The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-05-29

For nerve, endurance and persistence i
would be hard TO beat the winter mai
carriers between the Ohio mainland and
the four inhabited islands of the curious
little archipelago which decorates the
southwestern part of the may of Lake
Erie.
There are four Of these islands. Kel
ley's. the largest lie almost due north ol
Sandusky. The three Basscs lie a little
further west. They range north ant
south. and are known colloquially a:
North Bass. Middle Bass and South Bass
To the pos.office department the firs
named is Isle st. George and the last
named Put-in-Bay, famous as a summer
resort Grover Cleveland and Admiral
Bob Evans go fishing on Middle Bass ev-
cry spring
In warm weather the mail reaches the
Islands on Sanduslly through the com
monplaee medium of regular daily steam
ers. From December / to March 81. in
] elusive. exactly four months. the winter
service is in operation. Nearly every win
ter there is bricf period during which
the ice freezes solidly between mainland
and islands and then the carriers drive
over their route comfortably with a horse
and light hobs" the same as hundred of
! other "star route" carriers.
Most of the time. though, the state of
1.-THE lake is such that the mail must be
carried in nonGescript s~t of craft
which can be used as sledge. a row.
boat or a sailboat. as occasion demands.
which the carriers use their queer craft
IN ali four ways. There are many trips
also which are full OF real danger, and
scores of times the carriers have had to
display genuine heroism. The contracts
have always been taken by two men, in
partnership. and il is very seldom that one
dares make a trip alone. When the lake
Is bad third man is often hired
The mail route to Nelley's Island. eight
miles of ice or water without break. has
Marblehead. a point at the mouth of
Sandusky Bay, for its shore end. The
Bass Island route part land and part
lake. about ten miles in length. leaves the
shore al Catawaba Island. where the
mail isssent from Port Clinton. the capital
of Ottawa county The best way TO get
true notion of the work involved in
carrying the mail over this route is to
take passage for North Bass with the car
riers some day in mid-winter. when the
lake is about half-frozen over. One who
has been such passenger told his story
the other day to the writer
A WINTER TRIP TO THE BAssEs
Il left Port Clinton in the middle Of
bright January morning" he said, ''driv-
ing the nine miles to Catawsba Island
There the carriers were waiting with
their sledgcboat. The passage over had
been fair, they said. hut they looked for
trouble going back The ice was solid
near shore. but very bad in the middle of
the three-mile stretch to South Bass. Be
sides, a storm seemed to be brewing, and
they advised me TO POSTPONE my trip.
Put they finally gave in, on condition that
should help if I was needed and at
least should walk whenever they had 10
push or tow the boat
They loaned me = pair of long boots
and set OF oilskins to keep me from
getting too wet if I should go through
the ice and told me that I would be ex-
pected 10 use one OF the pixies they had in
the boat in case polling was necessary.
The boat is fat bottomed. apparently of
the ordinary like type. is sixteen feet
long. about twenty inches deep and Of
four-foot beam 1t is sheathed with gall
vanized sheet iron the better TO stand
the ice-battering ii gets on every trip. on
its bottom are two runners four inches
high and about FIVE feet long. \ layman
.al-- raf T.yS
Before we started 'creepers'-steel
spikes on spurs 10 prevent slipping on the
ice-were strapped 10 my boots and was
cautioned 10 keep my hand On the boat
every minute while walking. so that I
could save myself by jumping into 1t If
the ice gave way under me
Our trouble began before We had gone
half mile. The carriers were then tow
ing the sledge-boat stern foremost being
harnessed 70 1t with short lines or ropes
attached about half way between the
stern and amidships and passed over their
shoulders. / pushed. and il took the unit
edstrcngth of all three TO make headway.
for the wind was blowing g gaie from the
northwest.
suddenly I heard 4 cracking noise
Both carriers yelled and in \ minute we
were in the water As we all had hands
on the boat we saved ourselves. the-car-
riers without. getting much OF wetting
j was more clumsy than they and got
pretty damp before could scramble into
the boat
CREEPING OVER THIN ICE.
''They made me SIT down in the stern
ancSwraP myself well up to keep from
taking cold. Then they 'crept' the boat
for the next half mile Creeping is
necessary when the ice is too solid 10
allow of sailing. polling or rowing and at
the same time not strong enough 10 bear
the weight of a man.
Compared with creeping mere tow
ing the sledge-hoat IS the mildest chiid's
play. The men knsei. one on each side OF
the boat. one with his right. the other
with his left leg inside the carft. Then
with the other leg outside each labogi-