Sterling should remain with the children, while she should undertake the hazardous journey, promising that if the Lord would let her go through, she would send help that should reach Mrs. Sterling by nine o'clock in the evening. Mrs. Sterling had the good sense to see the wisdom of the plan, and finally consented to the arrange

ment.

In the morning as soon as it was light enough to see to travel, Mrs. Dixon, armed with the pistol, set out on her journey to Bear Creek. It is fully eighteen miles from the point of starting, now Charlevoix village, to the mission farm at Bear Creek, near the present site of Petoskey, by the nearest wagon road of modern times. At the time of which we write, there was no road-not even an Indian trail that a woman could follow. Mrs. Dixon's only way was to go down to the mouth of the river and then follow the beach through all its sinuosities to her destination.

Those who in the primitive days of northern Michigan performed long foot journeys on the beach could tell, if they were to speak, how the bendings of the shore in and out add to the distance. They could tell, too, of difficulties attending that mode of travel, of which their descendants, never having been driven to it by necessity, have no just conception. Sometimes the traveler strikes a stretch of smooth sand, packed by the receding waves to the solidity of a pavement, that auswers to his tread with a sharp, ringing, metallic sound as he moves easily and rapidly forward. Then for miles loose sand, drifted about by the wind in which his feet sink at every step, makes even the slowest progress toilsome. Piles of drift-wood, fallen timber and overhanging trees, gnarled and twisted into fantastic forms by the fury of the elements, obstruct his way. Jutting crags block up the passage. Perpendicular precipices rise from the very margin of the lake, leaving no room for even the narrowest path. Often he must take to the water or, if it is above his depth, leave the beach and face his way through thickets almost impenetrable, on the land. The beach as a highway, however, has one excellence in advance of ordinary new country roads-on it the traveler can not lose his way.

Once on the beach, Mrs. Dixon pressed rapidly forward, wading round obstructions, where the water was shallow, in preference to climbing over them. It seemed to take less time, and time was precious. The prints of her husband's feet were seen in the sand, where he had passed along a day or two before. Finding the tracks was like meeting company on that lonely shore. At Kah-gah-chewing there had formerly been an Indian settlement. It was now deserted. Here she lost her husband's tracks. Thinking he might have left the beach for a trail, she sought for them in vain in the intricate net-work of the grass-grown and almost obliterated paths of the village. Returning, she pursued her way along the beach, feeling more lonely than before. Beyond Kah-gah-che-wing a vessel had been lost. It was known that a company of men had been for some time at work there, trying to raise the wreck. She had hoped to find them, but their camp was deserted. Further on, where perpendicular cliffs rise from the very margin of the water, she could no longer follow the beach. Ascending to the top of the bluff, she found the country covered with a dense, tangled swamp, which it seemed almost impossible to penetrate. No path could be found, but go through she must. For full three hours, as she estimated the time, she struggled onward, being careful to keep within hearing of the sound of the waves dashing against the foot of the cliff. When, finally, she emerged into more open ground, her pistol was lost, her shoes were nearly torn off her feet, and her clothing hung in shreds about her person. When within three miles of Bear Creck, she came upon an inhabited wigwam. Making the old Indian, Pa-ma-saw, understand that she wished to go to Mr. Porter's, he kindly sent with her a little boy as guide. Path there was none,

but only a blind trail, such as none but an Indian or an experienced barkwoodsman could follow.

It was communion day at the Mission, Rev. Peter Dougherty being present to officiate. The congregation were just collecting at the chapel for afternoon service, when Mrs. Dixon arrived. It was, perhaps, 1 or 2 o'clock P. M. The interest excited by her appearance and her story of the doings at Pine River, broke up the meeting for the time. Mrs. Dixon was quickly provided with refreshments by the ladies of Mr. Porter's family. Mr. Porter held a consultation with the Indians as to what it was proper to do. result was a decision that three Indians, well armed, should man one of their boats, and return with Mr. and Mrs. Dixon immediately. The party were not long in getting off. The wind was fair, and they arrived at Pine River a little before nine o'olock in the evening.

The

During Mrs. Dixon's absence, Mrs. Sterling, with an ingenuity and courage which, if she had been a man, might, under favorable circumstances, have made her a leader in the devices and intrigues of war, had adopted an artifice to deceive the enemy with a false show of force. Disguising herself in her husband's clothes, she walked about where she would be likely to be seen by some of the Mormons, changing the suit several times in the course of the day to give the impression that there were several men stopping at the house.

