■^"^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ''•' i— III 2.2 I.I I '- m 1.8 1.25 ||U m ^ 6" — ► jst>- # '-y /J v: ol O / Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 />: %. W^.r i/.. B CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques :\ \ % ^O T«chnical and Bibliographic Notes/Notas tachniquaa at bibliographiquas Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chaclcad balow. D n n n n Colourad covart/ Couvartura da coulaur I I Covara damagad/ Couvartura andommagte □ Covars raatorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura raataurte at/ou pailiculte Covar titia misaing/ La titra da couvartura manqua j~~| Colourad maps/ D Cartas g6ographiquas an coulaur Colourad inic (i.a. othar than biua or blacit)/ Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) Colourad platas and/or illustrations/ Planchas et/oit illustrations an coulaur Bound with othar matarial/ Reli6 avac d'autras documents Tight binding may causa shadows or distortion along intarior margin/ La rellure serrde paut causar da I'ombra ou da la distortion la long da la marga intiriaura Blank laavas addad during restoration may appear within tha text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouttes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans la texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 film6es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplAmantaires; L'Institut a microfilm* la mailleur exemplaira qu'il lui a At* possible de sa procurer. Les details da cat exemplaira qui sont paut-Atre uniquaa du point de vue bibliographiqua, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mAthode normaia de fiimage sont indiquAs ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ D Pages de couleur Pagea damaged/ Pagea endommag6ea Pages restored and/oi Pages restaurAes et/ou peiliculies Pages discoloured, stained or foxe( Pages d6coior6es, tachaties ou piqu6es Pages detached/ Pages d^tachies Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Quality indgaie de I'impression Includes supplementary materii Compsdnd du materiel suppl^mentaire Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponible ry} Pagea damaged/ I — I Pages restored and/or laminated/ r~1 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ r~~1 Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I — I Only edition available/ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalament ou partieliement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont M filmtos A nouveau de fapon A obtenir la meiileure image possible. Th to Th po of fill Or be thi sic oti fin sic or Th si. Til wl Ml dif en be rig ret m« This item is filmed at tha reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqui ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X y 12X 16X 20X 26X 30X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here hes been reproduced thenks to the generosity of: Nstionel Librery of Cenade L'exemplaire filmA fut rnproduit grAce A ia gAnArotitA de: Bibiiothdque nationaie du Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Les images sufvantes ont tt6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la netteti de l'exemplaire filmA. et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim6e sont filmte en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commen9ant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche si .all contain the symbol -^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniire image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols —^ signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent fttre filmte A des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche i droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 » \s / r a 63 G2l«'30' 45 ".W rj^ k ^ M M J^ 4.'> a^m J¥rs (h)} .Hf J^ " ;al. '40' \ Marshv /fo\pe tj^ 4:i •30' d REFERENCES a NovaScotia foal C^KMinin^ Area b Acadia Coal C9>Mimny Areas Intercolonial CoalMininy C^^^^ Areas Halifax fonipanif's (Limited J Area e Montreal & Pictou f^^Aiea f East River foal f^f^Area a Montreal dNew Glas(/ow foal f^^^Area h PictouMininq f^ i Vale foal TrondMfyC^y Area k Mitchell &BartoiVs Area ^i^ J- t^ 45' 20' / iA^ke 63l 62*50" AkMiB^n^^ IVMIU ft' \^m^ WS^^^t^ ■'K., >f^''>^ If V ^M - "Kv*"'! *1^ Uasai ValU \G ur< /^ iAv0.t UiCftttn // / toil, BjHin / \ y\ W ure/tirA Glerii West Bmaiic% wkieivii ,> 62roO' /'/^ asa ■m%f'""'kiiiJiiiit, 'SpcacA Laict' G2 »40' t.«»". 02 MO" tf 62 30' 62 20' ifii M^ 7T f S* ( fc , .^^\ A HISTORY or THE COUNTY OF PICTOU NOVA SCOTIA. /■ ■ ^^'' '& y/h. By the Rev. GEORGE PATTERS6N,/D.D. ./ AOTHOB or "MEJCom or Jambs M-Ghkoor, D.D.," "MEMmns or Johmstom AND Mathbson," "The Dootrinb c7 the Tui.i.y, cxDErLviKO THB RbVBLATION OF RkDEMPTION," &C. MONTREAL: DAWSON I'.ROTIIERS. PICTOU, K. S.: JAMES M'LEAN & Co. Halifax, N. E. • v & w. McKINLAY. St. John, N. B. : J. & A. MoMIJ.LAV. TORONTO: JAMES CAMPBELL & SOX. 1877. 191586 Pmn/i£.dfj^c^ rBlJITW) AT TBI "OazBTTI" PnWTDrO HoCBf, MOMTMAU ■iMcotyp-jd bj Morrimn A Son, UontnaL PREFACE. By those for whom this work is intended, no apology for the undertaking^ will bo deemed necessary. As to the manner in which it has been accomplished, however, the author deems eome explanations due to hims3lf and his readers. First, he feels it but right to mention the diffi- culties in the way of obtaining correct information, par- ticularly regarding the early Bettlement of the county. With the exception of copies of grants and oimilar papers, preserved in the public records, there is scarcely a docu- ment of that period i" \ii8tenco, and these servo very imperfectly to give us uix insight into the life of the early settlers. "Wo are thus indebted for all our knowledge of that era, almost entirely to unwritten sources, and the difRoulty of obtaining exact information in this way, can only be understood by those, who have made an attempt of the same kind. The author must, however, here acknowledge valuable aid from a writer, whoso name is unknown to him, who under the signature of ♦• Philo-antiquarius," published in the first volume of the Colonial Patriot, a series of letters on the early history of Pictou. These letters lie has quoted fully, but they do not enter largely into details, and wnon they do, they are not always accurate. It is but due to himself to say, that he has spared no effort to gain information. He has ransacked the County and Provincial records, and teased officials with his enquiries ; he has plodded his weary way through news- paper files, and, works of Colonial history ; ho has inter- ' rogated Micmacs, and, as the Scotch would say, " cxpis- cated " every old man and woman ho has met with in the county for years ; he has also conducted a largo corres- pondence, and visited varjaug sections of the country in search of facts. To arrive at the exact truth, ho has labored as conscientiously, as if he were writing the history of Europe ; and though he can scarcely hope, that his IV. work will be found free from all errors, yet he belieTes that these will not be material. Farther, as to the execution of the work, he desires to say that the plan adopted has been, to present as full an account of the early sottlers of the county and tho pio- neers in ea'^h section of it, with as vivid a picture of their toils, as in his power, even to the exclusion of informa- tion that might be desired, regarding more recent events. This course has been followed, partly on the general ground, that these things being longer past, are now more properly the subjects of history, partly because he con- siders that portion of our annals as most worthy of notice, but especially, because the information regarding it, depends on oral tradition, which in another generation would be lost altogether. In this course he has also had a special object in view. Of those who have hitherto professed to write the History of Nova Scotia, none have yet attempted fully to delineate tho period of British colonization ; and yet the author regards this as the most important era in the past of the Province. He has, therefore, attempted to depict tho life of tho early settlers in Pictou, — to give, as far as he can, the very form and pressure of the age ; and as what occurred in one county, was, in a largo measure, " repeti- tion of what took place in another, he hopes that his work will thus serve, as a contribution to the illustration of that era in our colonial history. It is too well known that the history of the county has been disfigured by i^ainful controversies. These could scarcely bo ignored in a history like this, but tho treat- ment of them, it will be readily seen, must be a work of difficulty and exceeding delicacy. The course which he has adopted, has been to pass over all contentious of a personal character, but where there seemed questions of importance at issue, to point them out clearly and can- didly. And though he could not help, to some extent, viewing these from his own standpoint, yet it has been his aim to look at them from all sides, to endeavour to arrive at the exact truth regarding them, and to judge charitably, where his convictions would lead him to con- demn. There only remains the duty, which the author has great pleasure in discharging, of acknowledging the aid V. received from varioiis parties in his undertaking. Of tne"- public officials, who were always ready to facilitate his enquiries, he desires to mention, — in Halifax, Messrs. "W. A. Hendry, late of the Crown Land Department, Thomas Robertson, Provincial Secretary's office, Venables, of the Legislative Library ; and in Pictoti, Messrs. David ^Mathe- 6on, Clerk of the Peaco and Protlionotary;, and John Fer- guson, IiPgistrar of Deeds. Ho must also record his obli- gations to Itev. S. T. Rand, for much of the information m the second chapter regarding tho Micmacs, to T. B. Akius, Esq., of Halifax, for access to works of tho early French voyagers, to Dr. J. W. Dawson, and Ed. Gilpin, jr., Esq., for information as to tho geology and mineralogy of the county, to Thomas Millar, Esq., of Truro, for aid in enquiries in Colchester, to tho officers of tho different coal companies, especially Thomas Blenkinsop, Jesse Hoyt, Roderick McDougall, George Ilaltio and J. P. Law- son, Esqs , for information regarding tho different collie- ries ; and, for various personal reminiscences, to Messrs. Robert Patterson, George Glennie, W. H. Harris and Jas. Hepburn of Pictou, John McKay, Esq., of New Glasgow, and among tho departed, Mr. John Douglass of Middle River, James I\IcGregor, Esq., of New (jiurigow, and his late father. To the following he u specially indebted for tho information regavding the settlements under-men- tioned: to Rev. H. B. McKay, for River John, Toney River and Cape John Shore ; Rev. "William Grant for Eo-rltown and West BrancL River John ; Rev. J. \Yatson, for New Annan; Rev. D. i3 Blair, for Blue Mountain, Barneys River and Garden of Eden ; Rev. Robert Cum- ming, for St. Marys ; and IMr. William Eraser, for Pictou Island. Ho has largely adopted their words and inter- woven them with his own narrative. Many others have rendered him aid, of which ho is fully sensible, who, he trusts, will accept this general acknowledgment. GEORGE PATTERSON. Neio Glasgow. N. S., Feby., 1877. J CONTE NTS. r. I III CUAPTEB I. INTRODUCTORY. Boundaries — Divisions —Coast and Ilarbours — Interior — Geological Structure — Natural History — Name CHAPTER IT. PICTOn IN THE rnEHISTORIC PERIOD. Early visitors — Micmac occupation — Hi mains — Names— Their wara CHAPTER III. 24 THE FRENCH IN PIC TOD. French Settlements — Remains found— Removal of French— Peace with Indians — Vessel stranded at Carriboo 37 CHAPTER IV. FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OF PICTOtJ — 1767-1773. Schemes for settling Nova Scotia — Philadelphia Company and their , grant — Arrival of first settlers — Their labours — Social condition ... 46 CHAPTER V. ARRIVAL OF HECTOR AND SETTLEMENT OF HER PASSENOERS— 1773-1776. Hector's voyngo and arrival — DifRculties of settlers — Progress — Settlers from Dumfries, on I'rinco Edward Inland and removal to Pictou . . 79 CHAPTER VI. ' PICTOU DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR — 1776-l78a. American Revolutionary War — Effects on Trade — Vessels captured — Indian gathtring — "Malignant" — Slavery — First settlement at Mcrigomish 98 CHAPTER VII. FROM THE CLOSE OF TUB WAR TILL THE ARRIVAL OF DR. M'anEGOh — 1 783-1 78G. Eighty-second Regiment — Eighty-fourth — Upper settlement, East River — Other arrivals — First settlers of Tatamagoucho and River John — Dr. McGregor's arrival 114 trs 24 37 their i ion . . . 46 ;-l776. Settlers ictou.. 79 98 -1783-178G. M s 114 vu. CHAPTER VIII. DR. H'OHEQOR'a EAHLY LABOUBS — 1786-1789. State of Society — First churches — Pastoral labours — Redemption of slaves — Missionary journeys 186 CHAPTER IX. ritOM TUB COMMXNCEMENT OF TUB TOWN TILL THE FRENCU WAR — 1789 — 1703. Oovernor Patterson's grant— Commencement of town — First ship-building —Immigration— Pictou made a separate district 151 CHAPTER X. raOM THE COHMENGEUXNT OV THE FRENCH WAR TUL THE WALLACE ELECTION — 1793-1799. Jrench Revolutionary War and trade — Rev. Duncan Ross — Population- Social condition — Hunting — Micmacs — First contested election — Discovery of coal 168 CHAPTER XI. COUNTY AND COORT BUSINEBCi Building jail — Stocks — Collecting taxes — Sessions regulations — Inferior Court — Supreme Court — First trial for murder 190 CHAPTER XII. IHUIGRATION AT THE BEQINNINO OF THE CENTURY. Large immigration — Dunoon's passengers — New settlements — Mount Thom, McLennans Mount, New Lairg, &c 222 CHAPTER XIII. FROM THE BEOINNINO OF THE CENTURY TILL THE PEACE — 1800-18J5. Timber trade — Drinking — Edward Mortimer and others — War times — Travelling — Dr. McCulloch — First Bible Society — Rev. John Mitchell — Rev. Wm. Patrick — New Glasgow commenced 244 CHAPTER XIV. IMMISRATION AND NEW SETTLEMENTS AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. New pcttlements — Dalhousio Mountain, Earltown, Blue Mountain, St. Marys, &c 275 CHAPTER XV. FROM THE PKAOB '' I i. THE FIVA.VCIAL CRISIS OF 1825-6 — 1815-1826. Effects of peace — Year of the mice — Year of (rost — Agricultural improve- ment — Murders — Business men — Financial critis — Religious fiocieties — Religious divisions 292 If M Vlll. CHAPTER XVI. DR. M'ClLLOCn AND THG FICTOU A0ADEH1 Higher seminary projected — Commenced — Opposition— Dr. McCulloch's labours — Native preachers — Institution remodelled — Decay and fall 321 CHAPTER XVII. v. .Oil THBPINAKCIAL CHISIS OK 1825-G TO THE DIVISION OF THE COUNTY — 1826-36. Trade — Jotliam Blanchard and I'ictou Patriot — First Temperance Society — Improved roads and travelling — Dr. McGregor's death — Election of J 830— First steam navigation — L. and S. Society 363 CHAPTER XVIII. MINES AND MINING INDUSTI'.IES OP THE COUNTY. First coal mining — Coal field — General Mining Association — Acadia Company — Intercolonial — Nova Scotia Company — Vale — Iron ores 30» CHAPTER XIX. Fr.OM THE DIVISION OP TUB COUNTY TO THE PRESENT TIME — 1330-1876. Piciou r.s a separate county — Shipbuilding and Capt. McKenzie — Trade, agriculture and manufactures — Religiaus denominations — Conclusion 423 Appendix. 44^ ^r hiStoi^y or THE COUNTY OF PICTOU, CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY The County of Pictou lies on the Northern Shore of the Straits of Northumberland, along w hich, it presents a leni^th of about fifty miles. It extends into the interior to a distance of over twenty miles, being bounded on the South, by the County of Guysborough, on the East by the County of Antigonish, and on the "West by the County of Colchester. When originally set olFin the year 1792, from Colchester as a separate district, its boundaries were thus described : " Beginning four miles eastward of David Archibald's house, at Salmon liiver, between Truro and Pictou, as the road now runs, from thence to run north, four degrees west, (by the Magnet,) to the shore of Tat- amagouche harbour, thence from said place of beginning, to run south twenty-seven degrees east, to the southern line of the District of Colchester ; thence east by the said line to the western line of the County of Sydney, includ- ing all the lands to the eastward and northward of said lines, within the (then) District of Colchester." ]More exactly its limits are thus described, " commencing at the boundary of the County of Colchester, at the Gulf of St. Lawrence, thence south four degrees east 19 miles. r i^ 10 thence south twenty degrees east 26 miles, thence east 25 miles, thence north 26 miles to the shore." Tho following are the Latitudes and Longitudes of leading points, determined by a series of observations by officers of H. M. Navy, in the year 1828. Lat. Long. Pictou Island South Side 45 47 52 62 37 33 Pictou Harbour 45 41 56 62 42 .... Pictou Academy 45 40 20 62 44 28 It is divided into three townships, Pictou, Egerton and Maxwelton. The first of these embraces the western part of the county, from the Colchester County line to the harbour of Pictou. It is separated from the Township of Egerton, by a line commencing at Boat Harbour and run- ning thence south 54 ® west, till it reaches East River, at what is called the Big Gut, and by another line commenc- ing at Doctor's Island, at the point between the Middle and West Rivers, and thence south 30 degrees west 19 miles, to the Colchester County line. The Township of Egerton embraces all the central portions of tho county, and is bounded on the west by the Township of Pictou, as just mentioned, and on the east is separated from tho Township of Maxwelton, by a line commencing at the bridge at Sutherlands River, and thence running south to the Guysborough County line. The Township of Max- welton includes the remaining part of the county. Its estimated area is as follows : — . Pictou Township 215,360 Acres Egerton " 239,600 Maxwelton " 222,400 Its coast is indented by several harbours, of which the mcH important is Pictou, about the centre of its sea- '>u v.t which is the largest, and by far, the best har- . ;! o \ii Northern shore of Nova Scotia. It has a bar u at its mouth with twenty feet of water on it at low tide. Th entrance is narrow, but within it expands into a very large and capacious basin, ha^ang from five to nine fa- thoms of water, whore a largo navy might ride in perfect safety, and with muddy bottom, affording superior hold- ing ground. Its main disadvantage is that it is frozen over from the middle or end of December to the beginning or end of April. Three fine streams, after winding through a fertile district, fall into it, known as the East, Middle and "West Rivers, the first navigable for small vessels for five miles from its mouth. A short distance to the westward is the small har- bour of Carriboo, ^ formed between the main land and two islands, named respectively Big and Little Carriboo. This name is said to have arisen, from some of the first ex- plorers, having seen a herd of caribou on ttie east point of what is now the Big Island, but which was then a head- land connected with the shore, and which they thence called Caribou Point. This harbour has two principal en- trances, one between the two islands, the other much nar- rower but deeper, between the smaller and the mainland. "When the first settlers arrived this was the only entrance, what is now the wide entrance being then a sandbeach, over which the sea was beginning to make its way. It has, however, continued its encroachments, till it has en- tirely separated between the two islands, making a pass- ago half a mile wide with four feet of water on it at low tide. "Within the memory of the first settlers the sea has alsocut across the beach, which connected what is now the Big Island with the land, and thus formed a third entrance, which, however, is still shallow, f And further changes are • Such is tho Bpelling now coraaionly adopted, though the name of the an- imal is generally spelled Caribou. t The late James Harris used to say that when he first visited tbo island, ho could cross hctwecn them by wading to tho knee, and ho remembered tho Grot stcrm which cut occms the beach connecting tho Big Island with the land. r i If I li 1- 12 going on. At two if not three places on the Big Island, which were once meadows, cutting considerable qiiantitcs of hay, are now only narrow sand beaches, which the sea is wear- ing away, and which it will soon cut through, and thus conrert it into three or four islands. In the days of the Pictou timber trade, vessels of considerable size loaded in this harbour, but it is now but little used. Two small streams dignified as Big and Little Carriboo Rivers, unite their waters about three quarters of a mile from the har- bor into which they flow in a deep channel. About 15 miles farther to the westward, is the only other harbour on that side of the county, viz : — River John, being the estuary of the river so named. This harbour is not large and not well sheltered, being exposed to northerly winds, but it has for many years been the seat of a large shipbuilding trade. The River John, (in Micmac Cajje-Boogwek, i. e., flowing through a wilderness, *) flowing into it, drains a large tract of country. Between these two harbours a small stream known as Toney River, with several brooks empty into the Strait. Proceeding from Pictou Harbour eastward, along the coast, we pass some small harbours, known as Chance, Boat and Little Harbours, and then meet Merigomish, formed by what is called the Big Island of Merigomish, which, how- ever, is connected at its eastern end with the mainland by a sand-beach a mile and a half long. Here seems originally to have been the entrance to the harbour. The early French explorers in the 17th century speak of this as the entrance, but represent it as becoming choked with sand, so that only small vessels could enter, and that only at high-tide. When the first English settlers arrived, the old Indians could recollect when there was suflicient water to afford passage for their canoes. Now, however, it is a sand beach from an eighth to a cjuarter of a mile wide, and for some • From. Cajjahf to be alone. 