LEADING THE VAN.

Out of the nine wheat States which outranked Michigan in 1840, she has outstripped all but Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, while Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and California have, within the last few years, shot forward into the front rank. Compared with these great States, the Lower Peninsula surpasses them all save Indiana, area for area, in wheat production, and were it possible to compare the proportion of land under cultivation in the two States, there can be no doubt but it would surpass Indiana, also. The State motto might well read: "If you seek the American wheat peninsula, look around you."

The table also reveals the surprising fact that while the aggregate product of wheat in Michigan has doubled about every ten years, the average yield per acre has increased from ten bushels, in 1849, to eighteen bushels, in 1877. The causes for this most gratifying result are not far to seek. It is due to the greater care of farmers in selecting seed; to the introduction of new varieties, such as the Clawson, which yields better than its predecessors; to improved machinery and methods of drilling and harvesting; and to an increase of live stock, and consequent increase of fertilization. The increase in the aggregate is due mainly, to the rapid settlement and clearing up of the country, and there is no reason to suppose that the increase will be seriously checked until the millions of acres of wild lands are finally brought under cultivation. What the limit will be, must be left to conjec

History Of St, CLAIR COUNTY.

THE

EARLY HISTORY.

HE history of this old county of Michigan presents what may be termed, an old truth newly learned, viz., that the most easterly point of the peninsula is also the first discovered land of the State. When it is remembered that the wanderer, Nicolet, passed some years within easy distance of the outlet of that lake Huron which he named, it is not a matter for surprise to learn something of both the lake and river from his descriptions, as furnished to his illustrious patron, Champlain. Again, there cannot exist a doubt regarding the visit of the venerable Le Caron, Mesnard and other missionaries to the Indians on both sides of the river St. Glair; for although his principal services were rendered in the Lake Superior region, his stay with the savages on the Sauble and southward to this river, was acknowledged as brief but profitable. Even before Pere Mesnard, the names of Fathers Raymbault and Jacques were known along the eastern lake and river borders of Michigan.

To know the beginnings of this county, one must revert to a period in our history anterior to the era of French exploration proper—thirty years before the venerable Rene Mesnard appeared upon the shores of Lake Huron (1660), long before the Jesuit, Claude Allouez, arrived at the mouth of French River (1665), and longer still, before Father Marquette appeared in Michigan (1668).

The first notice of the territory bordering on Lake Huron was made about 1615, by Father Le Caron, and next in 1630, when Jean Nicolet traveled west from Nipissing, over the very route which the first missionary father adopted, as well as that traversed in after years by his Jesuit successors, and arrived on the shores of the lake. The light which this discovery shed upon history was such an exceedingly faint gleam—apparently imperceptible—that it would have ceased to shine entirely had not a reference been made to it in a report sent to France by the Superior of the Canadian Jesuits, in 1632, printed in the "Jesuit Relations," of 1839, at Paris.

Upon the St. Lawrence River, Samuel Champlain built his village early in the seventeenth century. There the spirit of enterprise and energy burned brightly, for in Champlain was centered many of those qualities which fit men to direct and govern. This illustrious Frenchman lost no opportunity to make himself acquainted with the unknown land which stretched beyond his Western explorations, and, in his search after knowledge, requisitioned Indian intelligence, so that, through report, he might be able to gain some idea of the topography of the Western country. He learned of the Mascoutins, of the Winnebagoes. and more of the Pottawatomies and Otchipwes than Huron or Algonquin had ever related to him hitherto. All that was known of the Otchipwes, during the first quarter of the seventeenth century, was, that they had come from a cold country, bordering on the northern ocean, at a remote period, with the Winnebagoes, and settled in the neighborhood of th« great lakes; that they sometimes traded with the Algonquins, and oftentimes came to the banks of the Ottawa as enemies. With this information, and an ardent desire to penetrate the mysterious West to urge him on, Champlain made many efforts toward exploration. At length he adopted his prot6g6, Jean Nicolet, to direct an exploration, and this man, endowed with the controlling spirit of his director, completed a round

