USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania, from its first settlement > Part 28
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also an interesting stream to sight-seers. Not only are the great oxbow bend, the 'Devil's Backbone,' and further down the creek the 'Devil's Nose,' a high promontory of ashen gray rocks exhibiting that little-known mineral, cone-in-cone, jutting out from the vertical walls, but also the deep valley sloping gracefully away to the uplands which are, apparently, above the universal horizon. Here numerous landscapes along the entire water courses are as diversified with sheep, horses, and grazing cattle, clumps of bushes and shade trees, grain fields and farm buildings as any, perhaps, that may be seen in Northern Pennsylvania. There are many places where the air is fragrant with wild flowers, mint leaves and wintergreen, spice bushes, coniferous trees, and sweet birches. After crossing Elk Creek the party soon arrived at Fall's Run, and were driven into the maple grove in front of Mr. Howard's residence, where we were made welcome for the day. Mr. Howard showed us his creamery, ice house, and stone quarry, where we obtained many beautiful fossil shells and fossil marine plants.
"This quarry," Mr. Howard said, "is the northern outcrop of the Pennsylvania third oil sand about five hundred feet above the surface of Lake Erie. A lady asked ' Why is there no oil here ?' His reply was, 'These rocks are the highest part of the strata, so hard and so fine that they can contain no oil. As the stratum dips down under the surface toward the oil- fields it becomes softer and coarser and so porous that it can hold an ocean of oil.' This corresponds with the Geological Survey. Some time was spent in looking at the waterfall. It is forty feet in height and sixty feet in breadth. The water cascades beautifully over the brink and down through a dark, narrow gulch about ninety feet in depth and pours itself into Elk Creek, singing its own glad song as it goes. Near the cascade is a mineral spring, clear, cool, and tasting fairly. It is said to be very healthy. Mr. Howard is not only an intelli- gent farmer and dairyman and quarryman, but is also an intelligent geologist. He did all he could to make our visit as pleasant as possible, and he and his family have the thanks of the entire company.
" There are hundreds of ravines in Erie County. The site
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of Erie City was formerly gashed with them, but some are now entirely obliterated by refuse earth and other materials which have been deposited there from time to time, making them level with the surrounding earth. Upon such a new formed surface the City Hall and the Reed House square have been built. One of the ravines outside the city is now being used for another purpose. The Eighth Street motor car track has been extended from the Catholic Cemetery, accross the fields to a deep ravine situated about two hundred yards southwest of the head of Presque Isle Bay. The track con- tinues on down through the ravine, where it curves around toward the east to the Massassauga Hotel. The descent is gradual, the rails are permanently laid, the gulch is cleared of fallen trees and bowlders, and its sides are dense with forest trees, twining vines, and flowers. A small crystal stream chatters its rights of passage from a small spring at the head down to the bay, where is a cool and refreshing lake breeze and an enchanting view of the lake. .
" At a depth of three or four feet below the upper surface of the dark sand a fluid oozes out very slowly from a seam, hav- ing a metallic scum on the surface, tinged with a mixture of iron, copper and zinc. This stratum descends also with the track, showing how much the deposit was inclined toward the lake when this part of the earth was two or three hundred feet lower than it is now-so low that the high land along Twenty-sixth Street became the shore of a broad ocean many times wider than the waters of Lake Erie.
"T. D. I."
" Five miles from the Erie Union Depot the railway makes a true curve on the very brink of a 100-foot gulf, through which the Four Mile Creek descends to Lake Erie at the rate of about 100 feet per mile. The gulch is about 100 feet in depth and wide enough to be called a valley. This location is unrivalled for a picnic ; the horizontal branches, forty feet in length, afford shade for the tables, the open, smooth grass plots are broad enough for baseball, football, and tennis, while the even, rocky bed of the meandering stream makes wading delightful for many children. There is ample room for strolling in all directions to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Passing a mile
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further up the stream we find groves and open spaces and reach the famous Wintergreen Gulch, In some places the banks are sufficiently sloping for the growth of shrubbery and forest trees, while the bank opposite is so precipitous and rocky that no kind of vegetation can take root. The face of the wall above shows the strata to be composed of alternate layers of sandstone and shale each several inches in thickness, but near the bottom the shale is several feet in thickness, and caused by the elements to break into thin scales no larger than the finger nail, which are washed away by every rainfall. Here and there are great bowlders in the valley and bed of the stream. They are of different kinds of rock, and en- tirely unlike any of the foundation rocks in this part of the country. They were formed in some past age of the world, and transported to this locality from some foreign country. There are, however, other loose rocks which were broken from the foundation rocks of this country, and crop out one or two miles south of these picnic grounds. They were brought down the gulch by ice and powerful floods. Some of the blocks are eighteen or more inches in thickness, and are filled through and through with beautiful fossil shells.
