Door County, Wisconsin - Chapter 28: Washington Island, 1917

Chapter 28: Washington Island

Far out amid the white-crested waves of Lake Michigan lies Washington Island. Its nearest point is about twenty-five miles from the mainland of Northern Michigan, while the tip end of the Door County peninsula comes up within ten miles on the south. North, east and south lie a number of islands, constituting "the islands of Green Bay" and known as a dangerous zone of navigation ever since the first sailing vessel that plowed the waters of the great lakes - the Griffin of the famous explorer La Salle - was wrecked there in the year 1679.

Washington Island is about six miles square and has a shoreline of twenty-six miles. On the north and west sides the shores are high and precipitous, particularly at the northwestern extremity, where Bowyer's Bluff towers its limestone ledge imposingly to the height of almost 200 feet from the water's edge. These cliffs are seamed with caves and fissures, and carved into fantastic figures by the storms of bygone ages, but now the clinging cedars are weaving a drapery of green for their rugged sides. The south and east sides, on the contrary, are mostly low and sandy with a shallow water front. On the north side is Washington Harbor, a bay which extends into the island about a mile and a half, surrounded by sloping timbered hills. On the south, too, is a big indentation, known as Detroit Harbor, which is made a landlocked anchorage by the long Detroit Island, which lies across its mouth. 'The water here is, however, too shallow except for vessels of light draft.

Around the shores of this beautiful harbor the clearings come down to the water's edge and the shore is dotted with substantial summer hotels, cottages and farm buildings. But the traveler on the big passenger boats sees none of these. He passes the island on the west, north or east and sees only frowning shores crowned with the primeval woods - apparently the guardians of Nature's undisturbed solitude.

Residents of the interior parts of the state, knowing Washington Island only from the little spot it occupies on the map, have even a smaller conception of what it contains. To them Washington Island is only a storm-beaten rock in the sea, far removed from every human activity. They do not dream that this little island is throbbing with the multitudinous interests of one of the most progressive communities in Wisconsin. It has a population of almost a thousand people, mostly engaged in farming by the most up-to-date methods. As a potato growing center it ranks high, exporting about 40,000 bushels annually, besides a quantity of grains and fruits. Its farmhouses are of such superior construction as to compare favorably with those of most townships in the state. It has three churches and four schools and one of the best co-operative telephone systems in America. This is connected by a cable on the sea bottom with the mainland so that practically every farmer on Washington Island can talk with Chicago or Minneapolis from his own home. Although the roads are fair, the islanders are voting substantial appropriations for macadamizing them and the island will therefore shortly have one of the best paved road systems in the state. All in all, Washington Island is a place of great natural beauty, fertility, industry and progress.

Washington Island, as has been told in another chapter, was a favorite place of abode for the Indians. Nowhere else in the state are to be found so many village sites, cemeteries, mounds and cornfields as here. "There is here such a wealth of Indian remains that as one archaeologist says, "there is little left to desire." The entire shoreline around Detroit Harbor shows remains of village sites. So also do the shores of Little Lake and Jackson Harbor. Even at this late date a very well defined Indian cornfield can be seen in the grove of timber adjoining the Washington Harbor School on the north. Judging by the amount of Indian remains Washington Island was the most favored region in the western country.

The first permanent settlement of white people in Door County, as has been told, was on Rock Island. About 1850 many moved away from there, particularly those who had children, as those were growing up "without knowing the difference between a cow and a horse." Such supposed necessities of civilization and a hundred others were not to be found on little Rock Island. They therefore moved over to Washington Island, where there was abundant room for other activities besides fishing.

In the spring of 1834 two young fishermen came to Detroit Island, felled some cedar trees, and built themselves a substantial home. This was about fifteen or twenty rods south of the northwest point of De- troit Island and was the first white man's habitation within the present limits of Door and Kewaunee counties. For a year they lived pleasantly in their new home, busy with their hunting and fishing.

Not far from there was a large Indian village, temporarily deserted by its migratory owners. In the summer of 1835, when the Indians returned and found some white men settled in one of their old cornfields and cemeteries, war broke out at once.

The Indians were armed with smooth-bore rifles and bows and arrows, and when it got dark they opened a fusillade of shot against the cabin. This caused no damage as the logs were thick. 'The one window in the cabin was protected by a heavy plank shutter. After some time one of the men in the cabin got up to peer through the cracks in this plank shield. This was discovered and he was killed by a volley of bullets.

During the night the other man kept up a vigilant fight and as he was a good shot he picked off a number of the redskins. When light came the Indians saw a government vessel sailing close by. "They hastily withdrew to Washington Island with their dead and wounded. The lone survivor, overcome by fatigue and fighting, managed to hail the boat and was taken on board.

This boat was on its way to the Government Bluff near Sturgeon Bay to get stone to improve the Chicago River front near Fort Dearborn. When they finally arrived there the story of the rescue of the beleaguered fisherman was told in the presence, among others, of F. H. and T. T. Miner. The latter, about ten years later, became a resident of Door County and to these men we are indebted for the story.

A few years later two other fishermen came to Washington Harbor to make their homes. We know the names of these men because they were among the first men to enter lands within Door County John J. Robertson. entered lot 5, section 25, town 34, range 29, 22 acres; January 7, 1839; and John Ball entered lots 2, 3 and 4 in the same section May 23, 1840. Both of these entries were on the south and east shore of Washington Island. "They antedate the Rock Island entries, the next in time, by four or five years.

I have been unable to learn any more about these men. Very likely they, too, were driven off by the Indians, or, still more probable, suffered an untimely death at the hands of the redskins - martyrs to the cause of that army of pioneers which was soon to follow.

the county was solemnized by Henry D. Miner, who, in the capacity of an exhorter, undertook to unite Elizabeth Roe and Henry Gardner in matrimonial bonds. The next year or two they were joined by James Cornell, Jonathan Herrick, Josiah Temple, Joseph Smith, John Munger and Richard Mapson - all good Yankees from Illinois, who had spent some time on Rock Island and St. Martin's Island.