The plank stolen or thrown into the river by the Mormons on Saturday night, had been piled on the south side of the river. There was another pile on the north side, nearly in front of the house. Thinking that the marauders would return for it under cover of Light, Mr. Dixon and his Indian allies organized a watch. In the middle of the night a sound was heard, such as might have been made by carelessly moving the lumber. The Indians immediately gave the alarm. On going out, Mr. Dixon saw several men near the pile of plank. Hailing them, he was answered in a voice which he recognized as Mr. Sterling's, notwithstanding the effort of the speaker to disguise it. Mr. Sterling, returning from Mackinac, had reached Bear Creek a few hours after the departure of Mr. Dixon's party. Learning the state of affairs at home, and fearing, as Mr. Dixon had done, a return of the marauders, he had hired some Indians with a boat to bring him through. On landing, presuming that somebody would be on guard, he had ventured to indulge in the somewhat dangerous amusement of causing an alarm by pretending to move the lumber.

The next morning, Messrs. Dixon and Sterling resolved to make an effort to recover the stolen property. One of the Indians was induced to accompany them with his boat in the proposed expedition up Pine Lake. The others returned to Bear Creek. The three men were well armed. On their way up the lake, they met two Momons coming down. On being questioned, they denied all knowledge of the missing property. At the mouth of Porter's Creek, the lumber was found on the beach, and near it the oars and one of the thwarts of the missing boat. The boat could not be found. Two Mormons who were present, like the two met on the lake, denied all knowledge of the theft, and asserted the lumber was their own brought by themselves from Beaver Island. The boat in which the party had come was too small to carry away all the lumber. Taking a part of it, they prepared to return. When all was ready, Mr. Sterling still lingered on the shore. In response to Mr. Dixon's earnest request to come on board, he proposed that Mr. Dixon and the Indian should proceed homeward in the boat, while he should walk along the shore. However, Mr. Dixon's earnest entreaties at last induced him to enter the boat. He then confessed that his object in remaining was to kill the Mormons and recover the stolen boat. The plan he had contemplated was to shoot one of them,

then threaten the other with death, to make him reveal the place where the boat was concealed, and finally kill him also.

During Mr. Sterling's stay at Pine River, he was inclined to resort to sanguinary measures in the contest with the Mormons, but was overruled by the milder counsels of Mr. Dixon. The latter insisted that personal violence should not be resorted to, except in case of necessary self-defense. Finally, convinced that the project of building the mill could not be carried out in peace, and his wife being unwilling to remain longer, Mr. Sterling dissolved his connection with Mr. Dixon, and left the place.

In the meantime, the Mormons at Porter's Creek commenced a suit against Dixon & Sterling, before a Mormon justice of the peace at Pine River, for the value of the lumber they had seized and brought home from the former place. The defendants, thinking the plaintiffs would have everything their own way in the trial of the suit, thought it better to settle the claim by paying for their own property than to risk the result. The matter was accordingly The matter was accordingly arranged to the satisfaction of the Mormons.

While the project of building the mill was still entertained, a correspondence had been opened with Mrs. Dixon's brother, Mr. Charles Pratt, of Ashtabula, Ohio, who had some interest in the original purchase of the land, with a view to his becoming a partner in the undertaking. After Mr. Sterling's departure, and before Mr. Pratt's arrival, Mr. Dixon having become thoroughly discouraged by the constant annoyance of the Mormons, and feeling his inability to successfully oppose force to force, or otherwise protect his property against their thieving depredations, reluctantly came to the determination to abandon the settlement. He accordingly wrote to Mr. Lewis Miller, at Old Mission, to send a vessel to carry him away.

One morning the family were awakened at an early hour by the shrill whistle of a steamboat. It came from the little steamer Stockman, which had arrived at the mouth of the river, having on board Mr. Pratt, his sister, and two hired men he had brought with him. Soon after the landing of Mr. Pratt's party, a small sloop appeared, commanded by Capt. Sheppard, and having on board Mr. Schetterly (a son of Dr. Schetterly) and one or two more, sent by Mr. Miller to Mr. Dixon's relief. In view of the additional strength brought by Mr. Pratt's party, the question now arose whether it would be better to go or stay. The day was spent in consultation. The conclusion arrived at was that Mr. and Miss Pratt, with Mrs. Dixon, the children, and one of the hired men, should embark for Northport at once, while Mr. Dixon and the other man should remain, at least for the present. The plan was immediately put in execution. Mr. Dixon remained alone for a few weeks, till his crop of potatoes was dug and disposed of, when he joined his family at Northport.