"T. D. I."
Lake Pleasant, in Amity township (and via Wattsburg 182 miles from Erie), is several hundred feet above Lake Erie, which is a still greater height above the ocean, ridges and valleys succeeding one another. As seen from high hills, the landscape is exceedingly beautiful, and a great distance ap- pears between the observer and the horizon.
Lake Pleasant, near the corners of Venango, Green, Amity, and Waterford, is a beautiful body of water about three fourths of a mile long and a third of a mile wide, with a depth of twenty-five to fifty feet. Its outlet is a stream about the size of Le Bœuf Creek at Waterford, that never diminishes except in the dryest season. After furnishing power to several mills it falls into French Creek about three miles south, in Amity township. The wooden bridge over the West Branch at Wattsburg was the first bridge of the county and was origin- ally built by the County Commissioners in 1822, through the influence of William Miles,
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Dr. Ingersoll speaks poetically of the green woods and silent waters of the peninsula-Erie's wild natural park and pleasure ground. Since permanent habitation upon Presqu'ile has been forbidden by the United States government it has be- come wilder by the growth of plants in the trails made by pedestrians. If it would now transform this water-bound tongue of land into a public park with modern improvements, it would become a charming resort for health seekers and lovers of nature who live at a distance, as well as for those who dwell in its immediate vicinity. In this secluded and wild locality there is much that is interesting to the zoologist, the botanist, and the sportsman. Wild birds of various species visit the peninsula semi-annually for food and rest as they migrate to and from distant parts of the country, both north and south, and many are the victims of sportsmen. As a variety of crafts and steamers in the warm season pass on both sides, the views through the trees and open spaces present pictures at various points of observation worthy of transfer to canvas and with exquisite color.
"Sixteen Mile Creek takes its rise in Greenfield township, within a mile of French Creek, passes the borough on its west side, and enters the lake at Freeport. Its length is about ten miles, and its general course due north. About two and a half miles south of the borough, Sixteen Mile Creek is joined by Graham Creek, which rises in New York, and is perhaps four miles long. At the point of junction there is a " hogs- back " which is nearly perpendicular on the east side. The gully at the "hogsback " is not far from two hundred feet deep. The heads of Twenty Mile Creek are in Chautauqua County, N. Y., and its mouth is near the northeast corner of Northeast township, Pennsylvania. It enters the State about a mile above the crossing of the Lake Shore Railroad, and must have a length of ten or twelve miles. The deep gulf of this stream, which attracts so much attention from travelers begins three or four miles south of the Lake Shore Railroad culvert, and continues nearly to the lake, some three miles further by the windings of the creek. Its depth where the railroad crosses is about one hundred feet. The culvert at this point is a mammoth work and one of the finest pieces of ma-
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sonry in the country. The Nickel Plate road has a fine iron bridge some distance above. The gully on the headwaters of Sixteen Mile Creek is nowhere as abrupt as that of Twenty Mile Creek, except at the junction above referred to. From Moorheadville to its mouth the Twelve Mile Creek has steep banks.
" A wonderful curiosity is to be found on Elk Creek where it makes a great oxbow bend around a very high point of rocks, hundreds of feet above the surface of Lake Erie. It is seventeen miles southwest from Erie, and a delightful drive. Arriving at the creek is a winding wagon path up to a plateau owned by Mr. Blair, and through cultivated fields to the mid- dle of the bend where the promontory-like formation termi- nates in a long knife-blade ridge of bare rocks on which one may balance himself with a foot over a precipice on each side. Some are brave enough to attempt to walk the ridge single-file, and succeed without accident, though life depends on proper balance of the body-a single misstep would send one headlong to the bed of the creek more than a hundred feet below. This has been named the 'Devil's Backbone' and on the other side of the creek is another high rocky point called the 'Devil's Nose.'"-From History of Erie County, 1884. Published by Warner & Co., Chicago.
