DROUILLARD-MN-L Archives

Archiver > DROUILLARD-MN > 2001-03 > 0984948686


From: Nancy Petersen <>
Subject: Book-Pioneers in the Wilderness
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 12:56:38 -0800


Received this book through Interlibrary loan
from the Minnesota State University.

PIONEERS IN THE WILDERNESS
....Minnesota's Cook County, Grand Marais and the Gunflint in the 19th
Century,
by Willis H. (Bill) Raff. Published by Cook County Historical Society,
Grand Marais, Minnesota, c, 1981. 402 p. illustrated with photos, maps
and drawings.
Chapter notes and references cited, p. 379-402. No index.
Excerpts:
Page 4:
"ROBERT B. MCLEAN, who was later to be the first Postmaster at Beaver
Bay
and the first man to carry the mail from Superior to Grand Portage, was
one of those many "prowlers" searching for valuable
minerals....."[copper, especially]
"....In anticipation of the new Treaty....he was employed in early
August [of 1854]
with a crew of surveyors and engineers under THOMAS CLARK II, Chief
Engineer."
"...On or near the 25th of Sept. 1854, they pulled into [Grand
Marais].....
found RICHARD B. GODFREY, a man who had hired on with HUGH H.
MCCULLOUGH, owner of the post at Grand Portage. GODFREY..was also an
agent for the North West Exploring Company."
Page 6:
"...At that time young JOHN DROUILLARD was at Grand Portage, too,
where his father was employed at the post. JOHN probably was acquainted
with another man who would become a noted pioneer of the area: SAM
HOWENSTINE."

Page 31: "JOHN ZIMMERMAN and his wife, Mary and the children, John,
Mary, Elizabeth, Godfrey and Samuel...were living in the town of Beaver
Bay during October of 1857; they were enumerated there during
Minnesota's first federal census...."Page 32: Photo of "JANE AND SAM
ZIMMERMAN, with their oldest daughter, EMMA, who was born June 26, 1900.
"

Page 100: Photo of ADOLPH S. CARLSON, "Little Adolph," Hovland's pioneer
bachelor, community barber, politician, and obsessive prospector. This
tintype was taken (in Duluth?) about 1890, as estimated by J. HENRY
ELIASEN, who provided the photo."
Story from the COOK COUNTY HERALD (1894): "We reached JOHN [DROUILLARD]
and ADOLPH's cabin and in the door stood ADOLPH [CARLSON] with a smiling
countenance...The next day we attended the first meeting of the board of
supervisors of Hovland, John DROUILLARD in the chair..."

Page 214: From the Cook County HERALD: "CAPTAIN JOHN DROUILLARD has had
a crew of men fixing up the road north of here this week [April 1900].
CAPT. D. has been building roads for something less than 95 years and
knows how to do a good job."

Page 299: "There surely was no real difficulty finding mail carriers to
deliver from the County seat to Grand Portage and the Pigeon River
throughout the 1890's.
It is clear from notices in the "Locals" columns of the HERALD that
LOUIS PLANTE continued on that route, after having served as a teenage
assistant from time to time, in the 80's. As we have seen in Chapter
Five, little Carrie Brunes, of Hovland, never forgot PLANTE's arrival at
her father's Post Office, in the winter of 1892: "In cold winter evening
the dog sled bells could be heard from miles before they
arrived."....LOUIS PLANTE has taken a sub-contract from W. Vernon Booth
for the carrying of the mail from here to Grand Portage. The people
along the route are fortunate in securing the service of LOUIS as he is
an honest, obliging young man, and by past services in that capacity has
proven himself a faithful mail carrier (The HERALD, Aug 10, 1895)

Page 302: "LOUIE PLANTE arrived from Grand Portage on Monday with the
first dog train of the season, and with his trained tandem dogs,
jingling sleigh bells, U.S.mail, and toboggan, resembled old Santa Claus
coming to town, and made a novel sight much appreciated by the
youngsters." THE HERALD, Dec. 24, 1898.

Page 313: "Mail Carrier LOUIS PLANTE had a very narrow escape from a
watery grave last Friday. He was en route to Grand Portage from Hovland
when off Howard's Point a heavy sea combined with a gale of wind
capsized his boat. He managed to climb on top of it and hold on until
JOHN DROUILLARD, who witnessed the occurance, could reach him.. LOUIS
has a dangerous route at best and during the stormy weather which has
prevailed this year the place has been especially hard and dangerous."
THE HERALD, Aug. 5, 1899.

--
Nancy Elder Petersen
14514 NE 52nd Circle
Vancouver, WA 98682
Phone: 360-882-1039
http://www.teleport.com/~nancyp/elder.htm


This thread: