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I


The Story of
SAULT STE. MARIE
AND CHIPPEWA COUNTY
By
STANLEY NEWTON


PUBLISHED AT SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN
' 1923


THE SAULT NEWS PRINTING COMPANY,




DEDICATED
TO
YOU
AN  STA  R, I,,.
&   l    1'~li<  '




533


C }                     NE Tf  EN
CONTENTS
Bowating in Immemorial Times...               1-38
Le Saut de Gaston-The Seventeenth Century             38-78
(Through an error the chapter heading was omitted. The second chapter begins
on page 38 with the words "some years ago when the first edition of this work
was issued.")
Le Saut de Sainte Marie-The Eighteenth Century.. 79-98
Sault Ste. Marie-The Nineteenth Century.      99-175
"The Soo"-The Twentieth Century.176-199


8519t C 'd2




THE LAND OF THE NORTH.
There is a glamor in thy singing pines,
There is a glint upon thy hardy flowers,
A lusty beauty in the forest vines
Proclaims the magic of thy sunny hours;
Thou subtle North! where diverse spells beguile
And land and lake conspire to tease the eye,
So it might rove from witching wile to wile,
From hill to wave, from stream to sapphire sky;
Bring to this pageant all the glorious past,
Blend with these charms tradition's rosy glow;
Cherish thy gallants, heroes first to last,It is thy richer crown, the lore of long ago!




BOWATING IN IMMEMORIAL TIMES
"Aboriginal history on this continent," says Schoolcraft,
"is more celebrated for preserving its fables than its facts. A
world growing out of a tortoise's back-the globe reconstructed
from the earth clutched in a muskrat's paw, after a deluge,such are the fables or allegories from which we are to frame
their ancient history."
Such criticism seems unjust. Napoleon Bonaparte, who
was certainly a much greater man than Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, was fond of saying that history is a lie agreed upon.
Now if we agree to this-and many of us do-we cannot
impugn consistently the Ojibways' stories of their origin, their
forbears, their achievements and their gods. When an In-.
dian good friend of mine tells me that the demi-god Manibosho found safety in a tree when the world was deluged, and
afterward builded another world from the abysmal ooze which
a hell-diver brought him, I am an interested listener. Further,
when I am told that the Sault rapids were once at Iroquois Point,
where a giant dam stretched from cape to cape, and that Manibosho killed his wife for not guarding the dam in his absence,
I am convinced. For I have seen the old lady lying there on
the Goulais side of Gros Cap, turned to red stone and half
submerged in the waters of Lake Superior.
Believed by Ojibways
At least I am as much convinced as my informant would
be if I told him the story of Noah and the Ark. Neither version
is capable of proof, each must be taken on faith.
Great numbers of Ojibway Indians, commonly called Chippewas have believed the stories I am about to relate. For all
i know, many of them still believe. These stories are placed
in the opening chapters of this book, with a brief examination
of the ancient life of the Bowating Indians, in order that you
may the better understand the reaction of Indian to white man
ill the recorded history which follows.
Every normal white man or woman is just naturally interested in Indians. They were our first families. Their roving
Jive, wild and free, their deer and bear hunting, their burnings
at "d stake, the devilishly painted face, the tomahawk, the
scalping knife, the necklace of scalps, the medicine man, the
unsurpassed Indian orator in council, the pipe of peace-ah,
what a treasure trove of breathless interest are thesel He who
eyes for the first time an old Indian stone axe, instinctively
visual-  the skulls it has split. The child on your knee by the
eveni   ire craves Injun stories. There's a wonderfully satisfying    ' in the yelling, galloping Indian at the Wild West
how,.
oh1




The Home of Manito
We of the North take a decent pride in the wildness of
our ancient Indians. They were as fierce, as gentle, as highminded, as eloquent, as cruel, as efficient in their way as any
other tribes the continent has mothered. This north country
was the home of Manito, The Great Spirit. It was the abiding
place of Manibosho, Protector of all good Chippewas. And
by the way, when you pronounce the name of the Chippewas'
demigod, bring it up as it were from the bottom of your lungs,
accent on the last syllable almost to the point of coughing,Manibo-sho, a most remarkable being worthy of your deepest
consideration, whose grandmother was a toad, and whose
great-grandmother was the Moon. You may doubt this statement, but I defy you to disprove it. And his true, his authentic
home was on the very spot where this book was written and
printed.
Once upon a time the banks of St. Mary's River at the
rapids were the greatest Indian camping place in the whole
Northwest if not in America. Here was the Chippewa capital,
the great central meeting-place from time immemorial. Here
was the joining of the three greatest lakes-Gitchi Gumi, or Superior; Meetchigong, or Michigan; and Tionnontateronnon, or
Huron and Georgian Bay. Hither the northern Indian gravitated by birch-bark canoe in summer, or by snow-shoe over
the smooth frozen surfaces in winter. The deer-hunting was
good. The rapids afforded a seldom failing supply of delicious whitefish, a food of which one neiver tires. The fertile
clay meadows along the river yielded hardy Indian corn abundantly. Fire-wood was plentiful. The Chippewas were powerful and content, and held their wigwams and the revered
resting place of their dead against all comers. It was a northern
Indian paradise.
The Story of Wabish
Let us go back in fancy to the year 1600, half a century
or so before the first white man ascended the mighty river,
and consider the life of a typical Chippewa Indian in the vicitity of what is now Sault Ste. Marie.
Wabish was born at dawn of a June morning on.t;
present site of the Sault Ste. Marie postoffice. He first i
the light of day in a pole and bark wigwam, one of the iaiy
constructed here by the women of his band. Their handl
had cut and dragged from the woods near by the young trees
constituting the framework of the dwelling. These trees had
been trimmed and stuck in the ground in a qli ranir
parallelogram; the longest sides running from the i  ice to
the back of the hut. Two trees were planted in fre  orig::
the door, and two at the rear, where the seat of'  lor wa
e-, do r;. a  a t




raised.  The side rows of trees had been bent forward at their
tops, and the ends twisted around each other and secured with
tough bast of the cedar tree. The skeleton thus formed was
clothed with apakwas or rolls of birch-bark, the operation of
covering having begun at the bottom. The second row hung
down over the first, thus shedding the rain, and a third and
fourth row completed the sides. Other apakwas were thrown
crossways over the hut, and were weighted with stones hang,
ing from cords of sinews. There was a smoke-hole in the center
of the roof, and a mat of deer-skins over the space left as a
doorway.
Immediately after his birth young Wabish ke pe nacefor so his father named him-was stretched out by the midwives in the waiting cradle or tikinagan. His tender limbs were
laid straight on a board of poplar wood on which a thin
peeled frame, also of poplar, was fastened, conforming in
shape to his body, and standing up like the sides of a violin
from its sounding-board. A stout mat over this completed a
cavity in which he was carefully packed in a mixture composed
of dry moss, rotted cedar wood and the wool from the seeds
of water-reeds and cat-o'-nine tails. But first his feet were
placed exactly perpendicular, parallel, and close together.
Thus, even in the cradle, care was taken that they-should not
turn outward. A Chippewa Indian must be a good walker,
and Wabish, when he grew up, covered a good inch more
ground at each step than the coming white men who turned
their feet out. There was the winter to think of, too, and the
straight ahead footing on snow-shoes. The women paid great
attention to his nose also, and tried to pull it out as long as the
cartilage remained soft, for a large nose was an ornament
among the Chippewas.
Names Dreamed by Others
Shortly after the boy's birth, his father proceeded to
dream for a name for him. You must understand that some
Chippewa fathers named their children after a particular phenomenon of nature occuring about the time of its birth, Others
commemorated in such names the happening of anything unusual among the people or animals in the vicinity of the birthplace, But commonly a name was selected that was based on
one of the fantastic dreams constantly experienced by the Indians, and which exerted so tremendous an influence on their
daily lives,
The father, then, dreamed for a name, and having seen
a gull in his dream, he called the boy Wabish ke pe nace, The
White Bird. When the lad grew old enough to have companions they shortened this name of course to Wabish, which
is to say, White. Wabish is the Chippewa nam  for rabbit, the...i.




animal which turns white in winter. Wabish was well named,
for the day came when he was as fleet as any rabbit, when he
could run down and tire out the fleet-footed deer in the forest,
especially after snow had fallen. But in the council-house
and on formal occasions he was, when grown to man's estate,
Wabish ke pe nace, and he took as his device and painted on
his war axe the totem sign of his band, the Crane.
Early Training for War
In the years of his childhood even his toys were warlike.
He played with arrowheads and flints, and his father made for
him a tiny war-club, lightly weighted at the end with pebbles
sewn in deerskin. He tickled the ribs of his playmates with
real arrows shot from a small bow. He learned to swim in
the river's shallow waters where Brady Field now stretches,
for at that time the river bank was just north of the lodge
where he was born. He learned to make rabbit-snares and
dreamed of the day when he might dead-fall a bear. He wore
crackly hides of the red deer, skins scraped, stretched, tanned
and sewed by his mother. The spring of the year found him
on Sugar Island with his parents, where they gashed hundreds
of trees for the sweet sap which he never tired of licking from
his fingers. He helped to make the birch-bark kettles-inflammable receptacles which did not burn when filled with sap
and hung over the fire. He collected dozy maple wood and
moss for his father, who each morning started the fire in no
time by holding a flint stone over the tindery mass and striking sparks into it with a piece of granite. It was almost as
handy as a pocket full of matches.
When the hunting was poor and the whitefish failed to
run in the rapids, Wabish lived for days on maple sugar and
waxed fat on it. He knew where the wild onions and cucumbers grew in season and found many a bed of truffles or Indian potatoes in the black loamy soil on the edge of the swamp.
He took his meat roasted underdone. Sometimes his mother
prepared it on spits from which the bitter bark had been carefully removed. Or for a change she would heat a rock red
hot by building a fire upon it, afterwards roasting the meat
on the surface where fire had been. This process she varied
by firing a small pit which she used for an oven for the meat
and fish. Some gritty sand came out with the food, but the
sand was clean. And for many summer weeks he took his fill
of strawberries and blueberries which grew in unbelieveable
profusion all around. By and large he lived well, and if in the
long winter the deer went far back into the country and the
whitefish forsook the open rapids for a time, he usually found
the family with a supply of jerked venison and smoked whitefish hanging from the cross-pieces of the paternal nest, and
dined nearly as well as ever.
4


's:




River Was His Foster-Mother
The mighty river was his foster-mother, as it is ours. For
untold centuries it was the Chippewa highway. Winter and
summer its heavenly manna of whitefish fed the multitudes
Wabish knew that the whitefish grew  from the brain of a
wicked adulteress who had been cast into the rapids to drown,
and whose head had been dashed to pieces on the shining
black rocks.
Every now and then the medicine-man or jossakeed of the
Saulteur Chippewas propitiated the fishing-nets of the tribe and
persuaded them to make great catches of fish, by marrying the
nets to young girls of the band with formal and solemn ceremonies. As it was indispensable that the brides should be
virgins mere children were chosen. Now this may appear
absurd to you, but did not the Spirit of the nets appear to the
forefathers of the Chippewas, saying that he had lost his wife
and must have another equally as virtuous? Wabish realized
that if the ceremony was neglected, or girls provided who were
not immaculate, he would catch no more fish, and he was grateful to the jossakeed accordingly.
Fish Addressed from the Banks
The fish no less than the nets required propitiation. On an
evening they were eloquently addressed from the banks at the
foot of the rapids, flattered, complimented, and exhorted to
come and be caught, with the assurance that the utmost respect would be shown to their bones.  This oration was according to the form laid down from olden times, and while
it lasted those present except the jossakeed were required to
lie flat on their backs and refrain from speaking a word.
In those days St. Mary's River and its environs swarmed
with Manitos, little gods, very potent for good or evil, mostly
evil. All Nature was spiritualized by Wabish and his friends.
Every tree, rock, wind, stream and star had a spirit. The
thunder was an angry spirit, the milky way was the path of
spirits on their way to celestial hunting-grounds beyond the
No.rthern Lights. The four cardinal points were spirits, the
west being the oldest and the father of the others. Their mother was a beautiful girl who one day had permitted the west
wind to blow upon her.
Then there were endless legends of windigos, great giants
and cannibals, and tiny spirits and fays who haunted the woods,
and the cataracts of Bowating And Tahquamenon. The
Nibanaba mermaids, half fish, half woman, frolicked in the
waters of Lake Superior. Many animals had a miraculous
origin. The raccoon, for instance, was once a shell lying on
the lake shore, until vivified by the sunbeam. The Chippewa
name for raccoon, Ais e bun, means "he was a shell."
5




Stones Contained Spirits
Wabish never wantonly stepped on any of the big boulders
in St. Mary's Rapids. He held them sacred, for he knew that
a living spirit of flesh and blood breathed within their thin,
hard shells.
Once his father took Wabish to the funeral of a chief on
Michilimackinac, and the boy's knees fluttered as he stood before Sugar Loaf, the abode of The One Great Spirit, the Maker
of all. There he knelt in awed silence behind his father, who
left votive offerings. Not his tribe alone worshipped here;
hither came also the Hurons, Ottawas, Potawatomies, and
Sioux in superstitious reverence.  Even the blood-thirsty
Iroquois, having drifted noth on some wild foray, laid aside
their arms for a moment and meditated here. For, eons before,
the divine Gitchi Manito had taken residence in this mighty
thumb of rock, when he flew from the north through Arch
Rock to the Loaf. Wabish sensed the impenetrable dignity
and majesty of the place and its occupant, and felt the ground
was sacred. Indeed, so sacred had the ancient Chippewas
held it, that Michilimackinac was inhabited by Indians only in
comparative recent times. Formerly it was left to Gitchi
Manito and the dead.   It was the sanctuary of the benign
Keeper of Souls, who welcomed in silence the supplications
and sacrifices of his living red children and spread his protecting mantle over the shades of the departed.
A Manito Tree at Bowating
Wabish, then, enjoyed his visit to the national shrine, and
was mightily interested, but he did not neglect his local religious duties. There was a Manito tree at Bowating, on the
present site of Bingham avenue bridge. This tree was a big
mountain-ash, and sometimes even on calm and cloudless days
Wabish and his friends heard the sound of distant war-drums
rolling among its leaves. They knew from this that the tree
was the abode of spirits, and they deemed it sacred. So they
made frequent offerings there, and their descendants continued
to add to the pile at its foot even after a storm had wrecked
the tree, until at last the whites cleared the ruins away and
violated the site with a wagon road.. Almost upon the site of the Chippewa County court-house
here was formerly a limestone boulder of huge dimensions,
where no doubt Wabish came often for devotions  One side of
this stone was covered with Indian inscriptions and picture
writing. Clearly the stone was regarded as a Manito's dwelling
by the ancient Chippewas, and tradition tells us that many
worshipped there. When the contract was made for the construction of the court-house, Judge Steere, recognizing  the




value of the stone as an historical and ethnological landmark,
arranged with the contractor to guard carefully this boulder
from desecration. But in the absence of the contractor some of
his men built a fire against the stone and cracked off the face
bearing the inscriptions. Afterward the rock was broken into
pieces and used for building.
On the premises of a Ridge street home in Sault Ste. Marie
there is a peculiar stone about six feet square, which probably
was venerated by the Chippewas as the home of a Manito. The
stone bears no glyphs, but the Indians say it was once much
larger than at present, and was believed by their ancestors te
be the abode of a Spirit to whom they prayed.
Wabish had a regard amounting almost to veneration for
his family sign or totem, the Crane. When as a brave he went
to war, he painted the sign of the Crane in vermilion upon his
forehead. Most of his Saulteur friends belonged to the Crane
or the Owl band. The Chippewas in the vicinity of Michilimackinac were the sons of the Turtle. Others wore the Snake
insignia, or the Wolf, the Bear, or the Weasel.
Totem Denoted Town or Branch
The word "totem" appears to have been derived from the
Indian word for "town." It is likely that the inhabitants of a
town or village once were considered to be of the same family
or clan, consequently they all assumed the same badge or
totem. The symbol became the evidence of consanguinity,
hence the importance of totems, which denoted the family
branch. The meanest Indian had his totem. He took pride in
his ancestry, followed its honorable traditions and strove to
measure up to the greatest of his clan. But when he married his
wife retained her family mark.
Wabish became a great traveler, and often used his totem
mark when traversing the forests, to convey desired intelligence to his friends. He would take a piece of birch-bark and
scrawl his totem thereon with a coal, and the totems of any
other travelers or hunters accompanying him, drawing each
in size of the order of his importance. If at the time of writing
he had been absent say three days from Bowating, he drew
three suns on the bark. If any of the party had died or suffered serious accident, he was represented without a head or
lying on his side. This sign-writing Wabish would place in the
cleft of a pole, angling the pole in the direction he was going.
In summer he left beneath it a handful of green leaves, and
the degree of their withering conveyed a good idea of the time
he had passed that way. In winter his snow-shoe tracks told
their own story.
Long Snow-Shoe Trips
When Wabish's ancestors invented the snow-shoe they con7




ceived something wonderfully adapted to its purpose. Wabish
learned to make his own snow-shoes and found them indispensable for winter travelling in the Bowating country. The
only wood he used in their construction was their encircling
bows and the cross-pieces, the rest being made of interlaced
thongs of buckskin, deer sinews or rawhide. Though light,
his shoes were strong enough to support his weight easily even
in very soft snow. His heelless moccasins adjusted themselves
perfectly to the shoes, and he kept his feet and legs warm on
the trail by strips of "nip," or fur, wound around them. The
snow-shoes were attached only at the toes, so that when his
feet rose in walking, the tails of the shoes dragged and needed
to be lifted partially only. Wabish once walked on snow-shoes
from Bowating to Michilimackinac in a day, a distance of sixty
miles. Stretches of seventy-five miles by Chippewas in a day
were not uncommon. More than once Wabish ran down a deer
on his snow-shoes, for the narrow hoofs of the deer did not
support them in the soft snow.
Another striking characteristic of old Bowating, used by
Wabish and his fellow-Chippewas, was the dog-train. In ancient times nearly every Indian of any importance had his dogtrain. Thousands of people now living in the north do not
know what a dog-train is.
The train was a thin board of elm or other tough wood, about
fifteen inches wide and four to six feet long. The front of the
board was turned up and lashed back, with cross-pieces or
stiffeners along the top of the board, and cords or thongs running along each side. The modern toboggan is white civilization's adaptation of the Chippewa dog-train. The train was
made flat and broad of course that it might draw easily on
lightly crusted snow, and the load was strapped to the train.
Dogs Pulled Heavy Loads
The dogs used by Wabish and his pals were good-sized
ones of no particular species, though commonly dark in color.
The Chippewa dogs probably descended from Arctic wolves
caught young and brought down to Bowating land centuries
ago, when the tribe made its migration from Asia-if indeed
the tribal influx came that way. They were harnessed somewhat as horses are harnessed, having breast-straps to which the
traces were attached. The dogs were driven either tandem
or two abreast, and two dogs could draw about 600 pounds
on a good road. When the road was heavy or hilly Wabish
would walk ahead of the dogs on snow-shoes, and another Indian behind held a line fastened to the rear of the train, with
which he checked it when going down hill.
On a long journey the food for the dogs was corn meal
cooked with a little tallow.  This kept the dogs in good work8




ing condition without fattening them.  Each winter found
the Bowating dogs fit and eager for work or play, and many
a dog-train race had Wabish with the teams of his cronies on the
level winter ice below the rapids.
The Saulteur Chippewas employed canoes almost as constantly as other nomadic races do horses or camels. In the long
days of summer Wabish fairly lived in his birch-bark. Bowating
was the home of the birch tree, and here Manibosho had taught
his children how to make their fairy-like and feathery canoes
from the bark of the birch.
Makes Real Canoe
It was Wabish's uncle who showed the boy how to make
a real canoe. Just above the rapids was a grove of birch trees,
and to these the man and boy made their appeal, not in the
fabled words of HiawathaLay aside your cloak, O birch-treel
Lay aside your white-skin wrapperbut with good sharp axes of stone. They picked the largest
and smoothest trees, so that the piece of bark might be as large
and clean as possible, and less sewing would be necessary.
They scraped and scraped with stones the inner side of the
fresh bark, just as a tanner does a hide. These great leaves of
bark they brought to the squaws in the village, who sewed
them with bone needles and spruce-root thread into sheets big
enough to cover the whole frame of the canoe. The boy's
uncle, My een gun, The Wolf, and Wabish meanwhile made the
framework of the boat from the elastic branches of cedar trees.
The Wolf was the expert canoe-builder of his clan, and he kept
back of his wigwam on the shore two or three rude models
of canoes, around one of which he now bent the branches or
ribs of Wabish's canoe.
These ribs were peeled almost unbelievably thin by The
Wolf, as he explained to Wabish the prime necessity of lightness and easy carriage in a canoe. Then he fastened thin
cross-pieces between the upper ends of the ribs. Wabish
thought at first they were very narrow seats, much too narrow,
but they served merely to give strength to the sides.


No Nails or Screws Needed
In modern boats the ribs are supported by the keel, from
which they stand out like branches of a tree. But Wabish's
canoe had no keel, and the ribs and cross-pieces were tied
necessarily to a piece of wood at the top.  This strip ran all
the way around the gunwale of the boat, so that, in lieu of a
keel, it acted as the back bone of the canoe.




There wasn't a nail or screw in the whole affair. 'Everything was sewn, tied, or pitched together. And the seams,
stitches and knots were so strong, so regular, firm and artistic
that nails weren't needed at all. The bast of cedars made a
perfect substitute.
The framework had been made in this way by the two, with
much advice and some assistance by lookers-on, the bark covering was spread out on the ground and the skeleton laid over
it. When the bark was pulled up over the frame the job looked:
for all the world like the handiwork of a cobbler upon a giant
shoe, with the leather wrapped around a huge last. With great
care they drew the bark sheet as tightly as possible around the
frame, and turned down the edges over the gunwale strip, to
which they firmly bound them. Finally, a reinforcement of
birch-bark armor was fastened all along the edge, protecting
in some small measure the frail craft from the coming inevitable
bumps.
After this they lined the bottom of the canoe with thin
strips, laid across the ribs and lengthwise of the canoe. These
were vital, but for their protection even the soft-moccasined
foot of Wabish would have punctured the canoe-bottom as if
it had been paper. Birch-barks were not suited to the nailed
boots of the whites, or to the carriage of their heavy iron-shod
boxes. They welcomed only the pussy-footing tread of the
Indian or the soft thud of his bundles of furs.
When the women of Bowating had nothing else to do, they
always found a demand for wa tap, the twisted thin split roots
of the spruce.  They could make either fine twine or heavy
stout cords from these roots, and great quantities were used
yearly at Bowating, in fishing-nets as well as the building of
boats.  The ropes or cords in the nets used so freely in the
rapids were often fifty yards long.  These strong nets resisted
the action of the water for years.  When laid up they became
very dry and brittle, but a good damping made them supple as
leather again.
Wabish's canoe was sharp, front and back, it was slightly
broader in front, and the ends stood up a little.  A small
piece of wood was inserted in either end, to lend increased
strength to the frame; and on one of these Wabish painted with
infinite care, and on the other he carved with infinite labor,
facsimiles of his paternal totem, the Crane.  The ends of his
craft he also daubed most beautifully and artistically with yellow ochre and vermilion from the south shore of Citchi Gumi.
Fills Holes With Resin
The final process was one of pitching and repitching all
the little holes, seams and stitches in the canoe.  For this purpose the heated resin of the pine or fir was used freely.  The
10




weak parts of the bark, or the holes of small branches were also
plastered with this water-defying resin or pitch.
Wabish paddled his canoe in much the same manner as
Charon propelled his bark on the river Styx, or as men and
women have used paddles in small boats the world over. His
paddle was short and broad, made of cedar, light and tough.
But on long water-journeys he carried paddles of hard maple,
alternately kneeling on the fur-covered strips, or sitting on the
small seat slung from the stiffened gunwale by thongs of rawhide.
Wabish's first canoe accommodated two people. It lasted
four years because he took great care of it. After he became
proficient in canoe-making he waxed careless, and sometimes a
canoe lasted him but a moon or two. Then, too, he was forever shooting the rapids, and forever getting nicked there.
When this happened he found it wise to seek the shore without
undue delay. Sometimes he brought his craft to the beach;
occasionally the knife-thin bark took water so quickly that it
sank beneath him and he had to swim for it.  That meant another canoe, generally a better and more elaborate one.
Canoes Light and Graceful
Nothing could exceed the lightness and grace of Wabish's
canoes in the water, or their ease of carriage out of it.  Each
was
Like a yellow leaf of autumn,
Like a yellow water-lily,
And the forest's life was in it,
All its mystery and magic,
All the lightness of the birch-tree,
All the toughness of the cedar,
All the larch's supple sinews.
Wabish realized this, and gave great praise to Manibosho,
who was the real inventor of the birch-bark canoe and who bestowed it upon the Chippewas thousands of years ago.  This
act of invention he was able to visualize much more clearly
after he visited Manitoulin Island, and saw there the very rocks
between which Manibosho had built the first canoe, and upon
which he had hung it up to dry after pitching.  Truly, Manibosho confirmed his friendship for the red man when he
brought down the bark canoe.  What other appliance is there
that equals the bird in its swift flight over the water, that can
be so easily transported around the portage or over the divide,
or, turned bottom up on the beach, that affords so perfect a
shelter when camping out on a rainy night?
You may be sure that when Wabish and his compeers went
on a long canoe journey, a part of the outfit was a supply of
11




pitch. When the Evil Spirits in the submerged rocks split the
fragile bottom with a touch, the canoe was beached, unloaded
and reversed.  Then the pitch was heated and poured over
the crack in the bark until it was well sealed, upon which the
voyage could be resumed in safety.
River Was a Delight
What a delight were the long, long, lazy summer days on
the beautiful river! When the Hot Moon of June had come
and gone, and the mosquitoes, black flies and no-see-uns had
reveled in their brief day, then Wabish and his friends, bereft
of all care and fancy-free, fared forth on the broad and placid
bosom of their foster-mother.
\   The river we call St. Marys -  it is really a strait -  the
Chippewas named Gitchi Gumi Sippi, the River of the Great
Lake.  They knew it for a powerful outpour of water dividing
here and there into broad arms which separated, united and
divided again. Repeatedly these arms collected in large pools,
almost lakes, dreaming calm in the summer sun; but these
again shot in narrow passages from one lake to another, thus
forming several rapids.  And every passage was fringed and
girdled by a maze of lovely islands, large and small.
Canoe voyages in this wild water labyrinth were exquisite
indeed.  The shores of the islands and mainlands were
covered with dense forests of hardwoods and conifers, whose
bright and dark greens met the eye in pleasing contrast. On
the eastern side the Algoma Mountains came down to meet
the lake and halted there, having been torn away by Manibosho
to give the mighty lake above a chance to breathe and to escape
southward. These heights, too, were tossing with massed
woods, but here and there the naked primeval Laurentian rock
made hard faces at Gitchi Gumi Sippi and stuck its black
tongues into the mocking stream.
It was a vast country, where distances were long, and where
Nature performed on a big scale. Some of the islands in the
river were as large as an English County. England itself could
have been sunk in Gitchi Gumi without raising the water very
much. And there were countless other islands as small as the
floor of a wigwam, and in some places the roving Indians found
themselves surrounded by tiny islets on which there was scarcely
room for a tree.
In Primitive State
All these islands and shores were then in a state of primitive
savageness. Their interior was uninhabited and uncultivated,
and so covered with rocks and swamps, fallen trees and rotting
stumps that the bears could not wish for a better thicket. Even
13




the nearest hill-tops, protected by this tangled wilderness, had
never endured the foot of man. The river's easy highway led
to many a hospitable beach, where fishing was good and an
occasional runway brought the deer down to drink and be captured. Even as a youthful bowman Wabish could drive his
flint-headed arrows clean through the bodies of the flying deer.
Oh ta gee zig, a handsome, burly Indian hereditary chief,
who must have been about 30 years of age when Wabish was
born, was the friend, hero and mentor of Wabish in his boyhood days.  Oh ta gee zig had been born at noon, hence his
name, meaning "half a day." Once upon a time Oh ta had
strangled a bear with his two hands, a deed that won him great
renown. On ceremonial days he wore twelve feathers in his
hair. Each feather meant the death of a Sioux in battle. Oh ta
was of the Owl totem, and his camp-fire on the river bank at
Bowating was a favorite resorting place of the boy Wabish and
his chums. Right cheerfully it burned of a summer evening,
where the bicentennial monument stands now.
"Did you ever hear of the story  of the first man  and
woman?" asked Oh ta of the group of Indians around his
fire one evening. He was a famous story teller, especially
when his pipe of kinnikinnick was drawing well.
Tell it to us," said Wabish and his friend Ka ba konse, a
brother of the Crane.
"You must know," began Oh ta, "that Gitchi Manito, The
Great Spirit, made first the land about Bowating and along the
south shore of Gitchi Gumi. At first there was nothing here
but sand and rocks, and the rapids were away up at Nad o way
an ing, the Place of the Iroquois. This was long before Manibosho trapped beavers there.
The Chippewa Story of Creation
"One day Manito was walking along here when he saw
something lying on the ground, and he picked it up. It was
a tiny root. He wondered whether it would grow, and he
planted it on the river bank, close to the water. When he
came back next day a lot of shoots had sprung up, and the
wind blowing through them made a pleasant sound. This
pleased him, and he sought for and found more little roots
and some seeds from the soil, and he spread them around, so
that they soon covered the rocks and land with grass and fine
forests, in which birds and other animals came to live. Every
day he added something new to his creation, and he did not
forget to place various kinds of fish in the water.  But the best
fish of all, the at ti ma kaig, the deer-of-the-water, the whitefish, came long after.
"Another day when Manito was walking near this place, he
13




saw something coming out of the water, covered with glistening
scales like a fish, but formed like a man. Watching it further,
Manito saw it stoop and pluck herbs, which it swallowed. It
sighed and groaned, but did not speak.
"The sight filled Manito with compassion, and a good
thought occurred to him. Immediately he set to work to provide this forlorn being with a squaw. He formed her nearly
as he had seen the man to be and also covered her body with
scales. Then he breathed a little of his life into her and set
her feet upon the bank, telling her that if she would walk along
the shore and look about her she might find something to please
her.
He Discovers the Woman
"At first neither saw the other, and the woman, after wandering about for a while, sat down beside a log and fell asleep.
Presently the man spied her footsteps in the sand, and following them he approached her timidly. He found his voice as
he touched her gently on the shoulder and asked:
'Who art thou?" Whence came you?'
"'My name is Mani,' she replied. Gitchi Manito brought
me here, telling me I should find something here I like. I think
thou art the promised one.'
"'I think so too,' said the man. 'On what dost thou live?'
"'I have eaten nothing, for I was looking for thee. But now
I feel hungry. Hast thou anything to eat?'
"Straitway the man hurried to collect some roots and herbs
that he had found edible. He brought them to the squaw,
who devoured them greedily.
"Again the sight moved Manito to pity, and in the twinkling
of an eye he built a handsome wigwam for them, with a splendid
garden beside it, in which grew many plants and berries, and
trees of various kinds. Here they lived happily for many days,
and Gitchi Manito came often to converse with them.
"'Let me warn you against one thing,' he told them. 'See,
this tree in the middle of the garden is not good, for it was
planted here by Matchi Manito, the Spirit of Evil. See how
it blossoms, presently it will bear fruits, and they will look very
fine and taste very sweet. But do not eat of them, or death
shall be thy portion.'
"You may believe that they paid attention to this formidable warning, and they kept the command a long time, even
when the blossoms passed and the fruit was ripened. One day,
however, when Mani was walking alone in the garden, she heard
a friendly and musical voice calling, 'Mani, why dost thy not
eat of this beautiful fruit?  It tastes splendidly.  Startled, she
looked around, but saw no one. She was afraid, and hurried
into the house.
"




The Tempter Comes
"Next day she went again into the garden, being curious
to hear the voice again. When she approached the forbidden
tree it sounded: 'Mani, Mani, taste this splendid fruit, it will
gladden thy heartl' And with this a young and handsome Indian came out of the bushes, plucked some fruit and placed it in
her hand. 'Eat,' he said. It looked so good, and smelled so
good, that she promptly ate it up and more with it. The young
Indian, who was of course the agent of Matchi Manito, disappeared, and when her husband came soon after, she persuaded
him to eat also. But scarcely had he swallowed the fruit she
gave him when the silver scales fell off their bodies; only
twenty scales remained to each, ten on the fingers and ten on
the toes, but these lost their brilliancy. They saw themselves
quite uncovered, and were ashamed and withdrew into the
bushes.
"Then came the angry Gitchi Manito, and said: 'Did I not
tell you to abstain from the wiles of Matchi Manito? You have
disobeyed, and presently death shall come upon you. These
poor uncovered physical frames of yours shall perish, but the
life that is in you shall live in your children and their descendants. Begone from my gardenl'
"So they went forth in banishment. But Manito loved them
and had mercy on them. He gave the man a bow and some
arrows, and showed him how to shoot deer, and told Mani
how to prepare the meat of them, and how to make clothing
and moccasins of the hides.
They Leave the Garden
"So Mani and her husband left the garden, the man trying
his bow and the arrows.  Being not yet practiced in their use
he shot into the sand, and the arrows went thus deep into the
ground."
Here Oh ta picked up an arrow, thrust it into the earth and
withdrew it with his thumb on the shaft, showing to each one
there separately how deep the arrow had gone in, saying, "see,
so far." They looked at it carefully and said, "good, now go
on."  Oh ta proceeded:
"So Mani's husband went out to hunt, saw a deer and shot
an arrow at it.  The animal sank on its knees and  died.
"The hunter ran up and drew his arrow from the wound,
found it uninjured and placed it in his quiver to be used again.
When he brought the deer to his squaw she cut it into pieces
and washed them, laying the hide aside for moccasins and clothing. Then she sensed the need of fire, for they could not eat
the meat raw as the barbarous Kiristinons of the north do.
"This demand for fire stumped the man for a time, but
finally the thought came to him to rub against each other a
15
5                    \:X;.  'e *  f.,;':'




piece of hardwood and one of softwood, and he soon had a
bright fire for his squaw.
Became a Medicine Man
"After that Mani's husband killed many deer, and soon
they had plenty of clothing and bedding, and his squaw built
a fine lodge for him. One day when out hunting he found a
birch-bark book lying under a tree. While he was looking at
the book it spoke to him in the pure Ojibway language, instructing him in the use of every plant in the forest and the
meadow. Delighted, he put the book in his hunting-bag and
collected all the plants, roots, flowers and herbs which it pointed out to him. With these he returned to Mani, and found they
were all good medicine, good in every accident and sickness
of life. So in this way he became a great medicine-man as
well as a mighty hunter. The children his wife bore him became great hunters also. He taught them to use the bow, explained to them the medicine-book, which never talked to anyone but him, and told them the history of his and Mani's creation. And through them the true story of the Ojibways has
come down to us.'
"What was Mani's husband's name, Oh ta?" asked Wabish.
"That was not revealed to us," replied Oh ta, as he tamped
his pipe with a finger and looked very wise. "And anyway,
it was the woman who made all the trouble."
"Who revealed to the Chippewas that Gitchi Manito lived
here?" inquired Miz ye, The Cat-Fish. Miz ye was a captive
Sioux boy, a slave, a friend to everybody, and he had the
freedom of the village. "I always thought Gitchi Manito lived
at Torch Lake, many days journey toward the setting sun,"
he said.
"You thought wrong," replied Oh ta, "and I'll prove it
to you. In the first place Manibosho told us about the Great
Spirit, when he had re-created the world and the Chippewa
nation after the flood. But see here. We know that Gitchi
Manito lives now in the great rock temple on Michilimackinac,
don't we?"
"Certainly," they chorused.
Started From Sault
"And we know he flew from the north, through the great
curved stone door on the beach, don't we?"
"Oh, yes.
"Well, then, that's it. Don't you see, he started from
here."  Oh ta looked triumphantly from face to face in the
circle.
16




"Maybe he came from beyond Gitchi Gumi somewhere,"
suggested somebody doubtfully.
"No, no, no," Oh ta replied positively. "Do you think
the Great Spirit would ever live in the wreched land of the
Kiristinons, where it is always cold, and  where the people
wander about half-starved from place to place, and eat their
meat and fish raw? It is impossible. We are his people, and
the people of the great Manibosho."
"Was Manibosho here then?" another inquired.
"No, he came to us after Gitchi Manito withdrew to his
temple. Many moons ago Manibosho lived on earth and was
a great War Chief of the Chippewas, and the Ottawas, the
Hurons and the Potawatomies as well. Once, when the winter
was cold and windy, with deep snows, the Indians had great
trouble in keeping their wigwam-fires alight. Seeing them so
forlorn and cold, Manibosho brought down fire from heaven,
causing the lightning to strike a great tree and set it glowing.
From this tree came the sacred fire which the Potawatomies
keep ever burning in their head jossakeed's lodge on the shores
of Lake Meetch i gong. This is our time-honored council fire;
and whenever the tribes meet ceremonially in the north country,
we send to the Potawatomies for the sacred fire and bring it
carefully guarded to our council seat. For to tell lies in the
presence of that fire is impossible. Animosities die down before it, peace and harmony must prevail where burns the fire
from heaven. So we gather before it only when meeting with
our allies, never before going on the war-path.
Heavenly Fire Is,Lost
"Once Manibosho maintained the heavenly flame here at
Bowating. But when the accursed Nad o ways, the Iroquois,
came against us in might and drove us from Bowating for a
time, we lost the fire from heaven and never have regained it.
But our Chippewas keep it faithfully to this day at Chequamegon. Miz ye, bring me a coal for my pipe."
"I thought Manibosho lived in the moon," said Ka ba konse.
"He does now, but he will come back to earth again when
the Chippewas need him. The moon is his great-grandmother,
and he likes to be with her. On clear moonlit nights you can
see him plainly, with his flag-staff at his side, feathers on his
head, with his sword and the pipe of peace."
"He was a wonderful hero," they said.
Manibosho Gets Caught in Tree
"He was indeed," remarked Oh ta. "Once, when he lived
at Bowating with his two wives, two great trees nearby were
driven together at their tops by the wind so that they con17




tinually rubbed and produced a jarring sound that you could
hear for a long distance around. Manibosho, either because he
wished to put an end to the noise, or because he feared a fire
in the forest, for sometimes the rubbing of two trees makes
much heat and a fire, climbed up to bteak the branches asunder.
But they flew back again and squeezed him tightly between
them.
"He remained between the trees for three whole days,
without eating or drinking. In vain he begged all the animals
that passed to free him. First came the wolves, and they said,
'well, well, Manibosho, good enough for youl' and they ate up
his breakfast, which he had left in his hunting-bag under the
trees. Next came the squirrels. They began, on Manibosho's
entreaties, to gnaw the trees a little, but they soon got the
toothache and quit, saying they were not used to such hard
wood-cutter's work. Such like excuses were made by other
animals who happened by, until at last the bear came, big
and good-natured, and he helped poor Manibosho out of his
fix. And then Manibosho went home to his wives, hungry and
sleepy, and scolded and beat them, because, as he said, they
were to blame for the whole unlucky event. His squaws said
truly that they knew nothing about it anSl had been greatly
worried at his absence. But what injustice will uot a man commit when he is in bad temper!"
"What was he doing with two wives, Oh ta?"
"Gitchi Manito gave them to him to humble his pride.
Manibosho, in the arrogance of power, thought he could keep
two wives in peace where the common man has difficulty in
handling one. But Manito punished his presumption, for they
were forever quarreling in his presence and out of it. So he
put one of them away."
"What became of the other one?"
Wife Is Turned to Stone
"I'm coming to that. Once the rapids were up at Nad o
way an ing, half a sun's journey from here by canQe. Manibosho had built a dam there to keep Gitchi Gumi, the mighty
lake, in bounds till the time should come for it to breathe. All
the beavers in the world were then on the north side of Manibosho's dam, and he watched it constantly to keep them from
breaking'~ through. But something happened to call him to
Chequamegon, and his wife, whom he left to guard the dam
against the beavers, not spying them waiting in the waters
above, carelessly took a nap in Manibosho's absence. When
he returned he found her asleep, the dam broken, and the
beavers nearly all escaped. In his rage he killed her, and some
of you have seen her lying on the beach there, turned to a big
red stone. Then he ripped up the rest of the dam and flung
18




it far down the lake, so that many of the big stones rolled
down here and made the rapids of Bowating, which is to say,
the Place of the rapids.
Big Boulders Are Sacred
"Some of the beavers he caught and imprisoned in the biggest boulders in the rapids, and there they are yet. That is
the reason we refrain from touching the biggest stones in the
foaming waters. They speak to us of the wrath of Manibosho,
and are sacred.
"Manihosbo had a little grandson, who loved to paddle up
and down the river in his tiny canoe. One day he crossed the
river to the north bank-this was long, long ago, you must remember-where the king of the turtles reigned, an evil-minded
good-for-nothing. When the canoe touched the bank and the
boy was about to leap to land, the king used his magic to
widen the river suddenly, so that the little one fell in the water
and was drowned. The king fished out the poor little body
and was about to devour it when Manibosho came upon him
and killed him.
"On this the turtles declared war against Manibosho, and
by means of wicked spells they caused a tremendous rain which
lasted fory days and produced the great deluge. Manibosho,
seeing the danger, first carried his grandmother, the toad, to a
lofty hill, and he himself mounted the tallest pine on another
high mountain. There he waited until the rain ceased and the
sky cleared. Far as he could see there was no land. By-andby along came a muskrat, swimming for his life. Manibosho,
from his perch in the tree, commanded the muskrat to dive deep
and bring up some earth, for the purpose of establishing a
new world. The muskrat recognized the great Manibosho,
took a deep breath and obeyed, making a mighty dive. He
never came up.
"Before long a hell-diver came flying low over the water
and alighted near the tree. To him Manibosho gave the same
command. Down went the hell-diver on his quest, down,
down, and after a long time he rose slowly to the surface,
drowned, but clinging to his webbed feet there was a little earth.
This Manibosho used to create a new earth for the Indians.
First he made a little island which hardly bore his weight; then
he made a larger one, which supported him and afterward became the new world. And the first thing he did when solid
ground was established was to send some animals for his
grandmother the toad, who barely escaped with her life.
Toads Never Molested
"So it is that we Indians never molest the toads, for they
11




are related to Manibosho. And we respect the bear and do not
kill him except in time of need or when he attacks us, for he
helped Manibosho in time of trouble.
"One of the best things Manibosho did for the Indians
was to create the red willows for us, and thus he gave us our
kinnikinnick to smoke in our stone pipes. We bless him for
this, for there is much wisdom in good kinnikinnick. Hence
it is that when we go canoeing along the north shore of Gitchi
Gumi, we cease paddling and light our pipes at Puck a saw,
which of course means 'stop and have a smoke,' and this we
do in honor of Manibosho."
Then spoke up an elderly and horribly disfigured Indian
at the side of Wabish. Part of his face was missing, and his
jaws were stiff, so that he talked out of one corner of his mouth.
"My friends, that I am mutilated almost beyond semblance
of a man, you can plainly see. But Manibosho or no Manibosho, I have no love for bears. For a bear did this, and this"
-pointing to his frightful scars-"and you, and you, and you,
were present when I returned to Bowating more dead than
alive." He plucked his witnesses out of the circle.  And then
he told the story just as it had occurred.
"I had been hunting deer in the autumn down in the Munosk ong country, and I was on my way home to Bowating
empty-handed, when I met the wild beasts who so nearly
brought about my death. I had my bow and arrows, a good
stone axe, and a tempered copper knife that my brother An
nam i kens had dug up and brought me from On tan a gan ing.
"My moccasins made no sound as I walked swiftly through
the woods upon the thick fallen leaves. I was hungry, and I
was thinking of the feast of at tur i kaig that was waiting for
me in my mother's wigwam, and of that only, else I might
have escaped the injuries that befell me. I must have displeased the Great Spirit somehow, my wits were wandering,
as I suddenly walked full upon the biggest bear I ever saw.
And more than that, she had two big yearling cubs, and the
three of them were grubbing for nuts under a beech-tree. Before I knew it the big one had me fast, for she had seen me
coming and had risen on her hind legs to meet me. She pulled
me down and took my head, yes, all of it, in her mouth, so
that her enormous tusks tore the tops of my shoulders.
Terrible Lacerations
"Somehow, I know not, I managed to break free; but as I
jerked my head from her mouth her teeth ripped me to the
skull in four long cuts, and these scars I shall bear until I die.
As I jerked, I half turned and sank my knife to the hilt in her
body, so that she yowled with the pain of it. On the same
instant the cubs closed in and clawed my arms and legs to the
20




bone. t sank down and away from the dam's relaxed forelegs, but quicker than the lightning-stroke she struck me right
and left.  The one blow tore open my body, so that my bowels
fell upon my knees; the other tore out my eye and my cheekbone, a part of my jaw, three teeth and the end of my tongue,
and left the cheek hanging down upon my shoulder. Down I
fell, fainting with the pain and the loss of blood, and as I lay
quite still the bears ceased to molest me.
"After a little I raised myself up and bound my wounds
as well as possible. I fumbled for my fallen axe and laid a
hand upon it. I heard a nose behind me, turning I saw dimly
the old bear close upon me and the cubs with her.  Before I
could raise my arm they seized me, pawed and tore me at will
I know not how long, picking me up my the neck and dragging
me some distance.  I lost all hope and idea of resistance.
Then they once more left me. For a long time I lay quite still,
then, nearly blinded and bleeding horribly I staggered to my
feet, reeling I knew not whither. And without knowing it, I
still clutched my axe.
"I had gone but a little way when I heard the snorting of
the old dam and felt her hot breath upon my wounded back.
Again she towered erect above me, and again I saw the bright
blood stream down her black fur from the knife-hole I had
given her. My right arm was so stiff and swollen that I could
not raise it. I held it backward, still gripping the heavy axe,
and swung my body forward and down, just missing her gory
claws. Over came the axe upon her head, the point of it
smashed her eye and sank into her brain. She fell in the throes
ot death, and I lay almost beneath her, so that her claws, working convulsively, tore my shoulders into strips.
"More than half dead, I rolled from beneath her feet, and
got upon my hands and knees, only to see the yearlings closing in, walking erect on their hind legs. Desperate, I swung
my axe with my left hand, my right failing me, and the cubs
retreated. I followed them a few steps, but great darkness
descended upon me and I sank down in a dead faint.  When
my senses returned night was coming on, and I dragged my
way painfully toward Bowating, my blood dyeing the ground
as I crept along. There it was that you found me, and you,
and you" —pointing to some of the older Indians around the
fire —"and it was you who carried me to my father's lodge."
Refused Food for Nine Days
"I remember it well;" said Oh Ta, calmly. "When first
we saw you staggering along, we noticed something flapping
against the calf of your leg, and we found it to be a large piece
of flesh hanging down from your thigh. You could not speak
when we came up with you, and not even at the torture stake
21




have I seen a sight more terrible. But when we had carried
you home and bandaged and cared for you as well as possible,
and the jossakeed had beat his drum over you, your tongue,
that was left of it, found its office. I surely thought you would
depart this world before the morning's sun, and I remember
that you mumbled to us to bury you on the hill by the rapids.
Nine days you refused all food, saying that you wished to die
because of your terribly disfigured state. After that I remember that you took a little fish from your mother, who kept your
wounds clean with cold water from the river, and in the next
moon you were able to be up and about a little. But it was
many moons before your wounds were closed."
When Muk wa, The Bear-for so he was known at Bowating from his mishap-finished speaking, an aged Indian woman
who had been standing in the shadow, advanced and threw
some wood upon the fire.
The Story of Wau Goosh
"Oh, Mayd ya," some one called, "don't go away. Sit
down and tell us the story of Wau goosh. Hearing Muk wa
reminded me of it. Speak."
"Ho," said the rest, and place was made for Mayd ya. She
sat down and began:
"Poor Muk wa makes me think of the time when the bearking ruled at Bowating, long before the free Chippewas came
here to live. Ten thousand bears roamed the country in this
vicinity, and what few Indians they suffered to live here were
their slaves.
"That was when Wau goosh, the son of Manibosho, lived
a long way west of here in a village on the shore of the Lake
of the Pits. A beautiful place it was, with blue water a-plenty
before the door of his wigwam, and abundance of fish. Wau
goosh was a wonderful man, not very large, but well built and
sinewy like his father Manibosho. And Manibosho had endowed him with quick wit and ambition, courage and resolution,
so that when game was scarce around the lake, Wau goosh was
not afraid to carry the hunt into the territory of the bears,
although he never molested them, hunting only the red deer
of the forests.
Taken to Bear King
"One day a message was brought him by a bear, who said
that the bear king-wished to see him at this place. In those
times this vicinity was known as As ti cou. Wau goosh never
thought of declining, so he mounted the bear's back and off
they went to the eastward. Toward evening they came down
to the river bank and this spot, where the bear-king had his
lodge. He was of tremendous size, and thought very well of
22




himself. Making a show of hospitality, he invited Wau goosh
to come in, but did not put him in the place of honor. When
they were seated and a decent interval of time had elapsed,
the bear-king gave a loud growl and said he had sent for
Wau goosh because the latter had been hunting without permission in the royal territory.
"If it happens again I'll have your life," snarled the king
with another growl. And his fat arms twitched as if they yearned to hug Wau goosh.
"Very well," said the latter, moving around toward the
door, "I'll see what I can do about it."  And he jumped on
the messenger's back and road home. When he arrived he
assembled the people of the village and directed them to cut
the bear's head off and throw it out where the bear spies could
see it and carry the news to the king. Then he assembled all
the braves in the village and armed them for trouble.
A Race for Life
"Sure enough, in a day or two out came the bears, led
by their chief and thirsting for revenge. They advanced
shoulder to shoulder, walking on their hind legs, and rolling
their eyes and champing their tusks so that you would have
thought that Matchi Manito himself was raging in every one of
them.
"The bear-king came forward at their head and waved a
mighty paw. 'Wau goosh,' he croaked, 'you have killed my
messenger. We outnumber you two to one, and could overwhelm you where you stand. But I do not wish to shed the blood
of your warriors; it is yours I want. I dare you to run a race
with me around the Lake of the Pits, the winner to kill the loser,
and the loser's tribe to bl slaves forever of the other.'
"Of course Wau goosh agreed, for he never was afraid of
anything or anybody. Away they went, crashing through the
bushes, the bear-king a little ahead, just where Wau goosh
wanted him, for the trees and grass were thick. Soon the
bear-king was puffing loudly, and the sweat dripped from his
broad nose.
"'You are overheated, king,' shouted Wau goosh, as they
came down to the beach where the going was better. 'Take a dip
in the lake and cool off a little.' And with that he ran alongside
the king and rolled him over in the shallow water. When the
bear-king scrambled out, wild with rage, Wau goosh ran ahead
of him and around him, for Wau goosh was swifter than the
wind. He led the bear-king up a big sand hill on the south
side of the lake, and when they reached the top he dropped
like a log right in front of the fat king. The latter tripped and
poufI down he rolled to the bottom, his wet hide gathering
sand as he went.
23




