautauwasaga river. Having learned
that the first of these communications was impracticable at that
season of the year, on account of the marshy state of the port
ages, they proceeded to the mouth of the Nautauwasaga, in hopes
of finding the enemy's schooner Nancy, which was thought to be
in that quarter.
On the thirteenth of August, the fleet anchored off the mouth
of that river, and the troops were quickly disembarked, for the
purpose of fixing a camp on the peninsula formed by the river
and the lake. On reconnoitering the position, the schooner was
discovered in the river, a few hundred yards above, under cover
392 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
of a block-house, erected on a commanding situation, on the
opposite shore. On the following morning, a fire was opened by
the shipping upon the block-house, but with little effect, owing to
a thin wood, which intervened and obscured the view. But, about
twelve o'clock, two howitzers were landed ; and, being placed
within a few hundred yards of the block-house, commenced throw
ing shells. In a few minutes, one of these shells burst in the
block-house, and, shortly after, blew up the magazine, allowing the
enemy scarcely time to escape. The explosion of the magazine
set fire to a train, which had been laid for the destruction of the
vessel, and in a few minutes she was enveloped in flames ; and her
valuable cargo, consisting of several hundred barrels of provi
sions, intended as a six months supply for the garrison at Macki
naw, was entirely consumed.
Colonel Croghan did not think it advisable to fortify and gar
rison Nautauwasaga, because the communication with York was
so short and convenient, that any force left there might be easily
cut off during the winter ; hence, Sinclair left the Tigress and
Scorpion to blockade it closely, until the season should become too
boisterous for boat transportation, and the remainder of the squad
ron returned to Detroit. But this blockade, which, had it been
properly enforced, must speedily have made a bloodless conquest
of Mackinaw, was soon brought to an end by the capture of both
these schooners. After the destruction of the Nancy, her cap
tain, with several of his men, at once repaired to Fort Mackinaw,
to communicate the news of the loss to Colonel McDonall, and
the little garrison under his command. Under the circumstances,
it was unwelcome news, indeed. Provisions were already getting
low; a single loaf of bread was worth one dollar and a half; the
men were subsisting on half rations, and had already been
reduced to the necessity of killing several horses, to ward off
starvation. And, worse than all, a long and dreary winter was
near at hand, portending nothing but death from starvation.
Something must be done ; and, accordingly, an expedition was
at once fitted out by Colonel McDonall, consisting of a force of a
hundred and fifty sailors and soldiers, and two hundred and fifty
Indians, in open boats, to break the blockade, if possible. The
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 393
Tigress, which for several days had been separated from the
Scorpion, was surprised and boarded during the night of Septem
ber third, it being very dark ; and, after a desperate hand-to-hand
struggle, in which some were killed and several wounded, was
captured. During the contest, an attempt was made by the
Americans to destroy the signal-book, but, unfortunately, without
success ; and, by the aid of this book, the Tigress, now manned
by English officers and men, surprised and captured the Scor
pion, on the morning of the sixth, at the dawn of day. This
was a finishing stroke to the ill-fated enterprise, and Mackinaw
was left secure in the hands of the English, until peace was
declared, which took place in the following winter ; and, in the
spring of 1815, the British troops evacuated the post, and a com
pany of American soldiers, under Colonel Chambers, took pos
session of i-t.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE ORDINANCE OF 1787 — ERECTION OF THE TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN
— ITS BOUNDARY — JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION — THE WOODWARD
CODE OF LAWS— GOVERNOR HULL — His TRIAL BY COURT-MAR
TIAL.
WE WILL now turn from scenes of warfare, and notice more
particularly the political history of Michigan. Under the French
and British dominion, the points occupied, on the eastern bound
ary of what now constitutes the State of Michigan, were con
sidered a part of New France, or Canada. Detroit was known
to the French as Fort Pontchartrain. The military commandant,
under both governments, exercised a civil jurisdiction over the set
tlements surrounding their posts. When possession was yielded
to the United States, in the year 1796, the British garrisons at
Detroit and Michilimackinac were replaced by detachments, by
General Wayne, and Michigan became a part of the Northwest
ern Territory. That Territory was then in the first stage of gov
ernment, prescribed by the ordinance of 1787. Arthur St. Clair
was its Governor ; and he was, therefore, the first American chief
magistrate under whom Michigan was placed. In the year 1798,
the Northwestern Territory assumed what was called the second
grade of Territorial government. The county of Wayne, then
coextensive with the Territory of Michigan, as afterwards estab
lished, sent one representative to the General Assembly of the
Northwestern Territory, held at Chillicothe, whose election gave
the first occasion for the exercise of the right of suffrage in this
county.
In the year 1800, Indiana was established as a separate Terri
tory, embracing all the country lying west of the present State of
Ohio, and of an extension of the western line of that State due
north to the Territorial limits of the United States. In the year
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
395
1802, the peninsula was annexed to the Territory of Indiana, by
the same act of Congress which authorized the formation into a
State of that part of the Northwestern Territory which now con
stitutes Ohio.
HON. A. B. TURNER.
AARON B. TURNER was born in 1822, at Plattsburgh, N. Y., whence
his father, Isaac Turner, moved his family to Grand Rapids in the spring
of 1836. He commenced type-setting in the office of the Grand River
Times, the first paper published at Grand Rapids, in the winter of 1838.
December 25, 1844, he commenced the publication of the Grand Rapids
Eagle (at first called the Grand River Eagle), and has continued it ever
since, a period of twenty-nine consecutive years. He started the Daily
Eagle May 26th, 1856. Since 1865 he has had as a business partner Eli
F. Harrington, a brother-in-law. As founder of the Eagle, continuous
publisher and owner, still retaining control as principal proprietor, Mr.
396 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
In the year 1805, Michigan commenced its separate existence.
That part of the Territory which lies east of a north and south
line drawn through the middle of Lake Michigan, was formed
into a distinct government by an act of Congress passed in that
year. The provisions of the ordinance of 1787 continued to regu
late the form of government. That ordinance wisely provided
for the establishment of those fundamental principles of law
which are regarded as" the best securities of civil and religious
liberty and political equality, and was marked in its provisions
and its tone by prudence, discretion and humanity. The prohibi
tion of slavery wThich it contained may have saved the country
northwest of the Ohio from an incalculable evil. Under this
constitution, granted to the inhabitants of the country northwest
of the Ohio, the executive power was vested in a governor ; the
judicial in three judges ; and the legislative in both united. The
officers were appointed by the general government; their legis
lative authority was restricted to the adoption of laws from codes
of the several States. This was the form of government provided
until the Territory should contain five thousand free white males
of full age ; and it then became optional with the people to
choose a legislative body among themselves; to be supported,
however, at their own proper cost. Subsequent legislation of
Congress was more liberal, as well in providing a legislature
Turner may be styled "the veteran journalist " of Michigan. A pioneer
in the Grand Eiver valley, and struggling with the slow growth and
limited means of pioneer life, during what were called the " hard times,"
he has built up an extensive and prospering printing house, keeping pace
with the growth of Western Michigan, his newspaper ranking with the
leading press of the State. From a small beginning, he has acquired a
handsome property and profitable business interests.
Mr. Turner has had considerable experience in public life— as city
clerk, as assistant clerk of the House in the Legislature, and as secretary
of the Michigan Senate in 1859 and 1861 ; was appointed by President
Lincoln collector of internal revenue for the fourth collection district,
organizing that service and serving four years; was appointed postmaster
of Grand Rapids by President Grant in April, 1869, and reappointed in
1873. He is yet in the full vigor of manhood, and ranks among the
successful men of Western Michigan.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 397
upon better principles, at the expense of the United States, as
in the footing upon which it placed the elective franchise and
eligibility to office. Under the ordinance, a freehold qualification
was required, both on the part of the elector, and to render an
individual eligible to the General Assembly, which was, under
certain circumstances, provided for.
In 1818, upon the admission of Illinois into the Union, all the
territory lying north of that State and of Indiana was annexed
to Michigan. From 1805, when the Territory was erected, to
1819, our political condition was, in every respect, that prescribed
by the ordinance of 1787. By an act passed in the latter year,
the Territory was authorized to elect a delegate to Congress.
Under the ordinance, the privilege only accrued to a Territory
when it should have entered upon the second grade of govern
ment, and the delegate was then to be chosen by the General
Assembly. By the act referred to, the power was given direct to
the people, and the right of suffrage was extended to all taxable
citizens. In the year 1823, the form of the Territorial govern
ment was essentially changed by an act of Congress, which abro
gated the legislative power of the governor and judges, and
granted more enlarged ones to a council, to be composed of nine
persons, selected by the President of the United States, from
eighteen chosen by the electors of the Territory. By this law,
eligibility to office was made coextensive with the right of suffrage
as established by the act of 1819. The limitation of the tenure
of the judicial office to a term of four years, is another important
feature of the act of 1823.
In the year 1825, all county officers, with the exception of those
of a judicial character, or whose functions connected them with
the administration of justice, were made elective ; and the appoint
ments which remained in the hands of the executive were made
subject to the approval of the legislative council. In 1827, the
electors of the Territory were authorized to choose a number of
persons, corresponding with that at which the members of the
council was fixed, and their election made absolute. This, indeed,
was the last form of the Territorial government of Michigan —
certainly a liberal one to be maintained by the parent State. The
398 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
legislative council was empowered to enact all laws not incon
sistent with the ordinance of 1787; their acts, however, were
subject to be annulled by Congress, and to the absolute veto of the
Executive of the Territory.
General Hull was the first Governor of the Territory of Michi
gan. When he arrived at Detroit to assume his official duties,
he found the town in ruins, it having been destroyed by fire.
Whether this disaster had been occasioned by accident or design
was not known. However this may have been, as the town was
very compact, covering only two acres of ground, and the mate
rials were of the most combustible character, it was soon entirely
consumed, and the unfortunate inhabitants were obliged to encamp
in the open fields, almost destitute of food and shelter. Still,
they were not discouraged, and soon commenced rebuilding their
houses on the same site. The general government also took their
case into consideration, and an act of Congress was passed, grant
ing to the sufferers the site of the old town of Detroit, and ten
thousand acres of land adjoining.
As before mentioned, a judiciary system was now established,
and the Territorial militia organized. In October of the same
year, a report was made to Congress of the condition of the Ter
ritory ; and in May of the following year a code of laws was
adopted similar to those of the original States. This code wras
signed by Governor Hull, Augustus B. Woodward, and Frederick
Bates, Judges of the Territory, and was called the " Woodward
Code." The bounds of the Territorial government, as then estab
lished, embraced all the country on the American side of the
Detroit river, east of a north and south line drawn through the
center of Lake Michigan. The Indian land claims had been par
tially extinguished previous to this period. By the treaty of Fort
Mclntosh, in 1785, and that of Fort Harmer, in 1787, extensive
cessions had either been made or confirmed, and, in the year 1807,
the Indian titles to several tracts became entirely extinct. In
consequence of the settlements which had been made under the
French and English governments, some confusion sprang up in
regard to the titles to valuable tracts that were claimed by differ
ent individuals, under the French laws. Congress, accordingly,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
399
passed an act establishing a board of commissioners, to examine
and settle these conflicting claims ; and, in 1807, another act was
passed, confirming, to a certain extent, the titles of all such as
had been in possession of the lands then occupied by them from
PEAR TREES IN THE OLD JESUIT GARDEN.
the year 1796, when the Territory was surrendered, up to the
date of that act. Other acts were subsequently passed, extending
the same conditions to the settlements on the upper lakes.
In addition to the settlements along the shores of the Detroit
and St. Clair rivers, and the lake of the latter name, where there
400 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
was a continued line of cottages, with farms adjoining, containing
orchards of pear and apple trees, planted at an early date, and
the old posts on the island of Mackinaw, at Ste. Marie, and at St.
Joseph, the French colonists had a line of cabins on the Kiver
Raisin, where the city of Monroe now stands. The interior of the
country was but little known, except by those who were engaged
in the fur trade, and these were interested in representing it in as
unfavorable a light as possible. No portion of the public domain
had yet been brought into the market. But few American set
tlers had, therefore, ventured into this region, though the adjoin
ing State of Ohio had already acquired a considerable population.
Such was the condition of Michigan just before the Tecumseh
war, a full account of which is given in a previous chapter.
After this contest, Michigan emerged into a new existence.
Colonel Cass, who had served with much zeal during the war, was
appointed Governor of the Territory ; and under his administra
tion it gradually advanced in prosperity.
But we must not enter upon the successful administration of
Governor Cass, without following General Hull, the first Governor
of the Territory, a little further. In our last mention of him, he
was being conveyed to Montreal, a prisoner of war. We next
find him before a court-martial, at Albany, New York. The
court convened January 3d, 1814, with a full board, and General
Dearborn was the President. No objection was taken to the con
stitution of this court by the accused. The session of the court
was protracted, and every facility afforded to General Hull to
present his defense. The Judge- Advocate, Mr. Van Buren, was
remarkably fair and impartial in conducting the examination.
The charges were three in number : treason, cowardice, and neglect
of duty. The court acquitted the accused of the high crime of
treason. As to the other charges, the court, upon mature deliber
ation, found General Hull guilty, and sentenced him to be shot ;
but, by reason of his services in the war of the Revolution, and
his advanced age, earnestly recommended him to the mercy of the
President. The President approved of the finding of the court,
but remitted the execution of the sentence, and dismissed him from
the service.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 401
The civil administration of Governor Hull presents but few
salient points. His military administration, ending, as it did, by
the ignominious surrender of Detroit to a British force far inferior
to his own, was fraught with irretrievable ruin to himself, as well
as temporary disgrace to the American arms.
What was the actual moving cause of this disgraceful capitula
tion will probably never be known, till the final day. Time, how
ever, has somewhat softened the harsh judgment which was passed
upon him at the time ; and some of the earlier impressions, which
attributed his conduct to money, the price of treason, have been
removed. But the most that charity can do is to attribute it to
cowardice and imbecility. Efforts have, from time to time, been
made to rescue his name from obloquy ; but such efforts have uni
versally proved failures. It is enough for an American to know
that he surrendered his command to a force of less than one-third
his own strength. General Hull's principal excuse was, that he
was short of ammunition and provisions. He does not allege that
he was destitute — the contrary was well known to be the case —
but that he apprehended that he had not enough to last till the
final issue of the campaign. But this, instead of being an excuse
for an unconditional surrender, was the stronger reason for
promptitude and energy. After ammunition and provisions fail,
the worst disaster that can befall an army is that which he forced
upon his command before a blow was struck.
The situation was briefly this : He had been instructed to pro
tect Detroit. The invasion of Canada was left discretionary with
him. He did neither. It is true he crossed the river, but only
to make a disgraceful retreat. When followed, and summoned to
surrender, he complied with the demand ; only holding out long
enough to increase the pomposity of the enemy, and provoke the
curses of his command. His flight commenced at the bridge of
the Canards, and terminated in the American fortress. His
retreat was without a reason, and his surrender without a parallel.
Nothing but the memory of other and prouder days, and gal
lant deeds, can rescue the name of Hull from unmitigated con
tempt ; and the kindest judgment which a dispassionate posterity
can pronounce upon him is to ascribe his errors to cowardice and
imbecility.
26
CHAPTER XXIX.
GENERAL CASS APPOINTED GOVERNOR — DEFENSELESS CONDITION OF
THE TERRITORY — INDIAN DEPREDATIONS AROUND DETROIT — BRAV
ERY AND ENERGY OF GENERAL CASS — His TREATY WITH THE INDIANS
— CONDITION OF MICHIGAN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR — EXPEDITION
OF GENERAL CASS TO THE UPPER PENINSULA — DISCOVERIES— PROS
PERITY OF THE TERRITORY UNDER CASS' ADMINISTRATION— THE
TREATY OF CHICAGO— EXECUTION OF INDIANS.
A NEW era now dawned upon the Territory of Michigan. Gen
eral Lewis Cass, who had served, with great credit and distinc
tion, through the war of 1812, was appointed Governor of the
Territory. At that time its prosperity and advancement may be
said to have commenced. Up to this time, there had been no
inducement whatever for the immigration of people from the
Eastern States. The country had just emerged from a bloody
and devastating war, and the public lands had not been brought
into market. The beautiful and fertile lands of the lower penin
sula, now studded with happy homes and nourishing cities, and
traversed in every direction by the locomotive, were traversed
only by wild beasts, and wilder men. The streams, now white
with the sails of noble ships, and dotted with manufactories, were
navigated only by the bark canoe. The feeble settlements along
the frontier had been converted into scenes of desolation ; not a
road had been constructed through the interior ; and there was no
means of access to the country except by the rivers and lakes, and
the military road along the Detroit river. The British garrisons
were broken up, it is true, and Tecumseh was no more, but the
people were by no means free from the calamities of war. The
ill feeling of the Indians continued unsubdued, and their pro
pensities to murder, rob and plunder, were still as great as when
Tecumseh led them to battle. The British flag still waved over
Mackinaw, and the intermediate country was filled with fur-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
403
traders who regarded their interests as antagonistic to the United
States.
At this time, it must be remarked, all of the province of Can
ada which had been held in submission by the British army, was
ISAAC NEWTON SWAIN.
ISAAC NEWTON SWAIN, one of the earliest pioneer settlers of the inte
rior and western parts of the lower peninsula of Michigan, was born
near Sackett's Harbor, in Jefferson county, New York, November 20th,
404 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
now subject to the order of the Governor of Michigan, and upon
him rested the responsibility of protecting the rights of the people
on the east side of the river, in common with the citizens upon the
west side. How long the war would continue, or how it would
end, or whether Canada would eventually become a part and par
cel of Michigan, no one could tell. But it was sufficiently
obvious to the mind of General Cass that the peninsula of Michi
gan, at least, was to remain under the Stars and Stripes ; and he
set himself to work, with great wisdom and industry, to provide
for the future welfare of the people intrusted to his charge. In
order to do this effectually, it wras first necessary to inspire the
people with confidence in their personal safety, and to assure them
that their property was protected by the sleepless vigilance of the
law. His first act was to tender his resignation as brigadier-gen
eral in the army, believing that such extensive civil and military
powers should not be vested in the same person. His resignation
was accepted, with the proviso that he should, in his capacity as
Governor, take charge of the defenses of the Territory.
The seat of war at this time having been transferred to the
East, Michigan was left with only a company of twenty-seven sol
diers for her defense. With this feeble force, and the local militia,
the Governor was required to defend the Territory against the
1807. He yet distinctly remembers hearing the reports of the first
guns fired in our second war with England in 1812. His home was the
scene of some of the most exciting events of that final contest with
Britain, and he thus early imbibed indelible hostility to the " red coats,"
notwithstanding both sides of his ancestry, being of the Quaker order,
came early from the south of England. They were numbered among
the first settlers of Rhode Island and Nantucket.
When only nine years old, his parents and their family of five children,
of whom he was the youngest, removed and settled on the " Holland
Purchase" (so called), in western JSTew York, now Royalton, in Niagara
county. This was several years before the existence of the Erie canal,
and at a period when the products of the settlers had scarcely any cash
value. Money was a great rarity among the people there, in those days,
and when an occasional shilling was discovered in the neighborhood, its
possessor at once became an object of considerable attention.
Such was the condition and customs of the infant settlement in which
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 405
bands of hostile Indians who were constantly hovering around
Detroit.
It was at this time, when Detroit was thus exposed, that a war
party of savages issued from the dense forests which skirted the
town, and marked their irruption by one of those deeds of blood
which have made the early history of Michigan a record of trials,
sufferings and hardships without a parallel in the annals of fron
tier life. The strength of the party was not great, as it after
wards appeared, but, as it was unknown, the excitement and alarm
of the inhabitants were intense. But Governor Cass was equal
to the emergency, and in a short time rallied his undisciplined
troops, pursued the savages to their native haunts, and, after a
sharp and bloody conflict, returned to Detroit victorious. It is
within the memory of men now living, how the people of the town
were terrified, upon the return of the victorious band, by the
scalp halloa that was raised by some friendly Indians, to indicate
the victory of the party. The horrid sound, which has curdled
the blood of the stoutest hearts in many a lonely cabin in the
wilderness, and tells the tale of blood before the gory trophies are
exhibited, broke the silence of the evening air. The helpless
women and children, whose husbands and fathers had gone forth
to fight in their defense, had no means of knowing whether the
Mr. Swain spent the largest part of his youth. At length, however,
roads were opened, and when these were connected and made passable,
at least, by " bridges built by the frosts of winter," the dense forests were
awakened by occasional teams. A few loads of the best " Genesee
wheat " were transported from that " far off western country," and carried
more than fifty miles over rough and troublesome roads to a small ham
let, then the nearest cash market, and now the prosperous city of
Eochester, New York. There this grain was sold at twenty-five to
twenty-eight cents per bushel, and added very considerably to the
circulating medium of the pioneer settlement. The erection of the first
school house in the settlement is an event not easily forgotten by Mr.
Swain. It was constructed by a "bee," and occupied but one day for
its completion. This is the more surprising since the building was
transformed from standing trees to a temple of science in this short
space of time. The "neighbors all turned out," and at four o'clock in
the morning the sound of their axes, the falling of heavy trees, and the
406 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
terrible cry came from friend or foe, and, in their uncertainty,
many of them fled to their canoes, and took refuge on the other
side of the river. Happily, the return of their friends removed
their fears, and secured their safety ; and their return was as joy
ful as their departure had been precipitous.
The bravery of Governor Cass as a soldier, fighting the bands
of hostile Indians which surrounded the feeble settlements under
his charge, was only equaled by his wisdom in dealing with them
in times of peace. He was at this time, by virtue of his office
of Governor, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and as such it
became his duty to advise with the government at Washington on
that subject. He had long been under the impression that the
only proper way to deal with the Indians was, as a means of paci
fication, to purchase their possessory rights to the lands they occu
pied ; to limit their hunting grounds to a narrow compass ; to
teach them agriculture and mechanics, and provide the means for
their instruction and religious training. The policy of the French
and English had been to pacify them with presents of whisky
and gew-gaws, merely for the purpose of obtaining a temporary
foothold, to enable them to carry on the fur trade. This policy,
of course, brought permanent settlers into the country, and those
who were benefited by the traffic lived thousands of miles away,
loud driving of ox teams, indicated that something unusual had taken
possession of these earnest settlers. The heavy logs were "switched"
together and hewed. Then strong arms and willing hands placed them
one upon another, until the roof was made whole. The floor was next
" dubbed" off so as to be agreeable to little feet, for no boards could be
had for that purpose, and this exercise completed the first school house
in that district. The labor of the day being over, the eager inhabitants
commenced their celebration. Then came genuine ladies, real women —
pioneer women — with well prepared refreshments. Rude tables were
constructed, and a wholesome collation spread out for the builders.
When the appetite had been satisfied, the floor was made clear and danc
ing commenced, which continued with a spirit until an early hour the
following morning.
It was in this "bee" school house that Mr. Swain received his ele
mentary education. This, however, was attended with its disadvantages.
Books were scarce and difficult to obtain. For the winter's use of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 407
and had no interest in the permanent development of the country.
It was clear that this was not the policy of the United States, and
the President heartily coincided in the views expressed by General
Cass. The result was that General Cass and General Harrison
were intrusted with the power to treat with the Indians on the
Miami and Wabash, and, on the twentieth of July, a treaty was
signed with the Wyandots, Senecas, Shawnees, Miamis and Dela-
wares, which restored comparative tranquillity to the frontiers.
At one time, during this summer, it became necessary for Gen
eral Cass to send troops down the lake, to the assistance of General
Brown, on the Niagara ; and he ordered his whole force to repair
to the seat of war, reserving only thirty men for the defense of the
fort at Maiden. During this defenseless state, the hostile Indians
became bolder. Their war parties roamed the country, and
caused much alarm and apprehension ; and the Governor found
it necessary to call the whole adult male population to arms.
Scouting parties were sent out in all directions, and many skir
mishes occurred. The Governor frequently headed these parties
in person, and the hostile tribes were driven from place to place,
until, finally, they retreated to Saginaw.
In July of this year an attempt was made to recover Mackinaw.
A force was detailed, under the command of Colonel Croghan, for
Pike's arithmetic, he dug potatoes two days, and he husked corn four
days for a slate.
After graduating in this "bee" institution, Mr. Swain's ambition for
further knowledge was largely increased. He often walked forty-three
miles in a day, to and from the nearest academy, teaching school in the
winter season, to bear his academic expenses in the summer. Through
all these obstacles, he displayed that matchless energy characteristic of
his life, and obtained an ample education.
When the Erie canal was completed, a new era dawned upon western
New York. A market and highway for commerce were opened, reveal
ing richer fields in the great West, which he visited, and, early in
the year 1830, he settled permanently in Michigan, to share its pioneer
hardships, and aid in developing its great resources. In the former
he has taken a front rank position, while in the latter ^he has but few
compeers.
His first earnings were invested in land situated near the Kalamazoo
408 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
this purpose, with the assistance of a part of the fleet on Lake
Erie. But the British works were too strong, and, with the
assistance of the savages, they were enabled to hold possession.
The establishments at St. Joseph's and at Sault Ste. Marie, how
ever, were destroyed.
In the winter of 1815, the treaty of peace was ratified between
England and the United States. The population of the Territory
at that time was not over five or six thousand, and that population
was spread over a vast extent, and in a state of great destitution,
owing to the calamities of war. Scarcely a family, when it
resumed its domestic establishment, found more than the rem
nants of former wealth and comfort. Families had been broken
up and dispersed ; parents had been torn from children, and chil
dren from each other ; some had been slain on the battle field,
and others had been massacred by the ruthless savages. Laws
had become a dead letter, and morals had suffered in the gen
eral wreck. Agriculture had been almost abandoned, and com
merce • paralyzed. Food, and all the necessaries of life were
scarce, and luxuries were unknown. Money was difficult to get,
and the bank paper of Ohio, which was almost the sole circulat
ing medium, was twenty-five per cent below par in New York.
Consequently commercial transactions were precluded, except at a
ruinous figure to the merchant and the consumer.
river, in the southwest part of Jackson county. He added to the orig
inal purchase, as he acquired means by farming, surveying, civil engin
eering, merchandising, milling, lumbering, etc. His labors have been
eminently successful, not only in accumulating a large fortune, but in
developing the resources of the State.
This biography might very justly be enlivened by a recital of
Mr. Swain's many adventures in the pioneer days of Michigan. His
conflicts with wild beasts and wild men, are filled with the essence of
adventure; the hardships he has endured in "camping out" and travel
ing through the unexplored forests, are replete with heroic exploits, with
man and beast, and would constitute of themselves a volume full of
interest and instruction. But we shall pass over these, and briefly notice
the results of his industry.
Having failed to secure the Michigan Central ^Railroad through his
place of business, at Concord, by a distance of four miles, he pulled up
410 GENEKAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
In this gloomy and unpromising condition was Michigan when
General Cass assumed the office of Governor of the Territory.
Civil government was yet to be established, and laws enacted and
enforced, before any permanent advancement in prosperity could
be hoped for. His task was a delicate and difficult one. He was
not only a part of the legislative power, but was the sole execu
tive. The laws which were enacted in the one capacity, he was
obliged to execute in the other. How well he performed his task,
the condition of the State when he resigned his office, after
eighteen years of service, abundantly testifies.
In 1817, General Cass made a most important treaty with the
Indians, by which their title was extinguished to nearly all the
land in Ohio, a part in the State of Indiana, and a portion in the
State of Michigan. This was not only the most valuable treaty
that had at that time been made with the Indians, but was of the
utmost importance to the Territory of Michigan. It attached the
isolated population of Michigan to the State of Ohio ; made the
Territorial government, in a fuller sense, an integral part of the
Federal Union, and removed all apprehension of a hostile con
federacy among the Indian tribes along the lake and river frontier.
Up to this time there was not a road within the limits of the
Territory, save the military road along the Detroit river. But,
and went still farther into the dense forest, down the Paw Paw valley,
to the present site of the village of Watervleit, in Berrien county, thus
endeavoring to make a certainty of locating on this road. The State,
which at that time owned the Michigan Central Eoad, had definitely
located its route through this valley, with a view of making the western
terminus on Lake Michigan, at St. Joseph. But these plans were over
ruled by various circumstances. The State, with the system of internal
improvements in 1847, being nearly bankrupt, and the Michigan Central
Railroad being completed with strap rails only as far as the village of
Kalamazoo, sold her franchise to the present Michigan Central Railroad
Company. This company departed from the original plan, and thereby
left Watervleit oft* twenty miles in the forest.
Notwithstanding these obstacles, Mr. Swain prosecuted his business
enterprises in that locality with unabated energy. At Watervleit he con
ducted the same business already mentioned, increasing the . lumbering
branch to a considerable extent. He is still interested in the latter at the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 411
now that the Indian settlements and lands could not be interposed
as a barrier to the undertaking, General Cass resolved to bring
the attention of Congress to the necessity and advantage of a
military road from Detroit to Sandusky. He pointed out the
peculiar political and pecuniary advantages of such an under
taking, and Congress immediately authorized the road to be built
over the route indicated ; taking in its course what was known as
the Black Swamp, then a trackless morass for teams and wagons,
but now one of the most fertile regions of the country.
In the summer of this year, the first newspaper published in
Michigan was started at Detroit. It was called the Detroit
Gazette, and was published by Messrs. Sheldon & Reed, two
enterprising young men, who for many years, continued its publi
cation.
The great problem which then occupied the minds of the author
ities of the Territory was how to induce a flow of immigration
from the East. That was, indeed, a difficult question to solve-
much more so than we can fully appreciate at this day. There
were, as before remarked, no roads in existence leading to the
interior of the Territory ; and no steamboats as yet vexed the
placid bosom of the Detroit river. The difficulty was greatly
increased by a false impression which then universally prevailed
same place, and also in large and valuable tracts of land in that vicinity,
and he is now doing much to increase the value of real estate in that
section of Michigan.
In 1861, he commenced, under his own supervision, the erection of his
magnificent residence at Riverside, on Fort street, near Detroit. This
building is a fitting monument to its projector. Being one of the sub
stantial kind, he embodied in the construction of this residence much
that indicates his most prominent characteristics. It is, perhaps, the
most elegantly finished, and by far the most substantial building of the
kind in the Northwest. Its basement and foundation are, in themselves,
wonderful accomplishments, and from the floor of the former to the
deck of the tower is a distance of one hundred feet.
At the top of this tower, which is easily attained by a most magnifi
cent winding stairway, the observer has one of the grandest views of
lake, river and landscape scenery in the country. The head of Lake
Erie and much of Lake St. Clair are made plainly visible, with the most
412 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
in regard to the character of the soil of Michigan, and its adapta
bility to the purposes of agriculture. It was popularly supposed
to be the very home of disease and death, uninhabited and unin
habitable ; a horrible place abounding in swamps, marshes and
lagoons, impenetrable save by means of canoes. Nor were these
reports without high official authority to back them, as will be
seen by the following facts :
On the sixth of May, 1812, Congress passed an act, requiring
that 2,000,000 acres of land should be surveyed in the then Terri
tory of Louisiana, and a like quantity in the Territory of Illinois,
north of the Illinois river, and the same quantity in the Territory
of Michigan, in all 6,000,000 acres, to be set apart for the soldiers
in the war with Great Britain. Each soldier was to have 160
acres of land, fit for cultivation. The lands were surveyed and
appropriated under this law in Louisiana and Illinois, but the sur
veyors reported that there were no lands in Michigan fit for culti
vation. The following is that portion of the Surveyor-General's
report which relates to the lands of Michigan :
" The country on the Indian boundary line, from the mouth of
the great Augiaize river, and running thence for about fifty miles,
picturesque surroundings of city and country. His grounds surrounding
the residence are not only extensive, but rich in all the beauties of garden
landscape.
Mr. Swain, although a man of large experience and no small literary
attainments, is extremely simple in his manners, making himself alike
agreeable with men in business circles, or in entertaining friends at his
well appointed mansion.
To a question as to whether or not he had ever figured in politics, Mr.
Swain stated that he had never sought office but once in his life. He
admits of once having had an ambition to become ''overseer of high
ways," brought on by the deplorable condition of certain roads in which
he was interested, and which he desired to improve. On this occasion
he was not elected for want of votes, and although more than a third of
a century has passed since this defeat, he has not since been troubled
with an appetite for office. It is not improbable, however, that he may
have intended this answer as indicating his disapproval of the tricks of
modern politics.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN,
413
is (with some few exceptions) low, wet land, with a very thick
growth of underbrush, intermixed with very bad marshes, but
generally very heavily timbered with beech, cottonwood, oak, etc. ;
thence continuing north, and extending from the Indian boundary
AARON DIKEMAN.
AARON DIKEMAN, one of the representative pioneers of northwestern
Michigan, was born in Norwalk, Fairlield county, Connecticut, January
3, 1796.
He lived in his native town until reaching his majority, when he emi
grated to New York City, and embarked in the jewelry business. He
carried on this business in that city for twenty years, with uninterrupted
success.
Closing up his affairs in New York, he emigrated to Michigan, and
settled in what is now Grand Rapids, arriving there in May, 1837. Here
414 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
eastward, the number and extent of the swamps increases, with
the addition of numbers of lakes, from twenty chains to two and
three miles across. Many of the lakes have extensive marshes
adjoining their margins, sometimes thickly covered with a species
of pine called ' tamarack/ and other places covered with a coarse,
high grass, and uniformly covered from six inches to three feet
(and more at times) with water. The margins of these lakes are
not the only places where swamps are found, for they are inter
spersed throughout the whole country, and filled with water, as
above stated, and varying in extent. The intermediate space
between these swamps and lakes, which is probably near one-
half of the country, is with a very few exceptions, a poor, barren,
sandy land, on which scarcely any vegetation grows, except very
small scrubby oaks. In many places, that part which may be
called dry land is composed of little, short sand-hills, forming a
kind of deep basins, the bottoms of many of which are composed
of a marsh similar to the above described. The streams are gen
erally narrow, and very deep, compared with their width, the
shores and bottoms of which are (with a very few exceptions)
he again engaged in the jewelry business, opening the first establishment
of that kind in the State north of the Michigan Central Railroad. Mr.
Dikeman continued in this occupation in Grand Rapids until 1867, and dur
ing this long period was seldom absent a day from his bench. During this
time he built up a large trade, established a high reputation for an honest
business man, and, after fifty years of unremitting toil, he retired in
May, 1867, with a fair fortune and hosts of friends as his reward. At
the time of his retiring he was the oldest jeweler working at the trade in
the United States, being seventy-one years of age.
In 1855, Mr. Dikeman became largely interested in the steamboat navi
gation of Grand river. In that year, he built the steamer Empire, and
run her on the lower river line between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven.
Mr. Dikeman was elected county treasurer of Kent county, in Novem
ber, 1838, and the abilities with which he performed the duties of that
office can be best adduced from the fact that he held it for three succes
sive terms. In 1849, he was elected supervisor of the township of Grand
Rapids, which then included the village of Kent, now the city of Grand
Rapids. He was chosen alderman of the third ward of that city in
in 1852, and his public life closed with the expiration of his term of office
as alderman.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 415
swampy beyond description ; and it is with the utmost difficulty
that a place can be found over which horses can be conveyed in
safety.
" A circumstance peculiar to that country is exhibited in many
of the marshes by their being thinly covered with a sward of
grass, by walking on which evinced the existence of water, or a
very thin mud immediately under their covering, which sinks from
six to eighteen inches from the pressure of the foot at every step,
and at the same time rising before and behind the person passing
over. The margins of many of the lakes and streams are in a
similar situation, and in many places are literally afloat. On
approaching the eastern part of the military lands, toward the
private claims on the straights and lake, the country does not con
tain so many swamps and lakes, but the extreme sterility and
barrenness of the soil continues the same. Taking the country
altogether, so far as has been explored, and to all appearances,
together with the information received concerning the balance, is
so bad there would not be more than one acre out of a hundred,
if there would be one out of a thousand that would in any case
admit of cultivation."
Mr. Dikeman became a member of Phoenix Lodge, No. 4, Free and
Accepted Masons of New York city, in 1823, and lie was one of the first
officers and charter members of Grand River lodge, in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. He has been indentified with this order for over fifty years,
and enjoys the full esteem of his brother Masons.
Being one of the pioneers of northwestern Michigan, he had unbounded
faith in the future growth and prosperity of the Grand River valley, and
he has ever worked with both his mind and means for its development.
In its infancy, he prophesied a glorious future for it, and time has proved
how correct his foresight was, as he now finds himself surrounded by as
beautiful and prosperous a country as our truly great State can boast of.
On the 14th of February, 1822, Mr. Dikeman married Miss Susanna
Butler, of Norwalk, Connecticut, and, on the 14th of the same month,
1872, they celebrated their golden wedding, at their residence on Fulton
street, Grand Rapids.
Now, at the advanced age of seventy-nine, Mr. Dikeman, in a happy
home, with a fair fortune and surrounded by his children, grandchildren,
and hosts of friends, is enjoying the closing years of an active and
prosperous life.
416 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth of April, 1816, Congress
passed an act repealing so much of the law of the sixth of May,
1812, as related to Michigan, and provided for taking 1,500,000
acres in Illinois, north of the Illinois river, and 500,000 acres in
the Territory of Missouri, in lieu of the 2,000,000 acres which
could not be found in Michigan.
It is difficult, at this late day, to imagine how such a report
could have been honestly made. It is probable, however, that no
examination worthy the name was made. Again, the fur-traders
were interested in preventing the settlement of the country, and
the Surveyor-General may have chosen to rely upon their state
ments, instead of making a thorough examination for himself.
Be that as it may, the country, through the energy of General
Cass, was soon, to a certain extent, undeceived ; although it was
many years before the bad impression was eradicated from the
minds of the people of the East. During that year and the fol
lowing, the country was more fully explored, and numerous tracts
of the most fertile land, with a rolling surface, were discovered.
Prosperity began to abound, and population to increase by immi
gration and settlement. When General Cass became thoroughly
convinced of the falsity of the reports concerning the quality of
the soil of the interior, and saw a hardy and enterprising popula
tion gathering around him, he called for the views of the inhabit
ants, in March, 1818, upon the question of changing the civil
authority by entering upon the second grade of Territorial govern
ment. A vote wras accordingly taken, and a majority were
against it. But, for the purpose of facilitating emigration and
settlement, General Cass recommended to the Secretary of the
Treasury that the lands in the district of Detroit be at once sur
veyed and brought into market. The department at once acted
upon this suggestion, and in the following September and October
sales were made. This movement gave a new impetus to agricul
ture, and added greatly to the permanent prosperity of the
country. A great change took place in public opinion concerning
the value of these lands, and subsequent surveys more fully con
firmed the inaccuracy of former impressions.
In the following year, General Cass met the Chippewas in coun-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
417
cil at Saginaw, and concluded a treaty by which large relinquish-
ments to lands in Michigan were obtained, embracing about six
millions of acres.
During the year 1819, two events occurred in the history of
MAJOR LOWELL HALL.
LOWELL HALL, the subject of this sketch, was born in Middlesex
county, Massachusetts, June 24, 1802.
At the age of two years, with his parents, he emigrated to the State of
Vermont, and, two years later, he went from there to the Black river
country, in northern New York. Here, with such limited means as the
country afforded, he learned the elementary branches — studying evenings
by the cheerful blaze of a fire-place, in a log house. Removing from
here, in 1815, he took up his residence in Genesee county, New York.
27
418 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
Michigan, which may be said to have inaugurated a new era in
her progress. The first was when the first steamboat, the Walk-
in-the- Water, made her appearance on Lake Erie, crossing that
lake, and passing up to Mackinaw. The second was the granting
to the people of Michigan the privilege of electing a delegate to
Congress. These events were great advances in the hopes and
prosperity of Michigan. By the first, a new and valuable means
of commercial intercourse was introduced ; and, by the latter, a
new channel of communication was opened, through which the
people could communicate to Congress and the national govern
ment their wants and situation. Again, what was, perhaps, of as
great importance as either of the above events, further sales of
public lands were ordered and made. This would cause settle
ments to be made further into the interior of the peninsula, and
land, now studded, at long intervals, on the banks of her lakes and
rivers, by the Frenchman's hut, or the solitary post of the fur
trader, would soon become the sites of towns and villages, teeming
with commerce and civilization.
By the census taken about this time, the population of the Ter
ritory was ascertained to be eight thousand eight hundred and
After a short course at the Middlebury academy, now in Wyoming-
county, he commenced teaching in the district schools. He followed
this occupation for two successive winters, receiving as a salary twelve
dollars per month, payable in wheat, at three shillings per bushel, and he
was also required to " board around."
Not satisfied with this mode of life, in 1823 he engaged as clerk in a
village store, owned by Hon. Henry Hawkins, of Alexander, Genesee
county, New York, with whom he remained as clerk and partner respect
ively for eleven years. During these years, he had acquired considerable
wealth and married Miss Collins, of Orleans county. In 1838, his fortune
was almost entirely swept away, through his becoming bondsman for
men who failed.
With an untiring energy, nothing daunted, he succeeded in organizing
the Attica and Buffalo Railroad (a charter having been secured in 1836),
which was the last link in the chain of railway from Albany to Buffalo.
He was a director and secretary of this road, which was finished in
seventeen months, and which was the best and cheapest road in the State
at that time.
Subsequently he procured the charter and organized the Attica and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 419
ninety-six. Detroit contained two hundred and fifty houses, and
fourteen hundred and fifty inhabitants, not including the garrison.
The island of Mackinaw, which continued to be the central mart
of the fur trade, had a stationary population of four hundred and
fifty, which occasionally increased to not less than two thousand,
by the Indians and fur traders who resorted there from the upper
lakes. The settlement at the Sault Ste. Marie contained fifteen
or twenty houses, occupied by French and English families.
The ordinance of 1787 provided that lot number sixteen in every
township should be set apart for the support of common schools,
but as yet no measures had been taken to establish any system of
public instruction in Michigan. The act drawn up by Judge
Woodward, however, and passed by the governor and judges, in
1817, must be excepted. But this was of no practical value at
that time, although it deserves mention as a curiosity, if nothing
more. The act referred to was for the establishment of what was
styled in it the Catholepestemiad, or University of Michigan. The
University was to have thirteen didaxia, or professorships, each
of which was to be endowed in the most liberal manner. It
was designed, undoubtedly, to lay the foundation for a thorough
education, both broad and deep ; but, at that early date, was
Hornellsville road, now the New York and Erie, and over which fifty
trains are now passing daily.
In 1855, he came to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the interest of the
Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, and continued with it until its com
pletion.
During the rebellion, Mr. Hall was actively engaged in raising troops,
and, in the winter preceding its close, at the advanced age of sixty-three,
he accepted an unsolicited commission and entered the service, where he
remained until peace was declared, when he was mustered out, having
been breveted major for meritorious services.
Returning home, he organized and was elected president of the Grand
Rapids and Lake Shore Railroad, which is now consolidated with the
Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore. Following the completion of the
above road, he organized the Grand Rapids and Saginaw Railroad, of one
hundred miles in length, and nearly an air line. Mr. Hall is the presi
dent of this organization, and now, at the age of seventy-one, is as
actively and energetically engaged in its construction as he was in
those with which he was connected thirty years ago.
420 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ridiculously impracticable. Judge Woodward, its author, would
seem to have been endowed by nature with fair abilities and to
possess extensive acquirements ; but, at the same time, to have a
fatal tendency towards impracticable schemes, and to lay out his
work on such a magnificent scale, as to preclude the possibility of
its completion. It is to him that Detroit is indebted for the early
plan of the city, laid out in the form of a cobweb. His classical
mind was pleased with the idea of a Campus Martins, and a
Grand Circus, with avenues radiating in every direction from a
grand center, with cross streets connecting them, and grand pub
lic squares and parks interspersed. The result was, a plan so
vast in extent, and so complex in design, that centuries would be
required to fill it. His plan for a University was on an equally
magnificent scale ; and the act was clothed in language more
suited to the learned professors of the law of five, centuries ago,
than to the practical backwoodsman of 1817.
Michigan was now rapidly increasing in population. Koads
were being built, and the sound of the woodman's axe was heard
in every direction. Settlers were extending themselves along the
Rivers St. Clair, Raisin, and Huron ; and settlements were made
where now stand the cities of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Jackson,
Tecumseh and Pontiac. But they were not yet free from the
annoyance of the Indians. The Foxes and Sacs annually made
their appearance to receive thousands of dollars of presents from
the British agents at Maiden. It was no unfrequent occurrence
for them, as they passed along, to commit depredations upon the
property of the whites. This annual tribute also had a tendency
to create and strengthen an attachment and sympathy between the
Indians and the British government. It became obvious, then,
that some measures were necessary to put a stop to this custom,
and to remove the Indians as far as possible from British influ
ence, so annoying to the settlers even in time of peace, and in
time of war so dangerous. Besides, the country situated upon the
borders of the upper lakes was then but little known, and it was
desirable that a more intimate knowledge of its characteristics
and resources should be in possession of the general government.
Accordingly, in the fall of 1819, General Cass directed the atten-
HISTOKY
MICHIGAN.
421
tion of the government at Washington to the matter, and set
forth the reasons why an exploration should be made. Among
the important objects were : To obtain a more thorough knowl
edge of the resources of the country ; a more intimate acquaint-
JAMES SCRIBNER.
ASSOCIATED with the early history of Grand Rapids, stands prominent
the name of James Scrilmer, who was born in the city of New York,
in the year 1801.
Going to sea at an early age, he was taken prisoner in his fourteenth
year, by the British frigate Endymion, and carried to Halifax, Nova
Scotia, where he was retained three months. Returning to the United
States, two years later, he enlisted among the Sea Fencibles, and was
stationed at the Narrows, near New York.
With the close of the war, he was apprenticed to a boot and shoe
maker, but at the age of seventeen, he changed his occupation and
422 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ance with the Indians ; a knowledge of their moral condition,
their numerical strength, and of their feelings towards the United
States, and to obtain a cession of the lands in the vicinity of the
Straits of St. Mary's, Prairie du Chien, Green Bay, and open the
communication between the latter places. Another important
object was to ascertain the extent of the mineral deposits in the
vicinity of Lake Superior. It was also desirable to explain to the
Indians the views of the government respecting their annual visits
to Maiden, and to announce to them that these visits must be dis
continued ; to ascertain the state of the British fur trade within
our jurisdiction ; and, above all, to " carry the flag of the United
States into those remote regions where it had never been borne
by any person in a public station."
These were the principal reasons urged by General Cass for
desiring the expedition to be set on foot. But the government
decided that it would be inexpedient to obtain any further extin
guishment of the Indian title, except ten miles square at the
Sault Ste. Marie, for military purposes, and of some islands, near
Mackinaw^ where beds of plaster had been found to exist.
It will readily be perceived by the intelligent reader that differ
ent motives relative to the matter actuated the government and
General Cass. The former only looked to the necessity for mili
tary defense, whilst the latter was filled with a desire to benefit
the people of his Territory, and to secure its permanent advance-
shipped on a vessel bound for the Shetland Islands. Leaving the vessel
on the coast of Brazil, he traversed the southern and western coasts of
South America, and the western coast of Central America, making him
self familiar with the Spanish and Portugese languages and visiting all
important points between Valparaiso and San Francisco.
In 1820, he crossed the Pacific to China, and returned by the way of
the Cape of Good Hope to Rio Janeiro, from whence he sailed across the
Atlantic to Cadiz, Spain. Leaving his ship here, he traveled across Spain
by land and reshipped at Gibraltar, from whence he sailed to Bordeaux,
France. Here he was detained a year by sickness, and upon his recovery
he visited Italy, Turkey and the northern coast of Africa.
Having now circumnavigated the globe, visited the four quarters of
the earth, and made himself familiar with the French, Spanish, Portu
gese and Italian languages, so as to speak them fluently, he returned to
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 423
ment and prosperity. The government, however, sanctioned the
fitting out of the expedition for the purposes named, and ordered
a topographical engineer, a mineralogist, and a physician, to join
it. It also provided it with an escort of soldiers, all to be under
the guidance and direction of General Cass.
The expedition was viewed at the time as the most important
ever undertaken under the auspices of the government. It was
to travel in birch canoes, which, combining lightness with strength,
could be readily carried over portages, and bear considerable bur
dens when afloat.
The names of the party were as follows : General Cass, and
Robert A. Forsyth, his private secretary ; Henry R. Schoolcraft,
mineralogist ; Captain D. B. Douglass, topographer and astron
omer ; Dr. Alex. Wolcot, physician ; James D. Doty, official sec
retary, and Charles C. Trowbridge, assistant topographer. Lieut.
Evans Mackey was commander of the escort, which consisted of ten
United States soldiers. Besides these, there were ten Canadian
voyageurs, to manage the canoes, and ten Indians, to act as hunters.
The latter were under the direction of James Riley and Joseph
Parks, who were also to act as interpreters.
On the twenty-fourth day of May the party left Detroit. The
banks of the river were lined with people, who cheered the depart
ing expedition with the greatest enthusiasm. They passed up
nine miles to Grosse Point, and landed, in consequence of a storm,
New York city, at the age of twenty-three, and went into the boot and
shoe business.
Mr. Scribner emigrated to Michigan in 1836, 'and made Detroit his
home for some months, while he was visiting different parts of the State
to decide upon a place for a permanent location. His choice fell upon
Grand Rapids, and he removed there in the winter of 1836-7 and pre-
emted a tract of land on the west side of the river. There being
conflicting claims to the property, he spent several years in securing a
perfect title. Succeeding in this, he platted it and placed it in the
market. By almost giving away lots, he drew settlers to the west side of
the river, and this tract of land is now an important part of the city of
Grand Rapids, and one of the principal avenues bears Mr. Spencei's
name.
In connection with Mr. E. Turner, he built the first bridge at Grand
424 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
and did not proceed further till mid-day of the twenty-sixth. On
the sixth of June, they reached Michilimackinac, having coasted
along the shore the whole distance, and been detained several
days, in consequence of storms and rainy weather. When they
reached this place, they were saluted from the fort by the firing
of guns, and the inhabitants turned out en masse to bid them wel
come. They spent eight days on this island, recuperating, and
when they took their departure, twenty-two soldiers, under the
command of Lieutenant John S. Pierce, were added to the party.
The expedition now numbered sixty -four persons. They left the
island on the fourteenth of June, and reached the Sault Ste.
Marie on the evening of the sixteenth, and encamped for the night
on the bank of the river.
This place was the seat of government of the Chippewas, and
had been occupied as a military and trading post from an early
period of the settlement of Canada. Under the treaty of Green
ville, made in 1795, a reservation was made, covering any gifts
or grants of land in the Northwest Territory, which the Indians
had formerly made to the French or English, and this reservation
had been renewed and confirmed by subsequent treaties. The
United States now claimed these concessions which had formerly
been made to the French, and General Cass proposed to hold
a council for settling the boundaries of the grant, and by that
Rapids, at Bridge street (the piers of which are still standing and in use),
on contract with the State for six thousand acres of land. In 1848, we
find him associated with Mr. A. B. Turner, in the publication of the
Grand River Eagk.
His public spirit and personal enterprise identified him with many
projects, some of which were eminently successful, and others were
doomed to end in disappointment. One of the prominent enterprises in
which he was a leading and moving spirit — the Grand Rapids and
Indiana Railroad — he did not live to see completed.
Weary with the mental labors of forwarding extensive projects, he
spent the last few years of his life in ordinary business.
Mr Scribner was a man of commanding presence, jolly, frank and
social in his manner, and was known as a warm friend, but an uncom
promising enemy when he felt himself or friends injured. His death
occurred on the 2d of October, 1862.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 425
means obtain an acknowledgment, and a renewal of the conces
sion.
Accordingly, the next day, the council assembled at the mar
quee of the Governor. The chiefs were arrayed in their grandest
HON. R. M'CLELLAND.
ROBERT MCCLELLAND was born on the first day of August, 1807, at
Green Castle, Franklin county, Pennsylvania. Among his ancestors
were several officers of rank in the war of the revolution, and some of
his family connections also distinguished themselves in the war of 1812,
and in that with Mexico.
His father was an eminent physician and surgeon, who studied his
profession under Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, and practiced it
with great success until six months before his death, when he was eighty-
four years of age.
426 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
habiliments, and, besides the usual profusion of feathers, they
made a conspicuous display of the medals which they had from
time to time received from the British government. They entered
the marquee, seated themselves with all their native dignity, and
opened the council with the ceremony of smoking the pipe of
peace. This ceremony over, the object of the council was
explained to them. They paid the strictest attention to the inter
preter's speech, but it was evident at once that it was not well
received. Many of them replied, and expressed strong opposi
tion to the proposed reoccupancy. They at first pretended igno
rance of the former grants to the English and French ; but were
soon pressed from that position by a recurrence to facts of which
they could not pretend to be uninformed. The talk soon became
desultory, and it was evident that they disagreed among them
selves. Some were willing to adjust the boundaries, providing no
military garrison was to be established there. They suggested a
fear that if it was so occupied, their young men might prove
unruly, and kill the hogs and cattle that might stray from the gar
rison. This was construed by General Cass into a threat, and he
Although the family of Mr. McClelland had been in good circum
stances, yet, at the age of seventeen, he was thrown upon his own
resources, and had thereafter to rely upon them.
After passing through the usual course of preliminary study, and
teaching school to obtain the means, he entered Dickinson College, Car
lisle, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated, among the first in his
class, in the year 1829. He then recommenced his school teaching, and
went through the usual course of law study and was admitted to the
bar, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in the year 1831. Soon afterwards,
he removed to the city of Pittsburgh, where he vigorously prosecuted
his profession for almost a year. His early success at the bar was such
as is usual with young practitioners of fair promise.
In the year 1833, Mr. McClelland removed to Monroe, in the Territory
of Michigan, where, after passing through a very severe examination,
such as a committee with Hon. A. D. Fraser, then in full practice, at its
head, would be likely to give, he became a member of the bar of Michi
gan, and entered upon the practice here. The early years in the law
profession furnish a " hard road to travel," but Mr. McClelland found it
as easy, with prospects as bright, as the fortunate aspirants in the pro
fession usually find it.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 427
at once informed them, in a dignified tone and manner, that the
establishment of a garrison at that place was irrevocably settled,
and that, as sure as the sun set in the west, the United States
would send a garrison to that place, whether the grant was
renewed or not. This decisive language had its desired effect, and
at once brought matters to a crisis. High words now passed
between the Indians themselves. Shingabowassin, the head chief
of the band, a tall and stately chieftain, counseled moderation.
Shingwauk, who had been on the war path in 1814, advocated
extreme measures. The last who spoke was Sassaba, a tall, mar
tial looking chief, wearing a British uniform, and uaid to hold the
rank of brigadier-general in the British army. At the close of
his speech he assumed a look of savage wildness, struck his war
lance furiously into the ground, and, retaking it, left the marquee,
spurning the presents which had been laid before him. This
brought the council to a summary close, and the Indians retired
to their encampment, and the Americans to their tents.
As soon as the Indians reached their encampment, they raised
the British flag, and, confident of their invincibility, owing to
In 1835, a convention was called to frame a constitution for the pro
posed State of Michigan. Mr. McClelland was elected a member of this
convention. He took a prominent part in its deliberations and ranked
among its clearest-headed and ablest debaters. After this, he still con
tinued in the practice of his profession at Monroe, and was engaged in
most of the important litigations in that part of the country.
He was appointed the first bank commissioner of the State, by Gover
nor Mason, and was offered the attorne}r-generalship, but declined both
of these offices.
In the year 1837, he was married to Miss Sarah E. Sabin, of Williams-
town, Massachusetts. He has had six children, three of whom now
survive.
In the year 1838, he was elected a member of the State Legislature, in
which he soon became distinguished as the head of several important
committees, speaker pro tempore, and as a very active and efficient
member.
In the year 1840, General Harrison, as candidate^ for the presidency,
swept the country by an overwhelming majority, and at the same time
the State of Michigan was carried by the Whig party, under the popular
cry of " Woodbridge and reform," against the Democratic party.
428 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
their superiority in numbers, they indulged in acts of the grossest
insolence. Matters were now brought to a crisis, and a conflict
seemed inevitable. Only one act could avert it and that act it
required the sublimest courage to perform. But General Cass was
equal to the emergency. He instantly ordered the expedition
under arms, and, calling to his interpreter, he proceeded, unarmed
and alone, to Sassaba's lodge. On reaching it, he indignantly
tore down the British flag, trampled it under his feet, and, turning
to Sassaba, told him that the hoisting of that insulting flag was
an indignity which would never be tolerated on American soil.
He then proceeded to say that the United States were the natural
guardians and friends of the red man, and desired to act justly by
them, and to promote their comfort and happiness ; that the flag
was the emblem of national power, and that two national flags
could not fly in friendship over the same territory ; and that the
red man must not raise any but the American, and that, if they
again did it, the United States government would set a strong foot
upon their necks, and crush them to the earth. He then returned
to his own quarters, taking the offending flag with him.
At this time, Mr. McClelland stood among the acknowledged leaders
of the latter party, was elected a member of the State House of Repre
sentatives, and, with others, adopted a plan to regain a lost authority
and prestige. This party soon came again into power in the State, and
Mr. McClelland being again returned to the St/ite Legislature, his leader
ship was acknowledged by his election as speaker of the House of Repre
sentatives, in the year 1843.
Down to this time, Michigan had constituted one congressional district.
The late Hon. Jacob M. Howard had been elected to Congress against the
Hon. Alpheus Felch, by a strong majority; but, in 1848, so thoroughly
had the Democratic party recovered from its defeat of 1840, that Mr.
McClelland, as candidate for Congress, carried Detroit district by about
2,500 majority.
Mr. McClelland soon took a respectable stand in Congress among the
oldest veterans of that body. During his first term, he was placed on
the committee on commerce and originated what were known as the
harbor bills, and carried them through.
The continued confidence of his constituency was manifested in the
fact, that he was reflected to the Twenty-ninth Congress by a strong
majority. At the opening of this Congress, he had acquired a national
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 429
This act of bravery had its desired effect, and the Indians were
completely overawed. They respect courage, in friend or foe.
Expecting so decisive an act to be followed by an instant attack,
the Indians at once cleared their camp of women and children,
and prepared for battle. The expedition also looked for a con
flict, and held themselves in readiness, expecting every moment
to hear the wild war-whoop. But moderate counsels prevailed
among the Indians ; and, before the day passed, a better feeling
existed among them, and Shingabowassin renewed negotiations.
Before nightfall a treaty was signed, ceding four miles square, and
reserving the perpetual right to fish at the rapids of the river.
This treaty was signed by all the chiefs save Sassaba, the warlike
chieftain whose violent conduct so nearly brought on a conflict.
The next day, the seventeenth of June, the expedition resumed
its journey, and launched their canoes upon the waters of Lake
Superior. On the twenty-first they reached the Pictured Rocks,
which consist of a series of lofty bluffs, extending along the south
ern shore of the lake for several miles, and presenting some of the
most curious, sublime, and commanding views in nature. On the
reputation, and so favorably was he known as a parliamentarian, that
his name was mentioned for speaker of the House of Representatives.
He declined, however, in favor of Hon. John W. Davis, of Indiana, who
was elected. In this term, he was placed at the head of the committee
on commerce, in which position his reports and advocacy of important
measures at once attracted public attention. The members of this com
mittee, as an evidence of the esteem in which they held his services, and
of personal regard for him, presented him with a beautiful cane, which
he now retains as a souvenir of the donors and of his labors in Congress.
So strong was the favor in which he was held by his constituency, that
at the election of 1847, he was reelected for a third term to Congress, not
withstanding the two term principle had then become one of the standing
rules of party discipline. At the opening of the Thirteenth Congress, he
was placed on the committee on foreign relations by the Hon. Mr.
Winthrop, Whig speaker of the House of Representatives. He continued
to justify the confidence which was thus reposed in him, while he
remained a member of Congress. As a member of the committee on
foreign relations, what was known as the French spoliation bill came
under his special charge, and his management of the same was such as
to command universal approbation.
430 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
evening of this day they came across a band of Chippewas, and
were welcomed to their lodges. The Indians proved to be friendly
and hospitable, and entertained the expedition with songs and
dancing. On the twenty-fifth of June they left Lake Superior,
ascended Portage river, and returned home by way of Lake Mich
igan, after having traveled over four thousand miles.
The results of this expedition were, a more thorough knowledge
of a vast region hitherto almost unknown in its important charac
teristics ; a fund of valuable knowledge respecting the numbers
and disposition of various tribes of Indians ; several important
Indian treaties, by which valuable lands were ceded to the United
States ; a more accurate topography of the vast region watered
by the great lakes ; a knowledge of the operations of the North
west Fur Company, and the selection of sites for a line of military
posts.
In the meantime, as before mentioned, public lands had been
brought into market, and sold, in most instances, to actual settlers.
The sales of this and the subsequent year gave a new impetus
to the rising destinies of the Territory. As yet, however, the
While in Congress, Mr. McClelland was an advocate of the right of
petition, as maintained by the distinguished John Q. Adams, when the peti
tion was couched in decorous language, and presented in a proper
manner. This, he regarded as a constitutional right of the citizen,
which should not be impaired by any doctrines of temporary expe
diency. He also voted for the reception of Mr. Giddings' bill for the
abolition of slavery in the district of Columbia.
Mr. McClelland was one of the few Democratic associates, about
eighteen in number, of David Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, in bringing for
ward for adoption by Congress and the country the celebrated " Wilmot
Proviso," with a view to prevent the further extension of slavery in new
territory, which might be acquired by the United States. He and Mr.
Wilmot messed together at the time in Washington, and were on intimate
and confidential terms.
He was in several national conventions, and in the Baltimore conven
tion which nominated General Cass for the presidency in 1848, and did
valiant service in that year in favor of the election of that distinguished
statesman to the high position for which he had been selected.
On leaving Congress, in 1849, Mr. McClelland returned to his practice
in Monroe. In 1850, a convention of the State of Michigan was called
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 431
great want of the people was roads, and but few had been con
structed. What few there were in existence were in a miserable
condition, and almost impassable for the traveler. Congress was
appealed to, and responded in a liberal manner. Bills were
passed and appropriations made for opening the road between
Detroit and the Miami river, for the construction of a road from
Detroit to Chicago, a road from Detroit to Fort Gratiot, and for
the improvement of La Ploisance bay.
The system of surveys of the public domain was carried into
the Territory. Two straight lines were drawn through the center
of the Territory — east and west, north and south. The north and
south line was called the principal meridian, and the line east and
west was called the base line. The Territory was then divided
into townships, six miles square, and the townships were subdi
vided into sections, a mile square. These townships were then
numbered, increasing from the meridian and base lines. By this
means mathematical accuracy was obtained in the surveys, and
the system of marking divisions and subdivisions furnished unmis
takable evidence of the true boundaries of each tract surveyed.
to revise the State Constitution. He was elected a member, and was
regarded therein as among the ablest and most experienced leaders. His
clear judgment and wise moderation were conspicuous, both in the com
mittee room and on the floor in debate.
Mr. McClelland was an advocate of the great compromise measures of
Mr. Clay, and, while a member of the constitutional convention, in 1850,
attended a large meeting of the friends of those measures at the State
capitol, where he was active in giving form to a series of resolutions,
which were adopted in favor of the so called compromise measures.
In the fall of 1850, he was a member and president of a Democratic
State convention, which, with his cordial approval, also adopted resolu
tions in support of the compromise measures. But the anti-slavery agita
tion was too strong to be arrested by any such means. It finally took
four years of civil war and desolation, to settle the slavery question in
the United States.
He was in the Democratic national convention of 1852. In that year,
he, in company with General Cass and Governor Felch, made a thorough
canvass of the State. The pending political issues were thoroughly
discussed, and he continued a strong advocate of the Clay compromise
measures. He took an active part generally in the canvass which
432 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ID 1821 there was still a tract lying south of Grand River that
had not been added to the United States, and it became necessary
once more for Governor Cass to negotiate with the Indians.
Accordingly, in the summer of that year, he embarked in a birch
canoe for another long journey over stream and portage. The
route selected, it is needless to say, was different from the one that
is usually traveled to-day. The place he desired to reach was
Chicago, and the route was as follows : Leaving Detroit, he
descended to the mouth of the Maumee river. He ascended that
river and crossed the intervening country to the Wabash, and,
descending that stream to the Ohio, proceeded down the Ohio to
the Mississippi river ; ascended that river to the Illinois, and
thence by that river to Chicago. It was a long, lonely and cir
cuitous voyage, and is mentioned for the purpose of reminding
the reader of the difficulties and hardships encountered by our
early pioneers, and to show what changes a half a century has
wrought.
The American commissioners were General Cass and Judge
Sibley, of Detroit. Here an incident occurred which illustrates
in a striking manner one of the peculiar phases of Indian charac-
resulted in the election of General Pierce to the presidency over General
Scott.
In 1851, the new State convention took effect, and it was necessary
that a governor should be elected for the short term of one year, in order
to prevent an interregnum, and to bring the State government under the
new constitution into operation in harmony with the old one. Mr.
McClelland was elected as Governor, and then, in the fall of 1852, he was
reflected for the term of two years from the first of January, 1853. His
administration as Governor was regarded as wise, prudent and concilia
tory, and it was as popular as could be expected at a time when party
spirit ran high. There was really no opposition to it, and when he
resigned, in March, 1853, the State treasury was full to overflowing, and
the State was otherwise prosperous.
So thoroughly and favorably had Mr. McClelland become known as a
national statesman, that on the organization of the Cabinet by President
Pierce, in March, 1853, he was invited to take the position of Secretary
of the Interior, a place which he filled during four }rears of the Pierce
administration most creditably.
He carried into the Cabinet his genial temperament and his conciliatory
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 433
ter. As a preliminary step to the negotiations, the commissioners
ordered that no spirits should be given to the Indians, and
informed them that " the bungs were driven into the barrels."
This was a serious matter in the eyes of these thirsty sons of the
forest, and forthwith a deputation of chiefs waited upon the com
missioners to remonstrate. At the head of the deputation was an
aged chieftain, on whose head the frosts of nearly a hundred win
ters had rested, but who was still, as will be seen, in the full pos
session of his mental faculties, and physically well preserved.
The commissioners urged every argument to convince him of the
propriety of the course they had adopted, but all to no purpose.
