280 ORAYLING. — KORTIIERN MICHIGAN. 



iiuinterestiug country. Occasionally, however, from the car 

 window, we saw some ver}' prett}' little emei-ald lakes, 

 which had a half-wild, half-mild beauty that contrasted 

 strangely with the surroundings. Tlu! rail-road i)ushes up 

 northwai'd, past station after station, where once were a 

 steam saw-mill, a collection of rude cabins, a "hotel " and 

 a " store," and wdiere now the mill is ii'oing to>decay or is 

 burned down, the cabins deserted, and the whole town con- 

 sists of a forlorn family or two. The valuable pine of the 

 neighborhood has all been cut, sawed and marketed, and 

 the town experiences "reversion." The railroad presses 

 on to new fields, and the histoiy of the lower lumber 

 regions repeats itself. At some points, however, the soil 

 shows itself susceptible to cultivation, and a sparse farm- 

 ing commuity springs up. So much we saw on our w^ay 

 to tlie village of Grajdiug. We saw much that was better 

 and more promising, in the northern part of the Peninsula. 



Hartwick, our host, had complied with our request, and 

 engaged for us the services of two good men. One of 

 them, William D. Jones, is a famous fisherman, hunter and 

 trapper, who know^s all about Northern Michigan, its rivers, 

 lakes, fish and game. Within three years he had trapped 

 forty-two bears, shot man^^ deer, and fished for grayling in 

 the Au Sable, Manistee, Chebo3'gan and Pigeon rivers. The 

 other, Charlie Robinson, served us well, and "poled" to 

 our entire satisfaction. 



B3* the middle of the afternoon we had procured our sup- 

 plies, blankets, etc., and then we took to the river, close to 

 town, — the Au Sable, famous in the recent historj' of gi'ay- 