King Bear is Slain
"Down the hill came Wau goosh, kicking up such clouds
of sand that the bear-king's eyes, nose and mouth were filled
with it. He snorted and coughed and choked, and rubbed his
eyes with his paws. Then Wau goosh mounted on the bear's
wide back, pulling his ears and kicking his flanks, and started
him on the course around the lake. While the bewildered king
was tearing along Wau goosh stood up and danced the medicine-dance on his rump. As they neared the starting-point
Wau goosh gave a mighty leap ahead, seized his bow, and shot
an arrow through the bear's heart.
"'Now, you bears,' he said to the dumfounded visitors,
'will you be good slaves, or shall I take a ride on your backs,
too? Take this carcass of your king, strip off the hide and
prepare it for supper. I am hungry.'
"Well, the bears had to pitch in and carve the body of
their late master, cook it and serve it for Wau goosh's supper.
Afterward he made them his guards, appointing them to range
the forest by day and by night around about the Lake of the
Pits. But he found them useless in this capacity, for most of
the time you could find every one of them up in some nice
shady tree sitting on a limb with his back toward the trunk,
his legs crossed and taking a nap. So Wau goosh finally sent
them back to As ti cou.
Chippewas Made to Bow
"When he came down to As ti cou after the winter, he
found his former slaves lording it over what Indians were left
here. Coming unexpectedly to the river, he happened upon the
same bears who had cringed before him at the Lake of the
Pits, now fat and insolent, seated in lazy comfort in their trees
while his poor brother Chippewas danced for them on the
ground beneath until they were ready to drop from weariness.
And many times in the course of the dance, to their shame
and his, they got down on all fours and bowed their heads
to the ground before their masters the bears.
"His heart burned within him when he beheld the pitiful
condition of his friends. Twangl went his ready bow, and zipl
zip sang each swift arrow as it sank into a shaggy body. And
for every arrow there lay a dead bear in the grove. That night
there was a great feast in As ti cou.
"A few of the bears were permitted to live by Wau goosh,
who cudgelled them soundly and banished them forever to
the hills and swamps. There their descendants live, and shun
the haunts of man. They  molest him  no more, for they
have learned their lesson at the hands of Wau goosh. The
she bear with cubs fights, it is true; but only because she fears
24




that man will make slaves of her young. In her heart she remembers Wau Goosh forever."
Just then there came to the fire Met ak oss se ga, Pure
Tobacco, the midi or medicine man of Bowating, and Mis
ab i kongs, The Man of Iron, who habitually painted a broad
streak of white around his right eye, in consequence of some
vow he had taken. The midi was a tall man of solemn aspect,
and he wore a copper ring in his nose. They had just returned from A go ba way Me ne sha, Harbor Island, andt their
canoe lay on the beach below the fire, where it could be seen
in the starlight.
You tired?" asked Puck e na, The Grasshopper.
"Me? Tired?" returned the Man of Iron. "I could paddle
to Ma ke kee (Gros Cap) and back tonight without being tired.
I am Mis ab i kongs."
"Good, Mis ab i kongs," said Oh ta. "Let's have a discovery dance. Miz ya, bring Mis ab i kongs' lance, and the
medicine drum for Met ak oos se ga, Mayd ya, begone. This
is for men and the instruction of youth."
Met ak oos se ga tied a snake-skin around his forehead and
seized the drum stick. He sat close to the fire, but all the
others drew farther back in a large circle, leaving room for
Mis ab i kongs, who was a master of mimicry and one of the
few men able to execute the discovery dance in its entirety.
The Man of Iron lay down on his side and slept peacefully
by the fire, the glow of which accented the white patch on his
face. Presently the midi gave a tremendous yell, the war-yell
of the Chippewas. This awakened the Man of Iron, who
jumped to his feet and began making his preparation in pantomime for the field. He daubed more white on his eye, vermilion on his cheeks, and renewed the totem-sign on his forehead. He took the stick from the midi and pounded the drum
while he sang a song of victory. Then, seizing his lance, his
axe and bow, he raised them aloft, and standing he prayed to
Gitchi Manito with great earnestness, while Wabish and the
other youngsters thrilled with the delight of it. After this he
laid down his weapons and sang the death-song of the Chippewas, the midi beating the drum meanwhile. Then the Man of
Iron resumed his war-gear and marched off around the fire to
the music of the drum.
Hand-to-Hand Battle
He showed his watchers all the varieties of the fighting trail.
There was the snake-like creeping through the bush, the watching from behind the tree, the dropping prone to avoid discovery. He wiggled through long grass, detoured around a log.
approached an enemy camp by long and tedious inches and
spied upon it. Then came the stealthy surprise, the leap into
25




the Sioux village, the lance thrust, the swinging axe, the panting
and terrific hand-to-hand battle. And finally the enemy between the knees of the Man of Iron, the knife ripping a bloody
circle upon his head; the reeking scalp held aloft, and the yell
of triumph.
The Man of Iron stood once more by the fire, beaded with
sweat and leaning upon his lance, interpreting.
"Once we Ojibways set out from Bowating against the
Sioux. We were one hundred or more. There was among us
a courageous man, a man of the right stamp, who burned for
honor and glory. This man separated from the others and
crept onward into the enemy's country. He discovered a party
of the foe, two men, two women, and three children. He crept
around them like a wolf, he crawled up to them like a snake,
he fell upon them like lightning, cut down the two men and
sca'ped them. The screaming women and children he spared.
He seized them by the arm and threw them as prisoners to his
friends, who had hastened up at his war-yell. This lightning,
this snake, this wolf, this man, my friends, that was-11 I
have spoken I"
Wabish dreamed all that night of fighting and scalping
Sioux.
Hub of the Universe
In such pleasing fashion did he and his brother Chippewas
spend their evenings at Bowating in the olden days, when they
were not hunting the beasts of the forests or their hereditary
enemies the Sioux and the Iroquois.  Friendly visitors of
Algonquin stock were many. Bowating was a hub   of the
Algonquin universe. There was an odor of sanctity about the
rapids, and numbers came from afar to visit them. It was a
place of pilgrimage, much as Mecca is to the Mohammedans.
For here, the traditions said, Gitchi Manito created the ancestors
of the Chippewas, and here Manibosho succoured and blessed
their descendants. And from here the Chippewa Nation spread
down into the land of Lower Meetch i gong and westward
around the lake of Gitchi Gumi, even to the Turtle Mountains
a thousand miles away.
Tradition aside, we know that communities have always
centered where food was plentiful. This alone would account
for the ancient importance of Bowating, where the pools
swarmed with whitefish, and the deer and moose, following
the lake shore lines, came down to the Chippewa abiding-plkce
as in a net. But tradition was enough for Wabish, and he never
troubled his head about the origin of his ancestors, leaving the
foolish paleface who followed him to figure it out if he could.
And the paleface is still figuring.
26




Wabish Is Married
The day, or rather the night, came when Wabish dreamed
of himself as a man. Forthwith he built a wigwam for himself
and his bride-to-be on the shore of the river not far from the
rapids, having spied a girl who pleased him. He went down
to the stream one morning and caught a loach. This he cooked
till the flesh was soft, taking the flat tail-bone from it and
sticking it in his long hair. Then he painted many colors on
his face and body and donned his best deer-skin, leaving the
breast open so that his landscaping could shine abroad. Suitably attired, he took his four-note wood flute and paraded the
village, making music and looking very sentimental indeed.
This served as a delicate indication of his intentions and caused
a great flutter in the lodges where marriageable girls resided.
The next step was the making of presents to the parents of the
only girl, who had already shyly received his gifts and knew
what was coming. The presents being accepted by the parents,
Wabish took his girl by the hand and led her to his lodge, and
thus were they married in the Chippewa fashion.
With a family to support, Wabish became a great hunter,
fisher and fighter, busying himself at these occupations half the
year and taking it easy the other half. He roved far and wide
in his hunting, visiting many places in Chippewa-land whose
names ended in -ing, -ong, or -ung, which is the Chippewa suffix
for locality.  Thus, over a period of years, he hunted or sat
in council at Mun os kong, The Place of Sweet Grass; Che mun i
sing, Munising, Big Island; Ge ne bee tan ung, Nebeetung, Neebish, The Place of Running Water; Meetch i gam ing, Michigamme, Rippling Water; Pot a gan nis ing, The Bay of the Gaps,
or The Place Where Corn Grows; On tan a gon ing, Ontonagon,
''he Place of the Bowl; Ne am ik ong, The Place of the Reef;
Pe qua quay wam ing, The Place of the Headland; Ish pem ing,
The High Ground; Mus ke gong, The Big Marsh; Go ge bic og
eb ing, Gogebic, The Diving or Swimming Place; Tah quam e
nong, The Spearing Place; Che bog gong, CheboygnfrT'he Narrows; We que ton sing, The Little Bay; Chee ka gong, Chicago,
The Place of Wild Onions, or The Place of Smells; Kag aw ong,
The Place of the Falls; and Man i to wan ing, The Home of
Manito.
Wabish Loved to Fish.
Wabish wasn't naturally bloodthirsty, although in council-he appeared with a feather in his hair, showing that he had
killed his man among the Sioux.  Above all he liked to fish
in the clear, swift-flowing rapids, where the whitefish  and
sturgeon awaited his coming.  With a steersman in the stern
of his canoe, he would take his stand in the bow and pole up
right to the foot of the rapids, where the whitefish swam, heads
27




always upstream,, at the bottom of the last leap. Here he
would let down dexterously his scoop-net with its long slender
handle, ten feet or more in length. Descrying a school of fish
below or alongside, while his steersman held the canoe with a
pole, he swooped up a number of the fish, instantly reversing
his net in the water as he did so, whipped it up with a mighty
heave and discharging its contents in the canoe.  This he repeated until his canoe was full-it took but a little while-when
he would shoot out of the tail of the rapids and make for shore.
These deer-of-the-water, as he called them, the gift of Manito,
averaged three or four pounds each, and often he caught tenpounders or larger.  This sport he called Nin gi goi ke, literally, "I make fish."
At other times he enjoyed Nin ak wa wa, fishing with spears.
The deer-in-the-water ran best in the autumnal season, but winter and summer, night and day, he speared huge sturgeon and
little herring in the rapids and arourl Ma ke kee.  In winter,
spearing was almost the sole method of catching fish at Bowating.  Naturally so, for the solid ice below the falls presented
the firm footing necessary for the fisherman to aim and throw
with certainty, and which the wabbling canoe did not afford
him so well.
Fishing Through the Ice
Down on the ice below the falls Wabish would cut with his
stone hatchet a hole in the ice about two feet in diameter. Over
this hole he built a hut of brush and covered it with skins. Into
this hut he inserted the upper part of his body, legs outside, and
his face over the hole.  The light fell through the transparent
ice and illumined the crystal waters all around.  But the artificial darkness over his head kept off any reflections from the
opening, and he could see clearly to a depth of forty feet and
watch the movements of every passing fish.
With his long spear, sharply stone-barbed, he could strike
to an extraordinary depth. Thirty-five or forty feet in length
it was, its butt protruding far above the brush-top, but he
handled it so cleverly that his prey rarely escaped him.  Were
the water beneath quite motionless the certainty of the kill
would be increased.  But right here, where the largest sturgeon lay close to the bottom, the rapid flow of the water off the
rapids impeded his skill at times.  So, when skill failed him
singly, he employed an assistant.
For this purpose Wabish solietimes cut a small channel
from the main hole where he stooL or lay, through the ice and
against the current.  This dhannel was about thirty feet in
lengh, and enabled a cord tied to the bottom of the fish-spear
to be freely moved.  The other end of the line was held by
a helper who sat at the extremity of the channel and moved




the cord as Wabish signalled.  If Wabish saw a sturgeon coming upstream, moving along quickly and slowly by turns, then
stopping altogether as sturgeon are wont to do, he manoeuvered
to get his spear directly over the fish's back.  To this end he
would signal his assistant to let out the cord a little or pull up
slightly till the barb was directly above the fish.  Then he gave
a vicious thrust and usually brought up the quivering fish. Thus
did Wabish gain his daily bread, or what he liked much better,
his daily sturgeon.
Used a Decoy
Sturgeon swim very deep, and could be caught only with
long spears.  But other fish such as the loach and herring
could be decoyed nearer the surface and speared with less difficulty.  For this purpose Wabish carved small artificial fish
ot wood or bone, much like a herring, and stained them with
berry-juice or charcoal.  These he attached to cords and
weighted with small stones so that they would sink perpendicular in the water.  Lying over the ice-hole, he spied the fish
he wanted and decoyed it to him until he could spear it easily.
Now and then in the winter season the fish forsook the
rapids, and days of watching brought no reward. Then if
sufficient fish had not been dried in the fall, or if deer were
not plentiful, the situation became serious and a bear-hunt
was organized. At such a time Wabish and his brothers would
assemble in the medicine man's lodge, excluding the women
and children. The jossakeed sat in the middle of the lodge
and beat his drum, while the braves sat around the wall and
sang a song appropriate to the occasion.
Addresses Stuffed Bear
The jossakeed filled his pipe and placed it beside him on
two crotched sticks. Before him was a cub bear skin, stuffed.
He took a whiff or two from the pipe and addressed the bear
as follows:
"My brother, we are very hungry. In fact, we are on
the point of starving. Have pity on us and give us your body,
that we may eat and not starve."
Then he took the medicine-drum and beat it lustily, singing songs meanwhile which he recited from a piece of birchbark, on which they were written in hieroglyphics. After that
he passed the drum and birch-bark to the nearest Indian, and
so around the circle, until all had smoked and sung and beaten
the drum, a matter of three hours. or so.
Early next morning the hunters all went to the medicinebag of the jossakeed, which hung from a tree before his lodge,
and took from it vermilion with which they painted themselves
and the noses of their dogs. Thus prepared they started the
29




hunt in different directions, and being inspired with faith and
goaded on by hunger, they were almost sure to bring home
the bacon before night.
Knew How to Evade Starvation
You may laugh at these curious fancies of Wabish and his
friends. But how long would you have lasted, white man,
under like circumstances?  Even now, when the conveniences
of civilization have dulled the ancient cunning of the red man,
there is many an Indian in Chippewa County who knows how
to maintain himself comfortably and  indefinitely  without
weapons or even a match, in the heart of the woods, winter or
summer. How long would-it take you to starve to death under
similar conditions?
So Wabish went out and arrowed his bear, for wherever
it might be hibernating in the long winter sleep, he knew by
certain signs where to look for it and rout it from its hiding
place. And as he stood before the dying beast, he leaned
upon his bow and gravely addressed him thus:
"My friend, I have killed thee, much against my will. My
family awaits me at the tepee, hungry and expectant. Wouldst
thou have me return empty-handed? Thou knowest my sore
straits and the necessity which compels my action. I promise
that thy skin shall adorn the seat of honor in my lodge, and
that none but worthy guests shall recline upon it. May thy
soul depart in peace, to roam forever in the forests of the Great
Spiritl'
Wife Brought Game Home
When the winter hunting was good, Wabish usually returned to Bowating at sundown, often spent with fatigue. His
wife took off his moccasins and placed before him what food
she had. She then examined his hunting-pouch, finding the
claws or beak or tongue of the game, and other indications
by which she knew what it was or where to find it. Then
she went and brought it home. No word was spoken till refreshments were over. Then Wabish related the events of
the chase to his wife and children, smoked his pipe and turned in.
If unsuccessful, he put away his weapons and seated himself before the fire with great dignity and composure. He
devoured his meal, if there was any, without saying a word.
Although all might be burning to know of his luck, none dared
to inquire. His first pipe smoked, he began in slow and solemn
tones to relate the adventures of the day. He freely blamed
his wife for not giving proper attention to his commands; or
he was sure the children had given wrong bones to the dogs.
30




He had had bad dreams the night before. That morning he
had seen an unlucky bird. He could not expect success after
such negligence or such a bad omen.
Immortality Escapes
He also recalled that Manibosho had once given a Bowating
Indian the gift of immortality. This gift was tied in a bundle,
and the Indian was enjoined never to open it. The Indian's
wife, however, impelled by curiosity, one day cut the string;
whereupon the precious gift flew out, and the Indians since
that have been subject to death. Oh, the perverseness, the
futility, of womanl
However, as Wabish was an excellent hunter, he seldom
had to chide his wife for his non-success.
His descendants tell that once, in the fall of the year, he
was hunting at Neebish. He was smoking on a knoll with a
companion when he saw a black bear coming straight toward
him. He had long desired to "run down" a bear, a feat
seldom accomplished among the Indians, but one to be remembered and recalled with pride for a lifetime.
If he had cared merely to kill the bear, he could have
concealed himself behind the hillock and shot it when passing.
But anyone could do that, so he decided on a bold race with
bruin. Motioning his friend into covert, he laid down his arms
and hurriedly stripped off his clothing.
Catches Up With Bruin
The bear came up and Wabish rose, his blood leaping
through his veins. At the sight of his enemy, the bear bolted
to the side and was soon a long distance ahead. But his increased speed was only momentary. After a little his stride
grew slower, and Wabish felt his courage increase as the distance between them decreased. When he drew close up to
the waddling bear the latter did his best to get away, but he
gave in more quickly this time, and in a few moments the long
steady trot of Wabish brought him once more alongside his
victim.
This being constantly repeated, the extraordinary exertions
and sudden spurts of the bear grew weaker, and the hunter
saw plainly that the animal was beginning to "sweat," —the
term the Chippewas apply to anyone who grows tired. But at
the same time he noticed with alarm that the wide, flat
meadows along the river were giving out, and that a thick
wood was close at hand. The matter must be decided quickly.
Bruin put on his best speed in order to reach the bush in a
straight line. If he were successful the chase would be over,
but he would soon find a hollow tree impenetrable to a naked
31




man. Wabish, fearing to lose the renown of running down a
bear, put forth his utmost speed arid managed to head off the
bear before he reached the timber, driving him back into the
open meadows.
For a moment he stopped, took a huge, deep breath, and
panted: "Now, my black friend, do thy bestl It's two legs
against four. Thou or I must sweat. And I want thee, oh,
I want theel"
Bear Is Strangled
And away they went over the grass like two race-horses.
But it was soon apparent that bruin would have to beg quarter
before long, for his hesitating zig-zag course gave the hunter
a decided superiority. The race was as good as over; the
bear was lame and beaten, his opponent hearty and active.
Down fell the bear prostrate, utterly exhausted, with no thought
of fight left in him, and Wabish, mounted on his neck, strangled
him with his bare hands.
His comrade brought his clothes, weapons, and his pipe,
which he smoked with great relish. Then they took the carcass home to Bowating, where it was eaten at a festival and
due religious rites were paid to the spirit of the bear.
This exploit brought Wabish much fame and an unpleasant experience. -A young Chippewa girl conceived a violent
passion for him. He was, of course, already married, and his
wife drove the love-sick miss away, disdaining to admit a rival.
The girl in desperation offered herself as a slave to the wife,
declaring her willingness to carry wood and water and to lie
at her feet, if only she might live within Wabish's lodge and be
within sight of him daily. At length she prevailed in a measure, somewhat to the embarrassment of Wabish, who wasn't
a woman's man. According to ancient Chippewa customfor polygamy was not unknown in old Bowating —her residence
in Wabish's wigwam made her his wife. But apparently she
was willing to forego all the privileges of a wife. She endured
for some time with resignation and even with joy every kind of
ill usage and cruelty from the first wife; until at length this
woman, unable to suffer longer the presence of a rival, one
day cleft the girrs head with her husband's axe. Wabish
and the community did nothing about it. There was nothing he
could do, as a Bowating woman was mistress of her own wigwam. It was unfortunate, of course, but such were the tribulations of a hero.
Women Had Their Rights
Women had rights in those days. Near Wabish's lodge
there lived a single woman, who remained unmarried from
choice, not from accident or necessity. In her youth she had
dreamed of her marriage to the sun, who was also her tutelary
32




The Old State Lock




Hienry R. Schoolcraft's Old Home




11




spirit. She lived alone in a wigwam at the river's edge. She
learned to hunt and became a skillful user of the bow, providing herself with food and clothing. She carved an image
of the sun and set it up in her home. She put it in the husband's place, and the best mat and a portion of food were
always before this image. She lived to a great age, and no
one ever criticised her or interfered with her mode of life.
Another Chippewa woman in the village live a miserable life
with her children and her sickly husband. Her hope was in her
eldest son, who had developed into a good hunter and was on
his way to become the head of the family.
'        A Deadly Romance
It was a crushing blow to the family when the young warrior was attacked on a distant expedition by the Sioux, killed
and scalped. All his people fell into a state of melancholy;
they blackened their faces, mourned for him daily, and treasured up a thirst for revenge. Soon his sister, a girl of seventeen, began to beat the war-drum, mutter wild songs, and
"dream." It was revealed to her that the only means of consolation for her family lay in the death of her own lover.
This beloved of her heart was a youth of the Sioux Nation,
whom she had met when he came with his father to sit in council at Bowating. That was in a happier and more peaceful
time, in an interval between the eternal wars of the two tribes.
He belonged now to the band that had killed her brother.
This girl traversed the hills, streams and forests to the territory of the Sioux. In the night she made her way into their
encampment and crept noiselessly and unnoticed to her lover's
lodge. She found him, gave him a signal, whispered to him
through the cracks of the airy pole hut and invited him to come
out.  Surprised and pleased and filled with longing, out he
came into the forest with the maid of his heart. No sooner
had they embraced than she became his angel of death; she
knifed him to the heart, scalped him and disappeared. Home
she came safely, and there she was regarded as a benefactress
of her family and a great heroine. She walked in procession
through the village and the scalp was borne before her as a
banner. Afterward she became a jossakeed, performed miracles
and was a celebrated phrophetess. The scalp of her lover was
hung upon the wall of the medicine temple and was seen long
after by the whites. It was carefully stretched on a wooden
ring and so profusely adorned with feathers and the tails of
animals that the skin and hair was almost entirely covered.
33




Great Councils Held Here
Council times were great days for Wabish and his compeers at Bowating. Here came by the converging watercourses in times of peace the outlying bands of Chippewas,
the Hurons, Ottawas, Potawatomies, Sauks, Foxes and Sioux.
Even the Crees came from the north shore of Gitchi Gumi and
tradition tells us that on one occasion the Ash ki maug, whom
we know as Eskimos, sent a delegation from the frozen polar
seas to sit in council at Bowating.
At such times as these the shores of the rapids rioted in a
mass of color never since approached. Daily Wabish set up
his totem-flag before the lodge, and daily he painted his face
with an extraordinary mixture of the graceful and the grotesque.
He and his friends were as fond of contrast in decoration
as are the ladies of our time. Sometimes they observed the
natural facial divisions of eye, nose and mouth, and painted
accordingly, surrounding the eyes with regular colored circles,
with yellow and black stripes issuing harmoniously from the
corners of the mouth. On their cheeks they drew semi-circles
of green dots, the ears forming the center. To complete the
color scheme, the forehead was traversed by parallel horizontal
blue lines. This made them look almost human, so to speak,
because the fundamental character of the face was unaltered.
On other days, however, such regular patterns did not suit
their taste. When the whim seized them they divided the face
into two halves, one of which they painted black and the other
yellow or bright red. An artistic touch was added by thick
lines made cross-wise by their four fingers, or fine lines produced by the application of a porcupine-quill brush.
Sometimes the line of demarcation ran from the nose, so
that the right cheek was buried in gloom, while the left was
all a-blaze like a flower-bed in the sunshine. Again, they
drew the line across the nose, so that their black eyes glistened
out of a sea of dark color, while all beneath the nose was
bright and lustrous. And when an enterprising brave combined the two schools, the effect was that of a rainbow struck
by lightning.
Squaws Did Not Paint
But in the ancient capital of Bowating the squaws never
dreamed of smearing their faces, except with charcoal in times
of mourning.
Here by the side of the rapids for no one knows how many
hundreds of years, were discussed and settled the disputes and
questions arising among Indians occupying a million square
miles of territory. The pipe of peace passed from lodge to tent,
from mouth to mouth, among thousands of warriors. Processions moved up and down the village, which was swollen
84




in these periods to great proportions. War-flags stood side
by side in friendly companionship, the very standards perhaps
that would be opposed in bitter fighting within a moon or two.
The monotonous thump of the Indian drum resounded everywhere. There were dances and songs innumerable, and orations that would have done credit to a Depew or Webster.
And at the end of every speech there was tremendous applause,
all the Indians stamping and uttering their war-yells, holding
their hands to their mouth trumpet-fashion.
Double-Cross Was the Rule
Loud and deep were the protestations of friendship and
brotherly love in the councils of the tribes at Bowating. Spirited was the jockeying for tribal advantage of boundaries and
hunting-grounds. The right hand was held forward in token
of good-will while the left concealed a deadly snickersee. The
political double-cross was the rule then, as it is now. The proceedings, in short, were in line with the best traditions of our
modern diplomats. It is clearly a mistake to regard the oldtime Indian as uncivilized. He was up to snuff hundreds of
years before we were born.
Could you have stood, say, where Portage Avenue bridge
is now, and looked westward on one of those ancient council
mornings, a fascinating scene would have  filled your eye.
Gone are the white man's dwellings and docks of Sault Ste.
Marie, and Brady Field lies beneath the foaming rapids, not
to emerge for two hundred years or more. A pleasant plain
greets the eye, flanked by woods to the south, and the grass
thereon is green but short, discouraged by the soft moccasins
on thousands of Indian feet. And on that plain is a forest of
tepees, lodges, skin tents, wigwams with criss-crossed poles
protruding at the top, bark medicine houses, totem poles and
the tall banners of chiefs and clans. The lanes in this community forest wind and twist all the way to the hill beside
the rapids, the hill which begins where the circular flowerbed is now in the locks park, for east of that a fill was made
long after. The hill is a place of sepulchre for Chippewa chiefs
and their families. The odd frameworks you see are the
four-poled platforms on which their bodies lie.


Babel of Indian Tongues


But the plain swarm;
and painted, Splotching t
crowd around the penna
about the smoky camp-f
the shore, where a thous
Coppery skins glisten eve'
is a medley of sounds as


s with the living. Furred, feathered:he meadows with bright colors, they
nt of some favorite chief, or gather
ires, or welcome the late comers at
rand canoes already deck the beach.
rywhere in the bright sunshine. There
well; the puttering voice of the Sioux,
35
f






the deep guttural tones of the Chippewas, the pitched tones
of the lower-lake Hurons; the shrill yip-yipping of the northern
wolf-dogs, children calling one another cheerily across the green,
the piping gulls circling overhead. And winging over and
through this Babel comes the deep and steady diapason of the
rapids unconfined.
It would have been worth your while to look upon a council
in session in the great lodge extended perhaps a hundred feet
for the occasion. Here were rows on rows of petty chiefs and
their retainers, with the great captains of clans and tribes in
the place of honor on the raised dais. In the center burned
the never-dying fire brought hither by its keepers; and beside
it stood the war-post, quivering under the whacks of the orators
as they recounted their exploits. Piles of kinnikinnick lay before the jossakeeds, who filled the painted pipes with solemn
ceremony and passed them from hand to hand. The precious
wampun was raised and presented; minstrels and story-tellers
entertained the assembly; and everlasting drums tortured the air
throughout the day.
It was a great day for the Saulteur youngsters. And when
the council folded its tents and silently stole away, the Bowating
boys and girls cherished pleasant memories of it for a long time,
and wished there could be another council. To them it was
as good as a circus.
Wabish Grows Old and Dies
Our typical Bowatinger Wabish passed from phase to phase,
and presently found himself an old man. His joints creaked
in the chase and he no longer loved to fish, for he found the
water cold. He preferred to sit by the fire and smoke, and
recount to himself the great deeds of his youth. He lived in
the past, as most old men of all races do, and discerned that he
had been skidded into the background by the younger generation. But he was a philosopher in his way, and he comforted
himself with the reflection that age had its compensations, one
of which was that others cheerfully did his fighting and his
foraging for him. Chippewa children have been taught to
honor their parents ever since there were Chippewas, and his
children were no exception.
When the Beaver Moon had passed and the Hunting Moon
of December was approaching, Wabish became aware that he
must shortly die. He was toothless and dropsical, and he fell
a prey to pleurisy. His people sent for the jossakeed, who
came and knelt before Wabish on his couch of skins. The
medicine man's chief remedy was a carefully polished hollow
bone. This bone, which was about three inches long and as
thick as a finger, the medicine man repeatedly swallowed, then
brought it up again, blew on Wabish through it, sucked up the




skin on his breast through it, and then ejected the illness he
had drawn out, with many strange and terrible convulsions and
grimaces. But it was of no avail, for Wabish died that night.
The next day kind hands attired the body in his best, and
sat it in the husband's place. His weapons were placed beside
him and his relatives and friends gathered around. After a
long silence one of them addressed him thus:
The Great Country of Souls
"My brother, you still sit among us, and your person retains
its familiar form, without any visible change except that it has
lost the power of action. But whither has that breath blown
that not long ago sent up smoke to Gitchi Manito? Why are
those lips silent, that lately spoke to us in pleasing language?
Alas, every part of that frame once so supple and active has now
become lifeless and still. Thou art not, however, forever lost to
us, nor shall thy name be forgotten. Thy soul lives in the
Great Country of Spirits with those of thy nation who have
gone before thee, and though we are left behind to mourn thy
loss here, we shall one day join thee. Wabish ke pe nace,
White Bird, with the respect we bore thee while living, we
come now to tender thee the last act of kindness in our power
to bestow. Thy body shall not lie neglected on the shore, a
prey to the beasts of the forest or the fowls of the air. We
will take care to lay it with those who have gone before thee;
and we trust thy spirit will join their spirits and be ready to
receive ours, when we also shall arrive at the Great Country
of Souls."
After an interval another spoke:
"A White Bird cleaved the blue at Bawating, strongpinioned and graceful. He stood upright among his fellows, he
fought valiantly with them against the common enemy. He
was good to his young, and the friend of all. Qne day, however, by command of the Great Spirit, lightning struck the White
Bird and brought him to the ground. There remained but to
inter him with the ceremony due so great and good a being.
Wabish e bun, Wabish was, but is no more. May the Great
Spirit grant us all to live with credit to the nation and to die
in peace with fortitude, as did Wabish."
When the eulogies were finished, the body of Wabish was
wrapped and tied securely in rolls of birch-bark, and taken out
of the lodge through a hole cut in the side. Many mourners
followed it to the hill, where it was placed upon a platform,
with his weapons and a supply of food sufficient for the needs
of his spirit until it should arrive at the Isles of the Blest. Nor
were certain charms and amulets forgotten, for the confusion
of any evil demons that might be encountered on the road.
87




Anid four nights a fire burned beside the platform, where the
flag-pole stands now, to light his spirit on its way.
A Library Now Covers the Spot
On returning from the burial-ground, Wabish's family and
others pulled down the whole house, put out the fire and went
to live with relatives. In the spring they built a new habitation
at some distance from the old where Wabish died. With the
remains of others deceased during the winter, his body was
interred in the ground south of the village.  Centuries after,
this Chippewa burying-ground was forgotten and obliterated,
and a Carnegie Library building was erected on the site of the
grave of Wabish.
His people and all the dwellers in Bowating believed in the
immortality of the soul, and none of them who had known
Wabish in the flesh doubted that somewhere he lived on. They
said that death was no evil, but a transition whereby all good
Chippewas might enter into greater happiness. Paradise, to
them, was a far-off country toward the west, a bright land
abounding in lakes and rivers full of fish, where the skies were
always unclouded and perpetual spring prevailed. The forests
there were filled with game, to be taken without painful exertion or hardship. Pain and cold never enter there, and all
things necessary for the comfort of mankind were provided by
Gitchi Manito, who welcomed his children on the banks of a
beautiful river, and bestowed eternal happiness on those separated ones who met to part no more.
Some years ago when the first edition of this work was
issued, the author's findings concerning the coming of the first
white man to Bowating and Gitchi Gumi were the subjects of
considerable chaffing and criticism from his friends. At that
time Butterfield's "Brule's Discoveries and Explorations" had
been before the public but a comparatively brief time, and his
book was unknown to many in the United States. Mr. Benjamin Sulte's scholarly researches had not been published, although he had made claim to this honor for Brule in 1907
before the Royal Society. Mr. James Curran, Editor of the
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Daily Star, had not published his
articles on Brule, and the Dominion of Canada had not officially
recognized, in the Canada Year Book, Brule js the discoverer
of Lake Superior and the Bowating or Asticou Rapids.
Little doubt now remains that Etienne Brule, Frenchman,
pioneer of pioneers, interpreter for Champlain, may fairly claim
to have turned the first leaf in the white man's history of
Bowating, or Sault Ste. Marie as we know it; and consequently
of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the great Northwest of
the United States and Canada. Indeed there is evidence that
he wandered at least to the Western confines of Lake Superior
88




/6dd?   Ala    '
in or about the year 182  twelve years before the coming of
Jean Nicolet to Bowali
Brule Was Not a Writer
It took a careful and minute examination of the writings of
the historian Sagard by Suite, Butterfield, Curran and others to
balance the books for Brule. As far as we know Brule never
wrote a line of history. He came out from Champigny, France,
in 1608, seventy-four years after the first landing of Jacques
Cartier, and five years after Champlain's first coming to the
new world. In 1610 Champlain, Governor of New France at
Quebec, sent Brule at the age of seventeen to the Hurons as a
hostage, and to learn the Indian tongue. Champlain wanted a
competent interpreter and in return he received at Quebec an
Indian youth, the son of a Chief, for the purpose of acquainting
him with the ways of civilization.
Brule spent a year with the Hurons, mastered their language,
and doubtless became nearly as savage as they. He returned
only occasionally to Quebec, and in 1615 he volunteered to
go through the enemy Iroquois country to the southward on a
mission to the friendly Andastes. Remaining with them for a
year, he was captured by the Iroquois on his homeward journey
and was put to torture near the head-waters of the Susquehanna
River. He was then twenty-three years of age. Tied to the stake,
his beard was torn out piecemeal and his body was singed from
head to foot with firebrands. One of his captors reached for
an amulet hanging on Brule's breast, and the latter warned him
in the Huron tongue, which was very similar to that of the
Iroquois, that the charm if touched would bring death to all his
torturers. Even as he spoke a fierce and sudden thunder storm
broke above their heads, and the superstitious Indians fled
in terror.
Is Treated With Honor
When the storm had passed, the Indians returned and freed
Brule from the stake. They took him to their lodges and carefully dressed his wounds, treated him with all honor, and soon
turned him loose at the northern border of their territory,
whence he found his way back to his friends.
The following year this restless Frenchman started west.
He had two reasons for coming our way: one a commission
from Champlain to explore the country, and another the receipt
of one hundred pistoles or two hundred dollars per year from
the Quebec traders, for inducing the Indians to go down to the
St. Lawrence with their furs. We have no positive evidence
that he reached Gitchi Gumi on this, his first journey westward,
although it is possible that he toiled his way through.
Since Champlain says little or nothing about discoveries
89




in the west by Brule, we must turn to Gabriel Sagard and his
Histoire du Canada for information. We find Sagard at
Huronia with some Recollet priests in 1623-himself not being
in holy orders-and in Quebec the year following, whence he
soon returned to France. The Iroquois were very bothersome
during Sagard's stay in New France. They were mortal enemies
of the French and desired the fur trade of the latter which was
developing down the St. Lawrence. In 1622 thirty or so canoe
loads of Iroquois had made a foray as far as Quebec, History
writing under these conditions must have been difficult. It
is no wonder that the modern narrator, anxious for the facts
of the period, occasionally finds himself in a fog of doubtful
silence or a sea of conflicting statements. But we do know
that Brother Sagard was with Brule and talked with him in the
Huron country in 1623, and in Quebec the following year.
Brought a Copper Ingot
Among other things Sagard has this to say of Brule:
"The Hurons in some places had copper of which I had
seen a little ingot near Mer Douce (Lake Huron), which interpreter Brule brough us from a nation about 80 leagues (240
miles) from the Hurons. About 100 leagues from the Hurons
there is a mine of copper from which the interpreter showed
me an ingot on his return from a voyage he had made to a
neighboring nation with a man named Grenolle..."
"Interpreter Brule has assured ub that above the Mer Douce
there is a very large lake which empties into it over rapids
nearly two leagues in width, which he has named Saut de
' Gaston; which lake with the Mer Douce takes about thirty days
canoe travel, according to the report of the savages, and of the
interpreter, 400 leagues in length...."
"One of our Frenchmen, having been trading with a northern nation, near the copper mine about 100 leagues from us,
told us on his return of having seen there several girls who had
had the ends of their noses cut off because they had been
guilty of a breach of their honor..... "
May Have Visited Lake Michigan
Of Grenolle we know practically nothing except that he
was the companion of Brule. But we do know that the Sioux
Indians at the western end of Lake Superior were wont to
punish their unchaste women by cutting their noses, so it would
seem reasonably certain that Brule and perhaps Grenolle had
penetrated far inland beyond Bowating. There is some evidence that one or both of them visited Lake Michigan in the
neighborhood of Green Bay.
Inasmuch as Brule does not appear to have gone farther
west than Manitoulin on his 1617 journey, cn account of In40




dian wars in that vicinity, it may reasonably appear that the
year in which Brule and perhaps the shadowy Grenolle visited
us was 1622.
Champlain Hated Brule
We might expect to find corroborative evidence of Brule's
explorations in the writings of Champlain, did we not know
that Champlain came to hate Brule in his latter days. He
accused Brule of being "abandoned to women;" of consorting
freely with the Indian girls, of whom many, he tells us, were
very beautiful and attractive in figure; of treacherously deserting the French for the English, although it appears that
it was Brule who was deserted; and of comporting himself in a
general way as a savage. But inasmuch as it was Champlain
who sent Brule among the savages when a boy, and kept him
there for a year to learn their language and their ways, if anyone was to blame for Brule's fall from grace was it not Champlain himself?
"This poor Brule," writes Sagard, "is not very devout,
and not much given to praying." It is difficult to see how he
could have been devout after his savage youth.
Champlain accuses Brule of selling himself to the English
after the fall of Quebec. But we learn to our surprise that
Champlain, after the return of the French to Quebec, sent back
an Indian boy, who had been educated in France, to his father
in the west, in charge of Etienne Brule.
I         Brule Killed and Eaten
Brule appears to have made his home more or less perpanently among the Indians in the village of Toanche, one of
the chief towns of the Huron nation, located on the north shore
of Penetang Bay. He was killed there by the Hurons in June,
1633, and his body eaten. No one knows whether he died in
some private brawl, or as a result of Huron animosity aroused
by his defection to the English. Brother Sagard was then living
in France, but hearing of the affair through letters from Canada,
he writes:
"Brule was condemned to death, then eaten by the Hurons
to whom for a long time he served as interpreter, and all for
a dislike they had against him for I know not what fault he had
committed against them. He lived among them many years,
living as one of them, serving as interpreter to the French, and
after all has received for pay only a sad death and an unhappy end."
While the English held Quebec the Indians came no more
to trade there, but in 1633, Champlain having returned to his
capital, a number of Hurons from Toanche came down with the
Indian youth Amentache, whom Brule had escorted home from
Quebec in 1629. Amentache excused Brule's death to Cham4!




plain on the ground that the former had left Champlain's service to go with the English.
Bones Moved to Ossossane
Father Brebeuf visited Toanche in 1634 and saw the place
where poor Brule had been murdered, but the village no longer
existed, for excepting one cabin nothing remained but the ruins
of the others. Not long after Brule's death fever broke out
in Toanche and many of the Hurons died miserably. The sick
ones were sure they saw Brule's spectre or that of his sister
hovering above the village, breathing forth flames and pestilence. Knowing the site to be accursed, they burned the village
and moved to another location some miles away. Four years
later the Indians at the time of one of their feasts of the dead,
removed Brule's bones to Ossossane, on the shore of Nottawasaga Bay near Varwood Point. There they probably rest
today, somewhere in the ground known as the Grozelle farm,
and within sight of the great fresh water lake which he was the
first white man to see.:
Mr. Benjamin Suite, the eminent Canadian historian, writes
of Brule:
"He was a man little known in history, but celebrated in
his time among the French in Canada, because he surpassed in
geographical knowledge all the explorers of Upper Canada and
the territory surrounding it. He had failed to attract the attention of Europe, its papers and learned societies. Besides,
he worked alone, without the aid of anyone, without ambition
or fame, like an humble courier de bois that he was. His taste
for savage life served.him for inspiration, he drew from it his
means of existence, his temperament, his European origin disposing him to enlarge from year to year the circle of his travels.
"A number of couriers de bois had done like him, only
their discoveries had brought nothing to them. Since 1616
he had traveled Upper Canada from north to south, visited
Pennsylvania, Chesapeake Bay to the ocean. In 1622 he went
around Lake Superior. Ic can hardly be said that there were
three houses in Quebec between these two dates.
Brule's Name to Remain
"It is regrettable that on the moral side, one cannot admit
Etienne Brule in the same category as Jean Nicolet, Jacques
Hertel, Jean and Thomas Godefroy, who worthily filled their
~careers as interpreters and then became serious colonists. He
became like others whom savage life had absorbed. But these
do not shine in history, while Brule has graven his name on vast
domains and such as he is we must accept him, under penalty
of committing an injustice in keeping silence on this subject."
42




There is little doubt that Brule should rank with Radissot,
Joliet, La jalle and other famous explorers. The real discoverer of the three largest Great Lakes, and the first white man
to set foot upon territory ranging from the site of Duluth to
that of Baltimore, has earned the right to fame, and his name
should not b- allowed to sink into oblivian. Honor to Brule,
the intrepid and the unfortunate.
Governor Champlain believed, and many another New
World Frenchman believed with him, that the all-water route
to China lay beyond Bowating to the westward or southwestward. We find this stated positively in his writings:
"The voyageurs and French explorers have taken a vow
never to cease their efforts until they have found either a
western or a northern sea, opening the route to China, which
so many have thus far sought in vain."
Sought Route to China
It is possible that this idea had already formed in the mind
of Champlain when he sent Etienne Brule to Lake Huron in
1617. Even at that time the rapids in the St. Lawrence near
Hochelaga (the site of Montreal) were known as La Chine,
or the rapids on the way to China. So when Jean Nicolet
came to visit us at Bowating in 1634, he came as a seeer of
the route to China.
We do not know that Nicolet had such intimate knowledge
of the Huron and kindred tongues as had Brule. We find him
living with the Algonquins on the Isle des Allumettes about
1618, and it was only after 1625 that he is found with the
Nipissing Hurons. The languages of these tribes were unlike
in many respects.
Nicolet's instructions from Champlain were to journey westward in an endeavor to learn ot those "distant western people
who had neither hair nor beards, and who journeyed in great
canoes."  They were said to come from beyond the "Great
Water" to trade with the Indians of the lakes.  Nicolet left
Trois Rivieres in July, 1634, with Father Brebeuf and other
priests and a large number of Indians, who were returning home
after their annual barter of furs at Quebec.  Most of these he
left in the vicinity of Mer Douce, and with seven Indians only
he proceeded on his history-making way.
Champlain Didn't Come.
He had been ordered by Champlain not to go farther north
in his quest than the Saut de Gaston or Bowating.  On Champlain's map dated 1632, there is a notation that he had gathered
information from which the map was drawn, over the period
from 1603 to 1629.  But Mr. Suite shows that Champlain was
43




using the results of explorations which only Brule and 6crenolle
could have furnished. Furthermore, he has placed Lakes Michigan and Superior, the latter with its island of copper (Isle
Royale) in contraposition, and this is proof to Mr. Suite at least
that Champlain had never visited these lakes himself, but had
made a natural mistake in setting down their locations.
The inverted Lake Michigan or Green Bay (des Puants) is
placed above Bowating on Champlain's map, and its outlet is
marked by rocks and a fall.  Fhe term 'Sault" is inserted
there, also a figure referring to the map index.  The index for
this figure reads as follows, the reference evidently being taken,
with certain omissions, from the writings of Sagard:
"Saut de Gaston, nearly two leagues wide, which discharges
into Mer Douce, coming from another very large lake, which
with the Mer Douce are 30 days journey by canoe according
to the reports of the savages"
The part omitted reads:
"And according to Brule, four hundred leagues in length."
The conclusion is inevitable that the omission was deliberate, probably the result of the petty rancor of Champlain.  We
must further conclude that the ground covered by Nicolet in
1634 had been traversed to some extent at least by a white
man before him.   That man, it is reasonably certain, was
Etienne Brule.
Still Hunting China.
The Saut de Gaston, named by Brule in honor of the brother
of the King of France, was to mark the northern limit of
Nicolet's explorations.  This indicates two things:  First, that
Champlain was satisfied with his knowledge of Lake Superior,
furnished by Brule; and second, that the route to China was
supposed to stretch in a southwesterly direction from Bowating.
When Nicolet started on his journey Chinaward, Brule had been
dead two years.
Nicolet, then, may be considered the ambassador of New
France to the Chinese Empire, contingent, of course, on his finding it.  He was to visit specifically the Indians of Bay des
Puants and to obtain all possible information of the beardless
people who could be none other than Chinese or Japanese. This
was a natural enough conclusion in the little light there was then
on the land to the west.
We do not know that Nicolet tarried long at Bowating. The
very casualness of his visit seems to indicate his knowledge of
some other white man's preceding him.  He found an interesting and populous village of Saulteur Chippewas at the rapids,
and he might have lingered there had not his instructions been
imperative. He had taken the usual Ottawa River route from
the St. Lawrence; coming down through Lake Nipissing, skirting
44




the north shore of Georgian Bay, and paddling up through the
Devil's Gap to Bowating.
He now proceeded down Gitchi Gumi Sippi, turned westward into the Michilimackinac Straits past the island of that
name, and arrived at the head of Green Bay where the city so
called now stands.  The site at that time was occupied by a
village of the Winnebagoes. Upon approaching the town he
sent a messenger ahead to anounce his coming.  Before landing he attired himself in a flaming robe of Chinese silk, adorned
with embroidered birds and flowers.  Then he sallied ashore,
carrying a pistol in each hand.
Indians All Flee.
Imagine if you can the stunning effect produced upon the
Indians by this pale apparition, clad in a fiery rainbow of a
gown, with Jovian thunder pealing from his fistsl If you had
been there no doubt you would have taken to the woods just
ao they did. In a twinkling the little town became a solitude,
save for one or two old men palsied with age and fear. When
it was seen from vantage ground in the timber that these
innocents were still alive and unharmed, the rest took courage
and returned, at first with trembling but soon with confidence.
Nicolet convinced them of his peaceful intentions and they
hurried to make a great feast for him. He sojourned with his
new friends a few days, canoed up the Fox river and portaged
over to the Wisconsin, descending thereon to a point within
three days' journey of the Mississippi.  Being warned of hostile
tribes beyond, he ventured no farther.  But he went back to
New France firm in the belief that the open sea lay just beyond.
For he had misinterpreted the Indian term for the Mississippi"Father of Waters"'-thinking it meant the great ocean which
he sought.
Our third white visitor-conceding Brule and Grenolle —
met death by drowning in the St. Lawrence in 1642. In the
same year died Samuel de Champlain, governor of New France,
the man who sent us these emissaries.  He was a truly great
character.
The next white men to ascend the lovely Old Channel of
Mer Douce were Jesuits, and they came by special invitation of
the Indians here. Members of the order, welcomed by the populous Huron villages around Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe,
had established in 1849 on the River Wye the Mission of St.
Mary's. It was a convenient and fairly central location.
War Club Laid Aside.
The occasion of the Jesuits' first coming to the rapids was
a Huron decennial Feast of the Dead held in the vicinity of St.
45




Mary's. This was a curious ceremony practiced by the Chippewas and other northern tribes as well.
At the time of these grand burial feasts the war club was
laid aside.  All were welcome to pay the last marks o. respect.
and to make sure by this ceremony the final entry of the souls
of the departed into eternal happiness.  For it was the belief
of these Indians that a second soul resided in the dead body,
not to be released until the due performing of the last sacred
rites at the great feast.
At the time appointed the accumulated corpses of years
were lowered from their scaffolds and raised from their graves,
while the trees gave up their ghastly winter's fruit. The coverings were removed and the bodies claimed by relatives, who
proceeded to scrape as far as possible the flesh from the bones.
These, having been wept over with many lamentations, were
tenderly wrapped in skins and furs and brought sometimes
great distances to the feasting place. Meanwhile great burial
pits had been prepared and lined with beaver and other skins.
Sacrifices lo the Dead
At the funeral dinner famed orators of the tribes recounted
the virtues of the deceased and bewailed their loss in rounded
periods. Many of the hearers gave themselves over to extravagant demonstrations of grief. When the bones were deposited at the edge of the pits other panegyrics were Celivered.
Belongings of the greatest possible value were deposited in
the huge graves as sacrifices to the dead, and the more costly
the offerings the greater was deemed the piety of the bereaved
relatives. Then were the bodies and the disjointed bones
placed in their last sepulchre, and arranged with poles as evenly
as possible and carefully covered with earth and stones. Thus
did our northern tribes insure to their dead a safe abode in
the Country of Souls.  The ceremonies ended with another
great feast, which was more joyful than the first, and where
singing and dancing took the place of funeral orations.
Chippewa tradition points to the shore of Tahquamenon
River, and Skull Cave on Mackinac Island, as ancient locations
of the Feasts of the Dead.
Some of the Huron pits have been found to contain more
than a thousand bodies. Weapons of different kinds, stone or
clay pipes, copper ornaments, beads and other trinkets are
found in great numbers. A few of the Georgian Bay pits contain articles of aboriginal Mexican make, proving ancient traffic relations over a vast territory.
Objects of European workmanship are found in nearly all
these communal graves. From this ethnologists infer that the
Feasts of the Dead did not greatly antedate the coming of the
whites.
46




Jesuits First Meet Chippewas
The Jesuits of St. Mary's Mission first made acquaintance
with the Saulteur Chippewas at one of their feasts. The following is from the Jesuit Relations for 1641, wherein the
missionary priests set down a careful record of their experiences
for their superiors:
"The inhabitants of the Sault, who came to this feast fron,
a distance of a hundred or a hundred and twenty leagues,
were actors in this ballet, in which the women appeared and
danced the third part of the ball...
"The Pauoitigoneinchas invited us -to go and see them in
their own country. They are a nation of the Algonquin language, distant from the Hurons a hundred or a hundred and
twenty leagues to the west whom we call the inhabitants of
the Sault. We promised to pay them a visit and see how they
might be disposed, in order to labor for their conversion;
especially as we learned that a more remote nation whom they
called the Ponteatami had abandoned their own country and
taken refuge with the inhabitants of the Sault, in order to remove from some other hostile nation who persecuted them
with endless wars. We selected Father Charles Raymbault to
undertake this journey; and as at the same time some Hurons
were to be of the party, Father Isaac Jogues was chosen, that
he might deal with them."
The two priests left St. Mary's for Bowating in September
of the same year, and reached their destination after seventeen
days' travel. They received a friendly welcome in the village
here of about two thousand Indians, and secured much information about the neighboring tribes. It is likely the local population had been swelled by a temporary influx of Potawatomies, driven here by their old-time enemies the Iroquois.
Invited to Stay Here
Jogues and Raymbault met the Chippewa Chiefs in council
here, and an invitation was extended to the Fathers to take up
their abode in Bowating. They must have remained but two
or three weeks, however, as they left the Chippewa capital
and returned to St. Mary's the same autumn. They are said
to have planted a cross at the foot of the rapids, the first to
have been raised in the million or more square miles comprising the Northwest. Father Raymbault was weak and ill, and
he died that winter at Quebec.
Three hundred and twenty Jesuits in all visited New France
under the French regime, and many of them lived long years
and died there. They labored among the Iroquois and
the Algonquins, the Hurons and the Chippewas, over country
stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to Chequamagon on Lake
Superior. Most of them were educated, cultured and refined




47






men, some were descendents of noble families, and the contrast between their homes in France and the savage haunts of
the north must have been great indeed. For instance, Father
LeJeune tells us in his Relation of a winter spent with a hunting band of Algonquins. He roamed the snowy forests with
them, sharing their hunger and cold and unsanitary conditions.
Often they were on starvation's verge, and again he was revolted by their gorging when game was plentiful. "I told them,"
he says, "that if dogs and swine could talk they would use just
such language."
Jogues Stands Out Pre-eminently
Of all this band of Christian men, Isaac Jogues, the first
Jesuit missionary to visit our locality, stands pre-eminent in
suffering, fortitude and frightful martyrdom. When he was
returning to the Huron country from Quebec with two other
Frenchmen, Goupil and Couture, and some Hurons, they were
captured by a war party of the Iroquois.  Coutre had killed
one of them, and in the end they gave the three white men a
ferocious beating and chewed off their finger-nails. After this
they were clubbed almost to death.
On Lake Champlain they met another party of Iroquois
and were compelled to run the gauntlet between lines of Indians armed with clubs and thorny sticks. When the Frenchmen fell, drenched with their own blood, they were recalled to
life by firebrands applied to their bodies. Couture showed
such physical stamina and bull-dog courage that his admiring
enemies adopted him into their tribe, and he was safe from
torture thereafter. But Jogues and Goupil were dragged from
town to town by the savages, and constantly exposed to the
utmost torments that could be inflicted without killing them.
In the intervals of his sufferings Jogues managed to baptize
some Huron prisoners with rain-drops gathered from an ear
of corn.
Stilt Preached Gospel
Soon Goupil was killed, but as Jogues showed no disposition to escape he was allowed a little liberty. This he spent in
baptizing infants and prisoners wherever possible, and in
preaching the Gospel to anyone who would listen
Having accompanied a fishing party of Iroquois to the
Hudson River, he was seen by the Dutch at Fort Orange
(Albany), and they aided his escape to Manhattan. There
the Dutch Governor arranged for his passage to Europe. He
arrived safely in Paris and became the hero of the day, for
the account of his adventures made a great sensation. He
was received at court and narrated his sufferings to the queen,
who kissed his wounded hands.
48




