DETROIT 



1779 



DEUCALION 



travel has been further increased by the con- 

 struction of a new tunnel built under the De- 

 troit River by the Michigan Central Railroad. 

 The chief exports are grain, flour, hogs and 

 hog products, cattle, beef, hides, sheep, wool, 

 cotton, coal, iron and steel products and lum- 

 ber, although shipments of the last-named 

 have not been so large in recent years as for- 

 merly. It also receives either for its own use 

 or for shipment immense quantities of the agri- 

 cultural and dairy products of the state. De- 

 troit has the largest dry-dock on the Great 

 Lakes. A United States internal revenue office 

 and a department in charge of lake lighthouses 

 are located here. All freighters receive and 

 deliver mail at this point without stopping. 



Manufactures. The making of automobiles 

 and their parts is the leading industry. In 

 Detroit is produced more than half of the total 

 output of the United States; in one month of 

 the year 1916 the factory of one low-priced 

 model alone turned out 58,000 cars. At the 

 opening of the season for making 1916 models, 

 80,000 people were employed in this industry. 

 In the beginning, Detroit was the logical point 

 for the establishment of this great enterprise, 

 as it was largely engaged in the manufacture 

 of marine gasoline engines, and the state was 

 already noted for making fine carriages. But 

 the making of motor vehicles is not the only 

 employment of the people of Detroit, as the 

 city also has extensive manufactures of adding- 

 machines, drugs, chemicals and tobacco prod- 

 ucts, some of these taking leading rank in the 

 output of the United States. The lumber, tan- 

 ning and meat-packing industries are also of 

 considerable importance. Here, too, are lo- 

 cated one of the most complete shipyards on 

 the Great Lakes and one of the largest seed 

 houses in the world. 



History. As early as 1648 this site was vis- 

 ited by Frenchmen, but no permanent settle- 

 ment was made until 1701. In this year An- 

 toine de la Mothe Cadillac, the first comman- 

 dant of the French possessions in this locality, 

 built Fort Pontchartrain and garrisoned it with 

 fifty soldiers and fifty colonists. In 1760, at 

 the close of the French and Indian War, Major 

 Robert Rogers seized the place; it suffered 

 frequent attacks by Indians under Pontiac in 

 1763, but was saved by a heroic defense. In 

 1778, when the British built Fort Lernoult, 

 there were about 300 inhabitants, the settle- 

 ment consisting chiefly of log cabins and a 

 Roman Cathohc church; the name was 

 changed to Fort Shelby in 1796. 



The town was incorporated in 1802, but 

 three years later was almost completely de- 

 stroyed by fire, only two buildings being left 

 standing. Rebuilding was commenced at once 

 on a large scale, and the new settlement in 

 the same year became the capital of Michigan 

 Territory. It was taken by the British in the 

 War of 1812, and was retaken by the Ameri- 

 cans in 1813. Detroit was incorporated as a 

 village in 1815 and as a city in 1824. In 1837 

 it became the capital of the state and it was 

 the seat of government until the capital was 

 removed to Lansing in 1847. From the time it 

 became a city its growth has been uninter- 

 rupted, and its increase in population, wealth, 

 building construction and commerce since 1900 

 is remarkable. In 1901 the city celebrated 

 the centennial anniversary of its settlement. 

 Detroit is a French word meaning strait, hence 

 the popular name, City of the Straits. J.8.C. 



Consult Farmer's Historic Towns of the West- 

 ern States; Burton's Cadillac's Village: A Hit- 

 tory of the Settlement of Detroit. 



DETROIT RIVER, a short river, or strait, 

 connecting Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair 

 and separating the state of Michigan from the 

 province of Ontario, Canada. It is one of the 

 world's most important commercial highways 

 and carries more tonnage of shipping than any 

 other stream or canal, for all the grain shipped 

 by boat from the great Northwest and all the 

 immense lake shipments of iron ore from Min- 

 nesota, Wisconsin and Northern Michigan to 

 the East pass through Detroit River. It is 

 twenty-eight miles long, and its depth is suffi- 

 cient to permit the passage of the largest ves- 

 sels afloat. Its breadth varies from one-half 

 mile to three miles. The name is derived from 

 the French detroit, meaning strait. The 

 scenery along its banks is inviting, and its 

 upper section, called the Saint Clair Flats, is 

 beautiful in spots, being studded with islands 

 which are very popular as summer resorts. A 

 map showing the course of the river appears 

 with the article DETROIT. 



DEUCALION, duka'lion, the Noah of 

 Greek mythology, was the mythological son 

 of Prometheus. He and his wife Pyrrha, as 

 faithful servants of the gods, were the only 

 ones saved when Jupiter caused a deluge to 

 destroy the world on account of the wickedness 

 of mankind. In a wooden chest made on the 

 advice of Prometheus, Deucalion and Pyrrha 

 floated on the waters nine days, finally landing 

 on the summit of Mount Parnassus. When the 

 deluge subsided, finding the land depopulated, 



