First the factoid - Way back in the days before the Revolutionary War the North Woods, Boundary Waters and similar areas around what is now northern Minnesota and the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba were hunted and trapped by adventurous men who mapped the area. One such man was named John Mitchell. When Ben Franklin negotiated the Treaty of Paris in 1783, effectively ending the Revolutionary War, they referenced the Mitchell map in proclaiming the border between Britain's Canada and the new U.S.
They did not realize that the map improperly identified and located the source of the Mississippi River. The border was basically the 49th Parallel, give or take a few waterways, one of which was Lake of the Woods. The border was to run from the northwest corner of Lake of the Woods west to the source of the Mississippi. The problem was that the entirety of the Mississippi was considerably south of the "northwest corner of" Lake of the Woods and the line from that corner did not come close to Old Man River.
Another treaty in 1818 corrected this by drawing a line due south from the northwest corner to where it intersected the 49th parallel, then west along that parallel.
By doing this the border goes across Lake of the Woods and cuts off a land extension into the lake that is now known as the Northwest Angle. It is legally known to be the northern most point of the contiguous United States (lower 48) but does not touch the lower 48. It is connected by land only to Canada. In the winter one can snowmobile across the lake to "The Angle" without crossing into Canada (and many do!). In warmer weather however, the only access is by boat or through Canada!
Wild huh? I wonder if anyone other than Tom (who was born in Minnesota and has Angle Genes) knew of this? Maybe I'm the last to know?
As for my connection to Lake of the Woods, that goes back to approximately 1957. My parents decided to take a grand road trip that began with a tent camping experience at Lake of the Woods. I remember the lake as being in Canada whereas Tom tells me it was in Minnesota. What I know for sure was that my Dad spent a fortune on a new aluminum fishing boat which, if memory serves me correctly, was tied on top of the car and doubled as a cargo storage cabinet.
When we arrived, a huge canvas "circus tent" was erected as quickly as possible, but not quickly enough to rescue my little sister from being eaten alive by mosquitoes. In those days mosquito bites were treated with a pink solution that was dabbed on generously with a cotton ball. My sister invented the Pink Lady on that trip! (Or was it another color Carol? Maybe Orange?)
So my Dad unloaded his new fishing boat, hooked up the oversized outboard motor (needed to get to the farthest point from the dock, where everyone knows is where the fish are), loaded in rods, reels and tackle for his family of 7(family #1), a net, probably a book on how to fish and a Sears catalog to allow circling anything you forgot and anything else that had an f, i, s or h in the name. He then hopped into the boat, pulled the cord and smiled as the 600 HP engine roared to life (all horsepower figures are approximate and may vary depending on your driving style). He couldn't wait to untie the bow line and try out his new toy.
With a mighty roar he shot quickly to a point about 30 to 40 yards away from the pier, then did a nifty 180 degree turn, directly into is own wake, flipping the boat and sending its contents to the bottom of the deep, dark, log strewn lake, never again to be seen! He swam back to the dock, no doubt totaling in his head the cost of all the gear that he had just lost forever.
What I don't recall was the name of the nearest town where he went to buy all new equipment. Anyone Bros?
I remember that fishing story!
ReplyDeleteAnd pretty interesting factoid about the Northwest Angle too! One of our favorite shows on Netflix was "How the States Got Their Shapes", and interestingly enough, they never mentioned the Northwest Angle story.