The following spring found him in Montreal, preparing tn
go as a peace envoy to the Iroquois country. "I shall go, but
I shall never return," he wrote. On his way he called at Fort
Orange, where the kindly Dutchmen marvelled greatly at his
second venture among his enemies. A few days later he was
unmercifully clubbed by some Mohawk Indians, one of whom
drove a tomahawk into his brain.  Thus died Jogues, valiant
soldier of the cross and first missionary to penetrate the wilderness to Bowating.
Love Your Enemies
In the Relation for 1647, Lalemant says of Jogues: "He
felt no aversion to his tormentors, even in the midst of his
sufferings. As a mother regards with pity her stricken child,
so he looked with an eye of compassion upon his enemies."
The Jesuits of New France carried the following instructions, which throw an interesting light upon the lives of missionaries and Indians alke:
"You should love like brothers the Indians with whom you
are to spend the rest of your life. Never make them wait for
you in embarking. Take a flint and steel to light their pipes
and kindle their fires at night, for these little services win their
hearts. Try to eat their sagamite as they cook it, bad and
dirty as it is. Fasten up the skirts of your cassock, that you
may not carry water or sand into the canoe.  Wear no
shoes or stockings in the canoes, but you may put
them on in crossing the portages.  Do not make yourself
troublesome, even to a single Indian.  Do not ask too many
questions. Bear their faults in silence and always be cheerful.
Buy fish for them from the tribes you will pass; and for this
purpose take with you some awls, beads, knives and fljh-hooks.
Be not ceremonious with the Indians; take at once what they
offer you, for ceremony offends them. Be very careful, when
in a canoe, that the brim of your hat does not annoy them.
Perhaps it would be better to wear your night-cap- There is
no such thing as impropriety among Indians. Remember that
it is Christ and His cross that you are seeking and if you aim
at anything else, you will get nothing but affliction for body
and mind."
Iroquois Attack the French
Shortly after the death of Jogues the Iroquois attacked the
French and their Algonquin and Huron allies with red hot fury.
Champlain had made a foray into the Iroquois territory in
1615, and the Five Nations, biding their time, had never forgotten it. Furthermore, the Dutch and the English to the east
of the Iroquois lands wanted furs and more furs. The forests
of what is now central New York, and which were then the
home of the Five Nations, housed no such fur-bearing animals
49




either in quantity or quality as were to be found across the
St. Lawrence to the north and west. Indian wants and needs
increased rapidly with the coming of the white man and his
European commodities. The red man desired powder and
guns, hatchets, cloth, beads, traps, cooking utensils and whisky;
the white brother was keen for furs. With a tribal organization
not surpassed even under Pontiac a century later, the Iroquois
opened hostilities under the double inspiration of plunder and
revenge.
Nothing could have exceeded their ferocity. They swept
down the St. Lawrence valley and devoted the Huron villages
to a fearful slaughter. Nor did they spare the French, whose
island of Montreal was devastated by two bloody incursions.
The Hurons were scattered to the winds. As a nation they
ceased to exist. The work of the Jesuits among them, prosecuted with so much toil and care, sank in blood before the
hatchets of the Iroquois, and Father Brebeuf and Lalemant
and others were put to death with horrible barbarities.
The Iroquois Confederacy reached the zenith of its power
about 1653. In that year we find its victorious and omnipresent butchers swarming afar upon the upper Great Lakes
in pursuit of the flying Ottawas and Hurons. In view of the
likelihood that at no time the number of their fighting men
exceeded 2,600, the destruction they created seems almost
inconceivable. It surely was a marvelously small number to
make such great havoc among so many tribes, and seriously to
imperil the existence of the French.
Barbaraties Beyond Belief
Through the Jesuit Relations some of th3 fearful details
of that war have come down to us that are well-nigh beyond
belief. fhe Northern Hurons met with an occasional success
in their battles with the enemy, and they did not fail to extract
a savage pleasure from the agonies of their captives. Once they
— fook a hundred Iroquois prisoners, including the Chief Ononkwaya, and these were distributed among the Huron villages for
torture and feasting. But in the hour of his death the Iroquois
leader baffled his enemies, who considered it an augury of
disaster if no cry of pain could be forced from their victims.
When he had been baptized by the Jesuits, who tried unavailingly to save his life, he was bound to a stake upon a low
scaffold and a scorching fire was built beneath him. This was
just near enough to roast him by slow degrees, permitting the
delighted Hurons to witness his agony for hours. But they
could not draw as much as a single moan from him, for he had
wrought himself into an ecstasy of fury that rose superior to
pain.  And when his executioners, thinking him nearly dead,
tore his reeking scalp from his head, he burst his bonds with a
50












superhuman effort, seized a flaming brand from the fire below
and drove them from the scaffold.
How a True Chief Dies
He held them at bay for a moment while stones, clubs
and live coals rained upon him from the crowd. Presently a
false step threw him to the ground, where his captors picked
him up and threw him full into the fire. Covered with blood,
cinders and ashes, he leaped out and upon them, brandishing
a blazing brand in each hand. Cowed for an instant they fell
back before so terrible a sight, and he rushed toward the town
as if to set it on fire. In a trice a warrior tripped him with a
pole, bringing him headlong to the earth, where they fell upon
him, cut off his hands and his feet and again tossed him into
the fire. Again he rolled himself out, crawling forward on his
knees and the stumps of his arms, glaring upon his enemies
with such unutterable ferocity that they recoiled once more.
Then, seeing that he was helpless, they knocked him over and
cut off his head, and hastened to feast upon the body of so
courageous an adversary. One of his severed hands was thrown
to the Jesuits, who buried it in their chapel.
Such was an incident of an Iroquois defeat. Their neverending wars might have entirely wiped out the comparatively
small numbers of their warriors, even though they were victorious in every battle, had they not resorted to an expedient
mentioned in the Relations. They made a practice of adopting
many of their prisoners, especially the youths. These nearly
always became loyal members of the Five Nations, often outdoing the native Iroquois in committing atrocities upon their
former relatives and tribesmen.
An Invasion That Failed
The remnants of the Hurons and the Tobacco Nations having fled northward, the triumphant Iroquois to the number
of about one thousand embarked in war canoes and proceeded
through the Michilimackinac Straits to attack the survivors and
their Winnebago allies at Green Bay. The latter successfully
defended their fort, and some of the retreating Iroquois were
lost in a great storm at the entrance to the Bay, which is known
since as "Death's Door."
Here the invaders divided, and half their number ascended
Gitchi Gumi Sippi or St. Mary's River to Bowating, driving our
resident Chippewas from the village at the rapids and taking
many prisoners. Portaging around the rapids they embarked
on the bay above, landing at Point Iroquois to torture and eat
their victims after their accustomed fashion; while the Chippewa Chief Nin gau be on rallied his somewhat demoralized
51




forces under the shadow of Gros Cap's lofty headline across the
bay.
The night was foggy, and favorable for surprise attack.
The Chippewas crossed the bay undiscovered, and fell upon
their gorged and sleeping enemies at the hour of dawn. There
was a great slaughter and the sandy beach was soaked with
Iroquois blood. The Chippewas placed the enemy skulls in a
line along the shore, said to have been nearly a mile in length.
The headless bodies were left unburied on the beach, prey
to the wild beasts and the birds, and many years after bones
were still to be found there. Tradition says that but on, Chippewa warrior was killed, and that one Iroquois was sent back
home alive, minus nose and ears, with the jeering admonition
to his nation to send out men and not women the next time it
desired to fight the Chippewas.
Never Molested Again
Thus did our Saulteur Chippewas hold their lands against
the farthest north assault of their renowned antagonists, and
they never were molested by the Five Nations afterwards. To
this day the whites call the place of the famous fight "Point
Iroquois," and the Chippewas know it as "Nad o way an ing,
or the Place of the (Iroquois) Snakes."
Occasionally there is an echo of that epochal occasion on
ihe streets of Sault Ste. Marie. Indians from the east sometimes visit us, and often as not they are accosted by a local
Indian:
"How do, Iroquois?"
"Huh, how do you know we're Iroquois?"
"Oh, we know the Iroquois well. There are hundreds of
them here."
"What, Iroquois here?"
"Yes, plenty. They came here to see us nearly three hundred years ago and they are here yet. They were looking for
trouble, and we gave there such fine entertainment that they
never went back."
This, you understand, helps to keep those pesky eastern
Indians where they belong.
The other half of the invading Iroquois forces turned southward down the western shore of Lake Michigan to the land of
-the Illini. Read what happened there, in the words of the
ancient chronicler:
"The Iroquese embarqu'd upon the Mississippi and were
discover'd by another Fleet that was sailing down the other
side of the same river. The Iroquese cross'd over immediately
to that island which is since call'd Aux Recontres. The Nadouessis, i. e., the other little Fleet, being suspicious of some
ill design, without knowing what people they were (for they




had no knowledge of the Iroquese but by Hear-say); upon this
Suspicion, I say, they tug'd hard to come up with 'em.
"The two armies posted themselves upon the Point of the
island, where the two Crosses are put down on the Map; and
as soon as the Nadouessis came in sight, the Iroquese cry'd
out in the Illinese Language, Who are ye? To which the Nadouessis answer'd, Somebody; And putting the like Question
to the Iroquese, receiv'd the same Answer.
Iroquois Are Routed
"Then the Iroquese put this Question to 'em, Where are
you going?? To Hunt Beeves, reply'd the Nadouessis. But
pray, says the Nadouessis, what's your Business?  To hunt
men, reply'd the Iroquese. 'Tis well, says the Nadouessis, we
are Men, and so you need go no farther. Upon this Challenge
the two Parties disembarqu'd, and the Leader of the Nadouessis
cut his Canows to pieces; and after representing to his Warriors
that they behov'd either to conquer or die, march'd up to the
Iroquese who receiv'd 'em at first Onset with a Cloud of Arrows;
But the Nadouessis having stood their first Discharge, which
killed 'em eighty men, fell in upon 'em with their Clubs in their
Hands, before the others could charge again; and so routed 'em
entirely.
"This Engagement lasted for two hours, and was so hot,
that two hundred and sixty Iroquese fell upon the Spot, and
the rest were all taken Prisoners. Some of the Iroquese indeed
attempted to make their Escape after the Action was over; but
the victorious General sent ten or twelve of his Men to pursue
'em in one of the Canows that he had taken; and accordingly
they were all overtaken and drown'd.
"The Nadouessis having obtain'd this Victory, cut off the
Noses and Ears of two of the cleverest Prisoners; and supplying
'em with Fusees, Powder and Ball, gave 'em the liberty of returning to their own Country, in order to give their Countrymen to understand, that they ought not to employ Women to
hunt after Men any longer."
There is an ancient reference to a band of Iroquois who
encamped about this time or a little later on the shore of
Moran Bay in the Straits of Mackinac. There they stayed for
some time under a temporary truce, but having incurred the
enmity of the Chippewa Chief Sau ge mau, they took refuge
after a fight in Skull Cave on Mackinac Island. The cave was
unknown at that time to Chippewas, and when discovered by
them many years later it is said to have been much larger than
it is at present.
Many Died in the Cave
The warriors of Sau ge mau were unable to find the
Iroquois after a careful search of the island, so the Chippewas
53




conciuded that their enemies had transformed themselves into
spirits and flown away. The supernatural reputation of the
island helped them to arrive at this decision. There is little
doubt that the Iroquois, or many of them, died in the cave.
About one hundred years later, when Alexander Henry was
hidden by his Indian brother Wawatam in that snug retreat,
he found it full of dead men's bones, concerning which the
Indians of his time knew nothing.
And so it came about that the Iroquois, victorious many
times in eastern fields, suffered defeat and the loss of nearly
half their fighting men at the hands of the Chippewas, the
Winnebagoes and the Illini in the north and west.
Meanwhile the northern fur shipments, so lusted after by
the Iroquois, continued to find their way to Montreal, Three
Rivers and Quebec, via our rapids and the Ottawa River route.
It is recorded that several French voyageurs established themselves here in 1641, but there is no record that they built or
maintained permanent habitations.  It is possible that they
spent several winters in the vicinity, but it is quite as certain
that the necessities of trading would take them to the St.
Lawrence during the open season of navigation.
It is certain that the Sault was an important trading post
fifty or sixty years before Detroit was thought of as such. Ususually the hunting was good here, and fur-bearing animals
were plentiful. It was the central point for a vast amount of
territory. The northern route to Montreal was much shorter,
and it lay farther from the Iroquois, while the water trip by way
of Lake Erie involved not only an exhausting portage around
Niagara Falls, but it took the traders into enemy country for
some distance.
Peter Radisson's Travels.
Let us now consider briefly the travels of Peter Radisson,
ther first white man to write down in any detail a description of
ir Sault locality. The volume in which the narratives of
Radisson appear is entitled "Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson,
being an Account of his Travels and Experiences among the
North American Indians from 1652 to 1694. Transcribed fyom
the original manuscripts in the Bodleian Library and the British
Museum. Published by the Prince Society, Boston, 1885."
Edmund Slafter, president of the Prince Society, writes as
follows in the preface:
'* he narratives contained in this volume were apparently
written without any intention of publication, and are plainly authentic and trustworthy. They have remained in manuscript
more than two hundred years, and in the meantime have escaped the notice of scholars, as not even extracts from them have,
so far as we are aware, found their way into print.
"The author was a native of France, and haod an imperfect
54




knowledge of the English language. The journals, with the
exception of the last in the volume, are, however, written in that
language, and, as might be anticipated, in orthography, in the
use of words, and in the structure of sentences, conform to no
known standard of English composition. But the meaning is in all
cases clearly conveyed, and, in justice both to the author and
the reader, they have been printed verbatim et literatim, as in
the original manuscripts."
A Restless Spirit.
In a day when travel was difficult, Radisson was a tremendous traveller.  He thought no more of coming from
France to the Sault, or from England to Hudson's Bay, or from
Turkey to the West Indies, than you or I do of going to lunch.
Never was there so restless a spirit as this Radisson.
Radisson must have been another such character as Brule,
for he was fifteen years old when he came from France to
Three Rivers in 1651.  The following year he was taken
prisoner by the Iroquois while hunting, his companions were
killed, and he was saved by adoption into the tribe.  On a
hunting trip with some new brothers of the Mohawks, he killed
them and escaped.  He was soon caught and brought back
for the torture, but his foster-parents saved him.  Again he
made his escape to the Dutch at Albany, and by their aid he
proceeded through New Amsterdam to France. He returned
to Quebec and Three Rivers in the spring of 1654, and greeted
his sisters there who had supposed him dead.  One of these
sisters had married Medard de Groseilliers, and this brother-inlaw accompanied him on his journey to the Sault.
Before coming north Radisson and his brother-in-law
sojourned two years in Wisconsin and are considered by some
excellent authorities to have discovered the Mississippi River.
They returned to the St. Lawrence with three hundred and fifty
canoe-loads of furs.  In his account of this journey Radisson
says: "We desired not to go to ye north till we had made a
discovery in ye south, being desirous to know what they did."
They turned their canoes westward again in 1658, in search
of more furs, and the sea that separates America from China.
They left in the night, and against the consent of the Governor,
who had insisted on a share of the profits.  The Indians accompanying them were mostly Saulteur Chippewas and Ottawas
who had piloted them on the previous voyage.
A Terrestial Paradise
Coming to the Sault, Radisson described it thus:
"We came after to a rapid that makes ye separation between ye lake of ye Hurons and that which we call ye Superior
or Upper lake, for that ye wild men hold it to be ye longer and




broader, besides a great many islands, which make it appear of
bigger extent.  This rapid was formerly ye residence of those
(Indians) with whom we were.   We made cottages at our
advantage, and found ye truth of what those men have told us,
that if once we would come to that place we should make good
cheer of ye white fish.  Ye bear, castors (beaver), and
oriniack (moose) showed themselves often, but to their cost;
indeed it was to us like a terrestrial paradise.  After so long
fasting, after so great paines that we had taken, finds ourselves
so well by choosing our dyet, and resting ourselves when we
had a mind to it, it is here that we must taste with pleasure a
sweete bit.  But ye season was far spent, and use diligence
and leave that place so wished, which we shall bewail, to the
cursed Iroquois. We left that inn without reckoning with out
host.  The weather was agreeable when we began to navigate
upon that great extent of water (Lake Superior), finding it so
calm and ye air so clear."
Radisson speaks of cottages, and an inn, but it is likely that
his language is figurative.  He does not seem to have stayed
with us long enough to think of erecting a permanent home. He
visited a place where there was a small river with pieces of
pure copper ore on its banks close to the lake, and admired in
passing the beauties of the Pictured Rocks.  He portaged over
the Keweenaw Peninsula, and went on to the country of the
Crees, visiting James Bay.
Returning to Quebec the two explorers tried to interest
merchants there in trading into Hudson's and James Bay via
the Atlantic Ocean. Their project was rejected, there and in
France.  But the British ambassador at Paris persuaded them
to go with him to London, where they readily found merchants
who outfitted a ship on which Radisson and Grosilliers sailed
for Hudson's Bay. This voyage resulted in the organization
of the Hudson's Bay Company in England in 1670, the greatest
fur dealers in the world and still flourishing.
The achievements of Radisson and Groseilliers are probably
without a parallel in history. The beginning of the downfall
of the French in Canada really dates from that historic fourth
voyage of theirs to and beyond the "terrestrial paradise" of the
Sault.  For they placed the English firmly in position on the
north as well as the south flank of the French, who thus in time
lost the greatest asset of the land in that day, which was the
trade in furs. At the close of the narrative Radisson comments
bitterly on his treatment by the Governor of New France:
Fined by the Governor.
"Ye Governor, seeing us come back with a considerable
sum for our own particular, and seeing that his time was expired and that he was to go away, made use of that excuse to
56




do us wrong and to enrich himself with ye goods we had so
dearly bought.  He fined us four thousand pounds to make a
fort at Three Rivers, telling us for all manner of satisfaction
that he would give us leave to put our coat of arms upon it, and
moreover, 6,000 pounds for ye country.
But ye Bougre did really grease his chops with it, and moreover, made us pay a custom which was the fourth part of it.
Was he not a tyrant to deal so with us, after that we had so
hazarded our lives, and having brought in less than two years
by that voyage, as ye Factors of that country said, between
forty and fifty thousand pistoles?"
It certainly was shabby treatment, and Radisson will not be
blamed for expecting more consideration.  But we Saulteurs
shall always think kindly of him who named our home "so
wished, a terrestrial paradise."
Father Rene Menard, a Superior of the Jesuit order, accompanied Radisson and Grosseilliers on this voyage, purposing to
establish a mission to the western Lake Superior Indians. They
left him on the south shore of the lake at a point n- r the present site of L'Anse, Michigan. He sojourned there several
months with a band of Ottawas, enduring much abuse and illtreatment.
Never Reached Destination
In the spring of 1661 he set out across country southwestward, supposedly alone, for the country of the Petuns, across
what is now the Wisconsin state line. He never reached his
destination, having been murdered by some unfriendly Indian
or having perished from accident or starvation in the woods.
The Relations for 1662 mention Father Menard as having
passed Montreal on his westward journey, and express a fear
that he had met met with accident.
Father Menard was succeeded in 1665 in the farther Lake
Superior territory by Father Claude Allouez, chief of the
Ontanak or Ottawa missions.  This noted priest is said to
have preached the gospel to twenty Indian tribes, and has been
called the founder of Christianity in the West.  He opened his
mission at Chequamegon Bay or La Pointe du Esprit, a place
long famous in the annals of the North.  Enroute to his field
he visited the Sault, and he re-christened the location Saut de
Tracy in honor of Marquis de Tracy, then Governor of New
France.
Called it Lake Tracy
He also named the great body of water to the northward
Lake Tracy, and the lake is so designated on some of the maps
of the period.  He found the Chippewas and their neighbors
worshipping the lake as a divinity or Manito, both on account
of its vast size and the plentiful supply of fish food it yielded
them.




Father Marquette Comen
After laboring four years in the La Poine quarter, Father
Allouez gave over the station to Jacques Marquette, now the
best known of all the Jesuits of New France, and founded a
mission at Green Bay.
Casting about for a center in the great north country, the
Jesuits looked upon the Saut de Gaston or Saut de Tracy and
found it excellently suited to their needs.
Already French voyageurs and fur traders were coming,
going and sojourning here, and for all we know had already
established more or less permanent log cabins and fur storehouses in this ideal Indian trading point. The three greatest
lakes radiated from it like pinions from a hub. It was the great
gathering place for the tribes, who came hither conveniently by
canoe to sit in council, to hunt and to fish. It was a visiting
place for travelers to all points of the compass, and it was the
one point in these lines which all must pass. And it was fairly
safe from Iroquois molestation.
Therefore Father Allouez, as Superior of the Lake Tracy
Missions, placed Father Louis Nicholas at the Sault as resident
priest in 1667, by order of Father Le Mercier, the Superior
General in Quebec. From that year and especially after the
coming of Marquette in the year following, our records of this
locality, for a few years at least, are much more concrete.
Arrived in 1668
Born in France in 1637, Marquette early showed religious
inclinations and about 1654 was admitted to the Jesuit novitiate. Twelve years later he came to the Canadian missions
and was appointed to a station in the vicinity of Quebec. He
studied the Indian dialects under the veteran Druillettes, and a
priest being needed at the Saut de Tracy, he was sent here in
the spring of 1668.
Here, with the help of the Jesuit lay brother Bohesme,
under the direction of Allouez, and probably with the help of
Father Nicholas, he constructed on the south side of the river
at the foot of the rapids, a rude chapel and dwelling house.
This was the first permanent Christian place of worship in what
is now the State of Michigan. Possibly also it was the first
white man's habitation, but we cannot be sure of this, for French
traders certainly had been buying furs here for some years.
Location of First Church
The exact location of this chapel is unknown, but it must
have been near the foot of Bingham avenue. Father Gagnieur,
S. J., of Sault Ste. Marie, a careful student of the early history
of this locality, thinks it may have been raised on that piece of
ground where Dr. F. J. Moloney's house now stands, or it cer58




tainiy was in close proximity to the same. In a paper read in
June, 1923, on the occasion of the unveiling of the tablet commemorating this chapel, Father Gagnieur gave the following
reasons for this opinion:
(1)  The details in the Relations regarding the St. Lusson
ceremony of 1671 point to that site as the probable place of
the chapel. The St. Lusson procession took its start from Marquette's little church.
(2) The early Jesuits planted vegetables in a small clearing here which was probably part of the large clearing known
in our day as "The Indian Green." It was a favorite gathering
place of the Indians, who played there the game of ball called
"Pagaadowewin," or baggatiway. This game was a kind of
religious rite with them; and it is likely that Marquette would
choose the spot for the inculcation of the new faith which was
to supersede the old.
(3)  Charlevoix's map of 1721 clearly marks the church
at about this spot. Another map of 1 789, and a landscape of
1850 also indicate that location.
(4) Government maps of 1850 show that Bingham
Avenue was then called Church Street. As there were no other
churches in the vicinity, and as several churches in succession
have occupied the ground, it seems likely that this early pathway was so named because of the first church and its successors
at its foot.
Here, then, Marquette raised the first Christian church,
however humble, in a vast stretch of territory, and ministered to
the few Frenchmen who came and to his wild and fickle Indian
flock. He pursued his studies in the Algonquin tongue, and in
a short time he had acquired six of the Indian dialects. He
was in a lonesome land, but had little time to be lonesome.
He saw Allouez at intervals, Dablon came to share the station
with him for a time, and he probably met his friend Druillettes
at some place in the territory, either before or after St. Lusson
took formal possession of the land for the King of France in
1671.
We find Father Le Mercier writing in the Relations for
1669:
"The mission of the Ottawas is now one of the finest in
New France. The scarcity of all things, the brutal disposition
of those savages, the remote situation-three hundred or four
hundred leagues away-the number of tribes and the promise
that an entire Nation has just made to Father Allouez after
general council, to embrace the Christian faith-all these are
things that make our missionaries wish for that mission with a
very ardent zeal.
Suited for Apostolic Labors
"Father Claude Dablon has been sent to be Superior of
59




these upper missions, nothwithstanding the abundant fruits he
was reaping here. The first place where one meets these upper
nations is at the Sault, more than two hundred leagues distant
from Quebec. It is here that the missionaries have established
themselves as the place best suited to their apostolic laborsthe other tribes having been acustomed for some years to betake themselves thither, in order to go down to Montreal or
Quebec to trade. A location has been chosen at the foot of
the rapids in the river, on the south side, nearly on the 46th degree of latitude, and the cold is much less severe there than
here, although we are nearly on the same latitude.
"Father Marquette writes us from the Sault that the harvest
there is very abundant, and that it rests only with the missionaries to baptize the entire population, to the number of
two thousand. Thus far, however, our fathers have not dared
to trust these people, who are too acquiescent; fearing that after
their baptism they will cling to their customary superstitions.
Especial attention is given to instructing them and to baptizing
the dying, who are a surer harvest."
Makes Map of Great Lakes
In the years 1668-69 Marquette collaborated with Allouez
in making a map of the Great Lakes, which shows with exactness the outline of the shores and islands of this region and
which was valuable for many years as a guide to the north
country.
About this time Father Claude Dablon recorded the following in the Relations:
"What is commonly called the Sault is not properly a sault
or a high fall but a very violent current of waters from Lake
Superieur; which, finding themselves checked by a great numbor of rocks that dispute their passage, form a dangerous cascade of half a league in width. All these waters descend and
plunge headlong together as by a flight of stairs, or over rocks
that bar the whole river.
"It is three leagues below Lake Superieur and twelve leagues
above the Lake of the Hurons; this entire extent making a beautiful river cut up by many islands, which divide it and increase
its width in some places so that the eye cannot reach across.
It flows very gently through almost its entire course, being difficult of passage only at the Sault.
Whitefish Found Abundantly
"At the foot of these rapids and even amid these boiling
waters, extensive fishing is carried on from spring until winter,
of a kind of fish found usually only in Lake Superieur and the
Lake of the Hurons. It is called in the native language "Attikameg," and in ours "poisson blanc," for in truth it is very
60




white, and it is very excellent; so that in truth it furnishes food
almost by itself to the greater part of all these peoples.
"Dexterity and strength are needed for this kind of fishing, for one must stand upright in a bark canoe, and there
among the whirlpools, thrust with muscles tense deep into the
water a rod, at the end of which is fastened a net made like
a pocket, into which the fish are made to enter.
"One must look for them as they glide between the rocks,
and pursue them when they are seen. When they have been
made to enter the net, then they are raised with a sudden strong
oull into the canoe
Trained in Christianity
"This convenience of having the fish in such quantities
that one has only to go and draw them out, attracts the surrounding nations to the spot during the summer. These people
being wanderers and living for the most part by fishing, find
here the means to satisfy their wants, and at the same time we
embrace the opportunity to instruct them and train them in
Christianity during their sojourn at this place. Therefore we
have been obliged to establish here a permanent Mission which
we call "Sainte Marie du Sault."
"The natives of this district call themselves "Pahoniting,"
and the French call them "Saulteurs," because they live at the
Sault as in their own country. They comprise only a hundred
and fifty souls, but have united themselves with three other
nations which number more than five hundred and fifty.
"The nomadic life led by th, greater part of the savages
of these countries lengthens the process of their conversion and
leaves them only very little time for the instructions that we give
them. To render them more stationary we have fixed our
abode here, where we cause the soil to be tilled, in order to
induce them by our example to do the same, and in this several
have already begun to imitate us. Moreover we have had a
chapel erected, and have taken care to adorn it."
Names the Settlement for the Virgin
So we see that, a settlement having been made that gave
promise of permanency, it seemed desirable to bestow upon it
a lasting appellation in place of the vague Bowating, Sault de
Gaston, or bault de Tracy, names used indiscriminately by the
Indians or the voyageurs. Marquette was a devotee of the
Virgin Mary, and piety suggested to him the name Sainte Marie
du Sault as fitting and auspicious. And no doubt it was hoped
to make this mission a worthy successor to that of the same
name on the River Wye, destroyed in the Iroquois wars. Altered
a little, the name gave the locality then has come down to us.
61




In further indication of their coming to stay, the missionaries planted near their chapel a little field of vegetables, probably Indian corn, peas, and other vegetable simples. The products of this little garden served for their own use and were
an example in thrift as well to their Indian congregations, who
frequently brought misery upon themselves through their neglect
of agriculture.
This meager description by the Jesuits of their small beginnings at Sainte Marie du Sault has been supplemented by
the account of the Sulpician priest Rene de Galinee, who arrived here with Dollier de Casson in May, 1670. It is a manifest commentary on the confused knowledge of the Great Lakes
country at that time, that these men, who had left the Sulpician
seminary at Montreal the year before in search of the Ohio
River, should "wind up" at Sainte Marie du Sault.
Came Up From Detroit
Although Galinee and Dollier came to us by way of Lake
Erie and the Detroit River, being the first whites to ascend
those waters, it appears from the dim records of the time that
the first plans of the pair were to travel the usual Ottawa
River to the Sault, thence to Green Bay and across Wisconsin
to the Mississippi, which they proposed to descend to its junction with the Ohio. There they wished to establish a mission
among the Shawnees, who desired instructon in the Christian
faith.
If this interpretation of the ancient archives is correct, it
fits nicely the theory that Radisson was the true discoverer of
the Upper Mississippi, and that he had given the "lay" of the
stream to his French friends in Montreal.  Captain Russell
Blakeley's examination of Radisson's narrative, published in the
Minnesota Historical Society's records, leaves little doubt of
Radisson's priority.
About the time, however, of their intended departure, the
afterward famous Robert Cavelier de La Salle, was leaving
Montreal in search of the never-forgotten and still-desired land
of China. He proposed to take the Lake Erie route, and he
induced Galinee and Dollier to change their plans and go with
him. Galinee was a skilled cartographer, and his services would
be invaluable in charting the westward country.
Take an All Water Route
Their party of about twenty left Montreal in July, 1669,
and proceeded to Lake Ontario and the country of the Iroquois,
with whom the French were now in truce. They passed Niagara
Falls so closely that they could plainly hear their roar, but passed on without visiting them. And near the ptresent site of Port
Stanley, Ontario, they came most unexpectedly upon Jean Pere
62




and Louis Joliet,, who was to become as famous as La Salle,
returning from the Sault and its vicinity in search of copper and
also on a voyage of exploration. Pere and Joliet were thus
the first white men to traverse the all-water route-save only
the Niagara portage-between Montreal and Sainte Marie du
Sault.
Here La Salle and Joliet joined forces and turned eastward,
while Dollier and Galinee, fired by Joliet's tales of the fallow
and heathen North, and provided with a plan of the route to
the Sault, continued their journey to the west. They did this
contrary to the advice of La Salle, who reminded them of the
Jesuit stations already established to the northward.
Wintering on the shores of Lake Erie, in the spring of
1670 they erected a cross and scrawled thereon the arms of
France, taking possession of the country in the name of the
French king.  At Point Pelee they lost their altar service in a
storm, which appeared to them to be the work of the malicious
Beelzebub himself. On the site of Detroit they found a large
rock freakishly carved by nature into the remote resemblance
of a human form,-a Manito before which the Indians prostrated themselves and laid their offerings. The Frenchmen attacked this false diety with enthusiasm. "I was filled with
hatred against him," says Galinee in his journal, "and I broke
him in pieces with my axe; after which we carried the largest
piece to the middle of the river and threw it with the rest into
the water, trusting that he would never be heard of more. For
this righteous action God repaid us bountifully, for the very
same day we killed a deer and a bear."
Canoeing without further adventure to the Sault, Galinee
continues:
Arrive in Sault May 25, 1670
"We arrived on the 25th of May, 1670, the day of Pentecost, at Sainte Marie du Sault. This place the Reverend Jesuit
Fathers have made their principal establishment for the missions of the Ottawas. They had two men in their service since
last year, who have built them a pretty fort, that is to say, a
square of cedar posts twelve feet high with a chapel and house
inside the fort, so that now they see themselves in the condition
of not being dependent upon the Indians.  They have a large
clearing well planted, from which they ought to gather a good
part of their sustenance, and they are hoping to eat bread of
their own planting within two years from now.
"The fruit these fathers are producing here is more for the
French, who are here often to the number of twenty or twentyfive, than for the Indians; for although there are some who
have been baptized, there are none yet who are good enough
Catholics to attend divine service, which is held for the French,
who sing mass and vespers on saints' days and Sundays. I
63




saw no particular sign of Christianity among the Indians of this
place nor in any other country of the Ottawas.
Fish Abundant and Cheap
"The Saulteaux or Ojibway Nation, amongst whom the
fathers are established, live from the time of the melting of the
snows to the beginning of winter on the bank of a river nearly
half a league wide and three leagues long, by which Lake
Superior falls into the Lake of the Hurons. This river forms
here a rapid so teeming with fish, called poisson blanc, or in
Algonkin Aitikameg, that the Indians could easily catch enough
to feed ten thousand men. Only Indians can carry it on, and
no Frenchman has hitherto been able to succeed at it, nor any
other Indians than those of this tribe, who are used to this kind
of fishing from an early age. In short this fish is so cheap
that they are given ten or twelve of them for four fingers of
tobacco. Each weighs six or seven pounds, but it is so delicate
that I know of no fish that approaches it. Sturgeon is caught in
this river in abundance, and meat is so cheap here that for a
pound of glass beads I had four minots of fat entrails of moose.
It is here that one gets a beaver robe for a fathom of tobacco,
or a quarter of a pound of powder, or for six knives, or a fathom
of blue beads.
"Hitherto the country of the Ottawas had passed in my
mind as a place where there is a great deal of suffering for
want of food. But I am so well persuaded of the contrary that
I know of no region in all Canada where they are less in want
of it.
Portages Are Difficult
"In going there from Montreal, it is necessary to ascend a
river in which thirty portages must be made to avoid a like
manner of falls, in which if one ran into them he would incur
the danger of losing a thousand lives. But the greatest danger
is in descending from the Sault (to Montreal), for if one does
not know where the landings are, to make the portages, he runs
the risk of being swallowed up in the falls and perishing, to
say nothing of the difficulties of the portages which are generally amongst stones and gravel.
"One often ventures into the less difficult channels, in which.
if the man who steers the canoe or the man in front were to fail
by the thickness of a silver crown to pass between rocks and
whirlpools that are found in these channels, the canoe would
be wrecked or fill with water, and one would see himself swallowed up in horrible places.
"We arrived at Montreal from the Sault on the 18th of
June, 1670, after twenty-two days of most fatiguing travel."
Galinee and Dollier, then, remained at the Sault only three
64:                                    t




IXl:; X' —.
I e ,
e;,,
'.     -      I


A Chippewa Indian Maid




I
I




days. By right of discovery the Jesuits claimed the field, and
there was nothing for the Sulpicians to do but to leave it to
them. So the latter, recalling the advice of La Salle, abandoned
their dream of Chippewa evangelization through their Order;
and Galinee glumly noted in his journal that although the Jesuits
might have baptized a few Indians at the rapids, not one of
them was a good enough Christian to receive the Eucharist.
Canoes Were Only Means of Travel
Galinee's canoe journey of twenty-two days from the Sault
to Montreal, with its heart-breaking and hair's-breadth portages, is now a matter of over-night passage by rail. It is impossible to think of that old Ottawa route to our region without hearty admiration for the early French explorers and couriers du bois. On that laborious traverse they employed nothing but the lightest and speediest canoes, easily carried over the
portages, and beautiful as a bird in their faultless lines. These
were called "canots du nord."
But on the open waters of Superior and Huron much larger
craft were used, called "canots du maitre," or master canoes.
These were about thirty-five feet in length, and no doubt Radisson used such a bark as this in his journey up Lake Superior.
The ordinary crew for a canot du maitre numbered sixteen or
eighteen, and it could withstand most storms on the Great
Lakes. Such a canoe could carry besides its crew and four
or five passengers, one hundred and twenty bales of furs, averaging ninety pounds each. These apparently frail craft were
seldom upset, wrecked, or swamped, they were as buoyant
as a duck. If caught in a blow in some long open traverse
from point to point, or across some arm of the big lakes, heavy
parlas or canvas oil cloths were thrown over goods and, passengers, and the pluck and skilled strength of the crew brought
them safely through.
The distances on the old Ottawa-Nipissing route to the Sault
were so long, and the portages so many, that time was everything. No one thought of stopping for the night before sundown. When night approached the voyageurs landed at some
dry and fairly cleared spot, felled trees for fires, and if necessary cleared a space for tents. These pitched, a fire was built
in front of each and beds were laid, sometimes of balsam sprig
mattresses, sometimes of oilcloth spread on the bare earth,
and above it two or three blankets and a pillow. If the wind
howled and the rain poured, the travelers piled on their great
coats and furs and slept warm and secure from the weather.
Slept Under Canoes
The canoes were unloaded nightly and drawn upon the
beach, bottom upward, for inspection and mending. Some65




times they would be inclined to windward of the fire, forming
little houses in which the men could sleep in real comfort.
Slumber was broken at one in the morning by the cry of
"Level Level Level" In five minutes the tents were down
and loaded, and within half an hour cargoes had been stowed
and the paddles were keeping time to some old French chanson
as the canoes hastened on their way.
At eight in the morning a stop was made for breakfast,
which consumed a hurried thirty minutes, and at two in the
afternoon a cold lunch was taken. The day was thus divided
into six hours of rest and eighteen hours of labor. This almost
incredible toil of the voyageurs endured without a murmur,
indeed, they were generally in hilarious spirits.
The quality of such work as well as its quantity, required
men of iron mold. In smooth water the paddles were plied
with twice the rapidity of oars, taxing arms and lungs to the
limit. In shallows the canoes were dragged by the men wading
to their knees or their hips. In rapids, the towing line was
hauled along over rocks and stumps, through swamps and
thickets, excepting that in places where the ground was utterly
impracticticable, poles were substituted.
Carried Great Pack Loads
On the portages, where the breaks were of all imaginable
degrees of badness, the canoes were never carried across in
less than two or three trips, often a distance of a mile or more.
Each man carried, over these slippery, tortuous and uneven
paths, at least two pieces averaging ninety pounds each. These
he lugged in shoulder-straps, knapsack-wise, with an additional
sling of leather or tunk-strap placed across the forehead, so
that his hands were free to clear the way among the branches
of the standing trees, or over the prostrate trunks.
Passengers also helped to keep the men busy. The canoes
seldom could approach the shore closely enough to enable the
passengers to step dry-shod from the gunwale, and no sooner
was a halt made than the crew were in the water to carry their
human freight ashore. They took especial pride in this part of
their duties, and often as not some stocky little fellow would
take possession with the utmost good-nature of the heaviest
passenger in the party, perhaps considerably exceeding in
weight the standard mentioned of two bales of furs.
All this work was invariably done to the accompaniment
of song. Many were the pretty ditties brought from France
by the old voyageurs into these remote countries, and to this
day you may hear now and then in the bays and wild rivers of
Lake Superior, segments of some old chanson sung three hundred years ago in Normandy, and now forgotten there. The
voyageurs embroidered every hour with song,-the  eternal
66




swinging at the paddles, the tugging at the lines in the shallows,
the back-bending portages, the social meetings at the campfire,-rejoicing the lonely heart longing for song and melody,
and perhaps for home.
There were chansons a l'aviron, songs of the paddle; chaasons a la rame, songs of the oar; chansons de canot a lege,
songs of the light canoe; chansons de canot du maitre, songs
of the heavy canoe; and so on. The chanson La Belle Rose
was one most widely known and commonly sung in the
Great Lakes country for over one hundred years, and a stanza
from it is appended here:
CHANSON LA BELLE ROSE
(Pour L'Avionon)
Maio je n'ai trouve personne,
Que le rossignol, chantant la belle rose,
La belle rose du rosier bland
Qui me dit dans son langage,
Marie-toi, car il est temps, a la belle rose,
A la belle rose du rosier blanc
Comment veux-tu que je me marie
Avec la belle rose,
La belle rose du rosier blanc?
Then there was another sort of songs, of deeper poetical
feeling, termed the "complaintes." These complaintes found a
peculiarly local habitation and a name in the Lake Superior
country, far from Montreal and Quebec, and farther still from
la belle France. For voyageurs regarded themselves as exiles,
banished first from France and then frow Lower Canada. There
have been whole famlies of voyageurs in the upper Great Lakes
region who, from father to great-grandson, have sung of the
return to Canada, or the return to France, but who have all
perished here. And one song they all knew was "The Fate
of Jean Cayeux," which describes a thoroughly Canadian
tragedy, and is characteristic of the voyageurs and the country.
Jean Cayeux a Great Voyageur
Jean Cayeux, according to the story, was a great voyageur,
who lived in the old days on the banks of the Ottawa River,
near the cataracts known as Le Grand Calumet. Surprised
there by the Iroquois, he managed to save his family by sending them over the rapids in a canoe, but was driven to the
woods by his enemies. The chase lasted for days, and hourly
Jean heard the howling of the savages pursuing him. At
length they grew weary and ceased to follow him, but his provisions gave out, his strength failed, and soon it was all over
with poor Cayeux. Lost and alone, visited only by wolves
67




and ravens, he managed to build a little hut of branches on
the bank of a creek and lay down to die. With the last remnant
of strength he dug a grave, and at its head he erected a cross,
carving on the wood his complainte, the entire history of his
tragic fate. So at least the old song runs. Friends who found
his body laid it away in the grave, saved his complainte from
oblivion, and renewed the cross from time to time, so that the
exact spot of his death is known to this day. Many a friendly
tear has been shed over poor Jean, who died so pitiably thousands of miles from home. And in a country and a time when
every voyageur might have been at least once in a position
more or less resembling that of Cayeux, and where wolves and
ravens often passed him, eagerly desiring to pick his bones,
you may imagine with what sympathy they listened to such
complaintes.
They Were a Singing Lot
They were a singing lot, these bold and enterprising Frenchmen who were coming to the Sault in increasing numbers for
furs; a lusty crowd of devil-may-care fellows, trapping game,
trading at the scattered posts, and living the life of the Indian.
They took with them their meed of romance when they passed,
and the bonny channels of St. Mary's River ring no more with
the
SONG OF THE VOYAGEURS
Pull, lads, pull, the stream runs strong,
Our every sinew testing;
Sing, lads, sing, and the mellow song
Will cheer as the waves we're breasting;
The wind blows chill
From yonder hill,
But the roast deer waits at the cabin grill.
Welcome are we at the bark tepee,
In its council we're no strangers;
We harry the bear from his hollow tree,
And what care we for dangers?
We plant our lure
On mount and moor,
Oh, free as the wild is the voyageurl
Brave souls and true, let us breathe a prayer
To the Maid benign above us;
May she have and hold in her jealous care
The distant ones who love us,
Till comes the day
Where fare we may
To the fatherland that is far awayl
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In May, 1670, the same month in which Galinee arrived
in Sainte Marie du Sault, Charles II, King of England, granted
Radisson and Groselliers and their associates and successors a
patent for trading in "The Bay called Hudson's Streights."
Two ships had been outfitted in England, the "Eagle" and
the "Nonesuch," in 1667, and the far north route opened of
which Radisson speaks thus in his narrative:
Forced to Cut Off Masts
Wee went out with a new Company in two small vessels,
my brother in one and I in another, and wee went together
four hundred leagues from ye North of Ireland, where a sudden greate storm did rise and put us asunder. Ye sea was so
furious six or seven hours after that it did almost overturn
our ship. So that wee were forced to cut our masts rather
than cutt our lives; but wee came back safe, God be thanked;
and ye other, I hope, is gone on his voyage, God be with him."
Groseilliers found his way to Prince Rupert River, which
he named in honor of his patron, built a fort there and established friendly relations with the natives. Word of the newcomers spread abroad through the country north of Lake Superior, and through Canada and France.
The defection of this famous pair in the North promptly
aroused the ire and anxiety of Louis XIV. of France, his minister Colbert, and Intendant Talon at Quebec. Their presence
at Hudson's Bay was the principal reason for the annexation
ceremonies of St. Lusson at Sainte Marie du Sault in 1671.
It was bound to come anyway-for Talon had long contemplated such a proclamation-but its heralding certainly was
hastened by the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company in
London in 1670.
The St. Lusson Pageant
This determination to stop the English by taking formal
possession of the land, resulted in probably the most spectacular event ever staged in old Sainte Marie du Sault. If the
French projects promulgated here that June day in 1671 had
materialized, it is likely they would have changed the course
of the whole world. For Talon was a sagacious and far-seeing
man, and he dreamed of a great French empire on the northern American continent. His aim was to keep the English
clinging to the eastern seaboard, and he even thought of securing a seaport for France on the distant Gulf of Mexico.
In spite of his visions of empire, Talon seems to have been
extremely careful of his and the King's money. When he sent
Daumont de St. Lusson exploring for copper in our vicinity,
and instructed him at the same time to announce possession of
the country here at the Chippewa capital, he ordered St. Lusson
69




to pay all expenses of his grand tour by trading in furs with
the Indians.
St. Lusson set forth from Quebec in 1670 and wintered at
Manitoulin Island. With him came Nicholas Perrot, a famous
interpreter and a Frenchman of extraordinary influence among
the Indian tribes, requesting them to send representatives to a
great meeting to be held at Sainte Marie du Sault in the spring
of 1671. Perrot personally extended this invitation to the Indian nations in the vicinity of Green Bay, and brought to the
Sault in May the principal chiefs of the Sacs, Winnebagoes,
Menominees and Potawatomies.
It is impossible to point with certitude to the exact spot
where this ceremony of possession took place. Most writers
have assumed that St. Lusson stood on the rise of ground south
of the Weitzel Lock. But there appears to be ample evidence
that this hill did not exist in the seventeenth century, and that
the ground there was "made" by the detritus from canal excavations long after.
No Hill There Then
Furthermore, there are prints in existence which show no
hill at that point in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
It is true the banks of the rapids showed a slight elevation further west, beyond the circular flower plot in Lock Park. But
this spot was used as an Indian place of burial, and it is not at
all likely that St. Lusson would choose a cemetery or even its
immediate vicinity for proclamation purposes.
On the other hand, a little hill-the "petite eminence"
mentioned by Dablon-where the obelisk now rises, stands
out sharply in the old prints. It was adjacent to the chapel of
the missionaries and the Indian village. At its foot was the
landing-place for the canoes of the French and the visiting
tribes. In all likelihood it had been a place of council for
hundreds of years. It is natural, therefore, to infer that St.
Lusson stood forth to proclaim French sovereignty and to
breathe defiance to England, on the very spot where many years
after the great obelisk was raised to commemorate the fiftieth
anniversary of the opening of the locks.
In the Name of Louis XIV.
Fourteen Indian tribes were represented there, on that morning of the fourteenth of June, 1671.  Four Jesuits took part
in the ceremonies-Dablon, Superior of the Missions, Allouez,,
Andre, and Druillettes.  Twenty Frenchmen signed the record
of the day, among them Louis Joliet and Nicholas Perrot, who
interpreted to the Indians the words of St. Lusson.. Around
them hovered the great throng of Indians who had come from
Hudson's Bay and the Red River of the North to-tradition
70




bays-the Red River of the South, and from Quebec to the
Mississippi, meeting here at the council place of the tribes in
Bowating.
First a great wooden cross was blessed and planted, and a
staff showing the royal arms of France. Then St. Lusson,
standing with his sword in one hand and in the other a clod of
earth, symbol of his taking possession, spoke thus in a loud
voice to the assemblage:
"In the name of the most high, mighty and redoubtable
monarch, Louis Fourteenth of that name, Most Christian King of
France and Navarre, I take over this Sainte Marie du Sault, the
Lakes Huron and Superior, Manitoulin Island, and all the other
countries, lakes and streams adjacent thereto, both those discovered and those which may be discovered hereafter, in all
their length and breadth, bounded on the one side by the
oceans of the north and west, and on the other by the South
Sea, declaring to the nations therein that from this time henceforth they are subjects of His Majesty, bound to obey his laws
and follow his customs; promising them on his part all succor
and protection against their enemies; and declaring to all other
princes and potentates, states and republics, to them and their
peoples, that they must not seize or settle upon any part of the
aforesaid countries, save only under the good pleasure of His
Most Christian Majesty and of him who will govern in his behalf; and this on pain of incurring his resentment and the weight
of his arms. Long live the Kingl"
Thus bravely spake St. Lusson on that famous day in June,
standing on the little hill by the river. And if the headstrong
English had paid due and hoped-for attention to his words, the
French tricolor would be waving in Lock Park today.
All Join in Uproar
The Frenchmen fired their muskets and joined in shouting
"Vive le Roil" And the Indians joined in the uproar without,
probably, having any idea of what it was all about.
When the tumult had subsided, Father Claude Allouez, as
told in the Relations, began to eulogize the King, in order to
make all those nations understand what sort of man he was
whose standard they beheld, and to whose sovereignty they
were that day submitting. "It is a good work, my brothers,"
he said to the Indians in their language, "that brings us together
in council today.  Look at the cross that rises above your
heads. It was there that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, after
making himself a man for the love of men, was nailed and died,
to satisfy his Father for our sins. It is he of whom I am continually speaking to you, and whose name and word I have
borne all through your country.  Look at this post to which
are fixed the arms of the Great Chief of France, whom we call
71




king.  He lives across the sea.  He is the chief of the greatest
chiefs, and has no equal on earth.  All the chiefs whom you
have ever seen are but children beside him.
"When he says, 'I am going to war,' everybody obeys his
orders, and each of his ten thousand chiefs raises a troop of
a hundred warriors, some on sea and some on land. When
our King attacks his enemies he is more terrible than the thunder; the earth trembles, the air and the sea are all on fire with
the blaze of his cannon; he is seen in the midst of his warriors,
covered with the blood of his enemies, whom he kills in such
numbers that he does not reckon them by the scalps, but by the
streams of blood which he causes to flow.  He takes so many
prisoners that he holds them in no account, but lets them go
where they will, to show that he is not afraid of them.  But
now nobody dares make war on him. All the nations beyond
the sea have submitted to him and begged humbly for peace.
And a Mighty Man Was He
"The width of this great river would be but a step for him,
and were he here he could span these rapids with one foot
on the north shore and the other on the south.  His house
is longer than from here to the top of the Sault,-that is to say
more than half a league,-and it holds more families than the
largest of your towns.  All that is done in the world is decided by him alone."
And we read further that the spectacle closed that night
with a tremendous bonfire on the shore, around which the Te
Deum was sung, to thank God on behalf of these poor peoples
that were now the subjects of so great and powerful a monarch.
Never before nor since has France annexed so gigantic a
domain as was here formally taken over in 1671. It is fascinating to speculate on what might have been if the English had
abandoned Hudson's Bay, or if Montcalm had won the victory
on the Plains of Abraham, or even if all the tribes had remained
faithful to the French.  The Almighty willed otherwise, and
the muskets of the English confirmed the verdict.
When St. Lusson and his men had departed up Lake Superior in search of furs, the Indians appropriated the shield bearing
the arms of France. Perhaps some savage individual threw it
into the river or destroyed it, fearing it as an evil charm or a
Matchi Manito; possibly it went to some Bowating Indian who
hung the pretty gew-gaw on the wall of his lodge. At any
rate it promptly disappeared, a prophetic symbol of the French
suzerainty which was soon to follow. But tradition tells us
that the towering cross stood firm in the river bank for a long
time.
Marquette Comes to Mackinac.
Marquette was not present at the pageant of St. Lusson, for
he had been sent to take charge of the St. Esprit Mission on
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the southwestern shore of Lake Superior.  Threatened there
by the Sioux in his ministry to the Ottawas and the Hurons
driven thence by the Iroquois, he brought his flock in safety
down the lake and established himself probably first on Mackinac Island, and afterward on the mainland where St. Ignace
now stands. With him went an Indian boy, a slave who had
been captured in the country of the Illini. This boy was no doubt
useful to Marquette on his voyage of discovery down to the
Mississippi, as the following letter of the missionary shows:
"When the Illinois came north they passed a great river
almost a league wide.  It runs north and south, and so far that
the Illinois, who do not know what canoes are, have never heard
of its mouth; they only know that below them are very great
nations, some of whom raise two corps of corn a year.  This
great river can hardly empty into Virginia, and we rather believe its mouth is in California.  If the Indians who promise
me a canoe keep their word, we shall go into this river as soon
as we can, with a Frenchman and this young man who has
been given to me.  We shall visit the nations that inhabit it
in order to open the way to so many of our fathers who have
long awaited this happiness. This discovery will give us a
complete knowledge of the southern or western sea."
The Frenchman Marquette speaks of was Louis Joliet. Together they left St. Ignace in the spring of 1673 and made
their famous voyage of discovery down the Mississippi. Returning, they ascended the Illinois River, and with a short portage, they floated down the Chicago River to the present site
of the metropolis, the quick eye of Joliet discerning the possibilities of a canal which might some day link the Great Lakes
to the South Sea.
Father Marquette Dies
Joliet returned to the east, while Marquette labored at
Green Bay until the fall of 1674. Repairing to the southern
shore of Lake Michigan, he passed the winter there in extreme
illness. He wished to return to St. Ignace in the spring of
1675, but disease had made such inroads that he was not able
to complete the journey.  His Indian canoe-men, seeing that
he was about to die, entered the mouth of a little river on the
eastern shore of Lake Michigan afterward known as the Pere
Marquette, and they had hardly taken him ashore before he
expired.
The largest county in Michigan and one of its most beautiful cities take their name from Marquette. His name is commemorated in that of a great railroad, and of a renowned Wisconsin university. The latter state has raised his statue in the
Hall of Fame in Washington in remembrance of one of her
greatest citizens. And Le Sault de Sainte Marie cherishes him
as her founder, her early chronicler, the builder of her first
73




church and probably her first white man's permtanent home,
and as the one who bestowed upon her the name by which
she shall be known for all time.
Shortly after the St. Lusson ceremony the Sault chapel
burned and another replaced it. About this time Father Nouvel
wrote from here to Governor Frontenac:
"This place, to which the abundance of whitefish caught
gives considerable importance, daily becomes more beautiful
and more comfortable, especially since the savages apply themselves to planting Indian corn.
"In their fear of being attacked by their enemies, they prefer to dwell near the church rather than in their own fort.
They even wish to place their women and children there for
safety when they went down to Montreal to trade..
English Are Feared
"All these tidings (of the English at Hudson Bay trouble
the Indians attached to us, who are enjoying the peace that the
victorious wars of the King have acquired for them, and the
protection of Heaven that rising Christianity brings them. But
we do not fail to give them the necessary encouragement to
keep themselves closely united both to God and the French,
assuring them that in this union they have no reason to fear."
A bloody fight occurred at the mission in 1674 which seriously threatened its stability. After a sanguinary battle between Sault Indians and the Sioux in the western part of the
peninsula, in which the latter were badly worsted, the Sioux
begged for peace, and sent ten representatives of their tribe
here to conclude it. A large band of Crees, enemies of the
Sioux, came down from the north shore of Lake Superior, bent
on preventing a truce if possible. For safety's sake Fathers
Dablon and Drouilletes took the ten Sioux Indians into their
home, whither they were followed by a crowd of Crees and
Saulteur Indians, some of them with knives.
The Battle in the Cabin
A Cree Chief advanced to one of the Sioux, and brandishing a knife before him, said, "Thou are afraidl" The Sioux
replied without flinching, "If thou thinkest I tremble, strike
straight at my heart." The aggressor struck, and the Sioux
with a cry for help, fell dead upon the floor. Immediately
his companions drew their concealed knives and drove them indiscriminately into the bodies of the nearest Crees or Saulteurs.
A tremendous shindy followed. The Cree who had begun the
fight was the first of his band to be killed, the others were
quickly slashed to death or driven out of the house.
Mad with rage, the Crees and Saulteurs piled inflammable
material against the house and fired it, some of them being
74




shot by the Sioux, who had discovered some muskets within.
Driven out by the flames, the Sioux took possession of a neighboring cabin where they made a wonderfully game fight, killing and wounding some fifty of their adversaries before their
last man was slain. The priests' house was burned, the chapel
barely escaped, and blood, dead, wounded and dying lay
everywhere within the little enclosure.
For some time the missionaries were apprehensive of reprisals on the part of the Sioux for the death of their ambassadors.  But that tribe either respected the prowess of the
Sault Indians too much to retaliate, or was busy elsewhere in
Indian warfare, for we have no record of further trouble at
the time.
Father Charles Albanel
The annals of this eventful decade would be incomplete
without reference to Father Charles Albanel, who came to the
Sault in 1676. His diary is in the Relation of 1672. In 1670
he left Quebec with a party of Indians, travelled northward a
distance of 2,400 miles and was the first white man to reach
Hudson's Bay by the overland route.
He made a second trip over the same country in 1 764 and
was made a prisoner by the English at the Bay.  He was sent
to England by them and returned to France in 1675. A year
later we find him at the Sault, where he ministered to the Indians and the French voyageurs for many years, dying here in
January, 1696.  His body is buried somewhere in the vicinity
of the old Johnston home, the exact spot being unknown, and
the great achievements and even the name of Charles Albanel
are almost forgotten.
La Salle Made Brave Fight
Not so with Robert Cavelier de La Salle and Henri de
Tonty, for Parkman has made them immortal. If ever a man
rose superior to a thousands discouragements, that man was
La Salle.  When you feel dispirited, or if you ever have the
blues, read Parkman's "La Salle and the Discovery ot the Great
West," and learn how La Salle rose superior to heart-breaking
misfortunes that make your troubles seem trifles.
When La Salle came up Lake Huron in 1679 with his
"floating fort," the Griffin, the first vessel of any size to
sail the upper Great Lakes, Tonty and Hennepin were with him.
Fifteen men had preceded them on various errands, but only
four awaited them at Michilmackinac.  La Salle sent Tonty
to the Sault in search of the rest, and Tonty captured two of
them here.
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The Iron Hand
In May of this year 1923, Mr. Wm. Roach of Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, while working on his grounds at the corner of
Spring and Wellington streets in that city, found an iron hand.
The cast of the palm is perfect (the hand is the left one) but
the back is nearly flat, and rough. Many people have measured
their hands on the relic, but only one man, a native of Quebec
and of French descent, has found it an exact reproduction of
his own. The fingers have an evenness of length often observed among the French and other Latin races.
Tonty was known in Canada as "The Man With the Iron
Hand," having lost his left hand in an Italian battle. He is
known to have worn the hand of iron when he came to New
France, and probably he had it when he came up Lake Huron
with La Salle. But there is a record extant of Tonty's embarrassment in 1682 when, being in the Arkansas country, the
Indians made signs of friendship by joining hands. This Tonty
could not do in response, as one of his hands was missing, but
he directed his men to act in like fashion. Where, then, was
the iron hand which, if there, could have been grasped by the
other? Drawings of Tonty made later show his left hand
gone. When he came to the Sault, did the deserters hear of
his approach and withdraw to the left side of the river, and
did he follow them there and lose his iron hand in the search
vf the woods? Or is the hand a product of Alexander Henry's
furnace a century later, a token of the beginnings of iron mining and smelting in Canada? Nobody kows.
First White Court Is Held
Daniel Greysolon Du L'hut, "King of the Couriers de Bois,"
paid Sainte Marie du Sault a visit in 1684 under unusual circumstances. When he was temporary Commandant at Michilimackinac in the absence of De la Durantaye, word came that
two Frenchmen had been murdered by Indians in the Lake
Superior district, also that those suspected of the murder were
at the Sault. Du L'hut promptly embarked for the Sault with
a half dozen Frenchmen, and reinforced by less than a score of
his compatriots residing here, he seized the suspects and
brought them to trial, with himself as judge.
In the face of several hundred menacing Indian friends
of the accused, Du L'hut proceeded to establish the guilt or
innocence of his prisoners. The evidence was conflicting, but
Du L'hut, fearing the effect of leniency on the Indians, issued
the dictum of a life for a life, and the two most probably
guilty ones were shot on the river bank. This was the first
white man's legal trial and execution of which we have record
in the Northwest. The proceedings tally well with Du L'hut's
reputation. He is said to have been a man of extraordinary
76




strength; to have penetrated the Rockies to the western ocean
and to have entered the councils of a score of tribes. His
Indian wives, the old stories tell us, were scattered at convenient distances from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Once, at St.
Anthony's Falls on the Mississippi, he challenged a thousand
Indians and rescued Hennepin, a former battlefield comrade
in France. Du L'hut's name is commemorated in that of the
Zenith City.
Sault de Sainte Marie
In ancient times the rapids-and by synecdoche the village
beside them-were called Asticou by Tie-lndians, according
to tradition.  At the beginning of the seventeenth century the
Chippewas knew the locality as Bowating.  Etienne Brule
named it Saut de Gaston in 1622. Thirty-two years later
Father Allouez entered the region on his map as the Saut de
Tracy. A few years after this Father Marquette renamed it
Sainte Marie du Sault. And in the Jesuit Revelations for 1683
we find another change to Sault de Sainte Marie, very near to
our civic and governmental usage of today, in which the French
word "de" (of) is dropped, and the feminine "Sainte" is abbreviated to "Ste."
Baron La Hontan found this inverted name in use when
he visited us in 1688, as the following letter shows:
"I set out from Missilmackinac in my Canow June 2. And
after my arrival at the Water-fall call'd Saut Sainte Marie, I
persuaded forty Young Warlike Fellows to join the Party of
the Outaouas that I mention'd in my last. This Saut Sainte
Marie is a Cataract, or rather a Water-fall of two Leagues in
length, which gives Vent to the Waters of the upper Lake,
and at the Bottom of which, not far from the Jesuits House,
there's a village of the Outchipoues, alias Sauteurs. This Place
is a great Thoroughfare for the Coureurs de Bois that trade
with the Northern People, who usually repair to the Brinks of
that Lake in the Summer. The continual Fogg that rises from
the upper Lake, and spreads over the adjacent Country, renders the Ground so barren, that it bears no Corn.
"The 13th of the same Month I set out from the abovemention'd Village, being accompany'd by the forty young
Sauteurs, who embarqu'd in five Canows, each of which held
eight Men. The 16th we arriv'd at the Isle of Detour, where
my Soldiers and the Party of the Outaouas had tarry'd for me
two Days. The first day was spent by the Outaouas and the
Sauteurs in Warlike Feasts, Dancing, and Singing, pursuant to
their wonted Custom: The next Day we all embark'd, and
traversing from Isle to Isle, made the Island of Manitoualin
in four Days."
77