of discovery in 1634, and returned to Quebec the following year. Previous to Nicolat's return, Gov. Champlain learned more and more of the chain of lakes and rivers which form the eastern boundary of Michigan, and as he was himself a practical draughtsman, he made the first attempt at a delineation of the lake region, which chart was given in his work, Les Voyages de la Nouvelle France, published in Paris in 1632. The descriptions accompanying the map are much more applicable to the country, as we know it, than the map itself, and refer very distinctly to the lake and river, ending and beginning at Fort Gratiot. In his report to the home government, in 1836, he evidently makes use of information gleaned from the explorer Nicolet, and recommends a point at the outlet of what Nicolet named Lake Huron, for the building of a military post or trading village; while in the same letter he suggests the establishment of a Mission Village some distance north, on the eastern shore. There is no record of the recommendation being acted upon immediately, although a doubt cannot be entertained regarding the building of Fort St. Joseph, near the present Fort Gratiot, by Daniel Graysolon Du Luth, in 1686. Pure Réné Mesnard established a mission at the point suggested by Champlain in 1660. unnecessary here to say more regarding this mission than that there is sufficient evidence to point out its establishment in 1660, and to give the following summary from Mrs. B. C. Farrand's able paper on the reminiscences of Edward Petit, which points out the ruins and location of the mission: So recently as 128-30, Edward Petit, son of Anselm Petit, one of the original settlers of Port Huron, entered the employ of G. & E. Williams, fur traders. His duty called him among the Canadian Indians, and while there he made a stay on the Sauble River, forty miles north of Sarnia. In the vicinity of his camp were the ruins of an ancient house, which, on measuring, he found to have an area of 960 square feet, or a floor 40x24 feet. In the south or gable end was a chimney eighteen feet high, built of stone, with an open fireplace. The hearthstone had sunk below the ordinary level. Round the ruin was a garden about twelve rods wide, and twenty rods long, bearing evident traces of ditches and alleys. Within the walls, an oak tree, three feet in diameter, and sixty feet high, minus a limb, and perfectly straight, was found to flourish. It seemed to be of a second growth, and must have been 150 years old when observed by Mr. Petit. This ruin and tree excited the curiosity of the trader, and prompted him to ask one of the aged Saguenay chiefs, then eighty-four years old, what he knew about the house or its builders. The savage replied: "A white man built the house at a time when my great-great-great-great-grandfather lived there and white people lived then in all the country round. They were not Frenchmen, and everything, no matter of how great or small value, was sold for a peminick," meaning a dollar.

It is questionable, indeed, whether the location of Du Luth's Fort St. Joseph was settled between the years 1635 and 1686; enough remains, however, to show that this district was known at that early period, and that the French military enterprise of the latter part of the seventeenth, was anticipated by that of Champlain and Nicolet of the first part of that century.

To Jean Nicolet, next to Pere Le Caron and Frere Sagard, both Franciscan Friars, belongs the honor of the first place in the history of Michigan. Nor is that honor due from mere accidental events, as is so often the case in discovery of new countries; for it was won by the de liberate accomplishment of a laborious and dangerous undertaking, whose purpose was, so far as evidence can now be adduced, substantially achieved. The sparse records of the life of this man contain but the barest outlines of his earlier days, though future research among original documents, it is to be hoped, will shed more light on the obscured details. It is known that he was of French nativity, born in Normandy, and that he emigrated to Canada in the year 1010, being a proteg6 of Champlain. The date of his birth is not preserved in any document extant. Upon his arrival in New France, he at once took up his residence at Allumettes Island, on the Ottawa, that he might the better study the Indian tongue, and thereby fit himself for the office of interpreter. In 1622, but four years after his arrival, he is mentioned as having acquired an extensive influence over the Algonquin tribes. From 1623 to 1631, Nicolet lived with the tribes of the Nipissing. This is stated on the authority of his friend Father Le Jenne, although other of the "Jesuit Relations" record that the period of his residence with the Nipissing tribes was from 1629 to 1632. It is determined by those who have made a special study of the subject, that Nicolet began his Western travels in the summer of 1634, and returned to Quebec in 1035.

