Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1866-09-18
Correspondence Of the Grant County IIoraldj
From Hillsdale to Cleveland Travels
Of Schoolmaster on foot Continued.

afternoon J stopped AZ 4 brook, WHICH
ran across the road. to wash off the
dust and rest myself 1t was recess
time at q school house near by and ]
soon found myself surrognded.-
Whichever way looked l met pain
of eyes. When | stirred they fell
back few steps, but came up again.
They were hemming me in. felt
like prisoner and got up to survey
the situation-there was a rustling OF
garments and pattering of feet in the
direction of the school house. | sat
down again and the same thing was
repeated. When a boy | have lain
down on rock in woodland pas
,turc aud walked up to find myself the
object Of curiosity equally intelli-
gent, but in the latter case my ad-
,mirers relied more on their noses.
Adrian is the third town in the
State. 1t is built on rising ground
.~EG appears to good advantage as
you approach it on the wagon
road from the west. 1t contains a
,hourishing college to which both
sexes are admitted. The institution
was established by the Methodists
,but they have invited the Presbyte-
.rians to unite with them in its con
troll and support.
All the people whom ! met in
Adrian were curious and ready to
assist the stranger. Beer shops, un-
slightly streets, drunkenness | saw
not. Order, intelligence, enterprise
were noticeable everywhere in Mich
igan, and Adrian is one Of the fullest
results of these.
Before pIunging into the shades
and miasms Of that vast swamp
which extends from Adrian as far
as the Maumee river and the shores
Of lake Erie, it will, perhaps, be
proper to record some observations
concerning that portion of Michigan
through which | travelled. The line
Of my travel commenced at Grand
Haven; continued east as far as
Grand Rapids thence south to
Kalamazoo thence in line which
shall Join Marshall IillsdaIe, Adrian
and Sylvania, Ohio. The climate in
Michigan is milder than that OF the
neighboring states and is less subject
to violent changes and probably.
for the same reason that England is
milder than corresponding ATTITUDES
in this country The southern PENN
sula of Mich is bounded 10y water.
except on the south, and thus it Is
secured during the winter months
against those winter winds which
sweep down from the frozen regions
of the north. The vast body OF
water in the lakes, heated by the
long summer, cannot readily cool anc
all winter il radiates heat into the
atmosphere. The people ON the IN
side Of this magic circle know littl,
of the storms that are beating with
out and they relate to you rs thing
hard to be believed, that the Their
mometer last winter went down tC
10 below zero. The climate is hos
pitable to fruit and, besides the mild
temperature, the moisture which
pervades the air acts no insignificant
part in nourishing it. Nowhere have
seen the buds OF the peach and the
leaves so green as on the border OF
the lake Mich. The apple, the cher
nv. and the smaller fruits, of the gar
den. find in the soil and climate nc
less genial conditions Of growth and
the poor as well rs the rich, ENJOY
them.
The surface Of the country IS flat
and seems low, because of the swan
by nature of the soil in the woods,
it rises imperceptibly towards the
eastern side Of the state where 1t de-
scends again to the lakes. Bordering
the rivers, pine is found in abun-
dance. But the great bulk Of the
forests along TIE lake is made up OF
beach, maple, Eastwood and elm.
Inland, formerly, there were what
are called oak openings. but they
have been appropriated to farming
purposes and although not rs rich
lands, they make the best farms. be
cause of the sand which is mixed
with the soil.
For health Mich does not seem sc
favorable rs Wisconsin and Iowa
and here the balance of blessings i
restored for however hospitable II
may be to the fruits which contrib
ute largely to human enjoyment the
candid observer must admit that tc
man there is something deteriorating
an the climate. The people whom
YOU meet are thin and sallow, anC
they are altogether too familiar Will
their livcrs. And it is sad com
ment on the hygiene Of the country
that the order of nature is reversed
and so many parents survive thel
children. 1t should be observed
however that the more the land /
cleared and cultivated the less arr
they afflicted with ague and the pre-
vailing diseases Perhaps after sev
eral generations the stock will &c
acclimated, but by that time you
fruit propagandists Of Wisconsin
will have discovered a way to rails
Opples in abundance.
The farms are small rarely exceed
ing one hundred acres, and frequent
Nv containing not more than forty.
This, of course, affords greater pop
ulation to the square mile and en-
sures better husbandry, Further
the farmers are not driven by a SOW
jnc and boIvaGt season and the,