®!)c JTarmcv's iHontljIu iUsitar. 



111 



June 11 ih, we resumed our travels still west 

 through the same kind of country — crossed 

 Rock river: this appeared rather dead, and it 

 was said that a dam something like eight miles 

 distant affected it u»en above where we crossed 

 it. The stream appeared very pleasant at this 

 season of the year, l'assed on nine miles to the 

 town and small village of Aztalan, four miles 

 beyond which northerly we came to a settle- 

 ment of friends and old neighbors. Mere we 

 continued from June II to 15, visiting and strol- 

 ling around the country. We found much good 

 quality of land, but I think generally rather lack- 

 ing uatcr and timber, it being mostly the oak 

 openings. While strolling we made our way 

 northeasterly ten miles to the very flourishing 

 village of Watertown, on Rock river; here the 

 stream is quite rapid — mills and machinery of 

 different descriptions are being erected. Found 

 the country on this route something similar, but 

 not so much and so generally pleasant and good 

 as in the vicinity of Aztalan. 



June 15— after completing our visit here we 

 returned and retraced our steps about thirty 

 miles — then changed our course southeasterly a 

 few miles to Prairieville, a small but flourishing 

 village. After a few hours visit to an old neigh- 

 bor we passed on southeasterly eighteen miles — 

 came to a prairie, the first 1 had really noticed — 

 have but little recollection of the country of this 

 eighteen miles travel. 



Morning of June 17 we hired a private con- 

 veyance seventeen miles near Southport and Illi- 

 nois line, where we continued with our new 

 found friends between one and two days. Here 

 we came to more extensive prairies, interspersed 

 with the oak openings. 



June 1!> — left our friends in this vicinity — pro- 

 ceeded southwesterly thirty miles to Mc Henry, 

 on Fox liver. The country in this day's travel 

 is prairie and oak openings or barrens, as they 

 call them in this State, Illinois. 



June 20 — followed down Fox river, passing 

 the small villages of Oceola and Dundee to 

 Elgin. In this day's travel we passed over much 

 prairie and some quite rolling. Stopped at our 

 friends three miles down the river from Elgin. 



June 22 — our friends here took us down the 

 river through the flourishing village of St. 

 Charles, twelve or fourteen miles, where we 

 visited other friends and old neighbors ; here the 

 prairies are quite extensive in every direction, 

 almost resembling an ocean — the barrens pre- 

 senting the appearance of islands and points. 

 These villages — Oceola, Dundee, Elgin and St. 

 Charles — although not rapid ami but litile fall in 

 the river, supply the country here with mills and 

 other machinery. 



Wednesday mornine, June 24 — at our friend's 

 near Elgin 1200 miles from home or over, which 

 place we now left on our return passing over 

 prairie and through barrens to Chicago. Now 

 at Chicago we will stop and look back over the 

 prairies for six or eight miles, presenting a still 

 more ocean-like appearance: the soil of the 

 prairies is very uniform, very rich and black, ex- 

 cept now ami then a swell filled with small 

 stone, worth nothing except the little feed it 

 produces ; and here they frequently have to 

 draw their wood and rails from one and a hall 

 to five miles. The prairies are great lor the 

 farm productions with the exception of English 

 grass, although wheat is considerably subject to 

 winter-kill anil blast. 1 think also they must 

 lack timber, wood and water in this section of 

 eotintry. We took Steam-boat at Chicago in the 

 evening, crossed the head of lake Michigan to 

 the mouth of St. Joseph's river in the Slate of 

 Michigan — a short and pleasant voyage — arrived 

 hereon the morning of June 25th, Here took 

 the stage for Kalamazoo, passing over sandy 

 barren land — fields covered with sorrel. On 

 this route we observed a team breaking up the 

 barrens, consisting of eleven yoke of cattle — 

 ploughing up all the small brush and small oak 

 bushes from two to two anil a half inches 

 through, ten or twelve leet high. And here I 

 will try, in a measure, to describe the plough the 

 inhabitants use in this and their prairie lands. 

