The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-02-17

she had never been away from nome
even to stay over night. 1t is no Won
der then, that her parents thought she
had gone almost out Of the world
Here they lived in new country until
their family numbered eight children
and worked with zeal that none but
that determined class of healthy aud
hale pioneers know. From this time
especially, Mrs. Christies history is a
very interesting one, and brings out the
manners and customs of the Ii ines ia a
happy manner. 1t was about the year
1927, that Mr.. Christie caugh; what
was called in New York State, "the
Michigan fever" which in his case as in
thousands of other proved very rest
less disease. He cam here to look for
land then, but did not move till three
year after. The tlattcring descriptions
Of the new territory were then as com-
mon as household words, and induced
MIR. and Mrs. Christie to try their for
tunes here, The billy surface of the
Susquehanua country was not consid-
cred as easy to get living in as the
level openings of Michigan. Iu their
particular locality, and probably that
was the general character Of the soil, in
old Tioga county, innumerable stones
covered nearly the whole surface.-
These stones ed from one to six
pounds, and would place themselves IN
the furrow in row as fast as The plow
opened the ground. Mrs Christie
said she once tried the experiment of
walking across a square five acre lot
without touching the ground, which was
very easily accomplished on the stones.
Under these difficulties of obtaining
bread for their increasing family, their
utmost energies were put in requisition,
and Mr.. Christie felt a strong desire to
emigrate where land was fertile and
cheap. Henry Ward Beecher says that
he remembers when he was boy it
was considered a very perilous under
taking TO go as far W est as Ohio, aud
when an emigrant train was about to
start, all the pious people in the neigh
borhood would get together and pray, and
have very solemn time over it
Whether or not the subjects of our
sketch observed any such ceremony,
they started for territory then consid.
cred very much beyond Ohio and all
the civilized world. Their passage
from Ithica to Detroit was all the way
by water, first over Cayuga Lake to
Montezuma, thence by the Erie Canal
to Buffalo Their passage over the lit
tie Cayuga Lake was by sail boat,
which the Captain either by reason of
inability or rough sea, was unable to
control. He found himself on the op.
posite side of the Lake from where he
supposed he was, and very near ashore
where he cast anchor and remained until
day ght revealed the perils of his stu.
ton. With a broken main-mast he
reached port too late for the emigrants
to take the canal boat at Montezuma,
where they remained waiting three
days From Buffalo the passage to
Detroit was on the famous Steamer
Henry Clay, the namesake" Of him
who was bearing the burdens of his
country, while it was gearing over the
great lakes the burdens OF commerce.
At Detroit the real fatigue of the
journey commenced. Here Mr.. Christie
bought yoke OF oxen for fifty dollars,
and engaged to coovey young man
and his new wagon ~ Ann Arbor for
the use of it to carry his family aud
goods through in. The inconv fences
of the one night passed in Dctroi, are
here worthy of record. The small
house called Hotel was so filed to
OVERLOOKING that only one beadstead aud
a thin straw bed could be furnished for
the eleven persons of the Christie fam
IyD which might have been mentioned
before) including the mother of Mr..
Christie, eighty years of age, who was
emigrating to the new country with
children aud grandchildren. The bed
was occupied by grandma, Mrs. G, and
the baby the obstinate bed cord being
50 near the tortured flesh as TO leave
the marks severaI dave Tho re,,aip