East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1866-10-11


ties, it cannot afford to ignore agiicul
ture. 1t is true that beyond tn,
vicinage of the farmer, lumber ma,
be manufactured, mines disembowelet
and salt produced; but the none,
which is realized will take to itsel
wings and will be borne away. Sucl
an undertaking will require the ex
portation to foreign source of agri,
cultural supplies, of the means neces
sary to procure them. The large
sums paid for them instead Of going
into the pockets Of Those who reside il
the neighborhood of the consumer te
be there expended in improvements,
and in supporting other branches o.
industry and in sustaining an increas
ed trade, go to the remote producers
Mhf7snbeF qssodqnas4 kRs ikaae Sfl6n:
tary to the thrift of other places, and
but slightly to that where they should
yield their chief advantage.
This dependence for subsistence upor
foreign supply is SO prejudic;al to
every local interest as to be worthy ol
pai ticular consideration. The fact o.
such dependence in Saginaw Comfy
is manifest. 1t has been ilagran'
fact ever!since the vast pineries thence
accessible first attracted public atten
ton and lumber began to be produced
The business of manufacturing lum
Der has been in progress on this river
for nearly twenty years. 1t had Of
course small beginning, and has
gradually increased to its present i'm
portance. Its prosecution involves
the purchase of lands yielding the
required timber, and consists in cut
ing and conveying the logs to mills OF
navigable waters leading to the lakes
there converting them into lumber and
thence shipping such lumber abroad
TO markets. -
The value Of the timber in the tree
is about ten per cent of the lumber
taken from the mills. This worth o.
material is part of the natura
wealth of the country which produce.
it. Ninety per cent of the value o.
lumber is added by the process o.
manufacture. In that process money
must be expended for the labor ol
men and teams in the pineries, and
on the watercourses to bring the logs
to the place of manufacture, and in
erecting and operating mills to make
the lumber. This money goes to an
army of laborers, to growers OF draft
horses and oxen, to workers on wood
and iron, to producers of hay vegeta-
bles and grains, for the working ami
mails, and for the food of laborers and
their families, as well as for goods,
wares and merchandise, for which
they afford no inconsiderable demand
During the last ten years probably
ca. ooo, ,niin
building saw mills in the Saginaw
Valley. The yearly produce of lumber
through this period has not fallen fal
below million Of dollars. The pro
cecds of lumber last year probably
exceeded two million and this year II
likely to approximate to $4,000, 200
no abatement need be apprehendec
for many years.
The importance Of retaining here
the money which is annually expend.
ed in business Of such extent apc
realized again in the sale of lumber
of supplying fiom home resources it
multitudinous demands. and of per
manently attaching to our locality th'
enterprising operators, and all th'
subordinate agents and servants EN-
ployed, can not be overestimated
What has been the fact? Until re
Gently lumbermen have been indebted
TO this fertile region, for place o
temporary residence in part for raw
material which they worked up ant
carried away, for the use of its stream
to float their logs and lumber; 70
room on the river banks to set an
operate their mills, and space to de
posite unsightly refuse which has bee
plentifully produced, and for littl
else. 1t has however been no faul
Of theirs that they have drawn SO littl
aid from the productions of our coun
ty, and afforded so little patronag
to the industry of our citizens.
The pine timber, and the facilitie
for transportation, first attracted cap
tai for transient business in lun
bering; this exhaustive trade wa
pursued for a long period, when thos
seeking homes for agriculture wer
turned away by ignorant ISLANDERS
other portions of the great northwe
then vacant and inviting; by slandeI
that misrepresented the Sagir aw Va
ley as being in truth a "Vale of tears,
VALLEY and shadow of DEATH" th'
it so abounded in swamps, that nor
by the plow could thrive and thu
the prevalence of disease would ill
flaming sword, protect its silent al
/ malarious solitudes from the occup
f ton of civilized man for all time.
: But a country visited and travel'
, over as this was and as would naturo
ly occur, in the progress of lumberin
: could not always remain under Il
r ban of these fabulous terrors. At ,
: early day, few energetic and pers
5 vering men, who knew no such wol
! as quail, following a deer pa
r through the forest from the spar
settlements in the interior found the
e way hither, and in spite of oil d
3 couragemcnts, have established theI
t selves for future residence, and he
1 remained. Some of them ripe in yea
s have passed away leaving fragra
: record in our local annals, others ST
y survive unbent by their three and 70
S score years. They have reared fan
n lies, the members Of which are pl
' verbally as hale as ever walked I
o earth finheriting alr$ the stcrli
e qualities Of their ancestors, tn
l. names have been identified with VIII
ever public spirit or private enterpr
i has accomplished in the subsequ'
o improvements of the county. and {