It Happened at the Waterfall

Dazed and confused, Netta felt her way to dry ground.  Her head was throbbing.  Blood was dripping down her face from the top of her head. She wiped it from her face before it dripped into her eyes. She was trying to recall how she got there and could not remember anything. She was struggling to sit up after crawling a few feet from the water fall. She stared at the water as it fell from above, admiring its beauty. She knelt before the water, cupped water in her hands and washed her face. She rinsed her aching head under the flowing water. Netta tried to stand up. Her knees were wobbly.  She leaned against a tree to get her balance. She started walking, hoping she would find someone. She discovered she was by railroad tracks. A wagon driven by a young man and woman was approaching her alongside the tracks. She stood up and walked towards the oncoming wagon.  

          The young woman looked a little frazzled when her husband helped Netta onto the bed of the wagon. The newlyweds were on their way to a cabin in the woods to celebrate the newness of their wedded bliss when they came across Netta.  The streets were bustling with activity and music could be heard from the saloon doors when they approached the village of Munising.  The young man and woman rode past the saloon and continued down the street. The young man, named John, turned the wagon around and headed back towards the saloon. Emma, his new wife, prodded John to turn around and he obliged. John helped Netta down from the wagon and brought her to the saloon. He walked in with her and told the bartender how he found her by the tracks. Edward, the bartender, told him he would provide her a room and he would contact old Doc to check in on her.

Doc approached the bed where Netta was lying. He asked “What’s your name?”

“I don’t know. How did I get here?” asked Netta.

“John and Emma brought you here. They said they found you by the tracks,” replied Doc.

“I woke up by a waterfall. My head was bleeding,” replied Netta.

“You have a big gash on your head. Do you remember how you got that?” asked Doc.

“No. I just remember waking up by the waterfall.”

“I will get some whiskey from the bar to pour on that gash and bandage it so it won’t get infected,” said Doc.

Netta, who really did not know who she was, was scared and wished she could remember what happened to her.

Doc poured a generous amount of whiskey on her head and handed her a cloth to wipe her face. She jumped when it was poured on her head. She was in so much pain and the doc just made it worse. He wrapped a bandage around her head and told her to drink some whiskey so she could get some sleep without feeling too much pain. Netta gagged as she swallowed the pungent liquid. The room started spinning around and she passed out from the pain in a drunken stupor.

“Wake up sleepy head,” said Rose.

Netta looked up groggily at Rose and asked, “Where am I?”

“You are at the Lucky Star. You ended up here a couple of days ago.  We thought we should wake you and get some grub down you so you gain your strength back.”

Netta took one look at the soup and ran to the window and vomited.

“Oh, you poor thing. I will get a cold compress for that head of yours.”

Rose ran to the river behind the saloon and dipped a cloth in the water and brought it back for Netta’s head. Netta smiled meekly at Rose.

After a couple of weeks, Netta started feeling better. She was getting her strength back. She still didn’t remember who she was or why she ended up at the waterfall.

Rose decided to come up with a name for Netta. “How about we call you Elenore? I had a grandma who just passed and her name was Elenore.”

“I like that name.”

“Elenore it is.”

“Where am I?” asked Elenore.

“You are in Munising, a town in the Michigan territory,” replied Rose.

Munising was an up and coming community with lots of prospects located in the western portion of the Upper Peninsula near Marquette. An early settler by the name of Thomas G. Sullivan was the first mayor of the village. In 1894, Timothy Nester traveled to Munising with Captain Taylor and saw potential for the struggling community. The population at that time was 500. He hired men and the work began at the village. First, he had a post office constructed. In 1896, the village was incorporated. The population jumped to over 3,000 in a short amount of time. Docks, a tannery, and sawmills were constructed, which put many of the men to work who relocated to Munising from various locations.  A newspaper was printed that announced the local news.

Simon saw a need to run a saloon and provide some female companions for the unmarried men in the community. The men greatly outnumbered the women in Munising. Some of the married men also frequented the saloon to partake in some of the women’s attributes. There were never enough women to go around and Simon was always looking for more women. Simon believed that if the men had women and liquor to occupy their time when they weren’t working, they would stay out of trouble. That was good in theory but did not represent real life during that time period. Many men were severely injured and even lost their lives during brawls, usually over gambling debts or women. Poker was the game of choice.

                                                                                           

“What year is it?” asked Elenore.

“The year is 1899,” responded Rose. 

“I have something to ask you. Simon sent me up to talk to you about working for him.”

“What kind of work? Does he want me to serve drinks?” asked Elenore.

“No, silly,” replied Rose.

“What does he want me to do?” asked Elenore.

