USA > Iowa > Dickinson County > History of Dickinson County, Iowa, together with an account of the Spirit Lake massacre, and the Indian troubles on the northwestern frontier > Part 29
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In 1890 the Twenty-third General Assembly repealed all former restrictions and enacted as follows: "It shall be unlaw- ful for any person to take from any waters of the state any fish in any manner except by hook and line, except minnows for bait. Also that it shall be lawful to spear buffalo fish and snekers between the first day of November and the first day of March following." This latter clause was repealed in 1894. The reason for this repeal was that too many of the fishermen, if allowed to spear at all, took everything that came in sight whether of buffalo or game fish, and then could usually so cover up their tracks that it was impossible to get any evidence against them.
The Twenty-sixth General Assembly in 1896 prohibited fish shanties and also prohibited any person from using more than
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THE FISH HATCHERY
two lines with one hook on each line. Perhaps a little ex- planation is due right here. Much of the carly winter fishing was done in small shanties. These shanties were from five to eight feet long, from three to six feet wide, and from four to seven feet high. They had floors through which was a trap door, usually across one end. They were made of the lightest material obtainable so as to be easily moved from place to place. They were set on runners in order to make the work of moving as light as possible. A small sheetiron stove usually occupied one corner. When properly banked up they could be made warm and comfortable. It was customary to ent a hole through the ice the full size of the trap door and possibly a little larger and then move the shanty over the hole and bank it up snug and tight. The darker the shanty can be made the plainer objects can be seen on the bottom of the lake. It is a surprise to the uninitiated the distinctness with which objects can be seen on the bottom of the lake to the depth of from twenty to thirty feet.
The number of fish taken in those shanties was very con- siderable but not so large as has been popularly supposed, and had the spearing been confined to buffalo fish and suckers, as was the intention of the law of 1890, it would have been a benefit to the other fish rather than a damage. The buffalo are very destructive to the spawn of other fish, and it is an open question whether the prohibition of spearing is a benefit or a damage to the fishing interests. Most of the fish taken in the shanties were buffalo anyway and it is claimed by those who have studied the subject carefully that the number of small fish taken with spears bears no comparison to the amount of spawn destroyed by the rapacious buffalo. The fish taken in this way were usually sold to buyers who poddled them through the adjacent country and in neighboring towns.
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In locating the hatchery on the isthmus the question of the rise and fall of water in the lakes was not) considered. This afterwards proved a very important factor and the one on which the ultimate success or failure of the scheme largely depended. In times of high water the tanks were flooded by backwater and it was impossible to clean them and they became foul to an extent that endangered the life of the spawn and young fish. On the other hand, in times of low water the supply was shut off, the water in Spirit Lake being lower than the tanks. Either extreme was fatal to the success of the hatchery. Had the tanks been set high enough to be absolutely secure against backwater, and then a storage tank and power pump put in to secure a supply in times of low water, possibly the propaga- tion of native fish might have been made a success. But this was not done and the hatchery was allowed to go into disuse be- fore it could be fairly demonstrated whether it was of any prac- tical value or not.
Mr. Griggs, during his term of office, worked hard to enforce the law and prevent illegal fishing in which he was reasonably successful. He was succeeded in 1894 by George E. Delevan of Estherville. Mr. Delevan made no attempt in the direction of collecting spawn and propagating fish for the purpose of restocking the lakes, but gave his attention principally to en- forcing the laws and protecting the fish already here. In April, 1896, the legislature made provision for erecting a dam across the outlet for the purpose of holding the water back except in times of high water, thereby raising the average level of the lakes. This. dam was built in the summer of 1896 under Mr. Delevan's direction. It was built of stone and cement and was calculated to be of sufficient height to hold the water in the lake to about its medium level before any was allowed to escape. On the top of this dam it is proposed to have a system of screens and racks of sufficient capacity to allow a free flow of water
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THE FISH CAR
over the dam, but to prevent the passage of fish. This is a move in the right direction, and if the dam stands the test of high water, the most important one so far made. The water was very low the summer the dam was built and has not since been high enough to run out of the lake.
