i I ~,, it ai 9~~ INERE m mw= B? 14 1 f I 7M4 LA4 a: $; S~" :" i $5 B Bb jr~~ -:~ Z: a ~.,5 srl--$iSE"We%'~I-: ~:.-:. ~ -" q -i..,i rs t:: -J i:::, s~ -:r a F-l:nB:i:_ m,:,~:~~ ~~i , ir-i I-:::: ~bi 8 -B " i~ -B :,s,"u P; ::::::-i:;: -, —:_:-i ~: Id I::-:: _a ~:a s 1:::ii5!~s,,,, =:~--:::i:' -:b-fig I'b ~~r a %"- I~ a: tjr t;j ee,I g-~n c: -:; — II icr,, ci-ya iRID T ~1: 94 -a: ~:~~ s-. ..,i ~II~ uc ~ii':-a P:;uS" ~ — ; h a 5;;:; 'i; C- s "iB~ BR i:: a 4 5~I:1~;-* F P: ::: i:i;" s-_; b ": ::: -~lr Xsv : e F $i i~ 4, /s I 4 1-0 I clool, I, to 0 4^' ____I'g v 'I I 7_= #:: t \ D:: l:::::: h i:; i P I a: r i' 1 ~ t ~ i:~ r r I i w If;L w;I - i:i B; r a.:i a i a I 31 d. jJI OI X a s a 9 c i 4 z H n a 4 B a r; ~I g t a t i i i GENESEE CO()NTY COUIIT HOUSE, FLINT. HISTORY OF GENESEE COUNTY MICHIGAN HER PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS By EDWIN O. WOOD, LL. D. President Michigan Historical Commission With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizqns and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families VOLUME I ILLUSTRATED 1916 FEDERAL PUBLISHING COMPANY Indianapolis, Indiana ,7 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to two of Flint's foremost citizens, Rev. T. J. Murphy and William Crapo Durant, whose friendship, covering a period of a third of a century, has been a constant inspiration and encouragement to the editor. The activities of these two men reach into many angles in the development and progress of Flint and Genesee county; their greatest pleasure has been to advance the best interests of the community and to bring happiness and prosperity to all of their associates. 0 EDITOR'S PREFACE The history of Genesee county is most interesting and instructive, and to hope, and to believe, that this volume may help to preserve for our generation, and for generations to come, its priceless lessons, has been to the editor a source of great pleasure and satisfaction. The long occupation of our forests by the romantic, war-loving red man is prolific of traditionary lore; the comparatively recent development of our county's resources by the white settlers abounds with instruction and interest; but the records of this history, while abundant, are not easily accessible to the general reader. From time to time, our citizens have written about the incidents of pioneer life among the white settlers who came to these lands in an early day. Each and all of these, men and women prominent in every walk of life —clergymen, teachers, physicians, attorneys, busy men and women of literary taste-have thus indirectly contributed to the present work. Books have been published on the history of the county, some of them works of high merit. One of these, of special excellence, has been largely used in this work. It was among the first to appear-the "History of Genesee County," published in I879 by the Philadelphia firm of Everts & Abbott. On the whole, it has been found to be, as it claimed, a reliable and, for its time, exhaustive history of the county in all its phases-pioneer, agricultural, manufacturing, civil, military, educational and religious. To make this old material more generally and pleasurably accessible, it has been here entirely rearranged and systematized, and largely rewritten. The present task has been to correct, eliminate and supplement. Portions of it have been excluded, owing to differences in historical perspective between 1879 and I916. Many new facts relating to our early history have been added. Its chapters X to XVII contained such an excellent military record of the county, so complete and well written, and the events have still such great interest for all, that these chapters have been gathered into one and allowed to stand, with corrections and additions. All that was interesting and essential in the history of the townships has been retained and supplemented, with special reference to the pioneer period. EDITOR'S PREFACE. Another mass of material largely used in the present work is that in "The Book of the Golden Jubilee of Flint." The method has been mainly that of quotation, partly to preserve the individuality of the writers, as well as to make proper acknowledgment for each portion,used. In chapter I, much use has been made of the excellent work entitled "Michigan as a Province, Territory and State." Besides the various other histories of Michigan, such as those by Farmer, Lanman, Cooley, Mrs.* Sheldon, and special works like those of Rev. T. J. Campbell, S. J., on "Pioneer Laymen of North America" and "Pioneer Priests of North America," use has been freely made of the general sketches in other county histories. All of chapters II and III, and portions of several other chapters, have been written by Mr. William V. Smith, of Flint, who, as secretary of the Genesee County Historical Society since its organization, and a life-long student of the Indians, particularly of this region, is an authority of eminence on the subjects to which he has made contributions. A large part of the material used in connection with the local history of Genesee county and the city of Flint was prepared by Mrs. Kate E. Buckham, to whom,, as associate editor, especial acknowledgment is due. Invaluable information has been contributed by many of our citizens, whom to name individ:ually would he impracticable, but to each and all of these the editor wishes to express sincere thanks. As Byron says: "Critics all are ready made." This volume cannot expect to escape a generous fusilade of their feathered shafts. Those whose opinions are of value will at least read it with that care which the real critic vouchsafes to every book; and as they read, they will remember that the editor has sought to make, not an encyclopedia, but a record of our history whose perusal will be a pleasure, as well as a profit. EDWIN 0. WOOD. PUBLISHERS' FOREWORD All life and achievement is evolution; present wisdomn comes from past experience, and present commercial prosperity has come only from past exertion and sacrifice. The deeds and motives of the men who have gone before have been instrumental in shaping the destinies of later communities and states. The development of a new country was at once a task and a privilege. It required great courage, sacrifice and privation. Compare the present conditions of the Ieople of Genesee county, Michigan, with what they were but a little less than a century ago. From a trackless wilderness and virgin land, it has come to be a center of prosperity and'civilization, with millions of wealth, systems of railways, educational and religious institutions, varied industries and immense agricultural and dairy interests. Can any thinking person be insensible to the fascination of the study which discloses the aspirations and efforts of the early pioneers who so strongly laid the foundation upon which has been reared the magnificent prosperity of later days? To perpetuate the story of these people and to trace and record the social, religious, educational, political and industrial progress of the community from its first inception, is the function of the local historian. A sincere purpose to preserve facts and personal memoirs that are deserving of perpetuation, and which unite the present to the past, is the motive for the present publication. The publishers desire to extend their thanks to those who have so faithfully labored to this end. Thanks are also due to the citizens of Genesee county for the uniform kindness with which they have regarded this undertaking, and for their many services rendered in the gaining of necessary information. In placing the "History of Genesee County, Michigan," before the citizens, the publishers can conscientiously claim that they have carried out the plan as outlined in the prospectus. Every biographical sketch in the work has been submitted to the party interested, for correction, and therefore any error of fact, if there be any, is solely due to the person for whom the sketch was prepared. Confident that our effort to please will fully meet the approbation of the public, we are, Respectfully, THE PUBLISHERS. I CONTENTS VOLUME I CHAPTER I-HISTORY OF MICHIGAN —__ --- --- ----- 33 First White Explorers in Great Lakes Region-Samuel de ChamplainHis Victories Over the Indians and Their Consequent Unrelenting Hostility co the Whites-The Missionary Spirit-The Franciscan Order-The Jesuits and Their Work in the Northwest-Jean Nicolet-Fr. Rene Menard-First Map of Michigan-First Accounts of Copper in Northern Michigan-Oldest Settlement in Michigan-Formal Possession of Michigan by France-Jacques Marquette-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and His Explorations-Michilimackinac and Detroit, Rival Centers of Influence-M. de La Motte Cadillac-Michigan Under the British-Pontiac's Conspiracy-Siege of Detroit-End of the War and Signing of Peace Treaty-Activity in the Fur Trade-Mackinac-The Northwest Territory -Governor Arthur St. Clair-Indian Treaty of Greenville-British Withdraw from Northwest-Wayne County Formed-Indiana Territory-Michigan Territory-War of 1812 —Hull's Surrender-Indian Massacres and Depredations-End of the War-Governor Lewis Cass and His Successful Handling of the Tremendous Problems Which Confronted Him-Survey of Soldier Bounty Lands-Misleading Reports as to Their Character -Treaty of Saginaw-New Surveys by Cass and Establishment of a Land Office-Steam Transportation on Land and Water-Beginning of Great Immigration from the Eastern States-Demand for Roads-Steady Advance in Local and Territorial Self-government-General Cass a Firm Advocate of Popular Education-A Period of Rapid Growth-The "Toledo War"-Admission of Michigan into the Union and First State OfficialsDetroit in 1837-Centers of Population-Pioneer Life-An Era of Speculation-"Wild-cat" Banks-Internal Improvements-Removal of State Capital from Detroit to Lansing-Adoption of a New Constitution-A New Regime -Civil War Days-Michigan's Splendid Military Record-Zachariah Chandler-Governor Henry H. Crapo-Immigration Agents-Swamp Lands-Agricultural Education-Governor Crapo and the Pardoning Power-Public Aid to Railroad Enterprises-Constitutional Convention of 1867-Governor Henry P. Baldwin-Governor John J. Bagley-The Greenback MovementGovernors Josiah W. Begole, Russell A. Alger, Cyrus W. Luce, Edwin B. Winans, John T. Rich and Hazen S. Pingree-The Spanish-American WarGovernors Aaron T. Bliss, Fred M. Warner, Chase S. Osborne and Woodbridge N. Ferris-Natural Resources of the State-Transportation-Educational Advancement. CHAPTER II-THE INDIANS OF GENESEE COUNTY 101 Fragmentary Character of Indian History-Seldom Written Without Bias -Indian Attitude Towards White Man's Curiosity-Contradictory Writers -Character of the Red Men-Indians at the Time of the Discovery-The Story of Ay-oun-a-wa-ta-The Five Nations-Classification of the Various CONTENTS. Tribes-Hochelaga-Unsanitary Conditions Among the Indians-Champlain-Stephen Brule-Conflict Between the Canadian French and Their Indian Allies and the Five Nations, Aided by the Dutch and English-Dispersal of the Eastern Tribes and Their Coming to the Michigan Country-Story of The-People-who-went-out-of-the-land-Early Maps Showing Indian Occupancy-Former Possessors of Genesee County-Only One Tribal Identity, the Sacs, Preserved-The Mound Builders-Genesee County Under Huron Iroquois Occupancy-An Indian Home and Occupations-AgricultureThe Ottawas-Variant Accounts of the Occupancy of Genesee County by the Indians-The Chippewas-The Pontiac War-The Indians and the War of 1812-Romantic Traditions-The Battle of Long Lake-The Captives of the Saginaw. CHAPTER III-INDIAN TREATIES AND RESERVATIONS ------- 149 The Treaty of 1807-Indian Occupancy of Genesee County-Treaty of Saginaw-Lewis Cass, Joseph Campau and Jacob Smith-Interesting Features of the Council with the Indians-Louis Campau's Account of the Council -Pertinent Provisions of the Treaty-The Tribal Reservation-Ne-o-me -Treaties of 1837 and Subsequently-Reservations to Individuals and Later Contests Over Them. CHAPTER IV-SETTLEMENT OF FLINT BEFORE 1837 --- —-- 180 Flint, an Early Prominent Center of Settlement-Governor Cass's Tour of Observation and Discovery-The Grand Traverse-Origin of the Name, "Flint"-Indian Occupation-An Ignominious Whipping-First White Settler at Flint-Grand Blanc, a Rival Settlement-John Todd-Early Permanent Settlers-Organized Government-First Officers-Early Real Estate Prices-First Village Plats-First Postoffice Established-Land OfficeRoad Building-Mills-Influx of Settlers-First Schools-Early Religious Interest-Social Amusements-The Professions-Flint in 1837. CHAPTER V-PIONEER DAYS IN THE TOWNSHIPS-__ --- — 198 Original Area of Genesee County-Organization of the Townships-Flint Township-Land Entries-Early Neighborhood Settlements-Earliest Schools-Township Records-Stock Marks-Libraries-School DistrictsGrand Blanc Township-Land Entries and First Settlers-A Pioneer's Description of His Experiences-Village of Grand Blanc-Fenton Township-Settlers and Land Entries-Beginning of the Village of FentonReminiscences of Dr. S. W. Pattison and William M. Fenton-Platting and Settlement of the Village-Professional Men-Linden Village-Platting of-Schools and Religious Societies-Mt. Pleasant Village-First Election of Township Officers-Atlas Township-Settlement-Village of Goodrich-First Township Meeting-Flushing Township-First Settlers-Pioneer Conditions-The "English Settlement"-Flushing Village-Mundy Township-Land Entries, First Settlement and Other Early Events-Argentine Township-Settlement-Village of Booton (Argentine)-Mt. Morris Township-Pioneers-Schools and Churches-",Coldwater Settlement"First Township Officers-Genesee Township-Settlement-First Religious Services-Timber and Saw-mills- First Township Officials-Gaines Township-Settlement-First Township Meeting-Burton Township-The First Settlers-Religious Interests and Schools-First Township Meeting-Clayton Township-Original Natural Features-The Pioneers-The Miller, CONTENTS. Lyons and Donahoo Settlements-Organization of the Township-Vienna Township-First Settlers-Organization and First Officers of the Township-Early Schools and Churches-Thetford Township-The PioneersEarly Events-Organization and First Officials-Davison Township-Settlement-Organization-An Early Game Law-Richfield Township-Original Area-First Settlement-Pioneer Difficulties-First Events-Village Centers-First Township Officials-Forest Township-Its Name-Early Settlers-First Township Officials-Montrose Township-Its Name-First Officials-Early Prominent Citizens-M ills-The Winter of Want. CHAPTER VI-FIRST COUNTY COURT ------------------ 251 Various Judicial Districts in Which Genesee Has Been Placed-First County Officers-First Board of Supervisors Meeting-Tax AssessmentsFirst Session of the Circuit Court-First Case Tried-Early Actions of the Board of Supervisors and County Commissioners. CHAPTER VII —INDIAN TRAILS AND PUBLIC HIGHWAYS ------ 254 A Nation's Civilization Gauged by Her Transportation Facilities-Indian Trails, the First Roads-Chief Trails in Genesee County-Beginning of Good Roads Movement-Record of Roads Laid Out by the Commissioners of Highways-Adoption of the County Good-roads System in 1909-Plank Road Companies-A Reminiscence of the Old Stage Coach-The Flint River as a Highway. CHAPTER VIII-GEOLOGIC CONDITIONS OF SETTLEMENT --- —- 283 The Bed Rock and Glacial Drift —Original Drainage Beds-Pre-glacial Valleys-Movements of the Glaciers-Present Peculiar Drainage System-The Shiawassee River and Its Tributaries —Cement Industry-Salt IndustryClay Mining-Brick Clays-Artesian Wells-Attempts to Develop Coal Mines-Altitudes-Topography and Natural Features of the Townships. CHAPTER IX-PIONEER AGRICULTURE ------------------- 307 Husbandry, the Earliest Industry of the White Settlers-Character of the Soil-Timber-Early Crops —Early Interest in Live Stock-Wool-growing and Sheep-shearing-Cattle Breeding-The Crapo Farm-Genesee County Agricultural Society-Fair Grounds. CHAPTER X-FLINT RIVER VILLAGE, 1837-55 --- —------------- 314 Progress of Flint Typical of the County's Progress-A Period of Advancement-Mills-Roads and Railroads-First Brick Buildings-A Hidden Romance-Early Industries-The Old Brick Court House-Early LawyersDoctors-Village Schools-The First Newspaper-Early Religious Interests -The First Library-Ladies Library Association of Flint-The Old Flint Band. CHAPTER XI-MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS_ -------------- 334 Genesee County Men in the War of 1812-The Civil War-Governor Blair's Patriotic Message-Other Public Utterances in 1862 —Triumphant Return of the Soldiers at the Close of the Conflict-Michigan Battle Flags Presented to the State-Historical Sketches and Rosters of the Various Commands in Which Genesee County Men Were Enlisted-"The Heroic." CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII-RAILROADS ----— __ --- —--------------- __ 482 Earliest. Attempts at Railroa4 Bui4.ding* —Ftist,,Mieaigan Company fItorporated-Railroad Building Under Difficulties-First Railroad into FlintCongressional Land Grants as Aids to Railroad Building-Later Lines Which Have Contributed to the Development of Genesee County. CHAPTER XIII-EARLY YEARS OF FLINT CITY -— __ —_-_-_ --- —----- 494 Incorporation-The Tax Roll of 1855-First City Officers-Regarding Some of the Early Officers-Roster of City Officials-Financial Stringency in the Early Years of the City-Elements Which Gave Impulse to the City's Growth-A Wholesome Progress Along All Lines. CHAPTER XIV-LUMBERING AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES-__ --- —- 504 Pioneer Beginning of the Lumber Industry-A Typical Lumber Camp and Methods of Getting Out the Timber-Wonderful Development of Lumber Business During and After the War-The Crapo Mills and Others Which Followed-A Summary of the Lumber Situation-Flint's Manufacturing Development, a Normal and Legitimate Growth-Manufacturing Interests at Fenton and Flushing. CHAPTER XV-BANKS AND BANKING ---- -------------— _ 519 Michigan's First General Banking Law-"Wildcat" Banks and Unstable Currency-Low Real Estate Values-Later Splendid Results of Earlier Experiences-Legitimate Banking Houses in Flint and Brief Personal Mention of Some of the Men Interested in Their Success-Present Banks of Flint -Wonderful.Gero.wtih in Bank Clearings-1915, a Phenomenal Year-Banks at Fenton, Otisville, Flushing, Clio, Davison, Gaines, Goodrich, Swartz Creek, Grand Blanc, Linden and Mt. Morris. CHAPTER XVI-THE PRESS ------— _ --- —---------------- 554 The Press, a Potent Agency in the Development of a New Country-An Account of the Various Newspapers Which Have Existed and are Now Being Published in Genesee County. CHAPTER XVII-B-ENCH AND BAR-5___._ --- —------------------ 551 Genesee First Attached to Oakland County for Judicial PurposesFirst Practitioners Here-First Court Held in Genesee County-The First Resident Attorney-Edward H. Thomson and Others of the Early Attorneys-Lawyers Here in 1850 —William M. Fenton and ContemporariesJudges of the Court-Judge Mark W. Stevens-The Genesee County Bar - Association-Present Bar of the County-Genesee Civil List-State Officers from This County-Circuit Judges-State Senators-State Representatives-Judges of Probate-Prosecuting Attorneys-Sheriffs-County Clerks -Registers of Deeds-County Treasurers. CHAPTER XVIII-EARLY PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL SOCIETIES- 569 Comparison Between Early and Present Conditions of Medical Practice -Cyrus Baldwin, the First Doctor in Genesee County-Others Who Followed-The Genesee County Medical Association-Flint Academy of Medicine-Physicians Here During the Seventies and Eighties-Genesee County Medical Society-Present Physicians of the County. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX-SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION__ --- —---- ------- 582 Early Interest in Educational Matters-Records Meager-The Little School in Flint River in 1834-Gradual, but Steady, Development of the Flint School System-School Districts-Superintendents of the City Schools — Parochial Schools-Officers and Teachers of thei Flint 'Schools, 1916-M:iss Hicok's School-State School for the Deaf-Schools at Fenton-Other Schools and Educational Institutions-Flint-Bliss Business College-Hurley Hospital Training School for Nurses-County Normal School. CHAPTER XX-BOOKS AND LIBRARIES ___ --- —- ------ 601 High Intellectuality of Early Settlers of Genesee County-Books in Demand-List of Library Books, 1843-Flint Scientific Institute-Ladies' Library Association-Free Public Library-The Present Library-Burton Ladies' Library. CHAPTER XXI-RES LITERARIA __ --- —----------- -------- 614 Genesee County's Contributions to the World of Letters-"The Aeolian Harp"-"Evening Prayer"-"Taps"-"A California Flower Calendar"-A Thanksgiving Poem. CHAPTER XXII-SOCIAL LIFE --- —------------------- 626 Some Interesting Reminiscences of Social Customs and Events of the Pioneer Days in Genesee County-Forms of Amusement-A Pioneer MenuA Change in Customs-Indian Callers on New Year's Day-The Old Harmonia Club-The Fuguenoids and the Flint Choral Society-Bands-Genesee County Pioneer Association and Its Eearly Reunions and PicnicsCounty Historical Society-A Poetic Tribute to the Brave Men and Women of Pioneer Days. CHAPTER XXIII-CLUBS OF TODAY -_________ --- —---------- 649 The Club, a Natural Growth in Organized Society-American History Class-The Art Class-Mrs. Fobe's Reading Class-The Shakespeare Club -The Bangs Shakespeare Club-Columbian Club-The Twentieth Century Club-The Garland Street Literary Club-The Research Club-St. Cecelia Society-The Choral Union-The Flint Dramatic Club-The Rotary ClubFlint Golf Club-Woman's Council. CHAPTER XXIV-FRATERNAL AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES --- — 661 Independent Order of Odd Fellows-Daughters of Rebekah-Masonic Order, with Appendant Orders-Order of the Eastern Star-Royal Arcanum -Knights of the Maccabees-Knights of the Maccabees of the WorldDegree of Honor-Grand Army of the Republic-National League of Veterans and Sons-Woman's Relief Corps-Daughters of the American Revolution-Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks-Knights of the Loyal Guard-Knights and Ladies of Security-Knights of Pythias-Tribe of Ben-Hur-Independent Order of Foresters-Modern Brotherhood of America-Home Mutual Benefit Association-Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association-Knights of Columbus-Fraternal Order of Eagles-Modern VWoodmen of America-Ancient Order of Hibernians-Brotherhood of American Yeomen-Royal Neighbors of America-National Union-Loyal Order of Moose-The Vehicle Club-Young Men's Christian AssociationYoung Women's Christian Association-The King's Daughters-The Child's Welfare Society-St..Michael's Benevolent Society-St. Paul's CONTENTS. Men's Club-Trades Unions-Flint Factories Mutual Benefit Association -Lodges at Fenton, Linden, Flushing, Clio, Otisville, Montrose, Swartz Creek and Davison. CHAPTER XXV-PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES__________ --- -______ _ 694 Daughters of the American Revolution-Order of the Stars and StripesSoldiers and Sailors of Genesee County-Grand Army of the RepublicWoman's Relief Corps-National League of Veterans and Sons-Regimental Reunions-Flint Union Blues-Spanish War Veterans. CHAPTER XXVI-VILLAGES OF GENESEE COUNTY_____ --- — 713 Brief Historical Description of Fenton, Flushing, Clio, Davison, Grand Blanc, Linden, Montrose, Gaines, Mt. Morris, Swartz Creek, Goodrich, Otisville, Atlas, Geneseeville, Thetford Center, Pine Run, Argentine, Whigville, Crapo Farm, Brent Creek, Rankin Postoffice, Otterburn, Belsay and Richfield Center. CHAPTER XXVII-RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS --- — ------ -- 729 Methodist Episcopal Churches-Free Methodist Church-Methodist Protestant Church-Evangelical Churches-Presbyterian Churches-Baptist Churches-Catholic Churches-Episcopal Church-Christ's Mission-Advent Church-Congregational Church-Church of Christ, Scientist-Salvation Army-Flint Ministerial Association-Churches in the County Outside of Flint. CHAPTER XXVIII-THE GOLDEN JUBILEE___ ------------- 748 The City's Fiftieth Anniversary-Account of the Celebration, by Rev. Theodore D. Bacon-Illumination of the City-Laying of the Cornerstone of the Federal Building-Dedication of Memorial Tablets-Dedication of the Public Library-Dedication of the County Court House. CHAPTER XXIX-GREATER FLINT ------------ --------- 771 A Wonderful Transformation-Phenomenal Increase in Population and Industries-Early History of the Place-First Industries-Lumbering Interests-Advent of William Crapo Durant and the Vehicle Business-Rise of the Automobile Industry in Flint and the Impetus It Gave to the Growth of the City-Population-City Officials, 1916-Flint City Plats, Additions and Subdivisions-Assessed Valuation, Tax Rate and Amount Raised by Taxes for the Past Five Years-A City of Homes-Civic Building Association-Board of Commerce-Parks and Boulevards Park Board-Waterworks-Sewers —Paving and Sidewalks-Fire Department-Police Department-General Motors Emergency Hospital- Michigan State Telephone Company-Steam and Electric Railroad Conditions-Flint Industries, 1916 -The Postoffice-Hurley Hospital-Oak Grove Hospital-Condensed Data Concerning Flint-Conclusion. APPENDIX A-STATISTICS __ --- —------------- 815 United States Census of 1910, Relating to Genesee County-Population Statistics - Mortality Statistics - Occupation Statistics - AgricultureWealth, Debt and Taxation-Ownership of Homes-Manufactures. APPENDIX B-TOWNSHIP OFFICERS, 1916 --- —--- 831 HISTORICAL INDEX VOLUME I A Academy of Medicine ----------- 575 Advent Church __ --- —------- 742 African Methodist Church ------- 734 Agricultural Societies _ --- —--— __ 312 Agricultural Statistics -------- 823 Agriculture, Pioneer --— _ --- —-- 307 Aitken, David D. — _540, 566, 659, 685 Alger, Governor Russell A. ---- 88 Altitudes ------- ----------- 291 Amusemehts, Early ---- ---- 634 Ancient Order of Hibernians ___ — 680 Ancient Order of United Workmen 691 Argentine _ --- —------------- 229, 726 Argentine TownsfipLakes — _ --- —---— ___- - 296 Land Entries _ --- —___-_ 228 Mills --— _______ —___ 229 Natural Features --— __ — ___ ---- 296 Officials ------- ---- - 831 Organization ___ ---__ — ___- 198 Population -_ --- ------ 815 Soil ---- ___ --- —---— _- 296 Streams -__ --- ____ ---- -__- 296 Artesian Wells — _ --- —__ 290 Atherton Settlement ---------- 235 Atlas ----- _ ----____290, 724 Atlas Township — Glacial Remains ---— __ --- —-- - 286 Gravel __ ----_ --- —----- 287 Lakes -----— ______ ----- 295 Natural Features ___ --- —--- 295 Officials, First ________ — -_ 224 Officials, Present __________- - 831 Organization ___- ________.. 198, 222 Population _____-_ --- ______ 815 Settlement — ____ --- —-- 187, 222 Streams ----— _ ____ _ --- —-__ 295 Attorneys — __ — --- ____ 196,321, 551 Atwood, William A. --— ______ --- _ 536 Automobile Industry -------------- 774 Axford, Dr. S. M. _ ---------- -- 573 Ay-oun-a-wa-ta, Story of ------- 104 B Bagley, Governor John J. _ --- — 85 Baldwin, Governor Henry P. - -- 84 Bank Clearings ------ -------- 540 Banking Law, First General ---- 68 Banks and Banking _ --- —--- 519 Baptist Churches __327, 715, 718, 737, 745 Bar Association ___ — ----------- 563 Bates, William R. ------------ 563 Begole, Governor Josiah W. -- ________________ —86, 530, 566, 568 Belsay ----------- ---------- 728 Bench and Bar ____ —___ --- — 551 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ------ ---- - 675 Benevolent Societies _ --- ------- 661 Ben-Hur, Tribe of ------— __ _ 677 Bishop, Russell -- _ --- —------ 536 Bliss, Governor Aaron T. — _ — 94 Books and Libraries ---------- 601 Booton Postoffice ---— _ ___229, 726 Bounty Lands ------- ---- 58 Brent Creek _____ --- —------- 727 Brick Clays ------------------ 289 Brotherhood of American Yeomen- 680 Burton Iadies' Library -_ --- — 612 Burton Township — Atherton Settlement --- ----- 235 Gravel ------------— _ --- —--- 287 Indian Trails --- ----------- 254 Natural Features ----------- 299 Officials, First ----- -------- 236 Officials, Present -------- ---- 831 Organization --- ---------- 198 Population --------- -------- 815 Religious Interests -------- -- 236 HISTORICAL INDEX. Burton Township-Cont. Schools ___ --- —--------- --- 236 Settlement -- - 235 Soil ---------—. --- —---- 299 Streams -------------- 299 Timber ---— ____ --- —---- 299 C Cadillac, M. de la Motte ___ --- 43 Campau, Joseph -— _____ —. — 152, 169 Campau, Louis --------— 152, 158, 160 Care for the Poor ----— _ --- —- 253 Carriage-making _____ --- —-- 773 Cartier, Jacques _ --- —-_ -------- 113 Carton, John J. __ — 527, 565, 567, 659 Cass, Lewis -— _ 55, 63, 151, 154, 180 Catholic Churches -------------- _ — 194, 329, 715, 718, 721, 738, 745 Cattle Raising ____ --- —--- 311 Cayugas - --------------------- 106 Cement Industry __ --- — ------- 288 Census Reports ------------------- 815 Champlain, Samuel de ----— 33, 113, 115 Chandler, Zachariah --- —- -- 74 Child's Welfare Society ----- -- 687 Chippewas _ — -— _59, 118, 128, 133, 149, 151, 162, 165, 181 Church of Christ, Scientist -------- 742 Churches ------— _____ — 729 Cigar Manufacturing -— __ --- —- 512 Circuit Judges ------------- 253, 566 Civil List __________ —__ ---- 565 Civil War ____ --- —------ 334 Civil War Days in the State --- 73 Clay Mining ---------------- 289 Clayton TownshipDonahoo Settlement ---------- 238 Lyons Settlement ------------ 238 Miller Settlement ----— __ 237 Natural Features __-____ 237, 299 Officials, First ----------- - 238 Officials, Present ---- ---- 831 Organization__ --- —-- ---------- 198 Population ___-_ --- —------- 815 Religious Interests __ --- —----- 237 Schools - ------------------ 237 Settlement ---------------- 238 Soil ------------------ 299 Taxpayers, 1844 --- ------ 238 Timber, Original ___ --- —---- 299 Clerks, County __ ---_ — ____ __ 567 ClioBanks _-___ ----_-_ --- —-- 542 Board of Commerce -__ --- —__ - 717 Brick Industry ____ —______ - 290 Churches_ __ --- —----- 717, 746 Location — ___ —_ ----- - 717 Lodges __6_ --- —-_____- 692, 702 Officials __- __ — -____ ---- - 718 Physicians _____ —__ --- —-- 581 Population ____ ---_____-__ 815 Schools ___ --- —-____ ---- 598 Clubs of Today ____ —_____ _ 649 Coal Strata __- __- - __ --- —- 291 "Coldwater Settlement" - ____ --- —-— _ 187, 194, 230, 722 Colleges in the State __ —___-_ _ 100 Congregational Church ----— _ -- 742 Congressmen from Genesee County 566 Constitution, State, Adopted -- - 65 Constitutional Convention, 1867 --- 84 Copper in Michigan, First Account of ____-___ --- —--------- 38 County Clerks -------------- 567 County Court, First ---— _ ---- 51, 552 County Normal School ------------ 600 County Officers, First ---— __ - 251 County Seat Located --- —-------- 251 Court Calendar, First _ -- --- 252 Court, First County ---— __- 251, 552 Court House Dedication — __-_ 769 Court House History ---— __ 252, 321 Crapo Farm __ --- —___ ___ 311, 727 Crapo, Henry H. _____ _ — 76, 77, 81, 290, 311, 488, 507, 522, 565, 566, 727 Crapo Mills __ --- —---— 502, 507 Crapo, W. W. ____ --- -------- - 535 Crosswell, Governor Charles M.-_- 85 Customs of Indians — __ --- —--- 126 D Daughters of Rebekah --- ---- 663 Daughters of the American Revolution -- ---------— __ 674, 694 Davison — Altitude ---------- ------ 291 Artesian Well -------- ----- 291 Banks --— _ --- —----- ------ 542 Churches ------------- ---- 718 HISTORICAL INDEX. Davison-Cont. Location -------- -------- 718 Lodges __ --- —--— 693, 701, 718 Officials ------------- 718 Physicians ---------— 571, 581 Population ------- 718, 815 Postoffice, Early ---------------- 718 Schools ------------ 598 Davison TownshipDrainage ---------------- 302 Game Law ------------- 243 Gravel ---------- 287 Lakes --------------- 302 Natural Features --- - ----- 302 Officials, First ----- ----- 243 Officials, Present ------- -- 831 Organization -1 --- —---- 98, 241 Population ------ ------- 815 Settlement -------- ---- 241 Soil ----------------- 302 Streams ----- ------- 302 Swamps ------- --------- 302 Deaf, State School for the ------ - 592 Deeds, Registers of ------- 568 Degree of Honor ---- -------- 672 Delawares __ ----- -------- 109 Detroit ---------- 42, 47, 50, 53, 66, 149 Dibbleville (Fenton) -----— _- 210 Doctors -------------- 569 Domestic Animals _ --- —— 824, 826 Donahoo Settlement --- ------- 238 Dort, J. D. -------------. —.513, 658, 659, 685, 773, 786, 805 Drainage Beds ---------------- 283 "Drummer Boy of the Eighth"-__- 371 Duffield ------------- 290, 291 Durand, George H -. --- —-562, 564, 566 Durant, William C. - - 513, 773 E Eagles, Fraternal Order of ----- 679 Early Days in Flint ---— _ --- 626 Early Families ------ — _-___- 192 Early Permanent Settlers ------ 186 Early Physicians ------- 197, 322, 569 Early Years of Flint City --— ___ 494 Eastern Star, Order of the --— 669, 690 Education ------------- 582 Educational Advancement in State- 98 Elks -------------- 675 English Settlement ----- ---- 226 Episcopal Churches — _328, 715, 740, 745 Evangelical Churches ---------- 734 "Evening Prayer" 614 Explorations of Michigan ---- 36 F Factories' Mutual Benefit Ass'n..-. 690 Fair Grounds ----- ------- 313 Farm Property, Value of -------- 824 Fayville ---- ---------- 241 FentonAltitude ------------- 291 Banks ------------— 541, 542 Beginning of ------------------ 713 Campaign of 1840 -------- 219 Cement Industry ------- 715 Churches __ --- —----— 715, 745 Early Days ----- ------ 213 Growth --------------- 714 Immigration ---- -- - --- 213 Industries ------ ___ -- - 514 Interesting Events ------------- 214 Lawyers, Early ----— _ 196, 220 Location ------------- 713 Lodges ---— __ --— 690 703r 715 Mail Routes -------— _ --- 218 Manufacturing Developments -- 514 Mills ------------ 514, 517 Newspapers --------------— _ --- 550 Officials ---------------------- 715 Physicians ------- ---- 570, 581 Platted ------------- 220 Population ------- ----- 815 Schools ------- _ ----_ 596 Settlement -------- ----- 220 Streets ------ -------- 217 Tavern, First ---- ------ 220 Woman's Civic Society -----— _ 715 Fenton Light Guard ---- --- 355 Fenton TownshipGlacial Remains ---------.. 286 Gravel -__ --- —----------- 287 Indian Burial Place ------------- 293 Lakes -------— __ ---- 292 Land Entries -------— ___- 207 Long Lake ---------------------- 293 Natural Features -------------—. 292 HISTORICAL INDEX. Fenton Township-Cont. Officials, First --—. --- —- 222 Officials, Present — _ --- —-- 831 Organization _ --- —------ - 198 'Physician, First --— _ --- —-—,. 209 Population --------------- 815 Settlement — _-_ ---- --- 207 Streams ------------ ---- 292 Fenton, William M. 76, 211, 215, 220, 372, 495, 522, 528, 529, 531, 556, 558, 565, 566, 573 Ferris, Woodbridge N. --- - 94 First County Court --— ____251, 552 First Court Calendar ----------- 252 Five Nations, the __ --- -- - 106 FlintAdditions -___ ---_ --- —-- 781 Altitude _ —_ --- — --- 291 American History Class _-_ — 649 Area --— _ --- _ --- — 784 Art Class -------------- 649 Assessed Valuation _ —__ ----782 Automobile Industry _ --- — 774 Bands __ --- —------ 332, 638 Banks -— ___ ---_ ---- 520 Blacksmith, First -_ --- —--- 187 Board of Commerce ---- ---- 785 Board of Education _ --- —-- 590 Board of Health _ --- —---- 791 Brick Buildings, First ___ ---____ 316 Brick Clay __ — -- -- 290 Business College ---------- 600 Cemetery __- ___ --- —--- 329 Choral Society -----— _ 638, 658 Churches _-__ --- — ----- - 729 Cigar Manufacturing -___ --- 512 City Charter ---- ------- 494 Civic Building Association -- - 784 Clerks, City --------- -- -- 499 Clubs of Today — _ --- --- 649 Columbian Club ---- ------ 653 County Seat, Chosen -------- 251 Dramatic Club ------- ---- 658 Earliest Days ----- ---- 771 Early Industries — _ --- --- 319 Early Social Life -------- 626 Education -----— _193, 323, 502 Electior, First City ----- -- 497 Federal Building ------------ 754 Fire Department --------- 790 Flint-Cont. First Settlers _ ---- -__ --- 183 First Store ------— __ __ --- — 191 Fraternities ______-__ ----661, 694 Fuguenoids, the ------— __ _ 638 General Motors Hospital __-__ 791 Golden Jubilee _ —_______ _ 748 Golf Club --------------- 659 Greater Flint _ ___ --- —----- 771 Harmonia Club --— _ --- —___ 636 Homes, a City of ---- ---- 784 Hospitals _______ —791, 795, 810 Hotels, Early ___ ---- - ___ 194 Hurley Hospital ___-______- 795 In 1837 -___ — ---------- 197 In 1838 ------------ --- - 772 In 1886 --- ___ --- —------- 773 Incorporation_ ___ --- ---- 494 Indian Occupancy -- ------ 181 Industries, Early _____-__ 319, 502 Industries, 1916 ---— __ 777, 793 Ladies Library Association___331, 607 Land Office _ --- —--- 189, 772 Latitude _____- -— __ ---- 291 Lawyers, Early ___ --- —- 196, 321, 553 Libraries ----- - 330, 601, 611, 762 Lodges ---- -----— _329, 661 Longitude __ --- —----- _- 291 Lumber Industry __ --- —501, 504, 772 Mail Routes, Early ------ 278 Mayors ____________ ---- 497 Memorial Tablets -------- 758 Mills — _______190, 315, 502, 507, 772 Ministerial Association --- -- 744 Miscellaneous Facts _ --- —- 812 Newspapers _ --- —-- ------ 325, 544 Oak Grove Hospital --- --- 810 Officials, First ----------- - 497 Officials, 1916 -___ --- _ --- _ 780 Official Roster ----- 498 Old Flint Band - _- --- 332 Park Board --------— _____ ___ 788 Parks -------------- 786 Parochial Schools ---------- 588 Paving ------------- 789 Physicians, Early _ ----197, 322, 571 Physicians, Present _ --- -- 580 Plats __ --- —------- 188, 781 Police Department _ --- —--- 790 Population ___- __-779, 815, 816 HISTORICAL INDEX. Flint-Cont. Population, Wonderful Growth in 771 Postoffice History -._ --- 189, 794 Public Schools --------- 588 Railroad, First ----- ----- 501 Railroads ------------ ------ 792 Real Estate Prices, 1833 ------ 188 Recorders, City ----- ---- 498 Religious Interest, Early.__193, 327 Research Club ------------- 656 Roster of City Officials --- -- 498 Rotary Club ------- ---- 658 St. Cecelia Society ----- ---- 656 Schools --------- 193, 328, 582 Secret Orders ----------- 661 Settlement Before 1837 --— _ — 180 Settlers ---- -----— _183, 191 Sewers --------- - ------- 788 Shakespeare Clubs --------- 651 Social Amusements, Early -- 195 Subdivisions -- ------------- 781 Surveys ----- ----------- 188 Stage Lines __ —_ ---- 180 Tax Rate ------------- 782 Tax Roll, 1855 ---------- - 494 Telephones -- ------------ 791 Trades Unions -------- 689 Transportation -— _ --- —---- 92 Treasurers, City --- ---- 498 Trading Post — _ --- —- -- 771 Twentieth Century Club ------- 655 Union Blues ____ —_- — _ 705 Vehicle Club ------ -- 681 Vehicle Industry ------- _ 773 Village Plats --— __ —__ _ 188 Village Schools __- -_- - 323 Waterworks -__ ---__ --- — 788 "Wildcat" Banks _ --- —-_ 520 Woman's Council --— __- - 660 Y. M. C. A. Building _ — __ _ 683 Flint Academy of Medicine -— __ 575 Flint-Bliss Business College _- - 600 Flint River - __ _ --- 188, 279, 314 Flint Scientific Institute --- - 604 Flint TownshipEducation — _ —__ -_ -- - 202 Gravel ----— __ —_ ---_ 287 Land Entries ------— _. --- — 199 Libraries --------— _ ---- 202 Natural Features -----— _ --- 292 Flint Township-Cont. Officials — _ — ------------ 831 Organization _ --- —------- - 198 Population _ --- —------------ 815 Records, Early _ --- —-- -___- 300 Religious Interest ----- ----- 200 Roads, Early _ ---_ --- — --- 257 School, First ----— ___ ---- 199 Settlement ---- - __ - ___187, 199 Soil -------------------- 292 Stock Marks ----------- 200 Streams -_ ---- ---------- - 292 Flint Union Grays -__ --- ------ 340 FlushingBanks __ --- —----— 227, 542 Beginning of ____ ----_- - 226 Chamber of Commerce --— _ 716 Churches ------------- 717, 745 Clay Industry ____ — -__ --- — 289 Clubs --------— __ --- —- 717 Improvement Club _ --- —---- 717' Industries _-__ --- —--- — 289, 518 Location ___ --- —--,_ -- 715, 717 Lodges ----------— ___691, 702 Mills _5_ —_ --- —----------------- 518 Officials ___ --- —------- 717 Physicians ----------- 572, 581 Population ------- ---------- 815 Schools ------- ---------- 598 Settlers, First ---- --------- 716 "Wildcat" Banks — _ --- —- 227 Flushing Township"English Settlement" _ — -- 226 Gravel -_ --- —------------- 287 Natural Features ---------- 295 Officials ~___ --- —-------- 831 Organization -- __ --- —-— 198, 227 Population ----- _ --- - - 815 Religious Interests — __ —__ -- 227 Schools --------------- - 227 Settlement ---— _ --- —--- 224 Soil ---------------- 295 Streams -__-_ -— _ --- — 295 Foreign-born Population — __- - 815 Forest TownshipLakes ---------— _ — ---- 304 Land Entries -- ------- 246 Names --------— __- — _ _ _ 246 Natural Features - --- ------ 304 Officials, First -— _ --- —-- 247 HISTORICAL INDEX. Forest Township-Cont. Officials, Present — _ --- — __ 831 Organization --------- ----- 198 Population --------- ------ 815 Religious Interests --------- 246 Settlement --------------- 246 Soil ---— __ --- —--------- 304 Streams --— __ --- -------- 305 Timber ----------- -------- 304 Franciscan Order --------- ---- 35 Fraternal Order of Eagles ----- 579 Fraternal Orders -------------- 661 Free and Accepted Masons ------- -__ __-_-329, 664, 690, 691, 715, 717 Free Methodist Churches ----- 734 Fruits ------ --- -------- 828 Fur Trade Activity __ --- —-- 49 G GainesAltitude ------------- - 292 Banks ------------------ 542 Brick Industry --- _ --- —---- 290 Churches ------ ------ - 721 Early Conditions __ --- —--- 721 Incorporation__ --- — _ --- — 721 Lodges _ --- ------------ 701 Officials ----------------------- 721 Physicians ------------ -- 572 Plat _-_ --- __ --- —----- 234 Population -----— __,721,. 815 Schools ----------- _- 599 Settlement ---— _ —__ _ --- 234 Gaines TownshipCrapo Farm ------------- 311 Gravel -------- --------- 287 Maple Groves ------ ------- 298 Natural Features ___ --- —-- 298 Officials, First ---- ------ 234 Officials, Present ------- 832 Organization --------- - 198 Population --------- ------ 815 Schools --------------- 234 Settlement ------- ------ 234 Soil -_ --- —---------- 298 Genesee County Agricultural Society — _- ------------ 312 Genesee County Bar Association___ 563 Genesee County in the Civil War —_ 334 Genesee County Medical Association -------------- ------- 574 Genesee County Sheep-breeders and Wool-growers Association --- 309 Genesee Light Guard ------ _ 397 Genesee Rangers ----— ___ - _ 380 Genesee TownshipGravel — _- - __ --- —------ 287 Indian Trails ---— _ ----- 255 Mills __ --- —--------- 233 Name -___ _____ --- —- - 233, 297 Natural Features ------— __ _ 297 Officials, First ____ —___- _ 233 Officials, Present ___ ---- -— _ _ 832 Organization _____ —___ — 198 Population --------— _ _ 815 Religious Interests __ —_ -- _ 232 Soil ----— ___ --- —----- 297 Streams _ --- — ___ ---- - 298 Timber __ --- —------ 233, 297 Geneseeville -— ~___ _ --- —-- 725 Geologic Conditions -_ ---- _ 283 Glacial Drift --— ____ --- _ — - 283 GoodrichAltitude _____- — ___ _ --- — 292 Banks — ______ --- —- 520, 542 Churches _ — --— _ --- 723 Founding of _-___-__-___-__223, 723 Hospital -— ____ — ------ 724 Physicians --— 5 --- — -572, 581 Population --- -------- 724 Postoffice _ —_ --- —---- 723 Schools --------------- 599 Settlement _- _____ ---223, 723 "Wildcat" Banks --------- 520 Governors from Genesee County___ 565 Governors of Michigan ----— 65, 71, 72 Grand Army of the Republic -__672, 699 Grand BlancAltitude ------- ---- 292 Banks ----------- 542 Beginning of -_ ---- ------ 719 Brick Industry ---------- 290 First Events _ --- —- ---- 207 Mills -------------- 190 Physicians ---- ------- 581 Population _ --- —- _ --- 720 Postoffice -------------- 207 Religious -Interests __ — 193, 207 Schools ---------------— 207, 599 Settlement ----- — __ 185, 187, 719 HISTORICAL INDEX. Grand Blanc TownshipIndian Trails -------------- 254 Lakes ------------- --------- 293 Land Entries -------- ------ 203 Natural Features ------------- 293 Officials, First _ --- —---- 197, 206 Officials, Present ------------- 832 Organization -----— 1 ---- 98, 206 Peat Beds --------- ------- 293 Population ---- --------------- 815 Settlement -------— __ ___ 187, 203 Soil ------- ------------- 293 Streams --- ------------------ 293 Tax Assessments, First ---------- 251 Grand Traverse _ --- —--— 1-81, 781 Greenback Movement --— _ ---- 86 Greenville, Treaty of _ — _ --- —- 52 H Hard Rock Formations ------- 284 Hay Production ----— _ --- -- 308 History of Michigan -----— ___ 33 Hochelaga __ __ --- —---------- 112 Home Mutual Benefit Asociation __ 678 Homes, Ownership of ----— __-_ 829 Horton, Dexter, Address by _____ 208 Howard, Sumner __ --- 558, 565, 566, 567 Hull, Gen. William -----— ___ 53, 149 Hurley Hospital Training School -- 600 Hurons — ___ — 47, 115, 117, 120, 124, 131 "Hymn to the Sea" ___-_ --- —-- 618 I Immigration Agents -----—.-_ 78 Immigration to Michigan -____ --- — 60 Independent Order of Foresters_- 677 Independent Order of Odd Fellows -------— __ 329, 661, 690, 691, 717 Indian Customs -______ --- — - 126 Indian House, Description of --— _ 125 Indian Occupancy of Genesee County _____ --- —--— ____ 150 Indian Reservation ___149, 161, 162, 167 Indian Traditions -----— ______ 141 Indian Trails ___ ----,-__ — 181, 254 Indian Treaties _-__ --- —------- 149 Indiana Territory --— _ ---_ -— ____ 52 Indians of Genesee County --- 101 Internal Improvements, State -__ 69 Iroquois ------— 106, 111, 118, 120, 124 J Jail History ------------------- 252 Jesuits, The --------------- _ 36 Judges, Circuit --------— ___ _ _ 566 Judges of Circuit Court --- —--- 253 Judges of Probate --- —------- 567 K Kearsley Township -------- ---- 198 King's Daughters ------- ------ 687 Knights and Ladies of Security ---- 676 Knights of Columbus_ --- —--- 679 Knights of Honor___ ---_ --- —- 691 Knights of the Loyal Guard --- —--- 676 Knights of the Maccabees --- —----- 670 Knights of Pythias__ ---__ --- — 676 Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association ------------------ 678 Ladies' Library Association -— 331, 607 Lakes __ ---__- 292, 295, 296, 302, 314, 502 Land Office -------- -------— _ 189 La Salle, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de- 40 Lawyers -------— ____196, 321, 551 Libraries -___ --- —------- 601 LindenAltitude ----- -------- 292 Bank ___-_ --- —---------- 543 Beginning of -------- ------- 720 Churches — __ --- —----— _- 720 Creameries --— __ _ _ --- —---- 720 Incorporation ----— _ - ------- 720 Industries ---- __ --- —--- 720 Lodges... ----...........691, 701, 720 Mills --------------------- 221 Officials ------— _ --- —---- 720 Physicians ---— ____ --- —--- 581 Platted -------------------- 221 Population ---------— ___ 720, 815 Religious Interests -----— ___ -- 221 School, First ---— ____ _ --- — 221 Schools ---— ~ --- —-------- 599 Settlement ---------— ____ 221, 720 Literature -— __ --- —------ 614 Live Stock — __ --- —------ 824, 826 Live Stock, Early Interest in --— _ 308 Lodges — __ __ --- —---—.___- - 661 Logging, Methods -— ___ __ ---- 505 Long Lake ------------------- 293 HISTORICAL INDEX. Loyal Guard, Knights of the ----- 676 Loyal Order of Moose ------ 681 Luce, Governor Cyrus G.- ---- 88 Lumbering -—.. 97, 501, 504, 510, 772 Lyons Settlement --- ---- 239 Mc McCreery, William B ----- 531, 566 M M'accabeean Orders ------ --- 670 Mail Routes, Early__ --- —---- 278 Manufactures, Comparative Summary ----— _ --------- 830 Map of Michigan, First --- —----- 38 Maps, Early Michigan --- —------ 131 Marl Deposits ---- ----- 287 Marquette, Jacques ----- ----- 39 Masonic Order_329, 664, 690, 691, 715, 717 Medical Practice --— _ 197, 322, 569 Memorial Tablets --------- 758 Menard, Father Rene ------------ 37 Methodist Episcopal Churches_ 200, 221, 227, 228, 240, 245, 327, 715, 717, 718, 720, 721, 729, 745 Methodist Protestant Church ---- 734 Mexican War _ ------------- 334 Michigan, History of- ------- 33 Michigan, First Map of --- —----- 38 Michigan Territory ---- --- 53 Michigan Troops in Mexican War- 334 Michigan Under the British --- —-- 44 Michilimackinac __42, 46, 49, 54, 119, 128 Military Record of Genesee County 334 Millard, Orson ------- - 524, 576 Miller Settlement -------- __ 237 Mills- _ 190, 229, 248, 315, 502, 507, 772 Missionary Spirit ----- ----- 35 Modern Brotherhood of America__ 678 Modern Woodmen of America --- 680 Mohawks -- ------------ 105 MontroseBanks ----- --------- 542 Churches _ ------------ 721 Incorporation ----- ---— _ 721 Lodges ---- ---------- 692 Officials ------ ------- 721 Physicians ----- ----- 581 Population --------------- 721, 815 Montrose-Cont. Schools --- —----- 599 Settlement -------- ---- 721 Montrose TownshipIndian Reservation --------- 306 Mills ---- -- ------ 248 Name -------------- 247 Natural Features --- ------ 305 Officials, First --- --- 247 Officials, Present --- ---- 832 Organization __ 198, 247 Settlement ---- - ------ 247 Soil ---- -- ------ 305 Population -----— _ ---- 815 Mortality Statistics -------- 818 Mott, Charles S. --- —-- 659, 685 Mound Builders -------------- 122 Mt. MorrisBanks ---------------------- 543 Beginning of ----------- 722 Churches ----- ----- 722, 746 "Coldwater Settlement" --- —---- _ --- —--— 187, 194, 230, 722 Lodges ------------ 701 Physicians -------------- 581 Population __ ----------- 815 Schools -- ------- 599, 722 Mt. Morris TownshipLakes ------------- 297 Name -------------- 231 Natural Features ---- ---- 297 Officials -------- ---- 832 Organization ----- --- 198, 232 Population ----- ------ 815 Religious Interests _ --- —-- 230 School, First ----- ------- 230 Settlement ----------- 230 Soil ---— _ ---------- 297 Streams -------- ------ 297 Mt. Pleasant ----- ----- 221 Mundy TownshipBirths, First ------ --- 227 Artesian Wells _ ------- 291 Gravel ------------- 287 Land Entries ----------- 227 Name -------------- 228 Natural Features ----- - -- 296 Officials, First ---- - ---- 228 Officials, Present --- ---- 832 Organization __ --- —--- 198 HISTORICAL INDEX. Mundy Township —C nt. Population ----- ------------- 815 School Districts ---- ------- 228 Settlement — ________ — __ - 227 Soil ------------------ 296 "My Harp" ---- ---------- 619 N National League of Veterans and Sons ------ ------------- 673, National Union — _ ----- Natural Resources of State ------ Navigation Companies --------- Ne-o-me, Chief ------------ 152, New England Influence -_ --- —-- Newspaper, First in State ------- Newspapers ------------------ 325, Newton, William — _ —_ --- —------ Nicolet, Jean - ------- Normal School, County __ --- —-- Northwest Territory ---------- 704 681 96 280 165 192 64 544 557 36 600 51 0 Occupation Statistics -----— _Odd Fellows —__ 329, 661, 690, 691, Officials, State, First --------- Ojibways ____- _ 45, 60, 128, 131, Old Settlers' Reunions_ —____Oldest Settlement in Michigan —. Oneidas ------- Order of the Eastern Star -__-669, Order of the Stars and Stripes —__ Osborne, Governor Chase S. —__ OtisvilleBeginning of ----- Brick Industry ____-___ —___-__ Banks --- —--- Churches ---- -- -__ --- —--- Lodges --- —-- Mills ------- Platted ------------------ Population ______ --- ---- 724, Schools ------- Settlement ----- Ottawas-45, 59, 60, 115, 128, 131, 149, Otterburn _____ --- —--— _ 292, 819 717 65 133 642 38 104 690 698 94 246 290 541 724 692 724 724 815 599 724 181 728 Pewanagawink Township ------- 198 Physicians ----------------- 569 Pine Run -------------- 726 Pingree, Governor Hazen S. --- —-- 89 Pioneer Agriculture _-___ --- —-- 307 Pioneer Days --------------- 198 Pioneer Social Amusements ------ 194 Pioneer Society ----------------- 642 Plank Roads ---------- 275, 315 Poets of Genesee County --- —-- 614 Pontiac, Chief _-__ --- —-— 45, 49, 136 Pontiac's Conspiracy -----— 45, 136 Poor, Care for the --- —-------- 253 Population of State, Early _ --- —- 62 Population Statistics _ —____ _ _ 815 Pottawatomies _-_____ 45, 60, 131, 149 Pre-glacial Valleys -__ --- —-- 283 Presbyterian Churches -------- -_____ 228, 327, 715, 717, 720, 735, 745 Press, The ________ --- — - 325, 544 Probate, Judges of ------ -— _ 567 Professions, The -------— _______ 196 Prosecuting Attorneys --— __ 567 R Railroads — _ --- ____- 97, 482, 792 Rankin -— _ ___ __ — _ ____ 728 Real Estate Prices, 1833 --- —-- 188 Regimental Reunions --------- - 705 Registers of Deeds -----— __- - 568 Religious Interest, Early — _ --- 193 Religious Societies __-_ --- —------ 729 Reminiscences, Early — ___ ----_ - 626 Representatives ____- — ___- 566 Res Literaria --- - __ — - 614 Reservations, Tribal ----— _ 162 Rich, Governor John T. -__ —_ ---- 89 Richfield -— _ --- -— 245, 728, 746 Richfield TownshipFirst Things — __ ---______ 244 Gravel __ --- —- --------- 287 Indian Relics __ — -___ ----- 303 Marriages, First __ —_____- _ 247 Natural Features - --------------- 303 Officials, First -__ --- —----- 247 Officials, Present __ —__ ---- - 832 Organization -____ --- —— 198, 243 Religious Interest --- --— ___ _ 245 Population _ -__ —______ — - 815 P Patriotic Societies __-_____ --- - 694 Pattison, Dr. S. W., Address by_-__ 209 HISTORICAL INDEX. Richfield Township-Cont. Schools --------- Settlement ---- --- Streams ------------- Timber --------- River men __ --- ---- Road Building, Early --------- Road Commissioners, Work of —_ Roads, Early ------ Roads, Early, in the State ------ Rosters of Enlistments — _ --- —Royal Arcanum ----— _ ------- Royal Neighbors of America _ --- 245 243 303 303 506 190 258 257 62 334 670 680 S Sacs -------- ----- -- 121, 131 Saginaw, Treaty of ----— _____60, 151 St. Clair, Gen. Arthur ----— __ - 51 St. Michael's Benevolent Society — 688 St. Paul's Men's Club__ _ --- —- __ 688 Salt-bearing Strata ------ ---- 289 Salvation Army --— ___ --- —-- 744 Sauks ------- -------- 131, 181 Sault Ste Marie — _ --- —--- 38 School for the Deaf -__ --- —--- 592 School System of the State --- 99 Schools -------------- ------- 582 Scientific Institute, Flint --— ___-__ 604 Secret Orders _ ----_ --- —- 661 Senators, State ----- ------ 566 Senecas ------------— 106, 119 Settlement of Flint Before 1837 —. 180 Settlers, Permanent _ — -___ — 186 Shakespeare Clubs ------- ---- 651 Shawnees ----------- ------ 110 Sheep Premiums ---— ____ — - 310 Sheep-shearing Festivals __ --- — 309 Sheriffs ------ __ --- —__ — 567 Shiawassee River --— _ ------ 286 Sidney (Flint) --— _- ----— __ _ 188 Smith, Flint P.. ----__ --- —-- 539 Smith, Jacob --- —152, 156, 171, 183, 771 Social Amusements of Pioneers —.. 194 Social Life in Early Flint —_ _ --- — 626 Soldiers and Sailors of Genesee Co.- 699 Soldiers from' Genesee County --- 334 South Mundy ___-_ —____ --- — 290 Spanish-American War _ ----__ ---- 90 Spanish War Veterans ------------ 712' Speculation, Era of -_ ----__ 68 Stage-coach Days _-_ —_ ---- _ 277 Stage Routes _ --- —__ 190 State Capital, Removal of —_ ---- 71 State Constitution Adopted --- —-- 65 State Educational Advancement_ __ 98 State History ---— ______- 33 State Officials, First ---- --- 65 State Representatives -------- 566 State School for Deaf — __ --- - 592 State School System _ --- —- 99 State Senators — ___ —__ -- 566 State's Natural Resources 96 Statistics --— __ --- —----- 815 Stevens, Jacob, Letter from ____- 204 Stewart, Capt. Damon --— ____317, 437 Stock Marks -— __ —_____- _ 200 'Stockton, Col. T. B. W. --- — _ _-__ --- —-- 175, 396, 398, 415, 699 Superintendents of the Poor ------ 253 Supervisors, First Meeting of -— __ 251 Swamp Lands — _ _ --- —----- 79 Swartz CreekAltitude ---— __ --- —--- 292 Banks — _ --- —__ --- —-__ _ 542 Business Interests ---— _ __- 723 Lodges ---------— _693, 701 Physicians ___ --- - ___ --- — 581 Schools -__ _ --- —------- 599 Settlement __ --- — - _ — _ - 723 T "Taps" ------- Tax Assessment, First ---— __ "The Aeolian Harp"- _________ "The Heroic"-An Oration ---- __ Thetford Center -- -------- Thetford Postoffice ---- Thetford TownshipCitizens of 1840 --- —----— _ Indians ------------- Land Speculators -__ --- —-- Natural Features --- ----- 240, Officials, First — _ --- __ — __ Officials, Present ---— _ —__ Organization ----— _ — _ _198, Population -- --- Schools ------- Settlements ------- Trails --- —------- 620 251 616 477 725 241 241 301 240 300 241 832 241 815 241 240 301 HISTORICAL INDEX. Thomson, Col. Edward H. —___- 192, 417, 497, 553, 555, 566, 567, 627, 69! Thomson Light Guard _ --- —---- 41: Todd, John ---------— _______ -- 18< Todd's Ferry _ --- —----- 186, 18; Todd's Tavern --------- 186, 19: Toledo War - ------------- 6 Topography ------------------ 28 -Trades Unions ------- _ --- — 68. Trails, Indian _- _____ --- — - - 25, Transportation -_,_ -___ ---97, 432, 792 Treaties of 1837 --------- --- 16( Treaty of 1807 - ---- Treaty of Greenville -------— _____ 5~ Treaty of Saginaw-__ --- —--- 6C Tribal Reservations -------— ____ 162 Tribe of Ben-Hur _ ---_ --- —___ 67; Turner, Josiah --— ________ ____ 561 Turnpikes ---------- _______ 27( U Union Blues -------- -__ — __ 705 V Value of Farm Property -------- 824 Vehicle Club --— ___ _ _ _ ----,- 681 Vehicle Industry ___ --- —_ _ 513, 773 Vienna TownshipFirst Events ----------— ___ 239 Gravel ------------------ 287 Indian Trails -------------- 255 Natural Features -------— _ —_ 300 Officials, First -----— _ ----_ _ 239 Officials, Present _-__ --- —--- 832 Vienna Township-Cont. 9 Organization ------— __ __198, 239 7 Population -___ --- —-_- - 815 6 Religious Interest _ --- _ ---- 240 7 Schools ------------- 240 5 Settlement ~~ --- —-..-.- -.... -239 5 Soil --------------- 300 4 Streams __ --- —— ________ - 300 9 Villages of Genesee County -____ 713 4 Vital Statistics ----- ~ ---_ --- __ 818 2 5 W Wagon-making ____ —_______ _ 773 Walker, James B. _____ --- —---- 534 Walker, Levi _____________ 557, 587 War of 1812 ----------------- 53 War of the Rebellion ---- -— ___ 334 Warner, Governor Fred M.__ ---__- 94 Whigville -----------— 192, 727 "Wild-cat" Banks _________- 227, 520 Willson, Dr. James C.___ —__ __ 573 Winans, Governor Edwin B. ---__- 88 Winter of Want ----- --— ____ 248 WVisner, Governor Moses -. --- —-._ 556 Wixom, Dr. Isaac ---— _ —__ - 570 Wolverine Guard __ —___ --- — 417 Woman's Relief Corps ________674, 703 Wool Growing --— ____. --- —-_ ---- 309 Writers of Genesee County — __- 614 Wyandots __ --- —______- -— ____-__ - 149 Y Young Women's Christian Association — _________ --- —----- 682 Young Men's Christian Association 682 I~ BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX VOLUME II A Aitken, I-Ion. David D. --- ---- 37 Aldrich, Fred A.__ __ --- — -- 62 Alexander, Eugene H. _ --- —------ 799 Alger, Floyd P. __- ------ 703 Allen, Floyd A. ____ --- —--- 79 Andrews, George ---- ---------- 108 Anthony, Ray N. -- --------- 210 Arms, George W. -------------- 565 Atherton, Fred D. ___ --- —---- 394 Atwood, William A. --- -------- 784 Austin, B. J. ------------ 434 Averill, David M. ___ --- —---- 553 Averill, James W. --------------- 412 B Bachmann, George J. ------------- 630 Bacon, Samuel M. _____ --- —----- 162 Bailey, Ernest L. ------------ 313 Bailey, Walter C. -____ --- —-- 278 Baker, Charles, Jr. ___ __ ---- - 734 Baker, James D. _ ---_ --- —- 775 Baker, John F. ____ --- —----- 154 Bariset, Ferdinand __-__________ 502 Bariset, Louis ___ — -----— ___ 502 Barker, Frank A. __ --- —--- 361 Bassett, Harry H. ----------- 229 Bates, Noah, M. D. ______ — _- 130 Baxter, James H. ____ --- —----- 496 Beach, S. F. -— _ --- —-- -- 191 Beacraft, William E. _ ----__ 555 Beebe, Walter W. --— _ --- —----- 772 Beecher, Calvin D. _-_______ _ 204 Beeman, Edward L. ----— __ _ 458 Bendle, John R. ____ __-_-____ _ 440 Benjamin, Lewis J. __-____ --- - 220 Berridge, Joseph W. _ ---- __ 350 Berry, Duncan ---- ___ --- -- 542 Billings, Joseph F. _-________ ---- - 419 Billings, Watson W. -------- 417 Bishop, Arthur G. --- ------- 67 Bishop, Clifford A. ____ ---- --- 85 Blackinton, Charles A. _ --- —- 767 Blackmore, Fred E. -____ — -- 593 Blackney, William W. --- ----- 759 Bliss, Chester H. -------------- 274 Bloss, Frank D. ___- -------- 180 Bodine, Ambrose ------------ -- 830 Bonbright, Charles H. _ --- —-- 264 Boomer, Clement H. ____ ---- 404 Borley, Rev. Howard D. ------- 47 Brabazon, Albert J. _ —___- - -- 674 Brady, Samuel _ --- —_ --- —- 664 Bradley, Robert ____ --- — __ _ 200 Branch, Edmund A. ___ --- —--- 91 Bray, Everett L. _____ --- —-- 170 Bridgman, Charles T. -------------- 64 Brooks, William --— ___ ---- 382 Brown, Daniel ___ --- —----- 411 Brown, Grant J. -------------- 45 Brown, W. J. _______________ 802 Browne, Robert B. ____ --- —- - 443 Brownell, Roy E. — 11 --- —- 110 Buckingham, Lewis _____ —_ 69 Bump, Hiram W. ---------- 539 Bunnell, Calvin _____ --- —----- 697 Burleson, Fred G. -----— _____ 797 Burr, C. B., M. D. ______-__ - 72 Burrough, Edward --— _____ - 212 Buzzard, George M. - ____ ---- - 694 Buzzard, Matthias -— _-_____- - 733 C Callahan, Patrick H. ___ --- —-- 778 Callow, Francis H., M. D.-_____ - 444 Cameron, Clarence A. -__ --- — 184 Campbell, Charles J. -—. ___ --- - 711 Campbell, George M. - __-_____ --- — 641 Carey, John H. ___- ___ --- —-- 631 Carmichael, Malcolm W. -___ —, _ 387 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. Carmichael, Robert -- ---- 381 Carpenter, William, Jr. -..... --- —. 698 Carrier, Adelbert W. - __ ---- 238 Carrier, Arthur G. -------— __ 367 Carton, Hon. John J. ___________ 216 Cartwright, Hon. John F. — ____-_ 112 Chambers, Charles --------- ___ 592 Chapin, F. A. -— _______ _____ 528 Chase, George W. - --—.. —_. —_- 834 Chase, John — _ --- —--— _-_-.-____ 175 Chase, Robert J. --------— _ — 435 Childs, Archie B. ---— ___ ---- 781 Chisholm, Mrs. Jane — _ —___ —_ 537 Chrysler, Walter P. --— ____-__ 152 Cimmer, Arthur W. - ---— _ 702 Clark, Cranson - ___ ________ 808 Clark, J. R. ----— _ -__________ 247 Clark, John ------- ___ _____ 508 Clarke, Charles ----- ___-_ 708 Clifford, Rev. Howard J. --— __ 136 Cody, Alvin N. ------- _______ 86 Coggins, George M. ------- __ 690 Cole, Ira W. - ----— __ 670 Cole, James P. -_ ---- ___________ 347 Coles, John J. --— __ --- __ 398 Colwell, John B. - __-_ _____ ___ 839 Comerford, Rev. Michael J. -____ — 121 Cook, Henry, M. D. ---- ____ 335 Cook, Wilford P. -------.. 728 Coon, George H. - ----— __ 752 Covert, Alonzo J. --— _________ 448 Cox, Charles E. ------ __ —__ 785 Crapser, Hon. Bert F. -___ —. --- — 371 Crego, Aaron B. -_ 773 Crossman, Merritt A. - ---— _ __ 198 Curtis, S. E. ----- _________ 576 Dibble, Joel ------— _ --- — 680 Dickinson, Guy V. -------------— _ 564 Dieck, Ernest W. -------— _ 377 Doane, Clinton D. ------- -_ —.. 720 Dodge, Perry R. _ --- —----- 525 Dolan, Frank --------- ____ 321 Dort, Josiah D. -------— _ 52 Douglas, Dexter ------— _-_ 499 Downer, Menno F. --- __ --- 600 Duff, William -----------------— _ 572 Dullam, Frank --—. ---._____-____ 770 Dumanois, Charles W. ------- 146 Dunton, Lucius A. --— ___ — 712 Durant, William C. ---------- 33 Dye, Marion --------— _____- _ 399 Dynes, John L. -------— _ 418 E Eames, Charles H. --------- 682 Eaton, William F. -------- 510 Eckles, Charles M. -------- 289 Eckley, Earl ----- ------ 295 Eddy, George H. - ------- - 311 Edson, Ara G. __ --- —------ 303 Eggleston, Jasper --— __ —____ 206 Eggleston, Lyman ----- -___-__ 206 Elwood, Ernest T. -— __ — -_ 635 Embury, Philip 0. - ------ 292 Enders, Harry H. - ---— _ — 714 Ennis, James ----— _ --- 826 Ensign, Ebern E. - ------— ___ 736 Erwin, William J. - -----— __ 226 F Fairbank, Hon. M'erton W. --- —--- 451 Fairchild, Alfred --- ------ 598 Farmers Exchange Bank of Grand Blanc ----- --------- 583 Fenton, Joseph B. - -----— r ---- 192 Fleming, Eugene -- --------- 812 Fletcher, Albert -------- -- 655 Fowler, William S. __ ------ 427 Frappier, Era M., Sr. ~-~ --- —------ 701 Frawley, William M. ------- 853 Freeman, Arthur M. ----- 552 Freeman, Horace B. ------ 149 Frencfi, James B. - -------- 422 D Dake, Cash H. ----------- 819 Dake, Nelson G. -------- 457 Daly, Martin -------- ---- 331 Dauner, Anthony J. ------. — 753 Davie, William H. ------- 461 Davis, J. Frank ------- -- 851 Davis, Walter S., V. S. ------- 276 Davison, Matthew --- ----- 80 Davison, Robert C. -------- 305 DeLand, Albert M. -------- 329 Delbridge, Grant ----- ----- 298 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. Frisbie, Marshall M. _ ----___ — - 103 Frost, Joe ---------- ------- 392 Frutchey, Herbert ----- __- 364 Fuller, Lewis B. _ __ ---- ---- 518 G Galbraith, Arthur E. ________- - 421 Gale, Adrian P. -________ ___ 587 Gale, Perry W. ----- --------- 599 Gale, Will A. ____ __ --- —-- - 638 Gallaway, Frank A. ___ __ 844 Gaylord, George M. __________- 677 George, Victor E. — _ --- ---— _ 172 Gibson, Stanford S. _-_______ --- —_ 732 Gifford, Lewis ___ --- —--— __ __ 643 Gilbert, Horace W. __ --- —--- 188 Gilbert, Ira N. __ --- —------ 687 Gillett, Leslie D. __ --- —-- 357 Gillett, Ralph C. ____ __ --- — - 447 Gillett, Ralph N. __ ---_____ _ 633 Gillett, William H. _ --- — __ 495 Gillies, Andrew H. __ --- —---- 544 Glerum, Frank F. ____ --- ______ 743 Goldstine, William H. — ______ — 786 Good, Elias F. ____ --- —-- - 436 Goodes, William ------- _ ____ 756 Goodrich, Mrs. Emily ________ _ 400 Goodrich, William P. ____- ____- 603 Goss, Rev. Joel B. _ --- —-- 816 Graff, Otto P. _____- ___ ___ -- 75 Graham, Hugh W., M. D. - ___ 805 Grant, William __ _______ -- 817 Green, Frank A. __- ____ — ____ 763 Green, Patrick J. — ___-_7 _____ — - 533 Green, Warren O. -_______-____ 646 Greenfield, James M. -— ______ 0 408 H Haas, Herbert ---— __________ _ 159 Hackney, George W. -----— ___ _ 790 Halliwill, Milo B. __ —_ — ____ 665 Hardy, Fred ---------— ___ 821 Harris, Myron -----— _______ ___ 676 Hart, Robert O. -----— ______ 813 Haskell, Frank H. -— _______ _ 126 Haskell, Frank P. _ --- —-____ 342 Hathaway, Orlando K. -________ 504 Hawley, Berton J. -._..-__ _____ 430 Henderson, Thomas J. _______-_ 764 Herman, William G. --------- 478 Herrick, Edwin — ______ --- -_____- _ 827 Hetchler, Clarence O. — _____ _ 750 Hibbard, Otis G. -_____. --- —---- 202 Hill, Frank H. ___________ ---- 269 Hill, George W. ______ --- —- - 328 Hill, Harry C. ______ --- —- - 302 Hill, Israel _ _________________ 480 Hill, Philip P. ____ --- —------ 488 Hiller, James P. __- ____ --- —---- 501 Hills, Harley L. ____ ---- ------ 777 Hinkley, D. Eugene — _______ 742 Hinkley, Warren J. ------— __ _ 164 Hiscock, Alfred V. _ --- —- - 841 Hitchcock, Frank C. — ___ ___ 280 Hitchcock, Frederick H. _ --- _ 705 Hobart, Joseph __ --- - ________ _ 652 Holden, Claude ------— _ ----_____ 285 Holser, Frank ____-________ - 316 Horrigan, John ______- _____ - 568 Horton, William H. _ --- —--- 232 Hosie, William A. __-____ — ______ 182 Houghton, Fred M. _____ --- —---- 524 Houghton, Hon. George E. _ ---_ 362 Houton, John H., M. D. ___ --- — 236 Hovey, Fred ___- _ ___ --- —-- 672 Howe, William H. -____5 — ___ _ 512 Howes, Seth W. -----— ___________ 369 Huggins, George __ _________ 843 Hughes, Herman ____ ---____ — ___ 92 Hughes, John ___ ---______-_____ _ 469 Hughes, Peter ---— __________ _ 405 Hunt, George S. __ --- —-- - 471 Hurd, John W. -_______ --- —- 560 Hynes, William P. ____ --- —--- 403 Hynes, William T. ---— ________. 141 Jameson, Charles S. _ --- —-- 717 Jennings, Byron S. __ --- —---- 531 Jennings, John H. -________-_ _ 304 Jennings, Leroy M. --— ______ _ 492 Johnson, Abner M. ____-___ --- —-- 415 Johnson, Earl F. -__ __ ---- _____ 40 Johnson, Walter L. _ --- —-— _ 828 Johnston, Daniel J. ____ ---- - 306 Johnston, John M. -____ ______ 570 Jones, Frank E. ____ --- —--- - 156 Jones, James A. -__ --- —________ 118 BIOGRAPITICAL INDEX. Jones, James J. --- ----------- 453 Judson, Fred ----------------- 550 Judson, George ------------- --- 793 K Kahl, Bismark -- - 463 Kahl, Henry H. ------------- 299 Keddy, Wilbert H. --- -------- 320 Kellar, George C. ----------- 558 Kendrick, Augustus C. _ --- —-- 788 Kerr, Henry H. ---- ---------- 835 Knapp, Fred W. ------------------ 262 Knickerbocker, Walter D.- - 260 Knight, A.B. ___ --- —------ 829 Knight, Morris A. ----------- 115 Kountz, John E. __ --- —------ 390 Kurtz, Daniel -------- ------- 656 Kurtz, J. J., M. D.__ --- —----- 189 L Lahring, William H. --- ------- 234 Laing, Paul L. ___ --- —----- 151 Lake, VWilliam A. __-__________- _ 199 Lauderbaugh, William -- ------ 748 Leach, Clarence E. __- --------- 601 Leach, Frank B. __ --- ----- 645 Leach, William J. _ --- —---- 668 Leal, Charles H. __ — ------- 729 Lefurgey, Marshall C. --- —------- 406 Leland, Fred D. __ --- —----- 557 Leonard, Charles E. _ ----__ ---- 765 Lillie, Charles E. -__ — ----- 228 Linabury, Edwin B. ____ --- — _ 101 Lobban, Alexander __- ------- 520 Long, John H. __-_ --- —---- 43 Love, George E. ------------- 845 Lowell, Fred H. — _ --- —----- 186 Luby, Rev. Thomas F. _ --- —- 441 Luce, Charles C. --- --------- 277 Luce, Clarence ---------------- 282 Luce, Ira D. -— ___________ - 818 Mc McCann, Fred W. ------------ 607 McCaughna, Daniel ----— __ _ --- 571 McCloud, William H. _ --- —-- 117 McCreery, Fenton R. __ --- ___- 104 McDonald, A. E. ___ --- —--- 663 McKeighan, William H. _ —__- 144 McKeon, Paul B. _______-___- 823 McKinley, George E. _ --- —--- 168 McVannel, George H. ___ --- —- 758 M MacNeal, George -._-_ --- —------ 846 Macomber, John R. _ --- —-__ 464 Macomber, Elmore J. _ —__ ---_ 345 Macpherson, Herbert A. _ —____- 287 Martin, Horace P. _ --- —-— _- 746 Martin, Thomas -__ --- —-_ __ ---- 413 Mason, Henry G. ------- ------ 723 Mathews, Charles F. ___ —_ ---- 744 Maxwell, Thomas R. — ________ 776 Mears, Thomas ----------------- 792 Millard, Orson, M. D. _______- 42 Miller, Charles H. ----------- 353 Miller, John A. _____ --- —---- 251 Miller, Wilbert L. ______ — - - 379 Minto, Charles W. ----------- 286 Misner, James W. ------------- 201 Mitchell, George A. _-__ — __ --- 344 Monroe, William N. --- ------- 595 Montgomery, S. C. ------ ---- 407 Moon, Charles -_ --- —-------- 837 Moore, Edward C. _ —___ ___ — 322 Moran, Coleman P. __ — ----- 824 Morris, Charles S. --- -------- 315 Morrish, Oscar W. - ---------- 245 Morrish, Samuel — _ --- —-- - 393 Morrish, Wilbert E. ___ —_ ---- 250 Morrison, Walter -- --------- 235 Moss, Charles T. ____-__ — -- 649 Mott, Charles S. ______ — ___ ---- - 208 Mountain, William W. ___ --- — 248 Mundy, Charles E. __ --- —-- - 780 Mundy, George E. ------------ 283 Mundy, Thomas ------- ----- 332 Murphy, John J. ----------- 738 Murphy, Nicholas, Jr. _- ------ 619 Murphy, Rev. Timothy J. ------- 48 Myers, Hon. George C. ----------- 456 McAllister, William T. __ McBride, Homer J. _____ McCandlish, John -- McCandlish, John E. _ — _ McCandlish, Stephen D. _ ----_ 391 -— 83 __ ---- 578 ___ --- 590 ---- 615 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. N Newcombe, Delos E. Niles, Frank A. _Nimphie, Henry G. - Nimphie, John ---—. ------------- -- -- -----— ' ---— ' --- —---- ---------- -- 243 783 796 431 Q Quick, John F. _-________- --- 187 R 0 O'Hare, Peter F. -------- -- Oliff, Thomas -- - Olk, Joseph P. ------------ Ottaway, Fred R. --------------- 485 589 852 308 p Packard, George, Sr. _ ----------- Page, Thomas ----- Paine, Mrs. Ruey Ann --------- Parker, G. Russell ---------- Parker, Col. James S. _ --- —---- Parker, Ward H. _- -- Parsons, Edward D. — _ --- —--- Partridge, Elvah V. --------- Partridge, Fred W. --- —------- Partridge, Thomas D. ___ --- —Paterson, William A. _ — _-_ --- Patterson, Frank ------------ Pengelly, Rev. John B., A. M., D. B. Penoyer, Elmer H. ---------- Perkins, Frank D. ____ ------ Perry, Frank M. _________ — ____ Perry, George E. _ —___ --- —-- Peterson, Ole _ ------ Phillips, Andrew J. ----------- Phillips, Clifford J. ___ --- —--- Phillips, Elmer N. _ —_ --- — ___ Phipps, L. E. ------- Pierce, Franklin H. — _ --- —-- Pierce, John L. ----- Pierson, Harry C. ------------ Pierson, Herman H. _____ — ___ Post, Earl G. ---------- Pound, Sylvester J. ______ -____ Price, James E. - ---- Prosser, Arthur __ ---Prosser, Hon. Hal H. ----- ___ Prowant, David ------- Putnam, George F. _____ ---- -__ Putnam, William J. ____ --- — 529 333 516 739 160 849 323 310 822 575 138 158 326 662 636 685 730 548 725 722 358 803 128 832 368 215 706 487 439 406 546 420 384 254 Raab, Arthur E. __ —__ --- —-- Rankin, Francis H. __- -------- Ransom, Albert E. _ —____ — __ Ransom, John P. ________-__ Ransom, Mark B. _ --- —-— ___ Ransom, Randolph H. __ --- —- - Raubinger, Philip A. __ --- —--- Reed, Rev. Seth, D. D. _ --- —-_Reese, Andrew ----- Reese, Loron A. ---- Reynolds, Arthur J., M. D. __ Richmond, Lemuel ----— __- ___Riker, Aral A. ---- Riley, John W. --- —Ripley, Warren G. ___ --- —--- Robb, George W. ------— _ _ Roberts, Clinton -— _ - Rockafellow, Emrie W. _ --- —---- Rogers, Frank G. --— _ --- —--— __ Rogers, James - ------------- Rogers, Warren A. __-________ Rolland, Charles E. _-__-__ — _____Root, Earl B. ------- Root, William ------ Roska, Albert F. ___________ --- —Russell, John B. ------------ Russell, John H. _____ --- —______ Russell, Mrs. Mary _____________ 133 472 804 178 563 173 624 424 704 688 148 311 176 360 296 574 256 579 268 291 257 718 850 494 446 491 428 482 S Sanford, Mrs. Jennie E. W._______ Sargent, William H. _ — _______ Sawyer, Frank J. -— __________ Sayre, Frank P. -------------- Sayre, Ira T. ----- Schmier, Edward A. __ —______ Schram, J. Fred ----- Seeley, E. A. ----- Seelye, Nathan A. _ —_ --- —_ Selleck, Charles B. ___________Selleck, Robert W. __________ Shanahan, James ______________ Shaw, William H. ___ ______ --- — Shuman, Gustav F. __________ Siegel, Charles B. __ —_______ 460 514 583 455 318 745 395 213 612 658 272 522 388 190 237 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. Simmons, George L. ----------- Skinner, Bert ------ Skinner, J. D. ___-_. --- —-------- Skinner, Jeptha --------------- Slattery, Patrick ------------- Sleeman, John J. ---------------- Slocum, A. C. ----- Sluyter, Dr. Elden R. __ --- --- Smith, Darwin P. ----------------- Smith, Matthew B., M. D. ------ Smith, Philip ---- Smith, Samuel E. ------------- Smith, William V. -------------- Smithson, Thomas W. --------- Soper, O. Eugene __- --------- Sparks,. T. Albert ------------ Spenser, James L. ----------- Sprague, Wesson G. ------------ Stafford, Charles M. --------- Stehle, George F. _ --- —------- Steindam, August C. __ — ------ Stemmetz, Frank J., Jr. --------- Stewart, Capt. Damon ------- Stewart, Herbert A. ----------- Stewart, Samuel S. ------------- Stewart, William C. ----------- Stiles, Dennis R. _ --- _ --- —----- Stiles, E. B. ------ Stiles, W. B. ---- Stine, Martin C. --------------- Stoddard, Claude M. ___ --- —Stoddard, Frederick E. ---------- Streeter, Chancy N. ----------- Sutherland, L. C. -- ----------- Sutton, Charles E. _ —___ --- —Swart, Edgar J. -- ----------- Swayze, Judge Colonel O. _ — Sweers, Milo --- ------- Taylor, Charles E. _- __ --- —--- Taylor, George E. ------------ Taylor, George E. ___ ---__ --- — Taylor, J. Herman — _-____ _ --- Thomas, Clarence _ --- —-------— __ Thompson, James A. ______ — __ Thomson, Col. Edward H. _ ---Thomson, Mrs. Sarah T. ------- Thompson, Edmund M. _ --------- Tice, George W. _ --— _ —__ ----- 800 221 225 231 474 224 338 132 355 716 OU8 227 240 135 567 700 693 621 374 679 239 703 88 628 60 111 222 312 416 605 791 854 660 218 617 483 77 625 100 244 848 506 253 288 94 95 782 336 Todd, Fred -—.