" Father," said the hoary-headed chief, when he was urged to
remain sober and make a good bargain for his people, " Father,
we do not care for the land, nor the money, nor the goods. What
we want is whisky. Give us whisky." But the commissioners
were inexorable, and the Indians were forced to content them
selves. A treaty was finally entered into by which nearly all the
country within the bounds of Michigan, south of Grand river,
and not before ceded, was granted to the United States.
Soon after the return of the commissioners to Detroit, Gover-
spirit. He thoroughly reorganized his department, reduced the expen
ditures, adopted a course with the Indians \vhich relieved them from the
impositions and annoyances of the traders, produced harmony and
extended civilization among them, and during his administration there
were no complaints by, and no outbreaks in the different tribes; there was
no corruption among agents, and none in any of the bureaus. No parti
san distinctions were made among the clerks, and merit alone was
regarded in making promotions. No censure or complaint was made
from partisan or other sources. His intercourse with all was courteous
and indulgent, and when he left the department it had been brought into
perfect order and system. He had otherwise performed its duties to the
entire satisfaction of the President and his fellow-members of the Cabinet,
as well as to the public at large.
In 1867, Michigan again called a convention to revise the State Consti
tution. Mr. McClelland was a member, and here again his long and tried
experience made him conspicuous as a prudent adviser, and as a sagacious
parliamentary leader.
As a lawyer, he was terse and pointed in the argument of law ques
tions, and clear, candid and forcible in his addresses to juries. His great
28
434 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
nor Cass was called upon to exercise the pardoning power in two
cases of murder. The novelty of the cases impels a mention
of them in this volume. Two Indians, named respectively
Ketawka and Kewabiskim, had been tried by the Supreme Court
of the Territory, and found guilty — one for the murder of Dr.
Madison, of the United States Army, and the other of the mur
der of a trader at Green Bay. An application was made to the
Governor to pardon them. The attitude of our relations with the
Indians at the time rendered the decision of the question some
what embarrassing. Besides, it was well known to the Governor
that the British, who were seeking every opportunity to foment
quarrels between the Indians and our people, would take advan
tage of the execution of the murderers, and endeavor to excite
the savages to fresh atrocities against the peaceful settlers of the
Territory. Another consideration which had some weight in the
mind of the Governor was that higher or more certain evidence
of malice aforethought should be required in the case of a savage.
Some time elapsed before the decision was made, but finally the
conclusion was arrived at that the evidence was too clear to allow
of executive interference, and the law was allowed to take its
course.
sincerity and earnestness, with which he occasionally intermixed a pleas
ant humor and a light playfulness, showing his complete mastery of his
subject, were sure to carry most doubtful cases in his favor.
In his political addresses before the people, he was especially forcible
and happy. The arrangement of his argument was natural, and, going
directly to the strong points in his favor, and to the weak points of his
adversary, he could carry his audience with him on most occasions.
In private party consultations, he was always regarded as a prudent
and safe adviser, urging^an avoidance of all extremes, and the pursuit of
the golden mean, as the surest way to success.
In the year 1870, being in private life, he made the tour of Europe,
which, through his extensive learning, and his personal acquaintance
with many of the European diplomats, he was well calculated to relish
and enjoy as few tourists are enabled to do.
Mr. McClelland is a genial companion, a good neighbor, an earnest
friend, and his great experience and extended knowledge of men and
public officers enables him to observe with deep interest the great pano
rama of public events, and enjoy all the attractions of private life.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 435
December twenty-fifth, 1821, was the day fixed for the execution
of the prisoners. They met their fate with the stoical indifference
which it is the pride of the Indian to exhibit when his fate is
sealed, and resistance out of the question. After their own cus
toms, they prepared to meet their fate. They laid aside, as an
offering to the Great Spirit, all the tobacco, pipes, and such other
articles as they were possessed of. They drew a piece of leather
over their drinking vessel, thus forming a kind of drum, around
which, after painting their faces black, they danced their death
dance and sang their death song. They drew upon the prison
walls, in red paint, rude figures of men, beasts and reptiles. On
their blankets they painted a representation of the execution of
an Indian by hanging. The gallows was erected in plain view of
their prison window, and they were informed that it was for their
execution. But the sight excited no expression of dread or fear
of death. They had resolved to die, as their fathers had died,
heroically, and with no exhibition of emotion or weakness. When
the day of execution arrived they were as stoical as ever, and
ascended the platform with the utmost firmness and composure.
When the fatal moment arrived, they shook hands with their
counsel and others who stood near, and asked pardon of the peo
ple for the crime they had committed. Then, shaking hands with
each other, the black caps were drawn over their faces, and, hand-
in-hand, they passed over to the happy hunting grounds.
The following year it became necessary, so rapid was the settle
ment of the country going forward, to create six new counties.
These extended from the head of Lake Erie, parallel with the
Detroit river and Lake St. Clair, towards Saginaw Bay. The
counties thus laid out were Lapeer, Sanilac, Saginaw, Shiawassee,
Washtenaw and Lenawee. Public travel also began to increase,
and for the first time in the Territory a stage line was established.
This line of stages ran from Detroit to the county seat of Macomb
county, connecting with the steamer Walk-in-the- Water.
In 1823, Congress passed an act changing the form of the Terri
torial government. This act abrogated the legislative power of
the Governor and Judges, and established a Legislative Council, to
consist of nine members. These members were to be appointed
436 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, out of eighteen candidates elected by the
people of the Territory. This council and the Governor of the
Territory were invested with the same powers which had been
before granted by the ordinance of 1787 to the Governor, Legis
lative Council and House of Representatives of the Northwestern
Territory. By this law the term of a judicial office was limited to
four years, and eligibility to office required the same qualifications
as the right of suffrage.
This act met the cordial approbation of the people of the Ter
ritory. They were now invested with a more compact and ener
getic government. An interest was awakened in the minds of the
people in the affairs of their government, and they began to
experience that sensation of citizenship which underlies the growth
and prosperity of all civilized communities.
The first Legislative Council convened under this act met for the
first time at the council house at Detroit, on the seventh day of
June, 1824. Governor Cass then delivered his message, briefly
reviewing the progress of the Territory since his administration
commenced, and marking out what he considered the proper line
of policy in its existing condition. Amongst other matters to
which the Governor called the attention of the council was that of
schools and education — a subject not so much discussed or gener
ally appreciated as since.
In the course of this year Governor Cass called the attention of
the general government to the mineral resources of the Lake
Superior country, and asked that steps might be taken to procure
from the Indians the privilege of exploring and mining in that
country. In compliance with this recommendation, the Senate
passed a bill conferring authority on the President to appoint a
commissioner to treat with the Indians for this purpose. The
House, however, refused to concur; but at the next session of
Congress the bill passed both Houses. This was the first legisla
tion which led to the commencement of mining operations on
Lake Superior.
In November, 1826, the council again convened. During that
session they were called upon to consider a question which, sev-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
437
eral years after, threatened to embroil the Territory in an armed
conflict with the State of Ohio. This was in reference to the
dividing line between Michigan and the contiguous States of Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois. A discussion of this question, is, however,
more properly reserved for a future chapter.
M. V. BORGMAN.
MARTIN V. BORGMAN, who has efficiently discharged the duties of
superintendent of the metropolitan police department of Detroit since
1866, was born in Minster, Ohio, in 1838.
At the age of twenty he visited Michigan, and in 1861 he was among
the first citizens of Detroit who volunteered to serve the State in the
Union army to suppress the rebellion. He entered as a private, and three
years later returned with the honors of first lieutenant. Soon after his
return he was appointed by the board of police commissioners to the
position of captain of the Detroit police force, an appropriate recognition
438 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
In the meantime, a change had been made in the manner of
selecting the minor officers of the Territory. All the county
officers, save those of a judicial character, were made elective by
the people, and all executive appointments were required to be
approved by the Legislative Council. An act was also passed
empowering the Governor and council to divide the Territory into
townships, to incorporate the same, and to define their rights and
privileges.
The country was now rapidly increasing in wealth and popula
tion. A new impetus had been given to the growth of the whole
Northwest, by the opening, in 1825, of the Erie canal from the
Hudson river to Buffalo. The effect of the completion of this mag
nificent enterprise was to cheapen transportation, and give to the
West the foreign merchandise of which it stood in need, at a
greatly reduced price. At the same time it had the effect of
enhancing the price of the agricultural products of the West in a
still greater proportion. Consequently, lands increased in value,
and new facilities and new motives were offered for settlement.
The Walk-in-the- Water was now found too slow and of insuffi
cient capacity to accommodate the travelers and their goods over
the rough waters of the lakes. To accommodate this increase, the
Henry Clay, and other steam vessels, were built. To meet the
increasing demand for land, new surveys were made, and large
tracts of land thrown upon the market. Capital began to flow in
and seek investment in the fertile acres which were thrown open
for settlement. Improvements, local and general, were made ;
the small settlements began to swell into villages ; public edifices
and private mansions were projected and built ; the echo of the
of his services in the war. Subsequently, Superintendent Drake tendered
Ms resignation, which was accepted by the board, and thus devolved
upon Captain Borgman the functions of that official station, in addition
to the duties of his own office. His deportment under these trying cir
cumstances was highly commendable, and secured his promotion to the
high station of superintendent soon after Mr. Drake's resignation, in 1866.
Since that time Mr. Borgman has continued in the same responsible
office, and enjoys to-day the entire support of the police board, with the
confidence and esteem of the whole public.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 439
woods was supplanted by the busy hum of commerce ; and rich
fields of golden grain, and other products of agricultural industry,
were to be seen on every hand, and were harvested and shipped
to the sea-board. Michigan now began to be considered the asy
lum and the retreat for all who would better their fortunes by
industry. It was, indeed, a country where honest industry was
sure to be rewarded by a competence, and eventual wealth. The
hardy pioneers scattered all over the country ; the stroke of the
woodman's axe made the ancient woods resound, and the smoke
of their cabins everywhere ascended from the depths of the forest.
The lakes and rivers presented a no less busy scene. The white
wings of commerce were spread upon their waters, and the black
smoke of mighty steamers, like a portentous cloud, stretched
along the horizon. The reign of nature in these mighty forests
had ended — the reign of man had begun.
In the meantime, in order to meet the claims of the increasing
population of the Territory, new privileges of a political charac
ter had been granted them. The Legislative Council was increased
to thirteen members, to be chosen by the President from twenty-
six selected as candidates by the people. This change was made
in 1825. In 1827 an act was passed authorizing the electors to
choose their representatives directly, without the further sanction
of either the President or Congress. The power of enacting laws
was given to the council, subject, however, to the approval of
Congress, and the veto of the Governor of the Territory. Upon
this footing the government of the Territory remained until the
organization of the State government.
The prosperity of the Territory continued to ^increase from this
time forward ; and it is but simple justice to say that to the wise
and beneficent administration of Governor Cass this unexampled
growth is to be, in a great measure, attributed. It would be
unjust, however, to omit the just praise to which his counselors
are entitled. William Woodbridge, particularly, who was the
Secretary of the Territory during the administration of Governor
Cass, and acting governor during the absence of the chief execu
tive, is entitled to great credit for the ability and untiring zeal
with which he performed the arduous duties of his office. He was
440 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
also the Territorial delegate to Congress during a portion of the
time, and ably represented his constituency in that body. He
was a man of great culture and refinement, and strictly honorable
and conscientious in his official and private life. He retired from
the office of Secretary of the Territory in 1828, when he was suc
ceeded by James Witherell, who held the office two years, and
was succeeded by the appointment of General John T. Mason
of Kentucky.
In 1831, Governor Cass was appointed Secretary of War in the
Cabinet of President Jackson, and he thereupon retired from the
office of Governor of Michigan, having served in that capacity
for the period of eighteen years. He had been appointed six
times, running through the presidency of Madison, Monroe, and
John Quincy Adams — without a single representation against
him from the people in all that time, or a single vote against
him in the Senate. He had, in the meantime, faithfully dis
charged his duties as Indian Commissioner, and had concluded
nineteen treaties with the Indians, and acquired large cessions in
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. The people
of the Territory fully appreciated his worth at the time, as was
more than once manifested in after years.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR PORTER — THE BLACK HAWK WAR
— CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS — THE FIRST RAILROAD COMPANY ORGAN
IZED — BANKS CHARTERED — COMMON SCHOOLS ORGANIZED — CHANGE
IN THE METHOD OF DISPOSING OF PUBLIC LANDS — DEATH OF GOV
ERNOR PORTER.
UPON the elevation of General Cass to a seat in the cabinet of
President Jackson, and his consequent resignation of the office of
Governor of the Territory of Michigan, General George B. Por
ter, of Pennsylvania, was appointed governor. This occurred in
July, A. D. 1831, and Governor Porter entered upon the dis
charge of the duties of his office on the twenty-second of the fol
lowing September. The population of the Territory at that time
amounted to about thirty-five thousand.
The administration of Governor Porter presents but few points
that possess attractions for the pen of the historian. It was a
time of almost profound peace. The terrible wars which had
devastated the country in former years were over. The Territory
was on the high road to prosperity and affluence. The arts of
peace alone were cultivated. It is at such times that States grow
to greatness, such as wealth and population can give ; but it is
the tale of hardships, struggles, bloodshed and rapine that fills the
pages of a nation's history. Fortunately for Michigan, the long
struggle for the mastery of her soil was now practically ended,
and the attention of her people and her rulers was directed to the
promotion of her material advancement and the development of
her resources. The only war cloud that appeared above the hori
zon during the administration of Governor Porter was what is
known as the Black Hawk war ; but this was confined, in its
effects on Michigan, more to that part of the Territory now con
stituting the State of Wisconsin, than to the peninsula. Gover-
442 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
nor Porter, however, cooperated with the executives of the States
of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, and furnished militia from the
western part of the Territory to aid in punishing the savages.
The campaign was short and decisive, and ended in the unquali
fied submission of the hostile party, and in the adoption of meas
ures for the permanent security of the frontier. Treaties of
cession were formed with the Winnebagoes, and the Sacs and
Foxes, by which the Indian title was extinguished to all the coun
try south of the Ouisconsin and east of the Mississippi, and to an
extensive region west of that river.
During Governor Porter's administration, Wisconsin, which
had before been annexed to Michigan, was erected into a separate
Territory. In the meantime the commerce on Lake Erie was
rapidly increasing. Many new townships were organized, and
roads were constructed into the interior. In looking over the
records of that time, it is found that in the year 1832 alone there
were roads constructed, or authorized by the Territorial council
as follows : From Point du Chene to the Fort Gratiot turnpike,
from Battle Creek to the mouth of the Kalamazoo river, from a
point on the Chicago road to the county seat of Calhoun county,
from Pontiac to Ann Arbor, from Southfield to Detroit, from
Kochester to Lapeer, from Pontiac to Adrian, from Vistula to
Indiana, from Branch county to the mouth of the St. Joseph's
river, from Ten Eycks to the principal meridian, from Ecorse to
the Chicago road, from Jacksonburgh to the mouth of the St.
Joseph's river, and from Monguagon to St. Joseph's. In conse
quence of these improvements, the country became better known,
a spirit of speculation became awakened, and, in addition to the
actual settlers, there were hundreds of speculators traversing the
woods in search of eligible lands, which they purchased and held
for an increase in value. The same year the Legislative Council
passed an act to provide for the establishment and regulation of
common schools. An act was also passed incorporating "The
Lake Michigan Steamboat Company," with a capital of forty •
thousand dollars. The names of the corporators were, James
Abbott, Oliver Newberry, Benjamin F. Lamed, B. Kercheval,
John Palmer, and Reynold Gillett. The Legislative Council of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
443
that year is also entitled to the credit of having passed the first
act of incorporation under which a railroad company was organ
ized in Michigan. This was the act incorporating the Detroit and
St. Joseph Kailroad Company. The names of the commissioners
JOHN P. ALLISON.
JOHN P. ALLISON, a prominent business man of East Saginaw, was
born in the town of Haverstraw, Rockland county, in the State of New
York, April 15, 1817.
At an early age, he removed to New York city, and [from there emi
grated to Michigan, in June, 1854, taking up his residence in East
Saginaw, then but a small village. In his journey from New York, Mr.
Allison traveled by railroad and boat to Detroit, and found the accom
modations for travelers in those days far different from w^at they are at
444 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
were John Biddle, John K. Williams, Charles Larned, E. P.
Hastings, Oliver Newberry, De Garmo James, James Abbott,
John Gilbert, Abel Millington, Job Gorton, John Allen, Anson
Brown, Samuel W. Dexter, W. E. Perrine, William A. Thomp
son, Isaac Crary, O. W. Golden, Caleb Eldred, Cyrus Lovell, Cal
vin Brittain, and Talman Wheeler. The State reserved the right
to purchase the road at its original cost and fourteen per cent
interest. The act also contained the following provision :
" Said corporation, hereby created, shall have power to con
struct a single or double railroad, from the city of Detroit to the
mouth of the St. Joseph river, commencing at Detroit, and pass
ing through, or as near as practicable to the village of Ypsilanti
and the county seats of Washtenaw, Jackson, Calhoun, and Kala-
mazoo, with power to transport, take and carry property and per
sons upon the same, by the power and force of steam, of animals,
or of any mechanical, or other power, or of any combination of
them."
It also provided that the road should be completed within thirty
years. As this road was the one now known as the Michigan
Central Railroad, it is needless to add that the latter condition
was complied with. The same council also passed an act incor
porating the " Bank of the River Raisin," with a branch at Pon-
present. From Detroit he went to Pontiac by rail, and from there he
traversed the remainder of his journey to East Saginaw by the old
fashioned stage-coach.
Arriving at East Saginaw, he soon afterwards became engaged in the
manufacture of lumber (an occupation that pretty much everybody in
that region was interested in at that time), and has since built up a vast
and lucrative trade in that commodity.
Mr. Allison was also an early adventurer in the saline experiments of
the Saginaws, and was the second person to produce a good article of
merchant salt. He likewise enjoys the reputation of being one of the
pioneer farmers of the Saginaw valley, having, at an early day, cleared
up and placed under good cultivation a large farm near the city of East
Saginaw, upon which he now resides.
Mr. Allison's character is such as to command the respect and esteem
of his fellow-citizens, and his industry, enterprise and integrity are well
worthy of emulation by the young men of the country, who by their
own exertions expect to attain positions of honor and trust.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
445
tiac. This was the third bank established in the Territory. Pre
vious to this the Bank of Michigan (1817), with a branch at Bron-
son, had been incorporated, and also, in 1829, the Farmers' and
Mechanics' Bank of Michigan, with a branch at St. Joseph's.
COUNTRY RESIDENCE OF W. W. BACKUS.
The above engraving represents the country residence of Mr. W. Wood-
bridge Backus, grandson of the late William Woodbridge. It is" situated at
Grosse Point, about eight miles above Detroit, and commands an exten
sive view of the beautiful Lake St. Glair, the great highway of the
nation's commerce. Grosse Point is rapidly becoming the favorite
locality for the summer residences of the wealthy citizens of the metrop
olis. In salubrity of climate, beauty of scenery, proximity to the city of
Detroit, and all that goes to make a desirable country-seat, it already
stands without a rival.
The earliest settlers were French, many of whom were men of high
social and political standing in la belle France, but who emigrated to this
country to seek a home free from the terrible political strifes which con-
446 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The same council authorized a vote of the inhabitants to be
taken on the question of organizing a State government, and ask
ing admission into the Union. A vote was accordingly taken on
the first Tuesday of October of that year, which resulted in a
small majority in favor of the measure. But the vote was exceed
ingly light, and a question arose as to whether it really represented
the sentiments of the majority of the people, or not. Governor
Porter, in his message, recommended that, in view of the facts,
another vote should be taken ; but he was overruled by the coun
cil, and a memorial was sent to Congress, setting forth the facts,
and praying for action by that body. It does not appear, however,
that the petition was considered, as it was not till two years after
wards that serious measures were taken to secure a State organiza
tion.
vulsed their native land. They readily appreciated and seized upon this
lovely spot, and made it their home. The descendants of one or two
families retain to this day the original letters patent granted by the
unfortunate Louis XV. Grosse Point is rich in historical incident. It
was the place most resorted to by the numerous tribes of Indians as their
place of meeting to make their treaties with each other and smoke the
pipe of peace. It was there that the fierce and warlike tribes, the Sacs
and the Foxes, fought their last and most sanguinary battle, a battle
which resulted in the extermination of the first mentioned tribe. The
little creek on whose banks this battle was fought took its name from the
victors, a name which it still retains. Near this place is Presque Isle,
where the lighthouse now stands. That locality was held by the Indians
in sacred veneration, from the fact of its being the burial place for the
numerous tribes inhabiting this portion of the lower peninsula. It was
also the rallying point for Pontiac and his confederated tribes during the
terrible war which he waged against Detroit.
Around Mr. Backus' residence are many of the oldest landmarks, mak
ing the place truly historical. In the front garden, as will be seen by the
engraving, are numerous apple and pear trees, ranging from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred years old. With the hammock stretched
beneath the branches of these venerable old trees, and the breeze from
Lake St. Clair gently fanning the whole neighborhood, there is no more
healthy or delightful spot in Michigan. Mr. Backus resides in this beau
tiful home during the summer months, and when the chilly winds of
autumn render the place too cold for comfort he retreats to his city resi
dence, on Fort street west.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN. 447
About this time a change was made in the manner of disposing
of the public lands, which was of great benefit to the settlers in
the West. Previous to the year 1820, the price of government
land was two dollars an acre. One-fourth of this was to be paid
down at the time of purchase, and the remainder in three annual
installments. The land was subject to forfeiture if these payments
were not promptly met. A discount was allowed, however, of
eight per cent, if the whole amount was paid in advance. This
system was found to be productive of serious evils. The hope of
gain ^induced many to make large purchases. Some, it is true,
realized large fortunes, while others, whose judgment was not so
good, were left without the means of paying when their payments
became due, and their lands were consequently subject to forfeit
ure. This led to a total change of the system. The price was
reduced to one dollar and a quarter an acre, and the whole was
required to be paid at the time of purchase. This was attended
with the desired effects. It prevented much loss to the govern
ment, saved a great deal of trouble, discouraged reckless specula
tion, and enabled the honest and industrious settler, with moderate
means, to acquire a clear and unincumbered title to his lands.
On the sixth day of July, 1834, the office of Governor became
vacant, by the death of Governor Porter. By the provision of
law for the government of the Territory in case of the death,
removal, resignation, or necessary absence of the Governor, the
Secretary of the Territory was required to execute the powers and
perform all the duties of Governor during the vacancy. The
functions of the office, consequently, devolved upon the Secretary,
Stevens T. Mason.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE ORGANIZATION OF A STATE GOVERNMENT— THE BOUNDARY QUES
TION — THE TOLEDO WAR — INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS — SETTLEMENT
OF THE QUESTION — ADMISSION OF MICHIGAN INTO THE UNION.
THE ordinance of 1787 provided that the Northwest Territory
should be divided into not less than three States, nor more than
five, as Congress should determine. Three States had already
been formed from that Territory, viz : Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
By that ordinance, and subsequent acts of Congress, conferring
upon Michigan the benefits contained in its provisions, Michigan
was entitled to admission into the Union as a State so soon as her
free white population numbered sixty thousand. In 1834, Michi
gan took the preliminary steps to secure for herself the rights to
which she claimed to be entitled. On the sixth of September of
that year, the Legislative Council passed an act directing a census
to be taken. The result showed that there were 87,273 free white
inhabitants in the Territory. At the next session of the Council,
in January, 1835, an act was passed authorizing a convention to
be held at Detroit, on the second Monday of May following.
This convention was composed of eighty-nine delegates. It met
upon the day specified, and continued in session till the twenty-
fourth of June. A Constitution was formed and submitted to the
people in the October following, and by them adopted. At the
same election, a full set of State officers and a legislature were
elected to act under the Constitution. In November following,
the legislature met, and the whole machinery of a State govern
ment was set in motion. Stevens T. Mason, the Secretary of the
Territory, and acting governor after the decease of Governor Por
ter, was the Governor of the new State.
In the meantime, the difficulty in reference to the southern
boundary of the Territory was rapidly approaching a crisis. To
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
449
give a full and complete history of this difficulty, and relate all
the incidents, ludicrous and otherwise, that occurred during the
progress of the contest, would require a volume. The most that
can be done in the space allotted is to give the leading facts con
nected with it.
HON. GEORGE VAN NESS LOTHROP.
THE name which heads this brief article is a familiar one in every
town of this State, and widely known throughout the entire Northwest.
Except for the sudden political revolution which swept the West during
the last dozen years, and which still holds the great majority of the people
beneath the sway of its opinions, the name and abilities of Mr. Lothrop
would doubtless ere this have had a national renown. But having in early
life identified himself with the Democratic party, and this organization
having commenced decay shortly after Mr. Lothrop entered that period of
29
450 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The origin of this dispute was not dissimilar to the causes
which produced the several State and colonial contentions for
boundary among the original States of the confederacy, all of
which arose either from ignorance of local geography, the unap
preciated importance of the incipient colony, or an unpardonable
disregard of the sacredness of vested rights. In consequence of
these loose notions, or inadvertence to rights once granted, char
tered rights were frequently conferred by the Crown of England
to one company, and at a succeeding day the same territory was
included in the charter of another.
Michigan claimed for her southern boundary a line running
east across the peninsula from the extreme southern point of Lake
Michigan, extending through Lake Erie, to the Pennsylvania
line. This she claimed as a vested right — a right accruing to
her by compact. This compact was the ordinance of 1787, the
parties to which were the original thirteen States, and the Terri
tory northwest of the Ohio ; and, by the succession of parties
under statutory amendments to the ordinance and laws of Con
gress — the United States on the one part, and each Territory
northwest of the Ohio, as far as affected by their provisions, on the
other. Michigan, therefore, claimed under the prior grant, or
assignation of boundary.
Ohio, on the other hand, claimed that the ordinance had been
his life when his talents began to make him conspicuous among his fel
lows, the opportunity for his political distinction narrowed with every
year. His friends, however, with a passionate devotion rivaling that
which inspired the enthusiastic followers of Henry Clay, clung hopefully
to him, and repeatedly and persistently thrust him forward as their
chosen leader for congressional honors. Believing him without a peer
in point of professional ability as well as in native talent, they bade him
lead the forlorn hope of their party through several successive and
desperate campaigns immediately preceding the outbreak of the war.
With a gallantly and an untiring zeal peculiar to men of his tempera
ment, he flung himself into the strife and did brave battle for the
standard under which he fought. But as those familiar with the rising
political tide of that period in the country's history well remember, such
a combat was like unto a man battling against the billows of the ocean.
Not he only, but his entire party passed into the minority, and have
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 451
superseded by the Constitution of the United States, and that Con
gress had the right to regulate the boundary. It was also claimed
that the Constitution of the State of Ohio having described a
different line, and Congress having admitted the State under that
Constitution, without mentioning the subject of the line in dispute,
Congress had thereby given its consent to the line as laid down by
the Constitution of Ohio. This claim was urged by Ohio at some
periods of the controversy, but at others she appeared to regard
the question as unsettled, by the fact that she insisted upon Con
gress taking action in regard to the boundary. Accordingly, we
find that, in 1812, Congress authorized the Surveyor-General to
survey a line, agreeably to the act, to enable the people of Ohio
to form a Constitution and State government. Owing to Indian
hostilities, however, the line was not run till 1818. In 1820, the
question in dispute underwent a rigid examination by the com
mittee on public lands. The claim of Ohio was strenuously urged
by her delegation, and as ably opposed by Mr. Woodbridge, the
then delegate from Michigan. The result was that the committee
decided unanimously in favor of the claim of Michigan ; but, in
the hurry of business, no action was then taken by Congress, and
the question remained open till Michigan organized her State gov
ernment.
In order to show more clearly the grounds upon which Michi-
remained outside of active political life ever since. Many of Mr.
Lothrop's friends, however, well knowing his great abilities, his varied
culture, his unspotted integrity, his public spirit, and his extraordinary
gifts as a public debater and orator, although opposed to him in their
political faith, nevertheless sincerely desired to see him in the councils of
the nation. Even though in opposition to the dominant party, they
would have been glad if his superior gifts could even thus have been
given to the nation at large. But so strong were his political preferences
(or perhaps we should rather say connections), that while scores of men
were leaving the ranks of the Democratic party and attaching their
fortunes to the new organization then rising rapidly into popular favor,
he preferred to "fling away ambition," and give himself loyally, faith
fully, absolutely to the profession of his choice. "The law," some old
black-letter writer says, " is a hard mistress," and, we doubt not, Mr.
Lothrop, as he looks back over his severe and constant labors at the bar
452 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
gan based her claims, the following recited acts will be of interest :
The ordinance of 1787 "for the government of the territory
of the United States northwest of the River Ohio," declares the
acts therein contained " articles of compact between the original
States and the people and States in said territory, and forever to
remain unalterable, unless by common consent." This ordinance
defines the territory to include all that region lying north and
northwest of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi rivers. In
the fifth article it is provided that there shall be formed not less
than three nor more than five States within its confines. The
boundaries of the three States are defined so as to include the
whole territory ; conditioned, however, that if 'it should be found
expedient by Congress to form the one or two more States men
tioned, Congress is authorized to alter the boundaries of the three
States " so as to form one or two States in that part of the said
territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through
the southerly bend, or extreme of Lake Michigan."
The first act touching this point, is an act of Congress passed in
1802, enabling the people of Ohio to form a Constitution. The
boundary of that State is declared to be, " on the north by an
east and west line drawn through the southerly extreme of Lake
Michigan, running east, after intersecting the due north line afore
said from the mouth of the Great Miami, until it shall intersect
for the last thirty years (the record of which will be found in the twenty-
eight volumes of our Michigan Reports from the first to the last), will be
inclined right heartiljfrto indorse the sentiment.
With a mind of rare native strength, clear in its perceptions, naturally
inclined towards metaphysical studies (often wandering into stealthy
indulgences of this sort), yet never allowing his pursuit of them to
bear him away from a sure anchor-hold on the ground of common
sense; gifted with a beauty and fluency of speech that permits us with
out exaggeration to characterize his eloquence as certainly Ciceronian if
not Attic ; with a memory stored with more than ample gleanings,
gathered not only in the field of his profession, but also in those of
philosophy and letters, as well as the various branches of natural science,
he seems to be not only well but lavishly furnished with all the various
endowments calculated to build up and make a man of power; and this he
is. This, too, we believe all his friends and contemporaries readily con-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 453
Lake Erie, or the Territorial line, and thence, with the same,
through Lake Erie, to the Pennsylvania line." The Constitution
of Ohio adopted the same line, with this condition : " Provided,
always, and it is hereby fully understood and declared by this con
vention, that if the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan
should extend so far south, that a line drawn due east from it
should not intersect Lake Erie, or, if it should intersect Lake Erie
east of the mouth of the Miami river, then, in that case, with the
assent of the Congress of the United ^States, the northern bound
ary of this State shall be established by, and extend to, a direct
line, running from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to
the most northerly cape of the Miami bay, after intersecting the
due north line from the mouth of the Great Miami, as aforesaid,
thence northeast to the Territorial line, and by said Territorial line
to the Pennsylvania line."
At the next session of Congress the Constitution of Ohio was
submitted to that body, and referred to a committee of the House,
which reported that, " as the suggested alteration was not submit
ted in the shape of a distinct proposition, by any competent
authority, for approval or disapproval, it was not necessary or
expedient for Congress to act on it at all." And it was not acted
upon until another disposition was made of it, as we shall see, in
1805. The proposition was considered by all parties concerned, to
cede him to be — nay, more, the writer of this article does not hesitate to
assert that his professional brethren throughout the State, without detract
ing from the merits of others, would and do alregflfy unite to crown him
primus inter pares — the leading lawyer of this State. As such, he is
justly entitled to a page in this volume, and being still in his prime, it is
the hope of his friends that even yet in the upturnings and overturnings
of modern politics, the State, if not the nation at large, may be awarded
in some judicial or other administrative position, some of the advantages
of his great learning and thorough culture.
A sketch of his life would give his birth at Easton, Bristol county,
Massachusetts, on the 8th day of August, 1817. His early years were
spent upon his father's farm. After an academical course, he entered
Brown University, and graduated under its distinguished president, Dr.
Francis Wayland, in the year 1838. In the fall of the same year, he
entered the law school of Harvard University, then in charge of Judge
454 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
be of a distinct character, requiring the special consent of Con
gress to make it a valid part of the Constitution of Ohio ; and
that it had ever been so regarded by Ohio, her repeated applica
tion to Congress for the right of extending her boundary to the
proposed line would seem to demonstrate.
Again, the third section of the act of 1802 provides that all
that part of the territory lying north of this east and west line,
shall be " attached to,aand make a part of, the Indiana territory."
Again, the act of 1805, entitled " an act to divide the Indiana
territory into separate governments," erects Michigan into a sep
arate Territory, and defines her southern boundary to be " a line
drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan,
until it intersects Lake Erie."
In a legal point of view, this would seem to have settled the
question, even if, as Ohio claimed, the ordinance had no binding
effect, having been superseded by the Constitution. The " con
sent of Congress " had not been given to the line conditionally
proposed by the Constitution of Ohio. On the contrary, the dis
sent of Congress would seem to have been clearly expressed by
this act.
The territory in dispute is about five miles in width at the west
end, and about eight miles in width at the east end, and extends
Story and Professor Greenleaf. In the summer of 1839, being somewhat
out of health, he abandoned for a time the study of the law, and in the
fall of that year came out to Prairie Ronde, in Kalamazoo county, Mich
igan, where his brother, the Hon. Edwin H. Lothrop (then and since a
manyof note in our State politics and government), owned and cultivated
a very extensive and beautiful farm. Here, for the next two or three
years, he spent most of his time engaged in practical farming, and in
building up his health. In the spring of 1843, he came to the city of
Detroit, and resumed the study of the law in the office of Joy & Porter,
then prominent members of the Detroit bar. The first case he ever
argued in a court of record, was the celebrated one of the Michigan
State Bank vs. Hastings and others. 1st Doug. (Mich.) Rep., 225. This
argument was made before the supreme court, and prior to Mr. Lothrop's
admission to that court; the court, on motion of Mr. Joy, having granted
special leave for Mr. Lothrop to open the case. So ably was the case pre
sented by the youthful student, that the members of the court did not
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 455
along the whole northern line of Ohio, west of Lake Erie. The
line claimed by Michigan was known as the " Fulton line," and
that claimed by Ohio was known as the " Harris line," from the
names of the surveyors. The territory was valuable for its rich
agricultural lands ; but its chief value consisted in the fact that
the harbor on the Maumee river, where now stands the flourish
ing city of Toledo, was included within its limits. The town
originally bore the name of Swan Creek, afterwards Port Law
rence, then Vistula, and then Toledo. What gave the possession
of this harbor more importance at this time was the fact that it
was the proposed terminus of the Wabash and Erie canal. The
early settlers acknowledged their allegiance to Michigan ; but,
when the canal became a possibility, and its termination at Toledo
being dependent upon the question whether or not it was within
the State of Ohio, many of the inhabitants became suddenly con
vinced that they had all along been residing in the wrong State.
Others, it is said, became convinced that Ohio was a much more
healthy State than Michigan, and, consequently, they coveted the
change which would remove them from the former State to the
more salubrious regions of the latter. The feeling among the
inhabitants, however, was far from unanimous, and, during the
struggle, partisans of each State were found in Toledo who would
communicate the plans and movements of the other.
hesitate openly to express their admiration at the effort, and to predict
for him a successful and brilliant future. This prediction, it is hardly
necessary to say, has been more than fulfilled in the student's subsequent
professional career.
In the spring of 1844, he commenced practice in the city of Detroit,
having formed a co-partnership with D. Bethune Duffield, Esq., which
continued until the close of the year 1850.
In the month of April, 1848, he was appointed attorney-general of the
State (in place of Hon. Edmund Mundy, then raised to the bench of the
supreme court), and continued to hold the office until January, 1851.
About this time, in connection with the controversy over the public
schools which suddenly broke forth in the city of Detroit, Mr. Lothrop
took a prominent part in the organization of an independent ticket, the
object of which was to rally the popular vote in support of our free
school system. So earnestly did he enlist in this good work, that he was
456 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
As we have before remarked, the approaching organization of
the State goverment invested the disputed question with pressing
importance ; and hostilities on the disputed territory soon became
active. In February, 1835, the Legislature of Ohio passed an
act extending the jurisdiction of the State over the territory in
question ; erected townships, and directed those townships to hold
elections and elect officers in April following. It also directed
Governor Lucas to appoint three commissioners to survey and
re-mark the Harris line ; and named the first of April as the day
to commence the survey. Acting Governor Mason, however,
anticipated this action on the part of the Ohio Legislature, sent
a special message to the Legislative Council, apprising it of the
contents of Governor Lucas' message, and advised immediate
action by that body to anticipate and counteract the proceedings
of Ohio. Accordingly, on the twelfth of February, the council
passed an act making it a criminal offense, punishable by a heavy
fine, or imprisonment, for any one to attempt to exercise any offi
cial functions, or accept any office within the jurisdiction of
Michigan, under or by virtue of any authority not derived from
the Territory, or the United States. On the ninth of March,
Governor Mason wrote to General Brown, then in command of the
Michigan militia, directing him to hold himself in readiness to
meet the enemy in the field in case an attempt was made on the
placed upon the ticket as recorder and most triumphantly, elected to that
office. The citizens of Detroit, in this particular struggle and triumph,
owe Mr. Lothrop a debt of gratitude which ought never to be forgotten
so long as a free school building stands within the city limits. Nor is
this the only occasion, when in times involving the security of the public
welfare, Mr. Lothrop has come resolutely forward in support and defense
of the people's wishes. Perhaps no man ever lived among us, who in
such times was clothed with such large power to lead and influence the
masses in the right direction as Mr. Lothrop.
As already intimated in this article, he was twice the Democratic candi
date for Congress in the first district, once in the year 1856 and again in
1860, and on both occasions defeated. Twice he received the votes of
the Democratic members of the State legislature for the United States
Senate, but that party not being then in the ascendency, the votes were
of no effect.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 457
part of Ohio to carry out the provisions of the act of the Legis
lature. On the thirty-first of March Governor Lucas, with his
commissioners, arrived at Perrysburgh, on their way to commence
resurveying the Harris line. He was accompanied by General
Bell and staff, of the Ohio militia, who proceeded to muster a
volunteer force of about six hundred men. This was soon accom
plished, and the force fully armed and equipped. The force then
went into camp at Fort Miami, to await the Governor's orders.
In the meantime, Governor Mason, with General Brown and
staff, had raised a force eight hundred to twelve hundred strong,
and were in possession of Toledo. General Brown's staff con
sisted of Captain Henry Smith, of Monroe, Inspector ; Major J. J.
Ullman, of Constantine, Quartermaster; William E. Broadman,
of Detroit, and Alpheus Felch, of Monroe, Aids-de-camp. When
Governor Lucas observed the determined bearing of the Michigan
braves, and took note of their numbers, he found it convenient to
content himself for a time with "watching over the border."
Several days were passed in this exhilarating employment, and
just as Governor Lucas had made up his mind to do something
rash, two commissioners arrived from Washington on a mission of
peace. They remonstrated with Governor Lucas, and reminded
him of the consequences to himself and his State if he persisted in
his attempt to gain possession of the disputed territory by force.
He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1867, and the
records of its debates afford abundant evidence of the learning and pro
fessional ability he brought before that body.
In 1873, he was appointed by the Republican Governor, John J.
Bagley, a member of the constitutional commission, assembled under his
administration, but the appointment was respectfully declined.
For upwards of twenty years past, Mr Lothrop has been the general
attorney of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, and still continues
to be their adviser. He is also the trusted adviser of many other corpor
ations of the State, and enjoys the universal confidence of the people of
Michigan, not as a lawyer alone, but as a public man, and as a private
citizen.
In the limits prescribed to the writer of this article, no opportunity is
given for even an allusion to the more private virtues and social qualities
of the subject of this notice — and perhaps it is well that it is so. No
458 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
After several conferences with both governors, the commissioners
submitted the following propositions for their consideration :
" 1st. That the Harris line should be run and re-marked, pur
suant to the act of the last session of the Legislature of Ohio,
without interruption.
" 2d. The civil elections under the laws of Ohio having taken
place throughout the disputed territory, that the people residing
on it should be left to their own government, obeying the one
jurisdiction or the other, as they may prefer, without molestation
from the authorities of Ohio or Michigan, until the close of the
next session of Congress."
Governer Lucas at once accepted the propositions, and dis
banded his forces, affecting to regard the arrangement as having
been made with the President, and regarding Governor Mason as
a subaltern, subject to the control of the President, through the
commissioners.
Governor Mason, on the other hand, refused to accede to the
arrangement, and declined to compromise the rights of his people
by a surrender of possession and jurisdiction. When Governor
Lucas disbanded his forces, however, Governor Mason partially
followed suit, but still held himself in readiness to meet any emer
gency that might arise.
Governor Lucas now supposed that his way was clear, and that
man, while he lives, especially one such as has here been sketched, can
tolerate a public presentation of his more private walks and ways.
Nor is it necessary. All know what attractiveness there is in him for his
fellow-citizens; and how they love to listen and linger about him in his bril
liant moments, whether as the presiding officer of some public banquet,
in the forum of the courts while standing in defense of some poor,
trembling prisoner, on the rostrum in the midst of a turbulent sea of
excited citizens, or in the quiet circle, where lawyers, judges, politicians,
editors and men of scholarly ease and culture incline to gather about
him and share his unpremeditated and eloquent discourse.
We close our article as we opened it, characterizing Mr. Lothrop as a
man of power, and expressing the hope that he may long remain in the
Northwest, an ornament to his profession, an aid to his fellow citizens,
and a source of strength to his country at large.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
459
he could re-mark the Harris line without being molested, and
ordered the commissioners to proceed with their work.
President Jackson, meantime, had applied to Attorney-General
Butler for his opinion concerning the power of the President over
HON. R. A. HAIRE.
ROBERT A. HAIRE was born in the township of Bombay, Franklin
county, New York, July 20, 1836.
He removed with his parents to western New York, in 1841, and settled
near the city of Rochester, from whence he emigrated to Michigan, with
his father's family, in 1844, settling near Marshall. They remained in
this locality only two years, and then took up their residence in the
vicinity of Grand Rapids.
Mr. Haire received a thorough common school education, and is^a
graduate of the Grand Rapids commercial college.
460 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the contending parties. In reply, Mr. Butler gave it as his
unqualified opinion that the act of the Legislature of Ohio,
extending the jurisdiction over a part of the Territory of Michigan,
was "repugnant to the act of Congress of the llth of January,
1805, creating that Territory, and to the acts subsequently passed
for its government, and its actual and complete enforcement would,
therefore, involve a most serious violation of the laws of the United
States." He also gave it as his opinion that the act of the Michi
gan Legislative Council was a valid law, and could properly be
enforced.
Notwithstanding this, Governor Lucas ordered his men to pro
ceed to run the line, commencing at the northwest corner of the
disputed tract. In the meantime, Governor Mason kept a watch
ful eye upon the proceedings. General Brown sent scouts through
the woods to watch their movements, and report when operations
were commenced. When the surveying party got within the
county of Lenawee, the under-sheriff of that county, armed with
a warrant, and accompanied by a posse, suddenly made his appear-
In 1852 he removed to the eastern part of Ottawa county, near Grand-
ville, and engaged in the lumbering trade.
In August, 1862, he enlisted as supernumary second lieutenant in the
Fifth Michigan Cavalry, then being organized at Detroit, and started
for the front in December, 1862. Mr. Haire participated in the battle
of Gettysburg and nearly all the subsequent battles in which the army of
the Potomac was engaged, and was one of the five hundred men chosen
by General Kilpatrick, and placed under Colonel Dahlgren, in March,
1864, for the purpose of capturing Richmond and liberating the Union
prisoners; and, for gallantry in this battle, he was promoted to first lieu
tenant. He was also with General Sheridan during the Shenandoah cam
paign, and for meritorious service was raised to the rank of captain, in
December, 1864. During a portion of the winter of 1864-5, he had
command of his regiment, and, at the close of the war, was immediately
mustered out.
Returning home, he settled in Spring Lake, Ottawa county, and at
once engaged in the manufacture of lumber, being now a member of the
firm of Haire, Savidge & Cutler.
In the fall of 1872, he was chosen to represent his district in the lower
house of the State legislature, and served with considerable distinction
in that body during the session of 1872-3.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
461
ance, and succeeded in arresting a portion of the party. The
rest, including the commissioners, took to their heels, and were
soon beyond the disputed territory. They reached Perrysburgh
the following day in a highly demoralized condition, and reported
E. H. TURNER.
ELIPHALET HASKZNS TURNER was born on the 5th of October, 1795,
in the village of Pittsburgh, in the State of New York. His father,
Colonel Ezra Turner, served in the war of 1812, and was a mail of note
in the village.
From a child, young Eliphalet had an unusual firm and vigorous con
stitution, which made him bold and fearless, and which, through after
life, qualified him to endure, without injury, the hardships of the
pioneer. At the age of eighteen, he was enrolled in the militia, and
served under his father as a non-commissioned officer, and was engaged
462 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
that they had been attacked by an overwhelming force of Michi
gan militia, under command of General Brown. They also
reported that they had been fired upon, and after performing won
derful deeds of valor, had been borne down by overwhelming
numbers and forced to retreat, whilst their less fortunate comrades
were all either killed or taken prisoners. They formally reported
these assertions to the Governor, who, in turn, reported them to
the President.
The President thereupon sent a copy of the report to Governor
Mason, and asked for a statement of the facts " by the officers
engaged in the transactions complained of." Accordingly, the
under-sheriff was appealed to, who made a very amusing report,
setting forth the real facts, which showed that it was a civil force
that made the arrests; that there was no bloodshed connected
with the affair ; that nine persons in all were arrested on a civil
warrant, issued by a justice of the peace ; and closing with the
information that " the commissioners made very good time on foot
through the cottonwood swamp, and arrived safe at Perrysburgh
the next morning, with nothing more serious than the loss of hats,
in the battle near Plattsburgh, in 1812. In the year following, he was
married to Miss Eliza M. Havens, who bore him ten children.
Mr. Turner, for a number of years, engaged as a partner with his father
in the manufacture of lumber— afterwards in the iron business, but only
with partial success.
In 1832, he came to Michigan, where he resided until his death. After
remaining in Detroit a few weeks, he removed to Ypsilanti, and there
resided for more than a year. While at Ypsilanti, he obtained consider
able notoriety, in arresting the young Governor Mason, who in his haste
attempted to disregard the quarantine regulations, established to prevent
the spread of the cholera in that village. In 1833, he came to Grand
Rapids, then just starting into existence, and here he made his home
until his death, which took place on the 8th of October, 1870. His life,
for thirty-seven years, has been identified with the history of Grand
Rapids. He was the builder of the county jail, and, in company with
James Scribner, his partner, built the Bridge street bridge. Under
Lucius Lyon, he made the first successful attempt to drill an artesian
well, in hopes of finding brine sufficiently strong to warrant the manu
facture of salt at Grand Rapids. Mr. Turner has been alderman of the
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN. 463
and their clothing like Governor Marcy's breeches without the
patch:'
This summary breaking up of the surveying party produced
the most tremendous excitement throughout Ohio. Governor
Lucas called an extra session of the Legislature. That body met
on the 8th of June, and at once proceeded to fulminate an act
" to prevent the forcible abduction of the citizens of Ohio." The
wording of the title bears silent testimony to the excitement which
prevailed in the legislative mind of the State of Ohio, and it
would seem that they were fearful that the under-sheriff of Lena-
wee county was liable at any moment to make a wholesale job of
it, and " abduct the citizens of Ohio " en masse. The act made
such an offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary
not less than three nor more than seven years. An act was also
passed to create the new county of Lucas, making Toledo the seat
of justice, and directing the court to be held on the first Monday
of the next September, at any convenient house in Toledo. They
then solemnly passed an act accepting the propositions of the
President's commissioners. Another act was passed making an
appropriation of $600,000 to carry these laws into effect over the
city, and held other offices of trust. His last public work was the grad
ing and graveling of West Bridge street.
In 1856, he buried his wife, with whom he had lived about forty years.
His second wife was Mrs. Lydia H. Rosa, who bore him a daughter, and
who still survives hirn.
We close this brief sketch with an extract from the funeral discourse
of the Rev. H. H. Northrop, pastor of the Presbyterian church, of which
Mr. Turner was an accepted member:
" He has lived long among you, and written his own epitaph upon the
mind of this community. I think I say what you all know to be true,
when I affirm that he was an honest man. He was not a rich man, in the
modern acceptation of the term, though he had a competence; he was
not a learned man, or a great man, or a faultless man, but, may I not say
it with emphasis, he was a good man. He loved his neighbors; he loved
the city of Grand Rapids — it was his home, it was his pride; he loved all
its citizens, and its institutions; he prayed for its welfare and rejoiced in
its prosperity. He came to this city, when the State was a territory, and
the untutored Indian still lingered upon much of its soil, and claimed to
be its owner. A few pioneers, with a keen foresight, had here pitched
464 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
disputed territory. A resolution was adopted inviting the Presi
dent to send a commissioner to go with the Ohio commissioners to
re-mark the Harris line.
It was evident that Ohio was aroused. Her State pride had
been wounded. The idea that the young Territory of Michigan,
with her stripling Governor, should successfully defy the great
State of Ohio, with a million of inhabitants, and her aged Gover
nor, was one that the authorities could not endure with any degree
of patience or equanimity. A call was then made to ascertain
the number of men who were willing to go forth to battle for the
humiliation of Governor Mason and the protection of the com
missioners. Ten thousand men were reported as ready to " do or
die."
These proceedings, however, did not have the desired effect on
the authorities or people of Michigan. On the contrary, it only
served to rouse them to renewed zeal in the cause, and they hurled
defiance in the teeth of Governor Lucas, and dared him to enter
the disputed territory.
In the meantime, the authorities of Michigan were active in
sustaining their supremacy on the disputed ground. Prosecutions
their habitations and determined that this should be their home. The
ground upon which we tread was not open for settlement. The pioneers
came, guided by blazed trees, or the north star, from Kalamazoo to these
falls of the Grand river, through an unbroken wilderness. Mr. Turner
was a man of very decided character ; he had his own views, upon
which he formed his own opinions, and, when his mind was once made
up, nothing but truth and duty could change it. The pliable and time
serving might call it stubbornness, and men wont to control others might
deem him obstinate, but it was the true workings of an earnest mind
that carried out its own convictions into all the affairs of practical life.
In early life, Mr. Turner became a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, but, during his later years, he became a member of the Presby
terian church, and he gave largely of his means for its support. The
large and beautiful church edifice where we worship would never have
been built but for his beneficence. It is his monument. He was also an
honored and acceptable member of the Masonic fraternity."
His name is perpetuated in one of the principal streets of the city,
which is called after him, and in a marble slate in the Presbyterian
church edifice, of which he was one of the founders.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
465
for holding office under Ohio were conducted with the greatest
vigor. For a long time the people of Monroe county were kept
busy assisting the sheriff in executing his processes, and making
arrests in Toledo. The partisans of Ohio were continually har-
HON. N. B. ELDREDGE.
N. BUEL ELDREDGE was born in Aurelius, now Auburn, Cayuga county,
New York, in 1813.
He commenced the study of medicine in his native town, and graduated
in that profession at Fail-field Medical College, New York.
Mr. Eldredge emigrated to Michigan in 1837, and settled in Commerce,
Oakland county, where he remained for six years, in the practice of his
profession. In 1843, he removed to Lapeer county and took up his resi
dence in the village of Lapeer. Here he resumed the practice of medi
cine and continued it until 1852.
30
466 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
assed. Suit after suit was commenced against them, and each
suit was the breeder of a score of others. The officers of Ohio
made a feeble attempt to retaliate, but were generally unsuccessful.
Every inhabitant of the disputed ground was kept busy in watch
ing and reporting the movements of either the bailiffs of Wood or
of Monroe counties. Many of the Ohio partisans were arrested
and conveyed to the jail of Monroe county. Sometimes these
arrests were attended with some danger — always with great diffi
culty. An instance is related of Major Stickney's arrest, which
created some amusement at the time. He and his whole family
fought valiantly, but were at length overcome by numbers. After
the major was secured, he was requested to mount a horse, but
flatly refused. He was then put on by force, but he would not
sit on the horse. Finally, two men were detailed to walk beside
him and hold his legs, while a third led the horse. In this way
they succeeded in getting him about half way to Monroe, when
the men became tired of that means of securing him, and then
proceeded to tie his legs under the horse. In that manner he was
at last got to jail. An attempt was made to arrest a son of the
major called Two Stickney. A severe scuffle ensued, in which the
officer was stabbed with a knife. The blood flowed pretty freely,
but the wound did not prove dangerous. It is believed that this
Two years prior to this time, he commenced the study of the law, and
in this year he was elected judge of probate for Lapeer county, and was
admitted to the bar in 1854. During the residence of Mr. Eldredge in
Lapeer, he held the office of justice of the peace three terms, and was a
supervisor four successive years, being chairman of the board each year.
In 1845, during Governor Barry's administration, he was elected clerk
of the Michigan State Senate, and was a representative in the State Legis
lature of 1848.
On the breaking out of the late civil war, Mr. Eldredge was the first
man to enlist from his county. Immediately following his enlistment, he
raised and organized Company "A" of the Seventh Michigan Infantry,
and was commissioned as its captain and ordered to the school of instruc
tion at Fort Wayne. In the same year, 1861, the major of his regiment
was promoted to colonel, and Mr. Eldredge was promoted to fill the
vacant office of major. His command having been transferred to the
army of the Potomac, he participated in a sharp skirmish at Edward's
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 467
was the only blood shed during the " war." The officer let go his
hold, and Stickney fled to Ohio. He was indicted by the grand
jury of Monroe county, and a requisition was made on the Gover
nor of Ohio for his rendition, but the Governor refused to give
him up. On one occasion an officer attempted to arrest a man in
the night. The man had but a moment's warning, and sought
safety by flight. He succeeded in reaching the Maumee river, and
throwing himself across a saw-log, paddled himself, with his hands
and feet, safely to a " foreign shore." A very pious man was
elected justice of the peace, and fled to the woods, where he lived
many days in an old sugar shanty. It was currently reported,
and generally believed among the Ohio partisans, that a miracle
had been wrought in his behalf — that " robin red-breasts " brought
him his daily food and drink. The belief in this "miracle"
strengthened the cause of Ohio in many quarters very materially.
A report of the stabbing of the Monroe county officer by Two
Stickney was forwarded to the President, together with the state
ment that Governor Lucas was protecting him ; and an urgent
appeal was made for assistance. This made a great impression
on the mind of the President, and convinced him that something
should be done to prevent serious trouble from ensuing.
Governor Lucas soon after sent commissioners to Washington
Ferry the day following the battle of Ball's Bluff. About this time, Mr.
Eldredge wrote a letter home, censuring General Stone's manner of
transporting troops across the Potomac. This letter was published, and
he was placed under arrest by General Stone, and, after waiting six
weeks for a trial without obtaining one, he resigned and came home.
This was in the winter of 1862. General Stone was afterwards arrested
and confined one year, for the same charges made by Colonel Eldredge's
letter. The legislature of Michigan was in session on his return, and
Governor Blair immediately requested him to come to Lansing. He did
so, and was appointed a member of the State Military Board. He served
in this capacity during that winter and in the following spring was
appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Eleventh Michigan Infantry. He
immediately joined his regiment, which was then at Columbia, Ten
nessee, and served with them until 1863, being in the battle of Stone
River, where he had his horse shot under him.
Returning home, in 1863, he remained in Lapeer until January, 1864,
468 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
to confer with the President, and a correspondence was entered
into between these commissioners and the Secretary of State.
The Secretary, in reply to an earnest appeal for interference on
the part of the general government, said that the President would
immediately cause an earnest recommendation to be made to
Governor Mason, that no obstruction shall be interposed to the
re-marking of the " Harris line ; that all prosecutions under the
Territorial act of February be discontinued ; and no further prose
cutions shall be commenced until the next session of Congress.
This " recommendation," however, had no effect on the action
of Governor Mason. He was determined to protect his Territory
and her jurisdiction at all hazards. The " recommendation " of
the President was made on the third day of July, and the
deputy sheriff of Monroe was wounded by Two Stickney on the
fifteenth of that month. Prosecutions went on the same as before.
When the President became aware of this, he superseded Acting-
Governor Mason as Secretary of Michigan, and appointed Charles
Shaler, of Pennsylvania, as his successor. He also advised Gov
ernor Lucas to refrain from any act of jurisdiction over the
disputed territory pending the action of Congress. It now
became apparent to Governor Lucas that any attempt to take
forcible possession of the territory would be stopped by the mili
tary forces of the United States. This was a matter of great
when he removed to Adrian, at which place he still resides. Resuming
the practice of the law, he continued it until 1872 as a member of the
firm of Eldredge & Walker, and enjoyed the largest practice of any
member of the profession in Lenawee county. He has now retired from
the practice of law and engaged in farming.
In 1870, Mr. Eldredge was elected mayor of the city of Adrian by a
large majority, and served in this capacity for one term. He was nomi
nated for Congress, from the first district, in the fall of the same year, by
the Democratic party, and was only defeated by 901 votes, when the dis
trict had previously been strongly Republican, and eleven hundred negro
votes had just been added. This illustrates his great personal popularity
and the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow-citizens.
Mr. Eldredge is a man of imposing presence, strong determination,
genial in his intercourse with his fellow man, and popular in all classes
of society.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
469
humiliation to the Governor of Ohio. The eyes of the country
were upon him, and he felt it incumbent upon him to perform
some act of jurisdiction in order to save himself from the impu
tation of having backed down. A happy thought struck him at
CAPT. J. F. MARSAC.
JOSEPH F. MARSAC was born in Hamtramck, Wayne county, in the
year 1792. He was reared in that vicinity, spending most of his minor
ity there, with the exception of the time he spent in St. Clair county,
between the years 1807 and 1812.
His parents were French, and emigrated from France about the time
of the revolutionary war, and settled in Hamtramck. His father was
appointed, by General Wayne, captain of the first company of the
militia that was raised in Wayne county, and served in that capacity.
While in St. Clair, young Marsac spent so much time with the^Indians
470 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
an opportune moment. The Legislature of Ohio had organized
a county, and ordered court to be held at Toledo on the seventh
of September. To actually hold this court in the face and eyes
of the military force of Governor Mason, and the " recommenda
tion" of the President, would be a grand achievement — an act
of jurisdiction greater even than re-marking the Harris line. But
how to do even that was the question. Calling to his assistance
the Adjutant-General of the State, they devised a plan. The
result was that the matter was placed in the hands of the Adju
tant-General to manage. He ordered out a regiment to act as an
escort for the judges and to protect them in the performance of
their duty. The judges met on Sunday afternoon, the sixth of
September, at Maumee, a few miles from Toledo. They were to
proceed to Toledo, under the escort that had been provided for
them, the next morning, and hold court. Some time during the
evening, a scout, which had been sent out by the colonel of the
regiment, returned from Toledo and reported that twelve hundred
men, under command of General Brown, were in Toledo, ready
to demolish court, soldiers and all, in case of an attempt to open
court. This report turned out to be false ; but it immediately sub
dued all the valor of the judges, as well as that of the regiment
which was to escort them. But it would not do to back out at this
that he became familiar with their language. On this account, he was
engaged to accompany an Indian delegation to Washington, in the year
1836, while General Jackson was President of the United States. He
paid his respects to the President and was received very kindly by him.
He assisted in making the treaty of 1836 with the Chippewas. General
Cass was then Secretary of War.
Captain Marsac left Hamtramck in the fall of 1838, and removed to
Lower Saginaw — now Bay City.
The captain, when removing, took passage with his family upon the
first steamer that ever came into the Saginaw river, the Governor Marcy.
To use his language, " she was as slow as a scow." She reached the
Saginaw river on the 23d of November, 1838, and became fast in the
forming ice about half a mile from the light house, and had to remain
there all winter.
He first rented the house in Portsmouth that had been built by Mr. Rice,
and subsequenty occupied by Judge Miller. In the spring of 1845, he
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 471
stage of the proceedings. The honor and dignity of the State of
Ohio must be maintained. Besides, they would be laughed at if
they did not hold court. But the judges hesitated at undertak
ing so daring an exploit. The colonel of the regiment finally
came to their assistance. He upbraided the judges for their cow
ardice and hesitation, and proposed to take the honor of the State
into his own keeping. Stepping in front of his soldiers, he called
for volunteers for a " hazardous undertaking." A few brave men
answered the call. The trembling judges placed themselves
under the charge of this forlorn hope ; and, at three o'clock on
Monday morning, the seventh day of September, A. D. 1835, they
sneaked into Toledo, hunted up a school-house, held court about
two minutes, and then ran for dear life back to Maumee.
Thus did the State of Ohio triumph over her enemies. Thus
did her patriotic sons sustain her dignity. Thus did her brave
soldiers throw themselves in the " imminent and deadly breach."
It is needless to say that Governor Mason and General Brown
were surprised and chagrined. They had an ample force within
reach to prevent the holding of a court, as courts are generally
held. But they were unacquainted with Ohio legal practice, and
did not look for midnight tribunals, held in dark school-rooms or
outhouses.
bought land at the upper end of Portsmouth, and has lived there ever
since.
In the year 1848, Captain Marsac was appointed, by the Indian Depart
ment under President Polk, Indian farmer for the Chippewa Indians of
the Saginaw valley. His duty, under this appointment, was to teach the
Indians agriculture and buy implements for them. "When General
Taylor became President, he was removed, and James Fraser was
appointed in his stead.
Captain Marsac is still living, with a good degree of health for one of
his extreme age. His sound constitution, good health, and long life,
speak well for the good effects of the climate of central Michigan.
There is no one in northern Michigan who has a wider circle of per
sonal acquaintance among those who have had anything to do with the
Saginaw valley. In former years, no one came to this region without
making the acquaintance, if not the friendship, of Captain Marsac. His
jovial disposition and his genial humor made every one at home in his
presence.
472 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
It appears that Charles Shaler did not accept the appointment
of Governor of Michigan, as Mr. Mason was still acting Governor
on the occasion just referred to. John S. Homer, of Virginia,
was soon after appointed Secretary and Acting Governor ; but did
not commence the duties of his office till the twenty-first of Sep
tember. He was not popular with the people of Michigan, and,
during his stay in the Territory, appears to have possessed merely
the shadow of the authority of his office, as will hereafter appear.
He represented the conservative feeling, in reference to the ques
tion at issue, entertained by the Washington authorities, and as
such representative did not possess the confidence of the people.
It is said that, in some instances, he was treated with personal
discourtesy. His authority was certainly ignored to a \ ery great
extent ; and in May, 1836, he left the Territory, having received
the appointment of Secretary of Wisconsin, that portion of Mich
igan having then been erected into a separate Territory. During
his term of office, however, he carried on a lengthy correspond
ence with Governor Lucas, of Ohio, which resulted in the discon
tinuance of the prosecutions commenced by Michigan, under the
act of February 12th, 1835. The case of Two Stickney, however,
was made an exception, and Governor Homer claimed him as a
fugitive from justice; but, notwithstanding the action of the Presi
dent, Governor Lucas refused to give him up. No serious diffi
culty appears to have grown out of it.
But little remains to be said in reference to the " war." The
question continued for some time to agitate the minds of the
opposing parties; and the action of Congress was impatiently
awaited. A volume might be written, relating the incidents of
that bloodless struggle, and the story of the privations endured
by the citizen soldiers — privations which were occasionally relieved,
however, by a raid on a neighboring hen-coop, melon patch, or
potato field — the ludicrous incidents, " the hair-breadth 'scapes by
field and flood," would constitute the most entertaining literature
imaginable ; but the limits of this volume forbid more than the
passing glance we have bestowed upon it.
The election to ratify the Constitution of the State, and to elect
State officers, had been held on the first Monday in October. The
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
473
result was the ratification of the Constitution by a large majority,
and the election of a full set of State officers. Stevens T. Mason
was elected Governor, Edward Muudy Lieutenant Governor, and
Isaac E. Crary representative in Congress. The first session of
HON. GEORGE W. SWIFT.
GEORGE WASHINGTON SWIFT was born in Palmyra, Wayne county,
New York, May 21, 1817. He is a grandson of General John Swift, a
soldier of the revolution, and son of Rev. Marcus Swift, who emigrated
to Michigan in 1825. His maternal grandfather was Weaver Osband,
also a veteran of the revolution.
Mr. Swift remained with his father upon the farm, in Nankin, Wayne
county, where they first settled, until his twentieth year, performing
labor and enduring hardships and privations, known only to the pioneer,
474 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the Legislature under the Constitution was commenced at the capi-
tol, in the city of Detroit, on the first Monday of November, and
John Norvell and Lucius Lyon were elected United States Sena
tors. A regular election was also held under the Territorial laws
for delegate to Congress, and George W. Jones, of Wisconsin,
received the necessary certificate of election, although it is said
that William Woodbridge received the highest number of votes.
The machinery of the State government was now in full opera
tion, with the exception of the judiciary, which was not organized
until the fourth of July, 1836. The people submitted to, and
were governed by the State authorities from this time forward,
although a Territorial Governor was also here in the person of
John S. Homer. This anomalous state of things continued till
the organization of Wisconsin as a separate Territory, and the
appointment of Mr. Homer as its Secretary. It does not appear
however, that any serious difficulty arose between the two Gov
ernors. Meantime, application had been made for admission into
the Union under the Constitution. But it was not until the fif
teenth of June, 1836, that Congress took action on the question.
It then passed an act accepting the Constitution and State gov-
struggling with seeming impossibilities in a new country, widely separated
from civilization by the waters of the lake. From his eighth to his
fourteenth year, there were no schools in the country; and, until his
twentieth year, opportunities for education were meagre. At twenty
years of age, he returned to his native State and enjoyed educational
advantages until 1841. At this time, he again became a resident of Michi
gan, having married Miss Sarah Pudney, of Saratoga county, New York.
