CHAPTER XXV.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION-PINE LAKE-ROUND LAKE-SOUTH ARMJORDAN AND BOYNE RIVERS-HOLY ISLAND-VALLEY OF THE JORDAN.

The county of Charlevoix is bounded on the north by the county of Emmet and Lake Michigan; east by Cheboygan and It has Otsego; south, by Antrim, and west by Lake Michigan. an area of 396 square miles and a population in 1880, of 5,115. The surface of the county is rolling and in some parts decidedly hilly. The soil varies from a light sandy to a heavy clay, filled with calcareous matter. The subsoil is of as varied a nature as that of the surface.

Sugar maple, elm, beech, basswood, ash, hemlock, and cedar timber, is found in great quantities throughout the county.

The principal crops are winter wheat, oats, corn, hay, clover, potatoes, and root crops. The summer resorts at Charlevoix furnish an excellent market for.all sorts of garden vegetables.

All fruits do well, excepting grapes and peaches. The hardier kinds of apples are especially successful. Charlevoix County is at the northern extremity of the celebrated Michigan fruit belt.

There are no government lands in the market. There were 314 acres of state swamp, 1,995 acres of primary school, 3,525 acres of agricultural college, and 42,285 acres of Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad land, subject to entry May 1, 1883.

As Pine Lake is navigable for large vessels, the timber business is an important enterprise in this county. Wood, ties, fenceposts, hemlock bark, and logs are cut during the winter, and are shipped during the winter to Chicago, Milwaukee, Racine, and other An iron lake ports. There are several saw-mills in the county. furnace at Ironton, on Pine Lake, furnishes employment to a large number of men. The fishing industry is also a considerable one.

The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad crosses the county from north to south, and a railroad is expected at Charlevoix in the near future.

The famous resorts on Pine Lake have contributed largely to the development of the county, and are thronged every summer with admirers of the beautiful scenery and delightful climate of Charlevoix County.

The map of Charlevoix County, given on another page, shows that the county is already well supplied with good roads, which are one of the important agencies in the development and improvement of a new country.

In thɔ number and beauty of inland lakes, Charlevoix County is without a rival, and its resources are so abundant and varied that it is destined to become one of the richest and most attractive counties in the state. All its villages are charmingly located, and, though young, are enjoying a marked degree of prosperity.

PINE LAKE.

Pine Lake is confessedly the loveliest of all the many that adorn this picturesque part of Michigan.

At the center of the promontory between Grand and Little Traverse Bays a small river used to wend its serpentine course into Lake Michigan. It was named See-pe-wa, or Green River. This stream was only about a quarter of a mile in length and came out of a small round lake, which was connected by a river about sixty rods in length with Long Lake. Various names have been applied to these lakes and streams, such as Green Lake, Mormon Lake, and finally Pine Lake and Pine River were adopted and gave to the surrounding country the name of the Pine River and Pine Lake region. The river has been made navigable for the largest vessels and Round and Pine Lakes connected by an artificial channel.

Round Lake is a park-like body of water, covering an area of about thirty acres, upon the shores of which are situated the thriving village of Charlevoix, and two popular resorts, the Chicago and Charlevoix.

Pine Lake stretches east and south some twenty miles. About five miles east it divides, South Arm extending as its name implies, south to the distance of some five miles. Into the finger end of the south arm flows the Jordan River, the famous trout stream. The shores of this lake are bold and its waters deep; it embosoms some beautiful islands, is indented by numerous promontories, separated by deep bays and harbors, and presents as grand natural scenery as the eye of man ever beheld.

In 1865, long before any one ever thought of locating a summer resort in this locality, Prof. Winchell, then state geologist, in one of his published reports said:

From the foot of Pine Lake a scene of surpassing loveliness presents itself. We land, perhaps, upon the wharf at the mouth of Pine River. Before us is a sandy slope, on the left of which we discover the usual features of a new settlement. Beyond is the forest. It is a pleasant October morning, however, and we follow the well-beaten road through the fresh clearings which stretch out for about a mile inland. We emerge from a screen of forest trees and find ourselves standing upon an elevated bluff overlooking as You feel lovely a sheet of water as the sun ever shone upon. almost a transport of delight in emerging so suddenly from- the depths of the habitual forest into a prospect so vast, so gentle in its features, so delicate in its tints, and so glowing in the sunshine of a fair October morning. Far away to the southeast for fifteen miles stretches the placid, smiling surface of the water, its white and pebbly shore chasing the contour of the hills in all its meandering sinuosities. The verdant ridges rise on every side from the shining shore line, and hold the lake in their enchanted embrace, while rounded hill-tops bubble up in rapid succession across the retiring landscape, till hill, vale, and sky, green, purple, and blue, dissolve together in the blended hues of the distant horizon."