AAnother project which Mr. Delevan has worked with a good degree of success is the taking of fish in the bayous of the Mis- sissippi River and shipping them to the inland lakes and streams. The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad Company offered the state an old superintendent's car on condi- tion that they would remodel it and fit it up for a fish car. Mr. Delevan presented the subject to the legislature and suc- ceeded in securing an appropriation for this purpose and he soon had his fish car ready for business. It is a well known fact that the Mississippi River, through its entire length, is lined with bays, inlets and bayous and that in times of freshet these are flooded with water from the river, and as the water goes down they become land locked ponds with neither inlet nor out- let. These ponds are often well stocked with fish from the river, and as the water becomes stagnant they die in great num- bers. Mr. Delevan's scheme was, as soon as possible after the spring overflow, to seine out the more prolific of these ponds and ship the fish thus obtained to the inland waters, and it was for this purpose that the car was fitted up. So far the experi- ment has been attended with a good degree of success, and if intelligently and energetically continued, bids fair to be of ma- terial advantage to the fishing interests.
In 1896 the legislature changed the name from "fish com- missioner" to "fish and game warden," thus indicating that in the future there would be added to the already multifarious duties of the position that of hunting down and securing the punishment of violators of the laws against illegal hunting and fishing. The original idea of propagating and rearing our na-
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tive fish for the purpose of restocking the lakes or keeping up the supply seems to have been abandoned. As to whether this is good policy or not there is a wide difference of opinion. Those 'who are cognizant of the degree of success which attended the efforts of the state of New York and some others to restock their depleted lakes, are of the opinion that it was a mistake to allow the old hatchery to go into disuse and would like to see it re- built, enlarged and placed in the hands of a competent natur- alist with the understanding that it should be worked to its full- est capacity. In 1898 the legislature passed an act prohibiting winter fishing altogether and fixing the closed season from the first of November to the fifteenth of May following.
J
MILWAUKEE DEPOT AT OKOBOJI.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
BOATING-THE FIRST SAILBOATS-THE FIRST'
EARLY · REGATTA-A LUCKY ACCIDENT-OTHER BOAT RACES-THE YACHT CLUB-A NARROW ES- CAPE-THE FIRST STEAMERS-THE FAVORITE AND ALPHA-LARGER STEAMERS DEMANDED-THE HIA- WATHA-THE BEN LENNOX AND THE QUEEN- OTHER STEAMERS-THE OKOBOJI.
LOSELY connected with the resort business, and indeed a part of it, is the boating business. The adaptiveness of the lakes to this sport was what attracted the atten- tion of the early pioneers. Previous to this time it is supposed to have been the headquarters of a band of Yankton Sioux as a temporary resort, but there is no evidence that they ever regarded it in the light of a permanent home. It has al- ways been the popular idea that the Indians were very expert in handling canoes and in everything pertaining to water craft. Now, so far as the Sioux are concerned, this may be or may not . be true. One thing is certain, there is absolutely no evidence of their ever having had any canoes or eraft of any kind on the lakes. During the summer of 1857 the boys at different times made careful search of places where they suspected canoes might be concealed but never sneceeded in finding any and finally came to the conclusion there were none here. The query at once be- comes interesting: Did the Indians of this locality ever have any means of navigating the lakes, except the temporary rafts that could be quickly built to meet an emergency and as quickly destroyed ? It would seem that if they had ever had canoes ou the lakes in any number some vestige of them would have been discovered by the white settlers, but nothing of the kind was
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EARLY BOATING
ever found and it is an open question whether they ever had any.
No sooner had the white settlers established themselves here in the spring of 1857, than about the first thing they set them- selves about was to provide some means for crossing the narrow places. At first they used a raft, but early in the summer two log canoes were constructed, one in Okoboji Grove by .W. B. Brown and Lawrence Furber, and the other in Center Grove by R. U. Wheelock and Lewis Hart. They were made from bass- wood logs about twelve feet long, and possibly from twenty to twenty-two inches in diameter. They were capable of carrying two persons each in still water, provided they kept very quiet. This was the size of the lake fleet that summer.
