 Four years later, Amos Pierce (Nathan's son and right-hand man) with a group of other like-minded men, decided to dig a ditch that would permanently lower Portage Lake to the level of Lake Michigan and put the Portage Mill out of business.A long list of local people joined in the effort to dig a ditch.When Porter & Company's representatives saw the work underway, they attempted to charge the organizers with cutting off their water supplies, but the feelings against the company was so bitter that the court dismissed the complaint.