18 distance along the centre, judging by the eye, about 30 feet high, covered with a coarse grass and a few plants, such as will grow in that situation. The entrance is now at the west end of the Island, and my opinion is that originally this was connected with the land, but that the sea here cut a new entrance, that in consequence the tidal and river waters flowing in this course, the stream at the east end became too sluggish to keep the passage there clear of the sand accumulating at its mouth, and thus led ultim- ately to its being closed up. Even yet a very heavy storm will make a passage across it. The i^resent entrance has a bar with 14 feet at low wa- ter, formed by rocky shoals running out from the points on each side. Within, however, it is a large and safe har- bour. Once inside, the mariner flnds himself well shel- tered, but it has this disadvantage, that from the bend in the channel, turning round the end of the Island, the same wind by which sailing vessels can enter, will not bring them up to the upper parts of the harbour. It contains a number of islands, varying in size from a few acres to a square mile in extent. Into it ilow as we joroceed easterly, Sutherlands, French and Barneys Eivcrs. Beside the islands already mentioned and some smaller ones, there lies off the coast at a distance of about eight miles from the entrance of Pictou Harbour, Pictou Island, about five miles long from east to west, with an average breadth of about a mile and three quarters. From each end reefs run out to a considerable distance. The coast has few dangers for navigation, and these are largely, obviated by light houses. Approaching from the cast, the mariner first sights Pictou Island light, which is situated on the south-east point of the Island, showing a white iixcd light, 52 feet above sea levol, and visible 11 miles, from a square white biiilding. Then comes Pictou Harbour light on the south side of the entrance. It is a white fixed light, with a small red light below, 05 feet r II 14 above sea level, visible 12 miles. Tbe building is octago- nal, painted in red and white vertical stripes. Farther to the northward and westward is Big Carriboo Island light, situated on the north-east end of the Island, a white re- volving light, showing its greatest brilliancy every JSiin- ute, 85 feet above high water, and visible 10 miles from a square white building. The coast is generally low, scarcely in any place form- ing cliffs, " the Roaring Bull," a point four miles to the eastward of Pictou Harbour, making the nearest approach to one. Both inside and outside the harbours, it is being gradually worn away, the sandstone, which forms the underlying rock, readily yielding to the influence of the waves. At Middle River Point, those who can remember a period of about fifty years, estimate that in that time about 200 feet of the shore has been carried away. The Island there is not now half the size it was within their recollection, and a small island on the Middle River haa in the same time been entirely carried away, except a few stones visible at low water. At Abercromby Point, resi- dents calculate that about sixty feet of the bank has been carried away. This wasting goes on with greatest rapidity under the influence of north-east winds, which cause our highest tides, and drive the water with great force, particularly against the shores on the south side of the Harbour. In this way the banks are undermined, and the frost and rain bring down the superincumbent soil, which is washed away by the waves and tides. In Merigomish the same thing is observed. Mr. Wm. Dunn, an intelligent resident, estimates that during a period of about fifty years, from sixty to a hundred feet of shore has been carried away on the point formerly occupied by Mr. James Crerar, and in the cove on the front of his own farm. The old ship yard is now almost entirely covered with water, so that where the bow of the 15 vessel rested on the " ways," is now about high water mark. On the open coast the wasting must be greater. "We have already referred to the changes going on at Carriboo Island. But Pictou Island is weiring away with perhaps greater rapidity, though at one [point toward the south- east side, a sand beach is making. The old Indians spoke of a time, when the passage between it and Carriboo Island, now five and three quarter miles wide, was com- paratively narrow. At Cole's Point, near the entrance of the harbour, about thirty yards of a bank twenty or thirty feet high has been carried away within a short time, and its foundation is now a shingly beach. Since the light house was built in 1884, about 200 yards of the eastern side of the beach on which it stands, then yielding a coarse hay, is now under water, and had not a break- water been erected, protecting that building on three sides, it would have been swept away some time ago. At the same time, however, the beach has been making toward the west. The beach on the north side has also been diminishing, though not with the same rapidity. It is calculated that during the same period it has narrowed to the extent of fifty yards. One great storm carried away about a quarter of an acre in one place. On examination of the ground laid bare, there were found roots of ash trees as they had grown, and with them the skeleton of a bear. The sand, however, after a time again covered the spot. On the other hand, the land covered by the estuaries of the rivers, and the shallower parts of the harbour are gradually rising. On the "West Jtiver, by the calculation of those who can remember fifty years, the flats have risen over eighteen inches. At Middle River Point, be- tween the island and the shore, it has filled up to the extent of about eighteen inches, and where it was once too soft to walk on, it is now so hard, that a horse and cart f 1/ i 16 may bo driven over it. On the Middle River, similar changes have been noted as in progress. Not only are the marshes rising, bnt a channel formerly largely used by boats, for which the regular landing place was at Lochoad's, is now filled np. In like munnor what the residents knew as *' the long pool " i3 now iillcd with gravel, and generally tha creeks on both rivers are estimated as having risen to about the same extent as the surrounding flats. In the harbour the flats from Middle River point to the channel, are estimated to have risen about a foot in the last fifty years, while residents at Abercromby Point esti- mate that those off that point have risen at least two feet. The East River, from its greater size carrying down a greater amount of soil, will naturally account for this. Thirty years ago it was considered, that vessels drawing nineteen feet of water might safely load at the loading ground at the mouth of the East River, but since that time a ford has arisen further down, over which, previous to the late dredging operations, it was difficult to take vessels drawing over fifteen. Indeed it is maintained that every part of the harbour, even the channel itself, is becoming shallower. In former years vessels drawing twenty-four feet of water passed over the bar outside the harbour, but this cannot be done now. In Merigomish the same thing is noticed, particularly in the eastern portion of the harbour, between French and Barneys Rivers. Residents have observed that the flats are widening and the water upon them becoming more shallow. The bottom, too, consists of a rich, soft, fine mud, extending up, to the beai h itself, evidently brought down by the rivers. On Barneys River from the bridge downward, where people forty or fifty years ago went freely in their canoes, is now in grass. Along the shore the land is level and not elevated, but in the interior ranges of hills extend in every direction, IT which, with the various river valleys, by which it is traversed, present scenery of the most beautiful, though not of the grandest description. Some of these hills, such as Frasers Mountain, Green Hill, Mount Thorn or Fitz- patricks Mountain, exhibit prospects which in richness and variety, of sea and land, hill ond dale, river and shore, field and forest, will compare with any in America. On the western boundary the hills rise to greater elevation, being a continuation of the Cobequid Mountains, while a similar range, not so high, but more rugged in outline, and regarded as a continuation of the South Mountains of Kings and Annapolis Counties, traverses the southern por- tion of it, and is continued in the Antigonish Mountains. It has few lakes, compared with some of the other counties of the Province, and these are all small. . The principal are Eden, Brora, Sutherlands, and McDonalds Lakes, in the southern portion of Maxwelton township. The others, though small, add in some places a pleasing variety to the landscape. In the descent of the streams are some pretty cascades, the largest of which and the only one which may be called grand, is on Sutherlands River, about two and a half miles from its mouth. The stream is here about 100 feet wide. In the centre a large rock, on which is a little soil, bearing a few scrubby trees, divides it into two, and each portion descends by three stages to a pool at the bottom. But just below, a perpendicular precipice, which on the left bank rises high over the fall, projects nearly half-way across, so that the parted streams as they reunite arc forced through a narrow gorge. It has but little marsh land, and none to compare in fertility with the dyked marshes of the Bay of Fundy, but along its rivers and brooks is much intervale, and meadow land of excellent quality, while much of the upland, even to the summits of the hills, is fertile. Indeed with the exception of a tract extending from the f .4 it -^ m ili^H ! i 18 head of the West River to the County of Guysborough, and some smaller portions elsewhere, the whole is capabla of cultivation. Forest fires have, however, in some instances rendered considerable tracts for a time com- paratively barren. Perhaps the largest extent of land of this kind Ues between the Albion Mines and Middle Eiver. Its geological structure may be described in general terms as follows : Across the whole southern side of the county extends a range of hills of Upper Silurian forma- tion, composed principally of beds of quartzite and slates, the latter varying much in colour and texture with masses and dykes of syenite and greenstone. This band which commences on the east at Cape Porcupine and Cape G-eorge, is about fifteen miles broad from the east side of the County, till it approaches the East Eiver, when it suddenly bends to the south, allowing the carboniferous strata to extend far up into the valley of the river. Far- ther west it again widens and so continues beyond the boundaries of the county. Eocks of the same formation are also found further north on its western border, where the Eastern Cobequid hills enter the county at Mount Thom and adjacent hills. In an economical point of view, these rocks derive their chief importance from their valuable iron ores, but a large part of them are covered with a fertile soil. At the base of these hills are lower carboniferous rocks, chiefly sandstones and conglomerates, over and associated with which, is a series of reddish and grey sandstones and shales, with thick beds of limestones and gypsum, the latter not of the economic importance, of those of Hants County. These can be traced from the upper part of the "West Eiver, eastward to the East Eiver, along the valley of which, they enter in the form of narrow bay into the Metamorphic District to the Southward. Eastward of this they continue to skirt the older hills, until they reach 19 the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at Arisaig, beyond the bounds of the county. To the northward of these older members of the system, there is in some places, especially on the East River, a large development of the productive or middle coal mea- sures, which we shall have occasion to notice more parti- cularly hereafter. The remaining portion of the county, stretching along the straits of Northumberland, consists of newer carboniferous rocks, supposed by Dr. Dawson, to belong to the upper coal measures, or pcrmo-carboniferous series. These formations afford in a great number of places grey freestones, much esteemed for architectural purposes, and also suited for the manufacture of grind- stones. Copper ores are found at various localities, the principal being Oarriboo river, the West River a little below Durham, the East River a few miles above the Albion Mines, and River John near the village, but none yet in quantities to be of economic value. Its Natural History need not further be particularly described, as its flora and fauna are the same with the other portions [of the Province. The Beaver has become extinct, though the effects of his labours may yet be seen in various places. Most other wild animals have become scarcer, and some, as the Fisher and Marten, are nearly if not quite extinct. "We may mention, however, that the Skunk and the Raccoon are recent arrivals. The first ap- pearance of the former was a noted event about fifty years ago. A young man from the Middle River was on his way to the East, to attend a sacramental service ; crossing the wilderness land lying between the rivers, he saw an unknown animal, which he attacked vigorously, and with results ahixt may bo imagined. He proceeded on his journey, but as he approached the groups surrounding the church, met the averted faces even of friends, and was obliged to return home and bury his clothes. Other scones of a sipilar kind took place in other quarters. I 20 The waters along our shores exhibit similar changes in their inhabitants within the historic period. AVhen European voyagers first visitod our coast, the Walrus was still found in this latitude ; and within the memory of persons still living, the Seal was in such abundance as to be each spring a regular object of pursuit. The first visitors to Pictou describe in glowing terms the size and abundance of the oysters, to be found in our harbour, and the shell heaps on the site of old Indian encampments, corroborate their statements, but now scarcely any are to be found, and these are but small, I am also informed that the clams, which are but little used, are not only becoming fewer in number, but smaller in size. As to its vegetable productions, occasionally a rare specimen may be found. A short distance from the road up Sutherlands River, toward Antigonish, stands a solitary specimen of a species of spruce, which is not found any where in this part of the Province at least. And I have heard of other instances o{ trees being found, belonging to species not known to exist anywhere near. Many plants have been introduced by colonists, which have spread and become wild. The introduction of one pre- sents some circumstances of interest. A vessel landing ballast at Mortimer's wharf, a few stalks of a species of ragweed, known in Scotland among the common people as Stinking Willie, were thrown out with it. They had been pulled by some cultivator in the old country and thrown among stones, and with them conveyed to the hold of the vessel, and thus transported across the Atlantic. Some of the seeds took root on the shore, and some fifty years ago the late John Taylor pointed out the plants and warned some bystanders of their character. They laughed at him, and he took no trouble in the matter, but he after- ward often expressed his regret that he had not himself set to work and rooted them out, which he might readily have done. About forty years ago, a Highland servant \ 21 of my father's, pointed out to me a larg-e bunch of it on the shore of the side of the point toward the town. At that time, farmers being interested in getting rid of the oxeyed daisy aiid other weeds, he remarked that he was mistaken if they did not find ere long that that would be more troublesome thaii any with which they were con- tending. Since that time, it has not only occupied all the highways round the town and proved troublesome in the fields of the fairmers there, but it has spread to the extremities of the county, an'l beyond it. I have seen it at Carriboo Island on the north shore, at Tatamagouche to the west, well up the East and Middle Rivers to the southward, and I have pulled a stalk of it on the road by Lochaber Lake to the east. Its meteorology exhibits little of interest as distinct from the other portions of the Province. Like the rest of the north coast it present a remarkable contrast to the southern, in its almost entire freedom from fog. The mean and extreme temperatures are, however, higher there than here, owing specially to the influence of the Gulf stream. The ice which comes down from the north in spring lingers long off" our coast, cooling the air, so as to retard vegetation and impart a rawness to the east winds at that season, which is trying to the health, particularly of persons under any pulmonary weakness. The autumn, however, is much finer than on the south coast, there being much less wet weather, and the southerly gales of that season being felt less severely. The name Pictou was supposed by many to have been a corruption of Poictou, the name of an old Province of France, and to have originated with the French. In many documents of the early part of this century, even Government plans, it is so spelled, and the old Highland settlers pronounced it in this way. I have heard of educated persons in Pictou, who maintained that this was the proper name, and spelled it so in their correspondence. ¥ 22 li I But this is a mistake. The name appears spelled as we spell it in the writings of the earliest French voyagers, and there can be little doubt that it is formed from the Indian name, which, according to Mr. Rand, is Pictook. The k at the end of Micmac names, he says, marks what grammarians call the locative case, expressing at or in. The French generally dropped the k. Thus we have Chebooktoo for Chebooktook, and so Pictou for Pictouck, the ou being originally sounded as in French. As most of the Indian names are descriptive, attempts have been made to discover the meaning of this, but as yet we do not think that certainty has been reached. Some hare supposed that the word is analogous to Buctou, pro- perly Booktook, which means a harbour, or more properly a bay or arm of the sea ; but this is used only with a prefix, as in Chebooktou, Richibookiou, Chedabooktou, &c. Mr. Eand explains the word differently. He says that the word Pict means an explosion of gas, and he sup- poses the name to have originated from the escape of gas at the East River from the coal lying below. "Whenever the noun ends in the sound of kt, the regular form of the case locative is the addition of ook. Thus nebookt means woods, nebooktook " in the woods,'' and thus Pict becomes Pictook, and the k being dropped, as just mentioned, we have the name Pictou. It may appear presumptuous to express any doubt regarding a point of Micmac philology, on which Mr. Rand is satisfied. Yet it appears to us a serious objection to his view, that the phenomenon to which he refers was only seen at the East River, to which the Indians gave another name {ApcJiechkumooch — waakade, or ducklnnd) while it seems certain that the name Pic- touck T^'as applied specially to the harbour, where no such phenomenon exists. Others again have supposed, that it is a corruption of the Micmac word, Bucto, which signifies fire. That this was the derivation of the name, was a common opinion 23 tiinong the early settlors, and I find it asserted by Peter Toney, now about the oldest of the Micmacs in Pictou, and by others of the tribe. Their story or tradition is, that at one time there had been a large encampment up the "West River. On one occasion they all left in their canoes on a cruise down the harbour. During their short absence, the whole encampment was burned up, and also the woods for a con- siderable distance around. No person could tell how the lire originated. They always spoke of the event as the " Miskeak Bucfo,'" or big fire, which naturally became asso- ciated with the place. "When the whites came, hearing the Micmacs speak of it in this way, they corrupted the name and called the whole north side of the harbour, Pictou, because according to this learned Micmac, they could not pronounce it aright. Others adopting the same derivation, have supposed the name to have been given in conse- quence of a large fire, at what is now the East River mines. "When coal was first discovered there, it was covered with from four to six feet of burnt clay and ashes, over which large hemlock trees were growing, and I am informed that the Indians had traditionary accounts of a fire, which continued burning there for some length of time. This view I regard as entirely a supposition, and would consider Mr. Toney's much more probable, on this ground if on no other, that the name was originally given not to the Mines but to the north side of the harbour. But Mr. Rand assorts, that the difference between the words is too decided, to admit of this being the correct derivation. Another meaning was given by Philo Antiquarius, and also by the lato Mr. Howe, as derived from a Micmac. It is that it means anything like ajar or bottle, which has a narrow mouth and widens aft:^rward. Wo have never received this from Micmacs, but when we have suggested it to them in the form of a loading question, they have assented to it, whether to ploaso us or because it was correct, may not be quite certain. This would well represent tha 24 shape of the harbour, and could it be shown to be in: accordance with the Micmac language, we would deem it preferable to the others. But when such difference of opinion exists among the learned, we are obliged to leave the matter unsettled. CHAPTER II. PICTOU IN THE PREHISTORIC PERIOD. It is now known that these coasts were risited by the- Breton and Basque fisheiir ^n during the sixteenth century, and that they traded \^ah the aborigines, supplying them with various implements in exchange for their furs. It is probable that iictor bar'' u? was then well known to these hardy mariners. The only fact, however, known to us which seem to afford evidence of their presence, was the discovery by Henry Poole, Esq., on the 17th March,. 