terrible cry came from friend or foe, and, in their uncertainty, many of them fled to their canoes, and took refuge on the other side of the river. Happily, the return of their friends removed their fears, and secured their safety; and their return was as joyful as their departure had been precipitous.

The bravery of Governor Cass as a soldier, fighting the bands of hostile Indians which surrounded the feeble settlements under his charge, was only equaled by his wisdom in dealing with them in times of peace. He was at this time, by virtue of his office of Governor, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and as such it became his duty to advise with the government at Washington on that subject. He had long been under the impression that the only proper way to deal with the Indians was, as a means of pacification, to purchase their possessory rights to the lands they occupied; to limit their hunting grounds to a narrow compass; to teach them agriculture and mechanics, and provide the means for their instruction and religious training. The policy of the French and English had been to pacify them with presents of whisky and gew-gaws, merely for the purpose of obtaining a temporary foothold, to enable them to carry on the fur trade. This policy, of course, brought permanent settlers into the country, and those who were benefited by the traffic lived thousands of miles away,

loud driving of ox teams, indicated that something unusual had taken possession of these earnest settlers. The heavy logs were "switched " together and hewed. Then strong arms and willing hands placed them one upon another, until the roof was made whole. The floor was next "dubbed" off so as to be agreeable to little feet, for no boards could be had for that purpose, and this exercise completed the first school house in that district. The labor of the day being over, the eager inhabitants commenced their celebration. Then came genuine ladies, real womenpioneer women-with well prepared refreshments. Rude tables were constructed, and a wholesome collation spread out for the builders. When the appetite had been satisfied, the floor was made clear and dancing commenced, which continued with a spirit until an early hour the following morning.

It was in this "bee" school house that Mr. Swain received his elementary education. This, however, was attended with its disadvantages. Books were scarce and difficult to obtain. For the winter's use of

and had no interest in the permanent development of the country. It was clear that this was not the policy of the United States, and the President heartily coincided in the views expressed by General Cass. The result was that General Cass and General Harrison were intrusted with the power to treat with the Indians on the Miami and Wabash, and, on the twentieth of July, a treaty was signed with the Wyandots, Senecas, Shawnees, Miamis and Delawares, which restored comparative tranquillity to the frontiers.

At one time, during this summer, it became necessary for General Cass to send troops down the lake, to the assistance of General Brown, on the Niagara; and he ordered his whole force to repair to the seat of war, reserving only thirty men for the defense of the fort at Malden. During this defenseless state, the hostile Indians became bolder. Their war parties roamed the country, and caused much alarm and apprehension; and the Governor found it necessary to call the whole adult male population to arms. Scouting parties were sent out in all directions, and many skirmishes occurred. The Governor frequently headed these parties in person, and the hostile tribes were driven from place to place, until, finally, they retreated to Saginaw.

In July of this year an attempt was made to recover Mackinaw. A force was detailed, under the command of Colonel Croghan, for

Pike's arithmetic, he dug potatoes two days, and he husked corn four days for a slate.

After graduating in this "bee" institution, Mr. Swain's ambition for further knowledge was largely increased. He often walked forty-three miles in a day, to and from the nearest academy, teaching school in the winter season, to bear his academic expenses in the summer. Through all these obstacles, he displayed that matchless energy characteristic of his life, and obtained an ample education.

When the Eric canal was completed, a new era dawned upon western New York. A market and highway for commerce were opened, revealing richer fields in the great West, which he visited, and, early in the year 1830, he settled permanently in Michigan, to share its pioneer hardships, and aid in developing its great resources. In the former he has taken a front rank position, while in the latter he has but few compeers.

His first earnings were invested in land situated near the Kalamazoo

this purpose, with the assistance of a part of the fleet on Lake Erie. But the British works were too strong, and, with the assistance of the savages, they were enabled to hold possession. The establishments at St. Joseph's and at Sault Ste. Marie, however, were destroyed.

In the winter of 1815, the treaty of peace was ratified between England and the United States. The population of the Territory at that time was not over five or six thousand, and that population was spread over a vast extent, and in a state of great destitution, owing to the calamities of war. Scarcely a family, when it resumed its domestic establishment, found more than the rem nants of former wealth and comfort. Families had been broken up and dispersed; parents had been torn from children, and children from each other; some had been slain on the battle field, and others had been massacred by the ruthless savages. Laws had become a dead letter, and morals had suffered in the general wreck. Agriculture had been almost abandoned, and commerce paralyzed. Food, and all the necessaries of life were scarce, and luxuries were unknown. Money was difficult to get, and the bank paper of Ohio, which was almost the sole circulating medium, was twenty-five per cent below par in New York. Consequently commercial transactions were precluded, except at a ruinous figure to the merchant and the consumer.

river, in the southwest part of Jackson county. He added to the orig. inal purchase, as he acquired means by farming, surveying, civil engineering, merchandising, milling, lumbering, etc. His labors have been eminently successful, not only in accumulating a large fortune, but in developing the resources of the State.

This biography might very justly be enlivened by a recital of Mr. Swain's many adventures in the pioneer days of Michigan. His conflicts with wild beasts and wild men, are filled with the essence of adventure; the hardships he has endured in "camping out" and traveling through the unexplored forests, are replete with heroic exploits, with man and beast, and would constitute of themselves a volume full of interest and instruction. But we shall pass over these, and briefly notice the results of his industry.

Having failed to secure the Michigan Central Railroad through his place of business, at Concord, by a distance of four miles, he pulled up

In this gloomy and unpromising condition was Michigan when General Cass assumed the office of Governor of the Territory. Civil government was yet to be established, and laws enacted and enforced, before any permanent advancement in prosperity could be hoped for. His task was a delicate and difficult one. He was not only a part of the legislative power, but was the sole executive. The laws which were enacted in the one capacity, he was obliged to execute in the other. How well he performed his task, the condition of the State when he resigned his office, after eighteen years of service, abundantly testifies.

In 1817, General Cass made a most important treaty with the Indians, by which their title was extinguished to nearly all the land in Ohio, a part in the State of Indiana, and a portion in the State of Michigan. This was not only the most valuable treaty that had at that time been made with the Indians, but was of the utmost importance to the Territory of Michigan. It attached the isolated population of Michigan to the State of Ohio; made the Territorial government, in a fuller sense, an integral part of the Federal Union, and removed all apprehension of a hostile confederacy among the Indian tribes along the lake and river frontier.

Up to this time there was not a road within the limits of the Territory, save the military road along the Detroit river. But,

and went still farther into the dense forest, down the Paw Paw valley, to the present site of the village of Watervleit, in Berrien county, thus endeavoring to make a certainty of locating on this road. The State, which at that time owned the Michigan Central Road, had definitely located its route through this valley, with a view of making the western terminus on Lake Michigan, at St Joseph. But these plans were overruled by various circumstances. The State, with the system of internal improvements in 1847, being nearly bankrupt, and the Michigan Central Railroad being completed with strap rails only as far as the village of Kalamazoo, sold her franchise to the present Michigan Central Railroad Company. This company departed from the original plan, and thereby left Watervleit off twenty miles in the forest.

Notwithstanding these obstacles, Mr. Swain prosecuted his business enterprises in that locality with unabated energy. At Watervleit he conducted the same business already mentioned, increasing the lumbering branch to a considerable extent. He is still interested in the latter at the