It will be remembered that a small sawmill was brought in and set up late in the fall. Several rowboats were built as soon as lumber could be had. They would be considered nondescript affairs compared with the graceful craft of more recent times, but they were staunch and safe and supplied a severely felt want. Not much was done in the way of sailboats for several years. Occasionally some one would rig a small sail to a row- boat and thus relieve the monotony as well as the labor of row- ing, but it was not until along in the seventies they turned their attention to sailboats. Who was the first to construct a sailboat 'on the lake is not positively known.
(. Crandall and a man boarding with him by the name of Benedict put up a boat in the early seventies which they called the "Martha Washington," which was one of the first, if not the very first, sailboat on the lakes. About the same time Billy Lilywhite built one on Spirit Lake which he named the "Old Tub." Zina Henderson, at Okoboji, built a little two-master which was christened with the taking name "Lady of the Lake." B. B. Van Steenburg was much interested in the early boating movements and had a yacht put up from a model sent him from New York, which he claimed was the same as that of some of
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the fastest sailers in the New York yacht club. She was very staunch, set low in the water and would stand up under a cloud of canvas. He named her the "Spook." In order to work up enthusiasm in the yachting interest, Mr. Van Steenburg pro- posed a series of races, and to encourage the sport offered a purse of twenty-five dollars to be distributed in prizes to the contestants. The first of these races came off August 1, 1876. There were six entries : First, the "Old Tub," by William Lily- white, L. W. Waugh, captain ; second, "Martha Washington," O. Crandall, R. L. Wilcox, captain ; third, "Lady of the Lake," Henry Baxter, Zina Henderson, captain; fourth, "Little Red Wagon," A. A. Mosher, owner and captain; fifth, "Queen of the West," J. F. Hall, owner and captain; sixth, "Okoboji Star," George Chase, owner and captain. Van Steenburg did not put his own boat into the race, but kept it for the use of visitors.
There were no steamers on the lake then. The course was the whole length of West Okoboji and back, the two buoys having been placed as near to each end of the lake as possible and give the boats room to pass around them, thus making the distance to be sailed fully twelve miles in a right line, but as there was a strong south wind they had to beat across the lake several times before the south buoy was turned, thus making the actual distance sailed several miles greater. They started from a point opposite Van Steenburg's house near the north end of the lake. Soon after getting their send off it became apparent that the real contest was to be between the Old Tub and the Martha Wash- ington, both being handled by experienced and skillful sailors. They soon left the others far behind and beat their way up to the south buoy, which they turned within four minutes of each other, the Martha being in the lead. They now spread out their canvas, pulled up their centerboards and made a straight run for the north buoy six miles away. In making this run the Old Tub
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THE FIRST BOAT RACE
passed the Martha MWashington and made the turn about five minutes first, but in beating back to the starting point the Mar- tha gained on her competitor so that she was less than two min- utes behind when they passed the score. In another half mile she would have evened things up, but the Old Tub took first money, the Martha second, and a half hour later George Chase came in with the Okoboji Star and took third. The other three boats made no pretense of finishing the race. The Okoboji Star was a new boat that had just been built, and Mr. WWangh is re- ported to have made the remark at the close of the race that he could take the Star and beat either of the others.
A curious accident occurred in connection with this boat that might have proved much more serious than it really was. After the race Mr. Chase left the Star for a short time in care of W. B. Arnold. The next morning Mr. Arnold thought it would be a fine idea to take his family and a few friends ont for a sail. The party consisted of some six or eight women and children, the only two men being Mr. Ar- nold and Mr. Albee, of Spencer, neither of whom knew any- thing about handling a sailboat. They started off very smoothly for a time, but after passing the protecting bluffs of Pillsbury's Point they found the wind was blowing a stiff breeze from the south and their boat plowed the water at a lively rate. Things began to look serious, and Mr. Arnold decided to get back if he could. In bringing his boat around, instead of coming around head to the wind as a sailor would, he "jibed round" and in doing so the boat capsized, throwing the whole party into the lake. Messrs. Arnold and Albee directed and encouraged the women and children to hang on to some part of the boat or rig- ging so that they might keep afloat until they were rescued or drifted ashore. Mr. Olin Pillsbury saw the accident from his place and at once set out in a small rowboat to render such as- sistance as he might. His boat was light and two was all he
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could take at a time. He accordingly took in Mr. and Mrs. Al- bee and directed the others to hold on and he would be back as soon as possible. He soon came back for the second load. By that time the capsized boat was drifting direet for Dixon's Beach and would evidently be ashore before a third trip could be made. After the first scare was over the party had no particular tron- ble in hanging to the boat or rigging. They all reached solid ground in safety with no more serious results than a thorough wetting, some hysterics and a good scare. It is reported that Mr. Arnold has never been out in a sailboat since. The only wonder is that the whole party were not drowned.
