Bay County, Michigan - Chapter 3: The Colonial Period, 1905

Chapter 3: The Colonial Period

The Onward March of Civilization - The Pale Faces Westward Bound - Years of Exploration^ and Trading with the Indians - Trappers, Hunters and Adventurers - The Saginaw Valley for Years the Northernmost Outpost of Civilization IN THE Northwest Territory - Indian Title to Land Extinguished - The Earliest White Settlers.

venerable, and ripe with the passing of countless ages. Yet history records but a single centur)', since from the almost unknown and seemingly unlimited Northwest Territory Michigan was carved and set up as a separate Territory in 1804. In the "Pioneer Room" of our Capitol at Lansing, there hangs a large colored map, once the property of a Bay County pioneer, - Capt. Joseph F. Marsac. It conveys more eloquently than words could describe the crude ideas regarding our geographical situation, and the wide reaches of territory comprised at that late day within the boundaries of a single township. In the same room hangs an oil painting, entitled "Detroit in 1820." It shows a few scattered residences along the river front, dense woods in the background, and strange sailing craft upon the waters. At the time Michigan was created into a separate Territory, the interior was practically unexplored. A few scattered settlements, together with Detroit, comprised all that was tangible 100 years ago in that future garden spot of the universe, - Michigan, my Michigan !

With the Louisiana Purchase, the tide of immigration was drawn due Westward. Endless cara\'ans crossed Kentucky, Southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, in the restless hunt of hardy pioneers for the El Dorado of the Middle \\'est.

wilds of the lake region of ^Michigan. Then, as now, much of that influx came across tlie Canadian Ijorder. The stories of JNIichigan's rigorous climate had no terrors for a race that faced and lived through the winters of Canada. The stories told l)y rambling Indians of the paradise of fish and game within this mysterious lake-bound region drew on these adventurers like a magnet. Neither hardship nor danger could stop their advance. Trackless prairies, dense virgin forests, and impenetrable swamps merely roused their curiosity and spurred them on to delve deeper into the mysteries hidden behind the thin curtain of civilization on the eastern lx)rders of the Territory. The first adventurers founil such a rich reward in beaver skins and similar trophies of the chase and the Indian trade, that others quickly followed, with varying success. Since for ages the Indians had lauded tlie Saginaw X^alley as their richest hunting ground, it was but natural that these adventurers, hunters and trappers should push straight through to this El Dorado of the aborigines. Many a white man's hunting lodge was erected on the shores of Saginaw Bay and its tributary rivers, long before any written records preserved their deeds of daring in this wild land, among wild animals and almost eriually ferocious aborigines. Gabriel the Acadian, the long-sought hero of folklore, builds his hunting lodge on the banks of the Saginaw, and for many moons enjoys the sport of kings among the denizens of forest and river. This was at a time when the Indians believed this "Land of the Sauks" was haunted l)y the evil spirits of that ancient race which they had almost exterminated on this very spot, and these superstitious children of the forest appear not to have interfered much with these daring huntsmen and fishermen. Their quarrel appeared to be in times of peace with the advancing mass of pale faces. Where settlements were ])lanted and the plow and harrow brought harvests from the virgin soil, there was no longer room for the wild game of forest and prairie, and hence the Indian huntsman must take his tepee and move Westward, away from the advancing tide of an older and better, but by him a detested, civilization.

Of the great Huron. Pontiac, it is written, that he stopped the expedition of Major Rogers, who was sent into this country about 1760 to drive out the French. "Why come you into our hunting grounds? My white brother has houses and lands and beasts, why should he take the red man's?" And when Alajor Rogers tried to convince the great chief that he came against the French and not against the natives, Pontiac shook his grave head and replied : "My white brother has the talking hand. We cannot compete with his slyness. Yet has he taken our lands, and stolen our strength ! I appeal to any white man to say, if he ever entered my wigwam hungry, and I gave him not meat. If he ever came cold and weary, and I provided not good cheer. But then he came alone and as a friend ! To-day you come as conquerors! My people have lost much. Aly people have suffered much. I \vi11 see. I accept your belts of wampum, but 1 stand in your path until to-morrow 1" Major Rogers respected the suggestion to wait, and by sundown of the following day Pontiac had counseled with his chieftains and decided that peace was preferable to a war which could accomplish nothing for his race. He sent word to all the tribes of the lake region to ])ermit the expedition to pass, and himself accompanied Rogers' column into Detroit. But his address furnished an insight into the natives' treatment of the first pale faces who entered their hunting grounds. The Indians felt instinctively that the daring pale faces who left civilization and their kindred far behind them, who dauntlessly

