been little advanced; and at this day, it cannot be said that he stands higher in the scale of civilization than when first known by the white man. With regard to the antiquities of the State of Michigan, it affords us pleasure to submit the following, which has been supplied to us by the

writer:

In common with her sister States of the great West, Michigan can boast of her antiquities, the undoubted remains of a great people, who claimed for their land, long anterior to the so-called "aborigines"-a people of whom the earliest known Indians have no traditions. Of a precisely similar character with the "tumuli," "forts," and "mounds" of the Ohio valley, are the ancient remains in Michigan, and in addition to these are the remains of ancient "gardens "-traces of which are found in no other portion of the continent so distinctly marked as those of southern Michigan. The ancient "mounds," the probable use of which has given rise to more controversy than any of the other antiquities of the country, are of quite frequent occurrence in Michigan, being found in all parts of the State, especially upon or near the banks of the large rivers-the St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Grand, Raisin, and Huron. The so-called "forts" are but seldom met with, and are uniformly of small dimensions, the principal ones being in the southeast, along the shores of the Detroit, Huron, and Raisin rivers, and occasionally upon Lake Erie, between the Detroit and Maumee rivers. The gardens are found principally in the rich prairies and "oak-openings" of southern Michigan, where their antiquity is clearly evinced by the fact that in the centre of the garden beds immense oak trees, evidently several hundred years old, are found growing. In the counties of St. Joseph, Cass, and Berrien, there are many of these ancient gardens still in excellent preservation, and having undoubted traces of their original uses.

In addition to the remains above alluded to, there are to be found in the great iron and copper mining regions of the northern peninsula, the most indisputable evidences that this region was once inhabited by a race superior in every respect to the American Indians of the present day-a race that understood the mode of working and the value of metals. The high antiquity of the evidences of ancient mining discovered by the present copper and iron miners of the Keweenaw, Ontonagon, and Marquette districts is inferred not only from the fact that the existing race of Indians were in perfect ignorance of the locality of the mines until pointed out by the whites, but that the ancient stone and metal tools discovered are entirely unlike anything now in use by the Indians in any part of the country. Still another evidence is had, as is the case with the gardens of southern Michigan, in the fact that trees of the largest size, evidently at least five hundred years old, are found growing upon the piles of rubbish that must have been thrown from the mines by the ancient miners. In the winter of 1847, while passing over a portion of the location now occupied by the Minnesota Mining Company, Mr. Samuel Knapp, the intelligent agent of the company, observed a continuous depression of the soil, which he rightly conjectured was caused by the disintegration of a vein. There was a bed of snow on the ground three feet in depth, but it had been so little disturbed by the wind that it conformed to the inequalities of the surface. Following up these indications along the southern escarpment of the hill, where the company's works are now erected, he came to a longitudinal cavern, into which he crept. He saw numerous evidences to convince him that this was an artificial excavation, and at a subsequent day, with the assistance of two or three men, proceeded to explore it. In clearing out the rubbish they found numerous stone hammers, showing clearly that they were the mining imple