Indeed, any intelligent person watching and noting the reck- less carelessness manifested by many summer tourists in some of their wild pranks with sailboats, can only wonder that acci- dents are not far more frequent than they are. It's the old story, "fools for luck." If they knew more about boating they would not dare take the chances they do.
A second race on practically the same lines as the first was arranged to come off over the same course on Saturday, the six- teenth of September. The same boats were on hand for the race, except the Old Tub and the Queen. The Old Tub was on Spirit Lake, and it was too much work to get her over the isthmus, and the Queen had had enough of it. This time Mr. Waugh handled the Martha Washington. The wind was blow- ing a perfect gale, accompanied with some rain, but the boys started in for their race all the same. All of the boats were soon blown ashore or disabled, except the Martha Washington, which under the careful handling of Mr. Waugh made the race and pocketed the prize.
Other and larger crafts were added to the sailboat fleet the next season, the most noted of which were the "Foam," by T. J. Francis, of Spirit Lake, and the "Swan," by James F. Hall, of Okoboji. The "Petrel," by the Henderson boys, was put on
+11
OTHER RACES
a little later. During the next summer it was proposed to have a three days regatta, commencing on the fourth day of July. As before Mr. Van Steenburg put up a twenty-five dollar purse in addition to which each of the boat owners put up an entrance fec. As before there were six entries. The Foam and the Swan were new boats, while the Martha Washington and the Okoboji Star were not entered. The Foam was handled by L. W. Waugh, and the Swan by Owen Gowan, both skillful sailors. A writer in the Beacon (who was an eye witness) describes the outcome of the first day's. race as follows :
"The Foam turned the buoy just one minute and thirty seconds in advance of the Swan, and when they crossed the score on the downward passage the distance between them was so short that betting was considered decidedly unsafe. Of course the interest in the race centered in these two crafts and the outcome was eagerly awaited, and nobody was much sur- prised when they came in just two minutes and thirty seconds apart, the Foam leading."
Baxter's Lady of the Lake got away with third money, beat- ing all competitors of last year. The second day the wind was so light that the race was decidedly uninteresting. The entries were the Foam, Spook, Swan, Obl Tub and Lady of the Lake. The Foam, by reason of her enormous spread of canvas, soon distanced all competitors, easily winning first place. The Swan. Spook, Old Tub and Lady of the Lake came in in the order named.
On the third and last day but three of the boats contested. the Foam, the Swan and, the Spook. Soon after starting the Swan was disabled, and the Foam had things her own way.
A yacht club was formed at this time. Rules for measuring boats, for figuring time allowances and for governing races gen- erally were adopted and published in pamphlet form. The first officers of the yacht club were Commodore, L. W. Waugh : Vice- .
C
Elva. Foam.
Spook.
Sailboat. Golden Rule.
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THE YACHTING FLEET
Commodore, Charles G. Chesebro; Rear Commodore, Henry Baxter; Secretary, A. A. Mosher; Treasurer, Henry F. Rice: Measurer, L. W. Waugh. Several other races were had first and last under the management of the yacht club in many of which a good degree of interest was taken, but after a time it became an old story. The interest died out and the yacht club went to pieces.
In the meantime the Henderson brothers bought the Foam and made regular trips with her from Spirit Lake to Arnold's Park. She was the first craft of any kind on the lake to run for passengers, and did a fair stroke of business. A somewhat sin- gular incident occurred in connection with these trips that is worth preserving. One day A. A. Henderson started from town on his return trip, accompanied by - Morgan and E. V. Osborn. The weather was unsettled and threatening, but for all that the boys had no apprehension of any trouble. They started from the dock, made the run through the narrows and past Stony Point all right when they noticed a rapidly moving cloud, more threatening in appearance than anything they had before seen. It proved to be a regular twister. Henderson pro- posed dropping imder the lee of one of the sheltering points and wait until the storm had passed, but the others were very anxious to get home and urged him to keep on his course, claiming that with their present rate of speed they would make it in twenty minutes more and that it would probably be that time before the storm would reach them. Henderson yielded and kept his course. When pretty well across the lower lake the squall struck them. They had just before lowered and furled their main sail and were running with the jib alone. As the squall struck it caught the boat up almost out of the water and turned it hot- tom upwards and hurled it down with such force as to drive the mast some twelve feet into the mud in the bottom of the lake. and there she stuck fast.