CHAPTER II.
Magnitude of the Great Lakes-Lake Currents-Fish Exhibit- Hatcheries-Ancient Mariner-The Lighthouses-Flash Light- house-Lifesaving Station-Waterworks-War for the Union- Soldiers and Sailors' Home.
From the Marine Review.
The story of a captain who took a schooner across the At- lantic with a cargo of wheat from the lakes, and being unable to get insured for the return trip, because no information of the great lake ports was to be found, is well known, as is also the one about English underwriters being surprised that lake vessels were navigated at night instead of tying up along the
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"bank," but a recent instance more interesting is given by a New York engineer. He accompanied Mr. Johnson, the Eng- lish capitalist interested in the building of whalebacks in Eng- land, on his first trip up the lakes, While in the rivers Mr. Johnson asked if they would not reach Duluth by nightfall, When told he would have to pass through two large lakes on which he would be out of sight of land for several hours and cover some 600 miles, he shook his head and wondered. Near- ing the end of his journey he ventured to suggest that it couldn't be far from the Pacific Ocean, but subsided when told that the halfway point in crossing the continent was still several hundred miles west of him, Some foreigners, as well as eastern business men, have had their doubts dispelled as to the immense traffic of the lakes, but many are still woefully ignorant of that as well as of their great area. The following will give an idea of the magnitude of the great lakes :
" The water surface of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Mich- igan and Superior, and connecting waterways, is 95,275 square miles, while the area of Great Britain, England, Scotland and Wales combined is only 88,781 square miles, The coast lines of the great lakes contain more than half the fresh water on the globe, and have a combined length of 3,075 miles. It is 1,279 miles from Ogdensburg to Duluth, and from the northern shore of Lake Superior to the southern end of Lake Michigan is 520 miles. The distance from Chicago to Liverpool is 4,500 miles, one half of which is covered by the great lakes and St. Lawrence River. From the Straits of Belle Isle to Duluth, at the head of Lake Superior, is 2,2592 miles. From the Straits of Belle Isle to Kingston, Lake Ontario, is 1,164 miles, From Kingston to Duluth it is 1,186 miles, over one half of the distance from the Straits of Belle Isle across the Atlantic to Liverpool."
Observer W. B. Stockman, of the Cleveland Weather Bureau, has received for distribution among vessel masters and others interested in the welfare of the lake marine, a large number of copies of the newly issued current chart of the great lakes, This chart is the result of the effort put forth by the department last season to ascertain the trend of currents believed to exist on the vast sheets of inland water. At the
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suggestion of Dr. H. J. Penrod, then marine agent of the Weather Bureau, with headquarters in Cleveland, a number of bottles were purchased from a Pittsburg firm that manu- factured them to order. They much resembled what is known as a pop or ginger beer bottle, save that they were fitted with an ordinary cork. They were so blown that the weight was such as to immerse the bottle except about half an inch of the neck, leaving the smallest proportion possible to be affected by surplus influences. The bottles were packed in boxes, each box containing twenty-five bottles, and issued to masters of lake boats. The masters were instructed to drop bottles over board in certain localities, first filling out a blank containing the date, hour, and location of the casting away of the bottle, the paper being placed inside. Inside each bottle was another blank, with a franked envelope, which the finder was requested to fill out, naming the day and hour, and the spot where the bottle had been found.
The plan was carried out thoroughly in all its details, and the envelopes placed in three fourths of the bottles issued eventually found their way to Washiington. In fact, so many more were returned than had been expected that the artist found considerable difficulty in making clear use of the infor- mation contained, and this delayed the issue of the charts. The charts just issued show excellent lithographic work. They are of the same size as the wreck chart issued last year, and give the outline of the lakes in blue upon an orange back- ground, the degrees of latitude and longitude being very plainly marked.
