Houghton...... Houghton.......... C. & N. W. (to Negaunee), M., H. & 0. Muskegon.... Marquette..... Marquette Menominee.... Menominee.. C. & N. W.. Muskegon Traverse City.. Gd. Traverse By boat direct... C. & N. W. (to Negaunee) and M., H. By boat direct.. 66 66 (See below to L'Anse) from L'Anse by Ishpeming..... Marquette... Ferry (to St. Ignace), D., M. & M. (to Marquette) and M., H. & O.. Manistique Schoolcraft.. Ferry (to St. Ignace) and stage. *5 00 $450 156 7 00 McMillan. Chippewa... 66 66 66 66 66 66 D., M. & M. (to Marquette) and M., H. & O.. Negaunee...... Marquette. Ferry (to St. Ignace), D., M. & M. (to Marquette) and M., H. & O.. Chippewa.... Ferry (to St. Ignace) and D., M. & M. by stage. Mackinac.... Ferry (to St. Ignace) and D., M. & M. 66 66 Mackinac.... By ferry.. 66 THE UPPER PENINSULA. It has been found most convenient in the preparation of this book, having due regard to the simplicity and coherence of its arrangement, to treat the various subjects referred to therein by topics rather than by sectional divisions. Any especial reference to the Upper Peninsula, distinctively, will be only supplementary, therefore, to what is said concerning its great natural wealth and resources on other pages. Its enormous iron and copper interests, and its growing lumber and manufacturing enterprises, have been mentioned in connection with other industries of the State, and its topography, railway system, and general characteristics are grouped under corresponding titles with similar features elsewhere. The extraordinary affluence of this territory in minerals has diverted attention from its agricultural capabilities. During the last few years homesteads have been located in the eastern portion, but most of the lands heretofore bought from government lying in the westerly counties have been selected for mining or lumber purposes. It is becoming every day better known however that the region not long ago deemed so remote, and still associated chiefly with iron and copper, contains resources in the soil of some of its sections not less bountiful than those which are dug from its mines. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. The winter wheat of Chippewa county, where ten years ago no wheat was raised, received the first premium at the Michigan State Fair of 1881. Soil, climate, and experience combine to assure for this cereal a large and successful production in most of the counties of the upper peninsula. The cultivation of oats, barley and buckwheat has been pursued for years in many locations with remunerative results. The field peas which the Lake Superior counties send to market are marvels in productiveness and size. Their potatoes are sought for family use by housekeepers in Detroit and elsewhere who are familiar with their quality, and the crops they yield are enormous. Noxious insects, whose ravages are often so fatal to the hopes of farmers further west, are there entirely unknown. "The chief products of the soil," it was stated in the first report of the Commissioner of Mineral Statistics in words that will apply generally to that region, "are grass, hay, oats, potatoes, rutabagas, garden vegetables, and small fruits. Owing to the deep snows of winter, stock raising has received but little attention. But that the country is well adapted to the raising of cattle, the writer knows by seeing how rapidly imported animals take on flesh grazing upon the native grasses of the country, which spring up as soon as the forests are cleared, and are fully equal in every respect to the cele brated Kentucky blue grass. This grass remains green, if it does not grow all winter, under the deep snows of that latitude; the ground does not freeze, and as soon as the snow disappears in spring the pasturage is good. Cattle-raising, also sheep-raising, could be made a profitable industry in the mining regions, we have no doubt; the period for foddering cattle, after all, would be no greater than that which rules in the vicinity of the State capital." In some portions of this region apples and plums arrive at great perfection. Thrifty and well-stocked kitchen gardens are numerous in the more populous districts, and the wild berries of the whole country are famous for their abundance, size, and flavor. The mines have for years absorbed the energies and the means of settlers in the upper peninsula, and it is only recently that agriculture has received attention in any part of that region. But a change has now commenced--is, indeed, well advanced-which is destined to assume new and increasing proportions. All the indications are that the gardens of the mining districts and the wheat farms of Chippewa county will soon be spoken of as the pioneer ventures of an important agricultural interest, and that the products of the Lake Superior counties will form a considerable item in the "Farm Statistics" of Michigan. The opening of the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette railroad, passing to a great extent through a country susceptible of valuable agricultural development, is giving increased impetus to the growth of that part of the State. The completion of the Ontonagon and Brulé river line, now in process of construction, and which will cross the western portion of the peninsula from Ontonagon to its southern boundary, and the extension through the same region of the east and west lines, which cannot be long delayed, will also aid largely in bringing out resources in which those who are most familiar with their possibilities have great faith. The home markets of the upper peninsula will afford for many years a steady demand for the products of its soil. A hardy class of immigrants are already seeking the cheap and promising lands to be found within its territory, and there can be no doubt that within a few years its agricultural productions will bear a much nearer proportion to those of its mines. It is rich, also, in the quality and variety of its hard woods, some of which are rapidly acquiring prominence by their adaptability to ornamental purposes, as substitutes for varieties whose growing scarcity is constantly increasing their cost. CLIMATE. The climate of the upper peninsula is of course colder than that of the southern portions of the State. It is also more equable, and the people of that region are hardy, healthy, and long lived. Invalids find vigor in its dry and bracing atmosphere, and it has long enjoyed a reputation as a spot where the debilitated could regain strength from the healing influences of nature. The annual mean temperature of Marquette, according to the last report of the United States Signal Service (for 1879), was 43.6°. WAGON ROADS. Settlers in the upper peninsula are by no means dependent upon its railroad system for facilities of travel. By the aid of grants of land from the State many wagon roads have been substantially built, which open up large tracts of country and will prove important aids to their development. These roads have been in the main wisely planned, and supply a great expanse of territory with valuable means of communication with railroad stations or settlements on the lake shore. TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION. The railroad system of the upper peninsula and the waterways which are open to its commerce have already been fully described. Its carrying trade has been in the past almost wholly confined to the importation of supplies and to the shipment of the bulky metals and ore which are yielded by its mines. Naturally the lakes have furnished the chief channel for this traffic, and the business of the railroads of that country has been largely local in character, and limited to completing the connection between the lake ports and the centers of mining industry. During the winter suspension of navigation the single line of the Chicago and Northwestern was for many years the only outlet, and it enjoyed the benefits of a monopoly of passenger travel and of such freight business as was not transacted during the open season. The completion of the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette and its southern connections gives a much more direct means of communication with the continental railway system. This new line will certainly command its share of the local traffic, control the railroad business between the two peninsulas, and prove a vigorous competitor with the Northwestern for through travel and freight. It is thus an important addition to the railroad facilities possessed by the developed districts of the upper peninsula, aside from its value as a means of opening to settlement an entirely new tract of country. There is no probability of any essential changes in the general character of the commerce of the Lake Superior region in the immediate future. The development of its agricultural capabilities will for some years merely lessen the amount of supplies its mines will import, and its farmers will go no farther than the brisk home market to dispose of their surplus crops. The shipments of its mineral product will continue to be made chiefly by water, and its railroads will find their main source of income in their passenger and local freight business. But when its development, which is certain to be both rapid and steady, shall have multiplied its population, diversified its industries, and given a more complex character to its commerce, the advantages of its location will become plainer. The great lakes will still be the servants of its merchants and shippers. The railroads that are already in existence will connect it with the great trunk lines of to-day. By that time also it will be traversed from Montreal river to Sault Ste. Marie by a great trans-continental thoroughfare, passing north of Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario, and reaching an ocean port at Montreal. It will thus always be within easy reach of the southern, eastern, and seaboard markets by rail or vessel, and this important assurance is one of the attractions which it holds out to settlers. |