Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1854-02-15
Correspondence of the Detroit Times,
THE "BIG TREE" OF MICHIGAN

Mr.. EDITOR The article in your paper, of
ihe 23d inst, upon the " Big Trees of CalifOr-
MA" brought to our recollection one in our
own State, OF no mean pretensions; and tho
it may not rival its mammoth sisters in the
Golden State, can yet lay small claim to be-
ing some" The tree to which we refer, was
Sycamore, and stood upon the "School Sec
tom in the town of Calamo, in Eaton county.
Before the Vandal hand of the despoier had
wantonly destroyed this pride of the forest, it
rose to the height of seventy or eighty feet, in
shape, size and color, like an immense light
house--at which distance it had formerly been
divided into two branches, but, at the time Of
our first acquaintance with it, one of these
branches had been broken off. The heart hav-
ing decayed, the Indians had cut hole nearly
as large as a door through the thin shell, thro'
which travellers (the tree stood near the road,
leading from Marshall to Ionia) frequently rode
on horseback, and as the hollow was perfectly
straight to the Aperture formed by the break
ing Of the branch before mentioned, it afforded
view of the heavens much more grand and
extensive than the most magnificent old Dutch
chimney of Knickegbocker times ever thought
Of giving. During the winter Of 1874, the tree
was fe!ied, and about thirty feet in length cut
from the base, and rolled to one side with the
intention, we believe, of taking the piece to
Marshal! and setting it up as an opposition ho.
tel, which feat we are sorry to say was never
accomplished.
For several years this giant log lay unmoved
in its bed, and, as we had frequently occasion to
pass it on horseback, we could never resist the
temptation, armed and accoutered as we were" !"
of making pilgrimage through it, on our CON-
mon sized horse from the bottom to the Ton
and then turning around, ride from the top TO
the bottom, in this latter part of the exploit
fairly outdoing cur California man. This pill
grimage was often accomplished by others as
well as ourselves. At the surface of the ground,
the tree was over twenty feet in diameter and
at the upper end of that portion separated from
the rest about twelve feet. Through the whole
length, person upon horseback might sit per-
fectly erect, and dray, horse rider and all, could
have made the passage without Inconvenience.
In dimensions it nearly or quite equaled any
tree in the United States, before the annexation
of California, and formerly it was with extreme
dthdence that we ventured upon description
cf the big Sycamore" as we found that each
repetition only diminished our reputation for ve-
racity and we had long since ceased to touch up.
on the matter. But since the community have
become so accustomed to swallow without hes
ltation California trees twenty-five rods in
length and near seven rods in circumference, it
surely will not refuse the comparatively small
dose we here offer. II is no spirit of rivalry
which has induced us to give the above descrip-
ton, but a simple desire that justice should be
done to the brave old Sycamore and the State
which produced it. CS.
January "a, 1854.