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DICKINSON COUNTY - IOWA
Henderson was the first to extricate himself from the rigging and climb to the top of the overturned boat. For a moment he thought his companions must be drowned, as they were nowhere to be seen. Soon, however, they swam out, from under the cap- sized boat and succeeded in climbing up by the side of their companion. Fred Roff was watching the boat from the shore when the flaw struck. At first the cloud between him and the boat was so dense that he could see nothing, but as soon as it passed he saw the predicament they were in, and as soon as pos- sible procured a rowboat and started for their relief and brought them off in safety.
It will be impossible to follow this history of the carly yachts and yachting farther as more space has already been given it than was at first intended. Interest in the sport has been kent up since that time in varying degrees of intensity. New boats have from time to time been added to the yachting fleet and much good natured rivalry indulged in. In the later days many summer tourists have acquired interests in the neighborhood of the lakes, and it is not probable they will allow the invigorating
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STARTING FOR TIIE RACE.
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THE FIRST STEAMERS
and manly sport to langnish and die out. Many are investing in the modern launch, but the enthusiastic sailor will stick to his sheets and spars and insist that nothing can quite take the place of
"A wet sheet and a flowing sea A wind that follows fast, And fills the white and swelling sail And bends the gallant mast."
The first steamer on the lake was the old "Favorite." She was a small, strongly built steam launch with a carrying capacity for about thirty passengers. She was built on the Cedar River and was run there for a time, after which she was shipped bv rail to Varharren of Spencer, and he loaded her aboard a pair of trucks and sent her up to Okoboji and turned her over to John Hackett, who was to fit her up and run for passengers between Arnold's Park and Spirit Lake. E. O. Henderson, of Okoboji. was employed as engineer. After overhauling her and readjust- ing her machinery they soon had her ready for business. At the time of her first trip the Murphy temperance meetings were being conducted in the M. E. Church in town, and it was dur- ing the progress of one of these meetings that the outside still- ness was broken by the clear, sharp notes of a steam whistle ringing out on the evening air. It was the first steam whistle ever heard in Dickinson County. The astonished andience were taken completely by surprise but few if any of them having heard of the fitting up of the steamer. The result was that every boy in the crowd made a straight shoot for the door and the boat landing, leaving Mr. Murphy with a somewhat dimin- ished audience. The Favorite was the only steamer on the lakes for two years or more.
In the summer of 1882 the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad Company brought up from Burlington a steamer, the "AAlpha," which they placed on Spirit Lake. Her
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capacity was about forty-five passengers. Like the Favorite she was staunch and strong. She remained on Spirit Lake until superseded by the Queen, when she was sold to Captain Ben- nett, who hanled her across the isthmus and run her one sea- son for passengers on East Okoboji. About this time Sam Crozier bought the Favorite, and the Henderson boys the Alpha. These two were the best known of the early boats.
The building of the railroads into the county in 1882 so stim- ulated the summer resort business that more and better boats were demanded. In answer to this demand several new boats were projected. First, Captain May, of Minneapolis, encour- aged by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad people shipped in the material and machinery for a larger and more pretentious steamer than had yet been attempted. She was over eighty feet in length with a proportionate breadth of beam and depth of hold, and had a carrying capacity for about three hundred passengers. She was put up by Mr. Godfrey, a prac- tical boat builder of many years' experience on the Mississippi River, and everything about her was intended to be first-class. She was reported at the time to have cost between six and seven thousand dollars. She was launched in May, 1884, and made her first trip from Arnold's Park to the Orleans about July 1, 1884. She was christened the "Ben Lennox" for one of the officers of the Milwaukee road who presented her with a mag- nificent bunting flag.
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