1860, of a piece of wood three and a half feet below the surface of the ground, while the men were engaged in cutting a drain, on what is now the Acadia Company's area at the Albion Mines. This piece of wood, three feet long, showed marks of having been cut by an axe, w^hile the trees growing above the spot were two feet in diame* ter, and he counted 230 rings of annual growth in the hemlock tree cut down just over it. The first recorded notices of Pictou, however, are to be found in the voyages of the early French visitors, in the early part of the 17th century. We may here give a description of its shores from an account published in the year 1672, by Monsieur Denys, appointed Governor of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the year 1654. " Starting from Cape St. Louis (now Cape George), ten. 25 d by the century, applying leir furs. 1 known r, known >''!'!) jnce, was 1 March^ elow the ■| ^aged in tmpany's ;hree feet :e, while n diame- 1 th in the are to be 1 s, in the i give a ^1 }d in the or of the leagues thence we come to a small river, whose entrance has a bar, which sometimes closes it, when the weather is stormy and the sea piles up the sand at its mouth, but when the river swells it passes over and makes an open- ing. Only small sloops can enter this river, and it does not run deep into the countiy, which is tolerably fine and covered with trees." This we take to be the eastern end of the Big Island of Merigomish. " Proceeding westward for about a dozen leagues the coast is nothing but a rugged mass, with the exception of several openings of different dimensions. The land round about is low, it appears fertile, and is covered with fine trees, among which I noticed quantities of oak." The following is his description of Pictou harbour, or, as he calls it, the river of Pictou : — " Passing these you find a large opening, where there are several cliffs by the side of low headlands or meadows, in which are numer- ous ponds, where there is so great an abundance of all kinds of game that it is surprising, and if the game there is abundant, the earth is not less beneficent. All the trees there are very fine and large. There are oaks, maples, cedars, pines, firs and every kind of wood. The large river is right at the entrance, and the sloops go from seven to eight leagues within, after which you meet with a small island covered with the same wood, farther than which you cannot proceed without canoes. The country on both sides of the river, for the space of a league toward its source, is covered with pines, large and small, and they are fine trees, as they were down below. There are also along its sides, creeks and " cul de sacs," with mea- dows, where the chase is capital." " A league and a half up the river there is a large har- bour (we suppose at South Pictou) where you may find large quantities of excellent oysters ; some, in one place, are nearly all round, and deeper in the harbour they are monstrous. Among them are some larger than a shoe and nearly the same shape, and they are all very fat and of good taste. And at the entrance of this river, toward the right, half a league from its mouth, there is also a large bay, which runs nearly three leagues into the land, and contains a number of islands, and on both sides you find meadows and game in abundance." For some of these details Mr. Denys seems to have drawn on his imagination. "When first visited by Europeans this, like the rest of the Province, was inhabited by the Micmac (properly Miggumac) tribe of Indians, a branch of the jjreat Algon- quin race, which included all the tribes along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Labrador. Of these the Micmacs were one of the most powerful, occupying not only Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, but the whole eastern and northern coasts of New Brunswick and the south side of the St. Lawrence for some distance from its mouth. This extensive territory, known to the abo- rigines as Miggumahgee,* Micmacland, or country of the Micmacs, was, and indeed is yet, divided into districts, inhabited by tribes, or subdivisions of the race, each under its separate chief, who acknowledged the chief of Oona- mahgee, or Cape Breton as their head, his superiority, however, consisting in little more than his being umpire in case of any dispute between the other chiefs, and pre- siding at any general council. Of these divisions, Pictou was the centre of the district extending along the north shore of Nova Scotia, those belonging to it being known as Pectougawak, or Pictonians. f Merigomish, however, seems to have been their head quarters. This was a favorable position for them. It was near the fishery in the G-ulf ; the islands abounded in wild • The classical reader may observe in the termination of this and other names the Greek word ge, land or country. t The others were, besides Cape Breton, Memramcook, and Restigouche to the north, and Eskegawaage, from Canso to Halifax, Sigunikt or Cape Negro, and Eespoogwit or Cape Chigaecto, seiven in all. i\J 27 fowl, the rivers swarmed with fish, and the woods in the rear were plentifully stocked with game. Their principal place of encampment was at the foot of Barneys River, on the east side, where they had, when the English settlers arrived, some clearings on which they raised a little Indian com and a few beans. Other places around, such as the Big Island, some of the smaller islands in the har- bour, and some of the jwints on the shore, were also sites of their encampments, as may yet be seen by the quantities of shells of oysters and other shelliish found on the land, and the stone hatchets and arrow heads still occa- sionally picked up. Their burying ground, when the English settled, and for how long previous we know not, was near the west end of the Big Island on the south side, a short distance east of Savage Point.=^ This they used till about forty years ago, and here stood a number of crosses till a recent period. But all the Indians of the county now bury on Chapel Island or Indian Island, an island in the harbour donated to them by Governor "Wentworth. In the map accompanying Charlevoix's work, the mouth of the East River is marked as the site of an Indian village. This must have been situated on the east side, nearly opposite the loading ground, on the farm of the late Jas. McKay, now in possession of J.^^McGregor and McKenzie. There, close by the river, is a beautiful flat, like a piece of intervale, but higher and very slightly rounded, bounded in the rear by a bank, by w^hich the land rises abruptly to a higher level. Here the land was clear when the English settlers arrived, and for some time after, when it was ploughed, various articles were turned up, such as broken pieces of crockery, a gun barrel, and on one occasion a • This was so called from a Captain Savage, of Truro, who had died while his vessel was lying there, and was buried in the sand on the shore. Either his vessel or another, named the Betty, drifted ashore on the point of the island opposite, which has since been called Point Betty Island. 4 28 pewter basin, about eight inches in diameter, with a narrow rim, also five or six table spoons, while around have been found quite a number of stone hatchets, and oyster shells are abundant. Thesu facts show that this place was occupied by them, both before and after the arrival of Europeans.* The opposite side of the river gives evidence of similar occupancy, in particular a field on the farm of William Dunbar, on being ploughed, has been found covered with oyster shells. On a point a little lower down the river was another burying place. Here stood at the arrival of the English settlers, and until a recent period, a large iron cross, about ten feet high. Hence the place is still known as Indian. Cross Point, though the locality is known among the Micmacs, as Soogunagade^ or rotting place. Here the Indians buried till a few years ago. Many of the graves can still be traced by the rows of flat stones, by which they were originally covered, which have now sunk to the level of the ground or perhaps were always in that position, and are partly overgrown with grass. The water is wasting away the bank, so that human bones may be found exposed on the shore. Frasers Point, particularly on the farm of Mr. Hugh Eraser, and ^Middle River Point, especially at McKay's farm, by the shells which the plough turns up, and the stone implements formerly found in abundance, and still occasionally obtained, are shown to have been also places of frequent resort. The decaying remnant of the Micmac tribe look back * An impression has prevailed that this was a French settlement, and it has even been supposed that some embankments at the Big Gut, a little fur- ther up were their work. One hut was found by the English settlers at the latter point, but all the other facts indicate the occupancy of the place by Micmacs, while the slightest examination of the embankments referred to, show that they were not raised by the hand of man, but by the tide assisted, probably by ice along the shores of the creek. i'l ill; 29 on the period referred to as the golden age of their race. Then they held undisputed possession of all these regions, and were a terror to surrounding tribes. They could muster by thousands. They were at peace among themselves, drunkenness was unknown, and the various European diseases, by which they have since been swept away, were unheard of. The land abounded with game and the waters teemed with fish. The forest sheltered them from the Btorm, and skins of animals afforded the warmest covering by night and by day. " My father," said an old Indian, " have coat outside beaver, inside otter." Thus speaks tradition, and in some respects truly, though it would not be difl&cult from what we know of savage life, to find another side to the picture. Though divided into small tribes they could combine to prosecute wars, in which they were frequently engag- ed with the natives of Maine and New Hampshire, and with the Iroquois and the Mohawks of the St. Lawrence. The wkrs with the latter occupied a prominent place in the traditions of the Micmacs of Pictou, and they preserve the memory of fierce battles, fought in the neighborhood ofMerigomish. I have lately had evidence that these traditions are not without foundation. Mr. Donald McG-regor of the Big Island, in ploughing a spot in his field, where the vegeta- tion was ranker than usual, turned up a human skull. On examination there was found a mass of human bones much decayed, among them a skull, transfixed by a flint arrow head, which yet remained in its place. Along with these remains were a large number of ancient implements, stone axes, flint arrow heads, etc., but none of them giving evidence of intercourse with Europeans. The transfixed skull, and the whole appearance of the place, plainly showed that here the bodies of those who had fallen in some battle, have been heaped together, "in one red burial blent." h 80 I visited the place in 1874. The spot is small, not more than eight or ten feet in diameter, and as soon as the ground is turned, it will at once be distinguished from the surrounding soil, being a loose black mould, contain- ing fragments of bone, so decayed that they can be crushed between the fingers, all, no doubt, once the flesh and blood of brave warriors. This pit, if it can be called such, is very shallow, being not more than fifteen to twenty inches deep. At the bottom I found decayed fragments of the birch bark, in which, according to the custom of the ancient Micmacs, the dead were laid. Below this was a hard subsoil, which plainly had never been disturbed. The shallowness of the pit also indicates that this burial took place previous to the coming of Europeans, when sharpened sticks of wood were their only instruments of digging. The ground had been so thoroughly dug over before my visit, that it was impossible to ascertain anything as to the arrangements of the bodies, and nearly all the imple- ments had been carried away ; but I found a stone axe, which bore the evidence of having been ground to a sharp edge, probably immediately before the encounter in which its owner fell, some fragments of very rude pottery, and a broken tobacco pipe, made of a piece of very finely grained granite rock, the shaping and polishing as well as the drilling of the bowl and stem of which, must have involved much labour. On examining the ground around, we found that it was the site of an ancient cemetery, in which we founds in addition to such implements as already mentioned, bone spearheads and small copper knives. The burying ground used by the Micmacs till about forty years ago was about half a mile further to the west, but the place we refer to is evidently much older. Indeed, some of the remains seemed to indicate that they belonged to another race, a people of small size, like the Esquimaux. That 31 the Algonquin race came from the south-west is now the received opinion of American Antiquarians, and there are also strong reasons to believe, that the Esquimaux occupied the shores of North America, to a point much farther south than they now do. Charlevoix describes the Micmacs in his day, as maintaining a constant warfare rching '* dby the to their n on the of the ion to be h armed ept two, life, and res, formed jranches of Iways kept y may have sort of dim: is is a mis- kind. were hotly pursued. But passing a place where a tree had fallen over into the water from the bank, and lay there with a quantity of eelgrass piled and lodged upon it, they took refuge under the eelgrass and under the tree, and their pursuers missed them in the darkness. After the search was abandoned and the canoes had returned, the two men camo forth from their hiding place and hastened home to spread the alarm. " Their dead companions had been scalped and their bodies consumed by firo. This news roused all the war- riors, and they resolved immediately to attack the party that had committed the outrage and avenge it. They i ad a small vessel lying inside the long bar that makes out at Merigomish. This was immediately emptied of its ballast, drawn across the Big Island beach, filled with men, arms and ammunition (for it was since the advent of the French), and immediately moved up to the forts of the Canibas, where it was run ashore. The party was led by a "keenap," a "brave," named Thunder, or Caktoogow, or, as this name first rendered into French and then transferred back into Indian, has come down, Toonale (Tonnerre). They ran the vessel ashore, and, in his eagerness for the encounter, the chief jumped into the sea, swam ashore and rushed upon the fort without waiting for his men. "Being a mighty Powwow, as well as a warrior, ho could render himself invisible and invulnerable, and they fell before him, as we would say, like the Philistines before Samson and his jaw bone of an ass. " Having despatched them all he piled their bodies into the building and set fire to it, serving them as they had served his friends. When all was accomplished, his wrath was appeased. " He then, at the head of his men, walked up towards the other fort without any hostile display, and the Abenaki chief directed his men to open the door for them and 86 I admit them in a peaceful manner. This chief had taken no part in the fray. He had disapproved of the attack upon the torching party, and had endeavored to dissuade the other from it. So when Toonale entered his fort there was no display of hostility. After their mutual saluta- tion, Toonale dryly remarked, 'Our boys have been at play over yonder.'* 'Serve them right,' answers the chief, ' I told them not to do as they did. 1 told them it would be the death of us all.' " It is now proposed that they shall make peace and live in amity for the future. A feast is made accordingly and they celebrate it together. After the eating comes the games. They toss the alkestakun — the Indian dice. They run, they play ball. A pole is raised at the edge of a void space, some three hundred yards across. The par- ties arrange themselves four or five on each side. The ball is thrown into the air, and all hands dart toward it to catch it. He who succeeds in catching it before it strikes the ground darts away to the pole, all on the oppo- site side pursuing him, and if they can catch him before ho reaches the pole, his party loses, and the one who seizes him throws up the ball and another plunge is made after it ; it is seized and the fortunate party dashes oflf again for the pole, and the excitement is kept up amid shouts and bursts of laughter, until the game is finished. "This kind of game at ball is called Uooadijik.