286 



winter, but generally dry enougb to mow, formed of vegetable mould 

 and marl, they are covered with a dense growth of lono- grasses, afford- 

 ing two tons to the acre, and fully recompense for the comparative dif- 

 ficulty of growing the cultivated grasses. As pasture they make ex- 

 cellent beef, and everything prospers on them. They were a marked 

 element of success in the early settlement of the State. 7. The lakes 

 number not less than 3,000; "exceeding in number and beauty all 

 others perhaps on the globe." Most of them contain rich beds of marl, 

 nearly pure carbonate of lime, mixed with petrified shells. Of course, 

 they give rise to numerous streams and rivers; and in consequence good 

 mill-sites are to be met with every few miles. Both the lakes and 

 streams abound in fine fish. The highest land in the State, or the 

 "water-shed," in Hillsdale county, is 633 feet above Lake Michigan. 

 The average height of the Peninsula is 160 feet above the surface of 

 the lakes; but the ponds, forming the sources of the rivers, are chiefly 

 on the greatest elevation. 



III. The upper half of the southern Peninsula, north of Grand Riv- 

 er, constitutes the fine country, generally sandy, and if the borders 

 along the lakes be excepted, as yet sparsely settled, except by those en- 

 gaged in the lumber business. 



IV. The mineral country, including the whole of the Upper Penin- 

 sula, with its primitive rocks, long winters, heavy growth of timber, and 

 broken country, will not probably attract the attention of farmers, to any 

 great extent, until the rest of the State is thickly inhabited. This re- 

 gion, however, is celebrated for its healthy climate, and its freedom 

 from bilious and pulmonary affections. It will be perceived from this 

 hasty glance, that, physically, Michigan possesses within itself everything 

 that an independent republic can require: — rich pasture-lands, unsur- 

 passed grain soils, timber of great size and variety, both hard and soft, 

 large quantities of which are exported not only to the west and south, 

 but also to the seaboard — lakes, rivers and mill-streams in abundance; 

 fish, salt springs and plaster quarries, copper, iron, zinc, silver, coal, lime- 

 stone, sandstone and marl; a climate as moderate as that of Pennsyl- 

 vania, and one of the dryest in America, and above all, it is so shaped, 

 and so surrounded by water, that the greater portion of it is accessible 

 to lar^e vessels. 



Michigan was first colonized by the French, about the year 1671, and 