So only can we explain how these first missionaries, these first hnnters and trappers, came into the wilderness among this wild and untamed people, and lived to tell their many harrowing" experiences. The daring adventurers felt safe because of their very weakness. The Indians felt assured, that those brave enough to be fearless must be friends. The Hurons treated the mass of pale faces as enemies, but almost invariably befriended the isolated adventurer. Many of these wandering pale faces returned this frendship in kind, marrying Indian girls and becoming so attached to the roving life and the crude hospitality of the Hurons, that they became adopted members of the tribe, and in tliat favored position did much to soften the natural animosity of the two races.

The earliest explorers of the Saginaw Valley invariably came singly and in pairs. For half a century these daring recluses came and went through the land of the Hurons. without attempting any permanent settlement or bringing their families with them. Detroit was their home. There they placed their wives, children and other relatives for safekeeping, for while no open act of hostility disturbed the region for years at a time, yet these hardy pioneers ne\'er knew when the sporadic toleration of the Indian would turn to malignant liate, and open friendship to treacherous massacre and bloodshed.

Instances were not uncommon, where these adventurers maintained two separate family establishments, - their original family behind the stockades at Detroit, and an Indian squaw and her children far in the interior. This dual life was prompted more by the instinct of selfpreservation, than by a desire of these simplehearted woodsmen to have a harem. ]\Iost of the hunters and trappers who first visited and lived in these parts, before the opening of the last century, were devout Christians. Each had his patron saint, and few forgot to worship in the way of their fathers, although hundreds of miles separated them from their house of worship and its devoted shepherd. Such were the men who first penetrated the dense virgin forests, the trackless prairies and the for many years impenetrable swamps, which reached northward and westward from Detroit, and bordered the great bay and river in "0-Sauke-non !" For the hardships they endured, and the risks they ran, they reaped but a poor reward. Few saved anything for the future, and fewer still attained old age. They were driven onward by the spirit of the age! A story was often told around the camp-fires of early pioneers here, how in a pretty settlement of Ontario a sturdy farmer yearned to go into the unknown wilderness of Michigan. His family would go with him, yet they disliked leaving so much comfort and happiness behind. As a last recourse, the priest called on the restless parishioner and tried to dissuade him. '"You want to go away from all your friends, to the bloodthirsty savages. From your lands, your cattle, your home, to wild and dangerous lands you cannot know. For your cow and her rich milk, yiiu will exchange the wild and worthless buffalo. And how will your poor wife and babies live? Nay, Peter, you cannot, you must not go." But Peter was determined to go. "This country is getting crowded, it is too small, too narrow for me," he would reply. "There is free land and lots of it to the ^Vestward, where luy children shall become large landowners, and where I shall be better able to provide for my family. Here we are but poor farmers, and I am restless. Yonder is the profusion of the Lord spread out for us, but for the asking. I am going West," and

Axd Representative Citizens

West lie went. He tarried only long enough in Detroit to see his little family under the protecting wing of an old countryman of his, and then he plunged into the wilderness. For years he was one of the most sucessful traders among the Indians. Then came the great war, and one of the first to fall at the River Raisin massacre was the scout. Peter Moultaine. He was well known among the older Indians in these parts, who often spoke of his prowess and his knowledge of woodcraft. Perhaps he did not realize all his fond dreams of great wealth. Perhaps his family did not reap that greater independence which he pictured so glowingly ere leaving the community in Ontario they called their home. Restless he was to his dying day, but he was also undoubtedly happy in the free and adventurous life he had chosen for himself. Ambitious he must have been, and if all men were content, what would this world be? How long would the rich and beautiful plains of Michigan, how long this valley, have been left in outer darkness and oblivion, but for the spirit of exploration and adventure which animated Peter Moultaine and his compatriots? Such was the career of most of the earliest white men to traverse the wilds of Michigan, and from their hunting lodges see the glories of creation on the wood-bound shores of Saginaw Bay. They came and went through the vast wilderness like phantoms of the night. Seldom did they tarry any length of time in any one place. Evangeline learned that to her sorrow, for ere she reached the banks of the Saginaw, after long and wearisome marches, the hunter's lodge was fallen in ruins and deserted ! They sought the home of the beaver, the run of the finny tril)es of river and bay, the trail of the bison lierd. the antelope and the deer. Where game abounded, and the wandering red men had their tepees, there too

Years passed, eventful in romance and adventure, replete with war and w-ar's alarms. The tide of pale faces Westward bound does not move steadily onward. Each new disturbance on the borders stops the onward march of civilization for a time. The forces of the savage aborigines and ambitious settlers drench the dividing line with the blood of the innocents, until both sides grow weary with the slaughter.

