Thus far secure, he reäscended the stairs, in order to place himself the farthest possible out of the reach of insult from drunken Indians; but he had not remained there more than an hour, when he was called to the room below, in which was an Indian who said

HON. ELEAZER JEWETT.

ELEAZER JEWETT was born in the State of New Hampshire, April 29, 1799. He came to Michigan and settled on the Saginaw river in September, 1826, traveling from Pontiac on foot, alone, carrying in a pack all his worldly goods. The country was then new and unsettled. Eight miles north of Pontiac was the residence of Alpheus Williams, father of Harvey Williams, one of the pioneers of the Saginaw Valley. There was no other trace of civilization on the way, except at Grand Blanc and the Grand Traverse of Flint River (now city of Flint). At the latter place a half-breed named Campau had a log hut on the south side of the river,

that the Englishman must go with him out of the fort, Wenniway having sent for him. Henry had also seen this man before. In the preceding year he had allowed him to take goods on credit, for which he still owed; .and some short time previous to the surprise of the fort he had said, upon being asked for the amount, that "he would pay the Englishman before long." This speech now came fresh in Henry's memory, and led him to suspect that the fellow had formed a design against his life. He communicated his suspicion to Langlade, but that gentleman gave for an answer, that he was not his own master, and must do as the Indian had ordered.

The Indian, on his part, directed the Englishman to undress himself before leaving the house, declaring that his coat and shirt would become an Indian better than they did Henry. His pleasure in this respect being complied with, no other alternative was left to Henry than either to go out naked, or to put on the clothes of the Indian, which he freely gave him in exchange. His motive for thus stripping him of his own apparel was no other, as Henry afterwards learned, than that it might not be stained with blood when he killed him.

The Englishman was now ordered to proceed, and his driver followed him close until he had passed the gate of the fort, when he

near where the principal bridge stands. Between Flint river, at this place, and Saginaw, was an unbroken wilderness, and only an Indian trail to guide the adventurous traveler. There was no settlement in the Saginaw Valley, except on the site where the city of Saginaw now is. Here was a narrow clearing on the margin of the river. Besides the Indian farmers and blacksmiths, provided by the government, the American Fur Company had a small trading establishment in charge of a Frenchman named Reaume. They constituted the civilized population.

Mr. Jewett went into the employ of the American Fur Company for two years, then he built a block house on Green Point and commenced trading with the Indians on his own account. He continued this trade for ten years.

He married in 1831. His eldest child, a daughter, now the wife of Dr. N. D. Lee, was the first white child born in the Saginaw Valley.

In 1832, Mr. Jewett purchased at Steben's mill, on Thread river, near the Grand Traverse of Flint river, 10,000 feet of pine boards, of which

turned toward the spot where he knew the Indians to be encamped. This, however, did not suit the purpose of the Indian. He seized Henry by the arm, drew him violently in the opposite direction, to the distance of fifty yards above the fort. Here, finding that he was approaching the bushes and sand hills, Henry determined to proceed no farther, but told the Indian that he believed he meant to murder him, and that if so, he might as well strike where he was as at any greater distance. The Indian replied with coolness, that the Englishman's suspicions were correct, and that he meant to pay him, in this manner, for his goods. At the same time he produced a knife, and held Henry in a position to receive the intended blow. Both this and that which followed were necessarily the affairs of a moment. By some effort, too sudden, and too little dependent on thought to be explained or remembered, Henry was enabled to arrest his arm, and give him a sudden push, by which he turned from him and became released from his grasp. This was no sooner donc than Henry ran towards the fort with all the swiftness in his power, the Indian following him, and the pursued expecting every moment to feel the knife of the pursuer. Henry succeeded in his flight, and on entering the fort, he saw Wenniway standing in the midst of the area, and hastened to him for protection. Wenniway desired the Indian to desist; but

he formed a raft in Flint river. Unaided, he floated this raft down to the driftwood at the mouth of Flint river. Of this lumber he constructed a frame house on the opposite side of the river from Green Point, in which he afterwards resided and continued his business.

In January, 1837, when Saginaw City had attained considerable size as a village, he placed his house on four sleds and drew it with four pair of oxen down the river on the ice to the "city," where notwithstanding some other migrations, it is still standing.

In 1828, he brought the first swine to Saginaw county.

On the 4th of July, 1832, he invited the entire population of the Saginaw Valley to a celebration of the national anniversary at his home on Green Point. All the inhabitants, old and young-twenty-nine in number-came at his hospitable invitation. The ceremonies were patriotic and interesting. They were enlivened by music and conviviality-the music on a bass drum, brought and played, solo, by Abraham Butts, a respected pioneer, who died only two years ago; the conviviality, aided

the latter still pursued him around the chief, making several strokes at Henry with his knife, and foaming at the mouth with rage at the repeated failure of his purpose. At length Wenniway drew near to M. Langlade's house, and, the door being open, Henry ran into it. The Indian followed him, but on entering it he voluntarily abandoned the pursuit.

Preserved so often, and so unexpectedly, as it had already been his lot, he returned to his garret, with a strong inclination to believe that, through the will of an overruling Providence, no Indian enemy could do him hurt. Exhausted with fear, he threw himself upon the bed and was soon relieved by sleep. At ten o'clock in the evening he was again aroused, and once more desired to descend the stairs. Not less, however, to his satisfaction than surprise, he was summoned only to meet Major Etherington, Mr. Bostwick, and Lieutenant Leslie, who were in the room below. These gentlemen had been taken prisoners, while looking at the game without the fort, and immediately stripped of all their clothes. They were now sent into the fort under the charge of Canadians, because, the Indians having resolved on getting drunk, the chiefs were apprehensive that they would be murdered if they continued in the camp. Lieutenant Jamette and seventy English. had been killed, and but twenty Englishmen, including soldiers, were still alive. These were all within the fort, together with more than double their number of Canadians.

by the spirituous beverage of the time, which was innocent of all the corruptions that at a later date have rendered it obnoxious. His three sons grew to manhood. One fell in the service of his country at Gettysburgh; the others reside at Saginaw, worthy examples of industry and thrift.

Mr. J. was elected justice of the peace at an early day, and has since served in that capacity for nearly thirty years. He also served as county surveyor for nearly twenty years, immediately succeeding the inauguration of Saginaw county, and served fourteen years as judge of probate.

He is the sole survivor of the first pioneers. In his prime, he was a man of courage and muscle. He is still in robust health, residing quietly and in comfort at his country seat in Kochville. He does not appear to be the worse for the exposure and hardships of his rough pioneer experience.

It was suggested among the English prisoners that an effort to regain possession of the fort might successfully be made. The Jesuit missionary was consulted on the subject, but his words discouraged the idea. Thus the fort and prisoners remained in the

ROYAL W. JENNY came to Michigan in 1834, and engaged at his trade in Detroit, where he worked six years. In 1840, he launched the Lapeer Sentinel on his own account. This journal was first edited by Mr. Henry W. Williams, and at a later period by Col. J. R. White, who is still living at Lapeer. He moved to Saginaw City in the spring of 1844, where he edited and published the North Star, at that time the most northerly paper in the United States. Mr. Jenny not only edited and printed the Star, unaided by help of any kind, but for quite a period filled the responsible position of town clerk of Saginaw; was one of the superintendents of