Were Good Warriors
They were going to fight the Iroquois in the Iroquois
country, and they gave a very good account of themselves.
In another place, La Hontan mentions the Sauteurs as "good
warriors, speaking the Algonkin language, and a sprightly
active sort of People."
The same year the northern Chief Adario, or The Rat,
of the Hurons, whom Charlevoix pronounced the ablest Indian
the French ever knew in America, prevented by a ruse the proposed truce between the French and the Iroquois. Secretly
way-laying the ambassadors of the latter on their way to make
peace with the French, he killed some of them and made the
rest prisoners. These he sent back to their people, telling
them that he had abused them by order of the French Governor.  In reprisal, the Iroquois landed in the night of the 4th
of August, 1688, at La Chine, and inflicted on the French the
most horrible massacre in the annals of Canada. For two
months the settlements along the St. Lawrence lay prostrate
under the invaders, butchery succeeding butchery until the remaining French grew wild with fear. The news spread far and
wide among the Indians of the Upper Lakes, and many of
the northern tribes hastened to make peace with the Iroquois,
sending messages with wampum and gifts.
Sault de Sainte Marie declined temporarily at the close of
the century, losing a large part of its population to the French
military post under Cadillac at Michilimackinac. The mission
at the rapids was abandoned by the Jesuits, there being left
but a handful of Indians in the once populous village. After
the death of Father Albanel, we find no record of the ministrations of missionary priests at the Sault for a century or more.
78




LE SAULT DE SAINTE MARIE-THE EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY
In the early years of the eighteenth century, Le Sault de
Sainte Marie fell upon evil days. This was due to several
factors, the chief of which was the native fear of the Iroquois
and the English.
The Crees and the other tribes in the rich fur country
north of Lake Superior came in diminishing numbers to the
Sault and to Montreal with their peltries.  Further west the
tribes still delivered to the French their vernal crops of furs,
the harvest from which new France drew its sustenance, but
the shining bales went to Michilimackinac and Green Bay rather than down to or past the Sault. The northern Indians found
a more convenient and a higher market at Hudson's Bay, and
the English-or to be more precise, the Scotch, for the Hudson's Bay Company in the field has been pre-eminently Scotch
-soon were extending their outposts southward toward Lake
Superior. Wandering Crees at the Sault told the inhabitants
there of British forts at the Bay, with cannon on the ramparts,
and long racks gleaming with muskets. The defenseless Saulteurs fell to wondering whether the French King was as omnipotent as he was pictured in the allegory of Allouez, and to
sighing for the comparative safety of the forts at Michilmackinac and De Troit.
Likewise the overwhelming sweep of the Iroquois down
the St. Lawrence sent an apprehensive thrill to the farthest
boundaries of New France. Their past incursions into the
North were recalled, and even those Indians most loyal to
France felt their confidence shaken. The missionaries came
no more to the Sault, and Cadillac at Michilimackinac was
preparing to abandon the post and establish himself at De
Troit. Thus a triple combination of circumstances operated
to reduce the community at the rapids, so that from a village
it became a hamlet, and when Cadillac went down Lake Huron,
many Saulteurs followed him.
The Liquor Question
Cadillac had come to Michilimackinac in 1694 with high
hopes for the advance of the French dominion in the Northwest. He found himself in authority over one of the largest
villages in Canada, a community of two hundred soldiers, six
or seven thousand Indians, a Jesuit mission, and a flourishing
colony of traders. Soon he had a serious falling out with the
Jesuit Father Carheil over the liquor question. The latter complained to Governor Frontenac of the condition at Michilimack79




inac, and what he said might have applied to the Sault as well:
"Our missions are reduced to such extremity that we can
no longer maintain them against the infinity of disorder,
brutality, violence, injustice, impiety, impurity, insolence, scorn
and insult which the deplorable and infamous trade in brandy
has spread universally among the Indians. What hope can
we have of bringing the Indians to Christ, when all the sinners
of the colony are permitted to come here and give Christianity
the lie by an open exhibition of bad morals?"
He described at length in his letters to Frontenac the
scandalous conduct of the officers and the drunkenness and
gambling of the soldiers and traders, and said the fort had
become a place he was ashamed to call by its right name,
with swarms of Indian girls resorting to it daily and nightly.
He told Frontenac that the mission should not be abandoned,
but suggested that the officers and soldiers be withdrawn.
Cadillac Defends Drinking
Cadillac's reply was more forceful than polite:
'This place is exposed to all sorts of fatigue, the air is
penetrating, fish and smoked meats are the principal food of
the inhabitants, and a drink of brandy is necessary after eating,
to cook the bilious meats and the crudities which they leave in
the stomach; without it, sickness will be much more frequent......*. He (Carheil) told me that I gave myself airs that did
not belong to me, holding his fist under my nose at the same
time. I came very near knocking his jaw out of joint."
The traders of the time were strong for brandy:
"If you prevent us from taking good brandy to Michilimackinac and the Sault, is it that you want the Indians to buy
bad rum from the English and the Dutch?  If you make the
savages go south for rum by cutting off their supply of brandy,
you will throw them into the arms of the Calvinists, and it will
be your fault if they become heretics."
About this time Louis XIV. issued an edict prohibiting
liquor in all Canada, which of course included the Sault. Thus
our dry laws were antedated by those of the French upwards
of two hundred years. But the law fell short of enforcement,
and contraband liquor circulated freely. An attempt was
made to avert the scandal by the erection of breweries in Eastern Canada, and the argument was advanced that "we may
expect the vice of drunkenness will cause us no more reproach,
by reason of the cold nature of beer, the vapours whereof
rarely deprive men of the use of judgment."
Blasphemy to be Punished
The King also drew the line at blaspheming by his Canadian
subjects. Here is the law:
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William Halfaday and Son Garit




I
I




"it is our will and pleasure that all persons convicted of
profane swearing and blaspheming the name of God, the Most
Holy Being, of the Saints, be condemned to the payment of a
fine, according to their possessions and the enormity of the
oath. If the offense is repeated, a double, triple or quadruple
fine shall be imposed for the second, third and fourth offence;
for the fifth time they shall be set in the pillory and exposed
to public abuse; for the sixth time the upper lip shall be seared
with a hot iron; for the seventh the lower lip shall be cut;
and if they still continue to utter oaths and blasphemies it is
our will and command that they have the tongue completely
cut out, so that they cannot utter them again."
Not all the northern Indialss succumbed to the vices of the
whites or were passive to the reactions of the times. Here and
there one lifted his voice in protest or in doubt as to the blessings of white civilization. We have record of a conversation
of La Hontan with the northern Chief Adario, The Rat, so
praised by Charlevoix, whose obscure stratagems probably influenced the destinies of the North more than most of us realize. Says the Rat, in commenting upon his eigtheenth century
white brothers, when La Hontan had reproached him with lack
of knowledge of the true God:
Religion of the Indians
Dost thou believe we are void of Religion, after thou hast
dwelt so long amongst us?Dost thou not know that we acknowledge a Creator of the Universe, under the title of the Great
Spirit or Master of Life, whom we believe to be in every Thing,
and to be unconfined to Limits? That the Great Spirit has
made us capable of distinguishing Good from Evil, to the
end that we might observe the true Measures of Justice and
Wisdom? The Tranquility and Serenity of the Soul pleases
the Great Master of Life, and on the other hand he abhors
Trouble and Anxiety of Mind because it renders Men Wicked.
"For my Part, the only Thing in the World that vexes and
disturbs my Mind, is the seeing Men wage War with Men.
Prithee, my Brother, do but look; our Dogs agree perfectly
with the Iroquois Dogs, and those of the Iroquois bear no
enmity to Dogs that come from France. I do not know any
animal that wages war with its own Species, excepting Man,
who upon this Score is more unnatural than the Beasts....
"We believe that we shall go to the Country of Souls after
Death; but we have no such Apprehension as you have of a
good and bad mansion after this Life, provided for the good
and bad Souls; for we cannot tell whether every Thing that
appears Faulty to Men, is so in the Eyes of God. If your
Religion differs from ours it does not follow that we have
none at all. Thou knowest that I have been in France, New
lt




York and Quebec, where I studied the customs and Doctrines
of the English and French. The Jesuits allege, That out of
five or six hundred Sorts of Religions, there is only one that is
the good and the true Religion, and that is their own; out
of which no Man shall escape the Flames of a Fire that will burn
his Soul to all Eternity. This is their Allegation: But when
they have said all, they cannot offer any proof for it.
Do Not Obey the Commandments
"And why do you not Obey the Commandments of this
your so true Religion? Do you not see every Day that your
Merchants, when they bargain with us for BeavLr-skins, do
commonly say, my Goods cost me so much, 'tis true as I adore
the Almighty; I lose so much by you, 'tis as true as that God
is in Heaven. But I do not find that they offer Him the Sacrifice of their most valuable Goods, as we do after we have
bought them from them, when we burn them before their
Faces.
"And as for working on Holy-days, I do not find that you
make any difference between Holy-days and Work-days; for
I have frequently seen the French bargain for Skins on your
Holy-days, as well as make Nets, game, quarrel, beat one
another, get drunk, and commit a hundred extravagant Actions.
As for Continence with respect to the tender Sex, who is it
among you (abating the Jesuits) that has ever acted up to it?
Do you not see every day that your Youths pursue our Daughters and our Wives, even to the very Fields, with a design to
inveigle them to Presents?  And dost thee not know how
many such Adventures there are among thy own Soldiers?
"To touch upon the Head of Murder, 'tis such a common
Thing among you, that upon the least Accident, you clap
your Hands to your Swords, and butcher one another. As for
your Fasts, I must say they are very Comical; You eat of all
sorts of Fish till you burst again; you cram down Eggs, and
a Thousand other Things, and yet you call this Fasting. In
fine, my Brother, you do all of you make large Pretensions to
Faith, and yet you are downright Infidels; you would fain pass
for wise People, and at the same time you are Fools.
A Missionary for the Hurons
"Since the Great Spirit is so Just and so Good, I am persuaded 'tis impossible that his Justice should render the Salvation of Mankind so difficult, as that All of them should be
damn'd that are not Retainers to your Religion.  The Great
Spirit requires of us all Uprightness of Life, love to our Brethern, and tranquility of Mind; these Duties we practice in our
Villages while the Europeans defame, kill, rob, and pull one
another to Pieces in their Towns. My Friend, thou shalt never
82




see the good Country of Souls, unless thou turnest Huron.
Believe me, my dear Brother, 'tis thy interest to turn Huron, in
order to prolong thy Life. Thou shalt eat, drink, sleep and
hunt, with all the Ease that Can be; thou shall be free from
the Passions that tyrannize over the French; thou shalt have
no Occasion for Gold or Silver to make thee happy; thou
shalt not fear Robbers, Assassins, or False Witnesses; and if
thou hast a Mind to be King of all the World, why, thou shalt
have nothing to do but think that thou are so.'
Nor could all the arguments of La Hontan budge the poor
benighted old sinner an inch.
There has been considerable difference of opinion as to
the wisdom of Cadillac in abandoning the Mackinac post. No
doubt the importance of the position was well understood by
the French, but the soldiers were not available to man it.
Cadillac's fort was not on Mackinac Island, but on the St.
Ignace shore, and the partially obliterated outlines of the old
earthworks may be seen there on the hill back of Marquette
Park.  Both shores of the Straits and the Fairy Island itself
took indiscriminately the name of Michilimackinac, or Great
Turtle.
In one of his letters Cadillac testifies to his success in depopulating the Sault:
Two Nations United
"The Saulteurs and Missisagues have come here (to DeTroit) again this year to build a village on this river. By my
advice the two nations have united into one."
The Missisagues were natives of the territory adjacent to
the present town of Thessalon, Ontario, on the north shore of
Georgian Bay. Calling a few dozen or a few hundred Indians
a "nation" sounds rather queer to us, but such was the custom
of the time.
The fur traffic on St. Mary's River, then, suffered heavily
in the first decades of the century, falling to proportions greatly exceeded afterward and probably before that time. Stiltnumbers of Frenchmen must have come to the Sault de Sainte
Marie, some to sojourn a brief period, and others to stay.
No other Europeans ever pleased the natives so well as
the French, for the latter fell in with Indian customs to a
degree never manifested by any other foreigners. While many
of the voyageurs and couriers de bois could boast of no morals,
perhaps, and were superstitious and illiterate as the Indians
themselves,-even inferior in mentality to the bold and eloquent Northern Chiefs,-still they respected the customs of
the Indians, married their daughters and reared large families;
and adapted themselves to Indian ways of thought in a manner inconceivable to the rigid-minded English and Dutch,




Capture British Cannon
The Frenchmen of the region, though fewer in number,
were as plucky and dashing as ever. Although apparantly
abandoned by Cadillac, they resolved to strike a blow for
France. A band of voyageurs from Michilimackinac and the
Sault made a sudden and unlooked-for descent on the British
Hudson's Bay posts in the far north. They burned and destroyed at will, and brought home in triumph a number of
small brass cannon, which they portaged around the falls here
and mounted in a new fort on the south side of the Straits of
Mackinac.  In time these cannon came again into possession of
the English.
The noted Father Charlevoix visited this region in 1721,
and the account of his voyage was published in Dublin in 1766.
While we cannot find that he stopped over at Sault de Sainte
Marie, still he Las this to say of us:
"Between Lake Huron and the upper Lake is the Streight
itself, by which the second flows into the first, is a Torrent, or
Fall, which is called Saulte Sainte Marie, (the Fall of St. Mary).
Its Environs were formery inhabited by Savages who came from
the South Side of the upper Lake, whom they called Saulteurs;
that is to say, the Inhabitants of the Fall.  They have probably given them this name, to save the trouble of pronouncing
their true name; which it is not possible to do,without taking
breath two or three times. Many write and pronounce it
Outaouaks, and some Pauoirigouefouhak."
Only Few Chippewas Here
When the La Verendryes, father and sons, came up St.
Mary's River in 1731, bound for the west on a voyage of
exploration, they found but a few straggling Chippewas at the
rapids.  They made no mention of any Frenchmen living
there, but Williams' "Life of the Honorable Peter White," tells
of a Frenchman named La Londe, who built a schooner of
forty tons above the rapids about that time.
The territory surrounding Hudson's Bay was ceded to the
British by France in 1 713. The northern Indians, feeling themselves neglected by the French, and observing the growing
might of England, were gravitating to the latter power. However, so advantageous a location as Le Saute de Sainte Marie
could not be given up without a struggle.
The following instrument, signed in 1750 by Jonquiere,
Governor of Canada, and ratified the year following by King
Louis XV. of France, is self-explanatory:
"The Chevalier de Repentigny and Captain de Bonne, officers of the French army. desiring to establish a seignory at Sault
Sainte Marie, where travellers from neighboring ports may find
safe retreat, and where by care and precaution, they may de84




stroy in those parts the trade of the Indians with the English,
we make to the said Captain de Bonne and the said Chevalier
de Repentigny a concession at the Sault of a tract of land at
the portage, six leagues bordering upon the river, by six leagues
in depth; to be enjoyed by them, their heirs and assigns, forever,
by title of fief and seignory, with the right of fishing and hunting within the whole of said concession, upon condition of doing
homage at the Castle of St. Louis in Quebec; and that they may
hold said lands by themselves of their tenants, and cause all
others to give them up.  In default whereof, the same shall be
reunited to His Majesty's domain."
Largest Estate in Michigan
This concession created the largest private estate ever held
within the present limits of Michigan.  It comprised an area of
about 335 square miles or 214,000 acres of land.
The domain was administered by de Repentigny, while
de Bonne, as silent partner and relative of the Governor, remained at Quebec.  In addition to the political phase involved,
there was an evident intention to embark in agriculture and
stock raising.  De Repentigny arrived at his little kingdom
here late in 1751.  The following winter he busied himself
in cutting pickets and other timber for a fort, which with three
buildings was erected in 1752. A palisade one hundred and
ten feet square enclosed these buildings  The north face of
this palisade, which was probably twelve feet high all around,
was co-incident practically with the north line of Water street.
The west wall was about fifty feet east of Brady street.
The Chevalier brought over some live stock from Mackinac,
a bull and three cows, a yoke of oxen, some heifers, a horse
and a mare, probably the first horses and cattle in what is now
Chippewa County. He cut down all trees within gun-fire range
of the fort, and installed Jean Baptiste Cadotte as the pioneer
farmer in this region on the clearing just outside the palisade.
De Repentigny remained here most of the time until 1755,
perfecting his fortifications, superintending the farming operations, and trading with the Indians.
English Came in 1762
The English having attacked Quebec in that year, de
Repentigny flew to the aid of his countrymen, taking with him
every man that could be spared from the seignory at Sault de
Sainte Marie, white or Indian. The property was left in
charge of Cadotte, who ruled in the name of de Repentigny
and de Bonne until the coming of the English victors in 1762.
Then the ensign of France descended from the flag-staff, never
to float again over Sault Sainte Marie.
We find de Repentigny at Montreal in 1759, giving his
85




Wife power of attorney over his Sault demesne and the furs to
be gotten therefrom. Canada was lost to the French, and de
Repentigny was under the necessity of abandoning his fief, of
selling it if possible to a British subject, or as a final alternative,
of becoming a British subject himself. It is evidence of de
Repentigny's high qualities that the British Governor Murray
wrote him in 1764 with assurance of his esteem, and request.
ing his attachment to the British cause. But the gallant Frenchman returned to Paris, where he is seen in 1773 asking advancement in French military service, and stating as grounds
for such desired preferment that "the cession of Canada has
overturned my fortune, which I could only preserve by an oath
of fidelity to the new master, that was too hard for my heart."
In proof of his family's loyalty to France, he mentions in the
same letter that his grandfather was the eldest of twenty-three
brothers, all of whom had been in the French military service.
So de Repentigny never returned to Sault de Sainte Marie,
and Jean Baptiste Cadotte and his heirs, remaining in possession
of the clearing at the Rapids, came in time to consider it as
theirs. The situation led to a disputed title and a great amount
of litigation extending over a long period of years, the case
being famous in Michigan's legal history. A long tenure by
the Cadottes confirmed them in the idea of ownership. De
Repentigny's great-grandchildren felt that their title, together
with that of de Bonne's assigns, should hold. With the expenditure of much time and money the two latter interests procured in 1860 an Act of Congress, authorizing the Distirct
Court in Michigan to pass upon the validity of their title as
against that of the United States. The District Court decided
in 1861 that the heirs and assigns of de Repentigny and de
Bonne were entitled to and were the lawful owners of the 214,000 acres of land comprising the original seignory. In the
meantime a large part of this acreage had come to be very
valuable.
Appeal to Supreme Court
But the government appealed the case to the United States
Supreme Court, and the highest tribunal decided in 1866 that
the claims of these heirs were not valid, and the bill was dismissed. The decision rested on the non-fulfillment of the
original terms of the grant by the French Government, the
lapse of time, the abandonment of the lands by the grantees,
the reunion of the same to the French crown, and the want
of certainty in description. Thus the last claim to Michigan
lands under French occupation was not settled until the close
of the civil war.
When Alexander Henry, fur-trader, adventurer, and writer,
came to Sault de Sainte Marie in May, 1762, he took up his
residence with the faithful Cadotte and his wife in the de
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Repentlgny establishment, or "the old Flrench fort," as i' cati6
to be spoken of in after days. Says Henry:
"This fort is situated on a beautiful plain about two miles
in circumference, which is covered with luxuriant grass. Within
sight are the rapids, distant half a mile. The width of the strait,
or river, is about half a mile. The portage, or carry-place,
commences at the fort. The banks are rocky and allow only a
narrow footpath over them. Canoes, half loaded, ascend on
the south side, and the other half is carried on men's shoulders.
Henry Describes Sault Fishing
"These rapids are beset with rocks of the most dangerous
description; yet they are the scene of a fishery in which all
dangers are braved and mastered with singular expertness.
They are full of whitefish, much larger and more excellent than
those of Michilimackinac, and which are found here during the,
greater part of the season, weighing in general from six pounds a
tc fifteen. This fishery is of great moment to the surrounding
Indians, whom it supplies with a large proportion of their winter's provision; for, having taken the fish they cure them by
drying in the smoke, and lay them up in large quantities.
"The fish are often crowded together in the water, in great
numbers, and a skilful fisherman, in autumn, will take five
hundred in two hours.
"There is at present a village of Chippewas, of fifty warriors, seated at this place; but the inhabitants reside here dur,
ing the summer only, going westward in the winter to hunt.
The village was anciently more populous."
So plentiful were the whitefish that a number of canoe cargoes of them were taken to Mackinac. The latter had a reputation as a fine fishing-ground, but the Sault rapids in the old
days afforded the best fishing in the world for whitefish, as
they do today for rainbow trout. What civilization has done
to the once swarming whitefish here constitutes a pitiful story.
The records of this fishery in former times would be almost
incredible to us were they not so numerous and so well authenticated.
Lived on Hominy
Henry was a practical and an acute observer of everything
around him, and his remarks on the victualling of the French
voyageurs are interesting:
"The maize or Indian corn with which the canoe-men are
supplied is prepared for use by boiling it in a strong lye, after
which the husk is removed, and the corn is mashed and dried.
The allowance of each man on a voyage is a quart a day,
and a bushel, with two pounds of prepared fat, is reckoned to
be a month's subsistence. No other allowance is made, not
87




even salt, and bread is never thought of. The men nevertheless are healthy and capable of performing their heavy labour.
The difficulty which would belong to an attempt to reconcile
any other men than Canadians to this fare, seems to secure for
them and their employers the monopoly of the fur-trade."
Corn $10 a Bushel
The price of this Indian corn was forty livres per bushel,
or approximately ten dollars. Money was rarely received or
paid for commodities, furs and peltries being the medium of
exchange. Beaver-skins were worth a dollar apiece, otters
three dollars, martins about a dollar and a half. When Henry
bought corn, he paid a dollar a pound for the tallow he mixed
with it. A quarter of beef cost its weight in beaver-skins.
"These high prices of grain and beef," says Henry, "led me
to be very industrious in fishing."
Henry arranged to spend the winter at the Sault and to
study the Chippewa language with the Cadottes, but a serious
misfortune changed his plans. Shortly before Christmas a fire
at night destroyed the houses of the little village excepting
that of Cadotte. A portion of the fort stockade was also burned, with all the winter provisions of the troops. Lieutenant
Jemette, first English Commandant at the post, barely escaped
with his life.
The river was still open, and the  troops embarked  for
Mackinac, for to stay in numbers meant starvation for all.
Henry and Jemette snow-shoed down to Mackinac in February,
but Henry soon returned, and in the spring he engaged in
maple-sugar making with the Cadottes. This sugar was the
principal food of their party of eight for one month, and during that time they ate three hundred pounds of it. Henry tells
us he had known Indians to live wholly and to become fat upon
exclusive rations of maple sugar and syrup over long periods.
70 Soldiers Massacred
Henry had business interests at Mackinac, and he found
it necessary to go there in the spring of 1763. He passed
unscathed through the massacre there in June of the English
by the Indians. This was in the mainland fort on the south
shore of the straits, on the site of which a Michigan State Park
is now located. Under the leadership of the Saulteur Chief
Minavavana, who acted in concert with Pontiac to wipe out
if possible the English in New France, the Chippewas sur..
prised and killed seventy soldiers, among them Lieutenant
Jemette, and took the rest prisoners.
The casual dream of another Chippewa Chief, by name
Wawatam, was the means of saving Henry's life on this occasion. Wawatam had dreamed long before of adopting an
88




Englishman as his brother. When he first beheld Henry, he
knew the latter for the person whom the Great Spirit had
been pleased to point out to him as his white kinsman. They
had exchanged presents, and Henry had expressed pleasure
and declared his willingness to have so good a man, as Wawatam for his brother. It was a lucky dream for Henry. An
Indian slave-woman secreted him in a garret on that terrible
day, and his brother Wawatam spirited him away from the
vicinity as soon as possible. When Henry fell into the hands
of the vengeful Minavavana, Wawatam delivered him by an
impassioned and eloquent speech in council.
Read his peroration:
The Power of a Dream
"Friends and brothers, what shall I say? You know how I
feel. What would you experience if you beheld your dearest
friend, your brother, in the condition of a slave, exposed to
insult and the menace of death? Is he not my brother, and as
I am your relative, is he not your relative also? Did not you,
Minavavana, promise that you would protect him, although
you sent me away, fearing I would reveal your secret? Here
am I, Great Chief, to claim at your hands; coming not with
empty hands myself, but with gifts to annul any possible claim
you may have on my brother as your prisoner. I await your
answer.
This speech appears the more remarkable when we consider the circumstances under which it was delivered. It was
stated and believed in this council that all the Indians, the
Ottawas alone excepted, were at war with the English. It was
affirmed and accepted that Pontiac had taken Detroit, that
the King of France had awakened, and that the English were
meeting destruction, not only at Mackinac but in every other
parts of the world.  Wawatam proved what a realistic thing
a dream may be to an Indian, when he stood up for his English
brother on this occasion.
The unerring pipes were smoked, and Henry was delivered
unharmed to Wawatam by the council. The latter took Henry
to Mackinac Island and hid him in Skull Cave, and later they
spent the winter in hunting on the shore of Lake Michigan.
In the spring they returned to the Straits and the last object
to greet the Englishman's eye as he sailed away for the Sault
was the Indian Wawatam, standing on the beach with his arms
uplifted to the sky, praying Gitchi Manito to spare and bless
his friend and to bring them again to a happy meeting.
Wawatam a Cannibal
The day after Wawatam rescued Henry from his enemies
by this effective speech, he ate the hand and a large piece of
89




flesh of a white man. "He did not appear to relish the rspast," says Henry, "but told me that it was then and always
had been the custom among all the Indian nations, when returning from war or on overcoming their enemies, to make a
war-feast from among the slain. This, he said, inspired the
warrior with courage in attack and bred him to meet death
with fearlessness.'
The memory of this remarkable, generous, savage, paradoxical and enigmatic Chippewa Indian has been kept green
by the christening for him of the giant car-ferry Chief Wawatam,
which plies the waters of the Straits of Mackinac so often traversed by his canoe.
Henry returned to the Sault and planned to settle down
with the Cadottes. Hostilities were still lively, however, and a
band of Indians from Mackinac, thirsting for his life, pursued
him up the river. Again it was necessary for him to seek the
seclusion of a garret, while Jean Cadotte enlisted the assurance
of the Saulteurs that they would not permit Henry to  be
harmed. The incoming Indians agreed to let him alone, but
insisted upon taking the warriors of the village with them to
join the forces of Pontiac.
This called for a council, and while it was deliberating, an
Indian embassy from Sir William Johnson arrived at the village, summoning the tribes to meet him at Niagara.  The
strangers seated themselves in the assembly and a long silence
ensued. Then one of them, taking up a belt of wampun, addressed the council as follows:
An Invitation
"My friends and brothers, I am come with this belt from our
great father, Sir William Johnson. He desired me to come to
you as his ambassador, and to tell you that he is making a
great feast at Fort Niagara; that his kettles are all ready and
his fires lit. He invites you to partake of the feast in common
with your friends the Six Nations which have all made peace
with the English. He advises you to seize this opportunity of
doing the same, as otherwise you cannot fail of being destroyed.
For the English are on the march with a great army, which will
be joined by different nations of Indians. In a word, before
the fall of the leaf, they will be at Michilimackinac and the Six
Nations with them."
This invitation seemed to call for more than human decision. The Great Turtle of the Chippewas must be invoked.
For the purpose a large birch-bark wigwam was constructed on
the shore of the river, and in the center a tent was raised, its
poles being of strong timber eight inches in diameter which
were closely covered with moose-hides. The wigwam was big
90




enough to accommodate the population of the village, and
nearly everybody in the Sault was there.
When night came the whites and Indians crowded in, and
fires were built around the tent within the wigwam. Presently
the jossakeed or midi, the Indian medicine-man, came and
crawled into the tent. His head was scarcely inside when the
tent heavy and solid as it was with its timbers deeply grounded, began to shake violently. The sounds of many voices were
heard beneath the skins; some yelling, some barking like dogs
and howling like wolves, and in this horrible concert were
mingled screams and sobs, as of despair and anguish and the
sharpest pain.
The Great Turtle Is Heard
These confused and frightful noises gave way to silence.
Then a low and feeble voice was heard, and the Indians recognized with joy the tones of the Great Turtle. A succession of
chants followed, in a diversity of voices, after which the midi
announced that the Great Turtle was present and was ready
to answer any questions.
The village Chief, placing some kinnikinnick within the
tent, inquired whether the English were making war upon the
Indians, and whether there were many English troops at
Niagara. The midi put these questions to the Great Turtle
whereupon the tent heaved convulsively and a terrific cry announced the departure of the spirit. Across Lake Huron he
flew to Fort Niagara at the Head of Lake Ontario. Here, he
told the assemblage on his return, he saw no great numbers
of soldiers, but on continuing down the waterway to Montreal,
he found the river covered with boats, and the boats filled
with soldiers in numbers like the leaves of the trees. They
were coming, said the supernatural voice, to make war upon
the Saulteur Indians. There was a great sensation, and the
wigwam thrilled at this.
The Chief then asked if the Saulteur Indians would be received as friends if they visited Sir William.
"Yes," said the spirit, "he will fill your canoes with presents with blankets, kettles, guns, gun-powder and shot and
large barrels of rum, such as the stoutest of the Indians will not
be able to lift. And every man will return safely to his family."
The feeling of apprehension in the crowd gave way to
transports of joy at this. Amid the clapping of hands a hundred Indians shouted, "I will go, tool I will go, tool'
At this exciting moment, the usually level-headed Henry
lost his judgment: Says he:
"These questions of public interest being satisfactorily
answered, individuals were now permitted to seize the opportunity of inquiring into the condition of their absent friends,
and the fate of such as were sick. I observed that the answers
91




given to the questions allowed of much latitude of interpretation.
More Tobacco Is Given
"Amid the general inquisitiveness, I yielded to the solicitations of my own anxiety for the future; and having first, like the
rest, made my offering of tobacco I inquired whether or not I
should ever revisit my native country? The question being put by
ever revisit my native country? The question being put by
the priest, the tent shook as usual; after which I received this
answer: That I should take courage and fear no danger, for
nothing would happen to hurt me; and that I should in the end
reach my friends and country in safety. These assurances
wrought so strongly on my gratitude that I presented an additional offering of tobacco.
"The Great Turtle continued to be consulted till near midnight, when all the crowd dispersed to their lodges. Through
the scene I have described, I was on the watch to detect the
particular contrivances by which the fraud was carried on.
But such was the skill displayed in the performance, or such
my deficiency of penetration, that I made no discoveries, but
came away as I went, with po more than those general surmises which will naturally be entertained by every reader."
Thus closes Henry's capital account of the Chippewa Indian magic practiced by their midis, jossakeeds and wabenos
in the Sault of old. If the midi should come back and set his
tent up again on its Water Street site, he would play of course
to an empty house. No one in the Sault ever thinks of getting his or her fortune told now. For we are civilized. Yes
indeed.
The Saulteur Chippewas sent a delegation to Niagara and
Henry went with them. They canoed across Georgian Bay
and portaged to Lakes Simcoe and Ontario, thus avoiding
the enemy country down Lake Huron. One day when landing
for dinner on an island in the North Channel of Georgian
Bay, Henry was about to kill a rattlesnake he found there, but
the Indians, horrified, prevented him. Surrounding it, they
addressed it with great respect. They filled their pipes and
gently blew smoke upon the creature, which received it with
evident pleasure. After enjoying the incense for half an hour,
it crawled away in safety, while the Indians besought their
"grandfather," as they called it to take care of their families
during their absence, and to open the heart of Sir William
Johnson so that he might be good to them and fill their canoes
with rum.
Henry Nearly Sacrificed
Next day a storm arose as they were crossing the Bay.
The Indians, convinced that Henry had angered their Ginebig
92




Manito, or Snake Spirit, proposed that he be thrown overboard to appease the wrath of the diety. However, by dint
of the sacrifice of two dogs and a quantity of kinnikinnick
tossed into the lake, and through fervent prayers to the snake,
the storm abated.
The Indians were cordially received at Fort Niagara by
Johnson, as the Great Turtle had foretold, but we have no
record of his filling their canoes with rum. Henry returned
to Mackinac and found that his clerks and his goods had disappeared. Jean Baptiste Cadotte, however, at the Sault, was
friendly, and the two became partners in the fur trade.
Explored Michipicoten Region
Henry secured exclusive trading rights in the Lake Superior territory, and wintered at the Sault for several years.
He explored the Michipicoten region, prospected for copper
in the Keweenaw Peninsula, and penetrated into the heart
of Assiniboia.  He described that enormous nugget of pure
copper which lay from prehistoric times on the bank of the
Ontonagon River, and which you may see now in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. He secured a mining charter
from England and built an ore furnace above the Sault at
Point aux Pins. He visited the grave of Manibosho at Thunder
Bay Point. He built a barge at Point aux Pins large enough
to navigate Lake Superior in safety, and ihus was the owner
of the first shipyard above the rapids.
Henry's account of his travels, now unfortunately all too
rare, is written in a straightforward and lucid style that smacks
of truthfulness. Parkman did not hesitate to draw freely on
Henry for sections of his "Conspiracy of Pontiac." Years
after his adventures in the North Country, Henry became a
wealthy merchant in Montreal, and he died there at a ripe
old age.
Jean Baptiste Cadotte was the son of that Cadieux who
came with St. Lusson to the Sault in 1671. He was a merchant
voyageur, and at the time of his appointment by de Repentigny at the old French Fort he held almost a monopoly of
the fur trade in the Chippewa villages of Lake Superior. He
took to wife the daughter of a Saulteur Chief, being married
first with the native ceremonies and afterward in the missionary chapel at the Sault. He died at the Sault in 1803 and
was buried there. His two sons, Jean and Michel were notable
characters in the fur trade in the days of the North West
Company. Both married Indian wives and left many descendants who are scattered over the western states and Canada.
Fort Is Found Here
The stockade or fort on the south side of the Straits of
93




Mackinac, the site of which is marked by a handsome monument, was held and used by French traders for about a year
after the massacre. Then it was taken over by the British
troops. Captain Jonathan Carver of the British Army came
up St. Mary's River in 1766 and found de Repentigny's fort,
presumably repaired from the ravages of fire, at the foot
of the rapids, with Jean Cadotte in charge. Cadotte had
shown his friendliness to the English, and the latter evidently
did not mean to disturb him. And besides, he was Henry's
partner.
Carver's book is remembered for its famous Indian snakestory among other things, and this story may bear repeating
here.
A northern Indian having captured a rattlesnake, found
means to tame it. Thereafter he treated it as a Manito, calling
it his Great Father and taking it with him in a box wherever
he went. Once he was met by a Frenchman as he was setting
off for his winter's hunt. The Frenchman was surprised to see
the Indian place on the ground the box which contained his
god, open the little door and give the snake its freedom;
adminishing it to be sure and return the following May, as
he would be there to welcome it.
The Snake Returns
This happened in October, and the Frenchman opined that
the Indian would have to wait a long, long time for the arrival
of his Great Father. However, the Indian was so confident of
the creature's return that he offered to wager Monsieur two
gallons of rum that the snake would come at the time appointed and crawl into the box. The Frenchman agreed to
this, and in the second week in May both were there to see
the outcome, or rather the income. The Indian placed the
box on the ground and called loudly for his father, but the
snake heard him not. He had lost the bet, and he acknowledged it.
But he was not discouraged, and he offered to double the
forfeit if the missing god did not come within two days from
that time.  The offer was promptly taken up; but sacre bleuT
at one o'clock on the second day the snake arrived and
crawled into the box, cheerily wagging its tail in its joy at getting home again. And the Frenchman had to pay the poor,
guileless Indian four gallons of rum.
Jonathan Carver was seeking the passage to China when
he came to this region, that passage the discovery of which
had eluded Champlain, Nicolet, and so many other Frenchmen. "Those who are so fortunate as to succeed in finding
this passage," says Carver, "will reap emoluments beyond
their most sanguine expectations. Perhaps they may bestow
94




some commendations and blessings on the person who first
pointed out the way. These, though but a shadowy recompense for all my toil, I shall receive with pleasure."
Standing here by the rapids and wondering what became
of all the mighty waters of Lake Superior, Carver made the
following entry in his journal:
"Though Lake Superior is supplied by nearly three hundred
rivers, many of which are considerable ones, yet it does not
appear that one-tenth part of the waters which are conveyed
into it by these rivers are carried off at its evacuations. How
such a superabundance can be disposed of, as it must be by
some means or other, without which the circumference of the
lake would be constantly enlarging, I know not."
He concluded, as more than one geologist has since, that
much of the water in Superior seeps away through subterranean
caverns.
A Curious Deed
Sixty-seven years after it was given, the heirs of Carver
filed in the Court House on Mackinac Island the following
curious deed, which is evidence of the progress the  British
were making with the Northern Indians.
Naudowessie Chiefs
to                    Record B, Folio 96
Jonathan Carver et al.
Received for record July 16, 1833.
To Jonathan Carver, a Chief under the most mighty and
potent George the Third, King of the English and other
Nations, the fame of whose courageous warriors has reached
our ears and has been more fully told us by our good brother
Jonathan aforesaid, whom we rejoice to see come among us and
bring us good news from his country.
We, Chiefs of the Naudowessies (Sioux), who have hereto
set our seals, do by these presents, for ourselves and our heirs
forever, in return for the many presents and other good services done by the said Jonathan to ourselves and our allies,
give, grant and convey to him, the said Jonathan, and to his
heirs and assigns forever, the whole of a certain tract or territory of land, bounded as follows, viz.:
From the Falls of St. Anthony, running on the east bank
of the Mississippi River nearly southward as far as the southeast of Lake Pepin, where the Chippewa River joins the
Mississippi; and from thence eastward five days travel, accounting twenty English miles per day; and from thence north
six days travel at twenty English miles per day; and from
thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony in a direct straight line.
We do for ourselves, heirs and assigns forever, give unto
95




the said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, all the said land, with
all the trees, rocks and rivers therein, reserving for ourselves
and heirs the sole liberty of hunting and fishing on lands not
planted and improved by the said Jonathan Carver, his heirs
and assigns.
To which we have affixed our respective seals at the Great
Cave, May the First, One Thousand Seven Hundred and SixtySeven.
(signed)         HAWNOPAWJATIN
his X mark
Chief, Of The Turtle Totem
OTCHTONGOOMLISHCAW
his X mark
Chief, Of The Rattlesnake Totem.
Part of the land conveyed in this deed is occupied now by
the city of St. Paul.
Jonathan was the first great English-American explorer.
He is forgotten now, but he was a great traveler in his day.
He tramped and canoed over seven thousand miles in the
Northwest in his longing to reach the Pacific, a distance scarcely
exceeded by Stanley and Livingston in their African explorations. He returned to New York with invaluable charts and
papers.  He went to London, where he was refused permission to publish the book of his travels, and he died there,
starved and heart-broken.
Less than ten years after the Mississippi River Sioux Chiefs
had signed over to Carver a part of their domain,-a gift of
no use to him, it appears,-the Sioux, Menominees, Ottawas,
Chippewas and other northern tribes were fighting on the side
of the British in the Revolutionary War. The conflict caused
scarcely a ripple in far away Le Sault de Sainte Marie, but
probably some of the Saulteur Chippewas joined the fray. For
fighting was the natural way of life to the old Saulteurs: the
war-path was a familiar and a shining avenue to them.
But British Held on in U. P.
The war being over, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 ceded
all the lands in this vicinity south of the Great Lakes, to the
United States. But the British did not immediately surrender
possession of that part of the Upper Peninsula which they held,
and their ascendancy continued for several years. They made
annual presents to the Indians in this locality, and nursed and
profited by the fur trade which was coming into its own again.
The British at Hudson's Bay and at New York, and the
Americans after them at the latter place, probably always were
hampered to some extent by the lack of skilled voyageurs.
Not so with the Canadians trading out of Montreal and Quebec
96




through Le Sault de Sainte Marie. At their call were the
French-Canadians, thoroughly Indian-wise, and the best canoe
and woods-men in the world. Thomas Curry was the first
Canadian trader to penetrate through this region to the Saskatchewan River and its furry paradise. James Finlay folowed, and so did the Frobisher brothers and Alexander Henry.
Henry had a specific license to traffic in these territories, the
others were free-traders under the rapidly changing conditions
of the times.
Established Regular Routes
These men established regular routes of travel converging
on Le Sault de Sainte Marie, and thence via the Ottawa River
to Montreal.  Thousands of the peltries came from territory
hitherto occupied solely by the Hudson's Bay Company. They
found mutual advantage through informal co-operation for a
time, and eventually with others they formed the famous
North West Company, which became a formidable rival of
the giant concern to the northward. Henry disposed of his
trading privileges to this Company, but continued to be a
member of the firm until nearly the close of the century. In
his time as a fur-trader he had engaged dozens of young men
as clerks and had advised and assisted dozens more. Among
these was John Jacob Astor of New York..
The Hudson's Bay Conpany had prospered in the northern wilds. It never was the policy of the Company to write
history, or to publish its transactions to the world. The yearly
supply-ships slipped quietly into the Straits, and as quietly
departed for the London market with fur cargoes of fabulous
values.  Dividends of twenty-five and fifty per cent were common, and stock dividends of three hundred per cent were not
unknown. The Company had things all its own way until the
organization of the North West Company, and the great success of the latter was largely due to its French-Canadian field
personnel.
With the advent of the Northwest Company things began
to hum along St. Mary's River. The main office of the Company was in Montreal, its assembling point in the north was at
Grand Portage, near the present site of Fort William, and all
its up-bound field supplies and down-bound  peltries were
portaged around the rapids here. The warehouses and offices
of the Company were located on the south side of the river,
and the portage as well was on the south bank of the rapids.
Lock Constructed in 1797
Afterward, when occupation by American troops seemed
imminent, the Company moved over to the north side, into




British territory, and constructed a canal and lock, and a sawmill. This was in 1797.
So there were a canal and a lock and a water-power mill
at the Falls of Sainte Marie in the times of George Washington.
This is rather a surprising statement to those of us who casually
picture white men's commercial activities as having been confined to the Atlantic seaboard in the lifetime of our first
President. Its correctness, however, is beyond all dispute.
The canal was about half a mile in length, the lock thirtyeight feet long and eight feet nine inches wide. Canoes and
batteaux were raised or lowered nine feet in this lock, the
south gate of which was single and windlass-operated, the
north gates folding double. A storehouse sixty by sixty feet
in size was erected at the head of the canal, another storehouse about forty feet in length was built below it, and a
water-power saw-mill with two saws was built alongside the
lock and parallel with it.
This canal, of course, enabled laden canoes and other small
craft to ascend to or descend from Lake Superior without unloading or portaging. It is true the lift was only nine feet,
but the difference between that and the twenty feet or more
fall of the rapids was overcome by the ox-haul of the vessels
from the lock to the head of the canal. There is little evidence
that the canal was extensively used, and hardly any mention
is made of it in the Canadian records after the end of the century.
John Johnston Gains Success
Deserted by the North West Company, the village of Le
Sault de Sainte Marie made rather slow headway. De Repentigny's fort had disappeared, and while the Indian village was
fairly populous in the summer whitefishing season, the winters
found the red inhabitants scattered in the yearly hunt for furs
and food. Of the few white traders residing there who did
not affiliate with the North West Company or its offshoot,
the X Y Company, one gained conspicuous success and the
control of the fur trade along the southern shore of Lake Superior and vicinity. This was the celebrated John Johnston,
commemorated by his son-in-law Schoolcraft in various works,
and by Judge Charles H. Chapman in his monograph, "The
Historic Johnston Family.":8




