If such record exists, I should like to obtain from it a
statement of how the individual islands of the Apostle group
received their names, and how the group came to be named
Apostle Islands.
H. E. HALE,
_Minneapolis, Minnesota_.
The collective name of Apostle Islands for the group off the coast of
Chequamegon Bay is nearly two centuries old. The first map on which it
appears is that of Bellin in 1744. This was founded on the information
given by Father Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, a noted Jesuit
missionary, who in 1721 visited the western country as an agent for
the French government. Charlevoix did not go into Lake Superior in
person, but at Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac he made extensive
inquiries of competent observers, and noted down the information given
him by traders and officers from that region. Thus he, no doubt,
learned that the islands were known to the French who frequented that
place as “The Twelve Apostles,” and as such they appear on the map of
Bellin that was issued in Charlevoix’s book published in Paris in
1744.
The first English traveler to note these islands was Jonathan Carver,
who coasted the shore of Lake Superior in 1767 and on the map
published in his volume of _Travels_ (London, 1778) repeats the name
“Twelve Apostle Is.”
The first American travelers in that region were those who accompanied
Lewis Cass, who in 1820 made an official voyage along the southern
shore of Lake Superior. One of the members of this party was James D.
Doty, who was afterwards territorial governor of Wisconsin. In Doty’s
journal, published in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XIII, 201,
he says: “The Islands, called by Charlevoix ‘the 12 Apostles,’ extend
about 20 miles from point Chegoiamegon.” Another member of the same
party was Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who later became Indian agent at
Sault Ste. Marie, and married a half-breed Indian girl descended from
the Chequamegon chiefs. Schoolcraft proposed to change the name of the
Twelve Apostle Islands to Federation Islands. He assigned to the
several islands the names of states of the Union, giving that of
Virginia to Madelaine, the largest of the group. Schoolcraft’s
proposal was not followed, but the present names of York and Michigan
Islands seem to remain as part of Schoolcraft’s proposal. Apparently
the early traders, counting the islands loosely, thought there were
twelve in all, and since the mission was named Mission du Saint Esprit
(or Holy Ghost Mission) the name of Twelve Apostles Islands seemed
appropriate. There are (we believe) in reality nineteen, nevertheless
the name, Apostle Islands, has persisted.
With regard to the several names of the separate islands: We have
above accounted for York and Michigan. Outer Island explains itself,
as do Ironwood, Oak, Basswood, Sand, Rocky, North and South Twin,
Bear, Cat (Wild Cat, no doubt), and Otter. Raspberry Island takes its
name from Raspberry River. This name was used in its French form
_Rivière à la Framboise_ as early as 1804 (probably earlier). See
_Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XIX, 174. Devil Island and Manitou
Island are both the same name. That is, the Indians called all
supernatural beings “manitous.” Hermit Island and Stockton Island have
probably some local significance from dwellers upon their area. We are
not informed concerning them. Madelaine Island has been known by many
names. Its present name is that of the wife of an early trader, Michel
Cadotte. She was an Indian woman whose father was a local chief.
Madelaine was the name she received when baptized. The island was
frequently known as St. Michel, or St. Michael’s, from the given name
of Cadotte, who was the principal trader on the island for many years.
Its Indian name was Moningwanekaning, supposed to mean the Place of
the Golden-breasted Woodpecker (hence, sometimes, Woodpecker Island).
However, Father Chrysostom Verwyst, a Catholic missionary, now our
best authority on Chippewa place names, defines it recently in _Acta
et Dicta_ (July, 1916), published by the Catholic Historical Society
of St. Paul, as “the place where there are many lapwings.” This island
has also been called La Ronde, for a French commandant of the
eighteenth century; La Pointe Island, from the name of the region La
Pointe du Chequamegon; and Saint Esprit Island from the early Mission
du St. Esprit mentioned above. It was also sometimes called Middle
Island as lying midway between Sault Ste. Marie and Fort William, the
fur-trade post on the northwest of Lake Superior. Sometimes it appears
on maps as Montreal Island; the reason for this we do not know;
perhaps it was the terminus of the trip from Montreal, Canada, or was
so named because some of its inhabitants had been educated at
Montreal.
To recapitulate: the largest island of the Apostle Group was first
known as Moningwanekaning or Woodpecker or Lapwing; in the eighteenth
century as La Ronde, La Pointe, and St. Esprit; was known to the fur
traders as Middle and Montreal; was christened by Schoolcraft,
Virginia; has been known since about 1800 as Cadotte’s, St. Michael’s,
or Madelaine from its early inhabitants, and the baptismal name of the
Indian woman has persisted.