For some years, his principal business was farming, devoting, however,
some attention to the study of the law. Having never regularly entered
the practice of law, he was, notwithstanding, much resorted to for legal
counsel, and, possessing good forensic ability, his services were generally
sought in matters of public interest.
He early displayed rare talents for debate, and entered actively into
public defense of the reforms of the day and soon became a champion
in the anti-slavery and temperance movements. Many signal victories
were achieved by his eloquence and polemic power. Many of his efforts
were pronounced to be of the highest order, and competent judges have
declared that his addresses to the people in defense of the war to sup
press the rebellion of 1861 are among the best put forth at that exciting
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 475
ernment of Michigan, and providing for her admission into the
Union as a State, on condition that she, by a convention of
delegates elected for that purpose, should consent to accept the
boundary as claimed by Ohio, and receive as compensation for the
. loss of the territory in dispute what is now known as the Upper
Peninsula. This act could be viewed by the people of Michigan
in no other than an odious light. The value of the Upper Penin
sula was then unappreciated. Copper was known to exist there,
it is true; but in what quantities no one could tell. It was
looked upon as a barren waste, too mountainous for cultivation,
and of problematical value for any purpose. Besides, the work
of excision by Congress, it was thought, had proceeded far
enough. p*By the act of 1802, Congress had given the eastern
tract, belonging originally to Michigan, of more than a thousand
square miles, to Ohio. By the act of 1816, it had given to Indi
ana a tract of between eleven and twelve hundred square miles,
originally belonging to Michigan. And now Congress required
her to purchase her admission into the Union by agreeing to a still
further excision of most valuable territory. This was the view
taken by the people at the time. Governor Mason, nevertheless,
time. One of the most notable of the many important discussions in
which Mr. Swift has been engaged, was a debate with a distinguished
New England divine, who lectured for several weeks in his vicinity, to
the agitation and dismay of orthodox Christians. His challenge to the
clergy to discuss his doctrine was declined, the most able among them
declaring that they disbelieved the doctrine but could not cope with its
defender.
After much persuasion from the leading members of the churches, Mr.
Swift consented to meet that gentleman in debate on the following resolu
tion, Mr. Swift taking the negative, viz: Resolved, "That man, being
mortal, dies, and becomes non-existent; but, at a time in the future, he
will be restored and brought to judgment; the righteous shall receive
eternal life, and the wicked shall cease to be forever." After an animated
discussion, which lasted five days, both parties declared the resolution"
lost, and Mr. Swift's friends realized, as never before, his masterly
power.
Gratiot, Isabella, Montcalm, and adjoining counties, were settled chiefly
by means of the graduation act of Congress, which put lands that had
long been in market at a very low price. As a result, a great number of
476 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
issued a call for a special session of the Legislature, to meet in
Detroit, on the eleventh of July, 1836. On the twentieth, an act
was approved providing for the election of delegates to a conven
tion, to accept or reject the proposition of Congress. It provided
that fifty delegates should be elected, and that the convention
should be held at Ann Arbor, on the twenty-sixth of September.
This convention was composed of a full representation of both
political parties. It met on the day appointed, and, after being
in session four days, it decided to reject the proposition of Con
gress so far as it related to the boundary question. The vote
stood twenty-one for acceptance, and twenty-eight for rejection.
It then appointed three delegates, to repair to Washington at the
next session of Congress, to cooperate with our representatives in
securing measures for the promotion of the general interests of the
State.
The dissent of the convention was very unsatisfactory to a
large portion of the people of the State. Two formidable parties
had grown out of the discussion of the question. Although a
decided unanimity prevailed with regard to the justness of the
claim of Michigan to the territory in dispute ; yet, under the cir-
very poor people settled on them in a short time, and, in consequence,
years of fearful destitution ensued. For two successive years, they were
* relieved by private contributions, but at the expiration of that time, the
agents left their field of labor, greatly excited, being charged with having
shown partiality in the distribution of the relief. A striking incident,
illustrating Mr. Swift's power of discrimination and executive ability,
may be mentioned in this connection. In the winter of 1859, the State
legislature made an appropriation of money, to be expended by the
Governor in purchasing provisions, to be a loan to these people. The
Governor called on Mr. Swift and gave the entire distribution into his
hands. The task was at once entered upon and executed with vigor.
More than one hundred and twenty tons of provisions were transported by
teams into the wilderness and distributed among the people, to secure the
payment of which over two thousand notes were taken. This duty was
delicate and arduous, requiring the exercise of great wisdom and discre
tion. After the supplies were transported into the woods, depositories
being made many miles apart, notice was given of the time when they
would be distributed. At each place of sale, Mr. Swift was present, neces
sitating many miles of travel, by night, through the dark pine forests,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 477
cumstances, the expediency of retaining or relinquishing her right
had become a matter of serious contention. A year had already
elapsed since the formation of a State Constitution, and half that
period had been spent by her delegation to Congress in fruitless
solicitation for admission. Many began to despond. One party
seemed to consider the participation in the benefits of the Union
paramount to all other considerations. This idea had greater
weight at the time from the fact that a large amount of surplus
revenue was about to be distributed among the several States.
This, it was supposed would be lost to the State by a too long
delay in securing admission. Therefore, there was much to lose
by delay, and nothing to gain. With the other party these rea
sons had little or no weight. Kather than submit to the injustice
of having so important a portion of her domain wrested from the
State, they were inclined to submit to the inconveniences which
might result from delay, till a more favorable action of Congress.
They placed full reliance in the ultimate action of Congress, and
hoped that a sense of justice would eventually compel that body
to admit the State unconditionally. They also argued that the
State, having a present right to admission, would have an equit-
almost destitute of roads. He performed this labor in about three months,
rendered his accounts, delivered the sureties and received his discharge
with the full approval of the State authorities. Not a voice was lifted
to condemn any act of his, but universal approval followed him from
the grateful people, many of whom wept as they gave him a last farewell.
In the earlier part of Mr. Swift's career, his radical opinions and
unswerving adherence to his convictions of right, without regard to per
sonal consequences, provoked much enmity and opposition, in conse
quence of which his friends hesitated somewhat in bringing him before
the people as a candidate for office. But, after the organization of the
Republican party, to which he lent an actively helping hand and of which
he became an able champion, he received the nomination to the State
legislature, and in the election outstripped every candidate on the ticket.
Many of his life-long opponents voted for him on the personal ground of
ability and integrity. He served the State four years, occupying a pro
minent position in the House. On his reelection, he led, by many votes
in his district, the great general who was elected to the presidency. Mr.
Swift resigned his seat in the legislature in 1869, having accepted the
office of United States Consul, at Windsor, Canada, which he still holds.
478 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
able right to her proportion of the surplus revenue, which Congress
could not refuse to grant whenever she was admitted.
Thus stood parties when the convention decided to reject the
proposition of Congress. The dissatisfied party thereupon resolved
that another convention should be held, without waiting for
another call by the Legislature. During the autumn, two respect
able primary assemblies of that portion of the people assenting
to the conditions were held, one in Wayne county, and the other
in the county of Washtenaw, two of the most populous counties
in the State. A second convention of the people was proposed
for the trial of the question, and the Governor was requested to
call the same by proclamation. Although the convention was
approved of; yet, as it was wholly unauthorized by law, the Gov
ernor declined to take such a step. A convention, however, had
been decided upon ; and, on the fourteenth of November, a circu
lar from the proper officers of the assenting party was issued,
which recommended the qualified voters in the several counties to
meet on the fifth and sixth of December, and elect delegates to
attend a convention ; that the number of delegates be twice the
number elected to the popular branch of the Legislature ; and
Here, as elsewhere in public service, he displays eminent ability and
integrity. Through unwise measures, an unhappy state of feeling for
merly existed between the two countries. In place of mutual respect,
distrust and suspicion prevailed, and commerce between the two nations
at that point had fallen to a low ebb, but, under Mr. Swift's supervision,
order and confidence have been restored, commerce revived, and a happy
and prosperous state of affairs inaugurated.
Mr. Swift is yet in the prime of life, actively engaged in the battle
of reform, and right against wrong His life and labors thus far
have been devoted largely to benevolent efforts in behalf of the poor, the
oppressed, the victims of wrong and unholy greed, and in the interests
of free schools— the diffusion of intelligence, morality and religion. To
his influence and efforts, while in the legislature, is largely due the law
establishing free schools — the more ample endowment of the University,
and the liberal provision which has been made for the various beneficiary
institutions, in which our State may indulge a commendable pride.
Mr. Swift has held many places of trust and honor (in all of which he
has commanded and received public approval), among which was that of
State librarian.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 479
that the election be conducted at the^proper places, by the same
officers, and according to the legal formalities governing other
elections. Accordingly, the election was held, though generally
unattended by those who dissented from the proposition of bound
ary, or who considered the election void from its illegality. The
delegates met at Ann Arbor, on the fourteenth day of December.
As might be expected from a body thus constituted, a decided
unanimity of sentiment prevailed in regard to the vital question ;
and, on the fifteenth, it unanimously resolved to accept the condi
tion imposed in the proposition of Congress. It protested, how
ever, against the constitutional right of Congress to require this
preliminary assent as a condition of admission into the Union.
The proceedings of this convention were immediately submitted
to Congress. As might have been expected, the validity of the
last convention was seriously called in question. A lengthy and
spirited debate ensued, in which the whole question was discussed.
There seemed, however, to be a disposition among all parties to
admit the State, notwithstanding the irregularity of the conven
tion. How much the electoral vote of Ohio had to do with the
action of Congress in reference to the various matters in dispute,
is a question not proper for consideration in these pages.
The final decision was made by an act approved January 26th,
1837, which, after asserting, by preamble, that the people of the
State had given their consent to the proposed boundaries, in the
convention of the fifteenth of December, 1836, declared Michigan
to be " one of the United States, and admitted into the Union
on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects what-
CHAPTER XXXII.
MICHIGAN AS A STATE — RESOURCES AND POPULATION — ADMINISTRATION
OF GOVERNOR MASON — WOODBRIDGE — GORDON— BARRY — FELCH —
GREENLY — RANSOM — BARRY — MCCLELLAND — BINGHAM — WISNER.
MICHIGAN was now mistress of her own destinies. The diffi
culties which had retarded her progress had been removed. The
questions which had diverted the minds of her people from the
labor of developing her resources had been settled. She was on
an equal footing with the others in the great sisterhood of States,
and it needed but the proper development of her great natural
resources to place her in the front rank of greatness and power.
How well she has succeeded, the following pages will demonstrate.
The romantic story of the birth, childhood and early youth of
Michigan is ended. We have seen her as she was before the white
man had penetrated the solitudes of her giant forests — before
aught beside the bark canoes of the savage had vexed the waters
of her lakes and rivers. We have seen her under the blighting
influence of the feudal institutions of France, whose highest aim
was to preserve her forests as a shelter for fur-bearing animals.
We have witnessed the change from French dominion to that
of Great Britain, whose policy had no higher aims, and was pro
ductive of no nobler results than that of France. And, finally,
we have seen the red cross of England supplanted by the stars
and stripes of our great Republic, and witnessed the happy results
of the enactment of just laws and the establishment of free insti
tutions. It now becomes our duty to consider her as she is found
at the present day; to patiently, though briefly, trace her steps
from youth to maturity, and to exhibit her in the greatness and
prosperity she has attained through the development of her
unbounded resources.
From the nature of things, the following pages must consist
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
481
of a mere compilation of information from official documents.
The history of the State during the period of its peaceful settle
ment, and progress in arts and sciences, must necessarily be devoid
of the attractions which interest many readers ; but, though devoid
SANFORD HOWARD.
SANFORD HOWARD,'' late secretary of the State board of agriculture, was
born in Easton, Bristol county, Massachusetts, August 7, 1805. He was
the sixth descendant from John Howard, who came from England in
1651, and subsequently settled in West Bridgewater.
31
482 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
of tales of bloodshed, hardship and suffering, it is the record of
the events which have made her great and powerful, and trans
formed her solitudes into marts of commerce, cleared away her
mighty forests, and dotted her landscape with happy homes and
flourishing cities.
The first Governor of Michigan under her State organization
was, as we have already seen, Stevens T. Mason, a native of Vir
ginia. He was elected Governor of the prospective State in 1835,
and held the office till January, 1840. When Michigan was
admitted into the Union as a State, her population was about two
hundred thousand. It possessed an area of about forty thousand
square miles, which was divided into thirty-six counties. Almost
the first act that was passed by the State Legislature, after the
admission into the Union, was one for the organization and sup
port of common schools. Congress had already set apart one
section of land in each township for this purpose, and the new
State was not slow to avail itself of the advantages of the dona
tion. In March of the same year another act was passed estab
lishing the University of Michigan. As a separate chapter will
Living in a country neighborhood, his advantages for education were
limited to three or four months in a year at a district school, but being of
a studious turn, and quick to learn, he supplemented his studies with
such reading as assisted him in laying the foundation for future useful
ness.
When quite a boy he evinced a decided love for natural history, espe
cially that relating to domestic animals. In early life he became
acquainted with Col. Samuel Jaques and the Hon. John Welles, two of
the most noted breeders of their times. To this acquaintance, and the
intimate friendship that followed, the world is indebted in a measure for
much of the information disseminated through Mr. Howard's pen during
the last thirty years of his life.
When about seventeen years of age, he was placed in a dry goods and
grocery store, where he remained about two years, when finding him dis
inclined to any pursuit but farming, his father consented to his return
home. From this time he remained with his father in his favorite occu
pation till 1830, when he married Miss Matilda Williams, and removed to
Halowell, Maine, where he took charge of the celebrated Vaughn farm.
Here he organized the Kennebec county agricultural society, which was
the pioneer society of the State.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 483
be devoted to this institution, we will not stop to consider it here.
The Legislature also paid particular attention to the mineral
resources of the State. It appropriated $29,000 for a geological
survey, and appointed Dr. Douglass Houghton State geologist.
Internal improvements also received a large share of attention. A
board of seven commissioners was established, of which the Gover
nor was made president. This board authorized a number of sur
veys for railroads. Three routes were surveyed through the State,
and eventually became known as the Michigan Central, the
Michigan Southern, and Detroit and Milwaukee. The latter road,
however, was originally intended to have Port Huron for its east
ern terminus. Acts were at the same time passed incorporating
the roads between Gibraltar and Clinton, and Detroit and Shia-
wassee. Thus was the energy and public spirit of the citizens of
the new State manifested, and thus was the first start made in the
grand system of railroads which now traverse the State in every
direction. The next year appropriations were made for the sur
vey of the St. Joseph, Kalamazoo and Grand rivers, with the view
of improving their navigation. In 1839 the militia of the State
In 1837, Mr. Howard removed with his family to Zanesville, Ohio,
where he became engaged in farming, and also for some years conducted
an agricultural department in the Zanesvttle Gazette. Here, too, he was
chiefly instrumental in establishing the Muskinguni county agricultural
society.
In 1844, he was offered and accepted a position as associate editor of
the Albany Cultivator.
January 4, 1852, Mr. Howard removed to Boston, Massachusetts, to
take charge of the agricultural department of the Boston Cultivator, which
position he maintained with benefit to its readers and satisfaction to its
proprietor during twelve years.
In 1857, the Massachusetts society for the promotion of agriculture
decided to make an importation of stock for the improvement of their
domestic animals, and Mr. Howard was selected for that purpose to visit
England, Scotland, Ireland and France. He performed his mission in a
highly satisfactory manner, and made another trip to Europe for a simi
lar purpose, and while there received marked attention from many of the
first people of the countries in which he traveled. Returning, he contin
ued to edit the Boston Cultivator until he removed to Michigan.
In February, 1864, Mr. Howard was elected secretary of the Michigan
484 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
was organized, and eight divisions, with two brigades of two regi
ments each, were provided for. Another event of this year was
the completion of the Jackson penitentiary. With this year also
terminated the administration of Governor Mason, who had been
twice elected to the chief magistracy of the State. The official
report in reference to the educational interests of the State shows
that nearly thirty thousand pupils attended the common schools
that year, and that the amount of money expended was over
eighteen thousand dollars. The agricultural statistics published
in 1838 gives the following figures for that year: Rye, 21,944
bushels; oats, 1,116,910; buckwheat, 6,422; flax, 43,826 pounds;
hemp, 524 ; neat cattle, 89,610 ; horses, 14,059 ; sheep, 22,684 ;
swine, 109,096.
The second Governor of Michigan was William Woodbridge.
He served in that capacity from January, 1840, to February, 1841,
when he resigned to accept a seat in the United States Senate.
J. Wright Gordon was Lieutenant-Govern or, and became acting
Governor upon the resignation of Governor Woodbridge. The
principal events which occurred during the joint administration
State board of agriculture, and, in the May following, he removed from
Boston to Lansing, Michigan, and entered upon the duties of his office.
His removal from. Boston was the occasion of a dinner and presenta
tion, at which time he received from the Massachusetts agricultural club
a massive silver pitcher.
Mr. Howard's labors in Michigan were more in the interests of the
agriculture of the State at large than with the State agricultural college.
He was, however, a member of the faculty, and took his turn in the
general lectures delivered before the college, and his addresses were
always highly welcome by his audience. He did very much to improve
the agriculture of the State, and in these labors became widely acquainted
with the agriculturists, fruit growers and stock raisers of Michigan.
In the spring of 1871, Mr. Howard was stricken with partial paralysis,
affecting his right side. He went from his office, where the fatal disease
had found him at his work, to his home, where, after an eight days'
illness, he died on the 9th of March.
The newspapers throughout the entire country paid their tribute of
respect to the memory of the deceased, and resolutions of regret and
sympathy on his death were passed by both branches of the State legis
lature and by the State board of agriculture.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
485
were as follows : The railroad from Detroit to Ann Arbor, a dis
tance of forty miles, was completed ; branches of the University
were established at Detroit, Pontiac, Monroe, Niles, Kalamazoo,
Grand Rapids, Jackson, White Pigeon, and Tecumseh. The
HON. D. HORTON.
DEXTER HORTON, a prominent citizen of Fenton, Michigan, was born
in the town of Groveland, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1837, on the
farm where his father, H. W. Horton, now resides.
His education was mostly acquired in the school district where he was
born. At the age of fourteen, he was sent to Albion college, but was so
given to practical joking that his stay there was of short duration.
While there he was acknowledged to be a good student, being marked
perfect in nearly all his studies; was well liked by his teachers and fellow
students, but was so constantly into mischief, that they were obliged to
expel him. When he left college he was president of the Eclectic and
486 GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE STATES.
population of the State exceeded two hundred and twelve thou
sand, and the leading cities claimed the following numbers:
Detroit, nine thousand one hundred ; Ypsilanti, two thousand four
hundred ; Pontiac, nineteen hundred ; Marshall, seventeen hun
dred and sixty-three, and Monroe seventeen hundred and three.
To denote the growth of the material wealth of the State, we
present the following statistics, gathered in 1841 : The average
price of wheat was seventy cents a bushel, and the crop amounted
to $2,100,000; corn was sold for thirty cents, and that crop
amounted to $810,000 ; oats, twenty cents, and the amount $800,-
000 ; hay, five dollars per ton, and the amount $750,000 ; pork
was sold for ten cents per pound, and amounted to $900,000 ; the
fur trade amounted to $425,000; the potato crop to 2,051,000
bushels ; whisky and wines, $400,000 ; maple sugar, $83,151 ; the
fish trade, $192,000 ; wool, $70,000 ; dairies, $300,000, and home
made goods, $100,000. The exports for that year amounted to
over four millions of dollars ; and, as the result of the distribution
act of Congress, the State became possessed of five hundred thou
sand acres of public lands, many portions of which were selected
with great care, and were to become the foundation of an import
ant revenue. Associated with the administration of Governor
Atheniades societies. After his departure from college his time was
occupied in teaching school winters, and farming summers, until he
arrived at his majority, when he took up his residence at Fenton, Genesee
county, where he now resides.
At this time, his whole capital consisted of two colts and fifteen bags
of corn. But being an energetic business man, he soon acquired a com
petency, and has ever used his means to increase the prosperity of his
town. He is an extensive dealer in flour, grain and wool, and, within
the last three years, has built up one of the largest retail trades, in farm
ing implements, that there is in the State. His great energy was shown
in a large procession of farmers and farming machines which paraded
the streets of Fenton, on the 14th of June, 1873. This procession was
very highly spoken of at the time in the local papers, for its numbers,
beautiful display of all kinds of farming implements, decorated with
banners, and for the business ingenuity of Mr. Horton in organizing it,
and surprising the people of Fenton by its unexpected entrance into
their village.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. . 487
Gordon was the reorganization of the Grand Lodge of Free
Masons, with the constitutional number of lodges.
Governor Gordon was succeeded by John S. Barry, who served
from 1841 to 1845. During the first year of his term, the Uni
versity was opened for the reception of students. The Central
and Southern railroads were now being rapidly constructed, and
general progress was everywhere in great activity. In 1842, the
number of pupils reported as attending the common schools was
nearly fifty-eight thousand. In 1843, a State land office was estab
lished at Marshall, which was invested with the charge and dis
position of all the lands belonging to the State. In 1844, the
taxable property of the State was found to be $28,554,282, the tax
being at the rate of two mills on the dollar. The expenses of the
State were only seventy thousand dollars, while the income from
the two railroads was nearly $300,000. The University had
already become so prosperous that its income was ample to pay
the interest on the University debt ; and the amount of money
which the State was able to loan to the several progressing rail
roads was one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Efforts were
made to increase the efficiency of the common schools, with good
Mr. Horton was from boyhood an active and shrewd worker in politics.
He first acted with the Whigs, but upon the organization of the Repub
lican party, he espoused their cause, and, believing his party right, he
earnestly worked for its triumph. In 1861, a struggle occurred for the
appointment of a postmaster in Fenton. Mr. Horton, although only
twenty-three years of age, became an applicant for the office, and, not
withstanding another person received the recommendation of the repre
sentative in congress from that district, Mr. Horton secured the
appointment. In 1863, when the Fifth Michigan Cavalry was at Brandy
Station, Virginia, he went to that place for the purpose of enlisting, but
before doing this, he was informed that he could have an appointment
from President Lincoln as captain and commissary of subsistence in the
United States volunteers, liesigning his postmastership, he at once
accepted of this position, reported to General Thomas for duty, and
remained with the armies of the Tennessee and Georgia until they were
disbanded. While in the army, he was promoted to the rank of major,
by President Lincoln, for efficient and meritorious services.
At the close of the war, he was reappointed postmaster at Fenton, but
488 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
results. In 1845, the population of the State was more than three
hundred thousand.
Governor Barry was succeeded by Alpheus Felch, who served
the State in the capacity of Governor from 1845 till 1847. The
important events under his administration may be summed up as
follows : The two railroads belonging to the State were sold to
private corporations — the Central for two millions of dollars, and
the Southern for five hundred thousand dollars. In 1846, the
University library was enriched with a choice collection of five
thousand volumes, purchased in Europe. These books were much
needed by the University, and added largely to its usefulness.
The exports of the State for 1846 amounted to $4,647,608 ; the
aggregate capacity of vessels enrolled in the collection district
of Detroit was 26,928 tons ; the steam vessels numbering 8,400,
and the sailing vessels 18,527 — the whole giving employment to
eighteen thousand seamen. In 1847, the counties in the State
numbered thirty-nine, and the townships four hundred and thirty-
five, of which two hundred and seventy were supplied with good
libraries, containing in the aggregate thirty-seven thousand vol
umes. The pupils in the common schools numbered ninety -eight
thousand, and in the 2,869 districts were employed twelve hun
dred male teachers, and nearly two thousand female teachers.
On the third of March, 1847, Governor Felch resigned his posi
tion as Governor to accept a seat in the United States Senate,
whereupon Lieu tenant -Governor "W. L. Greenly assumed the
was removed by President Johnson, for political reasons. He was a
delegate to the soldiers' convention, at Chicago, that nominated General
Grant for the presidency.
In 1867, Mr. Horton was appointed assistant sergeant-at-arms of the
State senate, and, in November, 1869, he was elected a representative to
the State legislature. In 1871, he was nominated, but having 'voted at
the former session of that body for the adoption of the fourteenth
amendment to the United States constitution, and advocating the election
of a candidate to the United States senate, who was unpopular in his
district, he was defeated by thirty one votes.
Mr. Horton is a man of great personal popularity, unswerving honesty,
fine social qualities and winning manners. He has great business tact
and energy, and is of inestimable value to his town.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
489
duties of the executive. During the latter's administration, the
war with Mexico commenced and terminated ; and, in answer to a
requisition from the War Department, Michigan furnished one
regiment of volunteers, commanded by Thomas W. Stockton, and
HON. GEO. E. HUBBARD.
GEORGE E. HUBBARD, son of Mr. Alonzo Hubbard, was born in 1833,
at Hamilton, in the State of New York. In 1834, the family removed to
Detroit, Michigan, where they continued five years. In 1838, they
removed to the Western Reserve, Ohio, and in 1848, to Cleveland, in the
same State, where he graduated at the high school and subsequently at
the mercantile college of E. G. Folson. He then learned the tinner's
trade, serving three years in the shop of Mr. W. L. Marvin. At the ter
mination of his apprenticeship he became foreman.
In 1855, Mr. Hubbard removed to Chicago, where he worked at his
trade and soon became clerk in the hardware store of Mr. C. Metz. The
490 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
one independent company, at a cost of about ten thousand five
hundred dollars.
Governor Greenly was succeeded by Epaphroditus Ransom,
who served the State from 1847 till November, 1849. We sum
up the events and affairs of the State under his administration as
follows : The Asylum for the Insane was established, as also the
Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Both of these institutes
were liberally endowed with lands, and each of them placed in
charge of a board of five trustees. The appropriation in 1869
for the deaf and dumb and blind amounted to $81,500. On the
first of March, 1848, the first telegraph line was completed from
New York to Detroit, and the first dispatch transmitted on that
day. The following figures show the progress in agriculture:
The land reported as under cultivation in 1848 was 1,437,460
acres ; of wheat there were produced 4,739,300 bushels ; other
grains, 8,197,767 bushels; wool, 1,645,756 pounds ; maple sugar,
1,774,369 pounds ; horses, 52,305 ; cattle, 210,268 ; swine, 152,541 ;
sheep, 610,534 ; while the flour mills numbered two hundred and
twenty-eight, and the lumber mills amounted to seven hundred and
thirty. In 1847, an act was passed removing the Legislature from
Detroit to Lansing, and temporary buildings for the use of the
Legislature were immediately erected, at a cost of $12,450.
Governor Hansom was succeeded by John S. Barry, who was
again, and for a third term, elected Governor of the State of
same year, lie was married to Christiana, daughter of Mr. John Landreth,
of Cleveland. In September, 1856, he removed to Grand Haven, where he
started a small hardware store, with a stock worth less than one thousand
dollars. In 1858, Mr. Hubbard purchased the interest in the business
hitherto held by Mr. C. Metz, the stock then amounting to over five
thousand dollars. He continued the business until 1866, when Mr.
George E. Miller joined him in a partnership which continued two years.
He also formed a partnership with Mr. A. J. Emlaw, who carried on a
hardware business in Muskegon. At the end of two years, Mr. Emlaw
was succeeded in the Muskegon business by Mr. John H. Landreth,
brother of Mrs. George E. Hubbard. He continued it three years.
At the time Mr. Miller joined the firm, the stock was valued at sixteen
thousand dollars. Mr. Landreth took an interest in the Grand Haven
business in 1872, and continued in it one year, since which time the con-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 491
Michigan. He continued in office till November, 1851. During
this administration a Normal School was established at Ypsi-
lanti, which was endowed with lands and placed in charge of a
board of education, consisting of six persons ; a new Constitution
for the government of the State was adopted, and the " Great Rail
road Conspiracy Case " was tried. This grew out of a series of
lawless acts which had been committed upon the property of the
Michigan Central Railroad Company, along the line of their road,
and, finally, the burning of their depot, at Detroit, in 1850. In
1851, thirty-seven men were brought to trial, and of them twelve
were convicted. The conspirators were defended by William H.
Seward, of New York, and the prosecution was conducted by
Alex. D. Fraser, of Detroit. Judge Warner Wing presided.
Robert McClelland [followed Barry into the executive chair,
and served as Governor from 1851 until March, 1853, when he
resigned to accept a position in the Cabinet of President Pierce,
as Secretary of the Interior. On his retirement, the Lieutenant
Governor, Andrew Parsons, became the acting governor, and
continued in that capacity until November, 1854.
Kingsley S. Bingham was the next Governor of Michigan. He
served from November, 1854, to November, 1858. With regard
to this administration we copy from the " Red Book " as follows :
The most notable event of Governor Bingham's first term was the
completion of the ship canal, at the Falls of St. Mary. In 1852,
cern has been carried on by Mr. Hubbard, the capital invested being
about thirty thousand dollars.
In 1870, Mr. Hubbard erected the first brick three-story building in the
city, and the completion of the building was celebrated in February,
1871, by the largest party ever gathered together in Grand Haven, con
sisting of friends from all parts of Michigan and some from Illinois,
Ohio and Wisconsin.
In 1872, Mr. Hubbard was elected mayor, on the Republican ticket,
when it was conceded there was a Democratic majority of one hundred
in the city. In the spring of 1873, he was reelected mayor, a position he
still continues to fill with honor to himself and the general satisfaction
of his fellow-citizens.
As a business man, Mr. Hubbard ranks high, and is among the most
successful. He is persevering, energetic and enterprising. He has
492 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
August twenty-sixth, an act of Congress was approved, granting
to the State of Michigan seven hundred and fifty thousand acres
of land, for the purpose of constructing a ship canal between
Lakes Huron and Superior. In 1853, the Legislature accepted the
grant, and provided for the appointment of commissioners to select
the donated lands, and to arrange for building the canal. A com
pany of enterprising men was formed, and a contract was entered
into, by which it was agreed that the canal should be finished
in two years ; and the work proceeded. Every article of con
sumption, machinery, working implements and materials, timber
for the gates, stones for the locks, as well as men and supplies,
had to be transported to the site of the canal from Detroit,
Cleveland, Chicago, and other lake ports. The rapids which had
to be surmounted have a fall of seventeen feet, and are about a
mile long. The length of the canal is less than one mile, its
width one hundred feet, depth twelve feet, and it has two locks of
solid masonry. In May, 1855, the work was completed, accepted
by the commissioners, and formally delivered to the State authori
ties. The disbursements on account of constructing the canal
and selecting the lands amounted to $999,802; while the lands
which were assigned to the company, and selected through the
agency at the Sault, as well as certain lands in the upper and
lower peninsulas, filled to an acre the government grant. The
opening of this canal was a most important event in the history
of the improvements of this State. It was a valuable link in
acquired a large social, and consequently political influence, mainly by
his straightforward, honorable dealing and accommodating spirit. He
is a valuable citizen, paving aided, to the utmost of his ability, both
public and private enterprises calculated to advance the interests of
the city.
As a presiding officer, he has never been^ equaled in the common coun
cil, having a good knowledge of parliamentary practice and a nice sense
of justice and impartiality.
As a member of the ancient order of Knight Templars, he enjoys the
unbounded confidence of the fraternity.
As a citizen and neighbor, he is known to be a friend, especially to the
laboring portion of the community, among whom he is exceedingly
popular, while his standing in commercial circles needs no encomium.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 493
the chain of lake commerce, and particularly important to the
interests of the upper peuinsula of Michigan.
Moses Wisner was the next Governor of Michigan. He served
from 1858 to November, 1860. He was succeeded by Austin
Blair, whose connection with the State during the progress of the
civil war, properly brings any notice of his administration within
the scope of the records of that bloody event.
Turning from the routine of political and legislative records, we
will pass on to her struggles and triumphs during the great
rebellion.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR BLAIR — THE WAR OP THE REBELLION
— PATRIOTIC ACTION OF MICHIGAN — THE TROOPS SENT TO THE
FIELD — THE DRAFT— GOVERNOR CRAPO'S ADMINISTRATION — CLOSE
OF THE WAR— THE TROOPS RETURN HOME — FINANCIAL CONDITION
OF THE STATE.
AUSTIN BLAIR was the thirteenth Governor of Michigan under
the State organization. The principal events occurring under his
administration were those connected with the war of the rebellion.
To give a complete history of the events of that trying period, to
enumerate the heroic deeds of the brave sons of Michigan, recount
their struggles and triumphs, and place their record on the pages
of history as it deserves, would require many volumes. But that
record would form some of the brightest pages in the annals of
this nation.
Michigan soldiers were among the most prompt to offer their
services when the first gun was fired on Fort Sumter, and were
among the last to leave the field after the last rebel had laid down
his arms. They were among those who first crossed the Long
Bridge and captured Alexandria. They were under command of
the gallant and lamented Richardson, who first opened fire at
Blackburn's Ford, near Bull Run. They were with McClellau,
in "West Virginia, in 1861. In 1862 they were in South Caro
lina and Georgia, in the Army of the Potomac, on the Peninsula,
and in Maryland ; with Banks in the Shenandoah Valley, with
Burnside in Virginia, with Butler in Louisiana, and with Pope in
Missouri. In 1863 they bore a gallant part in* the campaign in
Virginia under Hooker, and Meade, in Pennsylvania. They
assisted in the defense of Knoxville, under Burnside ; in the cap
ture of Vicksburg, by Grant ; and in the raid on Richmond, by
Kilpatrick. They were with Rosecrans, in his campaign against
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 495
Chattanooga, and did gallant service, under other generals, in
Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. In the closing
years of the war they were with Grant, in his march against
Richmond ; with Sherman, in his march "to the sea, and with Sher
idan, in his campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. They assisted
in the defense of Nashville, under Thomas ; and were with Wil
son and Stoneman, in their raids in Georgia and North Carolina.
They were at the capture of Mobile ; and, after the surrender of
Lee, served in Texas and against the Indians in the West. Mich
igan soldiers saw the surrender of Lee and of Johnson, and it was
a Michigan regiment that captured the President of the Southern
Confederacy. Her heroic dead sleep in every national cemetery,
and her best blood has been poured out on every battle field. In
every encounter they were conspicuous for their bravery and devo
tion. In every position they were true and faithful.
It would be a pleasant task to follow the soldiers of Michigan
through every campaign, and tell the tale of their heroism and
recount their deeds of valor ; but the limits of this volume forbid,
and we must rest content with the briefest outline of the part
which was taken by the State in that memorable contest. Besides,
the task has already been performed in an able manner by one
of the soldiers of Michigan. Reference is had to General Rob
ertson's History of Michigan during the Rebellion, in Lanman's
Red Book of Michigan. And we here take occasion to acknowl
edge our indebtedness to that volume for many of the facts which
are here set forth.
When Governor Blair assumed the gubernatorial chair, in
January, 1861, the mutterings of the coming storm were already
heard in the distance. The retiring Governor, the lamented
Moses Wisner, delivered a stirring and patriotic valedictory mes
sage to the Legislature, which served as the key-note to the action
of the State in the subsequent contest. Governor Blair's inau
gural, delivered at the same time, was an equally patriotic message,
in which he discussed, in a most able and philosophical manner,
the true nature of our complex system of government, and of the
real significance of the impending issues, and closed by recom
mending that the State proffer her whole military resources to the
496 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
President to aid in upholding the laws, and maintaining the
supremacy of the Constitution. The Legislature was prompt in
its response to this recommendation, and passed a series of resolu
tions, declaring the loyalty of the State to the Union and the
Constitution, and its readiness to aid the government with all its
material resources and military power.
Michigan was in reality, at that time, ill prepared for war.
The long years that had elapsed since there had been any enemies
to fight had caused her to forget that war was possible. Its
militia had dwindled to next to nothing. There were only twenty-
eight companies in the State, with an effective force of a little over
one thousand men. The population of the State was about
800,000. The number of able-bodied men, capable of bearing
arms, was estimated at 110,000. The State debt was $2,228,842,
besides $100,000 in canal bonds, guaranteed by the State. The
taxable value of the State was about $275,000,000. The financial
embarrassments were neither few nor unimportant, and the annual
tax of $226,250, was considered a grievous burthen upon the peo
ple. Notwithstanding these embarrassments, the people were
willing to sacrifice everything to maintain the integrity of the
Union, and the utterances of the two Governors, and the resolu
tions of the Legislature, struck a responsive chord in every patri
otic heart.
On the 12th day of April, 1861, the telegraph flashed the news
to Detroit that Fort Sumter had been fired upon — that civil war
had been inaugurated. This news produced the most intense
excitement. The first body to move in the matter was the Detroit
bar. A meeting was held on the 13th, and patriotic resolutions
passed. On the 15th the news was received that Fort Sumter
had surrendered. At the same time, the President's call for
75,000 troops was received. Public meetings were at once held in
every part of the State, and pledges made to assist the nation in
this its hour of peril. Volunteering commenced. On the 16th,
Governor Blair arrived in Detroit, and immediately held a con
sultation with the leading citizens. The State had been called
upon for one regiment, fully armed and equipped. One hundred
thousand dollars was required for this purpose, and the treasury
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
497
was empty. To meet this expenditure, the meeting at once
pledged Detroit to loan the State $50,000. A further sum of
$25,000 was also pledged by those present, and a committee
appointed to solicit further subscriptions. The same day the
REV. MARCUS SWIFT.
MARCUS SWIFT was born in Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, June
23, 1793. His father, General John Swift, a prominent citizen of that
section, secured to his son as good educational advantages as the country
afforded in that early time, and at the age of eighteen, Mr. Swift married
Miss Anna Osband, and entered on the active pursuits of life. At the
age of twenty, he became a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and was licensed, soon after, to preach the Gospel. In this field
he was eminently successful. Philosophical and logical as a thinker,
32
498 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Governor issued a proclamation calling for ten companies of
volunteers. The State promptly responded to this call, and the
tenders of troops soon far exceeded the requisition. On the 24th
the Governor called an extra session of the Legislature to meet
on the seventh of May. Orders were issued for organizing the
First Regiment. This was promptly done, and the Coldwater
Battery was also organized and equipped, with money loaned the
State by the citizens of Coldwater. The Second Regiment was
also hurriedly recruited, and went into camp at Detroit. The
Third and Fourth immediately followed, and were conditionally
accepted, it being apprehended that they would not be needed.
On the seventh of May the Legislature met, and legalized what
had been done, clothed the Governor with ample power for the
future, and authorized the raising of ten regiments and a war loan
of $1,000,000. It also passed the " Soldiers' Relief Law," by
which counties were required to afford certain relief to the families
of soldiers.
forcible and fluent as a speaker, simple and easy in address, the young
licentiate drew around him a circle of friends appreciative of his rapidly
developing powers and rich in kindness and sympathy. Pecuniary
embarrassments overtook him in consequence of the sudden death of an
elder brother by drowning, and caused him to remove with his family to
the wilds of Michigan in 1825. He purchased land, eighteen miles west
of Detroit, Wayne county, in the township of Bucklin (afterwards
divided into the townships of Bedford, Dearborn, Livonia and Nankin,
in the latter of which was his location), and making that a permanent
home, became identified with the growth and development of that part
of the State.
In 1827, he was elected supervisor. Under the territorial regime, this
office was one of primary importance, involving the entire interests of
the rapidly developing country. This office he filled for nine successive
terms, the remote settlers (from necessity) spending two days in going to
vote, taking their provisions with them and " camping out " in the woods
during the journey. He was also appointed justice of the peace by Presi
dent Jackson, which office he continued to hold until the Territory was
admitted as a State.
The last four terms Mr. Swift served as supervisor, he was elected
without an opposing vote. The public business involved in the division
of the township, devolved on him and was disposed of with judgment
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 499
On the thirteenth day of May, the First Regiment, under the
command of Colonel O. B. Wilcox, left for the seat of war, fully
armed and equipped. The Second soon followed, commanded by
Colonel Israel B. Richardson. Many other companies were organ
ized; but, not being able to find places in the regiments in this
State, sought and found service in other States. The Third and
Fourth, however, were recruited, under the authority of the Gov
ernor ; and, while this was in process, a letter was received from
the Secretary of War, limiting the number of regiments that
would be accepted from this State to four, and enjoining the Gov
ernor from raising any more than that number.
Governor Blair, however, decided to disregard these instruc
tions, and immediately established a camp of instruction for the
officers of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh regiments. Companies
were soon assigned to these regiments ; and the course of instruc
tion proceeded till the first of August, when the camp was broken
up, and the force sent to various localities to recruit and organize
and dispatch. His increasing acquaintance, and the duties connected
with the ministry, which profession he faithfully and laboriously exer
cised among the scattered and almost shepherdless flocks of Christ,
caused his gradual withdrawal from public business, that he might devote
himself wholly to the chief purpose of his life.
The Methodist Episcopal church having organized a conference in
1833, he took charge of Oakland circuit, which embraced within its
limits 125 miles. This circuit he made once in four weeks, preaching
thirty-one times each month, and receiving $120 per year for the two
years he occupied it, in anything but money. The next year he had
charge of Plymouth circuit, after which he withdrew from conference
and performed voluntary labor, until the organization of the Wesleyan
church, preaching every Sabbath and frequently during the week, for
which he received occasional contributions from the indigent people.
He always responded with cheerful alacrity to calls for pastoral service,
and it was no unfrequent occurrence for one of the horses to be taken
from the plow in the middle of the furrow (for he combined farming
with his other avocations), in order that its master might repair to some
distant neighborhood and preach one of the pathetic funeral sermons for
which he was famous.
The principal occasion of Mr. Swift's separation from the conference,
was the complicity of the church with slavery. As early as 18£5, he began
500 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the regiments. This was promptly done, and before the twelfth
of September, all had left for the field, the President having, in
the meantime, called for 500,000 volunteers. The quota of Mich
igan under this call was put at 21,337. In addition to this force,
two companies of sharpshooters were organized and mustered in.
Also, two companies of cavalry, for a Missouri regiment ; seven
of infantry for Illinois regiments, and two for New York regi
ments. In obedience to this call, recruiting was pushed with the
utmost rapidity until December, 1861, at which time the State
had sent the following regiments to the front :
The First Regiment Infantry, three months, from Detroit, May
15th, 780 strong — Colonel 0. B. Wilcox commanding.
The First Regiment, from Ann Arbor, September 16th, 751
strong — Colonel John C. Robinson commanding.
The Second Regiment Infantry, from Detroit, June 5th, 1,020
strong — Colonel J. B. Richardson commanding.
to agitate the subject, and made himself heard with telling effect. In the
conference, he had not a man to hold up his hands as he invited attention
to an investigation of the sin and its dire effects on the church and nation.
He insisted that the church ought to take such action as would show to
the world that it regarded God rather than man, and refuse to bind itself
with the fetters of expediency by tolerating apologists of slavery and
slave-holding ministers and laymen. He exercised charity towards those
who honestly entertained the opinion expressed by Bishop Hedding, viz:
" Slaves could be held in obedience to the golden rule," and was willing
to believe that what seemed to him a monstrous and unnatural invasion
of the rights of his sable brethren might assume to some the aspect of
missionary work. But "his heart burned in him like a fire," and the
wrongs and sufferings of the slaves stung every fibre of his sympathetic
nature with pain. His open denunciation of the church polity, regard
ing slavery and episcopacy, brought upon him the censure of the official
boards of the conference, and they, together with the bishop, refused to
ordain him an elder, notwithstanding he had fulfilled all the disciplinary
requirements, and passed a complete examination. The condition exacted
was, that he cease the agitation of the slavery question. For such pledge
on his part, ordination was offered him, and the most inviting station in
the conference tendered. His talent as a preacher made him eminent —
a pillar of strength to the church as an advocate and defender of its
doctrines. Learned in the formulas of the churches, familiar with
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 501
The Third Regiment Infantry, from Grand Rapids, June 13th,
1,042 strong — Colonel D. McConnell commanding.
The Fourth Regiment Infantry, from Adrian, June 25th, 1,024
strong — Colonel D. A. Woodbury commanding.
The Fifth Regiment Infantry, from Detroit, September llth,
900 strong — Colonel H. D. Terry commanding.
The Sixth Regiment Infantry, from Kalamazoo, August 30th,
1,020 strong — Colonel F. W. Curtenius commanding.
The Seventh Regiment Infantry, from Monroe, September 5th,
1,020 strong — Colonel Ira R. Grosvenor commanding.
The Eighth Regiment Infantry, from Detroit, September 27th,
900 strong — Colonel W. M. Fenton commanding.
The Ninth Regiment Infantry, from Detroit, October 25th, 943
strong — Colonel W. W. Duffield commanding.
The Sixteenth Regiment Infantry, from Detroit, September 16th,
960 strong — Colonel T. B. W. Stockton commanding.
ecclesiastical history and literature, lie presented an impregnable front to
the assaults of infidelity. The soundness of his judgment and his
remarkable familiarity with the Scriptures, caused his counsel and advice
to be sought and held in high esteem by his ministerial brethren.
But all these gifts were light as an airy bubble when weighed in the
balance with his denunciations of the "peculiar institution." The
unswerving fidelity to moral and religious convictions which character
ized him, demanded the renunciation of worldly position and gain, and
he renounced them. The imposition of priestly hands was "nothing
worth " if purchased by the stifling of the voice of conscience. All
the manhood in him rose in rebellion at the infamous bargain, and he
proclaimed persistently, trumpet-tongued, and in discussions with his
opponents proved that stains of guilt and crime darkened the slave-hold
ing churches. He contended that the complicity and even neutrality of
the non-slave-holding portion of the church was criminal, a sin against
God and humanity, in direct violation of the discipline and opposed to
the spirit and teachings of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal
church.
The storm of persecution which had been gathering since 1834, fell
upon him more fiercely with each evidence that he was fearfully in
earnest in the work of reform. The destruction of his property, mob
violence, nor threats of malignant enemies could intimidate him, and to
cries of "peace," his response .was, "first pure, then peaceable." At
502 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The Eleventh Regiment Infantry, from White Pigeon, Decem
ber 9th, 1,000 strong— Colonel W. J. May commanding.
The First Regiment Mechanics and Engineers, from Marshall,
December llth, 1,000 strong — Colonel W. P. Innes commanding.
The First Regiment Cavalry, from Detroit, September 29th,
1,150 strong — Colonel T. F. Broadhead commanding.
The Second Regiment Cavalry, from Grand Rapids, November
14th, 1,170 strong — Lieutenant-Colonel W. C. Davis commanding.
The Third Regiment Cavalry, from Grand Rapids, November
28th, 1,180 strong — Lieutenant-Colonel R. H. G. Minty command
ing.
The First Battery, from Detroit, June 1st, 123 strong — Captain
C. O. Loomis commanding.
The Second Battery, from Grand Rapids, December 17th, 110
strong — Captain W. S. Bliss commanding.
The Third Battery, from Grand Rapids, December 17th, 80
strong — Captain A. W. Dees commanding.
length, hopeless of reform in the church and feeling it no longer con
sistent with his principles to maintain connection with it, in 1841, he
formally withdrew.
Politically, he acted in the same decided manner. Always loyal to
laws he believed to be in accord with the constitution, he never advocated
more radical political action than that upon which the present Republi
can party based its existence. He acted with the American Anti-Slavery
Society, but was not a Garrisonian abolitionist, believing rather that the
franchise should be exercised in correcting national evils.
In 1840, his vote was one of two cast in the township for the "Liberty
party" candidate for the presidency, James G. Birney. This party
received his support until merged in the Free Soil party, in 1848, and the
Republican party in 1856, and ever after during his life.
In Michigan, soon after Mr. Swift's secession from the church, a large
number followed his example, and, in the same year (1841), an organiza
tion was effected under the name of the " Wesleyan Methodist Church."
A book of " doctrines and discipline" was adopted, chiefly compiled by
his hand. The withdrawals continued to increase in number, and, in
May, 1843, a large convention of Wesleyan Methodists assembled at Utica,
New York, to which Mr. Swift was a delegate. Nine States were repre
sented, and the " Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America" organized
with about 170 preachers and 8,000 members. Into this connection was
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 503
The Fourth Battery, from White Pigeon, December 9th, 126
strong — Captain A. F. Bidwell commanding.
The Fifth Battery, from Marshall, December 17th, 76 strong —
Captain J. H. Dennis commanding.
Ten of these regiments were clothed and subsisted by the State,
under the direction of the Quartermaster-General.
The commencement of the year 1862 found the recruiting
going on with unabated vigor. Five regiments of infantry and
three batteries of artillery, in various portions of the State, were
being rapidly recruited, and they left for the field as follows :
Thirteenth Infantry from Kalamazoo, February 12th, 925
strong — Colonel M. Shoemaker commanding.
Twelfth Infantry, from Niles, March 18th, 1,000 strong— Colo
nel Francis Quinn commanding.
Fifteenth Infantry, from Monroe, March 27th, 869 strong— Col
onel J. M. Oliver commanding.
Fourteenth Infantry, from Ypsilanti, April 17th, 925 strong —
Colonel R. P. Sinclair commanding.
merged the church organized in Michigan two years before. In the
itinerancy of this church and connection, Mr. Swift labored actively, and
in the ministry to the close of his life. He expired, February 19, 1865,
after a brief illness, at the residence of his son, Dr. J. M. Swift, of
Northville, lamented by all who knew him. His last words were, " ' Now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation.' The great principles for which 1 labored
and fought amid reverses and persecution are now the ruling sentiments
of the people. I have lived in a glorious age, and my eyes have seen the
powers of darkness give way before the coming of the glorious reign of
liberty and equality." And so he entered into rest.
The influence of Mr. Swift, in moulding the moral sentiment of the
community in which he lived, can hardly be over-estimated. His famili
arity with all the interests pertaining to a newly settled country, to rural
life, to the administration of the laws and to the spiritual concerns of his
fellows, gave him the position of adviser, advocate and judge. His repu
tation for candor and probity frequently enabled him to reconcile con
flicting interests by mediation, and his voice was ever for peace and
good fellowship. He was hospitable and charitable, giving vastly more
for benevolent objects than he ever received for public services, and
his ear was ever open, and his sympathetic heart quick to respond, to the
504 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
Tenth Infantry, from Flint, April 22d, 997 strong— Colonel C.
M. Lum commanding.
Seventh Battery, from Kalamazoo, February 12th, 145 strong —
Captain C. H. Lamphere commanding.
Sixth Battery, from Coldwater, March 3d, 158 strong — Captain
J. S. Andrews commanding.
Eighth Battery, from Monroe, March 13th, 156 strong — Cap
tain Samuel De Golyer commanding.
In addition to these there were three more companies of sharp
shooters raised and sent forward, and one company to serve as a
guard for three prominent Southern men, who had been arrested
by Andrew Johnson for treason and imprisoned at Mackinaw. A
lancer regiment and a battalion of cavalry had also been raised,
but disbanded by the government. The reports made in July
gave an additional number of 2,028 recruits to the organizations
before mentioned, showing a total of 24,281 enrolled since the
commencement of the war, not including the lancer regiment, the
cavalry battalion which had not been accepted, or the companies
enlisted in regiments in other States. Including these, there
cry of the friendless and oppressed. His vigorous intellect and strong,
enthusiastic character left its imprint on the civil, political and educa
tional polity of his time. As a speaker, he was logical, forcible and
inspiring. His searching and pathetic appeals to the hearts and con
sciences of his hearers were responded to, in multitudes of instances by
purified lives, and thousands called him their spiritual father. In his
latter years, he was universally greeted with the loving title of "Father
Swift."
The Wesleyan Methodist church was an organized protest against the
immorality of slavery, before which other churches trembled, shorn of
power. It put forth in the form of a religious idea, what was soon to
become a political necessity, and from its despised position among the
small things of the earth, it sent forth roots into the heart of society,
which nourished the mighty tree whose branches are now, truly, "for
the sheltering of all nations." It drew within its pale such hosts of free,
aspiring and self-sacrificing spirits, that its wonderful work was speedily
accomplished. A generation of men sufficed to do this work, chief
among whom was Rev. Marcus Swift, who cast into its treasury worldly
ambition, power and gain, counting all these things but dross for the
grandeur of the interests it represented.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
505
would be an aggregate of about 27,000 men. Adding only those
who went into the regiments of other States would give a grand
total of 25,734 men who went to the front from Michigan up to
July 1st, 1862 — over 6,000 more than had been called for.
DR. G. L. CORNELL.
GEORGE L. CORNELL was born at Crown Point, Essex county, New
York, December 3d, 1829. His parents were both natives of this country.
His father was a physician of considerable eminence and extensive
practice.
In 1834, the family removed to Michigan, and settled at Spring Arbor,
in the county of Jackson. Here he passed through the ordinary course
taught in a common school, and prepared himself for college. He studied
medicine under the instruction of his father and Dr. M. Gunn, \vlio
was at that time surgeon of the University of Michigan, and graduated
506 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
In the meantime, the Union armies had met with some disas
trous reverses in the field, which, for the time being, cast a feeling
of gloom and despondency over the people of the whole North.
But Michigan soon rallied from that state of feeling ; and, when
the President, on the second of July, issued a call for " three hun
dred thousand more," she was as prompt as ever in her response.
The quota for Michigan under that call was 11,686. Six regi
ments were immediately ordered — one for each Congressional dis
trict. In addition to these, the people of Detroit and Wayne
county organized one regiment from their own citizens. Other
regiments followed in rapid succession, and, by the thirteenth of
December following, fourteen additional regiments were organized
and sent forward, as follows :
The Seventeenth Regiment Infantry, from Detroit, August 27th,
982 strong — Colonel W. H. Withington commanding.
The Twenty-fourth Regiment Infantry, from Detroit, August
29th, 1,027 strong — Colonel H. A. Morrow commanding.
The Twentieth Regiment Infantry, from Jackson, September
1st, 1,012 strong — Colonel A. W. Williams commanding.
The Eighteenth Regiment Infantry, from Hillsdale, September
4th, 1,002 strong — Colonel C. E. Doolittle commanding.
The Twenty-second Regiment Infantry, from Pontiac, Septem
ber 4th, 997 strong — Colonel M. Wisner commanding.
The Twenty-first Regiment Infantry, from Ionia, September
12th, 1,007 strong — Colonel A. E. Stevens commanding.
The Nineteenth Regiment Infantry, from Dowagiac, September
14th, 995 strong — Colonel H. C. Gilbert commanding.
from that institution in the class of 1852. The next year after finishing
his collegiate course, he removed to the city of St. Clair and entered upon
the practice of his profession. Since that time, he has devoted himself,
with rare skill and ability, to the practice ; and has won for himself a
position in the front rank of the profession in Michigan. During the
administration of James Buchanan, he was appointed collector of cus
toms at St. Clair, which office he held until the election of Lincoln, in
1860. During the war of the rebellion, he went to the front in the
capacity of surgeon in the army, where his rare skill as a surgeon was
exercised to the greatest advantage on many a bloody battle-field. After
the close of the war, he returned to St. Clair and resumed practice.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 507
The Twenty-third Regiment Infantry, from East Saginaw, Sep
tember 18th, 883 strong — Colonel M. W. Chapin commanding.
The Fourth Regiment Cavalry, from Detroit, September 26th,
1,223 strong — Colonel R. H. G. Minty commanding.
The Twenty-fifth Regiment Infantry, from Kalamazoo, Septem
ber 29th, 896 strong — Colonel O. H. Moore commanding.
The Ninth Battery, from Detroit, December 4th, 168 strong —
Captain J. J. Daniels commanding.
The Fifth Regiment Cavalry, from Detroit, December 4th, 1,305
strong — Colonel J. T. Copeland commanding.
The Sixth Regiment Cavalry, from Grand Rapids, December
10th, 1,220 strong — Colonel George Gray commanding.
The Twenty-sixth Regiment Infantry, from Jackson, December
13th, 903 strong — Colonel J. S. Farrar commanding.
In the meantime, an order had been made by the President
(August 4) for a draft of 300,000 militia, for nine months' service.
The quota assigned for Michigan was the same as under the call
of July second, viz: 11,689. In accordance with this demand
the Governor issued a proclamation, directing a census to be taken
of the citizens in the State capable of bearing arms. This was
accordingly done, and the result showed that the number of men
in the State subject to draft was 91,071. Many difficulties pre
sented themselves in the way of making a draft, and the Presi
dent, therefore, left the time for drafting to the discretion of the
governors, hoping that each would be able to raise the number
required by volunteer enlistments. Governor Blair accordingly,
He has been repeatedly elected mayor of the city of St. Clair, and
alderman of his ward, and his services are nearly always sought as a
member of the board of supervisors of the county. Although his politi
cal influence is second to none in his county, he has persistently refused,
with rare exceptions, to allow his name to be used in connection with
any office, the performance of the duties of which would call him away
from his chosen field of labor — the practice of his profession. He has
acquired a handsome fortune by his own unaided exertions, and occupies
a prominent and leading position, not only in his profession, but in social
and political life. He is remarkable for his benevolence and public
spirit, and is especially active in the promotion of the educational inter
ests of the city and county in which he resides.
508 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
on the ninth of November, issued a stirring appeal to the citizens
of Michigan to come forward and save the State from the impend
ing draft. Less than four thousand were now needed to fill the
quota. In the meantime, enlistments had gone forward rapidly.
The Twenty-seventh Infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas
S. Sprague ; the Seventh Cavalry, under Colonel F. W.' Kellogg ;
the Eighth Cavalry, under Colonel John Stockton ; the Ninth
Cavalry, under Captain James J. David; the Twenty - eighth
Infantry, under Colonel Edward Doyle, and another regiment of
sharpshooters, under Captain C. V. DeLand, had been organized,
and vigorous efforts were being made to fill up the ranks.
The aggregate number of troops enlisted and mustered up to
December 23d, 1862, as reported by the Adjutant-General, was as
follows :
" Total, including recruits, sent to the field before July 1st, 1862,
24,281; 'Lancers' and 'Hughes' Horse Guards,' regularly mus
tered into the service, but disbanded without leaving the State,
987 ; three regiments of cavalry, ten of infantry, and one battery,
sent since July 1st, 13,739; recruits (including six for nine months)
received from July 1st to December 23d, 2,162 ; estimated strength
of three regiments of cavalry, two of infantry, one of sharpshoot
ers, and two batteries, organizing in the State, 4,400. Total, 45,-
569."
This does not include volunteers from this State who had gone
into the regiments of other States, to a number known to exceed
1,400, nor those who had enlisted in the regular army — probably
three or four hundred.
In January, 1863, the Legislature met and passed an act offer
ing $50 bounties for enlistments, and legalized the local bounties
that had been offered throughout the State. It also appropriated
$20,000 for the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers in the
field. This amount was increased, subsequently, by an additional
$25,000.
At the commencement of this year, three regiments of cavalry,
two of infantry, one of sharpshooters, and two batteries, were in
process of recruitment within the State. During January, the
" Provost Guard," a company raised by Captain E. D. Robinson,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
509
for duty at the Detroit Barracks, was mustered into service ; also,
Company L, " Merrill Horse," recruited by Almon E. Preston.
On the twentieth of February, eight completed companies of the
Seventh Cavalry, under command of Colonel W. D. Mann, were
COLIN CAMPBELL.
COLEN CAMPBELL was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in June of the year
1811.
At an early age his father died, leaving him the special care of a devoted
mother, who earty taught him the religious principles which are the
foundation to his present success.
At the age of fourteen, Mr. Campbell entered into the stationery 'and
paper business in his native country. At the age of nineteen, he engaged
as book-keeper in a bottling or brewing house, and two years afterwards
510 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ordered to Washington. The remaining battalion was left to
recruit, and joined the regiment in May following. The Eighth
Cavalry, 1,117 strong, under Colonel Stockton, left for Kentucky
on the twelfth of May. The Ninth Cavalry, under Colonel David,
left on the eighteenth, twentieth, and twenty-fifth of May, leaving
two incomplete companies to be filled. These joined the regiment
soon after, increasing the number in this regiment to 1,073. The
Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Infantry were consolidated as
the Twenty - seventh Infantry, and left for Cincinnati on the
twelfth of April, 865 strong, under command of Colonel D. M.
Fox. The First Regiment of Michigan Sharpshooters, under
Colonel DeLand, was ordered, on the eighth of July, to Indian
apolis. When this regiment was completed, it showed a strength of
963. The Tenth Battery, 104 strong, under Captain J. C. Shultz,
left with the Seventh Cavalry. The Eleventh Battery, 108 strong,
under Captain C. J. Thompson, left with the Ninth Cavalry. The
Twelfth Battery, under Captain E. G. Hillier, left for Indianapo
lis in July. When completed this battery was 219 strong.
In the meantime a draft was made, in February, in the counties
he again established himself in business. This was in the outskirts of
Glasgow, where he conducted a general provision and grocery store for
a considerable time.
A few years later, he disposed of his effects in Scotland and sailed for
the United States, arriving in Detroit in 1842. Here he formed a co-part
nership with Messrs. J. H. Thompson and James Jack, two friends who
had preceded him to this country, and they entered into -the dry goods
business under the firm name of Campbell & Jack. As their business
increased from time to time the firm was changed, and they removed
from one store to another until they finally settled in their present build
ing on the corner of Woodward avenue and Congress street, under the
firm name of Colin Campbell & Sons.
Mr. Campbell has achieved substantial though perhaps not extravagant
success in mercantile pursuits. His life has not been altogether given up
to business matters; on the contrary, he has devoted much to the study
of the Bible, and has made it, to a great extent, the guide of his life.
Looking beyond the narrow limits of pecuniary gain, he has concerned
himself with questions of politics and religion, and, although shunning
public preferment, he has won the highest esteem of the people in his
adopted State.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 611
then in arrear for the small deficiency then existing. The number
drafted was 1,278. Of these, 710 were delivered at Detroit, 545
of whom were sent to various regiments in the field, the rest being
discharged for various causes. Of these 430 enlisted for three
years, only 115 going into the field for nine months. On the
twenty-third of June the War Department authorized Colonel F.
W. Kellogg to raise two additional regiments of cavalry and two
more batteries of artillery. These were to be completed within
forty days. It was found impossible to do this in so short a time ;
but the recruiting commenced at once with the utmost vigor, and,
on the first of December, the Tenth Cavalry, under Colonel Thad-
deus Foote, left for Kentucky, 912 strong, and was followed, on
the seventeenth, by the Eleventh Cavalry, under command of
Colonel S. B. Brown, 921 strong. The two batteries were left in
camp, in the process of organization. In July Colonel Henry Barns
commenced the arduous task of raising a colored regiment. The
organization was completed in February following, and mustered
into the service, 895 strong. It was afterwards designated as the
One Hundred and Second United States colored troops.
In March of this year Congress passed an act " for enrolling
and calling out the national forces." The execution of this act was
under the exclusive control of the Federal authorities, and it pro
vided elaborate details for attaining the object in view. The
national force was declared to consist, with certain specified excep
tions, of " all able-bodied male citizens of the United States, and
persons of foreign birth who shall have declared on oath their
intention to become citizens under and in pursuance of the laws
thereof, between the ages of twenty and forty-five years ;" and
this force was divided into two classes, the first to comprise " all
persons subject to do military duty between the ages of twenty and
thirty-five years, and all unmarried persons subject to do military
duty above the age of thirty-five and under the age of forty-five,'
the second to comprise " all other persons subject to do military
duty ;" and it was provided that the latter class " shall not, in any
district, be called into the service of the United States until
those of the first class shall have been called." Each Congres
sional district was formed into an enrollment district, a provost
512 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
marshal and board of enrollment provided for each, and these
districts were again divided into sub-districts, consisting of wards
and townships.
Lieutenant-Colonel B. H. Hill was appointed Acting Assistant
Provost Marshal General of the State. Provost marshals were
appointed for each Congressional district, and through these agen
cies the enrollment was completed during the summer. The total
numbers enrolled were: of the first class, 80,038 ; second class,
40,226. On the completion of the enrollment in the several States
a draft was ordered of one-fifth of the first class, subject to adjust
ments of the surplus or deficiency existing in the accounts of each
State under previous calls.
On the twenty-seventh of October a draft began in all the dis
tricts except the First, which was delayed till the fifth of Novem
ber. The number drafted was 6,383. Of these, 261 were delivered
at the general rendezvous ; 643 furnished substitutes (43 of whom
deserted) ; 1,626 paid each $300 commutation money ; 2,130 were
exempted ; and 1,069 failed to report. The total amount paid as
commutation money was $487,800.
In October, the government offered recruiting agents $15 for
each recruit furnished, and increased the bounties to $302 for
those enlisting for the first time, and $402 for veterans reenlisting.
Liberal local bounties were offered in most of the counties.
On the seventeenth of October the President issued a call for
300,000 more men, and ordered a draft to commence the fifth of
January ensuing, to fill any deficiency then existing. The quota
for Michigan under this call was 11,298. The Governor immedi
ately issued a stirring proclamation, calling upon the people to
" fill up the ranks once more," and promising that " the next blast
of the bugle for an advance will sound the knell of revolution and
herald in the return of peace." The appeal was responded to by
the people with the same cordiality that had characterized their
action on every previous call. The returns and muster rolls
showed that, down to December 31st, 1863, an aggregate of 53,749
men had been mustered into the service of the United States
since the commencement of the war, not including the troops dis
banded.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
513
The important event which occurred in the early part of 1 864
was the return of the " veterans," who had reenlisted, and were
home on furlough and reorganizing. Five thousand five hundred
and forty-five of these reentered the service, entitling the following
HON. WM. A. BURT.
WILLIAM AUSTIN Bum\ who was very prominently identified with the
(early days of the State, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, June 13,
.1792. At this place, Alvin Burt and Miss Wealthy Austin, parents of
"William Austin Burt, were born. They resided there until 1798, when
they removed with their son William, then six years of age, to Mont
gomery county, New York. At that time, there were no schools, and
young Burt, whose eager thirst for knowledge had begun to develop at
that early age, encountered many difficulties in acquiring an education.
.Fortunately Jor him, a gentleman resided in the neighborhood who had
33
514 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
organizations to which they belonged to the title of " veteran : "
First, Second and Third Cavalry ; Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth,
Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth,
Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Infantry ; the Sixth Heavy Artillery,
and Batteries B, C, and E, First Light Artillery, and 148 of the
Engineers and Mechanics. On the first of February a draft was
ordered by the President for 500,000 men, to serve for three years,
or during the war. This order was interpreted to mean an exten
sion of the then pending call for 300,000, and was so acted upon.