ments of a past race. The following spring he explored another excavation in the neighborhood, which was twenty-six feet deep, filled with clay and a mass of decayed vegetable matter. When he had penetrated to the depth of eighteen feet he came to a mass of native copper, ten feet long, three feet wide, and nearly two feet thick, weighing over six tons. On digging around it the mass was found to rest on billets of oak, supported by sleepers of the same wood. The ancient miners had evidently raised the mass about five feet, and then abandoned it as too laborious. The vein was wrought in the form of an open trench, and where the copper was most abundant the excavation extended deepest. The rubbish taken from the mine is thrown out in mounds, which can easily be distinguished from the surrounding ground, and upon which large trees are now growing. In various other localities of the northern peninsula the most convincing traces are discovered, that go to prove that the mines were extensively worked by an intelligent race-at least far more intelligent than the present Indians. The workings appear to have been effected by the use of stone hammers and wedges, specimens of which are to be found in the greatest abundance in the vicinity of the mines. In some instances there are traces of fire, and pieces of charcoal have been discovered, showing that fire was used as an agent to destroy the cohesion of the copper with the surrounding stone. Metallic hammers and knives have been discovered in the mines, though the instances are very rare, the copper being evidently carried to a distance, where it was fashioned into the rings and ornaments frequently found in the tumuli of the Ohio. The immense labor required to sink these ancient mines-frequently through several feet of solid rock-is another evidence that the present race of Indians, or any race of men possessing their characteristics, could not have performed the work, for no amount of personal benefit could induce the Indian to undergo such physical exertion. According to Professor J. W. Foster, these ancient miners were none other than the Mound Builders, whose works are known to be scattered throughout the entire Northwestern States. The specimens of their genius which we find in Michigan are generally small, varying in height from six to ten feet, and in rare instances reaching a height of twenty feet. Some of the most remarkable that have been noticed are in Girard township, Branch county, and in Raisin township, in the county of Lenawee. One of the latter was opened many years since and found to contain a mass of human bones. On the north side of Grand river, ten miles from its mouth, there is an ancient mound about ten feet high, with an immense pine tree, nearly one hundred feet high, -growing from its apex. A mound in the vicinity was opened, and nothing found until the ground below was penetrated to the distance of about three feet below the original level, where were discovered a quantity of human bones, several pieces of iron three or four inches long, several arrow heads, some pieces of brass, and the remnant of a brazen vessel much mutilated. In the southwest corner of the county of Calhoun, on the north side of the St. Joseph river, is a semicircular fort two hundred feet in diameter, and another in the southeast corner of the county, of the same dimensions, with an embankment from one to three feet high. In the county of Wayne, in Springwells township, on the north bank of the Detroit river, is a fort of the circular or elliptical kind, with an embankment two or three feet in height, and encompassing perhaps one acre, situated on firm land and surrounded by a swamp. On the east side, in approaching the fort, there are two parallel embankments of earth, within a few feet of each other, rising four or five feet, and crossing the swamp in a direct line towards the fort. Forts of the square or the rectangular kind are sometimes found. There is said

to be one two miles below the village of Marshall, one in the township of Prairie Ronde, several on the Kalamazoo, and in some other places. In Bruce township, in the county of Macomb, on the north fork of the Clinton, are several. The latter consist mostly of an irregular embankment, with a ditch on the outside, and including from two to ten acres, with entrances, which were evidently gateways, and a mound on the inside opposite each entrance. In the vicinity there are a number of mounds. Several small mounds have been found on a bluff of the Clinton river, eight miles from Lake St. Clair. In sinking the cellar of a building for a missionary, sixteen baskets full of human bones were found of a remarkable size. Near the mouth of this river, on the east bank, are ancient works representing a fortress, with walls of earth thrown up similar to those in Ohio and Indiana.

In this connection, after mentioning the fact that the popular name of Michigan is the Hoosier State, it may interest the reader to look at the meanings of the following Indian names associated with the State of Michigan: Kalamazoo, which means Looming, or Wuragi river; Numma-sapee, or River Raisin, River of Sturgeons; Minosa-goink, or River Rouge, Singeing Skin River; Waweawtonong, or Detroit, Place where you go round the sun in approaching; Getchigomme, or Lake Superior, Sea Water; Equabaw, End of deep water; Wassawassepee, River where fish are speared by torchlight; Iosco, Water of Light; Keewenaw, or The canoe is carried back; Muskegon, or Marshy River; Moskego-sepee, or Moskegon, Marshy River; Pocagonk, The Rib River; Titebawassee, River that runs alongside; Ottawa, or The Traders; Tuscola, or Warrior's Prairie; Nundee Norgon, or Ontonogon, Hunting River; Wrockumiteogoc, or Huron river, Clear Water; Owosso, Person warming himself; Cheboygan, or A place of metals; NagaikurSebee, or River Ecorce, Bark River; Sac-e-nong, or Saginaw, Sac Town; Michisawgyegan, or Lake Michigan, Great Lake; Manistee, or River with Islands; Chippewas, or Ojibways, The Ruling People; Mackinaw, Place of Giant Fairies, or Great Turtle; Washtenaw and Washtenong, or Grand River, Running over Shining Pebbles; Shiawassee, or Strait Running; Powetink, or Grand Rapids, Falling Waters; Powating, the Saute Ste. Marie, or Water Shallow on the Rocks; Yondotia, or Detroit, Great Town; and Cowthenake-Sepee, or Au Glaize river, Falling Tree River. According to J. H. Lanman, the Indian names which marked the prominent points of Michigan exhibit the mode in which the savages defined the topography of the country, and were used as land marks to guide them in their migrations. A general term, founded on a certain feature of natural scenery, was often used to designate a wide tract of territory.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.

