Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1854-06-07
GRAND TRAVERSE BAY.

We are furnished with the following particu-
lars concerning the country about Grand Trav-
erse Bay, by a gentleman who has just returned,
but who intends to make that place his future
home. Many of our readers will find them In
teresting. He says, under date of May Goth;
Ny own observations were confined to about
four or five square miles in the vicinity of the
old Mission, and where there are some twenty
or thirty houses, some four or five OF which are
vacant but my companions visited the main
land on the east and west side of the Bay, and
we all agree that the country is one of The most
desirable locations in Michigan. The soil is of
the sandy order, mixed with vegetable matter,
and some loan. We saw no pure clay anywhere;
and as soon as the snow melts away in spring,
or Immediately after shower, the land is ready
to be ploughed. The peninsula is covered with
a pretty dense forest of hard sugar maple, beach,
some hemlock, ash, elm, cedar, &C.; the greater
part being almost destitute of under brush, and
the trees majestic and beautiful. On the east
and west sides of the bay, there is great guam
tity of pine timber, which is fast being cut up
into lumber to be shipped off to Wisconsin and
Chicago The peninsula is about twenty-five
miles long, and from one to two and half
broad In some places the surface rises into
small hills, and is in every place more or less
undulating, and here and there irrigated by beau
tiful springs of pure water. The spring is prob
ably two weeks later than in the vicinity of De-
troit; but cows have obtained their food excu-
sively in the woods for the last six weeks, and
give abundance of milk, as | saw with my own
eyes, There is no warm weather in April at
the Bay to start vegetation, and then destroy it
by frosts in May. When left last Friday, the
peach buds were just expanding into open flow
ers, and among twenty or thirty, could not
find single one that had been injured by frost
in any way. Apple buds are not so forward as
peaches, and | could not find one bud one on %
trees that may not be an apple. All the settlers
agree in stating that full crop of fruit grows
on The same trees every year; while strawber-
ries, gooseberries, raspberries, backberries, and
whortleberres, grow wild in exhaustless abun-
dance, every year on unoccupied land. This
may appear an exaggeration to some of your
readers but when they consider the following
facts, every philosophic mind will be convinced
that the fact may be as stated. Lake Michigan
lies on the west, and is so deep, that the water
never cools down to the freezing point. The
Traverse Bay itself does not freeze over till
February, and some years not at all The wa
ter consequently radiates heat, and keeps the
temperature of the air uniform during the win
ter; and when it gets cold enough to freeze the
aqueous vapor, this falls and covers the ground
with snow, which remains on the ground till
spring opens in March. The ground consequent
ly never freezes, and have seen potatoes that
were accidentally left in hills, and poughed up
this spring, while was there, perfectly sound
and good; and such potatoes as grow there,
never saw raised elsewhere-the largest
being perfectly sound throughout. The low
est point to which tile thermometer fell last
winter, was IL deg. below zero while in the lat
itude of Detroit it often ranged from II to 20
deg. below.
Now every person will at once see that the
influence of the circumstances in vegetation
must be very great; for it is well known that
countries lying on the east side of large waters,
have much mider climate than those situated
or the western shore. England for instance is
10 deg farther north than Michigan, and yet the
climate of the former is much milder than the
latter; and the same holds true with regard to
Oregon, on the eastern coast Of the Pacific. |
found, accordingly, that clover, timothy and
wheat, at Grand Traverse bay more forward than
around this region, Notwithstanding the misera-
BILE farming there | saw winter wheat sown
days before the snow began to fall; which came
up this spring and promises fair crop. Twen-
ty, TO twenty-five bushels of wheat have been
raised on the peninsula per acre, and the grains
are as plump as ever saw any where; but there
is no clean seed to be obtained there. Three
tons of clover hay were cut per acre last year,
last year, by Mr. Miller, and sold at Sl5 per ton
he also made two tons Of millet hay, sown July
A., and sold some at $l2 per ton. This is prob
ably the best substitute for hay that a person
can sow this season; and every one should car
ry millet seed with him. | intend to take sew
eral bushels if it can be had; for it readily brings
12R cts. per quart at the bay.
There can be no doubt that those northwest.
ern counties are among the healthiest in Michi-
gan, as is stated by those who live there; fol
there is nothing there that can cause disease
though there are few marshes on the eastern
shore, but no dependence can be placed on them
for there are more applicants for hay than they
will yield in tons. Those white persons who
first moved there, kept their animals on maple
browse during the winter; and Indian ponies
get nothing but what they can pick.
The land on the peninsula will probably no
be in market till 1856, when the Indian annui
ties expire. A few Indians who are yet at tht
Old Mission, live in the village, and till a small
part of their clearings. There are probabl,
some 600 or 800 acres of these clearings in de
tached pieces, which may be obtained by settlers
paying from ten to forty dollars for each claim
which will hold l60 acres, and the advantage o
possessing them will be very great, as the land il
all heavily timbercd
The main land on each side Of the bay is il
market, and is being bought up very fast. OI
81 .,,:lo q. q L., 10