Then comes an interval of peace and quiet, and this is soon followed by another determined push forward and Westward by the hardy pioneers, reinforced by thousands of immigrants, who have crossed the Atlantic to escape the "Reign of Terror" in France, the blood-drenched plains of Europe during the Napoleonic wars, and the poverty and distress following in their wake. This wave of immigration has for years stopped on the outskirts of Detroit and in neighboring sections of Michigan. More than a century has passed since Father Alarquette passed up the Detroit River and over the vast waters of Lake Huron and its tributary ri\ers. A few official exploring parties have since tried to trace the outline of lake and bay and river, and hundreds of daring adventurers have crossed the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in every direction, but none have come to make settlements, none have come to stay.

During all these years of exploration and trading with the Indians, the mouth of the Saginaw River has been a rendezvous for the two races in Michigan. The many rivers centering here, the wide reaches of the bay and lake, made it easy for the Indians to reach it in their bark canoes. E\en the aborigines appreciated ready water transportation ! Hence this valley was fur years the Northernmost outpost of civilization in the Northwest Territory. The Inthan could carry heavy loads of hides and carcasses for long distances and in a short space of time, but he preferred to load them into his canoe and drift rapidly to the rendezvous where the white trader exchanged warm blankets, fiery rum. cheap trinkets, old-fashioned firearms, and similar stock in trade, for the Indian's trophies of the chase. At frequent intervals during the spring, summer and fall, these trading bees were held here, while during the long and bitterly cold winters the white traders rusticated in their protected shacks within the stockades at Detroit.

It is a matter of history, that Michigan was one of the last of the central tier of States to have its interior opened for settlement, but to the glory of this State be it w-ritten that this settlement cost less in blood and in treasure than did the settlement of any of our sister States. Undoubtedly the spirit of Father Marquette and the early missionaries exerted a powerful and a peaceful influence o\er the aborigines of this region. Equally certain is it, that the long years of intercourse with the rough but honest traders and trappers paved the way for that peaceful settlement. Occasionally the Indians of these parts clashed hard with the pale faces, and true to their savage nature the red men committed some beastly crimes, even in this valley. During the several wars between the French and English, and later between the English and the Americans, the warlike tribes along Lake Huron became easily involved, and brought on some bloody battles and sanguinary massacres. The intercourse of the pioneers was never free from danger. But on the whole, the settlement of Michigan was tranquil, compared to the records of the "bloody ground" in Kentucky, the years of bitter strife between the races in the

In this very valley, and likely upon the very spot where the West Side of Greater Bay City is now situated, the great empire-builder of our commonwealth, - Lewis Cass, - held one of his numerous councils with the Indian tribes of this vicinity, and began the preliminaries for the treaties by which the Indians ceded peacefully, by extinguishment of the Indian title, more than one-half of Michigan, and large portions of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.

As we ponder over those masterful treaties with the crafty chieftains, we wonder if our great State has ever done full justice to Lewis Cass, our commonwealth-builder, the Secretary of War under Andrew Jackson, then Minister to France, the sturdy son of Michigan, wdio for 12 years stood with Webster and Clay in defense of the constitution, who was once the candidate of his party for I'resident, and during whose second term in the United States Senate that strong mo\'ement began in Michigan against the extension of slavery North and West. He was a son of Michigan's colonial period, and typical of that generation of strong and good men. We owe much of our early progress to Lewis Cass.

With the close of the War of 1812, and the winning over of the hostile Indians, the roving adventurers went farther north, while in the south they were followed by pioneers looking for places to settle. The Indians gradually withdrew to the agencies and settlements provided for them by the several treaties.

A new era dawned for Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley was not long to feel its splendid isolation. The rays of advancing civilization are sweeping the horizon, and penetrating the darkest recesses of wood and glen. In the chanceful tide of human affairs, there comes

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Little more than 70 years ago this valley was still but a happy hunting ground. The sound of the woodsman's axe had never broken the forest solitude of centuries, and neither land nor water hereabouts had ever felt aught save the rudest, primeval civilization. The French philosopher and traveler, DeTocqueville, from his camp of exploration and scientific research on the banks of Saginaw Bay, penned for his "Democracy of America"" these prophetic lines : "In a few years these impenetrable forests will ha\-e fallen ; the sons of civilization will break the silence of the Saginaw ! The banks of the mighty stream will be imprisoned by quays ; its current, which now flows tranquil and unnoticed through a nameless waste, will be stemmed b_v the prows of vessels. We are the last travelers allowed to see the primitive grandeur of this solitude."'

