East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1862-03-11
EAST SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, MARCH H. 1862

They arrived at the Saginaw River
rather late in the evening, and were con
veyed across in a canoe, swimming their
horses, and landing at point now known
as the Saginaw City" 1t was then a
small, cultivated plain, with few huts
the farthest point inhabited by Europe.
ans to the Northwest Of this Peninsula
an advanced postra picket guard Of the
white, men placed in the midst of the
Indian nations. 1t then contained thirty
persons, men, women, old people and
children. De Tocqueville remained at
Saginaw for few days, for the purpose
Of gratifying the passion which had led
him there, and during his visit indulged
in some philosophic reflections and pre-,
dictions that turn out to have been true
as prophesy itself. We copy:
o" We asked ourselves by what singu.
lar fate II happened that we, to whom it
had been grauted to look on the ruins of
extinct empires, and tread the deserts
made BY human hands,-we, children Of
an ancient people, should be called on to
witness this scene of the primitiveworld,
and to contemplate the, as yet, unoccu-
pied cradle of q great nation. These
are not the more or less probable specula-
tons Of philosophy. The facts are as
certain as if they had already taken
place. In few years these impenctrable
forests will have fallen; the sons of civili-
zation and industry will break the silence
Of the Saginaw; its echoes will cease;
the banks will be imprisoned by quays
its current, which now flows on unnoticed
and tranquil through nameless waste,
will be stsmmed by the prows of vessels.
More than 100'miles sever the solitude,
from the great European settlements, and
we were, perhaps, the last travellers al
lowed to see its primitive grandeur"
Such is the account given by an intel
ligent and observing foreigner of the
early approaches by land to the Saginaw
valley; the appearance which it presented
in its primitive days; and his predictions
Of its future greatness. Thirty-one years
ago the whole district of country between
Pontiac and Saginaw was an unbroken
forest, with no avenue through it except
the Indians trail; now it is accessible by
railroad and stages, with two lines run
ming each day-the whole country along
the route under fine state of cutiva-
tion, with neat villages, elegant villas and
farm houses, and everything indicating
the thrift and maturity of advanced civil
ization. Then Saginaw City was mere
post, with about thirty persons, depend
ing chiefly upon the Indian trade, hunt
ing and fishing for their living: now it is
a thriving city, with population Of some
$500 inhabitants, several churches,
printing Office, number Of stores, mills
and manufacturing establishments, in
cluding salt works, and the shire town of
a rapidly growing county. Then it ap-
peared to the resident inhabtants-if
they gave any thought to the future at
alias only promising post on the out
skirts of civilization, where for long
number Of years the trinkets and gew-
gaws of the Indian trade might be profit
ably exchanged for furs and peltries:
now the nucleus of valuable trade, an
link in the chain of commerce
which opens the products Of the rich sur
rounding country to the great marts Of
the civilized world n
The first settlement on the east side Of
the Saginaw river was made on the 4th
DAY of July, ls47, by Curtis Emerson,
Esq, assisted by G. w. Grant, who cele-
brated the occasion by cutting down the
first tree OH that side of the river. Mr..
Emerson is still living, and we had the
pleasure of shaking hands with him on
the occasion Of q late visit there. -
Though slightly inclined to the shady
side Of 40, he is as active and as voluble
as twenty-five years since, when wo first
formed his acquaintance; with an activity
of the vocal organs and free use Of
emphatic explosives, accompanied by ap
propriatc gesticulations, he never fails to
be clearly understood on any occasion.--l
There is no man in the Saginaw valley
whois more enterprising, or who carries
a greater amount Of executive power in
his boots, than the founder of tho Halls
Of Montezuma.n iris ieinfu van H' FoVs
In the spring Of ls4s the settlement
was organized under the name Of Bucna
Vista, and at the first town meeting, !
there wers only Ave voters present, viz
Mcssrs. Emerson, Grant, Seth Wiley,
Thomas Wiley, and Stephen Warner
From that date the village began TO grow
rapidly, and on the 18th Of February.