The spot from which Prof. Winchell viewed the scene which he so vividly described, was near where John S. Dixon's residence now stands. The village of Charlevoix then consisted of a dock, a rude store and a boarding-house.

Few localities enjoy such excellent facilities for boating. Through the summer, Pine Lake is usually as placid as a river, while Round Lake, lying like a sparkling gem between the resort and the village, and protected from winds by the encircling hills, is always safe for small row boats. At all hours of the day the trim boats of the resort fleets may be seen gliding swiftly over the silvery bosom of these lakes, oftenest propelled by oars in the hands of boys and girls, who thus mingle the most healthful exercise with romantic enjoyment. Those who crave the more thrilling sport of yachting may take a fifteen-mile sail up Pine Lake, or turning their prow westward, glide out of the harbor into Lake Michigan's broad expanse, and thus dance over the waves along the wooded shore, or push out into the lake until the place of starting has dropped behind the horizon, thus securing all the effects of a sail in mid-ocean. The whole Charlevoix region is famous for its excellent fishinggrounds. Isaac Walton himself would have reveled in his favorite

At its entrance is the village of Ironton, and at its head are the villages of East Jordan and South Arm.

It is here that the river Jordan comes in, one of the most famous trout streams in the country. In reality it is little more than a turbulent rapid brook, somewhat larger than the Boyne. It may be ascended eight or ten miles by a canoe or a small skillfully managed boat. The following graphic description of a trip up the Jordan, is interesting in this connection:

"The party who went up the Jordan yesterday, having entirely exhausted their stock of a ljectives, offer a ten dollar chromo to any one who will invent a new one which will adequately express their admiration.

"So ran the notice posted this morning in the hall of the Resort Hotel. Ever since we came here people have been telling us we must see the most celebrated trout stream of these regions, and we have replied, with easy indifference, that we would see about it, and finally only deciled on the trip in haphazard fashion.

sport on the lakes and along the rivers and streams that are found in this locality. In their season, lake trout, black bass, pickerel, perch, and herring abound in the lakes, while the gamy speckled trout, the fisherman's chief delight, make the cold waters of the Jordan and Boyne Rivers as well as the several smaller tributaries of Pine Lake, their favorite haunts. No rivers in the lower peninsula have acquired so famous a reputation for their choice trout as the Jordan and Boyne. Sportsmen come hundreds of miles every year to enjoy the rapture of capturing these lively beauties, and even though they may fail to come in the season for a great catch, so enchanting is the scenery along the rivers, so invigorating is the air of this northern climate, and so novel the experience of camp life, while pursuing their piscatorial sports, that none return without feeling richly repaid for their trip. Those who spend the season at these resorts have the advantage, however, of sportsmen, who come to try the pastimes for a few days only, as they are enabled to choose the best days in which to gratify their angling tastes.

SOUTH ARM AND JORDAN RIVER.

The South Arm, like many of the lakes in this region, is riverlike in appearance, being long and narrow, and is bordered by the

the dock. Up comes the little steamer Nellie Booth, and we step aboard, the captain swings up his hat, the people shout, and we are off. Before us lies beautiful Pine Lake, all dimpled and smiling in the early sunlight, while we sit on the deck in the fresh morning air, admiring the glories of nature, and drawing in new life with every breath.

"About two miles from Charlevoix the steamer turned suddenly behind a point, and entered that part of the lake known as the South Arm. This is about sixteen miles long and from one to two wide, so that it somewhat resembles a broad river. Its scenery is varied and rich, but so entirely different from the main lake that it. seems like a distinct sheet of water. The Jordan comes in at the very head of the arm, and we reached it about half-past eight. Our bot, which had been towed behind the steamer, was brought round, and, stepping over the side, we were soon safely seated-two ladies and a gentleman, besides the guide, who was to take us safely up the river, with its rapid current, its snags and eddies. In a few moments we had reached it, and he was pulling with a long, quiet stroke against the stream.

He came early to that part of the country-though he is now at Charlevoix-and told us he had poled on the river for seventeen years, which we could well believe, for there was not a tree, nor a snag, nor a ferny bank, nor a trout pool, but what seemed to him an old familiar friend. What a quaint forest flavor there was to all his stories; of how the Jordan was named by a good old Methodist, Amos Williams, who was one of the earliest settlers, and how he built a large bark canoe on the banks of the stream, and when he launched it called it the Good Ship Zion;' of the early settlers and their loneliness; of how these waters once swarmed with grayling, called by the natives' river fish;' of the deer that came down the runways to drink, and with beautiful lifted head and frightened dark eyes are sometimes seen by excursionists coming suddenly round a curve; of wonderful catches of fish, and head-first tumbles of unlucky sportsmen into the icy pools. All this with homely simplicity, but brightened by a quick appreciation and a certain sense of the fitness of things.