Under this heading we propose to speak of several distinct localities, which have been, and are at the present time, attracting the special attention of the public, viz-the Grand Traverse Region, the Saginaw Valley, the Straits of Mackinaw, and the Cheboygan Region. With regard to the first, Professor Alexander Winchell has declared it to be the most remarkable and desirable section of country in the Northwest, and as he is the only man who has thoroughly explored it, the value of his opinion cannot be questioned. In 1866 he published a report on its geological and industrial resources, and it is from that production that we gather the following particulars:

Grand Traverse Bay is a bay of Lake Michigan, about thirty-four miles. long and of ample depth, and received its name from the French voyageurs.

The region to which it has given its name is divided into five counties, viz: Antrim, Leelanaw, Grand Traverse, Benzie, and Kalkasca, the first three alone being contiguous to the Bay. The mean elevation of this country is two and thirty feet above Lake Michigan, and it is intersected with a great number of small and beautiful lakes and rivers of the purest water, and its surface is undulating and picturesque, and its low or swamp lands are not worthy of mention. Patches of clayey soil are not unfrequent, but a wellmixed sandy loam is the dominant soil on the hills, and their productiveness is said to be unsurpassed. Generally speaking, the region is covered by a magnificent growth of hard-wood timber, the sugar maple being the most abundant species, although the beech, the white elm, the oak, poplar, birch, the hemlock, the cedar, white pine, and arbor vitæ are found to a considerable extent in certain localities. For the most part, these forests present an endless colonnade of majestic pillars, and, but for the prostrate forms of the fallen patriarchs of the wood, a vehicle could be driven through the unbroken forest from one end of the region to the other. All the quadrupeds and birds peculiar to the State are found in this particular section, and the common trout is abundant in its beautiful lakes and streams. Its geological formations are said to be unusually interesting to scientific men, and consist of lignite, drift, shales, various limestones, and salt-the last of which underlies the whole region. With regard to the farm products, Professor Winchell asserts that this region is capable of producing any crop which flourishes in the Northwestern States and as far south as the latitude of Cincinnati. Winter wheat is the staple crop, and the yield varies from twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre. Corn grows well, and, generally speaking, reaches perfection. Oats are very profitable, yielding fifty bushels to the acre. Buckwheat also flourishes luxuriantly. The potatoes of the region cannot be excelled-will grow without cultivation, and the yield is frequently three hundred bushels to the acre; and timothy hay is always a successful crop. As a fruit-growing region it is doubtful whether any other part of the United States will compete with this-the apple, peach, pear, plum, cherry, grape, and all the more common berries attaining the greatest perfection. According to the latest estimates, the population of the region is not far from ten thousand; and, although ample access is had to it by propellors from all the lake ports, it cannot be long before it will be easily reached by means of all the usual land communications. Beyond all controversy, writes Professor Winchell, the Grand Traverse Region offers stronger attractions to capital and settlement. than any other portion of the State, or of the entire Northwest. Even the mighty forest, which has to be felled before the farmer can avail himself of the soil, is probably less of a detriment than an advantage. Besides insuring him an inexhaustible supply of fuel, for the labor of cutting; besides furnishing him with a merchantable commodity in the form of cord wood, upon which he can realize for each day's work; besides protecting him and his stock and crops from the severity of the wintry blast-the forest itself is a source of food to horses and cattle, both in summer and winter. And it is a cheering fact that the religious and educational accommodations have kept pace with the development of the region.