These depredations occurred at a time when the Mormons were bent upon revenge for wrongs done them at an earlier day. It is only just to state that the word Mormon, as applied to individual offenders in the cases mentioned, should not be considered in its broad meaning, for there then were and still are professors of the Mormon religion living in this vicinity, whose claims to esteem and confidence have never been questioned. The general relation between the Mormons and Gentiles we have reviewed in the history of the Beaver Island Mormons, upon preceding pages.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE WINTER OF 1855-'56-DEPARTURE OF THE MORMONS IN JUNE, 1856-—ARRIVAL OF SETTLERS REMINISCENCE OF MR. AND MRS. JOHN MILLER-OTHER SETTLERS ARRIVE AT PINE RIVEr-ScatTERING SETTLEMENTS ARE MADE IN THE COUNTY-PERSONAL MENTION OF PIONEERS.

The withdrawal of Mr. Dixon left the Mormons in quiet possession of the place. Winter was drawing near and as they had not raised enough to supply them until spring, it was necessary for some one to go to the Beavers for supplies. George Preston procured a small vessel called the "Maid of the Mist," owned and sailed by Jonathan Pierce, and made the trip over. When they

had their load aboard and ready to sail for the river, the wind was averse accompanied by snow and rain. It being late in the season, and Mr. Preston anxious to return to his family before winter would close in, they did not wait for the wind to change or the storm to abate, but started to return. What happened to them was never known, as none of the crew ever reached shore to tell the tale. The boat was afterward found below Little Traverse, also the trunk belonging to one of the party. The names of the men who were lost were Capt. Jonathan Pierce, George Preston, David See and Horace Bump.

The winter following was excessively cold. In February ice formed from the mainland to the Beavers solid enough to hold up teams, and a highway of travel was established.

In June, 1856, occurred the assassination of Strang, and the forcible expulsion of the Mormons from Beaver Island speedily followed. Those at Pine River, or most of them, left at the same time.

ARRIVAL OF SETTLERS.

Quoting now from Dr. Leach we have the following narrative of events:

"The driving out of the Mormons left Medad Thompson and his family the only inhabitants at Pine River. However, they were not long alone. About the first of August, 1856, a sail might have. been seen coming round the point from the direction of Little Traverse, and heading for the mouth of the river, with a number of persons on board. It proved to be the Rover,' carrying as crew and passengers Samuel Horton and family, and two young men-John Newman and Archie Buttars.

"Mr. Horton had left Toledo in the Rover' with the intention of coasting round the lower peninsula of Michigan and up Grand River, to Grand Rapids, where two of his sons were living. Getting short of provisions, he put into Pine River in the hope of obtaining a supply. Here adverse winds induced him to remain for several days. It is said that, getting weary of the delay, he finally determined to start on a certain day, if the wind was fair; if not, he would take it as an indication that Providence had ordered that his home should be beside the bright waters of Pine Lake. On the day appointed, the wind was unfavorable for proceeding on the voyage, and accordingly the prow of the Rover' was turned toward the head of the lake. He selected a location at the head of the charming sheet of water that has since been named in his honor, Horton's Bay, where he found an improvement, which had been made by the Mormons previous to being driven off. Newman and Buttars, who seem to have been for some time drifting aimlessly about the world, became permanent residents of the country, the latter taking up his abode at Pine River, and the former remaining for some time at Horton's Bay.

"The Rover' was for many years the largest craft on Pine Lake. On account of her peculiar build and somewhat dilapidated condition, she was the object of many witticisms, but however un

seaworthy she may have been, judged by accepted nautical standards, she carried many a load of staves and hoops from Pine River to the Beaver Islands, and, in return, brought provisions in safety to those who would have been left in destitute circumstances, had she been cast away.

"After the Mormons were driven off, Mr. Dixon, who, since his expulsion from Pine River, had remained at Northport, resolved to return. He first visited Beaver Island, where he was successful in recovering the greater part of his stolen property. This he conveyed to Pine River, and then returned to Northport for his family. At the latter place he fell in with Mr. John Miller, afterward familiarly known as 'Uncle' John Miller, who with his wife and two sons had come from Oswegatchie, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., in search of a home in the west. It was arranged that Mr. Miller should take passage in Mr. Dixon's boat, and the two families sailed for Pine River in company.

“After stopping a short time at Pine River, Mr. Miller and his family were conveyed to their new home by Mr. Dixon in his boat, arriving at 11 o'clock at night. The location which had been selected was on the north shore of Pine Lake, near its head, in the vicinity of the present site of Bay Springs. The place had been occupied by the Mormons, who had made a clearing, built a log house and planted some crops.

