I. A N. county of Ohio, drained by Huron and Vermilion rivers; area, 455 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 28,532. It has a nearly level surface, and an excellent sandy soil. The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis, the Lake Erie division of the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroads pass through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 472,496 bushels of wheat, 777,083 of Indian corn, 519,905 of oats, 169,312 of potatoes, 445,909 lbs. of wool, 809,801 of butter, 60,842 of cheese, and 43,-747 tons of hay. There were 8,550 horses, 10,113 milch cows, 10,182 other cattle, 92,627 sheep, and 15,244 swine; 5 manufactories of agricultural implements, 2 of boots and shoes, 12 of carriages, 2 of cheese, 12 of cooperage, 5 of iron castings, 2 of machinery, 1 of malt, 12 of saddlery and harness, 1 of sewing machines, 7 of tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware, 5 tanning and currying establishments, 4 distilleries, 1 brewery, 7 flour mills, 2 planing mills, and 15 saw mills. Capital, Nor walk. II. An E. county of Michigan, forming the extremity of a point of land between Lake Huron on the E. and N. E. and Saginaw bay on the N. W.; area, 850 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,049. The surface is nearly level, watered by Pigeon, Willow, and Berry rivers, and in some places marshy.

Most of the county is covered with forests, from which in 1872 were produced 49,000,000 ft. of lumber. There are also salt wells, from which were obtained 30,615 barrels of salt. The chief productions in 1870 were 58,251 bushels of wheat, 50,194 of oats, 20,778 of peas and beans, 99,005 of potatoes, 10,097 lbs. of wool, 131,265 of butter, and 7,597 tons of hay. There were 624 horses, 1,788 milch cows, 1,197 working oxen, 1,596 other cattle, 2,576 sheep, and 1,933 swine; 4 manufactories of barrels and casks, 2 of hones and whetstones, 1 of salt, and 29 saw mills. Capital, Port Austin.

Huron #1

Huron, a "W. county of Ontario, Canada, bordering on Lake Huron, and watered by the Maitland and its tributaries; area, 1,288 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 66,165, of whom 23,740 were of Irish, 19,388 of Scotch, 16,558 of English, and 5,220 of German origin or descent. It is an excellent farming region, and has good facilities for lumbering and ship building. Near Goderich are extensive salt wells. The county is traversed by the Grand* Trunk railway. Capital, Goderich.

Hurons #2

Hurons, a once powerful tribe of American Indians, originally occupying a small territory near Georgian bay, a part of Lake Huron. They were the most northwesterly branch of the Huron-Iroquois family, the Hochelagas, occupying Montreal island in Carrier's time, being the most easterly, and the Tuscaroras the most southerly. When the French under Champlain began to occupy the St. Lawrence in 1609, the Hurons were allies of the Algonquins and Montagnais against the Iroquois or Five Nations, the most powerful tribe of the family to which the Hurons belonged. Champlain joined the alliance, and in 1609 accompanied a Huron-Algonquin party on an expedition, which defeated an Iroquois force on Lake Champlain. In 1615 he went up to the Huron country with the Franciscan missionary Joseph le Caron, and thence accompanied the Hurons on an expedition against a tribe in New York, belonging or allied to the Five Nations. The Franciscans continued missions among the Hurons till 1629, and Frere Sagard in his Grand voyage au pays des Hurons (Paris, 1632), and His-toire du Canada (Paris, 1636), describes them fully and gives a dictionary of their language.

They consisted of four divisions: Attigna-wantans, Attigneenonguahac, Arendahronon, and Tohonteenrat; the first and second being primitive, and the others subsequently adopted. They called themselves, as the Iroquois did, Ontwaonwes, real men, and as a tribe Wendat. Their country was of very limited extent for an Indian tribe, being only about 75 m. by 25, lying, as was estimated, in lat. 45° 30' N., near Lake Huron. In this space there were 30,000 Hurons in 25 towns of various size, Ossossane being the chief one. Those on the frontiers were fortified by a triple palisade, and gallery within, while many of the others were unprotected. The houses were long, containing several families, two to each fire; they were built of poles covered with bark. The Hurons raised corn, squashes, beans, and tobacco. When Canada was restored in 1632, the Jesuits began their famous Huron missions, which lasted till the destruction of the nation. Diseases had greatly enfeebled them. Then the Iroquois, supplied with firearms by the Dutch, took Ossossane in 1648, killing the missionary Daniel among his flock; the next year two other large towns were destroyed, Brebeuf and Lale-mant perishing at the stake. The Hurons then dispersed. The Tohonteenrat surrendered in a body and removed to the Seneca country.

The rest fled to Charity island in Lake Huron and to Manitoulin, but famine swept many off. In 1650 Pere Ragueneau led a few hundred to Quebec, who were placed on Isle Orleans, and were soon joined by those left at Manitoulin. In 1656 the Mohawks carried off a number before the eyes of the French garrison, and the Onondagas compelled others to join their canton. Under more vigorous French rule the Hurons began to thrive, and in 1667 they removed to Notre Dame de Foye, and in 1693 to Lorette, then after a time to Jeune Lorette, which has since been their abode. It is 8 or 9 m. from Quebec, on the river St. Charles, on an eminence, and consists of 40 or 50 houses of stone and wood. Their number in 1736 was reported at 60 or 70 men able to bear arms, and these by 1763 were reduced to 40. In 1815 the tribe numbered 250, and the official report of the Canadian government in 1872 gives 264, although in 1870 there were 329 reported. There are few of pure blood. Their own language has been superseded by French, and they have long been practical Catholics. - Their early Huron cosmogony was curious. A woman, Ataensic, flying from heaven, fell into an abyss of waters.

Then the tortoise and the beaver, after long consultation, dived and brought up earth on which she rested and bore two sons, Tawescaron and Iouskeha, the latter of whom killed his brother. The son of Iouskeha, called Tharonhia-wagon or Aireskoi, was the great divinity worshipped by the Hurons and Iroquois. The tribe was divided into clans or families, and governed by sachems hereditary in the female line. The totem of the whole nation was the porcupine. The Tionontates, called by English colonial writers Dinondadies, were neighbors of the Hurons, and were crushed soon after them. These fled to Wisconsin, and are also called Hurons, but after their removal to Sandusky they assumed the name Wyandot. (See Wyandots.) A grammar of the Huron language, compiled by Pere Chaumonot, founder of Lorette, was published at Quebec in 1831.