In the upper right-hand corner, on a salmon-colored back- ground, is a smaller map of the lakes, showing the general set of the currents as indicated by the drifting of the bottles, and giving a fair idea of the directions in which the water circu- lates. The light blue which indicates the water in the large chart is adorned with what at first glance appears to be a meteoric shower, in a darker blue. Small circles show the localities where some of the bottles, selected for the purpose of illustration, were thrown overboard, and lines follow their course to the spot where the bottles were picked up, this being indicated by an arrowhead. While the courses of the
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bottles were in many cases determined by the flow of the water through the rivers, a surprisingly large number took such apparently independent courses as to clearly argue the existence of very definite and permanent currents. The bottles cast overboard at Duluth started down Lake Superior, but in several instances showed a decided inclination, after passing Apostle Islands, to turn back toward Ashland. After passing Keweenaw some drifted in toward Marquette ; others took a more or less direct course for Whitefish Bay and the headwaters of the Sault ; while by far the greatest proportion were cast upon the inhospitable coast extending from Grand Marais to Whitefish Point. Remarkable exceptions to all these were noted, however, in bottles dropped overboard be- tween Keweenaw Point and Point au Sable, these taking a northeasterly direction, and crossing the courses followed by other bottles, drifting upon the Canadian shore north and east of the Caribon Islands.
On Lake Michigan, bottles cast away between Beaver Islands and the entrance to Green Bay drifted toward the latter and found the shore for the most part at the north end of Green Bay. At the south end of the bay the water had little inotion, and no bottles ever got out of it. The general drift of the bottles showed a current up the west shore, but steadily turning to the east shore and flowing back toward the straits, passing out through the south passage almost exclu- sively. On Lake Huron the courses were the most varied, the principal drifts being southeastward or southwestward. The bottles passed into Saginaw Bay at the lower side, then turned and came out at the north side, explaining the con- stant rough seas found at the mouth of this bay. Many bottles thrown overboard on the west side of Lake Huron found their way through the narrow island passages into Georgian Bay and were then washed ashore.
Bottles dropped in Detroit River showed currents setting against the north shore to Point au Pelee, and against the west shore far into Maumee Bay. Bottles coming through the north passage found the shore between Lorain and Buffalo. Those dropped overboard in midlake west of Lorain took a southwesterly course, Bottles starting from the locality
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where the Wocoken foundered, even when dropped close to the Canadian shore, drifted down past Long Point and ulti- mately reached the south shore. The drifting wreckage and bodies from this steamer have constantly followed the same course.
On Lake Ontario the bottles have uniformly taken a south- easterly course, most of them drifting upon the New York shore.
Chief Mark W. Harrington, of the Weather Bureau, in issuing his chart, expresses the hope that it may prove of material value to those interested in lake navigation, and ex- tends the thanks of the bureau to the many persons, masters of vessels and others, who have aided in the work, The study of currents is to be continued, and the bureau hopes for the same cooperation and assistance in the future as in 1892.
FROM PENNSYLVANIA'S FISH EXHIBIT AT THE WORLD'S CO- LUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
By Col. John Fleeharty, of Erie,
Although Pennsylvania has but forty-five miles of frontage on Lake Erie, its interests in the fisheries of these waters are considerable, the City of Erie, a flourishing town on this great waterway, doing the bulk of the trade,
Upper Mill Creek, Walnut Creek and Trout Run were noted for their fine fishing in the memory of many now living, All the streams in Erie County were prolific in fish, and all of them contained many brook trout. . Log canoes for fishing purposes were as much a necessity to the early settlers along the lake as log cabins to shelter their families, and each went fishing as his wants required.
In 1796, some twenty or thirty Indian families belonging to the Seneca tribe resided at the head of the bay, now known as " the Head," or Massassauga Point, and were the first fisher- men on the lake in Northwestern Pennsylvania. This was the last Indian village in Erie County. After their departure the site was occupied by a halfbreed negro named Mckinney wlio lived by fishing. He subsequently removed to the upper Laird farm, and one of his daughters married Ben Flem- ing, who was the last survivor of Perry's fleet residing in
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Pennsylvania. Following him came Moses Muzzy, and then Ben Fleming, both of whom made their living by fish- ing in the bay from log cauoes. Black bass abounded, and with all varieties were taken with the hook prior to 1830. David Fowzier at that time became the first seine fisherman. The ponds in the peninsula and Pike Pond on the south side of the bay near the harbor entrance were the spawning grounds for a large variety of fish, particularly grass pike and some fine turtles. They lay upon the bottom, in about two and a half feet of water and were taken by shooting or spearing ; some were of extraordinary size.