"After about a mile of rowing, the low wet banks are left behind, the scene grows wilder, and tangled unbroken forests extend to the very water's edge. The rush of the river now becomes stronger, and, looking down through its crystal c'earness, you see the golden sanded shallows, the black logs, the swaying, velvetygreen moss fit for a Naiad's bower, and the deep pools in which a silver flash now and again shows where the trout are lying. Dipping over the side, we found the water so icy-cold that we could bear contact but a moment; and now we wished to drink of it, but found our guide had forgotten his cup. Just, then we saw, under overhanging branches, an anchored boat, and a tent gleaming white through the trees. Pushing on shore to borrow a cup, we entered into conversation with the campers, who proved to be Southerners, flying from the summer heats and the yellow fever. The men were absent fishing, and a sun-burned little maiden, blowing soap bubbles, a woman cooking the dinner, and a grave dog, playing guardian, were the only occupants.

"How we drank of the delicious water; how many times that day one of the party played Hebe, and filled up the nectar of the gods for my lady Venus and my lord Jupiter !

"After two miles of rowing, the current becomes so swift that the oars can no longer be used, and now begins the most delightful part of the trip. Parrish stands erect in the stern of the boat, spare and gray-haired, but sinewy and supple withal; in his hands he holds a long pole, tipped with iron, which he strikes now on the bottom, now against a log, still preserving his steady, unswayed attitude. Without a splash, without a jar, the boat moves up the rapids as if by magic. No sound breaks the deep stillness, save Nature's own-the clear call of an unseen bird, the cool splash and ripple of the stream, a king-fisher flapping heavily from bank to bank, little breaths of wind murmuring through the tops of the tall hemlocks and white cedars as if they were whispering about these strange intruders on their solitudes.

"Half reclining on the bottom of the boat, crushing out the fragrance from the hemlock boughs strewn bencath you, you see, as you round each curve, fresher, wilder beauties opening on either hand. Sometimes the mighty hemlocks almost meet above your head, sometimes your path seems utterly choked up with waterlogged timber and uprooted trees, till you glide suddenly through some narrow channel; often you bend low to pass under a squirrel bridge-a tall cedar fallen from bank to bank.

"The prevailing tint of these woods is dark, but it serves as a strong background for the brighter colors. Vivid green moss is everywhere, and out of it grows all manner of plumy grasses and wandering vines. The golden rod is just beginning to enrich the wilderness with its prodigal wealth; and here and there that torch

of the woods—the cardinal flower-burns its red flame to light its shadowy nook. Many delicate, and to us, strange varieties of fern dipped their long fronds in the water on the skirts of the forest, like fringe upon a petticoat, as the merry Rosalind hath it.

"We had now nearly reached our destination, for though it is possible to ascend the stream for thirteen miles, it is not possible to do so in one day, and we were to content ourselves with a six-mile trip. In that short distance the river rises a hundred feet; thirty feet in this last mile.

"On reaching our landing place, we walked for a quarter of a mile on a beautiful wood path, and suddenly came out into a clearing, in the midst of which is the well-known Webster's, a large log tavern, where we found a comfortable resting place and a good dinner. After an hour's rest and a ramble in the woods, we returned to the boat, and were soon shooting down the current; indeed, so rapid was our course, that we made frequent stops, loth to lose the charm of that wild beauty. Yet, in truth, we can never lose it. To the kind thought that planned that day's excursion, we owe a

whole gallery full of pictures that will have the advantage of never being dimmed by time.

"We reached the steamer just in time to go aboard, and after a quiet ride over the lake, the sunset and our party reached Charlevoix together, both fiery red in the face from a long day upon the water. What the sportsman finds in the Jordan I do not know. We found in it wonderful beauty, for we sought those woods simply as the outlawed duke and his forest rangers sought the wilds of Arden-'to fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world.'

BOYNE RIVER.

The Boyne River received its name, as already stated, from Uncle" John Miller, the first settler near its mouth. The river empties into the head of Pine Lake at the village of Boyne. Next to the Jordan it is the most noted trout stream in this part of the state. It also affords a great variety of picturesque scenery.

We find the following statement regarding the Boyne: "When the water of the lakes washed the foot of the upper terrace, Pine Lake extended a long way up the valley of the Boyne. Afterward, previous to the last subsidence of the waters, the river was a broad,