Altogether, it resembled a miniature picture of Constantinople,
without its Eastern peculiarities.
At Detroit commenced our surprise at the rapid progress of Western
civilization. It will be remembered that at the period of our tale,
the environs of Detroit excepted, the whole peninsula of Michigan
lay in a state of nature. Nor did the process of settlement commence
actively until about twenty years since; but, owing to the character
of the country, it already possesses many of the better features of
a long-inhabited region. There are stumps, of course, for new fields
are constantly coming into cultivation; but on the whole, the
appearance is that of a middle-aged, rather than that of a new
region.
We left Detroit on a railroad, rattling away toward the setting sun,
at a good speed even for that mode of conveyance. It seemed to us
that our route was well garnished with large villages, of which we
must have passed through a dozen, in the course of a few hours'
"railing," These are places varying in size from one to three
thousand inhabitants. The vegetation certainly surpassed that of
even West New York, the trees alone excepted.
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