The nature of this work precludes the possibility of arguing this question, but as several hitherto accepted theories are controverted, the authorities governing this deduction are named, as follows: "Jesuit Relations, Discovery of the Northwest;" "Melanges D' History et de Literateur." Parkman observes that "Nicolet was a remarkable man," and so he must have been, to win the confidence of the savage tribes to that degree which enabled him to penetrate into the remote regions of their homes, and there conduct a peaceful enterprise with the warlike savages, for the advancement of commerce in fur and peltry.

The long journeying from Quebec was undertaken at the suggestion of Champlain, and in the official capacity of interpreter of the company of one hundred associates of New France, which was formed in 1627, with a view to the development of the immense resources of the Western wilderness in furs. The mission of Nicolet was not to establish peace, as distinguished from warfare, between the Hurons and Peninsular savages; but was, rather, a mission of peace, to cement the friendly relations of these tribes, as well as the Nez Perces or Ottawas, and other tribes in the general interests of the French.

Nicolet visited the Hurons on his westward journey, at their home on the eastern side of the lake which bears their name, and negotiated with them. It is recorded by Parkman that, upon his arrival at Winnebago Town, he sent some of his Indian attendants to announce his coming, put on a robe of damask, and advanced to meet the expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand. The squaws and children fled, screaming that it was a manitou, or spirit, armed with thunder and lightning; but the chiefs and warriors regaled him with so bountiful a hospitality, that 120 beavers were devoured. One of the objects of Nicolet's visit to the Green Bay country was to smoke the pipe of peace with its savage occupants, and to counsel harmony among all the tribes of the upper lakes visited by him, to the end that all might be visited by the French from the St. Lawrence, for the purpose of trading for furs. Peace was promised; but the Winnebagoes, immediately after he left them, attacked the Nez Perces, located upon the eastern waters of Lake Huron, capturing and eating two of that nation. Five years subsequently, they were themselves attacked by the Illinois, from the widely-extended prairies of the south, and nearly exterminated.

In 1641, the Pottawatomies left their ancient homes on the island of the upper lakes, seeking refuge among the Chippewas, at the Sault Ste. Marie, near the foot of Lake Superior. Returning, however, some years afterward, and again visiting Michigan, they spread themselves through the Peninsula from SauJt de Ste. Marie to Grand River, and to the Huron of Lake Erie. Nicolet visited many of the surrounding nations. He retraced his way to the St. Lawrence in the summer of 1635, reaching Quebec in safety. The parish records of that city furnish the information that this brave man was occupied with various duties from 1635 to the day of his death, and shows conclusively that his journey must have been made at the date given, since he was not absent from Quebec long enough at any time to have performed the feat subsequent to

1635.

Nicolet married Marguerite Couillard, at Quebec, October 7, 1737. He lost his life while on a mission to save a poor Abenaqui from the Algonquins, by the capsizing of his boat, October 31, 1642. To this bold adventurer, whose knowledge of the Western tribes was gained by actual experience, must all praise be given for having opened to the devoted followers of the Cross, the way to new fields of usefulness.

There were none to follow Nicolet to the wild West until 1641, when a great "feast of the dead" given by the Algonquins in Huronia, gathered there all the kindred tribes to take part in the funereal games, the dances, chants, and mournful processions of those decennial rites. Among the rest came the Otchipwes from the Rapids, which then closed to the vessels of men the entrance of the vast upper lake. These deputies, like the rest, were visited by the Jesuit missionaries, and so won were the good Otchipwes by the gentle, self-devoting ways of those heralds of the Cross, that they earnestly invited them to their cabins at the Falls of Ste. Marie, near the foot of Lake Superior, portraying, with all the lively imagination of the child of the forests, the riches and plenty that reigned in their sylvan abodes. Ever eager to extend their spiritual conquests, to enlarge the bounds of freedom in this Western world, the missionaries joyfully accepted the invitation of the Otchipwes. By command of the superior, two mission

