Kalamazoo.—This is one of the newly organized counties. Its seat of justice is the town of Bronson, pleasantly situated on the south bank of the Kalamazoo river. The land office has lately been removed to this place from St. Joseph. The face of this county in general is moderately undulating, though sometimes rolling. It exhibits principally burr oak openings, interspersed with rich fertile and dry prairies, and not unfrequently intersected with groves of first rate timbered land. The character of the soil is in general either a black sand or a rich loam. In the southeast corner of this county is an excellent tract of woodland, covered with a heavy but beautiful grove of sugar maple. Gull and Round prairies are the two largest in this county, and are equal to any in the territory for beauty and fertility. The first of these, Gull prairie, is situate in the vicinity of a beautiful lake, as well as adjacent to the margin of a romantic creek, both of which bear the same name. This lake is about four miles long, and its waters which are very transparent are said to contain white fish. The creek is very rapid and affords hydraulic privileges equal to any in the territory. Prairie Round, which lies in the southwest part of the county, is about four miles broad, and is principally surrounded with woodland; near its centre there is a beautiful grove of timber of about a mile in diameter, consisting of sugar maple, black walnut and hickory. This county is well supplied with water. The Kalamazoo river which runs through it is a rapid meandering stream, yet navigable for boats. Its surface is frequently chequered with islands and its banks occasionally broken.
Branch.—This county is attached to St. Joseph's. A large portion of it, particularly the southern part, is heavily timbered land, consisting principally of black and white walnut, sugar maple, whitewood, lynn, and some other kinds in smaller quantities. The Chicago road which runs through the northern part of this county, passes principally through oak openings, which are occasionally intersected with prairies.
Hillsdale.—This county is attached to Lenawee. The north part of it is principally oak openings of a good quality, but the southern part is heavily wooded with sugar maple, whitewood, beech, black walnut, ash, &c. The face of this county is rather uneven and the soil in general consists of a rich black loam. The southern part is timbered land. This county is well supplied with water. The St. Joseph's of lake Michigan, as well as the St. Joseph's of Maumee, the Grand river, Tiffin's and the river Raisin all head in this county, and with their numerous branches water it in a beautiful manner.
Leanewee County—contains at present about fifteen hundred inhabitants. The northern part of this county has much the same appearance as Washtenaw, but the southern part is principally timbered land. It contains a tamerack swamp of considerable extent in the southeast corner, yet notwithstanding, the character of its soil and climate is, generally, very inviting. It is principally watered by the Ottawa creek, Tiffin's and Raisin rivers and their branches. It contains two villages each with a mill on their borders, namely, Tecumseh and Adrian—the former of which is the seat of justice for the county. It is situate at the junction of Landman's creek with the river Raisin, and lies about fifty-five miles southwest of Detroit.
Barry, Eaton and Ingham Counties—lie on Grand river and its tributaries. This is the largest river in the peninsula. It empties into lake Michigan, two hundred and forty-five miles south of Michilimackinac, and forty-five miles north of the mouth of St. Joseph, is sixty rods wide at its mouth, and has sufficient depth of water to admit vessels drawing eight feet. On its south bank, near its entrance into the lake, is a pleasant situation for a town, the land being excellent, and gently inclining to the north and west, giving at the same time a fine view of the river and lake; but the opposite shore at the same place has a sandy, sterile appearance.
For about sixty miles up this river, on the north side, the Ottawas hold possession. There are between eight and nine hundred of these people living along Grand river and its tributaries, but many of their most populous villages are on land now belonging to the United States.
This river is the largest stream that waters the west part of the peninsula of Michigan, being two hundred and seventy miles in length, its windings included, and navigable two hundred and forty miles for batteaux; receiving in its course a great number of tributary streams, among which are Portage, Red Cedar, Looking Glass, Soft Maple, Muscota, Flat, Rouge and Thorn Apple rivers. All of these, except the last named, put in on the right bank of the Grand river. Its south branch rises in the open country, near the source of the Raisin, and after pursuing a winding course of thirty miles, meets with the Portage river, which comes in from the east and intersects the above branch in town two south of range one west.
Portage river, which has its course through a chain of low marshy prairies, is a deep, muddy stream, about fifteen yards wide at its mouth. Its branches interlock with those of the Huron of lake Erie, and the Indians pass from the former into the latter, with their canoes, by crossing a portage of one mile and a half. It is probable that at no distant period, a canal will be constructed near the route of these two rivers, so as to afford a safe and easy inland communication between lakes Erie and Michigan. The distance from Detroit to the mouth of Grand river, by way of Michilimackinac, is five hundred and sixty miles. This route in the spring and fall is attended with much uncertainty; and, in case of a war with the English, the navigation of the straits of Detroit and St. Clair would be rendered doubly dangerous. These difficulties would be obviated by a communication by water, through the interior. The land at the Portage rises forty or fifty feet above the level of the streams on each side; but a level prairie two or three miles to the west of that place, is said to extend from one river to the other.
From the junction of the Portage and south branches, this river pursues a northwest course till it meets with Soft Maple river, in town seven north of range six west; receiving in that distance Red Cedar and Looking Glass rivers from the east, and Grindstone, Red and Sebewa creeks from the south and southwest.
Grindstone creek, so named from a sandstone ledge through which it runs, empties into the river about twenty miles below the mouth of the Portage branch. It is twenty miles long, affording several good sites for mills, and runs mostly through an open beautiful country; but is in some instances skirted with bottoms of heavy timbered land.