Porte des Morts, also known as Porte des Mortes, the Door of Death, and Death's Door is a strait linking Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay between the northern tip of the peninsula of Door County, Wisconsin and a group of islands historically known as the Potawatomi Islands and dominated by Washington Island. The French name for the strait means, literally, "the door of the dead".
In September 2011, my novel research took me to Washington Island via the Washington Island ferry.
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| Washington Island Ferry 2011 |
The sightseeing trip over to Washington Island began at Northport Pier outside of Sister Bay at the tip of Door County Peninsula. Sights included the passageway between Lake Michigan and Green Bay that has become known as the Doorway to Death. The possible reasons for this name vary widely.
Beginning the ferry ride to Washington Island
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| Lighthouse of Plum Island 2011 |
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| Death's Door - on a calm day. But conceivably an ominous sight for occupants of canoes when a stiff north wind sets in. Plum Island with Lighthouse on the left; Pilot Island on the right. |
One account explaining the name of the strait lays out a battle between the Potawatomi and Winnebago nations, possibly in the 1600s, during a power struggle that resulted in many lives lost on both sides when heavy winds mid-channel capsized the canoes in the surf and dashed them against rocks.
Another tale suggests the French named the passage Porte des Mortes to discourage the English from establishing fur trade routes to Wisconsin. Whatever caused the deaths of many warriors and the naming of the passage, most Great Lakes freighters use a different route these days.
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| Docked on Washington Island Happy to have safely by-passed Death's Door ***** |
I just scoped this out on a map. Looks like an area worth exploring. Do people live on Washington Island?
ReplyDeleteYes, Washington Island has a year round population of a bit over 700 people. I'm not sure what schedule the ferry has since the pandemic began but before it ran every day.
DeleteIt has a scary name, but it looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe Multicolored Diary
On calm days, it is pleasant and scenic ride. Wouldn't want to be out there during a heavy storm, though.
DeleteBeing English I think I'll give that trip a miss!
ReplyDeleteKeith, I just finished reading A Strange Place England by Jack Strange for my book club. The chapter on pirating would put me off sailing also.
DeleteThese pictures make me miss traveling! What an interesting place name as well.
ReplyDelete- Allison (https://lightningflashx.blogspot.com/)
Allison, I'm just glad my photographs can bring back memories of trips before lockdown.
DeleteIt's an ominous sounding name! My one boat trip on Lake Michigan was as a tourist in Chicago, we took a boat out from the pier, a sea fog rolled in, we saw nothing and were the only people on the boat, and by the time we got back, the fog had lifted again!!
ReplyDeletehttps://iainkellywriting.com/2021/04/06/the-state-trilogy-a-z-guide-e/
Sorry to hear you had such a foggy experience on the Chicago river tour, Iain. I've taken the tour a couple of times and was lucky to have clear days.
DeleteWere you feeling entirely comfortable going towards the Doorway to Death..?
ReplyDeleteBecause we skirted the entrance and it was a calm day, I didn't feel uncomfortable about the trip. But later, I imagined how the trip might have gone if a sudden storm had kicked up in the way it did centuries before and giving the passage its name, Porte des Mortes.
ReplyDeleteThe origine of names is alwasy so interesting. When we don't really know the origin, it's a bit disappointing, don't you think? But then, maybe even a disputed origine tells us something about the place.
ReplyDelete@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter - The Great War
So true, Sarah. We are not strangers to myths. And there is often something in a tale that originated from truth.
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