sister and myself. There were six covered wagons, drawn by horses, in the cavalcade. They headed for Ithaca, and then took the Erie canal to Buffalo.

The

Arrived at Buffalo, they embarked on the steamboat "William Penn," for Detroit, the voyage consuming five days. steamboat was a crude affair, old style, high pressure, and had no upper cabin. My chief recollection of the trip was that a cross old curmudgeon pushed me backwards into an open hatchway and I fell to the botton of the hold in front of the fire boxes, but the fireman grabbed me out of the hot ashes before I was badly burned and tossed me back to the deck. My mother insisted that I was killed, but all the while I was shouting at the top of my voice to convince her I was not dead, but only badly scared. Father sought out the careless and impudent man, and "mopped the deck" with him for awhile, and the incident ended.

We arrived at Detroit on the 16th of May, and lost no time in getting started for Jackson. We arrived at Ann Arbor on the 18th and met Russell Blackman and learned how things had been doing the winter and spring.

I have already stated that the Blackmans had intended to purchase several lots more of land, as soon as they could raise the means. This they were now prepared to do, but they found they were stalled, so to speak, and completely land-locked.

The government had been holding the price of the land at two dollars an acre, cash down. On the first day of January, 1830, congress had made a reduction of the lands to one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, and also passed the "squatter act," that allowed settlers to pre-empt one hundred

and sixty acres by filing a claim and paying for it within two years. Under this act many locations had been made west of Ann Arbor.

The speculators and certain citizens of Ann Arbor had had their eye on the Jackson location all winter. As soon as the new land law took effect a number of the knowing ones filed claims to all the land around the Blackman location and secured its purchase. These persons were William M. and Hiram Thompson, Benjamin H. Packard, William J. Moody, Isaiah W. Bennett, E. W. Morgan and Chauncy C. Lewis. Their location completely surrounded the Blackmans. Russell Blackman might have secured a claim, but he was with Stratton's road surveying party and did not learn of the scheme until it was too late.

Bennett, Thompson and Packard 10cated their land directly south of Blackman on section 3, town 3 south, range I west, and extending up the river one-half mile from the present Main street. In order to obtain the control of the water power, they caused a survey to be made in April, and they also platted a village on their purchase, extending from the river west to Blackstone street and south from Main to Franklin street. This village they proposed to call Jacksonopolis. Russell Blackman did what he could to break up their plans, but he was without means to make improvements and the best he could do was to unite with the Ann Arbor people in agreeing to make a combination plat of the two plats, that put Main street on the town line and give each an equal share in the new village. The original village plat was to contain one hundred and sixty acres, extending from Trail street on the north to Franklin street on the

south, and from the section line on the east to Blackstone on the west. Thus was settled the basis of the village plat. Main street, which was intended as the main commercial avenue, was made six rods wide, while Jackson street was to be the meridian, crossing it at right angles, and was of the same width.

At the intersection of these

two streets a public square four hundred and eighty-four rods in extent, was reserved, for public buildings and other general purposes. The plat was made by Mr. Stratton and is substantially as now, except that threequarters of the public square has been vacated and occupied with business buildings, only the southwest quarter remaining, and this would probably have been appropriated if two churches had not been located facing upon it.

HOW THE ANN ARBOR GANG WORKED.

low and Stephen Caniff were the other helpers. It is well to remember that none of them except Hiram Thompson became permanent settlers. They all drifted away in a few years, and never returned.

The foundation for the dam was laid at a point nearly a mile south of the present dam, and it was a primitive affair, raising the water only about four feet, and the saw-mill was a small one, with a single upright saw, which could cut out only a few hundred feet of boards in a day. But it answered the needs of the community for a few years, and cut its first lumber late in the fall of 1830.

BLACKMAN'S COLONY ARRIVES.

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It was on the 27th of May that the Blackman colony began to arrive. The first installment consisted of four wagons, containing the DeLand family, Horace Blackmam and his sister Lucy, E. B. Chapman and

man family, who were expected early in May, and so Bennett and Thompson decided to at once pre-empt the water power, and erect a saw-mill at the earliest moment. About the 20th of April they started with a gang of hands for Jacksonburg. The party consisted, besides themselves, of Linus Gillett and wife, Josephus Case and wife and several hired men. They moved into the Blackman house and domiciled there until a double log house could be built, which was done on the south side of Main street, just east of the square, where the Marble block, built by Mr. Reynolds, now stands. Gillett and wife were to keep boarding house, Case was to be the village blacksmith, Mr. John Wickham was the millwright, and Hiram Thompson, George Mayo, Stephen Town, James Bar

Francis. The rest of the party remained in Ann Arbor, to rest up and await the return of the teams for provisions, implements and supplies.

It was about four o'clock P. M. when the teams came in sight of the river. Chapman was bound to be the first across and boldly pushed his team to the front. Not: knowing anything about the ford he plunged! into the stream too high up, and as he neared the west shore his wagon struck a huge boulder. The horses plunged to rise the steep bank and broke the evener, and pulled Chapman into the water head first. But he hung to the lines and the horses drew him ashore, and he triumphantly announced that he was the first of the party to land in Jacksonburg. My father crossed next, in safety,

followed by the others, so my mother was the first woman, as Chapman said, to follow his example. But Chapman's wagon was soon disengaged and drawn up to the cabin.

