60 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
breeding are the same now as when it began to re¬ 
ceive the attention of thinking agriculturists, and 
these are, “like produces like,” and “breed from 
the best,” though to-day these empirical expres¬ 
sions have such extended applications that they are 
hardly recognizable in their changed forms. The 
critical study by Bakewell and his followers, of the 
form and proportions of animals and their relations 
to the most desirable qualities, have produced a va¬ 
riety of improved breeds of remarkable excellence, 
each differing from the others in the particular 
characters that adapt them to special conditions 
and purposes. Bakewell regarded live stock as ma¬ 
chines for con verting the vegetable products of the 
farm into animal products of greater value, and to 
do this, to breed such animals as will “ convert the 
largest amount of food into animal products of the 
best quality, with the least possible waste of ma¬ 
terial,” is what a knowledge of the art of breeding 
leads to when carried into practice on the farm. 
Among the Lumbermen and Iron Miners 
of Lake Superior. 
The route of tourists to the Lake Superior regions 
has generally been by water, taking in Marquette 
and other points along the shore. We, however, 
have come from Chicago to Ishpeming (the center 
of the iron mines), by rail, and found many most 
interesting places by the way. As we left Green Bay, 
the air was fairly filled with flocks of ducks of every 
variety which gather in the adjacent waters during 
the autumn months. Though we did not tarry to 
test the sport, it appeared as if there must be fully 
as good shooting here as in Curritucti Sound, North 
Carolina, which 1 have found in former days a per¬ 
fect paradise for duck-shooters. A few miles fur¬ 
ther on, the train halted in front of the ruins of the 
Gardiner House at Pensaukee. The terrible cy¬ 
clone of 1877 unroofed this large hotel and destroy¬ 
ed it, together with about every other building in 
the place. Houses were lifted bodily and carried 
to a distance of several rods. A buggy was hoisted 
from an adjoining shed and landed in the second 
story of the Gardiner House. Horses, cattle, and 
other animals were blown about through the air 
like 6heaves of straw. Buildings not prostrated, 
were covered with a coat of mud from the river-bed 
death. For a time there was seemingly no escape 
for any one, as all the surrounding forests were on 
fire. Many took refuge in the Peshtigo river run¬ 
ning near by; but the heat of the flames was so in¬ 
tense as to render the river uncomfortable. The vil¬ 
lage has since been considerably rebuilt. The houses 
are all small, giving the place an inferior appear¬ 
ance. A ride of ten miles further, brought us to the 
Menomonee River, which is the border line between 
Wisconsin and Mich¬ 
igan. We were now 
in the midst of the 
lumber region. The 
river was full of logs, 
piled one upon an¬ 
other, and presenting 
a novel sight; the 
scenery on both sides 
is of a wild romantic 
character. The en¬ 
graving, fig. 1, gives a 
view of this interest¬ 
ing river. These logs 
are cut in the forests 
above, and floated 
down to the mouth 
of the Menomo¬ 
nee, where there are 
eleven saw-mills, with 
a combined capacity 
of 1,300,000 feet in 
twelve hours. Groups 
of lumbermen now 
began to come aboard 
the train. They 
are large, stalwart 
fellows, and in their general make-up, present a 
very picturesque appearance ; most of them wore 
heavy woollen pants of a fiery red color,and woollen 
shirts of a dark-blue. Their heavy boots have large 
nails projecting from the bottom, which often are 
very annoying to the conductors, as they sometimes 
fairly plough up the bottom of the cars. These nails 
enable the lumbermen to pass from one floating log 
to another without difficulty. They generally travel 
in squads in going to or from the lumber districts. 
They sometimes are rude and boisterous, and have, 
on more than one occasion, endeavored to take pos¬ 
session of a train of cars. Now, however, the con¬ 
ductors are clothed with the powers of sheriff, and 
uncommon thing for deer to be seen from the train. 
One of the engineers, who always carries his rifle 
with him, kills many of them every season. It 
is an interesting fact that while deer run so 
rapidly from an approaching hunter, they will stand 
and look at a passing train as if dazed by the sight. 
They appear to have an extraordinary curiosity 
which every one has observed in the antelope when 
hunting them on the western plains. The Big 
Fig. 1.— LOGGING ON THE MENOMONEE RIVER. 
60 me distance away. This terrible cyclone mowed 
everything before it like a scythe, and will, for many 
years to come, constitute an important topic for 
conversation in all this country. Twenty miles 
further, we reach Peshtigo. In 1871, when the 
great fire was raging in Chicago, this village like¬ 
wise became a prey to the devouring element, and 
800 out of a population of 2,500 were burned to 
for this reason are able to hold the unruly spirits 
in subjection. Some of these lumbermen work in 
the pine forests in winter, and go as sailors upon 
the lakes in summer. They will remain isolated 
for a whole season in the pine woods, and then go¬ 
ing out to Green Bay and other places, squander the 
earnings of months in as many days. There is an 
abundance of game in this region, and it is not an 
MENOMONEE JUNCTION, MICHIGAN. 
Cedar and the Escanaba rivers each offer great in¬ 
ducements in the way of fishing. The Escanaba 
flows a long distance through a wilderness and 
abounds in trout and other choice fish. It is cus¬ 
tomary for parties to go north on the railroad for 
some miles, conveying their skiffs to the head¬ 
waters of the Escanaba, and then idly float down 
stream day after day, being carried by the current, 
shooting and fishing as food is required. This, I 
am told, is one of the most charming trips in all 
this northern country. The road now runs through 
a 6tretch of pine forests for a distance of over 130 
miles. Some twenty miles from Menomonee River, 
we arrived at Menomonee Junction, figure 2, which 
consists of slab and log houses. So dense is the 
surrounding forests that one would be lost should 
he venture a few yards from the Junction. As our- 
train came in, another, laden with ore, arrived over 
the branch road, and for a few moments this iso¬ 
lated settlement in the heart of the Michigan pine 
forests, presented a scene of decided activity. We 
were now in the iron regions, and the branch road 
which the Chicago and North Western Railroad has- 
constructed,runs westward a few miles to the recent¬ 
ly developed and valuable Menomonee iron regions. 
Going north a few miles further, we reach the village 
of Escanaba, near the Big Bay de Noquet. From 
here,the railroad track, consisting of steel rails, runs 
in a straight line for thirty miles. Escanaba is the 
shipping point on Lake Superior for the iron ore 
brought from the mines around Ishpeming. From 
sixteen to twenty-five trains daily pass over the 
road, each train numbering fifty-five cars, and each 
car carrying seven tons of ore. Some times the num¬ 
ber of the trains runs up from thirty to forty. The 
ore, after reaching Escanaba, is then shipped over- 
the Lakes to Cleveland, Ashtabula, Pittsburgh, 
Buffalo, New York, and other points. Coming on 
now to Ishpeming,we find a flourishing mining city 
of several thousand inhabitants, where eight years 
ago there was nothing but a swamp. Here are 
large hotels, school-houses, stores, and churches of 
several denominations. Within a radius of eight 
miles one can see twenty different iron mines ; .and 
within almost a stone’s throw of the hotel, are 
several of the most valuable of them in active 
operation. While among the mines around Ishpe¬ 
ming, the Superior mine is the most valuable, the 
New York mine, belonging to Mr. Samuel J. Til- 
den, is perhaps the best known to the public.—In a. 
future article these and other mines of this in¬ 
teresting region will be described more at lengths 