Prophetic words soon to be fulfilled. For the restless stream of immigrants is sweeping at last over the narrow limits of Michigan"s earliest colonies and flooding the interior. But even the imagination of a DeTocqueville could not have forecast the wonderful transformation of the last half century. The silence of the Saginaw has been broken by a chorus of industry that has startled the commercial world. Out of the wilderness have been hewn thriving communities, beautiful to behold, and along the numberless rivulets and streams that ribbon the breast of the valley, there have been created such rich and bountiful farms as have well earned for Bay County its favorite title, "the

However, the period of which we write is still but 1813. Col. Lewis Cass has only just been made Military Governor of Michigan Territory. Commodore Perry"s victory has settled forever the question, whether the English lion or the American eagle shall hold sway over this yet unfathomed wealth of agricultural and mineral resources, within the lake-bound shores of Michigan, and General Harrison's splendid victory at Tippecanoe has broken the power of Chief Tecumseh's confederation of Indian tribes. The master hand of the commoner is reaching out over the silent forests of ]\Iichigan's interior, and the light of government investigation is sweeping over the shores of Saginaw river and bay. The surveyor and Indian agent are quickly followed by the more venturesome of border pioneers. Listen and you will hear:

The first steamboat, the "W'alk-in-the- Water," began regtilar trips between Buffalo and Detroit in 1818, and the immigrants Westward bound, having before them the long and wearisome trip in the prairie schooner across the Middle West, paused as they heard of this new El Dorado of the Northwest, now so easily reached, and thousands who had started for the Mississippi turned Northward and entered Michigan.

Governor Cass and Woodbridge, his secretary, were indefatigable in making their home-building within the State, peaceful, attractive and profitable. W'agon roads were the first great necessity, and after a good road had been hewn around the shore of Lake Erie and from Detroit to Chicago, the Governor turned his attention to the central part of the State. He recognized the material advantages of the Saginaw Valley, and was ever lauding its rich soil, its boundless forests, its navigable streams, alive with fish, and its commanding position.

About 1825 the Erie Canal was opened for trade and this gave a new impetus to the trade of the Great Lakes, and enhanced the harbor facilities of Saginaw Bay. Steam and sailing craft, lx)und for shore trade and locating trading centers, sailed up the Saginaw River, and their stories of its beauty and natural advantages attracted general attention to this valley.

Southeastern ^Michigan was secured by treaty from the Indians through Governor William Hull in 1807. This left the Saginaw River and its tributaries in undisputed possession of the natives until 18 19. In that year Governor Cass again came to the Saginaw A'alley, and from September loth to 22nd, conferred with the Indians about the terms of a new treaty. After weary hours of council and harangue, the final terms of that famous treaty were mutually agreed to, granting to the L'nited States all but 40,000 acres of their territory. The reservation they retained was mostly on the west bank of the river, and reaching around the wide western sweep of Saginaw Ba\'. proving clearly that this was indeed their favorite hunting ground. Two Indian traders, Stephen V. R. Riley and Jacob Smith, who had married Indian squaws, and who with their children were treated by the natives as their own kindred, took an active part in adjusting the differences between the crafty Indians and ^licliigan's wise commoner. In appreciation of their services, they were allowed extensive land grants by the national government, the three sons of ^Ir. Riley.

- John, Peter and James, - being each given 640 acres. The tract of the eldest became the famous Riley Reserve, now entirely within the confines of Bay City.

In 1835 the people of Michigan, claiming their right under the ordinance of 1787, organized and put into operation a State government, and sent to the L'nited States Senate, Lucius Lyon and John Norvell. For nearly 14 months these two representatives were kept in the corridors of the Capitol at Washington, until the boundary dispute between the young and ambitious State and the Congress was settled, as such disputes are usually settled, in favor of the stronger party, - the Congress. On January 26, 1837, Michigan entered the Union as the 26th State.

