Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1880-02-25
Alpena County.

AZ Correspondent VI Iuo buy Niby
Tribune, who recently visited this
county, writes communication to
that paper, from which we take the
following extracts:
"First, by way of contrast, we
took a short jaunt on the north
side toward Long Lake and through
part of Alpena township. Judg-
ing from the quantity of rock and
cobble-stone and lodges of lime
stone that is visible above, around
and below the surface, all appa-
rently in a TRANSITIONS state at pre-
sent, the portion of the township
we visited seems unfinished, and it
would therefore be premature to
speak of it as farming territory.
Geologically it has abundant ma
terial from which, no doubt, good
and sufficient soil may yet be made.
As q solid foundation for city it
is a success, and to lumberman it
is bonanza, only lacking sufficient
wood to fully develop that useful
avocation so necessary for brick
and mortar, which in that growing
city will undoubtedly be rapidly
utilized. Not at all discouraged,
We started for the township of
Long Rapids, leaving the City of
Saw Mills early Monday morning
and struck out westerly over the
new State road, smooth as bill
lard table, for the burnt lands, 20
miles up the Thunder Bay River.
"Being on the lookout for the
expected land Of cleared farms
here, there was noticeable change
in the timber. The thick, swampy
growth of cedars and poplars
that fringed the road for the whole
fifteen miles, were here succeeded
by timber of much larger growth,
and stately pines and hemlocks,
interspcrsed with occasional SUI
gar naples, indicated different
soil. Warmed and refreshed, we
again faced sharp, cutting west
wind and soon found that we were
out of the woods, and numerous
frame houses and barns gave evil
dence of better civilization. We
had reached the burnt lands and
soon drove into the capacious barn
yard of Mr.. Geo. Thwaits, the
pioneer of the burnt land settle
ment. After examining a map it
seemed that we had now reached
the eastward edge of the hard
wood belt that runs from Cheboy-
gan county southeasterly through
Presque Isle, Alpena, Montmo-
rency, Altoona and Iosco counties
Astounding in limestone, and crop
ping out at Alabaster with its cell
ebrated gypsum or plaster beds.
These east shore counties are
backed by Emmett and Charlevoix
on the west shore, with the coun-
ties of Otsego, Oscoda, Crawford
and Ogemaw, in the back ground,
which together constitutes the
wheat producing belt par excel
lance of Northern Michigan. AL
pena city, with its beautiful land
locked harbor, and her miles of
available log-running streams and
rivers, is, and must ever be, the
objective point to receive the i'm
mense trade in lumber and farm
products from forty townships that
border on and lie adjacent to those
streams, whose waters mingle with
Thunder Bay, territory large
enough In resources to build that
rapidly growing city until it will
rival the City of the Bay.
"This statement may seem sort
Of prophetic gush. Already her
wealthy numbering firms are grasp
ing after the possibilities of their
undeveloped farm lands. They
have commenced to utilize their
vast domain of stripped lands by
pulling out the stumps with ma
chinery and making solid fences of
them. Some of those cleared
fields have yielded fabulous crops
of grass and grain, which they
have consumed in their immense
numbering operations, and have
thus saved large margins of their
expenses by producing themselves
what they had hitherto imported
at great expense and inconven-
fence. through sand and mud,
to their distant lumber camps.
Capital and labor never met under
such favorable auspices as when
they joined issue, for mutual pro-
fits, in the woods OF Michigan, and
combined, they will, together, solve
the problem that has so long puz-
zled the brains Of thinking men
how shall we settle these new coun-