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Michigan State Education
The legislature of 1846-7 removed the capital from Detroit to Lansing, and on the 25th of December, 1847, I found myself in the city of Lansing, (or " hole in the woods," as we then termed it), after two days' ride by railroad and stage from Detroit. While there was no actual pioneer suffering to experience, still we were not welcomed with carpeted floors and sofa-bottomed chairs. The grand rush had commenced, and it very soon became apparent that every man was actively engaged in looking out for himself. Bed-rooms with the necessary appendages were out of the question, and it soon became simply impossible for all of us to secure proper lodgings. I am speaking now of the very earliest days of Lansing as the capital, say December, 1847, and January, February and March, 1848. As for myself, the first three weeks I was here I do not remember of seeing a bed but once, and the pleasure of sleeping on one during this time was totally denied me. So I did the next best thing I could under the circumstances; I sat in a chair in the bar-room every night, and in the morning a number of us would go out doors, build a fire and turn round, like a turkey on a spit, to keep warm.
University of Michigan
Page 19
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