-.... ---Topham, John L. ---— _ --- — Topping, Charles M. -____ --- —Trumble, Abram M. __________ Turner, John —.. —. --- —-. — 376 526 692 365 768 Upton, Charles 0. -... —. —..- 476 Utley, Frank H. _ —_ — _____ 294 V Van Buskirk, J. M. -_________Van DeWalker, Edward C. _ Van Fleet, Jared -___ --- —----- Van Slyke, Frank M. ______-__- _ Van Slyke, Martin B. _________ Van Vleet, John C. -------— __ Veit, Jacob -- ---- Vernon, Patrick E. -__-__-___-____ Vickery, Levant A. — __. ----___ Vincent, William -------— ___ Volz, Jacob ------ 166 468 761 211 205 640 348 142 120 536 541 W Wadley, Will N. _ ---_______ _ 820 Walker, lion. Levi ----- __ — 195 Walker, William T. _____ ---- - __ 125 Warner, Charles K. ________ — - 396 Watson, Harry W. -_ —_______ —__ 123 Webber, George A. __- __ ---- - 754 Whaley, Robert J. -____________ 96 Wheeler, Elmer G. _____ --- —- - 795 Wheelock, Dr. Amos S. -______- 596 Whitehead, James B. ---— _____ 549 Whitman, Grant W. __ __ --- —- 737 Whitmore, Francis — __________ 301 Wildman, Frank P. --— _______ 373 Williams, Glenn ___________- - - 855 Wirth, John F. _____ --- —---- 437 Wisner, Leslie __ —_________ - 838 ~Wolcott, Robert H. ---— 62 --- 622 Wood, Edwin O., LL. D. __ --- —- 56 Wood, John H. __ ------------ 534 Wood, William N. ---— ______ _ 352 Woolfitt, Burtis E. - ---— ___ _ 340 Woolfitt, William E. ---- _ — _ 266 Wright, William T. __- ___ --- — 666 Y York, Jerry F. ___ --- —------- 609 Youells, Harry P. - ____ --- —- 432 Tinker, William -------— _ ---- 271 HISTORICAL CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. The first vwhite mnen to venture into the region of the Great Lakes were the French, who, early in the seventeenth century, extended their discoveries from the regions lying' around the Gulf of St. Lawrence, inland along the great valley of the St. Lawrence river. As early as I6I5, Champlain, in company with the Franciscan friar, Joseph le Caron, and other Frenchmen, discovered the Georgian bay of Lake Huron. Samuel de Champlain, born in 1570 at B:rouage on the bay of Biscay, a poor boy, the son of a fisherman, had received his early education from the parish priest. From these influences he had come to young manhood with a hunger for knowledge, a love for the sea, and devotion to his Catholic friends and to his sovereign. Before coming to Canada he had served in the French army and navy and conducted a successful exploring expedition to the WVest Indies. When, in 1603, merchants of Rouen, France, formed a great colonizing and furtrading company to the New World, the command of the expedition was given to the experienced and energetic Champlain. In I6o8 Champlain founded Quebec, and in the following year discovered the beautiful lake which bears his name. Unfortunately in that year he won, through the superiority of European methods of warfare, a great victory over one of the tribes of the powerful Iroquois, which, gaining for all the French explorers and settlers to come after him the unrelenting, hostility of these tribes through a period of a hundred and fifty years, must be counted as one of the principal causes of the failure of France in America. In I611 Champlain established a trading post on the site of Montreal, and in 1612 he went to France. On his return to the St. Lawrence he displayed his zeal for the faith, bringing with him four (3) 34 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Recollect friars, of the order of St. Francis, who might bear the knowledge of the Cross to the benighted savages of the western wilderness. In I6I5 Champlain, accompanied by an interpreter, Etienne Bruld, one other Frenchman and ten Indians, made an expedition to the Huron region of Lake Manatouline. In two canoes the group ascended the Ottawa river, crossed the portage to Lake Nipissing, and thence paddled their way down the French river to the waters of Georgian bay, along whose eastern shore thev coasted for a hundred miles, landing finally at Thunder bay. It was only a little distance from there that thev found Le Caron, one of Champlain's four Franciscan friends, who, on August 12, 16I5, surrounded by hordes of wondering savages at the Indian village of Carhagouha, had the honor of saying the first mass celebrated in this portion of the New World. Champlain exercised his noble influence as governor of New France for a quarter of a century, until his death at Quebec in I635. The historian Dionne, in his "Samuel Champlain," pays the following tribute to the memory of "The Father of New France": "In his conduct, as in his writings, Champlain was always a truly Christian man, zealous in the service of God and actuated by a child-like piety. He was wont to say, as we read in his 'Memoirs,' that 'the salvation of a single soul is worth more than the conquest of an empire, and that kings should never extend their dominion over idolatrous countries except to subject them to Jesus Christ'." The Rev. T. J. Campbell, S. J., from whose "Pioneer Laymen of North America" the above translation is quoted, says in the same volume, in substance: "One scarcely knows what to admire most in the multitude of splendid qualities which gave him such a distinctive place among the world's heroes. There was, for example, his amazing courage; nor was he an explorer or a discoverer of the ordinary kind. He went among the people, lived with them, shared in their filthy meals with as much grace and dignity as if he were at the table of Richelieu, adjusting their difficulties, settling their disputes, remonstrating with them for their barbarous practices and always endeavoring to instill into their hearts some idea of God, of religion and morality. The purity of his morals was marvelous. His country, its greatness and its glory, were ever in his mind. His amazing serenity of soul in the midst of multiplied disasters was almost preternatural. He is the realization of the old Roman poet's dream of GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 35 'The upright man, intent upon his resolve, Were all the world to crash about his head, Would stand amid its ruin undismayed.' He was more than that. He was what he insisted even a captain on the high seas should always be to his crew: a man of God." Lanman, in his "History of Michigan," says: "With a mind warmed into enthusiasm by the vast domain of wilderness which was stretched around him, and the glorious visions of future grandeur which its resources opened, a man of extraordinary hardihood and the clearest judgment, a brave officer and a scientific seaman, his keen forecast discerned, in the magnificent prospect of the country which he occupied, the elements of a mighty empire, of which he had hoped to be the founder. With a stout heart and ardent zeal, he had entered upon the prospect of civilization; he had disseminated valuable knowledge of its resources by his explorations, and had cut the way through hordes for the subsequent successful progress of the French toward the lakes." THE MISSIONARY SPIRIT. It is a noteworthy fact that in the history of the advance of civilization towards the Great Lakes, the spirit of the missionary went before the spirit of the colonizer. That spirit was introduced into these wilds when, in 1615, Champlain arrived at Quebec with four members of the Franciscan order-Denis Jamet, Jean Dolbeau, Joseph le Caron and Pacifique du Plessis. These men were the first pioneers in that great and noble undertaking, so laboriously and persistently carried on, of bringing to the savage peoples of New France the light of the Gospel. The Franciscan order was founded in the thirteenth century by St. Francis of Assisi. The four members who came with Champlain belonged to the Recollets, a reformed branch of the Franciscans. In I6I8 Pope Paul IV gave into the hands of the Recollets entire charge of the mission work in New France. Many of these noble sons lived and died in Christian service among the native red men. Their headquarters were at Quebec, where a convent was built. Of the first four, Joseph le Caron was appointed to labor among the Hurons along the upper Ottawa river. At Montreal he studied the Indian languages and by the time Champlain was ready to make his expedition to the Hurons, Le Caron was ready to go with him. This was typical of these early exploring and trading expeditions. Explorer, 36 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. trader, soldier and priest went hand in hand. Wherever waved the golden lilies of France, there the Cross was planted. The rude bark chapel took its place with the stockade and the trading house. Not infrequently the awe-inspiring ceremonies of the church preceded the pomp and pageantry of the military, so characteristic of the old regime in the forests of Canada. While the adventurous soldiers of New France dreamed of the "Great South Sea," to be reached by an inland waterway they should find, and in imagination saw the lilies of France waving dominion for the "Great King" over vast regions yet to be discovered, the soldiers of the Cross had a vision of that glorious time when the Indian nations of the "forest continent" should be gathered to the bosom of the Christian church. It was needful, however, that a more powerful order than the Recollets should aid in carrying forward this pioneer work of the church to the region of the Great Lakes. This task fell to the Jesuits, members of the Society of Jesus, a powerful and aggressive order founded in the I3th century by the great Ignatius Loyola, a soldier, who gave from his rich and varied experience as a military leader those qualities to his order which made it the most successful agency that ever worked among the almost insurmountable obstacles of Christian missions to savage peoples. A few Jesuits came to Canada as early as i6i i, but not until I625 did the work of this order there really begin. In that year there came to Canada, among others, Fathers Charles Lalement, Jean de Brebeuf and Enemond Masse, who were the first great pioneers of the Jesuit order in America. Brebeuf, the story of whose martyrdom for a great cause thrills us even at this far reach of time, worked among the Hurons of the Georgian bay where Le Carori had labored before him. Within a few years of their arrival in Canada, the Jesuits were officially chosen as spiritual managers, under the patronage of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu, of that colony the destinies of which Champlain controlled as governor until his death in I635. The year before Champlain died he sent out Jean Nicolet, a friend of the Jesuits, a master of the Algonquin dialects, and a man of great tact and influence with the Indians, to discover and explore the great waterway supposed to empty into the "Great South Sea," which should open a way to trading operations with China or Cathay. In that year Jean Nicolet, in a canoe paddled by Indian escorts, passed through the straits of Mackinac, probably the first white man to set foot upon the shores of what is now Michigan. A memorial tablet, affixed to the rocks of Mackinac island, was recently unveiled, marking the site of Nicolet Watch Tower, and inscribed, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 37 "In honor of John Nicolet, who in I634 passed through the straits of Mackinac in a birch bark canoe and was the first white man to enter Michigan and the Old Northwest." The character and qualities of this early pioneer of the Great Lakes are worthily set forth in words used on that occasion by a gifted scholar of our own time, the Rt. Rev. Monsignor Frank A. O'Brien, LL. D., president of the Michigan Historical Commission in I9I5, who said of him: "Nature had endowed Nicolet with wondrous gifts. Grace had supernaturalized his ambition into a burning fidelity to God and country. Others were blessed with great loyalty; others enjoyed a greater rank; but none possessed a nobler nature, a stronger arm, or a more devoted heart. HEe had the soldier's aspirations, without the soldier's love of greed. He had the love of victory, without the love of honors which it gave. He yearned for something great, yet he felt that the Old World would give him little to do. France had not been able to call his greatness into action. He sought other fields to increase his country's glory by discovery. He sought to spread God's kingdom. Under the banner of the Cross he went forward. He led his chosen bands through wilds unknown. He was as swift as lightning to resolve and as firm as a rock in execution. Where others hesitated, he quailed not. He was majestic, animated, resistless and persistent. Ite did better than he knew." The earliest recorded visit to the shores of Michigan after Nicolet, was made in 1641 by two Jesuit missionaries, Charles Raymbault and Isaac Jogues, who in that year reached and named the Sault de Ste. Marie, and there preached the Gospel to two thousand hospitable Ojibways. Father RaAvmbault died shortly afterward, a victim of consumption brought on by exposures. Father Jogues, a short time after Raymbault's death, attempting to return to the Sault, was captured by a marauding band of Mohawks, the beginning of that remarkable series of captivities and persecutions which ended in his being burned at the stake. In I660 Father R6ne Menard, another Jesuit missionary, was the first white man to coast along the northern shore of the Upper Peninsula, exploring the mysteries of Gitchi Gomee, the "Shining Big Sea Water." He said, "I trust in that Providence which feeds the little birds of the air and clothes the wild flowers of the desert," and in this simple faith of a little child he tried to found a mission among the Indians on Chaquamegon bay. In the following year, while on a mission of mercy, he became lost in the forest and perished. 38 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. FIRST MAP OF MICHIGAN. The first map of any part of Michigan was one made of the Lake Superior region, and the northernmost parts of the Lakes Huron and Michigan, a few years later, by the Jesuit Fathers Allouez and Marquette. Father Claude Allouez came there in I666, naming the great northern lake "Lac Tracy ou Superieur," in honor of the viceroy of Canada —a name which it bears on his map. This map was remarkably accurate for this early day. "When it is considered," says a well known report of the region, "that these men were not engineers, and that to note the geographical features of the country formed no part of their requirements, this map may, for that age, be regarded as a remarkable production; although, occasionally, points are laid down half a degree from their true position. The whole coast, sixteen hundred miles in extent, as well as the islands, were explored." The first accounts of copper in upper Michigan we have, are from the pen of Allouez. He writes: "It frequently happens that pieces of copper are found, weighing from ten to twenty pounds. I have seen several such pieces in the hands of the savages; and, since they are very superstitious, they regard them as divinities, or as presents given to them to promote their happiness, by the gods who dwell beneath the water. For this reason, they preserve these pieces of copper, wrapped up with their most precious articles. In some families they have been kept for more than fifty years; in others they have descended from time out of mind, being cherished as domestic gods." Our first description of the great copper mass now in the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, is also from Allouez. "For some time," he says, "there was seen near the shore a large rock of copper, with its top rising above the water, which gave opportunities to those passing by to cut pieces from it; but when I passed that vicinity it had disappeared. I believe that the gales, which are frequent, like those of the sea, had covered it with sand. One savage tried to persuade me that it was a divinity, who had disappeared, but for what cause he was unwilling to tell." The oldest settlement in Michigan is undoubtedly Sault Ste. Marie. Fathers Jogues, Raymbault, Menard and Allouez had tarried there; its actual permanent occupation by white men began as early as I668, with the arrival of Fathers Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette, who founded there the first permanent mission in Michigan. Formal possession of Michigan, and of all the Great Lakes region, in GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 39 the name of FIrance, was taken in 1671 at Sault Ste. Marie, accompanied by one of the most imposing ceremonies ever witnessed in that region. Here was gathered a motley array, representing all the types of New France: soldier, priest, trader and trapper, the picturesque coureur de bois, and the native red man. Church and state stood side bv side. It was Father Allouez, mindful of his temporal as well as his spiritual master, who pronounced upon ILouis XIV a panegyric the like of which was seldom heard by the sons of the forest. In large measure, it was this loyalty of the church that made possible the extension of trade, commerce and the temporal domain of the French crown over the magnificent reaches of the Great Lakes. JACQUES MARQUETTE. The first permanent Michigan settlement on waters tributary to the lower lakes was made by Father Jacques Marquette in 1671 at St. Ignace. He had spent the winter before on Mackinac island, with a band of Hurons, but in the snummer they moved to the mainland. Here he built a chapel, where he ministered to the Indians until his great voyage of discovery with Louis Joliet in 1673. It was from this point in Michigan that this great soul set forth on a quest which was to give to the world its first real knowledge of the "Father of W\aters." It was at this point, a few years later, that his bones were interred by the red natives whom he loved and who had learned to love him. It was in Michigan that he made the last great sacrifice. The story of Marquette's death is thus told by the historian Bancroft: "In sailing from Chicago to Mackinac during the following spring (1675), he entered a little river in Michigan. Erecting an altar, he said mass after the rites of the Catholic church; then begging the men who conducted his canoe to leave him alone for half an hour'In the darkling wood, Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down, And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks And supplication.' "At the end of half an hour they went to seek him, and he was no more. The good missionary, discoverer of a world, had fallen asleep on the margin of a stream that bears his name." On September I, I909, the memory of Father Jacques Marquette was signally honored, by loving hands, in the unveiling of the Marquette statue on Mackinac island. On that occasion, Mr. Justice William R. Day, of the 40 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. supreme court of the United States, paid this fitting eulogy: "Upon the statue which marks Wisconsin's tribute, in the old Hall of the House at Washington, are these words: 'Jacques Marquette, who with Louis Joliet discovered the Mississippi river at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, July 17, 1673.' Were we to write his epitaph today, we might take the simple words, which at his own request mark the last resting place of a great American, and write upon this enduring granite the summary of Marquette's life and character-'He was faithful.'" In the words of Rev. T. J. Campbell: "The name of Marquette will ever be venerated in America. You meet it everywhere. There is a city named after him, and a county, and a township, and a river, and several villages, in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas and Nebraska. His Jesuit brethren of the twentieth century have built a Marquette University in Milwaukee, which rejoices in the possession of some of the relics that were given to it when the grave was opened at Pointe St. Ignace." It would be well for the youth of today to ponder well the fact that with all his great achievements, Marquette, at the time of his death, was only thirty-eight years old. LA SALLE. After Marquette, the greatest name among the explorers of the Great Lakes region is that of Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. He was a native of that Normandy which in early days bore William the Conqueror. Born at Rouen in 1643, he came to Canada about the time Marquette first visited Lake Superior. He had been educated by the Jesuits, with the intentionof becoming a priest in that order. But his tastes led him into business, and the discoveries of Marquette and Joliet filled his mind with visions of wealth to be acquired in the regions of the West. La Salle, like the rest, was deluded with the idea of reaching China. and the South Sea by way of the Great Lakes. The point on the St. Lawrence where he held lands, named by him La Chine, commemorates this infatuation. La Chine was to be his base of operations. While making great plans for the immediate future in the prosecution of the fur trade, he studied the Indian languages and made journeys into the wilderness. In I669 he sold out his interests at La Chine and made the first of his great expeditions westward. Just ten years from that time occurred an event that is specially noteworthy in the career of La Salle-the voyage of the "Griffin," a boat built under orders of La Salle by Henri de Tonti, and the first that ever sailed the waters of the Great Lakes. On August 7, I679, this little vessel, of GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 4I forty-five tons burden, set sail from the mouth of Cayuga creek, just above Niagara Falls, and after a stormy voyage of about a month, during which it encountered heavy storms on Lake Huron, anchored in a sheltered bay at Pointe St. Ignace. A glimpse of the scene on her arrival is thus given by the historian Parkman: "And now her port was won, and she found her rest behind the point of St. Ignace of Michilimackinac, floating in that tranquil cove where crystal waters cover, but cannot hide, the pebbly depths beneath. Before her rose the house and chapel of the Jesuits, enclosed with palisades; on the right the Huron village, with its hark cabins and its fence of tall pickets; on the left the square, compact houses of the French traders; and, not far off, the clustered wigwams of an Ottawa village." Presently La Salle proceeded to Green bay, Wisconsin, where an advance party of his men had collected a large store of furs. The "floating fort," as the Mackinac Indians called the "Griffin," was here loaded with furs, and on September I8 she set out, homeward bound, with her cargo. Whether she again encountered storms, like those she had met on Saginaw bay coming north, or whether she met her fate through some foul play of her crew, or of the Indians, no one knows. She was never heard of more. Thus perished the pioneer of the unnumbered thousands of gallant barks that, ere two centuries should roll away, were to whiten with the sails of a peaceful commerce all these mighty inland seas. Varied and interesting were the adventures of La Salle after he left the "Griffin." The one that concerns us most is his famous "cross country" trip through southern Michigan, the first time, so far as the records show, that the southern peninsula of Michigan was ever crossed by Europeans. La Salle had gone south from Green bay, exploring the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan around past the site of Chicago to the mouth of the St. Joseph river, in what is now Berrien county. There he and his men built a fort, which was the first post to be established within the limits of the lower peninsula. From there they ascended the St. Joseph river, to the present site of the city of South Bend, Indiana. They visited the present La Salle county, in Illinois, then the principal center of the Illinois Indians. La Salle then proposed to navigate the Mississippi, and it was to fit out his vessel, which he built near the site of the present Peoria, that he made the overland trip to Canada which took him across Michigan. This was in the spring of I680. We have the account from La Salle's "Journal." He speaks of passing through great meadows covered with rank grass, which they burned in order to deceive the hostile savages who followed them, as to their route. No 42 4GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. doubt these meadows were the patches of beautiful prairie land so attractive to the 'early settlers of southwestern Michigan. Setting out from the mouth of the St. Joseph river, and taking a direct line for the Detroit river, La Salle and his men followed, as near as can be determined, the dividing ridge between the St. Joseph and Kalamazoo rivers, passing through the southern parts of Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties, across Prairie Ronde and Climax prairies, and thence through Jackson and Washtenaw counties, to the Huron river. Down this stream they floated to the borders of Wayne county, when, finding their way barred by fallen trees, they left their canoes and struck across the country directly to the Detroit river. In due time La Salle reached the point from which the "Griffin" had first set sail. For sixty-five days he had plodded laboriously through a wilderness which today can be crossed in a few hours; but at that time, this first trip across southern Michigan was one of the most remarkable experiences in the history of the peninsula. The story is well known how La Salle, amid the gloomy forebodings of his men, the treachery of the savages, innumerable personal losses and humiliations, triumphed over almost insurmountable difficulties, explored the great valley of the Mississippi and at length reached its mouth on the gulf of Mexico. On April 9, 1682, amid great pomp and ceremony, the lilies of France were unfurled to the southern breezes beside the cross of the church, and in the name of his mighty sovereign, Louis XIV, La Salle took possession of the vast lands watered by the great river; to them, in honor of his royal master, he gave the name Louisiana. The pathetic story of the faithful Tonti, who clung to La Salle in al his wanderings, is one of the most stirring romances of any age or country; and the tragic story of La Salle's ending, basely done to death by friends whom he trusted, forms one of the saddest tales in the pioneer annals of the continent. Only forty-four years old at the time of his death in 1687, La Salle was one of the greatest men of his (lay. Michigan may well be proud to number him among the great souls connected with her early discovery and settlement. RIVAL CENTERS OF INFLUENCE. The two greatest centers of French influence in Michigan were Michilimackinac and Detroit. Indeed, a strong rivalry existed between them for control of the fur trade. Michilimackinac, being the older, and situated at a point where the Indians had been wont for ages to congregate for hunting and fishing. and celebrating their religious rites, had the initial advan GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 43 tage. From the time Marquette founded the mission at St. Ignace, in I671., this point became a mart of trade. A fort was built about I68o, to protect and foster this trade. One of its first commandants was the famous coureur dc bois, Daniel Greysolon Du I.hut, whose meritorious services as a soldier and explorer'the name of the city of Duluth, in Minnesota, commemorates. It was he who built old Fort St. Joseph on or near the site of Fort Gratiot, where is now the city of Port Huron. Another famous commandant in the earliest annals of Michilimackinac was Nicolas Perot, who succeeded Du Lhut. But better known to modern readers than either of these, is the great Cadillac, the founder of the "City of the Straits." M. de la Motte Cadillac became commandant at Mackinac in I694. In his time he declares the place to have been "one of the largest villages in all Canada," with a strong fort, and a garrison of two hundred soldiers. In some way, Cadillac had become convinced of the need of an equally strong fort on the Detroit river. He went to France, and succeeded in winning over to his view Count Ponchartrain, minister for the colonies. Almost immediately after his return to Canada, armed with the royal commission, he fitted out an expedition to Detroit, where he arrived on July 24, 1 70o. A fort was built and appropriately named in honor of the French minister, "Fort Ponchartrain." In a little volume entitled "Cadillac's Village," Mr. C. M. Burton, of Detroit, historiographer of that city, has written a comprehensive, accurate and very interesting account of this event. Cadillac was not mistaken in choosing this site for a trading post. It was the site of an Indian village, Teuchsagrondie, a place much frequented by the neighboring tribes. Nor were Cadillac and his followers the first white men there. We have seen La Salle there in the spring of i68o. Still earlier, Father Hennepin, historian of the famous voyage of the "Griffin," and one of its passengers. wrote, as he passed this site: "Those who will one day have the happiness to possess this fertile and pleasant strait will be very much obliged to those who have shown them the way." Missionaries and coureurs dc bois had been there before. Fathers Dolliers and Galinee, two Sulpitian priests, had passed through the strait in the spring of I670. They record that they found on the future site of Detroit what they supposed was an Indian god, roughly carved in stone, which they piously broke in pieces with their axes and threw into the river. It is even probable that there was a French fort of very primitive sort at Detroit some years previous to 1701, a post of the coureturs de bois not recognized by the government. From statements in the New York colonial documents, it seems to have 44 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. existed there as early as I679. The place was probably never garrisoned by a regular military force until Cadillac came. The importance of the post from a military point of view-while this was of some moment-was subordinate to its commercial consequence. The principal cause of establishing the post was to control the fur trade of the upper Great Lakes. This trade was placed at the outset under the control of a company of merchants and traders formed in I701, known as the "Company of the Colony of Canada." A contract was drawn up which excluded all private individuals from trading in the country. In return, the company was to pay six thousand livres every year to the French king. The heart of Cadillac was in his new venture at Detroit, and he became alienated from his old post at Michilimackinac. Trade rivalries led to some bitterness. The establishment of a mission at Detroit was a part of Cadillac's general plan. He aimed to gather all the Indians of the Great Lakes region around his new post and mission at Detroit. But Father Marest, one of the greatest of the successors of Marquette at St. Ignace, was determined that Michilimackinac should not lose its prestige and influence with the red men. Cadillac, notwithstanding, succeeded in persuading a great number of the Michigan Indians to come to Detroit. For many years the fur trade largely centered there. So desperate did the situation become at Mackinac that the mission was temporarily abandoned. From that time until the close of the French regime in I763, the history of Michigan was comparatively uneventful. The post at Mackinac was restored, but it was built on the south side of the straits, near the site of the present Mackinaw City. The restored mission was established some miles along the shore to the west, at L'Arbre Croche among the Ottawas. Many of the Indians who had gone with Cadillac returned to the straits of Mackinac after his departure from Detroit, in I711. Yet Detroit continued to be the important center of the fur trade for the lower peninsula of Michigan. The first settlements in the present states south of the Great Lakes were made from Detroit. It was destined to be for many years the chief center of the fur trade for all the country now occupied by the states of Indiana and Illinois and portions of Ohio and Wisconsin. MICHIGAN UNDER THE BRITISH. In I760, Michigan and the whole country which is now known as British America was lost to the French and came under the dominion of Great Britain. War broke out between the French and British colonies in GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 45 North America in I754, but the change did not seriously disturb the posts in the Great Lakes region until the year 1763. Detroit and Mackinac had received English garrisons in I760, without resistance either from the French or the Indians. It was fondly believed by the English government, as well as bv the American colonists in these parts, that this meant an era of peace and prosperity for the region of the Great Lakes. But the calm was of short duration. A storm was brewing in the breast of the great chief, Pontiac. The treatment accorded the Indians by the British was very different from what they had been accustomed to receive from the French. The French always paid the Indians proper respect and deference. The British, on the contrary, began allost immediately to thrust them aside and to treat them as dependents and vagabonds. The British continually encroached on the Indian hunting grounds. Complaints began to be heard, which grew louder, stimulated no doubt by the active sympathy of the French traders on the borders of Michigan. PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. The -ear of the treaty of Paris, 1763, was fixed upon by Pontiac for a supreme attempt to hurl back the tide of English conquest and settlement. "Pontiac," says Cooley, "was one of those rare characters among the Indians whose merits are so transcendent that, without the aid of adventitious circumstances, they take by common consent the headship in peace and the leadership in war. In battle he had shown his courage; in council, his eloquence and his wisdom; le was wary in planning and indefatigable in execution; his patriotism was ardent and his ambition boundless and he was at this time in all the region between the headwaters of the Ohio and the distant Mississippi, the most conspicuous figure among the savage tribes, and the predestined leader in any undertaking which should enlist the general interest. Of the Ottawas he was the principal chief, and he made his home at their village opposite and a little above Detroit, with a summer residence in Lake St. Clair. But he was also chief of a loose confederacy of the Ottawas, Ojibways and Pottawatomies, and his influence extended far beyond those tribes, and placed him above rivalry in all the lake region and the valley of the Ohio." With the fires of discontent smouldering everywhere, nothing was needed but the breath of his bold and daring spirit to blow them into flames. Pontiac carefully laid his plans. A "Prophet" arose, who, like Peter 46 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. the Hermit, preached a crusade against the enemies of his people and wrought up the savages to the highest pitch of excitement and enthusiasm. By every means, Pontiac worked upon the credulity of the Indians as to the weakness of the English and the power of the great French king, who, said Pontiac, had been asleep, but was now awaking for a terrible vengeance upon their common foes. With the savages banded together from the mouth of the Mississippi to the northern wilds of the Ottawas (for a war of extermination), Pontiac planned to strike at the same moment every English post from the Niagara to the straits of Mackinac. Upon the unsuspecting garrison at Mackinac, the premeditated blow fell like a bolt of thunder from a clear sky. The capture of this indispensable post was entrusted by Pontiac to the Ojibway chieftain, Mih-nehweh-na. The date set was June 4, the birthday of King George of England. The stratagem was worthy of Ulysses-a game of ball called by the Indians bagattiway, by means of which the Indians were enabled to assemble in the immediate vicinity of the fort to celebrate the King's birthday. According to the Ojibwav historian, Warren, this game is played with a bat about four feet long, and a wooden ball. The bat terminates at one end in a circular curve, which is netted with leather strings, and forms a cavity where the ball is caught, carried and, if necessary, thrown with great force to treble the distance that it can be thrown by hand. Two posts are planted at the distance of about half a mile. Each party had its particular post, and the game consisted in carrying, or throwing, the ball in the bat to the post of the adversary. At the commencement of the game the two parties collected midway between the two posts. The ball was thrown up into the air and the competition for its possession began in earnest. It was the wildest game known anong the Indians, played in full feathers and ornaments, and with the greatest excitement and vehemence. The great object was to get the ball. During the heat of the excitement no obstacle was allowed to stand in the way of getting at it. Should it fall over a high inclosure, the wall would be immediately surmounted, or torn down if needful, and the ball recovered. The game was well adapted to carry out the scheme of the Indians. During its progress they managed to send the ball over the stockade and into the fort. The soldiers were mostly off duty, it being a holiday, and were watching the game, when suddenly the fort was filled with savages, the war-whoop resounded, and grasping from under the blankets of the Indian women the shortened guns, tomahawks and knives. which they had concealed, the massacre commenced. In an incredibly short GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 47 time the garrison were butchered, nearly to a man, and the post was in possession of the Indians. Had not an Ojibway maiden's love for Major Gladwin, who commanded the fort at Detroit, led her to reveal to him Pontiac's secret plan, that post would probably have shared the fate that befell Mackinac. Pontiac's plan was to get all his warriors in readiness and have them distributed around the fort, while he, with sixty of his chiefs should enter the fort all armed with sawed-off rifles which could be concealed under their blankets. They were to come upon pretense of holding a council with Major Gladwin and to smoke the pipe of peace with the English. Gladwin was ready. When the chiefs were at length seated on the mats, Pontiac rose and, holding in his hand the belt of wampum with which he was to have given the signal of massacre, commenced a speech cunningly devised and full of flattery. He professed the most profound friendship for the English and declared he had come for the express purpose of smoking the pipe of peace. Once he seemed about to give the signal, when Gladwin made a sign with his hand and instantly there was the clash of arms without, the drums rolled a charge, and every man's hand was on his weapons. Pontiac was astounded. He caught the firm, unflinching look on Gladwin's face, and at length sat down in great perplexity. Major Gladwin made a brief and pointed reply. He assured the chief that he should be treated as a friend so long as he deserved it, but the first attempt at treachery would be paid for in blood. The council broke up. The gates were opened and the baffled and disconcerted savage and his followers were suffered to depart. Pontiac plainly saw that his treachery was anticipated, but bore himself with most consummate tact. Withdrawing to his village, he took counsel with his chiefs. Once more Pontiac tried diplomacy. On the morning of May 9, the common about the fort was thronged with a great concourse of Ojibways, Ottawas, Pottawatomies and Hurons. Soon the stately form of Pontiac was seen approaching the gate. The gate was closed. He demanded entrance. Gladwin replied that he could enter, but his followers must remain without. In a rage, Pontiac withdrew to where his swarming followers were lying flat on the ground just beyond gunshot range. Instantly the whole plain became dark with savages, running, whooping, screeching, and soon the scalp halloo told the bloody fate of the settlers outside the fort whom their fury could reach. Pontiac took no part personally in these outrages, but rapidly completed plans for a protracted siege of the fort. A direct attack on the fort, made shortly afterwards, was repulsed, 48 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and Gladwin seems to have felt that this would be the end. He was in need of provisions and thought that he could at least safely try negotiations. Pontiac instantly saw his opportunity; he assumed such an honest countenance and played the game with such tact that, while planning the deepest treachery, he succeeded in getting to his camp the person of Major Campbell, nwho, before Major Gladw-in, had held command at the fort since the country had passed into the hands of the British. His life was to be made an equivalent for the surrender of the fort; from that lion's den Major Campbell never returned. In spite of Pontiac's efforts to protect him, he was a few days later treacherously murdered. For weeks the siege continued. Both sides were in sore straits for provisions and both were looking for reinforcements. A force sent from Niagara to relieve the fort was cut to pieces on the way by the Indians, and the supplies captured. Newis was received of the massacre at Sandusky. A schooner sent out by Major Gladwin for supplies made a successful return, and heartened the little garrison with a welcome supply of men, arms and munitions, and with news of the treaty of peace between France and England, by which the Canadian possessions, including Detroit, were ceded to the latter. Pontiac refused to believe the news of the peace and persuaded his followers that it was a mere invention of the English in the fort to defeat them. He renewed the siege with vigor. But passage of time without achievement began to tell on the spirit of the savages. A portion of them begran to grow weary. The siege began to drag. In the meantime, a strong reinforcement under command of Captain Dalzell, was on the way from Niagara to aid the fort, and with him a detachment of rangers under the famous Major Robert Rogers. On his arrival, Captain Dalzell and Major Gladwin held a conference, in which the Major was reluctantly persuaded by the impetuous Dalzell to try to surprise the Indians by a night sally. Pontiac was a past-master, however, in strategems. At a small stream, called then Parent's creek, but since that fatal night named "Bloody Run," the two hundred and fifty men of the fort's detachment were ambushed by Pontiac with a band of five hundred chosen warriors, and all but annihilated. Among the slain was Captain Dalzell. The immediate result was to inspirit the Indians, who were joined by large reinforcements. Elsewhere on the frontier a greater degree of success had attended the plans of Pontiac. Fort St. Joseph, on the St. Joseph river, had been taken in May. Mackinac had fallen an easy prey to the northern GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 49 Ojibways in June. The forts at Green bay, on the Maumee river, on the Wabash and at Presque Isle, had been captured. The Indians, under the genius of Pontiac, had concerted their actions in a well-nigh universal crusade against the English, which bade fair to be successful. They yet lacked complete success at Forts Pitt, Niagara and Detroit. A gleam of hope shot through the darkness when the gallant Col. Henry Bouquet, defeating the Indians in a desperate and bloody battle, relieved Fort Pitt. The Indians about Detroit heard of great preparations to send a strong force against them; notwithstanding their successes, they now began to waver and to despair of taking the fort. The Indians were glad for a truce, and under its cover Major Gladwin laid in a supply of provisions for the winter. Only the Ottawas continued to prosecute the siege, with petty skirmishing. The final blow to the hopes of Pontiac was the receipt of advice from M. Neyon, the French commander at Fort Chartres, in the Illinois country, that the Indians had better abandon the war and go home. Pontiac had cherished the forlorn hope that the French would yet recover the country from the English. In great rage he now withdrew to the Maumee, determined on a renewal of hostilities in the spring. But in the spring a great council was held by Sir William Johnson at Niagara, attended by an immense concourse of Indians from all the western country. A treaty was concluded, presents were lavishly distributed, especially among the leaders, and the war virtually ended. On July 23, I766, Pontiac met Sir William Johnson at Oswego and signed a definite treaty of peace, along with deputies from most of the western nations then living east of the Mississippi. A few years later, in 1769, the great Ottawa chieftain was treacherously assassinated by a member of one of the tribes of the Illinois Indians. ACTIVITY IN THE FUR TRADE. After the failure of Pontiac's schemes, until the War of I812, things were comparatively quiet on the Michigan frontier. The English sought to conciliate both the Indians and the French. The fur-trade was prosecuted with new vigor. The Hudson's Bay Company, formed in I700, now extended its sway towards the Great Lakes. Mackinac island became a center of this trade on the upper lakes, the fort having been removed thither from the south side of the straits during the Revolution. Mackinac was one of the main posts of the Northwest Company, where the peltries were (4) 50 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. received which had been collected from the forests and streams of the north, and were packed and shipped to England by way of Montreal. The story of the fur trade on the Michigan frontier in this period is the story of bitter rivalry between these companies for supremacy, which continued even after the Northwest Company transferred a large part of its Michigan trade to the American Fur Company, organized by John Jacob Astor. The Michigan fur trade, centering at Mackinac and Detroit, was destined to thrive under Astor's company for many years after the Great Lakes region had passed forever from the control of Great Britain. The historian, Lanman, has given a picturesque view of scenes at Mackinac as they were just before the War of 1812: "Even as late as 812," he says, "the island of Mackinac, the most romantic point on the lakes, which rises from the watery realm like an altar of a river god, was the central mart of the traffic, as old Michilimackinac had been for a century before. At certain seasons of the year it was made a rendezvous for the numerous classes connected with the traffic. At those seasons, the transparent waters around this beautiful island were studded with the canoes of the Indians and traders. Here might be found the merry Canadian voyageur, with his muscular figure strengthened by the hardships of the wilderness, bartering for trinkets at the various booths scattered along its banks. The Indian warrior, bedecked with the most fantastic ornaments, embroidered moccasins and silver armlets; the Northwesters, armed with dirks-the iron men who had grappled with the grizzly bear and endured the hard fare of the north; and the Southwester also put in his claims to deference. It was a trade abounding in the severest hardships and the most hazardous enterprises. This was the most glorious epoch of mercantile enterprise in the forest of the Northwest, when its half-savage dominion stretched upon the lakes for a hundred years over regions large enough for empires, making barbarismt contribute to civilization." During the Revolution, Detroit was the military headquarters of the British in Michigan. Sir Henry Hamilton was in command there from I774 to I779, when he was captured at Vincennes by George Rogers Clark. In I780, Mackinac island was fortified, and strongly garrisoned, through fear that Detroit might now be captured by the American patriots and the Indians be tempted to repeat the tragedy that befell Old Mackinac in 1763. The fort, built on a high cliff that overlooked the village, occupied a position which protected it from surprise and assault by the Indians. Reminiscent of the glory of this historic island region, Mrs. Stewart writes: GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 5I "Like Detroit, Michilimackinac has been the theater of many a bloody tragedy. Its possession has been disputed by powerful nations, and its internal peace has continually been made the sport of Indian treachery and of the white man's duplicity. Today, chanting Te Deulns beneath the ample folds of the fleur-de-lis, tomorrow yielding to the power of the British lion, and, a few years later, listening to the exultant screams of the American eagle, as the stars and stripes float over the battlements on the 'isle of the dancing spirits.' As a military post in time of war, the possession of Michilimackinac is invaluable; but as a commercial mart, now that the aboriginal tribes have passed away, the location is of little consequence. "In these later days, to the invalid and the pleasure-seeker, the salubrity of the pure atmosphere, the beauty of the scenery, the historical reminiscences which render it classic ground, and the many wild traditions, peopling each rock and glen with spectral habitants, combine to throw, around Michilimackinac an interest and attractiveness unequalled by any other spot on the Western Continent." THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. By the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain in I783, Michigan became a part of the United States; but for various reasons the British forces did not evacuate Mackinac and Detroit. However, on the theory that the transfer of territory would prove permanent, the American congress organized a government for a vast western territory, including Michigan, under the famous Ordinance of I787. This area was called the Northwest Territory, out of which have been carved the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and WVisconsin; its first governor was General Arthur St. Clair, a veteran officer of the American Revolution. The Ordinance of 1787 gave to Governor St. Clair wide powers. Settlers would want assurance that they would be adequately protected in the western country, before they would leave their homes in the Eastern states. His government was strongly centralized, and he was able to act vigorously under the supervision of the national government. Of Governor St. Clair, an able lawyer of that time has left the following estimate: "During the continuance of the first grade of that imperfect government, he enjoyed the respect and confidence of every class of the people. He was plain and simple in his dress and equipage, open and frank in his manners, and accessible to persons of every rank. * * * The governor 52 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. was unquestionably a man of superior talents, of extensive information, and of great uprightness of purpose, as well as suavity of manners. His general course, though in the main correct, was in some respects injurious to his own popularity; but it was the result of an honest exercise of his judgment. He not only believed that the power he claimed belonged legitimately to the executive, but was convinced that the manner in which he exercised it was imposed upon him as a duty, by the ordinance, and was calculated to advance the best interests of the territory." One of the most important events of Michigan history while St. Clair was governor, was the Indian treaty of Greenville. in I795. In I790-9I the confederated tribes south of Michigan inflicted defeats upon Generals Harmer and St. Clair, but, in I794, Gen. Anthony Wayne, at the "Fallen Timbers," or Maumee Rapids, gave the combined Indian tribes of the Northwest a bloody defeat. This brought the savages to terms, and in August, I795, General Wayne executed a treaty with them, at Greenville, Ohio, in which, among other sections, certain lands about the posts at Detroit and Mackinac were ceded to the United States. In the meantime, John Jay had negotiated a treaty with England, in which it was stipulated that on or before June I, I796, the British garrisons should be withdrawn from all the northwestern posts; and it was done. The American flag floated over Detroit for the first time July II, I796. In September the county of Wayne was organized, including within its limits portions of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Detroit, which contained at that time about three hundred houses, was the capital. In I8oo the Northwest Territory was divided, by a north and south line, a part of which is now the boundary between Ohio and Indiana, and which, extending north to the boundary of the United States, cut Michigan in two halves. The western half was included in the new Indiana Territory, and when, in 1803, Ohio became a state, the whole of the lower peninsula of Michigan became a part of the new territory. Of William Henry Harrison, its governor, it is said: "He was a product of the West, and was thoroughly in sympathy with western ideas and institutions. He had served with distinction under St. Clair and Wayne, and was well trained in the methods of Indian warfare. As secretary of the Northwest Territory toward the latter part of St. Clair's administration, and as delegate to Congress from that territory, Harrison had gained much valuable experience in the management of territorial affairs. Energetic and courageous and at the same time prudent in his undertakings, he resembled St. Clair in the strict honesty with which he administered the duties of his office." GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 53 MICHIGAN TERRITORY. On June 30, 1805, Michigan became a separate territory. Gen. William Hull, a veteran officer of the Revolution, was appointed governor, and it was during his term that the Var of I812 broke out. From the very beginning, the period of his rule was filled with trouble. In the very year of his arrival in Detroit a great fire completely destroyed the village and post. This had its good side, for subsequently the town was laid out on a greatly enlarged and improved plan; but temporarily the people suffered great hardships. The governor was also hampered by interminable bickerings among the territorial officials. From 1807 on, it was evident that the Indians meant mischief. They complained that they had signed treaties without understanding them. In 1807 Governor Hull negotiated a treaty with them, by which they ceded lands as far west as the principal meridian running through the present counties of Hillsdale, Jackson, Ingham and Shiawassee, to a point near Owosso, and thence northeast to White Rock, on Lake Huron. But fear of the Indians kept the lands from being surveyed, and settlers were not disposed to go inland out of easy hailing distance from the fort at Detroit. The Indians were doubtless influenced somewhat by the fur traders of the Northwest Company, whose interests required that the country should remain a wilderness, and the British distributed guns and ammunition and other presents with a lavish hand. WAR OF I812. It came about that gradually a union of the Indians was effected, somewhat after the model of that of the famous Pontiac. Its moving spirit was Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, whose home was on the upper Wabash. In I81I, Gen. William Henry Harrison checked the movement temporarily by a disastrous defeat of Tecumseh at Tippecanoe. But when, on June I8, 1812, war was declared by the United States against Great Britain, the western Indians rallied to the cause of the British. Governor Hull was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces on the Michigan frontier. His troops were eager that he should at once make a bold offensive and capture Malden, but he would not, and in July General Proctor, commander of the British advance, reached Malden and immediately began operations to cut off Hull's communications and isolate his 54 - GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. army. In August, General Brock, the British commander-in-chief, a most efficient and daring officer, arrived, and prepared to take Detroit. In the meantime, on July 17, Lieut. Porter Hanks, commanding at Mackinac, having received no word of the declaration of war, was surprised and was compelled to surrender at discretion the fort and his whole garrison. This was a disheartening blow to Hull and doubtless influenced his subsequent course. Moreover, General Dearborn, who commanded the American forces at Niagara, had concluded an armistice, enabling the British forces there to concentrate against Detroit. Believing that Detroit could not be held, and that it would be a wanton sacrifice of his men to attempt to hold it, Hull surrendered, August 16, to Brock. Almost at the same time the garrison at Fort Dearborn, where is now Chicago, commanded by Captain Heald, in acting on orders from Hull to evacuate that fort, was waylaid and massacred by the Indians. Disaster on the Michigan frontier seemed complete. General Hull was afterwards court-martialed and sentenced to be shot, but, in view of his advanced age and his distinguished services during the Revolution, the President pardoned him. Since then Hull has had vigorous defenders. It is not too much to say that today, viewed in the sober light of all the facts, there are a few historians who are inclined to regard his action as wise, but the majority d6 not share this view. Regarding Hull's government of Michigan Territory, Cooley writes: "He had all his life lived in the smiles of public favor and his domestic and social relations were agreeable; and had he been made the executive of a staid and orderly commonwealth, with associates in government of similar characteristics, his administration might have been altogether popular and successful. But in Michigan he found uncongenial people all about him, and it soon appeared that he was somewhat lacking in the persistent selfassertion necessary to make the rough characters of a backwoods settlement recognize and accept the fact that within the proper limits of his authority he proposed to be and would be ruler and master." In private life his record was honorable and without a stain. One of the most lamentable events on Michigan soil during this war occurred in 1813, in Frenchtown, now Monroe. At that place, on January 22, General Winchester was attacked by a consolidated force of British and Indians under General Proctor. Overwhelmed by the onset, Winchester was induced to surrender by promises of honorable treatment; but in spite of Proctor's promises, the Indians committed, on the following day, a most inhuman massacre of prisoners. Barely forty men survived out of a com GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 55 mand of about eight hundred. A large part of the force were Kentuckians. Following their fall, there ensued scenes of plundering, murdering and barbarities too horrible to mention. The confusion, misery and fear caused by the massacre of settlers in the Raisin valley continued long after the war. With Commodore Perry's victory on Lake Erie, September IO, I8I3, and the complete route of the British and Indians under Proctor and Tecumseh by HIarrison, on October 5, the war, so far as Michigan was concerned, came to an end. On October 13, 1813, Lewis Cass was appointed governor of Michigan territory, under whose able administration Michigan began a new career. LEWIS CASS. Gen. Lewis Cass was a native of Exeter, New Hampshire. His father fought in the War of the Revolution. Lewis was educated in Exeter Academy and was early schooled in the principles and traditions of New England. In early life his parents moved with him to Marietta, Ohio, where he grew up and became a lawyer, and a member of the Ohio Legislature. President Jefferson appointed him United- States marshal for the district of Ohio, in 1807, a position he held until he sought service in the War of 1812. In I813 he was made a brigadier-general under Harrison, and at the close of the war the qualities he had displayed marked him out as the best choice for governor of Michigan territory. From 1813 to 183I, when he became a member of President Jackson's cabinet, Cass devoted his great energies to promoting the settlement of Michigan. According to one historian: "The number of white inhabitants of the territory when Cass became governor of it, was scarcely six thousand. No land had been sold by the United States and the interior was a vast wilderness, the abode, it was estimated, of forty thousand savages. Settlers could not obtain sure titles to their locations. No surveys had been made. No roads had been opened inland. The savages were relentless in their hostility to the whites. Under these circumstances, Cass assumed the responsibilities of governor and cx-officio superintendent of Indian affairs. For eighteen years his management of Indian affairs was governed by remarkable wisdom and prudence. He negotiated twenty-two distinct treaties, securing the cession to the United States by the various tribes of the immense regions of the Northwest, instituted surveys, constructed roads, established military works, built light-houses, organized counties and townships, 56 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and, in short, created and set in motion all the machinery of civilized government." Professor McLaughlin writes, in his "Life of Lewis Cass": "The great factor of his successful administration was honesty. But fair, honorable dealings with the Indians was a rare virtue, and in this he never faltered. He was wont to say in after years that he never broke his word to an Indian and never expected to find that the red man had broken his. Every exertion was made to have the funds and the allowances ready on the day they had been promised. Promptness and boldness in action, a firm selfreliance, a presumption that the power of the United States was mighty and would be obeyed, appealed to the Indian sense of awe and reverence. The respect, and even affection, which the Indian had for the Great Father at Detroit, was often manifest, and once felt, was not forgotten. Twelve years after his appointment as governor, while on a trip through southern Wisconsin and Minnesota, with gentle reproof he took from the necks of Indian chieftains their British medals, and placed in their stead a miniature of their great and mighty 'Father at Washington'." In concluding, Professor McLaughlin says: "The name of Lewis Cass will not be written in the future with those of the few men whose influence is everywhere discernible, and who perpetuate themselves in institutions and in national tendencies. He was not a Washington, nor a Lincoln, nor a John Quincy Adams. But he was a great American statesman, building up and Americanizing an important section of his country, struggling in places of trust for the recognition of American dignity and for the development of generous nationalism. With the great slavery contest his name is inseparably connected. He stood with Webster and Clay for union, for conciliation, for the Constitution as it seemed to be established. IHe was one of those men whose broad love of country and pride in her greatness, however exaggerated, however absurd it may seem in these days of cynical self-restraint, lifted her from colonialism to national dignity and imbued the people with a sense of their power." No greater testimony could be given of the merits of Lewis Cass than that, after almost a century of the test of time, the people of Michigan should erect in honor of his work, and in tribute to the man, a memorial such as was recently placed to his memory on Mackinac island. On this beautiful column of bronze, accompanying a life-like portrait of Cass, is this inscription: GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 57 Cass Cliff Named by the Michigan Historical (Commissionl and Mackinac Island State 'ark Commission in honor of LEWIS CASS, Teacher, lawyer, explorer, Soldier, diplomat, statesman Born, October 9th, 1782. Died, June 17th, 1866. Appointed by President Thomas Jefferson U. S. Marshal for the District of Ohio, 1807-1811. Brigadier-General, 1813. Governor of Michigan Territory, 1813-1831. Secretary of War in President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet. 1831-1836. Minister to France, 1836-1842. United States Senator from Michigan, 1845-1848; 1849-1857. Secretary of State, 1857-1860. He explored the country from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and Negotiated with the Indian tribes just Treaties. His fair and generous treatment Accorded to the Indians of the Northwest Secured to the Peninsular State its Peaceful settlement and continued prosperity. Erected 1915 by The Citizens of Michigan In grateful appreciation of His distinguished and patriotic services To his Country and State. It would be hard to exaggerate the greatness of the task which confronted Cass at the beginning of his long career as governor of Michigan territory. For at least two years after the close of the War of 1812, Michigan was prostrate from its effects. The French on the River Raisin were destitute. Near Detroit the settlers were almost as badly off. Cass worked with untiring vigilance to relieve their distress, calling in the national aid. Added to his other troubles, the Indians pillaged and murdered where force was not present to restrain them. One of his greatest problems was to convert the French settlements, destitute, defenseless, foreign and slow, into prosperous and progressive American communities. Their material distress was first attended to. In I815 Cass secured one thousand five hundred dollars from the government 58 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. to distribute among them, which he spent mainly in flour for the River Raisin settlers. But he saw clearly the need of American enterprise and skill to mix with these colonists, from which they might learn something of that providence and energy needed to push back the frontier which hemmed the French in to the river banks. To attract Eastern settlers, lands must be surveyed and offered for sale on easy terms; and here he was hampered by) no small difficulty. In 1812 Congress had provided that two million acres of government lands should be surveyed in MIichigan, to be set apart as bounty lands for the soldiers of the war. On an alleged examination, the surveyors reported that there were scarcely any lands in Michigan fit for cultivation. According to the official report of EIldw-ard Tiffin, surveyor-general for the Northwest: "The country on the Indiana boundary line from the mouth of the Great Auglaize river, and running thence north for about fifty miles, 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 l)oundary eastward, the number and extent of the swTamps increases, with the addition of numbers of lakes, from. twenty chains to two and three miles across. "Many of the lakes have extensive margins, sometimes thickly covered with a species of pine called 'Tamarack,' and in 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 interspersed 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 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 basin, the bottoms of many of which are composed of marsh similar to the above described. The streams are generally narrow and very deep compared with their width, the shores and bottoms of which are (with very few exceptions) 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 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 59 marshes, by their being thinly covered with a sward of grass, by walking on which evinces the existence of water, or a very thin mud, immediately under their covering, which sinks from six to eighteen inches under the pressure of the foot at every step, and at the same time rises before and behind the person passing over it. The margins of many of the lakes and streams are in a similar condition and in many places are literally afloat. On approaching the eastern part of the military lands, towards the private claims on the straits and lake, the xcountry does not contain so many swamps and lakes, but the extreme sterility and barrenness of the soil continue the same. "Taking the country altogether, so far as has been explored, and to all appearances, together with information received concerning the balance, it 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." Of course Congress had no reason to believe that the conditions were other than as reported. In I816.a new law was passed, which provided for locating the two million acres of bounty lands partly in Illinois and partly in Missouri. This, apparently, was an official condemnation of Michigan lands by the national government, an action which became widely known in the East, through the newspapers. The common belief grew up that the interior of Michigan was a vast swamp that might well be abandoned to fur-bearing animals and the trappers and hunters. School geographies based on Tiffin's report contained maps of Michigan with "Interminable swamps" printed across the interior of Michigan territory. The effect was to deter many from seeking homes in Michigan who under a more favorable report would have filled up the country rapidly. Instead of Michigan, the rival state of Illinois and the lands south of Michigan received the first great inmigrations from the Eastern states. Besides this gross ignorance of Michigan lands in the East, due to misrepresentations, Cass had to contend with the natural distrust and dread of the Indians, who had so lately been allies of the British, and stories of whose horrible atrocities, with no lack of fanciful coloring, had reached Eastern ears. Not only was the presence of the Indians a deterrent to immigration and disquieting to the settlers, but they still held title to most of the MIichigan lands. To deal with this problem, Cass