New Britain herald., 1924-04-11
ISLE ROYAL A BEN
 FRANKLIN HERITAGE
Now Arises Question of Its Being
 Made National Park

Washington, D. c. April 11-Should Isle Rayol become an American Na- t;onal Park, in accordance with pro rosals now before the government, American citizens can deliver their thanks to Benjamin Franklin.
 No matter which of the two TO- mantle stories of the Isle Royals cession to the United States is true. the pioneer printer. philosopher, physical scientist, and postmaster gen. eral. had his finger in it when the Treaty of Paris was drawn in l7SS,' says a bulletin of the National Geo. graphic society. Although the in- ternational boundary runs straight up the middle of the Great Lakes, when it reaches the middle of Lake Superior it jumps way over to the Canadian shore to give the United states Isle Royal. The stories ex- plain the lines irregular conduct.
 saw Value of Copper
 'The canny Franklin, according to one account learned from the French that copper had been found on Isle Royal. Although in the 18th cen tury diplomats had not learned to fit boundary lines to mineral deposits, Franklin's interest in electricity prompted him to insist that this cop per-isIand be given 10 the United States. Look on the map of Lake Superior again and you will see that the American ine does not leave the lake at the tip end but at the Pigeon river, not far from Isle Royal. When the United States was given the island. the story goes. the boundary makers were inlpelled 10 change the boundary from the St. Louis river. on which Duluth is located to the Pigeon river, This change gave to the ,nited States one of tho greatest iron deposits in the world. the Mesaba ieid. which otherwise would have gone in part. at least. to Canada. Un- willingly Franklin helped to make
 he United States the foremost steel ,roducing nation in the world.
 The other story is that the early iNporers who were still hunting for
 he Western Sea made their DOT.
 ages through the Pigeon river to the .ake of the Woods, which was the
 ocrs point of the early Virginia grant. Following the explorers, ,raders used the Pigeon rover on their 'oyages to the interior. Therefore, 1t was only natural on the part Of the boundary makers to follow the canoe travel route which led between Isle Royal and Canada, The latter story is more plausible. but the first is ai- most too good not to be true.
 Traffic Center for Wheat and Iron
 If nf he .,sl.a rom the Red River Valley leaves Fort William and Port Arthur going town tho lake on the north side of Isle Royal, while nover-endn. parade Of iron-ore boats moves past the southern shore when the ice is out, but the island itself is almost as innocent of civilization as in the days rappers padded past it. Isle Royal s is miles long and 10 miles wide. lesrys virgin forests Of pine birch, snd sugar naples clothe, its rocks. It's ridges once reefa of great glacial Take Superior are outposta of the ontario highlands. Ontario has rare minerals. rold. cobalt and asbestos and if is nsturslF that it's outposts should have copper. Another out post, keweenaw peninsula across the lake is one of the worlds leading copper producers.
 Not until the last few years has any human being regularly stayed on the island all winter. Probably the man pho lives there all year round now would not stay wore he not paid by the S'atc of Michigan to kin wolves which cross from the mainland on the ice. Wolves are the chief enemy Of large herd Of moose. esti- mated 10 number more than i.s0p, which make the island particularly interesting as possible park About loo caribou are said to live on the island.
 once Isle Royal heard the voices of ci, ili1ation for it had a copper rush. X company worked copper mine rith 500 miners as recently as 1918. but the veins were not az rich as the keveenaw deposit so the island was once more abandoned to Nature.
 Fresh Water fer salt
 Now Isle Royal is inhabited bv a few fishermen and summer resortcrs who find there the cool quiet or the north uoods. The fishermen live in isolated sharks along the rocky coast, setting their nets to catch whitefiSh. lake-trout, herring and menominre fish. Most Of them arc Scandina- Nsn.. who gave up the sea for the inland sea Of wheat fields in the Rcd River Valley. Eut the real sea called and they compromised. accept fs7r ..F s.Ts t, water has narrowing tales 10 match pcrils Of open seq.
 There was tho Knife river fisher