SAULT STE. MARIE-THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
In the year 1800 the value of beaver skins belonging to
the North West Company alone, and brought out through the
Sault, was over a million dollars. In that year the Company
employed thirty-five guides, fifty clerks, seventy interpreters
and eleven hundred canoe-men. This force collected and forwarded around the rapids here over one hundred thousand
beaver skins, thirty thousand martin, seventeen  thousand
muskrat, six thousand fox, two thousand bear and the same
number of deer-skins, six thousand lynx, nearly five thousand
otter, two thousand mink, four thousand wolf, seven hundred
elk and five hundred buffalo robes.
To this enormous total must be added the Company's
smaller peltries, and those of the X Y Company and the independent traders. Truly, the fur trade in those days was
everything. For several years the North West Company
brought down more furs through the Sault than the Hudson's
Bay Company exported directly through the Straits.
Wild fur-bearing animal life now in the vicinity of the Sault
is fast going the way of the whitefish. The skins enumerated
above would be worth at today's valuations over three million
dollars. It is doubtful if the two Saults will handle this year
much over one hundred thousand dollars worth of peltries.
The killing of beaver is forbidden in Michigan, and unless
some action is taken in Ontario, the beaver will soon be practically extinct there. Aside from the beaver-skins collected
in Algoma, muskrat, fox, mink and skunk provide the bulk
of the present limited receipts in this locality. Many of the
fur-bearers are nearing extirpation, and recourse must be had
to captive rearing if the supply of fur is to continue.
One hundred and twenty-five years ago, the North West
Company was well-nigh supreme here. Its posts dotted the
country around Lake Superior, each post had its quota of Indians, and each Indian's hunting-grounds were marked out for
him. At the beginning of the season, his credit was allotted
to him in Company currency or tokens. This was placed in his
box at the Company store, and the Indian was given the key
to the box. When he left for the hunt the key remained with
his wife or relatives, and the tokens covering their purchases
from time to time were taken from the box and counted by
the clerk or factor in their presence.
Beaver Skins Were Cheap
On the hunter's return a yearly settlement was made. He
turned in furs to the amount of his credit. If he wanted a gun,
99




he piled skins on the floor to the height of the upright weapon
in exchange. The muskets in those days were made with very
long barrels. If he poached on another hunter's territory or
did business with one of the free-traders, he obtained no more
credit and was listed at the other posts. Thereby he found
his usefulness in that locality at an end. By the exercise of
industry and strict honesty, he eked out a living, while his
merchandise, won through winters of toil and privation, enriched its buyers in the markets of Europe. Beaver especially
was wanted, for well-to-do folk in the old country would have
hats of nothing else.
The prime requisites of the Indian hunter, in exchange for
his furs, were guns, powder, bullets and traps. He might be
without a coat to his back or shoes to his feet, but these were
indispensable.  Blankets, bright-colored clothing, knives and
hatchets made close seconds. Cooking utensils and other
articles of household hardware stood near the top of the Indian's want-list and comprised a large part of the Company
store-keepers' stock. Many a canoeful of whisky was unloaded
at the Sault and dispensed to the Indians at ruinous prices, and
with ruinous results. If you know how many beaver-skins it
takes, piled flat and pounded down, to level up to the muzzle
of an extra long, five dollar musket standing upright, you can
get some idea of the profits in the fur business here when Sault
Ste. Marie was young.
The North West Company flourished and waxed great in
the Lake Superior country. Many and bloody were the battles of its men with those of the Gregory-Mackenzie Company
and the X Ys, rival concerns which it finally absorbed. We
find the X Y Company warehousing its goods on the American side of the rapids in 1803, the North West Company having pre-empted every location suitable for that purpose on the
north bank. Two years later the adversaries became one
under the North West name. The best talent in both concerns pushed the business forward with spirit and enterprise,
everywhere encouraging the trade of Canada with the great
Northwest and opening posts at various places in the territory.
The Hudson's Bay Company took over the Nor'westers on
favorable terms to the latter in 1821, and the northern woods
and streams ceased to be the battlegrounds of the rivals in
Montreal and London.
Michigan Territory Is Formed
In the meantime Virginia and Massachusetts had relinquished whatever claims they had to the Northwest Territory
of which we were part. Indiana Territory had been organized,
including the eastern part of what is now the Michigan Upper
Peninsula, and in 1805 Michigan Territory was formed.
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John Johnston
It is hard to think of Sault Ste. Marie at the beginning ot
the last century without recalling the name of John Johnston.
Johnston's romantic career, powers of intellect, and generous
hospitality made him famous throughout a great stretch of
country, and he has been featured by many writers in their accounts of this locality.
He was born near Coleraine, in Antrim County, Ireland, in
1763, and came to Canada in 1792. Being attracted by the
possibilities of the fur trade, he soon joined a party bound for
Lake Superior.  Tarrying at the Sault for a space, he journeyed up the lake to La Pointe, where he established a trading
post and made the acquaintance of Wab-ojeeg and his handsome daughter O-shah-gush-ko-do-no-qua, whom her children
afterward knew as Neengai, the girl whom he was to marry the
following year.
Waub-ojeeg was the most famed of the Chippewas in the
north country and was the son of the celebrated Mongazid, in
whose arms Montcalm died on the Plains of Abraham.  In
courage and craft he was the true exemplar of a warlike race.
Once, when Mongazid was hunting with his men near an encampment of the Sioux, the latter attacked and surprised
the sleeping Chippewas at early dawn.  Mongazid rushed out,
and shouting his name, asked if Wabash, his mother's son by a
Sioux Chief was among the enemy. Thereupon the tall figure
of his half-brother approached with hand outstretched in token
cf peace.
Was a Warrior at Eight
Hostilities were suspended and Wabash was invited into
Mfongazid's wigwam, but at the moment of entrance he was
saluted with a lusty blow from the stout war club of young
Waub-ojeeg, then a boy of eight. The uncle, delighted with
this display of spirit, took Waub-ojeeg in his arms and prayed
Gitchi Mlanito to make him a sturdy man and a great warrior.
This prayer Waub-ojeeg fulfilled.
When he came to the chieftancy he made his home at La
Pointe. His wigwam was sixty feet in length and it was surmounted by the carved figure of an owl, the insignia of his
clan, his power, and his presence, the emblem being taken down
when he was absent in war or during the hunting season.
War with the Sioux and the Ottawas employed his time so
that he did not marry until he was thirty years of age.  Then
a widow became his wife and bore him two sons.  Becoming
tired of the widow, he exercised the prerogative of a Chippewa
and a Chief and married a girl of fourteen who became the
mother of six children, of whom Neengai was the eldest.
Here the young fur-trader Johnston met the Chief's daugh101




ter, and he promptly fell in love with her. When he asked
Waub-ojeeg for her hand the Chief replied:
"White man, your customs are not our customs.  You
desire our women, you take them, and when they cease to
please your fancy you say they are not your wives, and you
forsake them. Go back to Montreal with your load of furs,
and if the pale-face girls do not put my daughter out of your
head, come here in the spring and we will talk further.  You
are both young, and she can wait."
But Johnston Came Back
The young Irishman was impetuous with his arguments, his
presents, his entreaties.  They were in vain, Waub-ojeeg was
unswerving. Johnston went down to Montreal for a lonesome
winter, returned in the spring and took the maid to wife. Waubojeeg made the bridegroom swear that he would marry her according to the law of the white man, until death.
Mrs. Jameson has recorded for us in her "Winter Studies
and Summer Rambles" the story of this marriage.  On being
escorted by her people to the bridegroom's lodge, Neengai fled
into a dark corner, rolled herself in a blanket and refused to
speak or be spoken to, or even looked upon. Johnston was
more than considerate, and during the ten days she remained
in his lodge he sought by every gentle means to revive her
confidence and affection.  At the end of that time, however,
she ran away to the woods in a sudden access of fear and terror,
and reached her grandfather's wigwam after a four day fast.
Meanwhile Waub-ojeeg, at his distant hunting-ground, had
a premonition that all was not well with his daughter.  Returning home suddenly he found the truant, gave her a sound thrashing with a stick and threatened to cut off her ears.  Then
he took her back to her husband with a a thousand apologies,
assuring Johnston of his fatherly disapproval of her actions.
Johnston soon succeeded in taming this wild fawn of the woods,
and brought her from La Pointe down to Sault Ste. Marie.
Lived 36 Years Happily Married
Even here she could not overcome at once her shyness with
the white man, and her longing was strong to see her own people again.  So her husband provided her with a schooner and
a crew and sent her to her former home with Waub-ojeeg at
La Pointe. A short stay there convinced her that the whites'
mode of living was the better, and the intense desire came to
rejoin her mate. She returned to the Sault and lived there
happily thirty-six years with her white husband, becoming the
mother of four boys and four girls.
Mr. Johnston has been described as a vigorous and handsome man before age and infirmities came upon him, lively
102




and jovial, and of excellent education.  He acquired a conifortable fortune in the fur trade, and lost a good deal of it in
the war of 1812. His talents, good nature, wide acquaintance,
and his marriage with Chief Waub-ojeeg's daughter, brought
him great influence in old Sault Ste. Marie and its vicinity.
His wife became a Christian, and her energy and strength
of mind, as well as her descent from the ancient family of
Waub-ojeeg, the White Fisher, endeared her to the northern
Indians.  Like her father she possessed poetical talent, and
many of the Chippewa Indian legends and traditions which we
now enjoy have come down to us through her, having been
translated by her daughters.
Jane, the eldest daughter of this couple, married Henry R.
Schoolcraft, noted author and historian. Her Indian name was
O-bah-bahm-wah-wah-ge-zhe-go-qua, meaning "the sound the
stars make, rushing through the sky." Before her marriage she
visited Ireland and England with her father, and her beauty
and accomplishments made a great impression there.  Her
sister Charlotte, described by Colonel McKenney in his "Tour
to the Lakes," as a surpassingly beautiful woman, became the
wife of the Reverend Mr. MacMurray, who came to the Sault
as an Episcopal missionary in 1832. The youngest daughter,
Anna, married James Schoolcraft, brother of Henry, at the
Sault. Eliza, the remaining daughter, never married.
The oldest son, Louis, was aboard one of the British ships
captured by Commodore Perry on Lake Erie in 1813. George
became a soldier in the British army.  William and John were
interpreters in the United States Indian Service; the latter acting
in that capactiy for his brother-in-law, Henry R. Schoolcraft,
Indian Agent at Sault Ste. Marie.
Many travelers have recorded the generous hospitality of
the Johnston homestead in Sault Ste. Marie in the old days and
the ability of its master as an entertainer. Part of the Johnston
home, which was erected about 1815, is still standing, the most
interesting landmark of the Sault of a century ago. At the
time it was built, the house was one of the finest in the whole
north country.  The government road reaching westward to
Fort Brady was afterward constructed directly in front of it. The
house faced the river, and a short lane from the front door led
to a dock, which extended some distance into the stream.
Over this dock came General Cass in 1820, to haul down the
British flag, and after him came the federal troops in 1822.
To the west of his home Johnston built his warehouse and
a carpenter shop. A little to the northeastward, and closer to
the river, there stood his store, another warehouse, and a bunkhouse for his men.  Behind his home there was a beautiful
old-fashioned garden, luxuriant each summer with roses and
lilacs. Alongside it was his fur press, a little to the westward
his blaclsmith shop, and near that was the home cf Mrs.
108




Cadotte, on the site of the old French fort. In the rear of
these stood the old Jesuit cemetery. The river bank to the
west of the Johnston home was an Indian camping ground,
while to the east it afforded pasture for his sheep. Directly
east of his home Johnston built his wine cellar, milk and ice
house and barns.
Back of his garden Johnston laid out in 1816 the first
street in Sault Ste. Marie, which we know as Water Street or
Park Place. This street extended but a few hundred feet west
from the lot on which his home was built, and this extension
was intersected a few years later by the palisade of Fort Brady.
South of this street lay the unfenced commons.
Was Hospitable to All
Here Johnston lived with his family from about 1815 until
1828, dispensing a cheery hospitality to all who came, buying
and selling furs and other merchandise, doctoring any ailing
whites or Indians with simple remedies, often bleeding them
after the fashion of the  times.  The kind  and  practical
benevolence of the daughter of Waub-ojeeg matched his own.
No tale of poverty or bad luck went unheeded. Johnston was
the friend, confidant and patriarch of all in this broad demesne.
Though he lived on the frontier he maintained contact with
the world outside. His house was filled with books and current
publications. He brought from his former home in Ireland
many of the comforts of civilization. Massive-framed portraits
on the walls, and the many foreign articles about the rooms,
aroused great wonder and admiration in the minds of the Indians who viewed them.
This was of course after the war of 1812, in which Johnston
and the Sault Ste. Marie suffered some unpleasant experiences.
The British, having lost Mackinac Island by treaty after the
Revolutionary War, had established about 1796 a small military post on St. Joseph's Island, just below Lime Island on St.
Mary's River. On the announcement of hostilities, John Johnston, although he appears to have been Collector of the port
for the U. S. Goverment at the time, raised, equipped and
provisioned a company of white and Indian militia here, and
placed himself under the orders of the British commandant
at Fort St. Joseph.
Americans Surrender
Captain Roberts was in charge at St. Joseph when he received orders from General Brock to attack the American position on Mackinac Island without delay. About one thousand
whites and Indians, John Johnston among them, proceeded
down the river in July, 1812, debarked at British Landing in
the rear of the fort, and planted their cannon on the heights,
104




in a position to rake the block-houses and the town. The
little garrison commanded by Lieutenant Hanks surrendered.
Two years later a fleet of seven American vessels with
seven hundred soldiers came up Lake Huron to attack the
British at Mackinac. The British commandant sent to Sault
Ste. Marie for help, and Johnston and his Saulteurs again responded via the river route, taking the short cut through West
Neebish.
Fort St. Joseph Destroyed
Meanwhile a detachment of American troops ascended the
old channel east of Sugar Island, burned the North West Company's storehouses on the north side of the river, and in all
probability destroyed the Company's canal and lock. When
these were unearthed many years later, the remains were in a
badly wrecked condition.  The troops also grounded the
schooner Perseverance in the rapids and confiscated a large
quantity of merchandise of John Johnston on the south side of
the river. Fort St. Joseph was destroyed about the same time.
Johnston afterward petitioned the British Government to
reimburse him for his losses. He stated in this petition that
he had been present at and had assisted in the capture of
Michilimackinac, that he had commanded the fort there in the
absence of its Lieutenant, and that he had sustained heavy
damages at the Sault by the act of United States troops. His
petition was denied, and a later memorial to the United States
Government asking for restitution met with no better success.
The North West Company also made claim on the British
treasury for its losses inflicted by Major Holmes' troops
Its petition does not specifically mention the destroyed canal
and lock, but there is little doubt they were demolished in
Holmes's raid. All trace of them was lost and later generations had forgotten their existence, until an old record of them
came to the notice of Judge Joseph Steere of Sault Ste. Marie,
Mich. Together with Mr. E. S. Wheeler and Mr. Joseph
Cozzens he searched out the location and discovered unmistakably the tiny lock, but a short distance from the great shiplock built by the Canadian Government at Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario. The rubbish was removed from it and the lock-form
reconstructed in stone, and many visitors now view it yearly.
Great Flotilla Bearing Furs
Had Holmes raided the Saults a few days later, it is likely
he would have taken one of the richest prizes of the war.
Shortly after he left the rapids to rejoin his command, a flotilla
of canoes carrying a million dollars worth of furs came down
from Superior and passed safely through to Montreal.
105




John Jacob Astor, who came to this country from Cermany
via England in 1783, was a leader in the northern fur trade.
It is said that his first experience in the business was with
Alexander Henry as a clerk, and he soon was out buying furs
on his own account. The old stories tell us that it was his
custom to entertain the Indians with his flute before talking
business with them, and that the flute made many friends for
-him in his quest for merchandise. There has circulated recently in the country's periodicals a curious and circumstantial
story that John Jacob Astor was the discoverer of a pirate
hoard secreted by Captain Kidd on the coast of Maine, and
that this find was the foundation of his fortune. At the beginning of the century he was worth several hundred thousand
dollars and was the richest merchant in New York City.
Organized American Fur Co.
Astor organized the American Fur Company in New York
in 1808. Its central assembling point for peltries and supplies was at Mackinac Island, and finding the Mackinaw Fur
company in his way there, he purchased it from its English.owners in 1811. The war of 1812 seriously hampered his
operations, but after the Treaty of Ghent the Company prospered wonderfully, and many millions of dollars worth of furs
from the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin and Minnesota territory
were assembled, sorted and shipped at Mackinac. About 1815
the American Fur Company and its subsidiaries employed four
hundred clerks at Mackinac Island alone, besides two thousand
trappers and voyageurs.
The wise and patriotic efforts of John  Jacob Astor in
bringing about a better understanding between the American
Government and the Indian tribes of the Northwest, have never
been fully appreciated. His trading post for the Lake Superior
country was here at Sault Ste. Marie, and here as well as elsewhere his officials and employes endeavored to treat the ted
men with fairness and justice. Due largely to the friendly
feelings engendered by the Company, it was not very long before whatever sympathy the Saulteur Indians retained for the
British cause had disappeared. The potent influence of Astor
at all times worked for the progress of desirable emigration into
the Northwest, and the upholding of the flag and the government.
Astor's expedition to the mouth of the Columbia River in
1'811 resulted in a loss to him, but it was of advantage to the:United States in establishing later the Union's claim to Oregon
and our present northern boundary.
106




Crooks Succeeds Astor
Ramsay Crooks, a wonderful Scotchman who penetrated
to the Pacific coast with one of Astor's expeditions, was agent
for the American Fur Company at Sault Ste. Marie, or St.
Mary's Falls, as he called it, for many years. He succeeded to
the presidency of the Company after Astor's retirement.
In the old records of the American FVur Company at the
John Jacob Astor House on Mackinac Island, are many copies
of letters written by Ramsay Crooks while he was agent of the
Company here. Crooks often has been cited as an exemplar of
the fine art of letter-writing as practiced a century ago. One
instance may be given here, illustrative of approved business
form in bygone times by a master of the pen, and which is
reminiscent of the eternal liquor question!
St. Mary's Falls, 3rd August, 1819.
Mr. Goodrich Warner,
Ance.
Sir-It is with no ordinary surprise and pain i tearn how very
improperly you conducted yourself on the voyage from Mackinac to this place, and whilst here.
I had hoped your good sense would have told you to
pursue a very different course, particularly as I had at Mackinac been reluctantly compelled to express to you in very plain
terms my abhorrence of your propensity to drunkenness, and
my determination not to retain in the employ of the Company
any person who, lost to the true feelings of a gentleman, took
every opportunity to degrade himself to the level of the brute
creation. You have now attained too ripe an age for the follies
and indiscretions of youth to be pleaded in extenuation of
your shocking attachment to intemperance, and  you  must
clearly understand that, added to the detestation I personally
feel for such profligate practices, my duty to the Company as its
Agent will not permit me to continue in its service any one
whose habits disqualify him for executing with fidelity the trust
reposed in him.
An Ultimatum
You have pledged the faith of an honest man to consult
the interest of the Company at all times and under all circumstances, and to devote your whole time and attention to
the faithful discharge of the duties of your station. How far
or how well you have heretofore kept your engagements I
will leave your own conscience to answer. Your conduct puts
it in my power to refuse paying you a single dollar for the last
year's services, yet I did not scruple to account for your salary
as if you had been a good and upright servant.
Your behavior more than once authorized my denying you
107




access to the Company's table, for you were not fit to be
seen with gentlemen, yet I palliated and overlooked your
deviation from strict propriety. The veil is, however, at last
torn from my eyes, and you now stand before me in all the
deformity of an ill spent life. I request you to understand
distinctly that unless you give unquestionable proofs of a total
reformation, and furnish proper grounds to believe you have
altogether abandoned every improper habit, I cannot and most
assuredly will not consent ever to meet you again as a gentleman and an honest man.
In fact, you must convince me beyond the possibility of a
doubt that you possess sufficient firmness to resist the allurements of vice in any shape, and will for the future be exemplary
in the practice of virtue, else you may rest assured that however painful it may be, it will nevertheless become an imperative duty to hold you up as an example to other young men
who might be disposed to follow your devious course, and by
discharging you with every mark of ignominy from the Company's service, leave you to the indulgence of your vicious propensities with the wicked and profligate, an outcast from society
a dishonor to your family, and a disgrace to human nature.
But if you will listen to my warning voice, give up your pernicious habits, and become in reality a gentleman, I will forgive and forget your past sins, meet you in the spirit of cordiality, and treat you according to your merits as a man and
your ability as a trader.
Mr. Halliday will in all cases instruct you in your duty
to the Company and you will govern yourself accordingly.
He will I am sure impart to you with pleasure a knowledge of
your calling, provided you behave as becomes you, and it will
depend wholly on your future industry whether I shall henceforward consider you a valuable acquisition to the Company,
or regret that I ever had the misfortune to meet you. I am,
sir,
Yours, &c,
RAMSAY CROOKS,
Agent American Fur Co.
Some wag has written at the head of the copy of this
letter the words "Nota bene," (Mark welll)
The Modem Way
No history of the Sault discloses whether the convivial Mr.
Warner heeded this ponderous and solemn warning. Let us
hope he did.
We do these things much better nowadays. The modern
captain of industry would put it thus,-by wire:
"Cut out the booze or off goes your head "
In the early days of the fur industry muskrat skins were
108




worth little or nothing. About the time of Mr. Crook's letter,
however, we find Robert Stuart, another officer of the Company, offering John Johnston and Charles Ermatinger at the
Sault thirty-five cents each for muskrat skins. He mentions that
he has offered this high figure "not for any hope of getting but
little advance on them, but merely for the purpose of having
control over the market."
Charles Ermatinger was an independent trader in furs and
other merchandise in the Canadian Sault at this time, occupying much the same position relatively that John Johnston did
on the American side. He was the son of a Swiss merchant
who had settled originally in New England, but who had taken
up his residence in Canada after Wolfe's victory. Mr. Ermatinger built a substantial stone house on the north side of the
river and accumulated a fortune in trade. He was the friend
of Schoolcraft, who mentions him often, and was the father
of two sons who located in the American Sault.
British Put Fort on Drummond
The government of Great Britain, having taken and lost
Mackinac Island in the war of 1812, cast about for another
vantage point in the vicinity whereon to erect a fort. The
north shore of the rapids at the Sault was considered, and was
found to be rocky, low and swampy, and under the possible domination of American artillery.  It was deemed
likely that the Americans would claim St. Joseph's Island, so
in 1815 a British fort was established at the mouth of St.
Mary's River on an island called by the Indians Pontanagannippi, or -ontanagannissi. It was renamed Drummond's Island
by the British, in honor of General Sir Gordon Drummond,
commander of the lake district, but the Indian name has been
preserved in the adjacent and altogether lovely Potagannissing
Bay. One meaning given to this name is "the place of beautiful islands." The stolid Saulteur Chippewas were given but
little to the contemplation of the beautiful, but such is the
loveliness of the region that even an Indian might be pardoned
for growing ecstatic over it. The matter-of-fact British Army
reports speak of the location as beautiful and picturesque, and
Drummond Island has come to be known as "The Gem of the
Huron."
Here the British remained until the Island was adjudicated
American territory. Although they had long since relinquished
possession of the American Sault and the Michigan Upper
Peninsula, their standard was still raised by the Indians loyal
to them on the south side of the rapids.
Brought Gov. Cass to Sault
It appears to have been overlooked by later chroniclers
109




that the establishment of this British fort on  Drummond's
Island was a direct cause for Governor Cass's famous visit to
the Sault in 1820, and the erection of Fort Brady two years
later. The case is stated plainly in a note to Schoolcraft's
"Narrative of the Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi:"
"We learn that the Indians are peaceable, but that the
effect of the immense distribution of presents to them by the
British authorities at Drummond's Island has been evident upon
their wishes and feelings. Upon the establishment of our posts,
and the judicious distribution of our small military force, must
we rely, and not upon the disposition of the Indians. The important points of the country are now almost all occupied by
our troops, and these points have been selected with great
judgment. It is thought by the party, that the erection of a
military work at the Saut is essential to our security in that
quarter. It is the key of Lake Superior, and the Indians in its
vicinity are more disaffected than any others upon the route.
Their daily intercourse with Drummond's Island, leaves us no
reason to doubt what are the means by which their feelings
are excited and continued.  The importance of this site, in a
military point of view, has not escaped the observation of Mr.
Calhoun and it was for this purpose that a treaty was directed
to be held."
Secretary of War John C. Calhoun had approved in 1819
the plan of Governor Cass to effect a treaty with the Indians
at Sault Ste. Marie, to arrange for a Government military post
at this place and to carry the flag of the United States into
these remote northern regions, where it had never been borne
by officials of the country. Henry R. Schoolcraft, then twentysix years of age, accompanied this expedition in 1820 as mineralogist and geologist.
Came Up River in Canoes
Schoolcraft came from Buffalo to Detroit on the steamer
Walk-in-the-Water, the first vessel on the Great Lakes to use
steam power, and which had been launched two years before.
The Walk-in-the-Water had been as far north as Mackinac, but
the Governor and his party preferred canoes for their trip up
the lakes. In view of possible hostilities, a squad of soldiers
accompanied the Governor.
The expedition reached the Sault June 15th, 1820, landing,
as Schoolcraft says, in front of the old Nolan House, the ancient
headquarters of the North West Company. This was probably
the old home of Augustin Nolin, a French trapper and trader,
friendly to the American cause, who had retired and settled
down in Sault Ste. Marie before the War of 1812, afterward
selling his property to Mr. C. O. Ermatinger or his sons.
The party went into camp on the green beside the river,
110




the hour being late, with soldiers on guard. The Indians, says
Schoolcraft, occupied a high plateau in plain view several hundred yards west, with an intervening gully and a plain, wellbeaten foot-path.
Pass Night in Tents
The visitors passed a quiet night in their tents, disturbed
only by the sound of the falls and the distant monotonous
thump of Indian drums. In the morning they explored the
village and found it consisted of fifteen or twenty buildings
occupied by the descendants of the original French settlers, all
of whom drew their living from the fur trade. Most of the
Frenchmen's houses stood inside picket fences. All trace of
the missionaries' chapel had disappeared, but there was an old
consecrated graveyard which was still used for interments.
The principal buildings of the village were those of John
Johnston and the ones formerly occupied by the North West
Company. Johnston was absent in Europe, but his family received the visitors hospitably and invited Governor Cass and
his suite to take all their meals at the Johnston home. Schoolcraft was impressed especially with the eldest daughter, Jane.
"The Sault Falls of St. Mary," continues Schoolcraft. "is
the head of navigation for vessels on the lakes and has been
from early days a thoroughfare for the Indian trade. It is
equally renowned for its white fish, which are taken in the
rapids in a scoop-net. The abundance and excellence of these
fish has been the praise of all travelers from the earliest date,
and it constitutes a ready means of subsistence for the Indians
who congregate here.
"The place was chiefly memorable on our tour, however,
as the seat of the Chippewa power. To adjust the relations
of the tribe with the United States, a council was convened with
the Chiefs on the day following our arrival."
To this council the Chiefs came, clothed in their best and
arrayed in feathers and British medals. Greeting the Governor
with great dignity at his tent, they were seated and the pipes
were smoked. Cass then explained to them through his interpreter the views of the Government. He told them that he
had come to remind them of the cession of the country by their
ancestors to the French, to whose national rights and prerogatives the Americans had succeeded, and to secure their assent
to its reoccupancy.
Chiefs Split on Proposal
The Chiefs split on this proposition, some saying they knew
nothing of such former grants, and others appearing to favor a
settlement on the basis broached by the Governor, provided it
was not intended to occupy the Sault with a garrison. These
111




said, in the symbolic language of the Indians, that they were
afraid their young men might kill the cattle of the garrison.
The Governor, being fully aware of their meaning, replied
that so sure as the sun then ascending would set, so sure would
there be an American garrison at Sault Ste. Marie, whether they
renewed the grant or not.
The principal Chief Shingabawossin was inclined to be
moderate and said little. But Shingwauk, the Little Pine, who
had conducted the last war party of Indians from the village
in 1814, was openly hostile. So, too, was Sassaba, a tall Chief
in scarlet, whose brother had been killed by the Americans in
the Battle of the Thames. He furiously drove his spear into
the ground before him and delivered an impassioned oration
in dissent. At its close he kicked away the presents brought
by the expedition for the Indians and strode from the tent,
and the other Chiefs followed him.
The Indians went to their hill, and scarcely had the whites
returned to their tents when it was announced that the Saulteurs
had raised the British flag in their camp. Trouble seemed certain and Governor Cass ordered his men under arms. Calling
his interpreter and ordering the others back, the Governor then
did a most courageous thing. Proceeding up the path and
across the little ravine, he reached the lodge of Sassaba, before
whose door the flag had been raised, and immediately pulled
down the banner. Then he entered the lodge with the interpreter and informed the Chief that he had been guilty of
an indignity, and that if any other flag than the Stars and
Stripes were raised there again, the United States would set
a strong foot upon the Saulteurs' rock and crush them.  Finally the Governor, unmolested, brought the captured flag to
his tent.
Indians Were Amazed
The intrepid act of Cass struck the Indians with amazement
and indecision. They sent their women and children across
the river at once, but the whites waited in vain for the warwhoop. While the Chippewas doubtingly deliberated, Mrs.
Johnston, the daughter of Waub-ojeeg, sought council with the
Chiefs and told them their meditated scheme of resistance to
the Americans was madness, that the day for such resistance
had passed, that Cass was her guest, that he had the air of a
great man, and could carry his flag through the country.
The advice prevailed, and she had the seconding of Shingabowassin and the Little Pine. Negotiations were renewed,
and another council was convened  in one of the Johnston
buildings. Here the treaty desired by the Governor was
amicably discussed and signed by all the Chiefs save Sassaba,
June 16th,-a treaty by which the Chippewas ceded to the
United States a piece of land four miles square, fronting the
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L- __________________________________


Winter and Summer Near the Sault








rapids and lying within the present limits of Sault Ste. Marie.
The Indians reserved the perpetual right to fish in the rapids.
The consideration for this cession was paid on the spot in merchandise.
Such, in substance, is Schoolcraft's account of the lowering
of the British flag by Governor Cass at the rapids in June, 1820,
in all likelihood on the identical spot where St. Lusson had
raised the French ensign in the same month one hundred forty
nine years before. It is regrettable that the exact location of
these historic occurrences is open to doubt. Many an argument
has been waged on this point of location, the opinion being
advanced by some, and not without reason, that Sassaba's flag
stood on the high ground just south of the Weitzel lock.
Schoolcraft mentions a ravine which still exists near the foot
of Bingham Avenue, and which in former times extended southward across the present line of Portage Avenue. But he does
not say how far west of the ravine Sassaba's lodge and the
Indian village were placed, or at what distance east of it the
Governor's tent was pitched. He tells us the Indians "occupied a high plateau, in plain view, several hundred yards west
of the expedition's tents, with an intervening gully, and a plain,
well-beat foot-path."
Probably at Foot of Bingham
This is rather indefinite. If the visitors' tents were pitched
in the immediate vicinity of the Johnston home, on the river
bank marked as Indian camping ground on the Wheeler-Westcott map, or in the pasture, the Indian village might be located
easily enough three hundred yards or so west on or about the
present line of Water Street or Park Place, just across the
ravine. The ground is a little higher there, and it has been
mentioned that prints of the period do not show any particular
elevation further west, except in the location of the Indian
burying-ground. It is not likely that the Chippewas would
camp on a spot sacred to the bones of their ancestors. Furthermore, the burying-ground was directly opposite the rapids,
and the location of an encampment there would necessitate a
considerable detour around the rapids in crossing the river.
The logical place of living for the Indians was at the foot of
the rapids, and this hardly could have been far above the little
hill at the foot of Bingham Avenue.
A sketch of Water Street made in 1850 and now hanging
in Le Saut de Sainte Marie club-rooms, shows the ground south
of the location of the Weitzel lock to be rough and not at all
suited to camping purposes.
Another statement of Schoolcraft deserves consideration.
He says: "It has been stated that the encampment of the Indians was situated on an eminence a few hundred yards west
113




from our position on the shore, and separated from us by a
small ravine..In a few moments after the Governor's
return from the Indian camp, that camp was cleared by the
Indians of their women and children, who fled with precipitation in their canoes across the river."
Reversing this statement, and allowing that the Indians were
on an eminence close to the present Weitzel lock, with the
whites a few hundred yards east of them, say just to the
eastward of the little historic ravine, it is difficult to see how
the women and children could take to their canoes without
passing directly by and very close to Governor Cass and his
men. It is hardly conceivable that they would do this. As
an alternative we have only the supposition that the Indians
had two fleets of canoes, one below and one above the rapids,
and that the women and children took refuge in the latter. This
is equally unlikely.
A more reasonable explanation seems to be that the Americans were encamped some distance below the ravine and that
the Indians had placed themselves just west of it on the high
ground there, and from which point they could transfer their
women and children to the canoes without contact with the
whites.
Chief Helped Governor?
William Warren, the native historian of the Chippewas,
has left us the account of another Chippewa Chief, Hole in the
Day, who told Warren that he was present on this occasion.
The Chief claimed that he had rushed to the defense of the
Governor when the flag came down, and had called for his
friends to join in backing the Governor. Also that the local
Chippewas were very hostile, and this daring exploit prevented
the massacre of Cass and all his men.
This story came to Dr. Alfred Brunson, Indian Agent at
La Pointe years later, and through him to Mr. C. C. Trowbridge, assistant topographer of the expedition. Mr. Trowbridge made the following comments, afterward printed in the
records of the Wisconsin Historical Society:
"Dr. Brunson's sketch is, in respect to Hole in the Day,
one more proof that it is dangerous to trust tradition. Hole
ils the Day no doubt told the Doctor or his informant that in
the little affair at Sault Ste. Marie in 1820 between Governor
Cass and the Chippewas, he came to the Governor's aid.  But
there is an alibi,-Hole in the Day was not there.
"I recollect the circumstances as well as if they occurred
but yesterday, and my journal of the events is now before me.
I will mention that the Governor took from Detroit one canoe
load of Indians under command of Kewakwishkum, an Ottawa
Chief from Grand Rapids. At Mackinac, where we stopped
114




several days, a very handsome, athletic young Indian whonm
we called Buck, probably as a translation of his Indian name,
was strongly recommended by Biddle and Drew, Indian traders,
as likely to be serviceable, and the fellow pleaded so hard that
the Governor took him.
"At the Sault Ste. Marie the conference with the Chippewas
took place in the Governor's wall tent, the sides of which were
rolled up, so that it was a tent a l'abri. The Chippewas had
their lodges on the American side, some distance, say a third
of a mile, above the Governor's camp. My impression is that
when they came to the conference they had just come from
the British side.
British Gave Presents
"You are aware that the British had, during the war of
1812-' 15, been profuse in the distribution of presents, and our
Government had not. The consequence was a settled hostility
on the part of the Indians. The object of the Cass expedition
was to carry our flag through the country, assert our rights, arrange for a military post at St. Marie, and look for the Ontonagon copper rock. Governor Cass informed this little squad
of this design. He told them of the double purchase of their
territory by the French and the English; read and explained
to them the treaty of Greenville in 1795, of Spring Wells in
1815, and of Fort Harrison in 1816; and informed them that
their Great American Father intended to place some troops
at the Sault Ste. Marie, and wanted a small place to land, for
which he was ready to pay a third time.
"I must describe the appearance of the Chippewa Chief.
Beginning at the top, an eagle's feather, signifying that he was
a killer, bear's grease, vermilion and indigo, a red British
military coat with two enormous epaulets, a large British silver
medal, breech-clout, leggings and moccasins. Thus decked
off, he rose and said gruffly that they did not wish to sell
their land. The Governor informed them that their fathers
had twice sold it and been paid for it, but that to make things
pleasant he would buy it again.
"He had a quantity of tobacco in the center of the tent for
distribution. He offered through the interpreter the usual pipe
after smoking-in his way, which was to wait until the interpreter had fixed the pipe, and then blow the smoke out instead
of inhaling it himself. The chief rejected the pipe and rushed
out of the tent-not through the door, but under the side.
His men followed him.  They went up to their camp.  This
was late in the afternoon. Soon after, the women of the camp
were seen going toward the river with burdens on their backs;
and then it was discovered that the British flag was hoisted
in front of their lodges. As soon as the Governor saw this
115




he called William Riley, the interpreter, and walked hastily
toward the Indian camp. He refused to allow anyone else to
accompany him. He went unarmed.
Brought Flag Staff Back
"We watched with deep solicitude. We saw him pull down
the flag, throw it to the ground, and point to it while he looked
toward the Indians, who were then outside their lodges. Riley
told us when they returned to camp that the Governor rebuked
the Indians, and told them if they raised the flag there again
he would fire on them. Riley by command of the Governor
brought the staff of the flag to our camp.
"Early in the evening George Johnston came to the Governor at the request of his mother, to tell him that the Chippewas intended to attack the camp during the night. Immediately the camp was put in a state of defense. Sentinels were
posted, muskets were rubbed up, and common guns and horsemen's pistols, with which the young gentlemen of the Governor's suite were armed, were loaded, and orders and countersigns given. We had a guard of soldiers who accompanied
us thus far, under Lieut. John Pierce, brother of the late President of that name, besides eight who continued with us
throughout the expedition, under Lieut. Mackay.
"It was now discovered that our Indians faltered. They
came with their Chief to the Governor and said they would
give up their arms and lie down, and take their chance of
death; but they would not fire upon their brothers. Young
Buck stood aloof. When the Chief had finished, Buck walked
forward with a defiant air, and, addressing the Governor,
alluded to his having been reluctantly received at Mackinaw,
and now he was going to make good the pledge of Biddle and
Drew. 'He wanted,' he said, 'a good rifle, and wanted no one
to relieve him; and if those fellows dared to approach our
camp they would pay dearly for their temerity.'
"We put out the fires and the lights and watched all night.
It was very dark, but we were all in fine spirits and spoiling
for a fight.  Day broke and we found ourselves wearing our
scalps.
Indians Repent
"In a short time we learned that Mrs. Johnston, who was
a Chief's daughter, had spent the night with her friends and
relatives at their camp, and that they heartily repented of
their rashness. They were now desirous to see their Father and
apologize, and would be glad to sell him a piece of land for
a fort.
"Accordingly a conference was had, the Chippewas apologized, and the treaty of the cession was made. We afterwards




heard that the Chippewas on Lake Superior were greatly surprised to see us, after having been apprised by runners that we
were all to be massacred at the Sault as we passed up.
"Here you see that we had no aid from any one but Mrs.
Johnston, and from her only as a diplomat, and that the real
hero of the scene, after Governor Cass, of course, was the Indian Buck. Whether Hole in the Day was there I do not know.
I have no recollection of hearing anything from him till long
after the event. So much for Buck."
This eliminates Hole in the Day, barring of course the
possibility that he and Buck were one. We know that the
Chippewas sometimes changed their names. Shingwakonce, for
instance, signed his name as Lavoine on the above treaty.
Neither Trowbridge's story nor that of George Johnston
in his "Reminiscences" throws much light on the now-debated
location of the flag. Johnston says the Governor and his party
formed their camp on the green near the shore, within gunshot of the Indian village. This would indicate a comparatively
limited distance.
Location Remains in Doubt
In fine, the precise place of the Governor's famous coup
remains in dispute. But since local civic bodies desired to
mark the spot as nearly as possible, it was deemed well by
those interested to designate the little hill at the foot of Bingham Avenue as the ground where the British flag was lowered
in 1820, to float no more over Sault Ste. Marie, or Michigan,
or the northwestern States.
Sassaba the-implacable henceforth cherished a more bitter
enmity than ever against all Americans. Two years after the
above events he was drowned in the rapids.
The figure of the Indian wife and mother Mrs. Johnston,
strong, self-reliant and tactful, mediating successfully between
the whites and her infuriated people in the absence of her
husband, is one of the pleasant pictures of old Sault Ste. Marie.
Governor Cass wrote his appreciation of her to John Johnston,
and although the latter's claims for war damages were disallowed, Mrs. Johnston and her children and grand-children
each received by the Treaty of Fond du Lac in 1826 one section of land. Part of this land was the high ground on the
western shore of Sugar Island near Sault Ste. Marie. The
Island is so called from the great quantities of maple sugar
produced there in times past. After the death of her husband,
Mrs. Johnston turned her attention to maple sugar and syrup
making, and she marketed several thousand pounds of maple
sugar each year.
Detroit Cut Off From Civilization
Schoolcraft proceeded up Lake Superior after the affair at
117




the Sault, no doubt taking with him pleasant thoughts of the
handsome Jane Johnston. He went back east by another
route, and soon after his return the steamer Walk-in-the-Water
was wrecked in Lake Erie. A friend in Detroit wrote Schoolcraft: "This accident is one of the greatest misfortunes that
ever befell Michigan. It deprives us of all certain and speedy
communication with the civilized world."
If Detroit was so remote from civilization, what must be
said of the Sault of one hundred years ago?
Schoolcraft's nomination to the post of Indian Agent at
the Sault was confirmed by the United States Senate in 1822,
and he came up on the new steamer "Superior," the second
steam-boat on the Great Lakes. Colonel Brady came also,
with a battalion of the Second Regiment U. S. Infantry, from
Sackett's Harbor. The Colonel, who was made a General the
day he landed at the Sault, took quarters with some of his
officers and their wives in the old Nolin house, which was in
ruinous repair but the best available. Schoolcraft found a welcome haven in the Johnston home, the finest in the Sault, and
was delighted with his new home. "I have stumbled, as it
were," he says, "on the only family in North West America
who could, in Indian lore, have acted as my guide, philosopher
and friend."
Schoolcraft Becomes Famous
Schoolcraft was young and ambitious, and he appears to
have taken the Agency at the Sault only because nothing better was offered him. He desired a higher post in Government
work. He found himself, however, in a wonderful field for
investigation and research, and his writings on the Indians, begun and completed here and elsewhere but founded on his
experiences and researches in Sault Ste. Marie, have made him
famous as an ethnologist and historian.
The first Agency building in the Sault belonged to John
Johnston and had been used as his men's quarters. Schoolcraft
soon had a new building thirty-six feet square and about a
hundred yards west of the first one. In the rear was a blacksmith shop, probably Johnston's. The gate of the new fort was
three hundred yards west of the new Agency.
Fixes on Correct Name
Since his official communications to and from the United
States Government were likely to be frequent, one of the first
things Schoolcraft did was to determine as nearly as might
be the correct name of the village. His method of arrival at
the form adopted by the Government at his suggestion, and
used officially since, is interesting:
"Sault Ste. Marie and Lake Superior are destined to hold an
118




important rank in our future geography. When the French
first came to these falls, they found the Chippewas, the falls
signifying, descriptively, Shallow water pitching over rocks, or
by a prepositional form of the term, at the place of shallow
water, pitching over rocks. The terms cover more precisely
the idea which we express by the word cascade. The French
call a cascade a Leap or Sault; but Sault alone would not be
distinctive, as they had already applied the term to some
striking passes on the St. Lawrence and other places. They
therefore, in conformity with their general usage, added the
name of a patron saint to the term by calling it Sault de Sainte
Marie, i. e., Leap of St. Mary, to distinguish it from other
Leaps, or Saults. Now as the word Sainte, as here used, is
feminine, it must in its abbreviated form, be written Ste. The
preposition de (the) is usually dropped. Use has further now
dropped the sound of the letter 1 from Sault. But as, in the
reforms of the French dictionary, the ancient geographical
names of places remain  unaffected, the true phraseology is
SAULT STE. MARIE."
Indians Called Saulteurs
Thus did the U. S. Government Indian Agent Henry
Schoolcraft choose and fix for good the corporate name we
bear, a variation of which was originally bestowed upon us
by the French Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette. In the
records consulted in the compilation of this story, the name is
spelled in thirty-four or thirty-five different ways, sometimes
with two or three variations in the same document.
"Having named the falls a Sault," continues Schoolcraft,
the French went a step further, and called the Ojibwa Indians
who lived at it Saulteurs, or People of the Sault. Hence this
has ever remained the French name for Chippewas."
Schoolcraft found the correct pronunciation of the word
Sault to be "so." This is of course the French way of speaking
the word, and there are many French here and but few other
whites in Schoolcraft's day. General usage, however, in the
English tongue, and the American passion for brevity in
nomenclature, have crystallized in the name "Soo," and our
purists cannot change this now. The accepted pronunciation
of the full name is Soo St. Mary, the first word being emphasized, the second slurred just a little, and the third being accented on the first syllable.
Mr. J. W. Curran of the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Daily
Star has suggested that the inhabitants of the sister cities at
the rapids follow the old usage and call themselves Saulteurs,
pronounced So-ters. The idea is a happy one, and it has romantic and historic usage back of it. But romance and history
have a small part in the lives of modern  folks. We are
119




creatures of habit, and probably shall continue to designate
ourselves by the unlovely but easily remembered name
"Sooites."
All of which calls to mind a certain limerick:
Said a youngster of Sault Ste. Marie,
To spell I will never agree,
Till they learn to spell Sault
Without any u,
Or an a or an 1 or a t.
Schoolcraft's fertile mind and poetic fancy conceived ancther name that is of interest to our Canadian friends. To
quote:
"In the term Gitchegomee, the name for Superior, we have
a specimen of the Indian mode of making compounds. Gitche
signifies something great. Gomee is a compound phrase denoting a large body of water, a sea. I have cast about to find
a sonorous form in which it may come into popular use, but
find nothing more eligible than I-go-mee or Igoma. A more
practical word in the shape of a new compound may be made
in Algoma, a term in which the first syllable of the generic
name of this tribe of the Algonquin stock harmonizes very well
with the Indian idea of goma (sea), giving us Sea of the
Algonquins. The term may be objected to, as the result of a
grammatical abbreviation, but if not adopted practically it may
do as a poetical synonym for this great lake."
The term was not objected to, but it has been taken by
the people of Canada as the name of one of their most beautiful provinces.
Schoolcraft Marries Miss Johnston
About a year after his arrival Schoolcraft married Jane
Johnston, the grand-daughter of Chief Waub-ojeeg. He devoted much time to the investigation of Indian languages, traditions and customs, took a friendly and personal interest in
his red charges and procured the enactment of several laws
beneficent to them. In 1827 he moved into a handsome residence on the bank of the river about half a mile east of the
fort. This building contained fifteen rooms including the
Agency office, and stood in a bower of elms, maples and
mountain ash of his planting. Here, he tells us, he lived most
happily, varying the duties of his office with his incursions into
Indian lore. This house still stands, close to the Michigan
Northern Power Company's power-house, and is now shut off
from the river by it.
Schoolcraft became a member of the Michigan Territorial
Legislature in 1828, and helped to organize the Michigan Historical Society in the same year. Four years later he headed
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a scientific expedition to the head waters of the Mississippi
River, and determined its source to be in Lake Itasca, which
was named by him. He spent eleven busy and useful years in
the Sault and its vicinity before the Indian Agency was moved
to Mackinac Island.
Schoolcraft's writings and compilations here, many of them
done with the assistance of his accomplished wife, were subsequently published. They include his "Algic  Researches,"
"Oneota, or the Indian in his Wigwam," "Thirty Years with
the Indian Tribes," and most noted of all, the "History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes." This monumental
work was published by the United States Government in 1851 -57 at a cost of $650,000.00. The six great quarto volumes
under this title form the most extensive existing repository of
information concerning the red race in America.
After his first coming to the Sault and previous to his incumbency as Indian Agent here, he published his "Travels in
the Central Portion of the Mississippi Valley." This, his first
work, laid the solid foundation of his fame, and was useful
to the country in acquainting the east with the enormous and
hitherto unknown possibilities of the lands beyond the Great
Lakes.
Were Indians Misused?
It is still the fashion in some quarters to condemn the United
States Government's treatment of the Indians within its bounddaries. With these criticisms in mind, it is worth while to
read the following from the foreword of Schoolcraft's "Thirty
Years With the Indian Tribes." This foreword is written anonymously, probably by the brother of Schoolcraft but no doubt
with the sanction of the latter, who probably knew the Indians
as no other white man ever did:
"We have been reproached by foreign pens for our treatment of these tribes, and our policy, motives asnd justice impugned. If we are not mistaken the materials here collected
(referring to Schoolcraft's "History, Condition and Prospects
of the Indian Tribes") will show how gratuitous such imputations have been. It is believed that no stock of the aborigines
found by civilized nations on the globe have received the
same amount of considerate and benevolent and humane treatment, as denoted by the Government's laws, its treaties, and
general administration of Indian affairs, from the establishment
of the Constitution, and this too, in the face of the most hostile,
wrongheaded and capricious conduct on their part, that ever
signalized the history of a barbarous people."
We are indebted for the greater part of our knowledge of
old Algonquin America to the Jesuit Relations and to Henry
Schoolcraft, citizen of Sault Ste. Marie. The importance of
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this information in the Relations cannot be over-estimated;
still, it was incidental to the report by the writers of spiritual
progress made by their savage congregations. Banished, as
it were, to Sault Ste. Marie, Schoolcraft seized a pschycological
opportunity in the true spirit of enterprise, and made himself
famous by recording his observations. It has been said that
Schoolcraft was the man who gold-plated the northern Indians,
but who shall blame him? They were the making of him.
And they did not need his gilding, for they were and are one of
the most interesting races in the world.
Were Inspiration of Longfellow
Longfellow found his inspiration for Hiawatha, the most
famous of his poems, in the works of Schoolcraft compiled
largely here in Sault Ste. Marie. His debt and ours to Schoolcraft is acknowledged in the opening lines:
Should you ask me whence these stories,
Whence these legends and traditions,
With the odors of the forest,
With the dew and damp of meadows,
With the curling smoke of wigwams,
With the rushing of great rivers,
I should answer, I should tell you,
From the forests and the prairies,
From the great lakes of the Northland,
From the land of the Ojibways.
Schoolcraft moved his agency to Mackinac Island in 1833,
and assumed the Superintendency of Indian Affairs for Michigan at Detroit in 1836.
Is Buried Here
Johnston died in 1828 at Sault Ste. Marie, and was buried
not far from where the Armory now stands.   Years afterward his remains were transferred to Riverside Cemetery,
where they repose in a family lot with those of members of
his family, in the northwestern corner of the cemetery, a little
distance back of the caretaker's house. The stone marking
the spot is engraved with an epitaph by Schoolcraft.
In justice to Johnston, the following note of Schoolcraft's is inserted here:
John Johnston was a native of the north of Ireland, where
his family possessed an estate named 'Craige,' near the celebrated Giant's Causeway. He came to this country during the
first Presidential term of Washington, and settled at St. Mary's,
about 1793. He was a gentleman of taste, reading, refined
feeling and multivated manners, which enabled him to direct
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the education of his children, an object to which he assiduously
devoted himself; and his residence was long known as the seat
of hospitality and refinement to all who visited the region. In
1814, his premises were visited, during his absence, by a part
of the force who entered the St. Mary's under Colonel Croghan,
and his private property subjected to pillage, from a misapprehension, created by some evil-minded persons, that he was
an agent of the Northwest Company. Genial, social, kind,
and benevolent, his society was much sought, and he was
sometimes imposed on by those who had been received into
his employments and trusts, as in the reports which carried
the Americans to his domicile in 1814."
An Interesting Sketch
There is an interesting sketch of Johnston in Ross Cox's
"Adventures on the Columbia River," from which the following is taken:
"Mr. Johnston has extensive plantations of corn and potatoes, with a beautitfully arranged and well-stocked fruit and
flower garden. During the late war with America he induced
one thousand Indian warriors (of whom he took the command)
to join the British forces, and rendered important services
while so employed.
"He suffered severely for his loyalty, for during his absence
with the army, a predatory party of Americans attacked his
place in the hope of obtaining a large quantity of valuable furs,
which they were informed he had in his stores, but which a
short time before his departure he had fortunately removed.
Disappointed in their hopes of plunder, they burned his house
and out-offices. At the period, therefore, of our visit (1817)
the buildings were quite new, and were constructed with much
taste. The furniture was elegant and the library select and
elegant.
Mr. Johnston possessed a highly cultivated mind, much
improved by extensive reading. He had made many excursions round the shores of Lake Superior and along the
banks of its tributary streams, in which scientific researches
imparted a pleasing variety to the business of an Indian trader.
His collection of specimens were varied and well selected, and
if the result of his inquiries be published, they will, I have no
doubt, prove a valuable addition to our geological knowledge
of interior America.
"Two retired traders, named Nolin and Ermantinger, also
resided on the same side with Mr. Johnston, a short distance
below his house.
Ninety Pound Trout
"Mr. Johnston has plenty of cattle, hogs, sheep and domestic fowl, and has also a very good windmill close to his
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dwelling-house.  Fish is found in great abundance, particularly trout. They are of enormous size, sixty pounds is not
uncommon; and Mr. Johnston assured me that he saw one
caught in Lake Superior which weighed ninety pounds.
"He treated us to an excellent dinner, fine wine, and a
few tumblers of Irish mountain dew which had never seen the
face of an exciseman. We left Mr. Johnston's at dusk, but
he crossed over with us to the north side, and we spent together another night of social and intellectual enjoyment."
In the days of Cox and Schoolcraft, the Saulteurs picnicked
at Point aux Pins, The Shallows and Gros Cap as they do now,
but the glorious sport of shooting the rapids is gone forever,
barred by the compensating dam which stretches from the
American to the Canadian ship canals. Modern Saulteurs
make the picnic pilgrimage in cars or launches; the old Saulteurs had no other conveyance than canoes.
"I went with a pic-nic to Gross Cape, a romantic promontory at the foot of Lake Superior," says Schoolcraft. "This
elevation stands on the north shore of the straits and consequently in Canada. It overlooks a noble expanse of waters
and islands, constituting one of the most magnificent series
of views of American scenery. Immediately opposite stands
the scarcely less elevated and not less celebrated promontory
of Point Iroquois, the  Na-do-wa-we-gon-ing, or Place of
Iroquois Bones, of the Chippewas. These two promontories
stand like pillars of Hercules which guard the entrance into the
Mediterranean, and their office is to mark the foot of the
mighty Superior, a lake which may not, inaptly, be deemed
another Mediterranean Sea. The morning chosen to visit this
scene was fine; the means of conveyance chosen was the novel
and fairy-like barque of the Chippewas, which they denominate
Che-maun, but which we, from a corruption of a Charib term
as old as the days of Columbus, call a Canoe.
"Our party consisted of several ladies and gentlemen. We
carried the elements of a picnic (a word derived from a root. meaning, to eat). We moved rapidly. The views on all sides
were novel and delightful. The water in which the men struck
their paddles was pure as crystal. The air was perfectly exhilarating from its purity. The distance about three leagues.
Landed at Point Aux Pins
"We landed at Point aux Pines, to range along the clean
sandy shore, and sandy plains now abounding in fine whortleberries.
"Directly on putting out from this, the broad view of the
entrance into the lake burst upon us. It is magnificent. A
line of blue water stretched like a thread upon the horizon,
between cape and cape, say five miles. Beyond it is what the
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Chippewas call Bub-eesh-ko-be, meaning the far-off, indistinct
prospect of a water scene, till the reality, in the feeble power
of human vision, loses itself in the clouds and sky.
Point Iroquois and Gross Cape
"The two prominences of Point Iroquois and Gross Cape
are very different in character.  The former is a bold eminence
covered with trees, and having the appearance of youth and
verdure. The latter is but the end, so to say, of a towering
ridge of dark primary rocks with a few stunted cedars. The
first exhibits on inspection a formation of sandstone and reproduced rocks, piled stratum super stratum, and covered with
boulder drifts and alluvion. The second is a massive mountain ridge of the northern sienite, abounding in black crystaline
hornblende, and flanked at lower altitudes in front, in some
places, by a sort of trachyte.  We clambered up and over the
bold undulations of the latter till we were fatigued.
"We stood on the highest pinnacle and gazed on the 'blue
profound' of Superior, the great water or Gitchegomee of the
Indians.  We looked down far below at the clean ridges of
pebbles and the transparent water.  After gazing, and looking, and reveling in the wild magnificence of views, we picked
our way, crag by crag, to the shore, and sat down on the shining
banks of black, white, and mottled pebbles, and did ample
justice to the contents of our baskets of good things.
"This always restores one's spirits. We forget the toil in
the present enjoyment.  And having done this, and giving our
last looks at what has been poetically called the Father of Lakes,
we put out, with paddles and song, and every heart beating
in unison with the scene, for our starting point, at Ba-wa-teeg,
alias Sau't Ste. Marie.
Shooting the Rapids
"But the half of my story would not be told if I did not
add that, as we gained the brink of the rapids, and began to
feel the suction of the wide current that leaps, jump after jump,
over that foaming bed, our inclinations and our courage rose
together to go down the formidable pass; and having full faith
in the long-tried pilotage of our guide, Tom Shaw, down we
went, rushing at times like a thunderbolt, then turned by a dab
of the pole of our guide, on a rock, shooting off in eschelon,
and then careering down another schute or water bolt, till we
thus dodged every rock, and came out below with a full roaring chorus of our Canadians, who, as they cleared the last
danger, hoisted our starry flag at the same moment that they
struck up one of their wild and joyous songs."
This is about the first detailed and personal description
we have of the surpassing sport of rapids-shooting here by the
p              125