 The running part I should think from two to two 

 and a half feet long, wrought iron share and 

 mould hoard ill some instances — iron rods from 

 three-fourths to an inch through fastened at each 

 end, three or four of them, equal distance apart, 



forming the width of the mould board, with a 

 beam from seven to ten feet long — the size in 

 proportion to its length almost resembling the 

 big beam to a common barn compared with ours. 

 We arrived at Kalamazoo in the evening at the 

 termination of the Detroit railroad — here my 

 brother bethought that he was likely to be de- 

 tained from home longer than he had anticipated, 

 proposed to leave us and return home. He ac- 

 cordingly, on the morning of June 20' at nice 

 o'clock, took cars and arrived home in Portage 

 county, Ohio, the next day evening. Reduced 

 then to three in number, uo took a private con- 

 veyance ten miles— then the slage to the grand 

 rapids on Grand river about seventy miles, pass- 

 ing over various qualities of land, from poorest 

 to the best — also various timbered land. Arrived 

 in this village at evening, a growing place at 

 the head of small steam-boat navigation: thence 

 we passed down the river some thirteen miles to 

 Georgetown, Ottawa county, where we found 

 part of our friends. We traversed the woods 

 one day with our friend looking over the coun- 

 try; found some first quality of land ; very large, 

 tall and heavy timber — beech, maple, oak, ash, 

 &c. A pine tree not to exceed twenty inches 

 through at the butt would hew a stick eight in- 

 ches square at the top end— one hundred feet 

 long. 



June 29 — our friend here in company with us 

 went down to the river, took steam-boat and 

 went to its mouth, the county seat of Ottawa — 

 here are employed a fleet of twenty-five vessels 

 in taking lumber from this place to Chicago, 

 three or four large steam saw-mills. Nothing of 

 an agricultural nature done here, except garden- 

 ing. A stone light house erected by the United 

 Slates near the mouth of this river. Returning 

 up the river to the place we had left the next 

 day, July 1st, in company with a part of this 

 family we proceeded to another branch of the 

 same family where we remained that day and 

 night ; here we found a heavy, well timbered 

 country and generally a good quality of hind. 

 The next day, July 2d, our friend led the way on 

 our return by road foot-paths, and through the 

 woods: found several miles of good timbered 

 country and a rich soil. Coming into Alligan 

 we found a road cut out lour rods wide and 

 bridged across the streams — arrived at Alligan 

 county seat, we visited a few old acquaintances : 

 found sandy light soil. 



July 3— we left Alligan and passed thirty- 

 three miles to Kalamazoo village, the county 

 teat : various soils and timber in this day's travel. 



July 4— our nay was south through an oak 

 opening country rather thinly settled: thence 

 forty-two miles through Centreville, a small vil- 

 lage, to a beautiful spot called Sturges' prairie : 

 the inhabitants had commenced their wheat har- 

 vest, which crop was a lair large growth. 



July 5 — we passed a \'ew miles into the edge 

 of the State of Indiana, where we found some 

 friends — found a fair quality of land and good 

 crops— mostly oak opening hind. 



July G — we passed south-east into Michigan, 

 again found pure prairie country — some rough, 

 uneven, broken, and some whortleberry swamps, 

 near one of which we met an old acquaintance, 

 and by his menus found a friend we were iu 

 particular pursuit of, who conducted us to his 

 home in the town of Branch of the same named 

 county; here we found a line, fair timbered 

 country similar to that of the more eastern 

 States. 



July 8 — we then travelled nine or ten miles to 

 Hillsdale, next morning took the cars on the 

 railroad to Adrian village, the county seat of 

 Lotin wee Count y. lie re in [WO days we travelled 

 over several miles of country, found much good 

 corn land. Leaving here July II in the steam 

 cars, our way was thirty miles to Toledo on lake 

 Frie at the mouth of the Maumee river < passed 

 over much low, flat cotton-wood swampy land : 

 some places sand. From Toledo our way was 

 up the river by canal ten miles to the Mamnee 

 village on the north-west hank, one mile above 

 the head of navigation ; we crossed the river 

 (leaving the canal) and went down to Perrys- 

 bnrgh the county seat of Wood county, Ohio, on 

 the east side of the river lit the head of steam- 

 boat navigation. The village' stands on an emi- 

 nence overlooking the landing and river: the 

 scenery quite pleasant and beautiful. Near by 

 is Fort Meigs, a post remarkable for a siege 



which it sustained from the British and Indians 

 in April 1813, until the 5th of May following, 

 when the garrison, together v iih a reinforcement 

 from Kentucky, made a valiant sortie, compell- 

 ing the enemy to raise the siege. At ibis place 

 in a large log cabin erected in I^dO General 

 Harrison delivered his Fort Meigs speech. 

