While suffering, death, fear of starvation, and isolation were common on the frontier copper range, what was more common was the presence and consumption of alcohol. Whether Keweenaw Point, or the Ontonagon River region, alcohol was always available in abundance. If the historical record is an accurate indication, alcohol was more than abundant, even during times of severe food shortages.

John Harris Forster, one of the earliest pioneers to arrive in the district, recorded a number of historical accounts of his early years on the frontier, and left an impressive record of life and conditions in the copper region. One of the things he often mentioned was the excessive consumption of alcohol.

Writing about his journey to the Upper Peninsula, Forster made note of the good-byes said as he left Detroit:

“The casting off of the lines from the docks at Detroit was to many the bidding adieu to civilization. During the day many a parting cup was drunk, so that by bed time many were jolly indeed. Prohibition was not a cardinal doctrine in those days.”

Copper Harbor, Harris’ destination, was a city of tents when he arrived in April, 1846. As he described it, “It was an improvised metropolitan city; men from many nations were covered by its canvas and made merry beside the clear waters of the Great Lake.”

Men, left to their own devices, far away from the reach of law enforcement and justice, quickly broke the thin veneer of civilization, especially when gathered in large numbers.

“Card playing, the use of the ‘flowing bowl,’ and some good fighting with fist and pistol were the social amusements of this conglomerate community,” Forster wrote.

Life along the Ontonagon River was no different in 1846 when Forster visited the area. James Paul had been the first pioneer to arrive at the river with the intention of settling there, and he became the founder of the Village of Ontonagon. Arriving in May, 1843, Paul built a small, rude cabin on the east bank of the Ontonagon River. He had intended to use his tiny, one-room cabin as a base of operation from which he would remove the Ontonagon Boulder from its resting place. Instead, his cabin became a make-shift hotel of sorts, which Forster described:

“His cabin is a public house; chief entertainment, whiskey and tobacco.”

Peter White described the region as it appeared to John Hayes, who was on Keweenaw Point as early as 1843, and was the man who discovered the copper vein that would become the Cliff mine.

“The country was a wilderness with no inhabitants except the remnants of the Chippewa tribe of Indians scattered throughout the country and subsisting on game and fish,” White wrote.

It was a fairly accurate description. The first settlements of note in 1844 were Ontonagon, to the south, and the mine location that would later become Eagle River, on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Copper Harbor was a starting point for explorers going into the wilderness to hunt for copper and riches. Forster, with a hint of humor, described the situation with a high degree of accuracy:

“In that wild time and country the restraints of civilization sate loose upon men, and it was a common saying that there is no Sunday west of the Sault.”

Forster seemed to have grasped the reason for the excessive drinking and the excessive rough behavior. “But this was when there was nothing better to do,” he wrote. “While waiting for fair winds, or for action from the Government House; or after a return from a hard exploring expedition.”

Forster, here, was suggesting the main reasons for such behavior were boredom, and relaxation or “unwinding” when returning to a base camp. In a region where there were no other forms of escape or entertainment, drinking tended to fill the void.

The consumption of alcohol did not ease with the arrival of communities. Forster made note of that in another of his writings, when he wrote, “The saloons were kept open night and day, including Sunday. There was much drinking, much blasphemy, and much fighting.”

Even as mines opened and villages were established, isolation, boredom, and the monotony of pioneer life continued to plague residents.

“The only recreation enjoyed by our pioneers was visiting other locations,” Forster wrote years later, in an article entitled “Early Settlement of the Copper Regions of Lake Superior,” which was published in 1886. “Invitations having been sent out in November for a Christmas dinner at Fort Wilkins, I walked forty-five miles on snowshoes to fulfill my obligation.”

In his article, “Character of the Mining Classes,” Forster described life in the mining communities in the 1860s:

“The mining classes in my judgment are very quiet and law abiding, considering their occupation and surroundings. There is a good deal of freedom, and, although a world of beer is drunk, the amount of drunkenness and crime is much less that one would expect to find.”

With the building of communities, other sources of entertainment became available to residents, particularly on Sundays, the one day of the week miners and others did not work.

“Pleasure excursions by rail or on the water in order. Bands of music and parades of firemen and guilds enliven the morning hours as the pious are wending their way to church. The sound of church bells is drowned in the blare of the trombone.”

Faced with the likelihood of disabling accidents, sudden death, disease, isolation, and the day-to-day monotony of living, excessive consumption of alcohol was, indeed, common in the Copper Country.

Editor’s note:?Graham Jaehnig has a master’s degree in English/ creative writing with a focus on nonfiction from Southern New Hampshire University and a B.A. in history from Michigan Technological University.