whites. It was a pastime enjoyed by the French from the time
they came, and before that by the Indians for countless generations.  The trip afforded entertainment and thrills for thousands of tourists before the compensating dam was erected.
With the coming of Cass and Schoolcraft, and the better
treatment accorded the Indians by the American Fur Company,
most of the old hostility of the Indians in this section to our
Government faded away. Through the Indian agents the Government frequently made gifts to the Saulteur Chippewas, both
in mass and individually as need arose, and the latter gradually discontinued their visits to and their affiliation with the
British posts.
Indians Are Given Gifts.
It was Schoolcraft's custom to assemble the Saulteur Chipjewas at intervals on the green in front of his office near the
bank of the river and distribute various articles of merchandise
among them. Whiskey is not mentioned, indeed Schoolcraft
had a horror of its effects on the Indians, and continually bewailed its influence on particular Indian acquaintances of his.
The gifts were received with appreciation and satisfaction, and
helped to cement his influence and his friendship with the
Saulteurs.  Prominent among the recipients were Shingabawassin, the Stone Image; Shewabeketone, the Man of Jingling Metals; Kaugaosh, the Bird in Flight; and Wayishkee, the
First Born Son.  With them came the warriors and the young
men, the matrons and the maids, and the children of all ages,
and all were in their best attire.
Even in the receipt of the Governmental gifts the Indians
were ceremonious.  The functions began with the lighting of
the pipes, which were passed to the chiefs and the warriors in
due order.   A pile of tobacco was placed before them for
general use, which the chiefs with great care divided and distributed, not forgetting the lowest claimant.
Schoolcraft was careful to state the principles by which the
agency was guided in its intercourse with them, the benevolence
and justice of the views entertained by their great father, the
President, and his wish to keep improper traders out of their
country, to exclude ardent spirits, and to secure their peace and
happiness in every practicable way.  Each sentence, as it was
rendered into Indian, was received with the response of Holan exclamation of approbation, uttered feebly or loudly in
proportion as the matter was warmly or coldly approved. The
chiefs responded in formal words of thanks, all were pleased,
the presents were divided, and each assembly broke up in harmony and good will.
This distribution was continued for many years in the field
below the rapids. "It does seem," writes Schoolcraft, "that
126




according to the oriental maxim, a present is the readiest door
to an Indian's heart."
Henry Schoolcraft died December 10, 1864, at Washington, D. C.
A part of the duties of Schoolcraft and his successors as
Indian Agents was to search the boats and outfits of voyageurs
and petty traders for contraband, and to grant licenses, passports and permits to those applying.  This contraband consisted of course of liquors of various kinds.
British Traders Excluded
Congress had enacted in 1816 that British traders and capital should be excluded from the American lines west of St.
Mary's River and along the boundary through Lake Superior
to the Lake of the Woods.  John Jacob Astor had bought
from the North West Company all the posts and factories of
that concern situated in the northwest, which were on the American side.  These he incorporated with the American Fur
Company, placing Ramsay Crooks and Robert Stuart in charge.
The factors, clerks and field personnel remained about as they
had been under the North West Company, and the very thin
diffusion of American principles among both traders and Indians made it difficult for the United States Indian Agents
to supervise this business and to locate and seize the contraband
liquors constantly filtering through.
When the Treaty of Prairie du Chien was negotiated by
the Government with various tribes in 1825, a number of
Saulteur Chippewas were present. The Saulteurs and others
had complained that the true reason for the Commissioners
of the United States Government speaking against the use of
ardent spirits by the Indians, and refusing to give them, was
not a sense of its bad effects so much as the fear of the expense.
The Joke Didn't Take Well
To show the Indians that the government was above such
petty principles, The Commissioners, General Clark and Governor Cass, placed on the grass a long row of tin camp kettles,
each holding several gallons of whiskey. After suitable remarks each kettle was emptied on the ground in the Indians'
presence. "The thing was evidently ill-relished by the Indians,"
says the narrator, "for they loved whisky better than the joke."
Robert Stuart, Agent of the American Fur Company at
Mackinac and himself a teetotaler, regularly obtained permits
at Washington to bring into this territory a certain quantity of
liquors each year. His statements were that the clerks and
fieldmen of the Company were not inclined to take out whisky
under these permits, but that the attitude of their opponents
made it necessary. Their opponents, of course, were the men
127




of the Hudson's Bay Company, who still dispensed whisky
north and east of the boundary line, and probably smuggled a
good deal of its across. The Government Indian Agents were
constantly troubled with the liquor question, and when they
resorted for relief to the early courts, they generally found the
juries against them.
It appears the American Fur Company felt that there would
be more efficient hunting and trapping if the Indians could be
kept sober and if liquor could be rigid!y excluded. But it was
considered also that the trade of the Company would suffer
if some whisky were not furnished.,  Thus the illicit traffic was
condoned to some degree, to the disgust of the Indian Agents
and the detriment of the Indians. The traders and citizens
generally, on both sides of the frontier, were leagued apparently in their supposed interest to break down or to evade the
Congressional and Territorial laws which excluded liquors and
made it an offense to sell or to give them.
Fur Trade Mightily Important
No one can read the early records of Sault Ste. Marie without being impressed with the enormous importance of the fur
trade. The trade gave the Indians a market for the products
of the forest, and without it they would have wanted for many
necessaries. But while it stimulated hunting, and to a certain
degree, industry in the Indian race, it tended directly to diminish the animals upon which they subsisted, and thus hastened
the decline of their supremacy. And that supremacy was further neutralized of course by the trade in whisky.
With the coming of Colonel Brady and his troops to Sault
Ste. Marie in 1822 the paramountcy of the Saulteur Chippewas
in this vicinity ended, precisely two hundred years after Etienne
Brule landed at the rapids. The French had had their long
day here, and the British their short one. American civilization
formally took up the work of developing the Sault and the
north country.
The troops occupied the Nolin enclosure east of the Johnston home during the winter of 1822-3, and April 19th of
the latter year they began to set up the pickets for a stockade
or fort to which the name of Brady was given, in honor of
the commanding officer. The pickets were cut in the vicinity
of the fort, and timbers for block houses and the buildings
within the stockade were brought from the Butte de Terre or
hill south of the village.. road was cut by the soldiers from
the cantonment to this hill, and the greater part of this road
is now Ashmun Street. Old maps made about twenty years
later show only Ashmun Street (then called Ashman) extending southward as far as the hill; Bingham Avenue, the
nearest north-and-south road to the fort location, reaching
128




only as far as the present line of Spruce Street and being known
then as Church Street.
The postoffice or federal building in the square bounded
by Portage Avenue, Brady Street, Bingham Avenue and Water
Street, stands upon ground once occupied by the Fort Brady
enclosure. The Whe!pley map of 1854 gives the dimensions
of the stockade in chains and links, the walls on the east and
west sides being approximately 600 feet in length, and on the
north and south sides 500 feet. Block-houses of heavy timber
were erected on the south-west and north-east corners, extending beyond the walls and placing the latter under crossfire, half the stockade being commanded by each block.
The south face of the south-west block-house has been
marked by two small quadrangular stones extending a few
inches above the surface of the ground, and almost hidden by
the barberry hedge in front of the postoffice. They are a few
feet west of the Portage Avenue entrance to the west door of
the building. The line of the south wall may be discerned a
few feet north of Portage Avenue, the same being marked
"LINE OF STOCKADE" in the cement walk which leads from
Portage Avenue to the employes' entrance to the postoffice.
It is not known that any other extensions of the stockade have
been marked.
The south line reached from the above block-house markers along the indicated line of stockade across Brady Street to
a point in the present Baraga School yard; thence the wall extended in a northerly direction to and a little beyond the brow
of the hill abutting on Brady Field, the latter of course having
been under water at that time; thence west to a point a little
east of the semi-centennial monument; thence south across
Water Street to the place of beginning.
Stockade Made of Cedar Posts
The stockade was made of cedar posts about eight inches in
diameter and eight feet in the clear, placed close together and
set firmly into the ground. The top of each post was sharpened to a point, and at convenient distances in the walls and
block-houses loopholes were cut for observation and firing purposes.
Within the stockade log and hewn timber buildings were
erected for the garrison, a headquarters building, officers' and
men's quarters, sick bay, bakery, and others, and there was a
fairly commodious parade ground. South of the stockade was
the fort garden, and beyond that the cemetery of the post.
The foundation of the north-east block-house was at the river's
edge of not in the river, and water could be procured without
going outside the palisade. When Commissioner Thomas L.
129




McKenney came in July, 1826, he found the north pickets of
the stockade awash in the stream,
If, as nearly as can be determined, the Jesuit missionaries'
chapel was on the present site of Dr. F. J. Moloney's home,
the west line of the stockade extended a hundred feet or so
east of that location, and the fort walls probably included the
plot of ground which was once the missionaries' garden. The
eastern palisade of old Fort Brady crossed the grounds of the
old French Fort of de Repentigny at Water Street.
Before the fort buildings were erected, Henry Schoolcaft
acted as librarian for the post, keeping the books at the Indian
Agency. He relinquished this office to Lieut. S. B. Griswold
on the erection of the fort. The coming of so many whites
necessitated the establishment of a post office, and upon
Schoolcraft's recommendation to the Postmaster General, Lieut.
Griswold was appointed and served as the first postmaster of
Sau!t Ste. Marie.
Officials Cordial to Townspeople
The most cordial social relations were maintained by the
Government officials of the time with the townspeople and
the traders and the North West House officials on the north
bank of the river. Some of the army officers were Colonel
Lawrence, Captains  Clark, Thompson  and Beal, Lieuts.
Barnum, Brant, Waite, Griswold and Folger. The first Post
Surgeon was Dr. Wheaton. Lieutenant Brant was the first
Quartermaster.
Among the townspeople of old Sault Ste. Marie about the
time of the establishment of the fort were Mr. E. B. Allen,
an independent trader, and Mr. John Agnew, Collector of
Customs. In the Canadian Sault there were Dr. Foote and Mr.
Siveright, surgeon and factor respectively of the North West
or Hudson's Bay House, and Mr. C. O. Ermatinger and his
son, independent traders. A favorite diversion of the winter
months was a caribou dinner and a dance at the Ermatinger stone house on the Canadian side, and the officers and
their wives often crossed on the ice in the evening to dine at
the Ermatinger or the Siveright homes. Occasionally when
coming home in their sleighs they missed the blazes or evergreen boughs stuck in the ice to mark the path, and were
pitched into the snow, for all the world like the convivial
Michigan Saulteurs of now-a-days who tarry too long with the
liquid delights of the Dominion.
New Years Celebrated Hilariously
New Year's Day was then, and continued to be long after,
a day of hilarity in Sault Ste. Marie. Gayety and good humor
13I




appeared everywhere, and visiting from house to house was in
order. Dining-room tables and sideboards were crowded with
refreshments, and the humblest individual was welcome and
expected to make his appearance. The French custom of
salutation prevailed, a kiss on the cheek and a warm embrace.
Governor Cass visited us again in 1826, on his way to
Fond du Lac to negotiate a treaty with the Chippewas and
other tribes. With him were Colonel Croghan and Thomas L.
McKenney.   The latter's record of the journey, "Tour to the
Lakes," contains copious references to Sault Ste. Marie.
Mr. McKenney made a careful tabulation of the buildings
in the village. Most of them were one story structures, and
some were covered with bark. The list is as follows:
Occupied Buildings.............24
Unoccupied Buildings..........33
Cooper Shop..................
Warehouses....................  4
Storehouses..................   4
Bake House.................. 1
Tailor Shop................. 1
Blacksmith Shop................ 1
Retail Stores...................  3
Grocery Stores................. 2
At the time of Mr. McKenney's visit there were in the
village forty-seven men, thirty women, and seventy-five children, a total of one hundred fifty-two. This probably includes
whites and Indians.
Most Buildings on Water Front
Most of these buildings were on the river shore, a street
about ninety feet wide dividing them from it. Some of them
were on the north or river side, of this street, and at the head
of wharves or landing-places. A few of the buildings were
scattered upon the elevation above the bank and upon the
level plain, which ran back for some distance. The plain was
covered with undergrowth to the distance of half a mile
southward. Beyond that the growth was larger, and was composed of pines, maples, mountain ash and some elms.
Most of the building were occupied by voyageurs, Indian
families, and, says McKenney, "their dogs." The fort occupied a part of this level ground and stood between the village
and the Johnston home. It was garrisoned by about two hundred troops, commanded by Colonel Lawrence. Potatoes of
the finest quality were growing on all sides, and some oat fields
were doing well. Peas were in blossom, and the strawberries
were just turning. Having read of the barrenness of the north
131




country, McKenney was amazed at the productiveness of the
gardens.
On the Canadian side, Mr. McKenney saw the old North
West Fur Company's establishment, and counted about eighty
houses strung for two miles below it on the north bank. The
principal one, a large and commodious home, was owned by Mr.
Ermatinger. It was almost directly opposite the Johnston
family home, which was the finest in the Michigan Sault at
that time.
Charlotte Johnston Beautiful
Mr. McKenney dwells at length on the grace and beauty
of Charlotte Johnston, who charmed him with her vivacity, her
singing and her loveliness. He was delighted when she presented him on leaving with the skin of a waub-ojeeg, or white
fisher, saying,-"This is my grand-father, at least in name."
"If this beauty lived in Washington or New York," says
McKenney in his book, "she would be without doubt the belle
of the town."
He found within the walls of Fort Brady a school for white
children, the first in Sault Ste. Marie, the school-master being
Sergeant McCleary. There were twenty-four scholars, only two
of them over ten years of age. There were two drawings by the
Sergeant in the school-room. One of them represented a soldier
of the United States Army, embracing a Chippewa Chief in Indian costume. In the center of the picture was an eagle with a
scroll in his beak. On the scroll were the words "Washington
and Lafayette," and beneath it this motto:
We are a firm and solid brotherhood,
Which neither treachery from within,
Nor assaults from without can dissolve.
The other picture was of the Goddess of Liberty, with the
words:
NATIONAL JUBILEE
Fiftieth Anniversary of American Independence.
From a feeble infancy she has grown to a
giant's size and a giant's strength.
Here may the oppressed of every country
find a refuge, and the industrious a home.
Our agriculture has reduced the wilderness
to submission.
Go back one hundred years and picture if you can this scene
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of McKenney's, staged in the vicinity of Bingham Avenue and
Water Street:
"The Indians who live about here in summer, and who subsist on the fish taken by them in the rapids, but who go in win.
ter into the interior to hunt, assembled to witness the inspection
and the manoeuverings of the military. It was easy to see that
they had yielded the contest for supremacy. They looked as If.they believed the white man had got the ascendancy. They sat
in groups upon the green, upon their hams, as is their custom,
their bodies naked, with a blanket around their hips, smoking
their pipes-silent, but watchful
Smoking Seemed an Essential
"The pipe of an Indian is generally from two and a half to
three feet long. This, and the pouch made of the skin of some
animal, in which he carries his kinnikanic, a kind of fragrant
weed that has a leaf like our box-wood, and is gathered from a
vine, or his tobacco, or both, are his constant companions.
"The first thing he does on sitting down, is to take out of
this pouch some of these leaves, and if he has it, some tobacco.
The tobacco he holds between his finger and his thumb, and cuts
it slowly with his knife into small particles, which drop into the
palm of his hand, then rubbing them there with his fingers
into powder, he presses it into the bowl of his pipe. By means
of a steel and flint, he strikes fire into a bit of punk, and lights
his pipe. He then rests the bowl on the ground, or the stem
on his knee, and putting the other end in his mouth, smokes
until he envelopes himself with these fumes, which, if the wind
should happen not to blow, is soon done.
"Thus seated, and thus smoking, the Indians of this post
watch the movements of the military. The little naked Indian
boys, and hardly better clad girls, were meanwhile sporting over
the green, playing ball,-bag-gat-iway, caring no more about the
military than the military cared about them.
This ball-playing is not unlike our game of bandy. We
strike the ball, you know, with a little stick, curved at the end;
they catch it up with a dexterity which for my life I could not
imitate, with a stick having a little pocket at one end, about
twice the size of the ball and made of net-work.
"With this, and when in full run, they strike the ball, and
dexteriously take it up, flourish it over their heads, and run and
throw it as they think proper, when the whole group give chase
to overtake it and change its direction. These boys and girls
are as nimble as fawns, and fleet as the wind."
$1,000 Appropriated Annually
Perhaps the memory of those merry little Saulteurs, untutored as they were, went up the lake with Commissioner McKen133




riey. Article VI. of the treaty of F'ond du Lac, concluded by
him and Governor Cass with the Chippewas, reads as follows:
"With a view to the improvement of the Indian youths, it is
also agreed that an annual sum of one thousand dollars shall be
appropriated to the support of an establishment for their education, to be located on some part of the St. Mary's River, and
the money to be expended under the direction of the President;
and for the accommodation of such school a section of land is
hereby granted."
This treaty in its entirety was signed by the Saulteur Chiefs
Shingauba-Wossin, Shewaubeketoan, Wayishkee, and Sheegud.
On their return to the Sault, the party came ashore by way
of the race or canal which had been cut by the soldiers to let in
the water for a saw-mill. The mill had been destroyed by fire
a short time before.
A census of the Lake Superior Indians, under the circumstances very incompete and uncertain, was taken by Governor
Cass on this journey. From Mackinac and the Sault to the Fond
du Lac, or head of the lake at the St. Louis River, the Chippewa Indians were estimated to number about eight thousand.
The fur business was at a low ebb, the receipts at the Sault for
a twelve months period having been only a thousand dollars in
value, being principally beaver and otter skins.
"Doomed to Barreness"
As for agricultural prospects,-"I consider," says McKenney, "this whole region doomed to perpetual barrenness."
He was wrong. He might have known better after his
glimpse of the gardens at the Sault. A thousand fertile farms
in Chippewa County alone laugh yearly at the foolish predictions of McKenney and La Hontan. In this regard at least they
were superficial observers.
The Commissioner's eyes and his heart were sound, if his
prophecies were not. On leaving for Detroit, he bade farewell
to Charlotte with the deepest regret, and grieved exceedingly
because he could not take her with him. Some years later she
became the bride of the Reverend Mr MacMurray, Protestant
Episcopal missionary in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.
Late in the autumn of 1823, or exactly a century ago, the
Reverend Robert McMurtrie Laird, of Princess Anne, Maryland, an unheralded stranger, came to Sault Ste. Marie as its
first Protestant clergyman. The annals of Schoolcraft do not
mention his denomination. "No power but God's," writes that
author in his Memoirs for the year, "could have directed his
footsteps here. The Indian wabeno drum, proclaiming the forest tribes to be under the influence of their native diviners and
jossakeeds, was nightly sending forth its monotonous sounds.
But he did not come to them. His object was the soldiery and
settlement, to whom he could utter truths in the English tongue.
134




tnough "to Try a Saint's
"He was assigned quarters in the cantonment, where an
entire battalion of infantry was then stationed. To all these,
but one single family, it may be said that his preaching was received as "sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."  Certainly
there were the elements of almost everything else but religion.
And while occupying a room in the fort, his fervent and holy
spirit was often tried
'By most unseemly mirth and wassail rife.'
"He came to see me, at my office at my lodgings, frequently during the season, and never came when he did not appear to me to be one of the purest and most devoted, yet gentle and unostentatious, of human beings. It is hoped his labors
were not without some witness to the truths which he so faithfully taught. But as soon as the straits were relieved from the
icy fetters of winter, he went away, never perhaps to see us
more.
Such was the left-handed welcome accorded the first clergyman of any branch of the Christian faith to visit Sault Ste.
Marie in one hundred twenty-seven years. If any other community on earth needed religion more than Sault Ste. Marie
did at that time, no one knows its location.
The Reverend Alvin Coe, Congregationalist, was the next
Protestant clergyman to visit the Sault, apparently on behalf of
the U. S. Indian Bureau. In 1828 the latter was expending
considerable time and effort in an endeavor to enlarge and improve its methods of instructing the Indians along various practical lines, and Mr. Coe spent several months at the Sault in that
year, probably in a secular capacity.
Baptist Preacher Arrives
He was here when the Reverend Abel Bingham came to
make his home in the village by the rapids. Mr. Bingham was
sent here as a missionary by the American Baptist Missionary
Society. He found himself in a small community of Americans,
Frenchmen, Indians and half-breeds, and four companies of
soldiers. There was a card table in every cabin, and fifteen
thousand gallons of whisky were in dealers' and in private
hands, which it was hoped would be sufficient, with care, to
supply the needs of the inhabitants until spring. This was
in October.
Mr. Bingham at once proceeded to organize a temperance
society and a school. The sessions of the latter were held in a
building which stood within the square whereon the Chippewa
County Court House now stands, close to the road first named
Church Street, probably because of the old mission church at its
136




foot, and afterward Bingham Avenue. He soon had over fifty
scholars, most of them learned the alphabet from him.
Shocked at the almost universal local intemperance, Mr.
Bingham set out resolutely to procure signatures to a teetotaler
pledge. He asked the Saulteur Chief Kabanodin to sign, and
the chief replied: "If my mouth were sewed up and my legs
tied together, possibly I might keep from drinking." But he
scrawled his signature to the pledge dnd became a very temperate man.
The Sault Goes Dry
Whisky was part of the daily ration of the soldiers, and they
were permitted to buy additional drinks at the fort canteen.
The Sault traders sold whisky as commonly as they sold flour
and sugar. The Indians who had the price could get all they
wanted, and they wanted a great deal. Drunkenness was common and was taken as a matter of course.
Mr. Bingham induced the Fort Commandant to head a
community pledge, and after two years' hard work the wettest
spot on the continent was dry as a bone, for a time at least.
The local traders cleaned up their stocks and kept out of the
business, no doubt with considerable sacrifices, the fort canteen
was closed to liquor sales, and the Indian Agent and his subagent ceased to dispense the stuff to the Indians.
Mr. Bingham lived in the ground floor rooms of his house,
and held school and church services on the second floor. Afterward he built a separate school building which stood on what
are now the Junior High School grounds, and which was placed
nearly at the corner of the present Maple Street and Bingham
Avenue. He held regular meetings at Fort Brady, and many
soldiers united with the Mission Church. Afterward when the
command was ordered to Chicago, these soldiers participated
in the organization of the first Baptist Church in that city.
Mr. Bingham Adopts Indian Lad
Mr. Bingham, Dr. James, post surgeon, and Indian Interpreter John Tanner translated into the Chippewa language a
portion of the Bible in the winter of 1831-2, and the translation
was published under Baptist auspices. These Indian Bibles Mr.
Bingham carried with him in his ministrations to the natives,
and he dispensed as well some simple remedies for their ailments. Once, in the winter, he found nearly all the Indians at
Goulais Bay dead or dying of smallpox. Of one family there
was none left but a boy four years old. He had no clothing
but a few rags, so Mr. Bingham wrapped the naked little body
in his great-coat and brought the orphan on his dog-train
down to Sault Ste. Marie. The little fellow was uncommonly
bright, learned quickly, and lived several years with Mr. Bingham. Years after he enlisted in the United States Army and






136




made an excellent record as a soldier, serving throughout the
War of the Rebellion in the field.
The Rev. Jeremiah Porter
The Reverend Jeremiah Porter, a Presbyterian clergyman,
came to Sault Ste. Marie in 1831 direct from his seminary, this
being his first charge. He accepted the hospitality of Henry
Schoolcraft on his arrival, was cordially received by Mr. Bingham, and preached his first sermon in the latter's pulpit. He
soon organized the first Presbyterian church in Sault Ste. Marie,
of which Mr. and Mrs. Schoolcaft, Mrs. John Johnston, John
Hulbert, sutler at the post canteen, and Mr. Bela Chapman
were charter members.
This congregation met in an old store building close to the
Johnston home, the same being loaned by Mrs. Johnston for
that purpose. In the fall of 1832, Mrs. Johnston, daughter of
the Indian Chief Waub-ojeeg and a full-blooded Indian woman,
built a church edifice, small but substantial, and presented it to
Mr. Porter and his flock. This is believed to have been the
first instance in America where a man or woman, Indian by
father and mother, constructed and devoted a building to the
cause of Christianity, a really remarkable occurrence. The
building has disappeared long since, but the memory of that
gift should not be allowed to perish.
Hither came also the Reverend William Boutwell about
this time to study the Chippewa tongue, and to prepare himself for a mission at La Pointe. Accessions to the two little
churches were numerous, when, in 1833, Major Fowle, then
commandant at Fort Brady, removed his troops to Fort Dearborn at Chicago. Mr. Porter went with them to the scraggly
village at the head of Lake Michigan, and in the same year he
organized the first Presbyterian congregation in Chicago. The
town at that time had three hundred inhabitants, a fewer number indeed than the population of Sault Ste. Marie, if the latter's usual quota of soldiers were counted. So it came about
that Sault Ste. Marie mothered the Baptist and Presbyterian denominations in Chicago, since become mighty. And through
these out-going missionaries and their labors here, the little village by the rapids redeemed itself from the reproach of godlessness.
Nor were the Protestant sects alone in good works of the
period. The Roman Catholic Church re-established itself here
after the lapse intervening from the death of the Reverend
Father Albanel, and in 1834 Bishop Rese confirmed a class
of about one hundred at Sault Ste. Marie. Two years later the
Reverend Father Pierz came as a resident priest, and in the
following year a handsome church edifice was erected very
nearly on the site of the present church building.
137




M. E. Pastor Comes in 1834
To these early activities must be added those of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which established a mission about 1834
at the Little Rapids, near the present site of the Country Club.
The best remembered of its clergymen here in that early day
is the Reverend John H. Pitezel, who has left the narrative of
his labors in a volume entitled "Lights and Shadows of a Missionary's Life."
The buildings of the first Methodist mission were erected on
Government Reserve land near the Little Rapids, and included
the missi_-nary's home, a chapel, and some farm quarters. There
was a day school in connection with the mission. Mr. Pitezel
became superintendent of Methodist Missions in the north country and left Sault Ste. Marie. At the event of the war with
Mexico in 1846, the troops at Fort Brady were ordered to the
Mexican frontier, and the mission appears to have been discontinued shortly afterward.
The Government Reserve mentioned was of course the
land transferred to the United States by the Chippewas in their
treaty of 1820 with Governor Cass. This tract was described
as the territory within a boundary beginning at the Big Rock
(since known as the Treaty Rock, at the head of the waterpower canal) on the shore of the River St. Mary, running thence
down the middle of the river to the Little Rapids, the line extending back from the river a sufficient distance to set off in
all sixteen square miles. By the terms of the treaty the Chippewas reserved perpetual fishing and camping rights within this
reserve,
Bishop Frederick Baraga
The Reverend Father Frederic Baraga was stationed at Sault
Ste. Marie for a short time in 1846. This celebrated churchman was born in Austria in 1 797, was destined for the law, but
entered the priesthood and came to America in 1830. He
labored for many years among the Chippewas at La Pointe,
bringing many of them from paganism to Christianity. In 1853
he was made vicar-apostolic of Upper Michigan, and a few
years later, when the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie was erected,
he was appointed first bishop of the new see.
Bishop Baraga made his episcopal residence in Sault Ste.
Marie during the years 1859-65. After becoming bishop he
continued his former life of activity and exposure, often walking forty miles a day on snow-shoes while making his visitations.
He was a prolific writer, and some of his works compiled here or;n this vicinity are "The Otchipwe Grammar and Dictionary,'
"History of the Indians," "Bible History," and "Catechisms
in the Otchipwe Language."
When the episcopal see was transferred  to Marquette in
138




1865, Bishop Baraga was named bishop of the combined diocese of Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie. He died at Marquette
in 1868.
When the Reverend Mr. Pitezel went to L'Anse to take
charge of the Methodist Mission, he found Father Baraga there,
and the two became good friends. There is a pleasing reference
to the Catholic missionary in Mr. Pitezel's book:
"Reverend Father Frederick Baraga was the resident priest
at L'Anse at our arrival. He spoke readily six or seven living
languages, including German, French, English and Ojibway.
He spent years on the shores of Superior, building a church and
making extensive improvements. He traveled extensively on
foot and by all methods then in use. Temperate in his habits,
devout and dignified in his private and ministerial bearing, he
was universally respected by the Indians and mining community, and affectionately loved by those in closer fellowship."
Chippewa Is Made a County
Meanwhile, years before Michigan was made a state, the
County of Chippewa was organized, the Act taking effect Feb.
1st, 1826. And what a county it wasl Beginning at Isle St.
Vital on the north shore of Lake Huron, running due north
until its strikes the river (unnamed then, now the Munoskong)
which falls into the northwest part of Muddy Lake, of the River
St. Mary; thence up that river (the Munoskong) to its source;
thence west to Meristic River of Lake Michigan; thence up that
river to latitude 46 degrees 31 minutes; thence west to the Mississippi River; thence up that river to its source; thence north to
the boundary line of the United States, and with that line returning through Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Mary's
River, and thence southwest to the place of beginning; these are
the one time limits of Chippewa County.
Thus the Mesaba iron range of Minnesota, the sites of Duluth, Superior, Marquette, Houghton, and all the famous Copper Country were once a part of Chippewa County. The county
seat was established at Sault Ste. Marie. The county court was
empowered to try all suits arising in this district save those
pending before the United States district court at Mackinac,
Chippewa having been set off from the latter county.
This tremendous and unwieldy empire of a county was reduced by the Act of March 9, 1843, to the following limits:
Beginning at a point on a line between Ranges 12 and 13
to the intersection of that line by the north boundary of Town
45; thence north to Lake Superior; thence east and south along
the margin of the lake and the west bank of St. Mary's River
to Lake Huron; thence west to a point on Lake Huron south
of the line between Ranges 2 and 3 east, thence north and west
along the boundary line of Michilimackinac Cpunty to the place
139




of beginning; together with Drummond's Island, Sugar Island,
Neebish Island, and smaller contiguous islands in St. Mary's
River.
Have Been Part of Indiana.
The Michigan Upper Peninsula of which we are a part was a
"Nobody's Baby" of a land for many decades. Kicked about
from pillar to post, it was despised and considered worthless.
Griginally the domain of prehistoric workers in copper who left
no records but their tools and utensils, it became the domain
cf the Chippewas and the Sioux.  Then the French came, and
were ousted by the English.  Our government succeeded, and
the hazy and obscure claims upon us of Massachusetts and
Connecticut, New York and Virginia.  We found peace for a
time but no consideration as a part of North-West Territory.
When Ohio was carved from this vast region, what was left
became known as Indiana Territory, so we have been a part of
Indiana.  In 1805, that part of the pper Peninsula east of a
line through the middle of Lake Michigan became part of the
Michigan Territory.  Then the Territory of Illinois was
created, extending north to the national boundary, but the
east line of Illinois was drawn north from Fort Vincennes, leaving the central part of the Peninsula isolated and belonging
nominally to Indiana. In some quarters it was proposed to
give this back to the Indians in perpetuity, but the lost block
finally came into the Michigan fold.
The way of its coming was this.  When Michigan was a
Territory, in the first decade of the last century, her southern
boundary was a line drawn eastward from the southernmost
point of Lake Michigan. Thus the Territory included the mouth
of the Maumee River and the village of Toledo, and its boundary touched upon the western confines of Pennsylvania.


Given to Michigan as a Compromise.
/At the time we applied for statehood Ohio claimed Toledo
And the Maumee Strip, fifteen miles wide and at our southern
border. The Attorney General of the United States awarded
this strip to Michigan, but the young and feeble Territory
lacked the necessary pull in congress to hold it.  Ohio and
Indiana exerted influence enough in our legislative halls to
prevent the admission of Michigan to the Union.  The matter
was finally compromised by the confirmation to Michigan of the
Upper Peninsula as it now stands.  The compromise did not
please all the people of the Lower Peninsula. We were derided, belittled, ridiculed, and called not worth a dollar. We
have been vindicated, however, and the world has paid many
millions of dollars for the Upper Peninsula's iron and copper,
lumber, agricutural products and fish.






140




Chippewa County and the Upper Peninsula seem destined
to become one of the greatest playgrounds of the nation.
Increasing thousand of tourists throng here yearly, to enjoy
this glorious summer land of lakes and leisure.
A State of Superior Predicted.
Geographically, we form an entity of our own in the
Upper Peninsula. Once we had at Lansing a Great Father who
was one of us, and who loved and listened to his white Saulteurs,
Sioux, Ottawas and Menominees of the Northland.     But
Lansing is far away, with the wide Straits between, and generally our Great Father is busy with other things, discerning but
feebly the voices of his distant northern children.  Out of this
political isolation it is likely there will come in time the erection
of the great State  of Superior, with Sault Ste. Marie, of
course, as its capital.
Of the fifteen counties in the Upper Peninsula, Chippewa,
Mackinac, Menominee, Gogebic, Ontonagon and Keweenaw
derive their names from Indian sources; Baraga, Schoolcraft and
Marquette are named for former residents of Sault Ste. Marie;
Dickinson, Luce and Alger commemorate prominent citizens
of the Lower Peninsula; Houghton keeps the memory of Dr.
Douglass Houghton, geologist; the name of Iron County is
self-explanatory, and Delta was so named by early settlers who
fancied they saw in its shore lines a resemblance to the mouths
of the Nile.
Never have the Saulteurs entertained a more charming and
appreciative visitor than Mrs. Jameson, who visited this region
in 1837, while Chippewa county still stretched its gigantic length
to the Mississippi. Steamers were already making regular trips
from Detroit to Chicago, and she came up to Mackinac on the
"Thomas Jefferson" and was there the guest of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Schoolcraft. She visited the Sault with Mrs. Schoolcraft,
and embodied her observations in the now very rare but always
delightful English edition of her "Winter Studies and Summer
Rambles."
Mrs. Jameson was impelled to take the trip into the wild
and remote country of Lake Huron and Superior, after reading
"The Travels and Adventures of Alexander Henry."  Even
then, she writes, "his book has long been out of print. I had
the greatest difficulty in procuring the loan of a copy after sending to Montreal, Quebec, and New York in vain. Mr. Henry
is the Ulysses of these parts; and to cruise among the shores,
rocks and islands of Lake Huron without Henry's Travels, were
like coasting Calabria and Sicily without the Odyssey in your
head or hand."
Indian Cuts Off Own Leg
Mrs. Schoolcraft regaled the newcomer with some fascinat141




ing stories of Indian fortitude. A Saulteur Chippewa was hunting, when by chance a blighted pine tree fell upon him and
fractured his leg, pinning him to the earth. He was in a lonesome place, without the probability of passing aid; and to lie
there and starve in agony seemed all that was left to him. In
his dilemma he took out his knife, and with all the contempt of
pain of the thorough-bred Indian, he cut off his leg at the point
of fracture, and bound up the stump. Then he dragged himself
along the ground to his canoe and paddled home to his wigwam,
where in time the cure of his wound was accomplished.
The arm of another young Chippewa hunter was shattered
by the bursting of his rifle. No one would venture the amputation, and the arm was bound up with herbs and dressings
and the usual incantations of the jossakeeds. Biding his time
until he was alone, the sufferer with difficulty hacked one of
his knives into a saw. With this he amputated his arm. When
his relatives returned they found the severed member lying at
one end of the wigwam and the patient sitting at the other,
smoking tranquilly and with his wound bound up.
Mrs. Jameson explains the reason for the naming of Detour,
the pretty village and point at the mouth of St. Mary's River,
opposite Drummond Island.
Detour Gets Its Name
"Soon after sunrise we passed around that very conspicuous cape, famous in the history of northwest adventure, and
called the Grand Detour, half-way between Mackinac and the
Sault. Now, if you look at the map you will see that our course
was henceforth quite altered; we had been running down the
coast of the mainland towards the east; we had now to turn
short round the point, and steer almost due west; hence its most
fitting name, the Grand Detour."
This name of Detour, bestowed by the French in the old
days of canoe travel, looks uncommonly like that of Detroit
when hastily written. The resemblance caused so much confusion in the mails that Postmaster Roderick Munro of the
village asked and obtained the consent of the Postoffice Department to designate officially the name of the village as Dc
Tour. He thus restored the exact and original French term
for the place before usage compressed the two words into
one,-meaning "The Turning."
One of the Graces Possessed by a Fury
'The rapids of Niagara," continued Mrs. Jameson on her
arrival at the Sault, "reminded me of a monstrous tiger at play,
and threw me into a sort of ecstatic terror. But these rapids
of St. Mary suggest quite another idea. As they come fretting
142




and fuming down, curling up their light foam and wreathing
their glancing billows around the opposing rocks with a sort of
passionate self-will, they remind me of an exquisitely beautiful
woman in a fit of rage, or of Walter Scott's simile-'one of the
Graces possessed of a Fury.' There is no terror in their anger,
only the sense of excitement and loveliness; when it has spent
this sudden, transient fit of impatience, the beautiful river resumes all its placid dignity, and holds on its course, deep and
wide enough to float a squadron of seventy-fours, and rapid
and pellucid as a mountain trout stream.
"Here, as everywhere else, I am struck by the difference
between the two shores. On the American side there is a settlement of whites, as well as a large village of Chippewas; there
is also a mission (I believe of the Methodists), for the conversion of the Indians. The fort, which has been lately
strengthened, is merely a strong and high enclosure surrounded
with pickets of cedar-wood; within the stockade are the barracks and the principal trading store. This fortress is called
Fort Brady.
"The garrison may be very effective for aught I know,
but I never beheld such an unmilitary-looking set. When I was
there today, the sentinels were lounging up and down in their
flannel jackets and shirt sleeves, with muskets thrown over
their shoulders-just for all the world like ploughboys going
to shoot sparrows; however, they are in keeping with the fortress of cedar-posts, and no doubt both answer their purpose
very well. The village is increasing into a town, and the commercial advantages of its situation must raise it ere long to a
place of importance.
"On the Canada side we have not even these demonstrations
of power or prosperity. Nearly opposite the American fort
there is a small factory belonging to the North-West Fur Company; below this a few log huts occupied by some French Canadians and voyageurs in the service of the company, a set of
lawless mauvais sujets, from all I can learn.
"Lower down stands the house of Mr. and Mrs. MacMurray,
with the Chippewa village under their care and tuition; but
most of the wigwams of their inhabitants are now on their way
down the lake, to join the congress at the Manitoulin Islands.
A lofty eminence, partly cleared and partly clothed with forest,
rises behind the house, on which stands the little mission church
and school-house for the use of the Indian converts.
The Whitefish of St. Marys
"The whitefish of St. Mary's is a most luxurious delicacy.
It is said that the people never tire of them. The enormous
quantities caught here and in the bays and creeks round Lake
Superior, remind me of herrings in the lochs of Scotland. Be143




sides subsisting the inhabitants, whites and Indians, during the
greater part of the year, vast quantities are cured and barrelled
every fall and sent down to the eastern states. Not less than
eight thousand barrels were shipped last year.
"These enterprising Yankees have seized upon another profitable speculation here. There is a fish found in great quantities
in Lake Superior called the skevat, so exceedingly rich, luscious
and oily, when fresh, as to be quite uneatable. It has lately
been discovered that this fish makes a most luxurious pickle.
It is becoming a fashionable luxury, and in one of the stores
here I saw three hundred barrels ready for embarkation. The
Americans have several schooners on the lakes employed in
these fisheries; we have not one. They have besides planned
a ship canal through the portage here, which will open a communication for large vessels between Lake Huron and Lake
Superior, as our Welland Canal has united Lake Erie and Lake
Ontario. The ground has already been surveyed for this purpose. When this canal has been completed, a vessel may load
in the Thames, and discharge her burthen at the upper end of
Lake Superior. I hope you have a map before you, that you
may take in at a glance this wonderful extent of inland navigation. Ought a country possessing it, and all the means of life
beside, to remain poor, oppressed, uncultivated, unknown?..
Tanner, the Interpreter
"On the American side, further down the river, is the house
of Tanner, the Indian interpreter, of whose story you may have
heard-as I remember, it excited some interest in England. He
is a European of mixed blood, with the language, manners and
habits of a Red-skin. He had been kidnapped somewhere on
the American frontiers when a mere boy, and brought up
among the Chippewas. He afterwards returned to civilized life,
and having re-learned his own language, drew up a very entertaining and valuable account of his adopted tribe. He is now
in the American service here, having an Indian wife, and is still
attached to his Indian mode of life......
"Just above the fort is the ancient burial-place of the Chippewas. I need not tell you of the profound veneration with
which all the Indian tribes regard the place of their dead. In
all their treaties for the session of their lands, they stipulate with
the white man for the inviolability of their sepulchers. They
did the same with regard to this place, but I am sorry to say
that it has not been attended to, for in enlarging one side of the
fort, they have considerable encroached on the cemetery. The
outrage excited both the sorrow and indignation of some of my
friends here, but there is no redress. Perhaps it was this circumstance that gave rise to the allusion of the Indian chief here,
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1


Historic Fur Post




I




when in speaking of the French here, he said 'they never molested the places of our dead.....
"We took a walk to visit Mrs. Johnston's brother Wayishky,
whose wigwam is at a little distance, on the verge of the burialground. The lodge is of the genuine Chippewa form, like an
egg cut in half lengthways. It is formed of poles stuck in the
ground, and bent over at top, strengthened with a few wattles
and boards; the whole is covered over with mats, birch-bark
and skins; a large blanket formed the door or curtain, which
was not ungracefully looped aside. Wayishky, being a great
man, has also a smaller lodge hard by, which serves as a store
house and kitchen.
An Elegant Indian Hut
"Rude as was the exterior of Wayishky's hut, the interior
presented every appearance of comfort and even elegance, according to the Indian notions of both. It formed a good-sized
room; a raised couch ran all around like a Turkish divan, serving both for seats and beds, and covered with very soft and
beautiful matting of various colours and patterns. The chests
and baskets of birch-bark, the rifles, the hunting and fishing
tackle, were stowed away all around very tidily. The floor was
trodden down hard and perfectly clean, and there was a place
for a fire in the middle.
"There was no window, but quite sufficient light and air
were admitted through the door, and through an appeiture in
the roof.
"Mrs. Wayishky must have been a very beautiful woman.
Though no longer young, and the mother of twelve children,
she is one of the handsomest Indian women I have ever seen.
The number of her children is remarkable, for in general there
are few large families among the Indians. Her daughter Zahgahseegaquay is a very beautiful girl, with eyes that are a warrant for her poetical name-the sunbeams breaking through a
cloud-she is about sixteen. Wayishky himself is a grave, dignified man about fifty.
"I asked George Johnston how it was that in their wars the
Indians made no distinction between the warriors opposed to
them and helpless women and children. He replied: 'It is a
constant subject of reproach against the Indians-this barbarism of their desultory warfare; But I should think more women
and children have perished in one of your civilized sieges than
during the whole war between the Chippewas and the Sioux,
and that has lasted a century.'
"I was silent, for there is a sensible proverb about taking
care of our own glass windows.
The Lure of the Rapids
"The more I looked upon these glancing, dancing rapids, the
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more resolute I grew to venture myself in the midst of them.
George Johnston went to seek a fit canoe and a dexterous
steersman.
'The canoe being ready, I went up to the top of the portage
and we launched into the river. It was a small fishing canoe
about ten feet long, quite new, and light and elegant and buoyant as a bird on the waters. I reclined on a mat at the bottom
Indian fashion (there are no seats in a genuine Indian canoe);
in a minute we were within the verge of the rapids, and down
we went, with a whirl and a splash!l-the white surge leaping
around me-over me. The Indians with astonishing dexterity
kept the head of the canoe to the breakers, and somehow or
other we danced through them. I could see, as I looked over
the edge of the canoe, that the passage between the rocks was
sometimes not more than two feet in width, and we had to turn
sharp angles-a touch of which would have sent us to destruction —all this I could see through the transparent eddying waters, but I can truly say, I had not even a momentary sensation
of fear, but rather of giddy, breathless, delicious excitement. I
could even admire the beautiful attitude of the Indian fishermen past whom we swept as we came to the bottom. The
whole affair, from the moment I entered the canoe till I reached
the landing place, occupied seven minutes, and the distance
about three-quarters of a mile.
"My Indians were enchanted, and when I reached home my
good friends were not less delighted at my exploit: they told
me I was the first European woman who had ever performed it.
I was declared duly initiated, and adopted into the family by
the name of Wahsahgewahnoqua, The Woman of the Bright
Foam; and by this name I am henceforth to be known among
the Chippewas."
John Tanner, the interpreter mentioned in Mrs. Jameson's
letters, was one of the most peculiar characters ever identified
with the history of Michigan. Kidnapped when a child in
Kentucky by a wandering band of Saulteur Chippewas, he was
brought to and grew up at Sault Ste. Marie, where he was for
many years interpreter at Mr. Bingham's Mission, translating
the latter's sermons to the Indians. The son of white parents,
he married a white and afterward an Indian woman at Sault
Ste. Marie, abusing the white wife so terribly that she left him
and the country. He wrangled with the local authorities over
the disposition of his young daughter Martha, and she was
finally placed in a missionary establishment. Such was his
reputation for ferocity and vindictiveness that he was honored
by what is probably the only law ever passed by a legislative
council in America attaching criminal consequences to a single
private person. The law authorized the Sheriff of Chippewa
County to remove Martha Tanner to such place of safety as he
might deem expedient, provided said Martha should consent;
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and it also provided that any threats of the said John Tanner to
injure Martha or any person or persons with whom she might
be placed, should be deemed a misdemeanor, punishable by
fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.
Thought Tanner Killed Schoolcraft
Tanner gained the local reputation of being a thoroughly
bad man, and when James Schoolcraft, brother of the historian,
was murdered from ambush near his home in Sault Ste. Marie
in July, 1846, Tanner was immediately suspected. He had
been threatening openly the lives of the Schoolcraft brothers.
He was a strange, mysterious, unsocial character, speaking the
Indian tongue and excelling the Indians in their own pursuits,
without, however, associating with them.
He disappeared, and although it was reported that he was
seen lurking near the village, he was never apprehended.
Where, how, or when he died, no man knows. Many years
later a human skeleton was found in the woods above the town,
with two gun-barrels, some coins, a flint and steel and other
trinkets near it. Fire had passed over the spot, and it was assumed but not positively determined that the remains were Tanner's. He was deemed a murderer and a suicide by most of the
inhabitants of the village.
But strange to say, Lieutenant Tilden of the local post, ordered to the southwest in the Mexican War, confessed upon his
death-bed that it was he who had assassinated Schoolcraft, impelled thereto by a quarrel over a woman.
Tanner has been the subject of many a controversy in print,
there having been a great difference of opinion as to his character. His detractors regarded his as a treacherous, dishonest,
dangerous savage; his defenders clothed him with every noble
and generous quality. Judge Steere's 'Sketch of John Tanner'
in the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections is an interesting and impartial presentaton of Tanner's reputation and doings in old Sault Ste. Marie.
John and Andrew Waishkey of Bay Mills and Sam
Waishkey of Raco are lineal descendants of the Chief W'ayishky
visited by Mrs. Jameson at the Sault. The Saulteur Chippewas
have exchanged their tribal organization for United States citizenship, and their Chiefs remain so by sentiment only. Other
prominent men among them are Charles Shawano, of Bay Mills,
descendant of Chief Shawano who owned and lived upon the
island in St. Mary's River where the third lock now stands;
William Halfaday of Raco, who recently undertook a mission
of the Chippewas to Washington; and Joseph Gurnoe, leader
of the Sugar Island Indian community. The name of Wayishky
is perpetuated in that of Waishka Bay and River southwest of
Sault Ste. Marie, and Shawano's Island was a familiar sight to
147




modern Saulteurs until it was wiped out by the demands of lake
commerce.
Perhaps there was just a touch of spite in the otherwise
amiable Mrs. Jameson's criticisms of our soldiers at Fort Brady.
She was an Englishwoman, and they were the sons and grandsons of those Americans who had been victors over her nation
in two wars.
Predicts Deep Sea Canal
"They have besides planned  ship canal here. When this
canal is completed, a vessel may load in the Thames, and discharge her burthen at the upper end of Lake Superior." This
prophecy made nearly one hundred years ago is already reality
in a small way. There is a special obligation upon us in the
north country to help develop this small beginning to a gigantic
materialization.  The-Great-Lakes-to-the-Sea  Waterway  is
bound to come in its fullness.
No one knows who first conceived an American ship canal
around the rapids here. Perhaps the honor should belong to
Samuel Hawkins, a special agent of the Government who came
here in 1817 with reference to the disputed boundary line between the United States and Great Britain. He reported, apparently incidentally, that immediately above the falls on the
American side of the river there was a cove which might serve
as the head of a canal; and that a strip of low and marshy land
curved from it to a point below the falls. He thought that a
canal for vessels drawing ten feet of water might be cut through
this cove and strip at an inconsiderable expense.
Ship Canal Authorized
Twenty years later, Michigan having become a State, the
Legislature, in line with the recommendation of Governor Mason, passed an act authorizing the loan of not to exceed five
million dollars to be expended for internal improvements. At
the same time another act was passed authorizing the construction of a ship canal around St. Mary's Falls, and arranging for
a survey. John Almy was the surveying engineer appointed
by Governor Mason, and his report was filed in December,
1837. He estimated the cost of a canal and three locks to be
$112,544.80, the proposed width of the canal to be 75 feet,
the depth 10 feet, and the width of the locks 32 feet. Mr.
Almy proposed to divide the locks into three lifts of six feet
each, to avoid great hydraulic pressure on the side walls and
gates.  He stated that the canal would be large enough to
accommodate the larger class of sailing vessels then used.
Other internal improvements contemplated by the Legislature were the building of three railroad trunk lines across the
lower part of the Lower Peninsula, and the construction of a
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canal from Lake St. Clair to the Kalamazoo River. None of
the projects materialized at the time, although the Michigan
Saulteurs were so sure of their canal that maps were drawn
and are still in existence, showing the canal with its three locks,
intersecting the line of the old-water power canal which was
dug by soldiers from Fort Brady in the twenties. This canal
or race-way came down through what is now Upper Canal Park,
about one hundred feet north of the location of the Weather
Bureau on West Portage Avenue and Douglas Street. Here
the old saw-mill was constructed, possibly two hundred feet
from where the Park Hotel now stands. After the water had
turned the mill-wheel, it returned to the river through a tailrace or sluice which ran north where Douglas Street now is, and
somewhere near the fountain site in Lock Park.
This race-way was the means of delaying our first ship canal
for many years. Smith & Driggs of Buffalo contracted with
the State for the construction of the upper level of the canal,
and assigned a third interest in their contract to Aaron Weeks,
cf Mount Clemens.
Government Soldiers Interfere
Mr. Weeks, in active charge of operations, began his excavations with a crew of men at the point where the proposed
canal crossed the mill-race, stating that he could not allow
water to flow through the race where the line of the canal crossed the same. He immediately found himself and men in conflict with Captain Johnson and about thirty armed regulars from
Fort Brady, the Captain acting under orders from the U. S. War
Department forbidding interference with the race, which was of
course Government property. The workmen were driven from
the ground by the soldiers. This was in May, 1839.
After much negotiating between State and Government officials, an agreement was reached in August whereby the contractors could proceed, but Tracy McCracken, canal engineer,
reported in December that no further work had been done by
the contractors. John H. Goff, in his excellent "History of the
St. Mary's Falls Canal," asks whether the contractors did not
wish to legally abandon the work. The contract was taken at
what appear to have been absurdly low figures.
The canal project remained in limbo until December, 1839,
when United States Senator Norvell introduced in the Senate a
bill donating 100,000 acres of land to aid in the construction of
a canal. The following year the Michigan Legislature asked
Congress for a grant of lands. Henry Clay, Senator from Kentucky and others opposed the bill on the grounds that the population of the country surrounding the rapids was sparse, that
the State of Michigan had comparatively few inhabitants, and
that it was "in reality a work beyond the remotest settlement
149




in the United States, if not in the moon." It hardly seems possible, but Henry was considered a great statesman in his day.
Local Sentiment Opposed Canal
Local sentiment in Sault Ste. Marie did not favor a canal.
Its operation apparently meant a loss of work and wages to
many dwellers in the village.
An amended land grant bill passed the Senate in 1850, expedited by the Michigan Senators Cass and Felch, but it failed
in the House.
The two Senators renewed their efforts in 1851, and this
time they were aided by Senators and Congressmen from many
other States. The need of the canal was becoming more and
more apparent. The desired bill was finally passed by the
House and Senate and approved by President Fillmore August
26th, 1852. It granted to the State of Michigan the right of
locating a canal at St. Mary's Falls through the public lands
known as the military reservation. It granted 750,000 acres
of land to the State to enable it to construct the canal. It provided that the canal should be at least one hundred feet wide,
twelve feet in depth, and that the locks should be at least two
hundred and fifty feet long and sixty feet wide. It was considered a mighty poor bill in Sault Ste. Marie, and blue ruin
Icomed before a large number of the village inhabitants.
Meanwhile the transportation of merchandise around the
rapids was continued by the slow, laborious and costly means
of portaging. After the construction of the mill-race the portage was not so lengthy as before, of course, for the voyageurs
used this race above the dam. The American Fur Company
built a log warehouse at the head of the rapids in 1835, and
in the same year they built and launched near by the schooner
John Jacob Astor, of 112 tons, the first American vessel of any
size to sail on Lake Superior. Her first captain was Charles
Stannard, her second his brother, Benjamin Stannard.
The Steamer Independence
The Independence, first steamer on Lake Superior, was a
stern-wheel propeller built of wood, and was about 150 feet
in length. She was hauled over the portage in 1845. There
is a story that she was intended when building to carry grain
from Chicago to Europe. But her speed did not exceed five
miles per hour, and her coal carrying capacity was not sufficient for half the voyage across the Atlantic, so she was transferred to Lake Superior. She was a success as a lake carrier,
but in November, 1854, her boiler exploded and she lsank a
short distance above Sault Ste. Marie. Her antique propellers
or wheels may be seen in the park near the Poe lock.
The Julia Palmer was the second steamer on Lake Superior,
150




a side-wheeler about one hundred feet in length. In 185 I she
was made a permanent part of a wood dock at Sault Ste. Marie.
Schooners on the lake at this time included the Napoleon, the
Algonquin, the Swallow, the Chippewa, the Fur Trader and the
Merchant. The Fur Trader tried to shoot the rapids iir 1847
and turned over on the rocks. A little later the Merchant, with
Captain Brown and fourteen passengers and crew, cleared the
Sault for Grand Portage.  She disappeared, the forerunner of
many another larger and finer Lake Superior craft. Months
later, a battered door from her cabin was picked up on the north
shore.
The First Railway
The American Fur Company's Agent at the Sault in the
early thirties was Gabriel Franchere, an early employe of John
Jacob Astor. He had grown up in the business and knew every
angle of it. He was succeeded in 1838 by John Livingstone.
Under the latter's incumbency in 1839 the large warehouse was
built which still stands, appropriately inscribed, on Water Street
near the Bingham Avenue slip. In the same year the first railway in the Upper Peninsula was constructed by the Fur Company from the above warehouse up Water Street to the present
Douglas Street, where it curved over to Portage avenue and
extended up to the head of the rapids, where the Company
built another warehouse for merchandise transferred from the
schooner Astor and other boats. This railway was an iron
strap affair on wooden supports, and the motive power was
oxen, horses and mules.
The Company's retail store at that date still stands on the
south side of Water Street and is known as the Hursley home.
l his store, the warehouses above and below the rapids, and the
strap railway passed into the hands of McKnight Bros & Tinker
about the year 1846. They improved the railway and organized the Chippewa Portage Company, which handled in 1850 six
thousand tons of foodstuffs and wearables, machinery, copper
and bloom iron, at a transportation charge of about one dollar
per ton. They were in competition with Spalding & Bacon
from 1851 to 1853, the latter firm constructing warehouses
with a connecting plank road, The advent of the canal of
course put the portaging firms out of business.
When Peter White Arrived
When Peter White came north in 1849, bound for the
iron country and unsuspected fame, he found Fort Brady, called old by that time, at the water's edge, with a few houses be.
low it but the principal part of the town above. Water Street,
the one wide roadway, extended west from the Fort grounds,
with a few very narrow little streets reaching out from it a
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short distance southward. He estimated the population of the
Sault to be about 500, many of them French, some half-breeds,
a few Americans, and a number of resident Indians. The post
Commander was Captain Clark, and the garrison numbered
about 50. There were three or four stores and two hotels, the
Van Anden and the Chippewa. Landlord Smith of the Chippewa lost his hotel by fire after Peter White's visit. He afterward bought the Van Anden House and rechristened it the
Chippewa.
The inhabitants of Sault Ste. Marie had forgotten apparently the origin of the name of the village. One of the party
asked Peter Barbeau, a prominent man of the town, how it
came to be so curiously named. "That, sir," said Mr. Barbeau,
"is a corruption. This town was originally named after a lady
called Susan Maria, and by mispronunciation it has become
'Soo Ste. Mary.'"
The State Commissioners contracted in April, 1853, with
the St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal Company to construct the canal
and locks, the Company being headed by Mr. J. P. Fairbanks
of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The company received as pay
750,000 acres of land granted by Congress. Superintendent
Charles T. Harvey turned the first spadeful of earth in June.
Work was interrupted in 1854 by the cholera epidemic which
swept the country, many of the sixteen hundred workmen
dying on the job. June 18, 1855, the first boat, the steamer
Illinois, Captain Jack Wilson, locked through, bound west.
Aboard her were General Cass and Father Bingham. The
same day the sterner Baltimore passed eastward with a cargo of
copper. The Baltimore had voyaged up Water Street some
years before on rollers.
Sooites Refused to Give Help
The establishment of the canal did not meet with local approval. A breach in the embankment occurred in 1857, and
Superintendent Calkins' appeal for help to the townspeople
met with no response. Had it not been for the crew of the
Government steamer Michigan, who volunteered for work, serious consequences to the canal might have resulted.
This canal was a little over a mile long, 100 feet wide at
the water line, and was twelve feet in depth. There were two
locks end to end, which were on the present site of the Poe
lock. They were 350 feet long and 70 feet wide, and each
had a lift of nine feet. The total cost was practically one million dollars.
The tremendous size of these locks, for that day, met with
vigorous disapproval from the vessel interests. Lake captains
wrote to newspapers protesting their too great dimensions, and
fearing they never would be finished, or needed if they were
162




completed. It is hard to say who were the more short-sighted,
the Saulteurs or the ship owners.
The canal tonnage of 100,000 in 1855 increased in 1870
to 700,000. Officials were recommending an additional lock and
the deepening of the canal. The 49ers of Lake Superior had
uncovered more mineral wealth in the region than ever was
found in California, and the canal was constantly crowded
during the navigation season. The narrow and crooked channels of St. Mary's were being straightened and deepened.
Weitzel Lock is Opened
A new lock having been decided on, the first stone was
laid with appropriate ceremonies July 25, 1876. Peter Barbeau
presided at this meeting, and the principal address was made
by General Godfrey Weitzel, for whom the lock was named
afterward. The canal depth was increased to sixteen feet, the
chamber of the Weitzel lock was made 5 15 feet long, and its
depth at the miter sills seventeen feet. The lock was opened to
navigation in September, 1881, when the steamer City of Cleveland passed through. The new lock and canal improvements
cost about one million dollars each. Engineer Alfred Noble
bad charge of the work.
June 9, 1881, by Act of Congress, title to St. Mary's Falls
Ship Canal passed to the United States, the transfer having
been authorized by the Michigan Legislature some years before.
The State had charged four cents on every ton of a vessel's enrolled tonnage, the same to be collected before the boat passed the canal. This was reduced later to three cents per ton.
John Spaulding was the last State Superintendent of the canal,
and William Chandler the last Collector. The Government
takes no tolls, and the smallest launch, American or foreign,
is locked through with all the courteous consideration accorded
the greatest vessel on the lakes.
Gates Operated by Capstans
The gates of the old locks were operated by manual labor
applied through capstans. Each lock could be filled or emptied
in seven minutes, and each was large enough to admit a tug
and a tow of three vessels or "hookers."
Formerly the canal was lighted with kerosene lamps. In
1884 these were replaced by electricity and the beautiful park
south of the Weitzel lock was graded and adorned with five
hundred shade trees. The last home of the Indians between
the locks and St. Mary's River was given up at the same time.
John Spalding was continued as the first Government Superintendent. Under his direction the spoil banks resulting from
the excavation of the canal were removed in large part in 1887 -153




