They Used the Rod

Welcome to Discovering the Northwoods from the Manitowish Waters Historical Society. We will take you on a journey through our local history with the help of primary source documentation. To learn more about this rich history or about the historical society – check out our website at mwhistory.org. There you will find blog posts, show notes, our YouTube Channel, and a full transcription of this episode including maps and photographs.

As with many historical works from this era, there are phrases, terms, and descriptions that are inappropriate to our modern sensibilities. The Manitowish Waters Historical Society in no way condones these offensive remarks or passages. For this episode, we altered some of the offensive and derogative phrases. The original pdf is attached in the show notes if you’d like to read this publication in its entirety for educational purposes and accurate historical context. 

On today’s episode, we revisit August 1894, a time when two teachers, Edward Dvorak and Samuel Kayzer, sought refuge from the confines of city life in the Wisconsin wilderness. Their journey to the Northwoods was not just an escape, but a quest for adventure, marked by fishing, hunting, and the company of the enigmatic guide, Bob Loveless. Through their experiences, we’ll explore their remarkable expedition, filled with challenges, unexpected encounters, and the profound beauty of the natural world.

 

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois), August 27, 1894

 

Two Teachers Invade the Wisconsin Lake Region.

Looking for Adventure

Edward Dvorak and Samuel Kayzer as Heroes.

Fishing and Hunting the Programmes for a Two Weeks’ Outing

 

Chicago and North Western Railroad Advertisement, 1887 by Poole Bros., Printers and Engravers. Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-29627)

To one who doesn’t know, there is a large and painful hiatus between the art of teaching Delsarte and the science of angling.

But the fact of the matter is, the man who can reel off backwards with one hand tied behind him all the rules for gesticulation is quite at home when it comes to handling a rod and line. 

Edward Dvorak, Delsarte instructor in the Chicago Conservatory, and Samuel Kayzer, director of the institution, took to the Wisconsin woods a few days ago, and since then the report has come of wonderful adventures in the region about Spider Lake.

Messrs. Dvorak and Kayzer left Chicago the evening of August 8th on the 5 o’clock parlor express on the Northwestern Line with the desire of getting as far from civilization as possible. At 5:30 o’clock the next morning the two gentlemen were more than 200 miles away from the smoky atmosphere and the crowded streets of the metropolis. They served their relations with the railroad company at the little station of Mercer. Their objective point was the camp of Dr. J. D. Hammond on the shore of Spider Lake. A knight of the pick and shovel transferred them and their effects on a hand car to the Turtle River, where two boats were in waiting. Spider Lake was reached at 11 o’clock the same morning. They were met by “Bob” Loveless, the old guide and keeper of the camp. The remainder of the day was spent in fishing and acquainting “Bob” with the itinerary of their outing.

“Bob” Loveless, the Woman Hater

Bob Loveless is an interesting character. He is not as well known to frequenters of that region as is Joe Odgers but it is because he is more reticent and it might be said, is wilder. Bob has lived in the woods all his life. He knows every foot of the ground, the haunts of the game fish, and can introduce you to the inner circles of bear and deer society. He is never so happy as when telling of the many thrilling adventures of his life in the pineries. He is a small mail, probably 40 years old. Fatigue is unknown to him. He can row a boat steadily for ten hours a day without any apparent exhaustion. He lives at the camp all the year round. Bob never gets cold or hungry and can digest a live frog. His only drink is the pure water of the springs; alcoholic drinks are strangers to his stomach. Bob’s civilized profession is ‘fiddling.

While Theodore Thomas may never make any overtures to secure him, he is considered the crack “fiddler” of the pineries, and no native dance in those regions is complete without Bob and his fiddle. He is a bachelor, and says there is nothing he loves less than a woman. 

Four days were spent at Spider Lake. Mr. Dvorak fished, while Mr. Kayzer hunted for ducks and snipes. The season being rather early for ducks the fisherman was more successful. At the end of the fourth day it was decided to move the entire camp to Alder Lake. For extra boats were secured and the start made. 

To reach Alder Lake it was necessary to return to Mercer and follow the water to Manitowish Lake. On account of the low water and the difficulty of getting the boats over the shallow rapids and around the dams, Mr. Kayzer and Mr. Dvorak walked from Manitowish Station to the lake. The journey was made in about three hours. A good camping ground was made found at Alder Lake. This was made the headquarters, and for the next six or seven days the two sportsmen, accompanied by the guides, Bob and Joe Odgers– meeting the latter at Alder–made fishing and shooting trips to surrounding lakes. Rice Lake was the favorite of Mr. Kayzer, and he thinks it the most beautiful body of water in all Wisconsin. 

At Trout Lake

Several days were spent at Trout Lake, a few miles north of Alder. This is a large lake, six miles long and three miles wide. They met many Chicago people there, amount them Mr. Mann and Mr. Southgate, of the Auditorium Hotel. Mr. Southgate knows the haunts of trout at this season of the year. The lake is fed entirely with springs. In warm weather, the only place trout can be found is deep holes where the water is cold. Mr. Southgate and Bob had discovered these places and the latter took Mr. Kayzer and Mr. Dvorak with them. In a few hours the sportsmen caught a good string of trout, which they gave to the employees and guests at the hotel, who were greatly surprised at a catch of trout at this season of the year. On this trip, Mr. Kayzer also caught an eight-pound pickerel. They report the best fishing by trolling in the river between Rice and Alder lakes. Deer were reported in the neighborhood, but the party did not go after the game. In going along the bank of the river from Rice Lake to Gresham, Mr. Kayzer shot at a partridge, which flex around a bend in the river. The discharge of the gun was immediately followed by an unearthly yell. 

Wild rice tied into bundles on Rice Creek, ca. 1920. Catalogue Number 2019.11.30.

Around the bend in the river appeared ten or fifteen canoes containing about twenty-five Chippewa Indians [men, women, and children]. They were particularly fine looking Indians, gayly attired and had yelled as a warning when the shot was fired. The men handled the paddles and the [women] were steering. They were on their way to the rice field to get wild rice previous to their annual feast. Mr. Kayzer and Mr. Dvorak say they breathed easier when the “honest” red men were out of sight. After a few more days at Alder Lake camp was broken. The two guides returned with the camp equipments to Spider Lake, and Mr. Kayzer and Mr. Dvorak took the train at Mercer for home. 

 

ORIGINAL: They Used the Rod