But the appearance of the remarkable little prairie that he had just
reached, and the collection of chiefs, now occupied all the present
thoughts of le Bourdon. As for the first, it is held in repute, even
at the present hour, as a place that the traveller should see,
though covered with farms, and the buildings that belong to
husbandry. It is still visited as a picture of ancient civilization,
placed in the setting of a new country. It is true that very little
of this part of Michigan wears much, if any, of that aspect of a
rough beginning, including stubs, stumps, and circled trees, that it
has so often fallen to our share to describe. There are dense
forests, and those of considerable extent; and wherever the axe is
put into them, the progress of improvement is marked by the same
steps as elsewhere; but the lovely openings form so many exceptions,
as almost to compose the rule.
On Prairie Round there was even a higher stamp of seeming
civilization--seeming, since it was nature, after all, that had
mainly drawn the picture. In the first place, the spot had been
burnt so recently, as to leave the entire expanse covered with young
grasses and flowers, the same as if it were a well-kept park.
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