History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

40

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

the little pinery, with the thermometer at zero, when nearly off our
legs, we reached and were most kindly cared for in this most hospitable
home. During one of my calls I inquired if there were many fish in
Silver lake; he replied he could not say in regard to numbers, but he
once hauled out a mullet that weighed one hundred and forty pounds.
This rather surprised me, and while reflecting, not wishing to dispute
his veracity, he observed my embarrassment as to the remark being
somewhat fishy, and explained that a brother of John Mullett, the surveyor, was once fishing there, and falling into the lake was rescued by
Mr. Williams. In those days of easy familiarity, he was known by the
cognomen of Major Togee, and once at a social party at Dr. Chipman's,
Mrs. Chipman desiring to address him by his title, and in the excitement
of the occasion being forgetful of the same, said 'Major Hot Toddy,
Major Hot Toddy!' About four miles beyond O. Williams, and at
the crossing of the Indian trail on the Clinton, resided Alpheus Williams and Captain Archibald Phillips, where a sawmill had been erected,
and at this time was in operation.
BECOMES HORATIO BALL'S ASSISTANT
"But I will now return to my temporary home at Captain John Hunter's, of whose kindness, together with that of his excellent wife, long
since gone to her reward, I cannot too highly speak. Here I made the
acquaintance of Horatio Ball, son of Daniel Ball, who lived three-fourths
of a mile southwest of Hunter's. He had received a contract for subdividing ten townships of land between Flint and Cass rivers. I arranged to accompany him as assistant, to carry the compass half of the
time. He was waiting for the completion of the town lines, which had
been assigned to a young man by the name of Hester. We were soon
informed he had aone nothing after having discovered an Indian wigwam
near a small lake, and, as he was accompanied by his dogs and was
otherwise prepared for a winter's hunt, had decided to pass the winter
in this pleasant locality and avoid the swamps. In a week's time every
man of his party had left him, while he was taking lessons of the Indians
in hunting and of the squaws in moccasin making. Here he remained
during the winter. The next June he was seen passing through Pontiac
on horseback, accompanied by about a dozen natives of both sexes, to
make his report to the surveyor general at Chillicothe, and also to his
father for $600 cash advanced.
JOSEPH WAMPLER'S ASSIGNED TERRITORY
"Hester having thus failed in fulfilling his contract, the work was
assigned to Joseph Wampler, of Ohio (the surveyor who sub-divided
ranges Io and I I in Oakland county). We set off for our work on the
13th of June, arriving at Flint river before Wampler returned from
Saginaw bay. The heavy rains had swollen the river to nearly full
banks, and as there was no way of crossing we started up the river to
the Kearsley, where we felled a suitable pine, about sixteen feet of
which we removed from the main body of the tree and shaped it canoe