The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-01-28
LETTER From onsonagon, Michigan.

Correspondence of the REPUBLICAN.
ONsoNAGoN, Mich, Jan. 81, 1S91.-I
have been written to several times
during the past year by my old time
friends in Delaware to pen them few
lines describing this part of the great
northwest, and II you will kindly favor
me with q little space in the REpuBI-
CAN, will answer or at least try to an
swer them all at once.
Onsonagon is situated on Lake SUI
perior 80 miles east from Ashland and
80 miles southwest Of Houghton. The
chief industry Is numbering or rather
the manufacture of lumber. The
Diamond Match Company have two
immense mills and during the sum-
mer season saw from 275, 600 to $50, 600
feet daily. They also have box fac
tory turning out from 1000 to 10000
boxes daily.
The company also have the largest
retail store west of Chicago, and its
equal Is hard to find in many OF the
large cities. 1t is lis feet front by 100
feet deep, three stories and base
ment. They also have an electric
plant, and all their mills, barns aud
stores are lighted by electricity The
company intend building a shingle
mill, which will be ready to start May
LIST. There have been great many
homesteads taken up during the past
three years, and some have made for
tunes, as great deal of it was pine
land forfeited by railroads who had
not come up to their contracts with
the Government and State. There Is
quite a lot left open for demonstrating
that Will be valuable in a few years.
OF course all the pine lands were COB
bled up in u short time, but the hard
wood lands left will be as valuable Gf
not more SOY in short time, as OPEN
ing up this country with railroads is
only question of time.
There are lots of young men that
are living in the East, working for
small wages, that certainly might, by
coming out here and taking up u
homestead, be quite comfortable in
this worlds goods in few years. Our
population Is now about 1900, Sum-
mer or mill season, 1900. ... ..
And here you will find few rem
nants of the Chippewas tribe, the
Swede, Finlander, Polander, German,
English, French, Irish, Scotch, and of
course the Yankee. We have two
weekly newspapers and daily train.
When the winter came out 1t took
three days from Chicago to reach On
sonagon, but now one can leave at
$50 n. IN, and arrive there the next
morning at Z. Our winters are long
and cold but the air is SO dry that one
scarcely minds the cold, Tho ice usu-
ally breaks up and goes out in April,
from the 9th to the 25th.
The summers are hard to describe,
but am sure ii some of those that can
afford it would take their summer va
cation up in the Lake Region they
would forget all about Atlantic City
and Cape May, and all such seaside re-
sorts, where they lind il uncomforta-
bly, hot and just a few mosquitoes.
There are no such things as summer
suits in this vicinity, or at least there
are not many that go to the expense Of
furnishing themselves with such, as
our average temperature Is about SIS to
60 degrees and when 1t comes time for
the sun Qamlliarly called Old Sob to
disappear in the evening, the glorious
sunset Is worth going many miles to
see, and for half an hour after he ap-
parently sinks down into old Lake
Superior. the picture is grand.
The writer Was candidate for
County Clerk and Recorder of Deeds
last election and got scooped, but had
the satisfaction of polling a good
| majority in Onsonagon over his oppo-
nent who has lived here % years and
has held the same Office 90 years, and
while he got left he made him hustle,
and while of course felt my defeat
was eomforted vastly by hearing the
good news from old New Castle
County, announcing that Bill Sim
mons, Charlie Sparks and the whole
county ticket had been elected. will
mail you a copy of each of our papers
this coming Saturday. Yours very
respectfully, ]. ]. VINCENT,
One of the DUPONT Garfield Pioneers.
Z. ST any one desires to cores
pond with parties living here in regard
to moro facts and figures the writer
and others will take pleasure In an
swering them and advising them, not
as good old Horace did, to go west but
would say come west, young man,
come West.