^ Another kind is called Wolchamaadijik, the ball being knocked along on the ground. ' Did they not wrestle ? ' I enquired of my friend Peter. ' Oh, no,' was the reply. ♦Wrestling is apt to lead to a quarrel, and they would not, imder the circumstances, run any risk on that score.' " In all the games the Micmacs get the victory. And, if they are impartial historians, they usually beat in their wars with the other tribes and with the whites. Unfor- * Compare 2 Sam. 3, 14 37 Innately we have not the records of the opposite parties of Mohawks and Abenakis, but if we may judge from what takes place among other nations, their accounts would present a very different view. " But, to return to the fort at Little Harbour. After the games were ended, the Caniba chief gives the word Novgooelnumook, ' Now pay the stakes.' A large blanket is spread out to receive them, and the Canibas strip them- selves of their ornaments and cast them in. The follow- ing articles were enumerated by the historian : Meehootaale, epauletts, Pugnlaky breastplates, Neskumunul, brooches, Nasaboodakun, noserings, Nasogwadakunul, linger-rings, Nasunegunul, a sort of large collar loaded with ornaments, more like a jacket than a collar; Epelakunul, hair binders, Egatepesoon, garters, sometimes, as in the present case, made of silver; Ahgwesunahel^ hat-bands. These arti- cles were piled in and the blanket filled so full that they could scarcely tie it. Then another was put down and filled as full. After this the Canibas returned to their own country. A lasting peace had been concluded, which has never yet been violated, and it is not likely it ever will be." CHAPTER III. THE FEENCH IN PICTOU. The period of Micmac ascendancy in Nova Scotia, was followed by the time of its colonization by the French, and of contention between them and the English for its possession. But at this time Pictou is scarcely ever men- tioned. When we consider the resources of the county, and the skill of the French in availing themselves of all "I II i i 1 II f liyi 88^ the advantages of the country, it seems quite surprising that they had done so little here. But the .coal and other mineral resources were in the interior and unknown. Cape Breton was more convenient for the fisheries, and, for agriculture, they had been led by their experience of the richness of the marshes of the Bay of Fundy, to seek that kind of land, of which there is little in Fictou, and that of inferior quality. Besides they had made consider- able settlement at Tatamagouche, which, being nearer than Pictou to Truro, was the point of communication by water, between their settlements on the Basin of Minas^ and Ihose in Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. At all events there is not a county in the Province, in which they have left fewer trac ' of their presence than in Pictou. Halyburton says, " The French had made a few incon- siderable settlements here previous to the peace of 1763, but upon the reduction of Canada they deserted them^ and in a few years they were again covered with wood." All we know of their presence here is by what the first English settlers found on their arrival. We thus learn that their largest settlement was on ihe big island of Merigomish. A small channel which makes off" from the main one there, is still known as the French Channel. It has good water and is well sheltered, and is said to have been used by them for running into with their small shallops, in which they prosecuted the fisheries or traded with the other French settlements. At the head of this were found the remains of several dwellings. "Within the memory of persons still living, the foundations of seven or eight could still be traced. There was but little land cleared ; but there were gardens or orchards, the bushes in which continued to bear for many years. A variety of articles were picked up here, shovels, knives^ spoons, crockery and a few coins. Towards the west of the island the remains were seen of a similar settlement^ iili 8U and among other articles found was the debris of a forge, with axes unfinished and one in the tongs. They had also a small settlement at the mouth of the French Kiver, from which it derives its name. Here also various articles have been picked up. A few also had settled at the upper part of Little Har- bour, where they also seem to have been employed in fishing. The first English settlers found there the remains of their old dwelling houses. An old man, in 1873, informed me that in his boyhood he had picked up beads and other articles among the ruins, and that some of the first settlers had told him that they had found a brass kettle under almost every chimney. A well was found on what was afterward Lauder's farm, which was long afterward known as the French well. Some traces of them were also found at the harbour of Pictou. A log shanty stood at the mouth of the Middle Eiver, and another on the East River. Some pine had been cut down at the Town Gut and along the stream upward, and the spot where Barrie's (late Dickson's) mill now stands, selected as the site of a mill. The remains of a cellar, which had been well constructed with logs was, for a length of time, to be seen about half way between the Town Gut Bridge and Browns Point. At what has long been known as the Burying Ground Point, inside the entrance of the harbour, on the north side, now known as Seaview Cemetery, was found a saw- pit fallen in, with a log upon it in which the whip saw, much rusted, still remained. It is believed by many, on the assertion of some Micmacs, that this was used as a burying ground by the French, and in the faith of this several Roman Catholics have been buried there, and with their Protestant neighbors sleep their last sleep in peace. The remains of two or three huts were also found near this point toward the entrance of the harbour. Evidence of their presence was also found at Garriboo. i/i' L 40 The remains of three houses were found on the island^ and of three or four on the mainland ; one at Rod. McLeod's and another at Three Brooks, now Weir's place. Here they had fenced the marsh and used it for pasturing and feeding a few cattle, but they had very little land cleared. They are generally spoken of as having been principally engaged in fishing, but the tradition is that the shores of this harbour then abounded with large oak, which they cut and shipped to Louisburg, where it was largely used in the construction of the city, and probably also in ship- building. Various remains have been found at different places in the county, which tell ^e tale of the presence of visitors at this period, but which afford us scarcely any further information regarding them. The hilt of a sword, with only a small portion of the blade remaining, and supposed from its appearance, to have been French, was picked up on Carriboo Island, and some soldiers' buttons on the mainland, near the entrance of Carriboo Harbour. Twa muskets, with bayonets attached, were dug up at Fraserar Point, and the remains of some guns, so decayed that both wood and iron fell to pieces when handled, were turned up by the plough near the Beaches. , The late Mr. Hugh Fraser, some time after he had settled at Middle River Point, turned up with the plough parts of a human skeleton, alongside of which he found a sword, still of such excellent temper that the point could be bent to touch the hilt. Alas for military glory ! It was taken to a blacksmith's shop and there made into knives for splitting mackerel. "When digging the bank at the east side of the West River for the erection of the bridge at Durham, the workmen came upon the bones of a very larg 3 man, covered with a flat stone. In digging a well at Dunbar's, near South Pictou, a skeleton was found about eighteen inches below the surface ; the bones were of small size, and were supposed to have belonged ones oi 41 to a young person or a female. Other remains of the same kind have been found at other places, all telling of visitors previous to the English settlement. " Only this and nothing more." Such arc all the facts we have been able, after diligent enquiry, to collect regarding the French settlement of Pictou. "We had despaired of ever being able to know anything of those of whom these remains speak. Unex- pectedly, however, we have become able to give the name of at least one settler. A number of years ago Charles McGee, of Merigomish, coming from the Strait of Canso, as he passed Big Tracadie, lodged at the house of a Mr. Petitpas ; during the evening, finding that he was from Merigomish, the conversation turned on the original French settlement, when he learned that Mr. P's father had been one of the settlers there, and his mother, who was then very old and infirm, said, that if able to go to the place, she could yet show them where she had buried a large brass kettle, containing a number of household articles. Of this era, tradition has preserved some faint reminis- cence of a fight between an English and a French man- of-war in the harbor. But the details are given in such difierent and even contradictory ways, that while I have little doubt of some such afiair having taken place, I am unable to give the particulars. The first settlers found in one tree back of the town a piece of chain-shot, and in another a cannon-ball lodged, which they considered as evidence of such an encounter. According to tradition, the French had some guns landed and mounted on the battery hill. There is also a tradition of the capture, off" Pictou island, of a valuable French vessel on the way down fromi Quebec. Word had been received of the saiUng of such a vessel, and accordingly one or two English vessels laid in wait under the island till she made her appearance, when 42 m 1 I --ir; ^ '■■!; they put ont and captured her, but the whole is inyolved in obscurity. At what time they left Pictou, cannot be determined exactly. At the time of the expulsion of the Acadians from the district around Truro, then known as Cobequid, •Colonel Monckton was ordered to send a detachment to Tatamagouche, to demolish all the houses they found there, together with all the shallops, boats, canoes, or ves- sels of any kind, etc. ; and to give " particular orders for entirely destroying and demolishing the villages of Jediacko (Shediac), Ramsack (now Wallace), etc." How far these injunctions t^ ere carried out, we have no infor- mation. It is not likely that those employed came as far east as Pictou, but certain it is that all the French settle- ments along the Forth Shore of Nova Scotia were aban- doned shortly after, and the circumstances in which articles were found leave little doubt that their departure was hurried. It is said that those driven out moved eastward, and formed the settlements of Tracadie and Harbour Bushie, in the County of Antigonish. As there were no English inhabitants in Pictou during the period referred to, this county was the scene of none of the atrocities inflicted by the Indians on the early Eng- lish settlements, though there is little doubt that the Micmacs in this quarter had their share with their brethren in the war carried on under the instigation oi the French against the English in other parts of the Pro- vince. But in the year 1761, on the 15th October, as stated by Mr. Murdoch, a treaty of peace was signed in council with Janneoville Pectougawack (meaning Pictou- man), chief of the Indians of Pictouck and Malagoniche ^Merigomish), and the way was thus opened for the peaceable occupation of the place by English settlers. "We have not been able to find the record of this treaty, said Mr. Murdoch could not direct us to the source of his information. The name is not Micmac, and we believe 48 it is either a misprint or that the Micmacs have corrupted the French name. At all events, we believe that the party was the same person afterward known as Capt. Toncy. He is said to have been a Frenchman, who had adopted the mode of life of the Aborigines, and had acquired such influence over them that he was regarded as a high chief, — that he spoke French well and English tolerably, besides Micmac, — that he has dined at the Governor's table and was able to conduct himself w^ith the politeness of a Parisian. He was the ancestor of the present Toney family among the Micmacs, and they assert that the treaty was made by him in the name of the tribe — that on the part of the English, gun and bay- onet, and on the-part of the Micmacs, tomahawk, bow and arrow, were solemnly buried in one grave on the Citadel Hill, at Halifax, the latter weapons underneath. Perhaps the name as given by Murdoch may have been a mis- reading for Toneyville. "We may add, that from him Toney River derives its name, but how it came to be connected with him we have not been able to ascertain. One incident, however, we shall give as connected with this period, which we believe to be well established. Among the first English settlers it was received as a well- known fact, that a French war vessel had escaped from Louisburg during the siege, containing treasure, and that she had been chased into Carriboo Harbor. The entrance being narrow, and the English probably not acquainted with the navigation, did not venture to pursue. As she did not come out, and could not be seen, it was supposed that she had gone ashore in some creek. Accordingly, soon after the arrival of the first English settlers. Dr. Har- ris an^^ his brother Matthew resolved on a search for her. They set out in a log canoe and paddled down the har- bor and round the coast to Carriboo Harbor, thence along the south shore of the harbor till they reached Carriboo JJiver, then up that stream to where it forks. Here they; ,1 , ;;'t 1 ' t i . f i 44 resolved to separate, each following a branch of the river, agreeing that if either should succeed, ho should sound a horn to call his brother. Matthew took the Little Eiver, which joins the main stream at a course nearly at right angles with it. On going round the point formed by their juncture, he had proceeded but a short distance when, in a little cove, ut what is now George Morrison's place, he suddenly came upon the object of their search, snugly beached. The channel of the river is deep, but somewhat crooked, and those on board must have been thoroughly acquainted with it to have brought her here, and to have selected this spot to run her ashore. So completely concealed was she by the bend in the shore and intervening woods, that Harris was within ten yards of her before she was seen. He immediately blew his horn, when his brother came, and they gave a cursory examination of their prize. She was a sloop, a neat and trim vessel. She had been armed, but the cannon were out of her, it was supposed, having been thrown overboard. All her rigging still remained on her. From the position in which she lay, they supposed that there would . be no difficulty in getting her off, and they left, intending to return speedily with pro- per appliances for the purpose. On arrival home, they freely made known their discovery, but before they could return, the Indians had set fire to her. "When spoken to about their conduct, they explained that she had been left in their charge by the French owners, with instruc- tions not to touch her unless the English discovered her, but if they did, to burn her at once, which they did.'*^ • Aljout fifty years ago James A. Harris, of Cartiboo Island, a son of Matthew, and who frequently told this story as he received it from his father, pointed out to his son James the keel and some of the timbers still standing. One who was present tried them with his axe, and pronounced them to be of American white oak. Probably some remaiofi of her might yet be found in the mud. 46 It is certain that vessels escaped from Louisbnrg with treasure during the siege, and there is strong reason to believe that this had contained valuables, which those on board, when they abandoned her, could not carry away and concealed. About the year 1802 a vessel one evening came to anchor off the mouth of the harbour, and a boat with a strong crew put off from her, and was seen going up the river. It was not seen to return, but early the next morning the vessel got under weigh and departed. Shortly after, some of the people going up the river found, at the head of the tide, a place bearing all the marks of their having been at work. There was a hole from four to six feet square, and not very deep, perhaps four feet, with hand-spokes, whose position showed that they had been used in prying something like a chest out of the bottom of the hole. It is said that on examination the trees around were found to have upon them marks pointing in the direction of where the hole was. This place is at some distance from the place where the vessel was ashore, and on the other branch of the river, but we can easily understand the wisdom of seeking such a place of concealment. A settler who lived near, is reputed to have found a large sum of money. There have been various stories of the French burying money, which have led parties foolishly to dig in various places. That in the hurry of leaving and in the expectation of returning, they some- times buried some of their possessions, we have reason toi believe, but it was little money they had to bury, and ^^ hat they had they carried away. "We are generally incredulous regarding all stories of money found, but the ir 'brmation we have received, leads us to give some credit to this case. A son of the settler referred to, told a gentle- man who reported the case to me, that it was true — that he and his sister, both then children, first found the money under a stanp, that it consisted entirely of old coins. m i! I l 46 strange to him, but whether French or not he did not know ; that they told their father of it, who gathered them, but gave them none of it. The Btory commonly received is that he took it to his merchant who shipped :t to England, both agreeing; to say nothing about the mat- ter lest government should claim the amount. The merchant in the meantime supplied the settler abundantly with articles for his family, but afterward failed, so that they received little more for their find. Other facts that we have, give probability to the story. CHAPTER IV. I 1 I li !< lit. FIBST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OP PICTOU — 1T65-1778. During the war on this continent between the English and French, which resulted in the taking of Louisbtirg and Quebec, and was terminated by the peace of 1768, the settlement of Nova Scotia engaged considerable atten- tion in the old colonies. About the years 1760 and 1761 a considerable number of persons removed from different parts of New England and settled several townships in the western parts of the Province. So little, however, was known of Pictou at this time, that in a description of '• the several towns in the Province, with the lands compre- hended ill and bordering on said towns," drawn up by ihe Surveyor General in the year 1762, by order of Lieutenant-Governor Belcher, for the information of the Home Government, it is stated that " from Tatamagouche to the Gut of CaTiso there is no harbour, but a good road under the Isle Poitee (Pictou Island). No inhabitant ever settled in thia part of the coi.ntry, and consequently no kind of improvement." 47 At the conclusion of the war, a large number of influen- tial i)ersonK, not only in the New England States, but in other of the Old Colonies, took up tie subject of the colonization of the Province, and it is in this way that Pictou first comes into notice in the early settlement of Nova Scotia. Their views are thus stated in a letter from the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province to the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, dated 30th April, 1765 :— << By th« late arrival of several persons from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and some of the nc:.,hbouring coloniefi, we have the prospect of having this Province Koon peopled by the accession of many settlers from these parts. " These persons have come on behalf of several associations of commercial people and others in goocl circumstances, to view the country and examine what advantages the settlement and cultivation of it may produce. By their Itccounts the considerablo numbers of Germans annually imported in the Colonies from whence they come, has so overstocked the good lands, and those situated within any convenient distance of navigation, that not only many of them have lately been obliged to move into Carolina and Virginia, j;)ut that there are also now numbers of useless persons among them. And this is not the only motive they have for making settlements in this country for the merchants in those parts ore much at a loss to provide an export in return for the British commodities, and, therefore, have turned their thoughts to this Province for fish and hemp, to produce which, of the best kind and greatest abundance, notliing but a sufficiency oi luVuutiiig people is wanting, and thus those people being employed, they will be sufficiently prevented from any attention to manufa.?ture8. " And indedd, my Lords, w ;at seems to promise the certain acquisition of these great udmntages from the present applications, is that these settlements are to be undertaken by people of very sufficient and able circumstances, who propose the establishment of many German families, by which means the annual current of Germans to Ameiicn will very suddenly bo diverted into this Province, from whence it must receive a very considemblo degree of strength, for these frugal, laborious and industrious people will not only improve and enrich their property, but pertinaciously defend it. " Among the several persons who have arrived hero with a vie\,^ to these undertakings is Mr. Alexander McNutt, who has frequently attended at your Lordships' Board. His applications arc of a very considerable degree and extcpt, .nd ho produces many letters from the associations I have before men- tioned, so icitiug him, in the most pressing manner, to use his utmost endeavours to procure for them the tracts of land for which they apply, and on such conditions as ho had obtained at your Lordships' Board tho 27th February, 1761, for all such settlers as he would introduce into this Province." H I ''il 1; S': II li 48 When we remember that at this time the whole of what is now the Western States was still open for settle- mentj it seems curious to find parties in the Middle States a century ago representing the good soil there as already overstocked, and in consequence seeking land in Nova Scotia. Accomi)anying this representation was a list of firms or companies, to the number of fifteen, among whom we notice James Lyon, of Trenton, and " Dr. Franklin & Co.," who sought grants of land, some of 100,000 acres and some of 200,000, making altogether 2,000,000 acres. The Dr. Franklin mentioned here is we believe the great Benjamin, who was at that time influen- tial in England and interested in the settlement of this Province. In a petition on their behalf, McNutt says, " that he did engage with several persons in Ireland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other parts of His Majesty's dominions, to provide lands in this Province on the terms contained in his proposals, for the settlement of as many families as they would furnish ; that the several persons so engaging with him had been at considerable expense and trouble to fulfil their engagement by procuring many families for that purpose, who are now waiting with much anxiety and impatience to transport them- selves to this Province." Among the speculators at that time engaged in taking up land and bringing settlers to the Province, jione was more active than Mr. McNuft, who is styled by Halybur- ton "an enthusiastic adventurer from the North of Ireland," who had already been the means of settling Truro, Onslo\^^ and Londonderry.