The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1917-07-21

was little to excite or disturb the
monotony Of the struggle for ex-
istence. LAUNDERING in winter,
sawmilling in summer, farming,
fishing and sailing were the occu-
pations by which we lived.
Quite number Of young men
went into the army. Among the
number were Dorus Martin,
Rufus Jefferson, F. A. Bucking-
ham, Freeman Keene, Leonidas
Merritt, U. S. Ayers, w. B..
Bailey, Andrew Refer, John G..
Rakowsky, Samuel McQuade,
George Shurbrooke, Carl Sher-
brooke, John Falk, Julius Gorgon
and Col. j. B. Culver. Robert E..
Jefferson left Minnesota Point.
enlisted at Minneapolis and died
in the army. John Falk was
killed in the Battle of the Will
derness and George Shurbrooke
was killed at Vicksburg.
Robert E. Jefferson built the
first frame hotel at the Head Of
the Lake. Until recently it stood
on Lake avenue south, north Of
the canal.
There was anxiety in war
times. In the fall of 1862 the
Indian outbreak occurred. For
time, we were afraid Of the
Chippewas but they refused to
join the Sioux.
In the winter of 1866, there
was a gold excitement on Lake
Vermilion. A road was cut
through to the supposed gold
fields and many men and teams
went over it. My father, Lewis
H. Merritt, made the trip and,
when going out, 30 teams going
in passed him in one day. Father
was not excited over the gold
fields but, while there, Albert
Posey, the Indian blacksmith,
showed him a chunk of iron ore.
Father told us boys that, some
day, there would be great iron
mines there, worth more than all
the gold Of California. These
words perhaps influenced us in
later years to discover the Me-
saba range.
During the winter of 1867,
the survey of the Lake Superior
and Mississippi R. R. was being
made from Carlton to Duluth. My
brother Leonidas and I were
chainmen on the survey and a
man named Mckenzie was engin-
eer. Matt Haug, Dan Waterman
and John Bertrand were axemen.
The snow was very deep and we
were camped out for about two
months. The road came to Du-
luth in 1870, the first one to the
Head of the Lake.
Quite a lot of numbering in an
ticipation of the coming of the
railroad was done in the winter
of 1868-69. People commenced to
flock in. During that summer,
my brother Leonidas and I had a
sail scow on the bay and carried
lumber to Duluth and supplies
up the bay for the contractors.
In company with Henry S. Ely,
in the winter Of 1869-70, we built
the Shasea, the first sailing vessel
at the head of the Lake. She
measured 40 gross tons and was
schooner rugged. We sailed her
that summer and lost her at On
tanagon, Mich, August q, 1871.
She was a total loss.
The Agate was the first tug at
the Head of the Lake. She was
here in the summer of 1868. I
was pilot and Capt. Martyr
Wheeler was engineer. We towed
scows, carrying stone, to the gov
eminent piers at the Superior
entry, which piers were just be-
ing commenced. The Agate was
owned in Ontanagon and was
sent back there in the fall.
In 1872 and 1873, we did any,
thing to make a living. In the
summer of 1873, I built a road on
Isle Royale from Siskiwit Bay to
the Island mine, 31-3 miles. I
took men from Duluth on the
IS. Metropolis, Of which Capt.
Bart Atkins was captain and
pilot. We left the Island late in
the fall in a small boat with ten
others, just before Thanksgiving,
and rowed to Duluth. In the
party were Andrus R. Merritt,
George Hull and Mr.. Patterson.
/! It was a hard trip, on a hard
lake, in an open boat, at the
opening Of winter.
In 1874, five of US went back
to Isle Royale in the small boat.
We finished the road and then
1,,o,o& IN 1yorl> for fbo No,xL