On the fourteenth of March the President made an additional
order for 200,000 men, giving till the fifteenth of April for enlist
ments before the draft should take place. An act was also passed
by Congress abolishing the commutation system. The distinction
of classes had already been abolished. On the eighteenth of July
the President issued a proclamation calling for 500,000 men, and
directing that volunteers be accepted for one, two, or three years,
as they might elect ; and that on the fifth of September, a draft
should be made for any deficiency that might be found to exist.
Upon the reception of this call, Governor Blair issued a stirring
proclamation, calling upon the people for prompt efforts to meet
been a teacher in the old country, and who took an interest in his studies
and gave him every assistance and encouragement. Here he began the
study of surveying and national astronomy, and at the age of fourteen,
he had mastered these difficult studies. His parents were poor and could
give him but little aid, and after the toil of the day was ended, the young
man pursued his studies by the light of a pine knot, the luxury of a
" tallow dip" being at that time not easily obtained. Thus employed,
the time went by until he was seventeen years of age, when the family
emigrated to Erie county, New York, the then "far west," and began
the slow and tedious labor of making for themselves a home in the
wilderness.
At the age of twenty-one, he married Phoebe Cole, a daughter of John
Cole, Esq., a prominent citizen of that country. This occurred in 1813,
and the United States being engaged in a war with Great Britain, young
Burt joined the American forces, and after participating in an unsuccess
ful attack on Fort Burlington, Canada, the order was given for the
soldiers to save themselves as best they could. Burt and a companion
secured a canoe, made their way to Buffalo, and finally reached their
home. The following year Burt enlisted in the service for another term
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 515
the demand of the President. The quota assigned to the State
was 18,282, of which a little over 12,000 remained to be recruited
at the time of issuing the proclamation. The Adjutant-General
at once issued orders authorizing the organization of six regi
ments, one in each Congressional district. Accordingly, on the
twenty-sixth of July, Colonel J. W. Hall was authorized to reor
ganize the old Fourth Infantry, whose term of service had expired.
On the twenty-ninth of the same month, Colonel M. B. Hough-
ton was authorized to reorganize the Third Infantry, whose term
had also expired. On the same day, Hon. J. F. Driggs was
appointed to take charge of the organization of a new regiment,
to be called the Thirty-first Infantry. On the ninth of August,
Hon. S. S. Lacey was authorized to organize the Twenty-ninth
Infantry. On the fifteenth of the same mouth, Hon. W. B. Wil
liams was intrusted with the organization of the Twenty-eighth
Infantry. On the twenty-fourth of August, Major John Atkin
son, of the Twenty-second Infantry, was authorized to raise and
organize the Thirtieth Infantry.
Recruiting now proceeded with renewed vigor; but the quota
was so great that it was impossible to fill it before the impend-
of sixty days, and served at Buffalo in the capacity of fife major. At
the close of the war, he engaged in mercantile pursuits, was elected
magistrate for his district, and did occasional jobs of surveying for his
neighbors.
Mr. Burt's mercantile career was not, strictly speaking, a success. This
failure in business, no doubt, induced him to make a journey to the far
west, which he did in the autumn of 1817.
His journal of this expedition is very interesting, and we regret that
our limited space prevents us from giving it to our readers. He left the
outlet of Chautauqua Lake, on the 13th of August, 1817, and after reach
ing the Alleghany he passed down that river to the Ohio, and down the
Ohio to the Falls at Jeffersonville. From here, he went overland to Vin-
cennes and further on to St. Louis, where he arrived on the 10th of
September. Returning, he left the latter place on the 25th of the same
month, and after passing through Vincennes and Fort Harrison, he
reached Detroit on the 28th of October, remained until the 30th, when he
took passage on the schooner Washington, for Buffalo, which place he
reached on the 5th of November.
Early in the spring of 1822, he came to Michigan in hopes of getting
516 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ing draft took place. On the tenth of June a draft was made,
but even that-did not fill the quota, and another draft was ordered
to take place in subdistricts ; and again, on the twentieth of
September, still another. The result of these efforts during the
first ten months of 1864 was as follows : Volunteers, 20,041 ;
drafted men, 1,956 ; veterans reenlisted, 5,545 ; enlisted in the
navy, 430 ; total credits in numbers, 27,972. Of these, 356 paid
commutation money previous to the act abolishing commutation,
deducting which would leave the total number of men actually
raised during ten months, 27,616. The total credit to the State
up to this time from the beginning of the war was 83,347.
On the third of September, authority was given to Colonel W.
L. Stoughton to reorganize the Eleventh Infantry. In November
a regiment was raised for the defense of the eastern border of
Michigan. The term of enlistment was twelve months. This regi
ment was called the Thirtieth Infantry, and was commanded by
Colonel G. S. Wormer.
It was now hoped that no more calls would be made ; but, on
the nineteenth of December, the President issued a call for " three
hundred thousand more," to supply a deficiency in the call of July
employment in the public land surveys, or in lieu thereof, to engage in
mill building. After his arrival, he worked for a while at his trade, and
built a saw mill at Auburn, Oakland county. Then, taking an Indian
trail to the Indian trading post at Flint, Mr. Burt went in search of the
government land surveyor, Mr. Fletcher, who was in that vicinity, sub
dividing the towns into sections. Returning from thence, he made a
selection of government land in the present township of Washington,
Macomb county, upon which he moved his family in the season of 1824.
From this date until 1833, he was mainly occupied in mill building and
in local surveying. He was elected a member of the territorial council
in 1826, and served in 1826-27. He was elected county surveyor of
Macomb county in 1831, and served three years. In the meantime he
had been appointed district surveyor by Governor George B. Porter in
1832. At this time he was appointed postmaster at Mt. Vernon, an office
which he held for twenty-four years. April 23, 1833, he was appointed
an associate judge for the Macomb circuit. In the autumn of 1833, he
received his appointment as United States deputy surveyor from the sur
veyor general's office at Cincinnati, for the district northwest of the Ohio,
518 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
eighteenth, and designated the fifteenth of February as the day
for another draft, in case the quota should not be full. Accord
ingly, the enrollment was at once corrected, and the quotas
assigned to each subdistrict. This done, it was found that in the
State there were on the enrollment 77,999 men subject to draft.
The quota for the State under the call was 10,010.
But the end was now approaching. The close of the year found
Sherman in possession of Savannah, Thomas triumphant in Ten
nessee, and Grant in the trenches before Petersburgh. Michigan
had nobly done her duty, under the statesmanlike guidance of her
" Great War Governor " — a title nobly earned by Austin Blair
during the four eventful years of his administration. His term
of office was now drawing to a close. On the fifth of January,
1865, the Legislature met, and Governor Blair prepared to vacate
the chair he had filled with such distinguished ability. Nobly
had he performed his duty to the State, the government, and to
the soldiers of Michigan. The soldiers in the field he never suf
fered himself to forget, and on retiring from office, his last official
utterances were addressed to them and in their behalf. The fol
lowing beautiful tribute paid to them in his valedictory message
and immediately left for the field, his district of survey lying northward
of Fort Gratiot, on the borders of Lake Huron.
During all these years of unsuccessful endeavor to obtain employment
in the public land surveys, his inventive genius had not been idle; and
soon after his removal to Michigan he had constructed a simple but prac
tical printing apparatus, whereby business men could conduct their cor
respondence by printed letter. The invention, however, failed to come
into general use, and for want of adequate means to make the enterprise
a success, the project was abandoned.
As early as 18353, he had conceived the idea and discovered the prin
ciples that resulted in the invention of the solar compass — that crowning
achievement of his life. He began soon after the construction of a
model, which he exhibited in 1835 to a committee of the Franklin Insti
tute of Philadelphia, of which scientific body he was a member. The
institute unanimously awarded him a Scott's legacy medal. This result
was highly gratifying and gave him much encouragement, emanating
as it did from the first scientific body in the land. In the meantime he •.
was engaged in the public land surveys in Iowa and west of the Missis-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 519
on that occasion is not only characteristic of the man who uttered
it, but finds a response in the heart of every patriot :
"GENTLEMEN— Again, and for the last time, I commend the
Michigan troops to your continued care and support. They have
never failed in their duty to the country or to the State. Upon
every great battle-field of the war their shouts have been heard
and their sturdy blows have been delivered for the Union and
victory. Their hard-earned fame is the treasure of every house
hold in the State, and the red blood of their veins has been
poured out in large measure to redeem the rebellious South from
its great sin and curse. At this hour they stand under the flag
of their country, far away from home, in every quarter where the
enemy is to be met — along the banks of the father of waters, in
the great city at its mouths, on the Arkansas, in the captured forts
of the Gulf, by the waters of the Cumberland, the Tennessee, and
of the Savannah, in the chief city of the Empire State of the
South, among the conquering columns in the Valley of the Shen-
andoah, and in the trenches under the eye of the Lieutenant-
General in the great leaguer of Petersburg and Richmond. Alas,
that they are also perishing of cold and hunger, and disease, in
sippi, also in Wisconsin, making the subdivisions near where the city of
Milwaukee now stands. This was in the winter of 1834-35. In 1838, he
was elected one of the commissioners of public improvements for the
State of Michigan, which had but recently been admitted into the Union.
Michigan was then entering upon a career of vast internal improvements
by way of canals and railways, and the people of the State may feel well
assured that through the sound sense and practical knowledge of William
A. Burt, some millions of dollars were saved to the taxpayers of the
State.
; . Mr. Burt had not, in the meantime, suffered his inventive genius to
remain idle. His solar compass had occupied largely his thoughts,- and
many alterations and improvements had been made as practical use
seemed to suggest. On the 14th of December, 1840, he exhibited to the
Franklin Institute, a perfect solar compass, for which he received, by
order of the committee through William Hamilton Actuary, the highest
commendation and a most gratifying and able support on the value of
his invention.
From 1840 to 1847, he was mostly occupied in the public land surveys
of northern Michigan, near Chocolate River, Lake Superior, but he pub-
520 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the filthy rebel prisons and pestilential camps of the South. In
every situation their bravery has won the approval of their com
manders, and their heroic endurance of hardships has added
lustre to their name. It is my sole regret at quitting office that I
part with them. My earnest efforts for their good shall follow
them while I live, and now from this place I bid them hail, and
farewell!"
The Legislature responded by passing resolutions highly com
plimentary to Governor Blair, and tendering the grateful thanks
of the people of Michigan for the able and satisfactory manner
in which he had conducted the affairs of the State during the
four years of his administration.
On the retirement of Governor Blair, Henry H. Crapo was
inaugurated Governor of Michigan. He was a man possessing
sterling qualities of mind and heart, great executive ability, scru
pulous honesty of purpose, and strong and inherent patriotism.
He came to the executive chair at a time when all these qualities
were required, in an eminent degree, in the chief magistrate of
the State. The nation was engaged in the last desperate struggle
with the great rebellion. The resources of the whole people were
lished a small manual for the adjustment and use of the solar compass,
which was of very great benefit to those using the instrument.
In that year, he was associated with the lamented Dr. Douglass Hough-
ton, in the prosecution of the linear and geological surveys. In the
autumn of 1845, on the 13th of October, Dr. Houghton lost his life by
the upsetting of a boat during a storm on Lake Superior. Owing to his
death, Judge Burt had the geological reports to make out, which he did
with marked ability and entire satisfaction to the department. The
labor of those years was enormous. Great numbers of specimens were
collected and properly labeled. The immense body of iron ore south of
Teal Lake was discovered by him on September 19, 1844; and during that
season and the year 1846, more than twenty beds of iron ore were dis
covered by him and reported to the world, thus giving some idea of the
vast hidden wealth of northern Michigan. No other living man had
done so much or placed his information in such tangible shape for the
general good, and public attention was at once turned in that direction.
In the summer of 1851, Mr. Burt visited Europe, for the purpose of
exhibiting his instrument at the world's fair, in London. He took the
occasion while there to visit the eminent geologist, Hugh Miller, at Edin-
522 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
being taxed to the utmost to meet the demands of the hour. The
bone and sinew of the State, the flower of its population, were in
the trenches before Petersburg, with Thomas in his struggle in the
Southwest, with Sherman on his grand "march to the sea," or sleep
ing beneath the bloody sod of a thousand battle-fields, or languish
ing in the dark, dismal, and pestilential prisons of the Southern
Confederacy. Thousands of widows and orphans were at home,
demanding the care which a grateful people could not withhold.
The sick and wounded soldiers were in every hospital, the heroic
dead in every cemetery. The treasury, State and national, was
being rapidly depleted. Every city, village, ward, and township
had taxed itself to the utmost to meet the demands of patriotism.
The war was not yet ended, and the nation demanded of Michigan
ten thousand more of her sons. Truly it required a strong heart
and a steady hand to enable the new executive to meet the
demands of the hour, and preserve to the State the brilliant and
unsullied record she had made during the administration of her
great War Governor. How well Governor Crapo performed the
task, every citizen of Michigan can testify.
Happily, however, but little of the war record of Michigan
burg, Scotland, whose writings had given him so much pleasure and
profit. He also visited Paris, and returning to London, he received a
prize medal from the jurors on astronomical instruments, and the fol
lowing certificate from Prince Albert.
" I hereby certify that her majesty's commissioners, upon the award of
the jurors, have presented a prize medal to Wm. A. Burt, for a Solar
Compass and surveying instrument shown the exhibition.
ALBERT,
President of the Royal Commission.
Hyde Park, London, October 15, 1851."
Returning home in the fall of 1852, he was elected a member of the
legislature, and among the duties discharged by him was that of chairman
of the committee on St. Mary's Falls ship canal, of the session of 1852-3.
To him, it is confidently believed, may be attributed the success of favor
able legislation and for the speedy construction of that work, so impor
tant to the State and country.
During the summer of 1855, Mr. Burt compiled a manual, which he
published, and which he entitled "A Key to the Solar Compass and Sur
veyor's Companion."
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 523
remains to be told. The beginning of the year 1865, as has been
seen, found the State with a draft impending for more than ten
thousand men. On the first of January the Eleventh Regiment
of Infantry was being recruited. The organization of the Thirti
eth, designed for duty on the Detroit and St. Glair rivers, was
completed on the ninth, and at once assigned to duty. On the
fourth of March four companies of the Eleventh left for Nash
ville, and on the eighteenth, the remaining six companies followed,
under command of Colonel P. H. Keegan. The whole force con
sisted of 898 officers and men. On the fourth of February the
Legislature offered $150, State bounty, and authorized townships
to pay $100. These bounties continued to be paid until the four
teenth of April, when recruiting ceased within the State.
The war had now drawn to a close. On the ninth of April
General Lee surrendered his army to General Grant. The surren
der of Johnston to Sherman soon followed.
Previous to this, and subsequent to November 1st, 1864, there
had been raised in the State 9,382 recruits. Of these, 7,547 vol
untarily enlisted in the army, 53 in the navy, and 1,782 'were
drafted. The Adjutant-General's report shows that the total
In 1856, he obtained letters patent in the United States, England,
France and Belgium, for the Equatorial Sextant. This instrument had
cost him more brain labor than the solar compass, and is of ingenious
construction and of much promise to the navy and mercantile marine,
its powers being ascertained by Lieutenant Maury, as follows:
"The Equatorial Sextant being manipulated properly, it will show
without computation, but by a simple reading off, the latitude, hour,
angle, and azimuth, and this at any time of day, thus giving the position
of a ship at sea at once, with the use of a chronometer."
Unfortunately for the interest of commerce and the commercial world,
the inventor was not permitted to perfect the instrument. He died of
heart disease, August 18, 1858, at his home in Detroit. Surrounded by
his family, he passed peaceably away, and was buried at the family
grounds at Mt. Vernon, near his first home in Michigan.
Mr. Burt was a. Christian man, and led a Christian life. The religion
he professed he practiced. There was nothing spasmodic about it. It
was of practical moment to him and influenced his life all through. He
was one of the early founders of the Baptist church at Mt. Vernon, and
always a liberal contributor to its various objects, and throughout life a
524 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
number of men furnished by Michigan, from the beginning of the
war to its close, was ninety thousand seven hundred and forty-
seven. The sum paid into the Treasury of the United States by
drafted citizens of Michigan as commutation money was five hun
dred and ninety-four thousand six hundred dollars.
The task of the soldiers of Michigan was now ended. How
nobly they had performed their duty, every one knows; and the
pages of history will tell the story of their patriotism and heroic
deeds to thousands of generations yet unborn.
On the fourth day of June, 1865, the Twentieth Regiment
returned home. Others followed in succession, but it was not till
the tenth of June, 1866, that the last regiment arrived in the
State. The Third and Fourth Infantry were the last to leave the
field.
On the fourteenth of June, 1865, Governor Crapo issued a pro
clamation of thanks to the Michigan troops. After speaking of
the untold toils and hardships they had endured, of their bravery
and patriotism, their honorable scars, and their heroic dead, he
closed as follows :
" In the name of the people of Michigan, I thank you for the
consistent member. His life was one of constant activity. He possessed
a strong, compact frame, capable of enduring great fatigue, which many
times was put to the utmost test in his great labors in the wilderness. His
perceptions were quick and elastic, and his judgment was seldom if ever
at fault. Without the education of the schools, he possessed that practi
cal education which was the result of a lifetime of earnest thought and
labor, and he was recognized among scholars as a teacher in all that per
tained to science. It was only by labor — persistent and determined labor
— that he had accomplished so much. Working his way up by toil and
through privation, striving for a livelihood by day and laboring in the
interests of science by night, he has given to the world a valuable inven
tion, and to himself an immortal name. A pioneer in the State of Mich
igan, he had lived to see it one of the first in the nation, a result to which
he had largely contributed, and the people of the Peninsular State will
ever have a warm place in their hearts for the memory of William A.
Burt.
Mr. Burt had five sons, viz: John, Alvin, Austin, Wells and William,
all but one of whom (Alvin) are now living, and were for many years
his associates in the surveys of the public lands.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
525
honor you have done us by your valor, your soldierly bearing,
your invincible courage everywhere displayed, whether upon the
field of battle, in the perilous assault, or in the deadly breach ;
for your patience under the fatigues and privations and sufferings
HORACE R. GARDNER.
HORACE R. GARDNER was born at Auburn, New York, March 25, 1827.
Ten years later he removed from Onondaga county, with his father, John
G. Gardner, to Hillsdale county, Michigan, and was engaged with him in
the manufacture of lumber and flour, and in farming, until the year 1857,
when he became interested in the Jonesville Woolen Mills. In 1859, he
became associated with Ransom Gardner, under the firm name of H. R.
Gardner & Co., and greatly increased the capacity of the factory, soon
making it one of the most extensive of its kind in the West. The
factory was destroyed by fire on the 3d of January, 1866, but was rebuilt
and greatly enlarged the same year, and manufacturing resumed within
nine months after the fire.
526 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
incident to war, and for your discipline and ready obedience to
the orders of your superiors. We are proud in believing that
when the history of this rebellion shall have been written, where
all have done well, none will stand higher on the roll of fame than
the officers and soldiers sent to the field from the loyal and patri
otic State of Michigan."
The total number of troops furnished by Michigan, as we have
before seen, was 90,747. Of these, 67,468 were natives of the
United States ; of British America, inclusive of Canada, 8,886 ;
of Europe, 14,393. In regard to color, they were divided as fol
lows : White, 88,941 ; colored, 1,661 ; Indians, 145. When it is
remembered that the total population in the State, in 1864, was
but 805,379, Michigan may well be proud of her war record.
The number of enlisted men who died in action or of wounds
was 3,926. The number who died of disease was 9,133. The
number of commissioned officers who died of wounds or in action
was 249. The number who died of disease was 97. The total of
all classes was 13,405.
The State Legislature, from time to time, during the war, passed
laws for the payment of bounties to soldiers enlisting. These
bounties ranged from $50 to $150. The Quartermaster-General
paid out in all nearly $2,000,000 for this purpose alone. He also
In 1872, Mr. Gardner became interested in the organization and con
struction of the Jonesville Cotton Factory. This is the first cotton
factory in Michigan, and was erected by a joint stock company, with a
capital of $100,000, of which Mr. Gardner was elected president.
Through his indomitable energy, and his extensive acquaintance,
formed during his connection with the woolen mills, subscriptions were
rapidly received for the entire amount of stock, and the factory is now
in successful operation. The best grade of cloth made at the factory is
branded " Gardner A."
Mr. Gardner has been vice president of the Northwestern Manufac
turers' Association since its organization, and a director of the National
Manufacturers' Association, the headquarters of which are at Boston.
Through his correct business deportment, his long residence in the
village, and the interest he has taken in every enterprise tending to
increase its prosperity, Mr. Gardner is deservedly one of the most popu
lar citizens of Jonesville.
HISTOKY OP MICHIGAN. 527
paid $60,000 as premiums for procuring recruits. Aside from
these amounts, he paid out $815,000 for other purposes connected
with the war.
Besides these expenditures by the State, the aggregate amount
expended by the several counties of the State for war purposes is
something enormous. The amount paid for bounties by the coun
ties prior to December 19th, 1863, and liabilities; also liabilities
under the act of 1865, amounted in the aggregate to $2,015,588.
The aggregate expenditures and liabilities of the various town
ships, cities and wards of the counties in the State for war pur
poses was $8,157,748.70. The amount expended by the counties
of the State from 1861 to 1867, for the relief of soldiers' families,
was $3,591,248.12.
Aside from the expenditures of the State government and of the
municipalities, large sums were contributed by various benevolent
societies, organized for the purpose of aifording relief to sick and
wounded soldiers. The Michigan Soldiers' Relief Association
is said to have been the first of the kind put into the field, and the
last to leave it. It was organized in 1861, and continued in
operation till 1866. It was a source of great benefit to the sol
diers of Michigan, giving them many comforts and necessaries of
which they would otherwise have been deprived. Its field of
operations was in and around Washington, and was composed
of citizens of Michigan who resided there, including the Congres
sional delegation. Its funds were at first raised by assessments on
its individual members, but were afterwards largely augmented by
contributions from all parts of the State. The cash contributed
amounted to nearly twenty-five thousand dollars. This was exclu
sive of specific contributions of clothing and hospital stores, which
were always furnished, with great liberality, by the various aid
societies in the State. The services of the members of the associ
ation were in all cases rendered gratuitously.
In addition to the Washington association, the people of the
State organized, in 1862, the Michigan Soldiers' Relief Associa
tion. It continued in successful operation during the war, collect
ing and sending to the front such articles as were most needed by
the sick and wounded soldiers. It also received $3,600 in cash,
528 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
which was expended in furnishing relief to sick and destitute sol
diers ; in paying rent for the Soldiers' Home, in Detroit, and in
providing refreshments for returned veterans.
The Michigan Soldiers' Aid Society was another most useful
association. This was a branch of the United States Sanitary
Commission. It was organized in November, 1861, and kept its
office open till 1866, and after that continued to supply destitute
soldiers and soldiers' families. It forwarded to the front and dis
tributed at home 6,317 packages of articles which had been con
tributed in kind. From the date of its organization to 1868, it
had expended in cash the sum of $28,129.
These societies were largely aided, in 1864, by the Ladies Aid
Society of Kalamazoo, under whose auspices a " Sanitary Fair "
was held, which netted the handsome sum of $9,618.78.
In addition, to the aid furnished by these societies there were
large amounts of both money and supplies sent by private parties.
In fact, the history of the world does not furnish a parallel to the
liberality with which the Union armies were sustained, and the
soldiers relieved, by contributions from the people. Volumes
would have to be written to give an adequate idea of the immense
labor performed by these societies, and to enumerate their deeds
of Christian charity.
In February, 1864, the State Legislature appropriated $3,500
for the purpose of paying the proportion of the State of the
expenses of establishing a National Cemetery at Gettysburg.
Hon. T. W. Ferry was appointed a commissioner to carry out the
design. A further sum of $2,500 was appropriated for this pur
pose in 1865. This cemetery contains 3,559 bodies of Michigan
soldiers. Numerically, Michigan stands third in the number slain
on that battle-field. In proportion to her population, she stands
first. Mr. Ferry closes his final report, made to the Governor in
1864, as follows :
" It will, however, matter little, who were immediately instru
mental in devising and developing the sacred memorial which is
to hand down to future generations the lustrous records of patriots
who prized country above life.
" They will be forgotten, while shaft, and speech and song shall
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 529
tell of battle and heroism to ages yet unborn. The decisive con
test — the turning strife of the war, from which victory, leaping
from field to field, eventuated in peace, national liberty and
reunion — this, this alone will be the enduring, emblazoning chap-
HON. THOMAS W. FERRY.
THOMAS W. FERRY, United States Senator from Michigan, was born at
Mackinaw, Michigan, June 1, 1827.
A little more than half a century ago, the father of Senator Ferry
emigrated from Massachusetts, and founded a mission school upon the
Island of Mackinac. Here, for twelve years, in a somewhat social isola
tion, he maintained his school successfully, and only left his post when
the government removed the Indians farther west. Leaving Mack
inac in a canoe with a couple of Indians as guides and oarsmen, he coasted
along down the eastern and southern shores of Lake Michigan until he
reached a military post where Chicago now stands. Returning part way,
he chose the site where the city of Grand Haven now is as his future
residence.
34
530 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
let which time shall weave for the gallant heroes who sleep
beneath the shadow of the nation's mausoleum at Gettysburg."
An appropriation of $3,344.48 was also made by the Legisla
ture to pay the proportion of the State for the purchase, prepara
tion and care of the National Cemetery at Sharpsburg, Maryland.
In this cemetery rest 137 of Michigan's soldiers. Andersonville,
Georgia, which acquired such an unenviable notoriety during
the war as a rebel prison pen, in which the most inhuman bar
barities were practiced, contains one of the most noted of the
national cemeteries. It contains about 13,000 graves of Union
soldiers, six hundred and twenty-three of whom were from Mich
igan.
Michigan was not entirely free from war's alarms, notwithstand
ing her remoteness from the scene of conflict. Being on the
Canadian border, she was much exposed to raids by rebel refugees
who had taken up their residence in Canada.
The following, condensed from Adjutant-General Kobertson's
report for 1864, is an account of the principal occurrence of the
kind which affected the State of Michigan :
At that time there was not a white inhabitant in the entire county, and
only three miserable log huts broke the monotony of its dense pine forests.
Here, through all the hardships and adversities of a pioneer life, the
family dwelt, but after a time emigration set in, and better times dawned
upon the little settlement.
Mr Ferry, the subject of this sketch, was but six years of age when he
left the Island of Mackinac, and going at that early day to where Grand
Haven now stands, his educational advantages were very meagre, being
only those offered by a pioneer settlement Still, under home tutorship,
he acquired a fair education and a good practical training.
His first public occupation was supplying the settlement with mails
jointly with his brother, William M. Ferry, by paddling a canoe to and
from Grand Rapids during the season of navigation. Naturally active,
he served on his fathers farm and in his saw mill, and at a later date was
clerk in a store in Illinois for two years. Returning, he ree"ntered the
employ of his father and remained with him until a partnership was
formed between them, which continued until his father's death, in 1867,
since which time an extensive business, with his brother, E. P. Ferry,
has been under the general control of Senator Ferry. In this position,
he has exhibited a wide executive capacity, great industry, and an enter-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 531
"In November, 1863, the War Department was officially notified
by the British Minister, Lord Lyons, that, from a telegraphic
dispatch received by him from the Governor-General of Canada,
there was reason to believe that a plot was on foot by persons
hostile to the United States, who had found an asylum in Canada,
to invade the States on that frontier ; tljat they proposed to take
possession of some of the steamers on Lake Erie, to surprise
Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, and set free the rebel prisoners of
war confined there, and proceed with them to attack Buffalo.
This information was communicated by the War Department to
the Governors of the States bordering on Canada, and to the mili
tary and civil authorities thereof, and urging them to employ all
the means in their power to suppress any attempt to carry the
plot into effect. That there was such a scheme on foot, and that
it was concocted and put in operation in Canada by the rebel gov
ernment, there can be no doubt, as circumstances have transpired
and documentary evidence been received during the past year
fully confirming it, and that its execution was only prevented at
prise that has made his management eminently prosperous. In a readi
ness to engage in active pursuits, was laid the foundation for the energy
and versatility which characterizes his public life.
Mr. Ferry's early education was such as to cause him to unite with the
old Whig party, with which he acted until the organization of the Repub
lican party, when, imbibing the zeal of his father, he at once became a
strong advocate of the principles put forward by that organization.
His more than ordinary abilities soon brought him to the front, and we
find him holding the office of county clerk of Ottawa county before he
attained his majority.
In 1850, he was elected a representative to the State legislature and
served two years. He also served two years as State senator from 1857,
and was a member of the Republican State central committee for eight
years. He was a delegate to the convention at Chicago which nominated
Abraham Lincoln for the presidency, and served as vice-president from
Michigan in that body. In 1864, he was appointed to represent Michi
gan on the board of managers of the Gettysburg Soldiers' National
Cemetery, which position he still retains.
In 1864, he was elected representative to the Thirty-ninth Congress
from the fourth district, and served on the committees on post-offices and
post-roads, militia and the war debts of the loyal States, and was selected as
532 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
that time by the prompt measures taken by the military authori
ties in the States referred to ; and, although their plans were frus
trated, their determination was still to carry them into effect, and
their execution was only deferred until a more favorable oppor
tunity. During the present year the United States military offi
cers, and also the civil and military authorities of the State, have
been almost daily in the receipt of rumors and reports from various
sources of contemplated raids to be made on American frontier
cities, and on the shipping of the lakes, to burn and destroy, many
of which could not be traced to any reliable origin, yet they
served to keep up a continual state of excitement and alarm in
the cities and villages on the border of the State, and to require
the vigilant attention of the authorities ; and all the preparations
within their power to successfully meet any attempted invasion
of the State were made, which were considered at the time ample
to repel any force that might be expected of that description.
Yet, notwithstanding, there was a distrust and a nervous forebod
ing of coming mischief amongst the people of the frontier cities
the representative from Michigan to accompany the funeral cortege which
bore the remains of President Lincoln from Washington to his home in
Illinois. He was reelected to the Fortieth, Forty-first and Forty second
Congresses by increased majorities, and served in the sessions of the
Fortieth and Forty-first on some of the most important committees
of the House. Being subsequently elected to the United States Senate,
after a heated contest, to succeed the Hon. Jacob M. Howard, he did not
take his seat in the House of the Forty second Congress. •
He took his seat in the Senate, March 4, 1871; was appointed a mem
ber of the committees on finance, post-offices and post-roads, and on the
District of Columbia, and is now also chairman of the committee on the
revision of the rules.
Mr. Ferry's course in Congress, both in the House and in the Senate,
has been such as commends him to the people of his State, and the
United States. He has labored zealously to forward the interests of
Michigan and to promote the welfare of the whole country. He has done
much to perfect our postal system, his work on this committee eliciting
the highest praise from the press throughout the Union. To his efforts,
Michigan is greatly indebted for the generous harbor and river appropria
tions she has received, which aid so materially in developing her vast
resources, and in the preservation of the lives and property of her
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 533
and villages. This distrust also prevailed among the railroad
agencies, and those engaged in the shipping on the lakes, which
led to the arming of the community generally as individuals, and
of railroad trains and lake and river steamers, and to the estab
lishing of safeguards about private dwellings, public places of
business, and railroad depots. This condition of affairs continued ;
no overt act having been committed, and no visible combination
of force having been traced to any locality until the nineteenth
day of September, 1864, when they concluded to make the attempt
by seizing the steamer Philo Parsons, belonging to Detroit, and
running as a passenger boat from that point to Sandusky, in the
State of Ohio. On the morning of the day above referred to, four
of the raiders, including Bennett G. Burley, one of their apparent
leaders, took passage on the said boat at Detroit. On her way
down the Detroit river, on her passage to Sandusky, she landed
at the Canadian ports of Sandwich and Amherstburg, where the
balance of the raiders got on board, the whole numbering about
thirty.
" Those who went aboard at the latter place, brought with them
a large trunk, which, as was afterwards ascertained, contained arms
sailors. He has labored earnestly for the protection of Michigan's lum
ber interests, and in the cause of her soldiers and sailors who went
bravely to the front in defense of the Union. His effort to convert the
beautiful Island of Maeldnac into a national park is but one illustration
of the intense interest he takes in the advancement of his State, from
which he is the first senator to the manor bo.rn.
Mr. Ferry received a very complimentary vote for president pro tern-
pore of the Senate, and only for Senator Carpenter's seniority would
undoubtedly have been elected to that important position.
As an orator, Mr. Ferry's powers lie mainly in extempore debate. He
speaks from brief notes with great fluency, his style possessing directness,
vigor and business brevity.
He is a man of good personal presence, and, being free from all pre
sumption, his manner invites acquaintance. He is modest and genial,
and although eminently successful in business and politics, he makes no
attempt at display. In conversation, he is ready and animated and enters
into all discussions with an earnestness that carries great force with it.
He is generous, and gave freely to the families of the soldiers who were
absent doing duty for their country.
-7 ATI:-..
8.DQ SjHHnunitJlOIl. Aflf^lf fli
men came up to the clerk,
into the la-dies' cabin. The
tured the I
A-
teamer, together
They then started direc%
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which was guarding John
those who were in the plot
sequence was that when di
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landed at Sandwicn, on die
'—:-.:... 'I:..- '.:.:; :: .-'.'f v
the peace of the inhabita
created intense excitement a
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A: *.:.-: :.'::^ O -.-.-.-::•:.-.- C.-i.:.--.
the duties of his office, in 1865, he fo
a bonded debt of $3^41,149^0, with
$440,047.27. There had been expen
poses, the year before, the sum of
dosed, but the obligations of the Stat
expenditures were, consequently, en
commercial prosperity followed; bu
administration, the bonded debt of
$3,077,921.25. There had been paid out of the war fund during
that time $1,099^55.20. At the dose of his second term the debt
had been reduced to $3,614,078.49, with a balance in the treasury
of $1,130,229.67.
The event* of this and the subsequent administrations are so
fresh in the recollection of all, that only the leading features are
v. r. /:>,-v: .;;:.: ::^:.y:r- ::.-; -,::.
g te war. t
the uncertainty
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borthened with
the treasory of
te fin- war par-
The war soon
isting, and the
eason of great
se of his first
d increased to
HDERMCT OP MICHIGAN. 535
and the present condition of the State. By this method a dearer
view of the whole may be obtained, at each inteteat will lie dis
cussed under its proper head.
For a long period after Michigan was erected into a State, the
marked advantages which it poeBcned were but little known and
appreciated. The report that its soil was with difficulty brought
under cultivation sent many emigrants to the more wertem
States ; but, during the last few years, the superiority of its loca
tion, " the great value of its forests of timber, its immfm** ml
rich mineral resources, its healthful climate, its productive soil,
beautiful lakes and rivers, the high character and flourishing con
dition of its educational and charitable institutions., the prosperous
state of its finances, the light burden imposed upon the people by
way of taxation, and the general prudence and economy of its
government, have come to be fully understood, and have all com
bined to give the State the prominence and high character to
which it is justly entitled."
The vacant lands of the State are being rapidly taken up by an
industrious and prudent class of settlers. Railroads traverse the
State in almost every direction, and are being rapidly carried
forward to the utmost extremities of both peninsulas. This great
prosperity of the present, to which the State has attained, grandly
foreshadows iis future importance.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
GOVERNOR HENRY P. BALDWIN'S ADMINISTRATION — STEADY GROWTH
OF THE STATE — CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT — GOVERNOR BALD
WIN'S RE-ELECTION — THE STATE CAPITOL — THE GREAT AND DE
STRUCTIVE FIRES IN MICHIGAN — THE SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS'
MONUMENT — ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR BAGLEY.
HENRY P. BALDWIN, on being called to the high office of Gov
ernor of Michigan, in 1868, found the affairs of the State in a
much more prosperous and satisfactory condition than they were
when his predecessor took his seat. He found the nation at peace.
The integrity of the Union had been secured, and freedom fully
guaranteed to all in the land. There was, indeed, cause for heart
felt gratitude for the blessings of peace, for the abundance of the
harvests, for the rewards of labor, and for the moral, intellectual,
and material advancement of the people.
Perhaps no period in the history of the State has been marked
by a more steady and healthful growth in population, and in the
wealth of the people of Michigan, than that of Mr. Baldwin's
administration. It was estimated that, in 1869, the taxable valu
ation of real and personal property in the State amounted to
$400,000,000, while, in 1871, it exceeded $630,000,000.
There was nothing remarkable in the course of legislation dur
ing the year 1869, but in the year following a question of consider
able importance grew out of a Supreme Court decision, which
caused the Governor, in July, to summon the Legislature, in extra
session. A series of laws, enacted at five successive sessions of the
Legislature, and approved by three successive Governors, had, by
the decision mentioned, been pronounced unconstitutional and
void. These laws were intended to enable the people of either
counties, townships, cities, or incorporated villages, in their cor
porate capacity, to aid in the construction of railroads. Under
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 537
the authority contained in these laws, securities or bonds for a
very considerable amount had been delivered, and were then held
by parties who had purchased them in good faith.
As this emergency could only be provided for by an amend
ment of the fundamental law of the State, the Governor earnestly
recommended that an amendment to the Constitution be submit-
MYRON BUTMAN.
MYRON BUTMAN was bora in Milan, Erie county, Ohio, October 5,1826.
In 1855, he removed to Michigan and settled at Saginaw City, where he
has been largely engaged in the lumber trade to the present time. He
has through his constant exertions secured for himself quite a fortune
and built up a business of considerable magnitude. Mr. Butman is one
of the prominent citizens of Saginaw City, and is much respected by a
wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
538 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
ted to the people at the general election to be held in November,
1870, such as would enable the several municipalities to ratify all
such railroad aid bonds as had been issued and delivered to the
people. This recommendation was duly carried out by the Legis
lature, and the necessary amendment submitted to the people, but
was by them defeated.
At the expiration of Mr. Baldwin's first term, he took his seat
for a second term of two years, having been reflected in November,
1870. On the meeting of the Legislature in January, 1871, he
found the affairs of the State in a condition of great prosperity in
all departments. This was in no small degree due to the wise
policy suggested by him, and executed by the Legislature during
the previous session. The population of the State had increased
from 749,113 to 1,184,059 in the decade preceding, and the assessed
valuation of the real and personal property of the State had
increased from $172,055,808 in 1861, to $630,000,000 in 1871.
By an act of Congress previously passed, it was made the duty
of the Legislature to cause a new apportionment of the State into
Congressional districts. From 1863 to 1870, Michigan had been
entitled to six representatives in the lower branch of the national
legislature ; but, according to this last apportionment, which was
based upon the ninth census, the number was increased to nine.
During the last two years of Mr. Baldwin's administration the
question of building of the new State Capitol engrossed much of
his attention. The Legislature received the full benefit of his
wise counsel concerning this important project in his second regu
lar message to it, which was convened in extra session in March,
1872. Most of his plans were acceded to by the Legislature, and
all thus adopted have resulted in the better advancement of that
object.
During 1870, the one-eighth mill tax for the purpose of consti
tuting a sinking fund, was abolished, ample provision for the pay
ment of the funded debt of the State having been made by setting
apart some of the trust fund receipts, and such portion of the
specific taxes as were not required for the payment of interest on
the public debt. This caused a reduction in the State tax of
$78,750.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
539
The year 1871 must ever be remembered, on account of its great
fires in several of the northwestern States. While the good peo
ple of Michigan were engaged in the noble work of furnishing
relief to the sufferers by the great Chicago fire, the same devour-
HON. THOMAS H. BOTTOMLEY.
AMONG the representative men of St. Clair county, is the Hon. Thomas
H. Bottomley. He was born in the town of Southouram, Yorkshire, Eng
land, on the 5th day of October, 1837, where his early life was spent.
Mr. Bottomley was educated at the Saltrauble Academy, Yorkshire,
England, receiving a liberal education. He came to the United States in
the year 1854, and took up his residence in the city of Buffalo, New
York. Here he resided until 1856, when he emigrated to New Baltimore,
Macomb county, where, by his great energy and business tact, he placed
himself in comfortable circumstances, and gained the respect of his
540 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
ing element was making sad havoc in our own State. Thriving
towns, farm and school-houses, churches, live stock, crops, and thou
sands of acres of valuable timber were consumed. Nearly three
thousand families, or about eighteen thousand persons, were ren
dered houseless, and deprived of the necessaries of life. Relief
committees were organized at Detroit and Grand Rapids, and in a
short time there was subscribed by individuals and corporations
within the State, and paid over to these committees, the sum of
$462,106, besides two hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth
of clothing.
So prompt and bountiful were the donations, that, believing the
people of Michigan would be unwilling to tax a generous public
any longer than was necessary, the Governor issued a proclama
tion, thanking the public for their noble charity, and announcing
that further contributions were unnecessary.
One of the most notable events that happened during the
administration of Governor Baldwin was the dedication of the
Soldiers and Sailors' Monument at Detroit, which event occurred
on the ninth day of April, 1872. This monument was designed
by Randolph Rogers, a native of Michigan, and one of the most
eminent of American sculptors now living. The money required
to erect this beautiful tribute to the heroes of the war was raised
by subscription, the people from all parts of the State contribut
ing most liberally to the object. The association under whose
auspices the subscriptions were raised and the work done, was
fellow-citizens. From there he removed to Romeo, where an extensive
business was perfected in hoop-skirts, etc., in 1865, and remained until
the spring of 1872, from which place he removed to the village of Capac,
St. Glair county, where his good qualities were soon ascertained by the
people, and were rewarded by his nomination and election as represen
tative of the third district of that county, in the State legislature, in
November, 1872. He served in that body during its session of 1872-3.
Mr. Bottomley has held several offices of trust in the different places
where he has resided, which invariably were administered with credit to
himself and fellow-citizens. At present he is one of the largest mer
chants in the village where he resides, and is doing a profitable business,
not only in the mercantile line, but also as the contractor of the Lynn
and Maple valley State ditch.
MICHIGAN SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.
542 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
incorporated in 1868, and it is due to the indefatigable exertions
of its officers and members that the work has been successfully
accomplished. The monument is about forty-six feet in height,
and is surmounted by a colossal statue of Michigan in bronze, ten
feet in height. She is represented as a semi-civilized Indian
Queen, with a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left.
Beneath the plinth on which she stands are stars and wreaths.
On the next section, in front, is the dedication : " Erected by the
People of Michigan, in honor of the Martyrs who fell and the
Heroes who fought in defense of Liberty and Union." On the
right are the arms of the United States, and on the left are the
arms of the State of Michigan. On the next section below are
four projecting butmeuts, on which will be seated, when the monu
ment is finished, four allegorical figures in bronze, representing
Victory, Union, Emancipation and History. These figures are all
that now remain to be placed in position. This will be done as
soon as sufficient funds are raised. The next section below con
tains four projecting butments, upon which are standing the
defenders of Liberty and Union, the representations of the army
and navy. These consist of four bronze statues, seven feet high,
soldiers of infantry, artillery and cavalry, and a sailor of the
navy. On the panels are various bassi relievi and inscriptions.
On the outer pedestals are four bronze eagles.
It was originally intended to place the monument in the Grand
Circus, and it was there that the ceremony of laying the corner
stone was performed, on the Fourth of July, 1867. But, at the
earnest solicitation of the sculptor, Mr. Rogers, it was placed on
the Campus Martius. An immense concourse of people were
present upon the occasion of unveiling the monument. Every
part of the State, and almost every society in the State, was rep
resented. Not less than one hundred thousand people were pres
ent. The address was delivered by ex-Governor Austin Blair.
The four years in which Governor Baldwin administered the
affairs of Michigan were four years of prosperity. The functions
of the various offices of the State government were discharged
with integrity and ability, and on the first of January, 1873, Mr.
Baldwin passed the management of the executive affairs into the
hands of Hon. John J. Bagley, his successor.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 543
In reference to the administration of Governor Bagley, which
began in January, 1873, but little can be said, for, at this writing,
less than half of his term of office has expired. In his inaugural
message to the Legislature, in January, 1873, he truly said that,
" the growth of the State in every direction, through the develop
ment of our great natural resources, was a surprise even to our
selves."
With this brilliant condition of affairs, Mr. Bagley's adminis
tration was inaugurated. The session of the Legislature begin
ning in January was in all points successful. Every interest of
the State received due and proper encouragement, while a spirit
of enlightened economy seemed to pervade all its deliberations.
The Governor's recommendations were received with a due
regard for the wise policy which they contained, and, in the,
absence of any radical measures, the session may be regarded as
mainly characterized by diligent labor for the common welfare of
the State. The most important act was that making it the duty
of the Governor to appoint a Constitutional Commission, whose
duty it should be to revise the Constitution of the State, and pre
sent the result of their labors to the next regular or extra session
of the Legislature. This Commission was duly appointed by the
Governor, and it has already finished its work. Of the result of
its labors it is here manifestly improper to speak, as its work is
now under consideration by the people.
Having come to the end of the list of Governors, and noticed
the principal events in their several administrations, we will close
our work with a short notice of the present condition, prosperity
and advancement of the State.
CHAPTER XXXV.
PRESENT CONDITION OF MICHIGAN RAILROADS.
IN THE preceding chapters we have given, with some minute
ness, the history of the early settlement of the Territory up to the
time of its admission into the Union as a State ; and then briefly
traced the leading events of its history after it became a State,
down to the present time. It is now proposed to take up the lead
ing institutions of the State separately, and record their history
and development. The mention of them thus far has been pur
posely avoided, in order to save repetition. The mention of the
resources and productions of the State has also been avoided, for
the same reason. The intelligent reader will not fail to recognize
the propriety of this plan, inasmuch as, while it seems at first
glance to necessitate much repetition, it in reality avoids it.
The State of Michigan, although possessing a population of
nearly, if not quite, a million and a half, and an amount of accu
mulated wealth that will far surpass that of many of the older
States, is, nevertheless in her infancy. Whilst her growth has
been marvelous, and the development of her resources enormous,
she has, nevertheless, been retarded in her growth, to a great
extent, by several untoward circumstances. Prominent among
these is the ignorance which prevails, outside her borders, regard
ing her great natural advantages. This ignorance has been
caused, first, by the fact, which has been recorded in a preceding
chapter, that the surveyor employed by Congress to survey lands
set apart for soldiers' bounties, made a report to that body which
contained a statement that the soil of Michigan was almost com
pletely barren, and that, on that account, together with another
alleged fact, that it was extremely unhealthy, the Territory was
utterly unfit for a human habitation. It took many years to dis
pel the prejudice thus engendered, if, indeed, it has ever been
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
545
thoroughly eradicated from the public mind. Again, the State
authorities have persistently neglected to adopt such means to
increase immigration as have usually been resorted to by other
western States. Many of the northwestern States have been built
HON. JOHN BALL.
JOHN BALL, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was born in the White Moun
tain region of New Hamphsire, in the year 1794.
His early years were passed upon a farm, and it was mainly through
his own exertions that he prepared himself for and obtained a collegiate
education. Pie graduated from Dartmouth College in the class of 1820,
and among his classmates were George P. Marsh and Rufus Choate.
After leaving college, he engaged in teaching school at Lansinburgh,
Rensselaer county, New York, and there he also commenced the study of
the law.
Shortly afterwards', he shipped from New York, and on his first voy
age was shipwrecked off the coast of Georgia, where he barely escaped
with his life.
35
546 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
up, in a great measure, by the circulation of books and pamphlets
showing the advantages they possess as a home for the tens of
thousands who annually laud upon our shores. Michigan has
never had the advantage of a proper representation abroad regard
ing her resources and characteristics. So long as this state of
affairs continues, Michigan is liable to be grossly misrepresented
abroad, as, indeed, she has been, by those interested in diverting
the tide of immigration to other States. It is to be hoped that
this will be remedied in the future.
The area of the territory of the State of Michigan is over 56,000
square miles; being more than 10,000 square miles larger than
either the State of New York or Pennsylvania; more than 16,000
square miles larger than Ohio, and nearly equal in size to the
whole of New England. When as thickly populated as Massa-
Passing the winter at Darien, Georgia, he again devoted his time to
teaching, and while there, he for the first time saw the practical work
ings of the institution of human slavery, and noted its pernicious effects
upon both master and slave.
Returning to New York, he engaged in the practice of the law with
fair prospects of success, but was soon called away to the superintend-
ency of a manufacturing business.
On New Year's Day, 1832, Mr. Ball left Lansingburgh for Oregon,
taking a very different route there than travelers do at the present day.
He went from home to Baltimore, Maryland, by sleigh. Starting west
ward from here, he traveled by horse-power over the Baltimore and Clio
Railroad, a distance of sixty miles, which was at that time the longest
line of railway on the continent. Crossing the Alleghanies, he reached
Pittsburg, from whence he went by steamboat to St. Louis, Missouri,
which was then but a small village, mostly on one street.
Joining a party of fur traders here, headed by William Lublette, he
went up the Missouri to Lexington, from whence, on the 12th of May,
1832, the company, consisting of about eighty men, with three hundred
horses and mules, started for the interior.
In their journey, they crossed the Rocky Mountains, through the cele
brated South Pass, which was discovered ten years later by Colonel
Fremont. Crossing the head waters of the Colorado river, they reached
the Columbia, and from this point, Lublette and his party returned to St.
Louis, while Mr. Ball, with eleven others, traveled on to Walla- Walla,
then a post of the Hudson Bay Company, where, leaving their horses,
they descended the Columbia to the Pacific.
HISTOEY OP MICHIGAN. 547
chusetts now is, she will possess more than nine millions of inhab
itants. Surrounded on almost all sides by noble inland seas, her
shores are washed by fourteen hundred miles of navigable waters.
The productions of her soil are more varied than that of any
other State in the Union. Most other States are practically lim
ited to some one or two staple productions. Michigan can pro
duce, in the greatest abundance, every variety of fruit, grain and
vegetable belonging to her latitude. Her immense forests of
choicest timber are of incalculable value, giving employment to
thousands of men in converting it into lumber, and to railroads
and ships in conveying it to market, thereby creating a home
demand for much of her surplus agricultural products. Her
hard-wood forests are of immense value and extent, and the soil
that underlies them is unsurpassed in fertility. Her fisheries are
Mr. Ball spent the winter at Fort Vancouver, where he taught the first
public school opened in Oregon. The succeeding spring he engaged in
farming, and after harvesting his crops, took passage for the Sandwich
Islands in an English vessel, which in its voyage lay for some days at
San Francisco, which was then only a Jesuit mission station, and was a
mingled scene of forest, sand-hills and wild cattle. From the Sandwich
Islands he sailed in a whaler around Cape Horn to Rio Janeiro. From
this city, as clerk to Lieutenant (since Commodore) Farragut, he shipped
on the United States schooner Boxer, for Norfolk, Virginia, and from
thence to Baltimore, the point of his departure.
Mr. Ball's memoranda of his overland journey, published in Sullivan's
Journal, and afterwards translated into German, were the first scientific
accounts of the geology and climate of Oregon that were published.
After his return, he engaged for a year or two in the practice of his
profession in Troy, New York, and in September, 1836, he emigrated to
Michigan. From Detroit he traveled on horseback to Kalamazoo, and
from there north to the Grand River. At that time he found Mr. Marsac
at the mouth of the Flat River, Mr. Rix Robinson at the mouth of the
Thorn Apple, a few hundred settlers at Grand Rapids, a small settlement
at Grandville and another at Grand Haven, all subsisting on game, and
on provisions brought from Buffalo and Cleveland.
In 1837, Mr. Ball was elected to the lower house of the State legislature,
his district being composed of the four counties of Ottawa, Kent, Ionia
and Clinton.
In 1842, he was appointed to locate, for the State, the half million
acres of land granted by the general government for internal improve-
548 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
of great value, and even now there are not more than four
States in the Union whose fisheries produce larger returns. A
great portion of her territory is underlaid by vast beds of mineral
deposits. No State in the Union possesses such a great extent and
variety of mineral resources as Michigan. Her copper is of great
purity, and immense, incalculable value. Her iron ore is the
richest and best in the Union, and the extent of the deposits of
this metal is probably unsurpassed. Extensive fields of coal also
underlie the State — enough to feed the furnaces of the world.
Vast beds of gypsum are to be found in various parts of the State,
and in close proximity to railroads and navigable waters. Numer
ous saline wells abound in the Saginaw Valley, and other parts
of the State, of unsurpassed strength and inexhaustible yield.
These are some of the great natural resources of Michigan, and
which, when properly developed, are destined to make her one of
the most prosperous and populous, as well as one of the most
wealthy States in the Union.
Again, as a manufacturing State her facilities are unsurpassed.
ments, which task he faithfully performed, personally inspecting all the
lands located by him.
From that time he has resided in Grand Rapids, and has been engaged
in his profession and in real estate operations. He is well known
throughout the western portion of the State, and has been instrumental
in turning the tide of emigration in that direction. He also takes a deep
interest in public education, and the present prosperous condition of the
schools in the city of his residence is largely due to his unwearied efforts
in their behalf.
In politics, from the first, he has been a firm and consistent Democrat,
and has ever been distinguished for his advocacy of the rights of man,
and for his loyalty to the Union ; and those sentiments were fitly
expressed upon the memorable occasion when he presided as chairman
over the meeting of citizens called to express their indignation at the
firing upon Fort Sumter.
Mr. Ball remained single until 1850, when he married Miss Mary T.
Webster, of New Hampshire. He has a family of five children.
He has spent the last two years and six months in Europe, traveling
with his family, and has just returned to his home in Michigan, satisfied
from his observations of foreign governments, customs and climates, that
there is no better country and no more fortunate people than his own.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
549
She possesses not only the raw material for many of the leading
staple manufacturing products of the country, but also, in the
greatest abundance, the necessary supplies for the sustenance of
those employed in manufacturing establishments. She not only
HON. JAY A. HUBBELL.
JAY A. HUBBELL, of Houghton, Houghton county, Michigan, member
of Congress from the ninth district, was born at Avon, Oakland county,
Michigan, September 15, 1829. His father, Samuel Hubbell, a native of
the State of New York, came to that town about 1820, being one of the
earliest settlers of that portion of the State, where he cultivated a farm
until his death in 1870. The subject of this sketch, until the age of
eighteen years, bore his part in the usual farm labors, and there laid the
foundation of the robust health and strength he has since enjoyed.
After two years of preparatory study at Romeo and Rochester, made
more than usually arduous by a painful disease of the eyes, which had
often interrupted and at times had for long periods suspended application
550 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES;
possesses, to a great extent, a home market for these products, but
can reach a vast western market at less expense than can those
portions of our country now supplying such market.
How the people of Michigan are availing themselves of these
advantages, the following pages will attempt to show.
The first railroad enterprise in the State was inaugurated, as
we have already seen, by the granting of the charter of the
Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad, by the Legislative Council of the
Territory, in 1832. By the terms of the law, the State reserved
the right to purchase the road at a price not exceeding its cost and
interest at fourteen per cent. Within two years from this time,
work was commenced between Detroit and Ypsilanti, and, up to
the time of the admission of the State into the Union, in 1837,
about $30,000 had been expended. When this event occurred,
almost the first thing the State Legislature did was to pass " an
act to provide for the construction of certain works of public
improvement, and for other purposes." This act provided, among
other things, for the purchase of the Detroit and St. Joseph Rail-
to books, he entered the University at Ann Arbor, in the sophomore class,
and graduated in the year 1853.
After reading law for two years at Pontiac and Detroit, he was, in
1855, admitted to the bar by the supreme court, at its session at Adrian.
Immediately after admission, Mr Hubbell went to Ontonagon, in the
Upper Peninsula, where he formed a law co-partnership with Hon. A.
H. Hanscom.
In 1858, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Ontonagon county
and district attorney of the Upper Peninsula. From this time until
1860, in which year he removed to Hougbton county and opened an
office, Mr. Hubbell was in active practice and took a prominent and
growing part in the public aftairsof the county in which he then resided,
and laid the foundation of an extensive acquaintance with the citizens
and business interests of the Upper Peninsula, into all parts of \vhich
he was required to go in the discharge of his duties as district attorney.
In 1860, he commenced practice in Iloughton county, the mining inter
ests of which were just beginning to develop.
From that time until 1871, at which date he gave up active practice, he
was an industrious and successful lawyer, being elected district attorney
for another term and prosecuting attorney of Houghton county for three
terms.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 551
road, and, under its provisions, that road passed into the hands of
the State, and its name was changed to .the Michigan Central.
Laws were passed authorizing a loan by the State of $5,000,000
for internal improvements. Between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000
were subsequently realized from this loan, but the monetary
crash of 1837 caused the corporators who had taken the loan to
become insolvent. This left the State, for the time being, utterly
powerless to proceed with the great plans it had marked out.
These plans, as we have before seen, were to construct three
through routes across the State ; one terminating at Port Huron,
another at Detroit, and a third at Monroe. A canal was also
projected from Clinton river to Kalamazoo. A large sum was
expended on this enterprise, but it was finally abandoned. The
northern road was graded some distance west from Port Huron,
and also abandoned. The State proceeded with the construction
of the Central road until it reached Kalamazoo. In the mean
time, it became apparent that the State was far from being a
shrewd railroad manager. There were no funds in the treasury to
A strong Republican, he took an energetic part in politics, making
political addresses in several counties during the Presidential campaign
of 1868. In the same year, he was sent to Washington by the people of
the copper mining district to aid in securing a higher tariff upon copper,
being successful and returning in the summer of that year. At the Con
gressional convention of the sixth district (in which Houghton county
was then embraced), Mr. Hubbell was a prominent candidate. On the
formation of the ninth district, comprising the whole Upper Peninsula,
embracing nine counties, and eighteen counties in the Lower Peninsula,
Mr. Hubbell was nominated for Congress by the Republican convention,
held at Luclington, in the summer of 1872. In the excited campaign
which followed, he addressed political meetings in nearly every county
in this large district, and was elected by a majority of 6,405 votes over
Mr. Samuel P. Ely, of Marquette, the total number of votes cast being
17,511.
Mr. Hubbell is a fluent, and has shown himself both at the bar and on
the stump an unusually forcible and convincing speaker. Through a
profitable legal practice, and by judicious investment of money in many
of the leading and most prosperous enterprises of his section, Mr. Hub-
bell has acquired a property so considerable as to make further applica
tion to business unnecessary. It is fair to presume that the energy and
552 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
meet the Internal Improvement warrants, and they depreciated in
value to an enormous extent. The road as far as built was rap
idly wearing out, the old strap rail having been used, and the
State had neither money nor credit to repair it. The consequence
was that the Legislature of 1846 concluded to sell the road. This
was soon effected, and it passed into the hands of eastern capital
ists, $2,000,000 being the amount paid for the road and its fran
chises. The company were required to re-lay the road with T
rail, and complete the road to Lake Michigan with the same rail.
They were also allowed to change the terminus to any point in
the State on Lake Michigan. Subsequently, they were allowed to
change the western terminus to Chicago. The road was then
pushed through with great rapidity, and is now one of the most
magnificent and best equipped roads in the Union.
The Southern road was also sold about the same time. That
road had then been completed from Monroe to Palmyra, at a cost
of over $1,000,000. The eastern terminus was afterwards fixed
at Toledo. A perpetual lease of the Erie and Kalamazoo road
was effected, and its indebtedness to the State assumed. The
price paid to the State was $500,000, for the road and its appur
tenances. The Tecumseh branch, running from Adrian to Man
chester, and the Palmyra and Jacksonburg road, subsequently
known as the Jackson division of the Southern, were also included
in the sale. The former road had then been completed as far as
Tecumseh. Immediate preparations were then made to complete
the road westward. The work progressed slowly for some time,
however, owing to the want of means ; but, subsequently, a con
trolling interest in the stock passed into the hands of a few
enthusiasm which have always marked his professional and political
career, and his very extensive acquaintance with the men and interests
of his widely extended district, will render him as effective and useful in
the more extended career now opened before him as in his past life. He
is the first member of Congress ever sent from the Upper Peninsula, and
will carry with him to Washington the best wishes of a large constitu
ency, who have confidently intrusted to his keeping the interests of a
district comprising all the copper and iron mines and a large portion of
the lumbering of the State.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
553
wealthy men, and it was then pushed rapidly on to Chicago, arriv
ing there in advance of the Central. In 1855 it was consolidated
with the Northern Indiana road. The next year, the Detroit,
Monroe and Toledo road was chartered. This road was at once
GEN. J. G. PARKHURST.
JOHN G. PARKHURST was born at Oneida Castle, New York, in 1824.
His father, Stephen Parkhurst, was a native of New Hampshire, who
removed from that State and settled in Oneida county, New York.
The subject of this sketch received an academical education prepara
tory to entering college, and then entered upon the study of the law. In
1847, he was admitted to practice, after having devoted three years to
classical studies and four in a law office-, seven years study then being
required before an admission to the bar. Following his admission, he
practiced his profession in his native town for two years.
In 1849, he removed to Michigan and settled in Coldwater, where he
formed a co-partnership with the late Gorge A. Coe, who was then
554 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
built, and a perpetual lease granted to the Southern. The sub
sequent consolidations with other roads and the building of other
branches have made the Southern one of the finest and most exten
sive roads in the Union.
The old Detroit and Pontiac Railroad was chartered in 1834,
by the Legislative Council, with a capital stock of $100,000. A
great deal of difficulty was experienced in the financial manage
ment of this enterprise, and many amusing stories are related illus
trating the troubles encountered. It was not till 1839 that the
road was finally completed as far as Birmingham. The cars of
this road were for some time propelled by horse power. It was
finally sold under an execution, in 1840. It was completed to
Pontiac in 1843, and subsequently leased to Detroit parties for ten
years. Previous to the expiration of this lease, a company, headed
by the Hon. H. N. Walker, purchased the road, and raised enough
money on its bonds to re-lay the track.
In April, 1848, a charter was granted to the Oakland and
Ottawa Railroad Company. Work was not commenced on this
road till 1852. The following year, Hon. H. N. Walker went to
lieutenant-governor of the State. The business of this firm soon assumed
large proportions and became quite lucrative. It continued until 1856,
when Mr. Parkhurst succeeded to the whole and continued his practice
until 1861, being part of the time prosecuting attorney for Branch
county.
In 1860, he was a delegate to the famous Charleston convention, and
was secretary of that body. After the final adjournment at Baltimore,
he published the proceedings of the convention.
Upon the receipt of the news of the firing upon Fort Sumter, he
addressed an impromptu meeting of citizens at the court house in Cold-
water, and urged the immediate organization of troops for the defense of
the flag and the preservation of the Union. The citizens of Branch
county responded to his appeal to their patriotism by raising a company
for the First Michigan Infantry, and also the celebrated Coldwater
(Loomis') Battery.
In consequence of the severe illness of his wife, who died in July, he
did not enter the army until September. On the 10th of September, 1861,
he was mustered into the service as lieutenant-colonel of the Ninth Mich
igan Infantry, went with his regiment to Kentucky and reported to
General Sherman for duty. Colonel Parkhurst served in Kentucky until
HISTOEY OF MICHIGAN. 555
Europe in the interests of this road, and purchased enough iron to
lay the track as far as Fentonville.
In 1855, the above two roads were consolidated, under the name
of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway. The bonds of the com
pany were then negotiated in Europe, by Mr. Walker, to the
amount of $1,250,000. A subsequent arrangement was made with
the Great Western Railway Company, by which the financial
embarrassments of the company were finally relieved. In 1860
the mortgage was closed, and the name of the road changed to
the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad. In the meantime, the
road had been completed to Grand Haven, on the eastern shore
of Lake Michigan, thus completing the three great through routes
across the State which was originally contemplated by the State
government.
The monetary crisis of 1857 put a stop for several years to
railroad enterprises in Michigan, and it was not till within the
last eight years that operations were resumed. Within that time
a large number of enterprises have been projected, and many of
them carried successfully through. Railroad building in Michi-
the spring of 18G2, when his regiment was ordered into Tennessee and
joined to the army of the Cumberland.
At the battle of Murfreesboro, in July, 1862, he was taken prisoner,
and was afterwards confined in the rebel prisons at Knoxville, Atlanta,
Madisonville, Columbia, and at Libby prison in Richmond. Upon his
exchange in December of that year, he returned to his home in Cold-
water, and was given a public reception by its citizens. In response to
the address of the mayor on this occasion, he gave the people a vivid
account of his life in tlie prisons of the South, and there ventured the
prediction that it would require a million of men and two years time to
put down the rebellion and restore the Union. He urged upon the
people to give up their speculations and to devote themselves and their
means to the salvation of their country.
Returning to the army again, he reported for duty to General Rose-
crans, at Nashville, Tennessee, took command of his regiment and par
ticipated in the six days battle at Stone River, which terminated in a
victory for the Union troops. Colonel Parkhurst was promoted for gal
lant conduct during this battle, received a distinguished compliment in
the official report of General George H. Thomas, and immediately after
the battle was assigned to duty as provost-marshal on the staff of Gen
eral Thomas.
556 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
gan has been stimulated, to a certain extent, by the land grants
made by Congress from time to time, and some projects have been
carried successfully through that did not seem to be warranted by
the present business or population along the line. But most of
them are the outgrowth of commercial necessity, and consequently
are not only likely to be paying investments of themselves, but
exhibit the wonderful growth and material prosperity of the com
monwealth.
Many of the roads which have been built within the last eight
or nine years owe their existence to the enterprise of the men
controlling the two great corporations known as the Michigan
Central and the Michigan Southern Railroads. Of the former,
the Hon. James F. Joy has been the leading and controlling spirit
for a number of years. Under his management the Michigan
Central has not only risen to the position of being one of the most
magnificent roads in existence, but has aided, directly or indi
rectly, in building a large number of tributary roads in the State
of Michigan.
The first road aided by the Michigan Central was the Jackson,
After the battle of Chickamauga, he was made provost-marshal-gen
eral of the army of the Cumberland, and for gallant services was
recommended to the President by General Thomas for a brigadier-general
ship in the army.
Following the battle of Nashville, he was made provost-marshal-
general of the military division of the Tennessee, which comprised the
States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and
he retained this position until he left the service in November, 1865.
General Parkhurst was upon the staff of General Thomas for three
years of the war, and was in all the battles fought by that great military
hero, having his entire confidence and continuing an intimate acquaint
ance until his lamented death in 1870, when he was selected by General
Sherman as one of the escort to accompany the distinguished hero's
remains to Troy, New York, for burial.