* The result of these applications was, that in June of that yoar it was agreed in Council to reserve 200,000 acres for a company consisting of the Kev. James Lyon, • He was also engaged ofterward in settling portions of the County of 8hclburne. At the close of bis life ho resided on an island there, still called McNutts Island, and was drowned crossing to the shore. J 49 McNutt, and thirteen othPTd. priiicipally residing in the city of Philadelphia, of land " between Onslow, Truro, and the lands granted to Colonel DesBarres at Tatama- gouche." In July, on their representing that they had at considerable expense and fatigue viewed the 200,000 acres reserved for them, and found that there was not the quantity applied for there, it was resolved that they should have " liberty to chooso the aforesaid quantity between Tatamagouche and Picto.^* At the same time 1,000,000 was reserved for McNutt and his associates at various places, among which is a block of 100,000 acres at Pictou. At this period land was being granted by order of the British Government to various individuals, principally officers of the army and navy, for services during the war. It was in this way that two years later the whole of Prince Edward Island was granted in one day. Accordingly, on the 15th of October, five grants passed nominally for 20,000 acres each, though in reality containing much more, embracing the whole eastern half of the county. In accordance with the resolutions above mentioned, there was a lot of 100,000 acres granted on the same day to McNutt and some of his friends, and on the 31st another nominally for 200,000 acres to the Philadelphia Company, commonly known as the Phila "''^Iphia Grant, to which we shall have occasion more ^^ -*rticularly to refer presently. Thus in one month, and principally in one day, a district not exactly coinciding with the county of Pictou, but embracing the larger portion of it, and also a large part of the comity of Colchester, was granted to individuals, the most of it to speculators. The names of the grantees of the first five mentioned lots are John Major, John Ilenerker, John Haygens (afterward corrected Godhard Huygens), John Fisher, and John "Wentworth. Major's grant fronted on Merigo- il^ IN:' ' P f i ^1 .J^ii 60 mish Harbor, at its eastern end. To the west of this lay Henerker's lot. In the rear of these and extending still further westward, was Ihiygens'. Of these i>arties we know nothing. The only mention of their names we have seen is in a memorial from Sir John Wentworth, in which he petitions against the escheating of these grants, " on behalf of the most noble Duchess Dowager of Chandois and Sir John Henerker, Bart., and member of the British Parliament, heirs and proprietors of certain lands at Picton and Merigomish, formerly granted to John Henerker and Godhard Huygens." Fisher, we have heard, was a major in the army. Wentworth, in a memorial at the close of the American war, says,'" That your memorialist and said John Fisher were in His Majesty's service in America, and in conse- quence of their fidelity, and zeal in their duty, were proscribed and exiled from the United States of America, their extensive property in Nev; England confiscated, and their means of improving their estate at Pictou considerably diminished." By letters at that date, it appears that he was then residing in London. His grant is now only interesting as having given its name to that part of the south side of the harbor immediately fronting upon the town ; but to show how lands were granted at that time, we may give the description of the grant. It is as follows : " Beginning at the north-east coiner of McNutt's land, at a cove on the ca«t Bide of I'll, ton Harbor, and running south 47°, cast 45G chains on said M/ Nutt's hmd, thence south 808 chains on the same, thence cast T4 chains on lot No. 1 (Iluj-gcns grant), thence north GOO chains on lot No. 3 (Wcntworth grant), thence cast till it meets Merigomish Harbor, thence along the sea-coast and harbor of Pictou to the first mentioned boundary, including tlie islands in the harbor of Merigomish." We may mention that the portions of these? grants on the shore nearly coincide with what was afterward called the 82nd grant. "Westward of Henerker's lot, and fronting on the western part of Merigomish harbor, was what is 51 still known as the "Wentworth grant. Of all the grants given in that October, this is the only one which was not <;scheated. As it is thus the oldest grant in the county, we may give its boundaries as originally described : " Beginning at a cove in Mcrigomish harbor, boundid on lot No. 2 (Fishet'a grant), and to run west 56 chains, thence south COO chains (or 7 J UMles) on suid lot, thence cast 352 chains on lot No. 1 (Hiiygons), thence north 648 chains (over 10 miles) on let No. 4 (Hcncrker'n lot) to Jlerigomish harbor, thence to be bounded I y raid harbor to the first mentioned liouudary." "Wentworth, afterward Sir John, was a native of New Hampshire, afterward Governor of that Province, and at a later jieriod of Nova Scotia (1792 — 1808). He was at that time Surveyor of His Majesty's woods in North America, an office which he continued to hold till the American Revolution, after which he held the same position in the remaining Provinces, The conditions of these grants were the same, viz.: that the grantees should pay a quit rent of one farthing per acre for the one-half within five years, and the whole to be payable within ten years ; and secondly, to settle Pro- testant settlers upon it in the proportion of one i^erson to every 200 acres within ten years from the date of their grant. These conditions were never fulfilled, and, so far as we know, no effort was made for that purpose by any of the parties except Wentworth, at a period, however, after the time fixed ; and, as already mentioned, all the grants except his were escheated. "We may mention here that the only mines reserved on these lands were gold, silver and coal, so that the picsent owners of the Wentworth grant are proprietors of all other minerals they can find on their land and already portions of it have been found to be rich in iron ore. On the same day with the date of these grants another passed to Mr. Alexander McNutt, William Caldwell, Arthur Vance and Richard Caldwell, of a tract of land : " Beginning at a cove on the east side of Pictou Hhrbour (this must have been near the mouth of the East Biver) and running south 47'\ oast 550 chains. 52 ' thence Bouth 1,040 chains (13 miles), thence west 872 (nearly 11 miles), thenco' north till it meets the innermost rirer of Pictou, tbcuce bounded by said river and harbour of Pictou to first mentioned boundary. Also one otber piece beginning at a point bearing north 33 cost, from the little island in the harbour of Pictou (this was at Brown's Point), and running north to the sea shore (near Itoddicks, Carriboo), thence to be bounded by the seashore and harbour of Pictou to the first mentioned boundar}-, including Pictou Island." This was afterward known as the Irish grant. Of the parties to it, except McNutt, all we know is that they are said to belong to Londonderry, in Ireland. It will be seen that it embraced all the southern and western shores of the harbour from Fishers Grant round to the West River^ and the land into the interior to the southward to ; dis- tance of about 20 miles, embracing both banks of the East and Middle Rivers and the west side of the "W"es.. to the distance of about a mile above Durham. It also ombraeed the block on which the town now stands, com- mencing at Browns Point and extended round the coast to Carriboo. It will also be seen that it covered nearly all the most desirable portions of the harbour, and had the first settle- ment been upon it, the effort might have been more successful, and much of the suffering afterward experi- enced might have been avoided. But the grant, which is of special interest, as connected with the early history of Pictou, was the last one men- tioned as having passed at that time, usually known as the Philadelphia grant. It is dated the 31st October, and it is to Edmund Crawley, Esq., (for 20,000 acres) the Rev. James Lyon, John Rhea, Richard Stockton, George Bryan, William Symonds, John Wykoff, Isaac Wykoff, Jonathan Smith, Andrew Ilodge, John Bayard, Thomas Harris, Robert Harris, and David Rhea for 180,000 acres. Of these grantees Lyon and the Harrises will come under our notice again. Ot ;he others, we know nothing except that they resided in Philadelphia, from which 58 •circumstance the company and the grant derived their name. The following is the description of their land : " Beginning at tho southwest bounds of lands granted to Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres, and running thenco west 550 chains on iingranted landfl, thence south 580 chains on ungranted lands, and on tho township of London- derry, thence cast 800 chains on the township of Onclow, thenco south 900 -chains on Sts.id township and on ungranted lands, thenco 1,000 chains on ungrantt'd lands, thence north 932 chains, more or less, till it meets tho west- ernmost river of Fictou, thenco the course of the said rirer on the north side, till it m?etB the westernmost boundary of land granted to Alexander McNutt «ud associates, thence running nortii on said lands till it meets the seashore, thence the course of tho seashcro till it Jieets the northeast boundary of lands granted to J. F. \V. Des Barres aforesaid, thenco on his eastern boundary 480 chains, on said lands to the first mentioned boundary ; together with the islands adjacent, containing on tho whole 200,000 acres, more or less. ■ admiral." ^ Some of tho early grants roseircd all pino trees ovor two loot in diamotor, " suitable for His M.ojosty's navy," l)ut herr within sight might be seen probably enough to havo i:iiiytod all tho ships, not only of His Britannic Majesty, but of all the navies in Christendom. The scene was one on which tho eye of Iho lover of nature might have gazed with delight, but it is needless to say that these settlors looked upon tho matter with more practical eyes. Tho interminable forest only presented itself to them as an injuporablo obstacle to their labours, and their hearts sanlc as thoy contempli;txl the idea of wre&ting a subsist _>nc(> from tho soil so encumbered. Knowing tho hostility which tho Indiana had main- tained to tho English almost up ta that period, and tho cruelties which they practiced upon the infant settlements ; familiar, too, with the talo of th?ir atrocities in the colonies which they had left, their mindrj wero filled with fear of the savages. Nor was this without reason. Tho French were not yet without hopo of regaining their ancient power over this land by the expulsion of the English, and with this view were still intriguing with the Indians. During the two years previous the latter held meetings in a hostilo spirit, and on tho last of these occasions had declared their intention not to allow any settlement at Pictou, on the north shore of tho Province, f • In the days of tho pine timbi^r trado, a tree that would not square a foot to tho length cf sixty foet would bo considered a small tree, not worth taking, while somt times they stood so close together that tho lumberers could not take them all, lest in felling them they would break by falling across one another. t " The last year they showed how capable tho French are of drawing them together whenever they think proper, which they actually did by some means unknown to the Government, for tho whole body of Indians wero collected 69 "When we add that there was not one English settler on the north shore of the Province, from the Strait of Canso to Bay Verte, or perhaps, even to Miramichi, wo may pic- ture the loneliness of the little band, and need not wonder that their hearts snnk within them at the prospci t of tho toils and dangers before them. What rendered this disappointment greater was, that highly coloured representations had been made to them of the country to which they were coming ; siich as, that they could get sugar off the trees, in fact, they had come with such ideas of tho place as are now entertained by the emigrant to California. The advantages of those who, in the years immediately previous, had removed from tho old colonics and taken possession of tho clearances of tho French, and who had exchanged tho rocky and barren shores of Now England for the rich marshes of the Bay of Fundy, had excited high expectations regarding Nova Scotia. Tho more bitter, therefore, was their disappoint- ment at the dreary prospect before them. After 'hey landed, Mrs. Patterson used to tell, that she leaned her head against a tree, which stood for many a year after, and thought that if there was a broken-hearted creaturo on the face of the earth, she was the one. As she looked $\ from every part of tbo Province, and assembled on an island called Madame, to tho north East of Canso, and not far from tho head of La Brador, and as they passed through the difftrent townships to their rendezvous they declared they were to meet French forces and threatened to destroy tho settlements when they should return. This alarmed the inhabitants to so great a degreo that for several weeks together they were kept in continual apprehension, and some part of the time even in arms ; and with diiQculty this body of Indians were dispersed, partly by the influence of some gentlemen, and partly upon finding themselves deceived in their expected support from the French. " This year they have assembled in like manner, although not in so great a body, but with tho samo disposition, and some of them have, in addition, declared they will not allow any settlemenls to be made at Pictou, and that part of the coast of this continent which Mes nearest St. Peters ; but they dispersed upon the Government sending for a Canadian priest who officiates in tho Bay of Chaleurs." — Letter of Lieutenant-Governor, dated 3rd September, 1766. ]m :.f .'.'mam i '3 ^ 5 III i', li r. 00 upon hor liUlo ones Icfl, HhrltdrlrHH in Ihocrupl wildf^moHH, amon^ Hii.va'^vH (Ircmcd nlill nioro cniol, kHo could only rViuy; to licr Inisliiind with llio cry, "Oh, Ilohnri, takn mo back." So di.scoiiraj^rid w«'ro i\w whole band wilh th(? sluld of imillcrH, (hat iho most of ilu^m wcro dcfminincd to rclurn in Ihc vckncI whicli I'voiif^hl. Ihcni ; buf tho capl.'iin, jillrr liMidiiifv liin pnNKc:iL;'..irN nntl HUpplics,Hlipp(Kl oul, ol" lh<' li.'irbouv in ihcni]Uihl and loll, (hem to their ialo, pi(^])ably with the concurrfnco ol' tho a^ont. Wo havo no i)!irticular account ol" tho Hul)8C(]Uont proceedings, but lh(! lew IiicIh wo havo j^lcancd wo shall put toj^ollior as connectedly ns in our power. Tho first night on shore they npent under tho t/cos, without oven a camp to sheitiM* them, l)ut tho woa'her was :varm and they did not sull'er from lh<^ cxpoHuro. Their tirst caro, olcoiUNe, was to i>rovi«5M Mn •801* IV eo>o-<)< i-iQOiO'<«»'r4 •iJDO s? *tr-l rH I— t ■oum;j ■doaqg 'sasjoii ■(r-( 1-1 CJ rH •aBipTjDy ■avauainy W-IOt~00tDNt-Nb-CCl-<— •■^OaOttl' •saoijo j V^oj, »- V^ ^^v 6^ .^^^^ > wmmmmm 72 particulaT notice of these. Especial ly deserving of attention is Eobert Patterson, made a magistrate in 1774, and hence long known as Squire Patterson. He was a native of Renfrew, in Scotland, but had for some time been in tho Old Colonies, residing, at least part of the time, at a place called Cross Eoads, in the State of Maryland, about 14 miles south of the Penusylvania line, now called Churchville, a small place in the midst of a rich agricultural district. Here also the Harrises resided. He had for some time been employed as a pedler, and also, I have been informed, OS a sutler to the army, previous to the peace of 1763. He was for many years tho leading man in Pictou, laid out all the first lots, surveyed all the early grants, and "was prominent in all the public affairs of the place. '* On account of his steady adhesion to the soil and interests of Pictou ; on account of his disposition and ability at all times to relieve the distressed, and on various other accounts, he fairly earned the title of Fatiier of Pictou, As such he was loved and esteeme<^by the inhabitants during his life." * His first location was, as we have seen, about two miles from town ; but he afterwards obtained from McNutt a claim, after- '.rd confirmed by Governor Patterson, to a lot a little above Mortimers Point, where he built the first frame house in Pictou. There he continued to live till his death, which took place on the 20th September, 1808. His remains were interred in the old burying ground at Durham. We shall have occasion to refer to him again. Mrs. Patterson died March 6th, 1812. Of his children who were with him in the Hope, his eldest, known afterward as John Patterson, second, lived about two miles from town. He was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and died 8th May, 1820. He left a • Editor Colonial Patriot. — An eight-day clock, brought vith him in th« Bope, is in the possession of a great grand daughter, Mrs. A. P. Eois, and •till marks the hours. t 78 large family, but there are now few of his descendants living. The second James wilJ still be remembered in Picton. Ho settled to the west of the town, where the remains of his old orchard still exist. He also was for many years an Elder in the Church, and died May 14th, 1857, iged 96. The third, David, lived above Mortimers Point. He and his brother James usually worked together, and their houses were the next frame houses in Pictou after their father's. He died September 2Gth, 1844. The Squire had two daughters also on board the Hope, Sarah, afterward Mrs. Mortimer, and Margaret, afterward Mrs. Pagan. Of the children bo^-n after his arrival, Thomas settled on Carriboo Island, and George was one of the early settlers in Merigomish, where, and elsewhere, he has left numerous descendants. The Harrises, Matthew and John, were of the Scotch- Irish race, their ancestors, Edward Harris and Flora Douglas, having left Ayrshire, in Scotland, in the reign of Charles II., or James II., losing a fine estate for their attachment to Presbyterian worship. They settled near Raphoe, in the County of Donegal, Ireland. Thomas, grandson of Edward and father of Matthew and John, and an older son, Robert, were members of the Philadelphia company. He was then described as of the county of Baltimore, Maryland, and his son as Doctor of Medicine, Philadelphia. He died in Elizabethtown, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th December, 1801, at the ago of lOG, having seen three centuries. John was the younger son, but had most to do with the settlement of Pictou. Ho Was bom July ICth, 1739. He acted as attorney of the Philadelphia company in disposing of their land, and a host of deeds are recorded from him, of lots not only along the West River and Rogers Hill, but at Carriboo, Cape John, River John, and other places. He was the first magistrate in the district, having baen appointed in 1769. He was first registrar of ill t a.' ■ '4\t n !l ' I |i mmm 'mtm 74 deeds, -and held' other public offices. He lived near Browns Point, on a lot purchased from McNutt, and confirmed to him by Governor Patterson, the same which has since been occupied by his son Thomas and his descendants. He, however, removed to Onslow about the year 1778, where he was clerk of the peace for some years, represented Truro in the House of Assembly from 1779 to 1785, celebrated marriages and was otherwise a public man. He died in Truro April 9th, 1802, through a fall from his horse. His descendants are numerous, a considerable number being in Colchester and some in Pictou, his eldest son Thomas having settled at the Town Gut, and his youngest, dohn W., having been long High Sheriff of the county. Matthew Harris was born on the 12th January, 1735, according to a statement received from the United States, though his age as published at the time of his death» would make the date of his birth four years earlier.