In that memorable year the Indians ceded their remaining 40,000 acres to the government, on condition that these lands be surveyed, and placed on the market at $5 per acre for a certain period, the unsold portion to go for $2.50 per acre. The Indians were to receive tlie entire proceeds of the sale, less the expenses of the survey and transfer. The cession was brought about through a visit to Washington by the famous Chippewa chiefs. O-ge-ma-kega-to, Ton-dog-a-ne, Sha-e-be-no-se. Wos-so. Mose-ga-shink. Ma-sha-way, and Xau-quacln'c-a-me. They were accompanied by Charles Rodd, a half-breed interpreter, and Capt. Joseph F. Marsac, Henry O. O'Connor, Gardner D. Williams, and Benjamin O. Williams, pmniinent pioneers of the Saginaw \'alley. who had the esteem of the Indians. President Thomas Jefferson was much impressed with the martial bearing of the far-famed chieftain, O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to, and during the visit he presented the brave with a gaudy colonel's uniform, in which he afterward appeared on all state occasions, and in which he was eventually buried. As a result of this visit to the capital of the republic, a final council meeting was held on the Flint River, where the documents were duly signed and sealed. This was a momentous event, both for the Indians and the pioneers wlic) had cume to these parts. The Indians came from all directions, making the occasion one of a general reunion, and the Flint River witnessed a typical border scene. The Indians were in good humor, for their chiefs thought they had secured a good bargain. Visits in state were made between the more prominent chiefs and the representatives of the government. Huge council fires were the centers of different groups, where the silent Indian chief did the honors to his pale face brothers :

From the wigwain came the peace pipe Very old and strangely fashioned ; Made of red stone was the pipe-head From the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry Blessed by Manitoii the Mighty ; And the stem a reed with feathers. Filled this pipe with bark of willow. Placed a burning coal upon it, Gave it to his guest, the stranger.

What few white traders and settlers lived within a radius of 50 miles were there, for such an event was w^orth witnessing, and life in the wilderness offered few enough diversions. Stately Hurons, adorned in all their savage pomp, delivered orations that were deemed masterful by their people, as well as by the pioneers. The dance of peace was given three nights in succession, with all the weird accompaniments the chiefs could muster. A feast was spread to which all did full justice, and on the following day the as.sembly dispersed. Michigan now held undisputed title to all of the lands within the borders, at the very time when statehood was conferred upon the commonwealth.

of the Indians, the colonial period draws to a close. Settlements now became very numerous, and there was the usual rush for lands in the newly opened reserve. The veteran hunters, trappers, and Indian traders, who had long followed the Indian trails of the Saginaw Valley, knew where the choicest parcels of land were located, and these land prizes fell largely to them.

A few land entries had been made in what is now Bay County as early as 1831, by Leon Trombley. He erected the first permanent log hut on the site where stand to-day the substantial business blocks on Water and Fourth streets. The government had tried for years to instill into the Indians a liking and aptitude for agriculture, and Leon Trombley was one of the Indian farmers of this district. He cleared half an acre of ground from underbrush, and planted some potatoes. This crop he left in charge of an Indian and his squaw, while he returned to Detroit to bring up his family. It was early fall when he returned. The instability of the natives as farmers was proven by this early experience, for the patch of potatoes had never felt the scratch of a hoe! The fertility of the soil, however, saved Trombley a supply of the tubers for the following hard winter, for to his intense astonishment the crop had matured without cultivation.

During the .spring of 1832, Louis ]\Iasho erected a log cabin on the spot where Bousfield's mammoth woodenware works are now located. Cassette Trombley was another Indian teacher of farming on the west side of the river, about this same time. John B. Trudell, fisherman and trader, erected a log cabin near the present site of the Bay City Brewing Company's plant in 1834. Oddly enough, Trudell was by genera! repute the first total abstainer in these parts. In 1834 the government sent Benjamin Cushway, a blacksmith, to this sec- tion. believing that tlie growing demands of the Indians" farms would require his services. The Indian, howe\-er. preferred his pipe dreams, his revels, hunts and sports, and there was little for Cushway to do. He erected his blacksmith shop and primitive cabin near the west approach to the Lafayette avenue Ijridge, and for years was a trader among the red men.