ary Fathers, Charles Baymbault, a man thoroughly versed in the Algonquin customs and language, with Pere Isaac Jacques--no less complete an Indian scholar—were dispatched to visit them. On the 17th of June they launched their canoes at the mission house of St. Mary's, in the country of the Huron Indians, and for seventeen days advanced over the crystal waters of the inland sea (Lake Huron), amidst the beautiful islands which stretch across the lake, clustering around the lake-gemmed Manitoulin, so hallowed to the Indian's mind. When they reached the Falls of St. Mario, they found two thousand Indians assembled there, and amid their joyful greetings the missionaries gazed with delight on the vast field which lay before. them. They heard of tribe after tribe which lay around, and ever and anon of the terrible Madowesse (Sioux), who dwelt on the great river of the West (Mississippi). Earnestly did the Otchipwes press the two fathers to stay in their midst. "We will embrace you," said they, "as brothers; we shall derive profit from your words;" but it could not be so. The paucity of missionaries in the Huron country did not yet permit of the establishment of that distant mission. Raymbault and Jacques could but plant the cross to mark the limit of their spiritual progress; yet they turned it to the south, for thither now their hopes began to tend. After a short stay, they returned to St. Mary's, and hopes were entertained of soon establishing a mission on Lake Superior; but Raymbault shortly afterward fell a victim to the climate, while Jacques began in his own person a long career of martyrdom, preluding the ruin of the Huron Mission, the death of its apostles, and the destruction of the tribe. The Jesuit missionaries located in the country of the Huron Indians, always wide awake to obtaining knowledge of the region lying to the westward and northward of Lake Huron, had, nevertheless, but meager accounts of the country even down to 1048.

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The pipe of peace which Nicolet smoked with the Western tribes was not productive of immediate good returns. The death of Champlain, and the change in purposes and ambitions among the Canadian settlers, produced in the east an almost total forgetfulness of the upper lake country. For at least two decades of years after the discovery by Nicolet, very dim and shadowy is its history. Here and there references to the lakes, and the Indians inhabiting their shores, are made by Jesuit missionaries in their Relations. These Relations" were the records kept by priests, of their experiences in their arduous calling. For many years, beginning in 1632, the Superior of the Jesuit Mission in Canada—then New France—sent every summer to Paris his reports, which embodied or were accompanied by those of his subordinates. For forty years, these reports were annually published in Paris, and were known as the "Jesuit Relations." Those which are of interest to the student of Michigan history begin with the year 163U—40, and extend to 1672. Says one of these records, of date 1648: "This Superior Lake extends to the northwest, that is to say, between the west and thn north. A peninsula, or strip of land quite small, separates this Superior Lake from another third lake, called by us the Lake of the Paunts, which also discharges itself into our fresh water sea, through a mouth which is on the other side of the peninsula, about ten leagues more to the west than the Sault. This third lake extends between the west and the southwest, more toward the west, and is almost equal in size to our fresh water sea. On its shores dwell a different people, of an unknown language, that is to say, a language that is neither Algonquin nor Huron. These people are called the Paunts, not on account of any unpleasant odor that is peculiar to them, but because they say they came from the shores of the sea far distant toward the west, the waters of which being salt, they call themselves the people of the stinking water.'" Another account, written in 1654, after giving the arrival at Montreal of a fleet of canoes loaded with furs, belonging to friendly Indians who came from the upper country, a distance of 400 leagues, speaks of a part of these Indians being the Tobacco nations of the Hurons, and a portion Ottawas, and adds: "These tribes have abandoned their ancient country, and have retired toward the more distant nation in the vicinity of the great lake, whom we call Paunts, in consequence of their having dwelt near the sea, which is salt, and which our savages call'stinking water.'" The Hurons had been entirely overthrown by the Iroquois in 1649 and 1650, and had abandoned their country. A division of this nation called the Tobacco Indians, with such other Hurons as had taken refuge with them, settled on Mackinac Island, where they were joined by a branch of the Ottawas, nicknamed by the French, Chevvux relevea, or Standing Hair; hence this statement in