There was also Dr. William Ellis, who at this very early date aspired to minister to the physical needs of the little community. He evidently was quite a hustler, as it is told of him that he once skated from Washington Island to Green Bay - ninety miles - in one day. In spite of his hustling he found the locality too healthy for a physician, and after some years he moved west. In fact, according to reliable testimony, obstetrics was the only department of therapeutics for which there was any demand. In this field there was quite a lively business, as might be illustrated by the growth of James Cornell's family. He had ten children - Joseph, Thomas, Elizabeth (Root), Jane (Anderson), Mary Ann (Boice), Margareth (Cady), Euretta (Wellman), James, John and William - who all grew up and had good sized families. With their grandchildren and great-grandchildren they now number more than two hundred.

Of other fishermen who came in during the early '50s can be mentioned Volney S. Garrett, Pat and Dennis McDonald, John Beam, Robert McBride, Wm. J. Nolan, John Kenwood, Richard Whaling, Sam Graham, Joel Westbrook, Chauncey Haskell, David Hains,'and William and Jacob Stall.

To many readers the enumeration of these names may mean little, but they recall long chapters of forgotten events to the old time survivors of these days. Many of these that have been mentioned have passed completely out of sight while the descendants of others have risen to positions of eminence in the county and stdte. It is the historian's duty, however, to impartially make record of all the pathfinders of those early days and not by discriminating selection flatter the vanity of the present-day survivors.

Washington Island with the adjacent islands were organized into a municipality, or town, June 20, 1850. This was a year or two before Door County was organized. The first town meeting was held at the house of H. D. Miner on Rock Island. Capt. Amos Saunders was elected the first chairman, H. D. Miner clerk and John A. Boone justice of the peace. These were the first public officials within what is now Door County.

Wisconsin in 1839. For many years he owned a vessel, of which he also was captain, which sailed between Chicago and Buffalo. In 1848 he settled at Washington Harbor, where he built a pier and supplied the Buffalo boats with cordwood for fuel. He was also the first wholesale fish buyer. For a time he owned all the land around Washington Harbor - about six hundred acres - and did a large and profitable business. In the early '50s he sold all his Washington Island interests to a man by the name of James M. Craw and moved West.

James M. Craw, the new leader of Washington Island, was one of the most remarkable men who have settled in Door County. He was a business man of many interests who with his son Marsden came from Cleveland, Ohio, in 1851. He is reported to have been "upwards of ninety years old" when he came but this great age did not prevent him from undertaking several large enterprises with great energy and enthusiasm. He bought at least a thousand acres of land, mostly shore property, for which he paid several thousand dollars. Most of these entries are dated between May 1 and November 1, 1852. He equipped several fishing crews to fish for him, started lumbering, and built a mill. He built a commodious dwelling house the same year, which is still standing and is now the oldest house in the county. It is known as "the white house," and stands on the west side of Washington Harbor. Near the house he also erected a barn which must have been a big one as it is reported to have cost more than three thousand dollars. From the very meager glimpses we have of this energetic old gentleman it is evident that he was a most interesting personality. But because he was of a different type from those around him it seems that misunderstanding caused him many enemies.

There was an oldish man living a little distance from Craw. His name was Joel Westbrook. His wife, Lucinda, is remembered as "one of the most respected women that ever lived on the island," but there is an equal unanimity of opinion that crafty old Joe was a worthless mischief. He used to stay around the Craw house a great deal, but as he spent his time there in fomenting trouble and playing mischievous and silly jokes, Mr. Craw finally forbade him the house. This enraged Westbrook greatly and he vowed vengeance.

During the summer of 1852 Westbrook cut five or six tons of hay on state lands on the island. He then went outside and bought some oxen, intending to haul logs the coming winter. During his absence the Craws, who had lands in that vicinity, hauled away the hay and put it into their barn. Westbrook on his return demanded payment but a quarrel only resulted. It is told that shortly after dark one evening in March, 1853, he returned to the barn, emptied a bottle of kerosene on the hay and set fire to it. Just at that moment he was startled by the bark of an approaching dog and hurriedly ran off, leaving his mittens which he had laid down while lighting the fire. The barn blazed up a roaring furnace of flames but not before the mittens were discovered. As Westbrook had made threats, a party of men at once started in pursuit. Soon a scarf was picked up which had dropped from his pocket during his flight, and before he reached his cabin Westbrook himself was overhauled. He was brought back to the place of his crime amid great excitement. Cries of "throw him into the fire!" sounded on all sides. Finally the more temperate men present succeeded in quieting the crowd and Westbrook was taken away under strong guard. He was committed to the Brown County Jail, where he lay for eight months until his trial came off. He was defended by two very able lawyers and the jury disagreed. A strong publie feeling was in the meantime worked up in his behalf, urging that he had great provocation and had been punished enough. He was then discharged. The loss of Craw & Son was placed at between three thousand six hundred and four thousand dollars. Shortly after this J. M. Craw returned to Ohio, presumably disgusted with the western sense of justice.

When Mr. Craw returned to Cleveland, Ohio, his principal business interests on Washington Island were bought up by the brothers W. H. and Delbert Ranney. They also came from Cleveland, Ohio. As the steamboats plying between Buffalo and Chicago stopped here once or twice a week there was a lively exchange of commodities. At Ranney's could be obtained anything from a paper of pins to a fully equipped fishing smack involving a deal of a thousand dollars or more. There was little or no use for notes and receipts. When the fishermen needed anything they went to Ranney's and got it, and when they had a little money to spare they commonly deposited with him as a banking house. Both parties had the utmost confidence in each other. Later when the farmers began to carve out their little clearings out of the forest the Ranneys just as readily extended to them the same easy credit. These later accounts were sometimes unprofitable because of the slow pay, but reckoned by the esteem the Ranneys gained for their kindness and generosity toward the struggling farmers they were the best investments the Ranneys have made.

Whit

son, Jacob Young, Levi Vorous, D. H. Rice and C. G. Lathrop. Joe Lobdell had been a member of the famous Mormon colony under King John Strang on Beaver Island. Most of the men mentioned above later became well known men in the county. D. H. Rice for several years represented the Town of Washington on the county board in the early '60s. Lathrop was also chairman of this town about 1870.