Having married a lady in Tennessee, for his second wife, General
Parkhurst contemplated settling in Nashville, and after leaving the army
he opened a law office there, but finding the feeling towards Northern
men not yet sufficiently mollified to make a residence there agreeable for
an ex-provost-marshal-general of the Union army, he returned to his old
residence in Coldwater, Michigan, in 1866, and was that year a candidate
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 557
Lansing and Saginaw. Lansing was as far north as it was at first
intended to go with this road ; but upon its completion to that
place it was concluded to carry it to Saginaw. The Amboy, Lan
sing and Traverse Bay Railroad was then in operation between
Lansing and Owosso, and the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw pur
chased its franchises, made it a part of their line, and carried it
forward to Saginaw. This road is now in process of construction
north to the Straits of Mackinaw, and the cars are running to
Gaylord, two hundred and thirty-six miles north of Jackson.
When completed, it will eventually form an important link in the
Northern Pacific, and, in connection with the Detroit and Bay City
road, will form practically an air line road from the Straits of
Mackinaw to Detroit. It may be also mentioned, in this connec
tion, that the road from Marquette to Mackinaw, being now ren
dered certain to be built, will form a connection with this road
which will bring Detroit three hundred and forty miles nearer
Marquette than by any road now in existence, and will enable the
former city to control the entire trade from the Upper Peninsula
during the season when navigation is closed.
The Grand River Valley road is another which has been mate-
upon the people's ticket for lieutenant-governor of the State, and received
the full vote of the ticket.
In October, 1866, he was appointed United States marshal for the east
ern district of Michigan, but the Republicans in the United States Senate
could not forgive his representing his district in the Philadelphia conven
tion held in the interest of President Johnson's policy, and when his
appointment came up in 1867, they did not confirm it.
Afterwards, he was made a special agent of the treasury department,
which position he held until 1869.
Since that year, he has devoted a good part of his time to the interests
of his adopted city, and to him in a great measure is due the credit of
securing for Coldwater the Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan
Railroad, and also the State public school.
In the fall of 1872, he was the candidate of the Democratic Liberal
party for representative in Congress from the Third Congressional Dis
trict, and received the largest vote of any candidate on his ticket in the
district,
He is still residing in Coldwater, and is devoting his attention to agri
culture and to his other private business.
558 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
rially aided by the Michigan Central. This road is ninety-four
miles long, running north from Jackson to Grand Rapids. It
there intersects the Detroit and Milwaukee road, and by means of
that road connects with the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore
road running north to Montague.
The Jackson and Fort Wayne road is one hundred miles in
length, its name indicating the termini. The Detroit, Eel River
and Illinois road connects with this, as does also the Jackson, Lan
sing and Saginaw, thus giving the State two most important connec
tions with Indiana. Its connection with the latter road furnishes
a route over which much of the lumber of northern Michigan
passes on its way to the southern cities.
The Michigan Air Line was originally intended as a short line
from Chicago to Buffalo, crossing the St. Clair river at St. Clair,
and connecting with the St. Clair branch of the Canada Southern.
The Michigan Central aided in building it between Niles and
Jackson, and finally absorbed and made it a part of its own sys
tem. It passes through a rich agricultural region, and shortens
the distance of travel between Detroit and Chicago about fifteen
miles.
The Detroit, Hillsdale and Indiana road was also built through
the aid of the Michigan Central. It runs on the track of the
Central between Detroit and Ypsilanti. The distance from the
latter place to Hillsdale is sixty-five miles. This company took
the franchises of the Eel River road from Butler to Logansport,
Indiana, and has finished the road to the latter place. This road
furnishes a direct route from Detroit to Indianapolis, via the
Indianapolis, Peru and Chicago road.
The Kalamazoo and South Haven road is forty miles in length ;
is owned chiefly by the Michigan Central, and connects with the
Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore road.
The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore road runs at present from
New Buffalo, Berrien county, to Pentwater. Its ultimate destina
tion is Manistee, a distance of about two hundred miles. A
branch twenty-four miles long has been built from Holland to
Grand Rapids. This road was consolidated, in 1872, with the
Muskegon and Big Rapids road, the latter being now completed.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
559
The main line of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore road, north
of Grand Haven, is operated by the Michigan Central, and, with
the Grand River Valley road, constitutes a direct line from
SMITH R. WOOLLEY.
SMITH R. WOOLLEY was born in 1840, in Bridgewater, New York. He
moved to Michigan, with his parents, in 1847, and was left an orphan in
1851. Being left at the tender age of eleven years, without any means of
support, he engaged with a farmer, with whom he remained until 1853,
when he visited Detroit and obtained a situation in the banking house of
W. H. King & Co. He remained in this house until 1854, when he
accepted a position in the banking house of C. & A. Ives, where he
560 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Detroit to the western part of the State. These roads afford an
outlet for an immense amount of pine lumber.
The Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan is the result of a con
solidation of the Detroit and Howell, the Howell and Lansing, and
the Ionia and Lansing roads. The latter road was the first one
built, the Hon. James F. Joy, of the Central, furnishing the capi
tal. He afterwards took up the Detroit and Howell project with
a view of making a connection from Detroit to Lake Michigan.
The road has been completed as far as Howard City, where it
connects with the Grand Rapids and Indiana road. This road now
forms one of the great arteries for the commerce of the State.
The Detroit and Bay City is another of the roads aided by the
Michigan Central, and has lately been completed. It is over one
hundred miles in length, and passes through a rich agricultural
region, forming practically an air line from Detroit to Bay City.
As before remarked, the Michigan Southern, now known as the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, has also done much in the way
of aiding roads which are tributary to the main line. The first in
order is the road now known as the Lansing Division of the Lake
Shore and Michigan Southern, but formerly known as the Northern
Central Michigan. This division is fifty-nine miles long, extend
ing at present from Jonesville to Lansing. It will eventually be
extended to St. Johns, and thence northward.
The Kalamazoo Division was originally started without any
clearly defined idea as to what place would eventually constitute
its northern terminus. It was commenced about seven years ago.
A strap road was already in existence from White Pigeon to
Three Rivers. A road was then built north as far as Schoolcraft,
remained for about ten years. He then engaged in the manufacture of
vinegar and the distillation of alcohol on a small scale. He has con
tinued in the same business to the present time with remarkable success.
Although a young man, he has always possessed the confidence of the
people. He is an active member of the board of trade, and one of its
vice-presidents.
In 1871, he was elected a member of the common council of Detroit,
and has proved to be one of its most active members.
Mr. Woolley was recently elected a member of the Detroit stock
exchange.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
561
and the two united in one interest. After this another corpora
tion was formed to build a road from Schoolcraft to Kalamazoo,
and it was eventually extended to Grand Rapids, when it passed
into the hands of the Michigan Southern. A branch of this road
HON. A. N. HART.
ALVIN N. HART was born in Cornwall, Litchfield county, Connecticut,
on the llth of February, 1804.
He resided with his parents and labored on the farm until he was
fifteen years of age. He received his education partially at the academy
in Sharon, Connecticut, and partially at the academy and college in
Amherst, Massachusetts, finishing it in the latter institution.
Mr. Hart married Miss Charlotte F. Ball, daughter of Dr. Benjamin
Ball, of Wendell, Franklin county, Massachusetts, July 8, 1828.
At the time of his marriage he resided in Utica, New York, where he
remained for three years, at the end of which time he removed to the
36
^ GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
was also built from Allegan to Holland. This was again
extended north to Muskegon, and is known as the Michigan Lake
Shore Road. It is now under the control of the Continental
Improvement Company, which has also built a road from Alle
gan to Martin's Corners, on the Grand Rapids and Indiana line.
The Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Division was built by subscrip
tions at Detroit and other points along the line. It is of consider
able importance to the former city, as it affords a channel of com
munication to the southern cities.
The Jackson Division was constructed about thirteen years ago,
under a special charter. It affords a direct communication from
Jackson to Toledo, and has the effect of diverting a part of the
Michigan Central traffic to the latter city.
The Adrian and Monroe Division was originally a part of the
main line, the latter place being the eastern terminus of the road,
as originally chartered. The line from Adrian to Toledo, as we
have before seen, was acquired by a perpetual lease from the old
Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Company.
This concludes the lines owned or controlled by the two great
corporations. Of the following roads many are important, and
all, as far as completed, are well constructed and equipped.
The Grand Rapids and Indiana road is of great importance,
traversing, as it does, a region possessing unbounded natural
Territory of Michigan. It was a long, tedious journey in those days, and
Mr. Hart had to cut his way, for fourteen miles, through the forests,
where there was no road yet built before he reached his destination.
He commenced his pioneer life where the city of Lapeer now stands,
being the first inhabitant of that settlement, and camping under a majes
tic elm,r.which is still standing a venerable landmark, protected from the
lightning, which has struck it several times, by a rod placed on it by his
son, R. G. Hart, of Lapeer.
Having built the first log cabin in that vicinity, he moved into it with
his family, consisting of his wife and one child, on the llth of Novem
ber, 1831.
In the spring of 1832, Mr. Hart was commissioned a justice of the
peace for Oakland county, to which was attached, for judicial purposes,
all the country north of that county.
In the winter of 1835, Mr. Hart was^appointed sheriff of Lapeer county,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 563
resources. Its ultimate termini are the Straits of Mackinaw on
the north, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the south. The track
is already laid from Grand Rapids north to Petoskey, sixty miles
from Mackinaw, and the cars are running to Traverse City. This
road has been greatly assisted by land grants, amounting in the
aggregate to 1,160,382 acres.
The Flint and Pere Marquette road is another very important
road, traversing a region rich in agricultural resources, lumber
and salt. The first division was built, from Flint to East Sagi-
naw, about seven years ago. In 1866, the second division was
built, extending from East Saginaw to six miles beyond Midland.
In 1868, a lease was effected of the Flint and Holly road, which
had been in operation about four years ; also, of the Saginaw and
Bay City road. The work on the main line has since steadily
progressed, and, at the present writing, is completed as far as
Reed City, 141 miles from Holly. A contract has been concluded
for the unfinished portion, Ludington, on Lake Michigan, being
its western terminus. A branch has also been built from Flint to
Otter Lake, fifteen miles in length. Another branch has been
projected from East Saginaw to the St. ^Clair river, terminating
either at Port Huron, or St. Clair.
The Holly, Wayne and Monroe road, which has recently been
built, is now consolidated with the Flint and Pere Marquette.
and at the election in the fall of 1835, in which the constitution of the
new State was submitted and adopted, he was elected a representative to
the State legislature. In 1842 he was elected supervisor of Lnpeer town
ship, and held the office" for the succeeding seven years. In 1843, Mr.
Hart was elected State senator from the Sixth Senatorial District, which
then comprised the counties of Lapeer, Oakland, Genesee, Shiawassee,
Tuscola, Saginaw and the Upper Peninsula. In 1846, he was elected the
first judge of the Lapeer county court, for a term of four years, and in
1847, he was again elected to the State senate to fill the vacancy occa
sioned by the death of Senator Witherbee, and reflected in 1848 for the
regular term. In 1856, he was almost unanimously again elected a justice
of the peace.
In 1860, he removed to the city of Lansing and was -elected alderman
of the first ward of that city in 1863, which office he still holds. In 1870,
he was elected a representative from Ingham county to the State legisla-
564 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
This road is 63 miles long, and gives the Saginaw Valley a direct
connection with Toledo.
The Chicago and Lake Huron road is the result of a consoli
dation of the Port Huron and Lake Michigan and the Peninsular
roads. This is destined to be one of the most important lines
in the State. The Peninsular has a Chicago connection on the
west, and from the Indiana State line, running northeast, it passes
through a very rich agricultural region. It is finished as far as
Lansing, where it will eventually be connected with the Port
Huron and Lake Michigan, the two roads, as before remarked,
having consolidated their interests under the name of the Chicago
and Lake Huron Railroad. The Port Huron and Lake Michi
gan road was finished from Port Huron west as far as Flint pre
vious to the consolidation. It was projected as long ago as 1836,
and constituted one of the three great through lines then laid out
by the State. The financial embarrassments of 1837, however,
stopped the work after a few miles had been graded. In 1841,
another company was formed, but nothing was done further than
to locate the line and obtain the right of way. Again, in 1856,
another company, called the Port Huron and Milwaukee Railroad
Company, was formed, a line was laid out, and some work done.
But financial embarrassments again put a stop to work, the prop
erty was sold under an execution, and the company dissolved.
ture and materially aided in securing the magnificent appropriation
which was made for the erection of the new State Capitol now in process
of construction.
Mr. Hart was one of the projectors of that portion of the Amboy,
Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad, running from Lansing to Owosso,
and is a director in the Detroit and Bay City Railroad.
Mr. Hart has ever been a consistent member of the Presbyterian
denomination, being one of the founders of the flourishing church of that
sect in Lapeer, and also of the one in North Lansing. He is eminently a
social man, and one that has always given freely for the advancement of
Christianity and social improvement, and, wherever he is known, is
universally loved and respected.
His business has been mostly mercantile and real estate, and he has
ever showed himself a good financier, both in public and private enter
prises.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
565
In 1865, the franchises and property of the road passed into the
hands of the Port Huron and Lake Michigan Railroad Company.
Of this company the Hon. William L. Bancroft was the leading
spirit ; and it is due to his energy and ability that it wag com-
DR. L. YOUNGHUSBAND.
LANCELOT YOUNGHUSBAND, M. D., LL. D., of Detroit, was born in
Richmond, in the North of England, January 11, 1828.
His father, John Younghusband, brought his family to this country
in 1841. He is yet living in St. Clair county of this State. At an early
age, Lancelot was sent to Victoria College, Cobourg, and was a student
under the celebrated Rev. Dr. Ormiston, now of New York.
He graduated in arts at Acadia College, Dominion of Canada. For
several years he was engaged as principal in high schools. While thus
employed, he prepared quite a number of young men for college, who
566 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
pleted as far as Flint, the present terminus. It runs through a
fine agricultural country, and furnishes an outlet for an immense
amount of oak and pine timber, staves, etc. Now that it has
been consolidated with the Peninsular, it will join that road at
Lansing, thus forming one of the great thoroughfares between
Chicago and the seaboard. It connects at Port Huron with the
Grand Trunk and Great Western Railways, of Canada. At the
present writing Mr. Bancroft is in Europe, negotiating the bonds
of the new company, the proceeds of which will enable the com
pany to complete the link between Flint and Lansing, and push
the western division of the road forward to Chicago. The line
of this road crosses the track of nearly twenty different railroads
between Port Huron and Chicago.
The Ohio and Michigan is the corporate name of the road
which is best known as the Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Mich
igan road. It is being constructed by the Continental Improve
ment Company, a corporation nearly identical in interest with the
Pennsylvania Central Railroad Company. The line extends from
Mansfield, Ohio, to Allegan, Michigan, where it joins the road
from that place to Muskegon, which, as we have before seen, is
controlled by the same company.
The Michigan Division of the Grand Trunk extends from Port
completed their course at Antioch College, Ohio, at the time when that
institution was under the charge of the distinguished Horace Mann; and
so highly pleased was he with the proficiency exhibited by Professor
Younghusband's pupils, that he inquired out their preceptor and con
ferred upon him the honorary degree of master of arts. At the age of
twenty-four, he began the study of medicine in the office of two eminent
physicians, at Port Hope, Ontario.
Some years afterwards, he adopted the homoeopathic system of medi
cine, and received the degree of M. D. from the oldest homoeopathic
medical college in America, at Philadelphia, Pa.
For many years he was engaged in a large and successful practice at
Mt. Clemens, Mich. In the year 1868, his alma mater conferred its
highest honors upon him— the degree of doctor of laws. In the fall of
1871, he was elected president and professor of theory and practice in
the Detroit Homoeopathic College, an institution, the success of which
is already assured.
OF MICHIGAN. 567
Huron to Detroit, 59 miles, and was built in 1859, by the Grand
Trunk Railway of Canada. The road is a great benefit to ship
pers, affording a competing line from Detroit to the seaboard. It
extends to Portland, Maine, 861 miles from Detroit.
The Saginaw Valley and St. Louis road extends from East
Saginaw to St. Louis, 34 miles.
The Grand Rapids and Newaygo road, 36 miles long, is com
pleted between the points named. It is proposed to extend the
line northward to Fremont, the junction of the Muskegon and
Big Rapids, and the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan roads.
The Marshall and Coldwater road has been graded from Elm
Hall, Gratiot county, to Muir, on the Detroit and Milwaukee
road ; also twenty miles in Eaton county, and work is being done
in Ionia county. No track has yet been laid.
The Canada Southern road has recently been completed in
Canada. The main line reaches Michigan at Trenton. There is
also a branch running from St. Thomas, Ontario, to St. Clair,
Michigan. At Trenton the main line will have three branches :
one to Chicago, passing through Flat Rock, Blissfield and Morenci.
This branch is now completed as far as Fayette. Another branch,
now completed, extends to Toledo. The other extends to Detroit,
and has recently been opened for traffic.
For moral, conservative and generally wholesome influence over stu
dents, no educational institution in the land has in its president one who
excels him.
On removing to Detroit, he formed a partnership with Dr. E. R Ellis,
a prominent physician of that city, and professor of surgery in the col
lege. Here Dr. Younghusband and his partner have built up an exten
sive practice. Scarcely a day passes that patients from distant parts of
this State, and even Canada, do not call upon them.
Besides general practice, they give^ special attention to surgery, and the
treatment of chronic and difficult cases of disease, particularly of the
lungs and heart.
In the management of and as a teacher in the college, Professor Young-
husband has more than fulfilled the expectations of his friends, and his
conceded abilities, both natural and acquired, well entitle him to the
position which he has gained as one of the foremost physicians of this
State, if not of the West.
568 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
At St. Clair, the Canada Southern connects with the Michigan,
Midland and Canada road, which extends from St. Clair to Ridge-
way, on the Grand Trunk road, a distance of 15 miles. The
Michigan Air Line extends from the latter place to Romeo.
The franchises of the Michigan Air Line road have been disposed
of to parties in Pontiac, who propose to extend it as far as the lat
ter place.
A road has been projected from Rockford to Greenville by the
Continental Improvement Company. Some grading has already
been done.
The Paw Paw and Lawton road extends from Paw Paw, Van
Buren county, to Lawton, on the Michigan Central, a distance of
four miles.
The Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern road has been graded
between Toledo and Ann Arbor.
The Owosso and Northern road has for its proposed northern
terminus, Frankfort, on Lake Michigan. Forty miles of grading
have already been done.
An air line from Detroit to Adrian is in contemplation, and
the grading done between the latter place and Tecumseh.
Several other meritorious projects are agitating the Lower Pen
insula, among which may be mentioned a road from Wenona to
Big Rapids; one from Elkhart, Indiana, to Benton Harbor,
Michigan ; one from Lapeer to Port Austin ; one from Utica to
Almont ; one from the main line of the Jackson, Lansing and
Saginaw road to Alpena ; and one from East Saginaw to Port
Huron or St. Clair. The grading on the latter road has been
done from East Saginaw to Vassar.
In the Upper Peninsula, the Marquette, Hough ton and Onto-
nagon road stands first in interest and importance. This com
pany was formed by the consolidation of the Marquette and
Ontouagon and the Houghton and Ontonagon railroads. The
road is in operation from Marquette to L'Anse, and passes
through the richest mineral region on earth. It has magnificent
harbor facilities at each terminus, and in proportion to the invest
ment it is doing a larger business than any other railroad in the
world. At least a million and a half tons of iron alone passed
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
569
over this road during the past year. The road will be eventually
extended westward as far as the Montreal river, where it is
expected to connect with the Northern Pacific, thus forming an
important link between Duluth and the Lower Peninsula.
HON. E. S. EGGLESTON.
EBENEZER S. EGGLESTON was born in the village of Batavia, Genesee
county, New York, May 12, 1825.
He emigrated to Michigan in 1837, settling in the town of Litchfield,
Hillsdale county.
Mr. Eggleston received a thorough common school education, and
afterwards studied law with Lieutenant-Governor Gordon. He was
admitted to the bar in 1852.
In 1851, he removed to Grand Rapids, where, after being admitted, he
commenced the practice of his profession, and soon won a high reputa
tion for his legal ability. He still continues the practice of the law at
570 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
The gap between Escanaba and the Wisconsin State line, on
the Chicago and Northwestern road, has recently been built,
thus forming a direct connection between Marquette and Chicago.
The Marquette, Mackinaw and Sault Ste. Marie road has
recently been chartered. This road is to extend from Marquette
to Sault Ste. Marie, with a branch to Mackinaw. The branch
will give a direct railroad connection between the two peninsulas,
which will be of the utmost importance to the people of both,
and bring the winter trade from the Upper Peninsula through
Mackinaw to the Lower Peninsula, and shorten the distance to be
traveled from Detroit to Marquette 340 miles.
The aggregate length of the railroads of Michigan, as stated by
Governor Bagley in his message to the Legislature in January,
1873, is about 3,200 miles.
The question of bridging the river at Detroit is being vigorously
discussed at the present writing, and it is probable that at no
distant day this great desideratum of western shippers, agricultur
ists and railroad men will be accomplished. The scheme is, how
ever, violently opposed by vessel owners and others, interested in
the commerce of the lakes. A board of engineers has been
appointed to report as to its propriety and feasibility.
No better idea of the immense interests at stake, of the com
merce of the lakes and of the business of Michigan railroads, can
be obtained than by a mere statement of the leading argument
used on each side of this question. The vessel owners show that
at least $50,000,000 are invested in vessels which pass through the
Detroit river ; and that the passage of these vessels average one
every six minutes during navigation. On the other hand, those in
that city, and ranks among the leading lawyers of the western portion
of the State.
He was appointed Consul to Cadiz, Spain, by President Lincoln, in
1861, and served in that capacity for four years.
Mr. Eggleston was chosen representative to the State legislature from
the first district of Grand Rapids, in the fall of 1872, and served in the
house during the session of 1872-73. He was an active member of the
judiciary committee and chairman of the committee on private corpora
tions of that body.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 571
favor of a bridge show that at least $150,000,000 of railway
property are interested in crossing the Detroit river, to say noth
ing of the immense mercantile and agricultural interests of the
State, and, indeed, of the whole northwest, that are interested in
securing quick and cheap transportation to and from the sea
board. Vessel owners assert that their interests would be
materially affected, and navigation obstructed during the summer
months, by a bridge across the river. Railroad men, merchants
and agriculturists assert that the blockade of freight occasioned
by ice during the winter months, occasions the loss of many mil
lions of dollars annually.
How the question will be settled time only can determine. It
is mentioned here merely to give a faint idea of the immense
interests involved — the untold wealth and possibilities of the
commerce which annually passes through and along the shores of
the State of Michigan.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
MINERAL AND FOREST WEALTH OF MICHIGAN — IRON — COPPER — SALT —
GYPSUM — COAL — OTHER MINERALS — LUMBER.
IRON.
THE existence of iron in the Upper Peninsula has long been
known. The Indians, at an early day, gave information to the
white traders which led to investigations ; but it was not until a
comparatively recent period that operations on an extended scale
commenced. The first company organized for the purpose was
called the Jackson Iron Company. This company was organized
in 1845. It is still in existence, and its mine has yielded the
largest amount of iron of any in the district, save one — the Lake
Superior mine only producing a larger amount.
Upon the organization of the Jackson Iron Company, one of
the corporators visited the Lake Superior country, and, guided by
the Indians, discovered and located what are now known as the
Jackson and Cleveland mines. On his return home he brought a
specimen of the ore, a portion of which he sent to Pittsburg, and
another portion to Coldwater, in this State, for the purpose of
having its quality tested. At the former place it was pronounced
utterly worthless, but at the latter a more favorable report was
made. In 1846 the first opening was made in the Jackson mine.
The year following a forge was put in operation, in which the first
ore taken out of the Jackson mine was manufactured into blooms.
Hon. E. B. Ward purchased the first blooms manufactured by
this company, and used the iron in constructing the walking-beam
of the steamer Ocean. Other forges followed soon after, and
in 1853 three or four tons of iron were shipped to the World's
Fair, at New York. Owing to the difficulties of shipping, there
was little done until 1856, when regular shipments commenced.
The Cleveland mine was opened about the same time. The
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
573
Marquette mine was next opened, and made its first shipment in
1868. Other mines were opened from time to time, as the atten
tion of capitalists were attracted to the region.
Notwithstanding the unfavorable report made by the Pitts-
PROF. DAVID PARSONS.
DAVID PARSONS was born in the town of New Haven, Oswego county,
New York, in the year 1820.
When not quite fifteen years of age, he, without a cent in his pocket
and but poorly clad, started for the Territory of Michigan, where three
of his brothers had preceded him. After traveling on foot and by water
several hundred miles, he found two of his brothers at Ann Arbor.
They being unable to assist him, he started for Spring Arbor, where his
other brother was located. He found him in no better circumstances
574 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
burg parties who tested the ore first shipped ,to them, Lake
Superior iron is now acknowledged to be the best in the world.
Its strength per square inch, in pounds, has been found to be no
less than 89,582. The nearest approach to this is in the best
Russia iron, the strength of which is 76,069 pounds ; whilst the
best Swedish iron shows a strength of only 58,184. The common
English and American iron bears a test of about 30,000 pounds.
Lake Superior iron has been practically tested in every possible
use to which iron can be put, and the universal testimony is that
it is the best in existence, both as regards strength and ease of
manipulation.
The mines thus far developed are mainly in the county of
Marquette. They are generally found in hills which are from
400 to 600 feet in height. These hills are in a range of about
six miles wide, and one hundred miles in length. They extend
from Lake Fairbanks to Keweenaw Bay. In Menominee county
there is another range of hills, equally rich in this ore, but they
are at present undeveloped. This range crops out at Bayfield,
and at several other points large deposits of magnetic ores are
found, which prove to be almost pure native iron. Five different
varieties of ores have been found. The most valuable is the
than the others, and after traveling about the country some thirty miles,
he finally succeeded in getting employment on a farm.
Returning to Ann Arbor in the winter, he taught the school in Lower
Ann Arbor that season.
After his school closed, he again engaged in farming, about two miles
south of where the city of Marshall now stands, and while thus employed,
passed through many exciting and dangerous scenes with wolves and
other wild animals, and endured all the severe hardships consequent
upon a pioneer's life in a wild country.
Disliking farming, and having early resolved to obtain an education
and become a professional teacher, Mr. Parsons devoted all his spare
moments with his books, even carrying them to the field with him that
he might utilize every possible minute in which he was not otherwise
employed, in acquiring information from them.
By his own unwearied exertions at teaching school winters and work
ing on a farm summers, and through the aid of his brother John, he
succeeded in receiving an academic education and preparing himself for
his profession. At the age of twenty, he was called to take charge of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 575
specular hematite, which yields about 60 to 75 per cent of metal
lic iron. The second in importance is the soft hematite, which
yields about 50 per cent in the furnace, and has the advantage of
being more easily reduced than any other ore of the district.
The magnetic ore is found west of the other ores of the district.
The Michigan, Washington, Edwards and Champion mines pro
duce this ore almost exclusively. The flag ore is slaty or shistose
silicious hematite, containing a less per centage of metallic iron
than the ores above named, and is rather more difficult to reduce.
It is often magnetic and sometimes banded with dull red or white
quartz. The iron is cold short, which is said to be one of the
best qualities of this ore. The other ores of the district are red
short. This ore is believed to be the most abundant in the dis
trict. At several points in the district, and accompanying the
flag ore, is found a silicious iron ore, which contains a variable
amount of oxide of manganese. This is of great value as a
mixture.
There are forty mines now in the district, which have produced
since their opening, up to and including the year 1872, an aver
age of over 139,184 tons. The aggregate yield, in tons, from
1856 to 1872 inclusive, is 5,567,373. The value of this yield has
one of the public schools at Salina, New York. This school was one of
the most unruly in existence, and when Mr. Parsons informed the trus
tees that he was going to teach it without the use of a rod, they were
loth to give him the situation, but finally concluded to allow him a
week's trial. At the expiration of that time, he had the pupils entirely
under his control, and so complete was his success that he remained in
charge of the school for three years.
Mr. Parsons was one of the early advocates of moral suasion in the
public schools, his motto being ' 4 a school well taught is a school well
governed."
In 1844, the first State teachers' convention held in the State was called
to meet in Syracuse, New York, and a State association organized. At
that convention, Mr. Parsons had gained such a prominence among the
teachers of the State as to be elected the secretary.
Shortly afterwards, he made a tour of New York State, conducting
teachers' institutes, and doing much toward driving corporal punishment
from the public schools.
When but twenty-one years of age, Mr. Parsons published a work on
576 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
been $44,373,833. There are fifteen furnaces in the district,
which have produced since their establishment, an average of
over 23,858 tons. Their aggregate production since 1858, when
the first was started, up to and including 1872, is 357,880 tons.
Michigan ranks as the second State in the union in the produc
tion of iron, Pennsylvania only leading her. The magnitude of
her iron interest is seen in the fact that in 1872 she furnished
about one-thirteenth of the entire product of the world. But,
great as it is, it is yet in its infancy. Mountains of solid ore,
covering many square miles, exist within her limits ; and, thous
ands of years hence, when this continent shall contain a popula
tion greater than now exists in the world, the iron mines of
Michigan will still continue to pour out their rich treasures in
inexhaustible abundance.
COPPER.
The principal copper mines in Michigan, are in the counties of
Keweenaw, Houghton and Ontonagon. The existence of copper
in the Upper Peninsula was known to the Indians long before the
white man had penetrated the depths of our forests ; and the
early white settlers were informed of its existence many years
" Analysis of Words," which he had written when he was but eighteen.
Shortly afterwards, he published a chart, entitled "Parsons' Philosophi
cal and Practical Orthography." This chart, after passing through
several editions, was placed upon a more practical basis by being accom
panied by a book on "Orthography, the Elements of Elocution and
Analysis, and the introduction of the ' Union System ' of Teaching,
Reading," etc., by the same author. Mr. Parsons has published several
other educational works.
In 1855, in connection with Professor Alfred Holbrook, he started the
project which has resulted in the present magnificent and efficient
national normal school, at Lebanon, Ohio, with Professor Holbrook at
its head.
Mr. Parsons is widely known as an organizer. He organized the
Wellsville union school, the Jefferson academy, the Belle Fontaine union
schools, and Tafton collegiate seminary.
For a number of years past, Mr. Parsons has been engaged in the life
insurance business, and is acknowledged to be one of the most success
ful men in that occupation in the State.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
577
ago. But no active measures were taken to ascertain the extent
of the deposits, or to reap any benefit from their rich stores, until
the year 1845. At 'that time the fever of copper speculation
broke out, and had a most disastrous run for several years.
GEN. A. T. M'REYNOLDS.
ANDREW T. MCREYNOLDS was born in Dungannon, Tyrone county,
Ireland, on Christmas day, 1808.
He emigrated to America in August, 1830, in his twenty-second year,
and was a resident -of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for some time before
coining to Michigan.
While there, he was one of the original members and first ensign, of
the Duquesne Grays of that city, organized in 1831, and which was the
first independent volunteer company formed west of the Alleghanies.
37
578 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Numerous companies were organized, and speculations in cop
per stocks were indulged in to an enormous extent. The Cliff
mine was the first one developed. Three years were spent in
developing it, with very discouraging results ; but at the end of
that time, and just at the moment of success, the mine changed
hands. In the hands of the new owners it proved to be exceed
ingly rich in both copper and silver. This mine is situated in
Keweenaw county, just back of Eagle Harbor. In 1848 the
Minnesota mine was discovered. Several years were spent in this
mine with very little show of success. In 1855 the Pcwabic mine
was opened. The first four years the sum of $230,813 was
expended, and $153,168 worth of copper was produced. Other
mines were worked with similar results, some even more disas
trously. Several causes conspired to produce these results. The
St. Mary's canal was not yet built, and all supplies had to be
packed around the falls. They were then carried in boats along
the shores for hundreds of miles. When the mining region was
reached everything had to be packed on the backs of beasts or of
men to the mines. Again, the want of practical experience in
those who worked the mines led to much loss, great embarrass-
While in Pittsburg, he volunteered to aid under General Scott, in put
ting down nullification in South Carolina.
Coming to Detroit in 1833, he has been a resident of Michigan for
forty years.
In 1834, he was appointed major on the staff of Major-General Williams,
who was in command of all the militia in the Territory of Michigan.
In the winter of 1834-35, he was one of four that organized the Brady
Guards of Detroit, the other three being Major Isaac Rowland, Marshal
Bacon and John Chester. The Brady Guards was the first independent
military organization west of Lake Erie subsequent to the war of 1812.
He commenced the practice of the law in Detroit in 1840, and soon
rose to a prominence in the profession.
He organized the Montgomery Guards of Detroit, and was their first
captain; and he also served eleven years as lieutenant-colonel and colonel
of the first regiment of Michigan militia.
Having, in 1847, received a captain's commission in the dragoon service
of the United States army, he resigned the seat he was then occupying in
the Michigan State Senate, and served under General Scott during the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 579
ments, and final abandonment of enterprises that with practical
skill and good judgment might have been successfully carried out.
The want of scientific exploration and examination of these
regions was also a serious drawback. With the completion of the
canal all this was changed, and copper mining received a new
impetus. Goods could be transported more cheaply, and the pro
duct of the mines could be readily transported to market. Scien
tific explorations followed, and capital and skilled labor were
brought into requisition. The finances were managed with more
care, and the mines were worked with greater judgment. The
result has been a rich reward for the enterprise and capital
invested, and the production of copper has come to be one of the
great industries of the Northwest.
The ore mined is of the richest quality, yielding about 80 per
cent of ingot copper. Many times vast masses of pure native
copper, weighing many tons, have been taken out. Smelting
works have been established at Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburg and
Portage Lake. Twenty-five mines are now in successful opera
tion, giving employment to over seven thousand men. The num
ber of tons produced from 1845 to 1872, inclusive, is 175,756.
war with Mexico. He was attached to the headquarters; his troops, in
conjunction with those under General Philip Kearney, acting as the body
guard of the commanding general during the campaign that terminated
in planting the American banner in triumph on the halls of the Monte-
zumas.
The following extract, which gives a vivid description of General
McReynolds' bravery, appears in the "Life of General Philip Kearney,"
which was written by J. Watts De Peyster:
" The charge of dragoons refered to was made by two troops — one led
by Captain Kearney, the other by Captain McReynolds. The name of
Kearney sounds rather Irish, but of the birth or descent of that gallant
soldier we are unable to speak. We are happy, however, to be able to
claim Captain McReynolds as Irish born, and no one will believe him to
be a whit the less a true American on that account. Captain McReynolds
is a native of Dungannon, in the county of Tyrone. The Detroit Free
Press, in quoting from the New Orleans Picayune the passage which we
subjoin, speaks thus: ' It was in this charge that Captain McReynolds, of
this city, received his serious wound, his troop — all Michigan boys —
580 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The value of the copper produced in that time is estimated at
$76,560,720.
The richness of the copper mines of the Upper Peninsula is
not surpassed in the world. It is already one of most important
industries in the Northwest, and further scientific research will
undoubtedly lead to still more important results, and materially
increase the wealth and commerce of the State.
SALT.
The first attempt to develop the saline resources of the State
was made by the late Dr. Douglas Houghton, then State Geologist,
under the authority of the Legislature. An appropriation of
$3,000 was made for this purpose, and operations were commenced
in June, 1838. A spot was selected on the Tittabawassee river,
ten miles above the site of the present village of Midland. Two
thousand dollars of this appropriation were expended before the
depth of 100 feet was reached, and those engaged in the prosecu
tion of the work began to look upon the enterprise as hopeless.
Work was continued, however, until a depth of 140 feet was
reached, when it was abandoned. Dr. Houghton never lost faith
in the ultimate success of the enterprise, having the fullest confi-
together with Kearney's, participating. It was undoubtedly one of the
boldest and most desperate charges on record.' The commanding gen
eral of the division thus speaks of the charge and Captain McReynolds
and his bold dragoons : ' Capain McReynolds' Third Dragoons nobly sus
tained the daring movements of their squadron commander.' Both of
these fine companies sustained severe losses in their rank and file. We
are informed that the enemy numbered, by their own report, two thou
sand infantry and one thousand cavalry, while our dragoons did not
exceed one hundred. This small force drove the Mexicans upwards of
two miles, and ceased not until they were within the battery that covered
the gate of the city. In this charge, the dragoons cut down more than
their entire number of the enemy. When we consider the extraordinary
disparity in point of numbers, and the raking position of the enemy's
battery, into the very mouth of which our brave dragoons fearlessly
threw themselves, we think we may safely say it has no parallel in
modern warfare." — Dublin Freeman's Journal.
When the war with Mexico closed, he returned to Detroit and resumed
the practice of his profession.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 581
dence in the existence of rich and extensive saline deposits under
lying a large area of the surface of Michigan. After this failure
the matter rested for a time. Occasionally wells were sunk in
various parts of the State, but with poor success, until 1860, when
the first paying well was sunk in the Saginaw valley. Before the
close of that year 4,000 barrels were shipped. Since that time
numerous paying wells have been sunk, the manufacturing pro
cess has been improved so as to materially reduce the cost of
production, and to-day salt is one of the staple productions of the
State. The principal salt region, as far as developed, is in the
Saginaw valley. The wells are usually sunk in the vicinity of
the saw mills, in order to be able to utilize the exhaust steam or
the refuse of the mills, in the manufacture of the salt. This
reduces the expense of manufacture to a minimum, and produces
large returns in proportion to the capital invested and the labor
involved.
A little over twelve years have elapsed since the first shipments
were made from this State ; but in that time over six millions of
barrels have been manufactured.
At the close of the year 1872 there were sixty salt manufactur-
Upon the breaking out of the rebellion, he tendered his services to the
government, and having received the appointment of colonel from Presi
dent Lincoln, he organized and brought into the field the "Lincoln
Cavalry," which was the first regiment of cavalry organized for the
Union army.
General Mclleynolds commanded his regiment during the first year of
the war. Subsequently, he was in command of a brigade for nearly two
years and of a division for some six months, when, his term of service
having expired, he received an honorable discharge, returned to his
home at Grand Rapids, and again resumed the practice of his profession.
General McReynolds has held many important civil positions, and has
lived a very eventful life. Shortly after coming to Detroit he became
connected with the Michigan Bank, and remained in it four years.
He was an alderman of the city of Detroit in 1838-39, and in the latter
year was elected a representative to the State legislature, serving in that
body during the session of 1839-40. He was a delegate from Michigan
to the Harrisburg convention of December, 1839, which nominated Gen
eral Harrison as the Whig candidate for the Presidency. Under Presi-
582 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ing firms in the State, with a capital of $3,500,000 invested.
These firms give employment to about 1,000 men, in the manu
facture of salt and the business incident thereto. Their manufac
turing capacity is about 1,158,000 barrels per annum.
The following shows the districts, and the character and
capacity of the works, as arranged by the State salt inspector :
District No. 1, East Saginaw, has 4 salt companies, with 10
kettles, 1 steam and 2 pan blocks. Capacity 140,000 barrels.
District No. 2, South Saginaw, 10 firms, with 10 kettles and 3
steam blocks. Capacity 135,000 barrels.
District No. 3, Saginaw City, 8 firms, with 5 kettles, 7 steam
and 1 pan block. Capacity 150,000 barrels.
District No. 4, Carrolton, 6 firms, with 12 kettles, 2 steam and
1 pan block. Capacity 175,000 barrels.
District No. 5, Zilwaukee, 6 firms, with 3 kettles, 4 steam and
3 pan blocks, and 2,776 solar salt covers. Capacity 150,000
barrels.
District No. 6, Portsmouth, Bay City and Salzburg, 9 firms,
with 6 kettles and 8 steam blocks. Capacity 175,000 barrels.
District No. 7, Bay, Banks and Kawkawlin, 13 firms, with 4
kettles, 7 steam and 5 pan blocks, and 521 solar salt covers.
Capacity 175,000 barrels.
dent Tyler, he was Indian agent for some three years. He was elected
State senator from Detroit, in 1846, and served until he entered the army
during the Mexican war. He was prosecuting attorney of Wayne county
in 1851-52, and was a member of the board of education of Detroit, and
its first president under its charter. General McReynolds was United
States district attorney for the western district of Michigan, at Grand
Rapids, under President Johnson, and was the Democratic and Liberal
Republican nominee for Congress in the fifth Michigan district in the
fall of 1872, but was defeated by his Republican opponent, the late Hon.
Wilder D. Foster.
General McReynolds is held in high esteem by the citizens of Michi
gan, and in fact of the whole Union, for his gallant and long service in
.defense of the flag of his adopted country, and his name will long be
honored and cherished by them, not only for his brave military deeds,
but also for the prominent and noble acts of his civic life.
He is at present residing in Grand Rapids', where he moved in 1859,
and is actively engaged in the practice of his profession.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
588
District No. 8, Huron county, 3 firms, one at Port Austin, one
at Caseville, and one at White Rock. They have 2 kettles, 1
steam and 2 pan blocks, and 50 solar salt covers. Capacity 50,000
barrels.
D. M. FERRY.
D. M. FERRY was born in Lowville, Lewis county, New York; in 1833.
His father died when he was but three years of age, and shortly after his
mother removed with her two children to Penfield, Monroe county, in
the western part of the same State. At the age of sixteen, Master Ferry
started in life on his own account, by engaging to work for a neighboring
farmer during the summer of 1849, for ten dollars per month. He
remained in the farmer's employment two summers, attending a country
school in the neighborhood during the winter season. Being forcibly
impressed with a desire to obtain a liberal education such as could not
be acquired at a country school, he secured a situation with a gentleman
584 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
District No. 9, Mount Clemens, 1 firm, with 1 steam block.
Capacity 8,000 barrels.
At St. Clair a well was sunk several years since. Good brine
was obtained, and a salt block erected, from which a prime quality
of salt was manufactured ; but the manufacture was soon aban
doned, owing, it is said to the high price of fuel.
The manufacture of salt has also commenced in East Tawas,
and a new inspection district is about to be erected.
The quality of Michigan salt is unsurpassed, and is rapidly
taking the place of all others in the markets of the West. The
following chemical analysis will show its character : Chloride of
sodium, 97.288 ; chloride of calcium, 0.229 ; chloride of magne
sium, 0.340 ; sulphate of lime, 0.697 ; moisture, 1.300 ; insoluble
matter, 0.046. Total, 100.000.
The refuse from the manufactories is now being utilized. It
produces aniline, one of the best known bases of color, and bromo-
chloralum, an excellent disinfectant.
of wealth, near Rochester, New York, in order to avail himself, during
the winter months, of the benefits of more advanced city schools. After
remaining in the last mentioned gentleman's employment for a consider
able time, and making substantial advancement in his studies, his
employer, being favorably moved by his industry and apt perseverance,
kindly assisted him in procuring a situation in a wholesale and retail
book store in Detroit, where he arrived in November, 1852.
As we have already seen, while only a boy Mr. Ferry was thrown upon
his own resources and left quite alone in his struggles with the world.
But simultaneously with this early commencement to do for himself, he
seems to have been endowed with energy and ability equal to the task.
There are but few men in the whole Northwest who have in so short a
time made such progress in business, and became so favorably and gener
ally known to the people of the central, southern and western States, as
Mr. D. M. Ferry, senior member of the firm of Messrs. D. M. Ferry & Co.,
of Detroit. He commenced in the seed business in Detroit in 1856, when
only twenty-three years of age. This beginning was exceedingly small,
but, through almost matchless energy and enterprise, in the short space
of seventeen years, Mr. Ferry has established an immense and profitable
business, and accumulated for himself an ample fortune.
Such men are indeed a credit to the metropolis of Michigan, as they
are rapidly placing her among the first commercial States in the Union.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
585
GYPSUM.
The discovery of gypsum in Michigan dates as far back as the
time when General Cass was Governor of the Territory. Nothing
was done in the way of developing the beds until 1840, when the
HON. IRA MAYHEW.
IRA MAYHEW, late superintendent of public instruction of the State of
Michigan, was born in Ellisburg, Jefferson county, New York, in 1814.
He received a common school education, and entered the Union Aca
demy in Belleville at the age of fourteen. He commenced teaching school
in 1832, and followed this profession with eminent success until 1836,
when, finding his health considerably impaired, he made a voyage to the
banks of Newfoundland. In 1837, he was appointed principal of the
Adams Seminary, in which capacity he labored until the fall of 1841,
586 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
first plaster mill was erected at Grand Rapids. Two years before
this Dr. Douglass Hough ton visited the Grand Rapids beds, and
made a report which led to their development. The stratum of
gypsum at this place is from eighteen to twenty feet in thickness,
and covers an area of about 1,000 acres. The manufacture of
plaster at Grand Rapids aggregates about 40,000 tons of land
plaster, and about 60,000 barrels of stucco per annum. About
$500,000 is invested in the business, giving employment to ab&ut
three hundred men.
It is an excellent fertilizer, and finds a ready market among the
farmers of this State and of Indiana.
Plaster is also found at Alabaster, losco county, and in the
Upper Peninsula. The mines at Alabaster were only opened
about six or seven years ago. They are located close to the water's
edge, on an excellent harbor, and the facilities for mining and
shipping are excellent. The plaster is taken from the mines to
the dock over a tramway, where it is dumped from the cars into
the vessel.
A chemical analysis of the gypsum found in Michigan presents
the following result : Sulphuric acid, 48 ; lime, 32 ; water, 20.
Total, 100.
This business is destined to assume great magnitude, as the
country settles up and the agricultural resources are developed.
Its value as a fertilizer is rapidly becoming known and appreci
ated, and the demand increases from year to year.
when he was elected county superintendent of common schools in his
native county.
At the expiration of his first term as county superintendent, in 1843,
Mr. Mayhew removed to Michigan, where his most valuable labors for
the promotion of educational interests have been performed. The people
of the Peninsular State were neither slow to observe his qualifications,
nor backward in securing the services of his talents. He was first
appointed principal of the Monroe branch of the State University, and,
in the winter of 1845, he was nominated by the Governor and elected by
the legislature to the office of superintendent of public instruction, a
position to which he was reflected in 1847. The Middletown University,
Connecticut, conferred upon him the degree of master of arts in 1848.
In the early part of 1849, he delivered, by invitation, a series of lectures
HI8TOBY OF MICHIGAN. 587
COAL.
Geologists have long since demonstrated the fact that an
immense coal basin underlies the whole central portion of the
State. Prof. J. W. Foster estimates the coal field of Michigan to
be about one hundred feet in thickness, and to cover an area of
five thousand square miles. Mines have thus far been opened at
Jackson, at Corunna, Shiawassee county, and at Williamston, in
the county of Ingham. The first operations in this line com
menced in 1858, at Jackson, and this mine has been regularly
worked since that time. The coal is bituminous, and is strongly
impregnated with sulphur, which renders it unpopular for domestic
use. In many branches of manufacture, however, it is well
adapted and largely employed. The coal improves in quality as
the shaft descends through the stratum.
At Corunna, mining operations have^been carried on for about
ten years. The quality of the coal is similar to that at Jackson.
A vein containing a very superior quality of coal has recently
been opened, which bids fair to prove of great importance. A
railroad track has been laid directly to the mine, thus affording
the best facilities for shipment.
The coal found at Williamston is much superior in quality to
that of either of the above mines, and resembles, more nearly than
any other in the State, the celebrated block coal of Indiana. Very
little has heretofore been done at this mine, owing to a lack of
on education in the State Capitol, after which he was requested by the
legislature to edit and publish a volume containing the views set forth
in his lectures, and at the end of his second term of office, he retired
from public life a short time for the purpose of complying with that
request. This volume was entitled " Means and Ends of Universal Edu
cation," and was received by the public and press, as well as by dis
tinguished men of literature, with much praise and merited acceptation.
In 1851, he published his work on " Practical Book-keeping," which up
to the present date has passed through more than ninety editions.
In 1853, Mr. Mayhew was elected President of Albion Seminary and
College. After occupying this position one year, he was recalled to the
office of superintendent of public instruction, and, in 1856, he was
elected for the fourth time to this office, by the largest majority given to
588 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
railroad facilities. But this difficulty has recently been overcome,
and mining is carried on vigorously.
Coal mining in Michigan is yet in its infancy; but there is
enough within the limits of the State to supply the furnaces of the
world for thousands of years to come.
OTHER MINERALS.
There are many other minerals in the State besides those enum
erated above, some of which are destined to be developed and add
greatly to the wealth of Michigan. Silver and gold are known to
exist in the Upper Peninsula. The former, in no inconsiderable
quantities, has been found in the copper mines. Lead and plum
bago are also known to exist in that region. The Indians supplied
themselves with bullets from mines at Lake Superior, but could
never be induced to reveal the locality from which they obtained
it. Mines have already been opened, but never worked to any
great extent. It is safe to predict, however, that at no distant
day profitable mines will be opened, and thus another branch of
mining industry will be added to the other resources of the State.
The business of manufacturing grindstones has assumed con
siderable magnitude of late, the Huron grit-stones being unri
valed in the market.
Marble, of great variety and superior quality, is also found in
the Marquette iron region.
any candidate on the State ticket up to that time, which was an unmis
takable evidence of the popular appreciation of the valuable services he
had rendered in this important part of the State government. He retired
from public life for a time in 18S9, having served the State in the same
high office for eight years.
The next year, Mr. Mayhew thoroughly revised and republished his
work on "Practical Book-keeping."
The same year, he established the Albion Commercial College, which
was afterwards removed to Detroit, and is noticed in another part of this
work, in the chapter devoted to the educational interests of Michigan.
In 1862, he was appointed to and accepted the office of collector of
internal revenue for the third district of Miclygan, which position he
held until 1865, since when, his whole time has been occupied in con
ducting his Business College in Detroit.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
589
Yellow and red ochre and manganese beds are found in the St.
Mary's Peninsula, where coloring material can be mined in unlim
ited quantities.
Building stone of a very superior quality is found in various
JAMES NALL, JR.
JAMES NALL, JR., was born in Huddersfield, England, in April, 1828,
and came to America with his parents when only four years old.
His father, Rev. James Nail, a Congregational minister, of consider
able reputation in Canada, being favorably impressed with the practical
side of life, resolved to settle his sons on farms, and in furtherance of
this purpose, purchased in the fall of 1844, a tract of land located in the
heart of a forest about twelve miles northwest of Port Sarnia, Ontario.
In the fall of that year the subject of this sketch, when only sixteen
years of age, in company with his brother, set out from his home in
590 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
localities, equal in beauty and durability to the free stone of New
England.
Material for quick limes and hydraulic limes is also found in
unlimited quantities. Clays of every variety for brick making
are found in the greatest abundance. White and lemon colored
bricks, so popular for building fronts, are made in many locali
ties. Vast quantities of peat are found in many places, which, in
future years, will prove of immense value.
LUMBER.
It is safe to say that no region on this continent of the same
area possesses so much of valuable timber as Michigan. Not less
than 20,000,000 acres, or one-half the area of the State, was
originally covered with pine. What are here mentioned as pine
lands must not be understood as being covered exclusively with
that timber. Along the margins of the streams the pine forests
are very dense ; but away from the streams it is generally liber
ally interspersed with various hard woods. The superior quality
of the pine thus interspersed with the hard timber amply compen
sates for the lack of quantity.
Burford, Ontario, to clear up a farm in the midst of a dense forest. They
spent the winter at this work and in the following spring had eleven
acres cleared, but the amount of labor it had taken to accomplish this
task caused Mr. Nail to seek some other less laborious employment.
Accordingly he visited Port Sarnia and secured a position in the general
store of the Hon Malcolm Cameron, with whom he remained two years
and a half, and until that gentleman had retired from business Upon
closing out his business Mr. Cameron offered to procure Mr. Nail a situation
either in Toronto or Montreal. He declined this offer, however, having
already closely watched and admired the march of commercial prosperity
in the United States, he procured a letter of recommendation from his
former employer to the Hon. Zachariah Chandler, of Detroit, and visit
ing that city in 1848, was engaged by that gentleman, with whom he
remained uiitil 1853, when he went into the employ of Mr. William A.
Raymond, a prominent dry goods merchant in Detroit at that time. After
serving with this gentleman for two years he succeeded to a one-third
interest in the establishment, and at the expiration of the three succeed
ing years he became an equal partner with Mr. Raymond. About one
year from this time the senior partner died, and the entire business
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
591
The principal lumber region, thus far developed, is the valley
of the Saginaw river, and along its tributary streams, extending
to the upper Muskegon, and thence to Lake Michigan. The
region around Thunder Bay also contains a large area of pine
RESIDENCE OF JAMES NALL, JR.
passed into the hands of Mr Nail, who is still conducting it, but on a
much larger scale, and with the same characteristic success.
In the early part of 1872 Mr. Nail began the erection of a residence on
Jefferson avenue, opposite Christ's church, Detroit, of which the above
engraving is a representation. It is now completed and is recognized as
one of the handsomest, in point of exterior adornments, in the city. It
is located on large and pleasant grounds which have an extended frontage
on Jefferson avenue and Larned street. The interior of the residence has
been arranged with great care, and the whole constitutes a very fashion
able and commodious dwelling.
592 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
timber, and the Au Sable and the Manistee rivers penetrate an
immense pine region. On all these streams lumbering operations
are extensively carried on, but the^principal sources of supply are
at present the Saginaw valley on the east, and on the Muskegon
river on the west.
Before railroads penetrated the pine forests of the interior, lum
bering operations were confined almost exclusively to the immedi
ate vicinity of streams. The logs were cut in the winter, and
hauled on the snow to the streams, and floated to the mills on the
current formed by the spring freshets. With the advent of rail
roads, immense tracts of valuable pine, heretofore inaccessible,
have been brought into the market. Mills spring up along the
tracks of the railroads as they are laid through the forests, flour
ishing villages appear as if by magic, the forests are cleared and
brought under cultivation, thus giving employment to thousands
of men, homes and productive farms to the hardy pioneers, and
abundant and remunerative employment to the railroads in trans
porting lumber and supplies. The principal roads that have thus
penetrated the pine forests of the interior are the Jackson, Lan
sing and Saginaw, the Flint and Pere Marquette, and Grand Rap
ids and Indiana Railroads.
It is estimated that there are about 7,000,000 acres of pine
lands in the Lower Peninsula that are yet untouched. It is true
that some of this is interspersed with hard wood timber ; but that
is compensated for by the fact that the pine is of better quality
and the lands better adapted to the purposes of agriculture than
those covered exclusively with pine. In the Upper Peninsula it
is estimated that there are at least 10,000,000 acres of pine as yet
untouched, which will produce, probably, 7,000,000,000 feet of
lumber.
It may be well in this connection to correct a mistake that pre
vails to a great extent in reference to the adaptation of pine lands
to the purposes of agriculture. No better farming lands exist
than those which have produced a mixed growth of pine and
hard wood timber ; and even the land that has been covered
exclusively with pine is very rich and productive under proper
care and management.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
593
The quality of Michigan pine is unsurpassed for the purposes
of lumber. It is principally white pine, of which there are sev
eral varieties. Norway pine grows abundantly in some localities,
but the proportion is small compared with the more valuable
JAMES W. FRISBIE.
JAMES W. FKISBIE was born in New York State, in 1828. In 1857 he
visited Detroit, and immediately commenced the dry goods business,
locating at No. 167 Jefferson avenue, one door from the corner of Wood
ward avenue. His business increased rapidly, and in a few years his
establishment included No. 53 Woodward avenue, connecting in the rear
with his original store on Jefferson avenue. Following these strides of
success came a still further extension, which included the store No. 55
on the former thoroughfare.
It should be stated that at that date Detroit had little more than
38
594 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.'
white pines. On the best pine lands the quantity of hard wood
often exceeds that of pine. In many parts of the State walnut
and cherry grow in abundance, and are largely used by the furni
ture makers of the State and of the East. Oak grows abundantly
in many localities, and the trade in that timber for ship-building
purposes is of late years assuming magnificent proportions. Aside
from that used in the ship-yards along our own shores, vast quan
tities are annually shipped to Montreal, Quebec, Buffalo and
Cleveland. In the interior, where the heavy ship-timber cannot
be transported to the streams, the oak is manufactured into staves,
which are shipped mainly to Europe and the West Indies.
It may be proper in this connection to correct an erroneous
impression that has gone abroad, backed by apparently high
authority, in reference to the variety of oak timber that is shipped
from this State for purposes of ship-building. Reference is had
to the popular belief that the variety known as " live oak " grows
abundantly in the forests of Michigan. The fact is live oak does
not grow in this State at all. That variety is only found in the
Southern States, and is known to botanists as Quercus virens. The
variety which forms the bulk of the shipments from Michigan is
awakened from what journalism denominates " ancestral lethargy." The
highways of commerce had just opened their gateways of trade, and the
great City of the Straits of the present day was commercially an infant.
In the light of these facts, it is a difficult matter to properly estimate the
value of such effort and innovation as were put forth by Mr. Frisbie dur
ing the first six years of his business life in Detroit. In remodeling and
modernizing the stores occupied by him at the corner of Woodward and
Jefferson avenues, he introduced the first plate glass windows in this city,
which at that time, reaching from the pavement to the ceiling, created
wonder and admiration. These early improvements had a most salutary
influence in producing in rapid succession the many splendid features of
modern Detroit.
When the collection of stores occupied by Mr. Frisbie on Jefferson and
Woodward avenues became too narrow for his continually expanding
business, he removed to the extensive Weber block, further up Wood
ward avenue, which he still occupies. In this new and elegant building
he opened to the public one of the finest retail dry goods houses in the
Northwest.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 595
Quereus alba, popularly known as white oak. It is highly esteemed
for ship-building, and is only exceeded in value for that purpose
by the live oak of the South.
The following will serve to give some idea of the magnitude of
the lumber and timber trade of Michigan :
In the year 1872 the aggregate of pine lumber cut by the mills
of the State was 2,253,011,000 feet. Of this amount, the mills
of the Saginaw valley cut 837,798,484 feet. The Muskegon Lake
mills cut 316,031,400 feet; the Huron shore mills 175,500,000;
Manistee mills, 161,900,000 ; Grand Haven mills, 150,000,000 ;
Menominee mills, 136,113,360 ; Flint and Pere Marquette Rail
way mills, 114,234,554; White Lake mills, 85,302,347 ; Detroit
and St. Clair River mills, 80,000,000 ; Jackson, Lansing and Sag
inaw Railway mills, 68,216,009 ; Saugatuck mills, 50,000,000 ;
Ludington mills, 47,912,846 ; other mills, 30,000,000.
Of shingles it is estimated that not less than 400,000,000 were
produced the same year. Of lath about 300,000,000.
The shipments of staves for the same year were as follows :
Saginaw river, 8,663,200 ; Detroit, 2,102,000 ; Port Huron, 1,536,-
900 ; Lexington, 204,000 ; New Baltimore, 184,000.
About $20,000,000 are invested in the production of pine lum
ber, giving employment to nearly twenty thousand persons. This
estimate does not include the enormous amount of money invested
in pine lands, nor the men employed in the transportation of the
lumber to market, or those employed in the lumber camps in the
woods.
In addition to the pine timber of the State, as before intimated,
the hard wood forests are immense and valuable. These, espe
cially in the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula, have
scarcely been touched. The quality of that kind of timber in the
forests of Michigan is unrivaled ; and it is safe to predict that but
a few years will elapse before the product from this source will
equal in value the present traffic in pine.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
EDUCATION IN MICHIGAN — THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM — THE UNI
VERSITY — AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE — STATE NORMAL SCHOOL —
ALBION COLLEGE — ADRIAN COLLEGE — KALAMAZOO COLLEGE — HILLS-
DALE COLLEGE — OLIVET COLLEGE — STATE REFORM SCHOOL — STATE
PUBLIC SCHOOL — ASYLUM FOR THE DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND —
MICHIGAN FEMALE SEMINARY — DETROIT MEDICAL COLLEGE —
DETROIT HOMEOPATHIC COLLEGE— GOLDSMITH'S BRYANT & STRAT-
TON BUSINESS UNIVERSITY — MAYHEW BUSINESS COLLEGE.
THE ordinance passed by Congress for the government of the
Northwestern Territory, known as the Ordinance of 1787, pro
vided that " Schools and the means of education shall forever
be encouraged." In 1804 Congress passed an act providing for
the sale of lands in the Indian Territory, of which Michigan
was a part, and in that act there was an express reservation
from sale of Section 16 in every township, "for the support of
schools." The year following the Territory of Michigan was
organized, and all the rights and privileges which were conferred
by the above named acts were confirmed to the Territory of
Michigan. Subsequently a provision was incorporated in the
State constitution declaring that the proceeds of these lands shall
" remain a perpetual fund for that object." The ordinance
admitting Michigan into the Union declared that section 16 of
each township should be granted to the State for the use of
schools. The wisdom of this provision can be readily under
stood when it is known that much difficulty arose in other States
from the inequality of the grant in different townships. This
inequality was owing to the fact that in some townships the sec
tion would be found to be utterly worthless. This led to serious
difficulties, and Congress or the Legislature was constantly
besieged by these townships to come to their relief. Learning
wisdom from the experience of other States, Michigan submitted
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
597
an ordinance granting the lands to the State at large; thus
equalizing the grant among the several townships, and obviating
the difficulty experienced by other States who had attempted to
carry out the original design of Congress by giving each township
J. H. GOLDSMITH.
J. H. GOLDSMITH, President of Goldsmith's Bryant and Stratton Busi
ness College, Detroit, was born in the town of Newburg, Orange county,
New York, in 1813.
At the age of twenty-four, he went to Ohio, taking up his residence in
Deavertown, which was at that time a young but flourishing town. Mr.
Goldsmith first secured a position as book-keeper with a merchant in that
place; but without taxing the reader with the details of his industry, or
by following him step by step in the hours of his hope and struggle, it is
sufficient to state that in six years after his arrival in Deavertown he was
598 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
separate control of the section granted. Under the arrangement
adopted in the case of Michigan, the loss occasioned by worthless
sections fell upon the State at large, and the benefits accrued to
all alike, each sharing, in common with the rest, the benefits of
the common school fund.
The first law passed by the Territorial Legislature in reference
to schools was in 1827. This law provided that the citizens of
any township having fifty householders should provide themselves
with a school teacher, of good moral character, to teach the
children to read and write. Any township having two hundred
householders was required to provide themselves with a teacher
who was capable of teaching Latin, French and English. A
penalty of $50 to $100 was provided for neglect to comply with
the provisions of the law. In 1833 another law was passed
creating the office of superintendent of common schools. It also
provided for three commissioners and ten inspectors, who were to
have charge of the school lands.
Upon the admission of the State into the Union, in 1837, the
first State Legislature passed a primary school law, similar, in
almost every respect, to the law of the State of New York. It
provided for the division of the State into school districts, having
a sufficient number of inhabitants to support a teacher. All
grades of pupils were admitted to these schools. When the pop-
elected to the office of Mayor of that place. Having served the people
in a most satisfactory manner during the first term, he was designated by
the popular voice to fill the same position a second term. He remained
in Deavertown until 1849, and during his residence in that place occupied
many offices of public trust in the municipal government, besides mak
ing considerable advancement in mercantile pursuits.
In 1849, he accepted the position of teacher in the business college of
Mr. John Gundry, at Cincinnati, and since that date his life has been
uninterruptedly devoted to the interesting theme of actual business prac
tice, and with what results will be seen anon.
After several years in this college at Cincinnati, which gave him no
small reputation as a professor of commercial ethics and business disci
pline, Mr. Goldsmith went to Sandusky, Ohio, and opened the Commer
cial Institute in connection with the School of Design in that place.
Subsequently he was induced by Messrs. Bryant & Stratton to accept a
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 599
illation increased so that the school'houses were too much crowded
the district was subdivided. The same process was adopted in
the villages, the result of which was that there would sometimes
be five or six school houses within a stone's throw of each other.
Very little attention was paid to school architecture, and some of
the school houses were bad and some were worse. The character
and duration of the several schools were also exceedingly vari
able ; some being good and some poor, and some continued for
nine months and some for three. This state of affairs continued
for a number of years ; but upon the discontinuiug of the
branches of the University, a new system was devised. By the
new plan the various schools in the villages were united into one.
These were called union schools. They were divided into several
departments, called primary, intermediate, grammar and high
school. Each department was divided into grades or classes, for
purposes of different degrees of advancement. These schools are
now designated as graded schools. The curriculum of the high
school department is the same as that of the best academies, and
pupils graduating from the high schools are entitled to enter the
University without further examination.
As has been intimated, the character of the school architecture
of the State was of a very low order for many years. The estab
lishment of graded schools, however, created a necessity for a
position as teacher in the graduating department of the Buffalo Bryant &
Stratton Business College, and after filling the last mentioned post with
honor to himself and credit to the institution for several years, he was
admitted as a partner, and commissioned to found a Bryant & Stratton
Business College in Detroit. Accordingly, in 1857, he visited the Queen
City of the Straits, and purchased Mr. William D. Cochrane's Commer
cial Institute. It then took the name of Bryant, Stratton & Goldsmith's
Business College, which it bore until 1869, when the last named gentle
man purchased the interests of his partners, thereby becoming the sole
proprietor of one of the best commercial institutions in the Northwest.
It should be stated that at the death of Mr. Stratton, which occurred
about this time, a change in the proprietorship of all the Bryant &
Stratton Business Colleges took place, the resident principal or partner at
each point purchasing Bryant & Stratton's interest in the same. This
necessitated a new and more permanent organization, based upon the
600 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
better class of buildings. The State had, in the meantime, grown
wealthy, the people were prosperous and intelligent, and fully
appreciated the demands of the age. The result is that Michigan
possesses, perhaps, the finest school buildings of any State in the
Union, in proportion to its wealth and population. Each town
vied with the others in erecting the finest school edifice, and it is
not uncommon to find, in a town of two or three thousand inhabi
tants, a school house costing $20,000 or $30,000. In the cities
and larger towns they sometimes cost over $100,000. There are
about 5,500 school houses in the State, the aggregate value of
which is estimated to be not far from $7,500,000.
