Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/514

 496 MICHIGAN fishermen, 1,314 iron and steel workers, 2,341 lumbermen, raftsmen, and wood choppers, 1,130 machinists, 1,585 millers, 3,426 miners, 2,727 painters and varnishers, and 10,356 saw-mill operatives. The tribal Indians of Michigan in 1874 numbered 8,923, viz. : Ottawas and Chip- pewas, 6,170; Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan creek, and Black river, 1,575 ; Chippewas of Lake Superior, 1,118 ; and Pottawattomies of Huron, 60. The Ottawas and Chippewas re- side in the N. part of the southern penin- sula and on the islands of Lake Michigan ; the Chippewas of Saginaw, &c., in Isabella co. ; the Pottawattomies in Calhoun co. ; the Chip- pewas of Lake Superior on L'Anse bay in Houghton co. The last named tribe depend for subsistence chiefly upon hunting and fish- ing ; the others are largely engaged in agricul- ture. They are well advanced in civilization, mostly hold land in severally, and are entitled to the privileges of citizenship. The agent of the Michigan Indians is nominated by the Methodists. There are several schools among them under the auspices of the Roman Catho- lics and Methodists. Michigan consists of two irregular peninsulas, which are separated from each other by the strait of Mackinaw (4 m. wide) connecting the N. ends of Lakes Michi- gan and Huron. The upper or northern pen- insula is bounded 1ST. by Lake Superior, E. by St. Mary's strait, S. by Lake Huron, the strait of Mackinaw, and Lake Michigan, and S. W. by Wisconsin. It is 318 m. in greatest length from E. to W., and from 30 to 164 m. wide, embracing about two fifths of the area of the state. It comprises the counties of Chippewa, Delta, Houghton, Keweenaw, Mackinaw, Mar- quette, Menominee, Ontonagon, and School- craft, and contains but a small portion of the population (61,814 in 1874). From its W. extremity the Lake Superior shore trends N. E. for a distance of about 160 m. to the end of Keweenaw point, a long peninsula running out into the lake. On the E. side of this point is Keweenaw bay. Thence to Whitefish point the coast line presents a regular undulation with scarcely any good harbors. At White- fish point it bends sharply S. and afterward E., enclosing with the Canada shore the deep basin known as Tequamenon bay, from the head of which flows St. Mary's strait. The Lake Hu- ron shore, extending from the mouth of the St. Mary's westward to the strait of Mackinaw, is much broken and lined with islets; it is sep- arated from Lake Michigan by the peninsula called Pointe St. Ignace. The shore of Lake Michigan is irregular, but offers no large inlets until Green bay is reached, which opens from the N. W. corner of the lake. More than half of the N. and W. shore of this bay belongs to Michigan, and just within its mouth are two in- lets extending northward, called the Big and Lit- tle bays do Noquet. The general aspect of the northern peninsula is rugged and picturesque. The portion E. of the meridian of Marquette is an undulating plateau, sinking gradually toward the south and more rapidly toward the north, the watershed being much nearer Lake Superior than Lakes Huron and Michigan. The highest points do not rise more than 400 ft. above Lake Superior. Numerous lakes and marshes are scattered over this plateau. The surface is covered with forests, except where fires have destroyed the timber and transformed the region into a desert. Soft woods, including pine, are the prevailing growth, but fine groves of sugar maple and beech also occur. W. of the plateau the country is irregularly moun- tainous, interspersed with swamps and lakes. A few of the peaks attain a height of 1,400 ft. above Lake Superior. The N. W. extrem- ity of the peninsula is occupied by the Mineral or Copper range, which properly consists of three ranges : the main or central range, ex- tending from Keweenaw point far into Wis- consin, flanked on the north by the Porcupine mountain range, and on the south by the South Copper range. The general trend of these ranges is N. 60 E. and S. 60 W. They do not attain so great a height as some of the peaks further E. The timber here, which is abundant and of excellent quality, is generally sugar rnaple; but little pine or other soft wood occurs. Immediately S. of the South Copper range is the Iron range. The northern peninsula contains most of the mineral wealth of the state, but the soil is generally sterile. The lower or southern peninsula, which is 277 m. in length from N. to S., and 259 m. in greatest width, is in nearly every respect a contrast to the northern. It lies between Lakes Huron and Michigan, and is bounded S. E. by the St. Clair river, Lake St. Glair, De- troit river, and Lake Erie. The Lake Huron shore is broken by Thunder bay toward the north and Saginaw bay near its centre. There are also several inlets on Lake Michigan, the chief of which are Great and Little Traverse bays. The surface is generally level, although in the south there is an irregular cluster of conical hills from 30 to 200 ft. high. A low watershed, culminating at an elevation of 600 or 700 ft., passes through the country from S. to N., much nearer the E. than the W. shore, with a very gradual and almost unbroken slope toward Lake Michigan, except near Au Sable river, where it partakes of a rugged char- acter. The shores on both sides are in many places steep and elevated, and on Lake Michi- gan especially there are numerous bluffs and sand hills from 100 to 300 ft. high. The soil of the southern peninsula, except in the N. part, is luxuriantly fertile. The principal isl- ands belonging to the state are Isle Royale and Grand island in Lake Superior ; Sugar and Nebish islands in St. Mary's strait, and Drum- mond's island at its month ; Marquette, Mack- inaw, and Bois Blanc islands in the N. part of Lake Huron, near the mouth of the strait of Mackinaw ; and the Beaver, Fox, and Man- itou groups in the N. part of Lake Michigan. The principal rivers are the Ontonagon and