Death's Door
Location: Porte des Morts
Curses / Cursed Places, Indigenous & World Mythologies
by @wisconsinwizard
The passage of water between Washington Island and the Door County Peninsula is known as Porte des Morts or Death's Door. It is a notorious water passage known for frequent shipwrecks, though contrary to what the name might have you think, these shipwrecks usually do not result in many deaths, given the large number of islands and shallows in the passage.
The name "Death's Door" originates from a historical canoe battle fought at this spot between the Ho-Chunk and the Potawatomi. The Ho-Chunk historically used Washington Island as a hunting ground for half the year, spending the other half of the year at a different camp. One year, while they were away, the Potawatomi arrived and took control of the island, as they were fleeing their traditional homelands in the east, due to the attempted genocide against them by the Iroquois.
The Ho-Chunk were angered by their island being taken over in their absence, and so gathered many warriors and canoes in an attempt to drive the foreign squatters from their lands. The Potawatomi, in turn, gathered their own warriors and canoes determined to fight for their new home as, thanks to the Iroquois, there was no returning to their old home.
The two fleets of canoes met each other in the passage of water between the Peninsula and Washington Island, when suddenly a massive windstorm materialized out of nowhere. This windstorm capsized both fleets, and killed most of the warriors on either side of the conflict.
Over the years, a number of supernatural explanations have been attributed to the event. One story claims the windstorm was the result of a battle between a thunderbird and an underwater panther, which just happened to catch the battling warriors between them. Another claims that a massive, underwater windigo arose from the waters, kicking up a massive storm and devouring entire canoes whole.
In the aftermath of the battle, neither side retained enough warriors to fight the other, and so peace between the two was eventually established, with the Potawatomi coming to inhabit the eastern seaboard of Wisconsin.
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