MICHIGAN. 
379 
MICHIGAN. 
Although the first settlement of Michigan by 
white men, (the Canadian French,) took place 
in the year 1701; yet it was not until about the 
year 1836 or ’37 that the American population, 
to any extent, began to take possession of this 
territory. Previous to this time, the idea pre¬ 
vailed in the east, that this beautiful state con¬ 
sisted of little more than marshes, lakes, and im¬ 
penetrable swampy forests; an impression 
which was industriously promulgated by the 
fur traders, whose interest it was to exclude an 
agricultural population. The then existing in¬ 
habitants were scattered along the coast and 
small streams, subsisting by hunting, fishing, 
and raising a little coarse produce, the imple¬ 
ments and modes of farming being such as 
were used in France, two centuries ago. It is 
not thirty years since that cattle were fastened 
to the plow by the horns; and even yet, that 
strange implement, Le Diable, may be found 
threshing, in some old French barns. [Le Dia¬ 
ble , or devil, consists of a heavy piece of timber 
about three feet long, stuck full of pieces of 
wood, like the spokes of a wheel, and forming, 
when complete, a cone ; the spokes lengthening 
in each row. The smaller end was fastened 
with a swivel to the floor, and ponies being at¬ 
tached to the larger end, it is dragged round on 
the straw and grain.] 
Detroit, as a military trading post, was the 
only place which could rise to the dignity of a 
large village. The first steamboat which ar¬ 
rived in Michigan, Aug. 27, 1818, was the Walk 
in the Water , and to the genius of Fulton, and 
De Witt Clinton, this state may be said to owe 
all its present importance; the New York canals 
and railroads being as necessary to us as to the 
people who originated them. The peninsula 
has evidently at a comparatively late period 
been submerged. Along the shores, especially 
in the southern portion, extends a belt of low, 
swampy, heavy-timbered land, almost undraina- 
ble, stretching about thirty miles into the inte¬ 
rior. Here the soil is a heavy blue or yellow 
clay, lying on an impervious subsoil, with lime¬ 
stone occasionally appearing. It will probably 
be many generations before this tract is gener¬ 
ally settled; but in the mean time, it is supply¬ 
ing large quantities of excellent timber and 
staves, for ship building and exportation. The 
white oak, black walnut, hickory and pine, can¬ 
not be surpassed in quality, while all other in¬ 
digenous trees abound. There is one exception 
to this general character, in a large island called 
Grosse Isle, commencing at the mouth of the 
Detroit River, and running northward some ten 
miles. Here the land is of the finest quality: 
it is well drained by natural swales; and the 
timber, which is heavy, is of such extraordinary 
hardness and soundness as to be everywhere 
sought after, by those who require such pecu¬ 
liarities ; and the cord wood bears, in the De¬ 
troit market, a much higher price than any 
other. After passing this low belt, the face of 
the country entirely changes. The land be¬ 
comes rolling and dry; the soil, except along 
the rivers, sandy, loamy, or gravelly, full of 
carbonate of lime; beautiful lakes and dry 
marshes, producing an excellent hay, diversify 
the scene, and the trees stand far apart, without 
underbrush, among fine blue-grass pastures. 
The sparseness of the timber is probably more 
owing to the Indian habit of annually burning 
the woods, than to nature; for where fires are 
not allowed to spread, young oaks appear with 
the utmost density of growth. No country in 
the world could be more beautiful than was 
Michigan some fourteen years ago, when set¬ 
tlements had scarcely commenced, and when 
in the spring the ground was a carpet of gor¬ 
geous flowers. To these two peculiarities— 
thinness of forest, and unfailing Natural mead¬ 
ows—the rapid and prosperous early settlement 
of the state may be attributed. In the western 
part, there are a few prairies of great richness, 
but none of any great extent. The useful 
minerals abound. Besides limestone, iron ore, 
bituminous coal, gypsum, marl, and salt springs 
are sufficiently plentiful; and in the central 
part of the state, quarries of sandstone are 
worked, of good quality for grindstones. The 
copper and iron ores of Lake Superior are well 
known; and, as soon as the canalround the 
Sault St. Marie is finished, must be sources of 
incalculable wealth. 
The population contains a smaller proportion 
of foreigners, than perhaps that of any other 
western state. This arose chiefly from the gov¬ 
ernment lands being brought into market in the 
speculating times of 1835 and ’37, when most of 
what was good was taken up on speculation by 
non-residents. A rather higher price at the 
time, was the consequence, which forced the 
foreign emigration round the lake; still, during 
the last four years some large and highly re¬ 
spectable bodies of Germans and Hollanders, 
having taken up lands and colonized them¬ 
selves, are bringing in their friends and ac¬ 
quaintances. The mass of the population have 
come from Vermont, Connecticut, New Hamp¬ 
shire, and New York; and the characteristic 