* Of his family, the eldest, Thomas, was a surveyor, and laid out 'much of the land in this and the neighboring* county of Colchester. He divided the back lands of the township of Truro undor the wr*^ of partition and made a plan of them,' dated August 12th, 1788, which is still in use, and was for twenty years Sheriff of Pictou. Another son died unmarried ; a third was lost at sea. coming round from Halifax ; a fourth, Kobert, studied medicine and lived on his father's place, but afterward removed to Philadelphia, where he died ; a fifth son, James, settled on Carriboo Island, and has left numerous descendants, and his youngest son removed to Pennsyl- ** " Died, at Pictou, December 9, Mr. Matthew Harrin, aged 88 years, the last bead of a family of the first settlers from the State (province) of Punnsylvaf Dia. In the year 1763 (should be 1769) removed to Pictou, which at that period was a rude, uncultivated wild, inhabited only by a few wandering^ Indians and four families who arrived there shortly before from the same place. He has left 9 children, 40 grandchildren, and 30 great-grandchildren.** JVinoqMfper, 1829. 76 vania. Of his daughters, one was married to John Patterson (deacon), hereafter to be noticed. The others were also married, but their descendants have nearly all removed from this county.* James McCabe was a native of Belfast, who emigrated to the old colonies. He there married Ann Pettigrew, a North of Ireland Presbyterian. He was a Koman CathoUc himself, but not a very strict one. He was too fond of the good things of this life to regard Lent or the other fasts of that Church, and cared little for her holydays. He attended Dr. McGregor's preaching, but never became a decided convert. He had with him in the Hope two sons, John and James, and four daughters. The sons afterward married, and had, the one thirteen and the other eleven children, or two dozen between them, whose descendants are widely scattered. His four daughters were married, one to a Watson and another to a Snow, both of whom removed to the United States ; a third to Kobert Gerrard, but died when only 26 years of age, and the fourth to Owen McKowen, or McEwau. John Hogers was a native of Scotland, brought up in Glasgow, where he married, his wife's name being Ritchie. * We may here remark that the Harris family to which these two brothers belonged is very widely spread through the United States. A gentleman of the connection has sent mo a genealogical chart containing the names of 425 persons, and adds, " leaving hundreds and CT«n thousands of whom I know little or nothing." He farther remarks, '■ Taken as a whole they represent a very respectable body of people, none of them very distinguished either for wealth or genius, but nearly all of good character and fair respectability. Of the 42S names given, about 40 are those of professional men, while several others have "General," "Colonel," "Judge," or other title attached, and quite a number have been liberally e'ducated. One was a mimber of the Legislature of Pennsylvania at the time of the Revolution, an active participant in the •fiifiirs of church and state of the day, and one who had particularly distin« guished himself by his efforts to abolish slavery in that State ; and left a name behind him for patriarchal wisdom and goodness. For many generations christian faith and Uto have been manifested among them, several being elders •Dd pillan in the Presbyterian Chnrcb, from attachment to which their anc«s> ton wex« driven from Scotland." •76 Ho thence removed to MaiyUrid. He never assumed much prominence in the settlement of Pictou, but was a quiet, industrious ai\d inoffonsivo, and wo have reason to believe, a gfood man, as have been many of his descend- ants. Ho left one daughter and four sons, of whom all but the youngest son were in the Hope. His eldest son, James, lived on the farm, since owned by Alexander McKay and Rae, above the Town Gut. His second son, John, lived and died on his father's homestsad. His third son, David, went to River John, where his descendants are numerous. His youngest son died comparatively early. Baniabas McGoe, we have already mentioned. He was lost, with his eldest son, going down to Newfoundland, His descendants aro still in Merigomish. The Rev. James Lyon appears as one of the Phila- delphia company. In the petition from the inhabitants of Pictou, in the year 1784, they say, "The Philadelphia company made provision for, and sent, a minister, viz.: the Rev. James Lyon, at its firsf settlement, yet he did not continue among us, which very much discouraged the people and was exceedingly detrimental to the settling of tha place." It would appear from this that the company had been mindful of the spiritual wants of the settlers. In fact we have reason to believe that the zeal manifested at that time in the old colonies in the settlement of the Province, was induced partly by motives of religion, par- ticularly a desire that these regions where French Popery had hitherto prevailed, should now be occupied by sound Protestantism. Mr. Lyon was regularly ordained by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, in New Jersey, and came to the Province in the fall of 1764 or early in 17C5, and was the first Presbyterian Minister in the Province of whom we have any account. In the latter year he was in Halifax. By the return which we have published, he appears to have been residing here with his family since 1769. He has given his name to Lyons Brook, about 77 three miles from the town of Pictou. At different dates, from 1767 to 1772, we find his name in deeds as of Onslow, which was then the place where the public business of that district was transacted, and after that we find him described as of Machias, in the State of Maine. "Wo have been informed that the lot of land about two miles from town, now occupied by Mr. Daniel ]!.IeKenzie, had been set apart as a glebe, and that there was a burying-ground upon it. After the Philadelphia com- pany's grant was escheated, it was granted by Sir John C. Sherbrooke to Dr. McCulloch. We have thus, with considerable labor, gathered all the facts within our reach regarding this fii-st attempt at the settlement of Pictou. The result is by no means proportionate to the effort. "We have been minute in the details, as being the first attempt of the kind, and amid diflBculties which might have appalled the stoutcRt heart, we deemed it proper to presers'^c everything wo can .earn of the early actors in these scenes. None of the settle- ments in Nova Scotia had such obstacles to encounter as that of Pictou. At Halifax and Lunenburg colonization began under the superintendence of Government, which also expended large sums in j)roviding for the wants of the settlers. Those again who came to settle the town- ships along the Bay of Fundy.in Annapolis, Kings, Hants, Colchester, and Cumberland countii-3, entered at once upon the rich marshes prepared to their hands by the French Acadians. But the first settlers in Pictou came to a country covered with heavy forest, without an acre cleared, and after a little were thrown on their own resources. We must admire the heroism with which they entered upon their work, the energy with which they so bravely combatted the difficulties in their path, and the perseverance by which they at length happily sur- mounted them. The results for the first six years, it will be seen, were lit n ii: 78 very small. The great cause of this was the unfortunate position of the Philadelphia grant, in having ivithin its hounds no place in the harhour suitable for a town, and so little frontage on the shore. This spoiled the efforts honestly made for the settlement of the place, and frus- trated, as we shall see, the next great effort made toward that end in 1778. In that year came the ship Hector with emigrants, mostly from the Highlands of Scotland. From that the efiective settlement of the place may be dated. The event w?is important and deserves commemoration. But the first honor is due to the little company who arrived here previously, who cut down the first trees, erected the first huts, run the first lines, cleared the first land, and planted the first seed — the little band of pioneers who, in their little brig, with its well omened name, the Hope, first planted the standard of British colonization upon our northern coast; and the true natal day of Pictou is the 10th of June, when she first dropped anchor in our harbour, or the 11th, when her precious cargo first set foot on our shores. *' What noble cotinge mntt tlieir hearti Imye fired. How great the ardour wbicb their gouls inspired, Who leaving far beyond their native p^ain Have tonght a home beyond the western main; And braved the perils of the stormy seas In search of wealth, of frcedcm, and of case. Oh, none eon tell, but they who sadly share, The bosom's anguish, and its wild despair, . What dire distress awaits the hardy bands, That rentnre first on bleak and desert lands ; ' bow great the pain, toe danger and the toil Which mark the first mde culture of the soil. When looking round, the lonely setUcr sees His home amid a wilderness cf trees ; How sinks his heart in tbosn deep solitudes, Where not a voice upon his ear intrudes ; t7here solemn silence all the waste pen-ades, • Heightening the horror of its gloomy shades ; Save where the nturdy woodman's strokes resound That strew the fallen forest on tho ground." Bitinff Vaiagt, By H. Golobiotb. n CHAPTER V. ABBIVAL OF THB SHIP HECTOB AND SETTLEMENT OF HER PASSENGERS— 1773-1776. Some of the shares of the Philadelphia company were transferred, so that the celebrated Dr. Witherspoon became one of the proprietors,')!^ and John Pagan, a merchant of Greenock, became the purchaser of three undivided shares. They seem at that time to have been combined in promoting the settlement of the old colonies. "We find the ship Hector, which was owned by Pagan, in the year 1770 arriving in Boston with Scottish emigrants, and there is a deed on record in the Pictou registry office, after the American Revolutionary war, from Witherspoon, conveying to Pagan all the land of the former in Pictou, in exchange for the lands of the latter in the United States, f To carry out the original obligations of their grant, the proprietors offered liberal terms for the settlement of it. They employed an agent named John Eoss, with whom they agreed to give each settler that he might bring from Scotland, a free passage, a farm lot, and a year's provi- sions. Eoss went to the Highlands, and, drawing a glowing picture of the land and the advantages offered, many, knowing nothing of the difficulties of settling a^ new country, and allured by the prospect of owning a * Dr. Witherspoon is sometimes represented as the projector of the Vhila- dclphia company's scheme, but bis name docs not appear among the first members of the company. t In a petition against the escheat of the grant, Pagan's son alleges that the father and sons sent out altogether about 800 souls ; that they had spent £280 sterling in provisions, and altogether bad ez^endfid about X600 stetling in settling the grant. I 80 farm, eagerly embraced his proposals. Tho Hector was chartered to convey them to Pictoii. She •was under tho command of John Spears as master, James Orr being first mate, and John Anderson second. Three families and five young men embarked in her at Greenock, ■whence she sailed for Loch Broom, in Eoss-shire, where she received tho rest of her passengers, amounting in all to thirty-three families and twenty-five unman-ied men, beside the agent. The number of souls is stated in ono account as 18J>, in another as 170, while Governor Leggo, on their arrival, speaks of them in round numbers as 200. In tho beginning of July, 1773, they finally bade adieu to their native land.'**' As they were leaving, a piper came on board, who had not engaged his passage. Tho captain ordered him ashore, when tho passengers inter- ceded, offering to share their rations with him in exchange for his music. At their request, he was allowed to remain. There was not ono person on board who hcd ever crossed the Atlantic, except ono sailor. Though hearts doubtless were saddened as they parted from kindred, and as their native hills faded from their vision, yet hope beat high in every bosom, and for a time all went cheerily among the pilgrims. Song, music, wrest- ling, dancing, and iher amusements relieved the tedium of a sea voyage. But the passage was destined to be a long and painful one. The Hector was an old Dutch ship, and a dull sailor. Passengers said that they could with their hands pick the rotten wood out of her sides. When they arrived off the coast of Newfoundland, they met with a severe gale, which drove them so far back that they were a fortnight before they were again as far forward. The accommodations on board were poor and the provisions of inferior quality, perhaps not worse than * Pbilo Antiq. says on tho 10th July, but the universal statement among th& old settlers is, that they were eleven weoka on tbe passage, which would, make the date of sailing ist of July. Il 81 in emigrant ressels of the time. Small-pox and dysen- tery broke out on board, so that eighteen, most of them children, died on the passage and were committed to the '^eop. The former disease was brought on board by a mother and child, both of whom afterward lived to a great age. And one child was born, afterward the late Mrs. Page, of Truro. As the voyage was prolonged, their stock of provisions and water became low. For some time before arrival, they were put on an allowance of Tvater, the scarcity of which, with the salt provisions, was a great privation. During the voyage the oatcake sup- plied to the passengers became mouldy, and the i)as8en- gcrs often threw away pieces of it or other food. Hugh McLcod was in the habit of gathering up all these frag- ments and putting them into a large sack, and the last two days of their voyage, they were glad to avail them- selves of this refuse food. At length all the troubles and dangers of the voyage -were surmounted, and on the 15th of September, t'iiis pioneer band of Scottish emigrants arrived in the harbour of Pictou, and the Hector droppsd anchor opposite where the town of Pictou now stands. Previous to her arrival, as we have seen, the Indians had been somewhat trouble- 43ome to the f ottlers ; if not positively dangerous, they at least gave annoyance, and the whites, from their small numbers, were kept in considerable alarm. It was even reported, that there was a plot among them at that time t«> cut off the whole settlement, which we have seen was the only one on the north shore of the Province. When the word was received of the coming of the Hector with Highland emigrants, the whites, in reply to threats of the Indians, told them that the Highlanders were coming — tbe same men they had seen in p3tticoats at the taldng of Quebec. Sure enough the Hector appeared. Her sides being painted, according to the old fashion, in imitation >^f gunports, helped to induce the impression that she was 82 a man-of-war. The Highland dress was then proscribed^ but was carefully preserved and fondly cherished by the Highlanders, and in honour of the occasion the young- men had arrayed themselves in their kilts, with akein dhUy and some with broadswords. As she drcpped anchor the piper blew his pipes to their utmost power ; its thrill* ing sounds then first startling the echoes among the silent solitudes of our forest. All the Micmacs fled in terror and were not seen for some time, so that trouble with the Indians was never heard of again.'N' "We may here remark the importance of the arrival of the Hector to these Lower Provinces. With her passen* gers may be said to have commenced the really effective settlement of Pictou. But this was not all : the Hector was the first emigrant vessel from Scotland to Pictou, or even these Lower Provinces. That stream of Scottish immigration which, in after years, flowed, not only over the county of Pictou, but over much of the eastern part of the Province, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, por- tions of New Brunswick, and even the Upper Provinces, began with this voyage, and even, in a largo measure, originated with it, for it was by the representations of those on board to their friends, that others followed, and so the stream deepened and widened in succeeding years. We venture to say that there is no one element in the population of these Lower Provinces, upon which their social, moral and religious condition has depended more than upon its Scottish immigrants, and of these that band in the Hector were the pioneers and vanguard. We may mention here that after returning to Scotland from this voyage she was condemned, and went to sea no more. Truly her work was done. The first care was to provide for the sick. One woman, * W« do not bolicTO that there was really any plot of the kind. It was good fun for the Indians to frighten the white people, and we believe the^f laised the reports for that purpose; 83 wife of Hugh McLeod, afterward of West River, had juat died of smallpox ; the body was sent ashore in a boat and buried, we believe, at the burying ground already men- tioned. Several were sick ; some dying. The resident settlers did what was in their power to provide for their wants, and with the supply of fresh provisions most soon recovered their health, though some, I cannot learu how many, died on board the vessel. If the expectations of these people had been excited by the prospect of an estate in America, their hopes were lowered by the sight that met their view as +hey crowded on the deck of tho vessel to see their future home. One unbroken forest still covered the whole land, with the exception of a few patches on the shore between Browns Point and the hen 3 r. the harbour. But if the first view of matters was discouraging, worse was in store for them. Squire Patterson and Dr. Harris, the agents of the company, lived near Browns Point, nearly a mile above the town, and had erected a small store, in which they kept ihr supplies of the company, though even there the woods were scarcely broken. Here the immigrants were landed without provisions and with- out shelter, except as with the assistance of those here before them, they erected rude camps for themselves, their wives and their little ones. However glad to be relieved from the confinement of shipboard, bitter were the feelings of disappointment, with which they contrasted the expectations they had entertained of a free farm and plenty in America, with the reality before them. We need not wonder to hear of some sitting down and giving way to bitter weeping. The arrival of such a number swept the place like a torrent of all the provisions it contained and left it nearly destitute. The few settlers previously here could not have provided food for one-third of the number for any time, and it was too late in the season to raise any crops that year. w 84 In the meantime they began to select their future homes. The company had the land laid out in regular blocks, named A, B, &c., which were subdivided into lots regularly numbered. But here the fact to which we have already adverted, of the small frontage of their grant on the harbour, spoiled the whole of this well meant and not ill contrived eJQTort at settlement. "When the Hec- tor arrived, all the shore of their grant was occupied, and her passengers were taken back one, two or three miles,* and there, amid the primeval forest they were invited to settle. Never did there seem to be offered to men such an utter mockery. The gigantic trees would have seemed to any person a serious difficulty in their way, but to men unaccustomed to clearing the wood in America, and unskilled in the use of the axe, the work seemed hopeless. "Without roads or even paths, and unprovided with com- passes, they were liable to be lost in the forest and they were afraid of Indians and wild beasts. Even if these difficulties could have been removed, they saw that they would be shut out there, from what must hereafter form a large part of their subsistence, viz.: the Hsh in the har- bour and rivers. "We have heard of McCabe taking some of them back to where he promised to show them good land, which they might take up, when, looking round on the big trees, they only asked, with an air of helplessness, that he would take them back to the shore. In consequence of these circumstances they all refused to settle on the company's land, and when a supply of provisions arrived the agents refused to give thom any. A jealousy arose between them and the American settlers. Ross and the company quarrelled. They refused his demands and soon after he abandoned the passengers he had brought out. A few who had a little money. * Each division of lots was a mile in length from the shore, and so tho lots on the north side of the harbour still are, the side lines running north and aouth by coinpass. 