In 1835, Joseph Trombley left the employ of the American Fur Company, which had a flourishing agency in the valley, and with his brother, ]\Iedor Trombley, prepared to open a store of their own. The stock was purchased at Detroit, and shipped here on the schooner "Savage." The brothers selected a rather open spot in the wilderness bordering the river, lying high and dry where Water and 24th streets intersect. The store was built of pine logs, flattened on two sides, and was 25 by 30 feet in size. The brothers opened the first store in this end of the valley in time for the Indian payment in the fall of 1835. For many years they did a thriving business, exchanging their flour, pork, blankets, and similar useful articles, for the fur and venison of the Indians. The stock in trade had to be brought mostly by boat, as at that time there was only a turnpike from Detroit as far as Royal Oak, a distance of 14 miles, and a rough corduroy road as far as Pontiac. From there radiated many Indian trails, but these were impassable for men with heavy packs. The first Trombley land entry was made through Major Causley, United States land agent at Detroit.

These first colonists were rugged types of the hardy frontiersman. Of Joseph Trombley, it is written that he would start from Detroit before daybreak over the Indian trails with a pack on his back and arrive at Flint, 70 miles away, that same evening! In 1828, guided by two Chippewa Indians, - Was-a-wa and Beechance, - he sailed in a bark canoe along the shore of Saginaw Bay to where Sebewaing is now located. Their sole food was the game ihev shot. Tromliley did not find the water deep enough to suit him there, hence returned to Detroit. A log hut built at Carrollton l)y his uncle. Cassette Trombley, in 181 9, sheltered him on a later trip of exploration in this \'icinily, v>"hen he tiiok up the fur trade business for John Jacob Astor.

Trombley was raised among the Indians, and excelled at all their favorite sports. Having defeated their most famous young chiefs in feats of strength and daring, - in shooting, wrestling, running, jumping, swimming, hunting or fishing, - they stood in mortal awe of his "big medicine," as they termed his rugged vitality, and for years he was a commanding figure in their councils. He occupied a foremost place in the councils, transferring the last Indian reservation to the government, and contributed as much as any other one man to the creation of a thri\"ing and peaceful settlement on the site of Greater Bay City. Years after, it was his particular enjoyment to race on foot some friend who was riding a horse over the Indian trails to Flint and back the same day, a distance of 90 miles, and Trombley invariably won.

In 1836, during the height of the land speculation craze in the Northwest, Dr. Daniel Hughes Fitzhugh, living between here and Saginaw, decided to buy a parcel of land which Joseph Trombley also had in view. The latter heard that Dr. Fitzhugh had started for Flint on horseback, to close the deal. Trombley promptly gathered the necessary gold, piled it in his canoe, which he paddled to the Tittabawassee, and from there he ran practically all the way to Flint. He had the land entered and paid for before Dr. Fitzhugh and his horse arrived. During the early evening, Trombley returned after his canoe, showing his certifi- cate to a trader named McDonald at tliat place. McDonald would not believe that Trombley had been to Flint and back in that short space of time, but lost his bet of a gallon of wine, when the mail carrier, who then delivered the few letters, proceeding this way on horseback, came along and acknowledged that Trombley had pas.sed him that morning, going into Flint at top speed, and a few hours later had again passed him on his way home.

In 1836, Judge Albert Miller, wlio was the first school teacher in the valley, purchased some land from the Trombleys, and prepared to have it platted.

The stray colonists and hermit pi(5neers were soon to be surrounded by ambitious communities. A new era was dawning for the rich valle}- of the ancient Sauks. The rugged tra])per and the trader were being followed by the farmer and the artisan. The sons of New England were hurrying to the far Northwest, just being opened. "Saginaw's tall and whispering pines" were becoming the rallying point of the sons of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, to whom the odor of pine was life itself. The silent scout who opened the way was disappearing, and ere long the mechanical industries, the workshop, the loom and the sawmill replaced his hunting lodge and trader's tepee. His doings will be but a legend to the next generation, and sound like a fable at the dawn of another century. Yet for nigh unto two-thirds of the elapsed period since Father 3>Ian|uette first explored these regions, this silent, rugged outpost of civilization alone had kept watch and ward over this valley, so blessed by Nature. He has given way to the axe and the plow of the colonist, or hied himself farther North and deeper into his beloved solitude. And now the colonist in turn is swallowed up by the tide of immigration, and his individuality and his little clearing alike are lost in the booming frontier communities. Their lives and deeds are to-day little more than a memory. Yet we know they chose wisely when they settled in these parts, and they smoothed over many rough places for the thousands that were soon to follow their daring lead. Little enough is known of their lives and their deeds, and but few of their names have survived oblivion in the passing years. But every thoughtful resident of this blessed valley must ever have a warm spot in his heart for the pioneers and colonists who dared the rigors and privations of the wilderness, and created amid untold dangers and suffering the garden spot on Saginaw Bay we call our home.