was made superintendent of Indian affairs for the Northwest, and gave early attention to extinguishing the Indian titles, as a first step to the removal of the Indians from the Great Lakes region. A grand council of the Chippewas and Otta 6o0 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. was was held in I8I9 at the site of Saginaw, where a treaty was signed, by which one hundred and fourteen chiefs and principal sachems ceded to the United States a tract of country estimated to include about six million acres. According to the words of the treaty, the boundaries were as follows: "Beginning at a point in the present Indian boundary line (identical with the principal meridian of Michigan), which runs due north from the mouth of the Great Auglaize river, six miles south of the place where the base line, so-called, intersects the same; thence west sixty miles; thence in a direct line to the head of Thunder Bay river; thence down the same, following the course thereof, to the mouth, thence northeast to the boundary line between the United States and the British province of Upper Canada; thence with the same to the line established by the treaty of Detroit, in the year I807; and thence with the said line to the place of beginning." This treaty is known as the Treaty of Saginaw. In 1821 Governor Cass and Hon. Solomon Sibley, who was associated with him as United States Indian commissioner, concluded a treaty with the Ojibways, Ottawas and Pottawatomies on the site of Chicago, which has since been known as the Treaty of Chicago. The boundaries of the lands ceded by this treaty included between seven and eight thousand square miles in southwestern Michigan. The year before a cession of land was secured at Sault Ste. Marie. Cass was on his way to explore the northern and western portions of the territory, and with him was a considerable party, including Henry R. Schoolcraft, as geologist. He had determined to inquire into the condition of the Indians; to explain to them that their visits to the British in Canada for presents must be discontinued, and, among other things, to investigate the copper region and make himself familiar with the facts concerning the fur trade. An incident occurred in the council at the Sault that was thoroughly characteristic of the personal coolness and courage of Governor Cass in his dealings with the Indians. In a disagreement that arose, the Indians became threatening. At the close of an animated discussion, one of the chiefs, a brigadier in the British service, drew his war lance and struck it furiously in the ground. He kicked away the American presents and in that spirit the council was dispersed. In a few moments the British flag was flying over the Indian camp. Cass at once ordered his men under arms. Proceeding to the lodge of the chief who had raised the flag, he took it down, telling him that no such insult could be permitted on American soil. He said he was the Indians' friend, but that the flag was a symbol of national GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. power, and that only the American flag could float above the soil of his and their country. If they attempted to raise any other "the United States would set a strong foot upon their necks and crush them to the earth." The boldness of the governor had the intended effect; soon after this, a treaty of cession was peaceably concluded. The expedition continued along the south shore of Lake Superior, whence they crossed southward to the Mississippi river and thence up the Wisconsin to Green bay. The return to Detroit was made by way of Chicago and the Indian trail through southern Michigan, thus giving to men close to the national government a firsthand knowledge of the country misrepresented by the early surveyors. Cass now pushed forward the new surveys, which he had already induced the government to undertake as early as I816. By 18I8 they had progressed so far that a land office was established at Detroit and sales were begun. In I820 the best of Michigan's lands then on sale could be bought for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and the way was open for any prudent and industrious man to make a moderate home for his family. Immigration gradually scattered settlers through the Michigan forests. The plow began the task of achieving the victories of peace. The settlers found, instead of "innumerable swamps," a fertile, dry and undulating soil, clothed with richest verdure, crossed by clear and rapid streams and studded with lakes abounding with fish. In the clearings of the forest, the cosy log hut of the pioneer soon curled its smoke to the heavens from the banks of lake and stream, where children played and men and women toiled, and rested after toil; and among the stumps and felled trunks of the trees, little patches of new wheat basked in the sun like green islands amid the vast and magnificent ocean of wilderness. STEAM TRANSPORTATION ON ILAND AND WATER. Immigration to Michigan was much helped at this time by the beginning of steam transportation on the Great Lakes. The day of the steamboat was dawning. In the same year with the first land sales at Detroit, "Walk-inthe-Water," named after a Wvyandot chief, made her first appearance (i818) and was hailed as the harbinger of a new era. In 18I9 she made a trip to Mackinac Island, a voyage if not so famous as that of the "Griffin" more than a hundred years before, was yet one looked upon generally with much curiosity, and associated in the Eastern newspapers with reference to the "Argosy" and the search for the golden fleece. She ran with some regularitv between Buffalo and Detroit, until she went ashore in a storm on Lake 62 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Erie in I82I. A number of boats quickly succeeded her, and by the end of the territorial period a thousand passengers daily were landing from lake steamers at the port of Detroit. Contributory to the strength of this immigration to Michigan was the Erie canal. In 1825 this great "ditch" opened an all-water route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard. Combined with the steamboats on the lakes the canal gave cheap and easy transportation for settlers and their merchandise from the great commercial metropolis of the Union to the doors of the new territory. This fresh impetus to immigration made a demand for roads to the interior. At the close of the War of 1812 there were no good roads anywhere in the territory. While the war had taught the need of roads to connect Detroit with the Ohio valley and with Chicago, it was now seen that immigration would also be greatly helped by a road around the west end of Lake Erie. Cass appealed to the general government for aid and his call was liberally responded to. Congress provided for the construction of a road from Detroit to Chicago to Fort Gratiot, and to Saginaw bay. A road was also projected from Detroit to the mouth of Grand river. Before the close of the territorial period, these roads were well advanced. W7ith better roads, a bountiful soil and an increasing population, little centers of interior settlement began to crystalize. Villages sprang up at Pontiac, Romeo, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Tecumseh, Adrian, Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, White Pigeon, St. Joseph, Grand Rapids, Flint and Saginaw. All of these settlements were on important roads and rivers of Michigan. In I830 the population of Michigan was 31,639. In the four years following it had more than doubled, reaching 87,273. From then to the end of the decade it went forward by leaps and bounds, mounting in 1840 to 212,267. The prime secret of this great immigration was the improved means of transportation. In the words of one historian: "Michigan as well as the other Western states owe in fact their unexampled growth more to mechanical philosophy acting on internal improvement, than to any other cause. What stupendous consequences does American mechanical philosophy, the characterizing feature of the present age, exhibit throughout the country? The railroad, the canal, the steamboat, the thousand modes and powers by which machinery is propelled, how vastly has it augmented the sum of human strength and human happiness. What glorious prospects does it open before us? It has bound together the wealth of the north and the south, the east and the west, the ocean and the lakes, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 63 as a sheaf of wheat; and urged forward the progress of improvement in mighty strides. Pouring its millions into the wilderness, it has sent forth, not serfs, but hardy, practical, enterprising men, the founders of empires, who have finished the work of erecting states before the wolf and the panther have fled from their dens. Bestriding the lakes and the streams which discharge their waters through the Mississippi, it has studded them with hundreds of floating palaces, to conquer winds, waves and tides. In a single day it lives almost a century. More powerful than Xerxes when he threw manacles into the Hellespont. it has claimed the current of rivers by the dam, the millrace and the water wheel, and made them its slave. It has almost nullified space, by enabling us to rush across its surface like the wind, and prolonged time, by the speed with which we can accomplish our ends. It can do the work of innumerable armies and navies in war and in peace. It has constructed railroads across the mountains and, in the sublime language of another, 'the backs of the Alleghanies have bowed down like camels'." Under the administration of Governor Cass, a steady advance was made in local and territorial self-government. Cass was a democrat, in the broadest sense of the word, believing thoroughly in the rule of the people, by the people and for the people. Even at the expense of curtailing his own powers, he consistently advocated a larger measure of government by the people. Population had so increased by 1819 that Michigan was allowed a delegate in Congress. William Woodbridge, the first delegate, was succeeded by Solomon Sibley and he, in turn, by the beloved Father Richard. Under the influence of Cass, Michigan advanced a step in popular government by the transfer of legislative power from the governor and judges to the governor and a council of nine, to be selected from eighteen chosen by the people. In 1827 the people were given exclusive power to choose the councilmen. Governor Cass was a firm believer in popular education. "Of all purposes," he declared, "to which a revenue derived from the people can be applied under a government emanating from the people, there is none more interesting in itself, nor more important in its effects, than the maintenance of a public and general course of moral and mental discipline. Many republics have preceded us in the progress of human society; but they have disappeared, leaving behind them little besides the history of their follies and dissensions to serve as a warning to their successors in the career of selfgovernment. Unless the foundation of such governments is laid in the virtue and intelligence of the community, they must be swept away by the 64 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. first commotion to which political circumstances may give birth. Whenever education is diffused among the people generally, they will appreciate the value of free institutions: and as they have the power, so must they have the will to maintain them. It appears to me that a plan may be devised which will not press too heavily upon the means of the country, and which will insure a competent portion of education to all youth in the territory." These views seem commonplace enough today, but at the time they were uttered, they were on the frontier of educational thinking. Under his influence legislation was secured to enforce these practical propositions. One of Cass's strongest supporters in educating the people was Father Richard, who, in 1809, brought to Michigan from Baltimore the first printing press used west of the Alleghanies. One of the first things published was the "Cass Code," as it was popularly called, a sort of abstract of the laws then in force in the territory. In 1817 was founded the Detroit Gazette, and the day of the newspaper in Michigan had dawned. Other papers followed, in Ann Arbor, Monroe and Pontiac. Throughout his administration Governor Cass sought by every means in his power to strengthen the foundation of Michigan's prosperity. He found it weak from the throes of war and left it strong. His was a solid and discriminating judgment, of which the young commonwealth stood most in need. Discreet, sagacious, prudent, politic, he sought always the good of Michigan. A soldier, educator and statesman, he gave freely the best that was in him. A contemporary has said, "It can be affirmed safely that the present prosperity of Michigan is now more indebted to Governor Cass than to any other man, living or dead." The verdict of the passing years is reflected in the language of Judge Cooley, in his "Michigan," in which he says, "Permanent American settlement may be said to have begun with him, and it was a great and lasting boon to Michigan when it was given a governor at once so able, so patriotic, so attentive to his duties, and so worthy in his public and private life of respect and esteem." A PERIOD OF RAPID GROWTHI. The six remaining years of the territorial period, after Cass's entrance into Jackson's cabinet, were years of unprecedented growth in Michigan's population and general development. In 1832 the question of statehood began to be agitated, but untoward events drew away attention for the moment. The western Indians had risen under Black Hawk, and spread terror even into Michigan. The same year an epidemic of Asiatic cholera GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 65 broke out, the ravages of which were so severe as nearly to paralyze all activities. A second attack occurred in 1834, which carried away Governor Porter, the successor of Cass. Meanwhile a negro riot in Detroit, due to an attempt to return two fugitive slaves to their Southern masters, broke out in 1833 and threatened to assume alarming proportions. In I835, with the tremendous impulse given to immigration by the renewed interest in Michigan lands, a decisive step in advance was taken. The territorial census of the preceding year showed a population of 87,278, nearly thirty thousand more people than were required under the Ordinance of I787 for admission to the Union. In April of that year members to a constitutional convention were elected, who, in May, met at Detroit and adopted a constitution, which was approved by the people at an election in October. TIHE "TOLEDO WAR." The people conceived that they had a right, under the Ordinance of I787, to have the southern boundary of Michigan fixed at a line drawn due east from the southernmost bend of Lake Michigan. This right was disputed by Ohio, which had been a state since I803. Indiana and Illinois were also interested adversely to Michigan's claim, since this would cut off a northern strip of territory which they had come to look upon as belonging to them. Toledo was the real object of the controversy which ensued, and it is often therefore called the "Toledo War." Toledo, then as now an important post on Lake Erie, was in the disputed strip of land claimed by Ohio and Michigan. The dispute grew so bitter that both Governor Lucas, of Ohio, and Acting-Governor Stevens T. Mason, of Michigan, called out the militia on each side to enforce the respective claims. The question had also a practical national aspect. The President, Andrew Jackson, who saw on one side Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with votes in the electoral college, and a Territory with no vote at all on the other, was between duty and a strong temptation. As John Quincy Adams said, "Never in the course of my life have I known a controversy of which all the right was so clearly on one side, and all the power so overwhelmingly on the other; never a case where the temptation was so intense to take the strongest side, and the duty of taking the weakest was so thankless." In October, I835, the same month in which the state constitution was adopted, the people of Michigan elected a complete set of officials for the new state government. Stevens T. Mason was elected governor. Isaac E. (5) 66 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Crary was elected to Congress. The Legislature met and elected Lucius Lyon and John Norvell United States senators. Michigan now had two governments. The territorial government was recognized by the President and Congress: the state government was recognized by the people of Michigan. Ultimately, Michigan's view prevailed, except in relation to the southern boundary. The President and Congress would not yield on that point. The people of Michigan did not, in fact, yield, until they were committed by a convention falsely purporting to represent them. This convention, which met at Ann Arbor, December 6, I836, accepted the proposition of Congress that Michigan should be admitted to the Union if it would relinquish all claim to the disputed strip of land on the south, and accept instead certain lands bordering on Lake Superior-lands now known as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Michigan technically became a state in the Union on January 26, 1837. It is very significant, however, that the constitution adopted in 1835 was tacitly accepted by Congress without a change, and without being re-adopted; that the officers then chosen continued in office without re-election and that the representative elected to Congress was seated without re-election. DETROIT IN I837. At the time Michigan was admitted to the Union, conditions of life in the new state were still very primitive. The French-Canadians were still an appreciable element in the population. French farms still clustered about the mouths of the rivers and along the shore north and south of Detroit. One of the strongest centers was still Detroit. "Detroit in this year I837," says Cooley, "had become a considerable town, having now perhaps eight thousand people. Old wind-mills, upon which the people formerly relied for the grinding of cereals, were coming now to be disused, though some were still standing. The noble river in front of the town offered, at all seasons of the year, many inducements to sports and festivities, of which all classes of the people were eager to avail themselves. In the winter, when frozen over, it became the principal highway and was gay with the swift-going vehicles. A narrow box upon runners, wide apart, made the common sleigh, and the ponies, sometimes driven tandem, seemed to enter into the spirit of racing almost as much as their masters. When there was no snow, the little cart was the common vehicle of land carriage for all classes of the people; ladies went in it to church and to parties, and made fashionable calls, being seated on a buffalo robe spread on the bottom, and they were backed up to the door at which they wished to alight and stepped upon the threshold from GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 67 it. Now and then there was a family which had a caleche, a single carriage with the body hung upon heavy leathern straps, with a small, low seat in front for the driver, and with a folding top to be raised in sun or rain. But the cart was a convenience which all classes could enjoy and appreciate, and it was especially adapted to a town like Detroit, which was built upon a clay bank and had as yet neither sidewalk nor pavement. "Many Scotch, with a fondness for making money, were among the business men of Detroit, and they had a shrewd knack at doing so. There were also some Irish and some English, but the major part of the people who were not French were of American birth. Among those were now being established-what in fact had existed before, though not in much strength —societies for literary culture and enjoyment. One of them was the Detroit Young Men's Society, which for twenty years was to be an important institution in the town and the training school of governors, senators and judges. At the barracks, though there was none now, there would shortly be a small military force to preserve peace on the frontier, and the officers and their families would constitute an important and valuable addition to the society of the place at all times." Such was Detroit when Michigan was admitted to the Union. These conditions throw some light upon what may be expected for other parts of the new state. Outside of Detroit, the largest centers of population were Monroe, Ann Arbor, Marshall, Tecumseh, Pontiac and Adrian, all in the eastern part of the state and all mere villages of very primitive life. Most of the people were small farmers, of New England descent, but immediately from New York and Ohio. Life was hard. Rude cabins, hard labor and chills and fever were the common lot of all. Of meats, salt pork was the staple, but all had wheat or corn bread and potatoes. Wild fruits and wild game were abundant and wild honey and maple sugar were much prized. Clothing was made of coarse home-made cloth. One of the great inconveniences was the lack of mills. Primitive grist-mills and saw-mills began to make their appearance about this time. The saw-mills contributed to the clearing of the forests and to better homes. Framed houses gradually superseded the log cabins. Among the people the domestic virtues were strong, and churches and schools were among the first institutions. The churches were of all denominations. In southeastern Michigan there were many Quakers, a sober, industrious, steady and thrifty people. Of this sect was one of Michigan's first poets, Elizabeth Margaret Chandler, whose antislavery poems were once widely read. Of lawyers, Michigan had its full share, and doctors were plentiful, who rode the country on horseback, with 68 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. medicines in saddle bags. Roads were few and postal facilities were meager. The railroad was gaining ground. The pioneers were not without their amusements, though the sports and pastimes were crude enough. Among these, the hunt, the husking-bee, the raising-bee, sleighing parties, dancing and the spelling-bee held first place. On the whole, the pioneers of this period, while suffering many privations, were contented, happy and free from many of the ills that a more advanced civilization has brought to the people of our own day. AN ERA OF SPECULATION. Up to the summer of I837 prosperity in Michigan, considering pioneer conditions, was quite general. The recent immigrations were unparalleled in the history of the West. Michigan was the land of promise. All were producers. The newly elected Legislature reflected the new impulse. From I835 to 1837, fifty-seven new townships were provided for and sixty-six state roads; eleven railroads and nine banks were chartered. Speculation was rife. To the imagination, nothing seemed impossible. The wildest schemes found ready backers. Land was bought in great quantities, at inflated prices, without even being seen. Fortunes were expected to be made by rise in prices. Everybody seemed about to grow rich. A most interesting phase of this mania was the condition of the currency. The first bank established in Michigan, at Detroit in I806, had not been successful. Various devices for currency were subsequently resorted to. In I8I7 another Detroit bank was founded; fifteen banks were in existence within the limits of the state when Michigan was formally admitted to the Union. A disastrous step was taken when, on March 15, I837, the Legislature passed a general banking law, by which any association of persons might by voluntary action assume banking powers. This law was a response to the popular cry against "special privileges," enjoyed apparently by a few corporations who desired a monopoly of this profitable line of business. It was supposed that proper safeguards were made, in the various provisions in the law, protecting the public. Along in the spring, it happened that owing to financial pressure, business houses in leading Eastern cities failed, which, starting a panic, resulted in a run upon the banks of New York. Banks began to fail in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. To add to the embarrassment in Michigan, the same Legislature which had authorized the general banking law, had authorized Governor Mason to borrow five millions of dollars for the building of railroads, canals GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 69 and other improvements. The Legislature now authorized Michigan banks to suspend specie payments, with the general banking law still in force; which, of course, left to the people authority to organize banks and issue bills while in a state of suspension. As a result, the state was soon flooded with an irredeemable currency. Issues were secured on wild land at values limited only by the consciences of the owners, and on city lots which surveyors afterwards located well out in Lake Michigan. Banks were located with a special design not to be found. In 1838 the bank commissioners reported: "The singular spectacle was presented of the officers of the state seeking for banks in situations the most inaccessible and remote from trade, and finding at every step an increase of labor by the discovery of new and unknown organizations. Before they could be arrested, the mischief was done; large issues were in circulation and no adequate remedy for the evil." It was said that every village plat, if it had a hollow stump to serve as a vault, was the site of a bank. The bank inspectors were deceived in many ways. It is said that in some cases what appeared to the inspectors to be kegs of specie were in reality kegs of nails, with a few coins on top. Adjacent banks kept each other informed of the movements of the inspectors; as soon as the inspectors got through at one place, the specie inspected would be sent on by special messenger to the next bank, to be there again inspected. New banks were formed faster than the inspectors could close up the "rotten" ones. When a bank failed it was, of course, the laborers and the small farmers who suffered most, for they had no means of keeping informed as to what banks were unsound, nor of getting rid of doubtful bills. By I840 only about a half dozen of this brood of "wild cat" banks were still considered sound. The paper of the others was, of course, absolutely worthless. It is reported of one of the Campaus at Grand Rapids, that in grim irony he papered the walls of his room with them, saying, "If you will not circulate, you shall stay still." Land was a drug on the market. Distrust in business was universal. This situation was not peculiar to Michigan. 'Other states had similar experiences and it was natural that these results should be followed by a political revolution; the Whigs swept into power, making William Henry Harrison, President of the United States, and William Woodbridge, governor of Michigan. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. During the period of rapid growth under the great immigration of 1835-37, Michigan had undertaken a great system of public improvements, 70 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. especially in roads and canals. So impressed were the people with the apparent magic of the Erie canal upon the growth of New York, that in the constitution of 1835 it was provided, that "Internal improvements shall be encouraged by the government of this state; and it shall be the duty of the Legislature a's soon as may be. to make provision by law for ascertaining the proper objects of improvements, in relation to roads, canals and navigable waters; and it shall also be their duty to provide by law for an equal, systematic and economical application of the funds which may be appropriated to these objects." Governor Mason acted promptly upon this mandate from the people, recommending to the Legislature an extensive program of roads, railroads and canals. The Legislature as promptly responded, authorizing the governor to borrow on the state's credit five million dollars to carry out the proper improvements. Three lines of railroads were to be built: one from Detroit to the mouth of the St. Joseph river; one from Monroe to New Buffalo, and one from the mouth of the Black river to the navigable waters of the Grand river. A canal was to be built from Mt. Clemens to the mouth of the Kalamazoo river, and another around the falls of the St. Mary's river. By facts and figures it was demonstrated that the railroad from Detroit to the mouth of the St. Joseph must pay thirty per cent annually upon the cost. In vain, Governor Mason questioned whether the sum the state had undertaken to borrow would build the works undertaken; in vain, he suggested leaving the minor works to individual enterprise. When a state enters upon a system of public improvements, sections and localities will not submit to waive their claims, in favor even of the general welfare, as opposed to their local advantage. In I839 there began a series of misfortunes which were to lead ultimately to the total abandonment of the internal improvement scheme. The two banks which had possession of all the state bonds for the five-milliondollar loan-the Morris Canal and Banking Company and the Pennsylvania United States Bank, which had hypothecated the major portion of the bonds for their own debts —had failed. About one-half the face value of the loan had been received by the state, but the whole amount of the bonds was in the hands of parties who would insist on having full payment. Should the state refuse to pay, it would be stamped in the money market with the disgrace of repudiation, to which the people of Michigan would be extremely sensitive. The general bank crash of the time added to the startling condition. Work on the state railroads was dragged along with the greatest difficulty.. Ordinary state expenses could be met only by borrowing. To raise GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 7I the money by taxes would have been intolerable to a people already in dire distress. Happily, the state was able to reach an agreement with the bondholders. In the end all the bonds were retired, and the state's good name was saved. It finally began to dawn upon the comprehension of even the dullest, that most' of the projects which the state had undertaken were wild and chimerical. The Central and Southern railroads were an exception; these were now well under way. But the idea began to mature that the building and managing of railroads is essentially a private business. The Legislature invited proposals from state creditors for the purchase of the railroads. In I846, both these roads, so far as then built, were sold to corporations chartered for the purpose of purchasing. Under the new management they went rapidly forward to completion, soon becoming great national highways, quite as useful to Michigan as it ever was dreamed they could be. In the constitution of I850 the people of the state expressly prohibited the state "to subscribe to or be interested in the stock of any company, association, or corporation," or "to be a party to or interested in any work of internal improvement, nor engaged in carrying on any such work, except in the expenditure of grants to the state of land or other property." In 1841, with John S. Barry as governor, the Democratic party came back to power in Michigan. Governor Woodbridge had been elected to the United States Senate. Barry was the man for the times-a man of hard sense, economy and frugality; a man of experience in public life, scrupulously honest there as in his business as a merchant. The story is told that he mowed the state-house yard, sold the grass and put the money in the state treasury. The farmers of Michigan gave him two terms in succession, and elected him again in I850; between his second and third terms came Alpheus Felch, William L. Greenley and Epaphroditus Ransom. During the term of Governor Ransom the state capital was removed from Detroit to Lansing, a more central place for the rapidly growing state. In the same year, I847, came two notable immigrations. The first was that of a group of Hollanders, to western Michigan, who, under their leader, Rev. Van Raalte of the Dutch Reformed church, founded the city of Holland, and, later, Hope College. This was the vanguard of a large influx of Hollanders to this section, which has built on a permanent foundation the interests of Grand Rapids and the neighboring country. Quite different was the other immigration, that of James Jesse Strang and his followers, to Beaver Island, in northern Lake Michigan. Strang had been a Mormon elder at Nauvoo, Illinois, and, upon the death of Joseph Smith, claimed to 72 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. have been divinely sanctioned as his successor. He was defeated, however, by Brigham Young, who drove him away. First, he went to Wisconsin; but presently he removed to Beaver Island, where he founded a kingdom whose capital he named after himself, St. James. Here he made laws, enforced them, and gained a considerable following. Not the least of his achievements was getting himself elected to the state Legislature, for two successive terms, where he is said to have performed his duties ably and to have won many friends. But his introduction of polygamy into his colony at Beaver island led to his assassination; shortly after his death, the colony dispersed. The experience of the people during the fifteen years since 1835' had revealed many defects in the first state constitution. In i85o a new constitution was adopted; among other provisions, the governor's power of appointment was restricted, and restrictions were imposed upon the legislative power of the state Legislature, especially in relation to finances. In general, it favored greater liberty, more privileges to individuals and less to the governing bodies. A NEW REGIME. With the exception of the brief Whig ascendency under Governor Woodbridge, the state was continuously under control of Democratic power until I854. In that year, at Jackson, was formed the first state organization of the Republican party in the United States, which elected as governor of Michigan, Kinsley S. Bingham, re-elected him in 1856, and maintained an ascendency unbroken for twenty-eight years. In I860 the Republicans elected as governor, Austin Blair, the "war governor," whose statue stands today in front of the capital in Lansing, a witness to the love and respect of the people. During the quarter of a century of statehood prior to the Civil War, Michigan made substantial advance in education. The schools at the time Michigan became a state were very primitive. There were no professional teachers. The best to be had were promising sons, or daughters, who took what the people could afford, "boarded around," and kept the children busy with the "three R's" in a log shanty. Of school conveniences as we know them, there were few or none. Two names stand out at the beginning of the new r6gime of statehood destined to be long remembered in the educational history of Michigan: Isaac E.' Crary and John D. Pierce. The former was a member of the constitutional convention of I835; the latter was the first superintendent of public instruction under the new constitution. These men were neighbors, in Marshall, and had often discussed together GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 73 the subject of state education. Pierce was a graduate of Brown, who, in 1831, had been sent out to the West by the Congregationalists as a home missionary. Through Crary, who had great influence with Governor Mason, he now became superintendent of public instruction, to whose charge was given the whole subject of state education and the management of a million acres of land transferred by Congress to the state as trustee of the sixteenth section in every township in Michigan. In response to a request from the Legislature, Pierce reported a system of common school and university education which in its essential features forms the foundation of the educational system in operation in Michigan today. CIVIL WAR DAYS. In I86o Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States, by the Republican party, on a platform hostile to slavery. Some Southern states thereupon announced that, rather than submit to this, they would secede from the Union. They called popular conventions, formally adopted ordinances of secession, and formed among themselves the Confederate States of America. The Northern states held that these states were still in the Union, since, by assent to the Constitution, all the states had made an indissoluble bond. Certain border states sympathized with the South as to slavery and secession, blut they would not go so far as to join them in maintaining a new republic by force. The border states tried to be peacemakers, and proposed compromises. One of these is known as the Crittenden Compromise, proposed by Senator Crittenden of Kentucky. It satisfied neither side, and a similar fate met all the compromises proposed, even those of the peace conference called in I861. Michigan refused to take part in this conference. It seemed to her that no conference could be called a peace conference worthy the dignity of the state, when held under a threat of war, unless the North should surrender principles upon which Abraham Lincoln had been elected. Nor did Michigan sympathize with President Buchanan's view, that the federal government could not constitutionally use force to keep the states in the Union. Governor Austin Blair took a strong stand upon the platform of an indestructible Union. "Safety lies in this path alone," he said. "The Union must be preserved, and the lAws must be enforced in all parts of it, at whatever cost. Secession is revolution, and revolution in the overt act is treason, and must be treated as such." Michigan was at peace without a peace conference. Hostile action by the Southern states would be in the nature of 74 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. insurrection and, if need be, the army of the federal government must be called upon to suppress insurrection. In case the regular army could not do it, the state militia must be called out. This sentiment was echoed bv Senator Chandler, who in I854 had succeeded Senator Cass. "The people of Michigan are opposed to all compromises," he said. "They do not believe that any compromise is necessary; nor (do I. They are prepared to stand by the Constitution of the United States as it is; to stand by the government as it is; to stand by it to blood if necessary." War was inevitable. On April 12, I86i, Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, was attacked, and a few (lays later surrendered. Michigan was roused as one man. Fr)om the University of Michigan to the humblest red school house, students listened to professors and teachers on the great issue of preserving the Union. Speakers in every center of population from city to hamlet spoke to thoughtful and earnest audiences of people on the duty of every citizen to rise to the defense of the Union, even to his last drop of blood, if necessary. In Detroit the citizens listened to the now aged General Cass, who affirmed: "It is the duty of all zealously to support the government in its efforts to bring this unhappy civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion, by the restoration in its integrity of that great charter of freedom bequeathed to us by Washington and his compatriots." AVhen the call to arms came from President Lincoln, Michigan was among the first to send volunteers to seal the Union with their blood. During the great struggle that followed, Michigan put into the field nearly a hundred thousand men. When the war was over, no state in the Union had greater cause to rejoice over the record made by her sons, many thousands of whom were left in soldiers' graves on Southern battlefields. ZACHARIA T1 CHANDLER. During the war, and in the year immediately preceding, Michigan had in the Senate of the United States a man who, of all her sons, can alone dispute rank with Lewis Cass as the greatest figure in her political historyZachariah Chandler. Chandler was fortunate in the time of his advent on the political stage, succeeding Cass in 1857, when large questions were before Congress and the American people. Where Cass had been conservative, Chandler was the most radical of radicals; he was an anti-slavery man, with the courage of his convictions. Zacharial Chandler was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, December GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 75 io, 1813. He was educated for business and in early life taught school. In 1833 he caught the "Michigan fever," emigrated to the new territory and settled in Detroit, where, under the name of MAoore & Chandler, he and his brother-in-law opened a general store on Jefferson avenue near Randolph street. Chandler showed his business acumen in giving all the speculative schemes of this period a wide berth, and hence was in a way to become relatively prosperous notwithstanding the general financial crash of 1837. He was also public-spirited and when, after I850, he began to give considerable thought to political matters, his wide acquaintance throughout the state due to numerous business trips which had brought him into personal contact with men in every locality prominent and influential in business and public concerns, he was equipped to turn his great talents to the public service. In I85o he was elected a delegate to the Whig state convention. In 1851 he was elected by the XWhigs mayor of Detroit, as against John R. Williams, who had held the office for six years and was one of Detroit's most conspicutous and popular citizens. Three years later the Republican party was organized "under the oaks" at Jackson and developed strength enough to elect its candidate for governor. In the Republican campaign of 1856 Mr. Chandler gave full rein to all his wonderful energy. Michigan Republicans gained an overwhelming victory. Fremont. the Republican candidate, carried Michigan by nearly twenty thousand majority. The Republican state ticket was elected, and the Legislature was Republican by a majority on joint ballot of seventy-two. It was this Legislature which chose Mr. Chandler United States senator to succeed Lewis Cass. The Kansas troubles were in the front when Chandler entered the Senate. His plan of action was characteristic of the man; he met the threats of the opposition with open defiance. His first speech struck straight from the shoulder. He said, "The old women of the North who have been in the habit of crying out, 'the Union is in danger!' have passed off the stage. They are dead. Their places will never be supplied, but in their stead we have a race of men who are devoted to this Union and devoted to it as Jefferson and the fathers who made it and bequeathed it to us. Any aggression has been submitted to by the race who have gone off the stage. They were ready to compromise any principle, anything. The men of the present day are a different race. They will compromise nothing. They are Union-loving men; they love all portions of the Union; they will sacrifice anything, hut principle, to save it. They will, however, make no sacrifice of principle. Never! Never! No more compromises will ever be submitted to save the Union. If it is worth saving, it will be saved. The only way that we shall a 76 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. save it and make it permanent as the everlasting hills will be by restoring it to the original foundations upon which the fathers placed it. I trust in God civil war will never come; but if it should come, upon their heads, and theirs alone, will rest the responsibility for every drop of blood that may flow." Of the Dred Scott decision he said: "What did General Jackson do when the supreme court declared the United States bank constitutional? -Did he bow to it? No! He said he would construe the constitution for himself. I shall do the same thing. I have sworn to support the constitution of the United States, and I have sworn to support it as the fathers made it, and not as the supreme court has altered it." Speaking upon the John Brown raid at Harper's Ferry, he said: "John Brown has been executed as a traitor to the state of Virginia, and I want it to go upon the records of the Senate in the most solemn manner to be held up as a warning to traitors, iforth, south, east, west. Dare to raise your impious hands against this government, its constitution and its laws, and you hang. Threats have been made year after year for the last thirty years, that if certain events happen this Union will be dissolved. It is no small matter to dissolve this Union. It means a bloody revolution or it means a halter." Senator Chandler bore his part nobly in the exciting issues of the war and reconstruction. Only once, in 1875, when there was a small Republican majority in the state Senate coincident with recalcitrancy of some members, was Chandler defeated for re-election to the United States Senate. But he was timber too valuable to lie idle; Grant called him into his cabinet as secretary of the interior, where he served until the end of Grant's term. In 1879, on the resignation of Isaac P. Christiancy, Chandler's senatorial opponent in T875, the Michigan Legislature promptly elected Chandler to fill the vacancy. In February of that year he took his seat in the Senate, and a few days afterward made what was probably the most memorable speech of his senatorial career —the famous phillippic against the participation of Jefferson Davis in the benefits of an act pensioning veterans of the Mexican War. On the evening of the last day of October of that year, after a powerful campaign speech in Chicago, he had retired late to his room in the Grand Pacific hotel; the next morning he was found dead in his bed, from a stroke of apoplexy which had cut him off without warning. His body was laid to rest in Elmwood cemetery, Detroit, amid the grief of a nation. While Mr. Chandler was in the Senate of the United States, Michigan had had seven governors, all but one having served two terms. In I864 Henry H. Crapo, of Genesee county, was elected to succeed Governor Austin Blair. Mr. Crapo's opponent was William MX. Fenton, also of Genesee, who went to the front as colonel of the Eighth Michigan Infantry and served GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 77 with distinction in several campaigns. Despite the fact that Colonel Fenton's military record and his standing as a citizen were unimpeachable, the strong party spirit and Republican strength in the state elected Mr. Crapo by a majority of over seventeen thousand. GOVERNOR HENRY TI. CRAPO. Governor Crapo was born at Dartmouth, near New Bedford, Massachusetts, May 24, I804.* His father was of French descent and cultivated a farm for a livelihood. The land was not very productive and the life of a farmer at that time and place meant incessant toil and many privations. The lad was early inured to these. The opportunities for education were scant. But with an active mind, energy and a determination to learn, he took advantage of the near-by town of New Bedford to pick up some knowledge of books. There being an opening for a land surveyor, he quickly made himself familiar with its duties and requirements, and with his own hands, through the kindness of a neighboring blacksmith, made a compass and began life off the farm as a surveyor. In 1832 he took up his residence in New Bedford and followed his occupation as a surveyor and occasionally acted as auctioneer. He was elected town clerk, treasurer and collector of taxes, in which positions he served for about fifteen years. When New Bedford was incorporated as a city he was elected an alderman. He was appointed chairman of the committee on education and as such prepared a report upon which was based the establishment of the free public library of that city, the first of its kind in this country, ante-dating that of Boston by several years. He was a member of the first board of trustees. While a resident of New Bedford he became greatly interested in horticulture. He acquired a quite unpromising piece of land, which he subdued and improved. Upon this he planted and successfully raised a great variety of fruits, flowers and shrubbery and ornamental trees. He soon became widely known for his efforts in horticulture, was a noted exhibitor at fairs and a valued contributor to publications on that subject. The chief business of New Bedford at that period was whaling vessels and the fitting out of vessels with supplies, and the receipt and marketing of the return cargoes was the leading industry. It was very profitable. Mr. Crapo became interested in this enterprise and was part owner of a vessel which bore his name and which made successful voyages. He was also interested in fire insurance and was an officer of two companies. *This account of Governor Crapo is quoted substantially from the excellent work entitled, "Michigan as a Province, Territory and State." 78 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Having invested in pine lands in Michigan, he removed to the state in I856 and settled at Flint. Here he engaged extensively in the manufacture and sale of pine lumber. Branch establishments were set up by him at Holly, Fentonville and Detroit. Engaging in this business with his characteristic energy and shrewdness, it was not long before he was recognized as one of the most successful lumbermen in a state noted for successful lumbermen. He was mlainly instrumental in the construction of a railroad from Flint to Holly, where it connected with the Detroit & Milwaukee. This road was afterward expanded to the Flint & Pere Marquette and stretched across the state to the Lake Michigan shore. From this small nucleus has grown what is now an elaborate railroad system which gridirons the state in every direction. He was active in public affairs in his home city, of which he was elected mayor, after a residence of only a few years. In I862 he was elected a state senator and proved himself to be a very practical and useful member. In I866 he was elected to a second term as governor. This term expired on the Ist of January, 1869. His death followed about six months later from a disease which attacked him before the close of his official life and which seriously hampered him for many months previous. The inaugural message of Governor Crapo to the Legislature of I865 is characterized by his hard-headed good 'sense. He advocated the prompt payment of the state debt and the adoption of the permanent policy, "Pay as you go." This policy led to a close scrutiny of all appropriations and prevented the incurring of any indebtedness for schemes and enterprises of doubtful expediency. IHe urgently advocated measures to induce immigration to the state. After calling attention to the vast and varied resources of Michigan and its population so meager in proportion to its capabilities for sustaining many times more, he says, "We want settlers. Five-sixths of our entire territory remains still a, wilderness. The vast tracts of woodland, however rich and fertile they may be, are of no use to us until cleared and improved; and nothing but labor can do it. Our rich mines of copper, iron, coal, gypsun, our springs of salt, our fisheries, and our forests of valuable timber, are all calling for men; we want settlers." The Legislature heeded his advice and a bill was introduced and favorably reported in the Senate, creating an immigration commission, providing for the appointment of an agent and for the systematic circulation of literature, to be distributed in Europe, inviting the attention of intending emigrants to the advantages of Michigan. This bill was not acted on at that session, but a few years later GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 79 the subject was taken up persistently. It appears that other Western states, notably Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, were already in the field and had agents in New York and in Europe in their own interests. It is said that these agents, not content with picturing in glowing colors the advantages of the states which they represented, sometimes went out of their way to disparage Michigan. It was charged that immigrants who were under contract and whose expenses to this country had been paid by Michigan manufacturers, were tampered with on their arrival in New York by agents of rival states, and induced by representations of doubtful veracity to violate their contracts. It was this sharp practice at which one feature of the proposed legislation was aimed. Probably it was wise to avoid friction with our neighbors, and in this view the bill was allowed to die. The governor called special attention to the natural resources and the situation of the state with reference to manufactures. WTith so many and so varied advantages, he argued that the state should be no longer dependent on Eastern manufacturers, but should make its own supply of needful articles and also meet the demands of the western market. To this end he encouraged all measures having a tendency to invite capital and labor in any and all branches of manufacture. Another important subject of the time was the disposition of swamp lands. The general government had given to the state six million acres: of what were described as swamp lands. Not that all, nor really any considerable portion, of such lands were actually in swamps. In some localities they were overflowed at certain seasons; in others, beaver dams had given them the appearance of swamps, and in almost all cases they could be drained and subdued at small cost, and possessed a very rich alluvial soil. The question was how to dispose of these lands for the best interests of the state. In I859 the Legislature adopted the policy of appropriating such lands for the building of roads. The purpose of the general government in donating the lands to the state, as set forth in the act of Congress making the cession, was to provide for their reclamation by means of levees, drains, etc. Nominally a road might be considered a levee and practically, in many instances, the building of a road was as good a way as any of reclaiming the lands and opening them up to settlement. The policy had been pursued with satisfactory results on the start, but gradually degenerated into the grabbing of valuable tracts by contractors for the building of roads which began nowhere and endled nowhere, and for roads begun but never finished, and by combinations of greedy persons who were robbing the state. The 80 GENESEE COUNTY, MICITGAN. governor called an enmphatic halt to the practice and urged the Legislature to take steps to rescue the remaininng acres. The Legislature responded by passing an act for the appointment of a swamp land commissioner to examine all roads, inquire into the facts and circumstances of the letting of contracts, and requiring his approval of all unfinished contracts before payment should be made. There was considerable popular prejudice against the agricultural college. Even the farmers themselves, who had decided views on the question of economy when taxpaying time came around, felt that it was an expensive luxury which had very little to show as justification for its existence. In 1862 the general government made an appropriation of two hundred and forty thousand acres of putblic lands for the maintenance and support of such an institution, which grant had been accepted by the state. Governor Crapo, in his message, says regarding the college: "I am aware that in consequence of the very unfavorable circumstances surrounding this institution during the first few years of its existence, and which to a very great extent controlled its operations, many of the people of the state, who should have been deeply interested in its prosperity and success, imbibed strong prejudices against it, and were even disposed to abandon it altogether." But the governor counsels suspension of judgment and giving the institution an opportunity to do justice to itself and its friends. Of all classes, the farmer is most deeply interested, and the farmer should regard it with pride. While its demands have seemed to be large, the fact should be borne in mind that it is laying the foundations and that, large as the expenditures seem, they are really small in comparison with the magnitude of the interests involved. "Agriculture is no longer what it was once regarded by a majority of other professions, and partially admitted by the farmers themselves to be-a low, menial employment, a mere drudgery, delving in the soil-but is becoming recognized as a noble science. Formerly any man who had merely sufficient sense to do just as his father did before him and to follow his example and imitate his practice, was regarded as fully competent to become a farmer. The idea of applying science to the business was sneered at and denounced by many of the farmers themselves as 'book farming.' But the cultivation of the soil has now justly come to be regarded as one of the most noble and dignified callings in which an educated man can engage." The Legislature heeded his advice and made a liberal appropriation to set the college upon its feet. This was the critical time in the infancy of the institution, when it might have been easily smothered. The earnest words GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 8i of the governor, backed by his influence, encouraged the friends of the college and today the people of the state will rejoice that the strong support of Governor Crapo resulted in saving it for a noble and beneficient career. Governor Crapo exercised the pardoning power with extreme caution. He hel(l the view that the executive had no right to annul or make void the acts and( decisions of judicial tribunals in the trial, conviction and sentence of any person unless in the contingency of the discovery of new facts which would, if proved upon the trial, have established the innocence of the accused, or so mitigated the offense that a less penalty would have been imposed. While he admitted that extreme cases might arise under circumstances which would make an exception to the rule desirable, lhe held to it quite rigidly. He (lid not admit the influence of mere personal sympathy for the victims of the criminal law, or their families or friends. In reply to the claims that a convict having suffered for a time and the public excitement and notoriety of his offense having passed away, no possible good can be gained by keeping him longer in prison, he insisted that the principle of justice and the claims of society for self-protection must not be lost sight of. The guilty are not punished because society wishes to inflict pain and suffering, but because its own safety requires it and because the only reparation the criminal can make is the example afforded by his endurance of the penalty. To effectually meet these ends, punishment must be made certain. There have been governors, both before and since, who seemed to regard the executive prerogative as a matter of mere sentiment. There have been cases where snympathy went too far. There have been instances which were little less than unfortunate. In modern times the business of getting convicts out of our prisons a1nd relieving them from. the consequences of their crimes through the aid of a sympathetic governor has been carried to such an extent that it is refreshing to contemplate a man who, while lie was not lacking the kindness of a gentle nature, still had the firmness to stand for justice and right, as he clearly saw them. At the biennial election of 1866 Governor Crapo was elected for a second term by a majority of upwards of twenty-nine thousand. Governor Crapo entered upoen his new term of office in January, I867, somewhat broken in health, but with mind as vigorous and active as ever. In spite of his impaired physical condition, lie insisted upon personally looking after his extensive private interests, and kept in close touch with all public affairs. His second regular Inessage to the Legislature was a full and lucid discus(6) 82 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. sion of all the problems then before the state authorities,. He again dwelt on the immigration question, but the Legislature adjourned without making effective his sensible recommendations. Governor Crapo was very sparing with vetoes and it is notable that they were for the most part sustained. The most exciting event during his entire gubernatorial career grew out of his vetoes in the matter of municipal aid to railroads. That was the day of feverish railroad building schemes. Rural communities were exceedingly anxious for railroads, and many villages were induced to support projects which would make them railroad centers. In several instances the people did not wait for legislative authority, but went ahead and voted aid, issued and put bonds. on the market and then came and asked the Legislature to validate them. With a veto message, Governor Crapo called a halt to this practice. It is interesting to observe with what neatness he riddles the sophistical arguments of those who said the thing being done should be legalized to save investors in the bonds. The schemes expanded insidiously. At first the aid voted by municipalities was limited by law to'five per cent of the assessed valuation of the municipality; shortly this was increased to ten per cent, with a tendency to further increase the rate. At first the district included in the liability on the bonds was the municipality; shortly this was extended to include the entire county in which the municipality was situated. But most important of all, he vetoed the acts passed to permit localities to vote aid to railroad enterprises. The thing having previously been done and being considered so much a matter of course, he did at the outset approve such bills. But he soon saw the tendency of such legislation and when the bills came pouring in on him he waited until some fourteen had accumulated and then sent them back with a message which settled the case for all time, so far as he was concerned. He called attention to the provision of the constitution that "the credit of the state shall not be granted to or in aid of any person, association or corporation; the state shall not sublscribe to or be interested in the stock of any company, association or corporation; shall not be a party to or interested in any work of internal improvement." He argued that the principle considered by the framers of the constitution so essential for the protection of the state should by implication, at least, apply to towns and counties. Clearly the policy of the state, as expressed in its constitution, was opposed to all this legislation. While refraining from discussing the judicial aspects of the question, he believed that all would agree with him that it was of doubtful constitutionality. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 83 He went to great length in discussing the economic bearings of the question. He believed the permanent welfare of the state would be injured. While railroads were desirable and greatly beneficial to a community, if they were secured at the cost of an accumulation of municipal debt and enormous taxation we should destroy the value of property and retard settlement. Then, instead of increased growth and resources, we should drive away population and wealth. At a time when other states were trying to extricate themselves from the burden of taxation caused lby the war, and were deferring public improvements, the people of Michigan, by municipal action, were competing with each other in the creation of vast amounts of indebtedness. He showed how insidiously the idea of municipal aid had expanded. At the outset the rate was limited to five per cent and the liability was confined to a few localities. Within four years the restrictions had been swept away and there were towns which were in danger of accumulating forty per cent of such bonded indebtedness. Such a course could have but one endingbankruptcy and repudiation. The aggregate length of the railroads already proposed, which relied for their completion upon aid from taxes, was not less than two thousand miles. The amount of capital necessary to construct, complete and efficiently equip this extent of railroad could not be less than sixty million dollars. It was claimed that if about one-third of the cost could be obtained by taxation the balance could be procured of capitalists by the issue of stocks and mortgages. It would then be necessary for the people of the state to create an indebtedness of twenty millions in city, township and county bonds. Could such bonds be sold for cash either at home or abroad? It was not likely they could — e sold outside the state. There was not surplus capital enough in the state to take them; certainly not unless they could be bought at a very small percentage of their face value. Thus the actual aid to railroads would be very small indeed, compared with the amount of municipal indebtedness. As the bonds continued to be depreciated in value, additional taxes would be called for and urged to make up the deficit, and thereby prevent the total loss of what had been already appropriated, until repudiation would inevitably follow. The gloomy picture which the governor thus drew of the results likely to end the course which the state was pursuing in this matter, was both timely and truthful. It was clear to level-headed and unprejudiced men, but such was the popular furor that many minds were dulled to its appreciation. The bills lay on the table for a month while great excitement pre 84 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. vailed in the popular discussion of the subject. When the matter was finally brought to a vote, the veto of the governor was sustained by the narrow margin of a single vote. It is not often that a governor has the delicate task of saving the people from themselves, but saneness and firmness are admirable in any emergency. After the war, an important event in Michigan's history was the movement for a revision of the constitution of 1850. In his inaugural message in I865, Governor Crapo called the attention of the Legislature to the constitutional provision for submission of this question to the people in the general election of I866. The necessary steps were accordingly taken, and in due course delegates were elected to the convention. This convention was held at Lansing from May 15 to August 22, 1867. It proved harmonious and industrious. But at the election in I868 the new constitution which was there drawn up was not adopted by the people. GOVERNOR HENRY P. BALDWIN. Governor Crapo's successor was Henry P. Baldwin, of Detroit, who served from I869 to 1873. Governor Baldwin was a native of Coventry, Rhode Island, where he was born, February 22, 1814. He had been elected to the state Senate in I860. During his administration as governor, several matters of importance developed. One of these was the resumption of the state geological survey. H-e was deeply interested in philanthropic work and used his influence to ameliorate the condition of the unfortunate and the neglected. In 187I was organized the state board of charities and corrections. The eastern insane asylum was established at Pontiac. One of the most notable events of this period was the great destruction of life and property by forest fires, which swept across the state in 187I. When this great calamity became known, Governor Baldwin took prompt and energetic measures for relief of the distressed and suffering people. In 188I, almost exactly ten years later, a second visitation of fire swept through Tuscola, Lapeer, Huron and Sanilac counties, covering a considerable part of the region which suffered so severely before. In 187I Governor Baldwin, in his message to the Legislature, expressed the belief that the time had come for the erection of a permanent capitol, and recommended that the necessary steps be taken to that end. The old building erected in 1847 was a plain frame structure, intended only as a temporary capitol. Governor Baldwin appointed the building commission authorized by the Legislature and work on the new capitol was begun on GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 85 January I, 1879. The day of the formal dedication of the building the commission reported that every obligation had been fully paid and that there remained in the state treasury upwards of $4,000 to the credit of the building fund. GOVERNOR JOHN J. BAGLEY. John J. Bagley was governor from I873 to 1877. He was a native of New York, born in Medina, Orleans county, July 24, 1832. One of the first important events of his administration was the participation of Michigan in the centennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia, July 4, 1876. In Michigan commemorative exercises were held in all the principal cities and villages. The international exposition at Philadelphia was held from Miay IO to November Io. An attractive Michigan building was erected on the grounds, wholly by voluntary contributions from Michigan's citizens. The register kept at this building showed thirtytwo thousand signatures of Michigan visitors. Very much of the success of Michigan's part in the exposition was due to the generosity, energy and activity of Governor Bagley, who was ex-officio a member of the board of managers. During the first term of Governor Bagley there was much important legislation. Chief among the acts was that which created a state board of health. In 1873 was created the office of railroad commissioner. The office of commissioner of insurance was established. The subject of banking was thoroughly overhauled; old laws were repealed, and a general law was adopted for the regulation and control of all banks organized under it. The artificial propagation of fish had been found practicable, and it seemed to be quite feasible to restock the lakes with more valuable varieties so as toprolong indefinitely the life of the fishing industry; with this in view, the Legislature, acting upon the governor's suggestion, created a fish commission. Governor Bagley's administration was a business administration, characteristic of the plain, unassuming, shrewd and well-balanced citizen at its head. In I873 the question came up again of revising the state constitution. The Legislature appointed a commission, which formulated a new one, but when it was submitted to the people at the spring election of I874, they rejected it. The successor of Governor Bagley was Charles M. Croswell, of Adrian, who served from 1877 to 188I. It was early in his administration 86 GENESEE COUNTYj MICHIGAN. that the reform school for girls was established at Adrian. In 1879 Thomas A. Edison, who, though not a native of Michigan, spent much of his early life in St. Clair county and made his first successful inventions in the state, established the success of his incandescent electric lamp, which revolutionized the lighting of interiors not only in this state but throughout the world. In i880 David H. Jerome, of Saginaw, was chosen governor. During his one term the St. Mary's Falls ship canal was transferred to the general government. About this time Judge Andrew Howell, acting under the auspices of the state, compiled the state laws of Michigan. An epoch in the commercial development of the state was marked by the connecting of the railway systems of the two peninsulas of Michigan. THE GREENBACK MOVEMENT. At the election of 1882 a long-established political precedent was overturned. Since the founding of the Republican party in 1854, that party had been successful in electing its candidates to state offices. This year the opposition ticket won, electing as governor Josiah WV. Begole, of Flint. The victory was the effect by a fusion of the Democrats with the "Greenbackers," a party which had been steadily gaining strength since I876. At the election of 1876 the Greenback party gave a total of 8,207 votes for William Sparks, the Greenback candidate for governor, and about this many were cast for the presidential candidate, Peter Cooper, out of a total nation-wide vote of 81,ooo. In 1878 their candidate for governor in Michigan received 75,000 votes. The purpose of the Greenback party was to defeat the alleged machinations of the monied interests and save the "greenback," the people's money. This money had come into existence during the Civil War, great quantities of treasury notes, or greenbacks (from the color of the notes), having been authorized by Congress. A total of $45,0oo0,000 of these notes had been issued, legal tender for all debts, except customs duties and interest on the public debt. This policy helped to stamp in the popular mind the idea that the government could create money, if only the monied interests were not selfishly opposed to it. Along with the demand for more "fiat" money went the "grange movement" among the farmers, who organized to cut out the middle man and to compel the railroads to exact less toll to take their crops to market. In the minds of the "Greenbackers," the Republican party, as the dominant party, was playing into the hands of the rich. Their natural allies, regardless of other considerations, would be the opposition party, and the result was the defeat of the Republicans. