Photo of the tablet sent to the Smithsonian

I not sure if it is a hoax or real, but it is an interesting story. Way back in 1896 two lumberjacks were hired to clear some land for a farmer near the Upper Peninsula town of Newberry. They happen to stumble upon two small clay figures and a tablet. The 19 x 26 inch tablet had 140 characters carved into a grid pattern. No one knew what to make of them so photos were sent to the Smithsonian and University Of Michigan. The experts at the time could not recognize the writing and they deemed the tablet as a hoax. Some modern experts believe the text is similar to Minoan writing. The Minoans lived from about 3000 BC to about 1100 BC on the Greek island of Crete.

The tablets remained somewhat of a local curiosity. Eventually, they ended up at a St. Ignace tourist destination called Fort Algonquin. ( you can see my post about the fort HERE)  The fort was built by Vaughan Norton in the 1920s to look like an old fort from Michigan’s fur trading days. Somehow Vaught acquired the mysterious tablet to display for the tourist.

Eventually, the tablets and figures were purchased by Dr. Donald Benson. A doctor from Lansing who moved to St. Ignace. He loved to collect odd and historic artifacts and displayed them in the gift shop he owned. After his death, the artifacts went on display at the Fort De Buade Museum in downtown St. Ignace. The tablets, or more like what is left of them because they have been reduced to a couple of crumbling pieces with none of the writing remaining, is on display with the worn-down figures.

One theory is they have to be a hoax because if they are supposed to be hundreds or even thousands of years old, from the time of the Minoans, how did they survive for so long only to be eroded away in a short amount of time after they were discovered. Like I wrote at the beginning of the post, I am not sure it is real or a hoax, but it is an interesting story.

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If you travel along M-25 near Unionville you will pass by an old Historical Marker standing in front of the Wisner Township Cemetery. It tells the story of a remarkable and enigmatic man known as Indian Dave.

It is unclear exactly when and where he was born but he was given the name Ishdonquit or, Crossing Cloud. He claimed to be the son of Chief Nipmup of the Chippewa tribe but he was considered an outcast by the tribe. He is officially recorded as David Stocker but most people in the area called him Indian Dave.

He witnesses the beginning of Michigan and was at the signing by the tribal chiefs for the Treaty of Saginaw. He lived off the land in the Tuscola County area making baskets, arrows and carving wooden toys for children. He would travel into the different towns around the thumb selling his trinkets and telling stories of days gone by to the local children.

Indian Daves’s most notable contribution to Tuscola County came when he transported the county records by canoe to the new courthouse in Caro. At the beginning of the county’s history, Vassar was the county seat. It was decided to move the county seat in 1866 to Caro which was more centrally located in the county. Local businessman Peter D. Bush donated the land for the courthouse. Vasser was not willing to transfer the county records to the new county seat. As legend has it, Mr. Bush and Indian Dave snuck into the Vassar building holding the records. After retrieving the records they went by canoe down the Cass River and promptly secured the records in the new courthouse in Caro.

He was believed to be 106 when he died, and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Wisner Township Cemetery. The historical marker stands as a reminder of the man who was an important part of the Thumbs history so long ago.

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