“He wants you to lay with men like I do to earn our keep. There are a lot of men who do not have wives to keep them company. Simon has noticed how the men look at you and he thinks you could make up your keep by pleasing them,” said Rose. She could tell Elenore was uneasy with the prospect. She smiled meekly at Elenore to ease her mind. Elenore looked confused more than anything.

“You remember I don’t remember anything from my past. I don’t even know if I have been with a man before. How will I even know what to do? I feel really uncomfortable about what Simon wants me to do,” said Elenore. Her eyes spoke volumes. She looked confused and scared at the same time. Rose was feeling sorry for her.

“The men usually know what to do. You just have to lay there and pretend you like what they are doing,” said Rose, trying to reassure her.

Rose looked at Elenore and wondered what else she could say to ease Elenore’s mind.

Several days after Rose talked with Elenore, Elenore agreed begrudgingly to go along with Simon’s requests. She was feeling guilty because she wasn’t earning her keep.

Elenore ended up being the favored one of the working women at the Lucky Star. Most of the men requested her.  Elenore was a petite woman with long flowing auburn hair. Her dazzling blue eyes caught the eye of many men. The men often wondered why she wasn’t happily married to a prominent man and they wondered how she ended up at the Lucky Star.

Samuel was sleeping on some hay in the loft of his family’s sawmill. He was suddenly awakened by a loud crash. He had no light but he looked down to see what made that sound. He could hear people walking around. Someone was carrying a large tree limb with the end lit up with fire. Samuel could see that the person holding the lighted limb was an Indian person. He was shining the light over one of the saws. Another Indian held a large rock above his head and he started pounding on the saw blade. Samuel was beside himself and he reached for his flintlock, loaded it and shot at the Indian with the large rock and just missed his head. Part of his ear was shot off. The one holding the light yelled in another language and everyone ran from the sawmill.

Samuel waited for awhile and then climbed down from the loft. He snuck out the back door and headed for his family’s home. He yelled for his Paw. His Paw came out from his bedroom scratching his head with one hand and holding his gun with his other hand. His gun was pointed at his son.

“Paw, it’s me. Don’t shoot me,” said Samuel.

“What’s wrong, son?” asked his Paw.

“I caught some Indians trying to destroy one of our main saw blades. I got a shot in before they ran off. I think I shot one of those Indian’s ears clean off,” said Samuel.

“That’s good son. Maybe they will think twice before coming here again to cause trouble.”

“We need to tell the mayor about the what the Indians tried to do to our sawmill.”

“I will tell him first thing in the morning. Right now, let’s get some shut eye, son. I want you to sleep inside with us tonight. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Do you think they are going to come back tonight?”

“No, I think you scared them off.”

It was well-known that some of the Indian people who were living in the area created problems for some of the construction workers. They were sneaking into the town during the night and stealing tools and wrecking some of the construction projects.  They were careful not to get caught. Samuel was the first person to catch them in the act.

Native Americans have had a long history in the Munising area. The name Munising was an Indian name which meant “Place of the Great Island” in the Ojibwe language. Grand Island was an island that many people of many races had visited.

In 1668 the French explored the Munising area and the area was considered part of New France. Convoys of voyagers camped along the coast of Lake Superior from Grand Marais to Au Train. The Paris Peace Treaty of 1763 ceded the area to the British and the region became a part of the struggling United States.

The native people lived near the mouth of Sand River in 1820. They moved their village to Sand Point because a post was built on Grand Island in the 1820s by the American Fur Company. Prior to the white settlers moving to the area, the area was visited by fur traders, explorers and fishermen. In 1850, white men discovered the area known as Au Train. At that time, the village consisted of thirty homes, a blacksmith shop, sawmill and lighthouse.

Some of the shores in Munising were lined with cliffs known today as the Pictured Rocks because of their multicolored sandstone and mineral stains on the face of the cliffs. The Indian people had given names to such phenomenon and legends were told about the area. Legends were told about the cliffs.

Treaties with the Indian people were negotiated by the President of the United States and were binding when approved by the Indians and two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. Many tribal people felt they had no choice but to give in to the U. S. government. The greatest number of treaties were arranged between 1815 and 1860, during the prominent westward expansion, 260 treaties were secured. Almost 100 treaties specifically addressed boundaries between a tribe and the United States. Two tribes, the Potawatomi and Ojibwe (Michigan tribes), negotiated 42 treaties, which is more than any other tribe.