89 to the shallows north of Fart Brady, where they now form
the land known as Brady Field.
The Poe Lock
The Poe lock, 800 feet long, 100 feet wide, and with 22
feet of water on the sills, was built by the United States in the
years 1887-96. General O. M. Poe was the engineer officer
in charge of the district from 1883 to 1895, and Mr. E. S.
Wheeler was the assistant engineer in local charge of construction work from 1882 to 1897. Hughes Bros. & Bangs were the
principal contractors, and their superintendent was Mr. Thos.
Carroll, who afterward became assistant superintendent of the
canal and who is still a resident of Sault Ste. Marie.
Contrary to local expectations, when the State canal and
lock were opened, the village experienced a small boom. This
came about no doubt through the comparatively great influx
of construction labor. These men gone, the village settled
down and grew very slowly until the advent of the  Weitzel
lock, and tie time of the arrival of the railroads.
After the building of the first canal, the little town was as
much isolated in the winter as ever. The mail still came overland from Saginaw, five or six times during the winter season,
and everybody looked forward to the going out of the ice and
the up-coming of the first flotilla of Montreal canoes, bound
via Sault Ste. Marie for the great Northwest, or the first steamer
from Detroit. More than once the village was entirely out of
pork, lard and flour before the spring supplies could get there.
There is an unflattering picture of the Soo of 1850 in Agassiz's "Lake Superior."
A Picure of the Soo in 1850
"'1 he Sault de St. Marie," he says, "is a long straggling village, extending in all some two or three miles, if we reckon
from the outposts of scattered log-huts. The main part of it is
concentrated on a street running from the Fort, which stands
on a slight eminence over the river, about a quarter of a mile
along the water, with some back lanes leading up the gradual
slope, rising perhaps half a mile from the river.
"The population is so floating in its character that it is
difficult to estimate; some stated it at about three hundred on
the average, consisting of half-breed voyageurs, miners waiting
for employment, traders, and Indians. The chaplain at the
Fort, however, estimated the number of the inhabitants on both
sides of the river at one thousand, of whom the majority belong
to the American side.
"The most striking feature of the place is the number of
dramshops and bowling alleys. Standing in front of the hotels
I counted seven buildings where liquor was sold, besides the
154




larger stores, where this was only one article among others.
The roar of the bowling alleys and the click of the billiard balls
are heard from morning till late at night. The whole aspect is
that of a western village on a Fourth of July afternoon. Nobody
seems to be at home, but all out on a spree, or going a-fishing
or bowling. There are no symptoms of agriculture or manufactures; traders enough, but they are chatting at their doors or
walking about from one shop to another. The wide platforms
in front of the two large taverns are occupied by leisurely people, with their chairs tilted back and cigars in their mouths.
Nobody is busy but the barkeepers, and no one seems to know
what he is going to do next.
Chief's Son Carried Home
"Whilst we were here a number of Indians arrived with the
son of a chief from Fort William. After parading about the
town with an American flag, speechifying and offering the pipe
at all the grogshops to beg for liquor, they devoted themselves
to drinking and playing at bowls. In the evening, when passing
one of the bowling alleys, we saw in front of it on a heap of
shavings, a dark object which proved to be the Chief's son, extended at full length and dead drunk, with several Indians endeavoring to get him home. The only sign of life he gave was
a feeble muttering in Indian, interspersed with a certain English
curse; another instance of the naturalization of John Bull's imprecation in a foreign tongue. My companions by signs explained to the Indians that they should take up the drunken man
by the legs and arms and carry him home. The idea struck
them as a good one, for they immediately 'how, howed,' set
about it and bore him off, one to each leg and arm."
Agassiz found fresh fish still very cheap at the Sault. He
bought a fifteen pound trout for a small fish-hook from a halfbreed voyageur, who was careful to explain that he was 'Francais,' not 'Sauvege.'
John McDougall Johnston, son of John Johnston and a
famous raconteur, has left us the story of an old table still to
be seen in this city.
The First Saw Mill
"The first saw-mill, if I mistake not, in the peninsula, was
erected at the foot of the mill-race at Portage and River Streets.
It had an up and down saw, and we thought it a wonderful
thing in those days. The logs were floated down the raceway.
The first wood sawed by this mill was a maple log, and the
lumber made material for a table which was used by Henry
&choolcraft, the Indian Agent and historian, and by all the interpreters since. As I was the last interpreter, the table fell to
me and I still have it. Great amounts of silver and gold were
155




counted out on that table when we paid the Indian annuities.
This table, which Schoolcraft no doubt used in the writing
of many of his works, afterwards came into the hands of Judge
Joseph Steere. He presented to the Sault Ste. Marie Carnegie
Library, where it stands with one of the ship-knees of the famous old propeller Independence.
"In my boyhood days," continues John McD. in his Memoirs, "my father had near our home a fish jouse twenty-five
or thirty feet square. Each season he would have forty pork
barrels of salted whitefish and from five to six thousand fresh
fish. These were strung in pairs by their tails and hung over
rows of poles. They were allowed to freeze and would keep
all winter. It was nothing strange to take 500 cr 1,000 whitefish at the foot of the rapids in a single night, and sometimes
1,500."
Thus the old Saulteurs, even long after John Johnston's time,
had two gardens, one behind their homes and the other out
in the rapids, the latter affording them without cultivation or
trouble other than going after it, an unending crop of the finest
food that ever passed the lips of man.
The First Newspaper
The first newspaper published in Chippewa County was
The Lake Superior News and Mining Journal, a weekly brought
out by John N. Ingersoll in the spring of 1848. This paper
featured mining news, and moved later to Marquette, in the
heart of the iron country, where it has continued to this day
under the caption of the Marquette Mining Journal.
The Chippewa County News was the next local paper, originated by Dr. Williams in 1878, and purchased the following
year by J. H. Steere & Co. Mr. Steere edited the News until
his election as Circuit Judge in 1881, when it passed into the
hands of Wm. Chandler & Co. Two years later Mr. Charles
H. Chapman became its editor and publisher, Mr. Chandler
retaining an interest. In 1887 the paper, rechristened the Sault
Ste. Marie News, became the property of Messrs. Chase S. Osborn, M. A. Hoyt, and A. W. Dingwall.  This paper, since
continued as an evening daily, is now owned by George Osborn,
Emma Osborn, Chase S. Osborn, Jr., Norman H. Hill, J. P.
Chandler and Charles Zylstra as the principal stockholders, and
dominates the daily field in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula. A weekly edition is issued also, sharing the territory
with The Soo Times, a thriving Saturday-issue weekly under the
able management of Mr. Loring Chittenden.
Another weekly, the Sault Ste. Marie Democrat, had been
started in 1882 by Mr. W. K. Gardner. The paper was printed on a home-made wooden press. The Democrat suspended
issue after a few months, but in the following year Mr. Charles
156




R. Stuart bought the printing plant and revived the publication.
In 1887, the year of the first water-power boom, Mr. John E.
Burchard and Mr. D. W. Brownell became interested in the
Democrat, and in 1891 Mr. Burchard became sole owner. In
the same year Mr. M. J. Magee acquired an interest in the paper,
and three years later he took over Mr. Burchard's title. In
1901 the Democrat became a daily morning paper under the
name of The Record, dividing the field with the Daily News,
then as now issued in the afternoon.
The field being too small for two dailies, negotiations resulted in the combining of the two papers by Mr. Magee's purchase from Mr. Chase S. Osborn-by that time sole owner of
The News-of his ownership in the latter paper. Mr. Osborn
had many other interests which required his attention, and he
relinquished with honor a field in which he had been singularly
successful. Thus Mr. Magee became general manager of the
Sault News-Record. The paper was issued every week day
morning until November, 1901, when it became an afternoon
daily of four pages.
After Mr. Charles H. Chapman had sold the Sault Ste. Marie
News to Mr. Osborn, he published several weekly papers in
this city, The Soo Herald, The Sault Ste. Marie Tribune, and
The Church Herald. In August, 1901, he launched The Lake
Superior Journal. The Journal was a weekly, but it announced
in the initial issue its intention of becoming a daily. Mr. E. W.
Kibby was associate editor with Mr. Chapman, and at the time
of its purchase by Messrs. Knox and Muehling it was published
semi-weekly.
Mr. Frank Knox and Mr. John Muehling were Grand
Rapids newspaper men, and when they bought The Journal they
converted it into a daily evening rival of The News-Record. In
April, 1903, the two papers merged under the caption of The
Evening News and the editorship of Mr. Knox. Mr. Muehling
was business manager, and continued in that capacity until
1912, when he and Mr. Knox established The Manchester, N.
H., Leader and moved to that city. Later the Leader was
consolidated with The Union. At that time the Sault News
Printing Company was acquired by its present owners, Mr.
Norman Hill having bought an interest in the Company in
1915, and having succeeded Mr. Chase S. Osborn, Jr., as managing editor. Mr. Osborn is now associated with his brother
Mr. George A. Osborn in the publication of The Herald in
Fresno, California.
Sent 21 Men to Union Army.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, practically the entire population of Chippewa County was living in the village of Sault
Ste. Marie, and a large part of that population was transient
167




in character. The people of the Upper Peninsula were clustered in the mining centers, and Chippewa furnished but twenty-one men to the Union Armies, as against 254 who went
from Ontonagon and 460 from Houghton. Among the soldiers
from the village was a grandson of John Johnston, Benjamin
Johnston, who was killed at the second battle of Bull Run.
When the Reverend Thomas R. Easterday came here in
1864, the inhabitants of Sault Ste Marie numbered about 400.
The local Presbyterian Church Society had been re-organized
by the Reverend William McCullough in 1854, but after him
there was no regular pastoral incumbent until Mr. Easterday
took charge.  The only other religious organization here was
the Roman Catholic Church, with the Reverend Father Menet
as parish priest and the Right Reverend Frederick Baraga as
bishop of the diocese. The three general stores of the village
were conducted by L. P. Trempe, Thomas Ryan and M. W.
Scranton.
Among the first members of Mr. Easterday's church were
County Clerk Guy H. Carleton, who had his office in the old
warehouse of the American Fur Company on W ter Street, and
J. W. McMath, Collector of Customs. Judge Goodwin, of
Detroit, came up once a year to hold court, in the second story
of an old store building on Water Street, opposite the Chippewa
House.   Peter Barbeau had retired as early as 1864, and on
the organization of the village in 1874, he became its first
president.  He lived at the corier of Barbeau Alley and Water
Street.  Mr. Barbeau  bought the old Indian   Agency
building after its tenancy by Agent James Ord, who succeeded
Schoolcraft, and lived there for a time.  Barbeau Street, which
once passed through his grounds, is named for him, and so is
Barbeau Postoffice, in Bruce Township.
Among Mr. Barbeau's neighbors on Water Street in the
sixties were Mr. M. W. Scranton, who also afterward lived in
the Indian Agency building, and Mr. George W. Brown, Superintendent of the State Ship Canal.  The outlines of the old
race-way and the foundations of the water-power mill were
still visible near by.
Church History.
Mr. Easterday's church, so small in its beginnings, grew
nicely. A Sunday School was organized, with Mrs. Edward
Ashmun in charge of fourteen children. When Mr. Easterday
was forced by ill health to resign his pastorate in 1880, he
turned over to the Reverend Alexander Danskin a membership
of one hundred in the church and nearly as many in the Sunday
School. A good church building, commodious for the times
and costing nearly $3,000.00, had been erected and presented
to the congregation by Mr. Charles T. Harvey.  This building
158




stood on the lot just east of the site of the Murray Hill Hotel,
and was a familiar landmark to many now residing here.
His health recruited in the West, Mr. Easterday returned
to this city and has made it his home. Always prominent in the
religious and social life of the city and the county, he has held
various public offices, and he has had a particular interest in
the schools of the community. He was Commissioner of Schools
for Chippewa County for many years, and he conducted the old
village school which stood at the northwest corner of Ridge and
Maple Streets.  Many old citizens of Saultf Ste. Marie and
Chippewa County have gone to Mr. Easterday's school or enjoyed his paternal interest in the welfare of the country schools.
Mr. Easterday, who has been honored by his alma mater
with D. D. and M. A. degrees, is now marrying young people
whose parents and grand-parents were united in marriage by
him up to fifty years ago. His remarkable record of far over
three thousand marriages is believed to be unequaled in the
country if not in the world. He has thus been responsible probably for more happiness-some will say misery, of coursethan any other known living man.
Universally Beloved
Many decades of service to mankind have but served to
confirm MI. Easterday's faith in his fellows, and the regard of
his friends for him.  He has been the guide, counsellor and
friend of thousands. There is no other man in Michigan more
esteemed in his own community. No other resident of Chippewa County is better known or respected than this venerable
and universaily beloved citizen of Sault Ste. Marie.
About the time of Mr. Easterday's coming, the cemetery of
old Fort Brady was located on what was known as Fort Street,
since renamed Armory Place. Graves occupied the ground
where the Armory now stands. The village cemetery was in
the space now bounded by Ashmun, Ridge and Spruce Streets
and City Hall Alley, and it included of course the grounds and
the site of the present City Hall. The garrison cemetery was
in the same locality as an ancient burial-ground of the Chippewa Indians.
Tangled Land Titles
A United States Land Office was doing business on Water
Street, with Ebenezer Warner and H. R. Pratt in charge.
Land titles in Sault Ste. Marie were in a somewhat confused
state. Thomas Whelpley had made a survey and a complete
plat of the village, but the de Repentigny claims had not been
settled, and squatter tenures conflicted with private land claims
and Indian treaty rights, especially on the shore lands which
were becoming valuable. When Peter Barbeau took over the
159




Indian Agency and grounds in the vicinity of the present Michigan Northern Power building, he claimed and took possession
of an entire street, not graded then but known on the maps of
the period as Chippewa Street. When it was completed in
after years it took the name of the former owner of the ground.
Other streets and avenues of modern Sault Ste. Marie,
named for pioneers, are Easterday Avenue, Bingham Avenue,
Ashmun, Peck, Ord, Johnston, Dawson, Brady, Seymour,
Brown, and Ferris Streets.
The Mystery Man
James Ord, United States Indian Agent at Sault Ste. Marie
after the departure of Henry Schoolcraft, was the Mystery Man
of the village in former days. He and his beautiful wife lived
in seclusion at the Agency, aloof from people of the town, but
constantly receiving visits from unknown people of apparent
quality, who came and went ofttimes in the night. Ord was
said to be the son of the King of England, of the King of
France, or of a German nobleman. Letters with great seals
came to him from abroad. The day came when he disappeared, upon the receipt of a particularly gorgeous missive, and
travelers from the north country in after years fancied they
saw him in high circles at the court of St. James.
Street Names
Bingham Avenue, on or near which old pathway the first
Roman Catholic and Protestant Missions were erected, was
known for many years as Church Street.
Portage Avenue, Portage Road, or The Portage, as it was
called in the old days, served as an ancient portage for the
transportation of merchandise around the rapids, only on that
part of it west of Douglas Street and east of the present Alto
Hotel. Eastbound goods were unloaded at a point west of the
railroad bridge about on the northern line of the ship-canal,
the canal of course having wiped out the western section of the
old portage road. The goods were hauled down the present
line of Portage avenue as far as Douglas Street, where the
portage curved to the north. It then took the present line of
Water Street to and a trifle east of the still existing warehouse
of the American Fur Company.
When Mr. Fred W. Roach came to Sault Ste. Mari3 with
his father Mr. Ashbell B. Roach in 1865, the woods were thick
where Magazine Street now is. Spalding & Childs were in
business here about that time, and they dealt among other
merchandise in blasting powder, which for safety's sake was
stored in a small building in the woods to the west of the village. This building was known as the powder-house or magazine. It was nearly on the line of Magazine Street, and the
160




Torii and Lanterns in Government Park
Gifts of Hon. Chase S. Osborn




a




latter took its name from that circumstance, and not from any
connection with Fort Brady as is generally supposed.
John Newton Adams Is Honored
When Mr. R. N. Adams platted his additions to Sault Ste.
Marie in 1887, he named three streets in these additions John,
Newton, and Adams, for his son, who is now a City Commissioner. Two other streets, Ann and Augusta, take their names
from that of Mr. Adam's daughter, Mrs. W. F. Ferguson.
The southward leg of Douglas Street, from Ridge to Spruce,
was shown on the old plats as Sobraro Street, from Mr. Frank
Sobraro, the former owner of considerable property in the
vicinity. Mission Road takes its name from the fact that the
first Methodist Episcopal Mission was a little to the eastward
of it.
The Roach Homestead
The Roach homestead, built by Mr. Ashbell B. Roach in
1872, is familiarly remembered by most Saulteurs, standing
prominently as it did on Ashmun street at the water-power
canal. This house was removed to make room for the Soo
Ford Auto Company, and with it went the magnificent elm
treet planted by Mr. Roach in the centennial year 1876. The
Republic having reached its one hundredth birthday, President
Grant called upon the people of the country to commemorate
the event by the planting of trees, and there are a few trees still
standing in Sault Ste. Marie which recall that happy occasion.
The Ashbell Roach home was at the time of its construction
the first house south of the Hotel Superior, which is also remembered by many of the residents of the city. The community's banking was done at Detroit, and Mr. Easterday was
for some years the local representative of the People's Savings
Bank of Detroit.
Navigation on St. Mary's
There were no light-houses on St. Mary's River or Lake
Superior then, and navigation usually came to a stop at sundown. Bulk and package freight on the upper lakes was handled to a great extent in schooners of three to four hundred
tons burden, which were pulled by tugs through the river channels and the ship canal. Mr. L. P. Trempe owned a fleet of
tugs which towed these schooners up from DeTour or down
from Whitefish or Bay Mills. Outside the river the diminutive freighters cast off and sailed away.
The Eber Ward liners were the best known boats on the
lakes in 1870. About 1875 the Anchor Line brought out the
iron steamers China, Japan, and India, massive and wonderful
in their time, but tiny now. Other steamers of the period,
161




still remembered by old time vessel men, were the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Empire State, Badger State and Winslow; the
Canadian liners Asia, Africa and Sovereign; the Cuyahoga and
the Norman; the City of Traverse, Jay Gould, the City of Duluth; and most celebrated of all, the Peerless, the finest boat on
the Great Lakes in 1870.
The approach to the State Locks from the village was over
a small bridge, with running water and a pool beneath, so deep
that drownings have happened there. The village circus grounds
were just southeast of the fountain in Lock Park, and the circus
came to Sault Ste. Marie by boat. The stores were on the
north side of Water Street, and each store had its private dock.
Peter Barbeau owned the first store west of Ashmun Street on
Water Street, and was afterward succeeded by his son-in-law
M. W. Scranton.
Early Financing
There was no great need of a local bank at that time, as
there was but little currency in the village. In the winter season the Fort Brady soldiers' pay checks were the largest medium of exchange. The three or four stores issued tokens or
printed cardboard checks of various colors according to denominations. A token reading "Good for 50 cents, Thomas
Ryan," or signed by Trempe & Bros., or M. W. Scranton,
might pass from hand to hand as currency all winter long, and
would be accepted as currency at any store. In the spring the
merchants held a clearing house and liquidated their outstanding obligations in tokens. So universal was the use of this local
currency that the churches took considerable amounts of it in
their Sunday collections.
A Rainy Night at the Show
The first theatre in the Sault was originally an old Government warehouse which stood where now is the north-west corner of Brady Field. The building stood over the river on a
pile dock, and the first play shown there was "East Lynne,"
back in the seventies. Afterward local talent and companies
from below used a skating rink as a theatre, which stood in
Ashmun Alley where Belanger's livery is now. This building
was in rather dilapidated condition, and old residents recall
their visits to the theatre on rainy nights, when they sat with
raised umbrellas while the show proceeded.
Smith's Hall
Smith's Hall was a noted place of amusement in the Sault
in the late seventies.  It was owned and operated by "Gassey"
Smith, locally famous as an actor and comedian, and it stood
on the present site of Charles Beckingham's store.  Pete Rivers
162




owned and managed another theater on Water Street. Both
these show houses were successful until the boom times in the
eighties brought out the old Opera House on Arlington Street,
which did an excellent business under the management of Mr.
Percy Jordan up to the time of its destruction by fire in 191 7.
The Grand Opera House was constructed in 1886-87 on
Court Street, by outside capital. This structure was afterward
remodeled and enlarged and is now the First Baptist Church
building.
When Gage and Whait erected a hardware store on the
present site of the Soo Hardware retail building, it was about
the first business place standing in the village south of Water
Street. Their advertisement in the Chippewa County News
mentioned their location as the Mackinac Road near the Court
House.   This Mackinac Road, of course, became Ashmun
Street, named for Mr. Samuel Ashmun, father of Mr. Edward
Ashmun, former Justice of the Peace and Postmaster of the
village.
A Most Unusual Case
It was Judge Ashmun who tried in the township court the
classic case of Jerry Brennan.  Here is the record, taken verbatim from the minutes of the court clerk:
People of The State of Michigan
VS.                S
Jerry Brennan
January 7, 1873.
Sault Ste. Marie Township Justice Court
before Edward Ashmun, Esquire,
Justice of the Peace.
Warrant issued Jan. 7, 1873, against Jerry Brennan, on
complaint of Lester McKnight, on a charge of intoxication.
Warrant made returnable forthwith, same being personally
served.
Defendant duly appeared in court and plead not guilty.
Geo. W. Brown appeared as prosecuting attorney for th. people.
Lester McKnight, sworn, says he saw Jerry Brennan drunk
on the 6th inst., about 4 o'clock p. m. Says he was staggering.
Jerry Brennan, sworn, says he took two small drinks at his
home on the 6th January, 1873, and that he got his liquor from
his sister-in-law in Detroit last fall in a jug.
Dr. A. P. Heichhold, sworn, says that he saw defendant on
the 6th inst., and that he was unsteady on his feet. Saw him,
the defendant on the street, and he appeared to be drunk. Saw
him that day with Parr, the butcher, getting some beef. Asked
Parr if Jerry was drunk, and he said, as drunk as a lord.




Thomas Parr, sworn, says that he saw Jerry Brennan on the
6th inst., that Jerry came to his place to look at some beef. He
thought from defendant's appearance that he was drunk, but
not drunk enough but what he could make a good bargain.
From his tongue, he appeared to be drunk, or in liquor.
Bridget Brennan, sworn, says that Jerry Brennan had been
drinking beer on the 6th January, 1873.
George Kemp, sworn, saw Jerry Brennan on the 6th inst.,
about 1 o'clock p. m., he appeared to have taken a drink or
two.
Pat Murphy, sworn, I board at Jerry Brennan's. Was there
yesterday the 6th January. I know James Sullivan.
Question: Did he give you any money to buy spirituous or
intoxicating liquors?
Answer: He gave me no money to get any liquor, only
to get medicine.
Question: Do you know if Jerry Brennan drank any intoxicating liquors yesterday?
Witness would not answer.
Question repeated: To your knowledge, did Jerry Brennan drink any intoxicating liquors yesterday, and did you furnish him with the same?
- Witness reply: I'll be damned if I'll tell you.
Thereupon the said witness Pat Murphy was committed to
jail for contempt of court, and court adjourned until 5 p. m.
Court re-opened at 5 p. m. Present Edward Ashmun, Justice of the Peace, for the people Prosecuting Attorney Geo.
W. Brown. Defendant Jerry Brennan in court. Witness Pat
Murphy brought into court by Sheriff Francis Lessard.
Question by Prosecuting Attorney Brown: Pat Murphy,
where did you get the spirituous or intoxicating liquors that 7ou
took to Jerry Brennan yesterday, the 6th January?
Answer: It's none of your business where I got it and
damned if I'll tell you.
Question: Did you, or did you not take spirituous or intoxicating liquors to Jerry Brennan yesterday, Jan. 6th, 1873?
Answer: I'll rot in jail before I'll tell you.
Whereupon said witness Patrick Murphy was remanded to
jail and court adjourned until Thursday, Jan. 9th, at 10 a. m.
Court opened Jan. 9th, 1873, at 10 a. m., Justice of the
Peace Ashmun present, Prosecuting Attorney Brown appearing
for the people. Pat Murphy was brought into court by Sheriff
Francis Lessard.
Question by Prosecutor: Witness Pat Murphy, are you prepared to tell the court where you got the liquor that you procured for Jerry Brennan Jan. 6th?
Answer: Do you remember what I told ye?
Whereupon, and after further refusal to answer, the said
Justice did commit the said witness Pat Murphy to the safe
164




keeping of the keeper of the jail of said County, until the said
Pat Murphy would so testify, or until he was discharged therefrom by due process of law. And the court stood open till
such time as the said Pat Murphy was willing to testify and
answer the above questions.
And on the 13th day of January, 1873, the said Pat Murphy
manifested a disposition to testify and answer the above questions as above required. And the said Pat Murphy did, on the
said 13th day of January, 1873, make the following affidavit,
to wit:
State of Michigan
Chippewa County
Pat Murphy, being duly sworn, deposes and says that Jerry
Brennan, the defendant in the above case, did drink spirituous
and intoxicating liquors on the 6th January, 1873, and that he,
the said deponent, Pat Murphy, did obtain the said spirituous
or intoxicating liquors that the said Jerry Brennan so drank of
one Tom Ready in the Township of Sault Ste. Marie in said
County, on the 6th day of January, 1873.
signed, Pat Murphy,
Thereupon the Justice ordered the keeper of the jail to discharge Pat Murphy from custody, and also Jerry Brennar. previously committed.
Thus was even-handed justice dispensed in the old days,
justice tempered with mercy. Jerry had a good time, Tom got
the money, and the loyal Pat suffered for his friend.
"Soo law" was famous in the seventies and the eighties for
its rough and ready justice.  The local justices were impatient
with the Gordian knots of legal technicalities.  They hadn't
the time to untie these knots, so they cut them with the sword of
expedition.  They scorned the law books and made their
law to order, and often it was very fair law, too.
Fined "For Not Killing the Cuss"
A case involving the misrepresentation of some good
came up in the village justice court. The buyer had winged
the seller with a pistol in the endeavor to get restitution. The
latter brought action for assault.  The justice heard the case
with great gravity and found the defendant not guilty, but he
fined him five dollars anyway "for not killing the cuss."
In 1879, Mr. Thomas Ryan, who owned several hundred
acies of land on and in the vicinity of old Butte de Terre,
afterwards known as Chandler Heights, sold one hundred and
fifty acres of land to Mr. Robert N. Adams.  Mr. Adams,
who came here from Huron County, Ontario, in that year, cleared the land, and as the community grew, he subdivided the
165




property into city lots.  Now practically all of it is within the
corporate limits of Sault Ste. Marie.
Mr. Adams has seen the little village of his adoption grow
into a thriving city,  From his office on the sixth floor of
the Adams Building, erected in 1903 and one of the finest in
the Upper Peninsula, he can look out over his former farm,
since become one of the most attractive sections of the city. The
community and the district have honored him with many public
offices, and it is likely that no one has contributed more to its
civic and material development.
A Trip of Inspection
In the year of Mr. Adams' coming to the Sault, he made a
journey of inspection southward through the Peninsula as far
as Stirlingville.  The first day he was able to get as far as the
William Welsh homestead on the Mackinaw Road, there being
barely a path through the woods on the Pickford Meridian
at that time.  The next day he proceeded out the Mackinaw
Road a distance of eighteen miles from the Soo, turned on a
trail to the left, and by hard work he managed to get through
the woods and swamps that night to Stirlingville, four miles
from the present village of Pickford. He came home by boat.
The principal stores in Sault Ste. Marie at the time of Mr.
Adams' arrival were all on Water Street and were owned by
Mr. William Given, Mr. L. P. Trempe, Prenzlauer Brothers, and
Mr. M. W. Scranton.  Mr. Scranton was postmaster, and the
postoffice occupied a corner of his hardware store.  The
churches had increased to three, the Rev. Father Chartier being
pastor of the Roman Catholic Church, the Reverend Mr. Brown
of the Methodist, and the Reverend Mr. Easterday of the Presbyterian.  Mr. Henry Seymour operated a saw-mill near the
present location of the ferry dock, and lived in Mrs. George
Kemp's present home, which was then on Portage Avenue.
Road to Sault Was Only a Path
When Mr. Neil Mclnnis came north from Canada in 1882
with Mrs. Mclnnis and their family of six, he was also bound
for Stirlingville. The land in what is now Pickford Township
was recognized as having excellent farming possibilities, and
the practical way to get there was by boat down the St. Mary's
and up the Munoskong to the limit of its navigable waters at
Stirlingville. The trip by sailboat took three days, and the
fare for the family was twenty dollars. The Reverend Mr.
Davidson had a small Presbyterian church at Stirlingville, and
Mr. Henry Pickford owned a still smaller store at Pickford.
Bear and deer were everywhere. Often the settlers were without flour or sugar for some time, and the road to the Sault was




nothing but a winding and at times impassable trail through the
bush.
Among the other families first in the Pickford and Stirlingville region were the Campbells, the Rouses, Cleggs, Taylors,
Stirlings, Roes, Hills and Christies. Most of the settlers there
came from Canada, and it is estimated by competent authoriAies that sixty per cent of the residents of Sault Ste. Marie, and
seventy-five per cent of the people in Chippewa County, are of
Canadian descent.
Bankers Look Town Over
With the construction of the Weitzel lock and the looming
of three railroads on the Sault horizon, the town began to present good banking possibilities. Mr. Otto Fowle and Mr.
Homer Mead of Hillsdale County, Michigan, came up to look
the town over in February, 1883. The Michigan Central tracks
then as now extended to Mackinaw City, and the overland trip
from St. Ignace to the Sault consumed two days.
The sleigh pulled up for a moment on the brow of Ashmun
Hill, and the newcomers crawled out from under their furs and
blankets and surveyed the snowy village with interest. On
their right as they came down the hill were the farm-house and
buildings of Mr. R. N. Adams. The next house, on the left,
was Mr. Ashbell Roach's home. From there the houses grew
thicker toward Spruce Street, and from the latter, Ashmun
Street narrowed considerably, so that from Ridge Street to
Portage Avenue it was but a lane twenty-eight feet in width,
ending at Portage Avenue.
The travelers proceeded westward on Portage Avenue to
Plank Alley, west of the present Conway & Hall's drug-store,
thence to Water Street. There were some saloons and onestory buildings on the east side of Plank Alley, but most of the
business places were still on Water Street. The latter extended
from Douglas Street or Canal Park on the west to a picket fence
and gate which stood on a line with the eastern boundary of
the Hursley home lot. The Fort Brady grounds had been extended westward somewhat, the stockade had been removed,
and this fence was the western limit of the fort grounds.
There were but three brick buildings in the village-the
Catholic Church, the school which now forms part of the Junior
High School building, and Mr. Andrew Blank's residence on
West Portage Avenue.
There were three stone buildings-the front part of the
present court-house, a stone building just east of the Catholic
school, known as Alderman's Delight, and the power building
of the old lock. The census of 1880 had enumerated 1,947
inhabitants in the village.
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Village Prospered
Mr. Fowle was impressed with the natural advantages of
the place and its possibilities, and in 1883, with his brotherin-law Mr. E. H. Mead, he opened the Chippewa County Bank
on Water Street. Prospective stockholders were scarce and the
business was hazardous. The nearest railroad, express and
telegraph were sixty-five miles away, and the winter road thereto led through swamps and forests. There was Ao way to
transfer funds in the winter season other than to take them in
person.
But the village prospered and so did the bank. Capitalized
at $10,000.00, it continued as a private bank until 1886,
when it was re-organized as the First National Bank of Sault
Ste. Marie. Under this name it has continued to the present,
having grown under the guidance of Mr. Fowle and Mr. Mead
and their successors until at the time of Mr. Fowle's death its
resources were about two million dollars.
On the night of August 9th, 1886, fire broke out in a
saloon on Plank Alley, and consumed nearly all the buildings
on the south side of Water Street, and a number of others on
Portage. Over half the business buildings of the village were
burned. The bank premises were destroyed, but the bank
safe's contents were found to be uninjured, including some
$25,000.00 in currency. Business was resumed in the former
office of Attorney H. M. Oren, but the safe had been warped
by heat, and its doors had to be opened daily with a pickaxe
and closed with a cedar post battering-ram. This safe was in
use as the bank's depositary during the boom of 1887, and it
frequently held as much as $100,000.00 in currency.
The fire of '86 and another in '96 were a blessing in disguise to Sault Ste. Marie. They forced the business center over
to Portage Avenue and to Ashmun Street, and brought much
new and better construction in that district. The first fire was
followed by a short lived but whirlwind boom in 1887. Waterpower canal projects were under way, the D. S. S. & A. Railway reached the village that fall, the C. P. R. bridge was building, and work on the Poe lock was commenced the same year.
The village was situated on one of the world's greatest waterways, there was a potentially splendid farming country behind
it, with great supplies of timber, its shipping facilities were excellent, and it appeared to be due for a boom. When Mr. H.
M. Oren wired from St. Ignace that fourteen boomers were
there, in mink-skin coats and plug hats, trying to get conveyances to the Soo, local property owners resolved to maintain
stiff prices and require payments of at least one half in cash.
Real Estate Boomed
Practically all the property in the village changed hands
168




within ninety days after the arrival of the plug hats, and at
prices never reached before or since. For instance, there was
the old White House, which stood on Portage Avenue opposite
the Park Hotel. The oldest inhabitant cannot remember when
this building was erected. It must have been built prior to
1845. We know that the building and the lot on which it stood
sold in 1867 for $350.00. This did not include the piece of
land behind it, extending through to Water Street. This was
formerly owned by Mr. Jack Riley, who once offered to sell it
for a pair of boots. The proposition was refused. But later
Mr. Henry La Londe paid Mr. Riley $26.00 for it. In 1887 Mr.
La Londe sold the combined properties for $31,500.00.
In a few weeks the boom was over and the boomers disappeared, while the townspeople endeavored with more or less
success to return to normalcy. The community, which had organized as a village in 1874, with Peter Barbeau as its first
president, now felt strong enough to assume a city's status, and
a city charter was applied for and received from the State Legislature. The first city election was held in 1887, and Otto
Fowle, Republican, contested the mayor's office with Geo. W.
Brown, Democrat. The latter won, but two years later Mr.
Fowle was the victor.
The First City Council
The following gentlemen composed the first city council of
Sault Ste. Marie: W. B. Cady, H. L. Newton, A. E. Bacon, E.
J. Pink, George Blank, S. F. Howie, Malcolm Blue, Jos. S.
Burchill, H. M. Oren, J. E. La Montagne, A. F. Hursley, and E.
J. Penny.
Mr. Fowle took a leading part in the public affairs of city
and county, and was one of the best citizens Sault Ste. Marie
ever had. In 1890 he was active in promoting the issuance of
city paving bonds for $25,000.00. In the advertisement for
the sale of these bonds, the population of the city in that year
was stated to be approximately 9,000. In the same year the
Board of County Supervisors voted to bond the county for
$25,000 for the purpose of constructing a gravel road from
Sault Ste. Marie to Pickford.
As far back as 1850 the harnessing of the enormous waterpower in St. Mary's River had been mooted. In the fifties
Samuel Whitney of New York had taken title to the old Methodist Mission property, and had acquired an interest as well in
the Bendrie Claim above the falls. These, the proposed terminals of a water-power canal, were approximately three miles
apart, and they constituted the ends of a depression where the
water had passed around the falls in ages gone by.
In the seventies Henry Seymour, lumberman, interested Detroit parties in a water-power project. They took over the
Whitney interest, but their titles were defective, and could be
169




perfected only by legal means. Pending these, they engaged
Colonel Duffield, a Detroit engineer, to make surveys, plans
and estimates for a power canal. The State Legislature passed
a bill clearing the way for the organization of a water-power
company.
Company Is Formed
Local agitation for water-power development continued
until 1885, when the village voted $40,000.00 to construct a
water-works system, the same to be operated by water power.
A construction company was organized by Otto Fowle and
William Chandler, and they were joined by Frank Perry, Louis
Trempe, P. M. Church, George Kemp, Joshua Greene, Geo.
W. Brown, Henry Seymour and R. N. Alams.
Availing themselves of the legislative act above mentioned,
they took over the locations held by Mr. Seymour and the Detroiters and acquired some intermediate right-of-way property.
They soon spent the $40,000 appropriation, and $20,000 more
with it. They had set out to establish a water-power canal,
and not to make money out of the project; and having used
up their cash resources, they cast about for further help and
succeeded in interesting a syndicate of western capitalists. Certain rights were transferred, granting to St. Mary's Falls Water
Power Company a franchise to construct and maintain a canal
and penstocks for water-power purposes across and through
the streets, highways, lanes and alleys of the village of Sault
Ste. Marie, and setting aside certain lands within the village for
the purpose of establishing the canal.
The new owners agreed to spend $50,000 in construction
work within twelve months from March, 1887, and an additional
$50,000 within eighteen months from that date. If they failed to
do this they bound themselves to return a majority of the stock
to the three trustees of the selling company. It was proposed to
increase the width of the canal to 150 feet, and more land was
purchased for that purpose. The boom of 1887 was on, owners held their property at fabulous prices, and a perfected title
to the mission farm alone, at the lower end of the proposed
canal, cost the promoters $60,000.
The syndicate failed to fulfill the terms of its contract
and matters again came to a standstill. Then it proposed to
find $100,000 more to be used in actual construction, provided
the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie would do the same. This was
done, and work was started once more. The $200,000 partially
completed the canal and operations ceased. A country-wide
financial depression ensued, the company could not bond, and
the outlook appeared black indeed.
Fowle Didn't Lose Heart
Mr. Fowle, chairman of the negotiating committee acting
170




for local citizens, did not lose heart however, nor did his associates. A period of fruitless bargaining with various promoters
and capitalists followed, during which the local company reacquired title to the canal through foreclosure of the right-ofway bonds. Some wealthy New York and Chicago men proposed to complete the canal and construct big pulp and paper mills,
but nothing came of it.
The climax of this story of alternate hopes and discouragements is told by Mr. Alvah L. Sawyer in his "History of the
Northern Peninsula of Michigan:" "In 1893 there came to the
two Soos a man of whom little was known. He had the appearance of a man filled with confidence and was inclined to
say little. Little attention was paid to him, although it was
known that he had been looking over a ditch in the Michigan
Soo in which had been buried the hopes, money, and ambition
of engineers, financiers and the people of the two cities for
nearly half a century. This was the water-power canal, and the
man was Francis H. Clergue.
"It was not long before those who held the mortgages and
the right of way of the canal were approached by Mr. Clergue
with an offer to buy the rights and begin once more the development of this great water power, which had for centuries been
running to waste over the rapids of the river. They were ready
enough to sell, for they had lost all the money they cared to in
the ditch, and they had no idea but that the newcomer was to
do the same. Some laughed at him, while few ever dreamed of
his success. But Clergue bought the ditch and went to work
seemed more and more unsurmountable, so much more determined seemed that master mind which was planning.
Canal is Completed
"Day after day the work was prosecuted, and year after
year, until at last the people, even the most skeptical, began to
see that they had now a man backed with plenty of money and
filled with an energy which never knew the meaning of the word
failure. At last they saw the canal completed, and on October
25, 1902, the water was let in and the power turned on in the
great house at the lower end of the canal. Then it was that the
whistle cords were tied down on every whistle in the Soo, and
the people of the two cities gave way to rejoicing, for they
saw a new era of prosperity opened for them." Thus the vision
of the people of the Soo, and of the ten citizens of '85 who set
out to build a water-power canal, materialized in a gigantic way,
greater by far perhaps than they had pictured originally. Most
of the ten lived to see their dream come true, and to participate
in its benefits, even though the project had passed from their
hands. It was a mighty struggle, and at times an apparently
hopeless one, but their faith conquered in the end, and the final
outcome meant much to the city and to them.
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Through the initiative of Otto Fowle and other progressive
citizens, Sault Ste. Marie enjoyed the benefits of city water long
before the power canal was completed. The community's first
water-works system was a two-wheeled cart loaded with barrels and drawn by a pony. The water merchant drove into the
shallows of the river on the present site of Brady Field and filled
and delivered his customer's barrel for a quarter. The place was
a favorite resort for the village cows, who came there to drink
in the summer and to bury their flanks in the water, thus avoiding the flies. Frequently the carrier filled his barrels when surrounded by cattle. It is recorded that many old inhabitants
vigorously protested against a change in the method of of supply, saying that barrel delivery was good enough for them.
First Pumping Station
The first pumping station was erected a short distance west
of the C. P. R. bridge, and water was taken a little way out in
the stream. As the city grew, a change became inevitable and
the present station was built at the west end of Fourth Avenue,
far away from any possible sewage contamination. With Lake
Superior above, the greatest natural filter in the world, and the
rapids below, forever drawing down fresh supplies and foiling
all hazard of back-wash, Sault Ste. Marie enjoys perpetual reserves of the finest drinking water to be obtained anywhere, always cool and sparkling clear.
Local Bank History
Mr. Fowle was one of the organizers of the Sault Savings
Bank in 1886. Its first location was on the west side of Ashmun Street, near where Bacon's drug store now stands. The
bank occupied its present beautiful quarters in 1888. The
present officers are: Mr. M. J. Magee, president; Mr. Henry
Hickler, vice-president; Mr. Herbert Fletcher, cashier; Mr. Herman Taylor and Miss May Turner, assistant cashiers. Mr.
Magee succeeds Mr. George Kemp, recently deceased, who was
born and bred in Sault Ste. Marie. Mr. Kemp, an exemplary
citizen and always loyal to his home town, bequeathed to his
city one of the most valuable dock properties on the Great
Lakes.
The Central Savings Bank received its charter in 1902, Mr.
R. N. Adams being its first president. In the same year Mr. J.
L. Lipsett, Mr. E. S. B. Sutton and others organized the Chippewa County Savings Bank, which opened for business in the
Brown Block on South Ashmun Street. Thus the city had four
banks at one period. Three years later these banks consolidated in the Central's location. Mr. J. L. Lipsett assumed the
presidency of the combined institutions and has held that office
since. The other officers are: Mr. C. E. Ainsworth, vice.
172




president; Mr. A. Wesley Clarke, cashier; Mr. C. W. Swart and
Mr. P. T. Wines, assistant cashiers.
The present officers of the First National Bank, originally
organized by the private banking firm of Mead & Fowle in
1886, are: Mr. R. G. Ferguson, president; Mr. E. H. Mead,
vice-president; Mr. Fred S. Case, vice-president and cashier;
Mr. Otto McNaughton and Mr. Donald Finlayson, assistant
cashiers.
These three strong banks have played a vital part in the
upbuilding of Sault Ste. Marie and Chippewa County.
The Edison-Sault Company
The beginnings of the electric lighting industry of Sault Ste.
Marie were made in 1887, nine years after electric lights were
installed in the capital building at Washington. The Edison
Sault Electric Light Company's power-house at that time was at
the rapid's edge near the present third lock. There was considerable shortage of power at first, owing to the narrowness
of the forebay and its frequent clogging with needle ice. The
Edison Sault Electric Company succeeded the old concern in
1891, and in 1905 a new power-house was constructed well
out in the river, thus insuring power in adequate supply.
The teeth of the laughing tumbling rapids so admired by
thousands have been drawn, and their countenance has been
veiled by a compensating dam. Once a terror to the portaging
voyageur, they work now, docilely and efficiently, for the modern Saulteur. They flood his streets and his home with light.
They print his newspapers, propel his street-cars, and cancel the
stamps on his out-going mail. They sharpen the butcher's
knives and grind his sausage; they push up the elevators in our
office buildings, and push down the dentist's filling in our
aching teeth. They furnish us grateful warmth in the evening,
hot waffles in the morning, and ice-cream for dessert. They
curl milady's hair and sew her gowns. They melt limestone at
2,600 degrees Fahrenheit, and freeze poultry at 20 below zero.
They spin a fragile electric fan or raise the ponderous leaf of a
jack-knife bridge with equal facility. They reach far out through
Chippewa County and perform their wonders there. Truly
times have changed since the days of the ancient Chippewas
who shot the rapids or their enemies with equal gusto.
Fort Brady Is Moved
As Sault Ste. Marie grew and buildings crowded around old
Fort Brady, it was deemed advisable to find another locaticn
for the post. By Act of Congress, July 8, 1886, the Secretary
of War was authorized to sell the old military reservation, purchase a new site and erect proper buildings upon it. In the early
nineties General Sheridan selected the present location on the
173




hill. The garrison occupied the new post in October, 1893.
A part of the lcd reservation was sold in 1894, the present
federal building lot being reserved and placed in charge of the
commanding officer at Fort Brady. For years it was a common,
much as it had been in days of old. When Secretary of War
Taft proposed to sell it, a vigorous protest on the part of public
spirited citizens resulted, and a second Act of Congress set it
aside definitely for public building purposes. In 1908 Congress
appropriated $150,000 for the present building, and two years
later it was completed and occupied by the Sault Ste. Marie
postoffice force and other governmental departments.
Three complete postoffices are maintained in Sault Ste.
Marie, in the federal building on Portage Avenue, at Fort
Brady, and at the ship canal. The latter is unique in that it
was established for the benefit of the craft passing through the
locks. It is open twenty-four hours a day during navigation,
and tourists often avail themselves of its facilities.
The second great fire in August, 1896, finished Water Street
as the business highway of the city. The costliest building in
the city, the Sault National Bank block, the Prenzlauer, Metzger, Perry and many other buildings were destroyed.  The
historic Chippewa House went with the rest, part of it having
been built sixty years before.  Many present day Saulteurs lost
their business or office quarters in this fire, including Mr. Chase
S. Osborn, Mr. Otto Supe, Mr. E. S. B. Sutton, Mr. J. W. Shine,
Judge Charles H Chapman, Mr. T. E. Foard, and Mr. M. J.
Magee. Ashmun Street and Portage Avenue succeeded Water
Street as business centers, and their strategic location seems
likely to maintain themselves in that position indefinitely.
Company G Organized
In the fall of the same year Company G, Fifth Michigan
Infantry, was organized in Sault Ste. Marie, and marny of the
city's finest young men enlisted in this volunteer militia company. The Armory was constructed in 1897 and weekly drills
were held there.  When war with Spain was declared in 1898,
and President McKinley called for volunteer troops, Company
G responded, and evolved as a unit into Company G, Thirtyfourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry.
The Company marched away to the war under the following
officers: Robert S. Welch, captain; Henry F. Hughart, first
lieutenant; Gilmore G.Scranton, second lieutenant; Wilfred T.
Raines, first sergeant; Alford H. Colwell, quartermaster sergeant; Edgar C. Lemon, Edward M. Lacey, Fred. H. Smith and
John K. Dawson, sergeants; Albert H. Passmore, John A.
Gowan, Wm. A. Goulding, Robert C. Sweatt, Leo P. Cook and
George Stanley, corporals; Clement C. Wheeler and Eugene
J. O'Neill, musicians; Thomas E. Roberts, wagoner, and Peter
Murray, artificer.
Company G sailed in June, 1898, from Newport News for
174




Cuba, and was in service in the field until Santiago surrendered
and after. Its members suffered severely with typhoid fever,
malaria and yellow fever, and several of them died of the effects of these diseases in Cuba and after their return.  They
were given a great home-coming welcome, but the rejoicing
was mingled with sorrow over the ravages of disease and death.
After peace was declared, Henry F. Hughart Camp No. 34,
Spanish-American War Veterans, was organized here, its membership being composed of comrades who served in the naval
as well as the land forces of that war.
At the close of the century the tiny village of Le Saut de
Sainte Marie had progressed to city stature. It had passed
from French to British domination, and thence to the freedom
of American government.   The descendants of the ancient
fighting Chippewa, once all powerful here, saw the seat of their
dominion transferred into a community eagerly striving to advance the arts of peace. Broad-visioned and history-making
men had come and were at work, and with them came the assurance of prosperity and the realization of greater things.