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 87 Governor Begole was born in Livingston county, New York, January 20, T815. When he became of age, in 1836, he came to Michigan and settled in Genesee county, where, with his own hands, he aided in building some of the early residences in Flint. Perseverance and energy won him a competency, and at the end of eighteen years he was the owner of a five-hundredacre farm. He was an ardent anti-slavery man, his grandparents having emigrated from Maryland to New York about the beginning of the century because of their dissatisfaction with the institution of slavery. He joined the Republican party at its organization in 1854 and was early elected to various local offices. During the Civil War he did active work in recruiting and furnishing supplies for the armyv; his eldest son was killed near Atlanta, Georgia, in I864. In 1870 he was elected state senator, and in 1872 was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Philadelphia. As a member of the forty-third Congress he took great interest in legislation to better the conditions of the farmers, being a member of the committee of agriculture. His activities along those lines was largely influenced by the fact that he was a practical farmer. The transition from a Republican to a Greenbacker was easy. The high esteem in which Mr. Begole was held by his fellow townsmen despite his defection from the Republican party is well shown in the following extract from the Flint Globe, the leading Republican paper at that time in Genesee county: "So far, however, as Mr. Begole, the head of the ticket, is concerned, there is nothing detrimental to his character that can be alleged against him. He has sometimes changed his mind in politics, but of the sincerity of his beliefs and the earnestness of his purpose, nobody who knows him entertains a doubt. He is incapable of bearing malice, even.against his bitterest political enemies. He has a warm, generous nature, and a larger, kinder heart does not beat in the bosom of any man in Michigan. He is not much given to making speeches, but deeds are more significant of a man's character than words. There are many scores of men in all parts of the state where Mr. Begole is acquainted who have had practical demonstrations of these facts, and who are liable to step outside of party lines to show that they do not forget his kindness, and who, no doubt, wish that le was a leader in what would not necessarily prove a forlorn hope. But the Republican party in Michigan is too strong to be beaten by a combination of Democrats and Greenbackers, even if it is marshaled by so good a man as Mr. Begole." Among the important legislation of Governor Begole's administration 88 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. was the establishment of the northern insane asylum at Traverse City. A bureau of labor statistics was created. A stringent law was passed to prevent insurance companies combining to fix a rate. The labor element showed its increasing strength in a law forbidding the employment of children under fourteen years of age. A compulsory school law required the attendance of children under this age for at least six months every year. Returning Republican strength, combined with other causes, resulted in the election of Russell A. Alger in 1884 by a small majority to succeed Governor Begole. He was a native of Medlina county, Ohio. During the Civil War he wxas promoted rapidly in the army, becoming, after a year of service, colonel of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry in Custer's famous brigade. During Governor Alger's administration the Portage Lake and Lake Superior ship canal was transferred to the general government. The soldiers' home was established at Grand Rapids. The state mining school was established in the copper country at I-oughton. A pardon board was created. In I885 the Legislature made provision for the semi-centennial anniversary of the admission of Michigan as a state in the union, to be held at ILansing, June 15, I886. On the occasion of this celebration notable addresses were made by many prominent citizens and officials, which were printed and pubfished by the state. This volume, including the full proceedings, comprised over five hundred pages and is a valuable and highly interesting collection of historical data. Governor Alger declined to be a candidate for re-election in I886, and Cvyrus G. Luce, of Coldwater, became his successor. Fie was a native of Windsor, Ashtabula county, Ohio. The Legislature of 1889 gave considerable attention to the subject of woman suffrage; the ballot was not given to women generally, but a law was passed permitting women in Detroit to vote for members of the school board of the city, which at the time was considered an entering wedge to lead to woman suffrage for all officers. Among other legislation was an act giving counties local option in the matter of prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors. A CHANGE IN REGIME. In the election of 890o came the first real Democratic triumph since the Republican party was organized. Edwin B. Winans was a Democrat. The causes operating in Michigan in favor of the Democrats were part of a tidal wave which in that year swept the whole country. One of the most spectacular events in the nation's history occurred in Governor Winans' GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 89 administration, the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. Governor Winans appointed a board of managers, of which he was ex-officio chairman, whose service did great credit to the state in displaying her arts and industries. It is estimated that nearly half the adult population of the lower peninsula saw the exposition at some stage of its progress, many spending sometimes a week or more and making subsequent visits. The formal opening of the Michigan building took place on April 29, 1893. This commodious and elegantly furnished structure cost upwards of forty thousand dollars. September 13 and 14 were set apart as Mlichigan days at the fair and were well observed. Most striking was the exhibit made by Michigan in the agricultural building. The horticultural exhibit hardly did justice to the state, because of the failure of the apple crop the season before, and the inadequate appropriation for collecting and shipping and the lack of interest on the part of fruit growers. The forestry exhibit was adequate, befitting the most celebrated of the timber states. The mineral exhibit led all others in copper and iron and received more awards than that of any other state. The educational exhibit was fairly creditable. Mark WV. Stevens, of Flint, later circuit judge, was secretary of the Michigan World's Fair commission. The administration of Governor Winans was followed by that of John T. Rich, of Elba, Lapeer county, Republican candidate in I892. Among the subjects of legislation considered in Governor Rich's administration were charters and charter amendments for municipalities, the borrowing power of the state, taxation of church property, the contract labor system in the state prisons, and the fusion of political parties. GOVERNOR HAZEN S. PINGREE. Hazen S. Pingree was elected governor in 1894. His career was short, but strenuous. He was a native of Denmark, Maine. Mr. Pingree's most marked characteristics were dislike of conventional ways of doing things and a determination to be his own "boss" while governor. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having seen service in the battles of second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg and other desperate and bloody engagements. After the war he became a shoe dealer in Detroit and made wealth by hard work, good business judgment and energetic management. His business ability and freedom from politcal antagonisms made him mayor of Detroit. His political shrewdness during the street 90 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. car strike in 1890, while he was mayor, secured his re-election three times afterwards, and his genuine sympathy with working men, amply demonstrated, made possible his election as governor. The keynote of Governor Pingree's policy was primary election and railroad taxation. HIe also in his characteristic manner paid his respect to a class of persons who frequented the capitol during sessions of the Legislature. He had decided views upon the question of public franchises, gained through his experience with the Detroit street railways. The great weakness of his administration was lack of tact in dealing with members of the Ilegislature. During his adiniistration provision was made for agricultural institutes in the several counties. The beet sugar industry was bonused; and another law in the interest of the farmer made it a penal offense to color oleomargarine in imitation of butter. THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. It was while Mr. Pingree was governor, in I898, that war broke out with Spain, war being formally declared on April 25. The following account of Michigan's part in this war is taken from the excellent work entitled "Michigan as a Province, State and Territory:" "The state cut something of a figure in the war, aside from the regiments which it put into the field. Russell A. Alger, who was secretary of war, was a former governor of Michigan. Upon his shoulders fell the responsibility of equipping. transporting across the sea and maintaining in the field the troops required in the campaigns in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. After more than thirty years of peace, it may well be supposed that the sudden call to active military operations found the country all unprepared for such an emergency. In response to the President's call the country arose almost en masse. Tenders of service came from every direction. It is safe to say that ten men offered their services where one was required. These overwhelming offers were embarrassing. Meanwhile the war department was trying its utmost to get things in shape for equipping and hauling the recruits to the regular army and the volunteers gathered by the states. To transport the army and its equipment and supplies to Cuba required many ships. In this emergency Secretary Arger called to his assistance Col. Frank T. Hecker, of Detroit, of whose fitness for the task the secretary had personal knowledge, and assigned to him the duty of procuring the ships. They were promptly forthcoming. The command of the Fifth Corps, which was the army which invaded Cuba and fought be GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 9I fore Santiago, was assigned to Major-Gen. William R. Shafter, a native of Miichigan, who had served efficiently in the Civil War, which he entered as a lieutenant of the Seventh Michigan Infantry. After the close of the Civil W\ar he joined the regular army, in which he had risen to the rank of brigadier-general, upon merit and length of service. Col. Henry M. Duffield, of Detroit, was made a brigadier-general of volunteers and was assigned to the command in Cuba of a brigade composed of the Ninth Massachusetts and the Thirty-third and Thirty-four Michigan Regiments of Volunteers. Major George I-. Hopkins, of Detroit. was appointed a personal aid to the secretary of war and was assigned to the duty of selecting camps and inspecting the sanitary and other conditions surrounding them. Only a small fraction of the regiments raised were called to the front. Others were gathered in camps at Tampa, Mobile, Washington and Chickamauga. Besides these thus gathered in army camps, there were others in regimental camps in their several states, which never left them, hut were disbanded after it became evident that their services in the field would not be required. It was the duty of Major Hopkins to familiarize himself with the conditions of these various camps and suggest methods of remedying defects. After the engagement at Santiago, which practically ended the war, the health of the troops in Cuba required that the men be sent north at the earliest possible moment. Accordingly a convalescent camp was established at Montauk Point, Long Island, to which the whole of Shafter's army was brought. In this camp Major C. B. Nancrede, of the medical department of the State University, was chief surgeon. He had served from the beginning of the war as surgeon of the Thirty-third Michigan, and upon his promotion was succeeded by Major Victor C. Vaughan, also of the State University. "It happened that the Legislature was in session when the war broke out. It promptly passed an act for a war loan of a half million dollars. Governor Pingree threw himself with all his wonderful energy into the task of raising, equipping and sending into the field at the earliest possible moment the state's quota. On the day following the call of the President an order was issued for the mobilization of the entire Michigan National Guard at Island Lake within three days. Gen. E. M. Irish was placed in command and the work of completing the roster of the several regiments was earnestly prosecuted. The regiments thus organized were designated Thirty-first, Thirty-second, Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, following in numerical order the infantry regiments of the Civil W;ar. The Thirty-first was mustered May Toth and left on the I5th, 92 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. under command of Col. Cornelius Gardner, for Chickamauga Park, Georgia. The Thirty-second was mustered May 4 and left on the i9th, under command of Col. William T. McGurrin, for Tampa, Florida. The Thirtythird was mustered May 20 and left on the 28th, under command of Col. Charles L. Boynton, for Camp Alger, near Washington. The Thirty-fourth was mustered May 25 and left June 6, under command of Col. John P. Petermann, for Camp Alger. Under the second call of the President the Thirty-fifth Regiment was organized under Col. E. M. Irish, July II, and left for Camp Meade, Pennsylvania, September 15. In organizing, equipping and training these regiments while in camp at Island Lake, Captain Irvine, of the Eleventh United States Infantry, and Lieutenant Winans, of the Fifth United States Cavalry, rendered efficient service. "The men gathered in the southern camps, particularly at Chickamauga and at Camp Alger, suffered severly from sickness. At the former camp there was an epidemic of typhoid fever and the Thirty-firsr Michigan was removed to Macon, Georgia, where it remained in camp until January, I899, when it was sent to Cuba. It was landed at Cienfugas and was thence distributed in the towns of Santa Clara province to preserve order and protect property. The regiment was engaged on this service until the following April, when it was returned to this country and mustered out. It lost fourteen men who died from sickness in southern camps and hospitals. "The Thirty-second was one of the earliest regiments moved to Fernandina, Florida, where it remained in camp for some time. It was not among those assigned to service in Cuba!, and after a little delay it was transferred to Fort McPherson, Georgia, where it remained until September, when it was returned to Michigan, and mustered out of service. While in the service twenty men died of disease. "The Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth went to, Tampa, whence they were embarked for Cuba on the transports 'Paris' and 'Harvard.' They were in General Duffield's brigade, which formed a part of General Shafter's army which fought and defeated the Spaniards at Santiago. They did not participate in the fight at San Juan Hill, but were engaged in the attack at Aguadores. which was planned to divert the enemy from the plan of battle of the main army and prevent their reinforcing it. In this engagement three of the Thirty-third were killed or died of wounds. Yellow fever broke out in the camp at Siboney and fifty died there or at Montauk Point or on the transport bound for the latter camp. The Thirty-fourth suffered even more severely, for eighty-eight deaths in that regiment are recorded, a very large GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 93 proportion of these being from yellow fever while in camp near Santiago or in hospital on Long Island. These regiments were returned fronl Cuba in August and reached Michigan in September. They were mustered out at various times between September 3, 1898, and January 2, I899. Of those who survived the hardships of the campaign, many returned broken in health. The Thirty-fifth was mustered out at Augusta, Georgia, March, i899. Of its memb)ers, twienty-three died of disease in camp. 'The whole nutnmer of men mustered was six thousand six hundred and seventy-seven, and the total number of deaths about two hundred and fifty. Through the efforts of Governor Pingree, the men were permitted to draw- thirty to ninety days pay upon furlough prior to discharge. Those who were in Cuba were also allowed pay for the fever-infected uniforms they were compelled to destroy. "Besides the infantry regiments furnished to the volunteer service, lMichigan was represented in the naval arm. Being encouraged thereto by the general government, a naval brigade was organized in Michigan in I897. The navv department assigned for the use of such naval brigade the United States ship, 'Yantic,' which was at the time in the Boston navy yard undergoing repairs. The delicate international question of getting this war vessel throughl Canadian waters was successfully disposed of. The governor of MAichigan, on behalf of the state receipted for the 'Yantic' to be delivered to her commanding officer, Lieut.-Com. Gilbert Wilkes, at Montreal. From that point she was taken and handled by the officers and men of the state naval reserves, and arrived at Detroit, December 8, I897. The men had some opportunity to drill and familiarize themselves with naval discipline. Before the call for volunteers, Governor Pingree received a telegram from the navy department asking for men for service on the United States ship 'Yosemite. The call was promptly responded to and two hundred and sevenity menl and( eleven officers of the Naval Militia of Michigan enlisted in the navy-. The 'Yosemite' was wholly manned by Michigan men and, under the conmmand of Lieut.-Com. W. H. Emory, convoyed the transport 'Pantlher' to Guantanamo and covered the first successful landing of American troops on Cuban soil. Afterward it maintained, single-handed, the llockade of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and proved the efficiency of the ship and her crew by the capture of prizes and the destruction of blockade runners. The governor in his annual message congratulated the state on the showing made in the war by its naval militia, and also congratulated the men upon the records they made." 94 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. SINCE THE WAR WITH SPAIN. At the election of I900 Aaron T. Bliss, of Saginaw, was elected governor. He was a native of Smithfield, Madison county, New York, and, like Governor Pingree, was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Tenth New York Cavalry. In I882 he was elected from Saginaw county to the state Senate; he also served one term in Congress. In 1897 he was elected department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. The main subjects of legislation while he was governor were primary reform and railroad taxation. The Western State Normal School was established at Kalamazoo. At Saginaw was established the Michigan Employment Institution for the Blind. Governor Bliss was succeeded in 1905 by Fred M. Warner, of Farmington, Oakland county. Previous to this time Mr. Warner had served in the state Senate and as secretary of state. He has the distinction of being among the very few governors of Michigan who have served three terms in succession, being re-elected in I906 and I908. During his first term the semi-centennial of the passage of the first boat through the Sault Ste. Marie canal "was celebrated (t905). At the election in 1908 the revised constitution, as drawn up by the constitutional convention held at Lansing in 1907-8, was adopted. This constitution, while following closely that of I850, curtailed the power of the Legislature and extended that of home rule in the municipalities. Among the acts of legislation while Mr. Warner was governor were provision for direct nomination of candidates for staite offices, provision for a popular advisory vote for United States senator, and provision for the present state railroad commission. The first governor elected under the constitution of I908 was Chase S. Osborn, Republican, who served one term, beginning in 19II. He was a native of Huntington county, Indiana, and in early life engaged in newspaper work. In 1887 he purchased the Sault Ste. Marie News, and since then has lived mainly at the "Soo." The principal laws enacted during his administration were a general revision of the primary election law,r a city home rule bill authorizing the use of the initiative, referendum and recall, provision for a state fire marshal, and a law allowing women to vote at school primaries. Since January T, 1913, Woodbridge N. Ferris, of Big Rapids, has been governor. His second term will expire December 3I, of this year (I916). Mr. Ferris was born in 1853 in a log cabin four miles from Spencer, Tioga GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAAN. 95 county, New York. In this neighborhood and in neighboring academies he received his early education, and later taught school and earned his way through the Oswego Normal and Training School. In 1873 he entered upon the medical course in the University of Michigan. In 1875 he organized a business college at Freeport, Illinois, and later became principal of the normal department in the Rock River University. In 1877 he organized a business college in Dixon, Illinois, and in 1884 the Ferris Industrial School at Big Rapids. The latter school waas started with fifteen students; the enrollment for the current year (1916) is about two thousand students. Through his extensive educational work, Mr. Ferris became one of the best known citizens of Michigan. He is the first Democratic governor since the election of Governor Winans in I890, and received at his second election nearly forty thousand more votes than the Republican candidate, Chase S. Osborn. One of the bitterly contested bills while Mr. Ferris has been governor is the "Sliding Scale" bill, to increase passenger fares on Michigan railroads, which xwas defeated in the house by a vote of forty-five to fifty-four. A new primary election law has been passed, providing for a separate ballot for each party; no person who is the regular candidate on the ballot of one party can have his name written in on the ballot of another party; and in order to gain a place on the ticket a candidate must receive in the primary a ten per cent vote of his party. A teachers' retirement fund has been secured; the Michigan Historical Commission created; also an annual appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars for the use of the state board of health for the study and prevention of tublerculosis. In 1913 occurred one of the most serious crises in the recent industrial history of Michigan, when the Western Federation of Miners, attempting to get a foothold in the Michigan copper country, fomented a strike of the miners, which lasted from July, I913, to April, 1914. Throughout this controversy the course of Governor Ferris was such as to secure the hearty approval of the miners, the mine owners and of the people of the state generally. The mine owners were induce(l to offer re-emplloyment to all men who had not been guilty of violence, on condition of renouncing membership in the Western Federation of Miners, which was agreed to by the striking members of the federation through a referendum vote. In addition, the main demands of the miners were granted, which included a minimum wage of three dollars, an eighthour (lay and better working conditions. 4 96 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE. From the point to whlich we have now come, the autumn of 1916, it may be well to glance at the natural resources of the state, its industrial and commercial interests, its development of land and water transportation, its progress in education, and its social elements. Ab\ove the rocks of the Michigan peninsulas lies one of the most fertile soils of the Union. It has furnished the backbone of industry in Michigan; as mlany persons are engagoed in agriculture as in all other industries combined. The climate also is favorable for the growing of all crops profitable in any part of the United States, except cotton, sugar cane and rice. Wheat and corn have always been staple and reliable crops, but a striking characteristic of Michigan's agricultural products is their great variety. The latest to b)e cultivated extensively is the sugar beet. In the earlier days of the lower peninsula one of the most prominent in(lustries was lumbering. Practically the whole of the peninsula was covered with dense forest. The removal of the forest went hand in hand with the advance of agriculture. Great quantities of pine were taken from the Saginaw country, beginning in earnest about I86o. It was estimated that in 1872 two and a half blillion feet of pine lumber was sawed there by fifteen hundred saw-mills, employing twenty thousand persons and representing a capital of twenty-five million dollars. The entire amount cut in the state in 1883.was estimated at four billion feet. The industry still thrives on a large scale in the tipper peninsula. The lumber industry naturally gave rise to the manufacture of furniture. (Girand Rapids and Detroit became world-renowned centers of furniture making. The manufacture of agricultural implements was a natural accompaniment of the clearing of the forests and the groxwth of agriculture. The same is true of the manufacture of vehicles. In Detroit, Flint and Lansing the manufacture of automobiles has grown to large proportions. Detroit, among other cities, is also the home of a large industry in stoves, ranges and furnaces and all varieties of heating devices. Other large Detroit industries are the manufacture of cigars and tobacco goods, boots and shoes, and drugs. Chemical laboratories have been an important item in the aggregate industries of the state. The cities along the shores of the Great Lakes have engaged largely in the fresh water fisheries, the most productive in the United States. Labor conditions in all these industries have been excellent in MAichio_,'an. evidence for which is the attitude of organized labor. i,,: f. in GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 97 and the absence of any strikes of consequence in any of them. The farmer, the manufacturer, the merchant and the laborers have recognized that labor disturbances are wasteful for all concerned and, by mutual concessions, all differences have been harmonized in the interest of the general progress. The first minerals mined in Michigan were copper and iron. Actual operations in copper mining were begun in 1842, in the vicinity of Keweenaw Point, by Boston capitalists. In I866 the discovery of the Calumet and Hecla conglomerate lode marked a new era in copper mining. Until the development of copper mining in the Rocky Mountain states in the early eighties, the Michigan mines produced almost the whole domestic supply and nearly twenty per cent of the world's supply. In the production of iron, Michigan leads all the states, her principal iron districts being the Marquette, Menominee and Gogebic ranges in the Lake Superior region. The first ore was taken out in 1854 from Marquette district. In 1835 coal mining in Michigan began at Jackson; but the extensive operations have been since 1860. Michigan coal has not been able to compete in price with the coal from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. About I860 began the development of the salt industry. It has been mainly confined to the Saginaw country. Michigan is still a leading state in the production of salt. Another important mineral industry is the manufacture of Portland cement. It began in 1872, when a plant was built near Kalamazoo. Upwards of a million barrels are now produced annually. The manufacture of land fertilizers from the gypsum deposits has become an important industry in several localities. The largest gypsum mills are at Grand Rapids, where the first was built in 1841. Clay for brick making has furnished material for about three hundred brick kilns in the state. Building materials abound in the fine sandstones, slates and other stones. Grindstone quarries have been opened in Huron county, and graphite mines have been worked to some extent in Baraga county in the upper peninsula. TRANSPORTATION. The building of cars has from early days been an important industry in Michigan. Since I852, when the Michigan Central railway was completed between Detroit and Chicago, railroad building has developed rapidly. This was substantially aided by grants of land for the purpose, given to the state by the national government. The Michigan Central now has branches to all parts of the state feeding the great trunk line from every direction. (7) 98 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, the second earliest line, has likewise acquired numerous tributary lines. The Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee railroad, the Pere Marquette system, the Ann Arbor railroad, the Grand Rapids & Indiana, and the extensions of the Grand Trunk system of Canada, afford abundant means of trans-peninsular communication and transportation. Similar facilities are afforded in the upper peninsula by the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, the Chicago & Northwestern, the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie, and numerous branch lines. The development of the automobile had its inception in Michigan, and in the marvelous advance made in the motor car industry Michigan stands first in number of cars manufactured and volume of business in that line. The motor car industry is third in money value in the United States, only steel and cotton exceeding it. Electric roads extend into nearly every section of lower Michigan and in addition to passengers, do a large freight and express business. Water transportation, on the Great Lakes, has kept pace with the railroads and has given rise to the industry of ship-building. Michigan forests have furnished the finest ship timber in the world. In the days of wooden ships the principal centers of this industry were at Detroit, Bay City and points on the St. Clair river. With the coming of the steel ship, the works at these, places were expanded to meet the demand and are now rivalled only by those near Cleveland. Of late years the growth in lake tonnage has been very rapid and the size and number of water craft have increased in proportion. Great leviathans carry coal, iron, copper and grain from the far end of Lake Superior to lower Lake Erie and to Chicago and Milwaukee, and smaller craft carry full loads into all harbors. Each year witnesses a substantial increase of investment in great plants to meet the demands of the Great Lakes carrying trade. EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT. With the material advancement of the state has gone hand in hand the expansion of Michigan's educational system. Rural schools, primary schools, grammar schools, high schools, academies, colleges and the State University -all have advanced together. Over the state are thousands of school districts, with a school population of near a million. In the cities, manual training has gained headway in recent years, and industrial schools, of the type of the Ferris Institute, have multiplied, where the talents and inclinations of boys and girls, in any given direction, are developed and that training of hand and eye given, which in after life is useful in a thousand ways GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 99 regardless of vocation. These schools have a sociological as well as an educational aspect, for through their training, genius may be discovered, to the manifest advantage of humanity. Another feature of recent progress is the kindergarten, starting the very youngest children along lines of healthful instruction to. education in the schools. Teachers' institutes mark a notable advance in improving the quality of the teaching force in all the schools, and the training of teachers in normal schools has enlisted the service of some of the best trained educators of the state. The oldest of the normal schools is that at Ypsilanti, opened in I852. Others are the Central State Normal School, at Mount Pleasant; the Northern State Normal School, at Marquette, and the Western State Normal School, at Kalamazoo; in their names the word "College' has now been substituted for "School." The crown of this system of schools is the University of Michigan. From the kindergarten to the university, the Michigan boy or girl will find the successive studies carefully graded to each stage of development and to the general needs of a great variety of vocational and cultural attainments. Since the Civil War the university has had three presidents, including Erastus O. Haven, who was president at the close of the war; the others have been, the well-beloved and late lamented Dr. James B. Angell, and the present incumbent, Dr. Harry B. Hutchins. Dr. Henry S. Frieze was acting-president for one year, between President Haven and President Angell. Doctor Angell served from 187I to 909o, and during this long period under his wise guidance the university gained recognition world-wide as ranking among the first of the leading universities of the United States. In I870 women were admitted on an equal basis with men, a courageous step, in view of the fact that no institution of similar rank had yet taken it. Women are now to be found in all its departments-in literature, science and the arts, engineering, medicine and surgery, law, pharmacy and dentistry. These departments are housed in over twenty-five principal buildings at Ann Arbor, on tracts of land containing over one hundred and fifty acres, valued at nearly six million dollars. During the current college year over seven thousand students have there received instruction. Since its organization over thirty thousand graduates have gone out from its walls into every leading profession, into public life, into educational work, and are to be found today in every state of the Union and in nearly every foreign country helping in every good work of the world. Two other state colleges, each in its line doing a great work for the honor of Michigan, are the Agricultural College, at East Lansing, and the Mining College, at Houghton, in the upper peninsula. The former, estab I 00 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. lished in 1857, and endowed by the national government with two hundred and forty thousand acres of public lands, is the oldest institution of its kind and standing in the United States. Besides being a professional school in the sciences upon which agriculture depends, it aims to prepare its students for the duties of social and civil life. In connection is an agricultural farm for purposes of experimentation. Women are now admitted to all its classes. Like the state university, it receives part of its financial support through the Legislature. The Michigan College of Mines is in the heart of the great "copper country" of Lake Superior. It was first opened in I886. It is also supported by the state. In addition to these state institutions of higher and special learning are the denominational colleges. Of these, the most important are at Albion, Olivet, Kalamazoo, Hillsdale, Holland, Detroit, Adrian, Alma and Battle Creek. Albion was founded by the Methodists in I86I; Olivet in I859, by the Congregationalists; Kalamazoo in I855, by the Baptists; Hillsdale was founded in I855, and Hope College, at Holland, in 1866. The latter was contemplated from the establishment of the Dutch colony at Holland in 1847, and was preceded by the Holland Academy in I85I. Detroit University, organized in I88I, was established by Roman Catholics of the diocese of Detroit, and is in charge of the Jesuits, an order of the church devoted to education. Adrian College was founded in I859. Alma College was founded by the Presbyterians in 1887. Battle Creek College was established in I874 by the Seventh-Day Adventists. Besides these there are many denominational academies, seminaries and schools. Michigan's unparalleled advantages for agriculture, her unequaled inducements to labor in a great variety of factories and mines, and her unexcelled system of common schools and higher education, have brought to her farms, cities and mines, a diverse population of all nationalities —Scotch, Irish, English, Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Hungarian, Polish and Italian -to make homes for themselves in her two peninsulas. At an early day the French came in from Canada and settled along the shore above and below Detroit and to the Mackinac country; and, later, the pine lumbering brought numbers of French-Canadians to Saginaw and farther north to the lands above the bay. Direct immigration from France has never occurred to any extent. During the period of the British occupation of the Northwest, English settlers came in considerable numbers, mainly to the vicinity of Detroit, and also some persons of Scotch and Irish descent. The great immigration of the Irish came with the troubles in the homeland in the first half of the nineteenth century. CHAPTER II. THE INDIANS OF GENESEE COUNTY. It is unfortunate for the memory of any race to have its history written by its enemies. This is the sad fate of the Indians. Their place in history has been determined by those who belong to an alien and antagonistic people with whom relentless warfare was waged almost from the period of their first contact. The result of these wars was the defeat of the red man, the spoliation of his territory, and the loss of his pristine freedom and with these went all those virtues and peculiarly interesting habits of mind that characterized him in his native wilds. In writing the history of those enemies and so justify in the eyes of posterity his own conduct, there is a grievous temptation to the conqueror, who may have many acts of oppression to palliate, to exaggerate the offenses of his enemy, even to construe into offenses acts which were meant to be friendly. The history of the Indian is at best fragmentary and often written to subserve some ulterior purpose; and, paradoxical as it may seem, in addition to the incertitude of the white man's incomplete and often prejudiced record, the information we get from the Indian about himself is often less reliable than that given us by the white man. This grows out of certain inherent ethical concepts of the Indian, coupled with an inability to understand the white man's motive, whose insatiable desire for knowledge is quite beyond the ken of the less tutored or rather differently tutored red man. The Indian was taught from his childhood that curiosity was a vice leading to gossip, which soon developed into the detestable habit of mischief-making. There was not a more contemptible character, from the view point of the red man, than that of the mischief-maker, and any tendency toward idle curiosity which developed among the youth of the forest folk, and which naturally led to mischief-making, was sternly rebuked, not by any corporal chastisement, but by the sharp shafts of ridicule and scorn which seldom failed to correct the incipient habit. Had the Indian's feeling toward corporal punishment been different, the ducking-stool might have been invoked to put down the habit of gossip or mischief-making; but corporal punishment was so utterly irreconcilable with his conception of personal I02 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. liberty, as to be inadmissible as a corrective. Among the Iroquois a visit to the offender by a delegation of the tribe each wearing a husk nose four or five inches long, suggesting that the wearer had to so elongate his natural nose in order to associate with one who had the habit of putting his nose into other folk's affairs, was generally a sufficient hint to correct the mischief-making propensities of the offender. Such was the result of this trait of Indian character and his ideas of social ethics, that when a white man came among them asking questions as to the affairs of the red man, which from their angle could not in any conceivable manner concern the white man, he was placed in the category of the mischief-maker, and as such regarded as a legitimate butt for his ridicule. This found its exercise in some versatile Indian of imagination, who, with the air of a Roman senator and a face immobile and inexpressive of any humor, would improvise legends, folk lore, history, tradition, or whatever seemed to appease the prurient desire of the white man; thus many a faked tale has come into the literature of the white man as veritable Indian lore. We might also add to the difficulties above specified the contradictory accounts of various writers, who so much differ even in those matters that palpably came within their own observation and which were the very subject matter of their investigation; these further impress one with the need of critical examination of all the records. A prominent example is the estimate of the Indian by the Recollects, who brand the red men as gross, stupid and rustic persons, incapable of thought or reflection, with less knowledge than the brutes, and utterly unworthy of any missionary effort for their redemption. Over against this opinion is the judgment of the Jesuits, who attribute to these same men good sense, tenacious memory, quick apprehension, solid judgment, and add that they take pleasure in hearing the word of God. By some whose observation has been obviously superficial, the Indian has been described as taciturn and stoical. Such a characterization is perhaps excusable in one who has seen the Indian in the presence of strangers, standing like a statue, immobile for hours, with no word but a grunted exclamation of negation or assent, betraying neither emotion not interest in his environment. But let the observer follow the apparently stolid Indian into his home, where he is unrestrained by the presence of strangers, and he would have found him the rustic humorist, rollicking, given to the exercise of practical joking, quick in repartee, ready to give and to take and In\ t% GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Io3 with that philosophy that enables him to laugh at the joke upon himself, however rough, as heartily as when another is the victim. All of these suggestions would seem to emphasize the need of presenting, if possible, the Indian as he was, carefully eliminating those matters of incertitude, and attempting to present him as a man, a father, husband, to introduce him to his'fellow men as a provider-so we may see him in his family; in fine, to accentuate the human interest element in writing this account of the forest men whom our early writers properly called "silviages," or forest folk, but whose epithet has been corrupted into "savages," even as our conception of them has been corrupted. As Genesee county has an Iroquois Indian name, sonorous and beautiful in its suggestiveness, so let us do, at least, justice to these men and women from whom we have adopted the name, for these people have a closer connection with the history of our locality than has generally been known. In considering the Indians of this county and vicinage, it is plainly necessary to go beyond the narrow confines of our county and take a comprehensive view of the Indians of Canada and the United States. It is quite obvious that the American Indians, or Amerinds, to use the new word coined by the ethnologists, with their inborn wanderlust and frequent enforced migrations resultant from the exigencies of their status and hostile environment, could not have any distinctive history in any locality, where they may have for a time lived, which would foml anything like a completed narrative, or have any particular historic value if treated without reference to antecedent conditions. The discoverers of North America found north of Mexico a land whose extent baffled the imagination, whose inhabitants were so few that the greater portion of the country 'was entirely unoccupied-so few that every conception of territorial dominion, possession or occupancy, based on European standards, is fallacious and misleading when applied to the new world. Here and there regions were held by some tribe or nation, under a title which the other tribes conceded, but it was all based on force, the good old rule of Rob Roy that they should take who have the power, and they should keep who can. Here and there were villages of a few families, located by some stream or lake, with an indefinite hinterland forming the hunting grounds of the people who wandered over them in summer and returned to winter in the village. The intertribal boundary lines were generally the watersheds that separated one drainage basin from another. A great portion of these Indians still depended on the chase and the Io4 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. spontaneous gifts of nature in the way of fruits, nuts and edible roots for sustenance, and these naturally had less claim on the soil of any region where they roamed; some, however, had developed a crude agriculture and, as tillers of the land, had a more ethical basis for their claims of ownership. Not only had they become more stable in their habitations, but, by reason of a more dependable supply of food, they had become more numerous and, what then, as now, is more important, more able to defend their claims regardless of any ethical basis or abstract right. It was the variant standards of the whites and Indians as to land tenures that caused most of the wars, and it is to the credit of the whites that they generally recognized the claims of the Indians, however worthless from European standards, and extinguished the same by purchase, although it must be acknowledged that in the bargaining for such titles the Indians were often overreached by their better informed purchasers. THE STORY OF AY-OUN-A-WA-TA. Many, many years ago, as the Indians say to designate time long past, there was born among the people of the hills, Ono-nun-da, a boy who grew to manhood among the warriors of his tribe, but, unlike them, averse to war and oppressed by a consciousness of its wickedness and inutility. He saw around him the results of this wrong. He saw that his people were victims of the wrongs inflicted by other tribes and that in retaliation they gloried in returning wrong with wrong; that consequently they were feeble in numbers and slept insecure, for with the dawn might come a war cry of an enemy. The war lust had seized upon his people. He looked to the east and there saw the people of the stone, the O-ney-yote-car-ono, whom we call the Oneidas, and in them a people of the same language as his own, but they were his enemies; he looked farther toward the rising sun and there were the Ga-ne-gao-ono (Mohawks), also of his own language, but they, too, were enemies; when he looked toward the setting sun he beheld the men of the Gwe-no-cweh-ono, the Oneidas, of his own blood and language, and beyond them the Nun-da-wa-ono, the people of the big hill, and they, too, were of his own speech and blood, but all were enemies. It grieved him that he was to go out some day to kill these people whose fathers'; fathers had been his fathers' fathers, and who were his brothers. He often sat with bowed head and brooded over these things that were in his mind, while other youths exercised with the bow and the club. The old men said of him that he would be greater than these warriors, for his GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Io5 words burned, and that it would come to pass that he would lead the men who make war, and they would follow. And when it came for him to dream his dream, he went out into the deep forest and there he lay for days, fasting, and when he came to be like one dead, his dream came to him, and he saw a beautiful vision of a world at peace. After he saw the wonder river, the O-hee-o, and upon its bank grew the great trees and their branches hung over its waters, filled with fruits and nuts; and he saw the canoes on the river, those on the right side floating down stream, and on the left side, they floated up the stream, and the paddles were idle, for they needed no propulsion. And when the people in the canoes were hungry they held up their hands toward the trees, and the boughs bent down and gave their fruit into the hands of the hungry. And there were no thorns on the briers, nor on the trees, no beasts of prey, and no wrong, for such was the world before the pride and ambition of the Indian had challenged the power of Rawennyo, who made the world, and wars had not come, nor hunger and pestilence, to curse the people of the world. And when he had dreamed his dream, he arose and, weak with fasting, but with a vision of the peace that was once the heritage of the world, he came to the village of the hill people, and there he lifted his hands to the east, the south, the west and the north, and said: "Oh, Rawennyo, I have seen the world at peace in my dream, and I understand what you have set for me to do; I accept the task and will perform what you have appointed for me to do. I am content." Then Ay-oun-a-wa-ta went out among the men of his tribe and told them of his dream, and besought them to make peace forever with their brothers to the east and to the west, for they were of one blood and flesh. And he told them that it was the will of Him-who-made-the-world that they should form an alliance to last forever with these, their brothers; and the men said that his words were good, but in the council that was called the people rejected the words of Ay-oun-a-wa-ta because they feared A-hotar-o, the war chief, who carried serpents about his neck, so he was called A-ho-tar-o of the Snaky Locks. Then Ay-oun-a-wa-ta, rejected by his own people, went to the east, till he came to the land of the Mohawks, bearing the white wampum which means peace, and he told them of his mission from Him-who-made-theworld, to unite the people to the east and the -west in one league so that the people of the race would be forever at peace and become numerous so they io6 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. would fear no other tribe, and the Mohawks said that this was good, and they adopted Ay-oun-a-wa-ta to be one of them, for his own people had rejected his words, which were the words of Rawennyo. Then they sent him with others of the Mohawks to the Oneidas, the Cayugas and the Senlecas, bearing the white wampum, and all of these people said likewise that his words were good. And when they had taken council all together, they went to the people of the hill, bearing the white wampum, and told them that they had entered into an alliance forever, and that they wanted the people of the hill to join them, as they were the fathers of all, and that A-ho-tar-o should be the great chief of all the tribes, in war. So it was agreed that they should become the great league, and this was the great peace, Kayanerenh-Kowa, and all the five tribes took an oath to be forever at peace with each other. So became the Wis-nyeh-goin-sa-geh, or the five peoples bound together by an oath, and it became in the history of the land of America what the Romans were in the early history of Europe. Ay-oun-a-wa-ta, adopted by the Mohawks, became the great man of that tribe and honored as the founder of the confederacy of the Iroquois, called by the whites the "Five Nations." To this day the Mohawks in their new home in Ontario, whither they moved after the War of the Revolution, still have their Ay-cun-a-wa-ta, the successor in a line of chiefs, "raised up" to perpetuate the name and place of the great dreamer, who brought about the league. This poetic account of the formation of the great league is given here because it marks one of the most important events of Indian history, and in the opinion of the writer a far-reaching event in determining not only the subsequent trend of Indian history, but that of the whites in America. THE FIVE NATIONS. At the time of the discovery of America the league of the Iroquois had grown to such a status that it formed the most important political entity in North America, north of Mexico. Its territory was the state of New York except the valley of the Hudson, a small part in the northeast, and another in the western end of the state. This territory was poetically named by the Indians the Ho-den-o-sau-nee, or long house. This term, however, fails to express adequately the figurative meaning of the Indian. The Indian home was rather substantially built, of a frame work of timbers covered with bark. The house was orientated, and in case a daughter grew to marriageable age and married, an addition was built on the east GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. IO7 end for the new fire, and the marriage of a second daughter resulted in a similar addition to the western end; a third daughter's marriage caused another addition to the east of the first daughter's home, and a fourth daughter's home was built on the western end. This resulted in a house of five fires, or a long house, and this growth of the home from the original fire to the five fires, is figuratively expressed by the Indians' terms, Ho-deno-sau-nee, which they poetically applied to their home land, with its five tribes. It is also to be noted that this log-house had no other doors than to the east and west, so we find at the time the league first came to the knowledge of the whites, that their central fire was that of the Onondagas, the fathers of the league, the first to the east was that of the Oneidas, next the Mohawks, who were the keepers of the eastern door, west of the Onondagas was the fire of the Cayugas, and west of it, that of the Senecas, the keepers of the west door. As in case of the actual home, it was the reverse of etiquette to approach any fire except by the proper door, and the duty of protection owed by the youth to age is exemplified by the keepers of the two doors, who owed the duty of protecting all the fires of the interior tribes from assault from either direction. WVe hear of the Mohawks informing the emissaries of the whites who had come on a diplomatic errand to the Onondagas and had gone direct to that tribe, avoiding the Mohawks, that it was very improper to gain admission to the long-house through the chimney, instead of entering at the doorway. The term Iroquois, the exact meaning of which is in doubt, is racial in its suggestion rather than political, and included the various detached branches of the people of similar language and habits, as well as the constituent members of the Five Nations. These outlying members of the Iroquois race were clustered about the western end of the long-house. Those to the south were properly called the Southern Iroquois. Professor Gass, in the "Historical Register," gives a considerable number of bands or tribes of Iroquoisan stock; these, he says, melted away from disease and ceased to have any place in history, their remnants being absorbed in other surviving tribes. Of them all, two tribes were prominent, the Andastes and the Tuscaroras. The Andastes, also known as the Susquehannocks, Connestogas, and other unpronounceable names, were later destroyed by the members of the league, while the Tuscaroras, in I714, returned northward from their southern home and formed an alliance with the league, and are now perhaps the most progressive of all the remaining of the Iroquois stock. The western Iroquois consisted of the Eries, Cats or Gahquahs, living io8 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. in the western end of New York and extending into Pennsylvania and Ohio. They were subdued by the league and their name is preserved as the name of the lake that formed the northern bounds of their territory. The Neutral Nation lived on both sides of the Niagara river, but mostly on the Ontario side. The Senecas called them the Attiowandaronks, or the people whose language is a little different. Further west and toward the lake of the Hurons, was the Tionnontates, or people over the mountain, also called the Petuns, or Tobacco Nation. These Canadian tribes and other outlying branches whose names are lost to the historian of the present day, were sometimes called the Hurons, and the ethnologists of today, following the very apposite suggestion of the Canadians, use the term Huron-Iroquois, as embracing the entire family of tribes above named. The Tuscaroras, coming from the south in the year of 1714, asked for admission to the league, and a council of the five tribes was held at the central fire, at the rock which marked the place of these great meetings. After due deliberation, it was decided that the sanctity of the league was such that it could not be enlarged by admitting another tribe on equal footing with its five constituent members. It was, however, determined that as the Tuscaroras were of their own blood and of similar language, to whom the right of hospitality was due, it would be cruel to ignore the petition of their own kindred by an utter refusal of protection, so it was in the figurative words of the Indians, decided that the Tuscaroras might come to the west door of the long-house to the tree which by a fiction of the Indians grew at the door, and there, holding onto the tree under its branches, remain under the protection of the league, and especially under care of the Senecas, the keepers of the west door; an officer was "raised up," who was called the holder-onto-the-tree, and his duty was forever to keep in the minds of the Tuscaroras their subordinate position in the league. To this day this condition exists, and in the councils of the league this subordinate position of the Tuscarora is still insisted on by the other members; no Tuscaroras has any voice in the general council, except on the favor of the others, and a lifted finger by any of the other councilors brings him to his seat. After the formation of the league it is said that the members offered to each of the other tribes of like blood membership in the league; but they refused or rather ignored the invitation, and their failure to avail themselves of the offer resulted in their being regarded as enemies of the confederacy and treated as such. North and south, east and west of this Huron-Iroquois race were located an alien race divided into many tribes, which in later years came to GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Io9 be called by the name of Algonquins. This name it seems was that of a small and rather insignificant tribe of this stock, also, called the Adirondacks. Of these Algonquins, those at the south had early been brought into something like subjugation to the league. The principal of these, the Delawares, who called themselves the Lenni Lenape, deserve especial attention. If the league of the Iroquois may be called the Romans of the new world, the Delawares may be called the Greeks. They were a subjugated people, but their conquerors always held them in highest esteem for their superior intelligence. They were in habits and character, as well as intelligence, superior to the other Algonquins, and their name rather than the other should have been applied to the races now called Algonquin, as they were regarded as the fathers of their race. From their traditionary history we get the key that unlocks the mystery of that vanished people called the Mound Builders. The Indians were great visitors and the Iroquois often visited the Delawares and from them learned many things. They were to the various other Algonquin peoples, grandfathers; and this is a term of great respect and suggests the highest honor, as ancient lineage and old age were to the Indians proof of great wisdom. The Delaware tradition tells of their migration from the west, in which, coming to a river across which was a people numerous and powerful, their advance was stayed. These people were advanced in status, had fixed abodes, and were of a peaceful disposition; however, they objected to the advance of the Delawares through their territories, and thus matters stood when another tide of emigration of the race, called by the Delawares the Mengwe-that being their name for the Iroquois-also came to the same river with intent of seeking a homeland beyond the river. These two races, being thus barred from further progress by the Tallegewi, or trans-river people, planned to force a way through the opposing people. Negotiations followed, and the Tallegewi apparently acquiesced in their crossing, but the good faith of the Tallegewi was doubtful and when a portion of the forces had crossed, it was attacked by the Tallegewi and roughly handled; but the others. coming to the assistance of their people, soon routed the enemy and in the war that followed drove them out of their territory to the southward; the Lenni Lenape and Mengwe passed on to their future homeland. The alliance between these two, however, did not continue for a long! period, and when the whites came they found the Delawares or Lenni a subject race to the Iroquois, or descendants of the ancient Mengwe of the story, who, to make use of the idiom' of the Indians, had made women of them and deprived them of the right to carry warlike weapons. IIO GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The seats of the Delawares at this time was the state of Pennsylvania and westward, while the cognate tribes, or grandchildren of the Delawares, were to lbe found in the Hudson valley, on Long Island, and in the New England states. Closely allied with the Delawares were the Shawanoes, who, if tradition may be relied on, were driven from their early home in New York by the Iroquois, and who became the Gypsies of the new world; their habits were nomadic, even more than those of the other Indians, most of whom were given to wanderlust. The Indians to the south of the Delawares were the Powhatans of Virginia, the small tribes, the Corees, Pamlicos, Mattamskeets, Pasquotanks, along the North Carolina coast, all of Algonquin stock, and it is even claimed that the Sioux, or Dakotas, were represented near Cape Fear, by name the Catawbas, Waxaws, W~aterees, Tutelos, Soponis and Manaho'aes. WVedged in among these Sioux, if they were Sioux, were the Tuscaroras, Iroquois emigrants from the northland. South were various tribes consisting of the members of the Mobilian family, but of these southern Indians, the Cherokees, whose ancestors are supposed to have been the once numerous Tallegewi, of the Delaware tradition, driven from their former country along the Tallegewi Sipu, as the Delawares called the Ohio river and Allegheny river from the headwaters of the latter, to the entry into the Mississippi. These are probably the present representatives of the ancient Mound Builders, so called, whose remains are found along this river of the Tallegewi, especially at Marietta, Ohio, Moundsville, West Virginia, and other places along that river. The more southern Indians are for the most part known only historically. Their tribes have ceased to have any political existence, and their names are preserved only by the chronicler and in various geographic names that commemorate their former localities and suggest their former power. Two exceptions to this rule are worthy of mention. The Tuscaroras and Cherokees, who were of northern origin, showed exceptional vitality and to this day have their own reservations and to some extent keep up their tribal traditions. Along the valley of the Hudson river were bands of Algonquins, the most notable being the Mohicans and the less known Wappingers, Waranawaukongs, Tappans, Tachami, Sintsinks, Kitchawauks, Makimanes and, on Long Island, the Matonwaks. In New England were the Naragansetts, the Pequods, the Wampangoags and the Micamacs. In the extreme north of the New England states were the Wabenaki. All these were of Algonquin stock. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. III To the north of the Huron-Iroquois were the Adirondacks and the Ottawas, and the far northern forests sheltered the men of the puckered blankets, the Ojibways, destined to break through the barrier and, like the Goths of old, to find a more congenial homeland toward the south. These northern people were not closely united by any political bond and many of them belonged to a lower stratum in the scale of advancement toward civilization; they had not learned the art of making pottery, and in derision the people of the confederated Iroquois referred to them as the men-whoboiled-stones, referring to their habit in cooking meat by placing it in a skin sunk into a hole in the ground, and after pouring in water to drop hot stones on it. For the sake of classification it is well here to divide the Indians into three classes: the first, the confederated Iroquois of New York, calling themselves Wis-nyeh-goin-sa-geh, or the five peoples bound together by an oath, whose territory was poetically called the Ho-den-o-sau-nee, or the house that has grown out to form a home for more than one family; the second, the various members of the Huron-Iroquois races, forming a fringe about the western end of the long-house, with some branches in the far south, all of similar language to the Five Nations, but who failed to attach themselves to the league when the opportunity offered, and who may be called the utnconfederated Huron-Iroquois; the third, the Algonquins, north, south, east and west of the Huron-Iroquois, confederated and unconfederated, whose principal and typical member was the Delaware nation, and whose lowest type were probably the men-who-boil-stones, in the far north. Of the second division, nmost were conquered by the confederated Iroquois, within the historical period, losing their tribal identity, except the Tuscaroras, who came back north and took the subordinate position in the confederacy. The loss of tribal identity in the history of the redmen, however, does not mean the loss of all its members. The habit of adoption, which prevailed among the Iroquois especially, suggests that the members of a subjugated tribe were largely incorporated into the tribe of the conquerors, so increasing its numbers and adding to its prestige and power. This custom of adoption was an ancient one and had its ritual sanctified by ancient usage, which carried with it a sacred obligation on the part of the person adopted and the tribe adopting. These ancient ceremonies meant much to the Indian, who by nature was given to formalities, especially when those rites were sanctioned by ancient usage. To illustrate, a few years ago there was still living on the Mohawk reservation near Brantford, Ontario, one John Key, who was the last survivor of the progeny of the Tutelos, who had, before the 112 GENESEE COUNTY' MICHIGAN. War of the Revolution, fled from their home on the Rapahannock river and became incorporated into the tribe of the Mohawks; likely many others of various other tribes had in the same manner found refuge in adoption and incorporation into the various other members of the confederacy. The wife of King Tandy, a Seneca friend of the writer, admitted herself to be an Abenaki, and when she was bantered for her alliance with the enemies of her race, she suggested that it was to get even with one of them that she married him-this with a twinkle in her expressive black eyes. Wvhen the white man came, the confederated Iroquois had established their military superiority over the Algonquins to the south and east, so that all fear of invasion from either of these points had ceased. Nor did they have any fear of the unconfederated Huron-Iroquois. To them they were bound by ties of blood and a common language. Among them there was no power that could stand before the warriors of the league. Traffic was carried on between these various peoples; an aged Seneca informed the writer that, according to the traditions of his forefathers, the trail to Canada, whither they went for materials for arrow points, led under the falls of Niagara; that one could then walk dry shod from the American side down under the falling waters and come up again on the Canadian side, but that falling rocks in later times had obliterated and destroyed the old trail and forced them to resort to the canoe in crossing. HOCTIELAGA. When Jaques Cartier, in September, I535, reached the Indian town of Hochelaga on the site of the present city of Montreal, he found a village containing about fifty houses. His description of these houses is a description of the Iroquois long-house. The name of the village also suggests Iroquois people as its inhabitants. The final syllable of the name is the Iroquois locative, and it means "the place of." Similar to it is the same ending of the Iroquois name Onondaga. Here and at the village of Stadcona, farther down the river, the whites first came into communication with the people of that great and dominant race. The reports these people gave to Cartier were to the effect that up the Ottawa river there were fierce people continually waging war with each other. How far up, the Hochelagans did not *know. The Hochelagans were very friendly and hospitable, and the method of extending their hospitality also is distinctively Iroquoisan. The glimpse we get of Indian character from Cartier's account is one of the first and best, unfortunately a momentary one; but there appears to have been GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. II3 about fifty houses and a palisaded fort. There seems, too, a suggestion that the town was within a palisaded enclosure, but in some portions the record seems to be at variance with that fact; if, in accordance with the usual custom of the Iroquois who builded on a frontier, the village would be outside of the fort, but adjacent, and the fort of palisades would be kept up as a place of refuge in case of invasion. That there was a fort of palisades at Hochelaga also suggests the nearness of the frontier, and this supposition is borne out by all the facts that come down to us as to the dispersion of the Indian tribes. Much speculation has been indulged in by later writers as to the population of Hochelaga, and in an article read by the celebrated Horatio Hale, before the Congress of Anthropology at Chicago, at the World's Fair, in 1893, he estimated the population as from two to three thousand. This estimate is probably extremely exaggerated. If the town had as many hundreds as he estimates thousands, it would have been remarkable among the villages of that race, considering the status of the Indians of that day. The Indians were not prolific. The coming and going of Cartier gives us a glimpse of the Indians of the St. Lawrence, but the intercourse between the whites and red men soon ceased and a period of oblivion succeeded, continuing until the coming of Champlain, of renowned memory, in the year 1603. In the meantime Standcone and Hochelaga had disappeared, and in the place of these villages of Cartier's time, Champlain found a few wandering Algonquins along the river. The people up the Ottawa were no longer an alien and inimical race. This disappearance of Hochelaga has been the subject of much conjecture; the historians and romancers have found in it the source of much conjectural writing, some of which is put forth as history and some purely as fiction. From the fact that an alien and enemy race was found to hold the territory of the former villagers, it has been generally supposed that the former and numerous inhabitants, with their palisaded forts, had been driven out in war waged against them by the Algonquins who were found to have succeeded to the occupancy of the territories of the former Iroquois inhabitants. This supposition seems unfounded and carries evidences of its own fallacy. Assuming that the villages of Hochelaga and Standcone were of the size and importance of the assumed figures of Hale, and palisaded as reported by Cartier, it is difficult to concede that they would have fallen victims to their northern Algonquin enemies, especially as Champlain found these latter few in number and living in mortal fear of the Iroquois; more(8) II4 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. over, in all subsequent encounters the Iroquois proved themselves to be far superior to the Algonquins. Probably the exaggerated idea of the size and importance of these towns, or hamlets, are responsible for these fallacies as to the fate of the two towns, and when we more properly come to consider them as of very little importance, and of very small size, the historic value of their subsequent fate becomes proportionately diminished. Mr. Hale finds in the habits and traditions of the Wyandots evidence that they were the descendants of the remnant of the Hochelagans, who fled west and south when their village was attacked and destroyed by the Algonquins. Mr. Lightall, in his most interesting romance, "The Master of Life," has made the disaster to the Hochelagans the starting point for the emigration of the Iroquois from Canada into New York and the formation of the great league. It is, however, quite unnecessary to appeal to warfare as the cause of the fall of Hochelaga, and it seems to be more probable that war had nothing to do with it. There was among the Iroquois a traditional myth of a great serpent whose breath was the pestilence which buried itself under the village of the red man and, by the emanations of its body and the pestilence of its breath, brought sickness and death to the people of the fated village. The first knowledge of the visitation of the serpent came from the appearance of these dire results and, to escape the serpent, the people, with adroit skill would gather together the few needed utensils and silently de1art, in a stealthy manner so as to avoid giving their hidden enemy any alarm. They then sought in some remote locality a new place of habitation, where they might live free from the poisonous presence of the serpent, unless that enemy, after long seeking again, should find them out and again bring the pestilence upon them. It is quite easy in the light of modern sanitary science to see the cause of this serpent myth of the pestilence in the unsanitary conditions that would accumulate around a village of these primitive men. The strongest palisades were of no avail against its insidious approach. No remedy known to the medicine men of the forest folk availed to stay its ravage. This myth furnishes a more probable hypothesis of the disappearance of the two villages of the Iroquois of Cartier's day than any forced suggestion of war against them successfully waged by an enemy who from every other suggestion was utterly inferior. All these attempts to explain the matter, however, belong rather to the domain of fiction than history; suffice it to say that the coming of Champlain found an entirely different race possessing the GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I I 5 valley of the St. Lawrence; and here turns the fate of nations. The events that followed, in which he was the prime mover and principal actor, were of greatest import to the generations that were to inhabit the vast country of northern America. If we were to apply the canons of historical criticism, it would not be difficult to see in his career and in his administration of the affairs of France in the new world, events that have determined the course of all its subsequent history; which gave the new world over to freedom of religion, freedom of thought and democracy, and which may leaven the old world models and mould their tendencies, until the entire world shall have become democratic. Champlain had brought a number of young men, or rather boys, who were to learn the languages of the Indians and become interpreters. Among them probably the most celebrated was Stephen Brule, who was the first white to come up the Ottawa river and the first to behold our Lake Huron. Wisdom would have suggested that Champlain should have waited for these young men to qualify for their office, and to obtain the knowledge they could impart before entering into any alliance which might prove entangling. Champlain was ignorant of the affairs of the Indians beyond the valley of the St. Lawrence. The little knowledge he could derive from the imperfect communications with the Algonquins that he came in contact with, apprised him that they were at enmity with a race to the southward, against which they sought his active aid. He had no means of determining the justice of that quarrel. Who were the aggressors, what questions of right or wrong were involved, he knew not. Especially was he utterly unadvised as to the number or power of that southern race, or the possible results of his alliance with the Adirondacks. He was a dashing soldier, but not a diplomat. tUnder these circumstances he listened to their siren appeals and formed an alliance with the enemies of the great league, an alliance cemented and sanctified by those ceremonies that meant so much to the Indians, but were lightly entered into by the French. He soon joined an expedition of his allies against their enemies. His allies included the Ottawas, who dwelt up the river that now preserves their name, the same warlike people to whom the Hochelagans referred in their tale to Cartier and the "Mantagnais," a rather indefinite term, referring to some highland band of the Algonquins, and some of the Hurons, who because of territorial location had become joined to the Algonquins in the war against the league. It was June, 1609, when the fateful expedition of sixty red men, II6 GENESEE COUNTY. MICHIGAN. armed with their native weapons, and three whites-Champlain and two others-paddled up the Sorel river out on the placid waters of the lake now named for Champlain. There the little flotilla of canoes sighted a similar flotilla of the enemy. Fighting on the waters is not to the taste of the Indian. The narrow confines of a canoe forbid the room for the strategy of the red man. Both parties took to the shore. There a few discharges of the guns of the Frenchmen decided the battle, and Champlain and his red allies saw their enemies flee from this new and terrible instrument of destruction. They regarded their victory as complete and from the standpoint of the Indian it was. The Algonquins saw an enemy before whom they had often fled, and whom they had always feared, flee before the new alliance. They returned to the St. Lawrence and soon afterward another battle was fought by the French and Indian allies against some Iroquois who held a palisaded fort; even this advantage was of no avail against the weapons of the white men. Champlain was jubilant, for he had now earned the gratitude of his red allies, who promised him aid in exploring the great west and northwest. The effect of these two conflicts on the league was the opposite. There was no jubilation. They saw the French in alliance with their enemies and with a new weapon against which their crude ones were useless. This did not bring them to despair, but the seeds of implacable hatred toward the French were sown in the breasts of the people of the long-house, and never afterwards could the diplomacy of the French quench that hatred. Not far from this same time when Champlain's canoes came up the Sorel from the north, Hendrick Hudson came up the Hudson from the south. He came in friendship and in him the leaguemen saw a different race of white men. He came to open up trade. The Indians had furs and wanted the new weapon of the white man. The Dutch were astute traders and they wanted the furs of the red men. They sailed up the river and met the Iroquois, smarting under their defeat from the French, and they soon supplied the new weapon to the men of the league and taught its use, and so commenced the traffic which was destined to make New York City the first emporium of the New World, as the Iroquois of the league had made it from the time of Ay-oun-a-wa-ta, the Empire state. So there began the conflict between the French of Canada and their Indian allies on the one hand, and the Five Nations aided by the Dutch, and later by the English, on the south-the French representing despotism; the league, Dutch and English representing the ideals of democracy. Who can say that it was not the power of the league that decided the fate of GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. II7 America by turning the tide in favor of the democratic principle, which was the vital principle of their own polity. This brings the general view of Indian history down to the early years of the seventeenth century, and this century saw the attainment of the greatest power of the league. Ay-oun-a-wa-ta had dreamed of universal peace, an entire world without war, as men today dream. The fruition of this dream was the great peace between the five peoples; as today, their ethics were tribal and, being at peace with each other, they had more oppportunity to make war against those outside the league. All their history during this period and their activity in war were motived by their hatred for the French and their allies. Beginning about I638, after their harvest of furs for a score of years had been great, and nearly all of which had been traded with the Dutch into guns and munitions, they began systematically to destroy the outlying bands of unconfederated Huron-Iroquois and such of the Algonquins as had joined the French. It is needless to say that this warfare was carried on ruthlessly, and that opposition was punished by extermination, especially since they were located far from the home of the league, which made adoption into the tribe less practicable. The superior equipment and morale of the men of the league triumphed over the numl)ers. however great, of their enemies. The Huron country was completely overrun. The missions shared the same fate. The Jesuit fathers, busied on errands of mercy and endeavoring to relieve the dreadful suffering, being French, fell under the club of the invading force. Some died at the stake and so sealed a life of devotion with a martyr's death. But, regardless of the general cataclysm that came upon the Huron country, there still remained bands of this people, who came over into Michigan, or remnants of the 'Huron-Iroquois of an earlier day, who, even as late as I8OO, still lived in our peninsula and to some extent retained their tribal customs. According to Copway, the Hurons were divided into five distinct tribes who, in imitation of the confederated five nations, had formed something like an alliance. On their dispersal the first nation fled to the south of Lake Huron, about Saginaw; subsequently it moved further south on the St. Clair. A part of the Huron people fled to the isle of St. Joseph in the Georgian bay. A remnant of the Tobacco Nation, the Petuns, fled to Mackinac island, and were joined by Ottawas. Here they failed to find the safety sought, for even in these hidden places the warriors of the league sought them out, and they started to the islands of Lake Michigan near Green bay; some went northward to Chequamegon bay, of Lake Superior, II8 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. where Father Allouez found them. These fugitives, fleeing from one enemy, came into the sphere of the dreaded Sioux; driven back again they sought asylum on the island of the Turtle, Mackinac, where in I67I they received the ministrations of the gentle Father Marquette. During these troublous times, in the milder parts of the Canadian northland there hung like a threatening cloud, a hardy race of Indians, the Ojibways-or the Chippewas of later times-whose history is inseparably connected with the history of Michigan and of our county. The year I80o found a village of them within the present bounds of the fifths ward of the city of Flint. Of the early habitations of the various Indians in Michigan and vicinity during the years both following and preceding the dispersal of the Hurons, we get only a kaleidoscopic view. So rapidly did one tribe appear in a particular locality, and so suddenly vanish; so frequent were the forays of the ever-active Iroquois of the league, that only certain salient points can here be shown. The salient points, or landmarks, leading up to the eighteenth century appear to be, first, the formation of the Iroquois league by Ay-oun-a-wa-ta; second, the coming of Cartier in I535, and the glimpse we get of the condition at that date, followed by a period of oblivion during which we find that great changes occurred; third, the coming of Champlain up the St. Lawrence, his ill-advised alliance with the Algonquins and Huron enemies of the league, causing the French to be placed by the Iroquois league in the category of its enemies; fourth, the coming of Hendrick Hudson up the Hudson river at practically the same time as Champlain, and the consequent opening of trade by the Dutch, resulting in arming the warriors of the league; and fifth, the successful wars of the league against the allies of the French, resulting in their dispersal. Their dispersal was the beginning of what may appropriately be called the volkwanderung of the native races in and about Michigan, similar to the period of European history which followed the breaking up of the Roman power and the irruption of the northern races. In our local volkwanderung we have another parallel; there was a northern nation, which, profiting by the disintegration of the more southern tribes, was to pour down into more congenial because more southern homes. This was the Chippewa nation, which was destined for a time to hold in dominion a greater extent of territory perhaps than any other Indian tribe, not excepting the great league. Around these historical nuclei we may group many facts derived from the oral history of the various races. There are stories told by the "Keepers of the faith," and to these we may add the deductions of the ethnologists, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. tI9 who under governmental sanction and at governmental expense, have garnered the field, sifted out the chaff and built up a splendid monument to the memory of our Indian brothers. There is a beautiful story told of a little people who once dwelt on the island of the Turtle, or Mackinac. They were peaceful and happy, they were simple in their habits, temperate in their desires, and found upon and about the island that was theirs and on the adjacent shores of its encircling lake all that their hearts could desire. They grew numerous, and the lesson they impressed upon their children was that of contentment and thankfulness. But even in their retreat they did not escape the baleful activity of the Iroquois, who came upon them and destroyed their villages, killed their men and women. But a few escaped by the direct aid of their manitou, and these few, transformed by their manitou into ethereal beings, for many years haunted the forests of the state. When some belated hunter, lost in the depths of the woods, heard peals of merry laughter, he knew it was from the little fairy folk, who had been so miraculously saved from the hands of the hated Iroquois, to wander in the forest far from the island of the Turtle, but always happy as in the day of their glory. SWAG-O-NO-THE-PEOPLE-WHO-WENT-OUT-OF-THE-LAND. There lingers in the traditions of the Senecas a story of a band of their own race who once lived on the St. Lawrence, but who in very early times became dissatisfied with their own country and determined upon a general exodus in hopes of finding the Utopia of their desires. They gathered together their meager holdings and, like a stream, went out of the land. It should be remembered that the Indians had no domestic animals except the dog, consequently no beast of burden. They were their own means of transportation, except when their route followed a waterway, when the canoe furnished a means of transportation, but this also required hard labor. The name of these emigrants was a compound built up of Indian words: "Swageh; pronounced gutturally, meant flowage, or flowing, like the waters of a stream, and it takes- but little imagination to see in this word the imitation of the noise of swirling waters of a swift stream like our word "swash," a name that Southey might have used in his description of the waters at Ladore had.he been acquainted with the dialect of the leaguemen. Akin to this is the Chippewa word "See-be," which, according to Copway, means a stream and is also an imitation of flowing waters. If we add to this word the Indian word "0-no," meaning people, we have "Swageh-o 120 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. no," meaning the-people-who-went-out-of-the-land. If the Indian referred to the place, or country of this people, he appended the location, "Ga," and the word became Swageh-o-no-ga, literally translated as the place-of-thepeople-who-went-out-of-the-land. This Iroquois name is now preserved in the geographic "Saginaw" and the "Saguenay" of Cartier's record; while the first part is the name of the "Sauks," "Saukies," or "Sacs," an Indian tribe which in more recent historic times lived in Wisconsin, but whose traditional homeland was the Saginaw country. Here we come into touch with our own locality, for our county of Genesee was part of this Saginaw country, and so the-people-who-went-out-of-the-land were our predecessors in occupancy of this our present homeland. Olf the maps of the eighteenth century, the English maps generally include this portion of Michigan as territory of the Iroquois of the league. On maps of Hudson's bay, etc., in I755, and on later editions in 1772, we see the eastern portion of this peninsula as belonging to the "Six Nations," but they place a village of the Ottawas on our river not far from Taymouth, Saginaw county. These maps also place a village of the Messisauges on the east bank of the St. Clair river just above the lake of St. Clair. "Accurate Map of North America," by Ewan Bowen, Geographer to His Majesty, and John Gibson, Engineer, 1763, gives the eastern portion of lower Michigan as occupied by the Iroquois, and also marks the Ottawa village and that of the Messisauges the same as in the Hudson's Bay map above. It is to be noted that the Senex Map (English) of I7I0, shows no name of occupants of this region, and the folding map in Colden's "History of the Five Nations," published in I74.7, shows no name of the Indian inhabitants of this portion of Michigan except a village of the Ouwaes down toward Detroit. The French maps of this period do not give to the Iroquois the possession of this region. The map of 1746, auspices of Monsigneur Le Duc D'Orleans, shows the Ottawas in the lower Saginaw valley, but no Iroquois. The French map of Sr. Robert DeVangondy fils, dedicated to Le Conte D'Argenson, secretary of state, in I753, shows a village of "Ouontonnais" at the head of Saginaw bay. Were there no such story as given above of the people-who-went-outof-the-land, were all the evidences given by the writers and map-makers and all history from the 'Indians themselves utterly lost, there would still be indisputable proof that the Saginaw country, or the valley of the present Saginaw river, with the Flint, Shiawassee, Cass, Tittabawassee and their affluents, was once and for a long period occupied by a branch of the great Huron-Iroquois family of tribes. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I2I The written record may be uncertain, the traditional one vague, but the evidence furnished by the stone implements and other relics tell a tale that convinces. In the careful exploration under the supervision of Mr. Doyle, of Toronto, of the educational department of the province, we have data as to the kind and character of the things made of stone, and sometimes less endurable materials, that once entered into the domestic economy of the former inhabitants. Many of these are of ethnic value, that is, they are of form or function peculiar to some tribe, used perhaps in some rite or ceremony which was not observed Iy any other tribe. All over the portion of Ontario, from Lake Huron eastward to Toronto, and even farther. which was the ancient home of the Huron-Iroquois, are found these stone implements of peace and of war, ornaments, and things used in the rites of sepulture, and these are almost monotonous in their similarity. North, south and east we find a different condition. The testimony of these stone witnesses from the ancient days bears witness of a different people, whose habits differed, who had a different religion. There we fail to find the butterfly amulet of banded slate, common throughout the Huron country. The little stone effigy of a bird, also of the Huronian slate, which the women of the early day wore in their hair to announce pregnancy and claim its privileges, is not to be found; but in the most of this Canadian land and extending over into Michigan, we find the same conditions. The tell-tale stone bird, with the base drilled at each end to receive the thong that tied it upon the head of the squaw, the butterfly stone, and even the etched picture of the clan totem-all these have been found in profusion here in Genesee county, thus proclaiming that the same people who occupied the parts of Ontario above referred to also occupied the eastern part of Michigan, including Genesee county. WVere these relics found but rarely, or in isolated instances, the deduction would not be justified; but such is not the case. They are found all over this and adjacent counties, scattered here and there in great numbers, especially along the streams where the Indians naturally built their hamlets. It is probable that the Iroquois people-who-went-out-of-the-land, and who gave us the name Saginaw, were not limited to a single migration, but that.many stch streams of migrants, following one after another, for many years, came to Michigan and that the ties that bound the Hurons of Michigan to those of Canada were close and intimate. Of these former possessors of Genesee county, one alone has survived and preserved its tribal identity-the Sacs-and from their traditions we have the fact that they came from Canada to the Saginaw country, thence I22 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. were driven out and went on to Wisconsin, where they settled and became closely connected with the Foxes, or, to use the Indian name, "Outagamies." So closely united were these two in country and policy that, in history, the Sacs and Foxes are generally mentioned together as forming one political entity. This occupancy of our county by the Huron-Iroquois people is the earliest of which we have any knowledge either from the traditions of the Indians or from the deductions of the ethonologists. All the remainswhether in the form of mounds, places of sepulchre, arrow points, stone implements-point to these people as the earliest occupants, and also show that their occupancy was one of long duration. Probably they were a hundred years or more before Columbus came, and continued until the dispersion of the Hurons in Canada about 1638, or until what may be termed the volkwanderung of the Algonquins and the unconfederated Huron-Iroquois of this region. THE MOUND BUILDERS. The earliest explorers of America came illusioned with certain theological conceptions, which dominated all their conclusions as to America and its people. Among these was the belief that the Hebrews were the original people, and that any other people must of necessity be an offishoot of that race. They made no exception in the case of the Indians and attempted to trace this entirely distinct people living in another continent, of a distinct language, of a different and inferior status, without flocks, back to the Hebrews. To do so called for the exercise of great ingenuity. The lost tribes of Israel furnished the basis of many fantastic hypotheses put forth with perfect assurance as to the origin of the Indians. The Indians being of an inferior status, this must be accounted for, and it was assumed that their predecessors in America had been of higher civilization. With these basic assumptions, the investigations, as is wont to be the case, resulted in corrobatory evidence of preconceived theories. Linguistic affinities, mostly imaginary, were pointed out. Flood myths were discovered which of course must refer to the story of Noah. And to cap the sheaf, did not the very name of the progenitor of the Hebrew race, Adam, mean red? What caviler could ask for more cogent evidence of the fact that the Indians were merely Hebrews transformed into Americans in some manner and fallen. from their earlier and higher status of civilization. The result was that in the larger mounds of the Ohio valley and vicinity they saw the remains of the earlier civilization. The men who built those GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I23 mounds became the "Mound Builders," and they were endowed with the arts and customs of the civilized status. The illusion did not stop at pseudoscientific statement. It had a basis of theological misconception and it became the basis of a new theological system. A romancer seized on the explanation of the theological scientific explorers of the mounds, and wove it into a romance of a people who by the command of Yaveh, before the Babylonian captivity, left their home in Judea and, with their flocks, household goods, families and servants, and under guidance of deity, traveled by land to the sea, where, after building a ship, they set sail and after many days and the hardships of Aeneas, they landed in a new country. Then followed, in archaic language and poor orthography, a tale of the spreading of these favored people of Israel over America, who were thus led to a new world and saved from the impending captivity in Babylon. They separated into two branches, one of which, by departing from the precepts of their God, sank into barbarism. The wars between these two people resulted in the extermination of the more enlightened nation, so America reverted to barbarism, and the ancient civilization of these Hebrews, thus miraculously led to a new world, ceased; and when Columbus came he found the darkness of savagery where once flourished a civilized and advanced race. Kipling, in his inimitable tale of "Griffin's Debts," tells of the drunken and broken soldier who went among the natives and by a heroic death became to them a god, and who "may in time become a solar myth." The realization of this suggestion could be no more astounding than the fact that this fiction of the romancer, whimsied by the common conception of the Indian's origin, has become a sacred book to a great religious sect, as the Mormon bible. For mfiany years this mythical people were believed to have held sway over the eastern portion of the United States, and for want of any more definite name were called the "Mound Builders." The school books of earlier days had chapters about them, describing them as a people superior to the Indians; but later investigations, and the credence now given to the Delaware tradition, have relegated them to the category of the hyperboreans and centaurs of the more ancient fables. As an epithet, the name Mound Builders might be properly applied to a number of the tribes, many of which were mound builders to some extent. The mound builders par excellence were probably the Tallegewi of the Ohio valley, supposed to be represented in more recent historic times by the Cherokees, their descendants. Of the four-kinds of mounds, viz.: The "Effigy mound," made in imitation of some animal, the burial mound, made as a place of sepulture, the I24 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. fortification mound, and the plain tumulus, containing no remains of human beings, only two are found within the region of Michigan-the fortification mound and the burial mound. The first of these is generally a circular or eliptical mound, enclosing, with the exception of a gateway, a piece of level ground. The mounds were made by setting up on end a row of small logs as palisades, the lower end being set upon the surface of the ground, and these banked up with a buttress of earth piled up against the palisades inside and out. The fort was completed by binding the palisades together with withes or rawhide, and by erecting platforms on the inside to accommodate the warriors, who from this elevated place could throw stones or shoot their arrows down upon an attacking host. It was this kind of fort that Cartier found at Hochelaga. When this fort fell into disuse and the palisades rotted and fell away, the circular ridge of earth remained for many years to tell of the preparedness of some band of forest folk, and the location of such forts marks a frontier; only the fear of attack brought them into being. Their presence helps us accordingly to locate the frontier line separating the hostile tribes and determining the boundaries of their occupancy. The burial mound were made by laying the remains of the dead and piling upon them sufficient earth to cover them, and to raise a mound which became the marker for the place of burial. These two kinds of mounds, both of which are found in the Saginaw country, are distinctively Huron-Iroquois in form, and give added proof of the occupancy o'f this region by that race. In this limited sense the Iroquois are entitled to be called the Mound Builders of the Saginaw country. GENESEE COUNTY UNDER IHURON-IROQUOIS OCCUPANCY. From the analogy of Huron-Iroquois customs, domestic and social, we may reproduce the life and customs of our Huron predecessors who held and tilled the fields of our county where now we reap and gather into our barns. We must not picture a large population. We must not talk of villages, much less cities, according to our conception of such political units. When we speak of villages the word must be used in a qualified sense. Among the Indians it was no more than hamlets, where a few families of two or three score of people spent the winters, and these were located along the streams and lakes. The houses of these early people of Genesee county were, we may assume, the framed buildings of large poles or small logs, say eighteen or twenty feet wide and slightly longer. The frames were bound together by strips of rawhide, and when completed, covered by the bark of elm or birch, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I25 so joined together as to be impervious to rain, snow or wind. The four sides of the house faced the cardinal points of the compass, and the doors were toward the east and the west. The orientation of the homes was significant. Toward the four points of the cdmpass, the Indian turned reverently when he offered his prayers, and from each point he invoked the blessing of his Maker. In the middle of the house was a fireplace, conveniently located on the ground in the center of the room, and a hole in the roof over the fire gave an outlet for the smoke, which from an Indian fire made of dry wood of the approved kind was not so thick or offensive as the smoke from the white man's fire; besides, was not the smoke the medium of communication with the Master of Life and did it not in its forms give to the red man visions of the unseen things of the mystery world. Along the sides of the room were platforms for seats by day, for beds by night. These were covered with skins, and beneath were receptacles for the edible things gathered from the woods or garnered from the fields-the nuts, the roots, the corn, the beans and the squashes. The husk bags, hung from the rafters, held the maple sugar or the meal ground from the parched corn. Here was the pottery ware, the mortar of wood, and the pestle of stone. Here the bag of skins in which the housewife kept her needles of bone and thread of sinews. Here were the bowls of wood and the ladles of horn or wood, and there the gourd ur drinking cup, the heavy club, the big stone with a rawhide thong which was to break the ice in winter. Here were the fish hooks made of bone, and the spear, with its bone point. Here the deer horn, made into a spade to dig around the soil where the "three sisters" grew. The fire was kept alive by banking the coals in ashes throughout the winter, for fire-making was laborious; besides, fire was sacred and the making of the fire in a new home, and the making of a new fire in the old home each year, was a matter of ceremony sanctioned by ancient rites and sanctified by ancient custom. In winter, the period of relaxation, the men passed their time largely in inactivity. The women made or mended the clothing for the family. They wove the husk bottle for use and husk masks for merry-making; the husk nose to wear as a rebuke to the gossip or mischief-maker. They all, men, women and children, rollicked and romped with each other and played various games. The men made bows, spears, arrows and shaped the stone by chipping off the flakes of chert until the spear point or arrow was achieved. They polished the stone for a chisel to cut away the charred wood where the coals were piled on to make the wooden bowl, or the trough for the sap of the i26 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. maple. This work was the school for manual training of the young, who dilligently helped the older folk. In the evening there gathered around the middle fire, the men and women, the youth and the children, and there some old man whose life had been given to keep alive the unwritten history of the people, some "Keeper-of-the-faith," perhaps, stated the things of the olden days, as their fathers had told them, of the deeds of their heroes, of the migration of the tribe, of their glory in war and, above all, of their duty to give thanks, "to our mother, the earth, which sustains us, to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water, to all herbs, which furnish us medicine for the cure of our diseases, to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squashes, which give us life; to the bushes and trees which provides us with fruits; to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished diseases; to the moon and stars which have given to us their lights when the sun was gone; to our grandfather He-no, who has protected his grandchildren from witches and reptiles, and has given us the rain; to the sun, who has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye, and lastly we return thanks to the Master of Life, Rawennyo, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children." And so the children and the young men and girls of the Hurons of Genesee county were taught reverence for the Creator, and obedience to their elders, and respect for the aged, who because of their long life knew all that the younger people knew and much besides; and if the speaker hesitated, the young people said, "I listen;" and if any one by reason of drowsiness or inattention failed to so respond, he was disgraced, so attention to the words of the wise was also taught to the youth of that age. In early February, the month of the new year when the pleiades, which the Indians called "the Guides," were directly over head when the stars came out at nightfall, came the new year, for the Creator of the world made the world with these stars hanging directly over it. Then the people gathered together to give thanks for the preservation of their lives; smoke was sent up from the sacred tobacco to bear the messages of reverence and supplication, and a white dog, pure in color and without blemish, was killed, for so their father had done before them. In March, the month of the maple sap, they gathered again, and again rendered thanks for the earth, and the medical plants, and the "three sisters," and the winds, and the trees, and the Master of Life; but especially did they give thanks to Rawennyo, who gave them the maple trees, and to the tree itself, for its sweet water from which to make the maple sugar. Again in May, the planting month, they gathered to recognize the aid GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 127 of the Creator in their labor of planting the seeds, and to ask for an abundant harvest. And when the strawberry, the berry-that-grows-on-the-hillside, ripened, this too was an evidence of the goodness of Him-who-made-us, and this, too, called for recognition by a gathering together of the people, followed by solemn and devout worship according to the customs and ritual of their fathers. But of all the religious festivals of these Huron-Iroquois, the greatest was the green-corn festival, that occurred in the fall when the roasting ears were fit. With many of the Indians, this month was called the "Mlonth of roasting ears." The corn was the most important food product of the Indians. The ease of its production, and the variety of forms in which it was used made it the principal food of the red man, although its two sisters, the bean and the squash, came next and were almost universally referred to together as the three sisters. The feast in honor of this gift of the Creator was elaborate in its ceremonies; it covered four days, each of which was devoted to some particular religious service or social enjoyment. They had an exaggerated idea of personal liberty. The death penalty was inflicted for crime. But imprisonment, never-they had no jails. In war an honorable captivity was recognized and hostages given, but captivity as a punishment for crime was not sanctioned. Enslavement of an enemy was just, but the distinction between master and slave was not broad, as among civilized persons. Those people had a rude but efficient system of agriculture. In summer the women went out into the woods and, if new fields were to be chosen for their planting the next year, built a fire about the trees in order to kill them and let in the sun. The next spring, at proper intervals between the trees so killed, they built small fires of the dead branches of these trees, which killed the vegetation, and the ashes formed'a fertilizer. On the sites of these fires, a little later in the planting month, after digging up the soil with a sharpened stick or deer's horn, the women planted the three sisters-corn, beans and squash-all in one hill. The corn growing up made a pole for the beans to grow upon; the squash sent its vines out over the adjacent ground. In this way, with little tillage, probably as great results in the way of food supplies were obtained as would seem possible from any other method conceivable. No fences were required, as they had no domestic animal to stray or trespass. The crows were watched, and if the witches came, appeal was made to the Ga-go-sa, or cult of the false face, to exorcise them. These same medicine men ministered to the sick, especially when the disease was accompanied by delirium; for this symptom suggested the seeing of the flying faces in the 128 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. sky, and the Ga-go-sa of the red face was in all the traditions of the Huron a symbol of blessings to come. We may believe that the visible presence of these florid faces at the bedside of the delirious patint may have diverted his visions from the black and distorted features of the vicious faces of his delirium and soothed his spirits. THE OTTAWAS. About the beginning of the eighteenth century the site of our county was unoccupied by any resident Indian tribe. The Hurons, who had for a long time held it, were gone. The Sauks had gone on to Wisconsin, and others of the Huron race had, with the dispersal of that people, broken up into bands who had sunk back into the interior, always away from the terrible men of the league. Lahontan's book published in I703 has a map which shows our county to have been at that date a trapping ground "for the friends of the French," and abounding in beaver. In the early part of I688 Lahontan, in going to the country of the Ojibways and Outauos near Michillimackinac, found a large band of these Outauos, numbering three or four hundred, who had spent the winter trapping on our river and were then returning to their northern home. The same map shows that the Ottawas at that time had villages farther south and near Detroit. In I7I1 there was a village of Ottawas between our county and Saginaw, and Colden in 1745 gives the location of another village of the same people between us and Detroit; we may assume that they held this region for many years. The power of the league having declined, the Ottawas lived in comparative peace, and when the Chippewas came in they fraternized with them as friends and allies. The Ottawas were, according to Lahontan, of great agility, but were inferior to the HuronIroquois in bravery. They were, like their Huron predecessors, agriculturists. Lahontan says that they had very pleasant fields, in which they sowed Indian corn, peas and beans, besides a sort of "citruls" (summer squash) and "melons" which differed much from ours. The ancient seat of the Ottawas was in the Manitoulin island, and the French called them "Cheveux relev6s," from their custom of wearing the hair erect, as appears from the account of the Jesuits. They were referred to in I796 in grand council of the Indians of lower Canada as the "Courte Oreilles," or cut-eared Indians. They traced their own origin and that of the Ojibways and Pottawatomies, to a common ancestral people in the north land, and the relationship between these three branches of Algonquins was always close and friendly. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I29 The first white men that the Ottawas ever saw were the French at the time of Champlain, and they were of those who allied themselves with him and went with him up the Sorel against the Mohawks of the league. The alliance was ever sacred to them; they fought with the French in the war against the English and when the British arms prevailed they were reluctant to believe it possible and slow in transforming allegiance to the English. The French character, with its buoyancy and love of adornment, ingratiated them with the Ottawas, who were more given to gaudiness than the Hurons; during their occupancy of Genesee county there were among them many French and half-breeds, as traders and habitues, with whom they fraternized. A French patois became a medium of common communication. To this period we may refer the French names of our locality, of which "Grand Blanc," and "Grand Traverse" as applied to the place where the old trail crossed the Flint river, are prominent examples. Their allegiance, once transferred from the French to the English, was faithfully fulfilled, and even after the close of the Revolution they continued to adhere to the English, whose equivocal action in holding the military posts in the United States, if not the direct incitment of the English, caused them to refuse recognition of the American claims. The punishment they received from Wayne forced the treaty of Ft. Greenville, in 1795, by which they gave up a large and valuable part of their Michigan territory. This division did not include any part of Genesee county, which continued to be Indian lands down to the treaty of I807. The foregoing account of the occupation of our county, first by the Hurons and, after a period of non-occupancy, by the Ottawas, and later by the Ojibways, materially differs from the account given by Franklin Ellis in chapter II of the excellent Abbott history of our county. Mr. Ellis gives a detailed account of defeat and expulsion of the Sauks by a combined attack of the Ottawas and Ojibways. He tells of the occupation of the Saginaw valley and its tributary streams by the Sauks, except the valley of the Cass river, which was occupied by a kindred people, the "Onottoways;" how the invaders entered the country in two columns-one, the southern Ottawas, through our woods from the south, the other, composed of Ojibways and Ottawas from the Mackinac country, coasting in their canoes along the western shore of Lake Michigan by night, and hiding by day; how they reached the bay near the mouth of the Saginaw river-that half of one force was landed west of that point, and the other half proceeding to a point on the other side of the river, when both parties moved up, one on each side the (9) 130 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. river, in the darkness. The party on the west side attacked the village of the Sauks and drove them across the river where they were met and again defeated with great slaughter by the band on the east side. He goes on to tell that the remnant of the Sauk villagers then fled to an island in the river, hoping for safety in the middle of the river that was denied them on either bank. That night ice formed on the river, of sufficient thickness to enable the victorious Ojibways to cross over, where they massacred all, except twelve women. The invaders then separated into bands and attacked and destroyed the outlying villages of the Sauks and also the Onottoways in the Cass valley. One deadly struggle took place on the Flint river a little north of the Saginaw county line, and destruction was carried to the villages of the Shiawassee, Cass and Tillabawasee rivers. All of this was accomplished by the invaders from the north, while the Ottawas from the south fell upon the Sauks just below the present city of Flint, defeating and driving them down the river to Flushing, where again they fought and again defeated the fleeing Sauks in a bloody battle. Out of this series of battles "a miserable remnant made their escape and finally, by some means, succeeded in eluding their relentless foes, and gained the shelter of the dense wilderness west of Lake Michigan." A note to the Ellis account says, "One of the Indian accounts of this sanguinary campaign was to the effect that no Sauk or Onottoway warrior escaped, that of all the people of the Saginaw valley not one was spared except the twelve women before mentioned, and that they were sent westward and placed among the tribes beyond the Mississippi. This, however, was unquestionably an exaggeration, made by the boastful Chippewas, for it is certain that a part of the Sauks escaped "beyond the lake." Mr. Ellis says that the conquerers did not at once take possession of this conquered territory, but that it became a common hunting ground, and was believed to be haunted by the spirits of the murdered Sauks; that finally they overcame this superstitious terror, and the Chippewas built their lodges in the land which their bloody hands had wrenched from its rightful possessors. As evidence of the battles described, Mr. Ellis refers to the large number of skulls and bones found on the island and other points on the Saginaw river. Mr. Ellis's account is entirely at variance with many known facts, and bears many internal evidences of general error. In the first place, we have an occupancy of the Saginaw country, including Genesee county, by a people of Huron race, from an early period, presumably down to the time when the Hurons were driven out of Ontario, or soon after 1638. Of this Huron people a branch acquired the name, "Sauks,"" from an abbreviated form of Swageh-o-no, meaning the-people-who-went-out-of-the-land. From this GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I3I people the name, "Saginaw," as applied to the river and county, arose. Whether the name "Sauks" was originally applied to all, or a portion of the Huron inhabitants, is uncertain; but the Saginaw country in time came to be called by the name of the Sauks, or, to use the correct form, the Osaugies. The name is Huron. In 1638 began a general stampede of the Indians of Ontario because of the inroads of the confederated Iroquois of New York, whose expeditions went up the Ottawa river and even to the straits of Mackinac and into the Saginaw country. All the tribes within the reach of these terrible enemies fled from their power. The Sauks disappeared from the Saginaw country. Their country became a hunting ground for the friends of the French. A French map of about I680, "Carte Generale de Canada," marks it "Chassee de Castor des Amis des Francois"-a hunting ground of beaver for the friends of the French. Lahontan's map (1703) also marks it as a common hunting ground for the friends of the French. In Charlevoix's "History of New France" we find the following: "During the summer (I686) information arrived that the Iroquois had made an irruption into the Saguinam, a very deep bay in the western shore of Lake Huron, and had attacked the Ottawas of Michilimackinac, whose ordinary hunting ground it was." Lahontan tells us that in the spring of 1688 he met three or four hundred Ottawas returning from a winter spent here trapping. In early part of 1667 about one hundred and twenty Ontogamis (Foxes), two hundred Sauks and eighty Hurons came to Chagonamigon (St. Michaels Isle) in western Lake Superior, to hear Father Allouez; and in I669 Father Allouez went up the Fox river to Lake Winnebago from Green bay and began his labors among the Sacs, Foxes and other tribes. Next we have the maps showing a village of the Ottawas in our valley. The French map and Colden's map of practically the same date (1745-6) show the Ottawas to be the only settled inhabitants of this region. In August, 1701, when a treaty of peace was made between the Six Nations of New York and the French and their Indian allies at the grand council at Montreal, we find "the Hurons and Ottawas from Michilimackinac, Ojibways from Lake Superior, Crees from the remote north, Pottawatomies from Lake Michigan, Mascoutins, Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and Menominees from Wisconsin, Miamis from the St. Joseph, Illinois from the river Illinois, Abenakis from Acadie, and many allied hordes of less account," gathered to make peace, for which all were anxious-the Hurons, Sauks and Algonquins, because they had been driven out from their homeland by the invasion of the Iroquois league; the league itself, because it had, by incessant and wasting warfare, felt its powers waning. 132 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. From the above authorities we find the Sauks settled in Wisconsin as early as 1667. It is quite reasonable to assume that when they fled from this country, which had for many generations been their home, which was hallowed by the associations of many, many years, they fled away from their enemies whom they feared, and not into closer proximity to that enemy. They fled from the Saginaw country and from Genesee county to Wisconsin, or away from the power of the Five Nations, just as the Ottawas, the Hurons of Ontario, the Petuns, and others fled from that powerful enemy, in one general exodus to the west and northwest, always away from the land of the league. In the light of these basic facts, can we imagine any such thing as a junction of the Chippewas and Ottawas in a war of extermination against a considerable tribe of their allies. If it took place at all, the expedition must have happened between I638 and I667, at a time when both Ottawas and Chippewas were fighting in alliance with the Sauks for their very existence against a common enemy. Mr. Ellis gained his account from a tradition of the "boastful Chippewas." The story of the Chippewas, as stated in the note above quoted, sometimes claimed utter extermination of the Sauks, except twelve women. In another form as quoted by Albert Miller, on page 377, Vol. I3, "Michigan Historical Collections," the story is that a council was held by the Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Ottawas and Six Nations of New York, as a result of which "they all met at the island of Mackinac and fitted out a large army and started in bark canoes down the west shore of Lake Huron." Then follows a detailed account of various battles, each of which was disastrous to the Sauks; a burial of the slain in a common grave, and final extermination of the Sauks, except twelve women who were sent to the Sioux. This story was told by an old Indian, Put-ta-gua-si-mine. The main objection to this tale is that the Sauks were not exterminated, but were in Wisconsin before 1668; while the Six Nations of New York, socalled, did not exist until after 1714. It might also be said of Mr. Ellis's account that the name Onottoways, which he gives to the people living in the vicinity of the Sauks, and who suffered a like fate, is no more nor less than one of the names of the Ottawas, variously spelled Ottaways, Ouwaes, Ouatonais, and a dozen other ways. The particular form used by Mr. Ellis seems to be made by prefixing the Huron "Ono" (people) to "Ottaways," making "Ono-Ottaways," contracted to "Onottoways" (the Ottawa folk). As there was a village of the Ottawas here after the departure of the Sauks somewhere near the place assigned as GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I33 the location of the "Onottoways," a tradition of which probably lingered in the minds of the Chippewas, their boastful story of the expedition could well include this "other people," although the Sauks and Onottoways were never synchronous residents in the Saginaw country. The most serious objection to the tale, however, is the fact that the Sauks never suffered any such crushing calamity as related. They fled to Wisconsin, where they were so numerous that in 1787 Joseph Aisne found a single village of them containing seven hundred men, and in I763 so close was the bond of friendship between them that no other tribe except the "Osaugees" was admitted to the secret councils of the Chippewas in which were perfected the plans for taking the fort at Michilimackinac; the two alone carried the plan into effect. The various stories told by the Chippewas as to this war against the Sauks seem to have been given in explanation of various places of burial along the Saginaw river and its tributaries, where the remains of considerable numbers of humans were found. From first-hand evidence obtained by the writer of this chapter from various Chippewas of Minnesota and from excavations of mounds in that state, it was found invariably that the Chippewas explain a place of common burial as a "big battle." Communal interment was the custom among the Hurons, but not among the Chippewas; consequently a battle seemed to them to be the natural explanation of such common burials. From all the facts it seems that the story referred to of the expedition of the Chippewas and Ottawas must be put in the category of myths, growing out of the boastful tales of the Chippewas who invented a battle for each place of common burial of their Huron predecessors. THE CHIPPEWAS. The Chippewas, or Ojibways. were a hardy northern race, generally of fine physique and great powers of endurance. Their ancient seats were around the western end of Lake Superior, and north of the lake. They were of Algonquin race, closely related to the Ottawas, and became allies of the French together with that tribe. The rigors of their climate prevented the development of agriculture to the same extent that it prevailed among the Hurons and other more southern tribes, and drove them to the chase as a means of sustenance, making life more precarious. This also had its effect on their social conceptions. Among the Huron-Iroquois, age brought honor. The old men were recognized as the receptacles of wisdom I34 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. garnered through the many summers. The bod women were the arbiters in all matters of genealogy, and whenever anything depended upon birth or descent, whether office, heritage or honors, the decision of the oldest woman was the final decision, as she was the ultimate register of vital statistics. 'With the Chippewas, with a less dependable source of food supply, with famines occurring with almost periodical regularity, the aged became a burden upon the band, lessening its social vitality; consequently they were to be eliminated in the interest of the safety of the tribe. Among all the Indians of the extreme north, of the lower social status, those of feeble age and who were unable to earn their own living, who thus became a burden upon the tribe, were to be done away. There was a myth of the river of sacred waters, of such magical properties that when anyone was drowned in its floods he was immediately transported to the regions of the blessed in the hunting grounds of the Indian paradise. This adhered in the belief of the Chippewas, and when any old person who felt himself a burden upon the community expressed a desire to go to the river of sacred waters, his wish was obeyed and the pilgrimages that went to this fabled river took with them these feeble ones who went down into its sacred waters, and through them to the reward of the next world, and so was preserved the race. The Chippewas were subject to frightful visitations of the pestilence, in the many forms of filth disease. So great had been its ravages among them that in the common sign language of the more western Indians, the sign that meant a Chippewa was made by picking with the thumb and finger of the right hand on the body, in imitation of the picking of the scab from this disease. Their medical knowledge was much inferior to that of the Hurons, and far inferior to that of their "grandfathers," the Delawares, who excelled all the other Indians in this branch of knowledge, so much so, that, as Heckwelder states, it was common for white women who lived in contact with them to call the Indian doctor for their diseases in preference to the white practitioner. The Chippewas in earliest times were associated closely with the Ottawas, and in the language of the early French writers the term Ottawa is often used in a generic sense to include all the Algonquin tribes about the lakes who came down the river of the Ottawas to trade. Parkman, in his "Frontenac and New France," page 151, describes them as "a perilous crew, who changed their minds every day, and whose dancing, singing and yelping might turn at any time into war whoops against one another, or against their hosts, the French. The Hurons, he adds, were more stable. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I35 The later years of the seventeenth century brought about something like a respite for these Indians. The wasting wars had weakened the confederated Iroquois, and their forays had become less frequent and less fierce. In I69o the Chippewas and their allies came down the river of the Ottawas with beaver skins of the value of about one hundred thousand crowns, and an era of prosperity dawned upon them. Some of these furs were probably taken from the Flint river, for we have seen that in the spring of I688 Lahontan found something like three or four hundred of the Ottawas from the north leaving the valley of our rivers, where they had wintered, trapping beaver. It was not long after the coming of the Ottawas, and probably soon after the peace of 1701, that the Chippewas of the north came into our valley. They came peacefully and were welcomed by the Ottawas, their allies, who had preceded them in settling in the valley of the Saginaw, which had been the common hunting grounds after the departure of the Sauks. There was room for all; for, as Parkman states, referring to the Indians of fifty years later, the greater part of Michigan was tenanted by wild beasts alone; the Indians were "so thin and scattered," he says, "that even in those parts which were thought well peopled, one might sometimes journey for days together through the twilight forest and meet no human form.." Such -was the paucity of the Ottawa and the Chippewa inhabitants of our county that it is quite probable that, all told, they may never have exceeded five or six hundred. The branch of the Chippewas that settled here in our region came to. be known as the Chippewas of the Saginaw, and by the year of I76I, as we learn from the journal of Lieutenant Gorrell, commandant at Green Bay, the Chippewas and Ottawas had partitioned the state of Michigan, the Ottawas taking the west portion and the Chippewas taking the east, the dividing line being drawn south from the post at Michilimackinac. It may be a question as to whether this partition applied to the two tribes in lower Michigan, but it is quite certain that we soon find the Ottawas of the lower porions of the state, including those who were on the Flint river, settled westward; but all did not go, as appears from the fact that at the treaty of Saginaw some Ottawas participated and became signatory parties to the same. In the meantime, French traders and many half-breeds had become residents for trade or otherwise among the Indians of our county, and they to a considerable extent adopted the dress and conformed to the customs I36 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and manners of the natives. They painted themselves for the feast or fight according to the usages of the Indians, and the people of the county of Genesee became a mixed race, Ottawa, Chippewa and French, among whom were the half-breeds; the language became a mixed one, with many French terms, a jargon of the three languages. The testimony of many writers makes these Chippewas of the Saginaw a depraved people. Under their dominion our county was less moral, less law-abiding, less productive, and in every way of a status inferior to what it was under the Huron Sauks. In place of the grave religious festivals of that people, the practices of the Chippewas were irreligious and irreverent. The Hurons had lived here many generations, and each place was doubtless the subject of some tradition; sacred associations clustered about them, and here and there along the rivers were the common graves of their ancestors. The Chippewas were new comers, who had been corrupted by association with the worst element of the whites, and they seem to have left behind many of the sterner virtues of their rugged ancestors of the north. Among the more settled and developed tribes there existed an intricate clan system, each clan being represented by some animal. The members of each clan were of blood relationship to each other, and such consanguinity brought duties of hospitality. The Hurons had four of these clans, the Bear, the Wolf, the Hawk and the Heron. The Chippewas had only partially developed this clan system, as the ties of blood were less strong and relationship less certain. The event of greatest historical importance that happened to these Indians was the war of Pontiac. If we could have the history of that momentous event in its entirety, of the men who went out from Mus-cat-awing to fight for the mistaken cause of the conspirator who was led to his destruction by his faith in the French and hatred of the English; if we could tell the deeds of daring, the eloquence of the chiefs, the devotion of the men, we might have something of greatest interest as local history. Unfortunatly, we only know a few of these facts, and can state them only in such general terms as quite eliminate the human interest so inseparably connected with personal adventure. The chiefs of the Saginaw Chippewas attended the council held at Ecorse on April 27, I763. "There were the tall naked figures of the wild Ojibways, with quivers slung at their backs, and with light war-clubs resting in the hollow of their arms; Ottawas, wrapped close in their gaudy blankets; Wyandottes, fluttering in painted shirts, their heads adorned with feathers, and their leggings garnished with bells. All were soon seated in a wide GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I37 circle upon the grass, row within row, a grave and a silent assembly. Each savage countenance seemed carved in wood and none could have detected the ferocious passions hidden beneath that immobile mask. Pipes, with ornamented stems, were lighted and passed from hand to hand." So Parkman described the council of our Indians, including those who came from Mus-cat-a-wing, on the Pewonigowinsee-be, where is now the fifth ward. They listened to the burning eloquence of Pontiac, who played upon their hatred for the English and their traditional friendship for the French, to his appeals to their superstitions to his interpretation of the dream of the Delaware of the Wolf clan, who by fasting, dreaming and incantations was permitted to approach the Master of Life, and of the message that the Delaware brought back to the Indians, of the wishes of the Master of Life to extirpate the dogs in red coats and restore the primitive conditions of the Indians when they were masters of the land. The decision of the council was for war, and in this decision the men of the Saginaw country joined. Wasso, chief of the Saginaws, led two hundred men from our valleys to the camp of Pontiac in May and they took an active part in most of the fighting that followed. The invitation from Pontiac to the Chippewas of this region to join him against the English is' shown in the following speech, as reported in the "Journal of Pontiac:" "I have sent wampum belts and messages to our brothers the Chippewas of Saginaw and to our brothers the Ottawas of Michilimackinac and to those of the Thames river to join us." This speech was delivered at the Pottawatomie village on May 5, I763. Not only did the Chippewas of our region receive the belts and wanpum, with the messages, but they also sent a delegation to the Chippewas at Michilimackinac, as appears from the report of Alexander Henry, quoted by Warren in his "History of the Chippewas," page 2I3, that there arrived at Michilimackinac a band of Indians from the bay of Sag-u-en-auw, who had assisted at the siege of Detroit. and came to muster as many recruits for that service as they could. These emissaries also wanted to kill Henry, who was found by them to be English, but they were prevented in their designs by M. Cadotte, who had acquired great influence with the northern Chippewas; he also advised against the participation of the northern branch in the war. Our Chippewas returned from their northern trip with little encouragement, and soon afterwards there happened a most disgraceful episode in which our Indians were the principal actors and in which our chief, Wasson, lead the perpetrators. In the "Journal of Pontiac," page 208, we I38 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN... Y find the account of this occurrence as follows: "About four o'clock in the afternoon an officer who had commanded the fort at Sandusky and had been taken prisoner by the Indians, escaped from the camp, or rather, from a French farmhouse where his Indian wife had sent him for safe-keeping. It was learned from him that the Indian who had been shot and scalped was a chief and nephew of Wlasson, chief of the Saginaw Chippewas, and that Wasson, enraged that his nephew had been killed in the skirmish of the morning, went to Pontiac's camp, said abusive things, and demanded Mr. Campbell for revenge, saying: 'My Brother, I am fond of this carrion flesh which thou guardest; I wish some in my turn; give it to me.'" The story continues: "Pontiac gave him up and Wasson brought him to his camp where he had his young men strip him of his clothes. Then he killed him with a blow of his tomahawk and afterwards cast him into the river; the body floated down stream to the place where the Frenchmen had taken him when he left the fort, in front of M. Culliero's house, and it was buried." This act of chief Wasson brought a stain on the fame of Pontiac, who had many excellent and chivalrous qualities. One version of the affair is that Wasson took the prisoner from the camp of Pontiac in the absence of that chief, and that on his learning of the fate of Campbell, he was so enraged that Wasson fled to Saginaw to escape the fury of the chief. News of peace between the French and English had already reached the Indians before this act of Wasson, and they were informed that their Great Father, as they were pleased to call the French king, had given up all claim to the land they were fighting for; but renegade Frenchmen, who wanted to keep alive the hatred against the English, whom they hated, to this end informed the Indians that the pretended peace was an invention of the English and that even then two French armies were coming to aid them. In their credulity the Indians of our region were thus stimulated to hold on, even after the Wyandots and Pottawatomies had entered into agreement for peace; and they with their allies, the Ottawas, made up the ambush at the bridge in the battle of Bloody Bridge, where they inflicted great loss upon the British. The deferred fulfillment of these promises of aid and, more cogent than this, the approach of winter, cooled the ardor of the Indians and in the fall they gradually deserted the great chief and returned to their homes. The men of the Saginaw country returned to their friends at the various villages along the Saginaw and the Flint. In the council that was held between General Bradstreet, on behalf of GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I39 the British government, and various tribes of Indians who had favored the conspiracy aind fought in the war the year before, Wasson represented a considerable number of the tribes and was the principal orator of the occasion. In his opening speech he said: "My Brother, last year God forsook us. God has now opened our eyes and we desire to be heard. It is God's will our hearts are altered. It was God's will you had such fine weather to come to us. It is God's will also there should be peace and tranquillity over the face of the earth and of the waters." After this pious exordium, he frankly admitted that his Indians had been responsible for the war against the fort at Detroit, and, in direct contradiction of the custom of the Indians to lay on the young men all initiative in a war, he said it was the misguided chiefs and old men who planned the same. He promised to receive the English king as the father of the Indians in place of the French king, and so the men of Mus-cat-a-wing transferred their allegiance from the French to the English. This must have been a hard task for these people, who had steadfastly adhered to the cause of the French from the time of Champlain, who were bound to them by so many ties and associations, and whose hatred for the English had been fostered by every wile that French diplomacy could suggest. Chief Wasson, who represented the various tribes at the council above, was perhaps the most prominent chief of all the Indians of our valley and, from a historical standpoint, the best known. We now have no knowledge of his life here, but as the principal chief of all the Chippewas of this region, he was no doubt a frequent visitor to our locality and especially to Mus-cat-a-wing on the Flint. In the War of the Revolution, which followed soon afterwards, the Indians of this locality were not so partisan in favor of their new masters; but that they joined the British in the various battles can well be accepted. The activity of the Five Nations under the influence of the great Johnson could not have failed to influence these Indians, who were so warlike in their nature. As the Indians in 1763 had refused to transfer allegiance from the French to the English, so in the years following the War of the Revolution they refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the American government. They were situated at a point so accessible to the Canadian side of the border, and were so much in contact with them, that their influence still continued to be felt, and the intrigues of the British in Canada, who hoped for the further prosecution of war, which would restore the lost colonies, aided in keeping up this equivocal relationship between the Indians of the I40 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Saginaw region and the territorial government established in I787. The Indians of Mus-cat-a-wing must have been especially effected. Among them were many French and half-breeds, who were very poor advisers. in matters of tribal safety. They were also in close touch with their Chippewa brothers at the north, all of whom were very well disposed toward the English. About the close of the year I8II there was a noticeable unrest among the Indians of the lake regions generally, and this was accompanied by an abundance of arms, of a kind and character quite beyond the ordinary reach of the Indians. The source of this supply was apparent. The English of Canada, anticipating the coming war, had in advance armed the Indians upon whom they could rely, and this policy of preparedness also extended to the Chippewas of our region; they were one of the tribes easiest to reach and easiest to persuade and, in accordance with the general policy of securing the aid of the Indians, which is patent in the correspondence of the various English officials, these Indians had been approached before actual warfare started and their alliance sought. M. Lothier, agent for the Michilimackinac Company, writes January 13, I81:2, that the Indians throughout the country where his company traded were all dissatisfied with the American government, and expresed opinion that in event of war between the British and Americans "every Indian that can bear arms would gladly commence hostilities against the Americans." John.Askin, from Michilimackinac, in June, I8I3, tells of the activity of the Indians recruiting at that point, of which he apparently had charge. He pledges the active aid of all Indians capable of engaging in war to aid the British, including all the Indians along the Michigan side of Iake Huron and taking in the Indians of this region. According to communications from Wisconsin, it would seem that the Indians generally had been persuaded that the "lives of their children" depended on the success of the British in the war. In 1814. they were actively engaged as fighting men and as spies for the British. In a letter from W. Claus, from York (Toronto), dated the I4th of May, 1814, is the following: "The Indians, who arrived at Burlington on the 6th inst. from Sandy Creek, Saguina Bay, report that Mr. Dickson was at Green Bay during the whole of the winter, and that the Winnebagoes, Folavoines, Chippewas, and all the Nations of the north side of Lake Michigan, met with him in sugar making season, and that he was collecting a great many cattle in the Green Bay settlement. "Thirteen Indians of Naywash's band arrived at Burlington on the gth GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I4I Inst. from Flint river, and say they were informed that two vessels and six gunboats, with about 300 men, had passed the river at St. Clair about 22 or 23 April, for Michilimackinac, and that about 250 men remained at Detroit. These Indians report that there are about 500 men at Saguina Bay, who are ready to show their attachment to their great father, whenever his troops shall return." This Naywash was perhaps that chief of the Chippewas who in 1786 joined in a deed of certain lands near Detroit to Alexander McKee, in consideration of good will, etc., and who states that the grantee had fought with them in the late war against the enemy. They had listened to another "Prophet", and again they had been sadly misled to their defeat. At the close of the War of I812 it may be believed that the Indians of our valleys had-become bewildered by the various' tempting promises of the British and, earlier, those of the French; by the dreams of Pontiac; by the visions of this later prophet; all this had lured them to defeat and destruction, and when Cass and his comrades met them at Saginaw to treat with them for their lands, and reminded them that as a conquered people they could not make demands but must take what their conquerors dealt out to them, the grim logic of this suggestion must have come home to these deluded people-losers in every war they had undertakenwith a crushing force, which, found its sequel in their giving up to such a large extent the territories they claimed. ROMANTIC TRADITIONS. Flavius J. Littlejohn, of Allegan, whose experiences as a surveyor began about the time of the admission of Michigan as a state, was brought into close relations with many bands of Indians then inhabiting the various parts of this peninsula. From this contact he gleaned many stories, which were in part published in I875. The edition, however, was mostly lost by fire and the work, "Legends of Michigan and the Old Northwest," is now very scarce. The writings of this author are ultra romantic, and in giving verbatim the dialogues of his very interesting characters, he places a rather grievous burden upon our credulity. But his stories have an apparent basis of fact, and most certainly a historic value. It seems proper to give in,brief outline some of them that deal with our locality; it would be unwise to reject them entirely while we treat as historically valuable the tales Herodotus brought out of Egypt. 