The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1867-07-25
6ts 9eupsha Tele0l~~r' .
Thursday, July %, 1861.
A Trip to Macinac.-The Soo--Pictured
Rocks, and Marquette.
We have been permitted to publish the fol

lowing llgDIy Interesting leIIeI hiIItCu W "
Kenosha boy to his parents in this city;
MARQUETTE, Mich, July Is, 1867.
We left Chicago Friday night,
July 5th;-we were a little in doubt about
starting at first, as the day had been so rainy,
and the prospects looked like more Of the
same however, as the longer we put II
of the more uncertain the trip became we
concluded to start so, at q the propeller
D.au Richmond took US from the dock. we
found our quarters comfortable, the table well
furnished, and about forty passengers As
soon as we were out upon the lake the clouds
scattered and we had good sailing till IL or
u O'Clock, when a fog arose which was so
thick that the whistle was blowing every i've
minutes. In the morning it was found That
we had run past Milwaukee two or three
miles, so the propeller was turned round for
that port The city looks very fine from the
lake, presenting a much better appearance
| than Chicago. It's bluffs and cream colored
| brick show to good advantage. once III the
harbor, however, one can readily perceive the
difference, from a business stand point, be
| tween the two places. 1t seemed to me much
more quiet than a Chicago Sunday. We did
not get away from Milwaukee till y O'Clock ;
i if we had known we were to have stayed thus
| long we should have improved the opportum-
! ty by seeing more Of the city. saturday
night there was a splendid sunset, and an ar
| fist who would have dared to depict the col
ors and fantastic shapes of the clouds on can
vas, would be laughed at for his vivid imagln-
alton. After the sun set the air grew colder,
and | found it necessary to put on winter
clothing. My overcoat felt very comfortable,
and | wondered whether you were sweltering
with the heat in Kenosha. Before going to
bed [ took good warm at the fire in the cab
! in, and then slept sound till the whistle at
5 q in the morning woke me up, when found
that we had arrived at the North Manitou
Island, and were TO stop three or four hours
| "a l. 4 f,t,
shore and had quite ramble over the island,
which we found woody and grassy 10y turns.
Its area is some nine or ten miles, should
think, and is used by the Chicago, Buffalo X
cleveland line of steamers as a woodIng sta
ton. The few Inhabitants are engaged IN
cutting timber, mostly, although l noticed
one field Of oats six inches high, and one field
OF rye quite far advanced, On the sides OF the
hill what do you suppose we found straw
berries, and good ones, too. Didn't we have a
I feast on the wild berries and they were so
thick that we could hardly stand in places
without trampling upon them After eating
as many as could, we all commenced pick
ing for the boat, and at supper we had them
served up in ''short-c cake" After taking on
eighty one cords of wood, for which they pay
81, 80 per cord we started again on our jour
ney. About IL o'clock we had religious ser
vices in the cabin. 1t was rather dull ser
mon that was preached, but taking into ac-
count the locality and circumstances, proved
quite acceptable. About 2 q o clock we
roudded the shore of Grand Traverse Bay, and
went southwark to Northport, which is a port
or harbor within a harbor. The place consists
of about forty houses, among which | noticed
two elements OF civilization, viz: a hotel and
saloon. The captain in speaking about the
place said that 35 year settler had one OF
the finest farms that could be found anywhere
raising peaches, apples and strawberries i'll
abundance" From the boat it simply pre-
scented itself as two docks, a sand beach, strag-
lgllng white houses on the hills, backed by !
dark line of forest trees. An Indian chief who
had been on board since our start, and who
was rather queer specimen of an indian-bG
ing lat and dumpy, with mousJache and
lgoatee, coat and trowserloons, got OF here
| noticed on the dock another indian, with 8
squaw tagging on behind like a faithful dog
the two sterner sex shook hands, ian dncieh
savage cuStone, SuppOSe,) at which the squaW
seemed to be intensely delighted, but poor
squaw no notice was taken OF her at ALL anC
they did not seem to be aware of her presence
she seemed, however, 10 be perfectly satisfied
in seeing the chief and her ardent spouse en-
Toying themselves, and was content to b(
good little dogee."