Over at West Harbor at "Bullock's Point" where later Freyburg's mill was located, there was in the earliest '50s quite a little settlement of negro fishermen. Of these are remembered two brothers by the name of Bullock, two brothers by the name of Woodruff, and others. Wm. C. Betts, Gullickson and other old-timers had merry recollections when they recalled how "old Woodruff, who was a black as coal," used to boast that he was the "first white man on Menominee River."

'The chief man among these negroes was an old darkey by the name of Bennett. He did not personally fish but hired others to do it for him. He was an expert boat builder when not too much occupied with religious musings. He loved best to deliver monologues on spiritualistic manifestations, the gift of prophecy, the foundations of the New Jerusalem and similar sublimities. Frequently he would be roused to great religious fervor by the wickedness which he thought abounded around him and go out and hold revival meetings. He is worthy of particular mention in this respect as being the first man known to have conducted public religious services in Door County. In this endeavor he was not very successful. He was more popular as a person who possessed the glamour of historical importance. It is reported that he had stood at Commodore Perry's side (as his cabin boy) during the battle at Put-in-Bay, September 10, 1813, and accompanied the commodore when he passed from the Lawrence to the Niagara. The famous picture of the Battle of Lake Erie shows a young darkey in the boat with Commodore Perry. This was Bennett of Washington Island. He died there in 1854.

When Bennett, the colored prophet, died his work was taken up by a white evangelist, a Baptist minister by the name of Wm. B. Hamblin. He seems to have been a most effective revivalist, obtaining numerous conversions, especially among the more hardened sinners. These revivals were wound up by a wholesale immersion down at Washington Harbor. Among the spectators of the solemn ceremony was also a young scapegrace by the name of Mortimer Wellman. Seeing so many of his old cronies from the card table and whiskey jug among the proselytes, he thought to have a little fun with them.

In the midst of the ceremony he was seen to suddenly topple backward with outstretched arms and with a scream of distress fall into the water. Instantly the baptismal ceremony was in confusion and uproar, Forgetting their white robes of baptism, the shepherd and his entire flock rushed to the rescue. Some began frantically to push out an old yawl boat that lay on the beach, while others seized whatever was loose and threw it to the gasping man in the water. Finally two or three of the more daring proselytes at the risk of their own lives jumped in to save him. At this moment, however, he let out a ringing ha-ha, turned a sommersault in the water and swam off like an eel. It took some time before the newly converted were able to restrain the profanity which long habits prompted them to utter.

This Mortimer Wellman was one of a quartette of boys, all of about seventeen years of age, who had run away from their homes in Illinois and come to Washington Island in 1852. The other three were Volney Garrett, Geo. Roberts and Sam Runyon. Garrett became a well known resident of Door County but Roberts and Runyon did not live long. One day in March, 1855, they had come from St. Martin's Island to Craw's store to get the mail and a keg of Craw's wig-wam whiskey from Ohio. A heavy snow storm was blowing and they never returned to St. Martin's Island. A few days later they were found frozen stiff on the ice with the keg of whiskey between them.

At that time there were twelve or fourteen families on St. Martin's Island, who obtained their mail and many necessities by way of Washington Island. They were separated from the Washington Island colony by a twelve-mile strait over which it was exceedingly dangerous to pass in wintertime. The same winter that Roberts and Runyon perished a number of young fellows from St. Martin's had narrow escapes from drowning in passing over the ice. The older people therefore hired Henry D. Miner to bring them the mail, for which he was to receive 25 cents per letter or paper. One hardy old grandmother on St. Martin's expressed great disgust at their apparent cowardice, whereupon they defended themselves by claiming that Miner could walk on the water. At this she soundly berated them and drove them from the house.

The following spring the ice thawed suddenly and left several inches of water on the ice. One day the men looked out and saw Miner come splashing through the water. A hurry call was sent for the old granny who was sitting outside in the warm spring sun sunning herself. They pointed out to her Miner walking on the water. She looked and rubbed her eyes. Finally she declared with the greatest conviction that if anyone had told her that such a miracle could happen she would never have believed it but she could not disbelieve her own eyes. There was Miner, sure enough, walking at ease on the water!

The conspirators met Mr. Miner and adjured him not to make explanations. If he did they would.surely tar and feather him and ride him on a rail! '

There was in Washington Island a hearty appreciation of a joke, no matter how crude. They were not squeamish about a laugh, or the cause of it, no matter if it savored a little of vulgarity. Yet in spite of this rollicking sense of humor, which is the best proof of the superabundant physical health of the community, there was an undercurrent of sadness in the life of the island. That big rolling sea that surrounded them and fed them was also a grim taker of tolls. Scarcely a family on the island but mourned one or more of its members that had perished in its tricky depths. Sudden storms are common around the island, and often the greatest care was in vain, and a widow with her little ones were left to stare disconsolately out yonder where papa had gone and never returned.

More often, however, these frequent tragedies were caused by the general love for strong drink. There was a boat builder by the name of Bill Stahl. His boats were clippers to sail but they soon got a very bad reputation for killing fishermen. A Stahl boat and a bottle of whiskey was a combination which was soon looked upon as a sure end. Among the many who came to their end by means of a Stahl boat and a bottle of whiskey are remembered Peter Bridegroom, Robert Kennedy, James Love, Frank Wolf, Ed Weaver and a fellow by the name of Casper. Many others had narrow escapes.

The Coming Of The Farmers

During the first thirty years after Robertson and Ball had erected their fishing shacks at Washington Harbor no farming to speak of was attempted. Some of the fishermen had a patch of potatoes back

"The Island of St. Martins, situated at the northerly end of Lake Michigan and containing about seven thousand acres, with a population of between one and two hundred, has been settled over fifteen years, and during that time they have not had any town organization - do not know to what county they belong - have no officers whatever - and have never paid a tax of any kind. It possesses the full average of wealth, sustains voluntarily a church and school, but has never felt the need of any legal organization; and as they have no offices to give, office seekers are unknown, and our only hesitation in giving them this notice is, that it may lead to a large emigration to this Utopia.'" in the woods where they by using abundant fish offal for fertilizing produced amazing crops. William Nolen, for instance, one year in the latter '50s, produced almost a thousand bushels of potatoes on his field in section 30, long afterwards known as Nolen's field. There was also a man by the name of Smith, "with a harelip," who grew cabbages for the fishermen. This was on the farm now said to be owned by Carl Koyen.

