The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-09-02
GhtAsteIIigengr.
MAcKINAc.

toricalIy aud GeOlOsicnllI, nnt
nsu Summer RcSOrt'.A LlteFaF!
Coincidence.
Correspondence Of the IntClliseneeFl
FoRr MAcKISAC, MIcH, /
August %, 1876.
This morning the sun came up out o
Huron into an unclouded ky, and tn
rbilly airs Of yesterday are all in the deeI
t b'."n Of the ocean buried. The glorioui
.rmmer Of this day atOnes for the diSa
srsrablc weather Of yesterday and show
% y the "beau,iial isle at its best. Direct
E iy after breakfast, a gentleman from Sagi
n,~ nnd myseli sailed out for a walk
We revisited Fort Mackinac and the ruin
II Holmes, and slrolled through the thiCE
a, Of maple, birch, &c, which cover
,bc higher parts Of the island. tits ap-
"o,ept that the growth on this part Of th'
i.Ianl dates from n period not earlier
than the occupation OF Fort Holmes
West Of is ruins, along the crest Of the
riJgc there i. glade a quarter OF a milk
ion S by a hundred yards wide, with few
o 'i g,aiterr scattered over il, North OIL
mi. i, PERCEPTIONS bluff which lets down
:" a lower terrace, on which stands the
eSnvar Loaf while on the other side are
,bc most beautiful groves Of maple and
bitcb the eve ever beheld. This part Of
tho i.land, embracing over two square
mile. il being former military reserva-
tjop has been set apart by aCt OF Con-
yrr,, for a National Park, II is 10
5e hoped this does not mean thai
The government ia to spend money to
cmbeIlish it, 1t is already beautiful
enough for its size; but ii it were "a love
~ a. the gardens Of Gul, 1t would not at-
tract many visitors while the hotel &C.
commodations remain as they are. II any
Government money is to be spent here, Il
should be put into u frst-rate hotel, so
that visitors could get the benefit Of the
fine air without suffering a more than
counterbalanCing damage to their stom-
achs, There is a road running the whole
circuit of the Island. Its grades are easy,
and the surface, made Of disintegrated
Limestone, equal to tho best macadam, It
affords superb drives, with views Of great
beauty, whether interior or distant, We
walked westward on this road through
the loveliest Of wooded avenues until We
came to the stone marking the corner Of
the Government reservation. Then back
towards Fort Macinuc, we directly came
upon the island cemetery. 1t Is all In
the primitive woods. There Is an en-.
closure Of about II quarter ofan acre, and
outside Of this are many graves, each en-
closed in separate palings. A good many
of tho graves in the enclosure are alto
velher unmarked. We read the inscrip.
lions on the monuments, but found no
name which had been sounded by fumes
trumpet down the corridors Of time. A
more retired and peaceful resting place
could not be desired. The frequent Oc.
CurrCnCe Of the cross, either set up ut the
head Of the grave or cut In the stone,
showed that most Of those buried here
were Of the Catholic faith. The grounds
were partly over run with brierS, bearing
the red raspberry, just now ripe.
Perhaps the history Of this island de-
serves little fuller mention than 1t has
had in former letters. The region Of
Mackinac Straits was one OF the earliest
known to civilization in tho northwest.
The importance Of these straits as a base
NJ operations for trade and missionary
work among the Indians in the lake re.
zion seems to have been appreciated by
The French Jesuit Missionaries who first
that region. These shores were
irst visited by wOOdmen aud Jesuit Mis-.
iionaries in 1920. Admission and trading
,taliOn were established at old MiChilli.
in 1871 by Father Marquette,
who had four years previously establish.
Nd an Indian Mission on Lake Superior
md two years before one at Point st. Ig.
lace, SO named by him in honor Of tho
ounder Of the Jesuit order. Old Mi.
was for many years the
metropolis Of the Chippewa and Ottawa
indians, aud n rendezvous for all the
RIDES In that region. The country was
lainled by the French who had convened
/ formal Congress OF all the tribes at Sault
tic. Marie in 1901, and Ind there gone
through the form Of putting them all I'm.
Ter the protection Of the French King.
Ia 1860, after the capture Of Quebec by the
the Capitulation Of the French
orces in Canada, The English took poss.
,ssiOn Of the Mackinac region and built u
palisade fort at Old Michillimackinac.
In May, 1853, the fort was surprised by
The Indians under Pontiac, and most OF
The garrison massacred. In the following
year the English established themselves
On MackinaC Island and builtthe present
Fort Mackinac. In 1903, they stlrrend.
cred 1t to tho American Government, re.
took ii in 1872, and, finding the fort tln-
lenable without n fortress on the crest Of
The hill in the rear oft, built Fort George
,r Holmes, and restored It by the treaty
,tGhenL in 1914.
The island Is said to be three miles
ong and two wide. II Ia Of limestone
otmution and, geologically speaking,
hOws tour distinct terraces, each, the
biologists tell us, bearing the undulating
Inc Of water formation. This and The
existence Of rounded pebbles at the differ.
INT heights, arranged and assorted &C.
'ording to size, as they are on the beach
1t the present time, Ia considered proof
hat the island has been formed BY the
'ub.idcnce Of the water, consuming long
periods of time, and not by any sudden
ipheaval FROM volcanic action. The TEN.
perStnte is said to be much milder than
would be inferred from the latitude, II
,ain, ,,,,,i;G,J H.. H. if. l., III