From Northport 70 Macinac is one hundred
miles, and the time required for the journey
IS about eight hours We did not start
though, directly for the island, but stopped d
Pine river, diagOnally northeast, for the pur
lose OF getting the captains dog, of whom he
1HSSilSu w tllIlh Il BOOu zeal. mo uOG was JC
DE found, however, he having taken a notion
to travel on his own hook-having Jumped
upon propeller that had landed at the deci
the day before. Pine River takes its name
from little brook, and the pine trees whict
grow in abundance at the point 1t is merel,
a Wooding station for the Northern Transpor
tatlon Co.'S boats Nothing else hinderina
us, our bow was again turned northward, anC
we sped for the~Straits. At 10 o'clock the
near lying shores and distant lights betokened
our approach to Maeinac, and in half an houl
we touched the dock. As nothing but the
moon was shining, 1 could only see that we
were at long high woody island We were at
the mercy OF the first hotel runner that pre-
sented himself, and soon found ourself at the
Island House, kept by Capt. Van Allen, an
old steamboat captain. The house seemed
neat and tidy, and subsequent observation has
ledme to recommend it to the travelling pub
lie. The next morning found that Macnac
consists of eighty or one hundred houses
scattered along the beach. After putting
away good breakfast beneath my vest /
started for the old fort, which rises in bold re
lief from the back of the village; it is entirely
deserted now by troops, and is only kept in
repair By garulous old sergeant who is a l.
ways ready to talk and give one much valua-
bic information. Inside [ found many harm
| less cannon, cannon balls, shells and mortars
scattered around. There are three block
! houses at three important angles of the fort
which, with the lOop-holed stockade must
have given ample protection against the saw
ages. But half a mile back Of the fort the
ground rises some eighty feet or more in hight,
and one night, long ago, the British landing
ON the northern shore, threw their skirmisn
erS on the hill, threw up heavy embank-
ment and called it Fort Holmes AS the land
was SO much higher they were soon able to
take the fort beneath On this old dismantled
Temoankment (Fort Holmes) some one has
placed an observatory, and on ascending the
same the view is found to be magnificent Be
meath us, to the south LAYS the ord fort and
| lower yet, the village; about one-half mile
away lays small island, and farther away
| yet the main shore fades away in dimness.
the straits were perfectly calm, the air clear
ana nVlgoratlng, and | always thought that
| tlls view alone compensated for the time
spent. Pursuing our journey further we came
| 10 what is called skull cave which is a LARGE
| rock forty feet in hight;-one can crawl into
Small opening at the bottom, and when once
IN can stand up. The place takes its name
nom an indians remains having been found
| tnere. Being somewhat tired from our walk
aiter dinner we took horse and buggy and
pursued our Investigations further. The
| drives on the island are shady and cool and
we enjoyed it to the utmost Sugar Loaf
Mountain, which we soon foEnd, is a large
conlcal shaped rock, eighty feet in hight, and
some one hundred feet in circumference, rising
from level ground. Halfway up is a large
mole, which we entered and inscribed Onr
names on the rocks with those of many Others
Arch Rock, Which is on the eastern shore Of
| The Island, Is to me the most interesting Of the
natural sights on the island; it is a large rock
ON the shore, one hundred feet in hight. the
center of which seems to have been washed
away in remote ages by the action of the wa
| ter. IL reminded me of the pictures given OF
the appearance of the Natural Bridge in Vir
ginia the arch on top is only about two feet
IN Width and in some places only one, vet
plenty OF people have been so yentitresome as
to cross it. Among the names of the crossers
several females are mentioned. After supper
we took row across the straits to a small
island mile or so away, but finding nothing