“Mrs. Miller relates a curious dream she had before leaving Oswegatchie, the fulfillment of which she recognized in the circumstances of their arrival at their new home. She saw in her dream the log house, as it actually was, with a roof made of troughs, as the settlers sometimes made them where boards were scarce, with a trough inverted on the ridge in place of weather-boards. In front of the house was what appeared to be a swamp. She thought they built a fire on the floor in the house. Then the man who brought them there took the end board out of his wagon box to close an open window, and said to her that she would never want while she remained there. The features of the man were indelibly fixed in her memory. When, at Northport, she first caught sight of Mr. Dixon on the wharf, she recognized him at once as the person she had seen in her dream, and pointed him out to her husband as such. Arriving at their destination, everything appeared as she had seen it. What she had taken to be a swamp, however, was the lake, hidden by a row of evergreen trees along the beach. They did build a fire on the floor, or, rather, on the charred remains of the floor, which had already been partly consumed by accident or design. Then Mr. Dixon brought, not the end board of a wagon box, but the center board of his boat, and with it closed a window, to keep out the night air. We are not informed whether Mr. Dixon then actually spoke the words attributed to him or not, but his prophecy as heard in the dream made such a deep and lasting impression on Mrs. Miller, that, many years after, when, by the building up of the villages of Boyne City and Bay Springs, their land was made valuable and tempting prices were offered for it, she steadfastly refused to sell."

Soon after settling on their land Mr. Miller gave the name of Boyne to the river after a river of the same name in his native county.

John Newman worked a short time at Horton's Bay and afterward became the first settler of Marion Township, where he still lives.

At the closing in of the winter of 1856-'57 there were four families in the Pine River region-those of Medad Thompson, J. S. Dixon, Samuel Hortor and John Miller-and the two young men, Newman and Buttars. Mr. Buttars soon went to Elk Rapids, thence to Traverse City and Northport, and did not return to Pine River until 1869.

During the season of 1857 there were a number of arrivals, A. A. Corwin, J. R. Dean, Frank May and a man named Hyde.

One day in October there came to anchor off the mouth of Pine River a small schooner named the Sonora. Her passengers consisted of the late Seth F. Muson, and M. J. Stockman, now a resident of Charlevoix, with their families. Pine River was a shallow and rapid stream, filled with fallen cedars, and overhung with branches. The household effects of these two families were transferred up stream in a flat bottomed boat, and landed on the north bank of the river just above where the bridge now stands. The level plateau where Charlevoix now stands was covered with brambles and bushes, and was unadorned by any human habitation. The shores of Round Lake were as rude nature formed them, and upon the bosom of the beautiful little lakelet only the smallest sail-boats were ever seen, and then at rare intervals. Mr. Dixon and Mr. Medad Thompson were the only white settlers in the vicinity, and the only building that could be seen from Round Lake was the small log house which stood near the present mill, and into which both families moved until another house could be erected. This house had been built by Messrs. Stockman and Mason, who first came in September and then went back after their families.

Sometime during the winter John Mason and William Stockman started on foot through the woods for Point Au Barques, and in the spring of 1858 Stockman returned with a small boat belonging to Mr. Mason. In a few days he took another boat and went back after a family by the name of Beebe, and a man named Cross.

In the spring of 1858 came Hugh Miller, J. Beebe, and a man named Cross, and in the fall of the same year Richard Williams and two men named Cochran and Childs. D. H. Pierce came in 1857.

Of this number only five-Mason, Stockman, Miller, Pierce, and Williams-became permanent residents. May and Hyde stopped at Advance during the summer of 1857, but in the fall left for some other locality. The former, who had been in Mr. Dixon's employ during his first season at Pine River, had since married. A daughter, born to him while at Advance, was the first white child born in the vicinity of the head of Pine Lake. Dean and Corwin settled near Horton's Bay, but left the country in 1859. Williams, Cochran and Childs settled at Advance Williams soon left, but afterward returned to Pine River. The other two, after remaining about a year, removed to Northport. Beebe and Cross retired from the settlement in 1859. The former, as he was leaving, met with a terrible affliction, in the loss of his wife and two children, by the capsizing of a sail boat, on the reef at Pine River Point. It was quite late in the fall when Justice Beebe started, consequently the weather was stormy and bad. The boat in which he set sail was small, and besides himself. wife and two children, and household effects, he had a large hog. It was nearly dark when he started, and rounding West Point the boat capsized, and all on board were precipitated into the water. Mr. Beebe succeeded in reaching shore with the lifeless body of his wife, but his two children were swept away and never again seen. This tragic event and the departure of so many had a depressing effect, upon those who remained. They could raise but little, and they were far removed from mill and market. There was something done in the way of fishing and getting out hoops and staves.

The winter of 1857-'58 was a severe one and many of the settlers found the meal in the barrel very low before spring opened. Northport was the nearest point at which provisions could be ob tained, except what little could be obtained at Bear Creek.

Hugh Miller made an improvement on some railroad land in the present town of Hayes. Failing to make satisfactory arrangements with the railroad company, he abandoned his claim and not