But this was all until the Danes came. Back in the woods the axe of an occasional wood chopper or lumberman was heard, but these were transient visitors of no account. The fishermen lined the shore and reigned supreme.

These hardy pioneers of the deep for many years constituted a sort of a fisherman aristocracy who looked with pity upon the poor devils who later came in as wood choppers and farmers. They esteemed the land as of little or no value except to supply the few "taters" they needed to mix with their finny diet. Their thoughts and plans were of the sea, and its vagaries were a constant subject of conversation with them.

The reader may think that life on the island in those days was of necessity a lonesome and beggarly existence. This, however, is far from true. On the contrary, it was if anything too extravagant and hilarious. The waters of Washington Island have always been the best fishing grounds in the Great Lakes and amazing catches of fish were frequent. While few records have been kept, some authentic cases may be cited as illustrations. In the spring of 1860 Joseph Cornell caught a seventy-pound trout off Rock Island. In 1862 William Cornell, a fourteen-year-old boy, caught seven trout, the smallest weighing forty, the largest forty-eight, pounds. In the spring of 1882 two trout were caught on Fisherman's Shoal weighing fiftyeight and sixty-five pounds. They were not infrequently just as numerous as they were large. In 1869 Godfrey Nelson caught two hundred and twenty trout in two days. In the winter of .1875 Charley Sloop caught one hundred and twenty in one day and one hundred and forty in the next. Sometimes it required perseverance but the results were usually satisfactory, as was the case with Silas Wright. who fished for eleven days without a bite and then caught three boat loads on the twelfth. These are all authentic catches.

With such generous returns for the labor expended there was the usual extravagance that goes with easy money. To make up for the restrictions in life and diet imposed upon them by their surroundings the fishermen were lavish in their expenditures whenever an oppor- tunity presented itself. A dollar was a very small coin in those days. Canned goods, fancy toys, laces and costly furnishings were imported in reckless quantities. Ranney, their easy-going merchant and fishbuyer, was also their banker and handed out liberal quantities of cash without any formality of notes and securities.

Nor was there any lack of merrymaking. As most of the fishermen kept a number of girls to help them in overhauling and "taking up" the nets - hanging them on reels to dry - a "shin dig" or dance was arranged at a moment's notice. On special holidays, like the Fourth of July, there was particularly much boisterous celebration. A schooner or tug would be hired to take a large crowd to Escanaba for grand doings. Another crowd would secure a rival boat, whereupon there would be a great race with immense shouting and laughter. On such occasions drunkenness was, of course, common, and fights would start and end in two seconds.

The year 1868 marks the change from a fishing to a farming community on the island. 'This was brought about by the Danes. In the fall of 1867 a young Dane by the name of Mellemberg, who had been spending a busy season as assistant to a fisherman at Washington Harbor, decided to go to Chicago for the winter to "have a good time." In the Windy City he stopped at the boarding house of one H. P. Anderson. This was the center for a small colony of countrymen of his who had just arrived in the land of promise and were eking out a precarious existence by doing odd jobs. They were lamenting the difficulties of getting a start in a strange land whose language they did not understand. But Mellemberg assured them fluently:

"Well, all you have to do is to get an axe and come with me to Washington Island and cut wood whenever you please; you will get $2.50 per cord for it."

"Broadaxe or woodchoppers', they are all axes with a handle, aren't they?" he argued. 'They couldn't quite agree to this but finally agreed to seize this easy snap as he described it.

Next spring when navigation opened a'large company of Danes set out for Washington Island as follows: Hans P. Anderson (from Lolland) : Lars P. Ottosen, Hans Olson Saabye, and Jens Markussen (from Zealand) ; John and Christian Larson (from Schleswig-Holstein), and Peder Nelson (from Fyen). There was also quite a number of other Danes who came with them and tried the woodchopping one winter and then went to Lincoln County, Kan., where they started a Danish settlement.

None of these Danes had any money except enough for transportation. In fact, some of them ran short even then. Hans O. Saabye, for instance, had the misfortune to lose his trunks in Green Bay because they were short $6 in paying their board bill while staying there.

The first of these men to enter land were H. P. Anderson, who on May 19, 1868, entered the southeast 14, section 36, township 34, range 29, and H. O. Saabye, who on May 28, 1868, entered the west 15, northwest 14, section 6, township 33, range 30.

Anderson and his friends did not find wood chopping the easy road to wealth that Mellemberg had foretold. On the contrary they found it a pretty rough road to poverty. But once in the woods they determined to stick it out. They therefore secured homestead rights to various quarter sections in the central part of the island and proceeded patiently to turn them into farming land.

"But it was a hard task, and no end to work. Logs three feet through were chopped off with an axe and rolled together to be burned up. Just think of burning up hundreds of thousands of feet of white pine, basswood, clear oak, butternut, cedar, hemlock, hardwoods of all kinds, because it was the only way to get the land cleared quickly enough, as they all wanted to farm.

"The first winter we were here flour was $12 per barrel and then it came down to $10. A gallon of syrup was $1.50; butter 50 cents a pound; everything else in proportion. So when they started to cut wood and could only make 50 cents per day, they were not getting rich very fast. Our first storekeeper happened to be a very good man and this helped the first settlers a good deal. His name was Ranney." *

According to the U. S. Census of 1870 there were on Washington Island, June 1, 1870, only 189 acres of cleared land. On this was produced the previous season 30 bushels of wheat, 1,151 bushels of potatoes, 53 tons of hay and 1,628 pounds of butter. There were only 10 horses, 16 cows, 4 oxen and 14 swine on the island.