85 ised y of .A era. his he loU land bought provisions for a time or even exchanged clothes for food, but the majority had absolutely nothing" to buy with ; and the little that the others had was soon exhausted, so that they were loft without provisions and entirely desti- tute of means to provide for themselves. Driven to extremity they insisted oti ha^'^ng the sup- plies sent by the company. On one occasion Donald McDonald and Colin Douglas were in the store claiming a supply ; being rather pressing the agent ordered them out ; they refused to go, when he threatened to lock them in. As they still refused he w*jnt out and attempted to lock the door, when Donald drew his dirk, an article which many of them then wore, and drove it in before the bolt. Finally they resolved to take the provisions by force. They seized both Squire Patterson and Dr. Harris, tied them and took their guns, which they hid at some distance, told them that they must have the food for their families, that they were willing to pay for them when they were able. They then proceeded to weigh and mea- sure the various articles ; they took account of what each man received, which they left. Roderick McKay, father of our late custos, a man of great energy and determina- tion, and who in this and all the proceedings of the time, was recognized by the Highlanders os their leader, was left to release the prisoners. After a sufficient time had elapsed to enable the rest to get to a safe distance, he undid the ropes by which they were tied, and having informed them where their guns would be found, got out of the way himself. Intelligence was despatched to Halifax, that the High- landers were in rebellion, with a request for assistance. We may suppose that at a time when the scenes of " the forty-five" were still fresh in memory, this was heard with dismay. Report says that orders were despatched to one of the Archibalds of Truro, usually known as Captain Tom, or Uncle Tom, to march his company of militia to 11 I 86 Pictou to suppreers the rebellion. He received the order with the most nnmilitary reply, " I will do no such thing ; I know the Highlanders, and if .they are fairly treated there will be no trouble with them." Representations of the true state of the case were sent to Halifax. Lord William Campbell, whose term of service, as Governor, had just expired, was still there, and interested himself on behalf of the immigrants as his countrymen, so that orders came from the Government to let them have the provisions. We may add here,iaat Squire Patterson used to say afterward, that the Highlanders, who had arrived in poverty, had paid him every farthing that he had trusted them, but he had lost two hundred pounds by his good friend the Governor of Prince Edward Island. Beset with such difficulties and with winter approach- ing, the majority of the immigrants removed to Truro and ploces adjacent, to obtain by their labour food for their families. A few settled at Londonderry, at a place which has since been known as Highland Village. Some went to Halifax, and some even to Windsor and Com- waliis. Not only men, but mothers of families, hired out, and their children, male and female, they bound out for service, till they should come of age. Some went that season, and others not till the spring following. One man stayed till the musquitoes made their appearance in the following summer, when, thinking it a judgment, he left. The majority of them, however, returned in subsequent years. The number who remained is stated at seventy, and for a time, particularly during the fol- lowing winter, they endured almost incredible hardships. Not having taken up land, they remained at Browns Point, with only rude huts, covered with branches or the bark of trees to shelter them from the cold, of the severity of which they had previously no conception. To obtain food for their families [ihej had to proceed to Truro, through a trackless forest and in deep snow, and 87 "there obtaining a bushel or two of potatoes, and perhaps « little flour, in exchange for their labour, they had to return, carrying this little supply on their backs or ■dragging it on a handsled. The labor of this we can scarcely estimate. One bushel of potatoes was a sufficient load for a man to carry ihat distance. One who boasted of his strength under- took to carry two and started off with his load quite jauntily. The Highlanders have a Gaelic proverb, that a sheep the first mile will be a cow the second, meaning that a burden which a man can carry easily a short •distance will be intolerable afterward; and so this man found, for before he had reached half way to Pictou he was glad to get quit of part of his load. Then there was the climbing of stiff braes or the descending steep banks, the crossing of brooks on a single tree, or the sinking in wet or boggy ground, or in winter in deep snow ; this continuing for three days, involving two nights camping in the woods. Even the potatoes they did get were inferior, being of a kind known as Spanish potatoes, large :and soft, like a kind known some years ago as yams, or like some of the coarse kinds still used for feeding cattle. Sometimes they froze on their backs, but even so, whea roasted in the ashes or sliced and roasted on the coals, they were heartily relished. No wonder that some of those who had gone through these scenes, could not bear in after life to see even the peeling of a potatoe thrown into the fire. Perhaps, however, a better idea of their privations may be gained by giving a few incidents of this period. Two young men set off for Halifax. They could get so little provisions w^hen they left, and had so little on the way, that they were scarcely able to travel from weakness, and •when they reached Gays River they were nearly ready lo give up altogether. But there they saw a lot of fine 4rout, strung on a rod, hung on a bush. They hesitated 1 ill 88 whether to take them or not. They thought they belonged to the Indians, who they feared would come after them and kill them. They, therefore, left them and went on a short distance, when, finding that from their weakness they would not be able to prosecute their journey, they returned to where they had left the trout. ' Each put it upon the other to take them. At last the claims of hunger prevailed and they proceeded to make a meal of them. They afterward discovered that they had been caught by two sportsmen from Halifax, who had disputed who should carry them, and finally left them,, where, in the kind providence of God, they afforded a- meal for the hungry travellers. The late Alex. Fraser, elder, of Middle River, when only a lad of about sixteen, carried a younger sister to Truro on his back, while the only food he had for the whole journey was the tail of an eel. One or two incidents of this family, though at a some- what later date, may be given. Hugh, a younger brother of the last, and who was one of the last survivors of the Hector, told the writer that on one occasion his father, having exhausted every other means of obtaining a supply of food for his family, cut down a birch tree and boiled the buds, which he gave them to eat. He then went to a heap where Horton, one of the old settlers, had buried some potatoes, and took out some. Before ha could inform the owner of what he had done, some of his neighbors maliciously did so, when Horton merely ' replied that he thanked God he had them there for the poor old man's family. On one occasion, when the husband and eldest son had gone to Truro for provisions, everything in the shape of food for the younger children was exhausted, except one- hen, which the mother finally killed. She boiled it in salt water for the benefit of the salt, with a quantity of weeds or herbs, which she had collected, and of the S9 natnre of which she was entirely ignorant, which she served up for them with the flesh of the hen. But not long after the children found the hen's nest with ten eggs,, some of which she cooked for their next meal and the rest she retained till her husband's return. On another occasion, the men of the family had brought home a supply of potatoes, from Truro, for seed, but after planting them and enclosing the ground, they were so much in want before going back, that they had to dig up some of the splits to use for food. Some time after, having earned as much money as would buy a cow, Alexander was sent to Colchester to make the purchase ; but having fallen in with his brother Simon, who had been bound out, and finding him dissatisfied, he applied the money to the purchase of his time. On arriving home, on his mother meeting him, her first enquiry was " Have you got the cow ?" " No, but I have brought Simon instead," was the reply. " "Well, poor as I am," said the mother, "I would rather see Simon than the cow." The girl whom this same Alexander afterward married, was bound out in Truro, and served till she was eighteen years of age. These few incidents, most of them in the history of one family, and that one of the few which had arrived with some means, will give an idea of what they endured for the first few years. All were in the same condition, and none could help another. The remembrance of those days sunk deep into the minds of that generation, and long after, the narration, of the scenes through which they had passed, beguiled many a winter eve, as they sat by their, now, comfortable firesides. To return to our narrative. That winter the first death occurred among the immigrants, a child of Donald McDonald, who was buried at John Patterson's (second)) place, already mentioned ; and the first birth occurred, & son of Alexander Fraser, afterward of Middle EiYei» M 90 named David, afterward Captain Fraser, who lived at what is now Evans' place, about five miles from town. In Ihe following spring they applied themselves earnestly to provide for the wants of themselves and their families. Thongh tinaecustomed to the use of the axe and the employments peculiar to a new country, yet, except in this respect, never were immigrants better adapted to the work of settling in the wilderness. They were children of the mountain and the flood. They were accustomed to coarse food, inured to hardship in its roughest form, and were not easily dismayed by difficulties. ** They accordingly exerted every energy, and sought out suitable spots on which to settle. In their enquiries after these, they were enabled to judge of the virgin mould from the growth and species of wood. "Where high and bulky black birch, ash, rock maple, elm or oak was discovered, the land was accounted to be of a strong and superior kind. They explored the different rivers, which abounded with fish; and finding the soil near their banks to be the most fertile, and capable of being more easily improved than that of higher lands, they seated themselves tipon it." * Difficulties were thrown in the way of their getting their grant, principally, we presume, through the opposi- tion of the agents of the Philadelphia Company, by whom they had been brought out. The first grant was to Donald Cameron, who had been a soldier in the Fraser Highlanders at the taking of Quebec. His lot was situated at the Albion Mines, being the same lot afterward purchased by Dr. McGregor. It is dated 8th February, 1775, and beside the condition of payment of quit rent, as in the other grants, contains the following : — « That the grantee, his heirs or assigns, shall clear and work, within three jears, three acres for every fifty granted, in that part of the land which he shall judge most convenient and advantageous,ror clear and drain three acres Philo Antiquarios. 91 cf fwampy or annken ground, or draic three acres of; marsh, if uaj such be wilbin the bounds ofthis grant, or put and keep on his lands, within throo years from the date hereof, three neat cattle, to be continued upon the land imtil three acres for every fifty be fully cleared and improved. « But if no part of the said tract be fit for present cultivation, without mannring and improving the same, then this grantee, his heirs and assigns shall bo obliged, within three years from the date hereof, to erect on some part of said landn dwelling house, to contain twenty feet in length by sixteen feet in breadth, and to put on said land three neat cattle for every fifty acres, or if the said grantee, his heirs or assigns, shall, within three years after the passing of this grant, begin to employ thereon, and so to continue to work for three years then next ensuing, in digging any stone quarry or any other mine, one good and able hand for every 100 acres of such tract, it shall be accounted a sufficient seeding, planting, cultivation and improvemeni , and every three acres which shall be cleared and worked as aforesaid ; and every three acres which shall bo cleared and drained as aforesaid, shall be accounted • sufficient seeding, planting, eiiltivation and improvement, to save for ever from forfeiture fifty acres in every part of the tract hereby granted." The rest of the Hector passengers, who remained in Pictou, occupied land on the three rivers, especially the intervales, on what had been McNutt's grant, which was now escheated. They did not, however, obtain a title to it for some time. As late as the 22nd January, 1781, they complained, in a petition to the government, that a grant had been often promised but never received. At last it was issued on the 26th of August, 1733. It contains the names of forty-four persons, some of whom had arrived from other quarters after the Hector, conveying the lots on which they had been located, the size of the lots being regulated by the number of their families. The conditions were the same as in Cameron's grant, and the mines reserved are gold, silver, lead, copper and coals. iWe append a list of the grantees with the number of acres received by each and notices of the situation of their lots. (Appendix A.) In the meantime they were energetically using the means in their power to supply the wants of their fami' lies. They learned to hunt moose. Timber of the finest jquality abounded, and they soon could split staves or the t^ 'II 1 .7: ■m long shingles formerly mentioned, with their neighbours. Small vessels came from the old colonies, which supplied them with necessaries in exchange for these articles. Seeing the majestic trees on every side, and knowing- the value of timber in Groat Britain, they formed the idea of preparing a quantity for exportation. Unskilled in the use of the axe, they invited a company of hewera from Truro, and with their aid prepared, during the summer, a sufficient quantity of squared pine to load a ves- sel, which had been condemned in Prince Edward Island and purchased by Governor Patterson. This was the.first timber ever shipped from Pictou, and the commencement of that wood trade afterward carried on so extensively from this port. It is just to say that the Indians, as soon as the mutual terror had subsided, treated them with much kindness. From them they learned to make and use snow-shoes, to* call moose', and other arts of forest life. From them they often received supplies of provisions. One old man used to say that the sweetest meal ho ever ate was provided and prepared by them. Hunger, we presume, was the sauce. The Indians were indeed sometimes disposed to make use of the terror which they knew their name and appearance inspired, particularly among the weaker sex,, to secure their object ; but it is due to that unhappy race to say, that from the time of the arrival of the Hector, they never gave the settlers any serious molestation, and gene- rally showed them real kindness, which, when the tables Iwere turned, so that the whites had plenty and they 'were needy, has not always been reciprocated. During that summer they also prepared to occupy the land which they had selected, but could get little, if any^ ready for crop that season, and in the fall the majority, even of those who had remained, disheartened at ihe prospect of another such winter as the past, left for Colchester or other places. By a return made on the Ist 98 Jmiaary following (1775), the following were the familien «nd unmarried men on the settlement at that date :, FauHiIES. — Johu Rogers, Bobcrt PAttcnon, William McKenzic, Alex. Rom, Kenneth McClut:heoB, Wm. McCrackcu, Abram Slater, Muses Blaisdull, Wm. Scnncdy, Colin McEenzio, Jamcn McCabc, Jamea Daridson, Bar. McOce. UmfABKiKD Men. — John Hall, Juhn Patterson, Oeorgo McConncll, Joseph Richards, J&moH Hathorue, Thomas Troop. The whole population consisted of 23 men, 14 women, 21 boys, and 20 girls; total, 78. The produce raised in that year was 260 bushels wheat, 13 of rye, 5G of peas, 36 of barley, 100 of oats, and 840 lbs. of flax. The farm stock consisted of 13 oxen, 13 cows, 15 young neat cattle, 25 sheep, and 1 swine. There were manufactured 17,000 feet of boards, and Squire Patterson was the owner of a sloop or schooner. Of the above list over five or six were Hector passen- gers. The return seems imperfect. At all events, quite a number returned the following season (1775). As the law of the Province then allowed a representative to each township having 50 families, wo find a return in that year by Dr. Harris, showing that Pictou contained the required number. (See Appendix B.) That year their circumstances continued to improve and some crop was raised, though not sufficient for their subsistence ; and still there were the same weary jour- neys to Truro for necessaries. They were, however, acquiring more skill in availing themselves of the resources around them. The moose afforded them a supply of meat for the winter, and the rivers plentifully supplied them with fish, and they learned to make sugar from the juice of the maple. One mode of laying up a supply of food for winter was, to dig a large quantity of clams in the autumn, pile them in a heap on the shore, and then cover them with sand, though they were some- times in winter obliged to cut through ice a foot or more in thickness to get at them. ! >•• ■I ■ i 94 * • Wd fiiVe isnlie appendix a list of the Hector passengers, with notices of their places of settlement, and history, so &r as known. (See Appendix C.) Though still poor enough, they were provided with at least the necessaries of life, when they were again tried by the arrival of a class poorer than themselves. Induce- ments having been held out by some of the proprietors of Prince Edward Island (then called St. John) to parties in Scotland to settle their land, John Smith and Wellwood Waugh, then resident in Lockerby, in Dumfriesshire, sold out their property, and chartered a small vessel to carry thither their families and any others who might join them. They accordingly arrived at Georgetown, or Three Rivers, in the year 1774, and were followed by others a few months later. They commenced a settlement with fair prospects of success, when their hopes were blighted by a remarkable visitation. Diereville, a French writer, in a work published in 1699, says : — ** The Island of St. John is stated to be visited every seven years by swarms of locusts or field mice, alternately — never together. After they ravage the land, they precipitate themselves into the sea." There is no evidence of any such regularity in this visitation of mice, but later writers speak of it as recurring on the Island at longer or shorter intervals, and there was one of the kind some years later in Nova Scotia, though now it is unknown. At all events, it came upon the new settlers, to whom we have referred, in full force. These animals swarmed everywhere, and consumed everything eatable, even the potatoes in the ground.