Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections
Vol. 30, 1905 pgs. 582, 583, 584 and 585

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CAPTAIN JOHN G. PARKER

In the spring of 1846 as mate, I left Milwaukee with Capt. Calvin Ripley bound for Lake Superior. After arriving at the Soo we shipped a crew and fitted out the schooner Furtrader, loading her with supplies for the North Shore for Capt. Peck's exploring party. Sixty people, five whale-boats and a barge in tow landed the first party at Huron River, the second at Pigeon River, the third at Island River on the North Shore, the fourth at the mouth of the St. Louis River, the fifth at Montreal River and went in the Ontonagon River in June and back to the Soo light. I made regular trips from the Soo up the Lake during the summer and laid up the vessel in the Ontonagon River the sixth day of December.

The captain, myself and crew started from Ontonagon and walked through to L'Anse and spent the holidays at the Indian mission where Abner Sherman was an Indian trader. After New Years I left for Milwaukee with the mail-carrier. In crossing Huron Bay, I fell through the ice. The mail-carrier hauled me out, but my clothes froze so that I could not travel far, so they cut wood and we camped. I had several hundred dollars in my pocket which took the greater part of the night to dry.

We traveled on the lake shore to Marquette then Carp River, stopping with Chancy Bogan, the only house, which was a bark 1odge. Then to Gunner Island and crossed over to Bay de Noquette. We walked on the ice to Green Bay and took the stage to Milwaukee. In the spring of 1847, 1 went up to the Soo. While waiting for the Furtrader to come down from Ontonagon I went on board the schooner Swallow, Capt. Brown's.

One night I dreamed seeing the Furtrader coming down under reefed canvas. She came to anchor under the stern, I thought I saw a number of men in a boat, when I looked again the boat went down out of sight. It woke me up; next morning I told Capt. Brown my dream. That day, June 10th, the Furtrader came down just as I saw her in my dream. It was blowing from the northwest. She came to anchor under our stern, so we took the boat and went alongside of her. Capt Brown went ashore. I stayed with him until he was ready and we went ashore in the boat, when along came the captain. He had been down over the portage and got a lot of men with Capt. John Stannard to run the rapids, to sound the water and to run down the Uncle Tom. Capt. Brown asked me to go and pull stroke oar, so we left the dock and the boat landed over in the big shoot. I was under her until she righted.. She struck a rock, I lost my hold, swam with my oar and was about opposite McKnight's dock, where I saved Capt. John with my oar. Redman Rider, William Flen, Thomas Richly and Doctor Brocety were picked up at dawn on Sugar Island. Mr. Seymour, lying on the bottom was picked up by an Indian chief who was fishing. He took him ashore and while rolling the water out of him, Little Duncan came running down saying, "Roll him, roll him, he owes me ten dollars," so they brought him to life. The next day Capt. More broke his leg so that he could not go out in the Merchant as master; he asked Capt. Brown to take his place and on June 11th left with the schooner -Merchant and cargo of supplies for the Portage, and was never heard from again. There were seven passengers, seven crew and one cow on board. The Merchant companion-door was picked up on the north shore in the fall.

In November we left the Soo in the Furtrader bound for Ontonagon, landed freight at the Dead River for the Jackson mine. We had on board Major Beader and family going to the governmental farm at L'Anse. When off Persian Island I fell overboard from the vessel off the wind wing and wing.

Captain hove the vessel to and sent a boat for me, (the same boat in which we ran the rapids) but spliced as she was on east side on deck, it took some time to get her into water. In about half an hour the boat picked me up. We landed all our passengers and freight. Alex Sibley and his horse were on board. We had lost our boat off the Grand Marais the trip before. We laid up in the 500 in November. I shipped on the schooner Chippeway with Capt. Clarke, got the vessel ashore at Eagle River trying to land Judge Bacon. Mr. Purdy and Mr. McNight walked from L'Anse to the Minnesota mine. I went from Eagle River to Milwaukee by way of Menominee. In the fall of 1849, I bought the Furtrader, with Capt Martin Blasner and the Minnesota Mining Co. Gus. Cabourn chartered her to go down to Eagle Harbor in December to get supplies to start the Ridge, and two other mines. We got back December sixth, there was two feet of snow on the ground. Laid up that winter, Josiah Jeffery and I got out timber over the river. In March, 1853, Mr. Burtenshaw and I left Ontonagon for Milwaukee to buy a vessel to carry copper to Detroit, light draft, as only six feet of water was coming in the river. After arriving at Baraga we fell in company with C. C. Douglass, Simon Mendlebaum and Father Baraga. We all started with three dog-trains of two dogs, one train went through to Menominee. We hired horses and a sleigh of a man in Marinette and sent the men and dogs back. In driving across Green Bay the horses broke through the ice at a drift of snow on the ice. The crack was about 20 feet wide. Simon Mendlebaum and Father Baraga were sitting on the bottom of the sleigh in the after end so they did not get hurt, but stepped out behind. Mr. Burtenshaw, C. C. Douglass and myself sat on the bottom of the sleigh and were tipped in the water. I got out after a while and pulled Burtenshaw out and then Douglass. They all started for the light-house, about a mile away. The teamster got out on the ice over the horses, and all helped to get the horses and sleigh out of the water before they left I helped the driver hitch up and then followed. We cut through a crack that hove up fifteen feet high. It was a cold freezing day. Father Baraga was on his way to have his Chippewa book translated into English.

The schooner George W. Ford was lying in the mouth of the Menominee River. I looked her over, Capt. Shopkeeper told me she was new, built in Milwaukee by Mr. Barber and owned by G. D. M__________in Milwaukee. When we arrived in Milwaukee we bought her for five thousand dollars. She was near one hundred tons burthen. I went back to Menominee, fitted her out and sailed for Milwaukee. Loaded her and went up to the Soo, hauled her over the Portage, which took two weeks, launched her in the river above and sailed for Ontonagon.

I loaded her with copper for the Soo from the Minnesota mine, carrying copper down and supplies up. She went through the new Canal with the first load of copper down. The Minnesota Mining Co. owned one-half, Burtenshaw one-quarter and myself one-quarter. I bought out the other partners, and sailed her seventeen years. One of my men got her on the Eagle Harbor reef and she went to pieces.