Little by little, however, their labor was rewarded and they attained circumstances of ease and prosperity there probably just as early as their countrymen who left for the virgin prairies of Kansas, where they suffered much hardship at the hands of the Indians.

In fact, farming on Washington Island did not prove as impossible an undertaking as was first supposed. Their little clearings yielded abundant crops which were easily shipped out on the many vessels that visited the island. The only real drawback about life on the island, and this still remains, is the difficulty of communication with the outside world in winter time. In the pioneer days mail was brought from Green Bay once a week in summer time. In winter time it was brought twice a month when the going was possible but sometimes a couple of months would pass by before ice conditions would make travel possible. L. P. Ottosen recalls how they once went for seven weeks without any word from the outside world. Finally a man was found to make the trip - not so much because of the mail, but because the whole island had run out of chewing tobacco. All possible substitutes such as poplar bark, juniper twigs, cabbage leaves and what not had been tried without relief and further abstinence was intolerable. For days they waited in eager suspense for the return of their messenger. At last a large party of young fellows walked out on the ice to meet him, or rather the quid, half way. When he appeared in the distance they broke into a run and soon were eagerly pulling at the strappings of his sled. The plug was found and immediately passed around, each one snapping off a generous allowance with intense relish. There was a moment of silent chewing, whereupon they all turned homeward, staining the ice an arduous brown and feeling that all was well with the world.

Henry D. Miner was the man who for years risked his life to bring the mail and necessary supplies to the island from Green Bay. He was an eccentric man of deep religious convictions, with a most burdensome outfit of rules, precepts, habits and other ironclad regulations of life and daily conduct. Among his oddities it is told that ~~ 2 From a letter from C. H. Saabye.

whatever he took in or harvested, such as honey, fish, vegetables, etc., was always divided into three portions - one for himself, one for his wife and one for his son, Jesse. If any of them received company it was obligatory upon the one who was honored with the visit to feed the company and the family out of his or her particular portion. His wife sometimes rebelled at the strait and narrow way that was laid out for her. Upon such occasions Mr. Miner with the best intentions in the world would tie his helpmeet to a chair and then proceed to administer a dose of physic and a lecture on proper conduct, meaning by this double application to purge both the flesh and the spirit of his consort from the evil that beset her.

Aside from these individual peculiarities Mr. Miner was a man of sterling qualities who had braved the dangers of the ice in the service of his fellowmen more than any other man in the county. Two or three others in the early days attempted to carry the mail and lost their lives in their first or second attempt, but H. D. Miner for thirteen years successfully carried thé mail between Green Bay and Washington Island. "This is a distance of 100 long miles and was usually covered in three days as follows: "The first day from Washington Harbor to Ephraim; the second day from Ephraim to Robert Stephenson's at Little Sturgeon Bay; the third day from Stephenson's to Green Bay. The fourth day was spent in making the necessary purchases and then followed the home run with a

; loaded pack sled. Time after time and year after year this dauntless mail carrier used to push through his perilous journey of 200 miles on the ice. The cracks in the ice were many and tricky but he knew how to avoid them. "The snow drifts were deep and laborious but he conquered them. 'The winds were bitter and the cold intense but he survived them. Many a time, however, his plight was so desperate amid the lonesomeness of the ice and the bitter cold that his far distant island home seemed to fade utterly away, impossible of attainment. Mr. Miner was not inclined, however, to boast of hi« experiences on the ice and we have but meager glimpses of his hardships. He was once asked to give an account of his hardest trip and this account is given below. It is but a bald and terse report, however, of his experience, and it is only between lines that we catch a glimpse of the dreary loneliness of the ice, the paralyzing fatigue. the bitter cold and the intrepid spirit that conquered in this heroic adventure. 1 ing I started at 4 o'clock with the temperature at 23 below zero (it was a very cold winter). I took a lunch of plenty of fat pork and molasses as I had found fats and sweets indispensable in a long journey on the ice. I reached Ole Larson's house near Ephraim at 4 in the afternoon. The next day I reached Bob Stephenson's at . Little Sturgeon and on the third day I made Green Bay. The next day, Thursday, it blew a gale and snowed heavily. During the day I picked up at various stores quite a large sleighload of calicoes, muslins, fishhooks, tobacco and other things. I also got the accumulated mail for three months for the island, including some very old papers. I also bought a few new ones so as to try to catch up a little with the times. Friday morning it was cold and clear with the wind from the north cutting like a razor. It was 30 degrees below zero and my friends in Green Bay urged me to stop as they did not think it was possible to endure the extremely cold weather. But as I was anxious to reach Ephraim by Saturday night - the only place in the county where they had religious service - I started out at 6 A.M. By 10 o'clock I wanted a lunch but the cold was so great I did not dare to sit down to eat it but nibbled a little as I walked on. I had planned to reach Sherwood's at Sawyer Harbor but by noon I saw that I would be fortunate if I could reach Stephenson's. At 4 o'clock I took another lunch which braced me up. I had been ten hours on the ice, pulling a heavily loaded sled against the wind and my knees were aching and trembling. I saw that it would be impossible for me to reach Stephenson's that day but I had heard of a Belgian family which had moved in the fall before. I therefore turned in toward the shore to hunt them up. The snow was deep here and soon I stumbled and fell. I was so completely exhausted and sleepy that I was not able to get up. However, I crawled up and lay across the sled and began to kick and claw in the snow until I was able to getup. I now dragged along for a long time until it got dark, when T again fell down. The wind still blew but it seemed now like something soft and gentle cooing me to sleep and I wanted to shut my eyes and rest forever. Far away, however, I saw a light flash up and I staggered to my feet and made for the light. When I reached the place I found the inmates engaged in a fierce quarrel and they would not let me in. Two young men, however, took my sled and accompanied me through the woods to another Belgian family. It was a very small hut, just erected, but they received me very kindly and in a few minutes, after a grand supper of bear meat, I lay on

In the latter '60s, shortly after the coming of the Danes the first Government mail service was installed. This took effect the second 'Tuesday of November and the mail was carried from Ephraim or Ellison Bay to Washington Island on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month in winter and once a week in summer. Mr. H. D. Miner was the first postmaster and received a salary of $10 for the first year in which he held office. The service was gradually improved until finally in 1900 a daily mail service was established and the long isolation of the island ceased.