The 1836 Treaty of Washington changed the lives of many of the Native Americans living in Michigan. The treaty was a part of the Indian Removal faction, a movement which wiped out the ownership of a vast amount of Indian territories in Michigan for the Indian people.  Congress assigned commissioners to assure these treaty documents were secured with the tribes. The Indian people were considered the conquered ones. These meetings were not based on equality; the meetings exemplified expansionism. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was instrumental in organizing gatherings of the Ojibwe and Odawa leaders to discuss the impending treaty negotiations. The1836 Treaty of Washington resulted in the takeover of 5/8 of the total land base in Michigan from the Indian people.

Many tribal people were still angry with the white settlers for encroaching on their land, taking all their resources and treating them with little to no respect. Some of the Indian people, especially the sons of past warriors were not ready to give into the white settlers. They wanted the settlers to know they meant business and they did not want them living on the land that belonged to their ancestors.

“Thomas, our sawmill was attacked last night by Indians. Samuel caught them in the act. He thinks he shot one in the ear,” said Henry, Samuel’s father. Thomas G. Sullivan, an early settler, was the first mayor of Munising after it was incorporated.

“What did you catch them doing?” asked Thomas.

“One of the Indians had a large rock and he was pounding the rock on a saw blade,” replied Henry.

“Now they are going after sawmills. They destroyed one of the side walls to the post office the other night. It’s being repaired as we speak. I don’t feel like they are a threat to our lives, but their destruction needs to stop.”

“I will have to fix the saw blade. They didn’t do too much damage, but I can’t use it the way it is,” said Henry.

Thomas said, “I have an idea. Let’s take a few of our men folk and go to their village and take to them about what is going on. Perhaps we can ask them to provide protection for our village and pay them for their services.”

“That sounds like a grand idea,” replied Henry.

Rose felt she was getting long in the tooth, too long in the tooth to be a working girl at the Lucky Star. She still had a nice body. Round where she needed to be with long, thin legs. Wrinkles surrounded her sparkling eyes and mouth. Rose was still requested when certain gentlemen came calling, but she was starting to dread those times. She was hoping Simon would let her take the position of cook at his little establishment. The previous cook died of consumption. Simon’s wife, Lucinda, was filling in. Lucinda had little ones to care for at home. Her youngsters were being cared for by their oldest daughter, Betsy. Lucinda feared it was too much responsibility for a ten-year-old. Betsy was cooking and cleaning along with taking care of Bud and Lawrence because she had to be at the saloon ten hours a day to cook and clean.

“I would really like to cook for you,” said Rose.

“I have Lucinda here by my side where she belongs,” replied Simon.

Lucinda glared at Simon.

“What’s with the look, Lucinda?”

“I can’t be here every day. Betsy is run ragged taking care of our boys and the house. I need to be home taking care of them,” replied Lucinda. She stood with her hands on her hips.

“Can’t we work out something? Perhaps that neighbor lady could spell Betsy now and again so she won’t get so worn out,” said Simon.

“You know we can’t count on Beth. She likes to drink too much. Just the other day I saw her stumbling across the road trying to get to her house.”

“I bet she would quick tipping the bottle if she was watching our youngsters,” said Simon.

“I can’t trust someone like that,” said Lucinda.

“Give me a chance to prove myself. You won’t be sorry,” said Rose.

“You earn good money for this place by doing exactly what you do,” said Simon.

“You haven’t noticed that I haven’t been too busy lately. I am getting too old,” said Rose.

“Give her a chance Simon,” demanded Lucinda.

Lucinda took off the apron she was wearing and handed it to Rose.

“It looks like I don’t really have a choice in the matter,” said Simon. He turned abruptly and walked back to the bar to serve a customer.

“I would like something from your top shelf. Something that will slide down my palate smoothly,” said a man. The man was tall with broad shoulders, he had dark hair and blue eyes. His eyes looked like they penetrated right through you.

He made Simon feel uncomfortable. Simon looked at the man uneasily and replied, “We only have whiskey.” Simon pointed to the jars of whiskey that lined the shelf behind him.

The man sighed and said, “Give me a whiskey.”

Elenore approached the bar to meet her next client. She froze in her tracks when she saw the tall, dark stranger.

Rose ran to her side and said, “What’s wrong? It’s look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Elenore could not respond. She was stiff with fear.

Rose looked at the man and Simon to see if she could figure out what was going on.

The stranger stared back at Rose. Rose backed up and took another look at the man.

Elenore turned and ran. She took the stairs two at a time.

Rose was following close behind her.

Rose slammed the door to Elenore’s room.

“Do you know that man?” asked Rose.

“I don’t know. I think I know him from somewhere,” replied Elenore.

Elenore was trembling and sobbing at the same time.

They heard loud footsteps in the hall outside Elenore’s room.