In addition to the land granted by act of Congress before
referred to, one-half the amount of the cash sales of the swamp
lands of the State goes to augment the primary school fund. Of
the former there were originally about 1,000,000 acres. A little
over one-half of these lands have been sold, from which the sum
of $2,601,319 has been realized. From the sale of swamp lands
there has been received the sum of $218,462, making a total of
$2,819,781 as the present school fund of the State. It is esti
mated that when the remaining school and swamp lands are sold,
the school fund of Michigan will amount to at least $5,000,000.
There are about 250 graded schools in the State, and 5,500
district schools. These give employment to 3,035 male teachers,
reciprocity plan, in order to perpetuate the benefits of the chain scholar
ship, and to secure such other advantages as would be likely to flow from
organized effort, uniformity of text-books, similarity of practice, etc.
In answer to this demand came the International Business College
Association, extending throughout the United States and Canada, com
prising the best colleges formerly belonging to the Bryant & Stratton
chain, and including some other first class commercial institutions that
did not belong to it.
As already observed, in 1869, the Bryant, Stratton & Goldsmith Detroit
Business College came under the proprietorship of Mr. J. H. Goldsmith,
and is noticed in another part of this work, under the head of the educa
tional interests of Michigan.
Since the above date, Mr. Goldsmith has devoted his whole time to the
advancement and interests of his college and undoubtedly has brought it
to nearly a state of perfection.
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
601
and 8,624 female teachers. The number of children reported in
1872, between the ages of five and twenty years, is 404,235.
The purpose of the founders of the school system of Michigan,
was to adopt that of Prussia, so far as it was found adapted to the
HON. C. C. COMSTOCK.
CHARLES C. COMSTOCK was born March 5, 1818, in Sullivan, Cheshire
county, N. H. He is the youngest of the family of a respectable farmer of
moderate means. At an early age he manifested much business tact and
enterprise, was quite successful, and by industry and economy (so com
mon among New England people) at thirty-five years of age, had accu
mulated a property of about $10,000, and was considered one of the most
thrifty farmers of that region. He had also built and operated two saw
mills there. With his family, he removed to Grand Rapids, in 1853, and
was soon one of the foremost in the lumbering and wood manufacturing
602 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
genius of our institutions, and the character and condition of the
inhabitants of the State. It is safe to say that no better system
prevails in America.
THE UNIVERSITY.
The act which we have before mentioned, passed in 1804, for
the disposal of the public lands in the Indian Territory, reserved
three townships " for the use of seminaries of learning." The
year following the Territory of Michigan was organized, and one
of these townships was set apart for her use. In 1817 Congress
granted three sections of land to the College of Detroit. The
moneys arising from the sale of these two grants of lands,
together with another township subsequently granted, constitute
the University fund.
The lands granted by the act of 1804 were not selected until
many years after. After the lapse of twenty years the authorities
of the Territory decided to make the selection ; but it was then
discovered that so much land had been taken up by settlers that
it was difficult to secure a good township of which none of the
lands had been sold. An appeal was thereupon made to Congress,
and, through the exertions of Hon. Austin E. Wing, then territo
rial delegate to Congress, that body passed an act adding another
township to the grant, and giving permission to select the land in
detached sections. Aside from the permanent fund arising from
enterprises in that then young but vigorous city. The financial crash of
1857-60 temporarily checked his business; but with redoubled energy,
strong will, and resolution which knew no failure, he rallied, and in a
short time was at the head of one of the most flourishing manufactories
of cabinet wares in the West; had increased his lumbering operations
and several branches of lumber manufacture many fold, and also invested
largely in real estate, which was rapidly increasing in value. He
built up and still owns and operates one of the largest pail and wooden-
ware factories in the West; and in many other private and public enter
prises has taken an active and leading part. His strong hold is to " push
things." With unflagging energy, tireless industry, indefatigable perse
verance, great power of endurance, thorough business integrity, prompt
ness and punctuality, strong judgment, managing, even in detail, heavy
and various interests, he has built up a handsome property, and is reputed
one of the wealthy citizens of the State. A worker himself, he has given
604 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the sale of these lands, the successive Legislatures have made
liberal appropriations from time to time for its support and the
advancement of its interests.
The framers of the constitution under which the State was
organized took good care to provide in the organic law that all
lauds granted for educational purposes should be invariably
appropriated, and annually applied to the specific objects of the
original grant. A similar provision was incorporated into the
present constitution. The University fund was thus made inalien
able, and can never be diverted from its proper uses without a
gross violation of the organic law of the State. Notwithstanding
those safeguards thus thrown around the University fund, it
required the most jealous watchfulness on the part of the friends
of that institution, during the monetary pressure which pre
vailed in the early history of the State, to prevent a diversion of
the fund to other purposes.
The first Legislature which convened after the admission of the
State into the Union, passed a law establishing the University.
It was not, however, until 1841 that buildings were completed, so
that its work could be entered upon. The act also provided that
in addition to the University proper, which was located in Ann
Arbor, several branches should be established in various parts of
the State, to serve as preparatory schools. This experiment
proved to be a failure, there not being sufficient funds arising
employment to thousands, and tlius and by the interest he has taken in
municipal affairs has contributed greatly to the progress and material
growth of his city and county. Though absorbed in business he is liberal
in feeling, responding freely to calls for religious, benevolent and public
purposes. Mr. Comstock has served ably in official positions; was mayor
of Grand Rapids for two terms, in 18G3-4; was the Democratic candidate
for governor of the State in 1870, receiving the full vote of his party,
and in his own county running ahead of the rest of his party ticket. In
the fall of 1873, he received the nomination as the people's candidate for
representative in Congress from his district to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of Hon. W. D. Foster, and at the special election held for that
purpose, he made an unprecedented run, reducing the majority of the
dominant party from 8,006 to 114. He may be regarded as a prominent
representative of the successful business men of the West.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
605
from the grant to meet the expenses of the University itself. It
was therefore abandoned, after a few years' trial, and the union
or graded schools have now taken therplace of the branches.
The University buildings were erected with borrowed capital,
HON. JONATHAN SHEARER.
THE subject of the following sketch, Jonathan Shearer, was born in
Colerain, Hampshire (now Franklin) county, Massachusetts, August 23,
1796. His grandfather, James Shearer, was a native of Scotland, and
emigrated to this country at an early day. William Shearer, father of
Jonathan Shearer, entered the revolutionary army at an early age, and
served in several of the principal battles of the war for independence.
The subject of this sketoh spent the early part of his life upon a farm,
working on the same during the summer season and usually attending
school in winter. He volunteered his services to the State government
606 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the State borrowing $100,000 and re-loaning it to the University,
with the understanding that principal and interest should be
returned at some future time, from money arising from the sale of
University lands. In 1842 the University was opened, having a
preparatory school connected with it. Two professors were
appointed, each having a salary of $500 per annum. They were
also entitled to whatever money was paid for tuition in the pre
paratory school. A multitude of hindrances presented themselves
in the way of the advancement of the University, but, notwith
standing all the difficulties it had to encounter, it soon rose to a
commanding position among the educational institutions of the
country.
The governing body of the institution consists of a Board of
Regents. They are elected for a term of eight years by popular
vote. The president of the University is ex officio president of
the board. The University is organized in three departments ;
the department of literature, science, and the arts ; the depart
ment of medicine and surgery ; and the department of law.
Each department has its faculty of instruction, who are charged
with the special management of it. The University Senate is
composed of all the faculties, and considers questions of common
interest and .importance to all the departments.
The department of literature, science and the arts has six regu-
in the war of 1812, but not being of the proper age, was rejected. He
then determined to ship as a sailor on a privateer, but parental influence
caused him to change his mind.
In 1814, he attended a select school in New York, and at the age of
nineteen, he commenced teaching school in and about the districts where
he was born, and also gave some attention to the study of medicine and
the statute laws of Massachusetts.
Mr. Shearer subsequently removed to the State of New York, and
settled in the town of Phelps, Ontario county, in which place he married.
Mr. Shearer served as assessor in this place for four years. After a
residence of thirteen years in New York, he sold his farm, removed to
Michigan with his family and settled at Plymouth, Wayne county. Soon
after his settlement in the above place, he was elected supervisor, and
subsequently county commissioner. Mr. Shearer served the county of
Wayne in this official position without losing a single day while he held
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 607
lar and full courses of four years each, and two shorter courses.
The regular courses are the classical, the scientific, the Latin and
scientific, the Greek and scientific, the course in civil engineering,
and the course in mining engineering. The special courses are
the course in analytical chemistry, and the course in pharmacy.
Past graduate courses are provided for the graduates of this Uni
versity, or for the graduates of any college or university, who
may desire to pursue advanced study, whether for a second degree
or not. Students who do not wish to pursue any one of the above
courses may, if they are prepared to enter the University, pursue
selected studies, for such time-— not less than one semester — as
they may choose. The department of medicine and surgery, fur
nishes instruction chiefly by lectures. The lecture course extends
over a period of six months. The department of law, also, con
tinues its lectures for six months, from the beginning of October
to the end of March. Students in any department may enter the
classes in any other upon obtaining permission from the faculties
of the respective departments.
The University library contains about 22,000 volumes. In
1871 it was enlarged by the addition of the library of the late
Prof. Kau, professor of political economy in the University of
Heidelberg, Germany. This library was purchased and presented
to the University by the Hon. Philo Parsons, of Detroit. About
office. Soon after this, he was elected to the State senate, and at the
expiration of his first term, was reflected. While a member of the senate,
Mr. Shearer was chairman of the committee on agriculture, and used
his influence to organize a State agricultural society, and the normal
school at Ypsilanti.
In 1851, he was elected to serve in the State house of representatives,
and in 1867, was elected to serve as a member of the convention to revise
the constitution of the State. He contributed not a little towards
influencing the legislature to select Lansing as the site of the new State
Capitol.
Mr. Shearer, at the advanced age of seventy-seven, is still active in
body and mind. As an early pioneer, and as a high-minded, honorable
citizen, he has long held the respect and high esteem of all those with
whom he has been brought in contact, either as a private or a public
citizen.
608 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
two thousand dollars is annually appropriated for the enlarge
ment of the University library. The medical library contains
about fifteen hundred volumes. The law library contains about
three thousand volumes. The libraries accessible to the students
amount, in the aggregate, to about 30,000 volumes.
In connection with the University there is an astronomical
observatory. This was a donation from the citizens of Detroit.
The building consists of a main part, with a movable dome, and
two wings, one of which contains the rooms for the observer, while
in the other is mounted a splendid meridian-circle. This was pre
sented to the University by the Hon. H. N. Walker, of Detroit.
This instrument is one of the largest and best of its kind in exist
ence. The same room contains a sidereal clock, and two collima-
tors for the determination of the error of collimation. The west
wing contains a chronograph, with Bond's new isodynamic escape
ment, for recording observations by the electro-magnetic method.
In the dome is mounted a large refracting telescope, with an
object glass thirteen inches in diameter.
The collections in the University museum are illustrative of
natural science, ethnology, art, history, agriculture, astronomy and
materia medica, and are constantly increasing. The geological,
zoological and botanical cabinets together are estimated to con
tain about 29,000 separate entries, and 100,000 specimens.
Besides these there are the departments of the fine arts and
history, anatomy and materia medica, and of archaeology and
relics, each of which contains numerous specimens.
In this University no charge is made for tuition. The only
charges made are, to residents in Michigan, an admission fee of
ten dollars ; to those who come from other States, or countries, an
admission fee of twenty-five dollars ; and to every student an
annual payment of ten dollars. Females are admitted to this
University on the same condition as males.
The University is now in a flourishing condition, and is acknowl
edged as standing at the head of the educational institutions of
America. It has come up through great tribulation, but the
glorious results amply compensate for the labor and money
expended in bringing it to its present state of perfection.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
609
The whole number of students in the University, as reported in
the calendar for 1872-3, is 1,163. Of these 476 are in the
department of literature, science and the arts, 357 in the depart
ment of medicine and surgery, and 331 in the department of law.
OKEMOS.
The above engraving is a portrait of the noted Indian chief Okemos,
who belonged to the Chippewa tribe.
He was born about the year 1788, and the first distinguished act
recorded of him is his participation in the attack on Fort Sandusky, in
the war of 1812. The commandant of the fort had been ordered to sur
render, which, coming to the knowledge of the Indians, made them
much bolder than usual, and thay made a charge upon the fort, but were
driven back. Cheered on by the chief Tecurnseh and his subordinates,
they made a second charge and were again driven back. In this charge,
while urging on his braves, Okemos was severely wounded in the
shoulder, the bullet passing through his body. He fell to the ground, and
as the Indians retreated, the occupants of the Fort made a charge upon
them with their cavalry, and as many of the soldiers rode past the
wounded chief, they gave him, as they supposed, the finishing blow.
39
610 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
THE STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
The Michigan State Agricultural College was located under act
of the Legislature, by the State Board of Education, about the
middle of the year 1855, on a piece of land, purchased for the
purpose, situated three and a half miles directly east from Lan
sing.
This farm of 676 acres was entirely covered by forest at the
time of purchase, but has since developed an excellent diversity
of soil for farming and experimental purposes, and sufficient vari
ety of contour to render it a beautiful and attractive place.
Under the direction of the Board of Education, there were
erected a college hall, boarding hall, three cottages for officers, and
a small barn. These were all of brick. The college was opened
for students May 13th, 1857, with Joseph R. Williams as presi
dent.
The institution continued under the control of the State Board
With that endurance known only to his race, he received these wounds
without showing the least sign of life, not even uttering a groan. After
the return of the soldiers, he crawled to a swampy piece of woods near
by, where he buried himself in the soft soil and leaves, and there remained
until the darkness of night afforded him a shelter for escape. Weak from
the loss of blood and exhausted by the strife of the day, he mounted a
pony which was. grazing near by, and made his way to his camp on the
Maumee river, where he remained until his wounds were healed.
Subsequently he participated in many of the Indian depredations on
the frontiers, and took part in three different treaties made with General
Cass.
Under the influence of the Indian agent, Colonel G. Godfrey, he was
induced to forsake the British standard and espouse the cause of the
Americans, to whom he remained a true friend until his death.
After the close of hostilities, with his band, he settled on the Looking
Glass river, near Lansing, Michigan, where now stands the beautiful vil
lage which bears his name.
During his later days, though a, beggar and a constant imbiber of "fire
water," he was very proud of his name, and related the brave deeds of
his more youthful days Avith great animation and pride.
He died at his wigwam, on the Looking Glass river, in 1863, leaving
three sons, one of whom has since followed him to "the happy hunting
grounds far beyond the setting sun."
614 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
cattle, horse and sheep barns and piggery, besides smaller tempo
rary buildings for experiments, implements, etc., a large brick
farm-house and a green-house.
The State Legislature, in 1869, appropriated $30,000 for the
erection of the boarding hall, and, in 1871, $10,000 for the chemi
cal laboratory. The Legislature has also appropriated at different
times about $12,000 for the finishing of some of the buildings.
All other expenditures for buildings and other improvements and
repairs have been met by sales of swamp lands.
The total value of property at the college, as shown by inven
tory, December 1, 1872, is as follows :
Farm of 676 acres $47,320 00
Buildings 116,500 00
Stock 9,387 00
Farm Implements 3,253 00
the whole of the lands of Mackinaw, and at once proceeded to lay out a
city on a modern scale.
This gigantic speculation, which must result in great advantages to
Michigan, brings Mr. Conkling prominently before the people of the
State; and when it is considered to what extent his theory of establish
ing a commercial mart at Mackinaw — as we shall proceed to do in this
sketch — is sound and practicable, we are left to wonder at his unparal
leled foresight and the philosophy of his project.
Of Mr. Conkling's personal history we can say but little, since the
space given to this sketch must be occupied by an examination into the
merits of his great " Mackinaw City " scheme. He was the originator of
the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and was the first to urge the con
struction of the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad to the Straits of
Mackinaw. It is only necessary to observe the growth of these enter
prises to be able to comprehend the value of Mr. Conkling's prescience
to the prosperity of Michigan.
In looking at the "Mackinaw City" project (in which the reader is
aided by the accompanying map), one is at once struck with its feasi
bility. With the Northern Pacific Railroad terminating at the extreme
southern point of the northern peninsula, and directly across the straits
from Mackinaw City, it is evident that, by the aid of some system of
ferriage, the great volume of commerce transported eastward by that
road must connect with railroads in the southern peninsula of Michigan
at Mackinaw City. This will, of itself, do much to induce population to
that place, and to furnish a basis of an extensive commercial metropolis.
HISTOKY OF MICHIGAN.
615
Library, Museum and Apparatus $10,000 00
Greenhouse Plants 2,127 00
Apiary 11600
Furniture 3,28600
$191,989
The institution aims to give its students a good practical educa
tion that shall make men of them, and enable them to undertake
any occupation they may find suited to their tastes.
To this end the course pursued does not differ much from that
of other colleges, except that the natural sciences are studied
more thoroughly, and classics not at all ; and all branches bearing
upon agriculture, those which are of most use to farmers, are very
thoroughly investigated. Chemistry and botany are given nearly
two years each. Physiology, zoology, geology and entomology are
all pursued as far as possible ; and, during the course, the stu-
But this is only one of the many avenues of •wealth that must in the
future empty their treasures at Mackinaw City. The immense commerce
of the lakes, the growth of which has been unparalleled in the history of
EDGAR CONKLING PROPRIETOR
j
. VT^ J
the world, and the vast mineral, timber and agricultural resources of
their shores, which are even now only beginning to attract attention,
may well awaken a desire on the part of enterprise to get possession of
the key position which is to command and unlock the future wealth of
this vast empire. Already six important cities, with an aggregate popu
lation of over 600,000 inhabitants, have sprung up on these inland waters,
and are the most nourishing of any away from the Atlantic coast.
Others are rising into notoriety on the borders of Lake Superior, and
must, at no very distant period, become important and active places of
business. But, the place of all others, where a city must ultimately
spring up and grow into importance, is undeveloped.
The Toledo Blade, speaking of the probable future of Mackinaw City,
as projected by Mr. Conkling, says : " The point which projects north-
616 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
dents receive a year of lectures on practical agriculture, the like
of which probably cannot be obtained elsewhere in the United
States.
A peculiar feature of the institution is its labor system. Stu
dents are required to work three hours a day ; and, although they
are paid a small sum per hour, the labor is considered a valuable
part of the course of instruction. Not that it is expected that
students will attain proficiency in all the practices of the farm, or
even in any of them ; but the general influence toward the enno
bling of labor, the forming and keeping up of habits of industry,
and the good eifect upon the health and strength of the students,
all tend to make it valuable. Very few students leave the college
because of ill health.
The pursuits followed by the graduates show better than any
thing else the general influence of their studies.
ward into the lake from the Michigan peninsula to form the strait, is
admirably located for a great city. In health and commercial position,
it can have no rival in these northern waters. This point has been
selected by Mr. Conkling, on which to plant the commercial city of the
north. It will hold the key (jointly with her sister on the opposite side
of the strait) of all the northern lakes; and should its growth be marked
by energy and enterprise, will command the trade of the greatest mining
region in the world; be the chief depot of the northern fisheries, the
outlet of an immense lumber trade, and the focus of a great net-work of
railways, communicating with tropics on the south, and stretching out
its iron arms, at no distant day, to the Atlantic on the east, and the
Pacific on the west. The proposed city will have the advantage of the
most salubrious climate to be found in the temperate zone, and will be
the resort of those seeking health as well as those seeking wealth."
We have no space to speak of its commercial position at length. It
must be seen at a glance that all the produce which flows through
Chicago, Milwaukee and the great west, must sweep by on its way to the
east, and all the goods and merchandise of the east must be borne by its
wharves on their way to the west, and that it cannot fail to be a point which
must spring at once into importance. This grand project of Mr. Conk-
ling's is growing rapidly in favor. A good dock has been constructed,
the site of the city and its streets surveyed, and such steps taken as will
insure its early settlement and near prosperity. Mr. Conkling has appro
priated a large tract of his land for the benefit of a university, which he
expects will be established at Mackinaw City at an early day.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
617
In spite of all assertions of opponents to the college that its
graduates do not engage in agricultural pursuits, the actual facts
in the case are found to be as follows :
The occupation of the members of the last graduating class
HON. JOHN S. BARRY.
JOHN S. BARRY, who was governor of Michigan for three terms, was
born in the State of Vermont, in 1802.
While he resided in that State he acquired a thorough common school
education.
From Vermont, at an early age, he emigrated to Georgia, and settled
in the city of Atlanta, where he remained for a number of years, when
he removed to the Territory of Michigan, and took up his residence in
the town of Constantine, at which place he resided until his death.
Mr. Barry was educated for a lawyer, but disliking the profession, he
618 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
(1872) is not known. Of the sixty-eight graduates of the years
1861 to 1871 inclusive, the occupations are shown in the following
list:
Died in the army before engaging in business 2
Farmers and Horticulturists 30
Teachers in Colleges and having charge of Farms or Horticultural
Departments 5
Teachers in Colleges but having no charge of Farms 3
Students in Chemistry 1
Engineers and Surveyors 3
Manufacturers 1
In Medicine or Drug Stores 6
Lawyers 8
Merchants, Agents, etc 4
Clergymen 1
Teachers not in Colleges 4
Total 68
Fifty-eight of these graduates spent four years at least at the
college ; all the others spent three. The average age at gradua
tion is twenty-two and one-fifth years.
More than one-half the number depended in a large degree,
some of them entirely, on their earnings, for the means of gaining
an education.
Graduates of the college form part of the faculties of instruc
tion in Cornell University, Wisconsin University, Minnesota Uni-
early turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, in which he was emi
nently successful.
His first public office was that of a member of the first constitutional
convention which assembled and framed the constitution upon which
Michigan was admitted into the Union. He took a prominent part in
the proceedings of this body, and showed himself to be a man of far
more than ordinary ability.
He was chosen one of the first State senators under the new State gov
ernment, and so favorably were his associates impressed with his abilities
at the first session of the legislature, that he received the nomination and
was elected governor of the State in 1841, and reelected in 1842. He
was governor of the State during her greatest financial difficulties, and it
is to his wisdom and sound judgment that Michigan's finances were
placed upon a firm basis.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 619
versity, Iowa Agricultural College, and Michigan Agricultural
College. One was selected by Colonel Capron to go with him to
Japan, in the agricultural service of its Emperor. One gained
the first Walker Prize, for an essay on a topic assigned by the
Boston Society of Natural History, and was assistant director in
an exploring expedition sent to the Valley of the Amazon.
Another was made botanist of an expedition sent from a neighbor
ing State into Western Kansas and Colorado. Another is the
entomologist, and still another is the meteorologist of the State
Pomological Society, and still another is Secretary to the State
Bee Keepers' Association; two of them have charge of divisions
as assistant engineers on railroads ; three of them have had places
on the editorial staff of agricultural papers ; two more farmers
have of their own accord given up good places in the faculties
of agricultural colleges, and the clergyman has been for several
years the president of a farmers' club, whose average weekly
attendance is over three hundred persons, and most of the lawyers
are not infrequent writers on the subject of agricultural education.
THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
When the branches of the University were abolished, their loss
was severely felt throughout the State, as they gave a great deal
of attention to the training of teachers. Numerous petitions were
sent to the Legislature, by parents and teachers, urgently request
ing the establishment of a school especially devoted to that object.
In 1840, lie became deeply interested in the cultivation of the sugar
beet, and visited Europe in this connection, obtaining much desirable
information in regard to it.
In 1849, Mr. Barry was, for the third time, called to the executive chair
of the State, and therefore has the reputation of being the only person
that ever held that elevated position for three terms. He was twice a
presidential elector, and his last public service was that of a delegate to
the Democratic national convention held in Chicago in 1864.
Mr. Barry was a man who, throughout life, maintained a high charac
ter for integrity and fidelity to the trusts bestowed upon him, whether of
a public or a private nature, and he is acknowledged by all to have been
one of the most efficient and popular governors our State has ever had.
He died at Constantine, on the 15th of January, 1870.
620 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Accordingly, in 1849, the Legislature passed an act creating a
normal school. It was located at Ypsilauti, and opened in 1852.
It is under the control of the State Board of Education, consisting
of three members chosen by the people. The superintendent of
public instruction is ex officio secretary of the board.
This school has been eminently successful, and its value to the
State can hardly be ever estimated. The demand for its gradu
ates to serve as teachers, in different parts of the State, is more
than can be supplied. Professor Estabrook, the principal, reports
for the year 1872, an attendance of about four hundred pupils.
Eleven teachers are employed to do the work.
ALBION COLLEGE.
Albion College is located at Albion, a thriving village in the
central portion of the State. In 1843 the Wesleyan Seminary
was opened at Albion. A few years later its charter was so
amended that it enjoyed the powers and immunities of a female
college. In 1861 its charter was again amended, and Albion Col
lege was founded, with full collegiate powers, admitting both
ladies and gentlemen to equal privileges, duties and honors.
The institution is under the patronage of the Michigan and
Detroit annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
It is in a nourishing condition, having, in 1872, two hundred and
sixteen students.
ADRIAN COLLEGE.
Adrian College is located at Adrian, a beautiful and flourish
ing town in the southeastern part of the State. The college was
incorporated in 1859, and its first term of instruction commenced
the same year. It was formerly under the patronage of the Wes
leyan Methodist denomination, but, in 1867, was transferred to
the Methodist Church. It is, however, based upon a liberal
policy, and its board of trustees and faculty are chosen solely
with reference to their fitness for their respective positions, and
without reference to whether they belong to that particular
religious denomination. Its departments of instruction are open
to both sexes, and include thorough classical and scientific
courses. Commercial studies, teaching, painting and music are
flISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
621
also included in the course of instruction. Its buildings are
handsome and spacious, and are all that could be desired for a
first-class institution.
HON. MOSES WISNER.
MOSES WISNER, governor of the State of Michigan in 1859 and I860,
was born in Springport, Cayuga county, New York, June 3, 1815.
His early education was only such as could be obtained at a common
school, and embraced such branches as are taught to the sons of farmers
and others in moderate circumstances.
In 1837 he emigrated to Michigan and purchased a farm in Lapeer
county, upon which he labored for two years, when he gave up the idea
of living a farmer's life, removed to Pontiac, Oakland county, and com
menced the study of law in the office of his brother, George W. Wisner,
622 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
KALAMAZOO COLLEGE.
Kalamazoo College embraces several departments, each, to a
considerable extent, distinct from the others. It embraces a
college proper, designed to furnish instruction to young men in
a course of .study similar to that adopted in the best institu
tions of other States. It also embraces a female department,
with a four years course, including all the higher branches usu
ally taught in colleges of this class. There is also a prepara
tory department, open to the youth of both sexes. There is
also a commercial department, designed to fit students for any
situation in commercial life. There is also a normal depart
ment for the training of those who desire to teach.
This college was chartered in 1833, and the first building
erected was burned in 1844. The present buildings are fine
and costly edifices, and beautifully situated. The village of
Kalamazoo is one of the most beautiful and healthful towns in
America. It contains about ten thousand inhabitants, and is
known as the " big village " of Michigan. In 1872 there were,
in all the departments, 207 students.
HILLSDALE COLLEGE.
Hillsdale College is located at the flourishing town whose
name it bears. It is under the jurisdiction of the Free-will
and Rufus Hosmer. In 1841 he was admitted to the bar and established
himself in his new vocation at the village of Lapeer. While here he
was appointed by Governor Woodbridge prosecuting attorney for that
county. He did not remain here long, however, but shortly returned to
Pontiac, where he became a member of the firm with his brother.
He was in politics a Whig of the Henry Clay stamp, but with a decided
anti-slavery leaning. His practice, however, becoming large, he took
little part in politics until after the election of Franklin Pierce to the
presidency in 1852. In the great struggle respecting the freedom of the
territory acquired by the Mexican war, he took a decided stand against
the introduction of slavery into it.
On the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854, repealing the Mis
souri Compromise, he was among the foremost in Michigan to denounce
it, and actively participated in organizing and consolidating the elements
opposed to it, and was a member of the popular gathering at Jackson in
July, 1854, which was the first formal Republican gathering held in the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 623
Baptist Church. Its buildings are spacious and handsome, and
the institution bears a brilliant reputation. Both sexes are
admitted on equal terms. In addition to the college proper there
are preparatory departments for both ladies and gentlemen; a
theological department, a commercial department, a department
of music, and a department of art. In 1872 there were 606 stu
dents in attendance in all the departments.
OLIVET COLLEGE.
Olivet College is situated in the flourishing town of Olivet, and
is one of the leading denominational institutions of the State.
It is under the patronage of the Congregational Church. Stu
dents are admitted to this college without regard to sex. Besides
the college proper there is a preparatory department, to which
a normal course has been added within the last two years, and
a professorship of the theory and practice of teaching established.
The college library numbers over four thousand volumes, and
about $400 per annum is expended in the increase of the library,
and in the support of the reading room, in which are found the
leading magazines and newspapers of the day. The number of
students in attendance, during the year 1872, was 307. Of these
124 were ladies and 183 were gentlemen.
United States. At this convention Mr. Wisner was urged to accept the
nomination of attorney-general, but declined. He, however, took an
active part in the campaign, and had the gratification to see the whole
Kepulican ticket elected by a majority of nearly ten thousand.
In the presidential canvass of 1856 he supported the Fremont or Repub
lican ticket, and at the session of the legislature of 1857 he was a candi
date for the United States senate, and as such received a very handsome
support.
In 1858 he was nominated for governor of the State by the Republican
convention, and at the subsequent election in November was chosen by a
large majority. He served in this capacity for one term, and his adminis
tration was marked by a high statesmanship and by a large number of
internal improvements which greatly aided in the development of the
resources of the State. With the close of his term in January, 1861, he
returned to his home in Pontiac and to the practice of his profession.
Upon the breaking out of the rebellion he arranged his private business,
624 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
In addition to the foregoing there are several colleges in dif
ferent parts of the State, of more or less importance, prominent
among which are the Hope College of Holland, and the Michi
gan Female College at Lansing. Another institution of great
importance to the State, is
THE STATE REFORM SCHOOL.
This School was established at Lansing, in 1856, and is designed
to afford homeless boys an opportunity to escape from a career
of crime which would otherwise await them, and to afford such
instruction as will enable them, upon leaving the school, to
obtain an honest livelihood. It occupies a beautiful building,
which overlooks the Grand river, at Lansing. The pupils are
chiefly employed in farming and gardening; but a portion of
them work at various trades. All the branches of a common
school education are taught. A chapel is attached to the school,
and everything is done to elevate and reform its inmates.
STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL.
In 1871 the State Legislature passed an act to establish a
State public school for dependent and neglected children. The
act provided for the appointment, by the Governor, of three com-
and in the spring and summer of 1862 raised the Twenty-second Regi
ment of Michigan Infantry and was commissioned its Colonel on the 8th
of September of that year. His regiment was sent to Kentucky and
quartered at Camp Wallace. Remaining here some time he became
impatient at the delay, and this and the hardships of camp life soon
made their influence felt upon his health, and he was seized with the
typhoid fever and removed to Lexington in that State. Here he received
all the aid kind friends and the medical fraternity could bestow upon
him, but the malady baffled all skill, and on the 5th of January, 1863, he
breathed his last.
As a lawyer Governor Wisner was a man of great ability, with an
intrepidity and richness of illustration and a power of argument that
rendered him a most formidable opponent His eloquence was at once
graceful and powerful, and his logic was irresistible.
He was kind; he was generous and brave; and, like thousands of
others, he sleeps the martyr's sleep which his love of country cost him.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
625
missioners for the purpose of selecting a suitable site, and erecting
buildings thereon, for this school. The Governor appointed a
commission in pursuance of this law, and the beautiful and flour
ishing city of Coldwater was selected as the site for the school.
HON. E. RANSOM.
EPAPHRODITUS RANSOM, the seventh governor of the State of Michi
gan, was a native of Massachusetts. In that State he received a colle
giate education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar.
Removing to Michigan about the time of its admission to the Union, he
took up his residence at Kalamazoo.
Mr. Ransom served with marked ability for a number of years in the
State legislature, and in 1837 he was appointed associate justice of the
supreme court. In 1843 he was promoted to chief justice, which office
he retained until 1845, when he resigned.
40
626 GENERAL msTORY OF THE STATES*
The act provides that there shall be received as pupils in this
school, those children that are over four and under sixteen years
of age, that are in suitable condition in body and mind to receive
instruction, who are neglected and dependent, especially those
who are now maintained in the county poor houses, those who
have been abandoned by their parents, or are orphans, or whose
parents have been convicted of crime. The children in the school
are to be maintained, and educated in the branches usually
taught in common schools, and are to have proper physical and
moral training. It is declared to be the object of this act to
provide for such children only temporary homes, until homes can
be procured for them in families. Preference is given to depend
ent and indigent orphans, or half orphans, of deceased soldiers
and sailors of this State.
MICHIGAN ASYLUM FOR THE DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND.
A review of the educational institutions of Michigan would
not be complete without the mention of the above named benevo
lent institution. It is located at Flint, one of the most enter
prising and flourishing cities in the State. Operations were begun
in this institution in 1854. It has a large number of inmates,
who are taught to manufacture wagons, paper boxes, and to
weave carpets, mats, etc. They are also taught to read and
write, and are enabled to acquire a liberal education. The asy-
Shortly afterwards he became deeply interested in the building of
plank roads in the western portion of the State, and in this business lost
the greater portion of the property which he had accumulated by years
of toil and industry.
Mr. Ransom became governor of the State of Michigan in the fall of
1847, and served during one term, performing the duties of the office in
a truly statesmanlike manner. He subsequently became president of the
Michigan agricultural society, in which position he displayed the same
ability that shone forth so prominently in his acts as governor. He held
the office of regent of the Michigan University several times, and ever
advocated a liberal policy in its management.
Subsequently he was appointed receiver of the land office in one of the
districts in Kansas, by President Buchanan, to which State he had
removed, and where he died before the expiration of his term of office.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 627
lum is free to all the deaf and dumb and blind in Michigan,
between the ages of ten and thirty years. All are entitled to an
education without charge for board or tuition.
MICHIGAN FEMALE SEMINARY.
The " Michigan Female Seminary," located at Kalamazoo, was
organized by the adoption of its " articles of association," consti
tuting it a corporation, on the fifteenth day of December, A. D.
1856. The powers of the association were vested in twenty-one
trustees. An executive committee of five act for the board in the
interim between its meetings, with powers to carry out the instruc
tions and resolutions of the board.
MICHIGAN FEMALE SEMINARY.
The Board of Trustees have power to fill vacancies in their
own body, subject to the ratification of the Synod of Michigan.
To guard against any strictly sectarian influence in the manage
ment and teachings of the seminary, its charter provides that,
" religiously considered, the board of trustees shall secure the
inculcation of a pure Christianity, without any preference what
ever to any particular church, form or practice."
During the year 1836, the exterior walls of the center part of
the seminary were erected and inclosed, but the building remained
unfinished until the fall of 1866. It was then finished and fur
nished, and now has accommodations for seventy-five pupils, and
the proper number of teachers.
628 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
As expressed in the charter, the intent was " to establish,
endow and control a seminary of learning, for the education of
young ladies in the higher branches of a thorough education,
having reference to the entire person, physically, intellectually,
morally and religiously considered, and to be essentially modeled
after the Mt. Holyoke Seminary, in Massachusetts, founded by
Mary Lyon, and the Western Female Seminary, at Oxford."
THE DETROIT MEDICAL COLLEGE.
The Detroit Medical College is one of the most important insti
tutions of the kind in the country. It has been established
about five years only, but during that time it has secured for itself
an enviable reputation.
In estimating the work of this institution, it must be regarded
not only in its character as an institution of learning, but also in
that of a public charity.
Since its establishment, in 1868, one hundred and nineteen stu
dents have received the degree of M. D. No one is permitted to
graduate from this institution who has not fulfilled all the follow
ing requirements :
Evidences are required of having studied medicine during
a period of three years, and attended at least two courses of
lectures, of which the last must have been in this institution.
He must also have attended clinical instruction for one term, have
dissected every part of the cadaver, and have taken a course of
analytical chemistry in the laboratory. These are not required
on graduation, but every candidate for a degree must write two
essays on subjects assigned to him. These essays will have to be
defended publicly. Finally, he will be required to pass a satisfac
tory written and oral examination in all the fundamental branches
in medicine and surgery.
Especial attention is given in this institution to the method
of clinical teaching which prevails in the medical colleges of
Germany, and which has hitherto been almost completely neglected
by those of the United States. The hospitals connected with the
college supply a large number of cases for this mode of instruc
tion; and it is in this that the institution is to be regarded in the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
629
light of a public charity. It has been a source of relief to thou
sands of the city and country poor. There have been maintained
at the expense of the college two dispensaries, at which the poor
can obtain, daily (except Sundays), medical and surgical relief
HON. WM. WOODBRIDGE.
WILLIAM WOODBHIDGE, the second governor of Michigan, and a man
thoroughly identified with its history for thirty-five years, was born in
Norwich, Connecticut, August 20, 1780.
He received his early education in his native State, studied law in
Litchfield, in that State, and with his father emigrated to the Northwest
territory in 1791, settling in Marietta, Ohio.
In 1806, he was admitted to the bar, in Ohio, and in the following
year was elected to the assembly of that State. From 1808 until 1814 he
630 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
free of charge. During the year 1872 there were 1,335 patients
treated at these dispensaries ; 8,280 prescriptions were prepared and
dispensed gratuitously ; and over two thousand persons were vac
cinated. A large number of surgical operations are performed
every year, before the class, on hospital and dispensary patients.
THE DETROIT HOMEOPATHIC COLLEGE.
This institution was organized in the fall of 1871, and opened
for the first course of lectures early in March following. At the
end of the term nineteen were graduated. The whole number
of students in attendance was thirty-two.
The second session began November 6th, 1872, and ended the
last of February, 1873. The attendance of students numbered
fifty-one, and there were twenty graduates, three of whom were
ladies. It is a feature of this institution to give to women all its
privileges.
was prosecuting attorney of his county and also a member of the Ohio
State senate. During the latter year, without solicitation, he received
the appointment of secretary of the Territory of Michigan, from Presi
dent Madison, and removed to Detroit and entered upon the performance
of the duties of his new office. He was elected the first delegate to Con
gress from Michigan, in 1819, and forwarded the interests of his con
stituents in a manner to elicit the warmest approbation. He was
appointed judge of the supreme court of the Territory in 1828, and
performed the duties of that office four years. He was one of the mem
bers of the convention which framed the State constitution in 1835, and
was elected a State senator under it in 1837. He was chosen to succeed
Stevens T. Mason as governor of the State in 1839, and served during
one term. At the expiration of his term of office as governor, he was
elected a United States senator, and served in that capacity from 1841
until 1847. While in the senate, he took a leading part in much of the
important legislation of that body, both as a member of a number of the
principle committees and also as a debater on the floor of the senate.
His last days were spent in retirement in Detroit, where he died,
October 20, 1861.
Governor Woodbridge was an eminent jurist and constitutional lawyer,
and at the time of his death, was the oldest and most distinguished mem
ber of the Detroit bar. He was a man of true principle and honor, who
had served the public for many years with fidelity and integrity, and
who died leaving to his children an unblemished name.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
631
The third session began October 15th, 1873, with fifty students,
and more daily coming in. The term is expected to close about
March 1st, 1874.
The faculty, or corps of instructors, is complete in all depart
ments, and the college is claimed to rank with any similar insti
tution in this country. The president of the college, particularly,
is a gentleman of large experience as a practical physician and as
an instructor.
THE DETROIT HOMEOPATHIC COLLEGE.
The Detroit Homeopathic College was organized with the appro
val of the Board of Regents of the Uni versity of Michigan, for
its becoming a branch of the University, and it is hoped that this
result will be brought about, and thus the difficulty which has
attended the attempt to introduce homeopathic professors into the
allopathic department at Ann Arbor be amicably resolved. This
is the wish of the greater portion of the profession in the State,
and seems to meet the wishes of those who have the University in
charge. So far, it must be confessed, the enterprise is attended
632 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
with complete success, and its founders are uuited in pushing it
to the front rank of medical colleges. The fees are the same as
are charged students in the University. Thus, to those who are
residents of the State, $20 ; to those from other States $35.
The college building is situated in Detroit, at the corner of
Woodward avenue and the Campus Martius, and adjoining the
Opera House. It is very convenient of access, being in the very
center of the city.
The following are the officers and faculty of the college : Presi
dent, Lancelot Younghusband, M. D., LL. D. ; Treasurer, Thomas
W. Palmer, Esq. ; Secretary, Erastus R. Ellis, M. D. Faculty—
L. Younghusband, M. D., LL. D., Emeritus Professor of Theory
and Practice ; Benjamin F. Bailey, Jr., M. D., Professor of Theory
and Practice of Medicine; Charles H. B. Kellogg, M. D., Pro
fessor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children ; James
H. P. Frost, A. M., M. D., Special Lecturer on Psychological Med
icine; Erastus R. Ellis, M. D., Professor of Principles and Prac
tice of Surgery; Isaiah Dever, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica;
Francis X. Spranger, M. D., Professor of Pathology, Diagnosis and
Clinical Practice ; Oscar R. Long, M. D., Professor of Anatomy ;
John D. Kergan, A. B., M. D., Professor of Physiology ; William
C. Clemo, M. D., Professor of Chemistry and Botany; William B.
Silber, A. M., M. D., Ph. D., Lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence.
The history of the educational institutions of Michigan would
not be complete without a more than passing notice of 'the busi
ness colleges. These have within a few years grown into consid
erable importance, and filling, as they do, a peculiar vacancy in
the chain of educational agencies in the State, should be regarded
as constituting a very valuable means of promoting the success
and prosperity of mankind. The importance of sound business
colleges is seen and recognized the world over. The theme of
actual business practice engages the attention of the best mathe
matical minds in the country. It is true that this class of educa
tional institutions are yet in their infancy, but it is also true that
even now their utility is so far recognized by the business com
munity that the graduates of these institutions are placed in the
highest places as accountants in the commercial arena of America.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
633
Upon this department of education, more than all others, falls
the labor of teaching the language and import of business and
commerce, through whose channels all nations and tongues find
intercourse.
HON. O. D. CONGER.
OMAR D. CONGER was born in Cooperstown, New York, in 1818. His
father was a clergyman, with whom, in 1824, he removed to Huron
county, Ohio. He pursued his preparatory studies at Huron Institute,
Milan, Ohio, and graduated at Western Reserve College in 1842. From
1845 to 1847 he was employed in the geological survey and mineral
explorations of the Lake Superior copper and iron regions. Having
studied law, Mr. Conger, in 1848, engaged in the practice of his profes
sion at Port Huron, Michigan, where he has since resided. In 1850, he
was elected a judge of the St. Clair county court. He was a senator in
the Michigan legislature for the biennial terms of 1855, 1857 and 1859,
634 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
GOLDSMITH'S BRYANT & STRATTON UNIVERSITY.
This institution is located at Detroit, near the post-office, and is
presided over by Mr. J. H. Goldsmith, a gentleman who has had
a life-long ^experience in this department of education. It was
established in 1857, by the present proprietor, as one of the Bry
ant and Stratton chain of colleges, and bore the name of Bryant,
Stratton and Goldsmith's Business College. It bore this name
until 1869, when the last named gentleman purchased the interest
of his partners, and became sole proprietor. It may be proper
here to remark that upon the death of Mr. Stratton, which
occurred about this time, a change in the proprietorship of all the
Bryant and Stratton colleges took place, the resident partner in
each purchasing the interest of Bryant and Stratton. In order to
perpetuate the benefits of the chain scholarship, uniformity of text
books, etc., the International Business College Association was
organized, which includes a majority of the Bryant and Stratton
institutions, as well as a number of other commercial institutions
in the United States and Canada. Of this association the college
and in the last term was elected president pro tempo-re of the senate. In
1867, he was a member of the constitutional convention of Michigan.
In 1868, he was elected a representative from Michigan to the Forty-first
Congress as a Republican, receiving 16,347 votes, against 14,623 for Hon.
Byron G. Stout, the Democratic nominee. In 1870, he was reflected to
the Forty-second Congress over the same competitor, and in 1872, he was
elected to the Forty-third Congress by a majority of between four and
five thousand.
On taking his seat in the Forty-first Congress, Mr. Conger was appointed
a member of the committee on commerce, and took an active part in
legislation. He frequently addressed the house, chiefly on subjects
referred to or reported from the committee on commerce. The propriety
of his appointment to this committee is evident from the important com
mercial interest of his own district, in which it is surpassed by no other
portion of the Union not on the sea-board, lying as it docs immediately
on the route of the great inland lake trade.
The following is an extract from a speech delivered by Mr. Conger in
the house of representatives, June 13, 1870, on the bill for river and har
bor appropriations, which aptly illustrates the deep interest he takes in
the welfare of his district:
"In closing these remarks, Mr. Speaker, I invoke the attention of this
GOLDSMITH'S BRYANT & STRATTON BUSINESS COLLEGE.
636 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
under consideration became a member ; and it has since pursued
a career of continual progress, keeping, pace with the most
advanced principles and theories of business. It has a board of
trade, college, bank, and mercantile houses of all kinds. In each
of these all of the formalities of actual business transactions are
regularly gone through with by the students. The regular weekly
law lectures are another important feature of this institution.
MAYHEW BUSINESS COLLEGE.
This institution, situated on the corner of Congress and Ran
dolph streets, Detroit, was established in Albion, in 1860, and
removed to Detroit in 1869. Its founder, the Hon. Ira Mayhew,
had had large experience as a teacher, had written valuable works
on education, had been two years county superintendent of schools
in New York, and eight years superintendent of public instruc
tion in Michigan, and was, therefore, well prepared for the suc
cessful management of such an institution.
Professor Mayhew has devoted his time and energies to the
house and the country to the great historical fact that appears in all the
traditions of the human race, shines through every page of history,
through every period of human greatness, through the rise and fall of
empires, through all the long successions of national growth and decay,
that whatever people controlled the commerce of the world controlled
the world itself ; and this, too, whether their municipal power extended
over vast realms of sea and land, or was confined to a single city or cir
cumscribed island.
"To our legislation, in part, is committed the duty of realizing the
lessons of history, and asserting the supremacy of our national com
merce.
"Athough the task is difficult, the consummation will be glorious.
Over what a world of waters do our laws extend! For what vast high
ways of commerce within our own borders must we legislate!
" From the Kennebunk to the Rio Grande, along the thousand miles of
coast line we front the Atlantic and woo the traffic of the East. From
San Diego to Behring's Straits we welcome across the calm Pacific ' the
treasures of Cathay and farthest Inde!'
" Between the two oceans what magnificent inland seas! What vast
interlacing rivers! on which ten thousand vessels are wafted by the winds
of heaven, or driven by the energy of steam, as they bear onward the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 637
establishment of a superior business college, worthy of his reputa
tion as a teacher, an author, and a school officer. Early in the
late war his partner entered the army, and remained until its
close. Prof. Mayhew, during this time, conducted his business
college, and for three years officiated as collector of internal reve
nue for the third district of Michigan, in which he at that time
resided. With several years of experience in conducting a busi
ness college, in which his practical book-keeping, first published
in 1851, was used as a text-book, he found it desirable to employ
a fuller and more complete treatise. This led to the preparation
of Mayhew's University Book-keeping, which was published in
1868, and which is regarded as a very superior work. A most
valuable business practice, employing money and business papers
in the great number and variety required for reducing to actual
practice the sets of Mayhew's University Book-keeping, was soon
prepared, which added greatly to its efficiency as a text-book for
business colleges. Institutions using it became strongly attached
to it, and urged upon its author the formation of an association to
be known as the Mayhew Business College Association.
accumulated wealth and vast commerce of modern civilization; where
these are wanting, through the great forests, across the prairies, and over
the mountain ranges, the iron track and the tireless engine must supply
the necessities of travel and compensate the lack of navigation, and
furnish to all these vast regions of our country the modern highways
which human genius has devised to supplement the deficiencies of nature
and equalize the conditions of locality."
In the Forty- second Congress, Mr. Conger was again assigned a posi
tion on the committee on commerce of the house, and frequently addressed
that body on the important questions brought before it for legislation.
In the Forty-third Congress, Mr. Conger is third on the committee on
commerce, and chairman of the committee on patents, and is acknowl
edged to be one of the ablest representatives from his State.
On the 4th of July, 1871, Mr. Conger delivered an oration in Port
Huron, from which we give a few extracts, both as illustrating his popu
lar style of eloquence, and as giving an interesting view of the commercial
importance of his district :
" What thronging memories of the past crowd upon us to-day. The
scenery around us is all eloquent of our national growth. On the very
spot where we now stand was planted the first settlement of white men
638 GENERAL HISTORY OF TfiE STATES.
This was accordingly done, and the institution, and its patrons,
now enjoy whatever of advantage there is to be derived from the
cooperation of first-class institutions, situated in different parts of
the country.
Students in this institution receive a thorough course of instruc
tion, beginning with the rudimentary principles of business and
of keeping accounts, after which they are instructed in the differ
ent forms of accounts, business correspondence, commercial papers,
commercial calculations, the philosophy and morals of business,
and in relation to the organization and management of the differ
ent kinds of banks. After this preliminary training has been
gone through with, instruction is given in double-entry book
keeping, and in the manner of opening and closing of books.
A number of carefully graded sets of examples for practice are
worked by the student, each set embracing a large number and
variety of transactions. The elements of commercial law receive
proper attention throughout the course.
on the lower peninsula of Michigan. Before the Griffin floated on these
waters — before Detroit was discovered or settled — the gallant Du Lhut,
with his coureurs des bois, had traversed the eastern shore of Lake Huron
from the Ottawa route, and crossing from the low point that guards the
foot of Lake Huron, which was then an island, he erected on this mound
Fort St. Joseph, and for more than two years held encampment near
where we stand, with the beautiful St. Clair before him, the River Dulude
(named after him, as you find it in the older maps) in his rear, and Lake
Huron sleeping in solitary grandeur within the range of his vision.
" To the adventurous Frenchman and his band of military hunters, and
to his companion, the learned and devoted priest, who shared his perils
and recorded 'his discoveries, all around was the grandeur of solitude,
the mysterious voices of the unexplored wilderness, and the flood of
waters rushing to an unknown bourne. Then they were the only Chris-
tain inhabitants of Michigan. To-day we number a million and a quarter
of souls. Then his few frail boats were all that dotted the face of the
lake or river. To-day the rushing of steam, the splashing wheels, the
white-winged vessels, the car-laden barge, the graceful yacht, all the
living, moving panorama of water life, spreads before you, awakening
the delightful consciousness of the prosperity and glory of our beloved
land, and gratifying your taste with glimpses of scenery unsurpassed in
its quiet beauty and loveliness in any land under the sun."
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 639
This closes our review of the educational institutions of Michi
gan. The public schools of the State are free to all pupils within
the limits of the district, so that poverty is no bar to the acquire
ment of a good common school education. Within the last few
years a system of compulsory education has been adopted, making
it obligatory upon every w one having the control or custody of
children, between the ages of eight and fourteen years, to send
them to school for a period of at least twelve weeks in each school
year, six weeks of which, at least, shall be consecutive.
Thus we have seen that Michigan, within a period of a little
over thirty-five years, has established a system of education unex
celled in any of the States, old or new. No people have ever
been more prompt to take advantage of the educational facilities
offered them than have the people of Michigan. The utmost
liberality has been manifested by them in everything that pertains
to their- educational interests ; and the good results are every
where manifest in the superior intelligence and virtue of the rising
generation.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
AGRICULTURE — MANUFACTURES — COMMERCE.
IN regard to the agricultural productions of Michigan, it has
already been remarked that no State in the Union produces a
greater variety of crops, and few, if any, produce a greater aver
age yield per acre of the more important cereals. Of the other
western States each one is remarkable for the production of some
one or two crops, whilst its soil is unadapted to the growth of any
other in profitable quantities. But Michigan produces in great
abundance all crops belonging to its latitude. The quality of
nearly all agricultural productions of this State will compare
favorably with those of any other State in the Union. Its wheat
is sought after in all the markets of the east, and the highest
price is paid for it. The average yield per acre is greater than
in a majority of the States, and in some years outranks, in this
respect, every western State east of the Rocky mountains. For
the purpose of comparison, the four States immediately surround
ing Michigan will be taken, viz : Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
Wisconsin.
In 1870 the average yield per acre of the principal crops/in the
five States named, was as follows : Wheat, bushels — Ohio, 13.8 ;
Indiana, 11.0; Illinois, 12.0; Wisconsin, 13.4; Michigan, 14.0.
Rye— Ohio, 13.8; Indiana, 13.7; Illinois, 16.4; Wisconsin, 13.6;
Michigan, 18.2. Oats— Ohio, 31.1 ; Indiana, 28.1 ; Illinois, 26.0;
Wisconsin, 27.9 ; Michigan, 35.3. Barley — Ohio, 2.35 ; Indiana,
24.1; Illinois, 20.0; Wisconsin, 26.5; Michigan, 25.0. Buck
wheat— Ohio, 16.3 ; Indiana, 19.2 ; Illinois, 18.8; Wisconsin, 20.1;
Michigan, 17.3. Potatoes — Ohio, 72; Indiana, 45 ; Illinois, 81 ;
Wisconsin, 57; Michigan, 95. Tobacco, pounds — Ohio, 916;
Indiana, 850; Illinois, 840; Wisconsin, 900; Michigan, 950.
Hay, tons — Ohio, 1.31; Indiana, 1.27; Illinois, 1.18; Wisconsin,
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
641
1.34; Michigan, 1.36. Indian corn, bushels — Ohio, 39.0; Indiana,
39.5 ; Illinois, 35.2 ; Wisconsin, 38.0 ; Michigan, 37.0. Thus it will
be seen that of the five States named, none of them outrank Michi
gan in the average production of any crops, save those of Indian
HON. ISRAEL V. HARRIS.
THE subject of this sketch is a descendant of one of the oldest and
best known families in Dutchess county, New York.
He was born at Pine Plains, in that county, April 2d, 1815; received
an academic education, and, until his removal to Michigan in 1836, was
engaged in farming. His early associates conceded him a prominence,
as was evinced by their election of him as first lieutenant in the militia
company in which he was enrolled in his eighteenth year; in the suc
ceeding year electing him captain, and as such he was commissioned by
Governor Marcy, and the title has ever since been attached to him.
In December, 1836, he came to Michigan, and remained in Detroit some
three months, from whence he made his way on foot to Grand Rapids,
41
642 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
corn, buckwheat and barley. Of the other six crops, viz : wheat,
rye, oats, potatoes, tobacco and hay, Michigan stands ahead. It
will be seen that we have taken for the purpose of comparison
with Michigan, four of the best agricultural States in the Union.
The above figures, and those _which follow, are taken from the
census reports for 1870.
In 1850 the total number of acres of land in farms in this State
was 1,929,110. Twenty years later the number was swelled to
10,019,142. More than fifty per cent of this land is under culti
vation. The total valuation of the farm lands in the State is
6398,240,578 ; of farming implements and machinery $13,71 1,979.
The value of all farm productions, including betterments and
additions to stock, for the same year was $81,508,623. Animals
slaughtered, and sold for slaughter, $11,711,624. Home manu
factures, $338,008. Forest products, $2,559,682. Market-garden
products, $352,658. Orchard products, $3,447,985. Wages paid
during the year, including the value of board, $8,421,161. There
were raised during the year, of spring wheat, 268,810 bushels;
winter wheat, 15,996,963; rye, 144,508; corn, 14,086,238; oats,
in February, 1837, and soon located about eight miles west from there on
Band Creek, at a place now named in honor of him "Victor's Mills."
He was mainly instrumental in having the town organized, and named
" Tallmudge " The same year he was joined by his brother Silas G.,
and they began as merchants in Grand Rapids, and were immediately
recognized as among the leading men of the city.
They were both ardent Democrats, and there are thousands who will
remember the terse logic, the absolute command of language, and the
graceful oratory of Silas G. Harris He was elected speaker of the House
of Representatives in this-State, in 1850, and was recognized by all as aa
impartial, prompt and efficient officer.
In 1843 Captain Harris and Silas were joined by their brother Myron,
and the succeeding year they built a mill on Sand Creek and commenced
lumbering, which, in connection with large operations in real estate, has
since been their business.
For six years in succession Captain Harris was supervisor of the town
of Tallmudge, and iu 1852 he was elected to the State Senate in the dis
trict, comprising some twenty-three counties, embracing Ottawa and
those lying north to Mackinac. His opponent in the senatorial contest
was Senator Thomas W. Ferry. In a subsequent contest Senator Ferry
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 643
8,954,466; barley, 834,558; buckwheat, 436,755. Of horses
there were 253,670, of which number 228,302 were on farms.
Of fibrous productions there were raised, of flax, 240,110 pounds;
of wool, 8,726,145 pounds. The other farm productions for the
same year were as follows: Hay, 1,290,923 tons; hops, 828,269
pounds; tobacco, 5,385 pounds; sugar, 1,781,855 pounds ; sorghum
molasses, 94,686 gallons ; maple molasses, 23,627 gallons ; Irish
potatoes, 10,318,799 bushels; sweet potatoes, 3,651 bushels; peas
and beans, 349,365 bushels; beeswax, 14,571 pounds; honey,*
280,325 pounds; domestic wine, 21,832 gallons; clover seed,
49,918 bushels; flax seed, 5,528 bushels; grass seed, 2,590 bush
els. The value of all live stock in the State, at that time, was
given as follows: Total value, $49,809,869; horses, $228,302;
mules and asses, $2,353 ; milch cows, $250,859 ; working oxen,
$36,499; other cattle, $260,171 ; sheep, $1,985,906 ; swine, $417,-
811. Dairy products— butter, 24,400,185 pounds ; cheese, 670,804
pounds; milk sold, 2,277,122 gallons.
MANUFACTURES.
The census reports for 1870 give the following summary of the
principal manufacturing interests of Michigan :
defeated him. The captain has ever since held a prominent position as a
leader in the Democratic party of the State. He has been one of the
State central committee, but has declined to be a candidate for office.
He is a modest and unobtrusive gentleman, watchful of events, and
whose intelligence and social qualities make him not only a genial, but
an instructive companion.
In planning railroad enterprises and improvements for the benefit of
Grand Haven, where he is largely interested, his sound judgment and
practical business tact have placed him in the front rank of the business
men of that city.
Coming to Michigan at a time when —
"The rudiments of empire here
Were plnstic yet. and warm,"
his intellect, his integrity, and knowledge of the wants of the country,
have been widely felt in perfecting those organizations for the conduct
of public affairs which make a wilderness secure and preserve order in
society. He now lives at Grand Haven, environed by the respect and
cordial regard of those among whom his days have been passed almost
from boyhood to the vigor of his prime.
644 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
For the manufacture of agricultural implements there were 164
establishments, employing 969 hands, $1,254,759 of capital, pay
ing $362,844 for wages, consuming $714,933 worth of material,
and producing the value of $1,569,596. Boots and shoes — estab
lishments 81, hands 830, wages $372,844, material $587,104, capi
tal 578,172, product $1,249,130. Bread, and other bakery pro
ducts — establishments 82, hands 306, wages $95,251, material
$459,716, capital $291,672, products $684,458. Brick— establish
ments 136, hands 1,584, wages $275,331, material $128,665, capi
tal $438,800, products $681,480. Carriages and wagons — estab
lishments 531, hands 2,239, wages $761,764, material $862,903,
capital $1,649,860, products $2,393,328. Cars, freight and passen
ger — establishments 3, hands 823, wages $496,058, material
$687,282, capital $615,223, products $1,488,742. Clothing -
establishments 288, hands 2,593, wages $606,881, material $1,444,-
826, capital $1,085,650, products $2,577,154. Confectionery—
establishments 14, hands 89, wages $30,794, material $179,769,
capital $57,400, products $261,179. Cooperage — establishments
291, hands 1,139, wages $325,096, material $530,706, capital
$438,165, products $1,176,768. Copper, milled and smelted—
establishments 19, hands 636, wages $350,909, material $8,499,-
496, capital $1,591,000, products $9,260,976. Flouring mill pro
ducts—establishments 305, hands 1,389, capital $5,369,700, wages
$519,848, material, $14,882,834, products $17,633,158. Furniture
— establishments 246, hands 2,365, capital $2,067,620, wages
$660,179, material $679,612, products $1,954,688. Iron, forged
and rolled — establishments 3, hands 465, capital $725,000, wages
$239, 164, material $446,000, products $780,750. Iron, pigs— estab
lishments 17, hands 1,625, capital $2,528,000, wages $844,259,
material $1,651,102, products, $2,911,515. Iron, castings, not
specified — establishments 196, hands 1,101, capital $1,571,447,
wages $519,433, material $1,077,021, products $2,082,532. Lea
ther, tanned — establishments 99, hands 479, capital $897,047,
wages $192,150, material $1,167,876, products $1,606,311.
Leather, curried — establishments 73, hands 249, capital $395,493,
wages $87,799, material $833,380, products $1,064,297. Liquors,
malt — establishments 128, hands 481, capital $1,327,441, wages
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
645
$162,768, material $598,828, products $1,216,286. Looking-
glasses and picture frames — establishments 9, hands 330, capital
$97,125, wages $90,989, material $111,085, products $281,050.
Lumber, planed — establishments 58, hands 488, capital $659,650,
HON. DAVID H. JEROME.
DAVID HOWELL JEROME was born November 17th, 1829, at Detroit.
His father dying soon after his birth his mother removed to and lived
in Central New York until 1834. when she settled in St. Clair county.
David H continued to reside here until 1854. The last year, however,
of this period he spent in California, and while there located the claim
for the "Live Yankee Tunnel and Mine" at Forest City, which has
since proved to be worth millions of dollars. He projected the tunnel
and constructed it for 600 feet into the mountain towards the mine.
In 1854 he settled in Saginaw City, and in the following year engaged
in trade as a merchant, commencing in general merchandise, and after
wards changing to hardware. He is still in this business as the senior
646 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
wages $192,157, material $710,105, products $1,085,860. Lum
ber, sawed— establishments 1,180, hands 18,817, capital $26,086,-
445, wages $6,274,374, material $14,045,223, products $31,078,167.
Machinery, not specified — establishments 63, hands 685, capital
$808,666, wages $371,965, material $687,740, products $1,355,371.
Machinery, steam engines and boilers — establishments 31, hands
412, capital $476,743, wages $211,076, material $369,913, pro
ducts $723,704. Meat, packed, pork — establishments 4, hands 33,
capital $170,000, wages $12,050, material $493,033, products
$533,750. Millinery — establishments 114, hands 409, capital
$132,700, wages $49,555, material $197,542, products $332,371.
Monuments and tomb-stones — establishments 50, hands 242, capi
tal $176,175, wages $82,966, material $11 2,603, products $291,782.
Paper, printing — establishments 4, hands 170, capital $215,000,
wages $50,900, material $257,580, products $384,679. Plaster,
ground — establishments 22, hands 240, capital $687,100, wages
partner in the firm of D. H Jerome & Co., who have one of the largest
hardware establishments in the Saginaw Valley. He has conducted his
business on sound principles, and has amassed a handsome fortune.
In 1862 he was authorized by Governor Blair to raise the regiment
apportioned to the Sixth Congressional District, and was commissioned
Commandant of Camp with the rank of Colonel, to prepare the regiment
for the field. This regiment — the Twenty-third — was placed in camp on
the east side of Saginaw river for such preparation. It afterwards made
a splendid record in the service.
During 1865-6 Colonel Jerome was military aid to Governor Crapo,
and in 1865 he was also appointed a member of the State Military Board,
of which he continued a member, and president, until the present year.
In 1862 he was elected to the State senate ; he was reflected in 1864,
and again in 1856, serving six consecutive years in that branch of the
legislature. In that body he was prominent in the debate in opposition
to the legislation authorizing municipal aid to railroads, and after the
batch of such measures had gone through both houses, he freely sup
ported Governor Crapo's veto and the policy it recommended.
During his entire senatorial services he was chairman of the committee
on State affairs as well as a member of other important committees. As
such chairman he had much to do in shaping the policy of all the
important legislation made necessary by the war. Among other prom
inent and humane measures Mr. Jerome brought forward and was instru-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 647
$9*7,702, material $160,391, products $333,600. Printing and
publishing — establishments 65, hands 726, capital $697,777, wages
$393,999, material $302,104, products $1,071,523. Saddlery and
harness — establishments 288, hands 824, capital $460,436, wages
$194,497, material $413,637, products $851,388. Salt— establish
ments 65, hands 858, capital $1,717,500, wages $331,239, material
$410,561, products $1,176,811. Sash, doors and blinds — estab
lishments 150, hands 1,305, capital $1,279,200, wages $564,959,
material $835,852, products, $1,868,596. Ship-building, repairing
and materials — establishments 26, hands 637, capital $547,000,
wages, $233,031, material $271,064, products $709,384. Tin, cop
per and sheet-iron ware — establishments 260, hands 835, capital
$487,515, wages $256,595, material $437,998, products $967,972.
Tobacco and cigars — establishments 6, hands 205, capital, $228,500,
wages $67,105, material $445,660, products $717,640. j. Tobacco,
chewing, smoking and snuff — establishments 9, hands 470, capital
mental in procuring the passage of the bill creating the Soldiers' Home at
Harper Hospital in Detroit.
It was largely due to his influence that the proceeds of the swainp
lands have been so largely saved to assist local improvements in the new
counties. His whole legislative career was characterized by a faithful
devotion to the interests of the State and of his constituents, as well as by
intelligent industry, practical wisdom, and unquestioned integrity. He
never traded votes with his associates for the purpose of getting aid on
his local bills, but treated all bills alike and left his own to be considered
on thuir merits. The expediency of this manly course was emphatically
illustrated in his experience. At the same session in which the bills for
municipal aid to railroads and other like enterprises were vetoed by the
Governor, a bill came before the senate for such aid for a plank road
leading to Senator Jerome's place of residence. His action on that bill
was looked for with curious interest. After it had been vetoed and
reconsidered, he arose in the senate and frankly stated his interest in the
road and his conviction that that particular bill was right. He expressed
himself with such felicity, and defined his position with such consum
mate address, that the bill was carried over the veto by twenty-two of
the twenty-eight senators present voting for it.