Washington Island enjoys the distinction of having sent more soldiers to the war than any other town in the county. An idea of the large proportion of old soldiers that once lived on the island may be gained from the list of owners of a certain piece of land on the island known as Indian Point. This was originally pre-empted in 1853 by Henry D. Miner, who served nearly two years in Battery G 2, of the Regular Illinois Light Artillery. In 1855 the Point was bought by John Beam who served in a Wisconsin regiment. He was killed in one of the big battles with more than fifteen hundred dollars on his person. He served as banker for his comrades and used to charge 2 and 3 per cent per month. In 1858 Marsden Craw bought the Point. He joined the army in 1862 with his three sons. Mr. Craw and his oldest son were both badly wounded in the battle of Chicamauga. In 1865 the Point was bought by J. N. Harrison who was a veteran from the Mexican war. In the early '70s his widow sold the Point to Wm. Betts, the present owner, who served as sergeant in a Wisconsin regiment for four years during the war. This piece of land has therefore never been owned by any except old soldiers since it was purchased from the Government more than sixty years ago.

Among other old soldiers on Washington Island may be mentioned Henry Gould, Henry Gardner, David Haines, Hugh L. McFadden, Archie Lochray, Alexis Ward and Wm. D. Lee who all died on the southern battle fields. James and Richard Roe, John Wagner, Rufus M. Wright were among those who were more or less wounded. Joseph Cornell, Ed Richmond, Wm. W. Bradshaw, Wm. Shurtleff, Ira Westbrook, Abraham Grover, Hiram Kinney, V. E. Rohn, James Fuller, David Kaquetosh, Wm. Smith, Benare Leque, William and Jacob Stall, Warren Scriver, Lance Alden, Jesse Betts, John Mansean, Joseph Monossa and James Fletcher were also in

After the arrival of L. P. Ottosen and his party in 1868 there was quite a steady influx of Scandinavians who nearly all began to clear land and till the soil. Among the earliest were August Berg, Louis Johnson, Christian Olson, Andrew Bommen, Ole P. Olson and Capt. Knut O. Schelswick - all Norwegians - and Nils Fries, Mads Hanson, Carl Thompson, Iver P. Hanson and Wm. Frederick Wickmann - all Danes. These all came in 1869 and 1870. The Danes now number about one-half of the entire population of the island. The last mentioned, Mr. W. F. Wickmann, deserves particular mention because he was instrumental in bringing thousands of pioneers of a new people - the Icelanders - to America. Washington Island is the place where they first settled in America and there are still about two hundred Icelanders on the island - about one-fifth of the total population. The following account of their coming is prepared for this history by Arni Gudmundsson, one of the first Icelandic settlers on the island:

"The Icelandic immigration to North America began in 1870, when four young men went from Eyrarbakki, Iceland. They were bound for Milwaukee, where they met Wm. Wickmann, a Danish gentleman, who had for several years been employed at a mercantile establishment, from where these young men came, and who, by corresponding with his former employer had given his view of the New World or rather that part of it where he had made his home since 1865, and rather induced people to come West and seek their fortunes under the Stars and Stripes.

"Mr. Wickmann, expecting the young men to come in 1870, had previously been looking over Door County in order to find a suitable place for an Icelandic colony and going to Washington Island, it seems that he was taken with the place, and concluded to take the expected immigrants there and thus start a settlement. The four young men, whose names were John (Jon) Gislason, Gudmunden Gudmundsson, Arni Gudmundsson and John (Jon) Einarsson, after some stay in Milwaukee went to the island with Mr. Wickmann, and two of them, G. Gudmundsson and Arni Gudmundsson, are still living here, while John Einarsson died many years ago in Milwaukee, and John Gislason was called in September, 1912. I said that the immigration to this country had begun in 1870, although a few Icelanders went to Utah, several years before that time, but

"In 1871, or possibly 1872, Johannes Magnusson with wife and daughter arrived, they stayed here for several years but went to Minnesota some thirty years ago, and took up a homestead claim of 160 acres. The old pair are both dead but their daughter, Ellen, is living in Minnesota. The same year Einar Bjarnason and his son, August, arrived. Mr. Bjarnason stayed here a couple of years at that time, but joined his family in Milwaukee and lived there for several years but again came to the island and bought a small farm. He was the father of a family of fifteen children, most of them coming to the island for shorter or longer stays. Bjarnason died here some thirty years ago, but his widow is still living here, and three of their children.

"[n June, 1872, a party of fifteen persons left Eyrarbakki for Milwaukee and most of this flock came to the island in the fall, three of them being here yet, to wit: Mrs. G. Gudmundsson, Arni Gudmundsson and Olafen Hannesson. Several young men of this party were pretty well educated, having frequented the Latin school of Reykjavik and one being a graduate of that institution; his name was Paul (Pall) Thorlaksson. Others that may be mentioned were Hans Thorgroinsen, A. Sveinbjornsson, Stephen Stephensen, etc. Mr. Thorlaksson was the only one that never came here to stay, but visited the island once. He went to St. Louis to read (study) theology. When crossing from Liverpool to Quebec, our interpreter, a Norwegian seaman, asked us to give him a recommendation as to his ability as a guide and companion for emigrants. Mr. Thorláksson complied with his request, by giving him his attest in English, Danish, German, French, Latin and Greek, just for the fun of it and to the great pleasure of the interpreter. But this does not really belong to the history of Washington Island, just a little detour.*

"The winter of 1872 to 1873 was a very severe one, much like the present winter. Several of the young fellows who came this year had scarcely done a day's hard work at home, so it taxed their energy.

