William &quote;Billy&quote; Gruett and The Witness Tree

In 1850, a sixteen-year-old Métis boy named Billy Gruett saddled an Indian pony and rode into history. Tasked with carrying the mail through twenty-five miles of untamed Michigan wilderness, Billy swam rivers on horseback, navigated dense forests, and braved brutal winters — earning him the legendary nickname "e;The Swimming Mailman."e;But Billy's story didn't begin in Michigan. It began in the co...