Professor Winchell, in his report, makes an allusion to the Sand-Dunes, which form conspicuous landmarks along the western coast of southern Michigan, although not a prominent feature in the Grand Traverse Region. They consist of irregular heaps of sand which have been accumulated by the winds blowing in a certain direction upon specific shores. While the dunes of Cape Cod seldom measure more than eighty feet, those of Michi

gan sometimes measure more than a hundred feet. It is generally found, too, that they assume a lee and strike side, the gentle and long slope being to the windward, and the steep acclivity towards the sheltered portion. The Sleeping Bear and Pointe Aux Chenes, near the foot of Lake Michigan, are conspicuous examples of these dune-like formations, while at the head, at New Buffalo and Michigan City, they are equally conspicuous. All these dunes are found to be moist to within a few feet of the surface, and hence become clothed with vegetation, of which the peric tribe is the most observable. If, down to the present time, the ingenuity of man has not been able to make them useful, it is a source of thankfulness that they have not done, and are not doing, any particular harm.

With regard to the Saginaw Valley, we may begin by saying that its inhabitants claim it to be the largest and most valuable tract of timbered country in the world. The bay and river which bear the same name have long been distinguished for their natural attractions, and have an abundance of water to satisfy all the demands of navigation. From the earliest time the surrounding region has been famous as a seat of the fur-trade, and its earliest white inhabitants were two Indian traders, named Louis Campau and John B. Cushway. It was first settled by agricultural emigrants about the year 1836, but did not make any advances in enterprise until 1850, when, under the leadership of Charles Little and his son Norman Little, an extensive lumber trade was commenced, and all the steps taken to secure the manifold advantages born of active business and high ideas of education. Its leading town, originally named Buena Vista, but now called East Saginaw, was incorporated as such in 1859, and is already known as a shipbuilding place of importance, giving profitable employment besides to large numbers of men connected with the lumber-trade and various kinds of wood and iron manufactures; and it is connected with Detroit by steamboat lines and a well conducted railway. The next town in importance is Saginaw City, which is mainly dependent for its prosperity upon the salt interest, which has its centre here. The packing and shipping of salt has progressed so rapidly that a large proportion of the Northwestern States look to Michigan for their supply; and by several of the highest authorities of the country, the salt manufactured in the Saginaw Valley has been pronounced of the most superior quality, forty gallons of brine yielding fifty-six pounds of salt, which is a larger per centage than the yield of the Syracuse salt works. There is, perhaps, no region in the State where there is less actual waste land than in Saginaw. Wherever it is cleared and properly cultivated it proves to be of unsurpassed fertility. The proximity of the heavy timbered. lands to a ready market for lumber, affords a rich reward for the toil and labor of clearing. The immense oak and pine timber finds a ready sale, while the less valuable varieties, when cut up for fuel, are needed by the salt manufacturers, who pay remunerating prices. The demand for this purpose alone is immense, and must increase until the country is stripped of its forests. These advantages are not overlooked by those who are in search of new homes in Michigan, and the consequence is that there is an active demand for lands for farming purposes.

We may add, in this connection, that the gypsum beds located on the Bay of Saginaw are being rapidly developed, and becoming of great value to the State. In 1868 there were shipped from that locality twenty thousand tons of crude gypsum, and two thousand barrels of calcined gypsum, while the yield of the Grand Rapids bed amounted to 41,720 tons of the crude and 116,630 pounds of calcined gypsum.

From Mr. Albert D. Rust, who resides in the Saginaw Valley, and is