Last week’s column was about Aloha Township, one of Cheboygan County’s 19 townships. Today’s column will continue that story, telling of a great tragedy that occurred in Aloha Township, a tragedy that has been memorialized to last forever.

It all began with the Civil War, our great national tragedy that left more Americans dead than all of our other wars put together. A Michigan man named Franklin Devereaux served in that war.

Derereaux was born in Sugar Grove, PA, in 1803. He moved to Michigan and he served in the 25th Michigan Infantry, Company 1, during the Civil War. He was married and divorced. Later he married a widow and they decided to move north. A terrible storm came up and tipped their boat over. He tried, desperately, to save his wife but failed.

He worked his way north, ending up in Aloha Township, on a lovely little lake which was named Little Lake. It was no deeper than 30 feet and only a mile in circumference. He built a shelter of logs that was never over three feet high and had a sand floor. His shelter was built only four rods from the lake. He became a hunter and a trapper, spending most of his time outdoors. He had a dog, but several days before the tragedy the dog had fought a badger and Devereaux had left him shut up in the low shelter, for the dog’s feet were in shreds.

On the morning of September 4th, 1883, Franklin left his little cabin with his single barrel muzzle loading shot gun and a tin pail, to go out to look for blackberries.

On the morning of September 5th, the dog appeared at a neighbor’s home. The neighbor knew that something was wrong. The dog had dug himself out, under the logs of the cabin.

On September 6th, a couple were picking blackberries about three fourths of a mile from the lake. They notice a very bad odor and they started looking for the cause. They found a triangle formed by three large trees that fell in such a manner that one tree laid quite high from the ground. They saw blood inside of this triangle. Then, they found the bodies of Devereaux and the bear.

The couple guessed that the bear had been in this triangle and that Devereaux had shot it. When Devereaux poked it with his gun, he probably lost his balance and fell inside of the triangle. The bear was still alive and he killed Devereaux. There were signs of a ferocious fight. Both Devereaux and the bear had crawled out of the triangle where they died three 0r four rods apart.

Mr. Devereaux was sitting on a small hemlock tree with his elbows on his knees and his head in his arms. Medics decided later that the bear had hugged Devereaux so tightly that he crushed him, which caused his death. Neighbors hauled him out of the woods on a blanket, built a wooden coffin and buried him close to his home on Little Lake. Later it was named Devereaux Lake in his honor, for he was the first white man to kill a bear that also killed him. His dog sat beside the grave and howled. Franklin would rest in this lovely, lonely and saddened spot.

Some people feel that his body was moved elsewhere. It is possible to visit his grave site. A road leads through a grove of trees to a parking area. One can find a marble headstone inscribed Franklin Devereaux Comp 1 25 Mich. Inf. There is a wooden marker, given by his grandson, which reads, in Latin, Here Lies Franklin Devereau, Killed by the Furiousness of a Dangerous Bear. In 1931, another marker was set by The Daughters of the American Revolution. The site is maintained by the veteran’s organization. If you have not visited this lovely but sad site, try to do so. It is a memorial to one of Cheboygan County’s early settlers who was determined to be his own man, self supporting, and a courageous Civil War veteran.