` to make their living through the winter months, by chopping cedar poles and cordwood, their ears and noses nipped by frost going to their work over a small clearing. Work they had to or starve, and they chose the first; a group of them stayed at farmhouse, having to sleep in a shed adjoining the frame building where you could count the stars between the logs, but the boys had good feather beds

3 Thorlaksson beeame a minister in the Norwegian Synod of the Lutheran Chureh in 1875. In 1878 he founded the Icelandic settlement in Pembina County, N. D.

with them and warm clothes of Icelandic wool, so they did not suffer by the cold, but were joyful, hopeful and almost happy to have to rough it. Navigation started late in the spring, and it was well into the month of May before the old steamer Truesdell could get through the ice up to Washington Harbor dock. As soon as the boat got to the landing several of the young fellows jumped aboard, and a good part of them have kept away from the island ever since. A couple with two young daughters were in this group of fifteen. Thorkell Arnason was the man's name; he bought a small farm here but sold it again and left with his family.

"After 1872 a few came now and then, some left but others made their home here. Dr. Th. Gudmundsen arrived in 1884, but died January 29, 1899. At present there are about sixteen families of the original stock, that is, people born in Iceland. The population of those of Icelandic origin is likely somewhere near two hundred or about one-fifth of the entire population of old Pottawattomie."

When the Ranneys sold their interests on Washington Island their lands, pier and business passed into the hands of a man by the name of John Furlong. While the Ranneys enjoy the pleasant reputation of having been most generous and fairminded business men, Mr. Furlong has the reputation of using his opportunities on the island to build up an oppressive monopoly and for a half century blocked all development of Washington Harbor.

He owned the only pier on the harbor and permitted no fisherman or trader to tie up to it unless he would sell his fish to Furlong at whatever price the latter would pay. All incoming and outgoing freight was also charged an exorbitant dockage to the great injury of the farmers. As he owned all the land bordering on the harbor he had here what seemed an ironclad monopoly. These and other alleged abuses of his opportunities were much resented and discussed by the people on the island.

Finally a plan was found which promised relief. A petition was signed and filed asking the town board of supervisors to lay out a road to the water's edge near the head of the harbor. The petition was adopted by the board and the road was laid out. At the point where the new highway reached the shore the farmers proceeded to build a pier. 'The stone which was removed in grading the new road was used to fill the pier.

At this point Furlong intervened. He raised a big cry that the new pier would ruin the business of his own and demanded $1,000 damages. He also demanded another $1,000 damages for his pros- pective labor in removing the stone from the new pier which stone he charged had wrongfully been taken from his land. Suit was entered to recover these damages and to restrain the farmers from finishing the pier.

The action was entitled John Furlong vs. John Larson, Mads Hanson, H. P. Anderson, C. B. Lind, I. P. Hanson, Wm. Anderson, E. W. Steward, Christian Larson and Claus Zink. The sheriff was sent to arrest these men and the order is dated May 16, 1876, and seven of the defendants were arrested May 24, 1876, the sheriff being unable to find Lind and Zink. These seven were brought to Sturgeon Bay and put into the county jail. The jail at that time was a wretched little structure, scarcely big enough to room three persons. To crowd seven men into this little hole was therefore to subject them to great hardship and danger to health.

"I did not leave all hope behind me when I was thrust into this dingy bastile; the consciousness of committing no wrong, and the belief that truth is mighty and will prevail sustained me and my fellow prisoners in this our time of trouble. I will briefly relate to you how it came about that we were brought here, and your readers can judge for themselves if they think we should be punished this way.

"On the 31st of March the Town of Washington laid out a road to low water mark on the shore and had the same recorded according to law in the clerk's office. The supervisors of the town then let the contract to William Anderson to work and make a good road of it. There was a quantity of stone to be removed to grade the road and there being no place handy to put it, the farmers decided to build a pier and use the stone for filling up the cribs, and thus save trouble in disposing of them otherwise. 'The dock was commenced 16 feet from low water mark and was to be 40 feet wide and 190 feet long.

"On the 24th of May seven of us were arrested on an order of Judge Ellis, on a complaint made by John Furlong for trespass, and brought to this place to give bail for $500 each, failing which, we were sent to jail. This comes very hard on us, two men being obliged to leave sick wives, one with a babe just born, and the other about to be confined. Owing to the backward season, none of us got in our crops, and if we cannot get released so as to return to our work it will be very hard for us to provide for our families.

"The sheriff, Mr. Wm. Wagener, does all he can for our comfort, and grants us what privileges he can, consistent with his duty. "E. W. STEWARD. "Door County Jail, May 26, 1876."

This letter created a tremendous storm of indignation against Mr. Furlong and the prisoners were released June 10, 1876. 'The action was tried at the July term, 1877, and Furlong got a judgment for $50 damages and costs taxed at $241.92.

While Mr. Furlong, due to the mysterious technicalities of the law, obtained a nominal victory, the feeling against him on Washington Island ran so high that he moved away from the island. He continued to hold his lands, however, and the shore property of the harbor remains as undeveloped as it was when Robertson and Ball settled there seventy years ago. Washington Harbor is one of the most beautiful spots in the county which if developed would bring in a large amount of money in taxes. But like the dragon in the fairy tale brooding over his treasure and permitting no one to use it, so the Furlongs sit tight, effectually blocking all improvements in this fair spot.

In the Door County Advocate for July 31, 1873, is an interesting account of Washington Island, written by an outside visitor, givir:g a glimpse of its people, its appearance and its industries almost a half century ago. The following is an extract:

"My walk of four miles over a grass-grown road through the interior was worth the exertion. A Sunday stillness prevailed, varied by the tinkling of numerous cow bells. Every cow wears a bell. At a bend of the road I came upon a white church perhaps twenty feet wide. It had a simple spire with a gilt ball and was almost hidden in foliage. Near by was the cabin of a maker of wooden shoes and its owner carrying a jug, and some children gathering wild strawberries. Occasionally there came the crack of the axe from the tall woods. I encountered a section of a pine tree five feet in diameter fallen across the track.

"In the forest long, grave-like mounds show where fallen trunks had slept and decayed undisturbed for centuries. Trees splintered and hurled in all directions by the lightnings and winds of recent - years constituted a formidable chevaux de frise to the advance of civilization. The clearings are made mostly by Danes. Their buildings consist of a log house to live in and another for tools, provisions and perhaps animals. There are said to be 14 farms on the island

"We arrived at the island towards 4 o'clock, kept around to the north of it, and bore down into Washington Harbor, the metropolis, which lies at the end of a small bay and looks north.

