The Calumet news., 1911-02-16
Greeley's Own Story.

About the year 1886, when the ter
ritory OF Michigan was crystallizing
into a state, there arose a dispute be-
tween her and Ohio concerning a small
but important corner, which included
the then village-now city-of Toledo,
Military-or rather militia-demon-
strations were made on both sides,
wherein much whiskey was consumed,
but no blood shed; and at length the
vastly preponderant weight of Ohio
in the national councils prevailed, and
insured her the peaceful possession of
the contested corner, while Michigan
was indifferently consoed by the pre-
posterous addition to her natural area
of vast wild region lying north and
northwest of Lake Michigan, since
known as the upper peninsula
"This region when it became sur
veyed and mapped for settlement
proved rich in superficial indications
of mineral wealth. mainly copper and
iron. and a small crowd of adventurers
rushed thither i'm quest of suddenly ac-
quired riches in the summer or fall of
1874 The early closing of navigation
on Lake Superior and St Mary's river
compelled a part of these to remain on
Keweenaw point throughout the ensu-
ing winter, and, being without advice
from elsewhere later than the preced-
ing August or September, a portion of
this crowd celebrated on the fourth
of March, 1S45. Mr.. Clay's presumed
Inauguration as president-an inau-
guration which, unhappily, failed to
come off as they sanguinely believed
IL would do-nay. did-because II
should have done. When spring opened
several of them came down, bringing
wondrous accounts of the richness of
the Superior region i'm copper and sill
yer. If not also in gold and organized
in our city several companies for the
development of the wealth, thus laid
open to human appropriation. An old
backwoodsman named Railey, who had
heard my name, possibly read my pa
per- had set apart for me some stock
in the projected company, to be locat-
ed on a copper vein or outcrop of his
discovery, requesting me to act in his
behalf as a trustee or director of said
company; to which /, in my yet com
plete ignorance of mining, accepted.
His Visit to the Mine.
For some three years thereafter,
acted accordingly; coaxing several as
sessments from unwilling stockholders
(who, in their primeval innocence, had
expected to receive dividends from
their stock instead of paying assess
ments thereon) and applying the pro-
ceeds as well as could to the opening
of our mine.
cat length, the spring of 1s47,
made a business visit to our property
taking along the gold required to pay
off our workmen and buying at De-
troit a yoke of oxen, a supply of ha.
and grain, good stock of provisions
and taking them with me to their and
my destination
II had never before been farther In
that direction than Detroit; and thi,
: journey considerably enlarged my ac
5 quaintance with the northwest. Lake
Huron was shrouded in fog and mist
and our steamboat traversed it's entir'
length slowly and cautiously. Themes
( feeling our way up the st. Marys rive
= only by daylight--the channel beinl
| too shallow, rocky and intricate 70
: navigation by night. At Sault ste
Marie there was small but smar
young village, to whose assembled
g Inhabitants two of us made temper
ance addresses. which think some o