 Thence proceeded over a level road eighteen 

 miles to Woodville iu the middle of the Maumee 

 swamp: some miles round we found a level, 

 rich ami handsome timbered country: Portage 

 river passes through this place. 



July 15— we proceeded to Lower Sandusky : 

 here is the site of Fort Stevenson (now demo- 

 lished) so valiantly defended in 1813 by Major 

 Croghan with 100 Americans, defeating KiOO 

 British and Indians under the command of Gen- 

 eral Proctor. Some few marks of the Fort re- 

 mained, although the place was covered with 

 buildings. Passed eastward through some fine 



ci try between the small village below and 



Norwalk, die seat of Huron county: passed 

 thence through the pleasant village ol'Elyria, we 

 came to Rockport eight miles west of' Cleve- 

 land: here we stopped two nights and one day 

 in that part of Ohio known as the Western Re- 

 serve, composed of a number of counties. 

 Medina county we found a beautiful country,it 

 being the height of land and the head waters 

 each way southerly into the Ohio river and 

 northerly into lake Erie. 



July20 — I proceeded eastward. The Western 

 Reserve is generally very level, fertile and pro- 

 ductive. From Cleveland we had a pleasant 

 n'ght on the lake, making Buffalo next day, July 

 25, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. 



[In the remainder of this journal the writer 

 describes objects more familiar to the travel of 

 the day in the Empire State, wending his nay 

 in a packet boat in the canal from Buffalo to 

 Rochester, from whence by ihe river and lake 

 Ontario to Sacket's harbor he finds his home in 

 Jeffei son county. As from the eye of a practi- 

 cal farmer, the information and judgment of 

 Mr. Wood will be valuable to emigrants to the 

 north-west. His conclusion is as follows:] 



We travelled over an extensive territory, anil 

 in every section we passed we found much that 

 was first quality for settling for agricultural pur- 

 suit. The large prairies no doubl are productive 

 in every thing but English grass and very easy 

 to cultivate. There is very little waste laud : 

 ponds, swamps and marshes abound in Wiscon- 

 sin and Michigan— not so much in the other 

 parts. After all that is or can he said of the 

 beautiful prairies and oak openings or barrens in 

 Wisconsin and Illinois, the writer thinks he 

 could suit himself better iu a farming location in 

 Branch county, Michigan— u well limbered coun- 

 try near the south east corner of the Slate : this 

 is the most western location the writer would 

 prefer. Then further east in the Maumee coun- 

 try near Sandusky, Ohio, is a belter locution: 

 then further west, and quite as good again iu 

 Union county, Ohio, and eastward into Western 

 New York, Orleans county, or other of her 

 western counties. E. A. WOOD. 



Woodville. Jeflerson en,. ) 

 M. Y . Fell- 1848. ' \ 



■ ■ ■ 



Hkdgks. — The best Hedge in the United States, 

 says the Genesee Farmer, extends about n mile 

 along the highway on a plantation of .1,000 acres, 

 near Augusta, Georgia, li is the Cherokee Rose, 

 which is now in full bloom, presenting a mag- 

 nificent floral spectacle, and filling ihe atmos- 

 phere with delicious perfume. No animal with- 

 out wings can get over or through it. Having 

 stood forty of fifty sears, it slill promises a good 

 fence for a century to come. The owner and 

 occupant of tins splendid estate, Mr. D'Laiole, 

 was a St. Domingo plunter at the time of the in- 

 surrection ami iTlcudl'ul massacre by the blacks, 

 and was so fortunate as to escape to the United 

 States. 



The Potato Disease. — The Gardener's Chro- 

 nicle of July 8th publishes reports received from 

 various parts of the country, which prove the 

 very unwelcome fact that ihe potato disease has 

 again manifested itself iu England, Ireland and 

 Scotland, and that it has already done much 

 mischief 