His splendid qualifications as a legislator so usefully and honorably
exercised in the senate doubtless led to his appointment as one of the
commissioners, in 1873, to prepare a new State constitution. In this
646 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
wages $192,157, material $710,105, products $1,085,860. Lum
ber, sawed— establishments 1,180, hands 18,817, capital $26,086,-
445, wages $6,274,374, material $14,045,223, products $31,078,167.
Machinery, not specified — establishments 63, hands 685, capital
$808,666, wages $371,965, material $687,740, products $1,355,371.
Machinery, steam engines and boilers— establishments 31, hands
412, capital $476,743, wages $211,076, material $369,913, pro
ducts $723,704. Meat, packed, pork — establishments 4, hands 33,
capital $170,000, wages $12,050, material $493,033, products
$533,750. Millinery — establishments 114, hands 409, capital
$132,700, wages $49,555, material $197,542, products $332,371.
Monuments and tomb-stones — establishments 50, hands 242, capi
tal $176,175, wages $82,966, material $11 2,603, products $291,782.
Paper, printing — establishments 4, hands 170, capital $215,000,
wages $50,900, material $257,580, products $384,679. Plaster,
ground — establishments 22, hands 240, capital $687,100, wages
partner in the firm of D. H Jerome & Co., who have one of the largest
hardware establishments in the Saginaw Valley. He has conducted his
business on sound principles, and has amassed a handsome fortune.
In 1862 he was authorized by Governor Blair to raise the regiment
apportioned to the Sixth Congressional District, and was commissioned
Commandant of Camp with the rank of Colonel, to prepare the regiment
for the field. This regiment — the Twenty-third—was placed in camp on
the east side of Saginaw river for such preparation. It afterwards made
a splendid record in the service.
During 1865-6 Colonel Jerome was military aid to Governor Crapo,
and in 1865 he was also appointed a member of the State Military Board,
of which he continued a member, and president, until the present year.
In 1862 he was elected to the State senate ; lie was reelected in 1864,
and again in 1856, serving six consecutive years in that branch of the
legislature. In that body he was prominent in the debate in opposition
to the legislation authorizing municipal aid to railroads, and after the
batch of such measures had gone through both houses, he freely sup
ported Governor Crapo's veto and the policy it recommended.
During his entire senatorial services he was chairman of the committee
on State affairs as well as a member of other important committees. As
such chairman he had much to do in shaping the policy of all the
important legislation made necessary by the war. Among other prom
inent and humane measures Mr. Jerome brought forward and was instru-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 647
$9*7,702, material 8160,391, products $333,600. Printing and
publishing — establishments 65, hands 726, capital $697,777, wages
$393,999, material $302,104, products $1,071,523. Saddlery and
harness — establishments 288, hands 824, capital $460,436, wages
$194,497, material $413,637, products $851,388. Salt— establish
ments 65, hands 858, capital $1,717,500, wages $331,239, material
$410,561, products $1,176,811. Sash, doors and blinds — estab
lishments 150, hands 1,305, capital $1,279,200, wages $564,959,
material $835,852, products, $1,868,596. Ship-building, repairing
and materials — establishments 26, hands 637, capital $547,000,
wages, $233,031, material $271,064, products $709,384. Tin, cop
per and sheet-iron ware — establishments 260, hands 835, capital
$487,515, wages $256,595, material $437,998, products $967,972.
Tobacco and cigars — establishments 6, hands 205, capital, $228,500,
wages $67,105, material $445,660, products $717,640. ^Tobacco,
chewing, smoking and snuff— establishments 9, hands 470, capital
mental in procuring the passage of the bill creating the Soldiers' Home at
Harper Hospital in Detroit.
It was largely due to his influence that the proceeds of the swamp
lands have been so largely saved to assist local improvements in the new
counties. His whole legislative career was characterized by a faithful
devotion to the interests of the State and of his constituents, as well as by
intelligent industry, practical wisdom, and unquestioned integrity. He
never traded votes with his associates for the purpose of getting aid on
his local bills, but treated all bills alike and left his own to be considered
on their merits. The expediency of this manly course was emphatically
illustrated in his experience. At the same session in which the bills for
municipal aid to railroads and other like enterprises were vetoed by the
Governor, a bill came before the senate for such aid for a plank road
leading to Senator Jerome's place of residence. His action on that bill
was looked for with curious interest. After it had been vetoed and
reconsidered, he arose in the senate and frankly stated his interest in the
road and his conviction that that particular bill was right. He expressed
himself with such felicity, and defined his position with such consum
mate address, that the bill was carried over the veto by twenty-two of
the twenty-eight senators present voting for it.
His splendid qualifications as a legislator so usefully and honorably
exercised in the senate doubtless led to his appointment as one of the
commissioners, in 1873, to prepare a new State constitution. In this
648 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
$847,500, wages $160,250, material $697,904, products $1,131,743.
Tobacco, cigars — establishments 99, hands 581, capital $225,202,
wages $214,575, material $304,741, products $723,140. Wooden
ware — establishments 17, hands 227, capital $324,200, wages
$69,774, material $87,795, products $257,710. Wood, turned and
carved — establishments 43, hands 282, capital $206,825, wages
$85,262, material $92,703, products $309,590. Woollen goods-
establishments 38, hands 585, capital $858,200, wages $174,872,
material $530,064, products $996,203.
This must not be understood to include all the manufacturing
industries of the State. Only the principal ones are included,
and of the industries here specified those establishments produc
ing less than the value of $500 per year are left out. If all were
included it would swell the amount enormously. In another
table the grand totals for Michigan are given as follows :
Manufacturing establishments 9,455 ; steam engines employed,
body, which has just concluded its labors, he was chairman of the com
mittee on finance. He took a leading part in the debates and consult
ations on all the important questions that the commission had to deal
with, and a prevailing influence in moulding many of the new provisions.
While he opposed unfettered monopoly, he steadily fought against the
insertion in the organic law of restrictions that were dictated by mere
hostility to railroad and other corporations. He intelligently insisted
that they were indispensable in the conduct of the business of the country,
and they should not be crippled in the exercise of their proper func
tions; that it is safer and wiser to leave it to the legislature to correct
abuses as they arise.
Mr. Jerome is a man of great force of character, careful and deliberate
in the formation of his opinion, but steadfast in them when formed, and
persevering in carrying them out in practice. He is kind and genial in
his social nature, and well calculated to exercise a powerful and general
influence over the popular mind. He is every day the same bland and
cultivated gentlemen. He is ever keenly alive to every scheme aiming at
the moral, intellectual and material advancement of his fellows, and ever
ready with labor and money to cooperate. He deserves and enjoys the
distinction of being a pleasant, social gentleman, a model business man,
a public spirited and exemplary citizen, and a statesman of fair stature,
who displays in his public capacity all the virtues that adorn and beautify
his daily life. J. G. S.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
649
2,215, having a total horse-power of 70,956; water-wheels
employed 1,500, having a total horse-power of 34,895; hands
63,694, of whom 58,347 are males above 16 years of age, 2,941
are females above the age of 15, and 2,406 youth; aggregate capi-
GEORGE WILLARD.
GEORGE WILLARD was born in Bolton, Vermont, March 20, 1824, and
emigrated with his parents to Michigan in 1836, and settled in Battle
Creek, where he now resides. In 1856 he was elected a member of
the State board of education, and occupied the position for six years.
He has also been for the last ten years a regent of the University, and dur
ing that time has held the chairmanship of the committee in the classical
department. Upon the board of regents, he strenuously advocated the
admission of women into the University, and introduced the resolution
for that measure, which was finally adopted.
Mr. Willard was .a member of the Michigan house of representatives
in 1867, and also of the constitutional convention in the same year, serv-
650 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
tal employed 871,712,283; wages, $21,205,355; materials, $68,-
142,515; products, $118,394,676.
COMMERCE.
There can be no question of the immense superiority of the
commercial advantages possessed by Michigan over those of any
other State in the Union. Her natural harbors are numerous,
and so favorably located as to require but little expense or labor
to make them available for all classes of shipping. Her coast
line is longer than that of any other State, it being not less than
one thousand four hundred miles in length, and her shores are
washed by the waters of navigable lakes whose combined area is
eighty-four thousand square miles. With these great inland seas
almost surrounding her, with her numberless water-courses flow
ing through her gigantic forests of pine, and emptying at con
venient distances into the great highways of commerce, with her
long Hues of railroad traversing the State in every direction, she
enjoys advantages which many an empire might envy, and which
few nations of the world possess.
On the twentieth day of May, 1819, a little over fifty years ago,
the steamer Wai k-in-the- Water landed at Detroit. This was the
first steamboat that made its appearance on the lakes. She was
commanded by Captain Jedediah Rogers, and occupied a whole
week in making the trip to Black Rock. Two years later, this
celebrated pioneer steamer was wrecked near Buffalo. Other
steamers and numerous sailing vessels soon followed, each year
increasing the number and improving the quality of each .kind,
until 1855, which was about the culminating period of passenger
traffic on the lakes. At that time there were from eight to ten
departures of passenger steamers daily from Detroit to the ports
on Lake Erie alone. Since that time the railroads have absorbed
most of the passenger traffic ; but the number of freight vessels
ing in both bodies as chairman of the committee on education, and in
1872, was elected to Congress from the Third Congressional District. He
is editor and publisher of the Battle Creek Journal, a daily and weekly
newspaper, and was a delegate at large from this State to the last Republi
can national convention.
652 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
of all kinds has increased with wonderful rapidity. It is esti
mated that the tonnage on the lakes is, and has been for a number
of years, increasing at the rate of twenty per cent each year. And
yet it no more than keeps pace with the growth of the State and
the great Northwest. Each year produces an increase in the size
and an improvement in the character of the vessels built.
In this connection it is proper to mention the fact that within
the last few years a change has been gradually taking place in
the character of the freight vessels, and the mode of freight
transportation on the lakes. Up to 1864 or 1865, the only method
of transporting freight by water was by the common, well known
steamers, propellers, and sailing vessels. At that time what may
justly be called a new era was inaugurated by the building of
steam barges. These for a time were run independently, and used
for the transportation of lumber. In process of time the steam
barges began to be utilized for towing other barges laden with lum
ber. This at once lessened the cost of building freight trans
ports, decreased the amount of help necessary to man them, and
increased the carrying capacity of the bottoms by dispensing with
masts and machinery. This method, as intimated, was first used
in the lumber trade, but gradually extended to other freights, and
present indications seem to point to a total revolution in the
carrying trade of the lakes. The accompanying engraving repre
sents one of the finest of the steam barges here spoken of. A
glance will show how admirably this model is adapted to the end
in view. In addition to the great amount of freight capacity,
both in the hold and on deck, this class of vessels is provided with
machinery capable of towing from four to ten common barges,
whose aggregate carrying capacity amounts to millions of feet of
lumber.
Common usage has given these vessels the name of " barges " —
a name which, applied to this class of vessels, would convey an
erroneous impression to the general reader, inasmuch as it is com
monly used to designate an inferior order of freight transports.
A glance at the engraving will show that in point of beauty of
model, they are not inferior to the finest specimens of marine
architecture. They are as substantially built as [the best propel-
STSTORY OF MICHIGAN. 653
lers, and their machinery is inferior to none. Properly speaking,
the name of propeller should be applied to them. These facts are
mentioned, and this engraving is presented, for the reason that the
class of vessels which is thus represented is destined to revolu
tionize the carrying trade of the great lakes.
HON. O. M. BARNES.
ORLANDO M. BARNES, of Mason, Michigan, was born in Ira, Cayuga
county, New York, November 21, 1824.
Mr. Barnes is a descendant from the Puritans of New England, his
ancestors having been among the early settlers jof Plymouth colony,
Massachusetts.
In 1837, his father and family emigrated to Michigan, and settled in
Aurelius, Ingham county. The settlement of this county had just com
menced at that time, and this family were among the pioneer settlers of
Aurelius township.
Mr. Barnes received a thorough education, graduating from the Michi-
654 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
In 1859 the total number of vessels navigating the waters'oi
the great lakes, all of which paid tribute to Michigan, was over
sixteen hundred, with an aggregate carrying capacity of about
14,000 tons.
In 1873 the carrying capacity of the vessels belonging to
Detroit alone amounted in the aggregate to 129,180 tons.
Reduced to tabular form, the carrying capacity of Michigan
vessels stands thus :
Number of steam craft in Detroit 106
Number of sail craft, including barges, in Detroit 139
Total in Detroit , 245
Number of steam craft owned in other towns in Michigan 69
Number of sail craft owned in other towns in Michigan, includ
ing barges 151
Total in Michigan outside of Detroit 210
Aggregate number in Michigan 455
Carrying capacity of steam craft in Detroit, in tons. . 63,886
Carrying capacity of sail craft in Detroit, including
barges 65,294
Total in Detroit 129 , 180
Carrying capacity of steam craft in State outside of
Detroit 15 , 388
Carrying capacity of sail craft in the State outside of
Detroit, including barges 44,063
Total in State outside of Detroit 59,451
Aggregate carrying capacity of Michigan vessels 188,631
gan University with the class of 1850, and receiving the degree of master
of arts from that institution four years later.
Having selected the law for his profession, he began its study, and
after devoting himself diligently to it through a regular course of instruc
tion, he was admitted to the bar in 1851.
In the following j^ear, he married Miss Amanda W. Fleming, of Albion,
Michigan.
The first years of Mr. Barnes' professional practice were attended with
more than ordinary success He was made prosecuting attorney of his
county, and held the position during the first five years he was a mem
ber of the bar.
Retiring from this office, his abilities were given a wider field of opera-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 655
Total capacity of steam vessels of the State including
Detroit 79,275
Total capacity of sail vessels of the State including
Detroit 109 , 356
Aggegate, as above stated 188,031
Value of steam vessels in State outside of Detroit, $1,063,020
Value of sail vessels in the "State outside of Detroit 1,248,240
Total in the State outside of Detroit $2,311,260
Value of steam vessels in Detroit $3, 818, 500
Value of sail vessels in Detroit . . 2 , 539 , 600
Total in Detroit 6,358,100
Aggregate value of vessel property in Michigan $8,669,360
It is proper to state that the number of vessels here represented
is taken from the register of the board of underwriters, and rep
resents only those that are insurable under the strict rules of that
board. There are hundreds of others that ply the waters of our
lakes and rivers, that are not included in this estimate, whose
aggregate tonnage would swell these figures largely, and whose
trade forms no insignificant item in the commerce of the State.
tions, and they with his untiring energy and devotion to business soon
gained him a position among the first lawyers in the interior of the State.
In the fall of 1863, he was elected a member of the State legislature,
and took a prominent part in the proceedings of that body during its
sessions in 1863-4.
Shortly after his service in the State legislature, he, in a great measure,
withdrew from his legal practice, devoting himself more particularly to his
railroad enterprises. Mr. Barnes has been connected with the Jackson,
Lansing and Saginaw Railroad since its organization, and to his ability,
energy and perseverance, the success of this important measure is to a
great degree attributable. lie has been the secretary and attorney of this
company since its commencement, and is now also its land commis
sioner. Mr. Barnes has proven himself an able railroad man, showing a
keen foresight and clear judgment upon all questions connected with the
building and running of a first class railroad in these days of close com
petition.
In bis business and social relations, he has made many warm friends
throughout the State and country, and it can safely be said that but few
men are held in such universal esteem at their homes as he is in Mason,
the place of his residence.
656 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
In this connection it may not be uninteresting to note the
amount of commerce that passed through the Detroit river in
1872. The following figures are made from information derived
from the custom houses and boards of trade at Chicago, Milwau
kee, Detroit, Toledo, Sandusky, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Tona-
wanda, and Welland Canal, and for which we acknowledge our
indebtedness to the courtesy of George W. Bissell, Esq., of the
Detroit Board of Trade :
TONNAGE OF FREIGHT THROUGH DETROIT RIVER IN 1872.
TONS.
Lumber, 971,977,849 feet, which reduced to tons amounts to. . 1,943,954
Coal 1,109,196
Grain, 75,146,567 bushels, equals 2,028,857
Flour, 800,034 barrels, equals 86,403
Iron ore, scrap, pig and railroad iron 985 , 621
Salt, 616,000 barrels, equals 92,400
Staves 108,693
Received at Detroit from small vessels 373 ,468
General merchandise 876,789
ENTERED AND CLEARED AT DETROIT, NOT BEFORE INCLUDED.
Vessels of 150 tons, and under 328,717
Vessels over 150 tons 1,182,472
Total tons 9,116,570
CARRYING CAPACITY OF THE LAKE MARINE.
NUMBER. TONS.
Sail vessels 1 ,542 423,655
Steam vessels 529 171,079
New vessels, steam and sail 134 167,500
Totals 2,205 762,234
Whole estimated value $50,000,000
It will be seen by comparing the above figures with those we
have given for the State, that over seventeen per cent, in value,
of the lake shippiag is owned in Michigan ; and that the car
rying capacity of the vessels of Michigan amounts to over twenty-
five per cent, or more than one-fourth, of the whole tonnage of
the lakes. The apparent discrepancy between the two per cent-
ages is accounted for by the fact that the lumber barges heretofore
HIST6RY OF MICHIGAN. 657
alluded to, possess a much greater carrying capacity, in proportion
to their cost, than other vessels. As most of these barges are
owned in Michigan the apparent discrepancy will be readily
understood.
It will be seen by the foregoing that the commerce of the lakes
increases enormously from year to year, notwithstanding the num
ber of railroads that span the continent and traverse the State in
all directions. This wonderful growth of the lake marine, how
ever, no more than keeps pace with the demands of trade in the
great Northwest. Nor is there any prospect in the near future of
any diminution in the rate of increase. The time is not far dis
tant when the loading of ships at our wharves with merchandise
for Liverpool will be the rule instead of the exception. Quite a
large direct trade with Europe has already been established ; but
with the building of canals now in contemplation, or the enlarge
ment of those now in existence, that trade will swell to enormous
proportions.
42
CHAPTER XXXIX.
MINERAL SPRINGS OP MICHIGAN — THEIR DISCOVERY — ANALYSES OF THE
WATERS — THE LOCATION OF EACH — THE ST. Louis SPRING —
ALPENA — MIDLAND — EATON RAPIDS — SPRING LAKE — LANSING —
FRUITPORT — BUTTERWORTH'S — Owosso — HUBBARDSTON — LESLIE —
MOUNT CLEMENS.
Within the last four or five years Michigan has acquired a
national reputation as a watering place and a resort for invalids.
This is owing to the discovery that the water flowing from arte
sian wells in various parts of the State is highly charged with
various minerals that are recognized by physicians as valuable in
the treatment of disease.
The first discovery of this kind was made at St. Louis, Gratiot
county, in the summer of 1869. In that year a company began
boring for salt water. At the depth of 200 feet a vein of water
was struck which spouted up to the height of twenty-four feet
above the surface. The tube was three and a half inches in
diameter, and it delivered 300 gallons of water per minute. The
water was beautifully clear and cold, and to the taste was barely
perceptibly alkaline. It was not saline, and was therefore aban
doned for manufacturing purposes. An accident finally revealed
the fact that pieces of iron or steel held in the water a few min
utes became charged with magnetism. This led to further experi
ments, resulting in the discovery that the water possessed medical
properties invaluable in the treatment of various forms of disease.
An analysis of the waters was made by Prof. Duffield, which con
firmed the opinion as to their value, and the wells soon became a
resort for hundreds of the afflicted. This led to further searches
in different parts of the State, and the result is that nearly a hun
dred wells of water have been found to possess (as their friends
claim) magnetic properties. Upwards of twenty of these have
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
659
been advertised as containing mineral qualities, and those that
have been analyzed show the statement to be correct. It is proper
to state in this connection that the question in regard to the
magnetic properties claimed for these springs is still an open one.
HON. A. C. BALDWIN.
AUGUSTUS C. BALDWIN was born at Salina, in the State of New York,
December 24, 1817.
When but five years of ?.ge, he lost his father by death, and was
thrown upon his own resources for support. By unremitting industry,
he gained a comfortable livelihood, and acquired a thorough English
education.
In 1837, he settled in Oakland county, Michigan, where he studied
law, and was admitted to the bar in 1842. He began the practice of his
profession at Milford, but soon removed to Pontiac, Oakland county,
where he has since resided, ,and where he is still in regular practice.
f .
660 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Scientific men differ on this point ; but as to their mineral proper
ties there is no room for doubt.
In the following pages the analyses of the more prominent
wells will be given, the order of their arrangement having no
reference to the date of their discovery or their value in the treat
ment of disease. In regard to the latter point, the analysis will
be the best guide ; some being adapted to the treatment of one
class of diseases and others to another. It is not in the province
of the historian to discriminate. Many of them are extensively
patronized, and thousands of remarkable cures have been reported.
ST. LOUIS MAGNETIC SPRINGS.
St. Louis is a quiet and pleasant little town of about 1,500
inhabitants, situated about 34 miles west of Saginaw, and is
reached by the Saginaw Valley and St. Louis Railroad. It has
four hotels, capable of accommodating three or four hundred
guests. A commodious bath house has been erected at the well,
and is under the supervision of Dr. Silas Kennedy, resident physi
cian. The following analysis of this water was made by Dr.
Samuel P. Duffield, of Detroit Medical College. It is calculated
on the imperial or wine gallon, S. G. 1011.
Mr. Baldwin was a member of the legislature of Michigan in 1844 and
1846; prosecuting attorney for Oakland county in 1853 and 1854, and
representative for the (then) fifth congressional district of Michigan, in
the Thirty-eighth Congress of the United States, serving upon the com
mittee on agriculture and the committee on expenditures in the Depart
ment of the Interior.
His political affiliation has. always be r. with the Democratic party.
He was a delegate to the national Dcmoci'ii-e conventions at Charleston
and Baltimore in 1860, and at Chicago in 1864.
He has devoted a considerable portion of -his fortune to the acquisition
of an extensive library in the depart men IP of law and literature. In
1871, he was in possession of one of only ;,uee complete sets of Ameri
can Reports in the United States, for some single volumes of which he
paid as high a price as $75. This valuable1 and rare collection was sold
to the Bar Association of Kansas city, Missouri. His private library
consists of about 7,000 volumes, and his collection of paintings is one of
the finest in Michigan.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
661
Sulphate lime, 66.50 ; silicate lime, 6.72 ; chloride, a trace ;
bicarbonate soda, 106.40; bicarbonate lime, 69.40; bicarbonate
magnesia, 17.50; bicarbonate iron, 1.20; silica, free, 2.88;
organic matter and loss, 2.00; total constituents, 272.60. Bicar-
HON. CHARLES RYND, M. D.
THE subject of the present sketch is emphatically a self-made man.
Unaided by any circumstances of birth or fortune, he has by sheer force
of intellect, by industry and by indomitable persistence of purpose,
attained a position of honor among men, socially, politically and as an
eminent practitioner of medicine. He was born December $8, 1836, in
the county of Donegal, Ireland, and belongs to that race of Protestant
Irishmen which has given to the world so many persons eminent in the
various walks of life. In May, 1851, not yet fifteen 3rears of age, but
having received, for a boy of his age, the ground-work of a first-class
education, he came to this country alone, landed in New York city in
June, and from thence went directly to Canada. His experience in
662 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
bonates, 194.50 ; free carbonic acid in gallon, 6.21 ; sulphureted
hydrogen, traces. Total mineral matter in gallon, 276.81.
ALPENA MAGNETIC WELL.
This well is situated in the town of Alpena, on Thunder bay,
about 100 miles south of Mackinaw. It is a very pleasant,
thriving town, and posesses many advantages as a summer resort,
having good hotel accommodations, bathing facilities, churches
and billiard tables. The place is reached by steamer from Detroit
and Saginaw. The chemical analysis shows the following constit
uent elements of the water :
Bicarbonate of soda, 15,736 grains; bicarbonate of lime,
55,136 ; bicarbonate of magnesia, 62,920 ; bicarbonate of iron,
1,840; sulphate of lime, 30,056; 'silica and aluminum, 3,088;
chloride of sodium (salt), 68,256 ; organic matter and loss, 928 ;
total, 237,960. Total mineral constituents 237,032 grains; sulphu
reted hydrogen gas, 3.91 cubic inches ; carbonic acid gas, a trace.
MIDLAND MAGNETIC SPRING.
This well is situated in the town from which its name is derived,
a thriving village on the Tittabawassee river. It is about 20
miles northwest of Saginaw, and is reached by the Flint and Pere
Marquette Railway. It has good hotel accommodations, and a
Canada was that of every boy, either here or there, who is thrown
entirly on his own resources. What he secured, either in money or
knowledge, was honestly earned. He worked on a farm, clerked in the
store of Hon. T. B. Guest, of St. Mary's, since a member of parliament,
and afterwards assumed charge of a large school, which he managed
with marked ability and success for five consecutive years. During these
years he made good use of his spare time.
Under the private tuition of a Presbyterian clergyman he became a
good classic scholar. He wrote largely for the Toronto journals, and
studied medicine under the instruction of Dr. Daniel Wilson, a dis
tinguished and scholarly practitioner of St. Mary's. Anxious to enlarge
his acquisitions in this direction, he left the Dominion and entered the
University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he took a thorough course
of instruction, not only in medicine, but also in the chemical laboratory.
While in the university, he was the private pupil and assistant of Profes-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 663
good bath house has been opened in connection with the well.
An analysis of its waters shows it to contain, in one imperial
gallon :
Sulphate of lime, 4.4591 grains; sulphate of potassa, 82.1930 ;
sulphate of soda, 22.0690; phosphate of alumina, 1.7287, chlor
ide of calcium, 6.2194; chloride of magnesium, 2.1948; chloride
of sodium, 32.7025 ; silica, 2.9631; organic .matter, 2,4692 ; loss,
3.2120; total salts, 160.2108.
EATON RAPIDS MAGNETIC SPRINGS.
These wells are in the town of Eaton Rapids, twenty-five miles
northwest from Jackson, on Grand river, and are reached by the
Grand River Valley Railroad. It is a beautiful, enterprising and
healthful town, and has become within a few years an exceed
ingly popular summer resort. Seven wells are found here, each
one being connected with a hotel, and possessing ample bathing
facilities. The Frost well is the oldest, and bears the following
analysis, by Professor Duffield :
Sulphate of lime, 4.64 grains ; carbonate of lime, 46.24 ; car
bonate of magnesia, 9.11; carbonate of iron, 2.38; chloride of
sodium, 9.21 ; silica, 15.74 ; organic matter and loss, .90. Total
mineral contents of one imperial gallon, 88.22 ; total carbonic
acid, 22.22 cubic inches.
sor M. Gunn, now of Rush Medical College, Chicago. In the spring of
1859, he graduated with honor, and devoted the following summer to
hospital practice, settling in Adrian in November of the same year,
where he has ever since resided. He has, since his residence in Adrian,
served four years in the common council, where he inaugurated several
important measures of civic reform, which have since been copied by
nearly all the leading cities of the State. He has also served as president
of the board of education with credit to himself, and advantage to the
city. In the spring of 1871, he was, after a somewhat warm contest,
nominated by the State Republican convention as a candidate for regent
of the university, and was elected by a very large majority, his vote at
home showing the appreciation in which he was held. In the city of
Adrian, he ran ahead of his colleagues, on the State ticket, nearly 900
votes, and he also ran largely ahead in all parts of the county.
Dr. Rynd has always been an indefatigable worker. His will secures
664 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
The Shaw spring, analyzed by Prof. Kedzie, of the State
Agricultural College, bears the following analysis :
Cubic inches per gallon of carbonic acid gas, 15.97 ; solid resi
due left on evaporating one gallon, 90.45 grains. An analysis of
the residue shows the following : Sulphate of lime, 48.13 grains ;
carbonate of lime, 20.74; carbonate of magnesia, 3.84; carbonate
of iron, 2.23 ; carbonate of soda, 11.57 ; carbonate of potassa, 1.27 ;
chloride of sodium, .90 ; silica acid, 1.40 ; organic matter and loss,
.90.
Professor Kedzie also analyzed the Mosher spring, with the
following result :
Sulphate of lime, 45.16 grains ; carbonate of lime, 19.43; car
bonate of magnesia, 4.52; carbonate of iron, 1.00; carbonate of
potassa, 1.15; carbonate of soda, 5.38; chloride of sodium, 90;
silicic acid, 2.54 ; organic matter and loss, .85. Total solid con
tents in grains, 79.23 ; cubic inches carbonic acid gas, 15.38.
Dr. C. T. Jackson, State Assayer of Massachusetts, made the
following analysis of the Sterling spring :
Sulphate of lime, 55.20 grains; sulphate of soda, 12.59; sul
phate of magnesia, 9.40 ; carbonate of soda and chloride of sodium,
5.21 ; carbonate of iron, 2.80. Total solid contents, 85.20.
Professor Kedzie also made the analysis of the Bordine spring
with the following result ;
success in every work he undertakes. Possessed of a vigorous constitu
tion and being extremely simple and temperate in all his habits, he has
secured a large and remunerative practice, has secured also a comfortable
competence, and has invested largely in industrial interests in the city of
his residence. His action on the board of regents has been characterized
by an intelligent liberality, a keen insight into the necessities of the
university, and an intense hatred of shams and dishonesty. In the sum
mer of 1873, he was tendered a professorship in the medical department
of the university, which he declined.
He is a very ready writer, a fluent and vigorous public speaker, a hard
worker, keeps a keen and intelligent watch of public affairs, is a warm
friend to those he esteems, liberal to a fault, thoroughly independent — is,
in short, a good citizen, public spirited and enterprising, ever on the side
of right and justice — a good illustration of what may be accomplished by
energy, industry and integrity under adverse and untoward circum
stances.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
665
Sulphate of lime, 57.50 grains ; bicarbonate of lime, 40.47 ;
bicarbonate of magnesia, 8.40 ; bicarbonate of potassa, 3.00 ;
bicarbonate of soda, 5.05 ; bicarbonate of iron, 2.25 ; chloride of
sodium, 1.50; silicia, 2.00. Total grains in a gallon, 120.17;
cubic inches carbonic acid, 17.35.
HON. HENRY H. CRAPO.
HENRY H. CRAPO, the fourteenth governor of Michigan, was born in
Dartmouth, Massachusetts, May 24th, 1804.
He received his education in that State, and took up his residence in
New Bedford, where he remained for many years.
Mr. Crapo removed to Michigan in 1857, and settling in the village of
Flint, soon became extensively interested in the manufacture and sale of
666 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
SPRING LAKE MAGNETIC SPRING.
This well is in the town whose name it bears, which is situated
on the Grand river at its junction with the body of water known
as Spring lake. It is two miles from Grand Haven, and is con
nected with that town by a line of stages. A good bath house
has been erected at the well, and the hotel accommodations are
excellent. Prof. Wheeler, of Chicago, has analyzed the waters
with the following result :
Chloride of potassium, 4.2880 grains ; chloride of sodium,
405.5330; chloride of calcium, 113.4200; chloride of magnesium,
36.2000 ; bicarbonate of soda, 0.0547 ; bicarbonate of lirne, 0.1308 ;
bicarbonate of ferri, 1.0090; bicarbonate of magnesium, 0.0040;
bicarbonate of manganese, 0.0534; bromide, 2.1700; sulphate of
soda, 46.7000 ; silicia, 0.5030 ; alumina, traces ; ammonia, 0.0158;
organic matter, 18.2902 ; lithia, traces.
LANSING MAGNETIC SPRING.
This spring is situated at Lansing, the capital of the State, a
beautiful and flourishing city of about 6,500 inhabitants. The
town is easily reached by railroad from any direction. The hotel
accommodations are ample and excellent. The spring is located
at the confluence of Grand and Cedar rivers, about a mile up the
Grand river. A commodious bath house is in operation, and a
large first-class hotel has been built in connection with the spring.
The well is about 1,400 feet in depth, and discharges 1,500 gallons
per day. An analysis made by Dr. Jennings, of Detroit, presents
the following result :
Chloride of sodium, 320.224; bicarbonate of lime, 107.590;
lumber, and did much to promote the growth of his adopted city by
encouraging its manufacturing interests.
He served the city of Flint as mayor for some time, and was called to
the executive chair of the State in January, 1864, and served in that
capacity two terms, or until the close of 1867. He was governor of the
State during the last years of the rebellion, and performed invaluable
services for the North in its final struggle, which resulted in the complete
overthrow of the Southern Confederacy.
Governor Crapo died at his home, in Flint, on the 23d of July, 1869.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 667
bicarbonate of soda, 112.081 ; bicarbonate of magnesia, 23.027 ;
bicarbonate of iron, 1.882: sulphate of potassa, 14.940; sulphate
of soda, 30.065; silica, 3.966. Solid contents of one imperial
gallon, 613.775. Total carbonic acid, 235.550 cubic inches.
FRUITPORT SULPHUR AND MAGNETIC WELL.
This well is located in Fruitport, a new and flourishing town
situated at the head of Spring lake. It occupies a prominent
position in the fruit region of the western part of the State, on
the shore of Lake Michigan. It possesses ample hotel accommo
dations, a commodious bath house, and is a popular resort for
pleasure and health seekers. Prof. Wheeler, of Chicago, pre
sents the following analysis of its waters :
Bicarb, soda, 6.5156 ; bicarb, lime, 5.1100 ; bicarb, iron,
7.5000 ; bicarb, magnesia, 4.1511 ; bicarb, manganese, 0.1050 ;
chloride sodium, 464.0319; chloride lime, 111.1110; chloride
potassium, 0.4312; chloride magnesium, 46.8072 ; bromide, 0.7666;
sulphate soda, 45.9960 ; silica and silicates, 10.6050 ; alumina,
traces. Total fixed residue, 679.7489. Total free gas, 7 cubic
inches.
BUTTERWORTH'S MAGNETIC SPRING.
This spring is located at Grand Rapids, one of the most flour
ishing cities in Michigan, situated on the Detroit and Milwaukee
Railroad. The hotel accommodations are first class in every
respect, and ample bathing facilities are offered at the spring. The
waters of this spring are said to resemble that of Bath, England.
Prof. Duffield's analysis presents the following result :
Sulphate of lime, 90.190; chloride of potassium, 11.790; chlo
ride of sodium, 15.280 ; chloride of calcium, 7.330 ; chloride of
magnesium, 50.240 ; bicarb, soda, 6.003 ; bicarb, lime, 10.012 ;
bicarb, magnesia, 7.020 ; bicarb, iron, 1.170; silica, .617; alum
ina, .494; organic matter and losss, .801. Total mineral matter,
200.947.
OWOSSO CHALYBEATE SPRING.
Owosso is a flourishing town, situated on the Detroit and Mil
waukee Railroad, at the crossing of the Jackson, Lansing and
Saginaw Railroad. The spring is situated about a mile south of
668 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
the town. A bath-house has been erected, and the place is des
tined to become a popular resort. The following is the analysis
of the water :
Bicarb, lime, 25.667; bicarb, magnesia, 19.094 ; bicarb, iron,
15.920 ; chlorides sodium and potassium, 2.102 ; silica and alum
ina, .617. Total mineral in one gallon, 63.400.
HUBBARDSTON MAGNETIC SPRING.
This spring is located in the town whose name it bears, and is
reached by the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad to Pewamo,
thence by stage six miles to the well. A bath house has been
erected, and hotel accommodations are convenient. Prof. Doug
lass, of the Michigan University, has analyzed the waters, with
the following result :
Bicarb, of lime, 23.812; bicarb, magnesia, 10.712; protoxide
of iron, .154 ; silica, .139. Total mineral matter in one gallon,
34.817.
LESLIE MAGNETIC SPRING.
This spring is situated at Leslie, a smart village on the Jackson,
Lansing and Saginaw Railroad, between Jackson and Lansing.
A good bath house is in operation, and hotel accommodations are
convenient. Prof. Kedzie's analysis of the waters present the fol
lowing result :
Bicarb, lime, 30.62 ; sulphate of lime, 7.04 ; bicarb, magnesia,
10.53; bicarb, iron, 2.27; bicarb soda, 5.27; bicarb potassa,
4.55; silica, 2.08; organic matter, .65. Grains solid matter in
imperial gallon, 63.01. Free carbonic acid gas in gallon 13i
cubic inches.
MOUNT CLEMENS MAGNETIC MINERAL SPRING.
This spring is situated on the banks of the Clinton river, at
Mount Clemens, twenty miles from Detroit, and is reached by the
Grand Trunk Railway and by boat from Detroit. The town is
beautifully situated, ample hotel accommodations are convenient
to the springs, and a commodious bath house is in operation. A
well known physician, Dr. H. Taylor, acts as consulting physician
at the establishment. A committee appointed by the Northeast-
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
669
ern Medical and Scientific Society reported these waters as being
unsurpassed by any in this State, or the State of New York. The
following is the analysis of the water made by Prof. Duffield :
Specific gravity at 60° Fahrenheit, 1129.00. Total amount of
mineral matter per pint, 1417.6200. Total amount of chloride
of sodium per pint 1350.8498 = 66.7702.
Composition — Sulphate soda per pint, 12.0700 — per gallon,
96.5600; sulphate lime per pint, 5.4992 — per gallon, 43.9936;
chloride sodium per pint, 1350.8498 — per gallon, 10806.7984;
chloride calcium per pint, 26.9399 — per gallon, 215.5120; chloride
magnesium per pint, 20.2400 — per gallon, 161.9200; carbonate
SAUGATUCK UNION SCHOOL.
THE above engraving is a very correct representation of the Union
School at Saugatuck, Allegan county, Mich., and is a fair sample of the
beautiful school buildings found in the different villages of about one
thousand inhabitants throughout the State.
670 GENERAL HISTORY OF TSE STATES.
lime per pint, .6210 — per gallon, 4.9680 ; carbonate magnesia, a
trace ; silica and alumina per pint, 1.4010 ; organic matter, trace ;
grains, per pint, 1417.6200— per gallon, 11340.9600.
Amount of sulphureted hydrogen per gallon, 3.41 cubic inches;
carbonic acid, trace.
The foregoing are the principal mineral springs in the State.
They have all won a high reputation for their curative properties,
and thousands in this and other States attest their value. There
are many others, probably of equal importance, and when better
known will take their places in the front rank of curative agen
cies. At present Michigan seems destined to become the great
popular resort for pleasure-seekers and for those whose physical
constitutions require the reconstructive agencies of medicinal
waters.
GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN.
DURING FRENCH RULE.
Sieur de Mesey, appointed 1663 ; Sieur de Courcelle, 1665 ; Sieur de
Frontenac, 1672; Sieur de Barre, 1682; Sieur Marquis de Nouville, 1685;
Sieur de Frontenac, 1689; Sieur Chevalier de Callieres, 1699; Marquis de
Vaudreuil, 1703; Marquis de Beauharnais, 1726; Sieur Compt de la Gal-
lisoniere, 1749; Sieur de la Jonquiere, 1749; Marquis du Quesne de Men-
neville, 1752; Sieur de Vaudreuil de Cavagnal, 1755.
DURING BRITISH RULE.
James Murray, appointed 1765 ; Paulus Emelius Irving, 1766 ; Guy
Carleton, 1766; Hector T. Cramahe, 1770; Guy Carleton, 1774; Frederick
Haldeman, 1774; Henry Hamilton, 1774; Henry Hope, 1775; Lord Dor
chester, 1776; Alured Clarke, 1791; Lord Dorchester, 1798.
GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN TERRITORY.
William Hull, appointed in 1805; Lewis Cass, 1814; George B. Porter,
1829; Stevens T. Mason (ex officio}, 1834; John T. Horner (ex officio), 1835.
MICHIGAN STATE GOVERNORS.
Stevens T. Mason, 1835; William Woodbridge, 1840; J. Wright Gordon
(acting), 1841; John S. Barry, 1842; Alpheus Felch, 1846; William L.
Greenly (acting), 1847 ; Epaphroditus Ransom, 1848; John S. Barry,
1850; Robert McClelland, 1852; Andrew Parsons (acting), 1853; Kinsley
S. Bingham, 1855; Moses Wisner, 1859; Austin Blair, 1861; Henry H.
Crapo, 1865; Henry P. Baldwin, 1869; John J. Bagley, 1873.
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN.
Edward Mundy, 1835; J. Wright Gordon, 1840; Origen D. Richardson,
1842; William L. Greenly, 1847; William M. Fenton, 1848; William L.
Greenly, 1849; William M. Fenton, 1850; Andrew Parsons, 1853; George
A Coe, 1855; Edmund B. Fairneld, 1859; James Birney, 1861; Joseph R.
Williams (acting), 1861; Henry T. Backus (acting), 1862; Charles S. May,
1868; Ebenezer O Grosvenor, 1865; D wight May, 1867; Morgan Bates,
1869; Henry H. Holt, 1873.
672 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Ezra Convis, 1835 ; Charles W. Whipple, 1836 ; Kinsley S. Bingham,
1838; Henry Acker, 1840; Philo C. Fuller, 1841; Kinsley S. Bingham, 1842;
Robert McClelland, 1843; Edwin H. Lothrop, 1844; Alfred H. Hanscom,
1845; Isaac E. Crary, 1846; George W. Peck, 1847; Alexander W. Buel,
1848; Leander Chapman, 1849; Silas G. Harris, 1850; Jefferson G. Thur-
ber, 1851; Daniel G. Quackenboss, 1853; Cyrus Lovell, 1855; Byron G.
Stout, 1857; Henry A. Shaw, 1859; Dexter Mussey, 1861; Sullivan M.
Cutcheon, 1863; Gilbert E. Read, 1865; P. Dean Warner, 1867; Jonathan
J. Woodman, 1869; Charles M. Croswell, 1873.
SECRETARIES OF STATE.
Keutzing Pritchette, 1835; Randolph Manning, 1838; Thomas Rowland,
1840; Robert P. Eldridge, 1842; Gideon O. Whittemore, 1846; George W.
Peck, 1848 ; George Redfield, 1850 ; Charles H. Taylor, 1850 ; William
Graves, 1853; John McKinney, 1855; Nelson G. Isbell, 1859; James B.
Porter, 1861; Oliver L. Spaulding, 1867; Daniel Striker,1871, reflected and
now in office.
STATE TREASURERS.
Henry Howard, 1836; Peter Desnoyer; 1839; Robert Stuart, 1840;
George W. Germain, 1841; John J. Adam, 1842; George Redfield, 1845;
George B. Cooper, 1846; Banard Whittemore, 1850; Silas M. Holmes,
1855; John McKinney, 1859; John Owen, 1860; Ebenezer O. Grosvenor,
1867; Victory P. Collier, 1871, reflected and now in office.
ATTORNEYS-GENERAL.
Daniel Le Roy, 1836; Peter Morey, 1837; Zephaniah Platt, 1841; Elon
Farnsworth, 1843; Henry N. Walker, 1845; Edward Mundy, 1847; George
V. N. Lothrop, 1848; William Hall, 1851; Jacob M. Howard, 1855; Charles
Upson, 1861; Albert Williams, 1863; William L. Stoughton, 1867; Dwight
May, 1869; Byron D. Ball, 1873.
AUDITORS-GENERAL.
Robert Abbott, 1836; Henry Howard, 1839; Eurotas P. Hastings, 1840;
Alpheus Felch, 1842; Henry L. Whipple, 1842; Charles G. Hammond,
1842; John J. Adam, 1845; Digby V. Bell, 1846; John J. Adam, 1848;
John Swegles, jr., 1850; John Swegles, 1853; Whitney Jones, 1855; Daniel
L. Case, 1859; Lang-ford G. Berry, 1861; Emil Anneke, 1863; William
Humphrey, 1867, reelected and now in office.
SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
John D. Pierce, 1838; Franklin Sawyer, jr., 1841; Oliver C. Comstock,
M. D., 1843 ; Ira Mayhew, M. A., 1845; Francis W. Shearman, M. A.,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 673
184 ; Ira Mayhew, M. A., 1855; John M. Gregory, M. A., 1858 ; Oramel
Hosford, 1865; Daniel B. Briggs, 1873.
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY.
Rev. Henry Philip Tappan, D. D. LL. D., 1852 ; Rev. Erastus Otis
Haven, D. D., LL. D., 1863; James Burrill Angell, D. D., LL. D., 1871.
JUDGES OF THE TERRITORIAL SUPREME COURT.
Augustus B. Woodward, 1805-24; Frederick Bates, 1805-8; John Griffin,
1806-24 ; James Witherell, 1808-28 ; Solomon Sibley, 1824-36 ; Henry
Chipman, 1827-32 ; William Woodbridge, 1828-32 ; George Morell,
1832-36; Ross Wilkins, 1832-36.
CHANCELLORS OF THE STATE.
Elon Farnsworth, 1837-42-46; Randolph Manning, 1842-46.
JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1835.
William A. Fletcher, 1836-42; Epaphroditus Ransom, 1836-47; George
Morell, 1836-42; Charles W. Whipple, 1837-48 and 1852-55; Alpheus
Felch, 1842-45; David Goodwin, 1843-46; Edward Mundy, 1848-51; War
ner Wing, 1845-52 and 1854-57; George Miles, 1846-50; Sanford M. Green,
1848-54 and 1856-58 ; George Martin, 1851-58 ; Joseph T. Copeland,
1852-57; Samuel T. Douglas 1852-57; David Johnson, 1852-57; Abner
Pratt, 1851-57; Nathaniel Bacon, 1855-58 ; E. H C.Wilson, 1856-58;
Benjamin F. H. Witherell, Benjamin F. Graves, Josiah Turner, Edwin
Lawrence, to fill vacancies in the latter part of 1857.
JUDGES OF SUPREME COURT UNDER PRESENT ORGANIZATION.
George Martin, 1858-68; Randolph Manning, 1858-64; Isaac P. Chris-
tiancy, 1858, twice reflected, and term expires with 1881; James V.
Campbell, 1858, twice reflected, and term expires with 1879; Thomas M.
Cooley, 1865, reflected, and term expires with 1877; Benjamin F. Graves,
1868, term expires with 1875.
UNITED STATES SENATORS.
John Norvell, 1836-41; Lucius Lyon, 1836-40; Augustus 8. Porter,
1840-45; William Woodbridge, 1841-47; Lewis Cass, 1845-48, and
1850-57; Thomas H. Fitzgerald, session of 1848-49; Alpheus Felch,
1847-53; Charles E. Stuart, 1H53-59; Zachariah Chandler, 1857-75, Kins
ley S. Bingham, 1859-61; Jacob M. Howard, 1861-71; Thomas W. Ferry,
1871-77.
43
674 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS.
Isaac E. Crary, 1836-41; Jacob M. Howard, 1841-43; Lucius Lyon,
1843-45; Robert McClelland, 1843-49; James B. Hunt, 1843-47; John S.
Chipman, 1845-47; Charles E. Stuart, 1847-49, and 1851-53; Kinsley S.
Bingham, 1849-51; Alexander W. Buel, 1849-1851; William Sprague,
1849-51; James L. Conger, 1851-53; Ebenezer J. Penniman, 1851-53;
Samuel Clark, 1853-55; David A. Noble, 1853-55; Hester L. Stevens,
1853-55; David Stuart, 1853-55; George W. Peck, 1855-57; William A.
Howard, 1855-61; Henry Waldron, 1855-61, and 1871-75; David S. Wai-
bridge, 1855-59; D. C. Leach, 1857-61; Francis W. Kellogg, 1859-65;
B. F. Granger. 1861-63; F. C. Beaman, 1861-71; Rowland E. Trow-
bridge, 1861-63, and 1865-69; Charles Upson, 1863-69; John W. Long-
year, 1863-67; Augustus C. Baldwin, 1863-65; John F. Driggs, 1863-69;
Thomas W. Ferry, 1865-71; Austin Blair, 1867-73; William L. Stough-
ton, 1869-73. Omar D. Conger, 1869-75; Randolph Strickland, 1869-71;
Jabez G. Sutherland, 1871-73; Moses W. Field, 1873-75; George Willard,
1873-75; Julius C. Burrows, 1873-75; Wilder D. Foster, 1873; Josiah W.
Begole, 1873-75; Nathan B. Bradley, 1873-75; Jay A. Hubbell, 1873-75;
W. B. Williams, 1873-75.
POPULATION OF MICHIGAN.
In 1820, 8,896; in 1830, 31,639; in 1840, 212,267; in 1850, 397,659; in
1860, 749,113; in 1870, 1,184,059,,
HON. JOSEPH CAMPAU.
MARQUIS JACQUES CAMPAU, father of the late Hon. Joseph Campau,
who was so intimately identified with the earlier days of the city of Detroit,
was born in that city about the year 1730. This is a date in the history of
Detroit surrounded with the greatest ambiguity. No records, either in
the English or the French languages, afford any information touching this
period, or for several years both preceding and succeeding this date.
However, an examination of the papers and documents preserved by the
descendants of Mr. Jacques Campau discloses many items of history that
would have otherwise been lost to all generations. A digest of this collec
tion of papers constitutes the following interesting piece of biography and
history: The father of Mr. Jacques Campau must have accompanied M.
la Motte Cadillac to Detroit in 1701, being one of that original company
who left their homes and united their hopes with -the sanguine la Motte,
to establish an outpost on the Detroit. At this time he was probably not
more than fifteen or twenty years of age. He sustained some relations to
the court of the commandant, or " Governor of the Post," as he was then
called, being originally appointed as Cadillac's private secretary. Mr.
Jacques Campau, the father of the Hon. Joseph Campau, distinguished
himself in the battle of Abraham's Plains, and attained many honors
with General Montcalm at Quebec in 1759.
Mr. Jacques Campau was among the first settlers of the little fort who
pushed out beyond its narrow limits to establish an independent hoine,
and the engraving of his house and the little church which he afterwards
erected, which is presented here, affords a view of his success. The
dwelling represented in the scene was erected on the lot now known as
the James Campau farm, being the orignal claim, No. 91. It was built
about the year 1757, and was the birth-place of the late Hon. Joseph
Campau. It was in this building where Captain Rogers and his patriotic
soldiers took refuge while endeavoring to make a retreat after the battle
of Bloody Run. He entered it with some of his own men, while many
panic-stricken regulars broke in after him in their eagerness to gain a
temporary shelter. The house was strong, being the most substantial
dwelling in that neighborhood, and the women of the place had crowded
into the cellar for refuge. While some of the soldiers looked in great
terror for a place of concealment, others seized upon some wine in one
of the rooms, and drank it down with eager thirst; while others, again,
676 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
piled packs of furs, furniture, and all else within their reach, against the
windows, to serve as a barricade. "Panting and breathless, their faces
moist with sweat and blackened with gunpowder," says Parkrnan, " they
thrust their muskets through the openings and fired out upon the whoop
ing assailants. At intervals a bullet flew sharply whizzing through a
crevice, striking down a man, perchance, or rapping harmlessly against
the partitions. The venerable and dauntless old Jacques Campau, the
owner of the house, stood guarding a trap door, to prevent the frightened
soldiers and Indians from seeking shelter among the women in the cellar.
A ball grazed his gray head and buried itself in the wall, where, even to
the day the building was demolished, it might still have been seen. The
screams of the half-stifled women below, the quavering war whoops
without, the shouts and curses of the soldiers, mingled in a scene of
clamorous confusion, and it was long before the authority of Rogers
'could restore order."
Such was one of the scenes enacted in the old dwelling of Mr. Jacques
Campau. It has rendered the house interesting in history, hence we
preserve its appearance.
Mr. Jacques Campau erected the little church, which is represented in
the engraving on page 677 as standing near his own house on the Kiver
Road, about the year 1778. It was temporarily used for public worship,
and stood for many years after as a mark of his benevolence.
Mr. Jacques Campau commanded at Detroit previous to its surrender
by Captain Bellestre, or in 1758, and held a military office at the fort on
the date of the surrender. His wife, and mother of Major Joseph Cam
pau (Catharine Manard), was born in Montreal. She was married to Mr.
Jacques Campau, and removed to Detroit about seven years before the
surrender of the post to the English.
Jean Bte. Campau, uncle of the late Joseph Campau, was grand judge
of Detroit in 1767.
Major Joseph Campau was born in Detroit on the 20th of February,
1769. His parents, M. Jacques Campau and Catherine Manard, were at
this time residing in the fort, on the old Campau homestead, which dates
its origin among the first plots of land ever granted by M. la Motte,
through the consent of the Governor-General of Canada, and sanction of
the King of France. The British garrison, consisting partly of regulars
and partly of provincial rangers, was then quartered in a well built range
of barracks within the town or fort. The latter contained about one
hundred and twenty small houses. Its form was nearly square, and
the palisade which surrounded it was about twenty-five feet high. At
each corner was a wooden bastion, and a block-house was erected over
each gateway. The houses were small, chiefly built of wood, and roofed
with bark or thatch of straw. The streets were extremely narrow, though
678 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
a wide passage way, known as the chemin du ronde, surrounded the town,
between the houses and the palisade. Beside the barracks, the only
public buildings were a council-house and a rude little church.
Joseph Campau received his primary education from his devoted
mother, to whose great care and anxiety for the proper Christian train
ing and early education of her son, we are indebted for those traits of
benevolence and great leniency of which Mr. Campau's life was after
wards characteristic. At the age of ten he was sent to school at Montreal,
where he remained five years. He received a good French education,
and returned to Detroit in 1786, one of the most accomplished Frenchmen
of the old aristocratic town. Nor did he lack any of those qualities
which make Frenchmen attractive in society. His name was an acknowl
edged title to French nobility, and his polished manners and finished
education invested him with much interest.
On his return from Montreal, his father having died during his absence,
he entered into the employment of Mr. McGregor, a storekeeper at Sand
wich, Canada, as a clerk. He remained in this capacity for some time,
or until the commencement of his Maiden enterprise. Having accumu
lated some funds, he entered into a contract with the British government
to erect a fort at Maiden. He proceeded to execute this work, collecting
a vast quantity of timber for the buildings of the fort, when a freshet
came and swept it all away, leaving him quite penniless. He then
returned to the employment of Mr. McGregor, and shortly afterwards
entered into the mercantile business on his own account. From this
period dated his success. - He generally procured his goods in Montreal,
but was the first merchant of Detroit who purchased goods in Boston
and transported them to the western settlements. Joseph Campau was
indeed the great pioneer merchant of Michigan. He was not only the
leading spirit in mercantile pursuits in his day, but through almost
unparalleled success — the result of his own great energy and exemplary
integrity — he accumulated a large fortune, and was, at an early day, the
most extensive dealer in Detroit.
As early as 1786 he commenced buying and selling real estate. In this
business Mr. Joseph Campau rendered his country an invaluable service.
It was his rule to purchase uncultivated lands, erect comfortable dwell
ings upon them, and dispose of the lots after they had been prepared for
the reception of civilization. On almost all these lots he placed buildings
costing from $3,000 to $4,000, and paid, on the average, $50 an acre for
clearing the land. He displayed almost matchless enterprise in this work,
providing attractive homes for hundreds of the early settlers of Detroit
and Michigan. It was his custom to either sell or rent these places, after
clearing a large portion of the land and placing comfortable dwellings
upon it. His customers were, for the most part, poor people, who, with
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
679
but a few dollars, had come to develop a home among the pioneers of the
northwest. Mr. Carnpau's books show that many were the tenants who
depended upon his charity for a home. When times were hard and
money was scarce, and rents or mortgages came due, it was Mr. Campau's
pride to visit his debtors and encourage them with words of good cheer,
assuring them that the kind Providence who had intrusted so much
HON. JOSEPH OAMPAU.
property to his care and disposal had taught him to " do unto others as he
would that others should do unto him." In this way many an aching
mother's heart was made glad, and hundreds of little children were per
mitted to enjoy the fruits of a father's industry, that, with a less benevo
lent master than Mr. Campau, they would have suffered for. Hundreds
still live, and thousands have gone to their graves, who have borne testi-
680 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
mony to the great philanthropy and willing chanty of this good old
pioneer and patriarchial citizen. His books show that there was due him
at one time two and a half millions of dollars, of which he never collected
one cent. Besides this, he left an estate worth over three millions. He
had seventy-four farms or plantations, the bulk of which was in the
vicinity of Detroit.
Mr. Oampau also entered very largely into stock raising, and stocked
all his farms with horses, cattle and sheep, renting them with everything
necessary for agricultural pursuits. Some of his tenants remained on
his farms for two or three generations, and many without consideration
therefor. He was the largest "Norman horse" owner in the northwest.
These animals, originally from Arabia, were imported from Normandy,
in France, and, thriving greatly in this country, produced the present
popular breed of horses for which Canada and the northwest have become
renowned. At one time Mr. Campau owned over five hundred horses.
He was a member of the Board of Trade Britannic as early as 1798,
and, in many respects, was the leading merchant of the northwest for
many years subsequent to that period. In 1812 he was connected with
the Northwestern Fur Company, with John Jacob Astor, James Abbott
and J. G. Schwarz. Mr. Schwarz afterwards became United States Min
ister to Vienna, and more recently, one of the secretaries of Pope Pius
IX. In his connection with the Northwestern Fur Company, Mr. Campau
was remarkably successful, both for himself and for the company.
In 1802 Mr. Campau was elected one of the trustees of the city of
Detroit, and, although he was adverse to holding public offices, in the
course of his useful life he was always exerting a valuable influence for
the public good. We find him identified with every public improvement
of his day, and in many things he assumed a leading position, freely
expending his own means to further the common welfare. In 1806 he
erected, at his own expense, the first school-house that ever appeared in
Detroit.
Mr. Campan was not only active and liberal in his work to promote the
educational interests of his native city, but assumed much responsibility
for the cause of the church. In 1806 he contracted for the building of
St Ann's church.
In 1808 he was married to Adelaide Dequindre, sister of the late Major
Antoine Dequindre, and daughter of Antoine Pontchartrain Dequindre
and Catherine Desriviere Lomoinodiere. His brother-in-law, Major
Antoine Dequindre, referred to here, is the same who distinguished him
self at the battle of the Monguagon, in 1812, and who received the fol
lowing complimentary joint resolution from the State Legislature for
gallant services rendered on that occasion :
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 681
Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Michigan,
That the gallantry and good conduct of Major Antoine Dequindre, and the company
of volunteers under his command, and also of the other Michigan volunteers, at the
battle of Monguagon, in August, eighteen hundred and twelve, are held in high
estimation by this Legislature, and should ever be cherished in the remembrance
of the people Qf the State of Michigan.
Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit a copy of these resolutions
to Major Dequindre.
JOHN BIDDLE, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
THOMAS J. DRAKES, President of the Senate pro tern.
Approved April 12, 1841.
J. WRIGHT GORDON.
(A TRUE COPY.)
THOMAS ROWLAND, Secretary of State.
In 1809, Mr. Campau, being held in the highest esteem by all who
knew him, was appointed Major over the militia by Governor William
Hull. The original document, of which the following is a true copy, is
preserved to this day:
" WILLIAM HULL, GOVERNOR OF THE TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN.
" To all to whom these presents may come :
"Be it known that, reposing special trust in the patriotism, valor, fidelity and
abilities of Joseph Campau, I have appointed him Major of the First Regiment of
Militia in the Territory of Michigan, to take rank as such. He is, therefore, care
fully and diligently to discharge the duty of Major, by doing and performing all
manner of things thereunto belonging; and I do strictly charge and require all offi
cers and soldiers under his command to be obedient to his orders as major, and he is
to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time as he shall
receive from the President of the United States of America, or the Governor of the
Territory of Michigan for the time being, or the general or other superior officers set
over him according to law, and military rule and discipline. This commission to
continue in force during the pleasure of the Governor of the Territory of Michigan
for the time being. In testimony whereof I have caused these letters to be made
patent, and the seal of the Territory of Michigan to be thereunto affixed.
" Given under my hand at Detroit, in the Territory of Michigan, the Twenty-
fourth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and nine, and of the Indepen
dence of the United States of America the thirty-third.
[Signed] WILLIAM HULL.
[SEAL.]
" By the Governor,
" REUBEN ATWATER,
" Secretary Michigan Territory."
There were no blank forms used by Governor Hull in those days; and
the above is said to be in the handwriting of the general. It was written
just about four years after Hull's appointment to the government, and at
a time when a bitter war with the various Indian tribes in the vicinity
of Detroit seemed inevitable.
Two years previous to the date of this commission, General Hull
appointed Mr. Campau captain in the regiment over which he was after-
682 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
wards called to act as major. Following is a true copy of the commis
sion, which is also from the pen of Governor Hull:
" TERRITORY or MICHIGAN, TO WIT :
" WILLIAM HULL, GOVERNOR or THE TERRITORY or MICHIGAN.
" To all to whom these presents shall come : .
"Be it known that, reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor,
fidelity and ability of Joseph Campau, I have appointed him captain in the First
Regiment of Militia in the Territory of Michigan, to take rank from the 18th day of
September, 1805. He is, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of
that office, by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging; and
I do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under his command to be
obedient to his orders as captain ; and he is to observe and follow such orders and
directions as he shall from time to time receive from the President of the United
States of America, or the Governor of Michigan for the time being, or general or
other superior officers set over him according to law and military discipline. This
commission to continue in force during the pleasure of the Governor of Michigan
for the time being. In testimony whereof I have caused these letters to be made
patent, and the seal of the Territory of Michigan to be hereto affixed.
" Given under my hand at the city of Detroit, this twelfth day of August, eighteen
hundred and seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the
thirty-first.
[Signed] WILLIAM HULL.
[SEAL.]
" By the Governor,
" STANLEY GRISWOLD,
" Secretary Territory of Michigan."
Thus it will be seen that the Hon. Joseph Campau was identified with
the militia of the Territory of Michigan, from its earliest organization,
through most of its struggles and triumphs. In July, 1812, when the
military forces of Detroit were astir, preparing for the march to the
River Raisin, the following order was addressed to Major Joseph Cam
pau:
" Major Joseph Campau :
" SIR— I am directed by the acting commander-in-chief to reqiiire you to order the
whole of the militia of the First Regiment, residing in the upper settlement, to
march immediately to this place, and to re-organize on the common, armed and
equipped according to law.
[Signed] "JAMES WATSON,
" Lieutenant-Colonel and Aide-de-Camp.
" HEADQUARTERS AT DETROIT, )
" July 2, 1812." |
A speedy termination of difficulties at the River Raisin made it unneces
sary for the militia to proceed to battle. Therefore, Major Campau dis
missed his little army until further orders calling them into action should
be necessary.
Although Mr. Campau rendered his State considerable service in mili
tary affairs, his greatest and most beneficial work was principally that of
establishing and promoting the commerce of Detroit. In 1809 he
• HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 683
erected, and for many years after operated a large distillery. This enter
prise gave profitable employment to many needy colonists, and assisted
to inaugurate activity in manufacturing pursuits in the infant city.
Shortly after this period his business affairs became eminently prosper
ous. In the same year he conducted ten branch stores in the Territory
of Michigan. He also assisted in establishing the banking business in
this State, being one of the original stockholders in the Territorial Bank,
of which his nephew, General John R. Williams, was president. General
Williams, who was the first mayor of Detroit, was also successful in
business. As early as 1818 he operated a cabinet shop, silversmith shop,
blacksmith shop, bakery, a butcher stall in the old market, a grist mill
propelled by wind, a saw mill and a brick yard. At an early day Mr.
Williams became associated with Mr. Campau in many projects, all of
which promoted the public good not less than their own individual inter
ests. In 1831 they purchased the Oakland Chronicle, and called it the
Democratic Free Press, thus firmly establishing the present Detroit Free
Press, one of the leading daily journals of the northwest. In 1835 Mr.
Campau was an extensive stockholder in the Detroit and St. Joseph Rail
road, now the Michigan Central. He also aided materially in the erection
and establishment of Detroit College, which was built in the year 1817.
Mr. Campau's great business energy was equaled only by his benevo
lence. He gave his brothers and sisters, and nephews and nieces, a good
education; many of them he sent to Montreal for that purpose, where
superior educational advantages wTere attainable. Nor was he satisfied
until he had secured to his brothers a profitable business education and
established them successfully in business. In 1807 Mr. Campau sent
Robert McNiff and John R. Williams as cadets to West Point, thus pre
paring these young men for the success that afterwards distinguished
them as useful citizens of Detroit.
It was his rule, on visiting Montreal or Boston, to hold out such
inducements to mechanics and tradesmen as would secure their company
on his return. He always furnished them with employment on their
arrival, and in this and other ways greatly increased the population and
business of the settlement.
But it must not be supposed that in Mr. Campau's day it was " all work
and no play." The little colony had its society enjoyments. These, too,
were conducted in a real aristocratic style. They had their balls, their
theatres, dances, and indulged in all the fashionable recreations for
which their country is popularly known. The following is a fac-simile
of a card of invitation, written in French, sent to Mr. Campau in 1798:
if 4
GENERAL HISTORY OP THE
JClitaiy, as well as civic entertainments were encouraged. Many were
flhe wine aaiHnaB and balls given by the officers of the line and staff in
1798. These were always conducted in the Council House, which stood
within the stockade, being the same building which Pontiac afterwards
^nffffd with MB band of conspirators, on the memorable morning; when
IBB fg*""*^* conspiracy was overthrown. The following card is an
engraving from the original invitation received by Mr. Joseph Campau in
1798, asking the honor of his attendance at one of these military balls :
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
6*0
The little town had its private theatre as early as 1819. At this dote
we find its managers bestowing their compliments upon Mr. Campau in
the following card:
In 1821 the little theatre was still flourishing. Mr. Stockton lad
retired from its management, and Messrs. Mackay, Davis and Brooks had
taken his place. These gentlemen re-fitted the theatre building, and con
ducted it on a more popular basis. On the occasion of their grand open
ing in 1821, Mr. Campau was tendered the following card:
*>
C/p
/ •
w^
'
**
s
&~7<^
J
Among Ms old papers still preserred are many others. The following
is a copy of one:
686 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Mr. Joseph Campau was a man of very liberal views. He made no
distinction in creed or nationality, was generous and charitable to all
with whom business brought him in contact. He was a man of few
words, unassuming in manners, and a gentleman of the old school. But
with all, he was very enterprising, and evinced great perseverance in the
prosecution of the various projects which he undertook. An instance
showing his force of energy is related, as follows: His esteemed friend,
Mr. Solomon Sibley, was at one time a candidate for Circuit Judge, and
on the day of election the opposition took possession of the polls, and
surrounded it with bullies, for the purpose of intimidating the friends of
Mr. Sibley. Early in the day it was ascertained that this action was
working with great effect against him. Mr. Campau, on learning the
state of matters, ordered four strong men to procure a large basket, and
carry Mr. Sibley from his residence to the polling booth. The men
obeyed his order, proceeded to Mr. Sibley's house, where he had •
remained all day, through delicacy, put him into the basket, we>?ms wfe^s,
and carried him on their shoulders to the scene of conflict. Mr. Sibley
was triumphantly elected, and the happy result was largely due to the
radical plans of Mr. Campau.
