Pioneer Travels

GRHC - February 1st, 2012

John Almy and his wife came to the village of Grand Rapids in 1835. Mrs. Almy kept an account of their difficult journey in her diary.

Transcript

John Almy and his wife came to the village of Grand Rapids in 1835. Mrs. Almy kept an account of the journey in her diary. “Night brought us to the Thornapple and it being late and very dark, we dared not go on for fear we should fall into the river. We saw some campfires of Indians, but they fled. We camped out as well as we could and spent the night with nothing to eat. The next day we crossed the Thornapple, and met Rix Robinson and the chiefs who were coming to see us. We were furnished breakfast—pork and potatoes, bread and tea, wild honey, and shortcake, did we not do justice to that meal?

We proceeded on our journey, and having several streams to cross. We were the whole day until late at night in getting to Grand Rapids. Richard Godfroy and Louis Campau gave us quarters. The next day the woods rang with the echo of the ax, slaying trees to build shanties.

Mr. Almy soon found it necessary to return to Detroit and I concluded to go, too. Mr. Godfroy sent his Frenchman with a lumber wagon to take us. We were ten days going. While in Detroit Mr. Almy bought a steamboat. She was loaded with pork, flour, millstones, and many other useful articles to be landed at Grand Rapids. The boat left about April 1st, and had very rough weather. As she neared Thunder Bay she was wrecked—a total loss.”