Hon. James Hoskinson contributed some interesting items for Col. Fleeharty's article. About 1824-26 small vessels went from Erie to Mackinaw in the fall to fish for white fish and trout. Having cured and packed them in barrels they re- turned to Erie and a good market was found for them, and many were shipped to Pittsburg. There were eight or ten vessels engaged in this trade for several years. Messrs. Seth Reed, P. S. V. Hamot and Capt. John Dixon had vessels so engaged. Capt. John Dixon built the first dock and ware- house, and from there all of the limited fish business was trausacted. For many years the names of Horton, Hunts- burger and Buckingham also were connected with seine fish- ing. Little or no fishing was done in the lake, as the bay abounded. Misery Bay and the mouth of Mill Creek have always been fine places for rock bass fishing as well as sunfish and perch. The first white fishing at this point was in 1853 ; the first shippers were George Witter and John Sutter & Co.
In 1867 there were only nine fish boats out of Erie, and the first steam fish boat came to Erie from Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1874 or '75.
Capt. Clark Jones says : "Commeuced gill net fishing in 1854 or '55. White fish was shipped east and west about 1856. At that time sturgeons were considered of no use and were taken to the peninsula and buried. Thousands have been buried there and to-day they are worth two dollars and fifty cents each. Smoked sturgeon is considered fully equal to smoked halibut, and the roe makes an excelleut 'caviare.' Each fish yields from twelve to fourteen pounds. The meat is
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mostly sent to Sandusky, Ohio, for curing and smoking and is worth from five to eight cents a pound for that purpose. Though formerly thrown away this fish is now scarce and valuable. The Dash family is a family of fishermen of four generations. Capt. John Dash gave interesting items, as also William Terry, Capts. Jones and Wick. They speak of black bass, the gamiest fish in the lakes, becoming more and more scarce ; herrings though plentiful are not as much so as for- merly, but a great many are salted along the lakes. The mus- calonge used to be quite plentiful in this vicinity-the largest one taken was sixty-two pounds-the average weight is twenty-five to thirty pounds.
"Mr. E. D. Carter embarked in the business of fishing and shipping fish in 1874, and to him is given the credit of open- ing up a permanent market abroad. Shipments of fish pre- vious to this were at times when there was an overplus on the market. Mr. Louis Strueber went into the business in 1877, and the two were for years the only shippers from Erie. Frank W. Bacon & Co. have also been large shippers for some years.
"On the 24th of September, 1892, the Erie Fish Association was formed by consolidation of the following houses: E. D. Carter, Louis Strueber, Frank W. Bacon & Co., and E. Knob- lock & Co. The first day after the consolidation the catch of fish was forty-eight tons. The statistical account on the lake, in Pennsylvania for 1892 shows that 28 steam fish boats, 14 sail boats, 40 pound nets, boats, etc., employ $250,000 total capital, and 500 men. An accurate account of the fish taken for commercial purposes during 1892 has been kept, the total number of pounds being 12,786,579. The herring was highest in number, being 8,300,633, and blue pike the next, 2,968,659, while black bass was only 4,286 and sturgeon 90,702, white fish 524,428, and trout 131,337."
STATE FISH HATCHERY.
In Erie is a beautiful cottage on the corner of Second and Sassafras streets under the supervision of the Fish Commis- sion, and was opened in December, 1885, to propagate white fish in Erie waters. As hundreds of thousands of dollars are
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invested and a small army of men employed in the fisli- ing business here, and there is also a wholesale destruction of spawn by sturgeons, as well as in the natural way, this is essential to keep up the supply. It is supposed one large sturgeon will consume millions of fish eggs in a day, which if undisturbed would be comparatively safe after hatching.
After entering a pleasant reception room the remainder of the floor is devoted to propagating purposes. On several long counters or tables are placed glass jars, each containing one gallon. One quart of spawn is put in each jar, which is filled with water and sealed airtight, excepting as two rubber tubes with glass nozzles run in a supply of fresh water, which keeps the whole in motion. By an ingenious plan all the " dead " spawn is removed also by the discharge tube. On the second floor a tank containing 1,000 gallons of water affords pressure. After hatching the small fry are kept in the jars about a week, when they are liberated in the lake, perhaps ten miles out. The Erie hatchery has the capacity for bringing out 30,000,000 small fry in a season. Rock bass, catfish, and when the season closes for white fish, blue pike are sometimes placed in the hatching jars.
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