Chief Tecumseh
Living on an island, we are always on the lookout for marauders who might want to raid us. Our island is between two larger islands. One Canadian with an undeveloped federal park behind us and an American island in front of us. We are in the middle of the river between them. (You can google Honey Bee Island to see what I mean) We may well be very close to civilization but the fact is that there are only two cabins we can actually see from our place. Two summers ago I took to our point to ward off approaching forces (who knows, they could have been pirates!) when my wife saw me and decided that I needed help. In more ways than one.
So, we commissioned a life size Bronze that took a 18 months to cast and finally got to put him on full time duty to give me a break. This is only the second bronze piece we have ever purchased and at one time we had envisioned a large eagle for here. But, being on a Canadian island, Tecumseh seemed to fit the local history and environment perfectly.
Janice and I often do not share the same taste in art so when we find a piece we both like, we jump on it. And so, Chief Tecumseh was born. The chief was a Native American Shawnee who fought the Americans in the war of 1812 and died in what is now southern Ontario, Canada trying to keep the white man from encroaching on native lands.
A clever fellow, he once outfoxed his enemy by having his 400 warriors parade out from a nearby wood within sight and circle back around to repeat the maneuver, making it appear that there were many more men under his command than was actually the case. The fort commander, surrendered in fear of a massacre. The victory was of great strategic value to the British allies. Not holding a grudge, the USS Tecumseth was a ballistic missile submarine commissioned in his honor in 1962.
This was hardly like ordering a toaster on Amazon. Messages flew back and forth across the Pacific as the wax casting was being made on modifications and details. Being manufactured in China, there was a tendency on the artist's part to think of an 'Indian" as someone from India rather than from North America. Not exactly the same look. Details like Nike tennis shoes were modified to be moccasins. In the end, they got it right and we were provided with photographs of every detail at every stage for our approval before moving on.
Then, that bad boy began his voyage. 700 miles across China from the foundry to the port of Shanghai, 2100 miles to the port of Vancouver, Canada and 2300 miles by train across the North American continent to Montreal were we picked him up at last. (8000 +km)
Clearly, getting the 600 pound (280 kilo) Chief in place was a serious undertaking that required many strong smart friends. So, once loaded on the trailer, we made the 250km trip to the islands. Once there, it was loaded on a barge...
...hoisted to a more dignified position
...released from his prison
A few months ago, I wrote about our importing our hot tub from China ourselves as it was much cheaper than a local purchase of the exact same item. Well, this acquisition preceded it as it was set in motion 18 months ago. We had tried to see if it could be cast locally in Canada or even the US but the price difference was simply staggering.
We love that we have a number of little features on and around the island that make it unique in its own way and while it was never our intention, are endlessly photographed and commented on by passing boaters and have ended up in magazine, newspaper, book and TV segments. This will be the last one we will bring, have or make in an effort to prevent developing island dandruff.
Long Tall Island Stories
This gets complicated, so buckle up. In June's Epistle, I wrote about the islands we purchased. We wanted 1 of them but the buyer would only sell 3 together or no deal. With Honey Bee, this made a total of 4 for us. Actually, it got even more complicated as hours before the deal closed, the seller insisted that we would purchase 4 islands (not the 3 we had agreed to) or no deal. So where is this 4th island, we asked? Actually, his attorney could only point to a circle in the water in the river on a map and claim it was a shoal. We are intimately familiar with the area and there is no island or shoals of any kind there. This was becoming like Kabuki theater. Were we dealing with a buffoon?
Actually, no. He was a shrewd businessman who was divesting himself of his assets and wanted to pass on the tax burden of his real estate, whether it existed in fact or not. This non existent 'island' had a tax roll number and therefore was being taxed. He wanted out and decided that unloading the lot was the way to go. Our attorney told us that there would be minimal negative impact to our agreeing to 'buy' this additional island as it was being included in the deal at the same price. So we went along with it.
All of the islands we acquired are within spitting distance of a Canadian Customs station nearby and shortly after the ink dried on our new deeds, a knowledgeable friend who worked for the government (name withheld to keep him out of police reports) showed us our new island that was hiding in plain sight.
The irony was that until he pointed it out to us after the sale, none of the parties had a clue where it was. Not the previous owner, the lawyers or the real estate agents. Even the local tax office could not locate it precisely. We researched old government surveyor's maps from the 1800's, and made good use of Google Earth to locate and determine the property boundaries. On the ground, you can clearly see the undeniably changed topography where the two properties meet. Even the reeds reveal the water surrounding 70% of the property.
The rest of the story is that many years ago, when they were expanding the customs property, their contractor pushed dirt over the edge of their bank into the edge of the river...... up to and eventually covering half of what had been our island. The island became part of the shore but was obviously no longer an 'island'. Still, the property was privately owned and it is now ours. We have no intention of suing the Canadian government for encroaching on our sovereign territory (no point in poking the bear) but we do want to sell it to the highest bidder, private or otherwise. There is really no downside for us here.
If it sells, great. If not, who cares! It would have virtually no value to anyone except our immediate neighbor, the bear. Could they be concerned that someone would use the property in a way they might not appreciate or approve of? I dunno, but it is for sale.... :)
The saga continued as within days the sign was gone. 'Someone' had crawled up there and took it away, Gee, I wonder which bear would have an interest in doing that? I contacted the chief at the custom station to discuss the issue and he acknowledged that one of his officers had removed my sign. (Ever the diplomat, I avoided terms like theft and trespassing) He was unaware of our ownership and referred the matter up the chain of command for a decision as to how to resolve it.
I thought it would take months for anyone from the government to contact me but incredibly, the very next day I got a call from the fellow responsible for the real estate holdings for Canadian customs. After a quick review, he acknowledged that we did own the property and that they would have the area surveyed and expressed a keen interest in purchasing it. Not bad for a secret island that no one knew was there and the previous owner foisted on us.
Show me the money, baby!
One of a Thousand
We recently had a friend in the advertising business design our very own flag, so we had it made. Obvious to locals, but not always to visitors, our island is 'One of a Thousand' in our area, which is called 'The Thousand Islands'. Ours being called 'Honey Bee' and is the bug in the middle. Kinda self explanatory if you are from these parts. The middle one is the California flag, of course. The bottom one is of our home on the French Riviera in France. That one stumps most boating by.
