Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-05-30

/ Kolter, which rides on the water as
gracefully as duck, and is painted
blue, and We presume it will be
christened the "Blue Bird. >"
B. G. Plumer, one of our most en-
ergetic and wide awake lumbermen,
has just received and put in opera
tion the largest rotary saw ever
brought to the pinery. 1t is six feet
in diameter, containing sixty-four
teeth, and will walk through a six
teen foot log in less than eight sec
onds. 1t is in operation in the old
Lyman mill.
Walters theatrical troupe, after a
season of nineteen weeks in Wau-
sau, proposes to spend the summer
with us. MeSsrs. Walters and Over
ton have rented the fair grounds and
hope to make it great attraction
during the coming summer.
We have new sign on the front
of our office in circular form "Pilot
Otfice"-in raised gold letters. Just
after putting it up, a couple of
"suckers" arrived in town in search
of job, and passing our office noticed
the sign and supposing it was a place
where the Wisconsin river pilots
hung out, they came in, only to find
that they had got into printing
office. They stepped out and took
! another look at the sign, one of them
remarking that it was ''darned curious
that they would fool a feller in that
way" [By looking closely in the arch
at the top of the building in which
Cawley Bros. now are, at the corner
OF Third and Washington streets, the
sign may yet be seen through the
paint.-Ed.
GRAND FATHER BULL FALLS.
We have on the Wisconsin river
numerous "Falls" and a great many
'B-lls" about which are thousand
traditions. The following which was
recently related to us in relation to
the falls, we cannot refrain from
publishing:
The Indian name of these falls is
Ka-no-je-wun, or Long Falls" These
falls had never been run in bark
canoes by Indians or whites on ac-
count of the velocity of its waters
and its perpendicular falls, its length
from the head to the foot being two
miles with fall of one hundred feet
from head to foot. The Chippewa
Indians have a superstitious idea
that there is Spirit that presides
in those mighty waters. In the
spring of 1847 these falls were run by
Black Nail" the conjuror of the
Wisconsin band of Chippewas, in or
der to strengthen the belief of the
Indians in his supernatural powers,
and of the gift of prophesy. That
same spring he had it proclaimed by
herald that he would run the mighty
waters of the Ka-no-je-wun. Ac-
cordingly a fleet of thirty bark
canoes accompanied by the chief
of the band came to witness this
exploit of their conjuror. On ar
irving at the head of the falls all
the Indians portrayed their canoes
with the exception of Black Nail the
conjuror, and few other Indians.
The canoe that he run the falls in
was twenty feet long.
The canoe was showed from the
shore in which he had two Indians as
his steersmen, each of them having
two paddles. The paddles were made
of cedar and maple. Before start
ing the canoe down the falls the two
steersmen held the canoe to large
rock while Black Nail made an offer
ing and prayer to the spirit that
they supposed presided in the falls.
His prayer was MAY the spirit that
presides in these falls strengthen my
arm and my paddles that my strength
may not fail me to run the mighty
waters" The offering was half ward
of scarlet cloth, and two plugs of
tobacco TO appease the spirit of the
falls. He run the falls through safe,
but the Indians say to this day, when
he came over the last schute that his
face was white.