The women were helped out and provided with cooking utensils, and began to "slick up" the house. It had no door, windows or floor, and was a sorry looking place, and its recent occupants had not bettered it by its use. A fire was builded, a meal cooked, and my mother said that after supper she and Lucy Blackman went out behind the house and sat down and had a good cry. The change from a good home. in a well settled country to "a lodge in the vast wilderness," no friends or neighbors, no privileges, no civilization, all flashed upon them for the first time. The excitement of the journey had pleased and stimulated them. They had reached its end. The panorama had faded, the reaction had come, and they cried as if their hearts would break. Mrs. Chapman (whose maiden name was also Blackman) heard them, and came out to the corner of the house and cried out, "Now don't be foolish and sit there and cry. Come into the shanty and help wash up the dishes and you will feel better." As she turned she met the ""bushu" of a big strapping Indian. "Julia" wilted at the sight, and let out a scream that brought the men to the house in a hurry. He was a "friendly" and meant no harm, and tried to explain that "me good Indian," but it was many days before Mrs. Chapman dared or cared to meet an Indian by moonlight.

KEEPING HOUSE.

For several nights the party slept in their wagons, while the men split out and hewed whitewood slabs for a floor and put up bunks

for sleeping purposes. The third night there came up a furious thunder storm. The women were all in the wagons, but the rain drove through the canvas tops in floods. and they were all soaking wet. To add to their dismay the lightning struck several trees and the wind prostrated others. But no one was injured, and the sun rose bright and they were soon dry and happy.

In about four days floors were laid and a ladder built so they could use the house. The women put greased paper up to the windows and a quilt was utilized for a door. The cooking was nearly all done out of doors, the water brought from the river, and the clothing dried on long poles. There were already ten persons in the cabin and six or seven more to come. As Cousin Lucy Blackman said, "We were so thick we had to keep good natured." The bread was baked out of doors in a big iron bake kettle, and pies, cakes and puddings dispensed with. But in a few days matters were harmonized so that all got along well, and were happy and jolly.

SPREADING OUT.

As soon as the house was made comfortable, the men began cutting logs for two new houses. Chapman chose a location a little ways west of the Blackman house, on Blackstone street, and DeLand on the hill further south near the corner of Blackstone and Pearl streets. There was an immense spring on the opposite side of the street, and Chapman's was near the brook. This furnished good water without stopping to sink wells, which was quite a consideration. Meantime Russell Blackman returned to Ann Arbor and brought out supplies and also his younger brothers, George and Levi,

and was accompanied by Mr. Samuel Roberts, who was seeking a location, and later moved with his family a few miles west of Jackson. With this additional help the two new log houses were speedily put up, and in less than two weeks were ready for occupancy. It was well they were, for the stream of emigration was already pouring in, and it was a conundrum how to house and feed them.

It was nearly the middle of June before Lemuel Blackman and the rest of the family came into the settlement. As soon as they arrived they set about putting in some crops. Horace plowed up about two actes on the old Indian cornfield north of the brook, and planted it to potatoes. My father also plowed some ground near his home and planted potatoes and early corn. But the flies had become so thick that it had almost become impossible to work with horses, and father went to Ann Arbor and purchased a pair of oxen and a cow. This was the first cow brought to Jackson, and we found it necessary to build a log barn to put them in at night to prevent the wolves from destroying them.

THE BLACKMAN TAVERN.

Soon after the arrival of Lemuel Blackman he set about building a public house on Main street. The spot selected was on the north side of the street, just east of the public square, on the west part of where the Allen Bennett block now stands. It was a large double log building, forty by sixty feet and two stories high, built principally of tamarack logs. This was pushed to completion by the first of July, and immediately occupied by Mr. Blackman, and was used as a hotel until it was destroyed by fire in 1837.

It was a historic place, and was the stopping place of most of the old pioneers.

THE VILLAGE PLAT

was completed by Mr. Stratton in June, and the sale of lots was begun immediately. Stratton bought a lot on Jackson street, south of the public square; Linus Gillett a lot on the corner of Jackson and Courtland, Josephus Case the lot on Main street where the City Bank stands; Mr. Caniff a lot on the south side of Main street, just east of the Marble Front building; Mr. Wickham bought on Courtland street; Major D. Mills. and Christian Prussia, two newcomers, bought on the corner of Jackson and Clinton streets a plot of ground for a tannery. It was provided at the sale that all buyers should improve their lots at once, and all these parties built log houses and shanties during the summer. Thus at the beginning of winter the village numbered thirteen houses, all of logs and all occupied.

MORE NEW SETTLERS.

The tide of emigration set in to the new settlement as early as the first of June. The first to come was Samuel Roberts, who located on the trail in the town of Sandstone. Following him came Martin Flint and John McConnell, who located north of the village. Mr. John Daniels was an early comer, and located three hundred acres two miles west. Alexander Laverty made a location at the head of Main street. Samuel Wing, Osgood H. Fifield, Jothum Wood, John Van Vranken, Chester Wall, Moses Freeman and J. M. Merrill all made locations within two to six miles of Jackson. Most of them made a little clearing, and some put up log