There was a loud knock at the door. Elenore and Rose jumped and looked at each other, eyes as big as saucers.

“It’s me,” Simon said.

Rose went to the door and let Simon in.

“I don’t know who that man was. Never seen him before, but he sure shook you up Elenore. Do you know who he is?” asked Simon.

“I think he might be from my past. I still can’t remember anything from my past.”

“He left as soon as he saw you. Didn’t finish his whiskey. Acted like his ass was on fire.”

Simon looked at Elenore and shook his head.

Henry, Thomas, Samuel, Edward and Earl loaded their flintlocks, put saddles on their horses and headed to the Indian settlement outside of town. They wanted to meet with the Indian men to discuss what could be done about the destructive acts occurring almost nightly.

White Feather greeted them. He could speak broken English.

“White Feather, we need your help,” said Thomas. The men agreed that Thomas, being the mayor, should lead the discussion with the Indian men. They referred to him as the chief of the town of Munising so he may be given more respect.

“Whaaat help do you need?” stuttered White Feather. White Feather was the chief of the settlement.

“Someone has been sneaking into our town and causing some damage to buildings,” replied Thomas.

“Whaaat do you want from us?” asked White Feather.

“We would like to pay you and your warriors to keep watch over our town to make sure nothing bad happens,” replied Thomas.

“You want to pay us?” asked White Feather.

“Yes. We would pay you in food, clothes and blankets,” said Thomas.

“I talk to warriors and see what they say,” replied White Feather. White Feather walked over to some of the Indian men standing near the fire and told them about the proposition. White Feather returned to the fire to tell Thomas what they said.

“The warriors said they happy to watch over your settlement,” said White Feather.

Thomas motioned to the other men in his party and they handed salt pork, blankets and shirts over to White Feather.

White Feather motioned for the warriors to join them at the fire. The peace pipe was passed around. The men rode their horses back to Munising, hopeful that the destruction would stop once and for all.

Elenore was having a fitful dream. She woke up screaming. Rose was staying in the room next to her. She was awakened and ran into Elenore’s room. Elenore was covered in sweat, sitting up and hugging her chest.

“Elenore, what happened?” asked a concerned and frightened Rose.

“I had this horrible dream. The man I saw yesterday was in my dream. He was tying me up and locking me in a room. He slapped and hit me before he tied me up. I was bleeding and pleading for him to stop. It was so terrifying,” sobbed Elenore.

“That must have been frightening,” responded Rose.

“It was. It seemed so real.”

Maybell, another working woman, knocked on Elenore’s door.

“Is everybody alright?” asked Maybell.

“Yes, Elenore had a nightmare,” replied Rose.

“Must have been some dream,” said Maybell.

“A man was in the saloon yesterday. A really creepy man with these scary eyes. Elenore ran upstairs when she saw him. I think he may have reminded her of someone from her past,” said Rose.

“I think you might be right. He looked really familiar,” said Elenore.,

“I wish you could remember your past, Elenore,” said Rose.

“I wish I could too,” said Elenore.

“Are you going to be okay?” asked Maybell.

“I think I am,” said Elenore.

“I will sleep next to you tonight until you fall asleep,” said Rose trying to reassure Elenore.

“That would be nice,” said Elenore.

White Feather assigned two of his most reliable men to guard the town of Munising that evening. He was hoping that whoever was causing the destruction would be caught and stopped once and for all. He did not want any of his people to be causing problems.  He thought it was important to keep the peace with the settlers.

Running Elk and Laughing Fox were sitting on top of one of the roofs watching over the town when they heard a thud followed by another thud. They climbed down from the roof to see what was going on. Two young Indian braves were seen hitting the door to the mayor’s office with large rocks. Running Elk and Laughing Fox crept up behind them and grabbed them from behind. They fought valiantly to get away until they saw who was holding onto them.

“Let go, we will explain,” said one of the young lads.

“Explain,” ordered Running Elk.

“We were sent by our grandfather to break things in the town,” said the young brave, named Standing Bear.

“I know two. You just went through the fasting ceremony to become young men,” said Laughing Fox.

“We are from the same clan,” responded Running Elk.

“Yes, we are,” said Standing Bear.

“We have been asked to protect the town from the town’s chief,” said Laughing Fox.

“I did not know that,” said Gray Fox, the other young brave.

“They provided us with blankets, food and clothes to wear,” said Running Elk.

“We need to honor their requests,” added Laughing Fox.

“Are you the only ones who are causing the destruction?” asked Running Elk.

“No, our brothers are in on it,” answered Gray Fox reluctantly.

“We were following orders given by our elders,” said Standing Bear feeling slighted for being caught and scolded.