"At the dock is the store and warehouse of Mr. D. W. Ranney, the only merchant and principal proprietor of the place. About it on the steep hillside are clustered fifteen or twenty weather-beaten gray cottages and dry-houses with stone chimneys. Mr. Ranney's residence, a large white house with a piazza, looks out prominently among them. Piles of cordwood, the cutting of which is a profitable winter occupation for the inhabitants, are a prominent feature in the foreground. On the dock are arranged rows of fish barrels just delivered from the steamer. Half a.dozen fishing boats are tied about a smaller dock on which are built picturesque fish houses of logs and bark. Across the harbor there are more boats and scattered gray houses. Ledges of limestone rock around both shores are laid in regular courses and resemble fortifications. At intervals square blocks have fallen out and leave the appearance of port holes. Mr. Ranney estimates the product of the island as follows: There -: were got out during the last year 2,700 cords of wood, 3,500 telegraph poles, 25,000 cedar posts and about 13,000 packages of fish, from 5,000 to 7,000 bbls. of salt and 8,000 half barrels are sold per annum.

"The population including that of St. Martin's, Detroit and Rock Island, all within a short distance, is estimated at from 250 to 300. 'The greater number are engaged in fishing on the coasts as far as 16 miles out. A good outfit consists of a boat and from 50 to 60 nets, the whole worth perhaps from $600 to $800. "The nets are of two kinds known as "gill" and "pound" nets. The first are made in lengths of about 180 yds., from 4 to 5 ft. deep and with a mesh 21/5 inches square. The fish run against these, which are kept upright in the water, by means of floats and weights, entangle their gills in the large meshes and are captur

In the above account reference i is made to "a idi of wooden shoes carrying a jug." He was a humorous character who is remembered by all because of the smiles he provoked. His name was Christian Jenson, but he was better known as the wooden shoemaker. He received this title because he made wooden shoes which were much used by the Danes. He was a simple minded fellow who became crippled by an explosion of a lamp. Mr. Ranney gave him a house on the hill near the Bethel Church and saw to it that he was supplied with the necessities of life. This house on the hill was named "Gibraltar" by the wooden shoemaker and here he was very happy. He built a sort of a tower and here the young people of the island had great sport playing pranks and Fourth of July stunts almost any day. 'The wooden shoemaker was as much of a boy as any, entering into the sport with the greatest enthusiasm. He used to boss the boys around like a buccaneer while they would ring bells, blow horns and carry on a most boisterous hubbub. Personally he operated a fearful contraption which he called a "rattle-machine." When the old fellow got out his rattle machine there were great doings at "Gibraltar."

The wooden shoemaker had a failing for ios drink which Mr. Ranney did not permit him to indulge in. The shoemaker was therefore in severe straits to obtain his liquor. Mr. Jacob Smith, one of the most respected church members of Ephraim, occasionally visited the island with a trading hooker. The wooden shoemaker persuaded Mr. Smith, who knew nothing of his failing, to procure for him five gallons of alcohol in Green Bay. He needed the alcohol, he explained, to polish his wooden shoes. Mr. Smith bought the alcohol and put it into an empty beer keg. The keg had a quantity of rosin in it which was dissolved by the alcohol. When the wooden shoemaker received his alcohol he passed the word around for a grand time at "Gibraltar." A large crowd gathered to celebrate with the old fellow but the mixture of rosin and alcohol was too much even for the seasoned drinkers of the shoernaker's party. The next day they were all wretchedly sick to Mr. Smith's chagrin, Ranney's disgust and the wooden shoemaker's complete mystification.

The shoemaker was always hopeful:and good natured except when the subject was matrimony. He courted every unmarried woman on the island but in vain. Once he disposed of a number of wooden shoes and felt very prosperous and hopeful. He sallied out and offered himself to every woman he met. "Don't be afraid," he said. "I can support a wife. I have $15 coming to me!"

Washington Island is a land of many charms and progressive people but suffers under a serious handicap - the passage across the Door. For months in the fall and spring no man is sure of his footing in crossing the Door. Where the ice may be perfectly safe in the morning the waves may wash in the evening. The shifting winds that rush through the Door play all sorts of havoc with the ice. The following is an account of the various modes of crossing the Door on a single day in March, 1914, copied from a Door County paper:

"St. Patrick's Day will long be remembered as a remarkable day on account of the various modes of crossing and the abundant travel across the Door. The mail went and returned in a motor boat; Peter Anderson drove across the Door after passengers with a sleigh; Bo L. Anderson returned from the county seat with a horse and cutter; Charles Jensen arrived home from Chicago with a horse and buggy; and Harry Dana came across with an auto. Each one of these parties report that the going was good for this particular rig."

Washington Island, because of its great beauty and bracing climate, js admirably adapted to cater to the tourist business. It has also received a not inconsiderable patronage of this kind. The uncertainties of crossing the Door are; however, a serious handicap to success in this business. To overcome this the progressive islanders have lately planned to provide a ferry boat to serve the purpose of a bridge over which the tourist and other travelers could ride in ease in their motors. In 1916 the county board was asked to make an appropriation of $500 to aid this enterprise in providing dockage, etc., to be paid as soon as the ferry was in operation. This appropriation was unanimously passed by the county board which saw the great significance of this improvement, providing as it planned the missing link in the Door County highway system. For some reason, however, the county clerk chose to take a hostile attitude toward the movement and sought legal opinion to ascertain if such a contingency was provided for in the statutes. As the question of ferry boats to Washington Island had never before come up, the laws of Wisconsin were silent on the subject and the appropriation was declared illegal. A bill was then introduced in the Legislature and there passed, but was vetoed by the governor. The ferry project thereupon died.

It was very unfortunate that the county clerk killed this project by inviting legal obstacles. The county board which passed the appropriation was perfectly willing and able to see the matter through. y