"You need no horses," he replied. "The storekeeper will haul it out for you and charge you half what you get."
"But we know nothing about work in the woods," they objected.
"We can use a broadaxe but not a woodsman's axe."
"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 Holland), Lars P. Ottosen, Hans Olson Saabye, and Jens Markussen (from Zealand), John and Christian Larson (from Schleswig-Hoistein), 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 mere 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 ¼, section 36, township
34, range 29, and H. O. Saabye, who on May
28, 1868, entered the west ½,northwest
1/4, 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 flower was $12 per
barrel and then it came down to $10. A gallon
of syrup was $1.50; butter 50cents 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
bronwn 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 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 ill 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 the 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
thenecessary 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
his 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.
"In the winter of 1866 Wm. Nolan came to me with $20 to pay for a trip to Green Bay for the mail. The following Monday morning 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 estremely 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 6:00. 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 irnpossible 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 get up. I now dragged along
for a long time until it got dark, when
Iagain fell down. The mind 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 the floor sound asleep. Three
days later I was back in Washington Harbor
with my sleighload of calicoes."
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 by 1863 by Henry D. Miner, who served nearly two years in Battery G 2, of the Regular Illinois Light Artillery.
In
1865 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 active service for a considerable length
of time but most of these escaped unhurt.
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 Mr. Wickmann, a Danish gentleman, who had for severa1 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 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 several years
before that time, but, after 1870 the influx
began in earnest, though (the) most of the people
went to Canada.
"In 1871, or possibly 1872, Johannes Magnusson with wife and daughter arrived, they stayed here for several years but went to Minnnesota 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.
"In 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. Thorlaksson 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
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 abig 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 prospective 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.
On May 26th, one of the prisoners wrote a letter to the public which is printed in the Door County Advocate. The letter is as follows:
"To the Editor of the Advocate:
"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 Map 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 $300 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 $50damages 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, giving 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 Sundav stillness prevailed, varied by the tinkling of numerous cow bells. Every con 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 consisting
of from 15 to 25 acres each. Very good crops
of grain and fruits are raised.
"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 2 x 2 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 captured."
In
the above account reference is made to "a maker 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 "rattlemachine." When the old fellow
got out his rattle machine there were great
doings at "Gibraltar."
The wooden shoemaker had a failing for strong 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 shoemaker'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 $13 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 map 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, is 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.
1 The Sheboygan Times of May I2, 1870. has the following account of St. Martin's Island: "The Island of St. Martins, situated at the northerly end of Lake Michigan and containing ahout seven thousand acres, with a population of between one and two hundred, has been settled over fifteen years, and during that time they hare 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 a voluntary 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."
2 From a letter from C. H. Saaybe
3 Thorlaksson became a minister in the Norwegian Synod of the Lutheran Church in 1875. In 1878 he founded the Icelandic settlement in Pembina County, N. D.
