He went back to the woods and there, solitary and alone, like Old Mortality in a grave-yard, hunted for and found what afterward proved to be some of the richest copper deposits in the world. This man was Ransom Shelden, late of Houghton. He was justly called the father of the Portage Lake district. He was a true pioneer. He suffered incalculable hardships, was successful, became wealthy and lived long enough to see all his fond hopes and predictions realized in the growth and eminent position attained by his district as a copper producing region, with a reputation co-extensive with the civilized world. This old pioneer is now at rest;, his remains are entombed in Forest Hill cemetery, Houghton, and a polished granite shaft, marking the spot, now looks down upon the busy scene of his early labors. He was greatly aided in his enterprises by his brother-in-law, Mr. G. C. Douglass, a prominent pioneer, now gone to his rest. Aside from its great mineral wealth, the Portage Lake district enjoyed one advantage not possessed by the other districts. Portage Lake offered a, water-way, navigable to the largest ships, the depth being sixty feet.
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