“We need to stop this destruction once and for all. We need to have a working relationship with the white people. We cannot be at war with them,” said Laughing Fox.

“White Feather wants us to stop all the destruction and he had a feeling it was one of us causing the damage. He was right. Yes, the white people have come to our land and live here without any consideration for us. They have killed a lot of our game and fished our rivers. Our numbers are getting fewer and fewer. We need to protect our village by getting along with them. Do you understand what I am saying,” said Running Elk.

“Yes, we will talk to our brothers and tell them to stop,” said Standing Bear.

Elenore’s eyes were swollen from crying and not getting enough sleep the night before. Rose grabbed her hand and squeezed it to reassure her.

“I will talk with Simon to see if there is anything we can do to protect you from that man if he ever comes to the Lucky Star again,” said Rose.

“I don’t know if that is going to help. I don’t know why I was afraid of him. I wish I knew.”

“Hopefully, you get your memory back,” said Rose.

“Simon, remember that stranger that came into the saloon yesterday and Elenore’s reaction to seeing him,” said Rose.

“Ya, I do. What was that all about?” asked Simon.

“I think the man reminded Elenore of someone from the past. I was wondering if we could talk with Thomas, the mayor, and see if there is anything he can do for Elenore,” said Rose.

“I would be more than willing to talk to him. Why don’t you come with me Elenore?” asked Simon.

“I think I will. I think the fresh air will do me good,” replied Elenore.

“I will hold down the fort while the two of you are gone,” said Rose.

Thomas was surprised to hear about what happened the day before. He called in the Sheriff John Bailey to see what he had to say about the situation.

Thomas has been in love with Elenore since the first time he met her. He would pay for her services but would hold her in his arms. He wanted to make Elenore his wife. He thought he could get past the life she has led as long as she was safe with him. Thomas was wondering if she would be willing to stay at his home as a measure of protection against the unknown stranger.

“I was wondering if you would like staying under my roof until we figure out who the stranger is and if he is of any danger to you,” said Thomas, hopeful his suggestion would not appear to be out of line.

Thomas added, “I have an extra room where I could set up a cot for you to sleep on.”

“I think a change of lodging would help you feel more comfortable. I saw how scared you were yesterday. You should have seen her. It was like she saw a ghost,” said Simon.

“I will make up the cot today and you can sleep there tonight,” said Thomas.

“Thanks. I think I may feel safer if I stay at your home tonight,” replied Elenore. She was trying to appear grateful but something was nagging at her.

Elenore went back to work that afternoon and could not wait until she left to go to Thomas’ to sleep. The man did visit the saloon and he may return.

Simon escorted Elenore to Thomas’ home that evening.

Oliver was watching from the roof of a sawmill. He was plotting how he could get his hands on the woman he thought he left for dead at the waterfall. He had to kill her before she remembered who he is. Oliver was a prominent business man in the town of Shingleton. A small community outside of Munising. He was married to Netta for two years before he fell in love with Grace, a preacher’s daughter. Netta came from a well-established banker and he inherited land and a farmhouse when he married Netta. He was given a job at the bank as a loan officer. Netta had the habit of going off on her own to explore nature so it wasn’t a stretch when she went missing one day. The townsfolk thought she ran into a bear or a pack of wolves. Oliver acted like he was devastated when Netta did not return home. Grace, of course, was there to comfort Oliver.

Elenore went to sleep quickly on the cot in Thomas’ home. She was exhausted from the night before. She was tossing and turning. She sat upright on the cot. She was being flooded by memories. The man she saw at the Lucky Star was her husband. He was abusive to her and kept her locked up in their home the last week before she was brought to the waterfall.  She remembered his name was Oliver, an awful, arrogant man who the women seem to flock around. He was very charming. She woke up Thomas to tell him what she remembered. She wished he was Rose, but she could not hold in what she remembered. She had to share with someone.

A rock crashed through the window of the front room at Thomas’ home.

Men were yelling at the top of their lungs outside. Thomas grabbed his loaded rifle and ran outside. Oliver’s arms were being held by Running Elk and Laughing Fox. A lighted torch was lying on the ground at their feet.

“We caught this man before he threw the fire into your home, Chief Thomas,” said Laughing Fox.

“Thanks for catching the scoundrel. Help me bring him to the jail house,” said Thomas.

Before he was hauled off, Elenore slapped Oliver hard across the face.

Oliver went before a jury of Elenore’s peers and was found guilty of attempted murder. He was hung for his crime.

Thomas shared his feelings with Elenore and told her he always thought she was too good to be a working girl. They married shortly after her first husband was hung for his crime.