He was careful to encourage all worthy enterprises. The first debating
society in Detroit, of which he was a prominent member, held their
meetings in his office. His old friends, General Cass, Major Biddle,
Major Rowland, Judge John McDonnell, Major Kearsley, Judge Chip-
man, and others, were also members of the same society, and night after
night mingled together in the heat of debate in the little office of Joseph
Campau.
He ransomed many white men who had fallen into the hands of the
cruel and treacherous Indians. On May 14, 1813, they captured an
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
687
American by the name of James Hardan, with the view of getting a ran
som, and, failing in that, to kill him. Mr. Campau, having learned the
facts from the Indians who were passing through Detroit, on their way
to Mackinac, and, taking compassion on the captive, opened negotia
tions with his persecutors, and purchased his freedom from Micksonenis,
an Indian from Saginaw, for a considerable sum. The man gave Mr.
Carnpau his note for the amount, which was never paid. This is one
case out of many that might be related showing to what extent Mr. Cam
pau exerted himself for the welfare of those around him. The store
operated by Mr. Campau was located on the homestead lot, in Detroit,
THE JOSEPH CAMPAU RESIDENCE.
and was used by him for mercantile purposes and also a residence, from
1796 to the time of his death. In 1805 the house was destroyed by fire,
and the building still standing on the old foundation, at No. 140 Jeffer
son avenue, was immediately erected, at a cost of $7,000. He subse
quently built, on the river in the rear of the homestead, a storehouse and a
dock for the accommodation of his batteaux, of wrhich he had several
in the Montreal trade. The residence, which in its early days was one
of the finest buildings on St. Ann street (now Jefferson avenue), is repre
sented here as one of the oldest buildings now standing in Detroit.
Major Joseph Campau's homestead is on the lot where the headquarters
of M. de la Motte Cadillac were originally situated.
688 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Among other things which indicate the advanced ideas of Mr. Joseph
Campau, was the leading position which he took in establishing Free
Masonry in the northwest. The following card of dimit shows his
connection with old Zion Lodge, No. 10 :
To whom it may concern :
These are to certify that Brother Joseph Campau has been regularly made, passed
and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason, in due form, in late Zion Lodge,
No. 10, of Free and Accepted Masons, and has behaved, during his stay with us,
Zion Lodge, No. l,as becomes a true and faithful Mason, and as such we recommend
him to all regular Lodges and Brethren throughout the world, after due trial and
examination.
Given under our hands and seals, in our Lodge Room, at Detroit, the first day
[SEI.L.] of May, 1809, and of Masonry 5809.
W. H. SCOTT, Worshipful Master.
GEO. MCDOUGALL, /Senior Warden.
JAMES ABBOTT, Secretary. J. EASTMAN, Junior Warden.
After a sojourn of nearly a century in the city of Detroit, the great
and good pioneer passed on to join his compeers and receive the rewards
of his Christian life. He died on the 23d of July, 1863, in the ninety-
fifth year of his age. On the 27th of the same month he was buried,
with Masonic honors, in Elniwood Cemetery. His funeral is said to
have been the largest ever witnessed in Detroit. It was attended by the
entire Masonic fraternity, the municipal officers, members of the Detroit
bar, the Lafayette Association, and an immense concourse of citizens.
Col. Levi Cook, Col. Dibble, Hon. Jacob M. Howard, Hon. Robert
McClelland, Peter Desnoyers, Esq., Thomas Lewis, Esq., Hon. A. D.
Eraser, Judge H. L. Chipman, Judge Shubael Conant, John Palmer,
Esq., E. B. Ward, Esq., Hon. N. B. Carpenter, John Roberts, Esq., and
Dr. J. L. "Whiting, acted as pall bearers. The Rev. Benjamin H. Pad
dock, of Christ Church, Detroit, preached the funeral sermon, in which
he paid a suitable tribute to the memory of the deceased.
GRAND RAPIDS.
Grand Rapids is located on Grand river — the largest inland stream in
the State — about forty miles from its mouth, and at the head of naviga
tion. Its site is one of great natural beauty, lying on both sides of the
river, between the high bluffs that stand nearly two miles apart, and from
whose summits the eye takes in a beautiful panorama of bill, vale and
river, with all the streets of the busy city laid out like a map at the feet
of the beholder.
Grand Rapids contains a population (August, 1873) of 23,000, and it is
the county seat of Kent county, which county was organized in the year
1836. In point of population it is the second city in size next to Detroit,
in this State, and is to Western Michigan, in point of location, business
and influence, what the City of the Straits is to the eastern part of the
State.
It was incorporated in 1850, and its growth has been healthy and vigor
ous. The city is located on both sides of Grand river — which is 900 feet
wide at this point, running over a fall in one mile of twenty feet of rocky
bed— from which rapid current its name is derived.
The river at this point runs nearly south, but soon after leaving the
city resumes its general westerly direction On the west side of the river
the ground is nearly level back to the bluffs ; on the east side there were
smaller hills between the bank and the bluffs, the leveling of which has
cost, and is yet to cost, large sums of money. These bluffs, which nearly
surround the city, are being rapidly covered with elegant residences and
substantial homes, from which beautiful views of the city are obtained
and at a score of points. Speaking of the locality of Grand Rapids, a
writer, as far back as 1837, in one of our city — then village— papers, used
the following language :
" Though young in its improvements, the site of this village has long
been known and esteemed for its natural advantages. It was here that
the Indian traders long since made their grand depot. It was at this
point that the missionary herald established his institution of learning —
taught the forest child the beauties of civilization and inestimable benefits
of the Christian religion. This has been the choicest, dearest spot to the
unfortunate Indian, and now is the pride of the white man. Like other
vil'ages of the west, its transition from the savage to a civilized state has
been as sudden as its prospects are now flattering.
44
690 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
" Who would have believed, to have visited this place two years since,
when it was only inhabited by a few families, most of whom were of
French origin, a people so eminent for exploring the wilds and meander
ing rivers, that this place would now contain its twelve hundred inhabi
tants ? Who would have imagined that this rapid would have been the
improvement of this romantic place. The rapidity of its settlement is
beyond the most visionary anticipation; but its location, its advantages,
and its clime, were sufficient to satisfy the observing mind that nothing
but the frown of Providence could blast its prospects!
' ' The river upon which this tow^n is situated is one of the most important
and delightful to be found in the country — not important and beautiful
alone for its clear, silver-like water winding its way through a romantic
valley of some hundred miles, but for its width and depth, its suscepti
bility for steam navigation, and the immense hydraulic power afforded at
this point.
' ' We feel deeply indebted to our Milwaukee friends for their lucid des
cription of the advantages to be derived from a connection of the waters
of this river with those of Detroit, by canal or railroad. A canal is
nearly completed around the rapids at this place sufficiently large to
admit boats to pass up and down with but little detention. Several
steamboats are now preparing to commence regular trips from Lyons, at
the mouth of Maple river, to this place, a distance of sixty miles, and
from this to Grand Haven, a distance of thirty-five or forty miles; thence
to Milwaukee and Chicago.
" Thus the village of Grand Rapids, with, a navigable stream — a water
power of twenty-five feet fall — an abundance of crude building materials
— stone of excellent quality — pine, oak and other timber in immense
quantities within its vicinity, can but flourish — can but be the Rochester
of Michigan! The basement story of an extensive mill, one hundred
and sixty by forty feet, is now completed; a part of the extensive
machinery is soon to be put in operation. There are now several dry
goods and grocery stores, some three or four public houses, one large
church erected and soon to be finished in good style, upon the expense of
a single individual, who commenced business a few years ago by a small
traffic with the Indians. Such is the encouragement to western pioneers !
The village plat is upon the bold bank of a river, extending back upon
an irregular plain, some eighty to a hundred rods, to rising bluffs, from
the base and sides of which some of the most pure, crystal-like fountains
of water burst out in boiling springs, pouring forth streams that murmur
over their pebbly bottoms, at once a delight to the eye and an invaluable
luxury to the thirsty palate.
" New England may surpass this place with her lofty mountains, but not
with her greatest boast, purity and clearness of water. The soil is sandy
692 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
and mostly dry. The town is delightful, whether you view it from the
plain upon the banks of the river, or from the bluffs that overlook the
whole surrounding country. To ascend these bluffs you take a gradual
rise to the height of a hundred feet, when the horizon only limits the
extent of vision. The scenery to an admirer of beautiful landscape is
truly picturesque and romantic. Back east of the town is seen a wide
spread plain of burr oak, at once easy to cultivate and inviting to the
agriculturist. Turning westward, especially at the setting of the sun,
you behold the most enchanting prospect — the din of the ville below—
the broad sheet of water murmuring over the rapids — the sunbeams
dancing upon its swift gliding ripples — the glassy river at last losing
itself in its distant meanderings, presents a scenery that awakes the most
lively emotions.
" It is from this point, too, that you can see in the distance the evergreen
tops of the lofty pine waving in majesty above the sturdy oak, the beech
and maple, presenting to the eye a wild, undulating plain, with its thou
sand charms. Such is the location, the beauties and the advantages of
this youthful town. The citizens are of the most intelligent, enterprising
and industrious character. Their buildings are large, tasty and hand
somely furnished — the clatter of mallet and chisel— the clink of the
hammer — the many newly raised and recently covered frames — and the
few skeleton boats upon the wharves of the river, speak loudly for the
enterprise of the place! Mechanics of all kind find abundant employ,
and reap a rich reward for their labor. Village property advances in
value, and the prospect of wealth is alike flattering to all ! What the
result, of such advantages and prospects will be, time alone must deter
mine.
" But a view of this place and vicinity, where we find a rich and fertile
soil, watered with the best of springs, and enjoying as we do a salubrious
climate, a healthful atmosphere, and the choicest gifts of a benign Bene
factor, would satisfy almost any one that this will soon be a bright star
in the constellation of western villages. Such, gentle reader, is a faint
description of the place from which our paper hails— from which we
hope will emanate matter as pleasing and interesting as the town is
beautiful and inviting. "
Thirty-six years have passed away since the foregoing was written, and
the visitor now beholds a lively, bustling and active city, full of energy
and enterprise and doing an amount of manufacturing and mercantile
trading truly surprising. There are three daily newspapers, the Eagle,
Democrat and Times, representing the Republican and Democratic parties,
and the latter Independent. There are also several weekly papers, one of
which is printed exclusively in the Holland language. There are twenty-
three organized churches, and some of the edifices are of a superior kind
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN.
693
in point of architectural design. The First Congregational is a gothic
building, elegant in finish, costing $65,000. St. Marks, Episcopal, one
of the old church edifices in the city, has lately been enlarged and im
proved at a cost of $30,000, and is one of the largest gothic edifices west
HON. H. M. LOOK.
HENTCY M LOOK was born at Hadley, Michigan, October 27, 1837. His
ancestors were from Scotland, and settled on the island of Martha's
Vineyard, in 1758. They removed thence to Massachusetts, while it was
yet a province of Great Britain, and bore an active part in the war of
the revolution, two members of the family losing their lives in that
struggle— one while leading a charge at the battle of Bennington, the
other while a prisoner of war.
His parents were both natives of New York, and settled in the (then)
Territory of Michigan in 1834. Having received a thorough education,
including an extensive course of historical and classical reading, he began
the study of law in 1857, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme
Court of Michigan, in November, 1859, and to the Circuit Court of the
United States, in 1867. He is still in the active and successful practice
of his profession.
He was a member of the legislature of Michigan in 1865 and 1866;
prosecuting attorney for Oakland county in 1871 and 1872; city attorney
694 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
of Detroit, in Michigan, worth $60,000. The First Methodist has a fine
structure in the Roman style, elaborately finished and furnished, costing
$45,000. The Baptist Society are erecting a very costly gothic church
which will be a a superb contribution to the many beautiful houses of
worship in the city, its estimated price, when completed, being $80,000.
The First Presb}^terian have a very fine house, nearly completed, on the
west side, which will cost $30,000. The Methodists have also, in this
locality, a really handsome gothic church, almost ready, containing in its
tower the largest bell in the city and a fine clock. Cost, $40,000. The
Roman Catholics have a handsome gothic church done and are occupying
it, which cost $43,000, and have another, building, for a German congre-
gration, at an expense of $60,000. The Episcopalians have in addition
to the parent church — St. Mark's — three chapels, while the two Holland
churches have large and finely appointed edifices completed, one costing
$35,000. The Westminster Presbyterian Society has a very nice church
edifice on the east side, while the Dutch Reformed congregation is
taking steps to build a $25,000 house. The old Catholic church of St.
Andrew has been disposed of, and plans for a $100,000 cathedral are now
being perfected. The Universalists have a very pretty and well finished
and furnished church.
The manufacturing interests of Grand Rapids are large and rapidly
increasing. Generally, they may be summed up in three flouring, one
woolen, fifteen saw, four plaster and other mills, three furnaces, two
boiler factories, four tanneries, six large furniture manufactories, and a
dozen smaller ones, three extensive chair factories, ten large cooper
shops, six extensive carriage manufactories, ten wagon shops, one chem
ical works, three pail and bucket factories, one clothes pin factory, one
gypsum ornament manufactory, several sash, door and blind shops, two
saw manufactories, three marble and stone yards, one brush factory,
Waters' patent barrel factory, two hub factories, two manufactories of
farming implements, one faucet manufactory ; in fact, almost every-
of the city of Pontiac, and member of its board of education from 1864
to 1868 ; delegate to the national Democratic convention at Baltimore
in 1872.
As a speaker and writer, Mr. Look has a wide reputation. Some of his
public addresses have commanded extraordinary approbation, and have
been republished in the leading American and foreign journals. He is
the author of a work upon "The Law and Practice of Masonic Trials,"
which has become a standard authority in its department throughout the
United States. Such of his productions as he has given to the press
have elicited an instant and universal approval, and it is to be hoped that
his useful and powerful pen may not lie idle in the future. His merits
as a writer consist in clearness and boldness of conception, fertility in
expression, correctness of taste, and a remarkable grace and purity of
style.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 695
thing that can be made from wood has a manufactory in this city. '
Fanning mills, milk safes, and such like useful articles are extensively
fabricated, and all these varied industries— large numbers of which we
have not attempted to enumerate — furnish employment for an army of
mechanics, artisans and laborers, who are paid weekly for their skill and
efforts in developing the city's resources.
Upon either side of the Grand river is a canal, which furnishes a vast
amount of power for propelling the machinery incident to the manufac
turing enterprises of the place, the descent in the river over the rapids
producing a head and fall of sixteen feet ; and yet it is safe to say that
fully one-half of the whole power used in the various departments of
mechanical effort in the city is made from steam.
At this time of writing six railroads are in operation, under the control
of some of the most extensive corporations in the country, sending out
and receiving daily the passengers upon thirty trains of cars, while the
immense freighting business incident to the lumber, plaster and manufac
turing interests are indeed great. A street railway from the Detroit and
Milwaukee Railway has long been in operation, running through Leonard,
Canal, Monroe and Fulton streets, and when continued to the Fair
grounds, will be a source of great convenience.
This year (1873) upwards of three hundred buildings of all kinds,
including forty stores, are in process of erection, and it is one of the
strong points of the resources of Grand Rapids that all the stone for
paving or building, and fine yellow brick, as good as those made in Mil
waukee, with lime, plaster of Paris, stucco and sand, are found within
the corporation, while the country immediately north abounds with the
best of pine, cedar, beech, maple and other pierchantable woods out of
which lumber is made. With the exception of paint, nails and gas
piping, the materials for an entire ordinary dwelling are to be found in
the city, the product of the county.
The public schools of the city are as good as the best in the State, and
comprise one Union or High school and eight ward schools, all under
the control of a Board of Education consisting of two members from
each ward, with the Mayor, who are elected by the people. The build
ings occupied for school purposes are mostly of brick, and of attractive
design, with good play grounds. There is a City Library of upwards of
6,000 volumes, supported by fines, the result of violated ordinances; also
a " Kent Scientific Institute," which has one of the most valuable collec
tions of specimens, minerals, fossils, etc., to be found in the State, and
one which has attracted considerable attention from scientists.
The Young Men's Christian Association is in a very flourishing state,
and its organization has not only been efficient but exceedingly useful in
the line of its Christian duty and quiet charities. " St. Mark's Home" is
696 GENERAL HISTORY OP THE STATES.
a hospital under the immediate control of some ladies of St. Mark's
church, and has proved itself of great benefit to many, as its doors are
open to all, without distinction of creed. The charges for board and care
are just sufficient to cover actual cost, for such as can pay, and to such
as cannot and are worthy, no charge is made.
"The Union Benevolent Society" is another charitable hospital, of a
more enlarged character, which has been in existence for upwards of
fifteen years. It is managed by ladies and gentlemen selected from the
various Protestant organizations, and is incorporated. Having an eligible
and admirably located lot, steps are now being taken towards the erection
of a suitable building to accommodate their rapidly increasing wants.
This city is the acknowledged metropolis of western and northwestern
Michigan. Its location is one of admitted beauty, having a rare variety
of hill and dale for landscape, while it is noted for its elegant residences,
suburban villas, fine business blocks, and the air of activity and thrift
which characterizes so many of our western towns. The United States
have decided to erect a suitable public building here for its District
Courts, Pension Office, U. 8. Marshal's Office, Collector, Post-office, etc.,
etc., and has ordered a free postal delivery system, in accordance with a
law of Congress passed at its last session. It should be added that during
the season of navigation boats ply regularly on the Grand river to Grand
Haven, and a large amount of business is transacted along the shores,
which are dotted with thriving villages.
The traveling public are well cared for in several hotels, which are well
kept, though the rapid increase of population and the influx of strangers,
attracted by the wide-spread notoriety of the place for business, demand
increased facilities in this line, and steps are being taken towards the
erection of more hotel room. There are two free bridges and one toll
bridge spanning the river — which is 900 feet wide — also two railroad
bridges. The wholesale business of Grand Rapids in groceries, boots and
shoes, dry goods, hardware and manufactured articles from wood, is
large and rapidly increasing. Several of its streets are paved with stone,
while wooden pavements are now coming into general use. Owing to the
hilly nature of a large part of the city plat and the necessity of much
filling ne »r the river, on the east side, the grading and leveling of streets
has been a costly undertaking, but it has been accomplished during the
ten years past at an outlay of nearly a hundred thousand dollars per
annum. The ground forming the plat on the west side is very level, and
calculated for a large city, backed and skirted as it is by very bold and
delightful bluffs Situated as Grand Rapids is, in the vicinity of a
splendid farming, fruit, wool raising and well wooded country, it must
continue to increase in wealth, population and intelligence, and remain
in the future, as it is now, the second city of Michigan, and through its
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 697
various institutions and enterprises of a business, religious and social
nature, must do no small share in moulding the thought and giving tone
and direction to the population which is rapidly rilling up the great
country north as far Mackinaw, and west to the shore of Lake Michigan.
The view which we give of a portion of the city is taken from the
Union school hill, looking south and southwest, and covering in the
foreground portions only of the first, second and third wards, on the
east side, and the eighth ward across the river in the distance.
ADRIAN.
ADRIAN is a beautiful and flourishing city of about 12,000 inhabitants,
situated on the south branch of the River Raisin, on high, rolling ground,
in the midst of one of the richest farming districts in the State. It is
located very nearly in the center of Lenawee county, of which it is the
county seat. It is easy of access by rail — thirty-three miles from Toledo,
seventy-four miles from Detroit, two hundred and ten miles from Chicago,
and eighty-five miles from Lansing.
The site upon which the city is built was located by Addison J. Corn-
stock, in 1825, and a plat of forty-nine lots, comprising a part of what
is now the business portion of the city, was made by him, and recorded
March 31, 1828.
Adrian was incorporated in 1853, since which time its boundaries have
twice been enlarged. It now covers an area of nearly three miles square,
and has grown to be one of the most important manufacturing cities in
the State. It is an orderly, well regulated city — governed in the interest
of economy and good order. Its present officials are Wm. H. Waldby,
Mayor; W. H. Stone, Treasurer; F. B. 'Nixon, Recorder; Simeon M. Bab-
cock, Marshal; George L. Bachman, City Attorney; Daniel T.Anderson,
Collector. Aldermen — First Ward — George W. Larwill, Michael Molloy;
Second Ward— Lorenzo Tabor, George S. Brown; Third Ward— W. T.
Lawrence, Edward Swords ; Fourth Ward — C. H. Comstock, James
Warner.
The buildings of Adrian are of a superior order. It contains many
very elegant residences, and numerous very fine public buildings. Its
healthfulness, cleanliness, beauty and prosperity evoke universal com
mendation. Its church edifices are models of convenience and elegance.
Perhaps no city in the country is better provided with churches. The
Presbyterians, Methodist Episcopal, Congregationalists, Baptists, Luther
ans and Catholics each have large brick church edifices. Other denomi
nations have convenient but less pretentious churches. The increasing
importance of Adrian College is a subject of much interest. Its struggle
to maintain itself and its final triumph command the admirl^**" Ml
lovers of education. From a weak beginning it has grown to be one of
the first educational institutions in the State. It is situated on a fine
elevation in the western part of the city, overlooking it from the west.
It has four fine brick buildings, and an endowment of $100,000.
_
EEE^ES
700 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The school system of Adrian is unsurpassed, possessing as it does the
most perfect facilities for bestowing upon all who may avail themselves
of the benefits of it, an education at once the most liberal and thorough. ;
The schools are admirably conducted, the corps of teachers being second
to none in the State. The instructions are thorough and upon the broad-:
est and most liberal basis. The graduates therefrom are admitted to the:
University without examination. The school buildings consist of the
central building, so called, erected in 1869, costing about $100,000, and
four large branch buildings, of brick — one in each ward.
The city is well provided with hotels, some of them ranking among
the best in the West, affording ample accommodations of the first order.
The Adrian Car Manufacturing Company, with a capital of $300,000,
manufactures passenger and freight cars, and employs three hundred
men. There is connected with these works one of the largest and most
important foundries in the State, outside of Detroit and Wyandotte.
The Illinois Manufacturing Company employs a capital of $200,000
and one hundred and fifty men; has orders from all parts of the country,
and is noted for the promptness and dispatch with which it fills them.
It manufactures all kinds of car trimmings and brass fittings. •
The Adrian Paper Mill Company manufactures wrapping and print
paper; has a capital of $75,000, and employs fifty men.
The Adrian Hand Car Company, recently organized, manufactures an
improved hand car, and has orders from all parts of the country.
There are three first class flouring mills here in successful operation,
two of them being run by water and one by steam.
Boots and shoes, carriages and furniture are manufactured [for the
wholesale trade to a considerable extent.
There is about to be established a file manufactory, also a factory for
the manufacture of all kinds of wooden- ware, which will furnish employ
ment for a considerable number of men.
Adrian has four banks — First National, formerly Waldby's Bank of
Adrian, long atfd successfully conducted by Wm. H. Waldby, the present
Mayor of the city; W. H. Stone & Co., private bankers; Lenawee County
Savings Bank, and the Adrian Savings Bank.
The Michigan State Insurance Company, located here, is one of the
best insurance companies in the State. It is doing a large business, and
is perfectly reliable.
The first newspaper was published here October 22, 1834, called thfc
Lenawee Republican and Adrian Gazette, afterwards the Watcktower, R. W.
Inglass, proprietor.
In 1865, a portion of the Watchiower establishment was purchased by
General Wm. Humphre}', now Auditor-General of the State, and he, in
conjunction with T. S. Applegate, one of the owners of the Watchtowery
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
701
established the Adrian Daily Times, which took the place of the Watch-
tower.
The Adrian Expositor was established in 1843, and was consolidated
with the Times in 1866. The Times and Expositor is ably conducted by
its present proprietors, Messrs. Applegate & Fee, and has a large circula
tion daily and weekly.
HON. J. W. GORDON.
J. WRIGHT GOKDON was lieutenant-governor of Michigan during the
administration of Governor Woodbridge, and upon the resignation of
the latter gentleman to accept a seat in the United States Senate, Mr.
Gordon became acting governor. He was a gentleman of high character
and ability, find was at one time the regular Whig candidate for United
States Senator; but was defeated by a combination of Whigs and Demo
crats in the legislature. After leaving the public service, his health
became impaired, and he visited South America. He died at Pernain-
buco, from the effects of a fall from a balcony, in December, 1853.
702 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
The Press (daily and weekly), recently established by William A.
Whitney, is receiving an extensive patronage, and is also ably conducted.
The Journal is issued every Friday morning, and has a circulation
throughout the county. Japheth Cross, proprietor.
The Adrian Auzeiger is a German paper of modest pretensions, well
managed by Messrs. Lohmann & Son, and well patronized by the German
population of the city and county.
Adrian has a very efficient and well ordered paid Fire Department —
two steam fire engines, one Babcock self-acting fire engine, one hand
engine, and one hook and ladder company. The department employs
fifty men. The apparatus is of the best class, and comfortable and elegant
brick engine houses afford quarters for the men and horses employed, the
city owning the teams used.
The Mineral Springs, connected with the hotel by that name, located in
the western part of the paved district, are pronounced by chemists, and
show by analysis, to be possessed of excellent medicinal properties.
They are well patronized, with the best results. The bath and hotel
accommodations are of the first order.
There are a number of other mineral springs in the city — one located
between Adrian College and the business portion of the city, on the
premises of J. J. Newell, Esq. , which has recently been analyzed, and pro
nounced a very superior and healthful beverage. Besides being possessed
of excellent curative powers, it is cold and exceedingly palatable. One on
the premises of Colonel J. H. Wood, in the southern portion of the city,
is also rapidly increasing in favor. It is located in a beautiful spot and
is attracting much notice. There are others of more or less merit in
different parts of the city. A large number of strangers, from all sections
of the country, visit Adrian for the purpose of enjoying the benefits of
these springs and the healthful atmosphere of the place. The influx of
these visitors is so large that the hotels and boarding houses of the city,
heretofore affording ample accommodations, are filled to their utmost
capacity, and the erection of new buildings for the especial purpose of
accommodating those who corne here to recreate and restore themselves
to health and vigor is contemplated.
Adrian has several parks, the most important of which is Monument
Square, in which is located the Soldiers' Monument. The monument
consists of an Italian marble shaft, thirty feet high, surmounting a base,
twenty feet high, built of cut stone.
The Adrian Gas Light Company was organized in 1856, with a capital
of $50,000, since which time the works have been enlarged and the capi
tal stock increased.
The Young Men's Christian Association, and the Ladies' Library Asso
ciation, deserve mention. The former has a free reading-room, supplied
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
703
with the best papers and magazines of the day, and is doing much good
in the city. The latter possesses one of the finest miscellaneous libraries
in the State, consisting of about two thousand volumes of choice works.
Much interest is taken in horticulture and in ornamenting the homes
of the city with shrubs and flowers. There is a horticultural society
maintained here, which does much to create and foster a proper spirit of
HON. WM. L. GREENLY.
WILLIAM L. GREENLY was born at Hamilton, Madison county, New
York, September 18, 1813; graduated at Union College, Schenectady, in
1831; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1834. In 1836, he
settled in Adrian, Michigan, where he has since resided. The year fol
lowing, he was elected State senator, and served in that capacity until
1839. In 1845, he was elected lieutenant-governor of the State, and
became acting governor by the resignation of Governor Felch, who was,
in February, 1847, elected to the United States Senate. Governor Greenly
is a gentleman of high character and attainments, and during his^official
career served the State with great acceptability.
704 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
emulation. Adrian is one of the best ornamented cities in the State, and
is beautifully shaded with maple and elm trees.
Oakwood Cemetery, situated in the northeast portion of the city, on
the east bank of the River Raisin, is one of nature's most beautiful land
scapes — is laid out in the best style — is ornamented and beautified with
that taste and solemn elegance becoming the sacred city of the dead. It
is indeed a beautiful and hallowed spot. Here solemnity and beauty
associate in harmonious combination.
Situated as Adrian is — upon the main line of the Lake Shore and Michi
gan Southern Railway, at its junction with the Jackson and Detroit
branches, with fair prospects of the speedy completion of the Adrian
and Detroit Railroad with its connections, making a grand trunk line
between the East and Southwest, with a good market, for which it has
justly been noted since the completion of the Erie and Kalamazoo Rail
road to this point in 1836, with its large and constantly increasing manu
facturing interests, the rich farming country surrounding it, the heauty
and healthfulness of its location, its superb schools and the general intel
ligence of its people— it has a grand future before it.
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway company employs
three hundred men in its repair and car building shops here, which shops
are located in the immediate vicinity of the works of the Adrian Car
Manufacturing Company. City lots, convenient to these shops, have
been laid out and platted, affording mechanics an excellent opportunity
to provide for themselves comfortable homes.
Fine building lots, in other portions of the city, can be purchased on
very easy terms at comparatively low prices. No city in the State affords
better opportunities or offers better inducements to those desirous of pro
curing houses, whether they wish to engage in business or retire from
the active pursuits of life to educate their children, or to enjoy the
society of an educated and intelligent people.
45
DETROIT.
IN preceding chapters of this work, we have given the incidents con
nected with the history of Detroit more iu detail than space will allow
at this place. It is our purpose in this sketch to follow, very briefly, the
outline of its history, and then to notice its growth, improvements and
future prospects.
Established in 1701, by the French, Fort Detroit soon came into rivalry
with its older and distant sister, Michilimackinac. Previous to the date
mentioned, the latter place had been regarded as the central western out
post of New France, but the establishment of a fort and trading post
on the Detroit river drew largely from that place. Its advantages in
climate, government and the liberality of its commandant were all that
was needed to divert the tide of settlement from Michilimackinac.
Three years after the establishment of Fort Detroit, the English
influenced the Indians to set fire to the town, which was, however, but
partially destroyed.
In 1712, the Fox Indians made a desperate attempt to destroy it, but
after a bold and determined siege of nineteen days, they were repulsed
with great loss.
In 1749, the settlement was extended by emigrants sent out at the
expense of the French government, but the policy of the new command
ant was such as to prevent the rapid growth of the town.
In 17G3, Fort Detroit, with all Canada, was transferred to the British
Crown. This change was not only distasteful to the French settlers at
Detroit, but to the Indians in the surrounding country, who had learned
to respect and love their "brothers, the French." This savage dissatis
faction, goaded on by the French, resulted in what is known to history
as the Pontiac war, a full account of which has already been given in
this work.
In 1796, the American army entered Detroit. The British had pre
viously left the town, and their authority was thus peacefully transferred
to the United States.
The Territory of Michigan was organized in 1805, at which date Gen
eral William Hull was appointed its first Governor. He formed a gov
ernment at Detroit, in July of that year. The town of Detroit had been
entirely destroyed by fire a short time previous, and now advantage was
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DETROIT.
708 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
taken of this circumstance to widen the streets and lay out the future
city on an entirely new and enlarged plan.
The growth of Detroit, for many years, depended on the fur trade and
the disbursement of public moneys. There was yet needed that impulse
which is only produced by the settlement of the surrounding country.
The old town of Detroit was situated a little west of the heart of the
present city of Detroit and was built entirely of wood. The streets were
narrow, and the place presented a rude, uninviting appearance.
Passing on from 1805 to 1815, we find the "new town" or city of
Detroit considerably improved. It had one commodious dock, called the
"public wharf." It consisted of a pier, formed by a crib of logs, filled
in with stone and gravel. It was about one hundred and fifty feet from
the shore, with which it was connected by a bridge, or plank-way. All
vessels, whether public or private, were then accustomed to load and
unload at this wharf. The rest of the water front was in a state of
nature. A second wharf was built in 1826.
There were six or seven stores, for general business, in the town at this
date, but not a vessel which then navigated the lakes was owned in
Detroit.
The military grounds were occupied by Fort Shelby and the Infantry
cantonment. This fort was erected in 1777, by Major Le Noult, the
British commander, and was thrown down in 1827. The cantonment
was built in 1815, occupying nearly the whole square between Fort
Wayne, Lafayette and Cass' line. It consisted of a group of log build
ings about one hundred feet long. The court room used in 1834 was, in
1820, used by the court-martial, and as the dancing hall of the can
tonment.
The city of Detroit was incorporated by an act passed by the Governor
and judges, on the 4th of October, 1815. By this act the municipal
authority was invested in five trustees, a secretary, an assessor, a collec
tor and a city marshal, who were to be chosen on the first day of May,
annually, by the householders of the city, paying an annual rent of forty
dollars.
General John R. Williams was elected the first mayor of Detroit, in
1824, and in 1836, the legislature passed an act extending the limits of the
city. This opened the way for that influx of immigration and advance
ment of commercial enterprise which has made Detroit a great city.
Until 1827, Detroit was the only municipal corporation in the Territory
of Michigan, and at that time it contained a population of about two
thousand souls, which was about one-tenth of the population of the Ter
ritory. Even at that late date, the city was but little else than a military
and fur trading post. The inhabitants were principally native French,
with a few^families from the eastern States. Then only three or four
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
709
steamboats a week arrived in Detroit; now a craft of some nature passes
it every six minutes on an average, and nearly all the steamers on the
upper and lower lakes make it a stopping point. Then there were but
four wharves at which vessels could unload; now its docks extend for
miles on the river front. Then there were but three turnpike roads lead
ing from Detroit; now there are plank roads and railroads in almost every
CITY HALL, DETROIT.
direction. Then the eastern mail arrived once a week ; now we have four
mails from that quarter daily, and the telegraph wires extend to all points
in America and Europe. The latter means of communication was
opened to Detroiters on the first day of March, 1848.
Among those institutions whose growth has rendered Detroit famous
in the nation, may justly be mentioned the public schools. It is true that
the schools of Detroit — where every child in the city can obtain the
elements of a good English education free of charge — are the pride and
boast of the city. The free public schools were first established in 1842.
But little interest had been manifested in the subject of education pre
vious to this date, and the citizens of Detroit are indebted to Dr. Zina
710 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Pitcher for the first step towards establishing a general system of educa
tion. While mayor, in 1841, he called the attention of the common
council to the great need of public schools in the city; and a report was
subsequently made to that body, showing that there were twenty-seven
English schools, one French and one German school. The whole num
ber of pupils reported was about seven hundred, while there were over
two thousand children of school-age in the city.
Measures were then taken for the establishment of common schools,
and, in a short time, seven new schools were opened. In 1842, the Legis
lature passed an act incorporating the schools of the city into one
district, under the charge of the Board of Education of the city of
Detroit. Since that date, this board has had the management of the
school system, which, to the credit of its several members, is one of the
most efficient in the United States.
The first house for public worship erected in Detroit, was built by the
Roman Catholics, in 1723. This building stood on the present site of
Jefferson avenue, and directly opposite the Masonic Hall. It was, of
course, destroyed by the fire of 1805. The Cathedral of St. Ann was
commenced in 1817, by the Rev. Gabriel Richard, but was not completed
until 1832.
The Methodists organized a society in Detroit in 1812, and the Episco
pal society was organized in 1824. The first Presbyterian church was
organized in 1825, and the society erected a church on the corner of
Woodward avenue and Larned street as early as 1826. This building
was destroyed by fire in 1854.
The Second Presbyterian church was organized in 1849, with the Rev.
R. R. Kellogg as pastor. The membership of this church then consisted
of only twenty-six members. Public worship was held in the old capitol
building until April 7, 1850, when the society took possesion of their new
edifice, on the corner of Lafayette and Wayne streets. There they con
tinued until November 18, 1855, when they removed to their present
place of worship, with one hundred and sixty-seven members.
In the month of February of the same year, Rev. Arthur T. Pierson,
then of Waterford, New York, was called to the vacant pastorate, which
he still (1873) occupies.
In the spring of 1860, it was determined by the trustees to go forward
with sundry extensive improvements upon the church edifice, long con
templated, and felt to be essential to the completion of the original
design. The work was begun in July, 1870, and completed within the
year, the re-opening and re-dedication services being held January 1st,
1871.
From corner stone to cornice, the whole building was remodeled and
refitted, especially as to its interior, furnished with black walnut pews
and pulpit and a crescent gallery, and also with carpets and cushions.
FORT STREET, DETROIT.
712 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Space, in this late stage of our work, will not admit of mention of the
multitude of useful institutions now existing in the city. The most
important is the House of Correction, which is an honor to Detroit.
The Detroit City Hall — an engraving of which is presented here — is
one of the finest and most substantial edifices owned by any munici
pality of equal population in America.
But Detroit is not alone indebted to artificial and architectural accom
plishments for its magnificence. Nature, in her munificence, has bestowed
her beauties with a free hand. This is noticeable in the view of Fort
street, here presented.
The present condition of the city, in a commercial point as in all
others, is most satisfactory. The numerous extensive manufactories
attest its steady growth; and the volume of its commerce, which is becom
ing broader and more profitable year \yy year, is a safe guarantee of its
future greatness.
HON. WILLIAM C. DUNCAN.
WILLIAM CHAMBERLAIN DUNCAN was born in Lyons, New York, on
the 18th of May, 1820. His father's family removed from Lyons to Roch
ester, New York, when he was about five years of age. In the latter city
his younger years were spent, and he received there the advantage of an
ordinary common school education. At the age of twenty one, desiring
to engage in some employment for himself which might lead him into
active business, he accepted the position of steward on one of the passen
ger steamers then plying on the lakes, and remained in this employ
ment until 1846, when he became engaged in a similar occupation extend
ing up Lake Superior.
714 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Any one familiar with the vast commerce which is now seen upon Lake
Superior, and the almost countless craft that course its waters, and who
know Mr. Duncan, still a young man, will find it difficult to realize that
he was present, and engaged in the enterprise of taking the " Julia
Palmer," the first side-wheel steamer that ever floated on Lake Superior,
across the portage at the Sault Ste. Marie.
In the year 1849 Mr. Duncan became a permanent resident of Detroit,
and engaged in the business of a brewer and malster. Detroit was
then a comparatively small city, and Mr. Duncan has "grown with its
growth."
He brought into business life great personal activity, strict devotion to
his chosen pursuit, prudence and sagacity, and energy which was never
relaxed. These qualities secured him success, and enabled him to lay
the foundation of what has since become an ample fortune.
Mr. Duncan early attracted to himself the esteem of his fellow-citizens,
and was pointed out as a suitable candidate for political preferment.
He was elected an alderman in the year 1853, and served in that position
for five years. He was the first president of the Common Council after
that office was created by an amendment of the city charter. Mr. Dun
can was always a Democrat, and his personal popularity and his services
in the city council led to his nomination in 1861 for the office of mayor.
To this post he was triumphantly elected, and served during the years
1862 and 1863. His administration was distinguished for his careful
attention to city affairs, his rigid honesty and frugality, and his particular
efforts and influence in favor of the war for the Union. In the fall of
1862 he was chosen as a State senator from the second district, and filled
that office during the years 1863 and 1864.
In 1865 Mr. Duncan retired from active business, his impaired health
requiring that he should enjoy more recreation and rest. Since that time
he has given his attention to the management of his large estate, is a
director in financial corporations, has visited Europe twice, and is enjoy
ing the fruits of a youth and manhood of business energy and enterprise.
He manifests a deep interest in the welfare and prosperity of Detroit,
and his fellow citizens have not ceased to honor him by calling into pub
lic employment his intelligence and forecast. In the spring of 1873,
upon the organization of the board of estimates, a body which has a large
control of the municipal expenditures, he was chosen a member at large.
In the fall of 1873 the unanimous voice of his party selected him a second
time as its candidate for the mayoralty, but the condition of his health
compelled him to decline the nomination.
Mr. Duncan is a notable example of the sound and practical business
qualities which lead to success, and of the personal habits and character
which secure and retain public esteem.
filSTORY OP MICHIGAN. 715
His energy, perseverance, integrity, and cordial manners, early gave
him a high place in the community in which he has lived. By these
qualities and habits he has been able to build up his fortune and estab
lish his position in society.
His popularity is not exhausted, and, as he is still in the prime of life,
it is the hope of all who know him that his health may be spared for the
higher duties in business and political life, to which his fellow-citizens
are sure to summon him.
HON. W. W. WHEATON.
THE subject of our sketch, the Hon. Wm. W. Wheaton, of Detroit, is
an example of what can in the United States be accomplished without
extrinsic aid or influence when ability, energy and ambition are united
with perseverance and determination to succeed.
Mr. Wheaton was born in New Haven, Conn., on the 5th of April,
1833, and is therefore now only in his fortieth year. Yet he has for
twenty years been a prominent wholesale merchant, most of the time
at the head of a firm; has been at the head of the city government of
Detroit as Mayor for four years, and has been chairman of the Demo
cratic State Central Committee for two years. In the fall of 1866 he ran
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 717
for Senator for the Second District of Michigan and was only defeated
by twelve votes, and he was twice elected Mayor. It is rarely that mer
cantile, official and political prominence have been secured so early in
life without any strong outside influences to aid in attaining them.
Mr. Wheaton's parents were only in moderate circumstances. When
he was but ten years old his father died. He obtained a common school
education by working for his board and schooling. He was preparing
for college under the late Judge Simeon Baldwin, of New Haven, when
he was offered a situation in the mercantile establishment of C. H. JSTor-
thum & Co., of Hartford. He remained with them four years, laying
the foundation of business qualifications that have since secured him
his success. He then removed to Detroit and entered into business for
himself in the firm of Farrand & Wheaton, and subsequently at the head
of the firm of Wheaton, Leonard & Burr, and Wm. W. Wheaton & Co.
He has accumulated a fine property from no capital but business capacity
and able management. He is at the present time the treasurer and
general agent of the Marquette and Pacific Rolling Mill Company of
Marquette, which represents $500,000, and is owned mostly in Detroit.
He has been successful as an official through incorruptibility and atten
tion to his duties. He has acquired prominence as a politician through
his knowledge of men, his frankness, his energy and his independence of
individual or selfish influences.
FLINT.
THE city of Flint, the county seat of Genesee county, is beautifully
located upon the banks of the Flint river, and is about equi-distant
between Saginaw and Pontiac. Its present population is about 10,000,
and it is a town of no inconsiderable business. Located in the center of
a rich agricultural county, numbering about 40,000 inhabitants, the
growth of the city has never been rapid and spasmodic, but certain and
healthy.
Mr. Jacob Smith was the first white settler, having removed here soon
after the treaty was concluded with the Indians at Saginaw in 1819. Mr.
Smith had but few white neighbors before his death, and it was not until
about the years 1828 and 1830 that the place could be called "fairly
started." Among the first settlers, may be mentioned the names of
Lyman Stow, Rufus W. Stevens, John Todd, R. F. Stage, D. S. Freeman,
I. D. Wright, G. and R. Bishop, L. G. Biskford, C. S. Payne, T. B. W.
Stockton, Charles C. Hascall, II. M. and I. Henderson, Win. Moon.
About the year 1834, a land office was established here for the sale of
lands in the Saginaw district, and General C. C. Hascall was appointed
receiver and Michael Hoffman register. Political changes taking place,
these gentlemen were succeeded by George M. Dewey, as receiver, and
E. B. Witherbee, as register, and who in their turn were succeeded by R.
Bishop, as receiver, and Wm. M. Fenton, as register, who held their
appointments until the office was removed to Saginaw, in the year 1858.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
The Asylum for the Deaf, the Dumb and the Blind was located here by
the legislature of 1847. The building is one in which the people of the
State may take a just pride. The site was donated to the State by Colonel
T. B. W. Stockton. Hon. I. B. Walker was the resident commissioner
until his declination in 1872, when W. L. Smith was appointed as his suc
cessor. The institution is at present in a highly flourishing condition
under the management of Professor E. L. Bangs. It has a general attend
ance of 150 students.
The Court House and City Hall are creditable structures.
HAILKOADS.
The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad passes through the city, opening
a direct line of communication to all points north and south. The Port
720 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Huron and Lake Michigan Railroad having lately been consolidated with
the Peninsula Railroad, extending from Lansing to Valparaiso, in Indiana,
secures the early completion of the road from Flint to Lansing — the new
organization taking the name of "The Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad
Company." This road will, when finished, be of great advantage to the
people of the Northwest, and will constitute the shortest route from
Chicago to the sea-board.
SCHOOLS.
Flint has vied with its sister cities of the State in its educational facili
ties. A central " Union school" building is now being erected at a cost
of $100,000, which will be one of the finest school buildings in the State.
Professor Tumsdell now stands at the head and supervises the educa
tional interests of the city, and students are admitted to the University
upon his certificate without further examination.
LIBRARIES.
The only public library in the city is that of the " Ladies1 Library
Association," organized in 1851, and which is the pioneer or "mother
association " of the hundreds of similar ladies' library associations now
in the full tide of successful and useful operation, not only in Michigan,
but in neighboring States. The plan of this "peculiar institution" origi
nated with Mrs. R. "W. Jenny, who wrote its constitution and by-laws,
and under which Mrs. Colonel Stockton was chosen its first president. It
owns a large and valuable circulating library.
Colonel E. H. Thompson has one of the largest and best private libra
ries in the State.
The "Flint Scientific Institute," pioneered by Dr. Daniel Clarke, Dr.
Manly Miles, Hon. F. H. Rankin, Hon. E. H. Thompson, and others, is
one of the best of its kind. It has a rare and valuable collection for the
study of the naturalist and the scientist.
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.
One commandery Knights Templar; one chapter Royal Arch Masons;
two lodges F. & A. M. ; two lodges I. O. O. F. ; one lodge I. O. G. T. ; St.
Michael's Benevolent Society.
BANKS.
Her banks are the First National, Citizens' National, and the Genesee
County Savings Bank.
Flint has also a Riding Park Association; an excellent Brass Band,
under charge of Professor G. I. H. Gardner; a military company — " The
Flint Union Blues."
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 721
NEWSPAPERS.
There are three weekly newspapers. The Wolverine Citizen, published
and edited by F. H. Rankin ; the Globe, by A. L. Aldrich (both Republi
can), and the Oenesee Democrat, by Jenny & Fellows.
CHURCHES.
Two Methodist, one Presbyterian, one Episcopal, one Baptist, one Con
gregational, one German Evangelical, one Catholic. The new Episcopal
church is not excelled in architectural design and beauty by any in the
State.
MANUFACTORIES.
The manufacture of lumber has contributed largely to the prosperity
of the city. There are ten steam saw mills, of usual capacity, besides
planing mills, two woolen mills, three foundries, etc., giving employment
to a large force of workmen.
Among the recent improvements in the city have been the sinking of
two artesian wells, by the city council, and the erection of the Holly
Water Works, by A. McFarlan, Esq., on his premises, for the protection
of his saw mill and lumber yard from fire.
ORGANIZATION.
The city charter was granted by the legislature in 1855. G. Decker
was chosen the first mayor. The subsequent mayors were Hons. R. I. S.
Page, Porter Hazelton, E. S. Williams, H. M. Henderson, Win. Paterson,
S. M. Axford, W. B. McCreery, Wm. M. Fenton, Wm. Hamilton, A. B.
Witherbee, Wm. S. Patrick, H. H. Crapo, I. B. Walker, D. S. Fox, and
the popular and efficient incumbent, Hon. George H. Durand.
Many of the early settlers and prominent professional and business
men of Flint have died within the past few years, among whom may be
mentioned the names of Governor H. H. Crapo, Governor Fenton, Hon.
H. M. Henderson, Hon. A. B. Witherbee, Hon. A. P. Davis, Hon. C. P.
Avery, Hon. Levi Walker, General C. C. Hascall, B. Pierson, James Hen
derson, Esqrs., and Rev. Daniel E. Brown. While their bodies repose in
the glades of our beautiful Glenwood, the memory of their worth and
virtues will be enshrined in the memories of those permitted to "linger
behind."
" Give them the meed they have won in the past-
Give them the honors thQir future forecast."
HON. ALEXANDER H. MORRISON.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON MORRISON, of St. Joseph, Michigan, projector
and builder of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, and its
vice-president and general manager, was born in the Province of Quebec,
Canada, February 22, 1822. At the age of fifteen, he was engaged as clerk
for B. W. Smith, now sheriff of Simcoe, Ontario, and with him came
West in 1838, arriving at Chicago in October of that year, when Chicago
contained less than four thousand inhabitants. Here he entered the
employ of David Ballentine, Esq., then a contractor on the Illinois and
Michigan Canal, and remained with him as clerk for several years. At
the age of nineteen, he engaged in active business on his own account.
In 1847, 1848 and 1849, Mr. Morrison was engaged as a contractor on
public works in Illinois and Iowa. In 1850, he came to St. Joseph, where
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 723
he has since resided and been connected in extensive business as a mer
chant and lumberman, until he engaged in the railroad enterprise which
now occupies his attention.
The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, of which Mr. Morri
son is the projector, builder and successful general manager, extends
from New Buffalo on the Michigan Central to Pentwater, which is the
main line — a distance of one hundred and seventy miles — with a branch
of twenty-five miles from Holland to Grand Rapids, and another branch
from Muskegon to Big Rapids of fifty-five miles, making in all two hun
dred and fifty miles of road.
Considering the difficulties encountered in consequence of the decision
of the supreme court, declaring void all municipal aid voted to help con
struct railways, together with the fact that the road was built through a
new country, sparsely populated, which would not have been undertaken
without the encouragement the law of 1869 proposed, the success of the
enterprise, in both its completion and management, entitles to the projector
and builder to an amount of praise for commercial sagacity, foresight and
economy in all the details of construction and management, seldom
awarded to men of these times, and which to him, in his declining years,
will be a great source of consolation and pride.
Mr. Morrison, while engaged in extensive business, has at the same
time given some attention te politics and been the recipient of political
honors, and seen much of public life for a man of his years, now only
fifty-two.
In 1851, he was chairman of the board of supervisors of Berrien
county. In 1852, he was a candidate for presidential elector on the
Whig ticket. In 1856, he was elected to the Senate of this State. In
1860, he was elected to the house of representatives and was chairman of
the committee on State affairs for three sessions, and during that time was
one of the special joint committee on war matters, of which Hons. Jas.
F. Joy, H. P. Baldwin and Thomas D. Gilbert were members. To the
members of that committee must be awarded the honor of successfully
projecting that policy which at the end of the war found the State unin-
cumbered with a war debt. The individual members of that committee
were also foremost in sustaining a policy not less important, inaugurated
by Mr. Joy at the first session of the legislature of 1861, for the establish
ment of a sinking fund, which, in 1881, will find the State entirely out
of debt.
In 1862, Mr. Morrison was appointed, by President Lincoln, collector
of internal revenue for the second district of Michigan, and, in 1867,
assessor of internal revenue for the same district, which office he held
until June, 1869, when he resigned to enter upon the railroad project, of
which mention is made above.
724 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
Mr. Morrison belongs to one of the pioneer families of the western
country who were Indian traders in the Lake Superior country in the
latter part of the last century and the first part of this. His father was
a member of the old Northwestern Fur Company, and one of the few part
ners in that company that refused to surrender to, and successfully resisted
Lord Selkirk, in his war made upon it in the interest of the Hudson Bay
Company, immediately after the late war with Great Britain. His guar
dian, in his boyhood, and under whose care he was educated, was his
friend and relative — the late William Morrison — the discoverer of the
sources of the Mississippi river, from whom he obtained a knowledge of
pioneer life in the beginning of this century by hearing him relate
adventures that to the young have a charm that is irresistible.
Mr. Morrison ascribes his late success to his business connection with
the Hon. James F. Joy, the great railroad magnate of the Northwest, to
whom he always gives the entire praise. Be that as it may, the people of
Michigan will always remember the subject of this sketch as one of her
distinguished characters ; and the people of the town of St. Joseph and
Berrien county, as its most prominent, widely known and ambitious
business man, who for nearly twenty-five years has maintained a spotless
reputation as a merchant and railroad manager.
HON. JOHN S. HORNER.
JOHN SCOTT HORNER was born at Warrenton, Fouquier county, Vir
ginia, on the 5th day of December, 1802. He was the third son of Dr.
Gustavus Brown Homer, assistant surgeon, and nephew of Dr. Gustavus
Brown, Surgeon-General of the Revolutionary Army. His ancestors
were English and resided in Yorkshire, near Kipon. His paternal grand
father emigrated to the State of Maryland at an early day, and went into
726 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
business as a wholesale importing merchant. He was a near relative of
Sir Francis Horner. The subject of this sketch graduated in 1819 at
Washington College, Pennsylvania, and practiced law in Virginia until
September, 1835. On the 9th day of that month he was appointed by
President Jackson, Secretary and Acting Governor of the Territory of
Michigan, inclusive of the Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa. As chief
executive of the Territory, Governor Horner did much to allay the hos
tile feeling then existing between the people of the Territory and of the
State of Ohio in reference to the boundary question. Subsequently he
was appointed Secretary of the Territory of Wisconsin, and received
orders from President Jackson to take up his quarters near the Missis
sippi river, in order to meet the apprehended difficulty between the Win-
nebago Indians and the settlers in the mineral region of Wisconsin. On
his arrival he learned that that tribe were besieging Fort Winnebago.
Taking with him a single guide he made a perilous journey of eighty
miles to Fort Crawford, called upon General Taylor for a force of one
hundred and twenty men, and with them proceeded to. the relief of Fort
Winnebago. Arriving there he demanded a council with the Indians,
and received a reply from the chiefs that they were "falling to pieces"
from starvation, owing to the non-payment of the annuities due from the
United States. Upon learning this Governor Horner promptly took the
responsibility of issuing an order to deliver to the starving Indians one-
half the pork and flour in the military stores of the fort. This action
prevented an Indian war, and was highly approved by General Jackson ;
and Congress passed an act granting one thousand dollars to Governor
Horner as a recognition of his services.
As secretary of the Territory of Wisconsin, his career was distinguished
by ability and integrity, and he received many evidences of the confi
dence of the people and of the general government. After his retirement
from this office, he was appointed by President Jackson register of the
Green Bay land office, and by successive appointments by Presidents
Van Buren and Tyler, held the position for thirteen years. He has also
served for four years as probate judge for the counties of Green Lake
and Marquette, in the State of Wisconsin.
Governor Horner now resides in the beautiful and flourishing city of
Ripon, Wisconsin, a city which he founded, and to which he gave its
name, in compliment to the home of his ancestors in England.
Early in life, Gov. Horner distinguished himself by his advocacj7 of
slave emancipation, and the records of the Virginia courts show many
evidences of his success as an advocate for slaves suing for their freedom.
This sincerity in the cause was proved by his promptitude in freeing the
slaves descended to him from his father's estate. This act was performed
soon after his coming of age — an act as rare as it wTas commendable at
that early day.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
727
Gov. Homer is still in the enjoyment of vigorous health, the result of
temperance and daily active exercise. His life has been an active one,
and his official career has been distinguished by ability and strict integrity,
and in his dignified retirement he enjoys the results of a well-spent life —
health, competence, and troops of friends.
HON. ALPHEUS FELCH.
ALPHEUS FELCH was born at Limerick, York county, Maine, Septem
ber 28, 1806; graduated at Bowdoin College, and adopted the law as a
profession. When quite young he emigrated to Michigan, and was
elected in 1836 to the State Legislature, and re-elected in 1837. In 1838
he was appointed Bank Commissioner, and resigned that office in 1839.
For a short time in 1842 he was Auditor-General, but relinquished that
position for a seat on the Supreme bench of the State. He was elected
Governor of Michigan in 1845, and resigned in 1847 to accept a seat in the
728 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
United States Senate, in which capacity he served a term of six years.
He was appointed by President Pierce one of the commissioners to settle
land claims in California, under the Act of Congress, and the Treaty of
Guaclalupe Hidalgo, in March, 1853. The business of this Commission
was closed by disposing of all the cases before it in March, 1856. In 1864
he was a delegate to the Chicago Convention. Since the close of his
official career Governor Felch has lived in retirement at Ann Arbor.
His official career has been marked by the strictest integrity, and he has
ever enjoyed the entire confidence of the people whom he has so long
and honorably served.
HON. KINSLEY S. BINGHAM.
KINSLEY SCOTT BINGHAM was born in Camillus, Onondaga county,
N. Y., December 16, 1808. He was a farmer's son, and his early life was
spent in that occupation. He received a good academic education in his
native State, and studied law in the office of Gen. James K. Lawrence,
now of Syracuse, N. Y. In the spring of 1833 he married an estimable
lady recently from Scotland, and immediately emigrated to Michigan
and purchased a new farm, in company with his brother-in-law, Mr.
Robert Warden, in Green Oak, Livingston county. Here, on the border
of civilization, he commenced the arduous task of clearing and fencing a
new farm, putting up the buildings and making it habitable, and bring-
730 GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATES.
ing it to a high state of cultivation. He held the offices of justice of the
peace and postmaster under the Territorial Government, and was the first
judge of probate in the county. In the year 1836 when Michigan became
a State, he was elected to the first legislature. He was four times
re-elected, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives three years.
In 1846 he was elected Representative in Congress, and was the only
practical farmer in that body. He did many things in the interest of the
farmers, and in particular he opposed and prevented the extension of
Wood's patent cast iron plow. He was re-elected to Congress in 1848.
He strongly opposed the extension of slavery in the Territories of the
United States, and was committed and voted for the Wilmot Proviso. In
1854, at the first organization of the Republican party, he was nominated
and elected Governor of the State. In 1856 he was re-elected Governor,
and during his administration the farming interest was not forgotten.
Among his best acts he recommended and assisted in establishing the
Agricultural College at Lansing. In 1859 he was elected Senator in Con
gress. He took an active part in the stormy campaign in the election of
Abraham Lincoln, and witnessed the inauguration of the rebellion. On
the 5th of October, 1861, he was attacked with apoplexy, and died sud
denly at his residence in Green Oak.
HON. STEVENS T. MASON.
STEVENS THOMPSON MASON was a son of General John T. Mason, of
Kentucky, but was born in Virginia in 1812. At the age of nineteen he
was appointed Secretary of Michigan Territory, and served in that capa
city during the administration of Governor George B. Porter. Upon the
death of Governor Porter, which occurred on the 6th of July, 1834, Mr.
Mason became acting governor. In October, 1835, he was elected gov
ernor under the State organization, and immediately entered upon the
performance of the duties of the office, although the State was not yet
admitted into the Union. After the State was admitted into the Union,
Governor Mason was reflected to the position, and served with credit to
himself and to the advantage of the State. He died January 4th, 1843.
RESIDENCE OF J. W. FRISBIE.
FOLLOWING are six engravings — views of the magnificent residence
of Mr. James W. Frisbie, of Detroit. It is located on Cass avenue, one
of the most popular and aristocratic thoroughfares in the city, and occu
pies nearly the entire square bounded by Cass avenue on the east, Bagg
street on the north and Ledyard street on the south. A brief description
of this elegant residence will, no doubt, be interesting to the reader.
FRONT VIEW FROM CASS AVENUE.
As the visitor enters the broad gates from Cass avenue, a magnificent
scene is laid out to view. Its richness, however, varies according to the
season. In spring, or early summer, it gives one the impression that
nature had collected her rarest beauties and concentrated her most deli
cate fragrance on this spot. The scene is not more ennobling in its store
of nature's rich attire than imposing as a real work of true art. On the
right is a triangle of three Norway spruce trees, about twelve feet high.
RESIDENCE OF J. W. FRISBIE.
733
This is converted into a pyramid by a tall balsam rising from its base to
a height of fifteen feet, overlooking the whole from the corner. On the
left this view is repeated as perfect as though it were reflected by a mir
ror. The trees are of the same kind, stand exactly in corresponding
places, have been allowed to grow to the same height and no higher, and
are trimmed so as to present precisely the same appearance. There is
also on either side of the walk a drooping mountain ash. These two ar«
VIEW OF FRONT GARDEN.
the same in appearance, each exciting the curiosity of the visitor. Near
these on either side of the walk is a weeping willow about six feet high,
trimmed and developed into a perfect umbrella. These are as near alike
as is possible, and complete the similarity of the grounds and trees on one
side of the front walk with those on the other.
As the visitor advances from the front gate toward the residence, the
walk divides itself into three directions, one leading to the front door,
734
RESIDENCE OF J. W. FRISBIE.
another around the north side of the residence, a third around the south
side, meeting the last named in the rear and connecting in its course with
the grand northern winding walk leading through the hedge to the sum
mer house.
At the intersection of these walks the visitor has one of the grandest
views of garden landscape in America. The scene is perfectly indescrib
able, and the eye of the beholder is lost in wonder and admiration as the
handiwork of nature and triumphs of art blend together in harmony in
VIEW OF RESIDENCE AND GROUNDS.
every feature presented. From the tallest balsam, Norway spruce or
pine, to the most delicate foliage of the tinted rose is constantly visible
marks of artful man; a drooping branch on the one side has its counter
part on the other. The great vase on the right, whose flower-laden vines
stream down on either side, covering the massive base with the profusion
of nature's delicacy, has its grand rival and perfect duplicate in a corres
ponding place on the left; the fragrance-breathing mound that lies like a
bright painting on the canvas of earth, ever greeting the eye with new
RESIDENCE OF J. W. FRISBIE.
735
beauties that magnify among the rich foliage of a thousand brilliant
shades and colors, is repeated again with a skill that has compelled
nature to duplicate her rarest charms; the Michigan prairie rose vines
that rise from the soft grass ascend to meet and intertwine their rich and
heavy flower wreaths in arched magnificence over the front windows of
the residence, while the quaint beauty of the Indian maiden hair tree
VIEW THROUGH ARBOR AND SUMMER HOUSE TO RESIDENCE.
adds wonder to the scene by interweaving its strange branches. But as
if to constitute ail these wreaths and arches a back-ground to the great
picture before the visitor, a magnificent vase of many kinds of flowers
has been placed on either side of the entrance, just near enough to the
elevation to produce the richest effect.
) LANSING HOUSE.
THIS extensive and popular hotel is justly the pride of the capitol city.
The building ^vas erected at a cost of $85,000, and is one of the finest
structures in Lansing. It is located on Washington avenue, opposite the
old State house. The proprietor, Mr. M. Hudson, is one of the most
genial and accomplished of hosts. During the sessions of the legislature,
this hotel is the center of fashionable society in Lansing. Its large par
lors and ball rooms present an elegant appearance, and the building is in
every way arranged for a first-class hotel.
47
CENTRAL DRUG STORE, DETROIT.
THIS elegant establishment occupies a large part of the ground floor of
the Fisher Block. It forms in its obtuse angle one of the most prominent
corners on Campus Martius. The front of this store presents a^splendid
appearance. A prismatic glass morter, once the property of H. T. Helm-
bold, of Broadway, New York, and sixteen large colored show globes,
illuminate the square, making an attractive display.
Messrs. Prittie & Buffuin, proprietors of the Central Drug Store, are
gentlemen of reputed standing. Dr. W. H. Prittie is a graduate of
Harvard College, and has been favorably known in Boston for several
years as a reliable and competent apothecary, and also, in Jersey City, as
a practicing physician. He removed from the latter place to purchase
the Central Drug Store, and to settle in Detroit. Mr. J. J. Buffum, his
partner, has been favorably known in this State as a prominent merchant
during the last twenty-two years.
MICHIGAN EXCHANGE.
Tins is one of the oldest and most celebrated hotels in Detroit. It was
erected in 1834-5, but has, at different times, been enlarged. ) To-day it
occupies nearly an entire square, with a frontage of one hundred and
forty feet on Jefferson avenue. It is two hundred feet deep/ extending
from Jefferson avenue to Woodbridge street, and being six stories high
on the latter street and four on the former. This extensive and popular
hotel is conducted by Mr. Edward Lyon, who has been connected with
the Michigan Exchange for several years. He came to this State in
1836. After remaining in Detroit a few months, he removed to the site
of the present town of Lyons, which was then a wilderness. After
founding a settlement there, he returned to Detroit, in 1840; and has
since been prominently connected with the two leading hotels of the city
— formerly the Russell House, and at present the Michigan Exchange, of
which the foregoing engraving is a good illustration.
FERRY & CO/S SEED STORE
THE seed establishment of D. M. Ferry & Co. is one of the most exten
sive wholesale establishments in the State, and it is the largest of the kind
in the whole Northwest.
This enterprising firm furnishes constant employment to several hun
dred persons, and their trade extends over the whole Union, but is mainly
confined to the Middle, Southern and Western States. r*
The reputation of the house is an enviable one, and the goods they
send out need no recommendation.
This immense establishment has risen to its present prominence within
the last sixteen years, under the supervision of Mr. Ferry, whose name
is at the head of the firm. His wealth, acquired mainly, during that
period, is variously estimated at from five hundred thousand to a million
dollars. It is unquestionably in advance of the former figure.
There is something really cheering in these figures; not so much, how
ever, because an enterprising individual has thus quickly acquired a
fortune, but because they indicate the prosperity of the Peninsular State,
and constitute a part of that data which renders it a pleasing and an
enviable task to compare the history of Michigan's commerce with that
of the surrounding and competing States.
^gi]
(
THE SIMEONS & CLOUGH ORGANS.
AMONG the great industries of Michigan, the organ factory is a pleasing
feature, especially since it indicates the equal growth of all the interests
necessary to the development of a grand and prosperous State. " Of the
many large manufacturing establishments which are making Detroit
known throughout the country as a manufacturing city," says the Detroit
Tribune, "the Simmons &Clough Organ Company are doing their share,
inasmuch as their justly celebrated instruments are being shipped every
week into all parts of the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific."
On the first of Januar}^ 1872, the Simmons & Clough Organ Company
was organized, with a capital of $ 50,000, taking the business of Messrs.
Simmons & Clough, which firm began the business of making organs
some six for seven years ago in Detroit. The new company purchased a
lot 120x138 feet, and erected a five-story brick factory, on the corner of
Sixth and Congress streets. The original building was completed and
occupied on the 1st of June, 1872. The business of the concern increased
so rapidly that it was necessary to increase the size of the building, which
has recently been done. The factory has now a frontage of 120 feet on
Sixth street by 138 feet on Congress street. The new addition on Con-
gress street is six stories high. We present an engraving of the factory,
showing the growth of the establishment in the short space of two years.
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