175




"THE SOO" —THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
When Mr. Francis H. Clergue first came to Sault Ste. Marie
he was about thirty-five years old. He had been sent as an
expert engineer by a syndicate of eastern capitalists to examine
and report upon the water-power possibilities of St. Mary's
River.  Here he found Lake Superior, the globe's greatest
mill-pond, a narrow outlet with a fall of twenty feet or so, and
raw materials abundant in quantity and variety.
Upon his recommendation a company was formed which
obtained from the Canadian Government a grant of nearly two
million acres of land in Ontario. A large part of this acreage
was covered with forests of pine, spruce, birch, maple and oak.
and there were good prospects for iron, nickel, copper and gold.
It was the largest single tract of spruce timber in the world.
Gets Control of Sault Waterpower
Mr. Clergue secured control of the Canadian Sau!t waterpower, thcn dormant, and began a career of construction wellnigh unequalled on the continent.  Besides the rapids on the
Canadian shore a pulp-mill arose, one of the largest in the world
and using fourteen thousand horse-power.  Two railroads were
built, the Algoma Central, extending northward from Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, and the Manitoulin & North Shore, afterward
the Algoma Eastern.  More land was granted the Company,
which under Mr. Clergue's direction uncovered great deposits
of iron ore in the Michipicoten district; mined them, drained a
lake and built a railroad to Michipicoten Harbor; constructed
ore docks there and began the shipment of ore.  Blast furnaces followed at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and in logical succession machine shops and foundries, a rail mill and car shops.
Ships were brought to transport the Company's ore and coal,
docks were built in Sault Ste. Marie, and a limestone quarry
developed in Mackinac County for fluxing purposes.  The first
rails made in Canada from Canadian ore were produced.  A
list of Mr. Clergue's constructive activities in this region would
fill a volume.  Twenty-five million dollars were invested in
the system created on both sides of the river and all the units
of that city dovetailed as it were into each other.
Canal Completed in 1902.
The Michigan Northern water power canal and power house
were completed under Mr. Clergue's direction in 1902.  Fifty
seven thousand horsepower were developed, and the canal
created an island on which the main business section of Sault
Ste. Marie stands.  The original project of extending the canal
to a point below the little rapids was abandoned, and its course
176




Lock Park in Winter




I




was shortened a mile or more without loss of efficientcy. Ownership passed into other hands, and the power developed is
now used largely in the manufacture of calcium carbide by the
Union Carbide Company. Its blue and gray drums are familiar
throughout the earth, and its products are used by practically
every railroad in the country for one or more purposes, by oxyacetylene welders and foundry men, miners, fire departments,
physicians and lighthouse tenders.  Union Carbide affords a
favorite means of lighting rural and suburban homes, schools,
churches and stores.  It is uniquely used in coast guard lifesaving equipment.  Projectiles charged with Union Carbide
are so equipped that gas forms and ignites when they strike the
water.  A brilliant and steady light ensues whereby rescues
can be effected more easily and quickly than would otherwise
be possible.
The power-house of the Michigan Northern Power Company
is one of the most massive buildings in the United States, being
nearly a quarter of a mile long, and constructed of stone blasted
out in building the canal. On the occasion of its opening in
1902, a banquet was spread in the enormous building and the
city gave itself over to a holiday, while congratulations were
showered upon Mr. Clergue.
Clergue Welcomed Back
Time has vindicated the visions of Francis Clergue, though
the industries he founded have passed from his control. The
financial crisis of 1893 was the principal factor in robbing him
of complete victory; nevertheless he has lived to see the children of his brain grow to maturity and prosperity. In the summer of 1923 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, enjoyed a Community
Week, when Mr. Clergue was the city's guest of honor. No
man ever received a more hearty or unanimous welcome than
did he, on the occasion of his return after many years to the
scenes of his reverses and his conquests.
The year 1905 marked the completion of half a century
of service of the ship canal around St. Mary's Falls. The canal
was a prime factor in the development of the greatest marine
tonnage concentration in the world. It had been of inestimable
advantage to the country. It had enabled the iron and steel
industry of the states bordering on the Great Lakes to attain
the front rank they now occupy. It had afforded the most
ample and economical outlet for the vast products of the transMississippi grain regions.  It had made possible the distribution of coal and package freight at rates undreamed of by the
railroads. In immediate results it has been the best investment
ever made by our Government.
The occasion could not be permitted to pass without a fitting celebration. The initiative was taken by Mr. Peter White
of Marquette, one of the '49ers in the north country, and Mr.:77




Charles Harvey, engineer in charge of construction of the first
canal and locks. Joint action was taken by the Congress of the
United States and the Legislature of the State of Michigan,
whereby the National Government appropriated $10,000.00
and the State $15,000.00 to defray the cost of a semi-centennial celebration.
Event Is Most Notable
The event was one of the most notable in the history of the
Great Lakes region. The Governor of Michigan appointed a
Semi-Centennial Celebration Commission, consisting of Mr.
Peter White, Mr. Charles Moore of Detroit, and Mr. Horace M.
Oren of Sault Ste. Marie, to be in full charge of all proceedings.
The Commission nominated Mr. Charles T. Harvey as chief
marshal of the celebration, and arranged a program covering
August 2nd and 3rd, 1905, at Sault Ste. Marie. The States of
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Minnesota were invited to participate, as well as the Vice-President of the United States and representatives of the Dominion
of Canada.
The weather was perfect and the schedule for two days was
carried out without a mishap or variation. Local arrangements
were happily administered by a number of committees under
the general chairmanship of Mr. Otto Fowle, while 40,000 visitors enjoyed the city's hospitality. A naval parade ascended
the river through the Poe lock and descended through the Canadian lock, and Vice-President Fairbanks, Governor Warner
and other notables were greeted with uproarious cheering
by the crowds on both sides of the river.
In the afternoon of the first day of the celebration Mr. Peter
White and Mr. Charles T. Harvey, from the speakers' stand in
Brady Field, related many thrilling experiences of former days.
Recalling ancient times, a group of half a hundred Chippewa
Indians camped beside the reviewing stand. Many of their
fathers had lived as warriors in the old Indian village near the
site of their tepees. The sons mingled with the white throngs
around them, recalling without resentment the old days when
navigation on St. Mary's was a matter of canoes, and the incidents which presaged the decline of their race.
Many thousands of spectators viewed the parade in the
afternoon of August 2nd. Mr. Charles T. Harvey, Chief
Marshal, led the marchers, and the participants included battalions from the First Regiment, United States Infantry, under
Major Robert N. Getty; Third Infantry, Michigan National
Guard, under Colonel Robert J. Bates; the crew of U. S. S.
Wolverine, Commander H. Morrell; and a battalion from the
Michigan State Naval Brigade, under Commander Frederick D.
Standish. Government officials and other distinguished guests,
American and Canadian, occupied many carriages in the parade,
178




which passed in review before the Vice-President and the Governor in Brady Field.
In the evening all the vessels in the river were illuminated,
and the twin cities vied with each other in gorgeous displays
of fireworks.
Great Array of Talent
The third day of August the representatives of the National
Government, the State, the marine interests and the Dominion
of Canada spoke from the rostrum. Hon. Chase S. Osborn
delivered in happy vein the formal address of welcome in the
morning, and addresses followed by the Vice-President, Mr.
White, Hon. Rodolphe Lemieux, Solicitor-General of Canada,
Congressman Theodore Burton, Chairman of the Rivers and
Harbors Committee, President William Livingstone of the Lake
Carriers' Association, United States Senator Burrows, Senator
Dandurand, Speaker of the Canadian Senate, and Mr. Francis
J. Clergue. No such aggregation of talent and celebrity had
ever graced the north country, nor hac any occasion ever been
more felicitous.
"The celebration of 1905," says Mr. J. P. Nimmo, "was conceived and consummated as an expression of the scientific and
marine achievements of half a century. Popular rejoicing and
profitable reflection were its keynotes; education and inspiration were its fruits. The people of Canada and the United
States rejoiced over a lasting conquest; in friendly rivalry they
bodied forth their national sentiments and their international
unity. In reflection on past events they were reminded that
there is still much to do, that progress has not done its last
work. The passing generation let the bright light in on cloudy
memories and saw the Indian and the canoe and the wooden
craft dropping out of their lives.  They saw steel leviathans
growing and multiplying, and told their sons of what had happened in their day.  They pointed to the military and naval
power of their continent and told their sons of the sudden
strength of the white man and the white man's government,
and that the wilderness and the raging river had become an
everlasting heritage. Charles Moore, in "The Northwest Under
Three Flags," says: 'The capitalists are realizing the dreams
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The trade with
Cathway that eluded Nicolet is now maintained by the daily
shipments of wood pulp to Japan; the copper that Joliet was
unable to discover has at last been found, and with it nickel and
iron; Radisson's overland path to Hudson Bay is being traversed
by the Algoma Central Railroad, now building; and the waters
of St. Mary's River are being harnessed to build up a great
manufacturing center. Meanwhile the largest tonnage known to
any waterway in the world annually passes to and from Lakes
Superior and Huron'."
179




A permanent memorial of Connecticut granite, forty-four
feet in height, was erected at the foot of Bingham avenue in
Sault Ste. Marie by the United States, the State of Michigan,
and the mining and transportation interests of the Great Lakes,
commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of St.
Mary's Falls Canal and the celebration of 1905. In form and
material the monument follows the most enduring of Egyptian
obelisks. This design was chosen because it was deemed best
suited to commemorate works of engineering. Bronze tablets
affixed to the four faces of the shaft bear the following inscriptions of historic interest:
(North Tablet)
BESIDE THESE RAPIDS, JUNE 14, 1671, DAUMONT
DE ILUSSON, NICOLAS PERROT, LOUIS JOLIET AND
FATHERS DABLON, DRUILLETES, ALLOUEZ AND
ANDRE CLAIMED POSSESSION OF ALL THE LANDS
FROM THE SEAS OF THE NORTH AND WEST TO THE
SOUTH SEAS, FOR LOUIS XIV. OF FRANCE. IN 1763
THE LAKE REGION WAS CEDED TO ENGLAND AS A
PORTION OF CANADA, AND AT THE CLOSE OF THE
REVOLUTION, SAINT MARYS RIVER BECAME PART OF
THE NATIONAL BOUNDARIES. IN 1797, THE NORTHWEST FUR COMPANY BUILT A BATEAU CANAL AND
LOCK ON THE CANADIAN BANK. IN 1820, LEWIS
CASS, GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN TERRITORY, HERE
ESTABLISHED THE AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED
STATES FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
(East Tablet)
THE XXXII. CONGRESS HAVING MADE A GRANT
OF PUBLIC LANDS TO AID THE CONSTRUCTION OF A
SHIP CANAL AROUND SAINT MARYS FALLS, THE
STATE OF MICHIGAN CONTRACTED WITH JOSEPH P.
FAIRBANKS, JOHN W. BROOKS, ERASTUS CORNING,
AUGUST BELMONT, HENRY       DWIGHT, JR., AND
THOMAS    DWYER, PRINCIPALS; AND      FRANKLIN
MOORE, GEORGE F. PORTER, JOHN OWEN, JAMES F.
JOY, AND HENRY P. BALDWIN, SURETIES, TO BUILD
A CANAL ACCORDING TO THE PLANS OF CAPT.
AUGUSTUS CANFIELD, U. S. A. THE WORK OF CONSTRUCTION WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY CHARLES T.
HARVEY, C. E., WHO OVERCAME MANY SERIOUS OBSTACLES INCIDENT TO THE REMOTE SITUATION. THE
CANAL, OPENED JUNE 18, 1855, WAS OPERATED BY
THE STATE UNTIL JUNE 9, 1881, WHEN IT WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE UNITED STATES AND MADE FREE TO
ALL VESSELS. SUPERINTENDENTS UNDER THE STATE:
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JOHN BURT, ELISHA CALKINS, SAMUEL P. MEAD,
GEORGE W. BROWN, GUY H. CARLETON, FRANK
GORTON, JOHN SPALDING.
(West Tablet)
IN 1856,CONGRESS FIRST MADE APPROPRIATIONS
TO IMPROVE SAINT MARYS RIVER UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS, U. S. A. CAPT.
JOHN NAVARRE MACOMB AND CAPT. AMIEL WEEKS
WHIPPLE HAD CHARGE OF THE WORK UNTIL 1861;
AND COL. THOMAS JEFFERSON CRAM, MAJ. WALTER
MACFARLANE AND MAJ. ORLANDO METCALFE POE,
FROM 1866 TO 1873. THE WEITZEL LOCK WAS
BUILT BETWEEN 1876 AND 1881 BY MAJ. GODFREY
WEITZEL, ASSISTED BY CAPT. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE.  MAJ. FRANCIS ULRIC FARQUHAR AND CAPT.
DAVID WRIGHT LOCKWOOD WERE IN CHARGE,
1882-3.  FROM 1883 TO 1896, THE CANAL WAS ENLARGED AND THE POE LOCK BUILT BY COL. POE,
ON THE SITE OF THE STATE LOCKS. FROM 1895 TO
1905 THE OFFICERS IN CHARGE SUCCESSIVELY WERE
LIEUT. JAMES BATES CAVANAUGH, COL. GARRETT J.
LYDECKER, COL. WILLIAM H. BIXBY, MAJ. WALTER
LESLIE FISK, AND COL. CHARLES E. L. B. DAVIS,
GENERAL SUPERINTENDENTS UNDER THE UNITED
STATES: ALFFRED NOBLE, EBEN S. WHEELER, JOSEPH
RIPLEY.  SUPERINTENDENTS: JOHN SPALDING, WILLIAM  CHANDLER, MARTIN LYNCH, DONALD M.
MACKENZIE.
(South Tablet)
THIS MONUMENT, ERECTED BY THE UNITED
STATES, THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, AND THE
MIINING AND TRANSPORTATION INTERESTS OF THE
GREAT LAKES COMMEMORATES THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF SAINT MARYS FALLS
CANAL, CELEBRATED AUGUST 2 AND 3, 1905;
THEODORE ROOSEVELT BEING PRESIDENT; FRED M.
WARNER, GOVERNOR. CELEBRATION COMMISSIONERS: PETER WHITE, HORACE MANN OREN, CHARLES
MOORE. CHIEF MARSHAL: CHARLES T. HARVEY.
Chase S. Osborn
Sault Ste. Marie closed the first decade of the twentieth
century by providing Michigan with a Governor, the first from
the Upper Peninsula to grace that illustrious line.
Born in a log house in Huntington County, Indiana, January
22, 1860, Chase S. Osborn spent his boyhood days in the city
181




of Lafayette. At the age of fourteen he entered Purdue University, then just opening. Leaving the University after three
years, he went to Chicago, walking most of the way. Without
means or friends, he had some trying experiences in the big
city before landing a job with the Tribune at five dollars a
week. In 1879, a year of panicky conditions and country-wide
depression, he was laid off with many other employes of the
paper.
He walked the ties to Hermansville, and found employment
for a time with a construction gang of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, then building its Menominee Range extension.
Returning to Milwaukee, he got a job soliciting subscriptions for
The Milwaukee Signal, the city's first two-cent paper. Soon
he was reporting for The Evening Wisconsin, and a little later
he was offered and accepted charge of The Chicago Tribune's
Milwaukee Bureau.
One day Hiram D. Fisher, discoverer of the Florence Mine
at Florence, Wisconsin, wired Colonel J. A. Watrous of Milwaukee, a friend of Mr. Osborn, asking him to send up a young
fellow not afraid to run a newspaper. The town was wild and
woolly, and dominated by a gang that was against all newspapers, especially those opposing it in any way. The owner
and editor of the Florence paper, a weekly, had been made
away with by the roughs.
Two hours after Colonel Watrous received the message, Mr.
Osborn was on his way to Florence. The night he arrived the
gang shot out his windows and shot a leg off one of the job
presses, just to show him what would be done to him if he
wasn't good. The threat failed to scare the new editor, and
he fought the roughs to a finish. Four years later when he sold
The Mining News and returned to Milwaukee his adversaries
were dead or scattered, the abominable stockades were burned
or abandoned, and Florence was a fairly decent town to live in.
Came to Sault Ste. Marie
The Gogebic range was booming, and Milwaukee was iron
mad. Mr. Osborn, with Melvin Hoyt and Alexander Dingwall
-afterward associated with him in the Sault Ste. Marie Newsand others, started a trade paper, The Miner and Manufacturer.
He had been deeply interested in and had studied carefully
the formations of the Menominee Range, and had written a
good deal about them. A syndicate of Milwaukee and Chicago
men asked him to make some examinations of the Echo Lake
region, in the vicinity of Sault Ste. Marie. Charmed by the
beauty of the little town and its environs, he made it his home
for life.
The three bought the Sault Ste. Marie News front Mr. C.
H. Chapman. The boom of '87 came and went, and Mr. Osborn drew lots wit:. his partners to determine which one of the
182




trio would stay and carry the burden of the weekly in a badly
flattened field. Mr. Osborn was the unlucky one, as it seemed
at the time; in reality he won a rich reward.
The town recovered, and before long the weekly became a
prosperous daily, the first to be established in Sault Ste. Marie.
Its owner tought for a better and cleaner community.  He
made some whole-souled enemies and many faithful friends.
Political life was inevitable; he became postmaster of Sault Ste.
Marie, State Game Warden, Railroad Commissioner. Association with Governor Pingree plunged him deeper into politics
than ever. He was one of six Republican candidates to succeed Pingree. Aaron T. Bliss of Saginaw won.
Meanwhile Mr. Osborn, as interested in iron ore as ever,
was prospecting in the mountains of Canada, and visiting when
time permitted the iron regions of the world. Following up
reports of lean iron ore in the Vermilion River district north of
Sudbury, he located, staked and purchased, with Chicago men,
the mineral lands known as the Moose Mountain properties,
which were profitably sold shortly after to McKenzie and Mann,
Canadian railway magnates.
Is Elected Governor
In 1908, Mr. Osborn succeeded the Hon. Peter White as
Regent of the University of Michigan. In 1910 he became a
candidate for governor at the Republican primaries, defeating
Patrick H. Kelley and Amos Musselman. In the election he
won over Lawton T. Hemans by a plurality of 43,000 votes.
Two years followed of strenuous fighting for what the Governor believed to be right. At his instigation a workmen's
compensation measure was introduced and passed. He saw to
it that a bill was introduced making it illegal for brewers and
distillers to own or encourage saloons in Michigan. The bill
became a law. A woman suffrage bill carrying the Governor's
hearty endorsement was defeated. Woman suffrage was not
adopted by the State until 1918, two years after state-wide
prohibition carried. The Governor had been ahead of his times.
When Chase S. Osborn became Governor there was a deficit of about one million dollars in the state treasury. At the
conclusion of his administration the State was out of debt and
the treasury held a surplus exceeding two million dollars. He
awakened the people of Michigan to a finer and stronger conception of government. The ideals he inspired and exemplified
have created in many ways a better State. Success did not
spoil him, and his political enemies conceded him their admiration when they denied and defeated his plans for the betterment of Michigan.
Returning from a foreign trip with Mrs. Osborn of almost
two years, Mr. Osborn was importuned by friends to be again a
candidate for the governorship nomination. He won the nom



ination but was defeated for election. In 1918  he contested with Henry Ford and Truman H. Newberry the Republican primary nomination for United States Senator from Michigan. Mr. Newberry won the nomination and the election.
While they are both sympathetic and kindly men, it isn't likely
that either Mr. Osborn or Mr. Ford shed any tears over what
happened to Mr. Newberry afterward.
Most Widely Traveled Man
A Detroit newspaper calls Mr. Osborn the most widely
traveled man on earth. No country worth visiting has been
missed by him or Mrs. Osborn, and they are intimately acquainted with many lands. The story of his life is told in his
autobiography, "The Iron Hunter," written as autobiographies
should be written,-plainly, sincerely, palliating nothing, excusing nothing. It is free from embroidery ard puts on no dog.
("Putting on dog" is the Saulteur expression for snobbery;
uppishness; false fronts; trying to make people believe you are
better or wiser or richer or holier than you really are or ever
will be. The Chippewa Indians originated the term, and the
meaning is the same in their language).
You should read "The Iron Hunter," as it is a book that
will class with the autobiographies of Rousseau, Cellini and
Trudeau. If you have a young man in the family, start him on
"The Iron Hunter," and watch him devour it. It is a stirring
tale of pioneering, of a career possible only in a new and free
country like America. It has all the freshness and the vigor of
a northern spring morning.
"My home town, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan," says Mr. Osborn in 'The Iron Hunter,' "has always shown me a sympathy
and a friendship and support that would be a sufficient reward
for any man, no matter if his deserts were easily much greater
than mine; and an inspiration as well. In return for its attitude, I loved the town and all its people."
Osborn's Gifts to Sault Ste. Marie
Again and again Sault Ste. Marie has had concrete evidence
of Mr. Osborn's good-will.  The stone torii and the Shinto
memorial lanterns in Canal Park; the bronze Lupa di Roma,
the she-wolf mothering Romulus and Remus; the stone lions
at the Carnegie Library; the chimes of eleven bells in St. James
Church tower; the multitude of elms given for the cure of a
former treeless city and reminiscent of ancient times; the curios
in the Melville Museum at the Senior High School; the paintings by foremost artists, including Moran's famous "Grand
Canyon" in the music room at Senior High; the revolving
illuminated cross which crowns the Methodist Episcopal church
on Spruce Street; the grounds at Douglas Street and Portage
184




Avenue; these are some of the gitfs of Mr. Osborn to Sault
Ste. Marie and to all its people.
While history was making in the little city besides the
rapids, an ever increasing ship traffic passed around them. Imperious need developed for longer, wider and deeper steamers.
The fast expanding fields and mines of the north and west
found two American locks and one Canadian lock in St. Mary's
River utterly inadequate to accommodate their bounty in its
passage to the markets of the world.
Four American Locks
St. Mary's Falls Canal is one and three-fifths miles in length
and 160 feet wide. It feeds four locks, two of which have
been described. The third lock, 1,350 feet long, 80 feet wide,
and having 24/2 feet of water upon its miter sills at low water,
was built by the Government in the years 1908 to 1914, and
opened to traffic October 21 of the latter year.  The fourth
lock, of the same dimensions as the third, was built by the
Government in the years 1913 to 1919, and opened to traffic
September 18, 1919.
Since 1892 the canal leading to the Weitzel and the Poe
locks has been deepened in its upper reaches to 24 feet.  The
new canal leading to the third and fourth locks has a least
depth of 24 feet.
The canal also practically includes those parts of the channel
through St. Mary's River which have been improved through
shoals of sand, clay boulders, standstone, and limestone rock.
The United States Government made the first appropriation for
improving the river channels in 1856.  Work on their betterment has been almost continuous, so that the dredged areas
now total 45 miles in length with least width of 300 feet, increasing at angles and at other critical places up to 1,000 feet.
In 1903 excavation of the Middle and West Neebish channels
was begun for 21 feet at lowest stage of water.  Th- West
Neebish channel was opened to commerce in 1908 and the
deepening of the Middle Neebish channel was completed in
1912. Downbound traffic uses the West Neebish channel and
upbound traffic the Middle Neebish route. The cost of the
third and fourth locks and their approaches was $7,500,000.
and the total cost of the improvements in St. Mary's River, including all locks, canals and betterments to channels, is approximately $31,000,000.
Hydraulic power is used for operating the Weitzel and Poe
locks. Electricity generated by water power is used for operating the third and fourth locks on the American side and the
Canadian lock.  Three watches of eight hours each operate
the American locks, and the force engaged in passing boats
through the American locks aggregates 120.
185




Some Traffic Figures
Fifty-seven thousand passengers and 66,000,000 tons of
freight passed through the American and Canadian canals
around St. Mary's Rapids in 1922. The freight was valued at
one billion dollars, and in its transportation 12,000 lockages
were made in 252 days.  Traffic was heaviest in October, followed by September, August, July, November, June, May, December and April, in order.  American vessels carried 92 per
cent of the freight, Canadian vessels 61 per cent of the passengers.
Approximately 200,000,000 feet of lumber found its way
to market here in 1922, and 10,000,000 barrels of flour;
400,000,000 bushels of grain (three-fourths of it wheat), and
42,000,000 tons of iron ore passed down to the bakeries and
the steel mills of the world; 60,000 tons of refined Mizhigan
copper were locked through, and 1,000,000- tons of package
freight; 200,000 tons of oil and 10,000,000 tons of soft and
hard coal passed up.  The total tonnage is approximately that
of the Detroit River, and it exceeds the totals of the St. Clair
Flats Canal. A great deal of the downbound freight traversing
St. Mary's River goes to Lake Michigan and Georgian Bay
ports.
The transportation charges on freight passing the Soo
canals in 1922 were $64,000,000., The average distance this
freight was carried by boat was 810 miles, the average cost per
ton for freight transportation was ninety-seven cents, and the
average cost per mile per ton was one and two-tenths mills.
It is an efficiency record unequalled in all the rest of the world.
Water Rates Cheaper.
Freight rates in 1922 for water transportation to and from
Lake Superior via St. Mary's Falls Canal averaged forty-five
cents per ton for coal; three and eight-tenths cents per bushel
for grain, and eighty-three cents per ton for iron ore. Railroad
freight rates are gigantic in comparison with this showing. It
was made possible by these canals, and so great is their volume
that it costs less than half a cent to transport a ton of freight
through them.
The vision has come to thousands of practical level-headed
men-and it will not down-of the linking of the Great Lakes
in the heart of the continent, to the sea. Nothing can long delay
the coming of The-Great-Lakes-to-the-Sea Waterway, for economic forces now at work make it inevitable.  To think of
Chicago and Duluth, Port Arthur and Milwaukee, Detroit, Toronto, Toledo and Sault Ste. Marie as deep seaports is not fantastic; such imagining is based on common sense.  No one
has better stated the case for a deep waterway than Mr. W. S.
Edward, of Sault Ste. Marie, whose address before the Toronto
186




convention of the National Waterways Association of Canada,
in March, 1921, has been printed and extensively circulated by
that body.
Some Comparative Figures
"Traffic through the Suez Canal in 1913, the latest year
for which we could get statistics," says Mr. Edward, "was 20,000,000 tons. We have the 1916 report for the Panama Canal,
which was built at a cost of over $400,000,000.00, showing
ship passages for the year of 1,253 and a total tonnage of
9,400,000.
"Compare this with the 1916 report for St. Mary's Falls
Canal, showing 92,000,000 tons traffic. Panama passages of
1,253 are equal to about twelve days volume through St. Mary's
where ship passages average over 100 many days at a time. The
barriers now separating the farms and cities of the Middle West
from the ocean can be overcome by channels not so long nor
as difficult to navigate as the Panama Canal, the Kiel Canal, or
the Suez Canal, and would cost but a fraction of their expense
of construction.
"The time will come when ocean going boats will carry
freight and passengers to Chicago from foreign ports. Chicago
is beginning an expenditure of $100,000,000.00 on the improvement of her dock facilities and the building of an immense
outer harbor to accommodate this traffic when it comes. The
saving in freight alone will more than half pay for these improvements, and the water power development and the commercial growth of the country incidental thereto will, with this
saving in freight, more than pay for the entire project every
year.
"Let me cite an instance coming under my observation
during the war as to the advantage of deepening waterways. A
great deal of lake shipping was being taken for ocean service,
leaving our carrying bottoms rather short for lake commerce.
Mr. L. C. Sabin, government engineer in this district during the
war, suggested that if six inches more water could be obtained
over Vidal Shoal it would help the situation materially.  I was
consulted concerning the probable costs of getting this extra six
inches draft.  Figuring on twenty boats per day using this
extra draft through the port of Sault Ste. Marie, we estimated
that about 10,000 tons freight additional could be handled daily.
This meant $10,000.00 additional daily revenues to the carriers, at the same carrying charges and practically the same
cost to the ship owners.
Paid for in Thirteen Days
"An emergency appropriation was secured for the work,
which was completed in four months at a cost of $125,000.00.
This was pail for in additional revenue to the commerce of
187




the lakes in thirteen days' time.  It is a permanent improvement as well, which will enable boats for all time to carry additional tonnage.
"The waterway will make possible the development of two
million horsepower for manufacturing purposes in New York
State.  The same is true of the Canadian side. The manufacturing industries of Ontario and Quebec would be augmented
tremendously.
Water power development supplies power at $20 to $25
per horsepower.  Power developed by steam costs $100 or
over.  The saving will amount to $300,000,000 per year, accruing equally to Canada and the United States.  With the
completion of the Welland Canal there remain compartively
few miles to be improved in the St. Lawrence River. Neither
the United States nor Canada can afford to delay this gigantic
development. The benefits to both countries will be enormous,
through the industrial expansion and increase in national wealth
which such development will make possible. Let us remove
the barriers and open the way to the Great American Mediterranean.
Millions Now Living Will See It.
Already a few smaller ships have found their way to and
from Chicago, the head of the lakes, and old world ports.
Even as the first tiny locks presaged the colossal lake commerce of today, so do these beginnings of lake and ocean
traffic foreshadow the tomorrow when great ocean liners shall
lock through and dock at Sault Ste. Marie. Visions firmly held
tend to materialize, when they are in line with the trend of
things. This is a little known but long proven pschycological
law. The ideals of Mr. Chas. P. Craig, Mr. W. S. Edward,
our National Waterways Associations and their supporters are
in accord with the basic trend of things, and nothing short of
an earthquake or another war can long delay their fruition.  It
is a reasonable as well as a magnificent conception, this Great
Lakes-To-The-Sea Waterway. Time must be a factor in the
evolution of a plan so vast; but millions now living undoubtedly will see its completion and enjoy its benefits.
The Soo and Chippewa in the World War.
Long before the United States entered the World War,
Sault Ste. Marie and Chippewa County men were enlisting in the
Canadian forces. From fifty to one hundred of our boys fought
under foreign flags against the common foe. 1,300 soldiers enlisted in the United States forces during the period of our participation, most of them finding their way into the 32nd Division, and a very large number of the men from Sault Ste.
Marie and Chippewa fought in the 125th and 337th U. S.
Infantry.
1i8




Between ninety and one hundred local men enlisted during
the period of the war in the Sault Ste. Marie recruiting offices
of the Naval Reserve, and saw service in the U. S. Navy.
Enemies Once, Comrades Now.
Records compiled during the war have been forwarded to
Washington, and it is impossible at this time to set down detailed figures of enlistments and casualties here. About 150
Chippevwa County soldiers and sailors died in the service. The
descendants of the Indians, the French, the British and the
Americans who once fought for supremacy here, laid down their
lives as comrades on the fields of France. Some of our men
fought with American units in Northern Russia, and one at
least died there.
The Chippewa County Red Cross and other war agencies
functioned finely when the need arose. A sufficient complement of troops remained at Fort Brady to guard the ship canal
and the locks with the most scrupulous vigilance. The canal
area was surrounded with barbed wire and soldiery, guardhouses were erected, and rapid fire guns mounted at convenient points around the locks. The War Department took
no chances with this aorta of the continent, while a recordbreaking commerce pulsed through it daily.
A Royal Welcome Home.
When the boys came home they received a joyful and an
unforgettable welcome. A formal celebration in honor of their
return was linked with an old-fashioned patriotic Fourth of
July ovatio(n, and the day will linger long in the memories of
these who participated.
Ameri an Legion posts were organized in Sault Ste. Marie,
Brimley, and Rudyard. The Sault Ste. Marie post is the most
active of these, and it has been productive of much benefit
and good comradeship to a loyal and enthusiastic membership.
Its present officers are: Captain J. F. Young, Commander; Jay
Gerrie, Finance Officer; Chas. McEvoy, Adjutant.
Men in Government service have taken a foremost part in
the political, social and economic life of Sault Ste. Marie since
the beginning of the last century.  It is probable that Washington is the only city in the United States which contains a greater
proportion of the republic's officials and employes.
Modem Fort Brady
Fort Brady, beautifully situated on a hill overlooking the
city and the river, is a United States Army post under the Department of War. Its present commander is Captain Clinton
Rush, and other commissioned officers are as follows:
Captains: Barrett DeT. Lambert, Julian V. Link, Charles




J, Isley. First lieutenants: Charles D. Simmonds, Frank B.
Lindley, Zane I. Adair. Second lieutenants: James R. Hamilton, James D. O'Connell, Damond Gunn, E. D. Post.  The
enlisted men number 300 or more.
The great commercial importance of the locality was fully
recognized by the War Department in the late struggle with
Germany. The post was fully manned during the war and the
locks were guarded summer and winter by United States
soldiers.
The U. S. Coast Guard
The U. S. Coast Guard, formerly known as the Revenue
Cutter Service, is an arm of the Treasury Department, functioning under the Navy Department in time of war.  Captain J. M.
Moore is division commander and captain of the port of Sault
Ste. Marie, and Lieutenant Commander C. A. Wheeler is division
engineer. A force of fifty-seven enlisted men patrols St. Mary's
River during the season of navigation, and maintains continuous watch at six lookout stations. These stations are connected
with each other and with the commander's office here by private telephone lines. The force was greatly augmented during
the war, and it worked in co-operation with the War Department in closely guarding the St. Mary's waterway from possible
obstruction by enemy sympathizers.
Big Force on the Locks
Over one hundred Government officers and men, operating
under the United States War Department, are employed at St.
Mary's Falls Canal and the locks. The officers are General
Superintendent L. C. Sabin, Assistant Superintendent Isaac De
Young.   The superintendent in charge of traffic is Frank T.
McArthur, his assistants are Patrick Tracy, Charles Hursley
and John Atkins. During the winter months the force is
lessened somewhat, but a great amount of continuous upkeep
and repair work is necessary.
The Immigration Service
Inspector R. H. Brondyke and his men in the Sault Ste.
Marie Immigration Division are a part of the United States
Department of Labor.  One of their duties is the turning back
of unaccredited or undesirable aliens.  Sault Ste. Marie is the
only point of easy ingress from Canada in hundreds of miles
of frontier, and boat and rail immigration here is heavy.
U. S. Customs Service
Deputy Collector of Customs Robert H. Taylor and his
force are part of the U. S. Treasury Department personnel.
Imports and exports of all merchandise through the Sault Ste.
190




Marie gateway are recorded by this office, and duties aggregating huge sums are collected. Pulpwood for paper manufacture is one of the heaviest articles of import here, and packing-house products from the Twin Cities, destined for transAtlantic ports, are a considerable item of export.
The Hydrographic Office
The United States Hydrographic Office, under Lieutenant
Commander B. K. Johnson, is that branch of the Navy Department which receives and disseminates hydrographic information
for mariners and others. It is the important department of
maps, charts, soundings, and surveys without which navigation
would be impossible.
The Weather Bureau
The United States Weather Bureau at Sault Ste. Marie is in
charge of Observer Alexander G. Burns, and it is a branch of
the Department of Agriculture.  The Bureau building stands
beside the ship canal through which all ships taking the American side must pass, and notice of impending storms as well
as their direction is imparted to mariners by means of flag signals and bulletins. The Bureau is also very useful in the winter season to the railroads and to handlers of perishable merchandise, in giving advance notice of storms and cold waves.
The Internal Revenue Department, 4th District, State of
Michigan, maintains a Soo office in the federal building in
charge of Mr. Theodore B. McKinney.
The Postoffice
Last, but really first in point of daily contact, in the list of
Uncle Sam's beneficent activities in this vicinity, is the Sault Ste.
Marie postoffice, under Postmaster Wm. M. Snell and Assistant
Postmaster John A. Graham. About thirty people are employed and the average daily turnover is 30,000 pieces of mail.
This average is greatly exceeded in the beautiful days of summer, when throngs of tourists migrate hither to escape the heat
of other regions, and to enjoy a holiday amid cool and lovely
surroundings.
What Visitors See Here
What has the Sault to offer the stranger, the sight-seer, the
tourist?
The answer is: more, probably, than any other community
of its size in the world.
To enumerate just a few elements of interest:
Fort Brady, a city in itself, situated on a plateau above St.
Mary's River about one-half mile south of the ship canal and
the locks. The modern brick buildings of the fort were constructed on this plateau at a cost of nearly half a million dol191




lars. Military men consider Fort Brady one of the country's
best posts. While it is in the city limits, it is practically independent of Sault Ste. Marie.
A City Within a City
Captain Clinton Rush, of the Second United States Infantry,
his officers and his 300 or more troops have, besides their commodious and spotless quarters, their own schools, theatre, postoffice, libraries, clubs, barber shops, newspaper, tailor shops,
gymnasium, commissary, bakery, parade ground, recreation
field, skating rink, hospital, and recreation rooms. Uncle Sam
is lavish with conveniences for his soldiers and he provides
them with more than homelike comforts.
The Tonic Climate
The health restoring qualities of the climate, the air and the
water have been proven many times at this post. Troops arriving from service in Cuba, the Philippines, and other semitropical, malarial, and enervating districts, have been restored
in a marvelously short time to health and vigor.
A Crowning Attraction
St. Mary's Falls Canal and its battery of locks display the
greatest continuous close-range procession of freight and passenger steamers in the world. They are visited yearly by thousands of fascinated spectators from the ends of the earth. Nowhere else on the globe is there such an example of man's
victory over nature's obstacles. No movie offers so gigantic
and vibrant a panorama, in so beautiful a setting. The spectacle never ceases during the navigation season, for the ships
never cease coming, and hundreds of powerful electric lamps
turn night into day.
The Sense of Power
At the locks there is a sense of power on every hand. Power in the monstrous steel canoes of the white man, slipping so
easily by; in the ponderous swinging gates; in the outrush of
the waters as the locks are emptied; in the shining electric and
hydraulic machinery on all sides; and most of all in the irresis.able lifting of the giant carriers and their cargoes within the
locks as the gateman moves his magic lever. It is no wonder
the visitor forgets his dinner in his astonishment and delight
at the wonders surrounding him, or pesters the lockmen with
queries and discussions. Ask all the questions you like, you
will never ruffle the good nature of Uncle Sam's lockmen.
'lhey are famed for their courtesy. And they are in all truth
among the world's most useful men.
192






Deer Hunting Camp Near the Sault








The Magic of Transprtation
As the lock gates swing here, our Government takes a new
place among the nations. As a direct result of that easy step,
great ore pits deepen on the Mesaba Range, and a hundred
thousand farms blossom on the western prairies. The flour
ground yesterday in Duluth or Minneapolis finds a market
a few days hence in London. Bread is cheaper in a multitude
of foreign and domestic homes because of St. Mary's Falls
Canal; it lessened the cost of the homes as well. The copper
ingots descending here today will be transformed tomorrow
into cables in Ceylon, or trolley wires in Australia, or armatures
in Egypt. Uganda spans her ravines with bridges made of this
cheaply transported ore passing by; these narrow walls made
Pittsburgh and Gary possible. Our mighty dreadnaughts sailed
this inland waterway before they sniffed the salt. The locomotives of Brazil rode over these stone sills, and so did the
rails that bear them. In fine, St. Mary's Falls Canal has been
a vital factor in the country's supremacy in transportation,
mining, manufacturing and agriculture.
The Biggest Jack-Knife on Earth
The visitor may see just above the locks and spanning the
ship canal, the largest jack-knife bridge in the world. Stupendous in bulk, it is so delicately balanced that fifty electric horsepower suffice to set its leaves in motion, and ten are ample to
keep them moving.
The water-power canals and power-houses of the Michigan
Northern Power Company and the Edison Sault Electric Company confirm the Soo as an electric town. They furnish
electric current for every conceivable purpose except one. A
fortune is begging for the genius who will show us how to heat
our buildings efficiently and economically in the winter season
with this abundant store o? electricity.
Points of Historic Interest
Historic landmarks include the old warehouse of the American Fur Company; the site of Father Marquette's chapel; St.
Lusson's hill, where the French asserted dominion over the land,
and where as well Governor Cass demonstrated it for America;
the semi-Centennial obelisk; the Indian Agency of Schoolcraft;
and the old Johnston home.
A Real Tourist Camp
The tourist camp on East Portage Avenue is a delight to
the automobile visitor. Many conveniences are provided by
the city, and there is an excellent bathing beach close at hand.
A Famous Saulteur
The man or woman on fishing bent may take counsel of
193




Pete Vigeant, prince of fishermen, who knows every rainbow
trout in the rapids by its first name. Pete is an accredited Soo
institution and a charter member of The Ancient and Honorable
Fraternity of Fishermen. He has been the subject of countless
magazine articles and is a frequent contributor to sporting
journals.
Near By Beauty Spots
Favorite resorting places near the city, easily reached by
car, are Les Cheneaux Islands, Cedarville and Hessel (The
Snows), with a dozen or more hotels; Alcott Beach and the
Pierce Inn, Brimley; ILadd's Beach, with excellent bathing in
the back bay, at Bay Mills; Dollar Settlement and Mission Hill
on the shore beyond the Chippewa blueberry plains; The Shallows, up the river; Harmony Beach, below the city; Birch
Lodge at Trout Lake; DeTour and Albany; and the Seaman
Inn on Drummond Island. Mackinac Island and St. Ignace are
a short sixty miles away, via excellent roads, or a little farther
through the loveliest waterway on the continent.  Pleasant
Park and Wilwalk are reached by boat from the Soo, Oak
Ridge Park and Encampment by boat or car. The state park
will be opened at Brimley in 1924, and it is hoped that another
will be in readiness a year later at Hulbert Lake.
The Canadian Soo
No one ever visits the American Soo without seeing its
Canadian twin, or vice versa. A trip over the Algoma Central
Railway past Montreal Falls and through Agawa Canyon is
one to be remembered for life. There is nothing else to compare with it east of the Rockies.
One may see in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, an 800 foot
lock, the largest paper mill and the greatest steel plant in
Canada. The first lock built in Canada has been restored and
is on view to visitors. Near by, at Garden River, is an Indian
village,-a bit of old Canada. There  are many  splendid
drives back of the city,-to Gros Cap, Bellevue, Crystal Falls
and the Landslide, Sylvan Valley, Gordon Lake, Rock Lake,
Basswood Lake, Bruce and Thessalon, and St. Joseph's Island.
There is excellent steamer service to all points on the north
shore of Lake Superior, and to the Thirty Thousand Islands of
Georgian Bay.
A Great Summer Menu
Good hotels in both cities and an out-of-the-ordinary tourist camp in the Michigan Soo, complete a list of ingredients
which insure a feast to the summer visitor. Both communities
are famed for their hospitality, they are wide awake and progressive, and duly appreciate of the rapidly expanding tourist
trade.
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The Soo Changes Its Government
Dissatisfied with the old ward and aldermanic system
under which the city government had functioned from the
eighties, the electors of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, voted in
1917 for a new charter and a change to government by commission.
A Charter Commission was appointed, consisting of the following representative citizens: Francis T. McDonald, chairman; A. J. Eaton, clerk; Frank P. Sullivan, John P. Connolly,
Wm. M. Snell, Edward Stevens, Geo. P. McCallum, and J. L.
Lipsett. These gentlemen drew up the new charter, and at
the election following Mark Tymon became the first Mayor
under the new form. Two years later he was succeeded by
Francis T. McDonald. Commission government was proved a
success, and few Saulteurs would consider a return to the old
regime.
City Officers in 1923
The present city officials, elected -nd appointed, are:
Mayor, George O. Comb; City Manager, Henry A. Sherman;
Commissioners, J. N. Adams, R. R. Beyer, Phil. Jacobs, Robt.
Nimmo. Board of Education: Dr. Geo. P. Ritchie, president;
Chas. G. Clarke, secretary; Isaac De Young, treasurer; Jos.
MacLachlan and Chas. G. Lampman. Superintendent of
Schools, Geo. G. Malcolm. Officers and heads of departments appointed by the city manager: City Engineer, V. B.
Redfern; Superintendent of Streets, Samuel Horry; Water
Works Superintendent, Kenneth McLay; Engineer pumping station, B. F. Kelly; Sexton, Andrew Sayres; Health Officer, Dr.
J. J. Griffin; Sanitary Inspector, Dan O'Connell; Visiting Nurse,
Eithleen Rowe; Director City Band, Thos. H. Hanson; Chief
of Police, Capt. J. F. Young; Chief of Fire Department, Frank
Trombley.
Board members appointed by the City Commission; Carnegie
Library Board, T. R. Easterday, chairman; K. Christofferson,
secretary; John P. Wessel, L. C. Sabin, Stanley Newton.
Librarian, Alice Clapp. Park Commission, L. C. Sabin, chairman; W. S. Chapin, secretary; Geo. S. Wescott, Chas. E. Chipley, V. R. Conway.
County Officials in 1923
The present county officials are: Hon. Louis H. Fead, Circuit Judge; Hon. Chas. H. Chapman, Judge of Probate; Arza
M. Swart, Sheriff; Sam C. Taylor, County Clerk; John A.
France, Court Stenographer; John A. Colwell and F. B. Kaltz,
Circuit Court Commissioners; Anna E. McDonald, County
Treasurer; Edward Thompson, Register of Deeds; M. M. Larmonth, Prosecuting Attorney; F. H. Brown, County Surveyor;
195




George J. Dickison and A. E. Lemon, Coroners; J. W. Sparling,
R. B. Holmes, and Jas. A. Troutt, Superintendents of Poor;
Thos. B. Aldrich, School Commissioner; A. J. Short, R. R.
Reinhart, and T. J. Watchorn, Road  Commissioners; Louis
Levin, County Engineer.
The Supervisors of the various townships in 1923 are:
Bay Mills, C. R. Ladd; Bruce, John A. McKee; Chippewa, Geo.
W. Warner; Dafter, A. E. Curtis; DeTour, John F. Goetz;
Drummond, Earl E. Bailey; Hulbert, Chas. Johnson; Kinross,
Albert Curtis; Pickford, George Watson; Raber, F. X. Schuster;
Rudyard, John Bergsma; Soo, Wm. H. Miller; Sugar Island,
Wm. Walker; Superior, John Gleason; Trout Lake, Wm. Hayward; Whitefish, Thomas H. Savage.
Homecoming Week
In July, 1922, Commissioner John N. Adams offered a
resolution at a meeting of the Commission, sponsoring a Homecoming Week in 1923 for all Saulteurs throughout the world.
The idea was enthusiastically adopted and energetically carried out by the people of Sault Ste. Marie.
Fourth of July Week was selected for the welcome. The
Civic & Commercial association under President Arthur Dawson, functioning through its Publicity Committee with Norman
H. Hill as Chairman, sent 5,000 invitations to former Sooites
and Chippewayans, soliciting their presence Homecoming Week.
Lists of names were obtained from many sources, one country
store alone sending 400 addresses of former residents.
A Spontaneous Response
The response was gratifying indeed. Thousands came, and
were glad they had come. Entertainment in abundance was
provided daily, there was a big community picnic, and a monster parade graced by the queen of the week, Miss Lena Ladd,
and her maids. A day was set apart for the reception of Soo,
Ontario, and Algoma citizens. They came with the greatest of
good-will, in masses that swamped the trains and ferries. Seldom has the city entertained such crowds.
"I Remember When'
The local newspapers gave the affair an endless amount of
publicity, and The Evening News published a booklet, "I Remember When," filled with recollections of former days by
many old timers. It stimulated a healthy home town spirit and
resulted in the collection of much interesting and historically
valuable data.
It is proposed to collect and publish separately in as complete a form as possible the data and chronology of Sault Ste.
Marie's and Chippewa's activities in the World War. Present
196




records are scattered and incomplete. Justice and gratitude to
our soldiers and sailors demand that a permanent record of
their deeds shall be preserved for their posterity and for all
of us.
The City Finds Itself
Visitors pronounced the city more beautiful than they had
ever seen it. Community spirit had been aroused and refreshed
by the occasion, and the town put on a new dress as it were
to receive its guests. The civic benefits were tremendous and
undoubtedly will be lasting. Sault Ste. Marie found itself as
never before, and so complete was the success of Mr. Adam's
idea that a Homecoming Week will be celebrated every five
years in the city by the rapids for all time to come.
The Historical Society
Some years ago Judge Charles H. Chapman instituted a
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society Chapter in Sault Ste.
Marie. A beginning has been made in marking local points of
historic interest, of which there are many. The society collaborated with the public and parochial schools of the city in the
staging of a wonderfully beautiful historical pageant in Brady
Field in June, 1920, under the supervision of Miss Edith Eicher.
The pageant was enacted on precisely the one hundredth anniversary of the coming of Governor Lewis Cass to Sault Ste.
Marie, and within a few rods of the spot where he hauled
down the flag of Great Britain.
The Historic Hill and Ravine
The romantic history of the locality is to many one of its
chief attractions. A halo of historical interest hovers over the
ravine in Brady Field and the little hill near by. Once the ravine debouched upon the shore of the river, a natural landing
place, long before the making of Brady Field. Ere the coming
of the whites, this cleft in the bank endured the tread of many
an Indian potentate and warrior, hither bound for council, for
war or for food.
These Came in Canoes
It is likely that Brule and Grenolle landed there, at the foot
of the rapids. A glorious band followed them. Nicolet stood
at the top of the ravine and looked westward for China.
Jogues and Raymbault ministered to the Indians and raised the
first cross near by. Joliet and Pere, De Lusson, Allouez, Radisson and Groseilliers, Charlevoix, Menard, Marquette, Dablon,
La Hontan, Tonty, Dollier, Galinee and Cadillac; Du L'hut and
Albanel; de Repentigny, Henry and Cadotte; Selkirk, Carver,
Astor, Johnston, and all the rest; what a mighty host were they
of explorers, voyageurs, swashbuckling soldiers, rollicking ad197




Venturers and dauntless priests, lusting for discovery, for great
undertakings, for furs and for souls.
The Steamboat Comes
After them, when the steamboat was crowding the canoe
to the banks, Cass came, a looming figure in Michigan history,
and he made history here. With him came Schoolcraft, and the
latter remained and become one of the greatest of our citizens.
There followed McKenney and Brady; Bingham and Baraga;
Mrs. Jameson and Franchere; Peter White and Agassiz, Kohl
and Easterday, Weitzel and Poe and more; history makers and
history recorders, doing their share to bring a vast region into
recognition and a city into being.
The Overland Route
Finally, on the overland route came Mead and Fowle, establishing the first bank and giving the signal, as the chronicler
says, for business to go ahead; Steere, Sutton and Chapman,
exemplifying and administering the law in a district once noted
for lawlessness; Clergue, the inspired dreamer and doer; Osborn, foremost citizen, magnetic in personality and surpassing
in oratory, climbing from unpropitious beginnings to the Goviernorship of his State.
These and a multitude of others have sojourned here. Some
of them are with us now, adding their meed of service to that of
the men and women living here and who were born here, and
enjoying with them the benefits of life in one of the finest communities in all the earth.
This is the Hiawatha Country, discovered by Schoolcraft
and immortalized by Longfellow. Gitchi Manito still broods
benignly over its lands, its forests and its lakes. Manibosho and
his wife still sleep a long sleep on the rocky shore, awaiting the
day when Pau-puk-kee-wis shall awaken them with his magid
runes.
With his right hand Hiawatha
Smote amain the hollow oak tree,
Rent it into shreds and splinters,
Left it lying there in fragments,
But in vain, for Pau-puk-kee-wis,
Once again in human figure,
Full in sight ran on before him,
Sped away in gust and whirlwind,
On the shores of Gitchee-Gumee,
Westward by the Big-Sea-Water,
Came unto the rocky headlands,
To the Pictured Rocks of Sandstone,
Looking over lake and landscape.
198




THE SOO LOCKS AT EVENING.
I like the locks at evening best,
When suns grow golden in the west
And linger on their outward quest.
The searching suns, who scan the sphere,
Nor match from swinging year to year
The loveliness unfolded here,
They linger, as if loath to sink
Beyond old Gitchi Gumi's brink.
When they grow golden-pink and white,
Halting the squadrons of the night,
They ring the clouds with chrysolite,
And crown these roofless channeled halls
Whose guests are ships, these gates and walls,
A field for fairy festivals.
When suns grow golden in the west,
I love the locks at evening best.


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