Excerpt from Industries of the Saginaws: Historical, Descriptive and StatisticalHE story of American progress presents a record as unique as it is interest T ing. NO other chapter of history approaches it in the rapidity with which the wild and waste places have been made to fructify under the hand of indus try, and the wilderness to evolve into a populous and civilized community. N 0 other narrative more strongly illustrates the truism that it is events, and not years, that make history. At the Opening of the Nineteenth century Michigan, with the exception of a sparse settlement at Detroit, and an insignificant post at Mackinaw, was useless to humanity, except as it afforded hunting grounds for fierce and nomadic Indian tribes. The Saginaw Valley was a dense forest, which had as yet been visited by no white man, save an occasional zealous missionary, who ventured in the cause of Christianity where others, actuated by self-interest, feared to follow.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.