142 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Aboutt the year 1804 there was a village of the Chippewas, known as Mus-cat-a-wing, located along the river within the present bounds of the fifth ward of Flint. The Indians name of the river was Pewonigo-win-se-be, or the river-of-the-flints, and from this name the band of Chippewas was called Pewonigos. Up the river from Mus-cat-a-wing, and about a mile above Geneseeville, was Kish-Kaw-bee, another village of the Pewonigos. At this time Ne-o-me, a name that occurs in the early accounts of our city, was chief of the Pewonigos and resided at Mus-cat-a-wing, his territory including the entire basin of the river to the headwaters of its affluents. At this same time a remnant of the Hurons lived on the Shiawassee river, their territory also extending up to the head of the tributary streams, and their chief being Chessaning, a young man who had recently become chief. Ne-o-me's brother, Mix-e-ne-ne, was sub-chief and a relative, Ton-edo-ganee, was war chief of the Pewonigos. A sister of Ne-o-me, by name of Men-a-cum-sequla, lived with her brothers at Mus-cat-a-wing. Chessaning also had a sister, Ou-wan-a-ma-che, and as the relations between these two bands, Huron and Chippewa, were especially friendly, it came about that Chessaning paid his suit to the sister of Ne-o-me, while that chief became interested in the sister of Chessaning. Ton-e-do-ganee had been rejected by Men-a-cum-sequa, and later, seeing Chessaning's sister, became violently in love with her, but she rejected him. She had also turned a deaf ear to the suit of. Ne-o-me, whose sister, Men-a-cumt-sequa, instead of favoring Chessaning, had fallen in love with a French trader whom the Indians called Kassegans. Of this love Ne-o-me was ignorant, but it had come to the knowledge of the war chief, who was determined to profit by it in some way to the injury of Ne-o-me, whom he wished to succeed as chief. Chessaning, being rejected by Men-a-cum-sequa, determined to appeal to Ne-o-me to exercise his power as a chief and coerce his sister into the marriage. Ne-o-me at this time had ambitions and was planning to bring under his rule an independent bajnd of Chippewas to the north on the Cass river. To this end he was plotting an invasion of that country, and when Chessaning asked for his interference in his behalf with the sister, he made the same conditional on Chessaning's joining the proposed, expedition. Chessaning, with true chivalry, said that he, a chief, could not barter for a wife, however fair, and the diplomatic Ne-o-me then appeased him by promising the GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I43 hand of AMen-a-cum-sequa, unconditionally, after which he asked Chessaning's aid as a favor to, his prospective brother-in-law; this diplomacy secured the promise of Chessaning's forces. Ton-e-do-ganee, the war chief, thought this the moment to interfere and he dramatically informed Ne-o-me, in presence of Chessaning, that the chief's sister was in love with the trader and that even then they had fled down the river; this fact was corroborated by Se-go-guen, the mute fosterbrother of Chessaning, who had seen the canoe and elopers on the river. The effect of this announcenent was the opposite of the war chief's expectations. Chessaning's chivalrous nature again asserted itself and he assured Ne-o-me that this fact of the elopement would not affect his promise of aid, as it had plainly been beyond Ne-o-me's knowledge, and, turning upon the war chief, he accused him of bad faith that merited punishment, which he promised to inflict. Ne-o-me (uring the negotiations had visited Chessaning's home and so ingratiated himself with Ou-wan-a-ma-che, that she relented her former decision and they became engaged. There were at Mus-cat-a-wing two renegades, outlaws from the east, who had taken advantage of the hospitality of the Pewonigos, and loitered about Mus-cat-a-wing, leading a vagabond life. One was a white man and the other a half-breed. To them Ton-e-do-ganee went with a plan of revenge upon Chessaning and Ne-o-me. The intended bride of Chessaning had fled, and the war chief planned a similar disappointment to Ne-o-me, by inducing the two outlaws to abduct the sister of Chessaning. It was planned that they, taking advantage of the disorder of the expedition, should seize Ou-wan-a-ma-che, and take her in their canoe up the river to Kish-Kaw-bee, where she was to be hidden in the lodge of a relative of the war chief. The two were also to take information to the chief of the W\akisos against whom the invasion was planned, of the plans of Ne-o-me. The outlaws undertook the execution of the war chief's plan for revenge. They, however, failed in part, for, after reaching Om.-a-gan-see, Chessaning's village on the Shiawassee, and seizing his sister, they paddled down the Shiawassee to the Flint and on attempting to go up that river to Kish-Kawbee, they were cut off by Ne-o-me's sentinels and had to turn down stream. Passing the mouth of the Shiawassee, they hoped to reach the Tittabawassee, but,here again they were obliged to turn back, because the camp fires of a large number of warriors apprised them of the gathering of Chessaning's I44 GENESEE. COUNTY,, MICHIGAN. forces. They were driven to ascend the Cass river, called by the Indians Wakishegan, on the headwaters of which they knew of a grotto where they hoped to be safe until they could communicate with the war chief. The trader, fleeing with Men-a-cum-sequa, had preceded them up this river and, after visiting the village of the Wakisos, had also sought refuge in this same cavern. The aged chief of the Wakisos, because of his infirmities, had delegated the rule to his daughter, Mo-Kish-e-no-qua, and she hastened to meet the invading forces of Ne-o-me. So successfully did she prepare her defense, which included an ambush, that Ne-o-me's forces were severely handled and his advance guard nearly annihilated. Then only did Ne-o-me know that he was making war against a woman. Turning back, he joined Chessaning's forces, and for the first time they were informed of the abduction of Ou-wan-a-ma-che. This information came from the foster-mother of Chessaning, who had pursued the abductors in her canoe and had traced their flight up the Cass. Ne-o-me and Chessaning, with a few picked men, and the mute Se-go-guen, paddled up the hostile river, their objective being the cavern, and on their way found that the Wakisos had abandoned the river and retreated to some inland refuge. Keeping on, they reached the cave and there found the elopers, renegades and the captive. The eloping sister of Ne-o-me was forgiven and the captive sister of Chessaning rescued. Three marriages followed. Men-a-cum-sequa and the trader; Ne-o-me and Ou-wan-a-ma-che, and Chessaning and the Amazon leader of the Wakisos, for peace was happily achieved through the office of the chivalrous Chessaning. The renegades were forced to run the gauntlet and were banished. THE BATTLE OF LONG LAKE. Perhaps the most interesting of these stories is that of the battle of Long Lake, the hero of which was the mute boy, Se-go-guen, the fosterbrother of chief Chessaning, of whom we have heard in the above tale. It appears that this part of Michigan was, not long after the occurrences related above, cursed by a large number of renegades, mostly outlaws from the older settled portion of the east, whose crimes had driven them from their former homes and who had imposed on the well-known hospitality of the Inudias-by~I settfing-iamiong. them:and;there leading lives of vicious indolence. They had formed themselves into organized bands, having their secret words and signs and places of rendezvous, and were bound by oath to aid each other. They levied a tribute utpon the traders who came among the GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I45 Indians, burdening that traffic with a tax that fell heavily upon both the traders and the Indians. In case tribute was not paid, robbery, arson, and even murder, were the penalties. Okemos, chief of the Ottawas, whose principal village was at Al-iKou-ma (Grand Rapids) on the Grand river, was an ally of Chessaning and Ne-o-me, and, because of an exceptionally atrocious murder of a trader located among the Ottawas, he called for a conference of the three chiefs to devise some plan for suppressing these depredations, by driving out the outlaws. The meeting was appointed at Owosso, some miles up the Shiawassee river from Om-a-gan-see, the residence village o'f Chessaning, that being handiest for the conference. In accordance with the arrangement, the three chiefs met, but the renegades, being apprised of the meeting and apprehensive of its object, had one of their number spy on the meeting. This one, lying on the ground behind the lodge, overheard all the plans of the three. Se-go-guen, who had accompanied Chessaning, with an intuitive feeling of danger investigated and found the spying outlaw and informed Chessaning of his discovery. The spy escaped down the river to Om-a-gan-see. Chessaning, returning to Om-a-gan-see, soon identified the spy through the woodcraft of the mute. On being charged, the man at first denied, but finally admitted his guilt, defied Chessaning and even made an attempt with his tomahawk upon the life of the boy, Se-go-guen, for his part in the capture. Chessaning, standing by, stabbed the renegade, but not fatally. He was then put in confinement under guard, but in the meantime it appeared that, by the secret means of communication of the renegades, he had made known the plan of the chiefs to the leaders of the outlaws. The plan of the three chiefs was to gather a cordon of warriors in the upper valleys of the rivers and like a drawn net, to close in, driving the outlaws down the streams and finally out of the country. The warning sent out by the spy, however, gave notice to the outlaws, who decided on a counter-stroke; this was to simultaneously attack the several traders, looting their warehouses, and join at a place of meeting known only to the initiated. The wounded spy, feigning complete exhaustion from his wound, caused his guards to relax their watchfulness, and so escaped. When his escape had been discovered, the mute Se-go-guen asked the privilege of tracking him, and, with his trained dog, which to some extent supplied the sense of hearing, set out in pursuit. Following unerringly, he traced the spy to a (Io) I46 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. point near Long Lake, and thence saw him take a hidden canoe, cross the lake and disappear in a ravine on the opposite shore. Circling the lake, Se-go-guen discovered the place of rendezvous of the renegades, where their bands had already gathered with the loot of several traders and with the two captive daughters of one of them. Eluding the sentinels, he went back over his track and found the forces of the three chiefs, whom he led to the place of hiding. There the renegades were surrounded and killed, to a man, about eighty in all. This battle of Long Lake cleared this region of outlaws and a few years later, when the first settlers came, they found the region undisturbed by lawlessness. To these three chiefs, Ne-o-me of the Chippewas of the Flint river, Chessaning of the Hurons of the Shiawassee, and Okemos of the Ottawas, of the Grand river, three different races, is due the credit for this delivery; but chiefly is the honor due to Se-go-guen, the mute boy of the Shiawassee. A sequel to these tales of romance that cluster about our present homes built on the site of the ancient Mus-cat-a-wing, is found in the unpublished manuscript of this same writer. It is the tale of THE CAPTIVES OF THE SAGINAW. The two renegades who were caught after their abduction of Ou-wana-ma-che, sister of Chessaning, chief of the Shiawassos, and punished by expulsion from the country after running the gauntlet, had retired to a remote and little visited region. They had suffered through the orders of Mo-Kish-e-no-qua, queen of the Wakisos, who afterward became the wife of Chessaning. They left with unuttered vows of vengeance, fleeing down stream to the mouth of the Tittabawassee, and up that stream to its remote headwaters, where they found the unvisited region referred to. Here they lived in seclusion and so escaped the fate of the other renegades of the battle of Long Lake. Iearning of this, the two postponed the day of revenge because of the turn of that battle. But they never gave over the plan. Their region was swampy and the favorite haunt of many fur-bearing animals. They trapped diligently, finding a market for their furs at Otassebewing, midway between the rivers, and gaining from time to time news of Chessaning and Mo-Kish-e-no-qua, who were now the happy parents of two children, a boy and a girl. Facts from the outside world came in to the two renegades from the GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I47 visits to the trading point and from. their intercourse with a band living not far from their trading place. Their swampy region was full of animal life. The muskrat, mink, otter, beaver and, in the higher regions, the lynx, bear, coon and marten, all of which furnished a tempting prize for the trappers. Six years of this life brought them to the year I8Io, and then the time seemed propitious for carrying into effect their plans. At this time there were other Indians of Huron origin inhabiting the region of the territory of Chessaning, whose allegiance was given to another chief, then of middle age and of great energy, by the name of "Gray Eagle"; these Indians, more numerous than the Shiawassos, were called the Wa!ssenings. The border line separating the regions of these two independent peoples was rather indefinitely drawn along the watershed between the Shiawassee and the Tittabawassee, and along this watershed frequent quarrels took place between the hunters of the two bands, growing out of uncertainty about the boundary line. Generally the good sense of the two chiefs brought about an amicable adjustment of the differences and averted open hostilities, but friction continued and anything that could be construed into acts of aggression was magnified into undue importance. In the spring of I8Io our two outlaws following a band of the Wassenings into this border region with a hope of embroiling the two chiefs in war, found an opportunity to precipitate hostilities. Meeting a band of the Shiawassos on the disputed border, a wordy dispute ensued, which would probably have ended in words, had not one of the renegades who had furtively crept up to a point where he was unseen, shot an arrow that struck and killed a Shiawasso brave. This precipitated a fight that resulted in several deaths, but finally the Wassenings were. forced to retreat. Both bands disclaimed the initiative in the fight, and the usual diplomacy of the two chiefs gave way to violent and challenging notes; preparations were made for war. Chessaning had offered to arbitrate, by leaving it to Ne-o-me, of the Pewonigos; but the Gray Eagle, whose military power was supposed to be superior, refused anything but war. The old alliance between Chessaning, Okemos and Ne-o-me was again appealed to, and Okemos promised aid, as did Ne-o-me. Ne-o-me at once repaired to Om-a-gan-see, Chessaning's capitol, and proposed a plan to confine the war area to the territory of the enemy-the Tittabawassee regionby a blockading fleet of canoes, which was to close the mouth of the river. Okemos was to march from Ak-mon-shee (Lansing) overland and strike the enemy on the head waters of the river, driving them down toward 148 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Gray Eagle's village, Wassebewing, where Midland now stands, and by a quick campaign from the east, south and west to roll up the enemy to his destruction or retreat northward. The two renegades who had fraternized with the Wassenings, were summoned by Gray Eagle, who had detected their part in the first fight, and who, knowing their familiarity with both Chessaning's and Ne-o-me's country, placed upon them the alternative of getting information as to the intended movements of the three chiefs, or death, telling them of his knowledge of their part in bringing on the war. The two renegades accordingly set out to the village of Chessaning, where they not only succeeded in getting the outline of the three chiefs' plans, but also succeeded in abducting Red Cloud and Dew Drop, the children of Chessaning and Men-a-cum-sequa, together with the young woman who had them in charge. On their disappearance it was thought they were dead, but the woodcraft of the mute discovered the true fact, and, with the half-breed lover of the young woman, they started in pursuit. The outlaws returned to Gray Eagle with the news, but he gave them strict injunction to keep the captives safely, and subject to his further orders. The outlaws retreated to their hiding place up the river, but as the Ottawas closed in from the west, the forces of Chessaning and Ne-o-me from the east and south soon forced Gray Eagle to sue for peace. Se-go-guen and the half-breed pursued the outlaws and, after shooting both, rescued the captives, who returned to their home. This was the last foray of the men of Mus-cat-a-wing, and only a few years passed when the village of Pewonigos ceased to be exclusively the home of the Indian; for Jacob Smith, a trader, built a home there and he and Ne-o-me established a friendship which lasted until Smith's death in 1825. CHAPTER III. INDIAN TREATIES AND RESERVATIONS. THE TREATY OF I807. Governor William Hull, who, as governor of the territory of Michigan, was ex officio superintendent of Indian affairs, on the above date concluded a treaty at Detroit with the Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots and Pottawatomies, by which these several Indian tribes ceded to the United States that portion of Michigan east of a line drawn north from the mouth of the Auglaize river in Ohio, to a point due west from the outlet of Lake Huron, and from that point running northeasterly on a direct line to the White Rock on the western shore of Lake Huron; from that place, which was a place well known to the Indians and a landmark in their map making, the line followed along the shore of the lake, and southward to the Maumee (Miami) river, which formed the southern boundary of the ceded lands. This western boundary ran north between the present counties of Lenawee and Hillsdale, through Jackson and Ingham, between Clinton and Shiawassee, to a point near the middle of the same; the direct line from thence terminated near where is now the southeast corner of Huron county. This grant, as a matter of fact, included nearly all of Genesee county, excepting a small corner off the northwest, in Montrose township. A considerable portion of this ceded territory had been previously ceded by the treaties of Fort McIntosh, Muskingum and Greenville, so that the title of the United States had been four times conceded by the Indians. The stipulation of the government was for the payment to the Chippewas of the sum of three thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty-three cents, either in cash or implements or goods, at the option of the government, to be in the discretion of the superintendent of Indian affairs; the same payment to the Ottawas, and a similar payment to the Wyandots and Pottawatomies together, making the sum of ten thousand dollars in all to the four tribes. It was also stipulated that the sum of six thousand dollars should be paid annually to the four tribes, to be divided the same as the former payment. These were payable at Detroit. The Chippewas I50 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. at Saginaw and the Ottawas at Miami were each to have a government blacksmith furnished them, who was to aid them in their attempts at agriculture. Accompanying the article of Governor Felch on the Indian treaties, in Vol. 26 of the "Michigan Historical Collections," page 275 and following, is a map of the lands covered by this treaty, and containing practically all of Genesee county. The Indians, however, continued to occupy Genesee county; they did not understand that they had ceded these lands here, and a dispute arose as to this fact. The diagonal line from the White Rock, squthwestwardly, was beyond the knowledge of the Indians to locate accurately. It is, however, significant that Ne-o-me, during the interval between this treaty of I807 and the Saginaw treaty of I8I9, had moved from Muscat-a-wing (the Grand Traverse of the Flint) down the river into what is now Montrose township, and onto lands that were not included in the treaty of 1807. Whether this removal was because of the knowledge of the true line of the treaty is not known, but the fact remains. It was, however, the policy of Cass at the later treaty to practically concede the Indian claims to Genesee county, as he well knew that his careful preparations for the cession of the lands that he expected to secure at the later treaty could not fail of success; the Indian claim might better be conceded than to make the friction that would result if he asserted the rights of his government under the old treaty. Not only did the Indians continue to occupy this ceded territory after the treaty of I807, but they even engaged in the War of 1812 against the Americans. A complete forfeiture of all their rights to the territories which they had at any time held might very properly have been claimed by the Americans, had it not been waived by the treaty of Springwells, a place near Detroit, which was held in September, i815. This was essentially a treaty of peace. The cession of lands did not enter into it, unless the relinquishment of its right of conquest by the American government might be called such. The Indians had been continually at war with the Americans from the time of the Revolution, and their recent experiences in the War of I812 inclined them to peace; so by the council of 1815 a peace was declared between the United States of America and the Chippewas, Ottawas and Pottawatomies. The United States also agreed to restore to these Indians all their possessions, rights and privileges which they enjoyed in the year I8II, or previous to their engaging, in the War of I812; the tribes in question agreed to place themselves under the protection of the United States government, and of no power whatever other than that gov GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I5I ernment. The treating parties also reaffirmed the treaties of Greenville and of I807, and any other treaty between the contracting parties. By this last provision the Indians lost any claim that they had to Genesee county growing out of an error in the boundary line or misnuderstanding of its location. The object of this treaty of 1815' was to restore the status quo ante, and to absolve the Indians from any taint of treason in engaging in the War of I812 as allies of the British;' also to secure their further allegiance to the United States of America. TREATY OF SAGINAW. Lewis Cass, who became territorial governor after the War of 1812, was instructed to be active in securing the cession of Indian titles. The war had brought many soldiers of the Americans to Michigan. These soldiers knew more about the lands and their possibilities for agriculture than did the survyor-general, who reported that not more than one acre in one hundred, probably not one in a thousand, of the lands in Michigan would ever be usable for agricultural purposes. A number of these soldiers were mustered out of service at Detroit after the war. Among them was John Hamilton, afterwards a resident of Flint. The demand for land by settlers was insistent. Cass was young, ambitious and resourceful. In 1817 he treated with the Indians and got the northwestern part of Ohio and the northeastern part of Illinois. In I8I8 he obtained the cession from the Pottawatomies of the rich valleys of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers. A treaty a year seems to have been the pace he set for himself, and so in I819 he begun the preparations for the treaty with the Chippewas for the region about Saginaw bay. The Chippewas had not received all the pay due them under previous treaties and Cass, realizing the difficulties that would arise if he attempted to create further obligations while previously incurred ones remained unfulfilled, secured on his own personal responsibility from the banks at Detroit the funds and paid the Indians what was due them. The prize was over six million acres of land, situated around the bay of the Saginaw, accessible and promising great future development. This tract was known to be rich in timber and salt. Its fisheries were attractive and its agricultural wealth untold. The position of the Indians was equivocal. They had fought against the Americans during the war just closed. They could expect no considerations of friendship to protect them. Their title was by conquest and they were now conquered, and the right of the United States had the I52 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. same sanction as their own. The treaty of Springwells had formally forgiven them their transgressions in the war, but there was nothing of good will behind it and the power of the Americans had been demonstrated. They came into the treaty with a consciousness of the weakness of their own position and of the strength of the government against them. Cass did not neglect any precautions. He had at his command a staff of the ablest men of the army, men who had great experience with the Indians. His interpreters were men who had passed a life among the Indians and who knew the Indian language as well, in some instances better, than their native tongue. Cass brought into his councils the men who of all were best equipped to estimate and know the wants and weaknesses of the Indians, namely, the traders. These men had been brought into touch with the Indians not as enemies, but as friends, and the friendships that had grown up between these traders and the Indians were assets that Cass did not fail to see and enlist. These men could go as the friends, ostensibly, of the Indians, in reality as the paid agents of the whites; while acting in these dual relations, they could, and, as the sequel shows, did, help themselves by reserves, and the knowledge they had made the location of these reserves very desirable. Joseph Campau was then a trader of great experience, located at Detroit, from which point he traded with the Indians in every direction. A nephew, Louis Campau, had been a trader in the interior of the state, but in I8I5 had settled at Saginaw. Jacob Smith, of Detroit, located among the Indians.on the Flint river at Ne-o-me's town, where Montrose now is, and at Mus-cat-a-wing, the present location of the fifth ward of Flint. He was called Wahbesins, by the Indians. He was a great friend of Ne-o-me, the principal of the four chiefs of the Pewanigos of the Flint river. Smith had fraternized with these Indians; he had an Indian family and was thus more than a disinterested adviser. He went to the council as the friend of Ne-o-me and his activity and influence were perhaps the most effective factors in determining the trend of the treaty. He afterwards received five hundred dollars from Governor Cass for his services, and the interest that he received from the reserves that his family managed to secure was much more. 'Many other white men attended the council. Whitmore Knaggs, an interpreter, whose name is frequently seen on the pages of the early history of Michigan; Henry Connor, Wabeskendip, companion of Cass, and a son of Richard Conner, captive among the Indians; Louis Beaufait, an educated Frenchman and a colonel, who in the early fall of I818 had followed GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I53 the old trail out into the vicinity of Genesee county and explored the adjacent country; Col. Louis Godfroy, a trader of experience and an officer of ability; John G. Leib, afterwards judge; Andrew G. Whitney, a young lawyer, who afterwards became the attorney-general of the territory; Archibald Lyons, an Indian trader, with his half-breed wife; Henry Riley, the "old man," with two of his three half-breed children, John and James, both of whom received reserves, as did their absent brother Peter; Major John Whipple, of the United States army, who in I816 kept one of Detroit's five taverns; Capt. Jacob Visger, who with three others had secured from some Indian chief, purporting to represent the Indian owners, the grant of thirteen counties at the rate of about nine dollars a county; William Tucker, called "Tucky" in the Abbott history, an interpreter, the son of the celebrated William Tucker, Sr.; John Hersey, called "Hursen" in the Abbott history, who made the second entry of lands in Oakland county; M-4c Robert A. Forsythe, private secretary to Governor Cass, who afterward drafted the treaty. The Indians of Genesee were represented by their four chiefs, Ne-o-me, who came from his town in Montrose, with four members of his family; M/ix-e-ne-ne, and his squaw and two girls, Taw-cum-e-go-qua and Nah-tun-ege-zhic; Ton-e-do-gan-ee, war chief and second to Ne-o-me, and Kaw-gage-zhic, the fourth chief, a younger brother of Ne-o-me and who lived far up the river above Mus-cat-a-wing. These four represented the Pe-wan-i-gos of the Flint river. These Indians had not become so far democratic as to have "head men," but "they all moved together in a mass as their chiefs directed," as was afterwards related by one of them. The government of these four was a family matter, three of the chiefs being brothers and the other a near relative. The most interesting personage there, the one who in after years caused the greatest litigation and whose identity was a matter for determining the title of a great tract of the city of Flint, was the half grown daughter of the chief, Mix-e-ne-ne, Taw-cum-e-go-qua, then about "three feet high" as related by the witnesses in the cause of Dewey vs. Campau, and dressed in a calico skirt, a long dress, pantalets and smoked skin moccasins. She was there with her father's family, and probably "hung on the outskirts of the crowd, timidly," with the women and children, for the most part, except when she was taken by Smith and presented to Cass, as one of the children of his Indian friends for whom he was desirous of providing with a reserve at Mus-cat-a-wing. She did not live at this place, but down the river at Pe-won-i-go-wink, as the reservation came to be known, and was there married. 154 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The place of the treaty was on the bank of the Saginaw river just below where the present court house of Saginaw county now stands. Louis Campau had, under directions of General Cass, built a council house of some considerable capacity, and also had built a small house, or both, nearer the river for the governor and staff. A dining room and office were also prepared in the trading house of Campau. In the middle of the council house was a platform of hewn logs raised about a foot from the floor, for the use of the governor and his staff of officials who attended him. Around this platform were left spaces for the Indians, into which logs had been rolled to form seats. General Cass arrived on September Io, I8I9. Very few Indians had come although many had camped in the immediate vicinity. Two vessels, a schooner and a sloop, had come up from Detroit with supplies and goods, and a company of the Third United States Infantry, under Capt. C. L. Cass, brother of the governor, had come along as military escort. They anchored in the river opposite the council house. The uncertain attitude of the Indians made this precautionary measure advisable. Campau's trading house was at the service of the governor. Here was a dining room and office. Here in the dining room the private council was held, at a short distance from the grand council house. The various conferences at this place determined the treaty. It was a few days after Cass's arrival before the real sessions of the council commenced. They lasted many days and not until the third day did all the Indians attend. The entire number of Indians of all kinds has been estimated as high as four thousand and as low as fifteen hundred. Of the real councilors of the Indians, who finally signed the treaty, the number was one hundred and fourteen-chiefs, head men, braves and warriors. These favored ones were the only ones admitted to the council, the women and children remaining in timid groups around the building awaiting the outcome. General Cass, knowing the Indian love of ceremony, opened the council with due formality, and then proceeded to inform the Indians of the object of the assembly-that is, the object of his government in calling them together. As stated by him, the desire for the welfare of his red children was the motive of the Great Father at Washington; to promote and perpetuate the friendly relations which had been formally declared at the treaty of Springwells in I8I5. He pictured the irresistible advance of the white settler; the pressure they would exercise upon the lands of the red children; the driving out of the game, necessitating a different mode of life; that it was the part of wisdom for the chiefs to lead their people into newer GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I55 and better ways of living; that they should abandon the old things and should adopt the new; that less dependence should be placed on the precarious hunting and fishing, which often failed to bring sustenance, and that more dependence should be placed on the fruits of the earth, to be developed by agriculture on the fertile fields to be reserved for the Indians sufficient to meet their needs, and to be selected by the Indians themselves; and that the government was willing to buy their lands at a fair, even a generous price, for the use of the white emigrants who would come among them and live as neighbors and friends. The Indians heard this in sullen silence. Plainly the agriculture of the white man did not appeal to them. The suggested pressure of the settlers aroused antagonism. After Knaggs and Connor, the interpreters, had ceased, and an interval of silence had elapsed, O-ge-maw-kete arose and spoke with gravity, but decision. He opposed the proposition of Cass. He was barely twentyone in years, but eloquent and a model of Indian beauty. He was the principal speaker and acknowledged leader of the Indians. Addressing the governor, he said: "You do not know our wishes. Our people wonder what has brought you so far from your homes. Your young men have invited us to come and light the council fire. We are here to smoke the pipe of peace, but not to sell our lands. Our American Father wants them. Our English Frather treats us better; he has never asked for them. Your people trespass upon our hunting grounds. You flock to our shores. Our waters grow warm; our land melts like a cake of ice; our possessions grow smaller and smaller; the warm wave of the white man rolls in upon us and melts us away. Our women reproach us. Our children want homes; shall we sell from under them the spot where they spread their blankets? We have not called you here. We smoke with you the pipe of peace." Others of the chiefs spoke, among them Mishenenanonequet and Kishkawko-the latter a wily, troublesome person who had come from Canada among the Chippewas of the Saginaw. Here he had, by his ability, attained some considerable influence and, although an interloper, was allowed participation in the council, where by right he had no voice. His vehemence of expression so irritated Cass that he answered with earnestness, reproving the speaker for his arrogance and reminding the Indians that their Great Father at Washington had just terminated a war in which he not only defeated the English king, whom they called their English Father, but also the Indians themselves; that by their hostilities against the Great Father i56 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. at Washington they had forfeited their lands by all the rules of warfare, and that he might rightfully take them without payment of anything, but that he preferred to act magnanimously and pay them for their lands, and at the same time secure to them ample reserves where their women and children could live in security and spread their blankets, receive aid from their Great Father and be taught to make the soil productive. With this the council closed for the day, followed by a period of conferences-the Indians among themselves, the traders with the Indians, and the traders with the commissioners. Intrigues, threats and advices, all governed by the interests of the parties, filled the interim between the meetings of the council. A day, two, three, passed, during which the Indians smoked and counselled together, as told by the governor, but from all their deliberations there resulted nothing definite. One baleful influence was removed, however; Kish-kaw-ko, the vehement Indian from Canada, consoled himself by drink, and after the first day's council became too besotted to participate. If left to the Indians themselves, the council would have been barren of results for Cass. They continued to be sullenly opposed to any cession of lands. But here the power of the traders was felt. Smith in particular influenced Ne-o-me, who is described by Campau as an ignorant, but kind and well-meaning man. Not only was he powerful with the Pewanigo chief, but he was personally acquainted with about every chief present, each of whom had some act of kindness on his part to remember. He had entertained them and in their need had given them something to aid them. With Ne-o-me it was more. It was a brotherhood in which the Indian recognized his brother Wahbesins as his wiser counsellor. Smith had a tent and Ne-o-me was with him daily. Smith, seeing that the cause of the Indians was desperate, was determined to help his friends and set about securing such reservations as he could for those in whom he was especially interested. Ne-o-me candidly said, as related by Nau-gun-nee, "I know not what to do in the case," and put it into Smith's hands to secure for his family such benefits as he could. Smith accepted the commission and thenceforth used his good offices for the benefit of his friends. So the council seemed to be dead-locked, until word came to Ne-o-me, through Whitmore Knaggs, the interpreter, that the wishes of Wahbesins should be acceded to. Then did Ne-o-me oppose the purpose of the Indians, as expressed by Ogemawkete in council. The dominant influence of Ne-o-me soon brought about a change in the attitude of the Indians. Beaufait and Campau had GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I57 also been working along lines similar with Smith's. They, too, had friends to be provided for, and they too received promises. The second assembly of the council found a more receptive representation of Indians. Cass, also, had waived the matter of removing the Indians beyond the Mississippi. At this council there was a great deal of discussion, but it referred to matters of detail, rather than main issues. These had been disposed of by the negotiations in the interval between the two grand councils. Among these it had been agreed that eleven reserves of six hundred and forty acres each should be made at the Grand Traverse of the Flint, to be given to as many Indians by name, such names to be handed in by Smith. At this second council all was adjusted, and its adjournment was only to give time for drafting the treaty preparatory to signing, which was reserved for the last grand council. It is said in the Abbott history that the talents and powers of Smith would seem to have suggested to Cass his employment as interpreter and negotiator for the government, and that the fact that Cass did not so employ him implied a distrust of Smith. It would, however, seem that some arrangement existed between Cass and Smith, and that the course was evidence of Cass's astuteness. Smith as an open employee of the United States would have lost much of his influence with the Indians, which bore such good results. It is very significant that Cass paid Smith afterwards five hundred dollars for his services at the council. The conclusion is quite justified that he was there from the first as the paid agent of Cass, while ostensibly wholly on the side of the Indians. The last day of the grand council, on which the treaty was to be signed, was the greatest of all. The council house was crowded with Indians, all being admitted, to the full capacity of the building. While the treaty purports to be between the United States of America and the Chippewa Nation of Indians, there were present, and participating, a number of Ottawas, some of whom signed the treaty. Military pomp and ceremony attended the signing. First, Lewis Cass, as commissioner of Indian affairs, signed the document. Next, one hundred and fourteen Indians, being the chief's head men and warriors of the Chippewas of the Saginaw, signed the same. The name of Ne-o-me, signed by another, appears as Reaune. The totem sign of the Indian generally appears accompanied by the name written by the secretary. The subscribing witnesses were Secretaries Lieb and Whitney; Forsyth, private secretary of Governor Cass; Captains Cass and Root; Lieutenant Peacock; Godfrey, Knags, Tucker, Beaufait, Hersey, interpreters; John Hill, army contractors; Barny Campeau, I58 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. V. S. Ryley, J. Whipple, Henry I. Hunt, William Keith, A. E. Lacock, Richard Smythe, John Smythe, B. Head, Conrad Ten-eyck and Louis Dequindre. This last grand council at which the treaty was signed as above was September 2, I819, a memorable day whose centennial anniversary ought to be observed fittingly, as it was one of the most dramatic events of our history. The testimony of Louis Campau, the trader, given at the trial of the Dewey-Campau case at Saginaw in I86o, is worthy of preservation as the sworn account of the treaty in question, and as bearing upon the family of Ne-o-me and the Indians of Mus-cat-a-wing. He said, "I live at Grand Rapids; am sixty-eight years old last August. I remember the treaty of I819. I then resided here. I had then resided here four years before the treaty. I was then trading with the Indians. Joseph, one of the defendants, is my uncle. I had a trading house; this was opposite the lower end of the bayou; the house now there I built in 1822; it was farther up that my store was. I was here at the treaty. There was old Mr. Riley, Connor, Beaufait, Knaggs, Godfrey, Whipple, Visger, Forsyth, Tucker, Hersey, and a halfbreed named Walker, brought from Mon-a-qua-gon. I have seen the treaty and know the witnesses without looking at the treaty book. If any of those are alive it must be Mr. Hersey; I heard this summer that he was alive; I saw him in I836 in Chicago; we traded then together; think he is the only one living. I was requested by Cass to come on ahead and make suitable provision for a store house and dining room and council room, etc. The most of the business was at General Cass's office, going in and going out. There was a long table in the dining room, and the private council was held there. The office and the dining room were separated only by a storehouse. There were four log buildings all together, end to end. These were six to eight rods from the room where the grand council room was. I think Cass arrived in the afternoon, and sent his agents for the Indians to gather next morning at ten o'clock. This was after all the departments got here-all the principal officers had got here. The next morning they met at the council house. The first council was to let them know that he was sent by the Great Father to make a treaty with them, that he wanted to buy their lands, stating the points, and for them to go back and smoke and think about it; they then worked at private business for three or four days, when he called them together again. After he got the will of the principal chiefs, there was much trouble to get the consent of all. At the second council there was great difficulty; hard words; they threatened General Cass among the rest. The object of the council after GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 159 they consented to treat, was to state the terms on which he was authorized to treat. From the second to the third council was five or six days. They stayed nine or ten in all. The last council was to read the treaty to them; it was read and interpreted to them. Harry Connor was the interpreter. I was present at the last council; went in the morning, and did not leave until they all left. I cannot tell everything that was done there, for it is impossible to recollect them all. Tribal reservations were first made. General Cass sat at the northeast corner of the shanty; the table was next to him, then a row of logs, and beyond that the Indians-women, children and all. Then after the reservations for the tribes were made, the reservations were made for the half-breeds-first the Riley's, then a Campau, and then mentioned Mrs. Coutant; she was right opposite General Cass, and Connors when reading the treaty pointed her to the Indians as their relative, and when her name was said they responded as though pleased. After the treaty was read and approved by the Indians and signed by them, which was as soon as read, General Cass ordered the money to be brought to the table-it was all in half dollars-for the payment. After the treaty.was made, it was sundown, and the Indians all got drunk and nothing could be said by anyone, and General Cass gave the order to be off. The Crow was a good looking young fellow-looked like a half-breed; he had a little log house and a store house and a hen house, and tried to imitate the whites as much as he could in cooking, etc. He had a tent he made himself. I knew Ne-o-me and his band after the treaty; knew him well; he traded with me as long as I sold here. Knew Ne-o-me before the treaty from the time I came here in the spring of I815; knew his hunters; he never had any children that I know of; I paid no attention to any of them unless they were able to trade with me. Ne-o-me was very ignorant, but he was very good, honest and kind. I knew Ton-dog-a-ne well, as well as I knew Ne-o-me; he was the second chief of Ne-o-me at the time, and afterwards head chief. I knew all the head men of the band who was a hunter; heard them after the treaty converse about the treaty, and Mix-e-ne-ne; also he used to trouble me. I understood the Chippewa language at that time; I was brought up with them from the time I was seven years old. I was sixty-eight last August. I was never in the office; I was in the council room from four in the morning till the evening, and this is a statement of the facts as they took place before my eyes, as I was there after the treaty was signed, and the goods and money distributed, and the Indians were all drunk. Cass and his party left before daylight next morning; the troops before ten o'clock. At the time of the treaty there was no Flint village where I6o GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Flint now is. Where Ne-o-me lived was called Ne-o-me's village. Where Flint now is was called Musca-da-win. The English called it Grand Traverse. Ne-o-me was a short, thick-set man, a little stooped at the time of the treaty; he must have been forty-five to fifty-five years old." According to Kaw-ga-ge-zhic, brother of Ne-o-me, also a chief of a band about six miles up the river from the village of Flint, at "Tobosh's" trading house, Ne-o-me was the principal orator at the treaty. Ne-o-me lived at his village, Ne-o-me town, on the reservation in the present town of Montrose until his death, in 1827. He was the last to exercise the real powers and prerogatives of a chief over the Chippewas of our county. His territories had diminished, his people had decreased in numbers, and their old customs had been lost. He outlived his good friend Smith by about two years. In his earlier years he had all the fierceness and blood lust of the wild Chippewa, and extorted a large ransom for a white captive that he had taken, James Hardin, in the war, whom his brother, Mix-e-ne-ne, was determined on torturing. Like the Chippewas in general, he was a believer in evil spirits, Munesous, the spirits of the departed Sauks, who still haunted the valleys of the Saginaw and Pewanigowink. The law of retaliation was recognized by the Chippewas, and what could be more natural than that the ghosts of these murdered Sauks should come back to retaliate upon the Chippewas. Ne-o-me, if we credit Campeau's estimate of his age at the time of the treaty of Saginaw, was not much over sixty at the time of his death. He left children and grandchildren. A brother was alive to testify in the Dewey suit in i86o. His name was Kawga-ge-zhic. Ne-o-me's daughter, Sa-gos-a-qua, also testified in that suit, and identified Taw-cum-e-go-qua as the daughter of Mix-e-ne-ne. This daughter of Ne-o-me was the same for whom one of the six-hundred-and-forty-acre reservations was made at Flint. Ephraim S. Williams, of Flint, many years after the treaty of Saginaw, told the following story: The Indians of the Saginaw had become indebted to Louis Campau, who had traded among them for four years prior to the treaty in the sum of about fifteen hundred dollars, and there was an understanding between him and the chiefs that he should receive this money from the funds that might become due to the Indians on account of the treaty. General Cass was also informed of this agreement, and at the time when the money was brought in he called the attention of the chiefs to the matter, and asked if he might pay Campeau the sum due him in accordance with the understanding. They told him that they were his children, under his protection, and that he should pay the money to them directly, which GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Cass accordingly did. This attitude of the Indians was by Campau charged to the influence of the other traders, Smith in particular, who, anticipating a harvest of traffic when the Indians came into their money, were averse to seeing so much of it go to Campau. Smith had, through Kishkawko and other chiefs of the Indians, very easily persuaded the Indians that their present needs were more imperative than the payment of old debts. Campeau, seeing his money lost, hopped from the platform and struck Smith twice in the face; but further fighting between him and Smith, who was quite willing to fight it out, was stopped by the interpreters, Beaufait and Connor, who interposed and separated the belligerents. The traders, interpreters and others pacified the Indians finally and they returned to sleep off the effects of their debauch. After they had entirely recovered from the same, they were both tractable and amiable-so much so that after the governor and his staff had left, they sent the orator, Mishenenanonequet, to overtake and convey to the governor their complete satisfaction and pleasure at the council and resulting treaty. The pertinent provisions of the treaty were as follows: Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Saginaw, in the Territory of Michigan, between the United States of America, by their commiissioner, Lewis Cass, and the Chippewa Nation of Indians. Art. 1. The Chippewa Nation of Indians, in consideration, of the stipulations herein made on the part of the United States, do hereby, forever, cede to the United States the land comprehended within the following lines and boundaries: Beginning at a point in the present Indian boundary line, which now runs due north from the mouth of the great Auglaize river, six miles south of the place where the base line so called, intersects the same; thence west sixty miles; thence in a direct line to the head of Thunder Bay river; thence down the same, following the courses thereof, to the mouth; thence northeast to the boundary line between the United States and the British Province of Upper Canadla; thence with the same, to the line established by the treaty of Detroit, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seven; thence with said line to the place of beginning. Art. 2. From the cession aforesaid, the following tracts of land shall be reserved, for the use of the Chippewa Nation of Indians. * * * * * * One tract of five thousand and seven hundred and sixty acres, upon Flint river, to include Reaume's village, and a place called Kishkawbawee. Art. 3. There shall be reserved for the use of each of the persons hereinafter mentioned and their heirs, which persons are all Indian by descent, the following tracts of land. For the use of Nowokeshik, Metawanene, Mokitchenoqua, Nondashemau, Petabonaqua, Messawakut, Chebalk, Kitchegeequa, Sagosequa, Annekeltogua and Tawcumegoqua, each six hundred and forty acres of land, to be located at or near the Grand (II) I62 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Traverse of the Flint river, in such mainner as the President of the United States may direct. Art. 4. In consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United States agree to pay to the Chippewa Nation of Indians annually, forever, the sum of one thousand dollarsl in silver, and do also agree that all annuities due by any former treaty to the said tribe, shall be hereafter paid in silver. Art. 5. The stipulation contained in the treaty of Greenville, relative to the right of the Indians to hunt upon the land ceded, while it continues the property of the United States, shall apply to this treaty, and the Indians shall, for the same term enjoy the privilege of making sugar upon the s;ame,land, committing no unnecessalry waste upon the trees. * * * * * * Art. 7. The United States reserve the right to the proper authority to make roads through any part of the land reserved by this treaty. Art. 8. The United States eingage to provide aind suplport a blacksmith for the Indians, at Sa:gilnaw, so long als the President of the United States maly think proper, and to furnish the Chilpewa Indialls with such farmingli utensils and cattle, iand to employ such persons to aid thell in their agriculture as the President may deem expedient. The names of the Indians who signed this treaty included the name, "Reaume," meant for Ne-o-me, and the village referred to as Reaume's village, was the village of Ne-o-me. Mix-e-ne-ne, brother of Ne-o-me, also signed the treaty, his name appearing as "Meckseonne." Ton-e-do-gaunee appears on the treaty as "Fonegawne," and Kaw-ga-ge-zhic appears as "Kogkakeshik.". Of the eleven reserves made for persons named, "all Indian by descent," six are names of women, as the ending, "qua," the Chippewa word meaning woman, denotes. The other five are masculine names in the same language. THE TRIBAL RESERVATION. Of the tribal reservation of five thousand seven hundred and sixty acres of land, to include the village of Ne-o-me, and the place called Kishkawbawee, there could be no dispute. No caviler could suggest that the tribe was any other than the Chippewas of the Saginaw, and so the United States on the next season after the treaty was made surveyed the same and set off for the tribe the reservation, partly in the present county of Genesee and party in Saginaw, to include the two villages named. In Genesee county, the reservation contained all of section 4, the east half of section 5, the west half of section 3, the north half of section 9, the northeast quarter of section 8, and the northwest quarter of section Io, all in the town of Montrose. This reserve in Genesee county was a rectangular GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I63 piece of land, containing one thousand nine hundred and twenty acres, with the Flint river running approximately through the center of it. This reservation was known by the Chippewa name for the Flint river, Pewonigowink, and afterwards the town containing it, was given the name of the town of Pewonigowink; but this was later changed to Montrose. Upon this same land afterwards the Flint River Agricultural Society established its fair grounds and held its fairs, and in later times it had been known as the Taymouth fair. A celebrated place is known as the Old Indian field, where travelers up and down the river were accustomed to camp. This was on the Pewonigowink reservation in Saginaw county. It is said that the Indians planted their own corn on this field for years; but finally the grub worms destroyed their crop for two or three years in succession, when they abandoned the field, believing that the Manitou had cursed it. These Indians were extremely superstitious and believed in evil spirits, especially the ghosts of the Sauks, who in their traditions were murdered by their ancestors under circumstances of great cruelty. Ephraim S. Williams, the Indian trader of Saginaw and Flint, tells of their fears as follows: "It has been mentioned that the ancient Chippewas imagined the country which they had wrested from the conquered Sauks to be haunted by the spirits of those whom they had slain, and that it was only after the lapse of years that their terrors were sufficiently allayed to permit them to occupy the 'haunted grounds.' But the superstition still remained, and in fact it was never entirely dispelled. Long after the Saginaw valley was studded with white settlements, the simple Indians still believed that mysterious Sauks were lingering in their forests and along the margins of the streams for the purposes of vengeance; that 'Manesous,' or bad spirits in the form of Sauk warriors, were hovering around their villages and camps and the flank of their hunting grounds, preventing them from being successful in the chase and bringing ill-fortune and discomfiture in a hundred ways. So great was their dread that when (as was frequently the case) they became possessed with the idea that the 'Manesous' were in their immediate vicinity, they would fly as for their lives, abandoning everythingwigwams, fish, game and all their camp equipment-and no amount of ridicule by the whites could induce them to stay and face the imaginary danger. Some of the Indians whose country joined that of the Saginaws played upon their weakness and superstition and derived profit from it by lurking around their villages or camps, frightening them into flight and then appropriating the property which they abandoned. There was a time i64 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. every spring when the Indians from Saginaw and the interior would congregate in large numbers for the purpose of putting up dried sturgeon, which made a very delicate dish when properly cooked, and was much used in those days in the first families of Detroit. We used to purchase considerable of it for our use. The Indians would select the best, flay them, hang them across poles in rows, about four feet from the ground and two feet apart, then a gentle smoke was kept under them until they were perfectly dry, then packed up in bales of perhaps fifty pounds each. When their bales were put up for summer use, then the poor lazy, worthless Indians from a distance who had an eye to supplying themselves with provisions which they never labored to obtain, would cbmmence in different ways to excite their fears that the 'Manesous' were about the camp, until at last they would take to their canoes and flee, often leaving almost everything they possessed. Then the 'Manesous'-thieving Indians from the bands who had cunningly brought about the stampede for the sake of plunder-would rob the camps of what they wanted and escape to their homes with, perhaps, their supplies of fish for the summer, and often of sugar and dried venison. I have met them fleeing as above; sometimes twenty or more canoes; have stopped them and tried to induce them to return, and we would go with them; but no, it was the 'Manesous,' they said, and nothing could convince them differently; away they would go, frightened nearly to death. I have visited their camps at such times and secured their effects that were left in camp from destruction from wild animals. After a while they would return and save what was left. During these times they were perfectly miserable, actually afraid of their own shadows. "Similar scenes were enacted by their hunting parties in the forests of the Shiawassee and the Flint, and at their summer camps, the beautiful inland lakes of their southern border. I have had them come to me from places miles distant, bringing their rifles to me and asking me to examine and re-sight them, declaring that the sights had been moved; and in some cases they had, but by themselves in their fright. I always did, when applied to, re-sight and try them until they would shoot accurately then they would go away cheerfully. I would tell them they must keep their rifles where the 'Manesous' could not find them. At other times when they had a little bad luck hunting or trapping, they became excited and would say that the game had been over and in their traps, and they could not catch anything. I have known them to go so far as to insist that a beaver or otter had been in their traps and had gotten out; that their traps were bewitched or spellbound, and their rifles charmed by the GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I65 'Manesous,' so they could not catch or kill anything. They then got up a great feast, and the medicine man, or conjurers, through their wise and dark performances, removed the charm and all was well; traps and rifles did their duty again." Ne-o-me continued to live at his village on the reservation after the treaty of Saginaw was made. The pictures of Indian life given above will aid in understanding the life he led. He continued to be a close friend of the trader, Jacob Smith, until Smith died in I825. Ne-o-me died in 1827, and was succeeded by Ton-e-do-ganee, the war chief, who had become second chief to Ne-o-me. As the name of the new chief in his language means a furious dog, perhaps he was better adapted to ruling these superstitious people of Pewonigowink than was the amiable Ne-o-me. In this succession of the new chief, we may see the fulfillment of the long deferred ambition of the war chief, of which the romantic tale tells when he dramatically announced to Ne-o-me and Chessaning the fact of the sister's elopement with the French trader. At the treaty of Saginaw, Cass was obliged to give up his attempt to provide for the removal of the Chippewas to some point west of Lake Michigan. The reservations for the Indians at that treaty were small and insignificant as compared to the great extent of the ceded territory of over six million acres. But even these insignificant and relatively unimportant tracts were envied by the settlers, and Cass never gave up his intention of removing the Indians. In pursuance of the general policy of his government, various treaties were made with the different tribes by which they were induced to move to the westward, on lands given them in lieu of their Michigan reserves. The Chippewas of our locality had become divided into three bands, the Swan Creek band, the Black River band and the Saginaw band. These were regarded as separate and distinct from the northern Chippewas. In March, I836, a treaty was made by the United States, on the one hand, and the Chippewa nation and Ottawa nation on the other, by which cession of their lands were made. The benefits of this treaty, however, were confined to the Chippewas of the upper peninsula and the region between the Grand river and the "Cheboigan." It was not intended that the affairs of the three bands above named should be involved in this treaty. On May 9, 1836, a treaty was made by the United States, through Henry R. Schoolcraft, commissioner, and the Swan Creek and Black River bands of the Chippewas, by which they gave up their reservations and in return were to receive thirteen sections of land west of the Mississippi river, or I66 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. northwest of St. Anthony falls. Among the chiefs who signed this treaty was Kay-way-ge-zhig (unending day), the father of David Fisher, who lived many years in Gaines near the Crapo farm; he died, respected by all who knew him, on April 26, 1884, and is now buried on the Crapo farm. Of all the Chippewas who once held title to this county, his family were probably the last residents. His Indian name was Wah-e-lenessah and he was probably the last chief within this county. A great-great-granddaughter of his is now living in the city of Flint. On January I4, I837, at Detroit, was consummated the treaty between the Saginaw band of the Chippewas and the United States. This treaty was also negotiated by Schoolcraft, as commissioner for the United States. Among the provisions of this treaty, the Saginaw band ceded to the United States all the reservation on the Flint river, or the Pewonigowink reservation. By this cession the last vestige of tribal lands within the county of Genesee was surrendered. The Indians had the right to live on certain reservations further north, for five years, and were then to remove to a western location to be selected for the purpose by a delegation of the Indians, who were to make a personal examination of the same. The place was to be in proximity to kindred tribes who had already moved there. It was contemplated that if such location could be satisfactorily made, the Chippewas should then form a "re-union" with such kindred tribes and move thereto. The lands ceded were to be sold by the United States government and the moneys received for them were to be used for the benefit of the Indians. Tonedogaunee, successor of Ne-o-me, signed this treaty, with twenty-six other chiefs of the Saginaw band, of the Chippewas. It is also significant that ten of the chiefs who signed it were to receive each the sum of five hundred and one dollars, and Tonedogaunee was one of these. On December 20, I837, a further treaty was made between this band and the United States, with Schoolcraft acting as commissioner. The council was held "on the Flint River," and this was the only instance of a treaty being made here; it was at the present site of our city of Flint, or the Grand Traverse of the Flint, that the Indians gathered for council and made the treaty. The delegation of Indians who had, under the stipulations of the earlier treaty of January, visited the western location and selected a place for their future home, had reported, and this council wasv to give tribal sanction to the report of the delegation. The reservation selected was "on the headwaters of the Osage river, in the country visited by the delegation of GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I67 the tribe during the present year, to be of proper extent, agreeably to their numbers, embracing a due proportion of wood and water, and lying contiguous to tribes of kindred languages." To this treaty were signed the names of Tonedogaunee and Kau-gay-ge-zhig, the latter as having been a party to the treaty of tle Swan Creek Indians, whose son was David Fisher of Genesee county. John Garland, major of the United States army; Henry Connor, the interpreter and sub-agent, T. B. Wr. Stockton; G. D. Williams, commissioner of internal improvements, South Michigan; Jonathan Beach, Charles C. HTascall, receivers of public moneys; Albert J. Smith, Robert J. S. Page, Wait Beach, Rev. Luther D. Whitney and T. R. Cummings signed as witnesses. Another treaty was made by the government of the United States and the representatives of tle several bands of Indians within the Saginaw district, at Saginaw, on the 23rd day of January, I838. By its provisions, which were in the nature of additional safeguards to the Indians in securing the proper sums for the sale of the lands ceded, the United States agreed that the sales should be conducted the same as other sales of public lands; that the lands should be put up for sale by the register and receiver of the land office at five dollars per acre, and should not go at less than that price for two years: after that the price of lands unsold should be two and a half dollars per acre. The object of this agreement was to quiet the fears of the Indians that a combination might be made to get the lands for a small sum. This treaty seems to have been the last that in any way affected Genesee county. RESERVATIONS TO INDIVIDUALS. The difficulties of carrying into effect the provisions of the treaty of Saginaw, 1i819 so far as they effected Genesee county, arose from disputes as to the identity of the persons for whose use the reservations "at or near the Grand Traverse of the Flint," were made. There were eleven of these. They were surveyed by the government in the early part of 1820, and the survey showed each reservation with the name of the person for whom it was reserved. Six of these were located along the north side of the river, each of six hundred and forty acres. They were irregularly boutnded, by the river on the south, the other three bounds being right lines, lbut not parallel. They were numbered from east to west: Number one, for Taw-cum-e-go-qua; number two, for Meta-wane-ne; number three, for Annoketoqua; number four, for Sagosequa; num I68 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ber five, for Nondashemau; number six, for Messawawkut. The five reserves south of the river were similarly surveyed, with the river for their northern boundary, and numbered from east to west: Number seven, for Nowokezhik; number eight, for Mokitchenoqua; number nine, for Che-balk; number ten for Petabonequa; and number eleven, for Kitchigeequa. These are all Indian names; those ending in "qua" are feminine, the others masculine. All the persons named were, by the treaty, to be "Indians by descent," words which would seem to be unequivocal and quite incapable of misapplication. To treat these various reserves seriatim: Number one, for the use of Taw-cum-e-go-qua, was the subject of long and strenuous litigation, the issue o'f the dispute depending on the identity of the Indian woman, Tawcum-e-go-qua. Two Indian women were brought forward, each as the person so named in the treaty. One of these was a girl, of tender age at the time of the treaty of I8I9. She w;as the daughter of sub-chief Mixenene and was present at the treaty with her father and his family. She was also a niece of Ne-o-me, the head chief. Being a full-blooded Indian, she came within the treaty provision. She lived with her parents on the reservation at Pewonigowink until she grew to maturity and married an Indian by the name of Kahzheauzungh. They had three children. In 1841, she sold her interest in the reservation to John Barlow and Addison Stewart and later their rights passed by certain conveyances to George H. Dewey and Rufus J. Hamilton. Of all the claims put forth by various persons to the Indian reserves, theirs seemed the best. They had acquired by purchase the title from an Indian woman who it was conceded bore the name for which the reserve was made. She was an Indian by descent. Her relationship was such with the ruling chiefs who made the treaty, that she was the logical person for whom such provision would naturally be made. Even with all these equities, the title of Dewey and Hamilton was contested. A trader by the name of Bolieu, the same who was called Kasseqaus by the Indians, and who figures in one of the romantic tales, had married an Indian wife, and their daughter, Angelique Bolieu, whose Indian name was said to be Tawcumegoqua, was claimed to be the true beneficiary of the first reserve.' She had been sent to a school and educated, and afterwards married a man named Coutant, by whom she had two children, a son and daughter. Her husband dying, she married Jean Baptiste St. Aubin. She was of middle age, and married, when the treaty was made in I819, and she died about eight years after that date, leaving her two children. She had GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I69 never had possession of the reserve, although it was said she had claimed it as her property. After her death, her two children, Simon Coutant and Angelique Coutant Chauvin, conveyed the reservation to Joseph Campau of Detroit. This was in October, 1833. In 1839 other deeds were made in confirmation of these deeds of 1833, and Joseph Campau, claiming the reserve, took possession by placing tenants on the same. A patent was issued to Campau by the United States government. These two conflicting claims to the reserve came into court on a suit by Dewey and Hamilton against Campau. At the first trial, Campau was successful. The case then went to the supreme court, where it was affirmed. This case was determined on a technical defect in the deed and the merits involved were not decided. Dewey and Hamilton then secured other deeds that obviated the technical defects and another suit was begun, which was transferred to Saginaw county for trial because of the influences that might operate in Genesee county to prejudice the jury. The growth of population in Flint, which had become a city before the suit was instituted, made the reserve a tempting prize. The best legal talent of the state appeared for the litigants. Moses Wisner, (at one time governor of Michigan, the father of the late Judge Wisner of Flint), M. E. Crowfoot and J. Moore, represented Dewey and Hamilton. S. T. Douglass, W\. M. Fenton, J. G. Sutherland and Chauncev P. Avery were attorneys for Campau. The trial of this suit at Saginaw in I86o resulted in a verdict to the effect that Tawcumegoqua, daughter of Mixenene, was the person of that name for which reserve number one was intended, and that Dewey and Hamilton, who had acquired her rights in the same, were the owners of it and entitled to its possession. This suit went to the supreme court and the decision of that court, in the Ninth Michigan Report at page 381, et seq., contains a great deal of historical interest. "Evidence was adduced," says the Reporter, "tending to prove that at the time of the treaty of Saginaw, and for many years prior and subsequent thereto, a band of Chippewa Indians resided at the village of Pewonigowink, on the Flint river, and about ten miles below the Grand Traverse of that river, in the place where the present city of Flint is located; that during all the time referred to, Neome was the chief of this band; that Tonedogane was the principal warrior, or second chief of the band, and succeeded Neome in the chieftianship on his decease; that one Mixenene was also a member of this band, and a brother of Neome, and that Mixenene had a daughter named Tawcumegoqua, who was about six years of age at the time of the treaty, and was a member of Neome's family; that Neome I70 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. also had three children-two females, Segosaqua and Owanonaquatoqua, the former about ten or twelve years old at the time of the treaty, the latter a woman grown, and one boy, Ogibwak, who was about fifteen years of age, and a grandson, Metawanene; that all the children named were full blood Indian children; that at the time referred to, Jacob Smith had a store near the Grand Traverse of the Flint river, in which he carried on trade with the Indians of that vicinity, and was a man of considerablle influence among them; that Neome, his children and said grandchild, and his b)and, including Tonedogane and also Mixenene and his little (aughter Tawcumegoqua, were present at the treaty; that on the night prior to the last council, at which the treaty was read over, agreed to and signed, Jacob Smith came to Neome's tent and advised him to get special reservation of land for his children and promised to assist him in doing so; that at the grand council held the next day between the Indians and General Cass, Neome came forward before General Cass, with his three children, Owanonaquatoqua, Sagosaqua and Ojibwak, and said grandchild Metaquanene being with him, and Jacob Smith standing by his side, and asked for reservations of land for these children; that General Cass assented, and that the names of the children were written down, and that it was talked of and understood at the treaty that these children got special reservations of land; * * * that for thirty years or more, subsequent to the treaty, Neome's band continued to reside at Pewonigowink, upon the reservation described in article 2 of the treaty as 'one tract of five thousand seven hundred and sixty acres upon the Flint river, to include Rheaume's (Neome's) village, and a place called Kishkawbee'; and that during a portion of this time the Indian children above named, including Tawcumegoqua, resided with the band upon this tribal reservation, and a portion of the time Tawcumegoqua, with her family, and another family of said band resided on the premises in question." The court affirmed the judgment of the court below, and so the verdict of the jury giving the land to Dewey and Hamilton stood. The result appears to have been eminently just. Reservations numbers two, three, four, five and six, which were reserved for the following persons, "all Indian by descent," respectively, Metawanene, Annoketoqua, Sagosequa, Nondasheman and Messaw-wakut, were the subject of litigation. The names Metawanene, Nondasheman and Messawwakut are masculine, and the names Sagooequa and Annoketoqua are feminine names, so it might very reasonably be assumed that numbers two, five and six were for males and numbers three and four for females. At GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I7I least to the lay mind, to use the language of a Connecticut judge, "in the absence of judicial construction the writing would be held to mean what it says." In the case of these reservations, unfortunately, litigation arose, leading to judicial construction, with the following results: Jacob Smith, the trader, who had so actively aided Cass in bringing about the treaty of Saginaw, soon after the treaty built a log storehouse for his trade. The site of this trading post was in the fifth ward near the corner of Lyon street and First avenue, arid not far from the present situation of the office of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company. Smith had been here at the Grand Traverse of the Flint for some years previously to the treaty. In I806 his home was in Detroit at the corner of Woodward avenue and Woodbridge street, and his white family continued to live in Detroit until after his death. He, like other traders, doubtless had his trading post at the most convenient place for commlunication with the Indians with whom he traded-that is, on the Flint river where the grand trail crossed it. His residence there can only be regarded as temporary, governed by the exi,encies of his traffic with the Indians. He had during his stay there formed a strong friendship with the chief Neome, who lived at the Mus-cat-a-wing, or the Grand Traverse of the Flint, in the early years of the nineteenth century, but who had moved down the river to "Neome's town," in the present town of Montrose, some tine before the treaty of i8:[9. The usual reference made by writers of local history to Smith's settlement at Flint, places the date immediately after the treaty. The fact is that he had a trading post there before that date, probably as early as I8Io, and that he never settled there in the sense of beconling a permanent resident. He kept his family in Detroit and sojourned on the Flint for the purpose of traffic with the Indians; in 1819, he built a log trading store, of a more substantial character than his previous store of which we have no record except the deduction that during several years trading he must have had some place suitable for his business. His log store was built before the reservations there were surveyed, and when surveyed, the one numbered two. for Metawanene, included the site of his building. His store was built at the fork of the trail where the grand trail from Detroit after its Grand Traverse of the Flint separated into two trails, one going ldown the right bank of the river to Saginaw and the other following the more direct route north to Mt. Morris, Pine Run, Birch Run and Saginaw. It was a central point and especially favorable for trade with the surrounding Indians. There Smith continued to remain and trade with the Indians, his family being in Detroit. Tn 1822 his mother and sister were with him, for a time at least. He con 172 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. tinued to have friendly relations with Ne-o-me and the Indians generally. At the time Smith built his log house in 18I9, another trader, a Frenchman by the name of Baptiste Cochios was also located there in trade. The friendly relations between him and Smith continued until Smith's death. An Indian boy, An-ne-me-kins. called "Jack" by the whites, also lived with Smith a considerable part of the time. Ephraim S. Williams, of Flint, whose knowledge of the matter makes his statement of high authority, says: "He [Smith] lived there [at Flint] during the trading season, making occasional visits to his family in Detroit. In I825 he died, from neglect as much as from disease, at his trading post, after a lingering and pitiable sickness. A good-hearted Frenchman, by the name of Baptiste Cochios, who was with him upon the trading ground in I8I9 and was himself an Indian trader, having his posts upon the Flint and on the Saginaw, performed for the brave but unfortunate man the last sad rites of humanity. An Indian lad who had lived with Smith for several years and who attended him in his sickness, was the only household mourner-a few Indians gathered in mournful groups about the grave as the remains of the unfortunate man were committed to the earth. Ne-o-me was there, his trusty and reliable friend, mute with grief. With that feeling of gratitude which belongs to the Indian character, and which takes rank as a cardinal virtue in their untutored minds, the Indians proved true and faithful throughout his sickness to the last. The brave, warm-hearted, generous Indian trader, Jacob Smith, the earliest white pioneer upon the Saginaw and the Flint, lingered and died in a sad condition and, but for the good Cochios and his Indian assistants, would have gone to his grave uncoffined. Within a few days after his decease, his son-in-law, C. S. Paine, came from Detroit to the trading house, which had so recently been the scene of such long, unrelieved suffering, and gathered up most carefully and carried away the few poor remnants of the earthly store left by the noble-hearted Indian trader. Sa-gose-wa-qua, the daughter of Ne-o-me, in recounting this history, expressed herself with a sententious brevity peculiar to the Indian, which is worth recording; it points to a moral if it does not adorn a tale: 'When Wahbe-sins [Smith] sick, nobody come; him sicker and sicker, nobody come. Wah-be-sins die, little tinker come and take all him blankets, all him cattle, all him things.' Neome soon followed his friend Wah-be-sins, to the spiritland. He died in 1827, at the tribal home, a few miles above Saginaw city, faithfully attended through a long and severe sickness by his children and relatives, enthroned in patriarchal simplicity in the hearts of his people, beloved and mourned." GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I73 At the time of his death Smith had a family in Detroit, consisting of a son, Albert J. Smith, and four daughters, Harriet M. Smith, Caroline Smith, Louise L. Smith and Maria G. Smith. Soon after the death of Smith, Major Garland, the husband of one of these daughters, took possession of the place where Smith had had his post, and made claim in behalf of the heirs to the title of the five reservations from 2 to 6 inclusive, his claim being that the Indian names of the persons for whom these reservations were made were the names of these children of the trader; that Metawanene, the owner of the second reserve, did not mean the grandson of chief Neome, an "Indian by descent," but it meant Albert J. Smith, the white son of Jacob Smith the trader; that Annoketoqua did not mean the daughter of Ne-o-me by that name, an Indian by descent, but it meant the daughter of Smith, of Detroit, a white woman; that Sagosaqua, the daughter of Ne-o-me, an Indian by descent, was not intended as the beneficiary of reserve number four, but that the real Sagosaqua was another white daughter of the trader in Detroit; that Nondasheman, a man's name, did not mean any man at all, but it meant the white daughter of Smith at Detroit; the sixth reserve, for Messaw-wakut, a male Indian by descent, also meant another white daughter of Smith. It was claimed that the Indiansi who had visited Detroit had given these names to the children. Such occurrences were not uncommon, but this casual use of such names by individual members of a tribe was not equivalent to adoption, which was a matter of ceremony and an act of the tribe. Only formal adoption by act of the tribe in its collective capacity could give any tribal rights and, in the language of the whites, such adopted member probably could not be called an "Indian by descent." The great demand for lands in the vicinity beginning in the early thirties gave the five square miles involved a prospective value to which the claimants were fully alive. In 1839, Albert J. Smith came on and took actual possession of the lands in question for himself as reserve in number two, and for his three sisters then living and for the heirs of the one who had died. They claimed, and asserted, ownership of the same, and at the next session of congress they brought the matter before that body, asking its authority for grants of the five reserves to the children of Smith. Their claim was based upon the services of the trader at the treaty of Saginaw, the successful termination of the same being attributed largely to these services. The following is an excerpt from their petition to congress: "Although the reservations intended for your memorialists under the treaty of Saginaw have been partially occupied under them, and always known and acknowledged as being intended for them, yet they never have 1 /074 '74 CENESEE COUNTY., MICHIGAN. received or obtained such, a title fromn government as would authorize them to sell or convey anyv portion of the said lands, in consequence o~f their having been embraced-unintentionally, as your memorialists believe-among the number of reservations intended for persons being 'Indians by descent'; owing to which the general land office has not felt authorized to issue- patents for the said land in the name of your me~morialists,." The claimnt had, in january, 1835, procured a certificate signed by ten of the one hundred and. fourteen Indian signers o~f the treaty. Of the obtaining of this certificate Ephraim S. W/illiams, of Flint, gives the foll-owing account: "This document being an important one, it is given here entire. Without it the heirs of Smith could never have obtained titles to their, lands,, for the government had refused for years to grant them; and many, even members of Congress,, in those days doubted the right o~f Congress to pass an act to set aside the treaty of 1819 and grant these lands to others than persons of Indian descent. Many persons have. thought that Congress might as well pass an act to grant one. man's farm to another. All those acts were a violation of the granted rights of the treaty of 1819. 'STATEMEN'T. "The subscribers, cl!iietfs and el~l ienei of the chli1)l)ewai natioiis land subscribers of the treaty of Saginaw, do hereby (certify that the live reservations ait and near the Graind Traverse ~4f the F'lint river, inadle by the tre-aty of 15819, were mnade and intendedi for the five followi ng ai iied prsons, viz: Metawa-nene, ailias A-lbert J. Smith; Mlessaw,-wakulit ('a imai's, nazme), a-lia8s Hariiriet.Ni. Smith; Sagosaqua, alias Carolline Sm1ith; Ana1olkitoqnam, alias Louis'a L. Smith: Nondasho-nian (man's nanie), alias Mllaria. (C. Smith ( each six hundred andl forty -acles);known to us antid distinguished by tile aIforesalid namles., as, the children of the late.Jacob) Smith; and further certify that the aifore~said donai-~fons to the hl(l.11(ren aforesai-d were masde hin coiisideration of services rendered by saifd JTacob Smith (deceaused.) to the Clipp~lewt-ta nation, and the frienidiy intercourse that suilsisted between the pa-rties for many years. We further certify tha-t.Metawanene, aliats Albert J. Smithi, now lpresent at the execution of this certificate, Is the son of Jacob Smith, deceased, -and we recognize him as, one of the four children to wxhomi the before mentioned donaitions were made and intended. "Signed. TiHoMNAS SIMPSON, (-Ew~-EJE'o E.. WILLIAMS, NoNo NIPEN ASEE, A(J. 1). WIftlAiaS, NVARBEToUNCE, CHA s. H. RODD, SARWARBON, Witnesses present. tCHUNETOSH-, SHFANOE, WASH WINT, KA WGATEGO, WAYs1I1ONON0, MOMEMEG, "Saginaw, January -0-9, 1835. Totems. GENFSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I75 "Territory of Michigan, 'Oakland County, ss: "Personally appeared before me the subscriber, a justice of the peace within and for the county (f Oakland, Eplhraim S. Williams, Esquire, who being duly sworn according to law, deposeth and saith that he was present at the execution of the within certificate and sawm the within inamied chiefs.and head men make their marks to the said certificate. )eponent further saith that the subscribers, chiefs, and head m1en a;s aforesaid. reside in the vicinity of Saginaw, Oakland County, Territory of Michigan. l)eponent further saith that the contents of the certificate aforesaid were by hi fully explainied and were cheerfully assented to by the aforesaid chiefs and head mien. "(Signed) E. S. WILLIAMIS. 'Sig-lned and slubscribed before me this twelty-secln( day of January, 18 35. "THOMNAS SIMPSON." "This statement of the Chippewa chiefs was made at a council that had been called for the purpose at the place and date mentioned, chiefly through the influence and instrumentality of the brothers, G. D. and E. S. Williams, who were then traders at Saginaw." The council was attended by Albert J. Smith and Col. T. B. WV. Stockton, representating the Smith heirs. At the first meeting the "chief speaker," O-ge-naw-ka-ke-to, spoke, claiming that the reserves were made for Indians by descent and not for the white children of the trader. At the second meeting after "certain influences brought to bear upon the chiefs," to quote from \William's account, the chief speaker and the other nine chiefs signed the certificate. Similar certificates were procured from other signers of the treaties, one at Big Rock village on the Shiawassee, one at Flint River, and another at Grand Saline. We again quote Ephraim Williams, who had probably as great knowledge of these transactions as any disinterested witness: "All the above documents were laid before Congress in support of the petition of the Smith claimants; also a memorial from persons residing at Flint and vicinity. Here follow the names of fifty persons, not one in twenty of whom knew anything of the treaty besides what they had heard talked by others. "How inconsistent and ridiculous to suppose for a moment that Jacob Smith would have done so inconsistent a thing as to have presented, at the treaty of 18I9, the names of three Indians for the names of three of his daughters as given in the treaty; not at all probable. I knew Mr. Smith and I never believed he did any such thing. "The result of the laying of all these things before Congress was the passage of an act, 'To authorize the President of the United States to cause I76 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. to be issued to Albert J. Smith and others, patents for certain reservations of land in Michigan Territory.' "In accordance with the provisions of this act, five patents were issued June 2, I836. "This was, at that time, considered a final settlement of the question of title to those reservations, but it was not very long before the opinion began to be entertained by some (an opinion that was afterwards sustained by the courts) that these patents did not and could not convey a title as against any person or persons who could prove themselves to be the rightful reservees in the true intent and meaning of the treaty. It would seem that the proofs adduced by the Smith heirs had been ample for the establishment of their claims, but there were still doubts whether they could hold under the article of the treaty which provided that the lands granted should be for the use of persons of Indian descent only. "About this time it was discovered that a young Chippewa whose name was Jack, and who had been brought up and protected by Jacob Smith, claimed to be the real Metawanene, and consequently, the owner of the reservation numbered two on the land plat, and that some Indian women made the same claim to sections that had been patented to the daughters of Jacob Smith. "In March, I841, the Indian claimant to reservation numbered two deeded this tract to Gardner D. Williams, of Saginaw, who, in'June, 1845, conveyed one moiety of the same to Daniel D. Dewey, of Genesee, and by these persons a suit was commenced in the circuit court for the establishment of the claim of the true Metawanene and the possession of the lands. "After many years of delay, this cause came to a final trial in i856, at the March term, held by Judge Sanford M. Green, in the city of Flint. Plaintiff, Messrs. Williams and Dewey; defendant, Chauncey S. Payne." "Albert J. Smith had, in I836, deeded to Mr. Payne an undivided threefourths, and to T. B. W. Stockton, an undivided one-fourth of the reservation. In i840 Mr. Stockton conveyed his interest to Mr. Payne, who thus became the sole owner. Attorneys for the plaintiffs were Hon. Moses Wisner and James C. Blades; for the defendants, Messrs, E. C. and C. I. Walker, of Detroit, John Moore, of Saginaw city, and Charles P. Avery, of Flint, which last named gentleman had then recently purchased an undivided half of Mr. Paynse's interest in the property thus becoming equally interested with him in the result of the suit. Many witnesses, both white and Indian, were produced on both sides and, after an expensive and lengthy trial, it was decided in favor of the defendant, thus deciding a case which during years GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I77 of litigation had caused much excitement and some bitter feeling, and which is a matter of general historic interest in the annals of the county of Genesee. "The trial of a similar suit, involving the title to reservations numbers three and four, was also had before Judge Green, at Flint, in the December term in the same year, resulting, as in the case of section two, adversely to the Indian title. The suit was brought in the names of two of the Indian women before mentioned, who claimed to be the real Annoketoqua and Sagosequa, and consequently owners of the tracts that had been patented respectively to Louisa L. Smith and the heirs of Caroline Smith, deceased. For the plaintiff there appeared several Indians who were, or claimed to have been, at the treaty of I819, and whose testimony was given to show that the reservations were not intended for the children of Jacob Smith, but for the daughters of Ne-o-me, and that the Indian claimants in this case were the daughters of that chief. There were other claims made, under the treaty, to those reservations, by persons of Indian descent, but they were defeated by the claims and influence of the white Smith children and the treaty set aside and violated. "The violation of sacred treaties by the government, made with the Indians, has been one great cause of so much trouble with the western tribes of Indians, I think." The above r(sume of the litigation over the five reserves by Mr. Williams seems very just in its conclusions. That the Indians, in parting with their title to their lands, reluctantly giving to the whites, whom they hated, the territories that had been their homes, should in making reserves from the grant consider the children of any white man in preference to their own children is quite unbelievable, and the final determination of the claim to these reservations adversely to the Indians must stand as an example of fraud, legalized by the white man's courts, and a justification of the distrust that the Indians have of the white man's justice. From the contents of a letter written by General Cass in I831, it would be implied that Smith had a flock of half-breed children, as well as a legitimate family at Detroit; from this letter it would appear that the provision as to reserving the lands for Indians by descent was inserted in the treaty to prevent the fraud afterwards legalized by Congress and the courts, which Cass had reason to believe Smith anticipated. The letter is as follows: Detroit, June 22, 1831. I have been requested to state the facts connected with the reservation of eleven sections of land at Flint river, made under the treaty of Saginaw, so far as respects (12) I78 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. any interests held therein by the children of Jacob Smith. At the time this reservltion was made, I understood that the Indians intended that a number of the sections-I believe five or six-should be granted to the children of Smith, and the names given by them to the grantees of these sections were said to be his children. From circumstances not necessary to detail here, I was led to suspect that Smith designed the land for his white children, and that most of the names purporting to be those of his Indian children were, in fact, the names of his white children, which the Indians who were in the habit of frequenting his house had given to them. To guard against the consequences of their attempt, I therefore inserted ill the article providing for these reservations a clause confining them to persons of Indian descent. I have an indistinct recollection that one young girl was spoken of as an Indian daughter of Smith, but cannot remember the name. I know Lewis Beaufait and Ilenry Connor well; they were both at the treaty of Saginaw, and they are very honest men in whose statements full confidence may be placed. (Signed) LEWIS CASS. Of reserve number seven, on the south side of the river, the beneficiary was plainly one Edward Campau, the half-breed son of the trader. His Indian name was Nowokezhic, and he was here in the possession of his reserve when John Hamilton, Ephraim S. Williams, Harvey Williams and Schuyler Hodges came through Flint, in the winter of 1822-3, en route for Saginaw with supplies for the garrison there. His title was conveyed to John Todd, the tavern keeper, and there is no reason to suggest that the intent of the treaty was not fully carried out so far as this one reserve was concerned. As to reservation number eight, to Mokitchenaqua, there were two claimants, one a half-breed daughter of Archie Lyons, who married a squaw by the name of Ka-zhe-o-be-on-no-qua. This woman outlived him and was a witness on the trial of Dewey and Campau at Saginaw in I86o. The Mokitchenqua, daughter of above, was Elizabeth Lyons by her white name. Another claimant was Marie Lavoy, and still another was Nancy Crane. All of these were halfbreeds, and so answered the requirements of the treaty that they should be of Indian descent; all were Mokitchenaquas. As the Indians had no surname, the reservation to Mokitchenaqua was quite like a reservation for "Mary" in a white man's deed. The determination of identity naturally depended on evidence of facts and circumstances outside the document itself. Each of these three claimants had applied for and obtained certificates of identity from the authorities of the land office at Detroit. The Lyons woman received hers, August 2, I824; the Lavoy woman received hers, February 27, 1827, and the Crane woman, claimed to be the half-breed daughter of Jacob Smith, by name Nancy Smith, received hers July 22, 1831. This certificate to Nancy Smith Crane as the Mokitchenaqua entitled to reservation number eight received sanction from GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I79 the general land office, whose commissioner, on August 5, 1835, approved the same, and a patent was granted to her on March 7, I840. Major John Garland appears to have been the real party in interest in urging the claim of his wife's half-breed sister, for her rights had been transferred to him before patent issued. The interest of the Lyons claimant had been transferred to Gardner Williams and Kintzing Pritchette. Garland's title had been transferred to Payne and Stockton, and the litigation was between Williams and Pritchette, on the one hand, and Payne, Stockton and others, on the other hand, involving the question as to whether Elizabeth Lyons or Nancy Smith was the Mokitchenaqua for whom the reserve was made. On trial, the court determined that Elizabeth Lyons was the true owner of the reserve and that Williams and Pritchette were entitled to it under their deeds. In this case, Payne, who was the husband of one of Smith's white daughters and whose title had come through John Garland, the husband of another of Smith's white daughters, was confronted by a certificate of certain Chippewa chiefs similar to those upon which their wives predicated their claims to the reserves north of the river, to the effect that Elizabeth Lyons was the person entitled to the reserve and not the Nancy Smith from whom they claimed title. This case is reported in Walker's Chancery Report, page I20, and in Douglass's report at page 546 and the following pages, and forms an interesting chapter in our local history. Reserves numbers nine, ten and eleven, from their location, had little value as compared to the other reserves, and consequently were not so alluring to the white men and did not become the object of their cupidity and litigation. They went to the half-breeds, Jean Visgar, son of the trader who was at the treaty, and who had been in the attempt to acquire lands in Michigan at nine dollars a county (this reservation was probably intended for the son of Ne-o-me); to Phillis Beaufait, half-breed daughter of the French trader, and to Catherine Mene, half-breed. It is to be noticed that in each case the reservations south of the river were given to persons of the gender suggested by the Indian name of the reservee, contrary to the case of the claim of the children of Smith to certain of the reserves north of the river. CHAPTER IV. SETTLEMENT OF FLINT BEFORE I837. Flint was the first prominent center of settlement planted beyond Pontiac on the old Saginaw Indian trail, and the second settlement planted beyond that cordon of tangled forest and dread morass surrounding Detroit, which was popularly supposed to be the vestibule of a vast uninhabited wilderness whose lands were barren and where nothing but wild beasts, migratory birds and venomous reptiles were ever destined to find an abode. Only a little time before, the great interior of the lower peninsula of Michigan was an unexplored and unknown country. The story has already been told, how, after the War of 1812, the United States surveyor-general, Edward Tiffin, declared to the national government that "the intermediate space between these swamps and lakes-which is probably near one-half of the country-is, with very few exceptions, a poor, barren, sandy land, on which scarcely any vegetation grows except very small, scrubby oaks," and concluded with his opinion that "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." Thanks to Lewis Cass, governor of Michigan territory, and others whom he was able to influence, this judgment was soon proved to be false. In I818 he set out from Detroit, accompanied by Hon. Austin E. Wing and two or three other friends, on a tour of observation and discovery. Through the first stage of their northwestern journey after leaving Detroit the aspect was by no means reassuring. At times their horses sank knee-deep in the sloughs or wallowed through the marshy places along the trail. It really seemed as if the dismal tales of the surveyors and Indian traders would prove true. At last, after floundering over a distance which seemed a hundred miles, but which in reality was little over a dozen, they came to higher ground and more open country, which is now the southeastern part of the county of Oakland. From that point they continued their journey with comparative ease northwestward over a dry rolling country through beautiful open groves of oak and along the margins of pure and limpid waters. During their journey, which lasted about a week, they penetrated nearly to the southern boundary of Genesee. When they returned they carried back with them the knowl GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 18.1 edge and proof that Michigan was not a worthless desert, as represented, but a beautiful and fertile land awaiting only the touch of the settler's axe and plow to yield an abundant increase to reward his toil. The broad Indian trail taken by this party of explorers, which ran from Detroit to Saginaw, and along which for many years the northern tribes of Indians came down in large nunmbers to barter their furs for supplies and to receive their annuities from the English and United States governments, crossed the Flint river at a point called by the French traders the Grand Traverse, and it was a favorite resting place and camping ground for them and the neighboring tribes, as game and fish were there especially abundant. It is owing to this circumstance that Flint became a center of settlement. Its name, however, is not so easily accounted for. According to some, the Chippewa Indians called the region now occupied by the city l Mus-cu-tawa-ningh, or "open plain, burned over," and the stream which flows through it Pe-won-nuk-cuting, or "the river of the flint." Just why they should have named the river so is unexplainable, for, though its bed is rocky, there is nothing about it suggestive of flint. Judge Albert Miller, who worked for John Todd in the early thirties, records in the "Michigan Historical Collections" the name of the settlement as Pe-won-a-go-seeba. William R. McCormick, who as a boy lived with his parents at this site in 1832, gives the name of the settlement as Sco-ta-wa-ing, or "burnt opening," and that of the river as Pe-won-a-go-wing-see-ba, or "flint stones in the river." It is clear that whichever name in the Indian language was correct for the river, it meant "flint," in some form. Col. E. H. Thomson concludes the matter by saying: "After wrestling for several years with these Chippewa jawbreakers, the early settlers ended the struggle by calling both river and settlement 'Flint,' and Flint they are. INDIAN OCCUPATION. The story of the Indian occupation of Flint as sketched in the Abbott history, may be here briefly retold. The Sauks and Onotawas held in peace the Flint river and the country of its neighboring streams. Long ago the Chippewas and Ottawas of Mackinac formed an alliance with the Ottawas about Detroit and by preconcerted agreement met near the mouth of the Saginaw and proceeded to destroy the Indian villages along its banks. They succeeded there and turned to destroy the remainder of the Sauks. One of the most important of these battles was fought on the high bluff that overlooks the Flint a half mile below the present city, almost directly across the river from the school for the deaf. Another battle was fought down the river a I82 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. mile above Flushing, and a third sixteen miles below Flushing on the Flint. The allied forces mastered this territory, and eventually joined the British troops with a view to exterminating the Americans who had settled on the St. Clair, the Clinton and the Detroit rivers. This alliance continued to the close of the War of I812. But with the success of the Americans the spirit of the Indians was broken, and when the first white settlers came to the banks of the Flint, the Chippewas were inclined to be very friendly. Indeed, traffic with the red man was the potent incentive that attracted the first white men to the depths of the wilderness about Flint. The furs secured by the bullets and arrows of the Indians were of great value. The Indians often exhibited traits of character in transactions with their pale-faced neighbors quite as commendable as the copies set for them by their white invaders. There were several villages of Indians in the vicinity of Flint. They were glad to bring to traders and merchants not only their furs, but their baskets and maple sugar, in exchange for the white man's wares. Too often the red man wanted "firewater," and while under its influence he needed to be met with firmness and caution. We are told of but few collisions between settlers and natives which could not be amicably adjusted. Many interesting and thrilling experiences have been told by some of the pioneers who had won the confidence of the Indians. AN IGNOMINIOUS WHIPPING. A story is told of a fight between one of the chiefs and "Aunt Polly" Todd, who kept the first tavern at Flint. She was of the stuff of which the wives of pioneers are made. One day the old Chippewa chief Ton-a-daga-na called through the door for whiskey. Mrs. Todd, who was alone, refused him, whereupon the chief forced his way into the room, drew a long knife and was about to attack her when she struck him across the face with a heavy splint broom, knocking him down. She then jumped on him, placed her knees on his chest and held his wrists until help came in response to her screams. The next day the old chief came back to the tavern and, baring his breast, invited death at her hands, saying, "Old chief no good. Whipped by white squaw." Aunt Polly's son, Edward A. Todd, says that he saw the sub-chief Pero, who was of a very jealous disposition, shoot his wife to death. The shooting, he says, occurred near where now is Genesee Mill. She was buried on the north side of the river in an orchard of plum trees about half way between Garland street Methodist Episcopal church and Saginaw street bridge; a kettle, tobacco, beads, etc., were buried with her and, adds Mr. Todd, "nothing was ever done about it." GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I83 THE FIRST WHITE SETTLER AT FLINT. The distinction of being the first white settler on the site of Flint properly belongs to Jacob Smith, a man closely associated with the Indians of Flint and Genesee county throughout a long life. He was descended from a German family, but was born in the French city of Quebec. From early boyhood he was intimately connected with the English, the French and the Indians, and naturally he grew up able to speak their languages fluently. He became a resident of Detroit and after the War of I812 engaged in trading with the Indians in the region which includes Genesee county. After Cass's treaty with the Indians in I8I9 at Saginaw, he made the Grand Traverse of the Flint his permanent trading post. By making himself one with his Indian friends, and by his habits of fair dealing, he inspired their confidence and his sound judgment and sagacity were their unfailing resource in time of need. This bond of friendship between Smith and the Indian chiefs of the region was strongly cemented as time passed, until his relations with them were those of a brother. Down to a very late day the remnants of these once powerful tribes cherished his memory with sincere affection. The conditions at the site of Flint were most favorable for Smith's purpose. The Indian trail leading from Detroit to Saginaw crossed the Flint river just above the bridge on Saginaw street, where there was a fording place, long known to the early French traders as the Grand Traverse, or "great crossing." Here, on the site of the first Baptist church in Flint, Jacob Smith built a log trading post in I8I9, where he lived until his death in 1825. Without doubt this log house was the first building erected for a white man's occupancy in the county of Genesee. There can be no question that Smith's principal object in locating at this place was to take possession of the reservations which he had caused to be granted in the treaty of Saginaw, and to hold them for himself and children. It seems to be quite generally believed among those who have not examined into the facts, that Smith was entirely engrossed in the Indian trade and made no agricultural improvements at all. But there are papers to show that a part of his lands were cleared and cultivated by him, or under his direction. One of these papers is a sealed instrument which is selfexplanatory, and of which the following is a copy: Whereas, 1,,David E. NV. Corbin, have this day canceled and given up to Jacob Smith a certain lease for a section of land on Flint river, in the county of Oakland, dated the 21st day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one (1821), as by reference to said lease will more fully appear, and I84 GENESEE COUNTY, -MICHIGAN. whereas the said Jacob Smith lhath heretofore comnlmenced a certain suit on a book account against mre before Jollllhn McDonalld, Esq., a justice of the peace in and for the county of Wayne. Now, therefore, ill consideration of the salid Jacob Smiith having discontinued said suit, and having gven iie i general release of all debts and demanlds whatsoever, I do hereby give, gr;llnt, sell, a1Ind convey into the said Jacob Slith all my right, title, interest, antl ]lilll 'wllltsoever to a1ll the wheat, corni, plotatoes, b)arley, peas, beans, and oats,:nd all other col) whallltsoever, now growing on1 said Section of land, or elsewhef'e in the county of 0aklmll, 1iand likewise a1ll other )ropIerty of eNvery kind and description which I ow ownll in thle county of Oakland. In witnless whereof I have hereunto set my.hand a-nld seatl, this fifth day of August, il the year ()f our Lord one thous;and eight hundred alnd twenty-two. Witness: GEORGE A. GAGE. I)AV-ID 1. W\r. COlIrmIN. (Se'al) From this it clearly appears that a part of the reservation had been cleared and that crops were growing upon it at least as early as 1822; that in I822 it was occupied as a farm by Mr. Corbin under lease from Jacob Smith, and that Mr. Corbin, who for some reason was unable to meet his payments, relinquished the lease to Mr. Smith in that year. That the farm, after being given up by Corbin, was carried on by Mr. Smith until his death, seems clear from another paper, which is as follows: i)etroit, April 4, 1825. To all wxhom it nyv concern: Mr11. George Lyons is hereby (iuthorized to tallke possession, in the namtie of Aetawalellee, or Albert J. Smith, a 111illor, of the house and falrm, situated oi Flillt river, lately (.ccullied by J;icob Smith, dleceased, until some further definite arrangemlent. The hlorses, cattle, hlogs, onle waggonl thr'ee lllows, and four sets of lharness belollg to mlle. 11(d rIt'. Lyon is herebly lluthlll'ized to receive tllem in my namllle from all y l)ersonl.now aIt the fairm. (Signed) JoiiN GARLAtND. P. S. —A1 other l)roperty onl the llrenises belong's to, the estlte of J.:Icob Smith. It is my wish that a1 invelnitory l)e taken of thenl by 5ir. 1,yons oud Mr. E. Camlpa, and left with Mr. Camp.,lu. (Sigell( ) JOiu N (x.Rl.\ND. Mr. Smith's death, at the age of forty-five years, was the first death of a white person which occurred within the present limits of Genesee county. It left a name which runs through all of the litigation over title to the lands now occupied by the city of Flint and which dragged its slow length along down even to the time of the Civil War, retarding the development of the north side of the river and causing family and neighborhood heart-burnings for many a year. Mr. Corbin, to whom reference is made in the Smith papers, had been a soldier in the War of ISI2, and died at Green Bay, Wisconsin. Mr. E. Campau (Francois Edouard Campau) was a half-breed, who owned reservation No. 7. There he lived in a cabin built by himself, and was frequently employed by Mr. Smith. On June I2, 1825, he obtained a patent for this GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I85 land and, as he removed from it soon afterwards permanently, it is probable that the motive of his residence was to help him get the patent; in that case he could hardly be classed as a settler. George Lyons lived on the Flint river five years, but exactly where is not known. Neither can the exact date of his residence be given; probably he lived near the Grand Traverse at the time of Smith's death. RIVAL SETTLEMENTS. The earliest rival of Flint as a center of settlement was Grand Blanc. Previous to the death of Jacob Smith, Grand Blanc received settlers in the persons of Jacob Stevens and his sons, Rufus and Sherman. This was in I823. They came from western New York, whence came so many of the early pioneers of this county; indeed, it is probable that the county was named for Genesee county, in New York, and appropriately, for another reasonthe word Je-nis-he-yuh signified in the Seneca tongue "the beautiful valley." The name of one of the tribes belonging to the Six Nations in western New York was Chennussie, probably from the same root as Genesee. In 1826 there were added to this settlement Edmond Perry, Sr., and Rowland B. Perry, from Livingston. county, New York. In I827-29 came Edward H. Spencer, from Vermont, William Roberts, George E. Perry (Connecticut), Joseph McFarlan, Ezekiel R. Ewing, Jeremiah Riggs and family and a number of others. Most of these were from western New York; a few were from New England. By I830 Flint had quite a respectable rival in village beginnings in the southeastern part of the county, which would tend to intercept settlers moving towards Flint. In that year, 1830, John Todd, then living at Pontiac in Oakland county, during a prospecting tour visited the Grand Traverse of the Flint and, being pleased with the location, purchased from Edouard Campau a section comprising seven hundred and eighty-five acres for eight hundred dollars. The deed was dated April I, 1830. Returning to Pontiac, he took his wife Polly and two young children, Edward and Mary (later Mrs. David Gould, of Owosso), and, cutting the road through the woods from Grand Blanc to Flint, returned to his new purchase. The journey took three days. In the emigrant train were stock, farm implements and household goods enough to begin pioneer life. To them belongs the distinction of being the first permanent residents on the site of Flint. Mr. Todd at once repaired the Campau cabin, sixteen by eighteen feet in dimensions, and his wife, known then and for years afterward as "Aunt Polly Todd," soon made things comfortable within. In the neighboring Grand Blanc settlement Rufus W. Stevens was I86 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. just completing a sawmill on the Thread river, and from there Mr. Todd got lumber with which he enlarged these humble quarters and opened, in I82I, the famous inn known as "Todd's Tavern." The hospitality of the host and the good management and energetic labors of "Aunt Polly" made it a popular public resort. It was situated on the site of the Wolverine Citizen office, and some time after its removal was destroyed by fire. From the time of Mr. Todd's arrival, the Grand Traverse was known as Todd's ferry. He kept a canoe at the crossing for the accommodation of travelers. Usually he did duty as ferryman himself, but in the absence of himself or the men, the women lent a helping hand. The ferry was almost directly back of the Wolverine Citizen office. The canoe was hollowed from a tree and was about six feet wide and large enough to carry over wagons and sleighs. There was no charge for crossing, but the fame of this convenience doubtless brought a good revenue to the tavern. Mr. Todd later sold a part of his land to John Clifford and Wait Beach and removed to the present site of the First National Bank, on Saginaw street. He afterwards bought a farm on the Flushing road, where he and his wife lived for many years. Later they moved to Owosso, where "Aunt I'oily," honored with years, died at the home of her eldest son, ex-Mayor E. A. Todd, in I868. "Uncle John Todd" died in that city on May 15, I882, having lived to the ripe old age of eighty-eight years. He was born in Pennsylvania, in the valley of the Susquehanna, March 5, I784, whence he reinoved early in life to Palmyra, New York. He was a soldier in the War of 81i2 and was in the battle of Fort Erie. He came to Michigan in 181), crossing Lake Erie on the second trip of the "Walk-in-the-Water," and later, in j,82, was married to Polly Smith, who lived near Pontiac. EARLY PERMANENT SETTLERS. The same spring that Mr. Todd came to the Grand Traverse, came also Benajah Tupper and his brother-in-law, Archibald Green, and a cousin of Tupper's, named Preston. They came from Rush, Monroe county, New York, and for a time occupied the deserted cabin built by Jacob Smith. Mr. Green intended to buy land and become a permanent settler, but his wife died soon after his arrival and he returned to New York. Tupper and Preston stayed for a couple of years, hunting and trading. Finally a violent quarrel broke out between Preston and the Indians, who made it so uncomfortable for the two that they returned to the East. They are, therefore, not in the same class of permanent settlers as Mr. Todd and his family. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I87 In the summer of 183I, Nathaniel Ladd and his wife arrived from Utica, New York, and lived for a short time in the Smith cabin with Tupper and Preston. The same year came Col. James W. Cronk and family; Mr. Cronk died while serving in the Mexican War in I847. Mr. Ladd and his family remained until I832, when they removed to Grand Blanc. Lyman Stow, to whom Mr. Ladd sold his property on the Flint river, was the first blacksmith on the site of Flint, and had his shop just across the street from the Citizen office. In I832 George Oliver, an Englishman, joined the little settlement; also Elijah N. Davenport, who occupied a small log house which stood near the site of the later Hamilton's mill, and who soon afterward moved to Bay City, where he died. He was one of the first highway commissioners in the old town of Grand Blanc, in 1833. He kept a tavern at the Grand Traverse in i834. Another settler of I832 was James McCormick, but he moved away in 1835. Neighboring parts of the county were slowly receiving settlers by I833. In that year Asa Farrar had made his appearance in what is now Atlas. Benjamin Pearson and Addison Stewart had built their cabins near the north line of the present township of Flint. In that year, too, came Lewis Buckingham, later the first sheriff of the county. With him came several associates from western New York who formed a settlement on the line between the present townships of Mount Morris and Genesee. By reason of their opposition to the use of intoxicating liquors their place was by a few derisively called "the Cold Water Settlement." ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. In the same year of i833 occurred the first election of officers for the new township of Grand Blanc, which included the settlement at the site of Flint. The following citizens received official honors: Lyman Stow, justice of peace and assessor; John Todd, highway commissioner; Elijah N. Davenport, constable; James W. Cronk, trustee of school lands; George Oliver, overseer of highways. One of the first decisions of the new town government was to dispense with Todd's ferry and build a good bridge over the Flint river at the foot of Saginaw street. The contract to build the bridge was sublet to a Mr. Davis, and with its completion and the erection of the Thread grist-mill the settlement began to wear the aspect of a village. Augustus C. Stevens, a man of considerable means, came on from Buffalo, New York, and bought two hun(lred acres on the east side of the Saginaw road from James Cronk, while his I88 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 'brother, Rufus WV. Stevens, established a small store similar to the one he had in Grand Blanc. It was their money that built the grist-mill. At this timne, too, came Daniel O'Sullivan, the first school teacher in Flint. Pioneer conditions are reflected in the prices of real estate at this time. In 1833 James W. Cronk purchased the Todd domain for seven hundred and fifty-one dollars, Mr. Todd reserving his house and one and a half acres of land. In August, I834, Augustus C. Stevens purchased of Cronk and wife all the section lying on the east side of Saginaw street for eight hundred dollars, and on January 3I, I835, James W. Cronk and wife sold the remainder, or that portion lying on the west side of the same street, to \\William Morrison and J. C. Dubois for one thousand dollars. Six months later, however, Messrs. Morrison and Dubois reconveyed to Cronk for the same amount. Colonel Cronk and wife then sold to John Todd the Morrison and Dubois purchase, or the lands west of Saginaw street for two thousand two hund.,1dred and fifty dollars. FIRST VILLAGE PLATS. The village was first platted as early as I830, the plat being filed by A. E. \\ athares, who called it the village of Sidney. His plat embraced four blocks, from Saginaw street to Clifford, east and west, and from the river to First street, north and south. In 1833 the site was resurveyed, a new plat wX: - made, and the name of Flint River was substituted for Sidney. The new plat covered the Sidney plat and more, extending to the present Fourth street on the east to Harrison street. On October 9, 1835, John Clifford had registered in Oakland county a plat bounded as follows: commencing at the bridge, thence along Saginaw street to Fourth, Fourth to Harrison, Harrison to Kearsley, Kearsley to Clifford, and along Clifford to the river. Wait Beach platted the west side of Saginaw street, July 13, 1836; his plat covered the land bounded by the Flint river, Saginaw, Eleventh and Church streets. September 6, 1836, John Clifford and others platted that portion of the village bounded by the Flint river, thence along East street to Court, Court to Saginaw, Saginaw to Fourth, Fourth to Harrison, Harrison to Kearsley, Kearslev to Clifford, and Clifford to the river. September 22, Elisha Beach platted the tract bounded by Eleventh, Pine, Fifteenth and West streets. January 12, 1837, Chauncey S. Payne platted and offered for sale lots in the village of Grand Traverse. This plat lay upon the east side of Saginaw street and was bounded by the river, Saginaw and North streets. Four days later he made an addition on the west side of Saginaw street, which was GENESEE COUNTY, MICIIIGAN. I89 bounded by the latter street, North and West streets, and the Flint river. This was the extent of the settlement on the Flint at the time when Michigan became a state in the Union. Except the first ones, these plats were all surveyed by Capt. Harvey Parke, of Pontiac. FIRST POSTOFFICE ESTABLISHED. Before that event the first postoffice had been established there. The name of the office was Flint River. The first postmaster was Lyman Stowe, appointed August 5, I834. It is said that, like many another obliging public servant under similar circumstances, he at times carried the postoffice about the streets in his silk hat. When the office was at home it was situated on the north west corner of the present Saginaw and Kearsley streets, on the site of the First National Bank. Mr. Stowe was reappointed, September, 1836, but was succeeded by John Todd the following year, whose commission was dated October 2, I837. While Flint was still a village the following postmasters succeeded Mr. Todd: William P. Crandall, Decemnber 28, I839; William Moon, June I6, 184I; William P. Crandall, October 12, I844; Alvin T. Crosman, April 28, I849; Ephraim S. Williams, May 7, 1853. LAND OFFICE. An event of much significance for the increase of settlement in Flint was the establishment of the United States land office there August 23, I836. This institution was a center of interest wherever established, as the place where title to lands was secured. There all sales of United States lands were recorded, and reports of these, were made to the commissioner of the general land office at Washington, 1). C.; and in due course a patent for the land purchased, signed bv the president, was sent to the local office and delivered to the purchaser. This office was continued at Flint until January 14. 1857, when it was removed to East Saginaw. Following are the officials who served at Flint: Registered: Michael Hoffman, July 5, I836; John Barston, August Io, I838; Cornelius Roosevelt, May 21, 1849; William M. Fenton, March 25, I853. Receivers: Charles C. Hascall, July 5, 1836; Elijah B. Witherbee, February 23, 1843; Robert J. S. Page, October 12, 1844; Charles C. Hascall, March 21, 1845; George M. Dewey, March I8, 1849; Russell Bishop, March 18, I853. From East Saginaw the office was removed to Grayling, where the maps, field notes and all the records were destroyed by fire. The office was then moved to Marquette in the upper peninsula. I90 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ROAD BUILDING. Another impulse to the settlement of Flint was the road from Detroit, which was first improved by the national government. It followed very nearly the old Indian trail, its purpose being originally to connect the forts at Detroit and Saginaw. It was first cut out in the winter of 1822-1823 from Saginaw to Flint by detachments of the Third United States Infantry, sufficiently to allow the passage of horses to and from Saginaw. Previous to this a road southward fronm Flint had been cut and partially corduroyed through the swampy lands between Royal Oak and Detroit, by soldiers under command of Colonel Leavenworth. In 1824, the territorial government authorized the appointment of a conmmissioner to lay out and establish a territorial road from Detroit to Saginaw. Though this was surveyed in I826, it was four'years before the construction of the road reached Genesee county and 1833 when it had reached as far as the present Kearsley street. In I834 the swamp was filled in between Kearsley street and the Flint river, the bridge was started, and in the same year, or in the spring of 1835, the road was finished to a point about five miles north of the river, which was the end of the work done upon it by the national government. Judged by standards of today, this road was scarcely deserving of the name, but for those davs it was serviceable and over it came a large portion of the early settlers to their homes in Genesee county. With the improvement of this road and the establishment of the postoffice and the land office at Flint, a line of stages from Flint to Pontiac was begun by William Clifford. As early as I833 Joshua Terry carried the mails over the route between Pontiac and Saginaw, making weekly trips, with limited accommodations for passengers. The Clifford stage-line was a much needed improvement and was continued under various managements until the completion of a railway. Not least among the attractions for settlers in the neighborhood of Flint were the Thread river mills. The saw-mill started at Grand Blanc in I828 has the honor of being the first effort in a line of industry that gave Flint its initial prominence as a manufacturing city. It provided lumber for the first homes in the county. The proprietors were Rowland Perry and HIarvey Spencer. According to some accounts the first saw-mill near Flint was built by George Oliver as early as 1830, but in 1833 or I834 one was built nearer Flint by Rufus W. Stevens. In I836 another was begun by Stage, Wright & Comnpany. About the same time the Stevens brothers built GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I9I the first grist-mill in Flint, at the intersection of Thread river and the Saginalw road. This greatly promoted immigration, by furnishing means of making flour or meal without having to make the long trips to Pontiac or to Detroit, and drew to Flint the trade for many miles around. A season's crop of grain would sometimes come from Saginaw by canoe to be ground in Flint. The grist-mill occupied the place of first importance in this budding industrial community, but along in the fifties the saw-mill finally came into its own with the development of lumbering as a commercial enterprise. In 1836 was started the first mercantile enterprise of importance in the growing village, when MAessrs. Robert F. Stage and Ira D. Wright built the first store, an adjunct to their milling enterprise. It was situated on Mill and Saginaw streets not far from the bridge. The stock was valued at twenty thousand dollars, a large sum for that time. The store was a substantial frame building, the upper story of which was used as a public hall. In it were convened all the religious meetings of the day and the first court was held within its walls. INFLUX OF SETTLERS. These impulses to the early settlement 'of Flint are reflected in the mlarked increase of settlers from i835 to 1838. Among others who came in 1835 waere Oliver A. \Wesson and John M. Cumings, men of much importance to the early growth of Flint. Among those who settled here (iuring the years 1836- 1838 were the following: Samuel Alport, Asa Andrews, John Bartow, Chauncey Barber, Rev. John Beach, Wait Beach, Lewis G. Bickforld, James Birdsall, Giles Bishop, Sr., Giles Bishop, Russell Bishopl, Re-. Daniel F'. Brown, Iewis Buckingham, William Clifford, Thomas R. Cumings, Grant Decker, George M. Dewey, Dr. Elijah Drake, Thomas J. Drake, \Villard Eldy. \Villiam Eddy, George \V. FIish, David Foote, Daniel S. Freeman, MAiles Gazlay, Ward Gazlay, J. C. Griswold, George H. Hazelton, Charles Heale, Henry MI. Henderson, James Henderson, George J. W. Hill, Waldo Howard, Dr. John A. Hoyes, W\. Lake, Robert D. Lamond, Daniel B. Lyon, James McAlester, R. McCreery, Edmond Miles, William Moon, WNilliam AV. Morrison, Robert J. S. Page, William Patterson, Chauncey S. I'ayne, Benjamin Pearson, Nicholas Russell, Orrin Safford, D. S. Seeley, Charles Selymo)ur, Robert F. Stage, Addison Stewart, Col. Thomas B. W. Stockton, Artemas Thaver, Edward H. Thomson, John Townsend, Eugene Vandeventer, James B. Walker, Henry C. Walker, Ephraim S. Williams, Elijah B. \Vitherbee and Ira D. WVright. 