Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1882-03-25
Michigan Hard Wood.

From the Detroit Post and Tribune.
The Northwestern Lumberman of
March 18th says: maple is becoming
so important factor in the trade that
Michigan operators begin to talk of log
ging railroads, and an enterprise of that
kind is on foot at Bear Lake in the Grand
Traverse region. Dear Lake lies in
Manistee county, IA miles north of
ManisteeD And others are talked of. 1t
Is not unlikely that at no distant day the
northern counties of Michigan will be as
celebrated for hard wood logging rail-
roads as the pine belt is for lumber tram
ways"
In the latter part of 1880 the writer
of this article, being at Bear Lake, met
two gel tlemen who had removed from
another part of the country to Kansas,
and after trying prairie farming accom-
panied by few seasons of drOuths and
grasshOpper raids, moved to Michigan
and settled at Bear Lake. These gentle
men, referring to their experience, said
that the timber from their new lands
near Bear Lake paid for the clearing and
left them a good margin of profit. And
yet no part of Manistee county, in which
Bear Lake is located, is strictly hard
wood country. 1t contains much hard
wood, but it lies within the belt describ-
ed in the census reports as "cut pine and
hardwood largely destroyed" The for
ests of Leelanaw, of the western part of
Kalkaska, and of the greater part of the
shore line of Pressure Isle are strictly
hardwood. But the most valuable hard
wood forests of Michigan. because the
most compact and easiest of access, are
located in the upper peninsula. Forestry
bulletin. No. 6, issued by the census bu-
reau, estimates the hard wood of the up
per peninsula at 124,5QO,0O0 cords dis
tributed over 100000 acres. In addi-
tiOn to the greater part of OntOnagOn
and Baraga counties there is a hard wood
belt reaching from Point st. Ignace GO
miles westward, tOrdering on Lake
Michigan, and there is another belt COW
ering the eastern side of Chippewa cOun-
ty from the Sault, II miles westward.
Aud with the exception of MenOminee
county, the southern part of Marquette
and small strip of barrens in School
craft all the other portions Of the PENN
sula are covered with hard wood and
pine, in the greater part of it the hard
wood predOminating. In this vast re-
giOn there are immense quantities Of
maple equal to anything that can be
found in the world.
The Post and Tribune has already re-
ferred TO the valuable black birch of that
region which is beginning to attract at
lention and which will some day be as
sure source of revenue to its owners as
black walnut il to-day. But for the
maple, oak. ash and hickory, of which
there j. vast supply in The upper pen
Ursula, there Is already an established
demand. he lumber aarkets take up
these woods Il, cool prices as rapidly as
they are produced.
In Region remote from markets this
Ipuatd NOuld not III wAners of hard
Aood tin,hfr. But il cI. never be said
4 ihe upper p"ni,i~ul" al it is thus re-
mote from the markets Of demand. 1t is
urrounded by water. Ii has many open
! water courses for the transit of flOatabe
timber. Much of the standing timber is
near 10 the lakes. The railroad from st.
ignace to Marquette affords an outlet for
the great quantity of lumber lying near
ii, and logging roads will soon branch
from it or from the harbOrs on the lake
shore to other hard wood centers. With
all these means of reaching market
for maple, black birch, and other hard
wood, settlers in the upper peninsula
who locate on hardwood lands should be
| able to realize more than enough from
their timber to pay for clearing their
lands. Citizens of Michigan who are
searching for home in new country
should fairly weigh these considerations
before moving from the state.