Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
- #1
Thread Owner
North Manitou is an island in Michigan, roughly 5 miles by 7 miles long, where the oldest indian artifacts have been found (they boated to the island a few times). Then in the heyday of wood burning ships, the island started being logged. After wood burning became obsolete, Manitou's inhabitants started farming. The soil really isn't meant for farming, so the business never really took off and people just were self sustained.
Then in the 50's it became a hot hunting spot, with deer brought to the island and the population boosted for hunting. They made an airstrip, and hotshots flew in and stayed with locals. The houses were spruced up, with nice mahogany trim, very swank. The locals acted as guides and the hunters stayed with them in their homes. They'd drive out into the woods and shine the lights on the numerous deer, and so the "hunt" began.
The hunting like this ended after a few years, and then the population of deer was so numerous...all the way up to the 1980's when the deer had eaten everything...you could see for miles in the forest, there was no greenery. They started dying as residents started to move, and could not afford to feed them anymore like they used to.
Raccoons used to live there as well, but a disease wiped them all out. All there is now is deer and chipmunks to be seen.
The houses that weren't built before 1950-1960 were demolished by the park service and the others are patiently awaiting restoration (more like, simply shoring up). Many haven't lasted the long wait.
There is one publicly known cemetery but there are of course, more gravesites than that on Manitou.
Then in the 50's it became a hot hunting spot, with deer brought to the island and the population boosted for hunting. They made an airstrip, and hotshots flew in and stayed with locals. The houses were spruced up, with nice mahogany trim, very swank. The locals acted as guides and the hunters stayed with them in their homes. They'd drive out into the woods and shine the lights on the numerous deer, and so the "hunt" began.
The hunting like this ended after a few years, and then the population of deer was so numerous...all the way up to the 1980's when the deer had eaten everything...you could see for miles in the forest, there was no greenery. They started dying as residents started to move, and could not afford to feed them anymore like they used to.
Raccoons used to live there as well, but a disease wiped them all out. All there is now is deer and chipmunks to be seen.
The houses that weren't built before 1950-1960 were demolished by the park service and the others are patiently awaiting restoration (more like, simply shoring up). Many haven't lasted the long wait.
There is one publicly known cemetery but there are of course, more gravesites than that on Manitou.