192 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Thomas P. Wood, later a resident of Goodrich for more than sixty years, came to Whigville, Genesee county, in 1834, when only twelve years of age. He returned to New York state later, finishing his education, and removing again to Genesee county after his marriage to Paulina M. Hulbert, of West Bloomfield, New York, residing at Goodrich more than sixty years. Particulars about some of these families may be of interest. Benjamin Cotharin was engaged in boot and shoemaking, in a shop just north of the city hall. Messrs. Seeley and Howard conducted a tailor shop over Stage & Wright's store. Beyond the Thread river was a brick yard owned by Reuben Tupper and Silas Pierce. William A. Morrison was engaged in the primitive lumbering industry. The Bishop brothers, Russell and Giles, were embarked in commercial pursuits. Daniel B. Lyon was also engaged in business. The year I836 witnessed the advent of a small colony from Batavia and the adjacent parts of Genesee county, New York. Among them was Willard Eddy, who was instrumental in establishing the first bank in Flint. He was the father of Hon. Jerome Eddy, later mayor of the city of Flint and one of the representative business men of the city. Robert Patrick assisted in the construction of the first grist-mill. Orrin Safford was one of the first justices of the peace in Flint township. One of the first lawyers was Col. E. H. Thomson. Ephraim S. Williams and George M. Dewey were early merchants and were largely engaged in land operations. Among those whose names appear conspicuously as givers of liberal gifts to encourage the growth of the city is Chauncey S. Payne, a large landowner and one of the parties in the litigation involving the Smith reservation. Henry M. and James Henderson contribute(l much to the growth of early Flint, building later a block of stores and conlducting a large mercantile business. Few early citizens were better beloved than Rev. James McAlester, who for many years was engaged in ministerial labor, helping to organize several Methodist churches in the county. By trade he was a wagon maker, devoting his Sabbaths to clerical work. Another local preacher was Daniel S. Freeman, who in early years in Flint, followed blacksmithing. Hon. James B. Walker was for many years engaged in commercial pursuits, but afterwards identified himself with the state charitable institutions and was active in promoting enterprises for the welfare of the city. The great majority of the early pioneers of Flint and Genesee county brought with them from the East the staunch old New England equiplnent of mind and morals-intelligence, education, the qualities that make for a wholesome society, and the sweet remembrance of family ties; for this reason Flint has won fame among her sister cities as a community of honor GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I93 able, hospitable and law-respecting people. Churches and schools were early built in the clearings. And though education was often dispensed in the cramped cabin of the settler, and never in any edifice more pretentious than the single-roomed log school house built in a day by the combined labors of a few earnest heads of families, yet in these rude institutions of learning there have been laid the foundations of many an honorable and useful career. FIRST SCHOOLS. According to Edward A. Todd, the first school teacher in Flint was a man by the name of Billings, whom he describes as a "tall, raw-boned, redheaded fellow," whose school was across the road from Todd's tavern. But Col. E. H. Thomson gives the generally received opinion that the first school was kept by Daniel O'Sullivan. This was in I834, in a shanty on the river's bank, near Hamilton's dam, or upon the site of the present Genesee mills. His terms were ten cents per week for each pupil. There were about a dozen pupils, sons and daughters of John Todd, James McCormick, R. W. Stevens, James W. Cronk, Lyman Stowe, and his own. He thus netted for his labors less than one dollar and twenty cents per week. In I835 a man by the name of Aaron Hoyes taught a school in the same place and during his illness a young woman by the name of Lucy Riggs temporarily filled his place. At that time the pupils were the three Stevens children, Leander, Albert and Zobediaa: the Cronk children, Corydon, Walter and Abagail; Edward Todd; Adeline and Emeline Stowe, and the McCormick children, William, Ann and Sarah. In 1836 a small school house was put up on the corner now occupied by the Fenton block, in which the first school was kept by a Miss Overton. She received a dollar a week. EARLY RELIGIOUS INTEREST. As with education, so with regard to religious observance. The pioneers recognized it as being among the necessities of life, equally with food, raiment and shelter. As soon as they had secured these in the most primitive form, they embraced every opportunity to enjoy the privilege of divine worship. It is told of a lady living in Flint in the seventies, that when she first came to the place with her husband their first inquiries were concerning religious services, and when informed that such were to be held in a barn at the Grand Blanc settlement on the following Sabbath, they prepared to at(13) I94 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. tend. They learned that the distance of the place of meeting was fully seven miles, ovei bad roads, with streams to be forded, requiring more than a day of difficult, slow and unpleasant travel, but, with others, they set out in an ox-wagon on Saturday, reached their destination the same night, attended service on Sunday, and arrived back in Flint Monday afternoon. So intense was their longing for religious companionship that they had taken three days of difficult travel and precious time before a tree had been felled or other step had been taken towards building them a roof to shelter their heads. Among the earliest of the pioneer preachers in Genesee county were the Rev. W. HI. Brockway, a Methodist missionary to the Indians; Elders Frazee and Oscar North, Methodists; Benedict and Gambell, both Baptists; Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles, a Congregationalist, and others. The first religious meetings were held at Grand Blanc, whence they extended northward to Flint and other points. The first services at Flint were held by the Rev. Oscar North. The neighboring "Coldwater settlement" was a favorite point for traveling preachers who passed through the county. One feature that specially distinguished the spirit of these early services was the small attention paid to denominational differences. Any Christian service was eagerly welcomed by the pioneers, who fully appreciated the value of the church privileges they had left behind when they emigrated from their old homes in the East. Among the first Catholic clergymen to visit the field were Rev. Lawrence Kilroy and Rev. MWartin Kindig, afterward vicar-general of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who figured so conspicuously in the cholera epidemic which decimated Detroit in 1834. The reverend father was indefatigable in his efforts to alleviate distress among all sects and classes and used his private means so liberally as to impoverish himself and contract an indebtedness which it required years to liquidate. After a long life of ceaseless toil and benevolence, he died at the ripe age of seventy-two years. SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS. The pioneers were not averse to the lighter and gayer side of life. The craving for social enjoyment comes from one of the deepest instincts of human nature. The outsider is lonesome. Good cheer has always been an important element in normal human life. Feasting and making merry went along with the more serious things, and of all the places to feast and make merry in early Flint, the chief was Todd's tavern. "Aunt Polly" Todd, if GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I95 we may believe half that is told of her, was abundantly able to shine in the social sphere of white traders, half-breed and full-blooded Indians and thrifty pioneers. And the landlord of Todd's tavern could easily set a good table with venison, with turkey and fish, abundantly supplied by the Indians. Talking was not one of the lost arts at the board of "Uncle John" Todd, and good stories never failed. One of the first social events of Flint took place in this old tavern. In the winter of I831 Mr. and Mrs. Todd gave a wedding reception in honor of George Oliver and Miss Keziah Toby, both of whom had been in the employ of my lord and lady of the inn. That same winter Mr. and Mrs. Todd gave a "house warming." An adequate idea of this grand occasion was given years afterwards by "Aunt Polly" Todd herself: "In Februarv, Mr. Todd had the frame addition to his house all finished, and as Sam Russell ---the only violinist in the county-was procurable, Mr. and Mrs. Todd determined to give a housewarming. For this purpose all the settlers in Flint and Grand Blanc-about thirty in number-were invited to the 'Flint Tavern,' to pass the following evening. Meantime all the ladies put their best garments in readiness, and Mrs. Todd-who had better facilities for importing new articles into the settlement than many of the others —had a full new suit and a splendid new dress cap, ready for that special occasion, all purchased some weeks previously by Mr. Todd in Detroit. As the evening advanced, the guests commenced arriving, and 'Aunt Polly' concluded to dress up. As she appeared among the ladies they all expatiated on her becoming dress and 'perfect love of a cap.' Mrs. Todd, having a light in her hand at the time, stood opposite a looking-glass and, casting an admiring glance at herself therein, mentally agreed that she did look well, and that it was 'a love of a cap.' While elevating the light to get a more correct view of the beautiful piece of finery, it caught in some of the delicate borders or ribbons, and a fire ensued which reduced the gay headdress to a few burned rags in less than three minutes. However, the tuning of the fiddle previous to the dance set the gentlemen to looking up their partner, and Mrs. Todd, who loved dancing, was on the floor one of the first, looking just as well and as happy in another cap of less pretentions than her lost beauty. In those times a dance was the only amusement looked for at any gathering, and when an invitation was given, it was sure to be accepted." Other centers of hospitality and social life in early Flint were the Northern Hotel and the Genesee House. The Northern Hotel, which was built and kept for a short time by Captain Crane, was conducted by William I96 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Clifford, who founded the River House, which he had taken over from John Todd' in"I838, too small for his increasing business. The Northern Hotel then became headquarters for the Flint-Pontiac stage-line. The Genesee House was built in I837 by Thomas J. Drake, and stood at the angle formed by Detroit and Saginaw streets. Mr. Drake's successors were Cornelius Roosevelt, S. W. Gibson, W. R. Scoville, Mr. Allen, Mr. Pettee and Jared Mason. Mr. Mason subsequently built the Carlton House, which stood upon the site of the present Bryant Hotel, and was first opened January I, I836. This hotel was afterwards changed to the Irving House, and was destroyed by fire. THE PROFESSIONS. The professions of law and medicine were not represented in early Flint. The first resident attorney in the county, however, lived in Fentonville. He was Philip H. McOmber. About I832 he came to Michigan from Saratoga county, New York, practicing first in the Oakland county courts, but removing in 1834 to Fenton township. Hon. William M. Fenton, who knew him very well, says of him; that his talents as a lawyer were of a superior quality. He not only stood high as a lawyer, but was most highly esteemed as an honest and public-spirited citizen and a hospitable gentleman. He was the first prosecuting attorney of Genesee county. His death occurred about I844. The first resident attorney in Flint, who settled here in I836, had also previously practiced law in Oakland, to which, after a few years, he returned: this was Thomas J. Drake. According to Judge Baldwin, Mr. Drake was connected as counsel with most of the leading cases in northern Michigan during a long term of years, and was always happy and in his element when advocating the interests of the people. He was senator from Genesee county from I839 to 1842. The same year Mr. Drake settled in Flint, 1836, came John Bartow, who was soon after appointed register in the land office. He was elected state senator in 1837. In partnership with Mr. Bartow was Edward H. Thomson, who had been a student in the office of Millard Fillmore, afterwards President of the United States. He had practiced in New York. He came to Flint in 1838. In 1845-6 he was prosecuting attorney for Genesee county and was state senator from Genesee for the years 1848 and 1849. He also served in the lower house and filled many other important offices. As with the lawyers so with the doctors-the first physicians who served the settlers of Genesee county came from the neighboring Oakland. Among these pioneers of the profession were David L. Porter, J. B. Rich GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I97 ardson and Olmstead Chamberlain. The one most frequently employed was Doctor Chamberlain, although he was not compelled to rely on his profession for a livelihood and did not follow it as a regular business. He was present with Colonel Cronk in the fatal sickness of the latter at Flint in I832. The first physician to locate and practice in the county was Dr. Cyrus Baldwin, who settled at Grand Blanc in the spring of 1833, where he became a deacon in the Presbyterian church. In the following year Dr. John W. King located in the same settlement and for many years was a mighty influence for moral and spiritual, as well as the physical, health of Genesee county. The first resident physician in Flint was Dr. John A. H-oyes, who settled here in 1835. He was a graduate of the medical school at Fairfield, Herkimer county, New York. About I847 his health began to fail and two years later,on December 20, he died at Flint, aged forty-three years. Another of the earliest physicians in Flint was Doctor Richardson, who came about I837, but removed west soon after 1840. Thus in the professional as well as in the business and social life of Flint there has been considerable progress by the time Michigan was formally admitted to statehood. The rapid growth of Flint, and its.condition at the time Michigan became a state, is fairly reflected in Blois' "Gazetteer of Michigan": "Flint: A village, postoffice and seat of justice for Genesee county, situated on Flint river. It has a banking association, an edge tool factory, saw-mill, two dry goods stores, two groceries, two physicians, a lawyer and the land office for the Saginaw land district. The United States road passes through it. There is a good supply of water-power in and around it. The emigration to this place has been very great the past two years, and still continues. The village is flourishing and the country around it is excellent. It is estimated to contain three hundred families." CHAPTER V. PIONEER DAYS IN THE TOWNSHIPS. The county of Genesee as laid out by the act of I835 embraced all of its present area except the eastern range of townships, which then belonged to Lapeer. The oldest township in the county is Grand Blanc, organized March 9, 1833. It was larger than now, including its present area and all of the present townships of Fenton, Mundy, Flint, Mount Morris, Genesee, Burton, Atlas and Davison. The second township was Flint, erected March 2, 1836. It, too, was larger than now, embracing not only its present area and that of the city of Flint, but also the present townships of Burton, Clayton, Flushing, Mount Morris, Genesee, Thetford, Vienna and Montrose. Argentine was organized July 26, I836, which included the township of Fenton besides its present area. On March I I, 1837, was organized the township of Mundy, which then included also the present township of Gaines. By the same act Vienna was organized from the northern part of Flint, to include also the lands now in Montrose and Thetford. Thus, in 1837, all of Genesee county was included in five townships, Grand Blanc, Flint, Argentine, Mundy and Vienna, the latter having been added only a few weeks after the state was admitted to the Union. The remaining townships of the county were organized in the following order: 1838, March 6, Genesee, Fenton and Flushing. 1839, April 19, Kearsley, covering territory absorbed later by Genesee and Burton. I842, February I6, Thetford and Gaines. I843, March 9, Forest, Richfield, Davison and Atlas were added from Lapeer county. 1846, March 25, Clayton and Montrose; the latter was first called "Pewanagawink;" changed to "Montrose" by act of January 15, I848. 1855, February I2, Mount Morris. I855, October I2, Burton. R.5 E. a R.6 F nrt a1a 7I CO ~ - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- dL M3 2 m_12 2 \ M T -, f. L 2T7Z.31 /8,o, 2 LLiL iN 2 Ii:' " 9 J, / 4 /3 / 0 0 20 r- -IrT 3, 32 3.33 - 3.w = I h F/ 32 13- 3$ mI 5UI1[* 3 2 2q 22 ' 0? /\1K 2 I K 4! 2i2 232, o 2/ _ 22 30 84 2 23282 2 2 52 30 4 ) < 5 ~ 22/ ]33:4 35 1 r3 34 / L19 L2 2 fckJ ^ 2 649 aO 29a0 27 26A 3 3 / 6 5 / 14 F4 1 ~I Jb4 1 / f L OUTLINE AP OF GENSEE COUNTY. OUTLINE MAP OF GENESEE COUNTY. b GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I99 FLINT TOWNSHIP. Much that is of interest to the early settlement of the township has been given in the history of Flint, with which the township is very closely allied. The earliest land entries were made in 1833, by Nathan M. Miles, Levi Gilkey and Nathaniel Nelson. Most of the lands of the county were taken up in the year 1836 and scarcely an acre was left in the hands of the government after that year. To the families of Elijah Carmen and Jesse Torrey belongs the honor of first breaking the forests of the township. Mr. Carmen, who was slightly earlier than Mlr. Torrey, settled in I835 on section 25. He died there in 1840. Mr. Torrey settled in 1836 on section 24, with his wife, daughter and four sons, and their neighborhood became known as the Torrey settlement. At this settlement were cut the first logs ever floated down the Flint river, about one thousand, for which a compensation of fifty cents a log was received. Other early neighborhood settlements in the township were the Dye, Utley, Cronk, Bristol, Stanard, Carter and Crocker settlements, all originally founded by the gentlemen whose names they bear, who were leading spirits in these localities. One of the earliest of these was the Stanard settlement, on section 35, founded in 1836 by William N. Stanard and sons, of Genesee county, New York. The Cronk settlement, originally on sections 7 and 8, was founded by James WV. Cronk in 1837. The Dye settlement was founded by James W. Cronk in 1837. The Dye settlement was founded by Ruben Dye, who located in I843 on section 20; his sons established themselves around him and populated the settlement-hence the name. Among other leading settlers of the township in the earliest period were Lysander Phillips, Daniel O'Sullivan, Andrew Hyslop, George Crocker, Jeremiah Kelsey, Dewitt C. Curtis, Capt. Benjamin Boomer, Horace Bristol, Marvin B. Persons, WVilliam Van Slyke, Philip Beltsworth, J. D. Eggleston, John Thorne, Jabez Blackinton, F. A. Begole, Anson Gilbert, Edward Tupper, A. Herrick, Robert P. Aitkin, Morgan Chapman, Alfred Gifford, Cornelius Lane, Thomas Daly, Stephen Crocker, Robert Dullam and others. The first school house in the township was built in 1838, on the bank of Swartz creek, on the corner of section 23. The teacher who disciplined the youth of this early period was Miss Louisa Kimball, who afterwards became Mrs. Joseph Freeman and, later, Mrs. Horace Bristol. The second teacher was Miss Jane Watkins, whose brief career there was terminated by the burning of the log school house. Thereupon Mrs. Alonzo Torrey opened her own house for the school and for three months the pupils were taught 200 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. by her, while a frame building of more extended proportions was being constructed. The new building was opposite the old site on section 24. It was in this building that the early religious services of the township were held. Previous to this, however, in I836, Rev. James McAlester, of the Methodist denomination, formed a class and held service at the house of Alonzo Torrey. The class embraced members of the Torrey, Kelsey and Bristol families. The first circuit preacher who ministered to the spiritual wants of the little flock was Rev. Luther D. Whitney, who held services there during the years I838 and I839. We are happy to say that by the aid of Ernest Neff, clerk of Flint township, the early records of the township have been found and their valuable contents are now accessible to the historian. These records consist of various books: Book of Road Records; Book of Estrays and Marks; Record of the School Inspectors; Record of Town Libraries; Minutes of Surveys of Roads of Town of Flint. These books probably contain the earliest records in the county, except the records of the town of Grand Blanc, which are earlier by two or three years. Among the curios of these records are the records of marks, by which each owner of stock identified his property, and which suggests the time before fences were in order among the settlers. The first entry was made on the 4th day of April, I836, as follow: "Lyman Stow's mark, A slit in the right Ear. Recorded this 4th day of April, 1836." Then follow: "Alanson Dickinson's Mark, A Square Crop off the left ear. Apr. 8, 1836." "Ezekiel R. Ewing's Mark, A Swallow tail in the end of the right ear. May 2, I836." "Lewis Buckingham's Mark, A hole in the right ear, square left. Aug. 25, I836." "John Patton's Mark, A square crop off the right ear. Oct. II, 1836." "Grover Vinton's Mark, A Half Crop off the under side of the Right Ear and a Half crop off the upper side of the left Ear. Oct. loth, 1836." "Sherman Stanley's, Mark A Crop off the right ear and half penny under the Left. January 25th, I837." "Ephraim S. Walker's Mark a crop off the left ear and a slit in the right. April I2, I837." "Asa Torrey's Mark, A Crop and a slit off the Right Ear. April I7, I837. GENFSEEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 201 "James W. Cronk's Mark, A Swallow tail in the end of the left ear. April 20th, I837." "Jeremiah Kelley's Mark, A slit in the left ear. May 5, 1837." "John P. Kelley's Mark, A slit in the end of both ears. June 2, 1837." "Alonzo Torry's Mark, A hole in the right ear. June 12, I837." "Lysander Phillips' Mark. A Crop off the right Ear and A Slit in the Left. July ist, 1837." "Jessee Torrey's M'ark. A Crop and a Slit off the Left Ear. July 6, i837." An interlineation says "deceased I865." "Rufus WV. Stevens' Mark, A crop and a half Crop of the right ear. July 8, I837." "Philo Fairchilds Mark. A Half crop of the underside of the right ear. Jany. 14, T839.' "Plinny A. Skinner's Mark A Swallow tail in the left ear and a slit in the right. May 22, 1839." "Eben Storer's Mark A Slit in the end of the right ear and a slit on the under side of the same. Oct. 26, 1839." "Shubal Atherton's Mark A Square crop off the left ear. April 17, 840." "Adonijah l therton, Mark A Swallow tail in the end of the left ear. April 17, 184o." "Perus Atherton Mark a hole through the left ear. May 2, I840." "James Ingalls Mark a square crop off the left Ear and a happenny under the right." "Allert Storer's Mark A Slit in the end of the right Ear and a slit on the upper side of the same. January 22, 1842." "Nathan J. Rublee's Mark a Square Crop of the Wright ear. "Flint, January 29, 1842." "Stewart H. Webster's Mark a Slit in the Point of each ear. "Flint, Oct. 27, 1842." From this time on the entries of marks are less frequent, as probably the fences were beginning to hold the stock and make the ear-mark record of less utility. Charles G. Curtis, Asahel Curtis, Asahel Robinson, 0. Parker, Lewis Colby, Jesse Whitcomb, George R. Sprague and William Barnhart had entered their respective marks before I850, and on January 21, I85?, the firm 202 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. of Hazleton & MIcFarlan recorded their mark for logs, it being the letters, "H. M. T. B." This was the only mark for logs entered. The first entry of strays was in the month of December, 1839, and is as follow: "Came into the enclosure of the subscriber one yearling heifer on or about the fourth of December; I839. Said heifer is red, with one white star in her forehead and the end of her tail white; also said heifer is very small in size. Flint Dec. 17, 1839." Another similar finding of estray is entered in December of same year by John P. Kellogg, and thereafter from time to time strays were so reported by those who took them up. In the middle fifties the stock evidently had become more numerous and many entries are made of strays in 1855 and I856. Later on they were less proportionately and the last is entered on November 21, 1896. The record of libraries is a valuable index to the literary tastes of the earliest settlers of the county. From it we have taken.some interesting data in "Res Literaria." After the formation of the Ladies' Library Association, in I851, the activity of the school district libraries was not so pronounced. It was, however, kept up for many years more and the high standing of the books bought was maintained to the last. Many of the older people of the county can remember of school libraries and the educational work they did among the hungry minds of the patrons. The entries of the old book come down to I859, among the last entries being a list of books bought in 1858. The record of school inspectors opens with the records of a meeting of the board of school inspectors held at the town clerk's office, April ii, 1837, at which Ephraim Walker was elected chairman. Orrin Stafford, town clerk, signed the minutes of the meeting. At this meeting the inspectors divided the town into ten school districts, number one of which covered the territory of the present city south of the river and number two, that north of the river. The growth of the region rendered it necessary to create three more districts dluring the year. For the year ending with September, 1838, the report from district number one shows the attendance of pupils between five and seventeen years of age to have been thirty-nine in all; over seventeen, twenty-one; making the total number of scholars, sixty. The term of school was nine months. Most of the districts made no report. The amount of money raised in the first school district was ninety dollars for a school building and four hundred ninety-nine dollars for current school expenses. School district number five had school for six months, and raised seventy dollars for school purposes. School in the sixth district was kept seven months, and one hundred and ninety dollars was raised for expenses. GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 203 After paying therefrom one hundred dollars for a school house. No other district made report of any school supported in the districts. It appears that Lyman Stow, E. S. Walker and J. L. Gage were inspectors of schools for Flint township, and Josiah Alger, W. D. Morton and Dudley Brainerd, of Mundy township, in 1839. In 1839 districts numbers one, three, four and five reported schools, and an attendance in all of the four reporting, one hundred forty-seven pupils. The text books were Kirkham's Grammar, Blake's Philosophy, Webster's Spelling-book, Hale's United States History, Cobb's Reader, as standards; while in some, the report shows a number of text-books, including Peter Parley's Geography, Olney's Grammar, Emerson's Arithmetic, Smith's Arithmetic, Botham's Arithmetic, Adams' Arithmetic, all in the same school. In I840 the inspectors of the county, E. Drake and I. Stow, reported district number one as having the same number of pupils as in I838, namely, sixty; district number two, however, reported thirty-three, making the number within the territory of the present city of Flint, ninety-three. District number four had twenty-nine pupils; 'district five had twenty-five: number six had forty-two, and number eight, thirty-six. The record shows the reports of 184I, i842, I843, I844, and so on, down to the organization of the city, and then continues until the year I869. This old volume contains a mass of information as to the early schools of the county, and as such is invaluable. GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP. The oldest land entries in the present Grand Blanc township were made, July 17, 1824, by parties from Livingston and Ontario counties, New York. From Livingston were William Thompson and Charles Little; from Ontario, Samuel B. Perkins. The purchases were made on sections 9, io and 15, amounting in all to five hundred acres. Section 15 was the first section to be entirely bought up, the last purchase being made prior to July 4, 1829. The lands of the entire township had been taken up by I836, excepting, of course, section I6, which was school land. The first white settlers in Grand Blanc were Jacob Stevens and his familyi who came to the township in the spring of 1823. Besides Mr. Stevens and his wife, the family consisted of two sons and five daughters. They had arrived in Detroit from New York in August, 1822, and first settled in Oakland county, on the Saginaw trail, where they made some improvements; but finding their land title defective, they sold out and removed to Grand Blanc. 204 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. A letter written by Mr. Stevens in 1825 may be given as typical of the experiences of a settler removing with his family from "York State" to Genesee county in these early days: (riildralaw, July, A. D. 1825. Honored Parents ---The lperiod since I wvrote -you I acknowledIge is -a long one; and 1 have not sufficient rea-sons to offler to justify so shamieful -a neglect. Various, indeed, have beeii the changes,aud vicissitudes of mny life since that time. An atttemipt to describe them in a single letter would be unaivailing. -No faimily, perhaps, the size of mine can have enjoyed better health, say for twenty yeairs 1ast. Our doctors' bills heave scarcely exceedled that number of dollars. I sold my farm in Linia, soon after the cb(se of the war, for four thousaind (lollars. 1 wats some in debt, and my intention wais to lia\ve waited a few years to see what the turn of the times might be, anl thea Ilpurclase somewhere quite within the boumis (f mny capital; but fate or fortune determiued otherwise. The family soon became uneasy at having no permnanent home of their own. Indeed, I disliked a state so inactive myself, anttd dleternllnedt to purchmse, and dlid, to neatrly the amount of my nioney. It was well la-id out, but at at bad tinie. I was sensible a depreciation oi1 property must take lplace, but Ilut it off till by aIld by, an(1 sonie way or other was blind to its approach. The farmn admitted of great ilallrovelments beiag mnade, ancid a good house ailong the rest would lbe very convenient, alll, accordingly, thie best mieans we had were taken to procure materials, viz: stone, brick, lumber, etc. About tills tulle tile amazing fall in the value of real estate, a5 well as of all other property, and the niany compllaiuts from other people, whom I thouglht forehanded, but in delt to ile, was alarminin. I told Rufus (who seemed the boy destined to live at hiome) miy fears, atinc I thought we had better sell off our luniber, etc., mind endetavor to back out. Naturally,allbitious, this idea hie could Ilot brooik. lie preferred to drive the bulildlinlg and risk tile consequences. We finally did, and it is only necessary to observe that it flung us completely iii tie background ii bad times. Since that we have had many shifts and but few shirts. Too proud to be poor tamong niy old friends, I deterinned to try a new country again. hlichiglani seenacit the mimost lroper. leiamg atbout the samine latitude aiinl ea.siest of access. We arrived ill Detroit tie latter part of August, 1822, with about eight hundred in casn;iml(d so511 other lproperty. Misfortune, however, seelIed unwilling to quit us at tilis 1point. Rufus had been iii the country oiie year previous to this and had contracted for a piece of land, second-hlanded, land had done considerbile e labor on the sanle. I did mot,altogether like tie land, but conlcluded to niuke la stand aind go to work. WA e built a good log house, (lug a well, amled micade sonie other improvements, but before one year had ptassed we found we could get no title to the laud. This place was about twenty-five miiles northwest of Detroit [probably ii the vicinity of Pontiac], anld what to do in this case was a material question. Our expenses drew Iard upon our little capitfal, mmnd to spend mnlore money an(d iuore tulle there mras preposterous. Eventually, we a1greed to try another veature. At tills time tilere were troops stationed at SaginawI, a place about seventy-five miles northiw-est of Detroit, and on our route. A settlement had been comnlencedi there and tie slpirit of settlement seemed bent for the umortlwest. We sold our improvements to Mr. Oliver Williamis, and took his note for tiirty-five dollars a year, for five years, reserving tie use of the house for one year r. In Muirch, 1823, Rufus and I started to explore to tie northwest. We were much Iie~Ised with tie country and prospects at this place. Tie road thus far harld no obstacles to inilpe-de a teanm with a remsonable load for 4any country, and aIt this GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 205 time was. considerably traveled by officers, Indians, traders and settlers at Saginaw. We believed that an establishment here might not only be beneficial for ourselves, but convenient for travelers and emiigrants. It is an old Indian settlement, situated about twenty miles from our first place, and about the same distance from the farthest white settlement northwest of Detroit. There are some French families seven miles northwest of us [Flint], and no more until we reach Saginaw. Rufus and I flung up a small log house, and on the 23d of May, 1823, Eunice, myself, two youngest children, Rufus and Sherman, with a good team, and as many goods as would make us comfortable, arrived here. We cleared, plowed and sowed with wheat and oats about ten acres, completing the same June 1Otn. Mrs. Stevens and the children then returned, and one of the girls kept house, and so through the season. At this time we felt morally certain of having neighbors the next spring; but here, sir, I must inform you that the government saw fit the winter following to evacuate the post at Saginaw, which measure has, so far, completely parallyzed all settlements to the northwest, turning the tide of emigration, which has been very great, to the south and west. This was, indeed, very discouraging, but for us there was no fair retreat. * * After speaking of his Indian neighbors, who were very friendly, he concludes as follow: Several purchases have lately been made of premises adjoining us, and, we have little doubt, will be settled next spring, land preparations seem to be making ollce more for a settlement at Sagilnaw. We have this year one hundred and seventy shocks of wheat and about nile acres of corn, the stoutest growth of corn I ever raised. If nothing befalls, I lanticipate fifty bushels to the acre. We have two yoke of oxen, two horses, five cows, plenty of hogs, and a number of young cattle, and such is the country that they keep fat sunmmer and winter. The winters are surprisingly mild.,Last winter, in fact, was no winter at all. We did not spend three tons of hay with;11 our stock. A large portion of the country is openings, and the cattle get their living in old fog and basswood sprouts in the swales. The greatest country for wild feed and hay I ever saw. We cn summer and winter 1any number of cattle if we had them. Blue joint is the princilpl grass in the low meadows. On the higher parts is found considerable red-top Land foul meadow grass. Jemima has a family, and lives in the state of New York. Iloraltio and Augustus are merchants in that state. Horatio, I understand, is quite forehainded. Augustus is also doing well. Eunice and Charlotte are there at present on a; visit. Patty kleeps school tils summer in the territory. The rest of the family are in the woods. Jacob Stevens was then a man of fine proportions, about sixty years of age. As is said by one who knew, "He was a true type of the gentlemen of the old school, to whose moral and physical courage as a pioneer was united a rare intelligence marked by a literary taste, showing itself conspicuously even in the few scattered remnants of his correspondence which have come down to this day." About 183I he returned to New York, with the majority of his family, where he passed the remaining portion of his life. Rufus W. Stevens, his son, traded with the Indians in a log house situated on the site of the later Grand Blanc Hotel. He became the first post 206 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. master of Grand Blanc. In 1830 he commenced a saw-mill, and soon after a grist-mill, on what became known as the Thread Mill property. These mills performed a most important function, for years supplying all the people living between Pontiac and Saginaw. In the early thirties Stevens moved to Flint and became identified with the milling interests there.. In October, 1825, Edmund and Rowland B. Perry entered lands situated upon sections II and 14. In the following February, Edmund removed some of his family here from Avon, Livingston county, New York, and the rest of the family in 1826. He was a native of Rhode Island, an educated Quaker, possessed of great energy and force of character, a respected citizen and a kind friend who believed in doing good without ostentation. His granddaughter, Isabella, was the first white child born in Genesee county. Other settlers of Grand Blanc prior to the winter of I830-3I were, Edward H. Spencer, \illiam Roberts, George E. Perry, Judge Jeremiah Riggs and sons, Joseph McLarlen, Jeremiah Ketchum, Caleb S. Thompson, Jonathan Dayton, Caleb Embury, Ezekiel R. Ewing, Washington Thompson, Phineas Thompson, Judge Jeremiah R. Smith, Silas Smith, R. T. Winchell, Clark Dibble, Jonathan Davison and Pearson Farrar. Caleb S. Thompson relates that at the time of his arrival in I829 there were about forty-five persons in Grand Blanc, all of whom, with one or two exceptions, were Avon, Livingston county, New York. Edward H. Spencer had a rough log house, and about one acre cleared and planted to corn, potatoes, etc. The Stevenses had some forty acres under cultivation and there were some fifty or sixty acres in cultivation in the Perry settlement. Judge Riggs and his sons had also made a good beginning. Thirteen lots lying along the Saginaw road and seven lots on Perry street had already been purchased and ten more eighty-acre lots were entered during the remaining part of the year 1829. The Saginaw road was laid out and staked so that it was easy to find it, but no work had been done upon it. The traveled highway, which followed the Indian trail, went rambling around through the woods, avoiding hills and swamps, and was quite a comfortable wagon road. The streams and low places had been bridged some time previous by the United States soldiers stationed in garrison at Saginaw. After 1830 settlers began to come in rapidly, mainly from western New York. In 1833 the township was organized, and the first election, which was held at the house of Rufus W\. Stevens resulted in the choice of the following' officers: Supervisor, Norman Davison; clerk, Jeremiah R. Smith; assessors, Rtufus X\. Stevens, Lyman Stow and Charles Butler; justices of the peace, Norman Davison, Lyman Stow and Jeremiah R. Smith; constable and col GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 207 lector, Augustus C. Riggs; highway commissioners, John Todd, Edmund Perry and Jonathan Dayton; constable, Elijah N. Davenport; trustees of school lands, Loren P. Riggs, Clark Dibble and James W. Cronk; commissioners of schools, Jeremiah Riggs, Jeremiah R. Smith and Norman Davison; school inspectors, David Mather, Paul G. Davison and Caleb S. Thompson; director of the poor, Edmund Perry; overseers of highways, District I, George Oliver; District 2, Jonathan Davison; District 3, Norman Davison; District 4, Ira Dayton. The village of Grand Blanc was one of the earliest village centers in the county. As early as 1826 a postoffice was established, with Rufus W. Stevens as postmaster. His house was also the first public tavern in the place. The first regular store was opened by Robert F. Stage and Ira D. Wright in 1835, with a stock valued at twenty thousand dollars, though this was moved to Flint in 1836. The first school was a small frame bluilding built by Edmund Perry, Sr., about I830, and Miss Sarah Dayton taught the first school there. The earliest church societies were the Baptist, Congregational and Methodist, all organized by I835, with goodly congregations. FENTON TOWNSHIP. The first land entered in the township of Fenton was taken in March, 1834, by Clark Dibble, on section 34. In April of that year Dustin Cheney and family came from Grand Blanc township and settled where now is the village of Fenton. The years immediately following witnessed the growth of a considerable settlement in the southern part of the township, settlers coming in from neighboring counties and from New York. A settlement was made at the site of Linden in 1836. Very little land of the township remained in the hands of the government by the end of that year and by the following year settlement was reached up into the northern sections. In I834 came R. A. Carman and A. S. Donaldson; in 1835, Jonathan Shepard, Joseph Thorp, William Remington and Elisha Larned. Mr. Larned was from Yates county, New York, and settled on section 32, but in 1837 moved to Fenton. William Remington, a native of Rhode Island, and later a resident of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and of Dutchess and Ulster counties, New York, came with Mr. Larned in I835, settling near him. Joseph Thorp came from Genesee county, New York, and settled finally on section 36, at the site of Fenton. -The Chapin brothers, Alonzo and Murzah, were two of the first settlers in Fenton township. Originally they were from Irondequoit, Monroe county, 208 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. New York, but had come to Wayne county, Michigan, in 1833, where they located in the township of Dearborn. Murzah Chapin and his family moved into Fenton township in 1836, and Alonzo and wife, the year after. They settled first near Mud lake, and later near Linden. During the years of his early residence in the township, Alonzo engaged in teaming in various parts of the state, transporting goods for settlers and making trips as far west as Lake Michigan, becoming widely acquainted with pioneer families and the conditions of settlement over a wide area. He became one of the most prosperous farmers in the county and was for many years a strong influence in the growth of the Fenton neighborhood. Prominent among others who came to the township before I840 were Oliver Warren, Theophilus Stone, Walter Sluyter, A. Kirby, H. M. Thompson, H. Lee, M. Walton, J. Van Winkle and S. P. Thompson. Very early in the settlement of the township, population began to concentrate about a site of great natural beauty on the Shiawassee river, in the extreme southeast, which was destined to develop into the present flourishing village of Fenton. The story of the discovery of this site and of its first settlers, cannot be better told than in the words of Hon. Dexter Horton in an address made in the centennial year of I876: Early] in the year 1<34, Clark Dibble was threading his way through a trackless wilderness from Shiawassee to G(rutllaw (now- (now (nd Bllanc), and by somle mistale he got on the White Lake trail. Ileaching what is now Ilillnman's, he started to make farther north and first discovered this beautiful place which is now our village. He was so forcibly struck with its location that lie stopped for a day and examined thoroughly the lay of the land. So taken up was lie with the place that on his arrival at "Grumlaw" lie induced Dustin Cheniey, Loren Riggs.and John Galloway, with their families to comie with him to this spot ( Cheney and family came first, then Clark Dibble, then Galloway and itiggs —all in April, 1<834. Mrs. Dustin (Cheney was the first whlite woanli that stepped on the spot where our flourishing village now stands. Todaly she is slowly plassing away. She resided within one mile of where I now stand, having acted well her part in the great dratma of life-the mother of eight children. For the last fifteen years she can truly say, "I'm blind, oh, I'm blind." Go and visit her, as I have done, and listen to her words of wisdom 1and her tale of pioneer life, and then say, if you can, if she has not performed well her part in life. Though blind to the world, though darkness obstructs her vision, she sees across the river with ai vision as bright as the dazzling rays of the noonday sun. What a chapter, what a history might be written of this truly good woman! Harrison Cheney was the first while child born here, and both mother and child are living. Cheney's family built the first house, on the ground where Mrs. B. Birdsail now resides, the next, where Egllery Anderson now lives;,Galloway the next, near the gate to the fair ground. Many weeks had not passed before the cry came from the little band in the wilderness, "Lost! Lost!" Louise Cheney, a little prattling, sweet cherub of seven years, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 209 had strayed away. Her Ilotlher, with some of the older children, had gone around a little swale, where Chandler's house now stands, to see if there would not be a good place to plant corn. She told the little girl to go back, but somehow she strayed iaway, and the cry of "Lost! Lost" reached (Gr:nd Blanc, Groveland, Holly and White l;ke, and the pioneers clame to assist. On the third 1day, It. Winchell, who had been at work on Dibble's mill, and who lhad been hunting for the child, camne in nearly exhausted and threw himself on the bed at albout twelve o'clock. At about two o'clock he awoke, having dreamed where the child was. HIe immedi:ltely put on his hat and went and found the child in the exact spot where, but a1 few l noments before, he saw her ii his dream. She had been lost three days anld was found just over beyond the hill where the Baptist seminary now stands, near a little pool of water. She was in nearly an exhausted condition. The little thing would crawl dow1 and take a drink of water, and then crawl back on dry ground to die. She afterwards became the first wife of Galen Johnson. Dibble built the first saw-mill, in 1834, and got it running in the fall. One by one the pioneers camne: It.. McOmber alnd family, Uncle Dick Donaldson and family, It. LeRoy, W. 1... Fenton, W. e,. Remington, Walter Dibble, E. Pratt, A. Bailey, etc. The first hotel was built, in 1837, by It. LeRoy and W. M. Fenton, where the Everett House now stands, and Mr. Fenton opened it with a dance. July 4th of the salme year, Uncle Dick IDonaldson's band did the fiddling and Elisha Lamed gracefully made music with the tumblers and decanters behind the bar. R. LeRoy opened the first store, where Richardson's wagon-shop now stands, in 1837, and in 1838 was applointed first postmaster, and held that office for thirteen years. A Mr. Taylor succeeded him, and after his death a part of the postoffice was found in his pocket. This year (1838) the first school house was built and a Mr. Nottingham was the first teacher. At that time the right of the schoolmaster to whip was not questioned, aind a deeper and more lasting implression was often made with the gad than with the blackboard. At this time, and in this old log school house, a pioneer and gentleman, now living a short distance fro1m here, was called, as he thought, to preach, and in an hour of work and religious excitement he had what was called in those days the "power." He rolled over and over on the floor. Scott McOmber played that the young mIlln had fainted, seized a pail of water, and immediately the "power" left him and the would-be preacher revived. The first physician was Doctor Pattison; the first blacksmith was Elisha Holmes, and the first bricklayer, John Harmon. The first church organization was that of the First Presbyterian church, which took place February 28, 1840, in the third story of the now Britton store, and the following constituted its membership: Silas Newell, Sarah Newell, George H. Newell, John Hadley, Jr., Sophia Hadley, Benjamin Rockwell, Louisa Rockwell, Daniel LeRoy, Mrs. LeRoy, Lucy Thorp, John Fenwick, Jane Fenwick, James K. Wortman, John C. Gallup, Mrs. Gallup, Eliza McOmber and Lucy LeRoy. The giant oaks were felled, migration continued to flow in, and God was in the wilderness. Another interesting reminiscence of early days in Fenton is found in an address made in 1878 by Dr. S. W. Pattison, who was the first resident physician in Fenton. Following is an extract from this address: (I4) 210 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Dibbleville, now Fentonille, was a central point where several Indian trails came together, about sixty miles from Detroit and twenty-eight miles from Pontiac, having Holly on the east, Rose on the south, Byron on the west and Mundy on the north. I was satisfied that eventually it would become a place of some importance, and time nas justified my expectation. At this time the Indians were in the neighborhood in large numbers, cultivating some land near by. I will relate a little circumstance to illustrate the state of society in Dibbleville in 1836. While I was exploring as already stated, leaving my family in the building where the Indians had for a long time procured whisky, they could not realize the change and still visited the house in search of their poison-whisky. One day a very fierce and ugly-looking Indian came in and insisted upon being furnished whisky. Peeking around, he discovered a small trunk and, shaking it, produced quite a jingling, as it contained one or two hundred dollars in silver. His conduct quite alarmed my wife, who feared she would receive another visit from this ugly-looking savage. Her fears were fully realized, for about one or two o'clock at night he commenced a violent knocking at the door, which was well barricaded, saying lie wantel scoter (fire). He continued his knocking until it was evident he would break down the door. Wife calling for a gun to shoot the Indian, my son (editor of the Ypsiitlnti Commercial), then twelve years of age, found his way out from a chamber entran.ce and alarmed Mr. Dibble, who scared the marauder off, and the next day scared him from the vicinity. It soon became known that a physician had settled a-t Dibbleville, and I h-ad professional calls quite a distance-to Highland, White Lake, Grand Blanc, D)eerfield, Hartland, etc. I was guided to many of these places through timbered openings by Imarlked trees, often following Indian trails. At this time government lands were being rapidly taken up, and while some lands were taken by speculators, the country was being dotted all over by real residents, and the greater number were enterprising, thrifty and intelligent, making good society. Highland, generally known as "Tinney Settlement," and White Lake are samples, building schlool houses and churchles.almlost from the first settlement. Many of the first settlers, however, were poor, and when they had taken up their homes had but little left to live on, and provisions were very high. I well remember paying fifteen dollars for a barrel of flour and every kind of eatables in proportion. Much of corn, oats, etc., came fronm Ohio, but Tinney settlement was our Egypt. There was corn there. The second year I made several meals among the farmers on boiled wheat for bread, and it was no sacrifice. This scarcity was of short duration. Soon there was a surplus of provisions, and Detroit, sixty miles away, was our market, and money was as scarce as provisions had been. During the months of August and September the intermittent and remittent fevers-diseases peculiar to low or flat countriesprevailed to a large extent. The well were the exception; whole families were down; many became discouraged, and some fled back to New York; but it was remarkable that most of these returned again to Michigan. But here and there an old pioneer can realize the privations and hardships of the first settlers of this part of Michigan. They were generally industrious, and the axe and the plow soon converted the forests, oak-openings and prairies into fruitful fields. The first Sabbath school at Dibbleville was begun in my house and conducted by my wife, assisted by Norris Thorp, then a young man. It was soon after removed to a log school house on the east side, and strengthened by a Mr. Warren's family and others moving in, it became a permanent institution." GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 211 William M. Fenton, once lieutenant-governor of Michigan, after whom the town and village were named, writes interestingly about this time of the early days in Fenton; especially appropriate here is the following: Dibbleville-so called from Clark Dibble-in 1836 comprised a small saw-mill, situated where the flouring-mill in the village now stands, a small frame shell of a house, near Clark's house (a shell also), and another occupied by Dr. S. W. Patterson. The road from Springfield passed the house of James Thorp, east of the village, and crossed near the present bridge. Dibble's house was near the west end of the bridge. Thence the road to the "Grand River country" passed on to the west, striking the present road near the public square; thence by L. P. Riggs' and Bailey's farms and on by "Sadler's Tavern" west. Another road branched off to "Warner's Mills," now Linden, passing John Willbur's and Dustin Cheney's farms. Wallace Dibble occupied the farm south and Ebenezer Pratt, that north of the village, and a road ran north passing McOmber's and so on to William Gage's and thence to Grand Blanc. The above names comprise the nearest settlements at that time, and the above all the roads, which were simply tracks marking the first passage of teams through the county. This point was early noticed by business men of Pontiac, which was the market for flour at that time from Scott's Mills at DeWitt; the flour being drawn down this road, crossed the stream here, thence to Springfield and to IPontiac. Scott's gray team was familiar with its load to all on this line, walking at the rate of four miles an hour day after day, and fed only nights and mornings. In the year 1836, Robert LeRoy and William M. Fenton were selling goods in Pontiac. Their attention was turned in this direction. Judge Daniel LeRoy (father of Robert) predicted that this point would be on the great and principal thoroughfare and line of railroad to the western portionl of the state, and LeRoy and Fenton, having the choice of buying here or that part of Flint west of Saginaw street and south of the river, chose by Judge LeRoy's advice this point, established themselves here in I)ecember, 1836, and, at the judge's suggestion, pllatted and named the village Fentonville in the spring of 1837. The work of starting a village was commenced by putting the little uncovered saw-mill, with its single saw, in motion; a road to Flint (present plank road), another to White Lake. etc., were projected, and a new saw-mill, a gristmill, tavern, store and dwellings begun. Benjamin Rockwell purchased a third interest and added by his means to the enterprise. The first building they erected was the house, corner Adelaide street and Shiawassee avenue (southwest corner), built of plank, sawed within the week in which it was erected, and at once occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Fenton as residence and boarding-house for fifteen to thirty mechanics until the hotel was built. The household goods were brought on lumber-wagons from Pontiac and the stream was crossed on a bridge of logs. 1 well remember driving such a load, reaching the stream after dark, finding it swollen by rains, hailing "Clark," who came down to the river-side with a lantern, and then, with its light as my "guiding star," cracking my whip and driving across, every log afloat and sinking a foot or more under the horses' feet; but we were safely across, and that little pioneer experience only added zest to our enjoyment of new scenes and primitive modes of life, which must be seen to be appreciated. In the spring of 1837 a township meeting was held at the house called "Sadler's Tavern," four miles west of Fentonville. The towns of Fenton and Argentine were then one and called Argentine. About two o'clock p. m. of town meeting day, a load of working men (as were all the pioneers) from Fentonville drove up to the polls and 212 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. offered their votes. James H. Murray and Dr. S. W. Patterson were on the board and refused to accept the votes, stating they had voted for supervisor in the morning and "declared off.' The secret was they had declared off for a Whig and the load were Democrats. They feared the result. An argument ensued; they canvassed and counted up, and finding the vote offered would not change the result, received them, Doctor Patterson stating their way of declaring off was the law, because they did so in "York State." We could't see it, and the result of this trifling affair was that application was lmade at the next session of the Legislature, and, through the influence of Daniel B. Wakefield, then senator from this district, the township of Fenton was set off, and henceforth;managed its own business in Michigan, and not in York state fashion. * * * * * Prudence and foretlought are seldom the clharacteristics of the pioneer. To illustrate: On visiting this place in the winter of 1836-37, Clark Dibble's house furnished the only entertainment. He was a pioneer proper. He had a wife and plenty of small children; his house was a shell, only sided up; rooms it had none, but a blanket separated the boarders from the family; the latter occupied the stove-room, in whicn were a bed, a few chairs and a table. Here were the family and what few clothes belonged to them, with some sets of crockery, knives and forks; and here we must eat or starve. Clark would arise with the lark, go to a log he had drawn up before the door, chop off enough to make a fire, then take his gun and go to the woods and, in a little time, bring in a deer. Venison was the staple meat and buckwheat cakes, the bread. Tea could be had at intervals and whisky occasionally; butter, wheat, flour and pork were scarce commodities. Many a curious scene has transp)ired in that shanty. Old Nate Bailey was one of the characters, John Wilbur, another, and the traveler stopping to warm would be regaled by a conversation.nd see the peculiar leer of the eye and shrug of the shoulders of those half-ragged and bandit-looking men, and feel, as he left them, he had escaped a danger. Peace to Clark Dibble's ashes! He has gone from among us, killed by the fall of a tree on his own p)lace, to which lie had removed over the hills south. But his housekeeper must come in for a note in "historical incidents." At dinner, one day, the boiled venison and buckwheat cakes were being rapidly bolted by hungry men. More venison was called for. She put her fork into the kettle for another piece and raised, to the consternation of his guests, what? Not a piece of venison, as was anticipated, but one of Clark's cast-off stockings, no doubt accidentally inserted in the boiling vessel by one of the little imps cutting capers around bed and stove. It can be better imagined than described how hungry men seized a buckwheat cake and declared themselves perfectly content to go their ways and eat no more of that particular mess of pottage. One of Wilbur's familiar illustrations, when he wished to be considered as saying something shrewd, was, "There is a wheel within a wheel, Mr. LeRoy," for many years the settlers were amused by his saying, while they recollected and recounted their earliest impressions of Uncle John and old Nate Bailey —the latter peculiarly looking the brigand, although in fact as harmless as a dove. One of the maxims of that day was that a barrel of whisky was better in a family (especially to bring up a family) than a farrow cow. This may be so-it is not necesSary to argue the point-but there seemed reason to believe that "Argentine Madeira," as whisky from Murray's was called, had a good deal to do with the brigands, their queer looks and mysterious sayings and shrugs. Let not old Nate be confounded with one of the earliest settlers, Elisha Bailey. He was a well-digger and, although advanced in years, at one time received upon his GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 2I3 back, in the bottom of the well, a falling tub filled with stone. Most men would have been killed by the blow. Bailey survived and, while much injured, still recovered and dug more wells. * * * The immigration of 1836 was continued, but with some abatement, in 1837. The influx of settlers in and around Fentonville was large; farmers settled about the village 1and for several miles in each direction, and each made his bee and summoned all to his aid; mechanics and men of all employment sought this point and soon after the opening of the spring, a store and hotel, saw-mill, grist-mill, blacksmith shop, carlenter's and I)ainlter's shops and houses were under way and in rapid progress of construction. The hotel first built was what is now known as the Riggs I-ouse; it was the first store on the opposite corner of the street, since changed to face south, and is the building now standing on the northwest corner of Shiawassee avenue and LeRoy street. No better store or tavern was known north of Detroit in those days. The house on the north side of the lublic square (occulpied by Sheldon) was erected also by William M. Fenton, and then considered a big house. Houses on both sides of the river were erecteld; Judge LePoy built the house now constituting part of LeRoy Hotel and Benjamin Rockwell, one on the north side of the river now occupied by Nathaniel lodge. These, in my recollection, not to forget Elisha Holmes' blacksmlith shop, were among the first buildings and mostly finished in 1837-38. The lumber was sawed principally at the old mill, and the new, after it was up, including some pine logs from Long Lake. Whitewood and basswood were used to a considerable extent, but the better quality of pine required, including sash- and door-stuff and shingles, were hauled from Flint. This spot showed in that year all the bustle, activity and enterprise of a village soon to grow into large proportions, and here let me remark, as a well-known fact, that but for the pecuniary embarrassment and want of capital of the early proprietors, Fentonville in its first three years growth would have increased in polpulation at least fourfold beyond what, with its limited means at hand, it was destined to reach. But there was no lack of perseverance and unity of feeling then among its population; all labored late and early, and when any public occasion called them out, none remained behind. The Fourth of July was celebrated that year in perhaps as gay and festive style as it ever has been since. The hotel was unfinished. but its roof was on, sides inclosed and floors'laid, iand Esquire McOmber wvas invited to deliver the usual address. Marshal Hamilton, las he was called (a carpenter, since removed to Tuscola), in the red sash of one of his ancestors, directed the procession, and an extensive one, rest assured, it was; not a pioneer-wagon for ten Iniles around had delosited its load in the forest but it was here that day, with all its forlmer living freight, and the newborn infants to boot. Fifes and drums, too —the remainders, perhaps, of some York state militiatraining-were in requisition, and guns were fired from Holmes' anvil. Shiawassee, Livingston and Oakland turned out in numbers large for the time and seats of rough boards were placed for the assemblage as they gathered to that promising buildingthe hotel. Esquire McOmber delivered one of his finest speeches, a free lunch was zealously partaken, the toasts were patriotic to the core, and, to crown all, we had, as usual, not only great heat, but a violent thunder-storm just at the close of our feast, which shook the earth and heavens, and made the building tremble and dishes rattle, whereat Esquire McOmber, being in his happiest mood, turning his eyes upward, poured forth a stream of fervid eloquence and made use of some tremendous expletives which it becomes not a veracious writer of history-to be read by all the human family hereabouts-to relate. The old settlers, if any read this, will remember and supply the omi ssionl 214 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Philip H. McOmlber, the father of the McOmbers now known in Fenton, was: lawyer from Saratoga county, New York. At an early day (say 1835) he settled in Genesee county. Long Lake was the spot he selected and upon its banks, where now stands the Long Lake Hotel, he erected a dwelling. Enterprising and talented as a lawyer, he soon became widely and favorably known * * *and it is due to Philip EI. McOmber, as well as to his sons, that honorable mention in this sketch of our early history should be made of one who, with others, made the wilderness "to bud and blossom as the rose." For many years, on the banks of Long Lake, a hospitable mansion welcomed all who came, and the delicious peaches raised by him for many years on the banks of the lake were freely bestowed and gratified the palates of all who ranked among his friends or who made his house their home for the time being. He, with many other pioneers of this region, has gone to his last resting-place, and to him, with others, we who survive should not hesitate to award the ineed of praise for their untiring energy in bringing into notice this region of country, now teeming with its busy population and its industrious citizens. Among the many incidents of interest in the early settlement of this town, let me not forget to name the fact that the first piano, the tones of which were heard in Fentonville, was brought here in 1837 by Mrs. Benjamin Rockwell, a sister of W. M. Fenton. It was placed in the hotel (now Riggs House), in the large room, southeast corner, second story. Mrs. Iockwell and Mrs. Fenton were both good players. At a place north of Long Lake resided a band of Indians; lnany of them were well known, but more especially the one called "King Fisher." He was the chief of the tribe and from year to year received the presents of his tribe, not only from the United States. but from Catnada, traveling annually for that purpose to Detroit and Malden. Tlie band was large. Fisher, the chief, was, on occasions of his visits, dressed in a frock coat of navy blue, a tall hat of furs, ornamented with silver bands and medals, rings pendent from his ears, gaiters and leggings of deerskin and strings of wampuml and beads appended. Take him all in all, he was worthy of his name. Small in stature, but with a bold, manly bearing, erect and dignified, he trod the earth as one of nature's noblemen, which he certainly was. His house (of logs) was always open to welcome and cherish the weary traveler, and no more hospitable board or convenient lodging was found in all the country round. The traveler was furnished with the skins and furs of the wild beasts of the forest for his bed, and as by magic, when he retired to repose around him fell, in gentle folds, the light gauze protection from the enemy of sleep (mosquitoes), in those days so little known to ordinary inhabitants, but carefully provided for his quiet by "King Fisher." Would you know how in those days he looked, find the portrait of Aaron Burr, or one who has been him as he trod Wall street in his falling days, and the one is a counterpart of the other. Fisher, with some of his family (now living and known to most of the readers), came down to hear the music of which he had been told. He, in his full dress, was, with some of his tribe, ushered up and in his kingly majesty took the chair offered him and sat, but without uncovering; his attendants stood respectfully about him and a little retired. Petowauokuet, an Indian and a good deal of a joker, familiar to the pioneers and usually full of fun, awed by the presence of majesty, stood back in respectful silence. Mrs. Rockwell struck the keys. The Indians generally seemed enchanted; King Fisher's muscles were rigid, not a movement or sound of surprise from him; he was' all dignity and bore himself as a king. The piece played, the song sung, and he turned to Mrs. Fenton and, through Dan Runyan, who was present as his interpreter-for he disdained to speak English, although he fully understood it, as in his squiby (drunken) moods was readily seen-asked her to GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 2I5 dance! Of course this was too much and was respectfully declined, but it was about as much as kingly dignity could do to prevent all the little Indians from tripping it on the light, fantastic toe, to the music of the piano as played by Mrs. Rockwell. Arising with the dignity peculiar to his race, Fisher exclaimed, as he gazed at the piano, "Man could not make it; Manitou made it!" In front of the Riggs Hotel, and near the sidewalk, stood then two or three oak trees of medium size and fine shade. In preparing for building, these were carefully preserved until after the hotel was completed, and travelers and others began to hitch their horses near, when the constant stamping of horses and cattle about their roots caused their decay. I have often thought it would have been money well invested to have inclosed those trees with a substantial fence, far enough from their roots to have preserved theim. Like the one which still remains at the house of Ben. Birdsall, those trees would now have towered up in the grandeur of the "tall oak of the forest," and spread their branches wide, and shaded and sheltered and protected from storm and sun not only the hotel, but many buildings near, and the traveler and pedestrian as they passed along LeRoy street. But they have gone; the doom of decay was upon them, and, like all things terrestrial, they were soon passing away. My recollection is that the first preaching we had in Fentonville was from Elder Jones (late of Holly, and whose sons are settled there, or near), a Baptist minister, and that he held forth at the house of Doctor Patterson. On the north side of the river, about where David Smith's house is, was a log school house. Ministers of other denominations made occasional visits and preached there. The want of some convenient place for church and public meetings was soon seen and al house for that purpose was built by William M. Fenton on the southwest corner of Elizabeth and LeRoy streets. It was a one-story building of fair length:and width, fitted up with seats and a plain desk, and answered the purpose, not only for religious, but public meetings for some years, and was free of rent. The first Presbyterian minister was Mr. VanNess, who was succeeded by Mr. Burghardt, and all seemed very glad to have a place for worship. Several political meetings were held there also and a debating school was started with headquarters in the same building. It imay be that the numerous young men of Fentonville who have become soinewlihat eminent in the legal profession gained their first ideas of oratory in that same first church edifice, which, after the building of the First Presbyterian church, was sold to Rlobert Ieioy, who removed it to where Roberts' hotel is, and it 1now constitutes his bar-room. Among the young men, graduates from Mr. Fenton's law office, which stood adjoining, may be named Thomas Steere, Jr., now of Woonsocket, Rhode Island., and late United States consul at Dundee, Scotland; Thomas A. Young, late a soldier in the Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, killed and buried on the battlefield of Shiloh; J. G. Sutherland, of Saginaw, now judge of that circuit; and Henry Clag Riggs, Esq., well known among us, now journeying to the far West, seeking perhaps a new home and more room for his ambition to soar in. They have all (lone themselves credit in their profession, and we need not be ashamed that their first training constitutes part of our early history. Among the merchants of Fentonville may be named Samuel N. Warren and William M. Thurber, now of Flint, and Davi(l Slhawt, of, the same place. Physicians of an early day were Doctor Patterson, before named; Dr. Thomas Steere, long and favorably known, whose remains, with those of his wife, now repose in the cemetery; Doctor Gallup, now principal, of a female seminary in Clinton, New York; all intelligent and highly respectable as 216 GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. practitioners and as citizens and doing themselves and the residence of their adoption credit while among us. The log house was soon found to small for the rising generation (for be it known that pioneers are generally young married people, whose offspring come fast upon the stage and require schooling) and a school house of fair dimensions and tolerable appearance was erected near the site of the First Presbyterian church. The lot for this, as well as the church, were donations —so was the cemetery-to the public, but church and school house have disappeared. The title to the lots is vested in private persons, but the cemetery remains a monument to those who have passed away, and there are none among us who visit its scenes without being reminded of the familiar and beloved faces of friends, relations and companions, who once trod the stage of life and mingled in the busy scenes of the little village in its incipient enterprise and gradual development. Among the earlier mechanics were one Sage, a very neat joiner; Snapp, a millwright, living now, I believe, and one of the first who helped to start East Saginaw in building its first mill. David Smith was prominent among them, and could then do more work in a day than any man I ever knew; perhaps he can now-at all events, he is reliable every way. Ed. Franks was another; he is father-in-law of Russell Bishop, of Flint, and keeps hotel at Mackinac. Mrs. Bishop was born in Fentonville (I believe in the second story of the store, corner LeRoy and Shiawassee avenue, where Franks kept house). Let me not forget Seth Rhodes. who was a timberhewer and one of the best ever known. It was said after a stick was tolerably scored and Rhodes had struck his line, each blow of his broad-axe (and it was a very brolad one) would carry the keen edge through the stick, leaving a surface as straight and smooth as if countershaved. Rhodes had forty acres of land adjoining Wilbur's, enough to have made him comfortable, could he have kept it. But, alas! like mnlyl others, his running expenses outran his income, and after he had got out and hewed the timber for the first grist-mill and settled his accounts, he found it necessary to sell out to pay his debts; it was familiarly said of him that he with his family (all huge eaters and provisions high) had eaten up his year's work and forty acres of land. He, too, has gone from among us ---peace to his ashes —yet history would be imperfect without mention of his name. The first regular hotel-keeper was Thomas Irish, and at that hotel the first townmeeting was held after the organization. Irish was aI carpenter also —in fact, there was no man among us who could not turn his hand to building fences, putting on siding, laying floor, painting, etc., and this all who participated in the earlier settlement of our place will remember well. In the early part of March, 1838 (say 5th), the ground between Ben Birdsall's house and the west line of the village, extending from Shiawassee avenue down north to the marsh, had been plowed and was sowed with oats. It was protected by a rail fence. During the month there was no rain in the daytime, but, like the period in the building of King Solomon's temple, gentle showers watered the earth at night. The air was balmy and warm as in the months of June and July, and vegetation was well advanced, until before the close of the month (say 25th) there could be seen, where now stand several fine dwellings, a beautiful green field-oats springing up luxuriantly, and the oakEopeinwgs. all around presented to the eye the beauties of spring. In the early history of the country it was not unusual to plow in February, but in this year (1838) crops were generally sown in March. The variation of the seasons then was remarkable, for the preceding year ice was upon the ground up to April. Some one who has preceded me in relating the historical incidents of this town GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 217 has said that the changes in streets have created some confusion and that the record thereof could not be found. For the convenience of reference to inquiring minds in that regard, I have caused examination to be made, and find that the record exists mIlong the archives of the circuit court for the county of Genesee, in the first volume, on page 75. It is an order vacating certain streets, and was made the 7th of March, 1S42. Before that time that highway commissioners (in 1839) had altered Shiawassee