* The new settlers would have had difficulties enougK under any crcumstances, but this filled their cup to the brim, and during the eighteen months that they remained there, they endured all the miseries of famine. For three * In Bome houses at West River are still preserved bppks of which tiift leather on the coven has been gnawed by them* 96 months in summer, they subsisted on lobEders and other shell fish, which they gathered on the shore. In the spring they had obtained from Tatamagouche a few pota* toes for seed, but the mice devoured them in the ground, and everything else in the shape of crop, so that when winter came, they were on the verge of starvation. An old woman in my congregation, though a strong child and with a constitution which carried her to ninety year*'- of age, told me that when she was two years of age, she was not able to walk from weakness, owing to want of food. One boy died, it is supposed from eating some herbs which were injurious or poisonous. Waugh had brought a supply of provisions and other articles, so that the first summer they 'did not suffer much, but at the end of the second season, he had all his goods in the store of a man named Brine, who traded with the small fishing vessels from the colonies. A number of these vessel; happened to be in the harbour, and before returning home the crews came ashore for a carousal. The Ameri- can Revolution was just commencing, and they were leav- ing with the idea of not returning, expecting when they reached their homes to serve either as soldiers or sailors. Before going on board they plundered Brine's warehouse of all it contained, carrying off all Waugh's property. That winter they would have perished, were it not for a French settlement some miles distant, from which they received supplies, principally of potatoes, in exchange for the clothing they had brought with them from Scotland, until they scarcelv retained sufiicient to clothe themselves decently. From scarcity of food the men became reduced ^ to such a state of weakness, and the snow was so deep, that they became at last scarcely able to carry back pro- visions for their families, and when, with slow steps and heavy labour, they brought them home, such was the state of weakness in which they had left their children, they trembled to enter their dwelling, lest they should n 96 find thou dead, and sometimes waited at the door, listen- ing for any sound that might indicate that they were alive.* Having heard that there was food in Ficton, they, in spring (1776), sent one of their number (the late David Stewart) to enquire into the state of matters there. Some of the American settlers had brought slaves, one of whom had been sold in Truro by his owner, who brought home part at least of the procaeds in wheat, which he was consuming in his family when Stewart arrived and lodged in his house. The latter, amid all his troubles,, retained some measure of cheerfulness, and on his return: his friends gathered round him to hear his report. " Well, what sort of a place is Pictou ?" was the enquiry. " Oh, an awful place," was the reply, in a very solemn tone. *' How ?" it was again asked. He replied, •• I stayed with a man who was just eating the last of his nigger." Such was their own condition on the verge of starvation, that for a minute they actually supposed that the people of Pictou were reduced to such a state from hunger as to have devoured the flesh of their colored servants. Having explained the true state of the case, his report was on the whole so favorable, that they were glad to exchange total want in Prince Edward Island for the partial supply to be found in Pictou. About fifteen families accordingly moved over, of whom seven settled on the West River. When they arrived, the only break in the woods on the west side of the West Eiver was * One old woman, living in 1831, used to tell that for three months her children had neither bread nor potatoes. During that time their food was principally shell-fish and boiled beech leaves. One calamity she described as having tiicd them severely. They bad brought with them iron pots, but not knowing the severity of the frost in this country, had left water in them, by the freezing of which they were cracked. In their circumstances, believing that they could not obtain others nearer than Scotland, and seeing no hope of obtaining them there, she said that the loss was next to the loss of a child. 97 vrhere the Rev. George Roddick now resides. Four -settled on the Middle River and two on the East River. The John Smith who came with Wangh removed to Truro. Ho first visited that place to have his child baptized und to hear the gospel, camping in the woods between Ficton and that place. In the fall ho brought •over part of his movables, carrying a large two cwt. anvil to Truro on a horse, which ho hired from Squire Patterson. Wellwood Waugh settled on what has since been known as Dunoons farm. Ho used to toll that ho left the Island with only a bucket of clams for the support of himself and family ; that tn lay after his arrival in Fictou he went to the woods ..o make staves, and was 4iblA to make a living for them ever after. His step- ibrother, William Campbell, then a young man, who came Vfiih. him, settled on the farm next above. Though the Highlanders were ready to extend their vronted hospitality to the new comers, and did so, to the best of their ability, yet, having barely sufficient for the support of their own families, such an influx pressed heavily upon them. Though these people arrived here in such destitution, they were among the most valuable of the early sectlers of this country, and their descendants to this day are among the most respectable members of the community. We give in an appendix a list of these settlers, with, notices of their places of settlement. (Appendix D.) ■ 4 98 OHAPTEH YI - »;v.^, PIOTOU DtmiNO AMERICAN IlEVOLimONAirr WAB^ 1770—1783 The breaking out of the American Revolutionary War at first subjected the settlers to serious inconvenience. They had hitherto received most of their supplies by trading vessels from the Old Colonies, which received in. exchange the proceeds of their labour, especially fish, fur and lumber. This trade, however, was now stopped, and the want of it was at first severely felt. Even salt could not be obtained, and in summer the settlers might bo seen. for days boiling down sea wo tor to obtair. a supply of thifip necessary. But the war soon had an oniivoninginfluenctr upon tho trade of the Province. Halifax was chosen as the chief depot for the British Navy in this Hemisphere. Large sums of money were expended on tho dockyard ; Tess^ls of all classes were there annually refitted, and employment was given to artizans. A largo military force was kept at Halifax, and there was, in consequence, a larger circulation of money, in the advantage of which the country districts shared. The following is ^iven as the price received by the aettlers for their wood : — 1775. 1776. Squared Pine, per ton Oft, 12s. OcL Hardwood, « IBs. 208. Barrel Btaves, per M 258. 60l. Hhd. " « 358. VOi. The settlers in Pictou were for a time, however, still at a loss for British goods, but in the year 1779, John Patterson went to Scotland and brought a supply, and £rom that time continued to trade. 99 But the American -war had another effect, in the division l^hich it occaRioned between the new and the old settlers. The Scotch were loyally attached to the British Govern- ment. But, with the cxceptiorf of Squire Patterson, most of the American settlers strongly sympathised with the American cause. Murdoch, in his history of Nova Scotia, tries to make it appear that those who came to this Province from the Old Colonies, and settled various townships before the American Revolutionary "War, were at this time loyal. From the facts that have come to our knowledge regarding these people in Colchester, and the few settlers in Pictou, wo can assert most positively that they generally sympa- thized with the Americans, and that a number were ready to manifest their sympathy by taking arms, if there had appeared a favourable prospect of thereby serving the cause. And when this seemed hopeless, they manifested their spirit in more harmless ways, as in the refusal of tea, of which the good wives could sometimes only secretly brew a small quantity for private indulgence, and moro X)ermanently in the names, which their children have carried down to our own day — the Adamses, the Burkes, and the George Washingtons, the latter of which, however, it was found more convenient to change into John "Washington or George "William. In Pictou, it will surprise many of the present generation to hoar, the feeling was quite violent. A circular was addressed to the magistrates throughout the Province, requiring them to bo " watchful and attentive to the behaviour of the people in your county, and that you will apprehend any person or ijersons who shall be guilty of any opposition to the King's authority and Government, and send them properly guarded to Halifax." The Inhabitants were ordered to take the oath of allegiance, and magistrates were required to furnish lists of those who complied and those who did not. Patterson, who had been made a magistrate in 1774, was I" i ** ill ' - ia 100 actire and zealous, perhaps more so than wise, in carrying out these instructions. He started for Halifax, intending to get copies of the oath required, for the purpose of imposing it upon the inhabitants. "When he reached Truro, his |)urpose becoming known, one of the Archibalds invited him to his house, and took him to a private room where, drawing out a pistol, by its persuasive inJUuence, he induced him to return home. The squire also attempted to arrest some of the old settlers, who had openly declared their determination to swear no oath of allegiance, while the others endeav- oured to conceal them. Wo have heard, for example, of Horton being obliged to hide under a haystack. On the other hand, their passions became so excited that they threatened to murder him. So serious did the danger become that his older sons were obliged several times to hide him in the woods, taking him over to Frasers Point for the purpose.* Matthew Harris, having had some dis- pute with Squire Patterson, regarding some business in which they had been engaged together in Maryland, started thither in the heat of the American war. While in Halifax the circumstance exciting suspicion, or perhaps, in consequence of his giving too free expression to his 63rmpathy for the American cause, he was arrested as a spy, and placed in the care of a guard of soldiers, who went into an inner room of a tavern to drink, leaving him to move about on his parole. While he was calmly walking on the platform, a woman rushed in where they were, exclaiming, "Your prisoner is escaping." They rushed out, half intoxicated, and one of them struck him over the head with a weapon he had in his hands, cutting him very severely. He was detained in custody till evidence was obtained from Pictou that he was a peacefal * Wo bad heard of thi8, but regarded it as an exaggeration. The familj of James, one of hia sons referred to, asseits positively that their fJather fro- quentlj mentioned it to them as a &ci 101 Tesident. The old man was Christian enough to say, in after life, that he could forgivre everybody except that woman. A few incidents connected with the war, as affecting the County of Pictou, may here be given. The iirst was tho capture of a vessel at Merigomish by an American privateer, which took place near the beginning of the war, probably in the spring of 1770. She was not a large ves-' sel, but was loaded with a valuable cargo of "West India produce. The previous fall she had been on her way to Quebec, but being too late to get up the St. Lawrence, she made Merigomish harbour, where she remained in the icei all V ter. The captain and crew landed, and from the scarcity of provisions, some of the latter went to Truro or Halifax. One of the settlers, named Earl, went off, it was supposed to the States, and with the design of giving information which might lead to her captuie. At all events, early in spring, as soon as the gulf was clear of ice from the Strait of Canso, a vessel appeared off Meri- gomish. Those in charge of the vessel in the harbour, suspected her purpose, and commenced conveying to the shore and hiding in the woods articles of value that could easily be removed. Soon, however, parties from the strange vessel came on board and took possession of her. James and David Patterson had been making oak staves on the land near where she lay. The captors, to prevent the word circulating, or any attempt to frustrate their purpose, sent a boat on shore, with a crew, who seized them and carried them on board their vessel, where they were put in irons. The captors then set to work to get * the vessel to sea. When they got her well out into the gulf they released the two brothers. There was some difficulty in unloosing the handcuffs on David's hands, when one of the men struck it with a marlin spike to break it, and in so doing smashed his thumb, which bore evidence of the fact till his death. They then put the ' ■^;" £!:l ^ %0^ ^wo brotheiB into a small boat with a few biscciits and 4 9mall earthen jar, called a coggie, of sugar, to find thei? way back to port as best they might. |n the meantime word had circulated of the capture, and as it was expected the privateer would come to the harbour, the inhabitants collected with every old musket and fowling-piece, pre- pared to offer a sturdy resistance to the enemy. They assembled at the Battery Hill and soon saw a small boat coming up the harbour, which they eagerly watched, and as it approached they saw in it two men, whom, as it drew near, they recognized as the Pattersons, who had thus made their way to port. The next incident was the capture of Captain Lowden'9 vessel in the harbour in 1777. Haliburton speaks of it as effected by rebels from Machias, who came from Cumber- land. The information I have gathered attributes the work to the American settlers in Pictou, and some friends in Truro. It is certain that they were in the plot. At all events, the circumstances of the capture are as follows : — The vessel was loading with timber for the British market. A time was chosen v/hen the crew were absent with the boat for part of the cargo. The captain was invited to the house of "W. "Waugh, where a number of them were gathered. "Waugh was an old Scotch Covenanter, and from rigid adherence to the principles of that body, would not swear allegiance to the British Crown, nnd though afterward he was in the employment of the Government, yet, at this time, seemingly from the common fact of their not taking these oaths, sympathized with the Americans. The Captain went without suspicion, leaving the ship in charge of the mate. During his visit, at a given signal, the company gathered round him, informed him that he was a prisoner, and commanded him to deliver up his arms. " Gentlemen," said he, " I am very sorry to say I have no arms," was his reply, in atone of indignation at their treachery. In the meantime, a, 103 strong party, fully armed, proceeded fo the i^sel, and £nding scarcely any person ou board, easily took possession •of her, and made the mate a prisoner, confining him in the cabin. They then placed sentries on deck. Some time 4ifter, the rest of the crew came on board, and as they did so, they were made prisoners and confined in the forecastle. Some of the captors then took a boat belonging to the ship and proceeded up the East River. On their way they " met Roderick McKay and his brother Donald coming -down the river wilh a boat-load of staves. They gave no hint of their object, but encouraged the McKays to proceed to the vessel. They then continued on their way to Roderick's place. He had erected a blacksmith's forge, and had it duly stocked. They plundered it of everything worth taking away, loading their boat with his tools, iron, v^c. In the meantime, the McKays had proceeded to the Tessel. As Roderick mounted the deck, he saw the sentries with their muskets on their shoulders, and beforo he could "take in the situation, one of them tapped him on the ■ shoulder, saying he was a prisoner. His reply was a tap <-on the face with the back of his hand. The sentry l>rought down his musket and told him he was serious. Roderick was obliged to yield, and both he and Donald were taken to the eabin as prisoners. After some time the party who had gone up the East ^iver returned, their boat laden with the plunder of Roderick's forge. They came on board, leaving the boat alongside, which afterward sank with its contents, and remains to this day beneath the waters of the harbor. They then proceeded to celebrate their success by a night -of carousal. "When they became pretty well under the influence of liquor, Roderick, with his usual determina- "tion, wished to take the ship and urged his brother Donald to join him in the attempt. His plan was that ih. J should make a sudden rush up the cabin stairs to it^e deck ; that he should seize the sentry and pitch him 104 overboard, while Donald shotild with an axe stand over the companion and not allow any of them to come up. Donald, however, was a quiet, peaceable man and refusedl to join in a scheme involving the danger of bloodshed^ and Kodcrick could not communicate with the mate.. He was deeply disappointed and used to say that if the* mate had had two words of Gaelic, they would have- retaken the ship that night. The McKays wore soon set at liberty, and the captors^, anxious at once to secure their prize, sailed as soon as- they could for Bay Verte, where the Americans for a- time had possession, taking Dr. Harris, under a certain kind of compulsion, with the mate and part of the* crew, to navigate the vessel. Information of these pro- ceedings was immediately sent to Halifax, the late John Crockett and Colin Douglas being the messengers. They proceeded on foot to Shubenacadie, and finding tho; rivers very high and difficult to cross^ they employed' an: Indian to proceed by the lakes and deliver the letter,* which he did. After the sailing of the vessel, Capt. Lowden was: released and started for Charlottetown in a canoe. Ho; found there a man-of-war, under the command of Lieut.. Keppel, which immediately started in pursuit. In the- meantime, the captors had reached Bay Verte, but finding that the American invaders had retired, they, on. the approach of the man-of-war, abandoned the vessel' and took to the woods, where it is supposed many or them perished. One reached the settlements in Colchester,, after having eaten the upper leather of his boots, and died soon after. Th'^ mate took charge of the vessel and. hailed th^ . v-i" as she was about to fire, when Capt. L« ' , ^' K ' vas on board the latter, knew his. voice. J lie , -^ • 'as taken charge of by the com- mander, wh>cj,^^ w . . the harbor of Fictou, threatening: vengeance on all who had any share in the afiair. All 105 "Waugh's goods were seized and sold,* and such was the feeling against him amongst the old settlers, that he left the place and afterward settled at "Waugh's River, Tata- magouche, to which he gave his name. It may be mentioned here, however, that not only did he afterward act the part of a loyal subject, but the communication, between Halifax and Prince Edward Island being through Tatamagouche, he was employed by Government as their conrrier between that place and Truro. The affair of Capt. Lowden's vessel, I have no doubt, mado the place too hot for the settlers, who S3rmpathized with the American cause, and was one reason for their removal. Some whom I have been able to trace, moved eastward without selling their farms, and we may hero mention an incident which occurred at this time^ Matthew Harris embarked with his family in a vessel intending to remove to Guysborough. But while on. their passage thither, they fell in with an American privateer. Those on board were unwilling to lower the British flag, when the privateer fired a shot ahead and another astern of her. Upon this, one of the men hauled down their colors and the vessel was brought to. The captain of the privateer came on board in great wrath. An infant child of Harris was sick and laid upon the deck, wrapt in a blanket. The captain struck the bundle with his sword, not knowing what was in it. The mother sprang forward, saying, " You have killed my child." The captain immediately calmed down, asking what the child was doing there, and shortly after left, taking only a few tubs of butter that were on deck. During the war American privateers were on the coast, but had very little effect on Pictou. One of the Hector passengers, who had moved to Halifax and there earned ■ 1.!:! * Another tradition i&j% that this tvas done by the officers and crew of tha Malignant when in Pictou as hereafter mentioned. This may he correct. 106 f ome money, mairied and came to Picton by land, but put all bis Ihin^s into a vessel to come round by watei. She was captured and he lost his little all. One camo into the haibour, and the alarm was given, and the settlerei began to gather to repel the intruder, when one of the American settlers went out to her and urged that there were only in the place a few Scottish settlers commencing in the woods, not having anything worth taking away, and that all they could do was to bum Squire Patterson's house. In consequence of his representations they sailed, taking only a boat belonging to Waugh. "What excited the greatest alarm, however, during the war was a large gathering of Indians, it is said, from Miramichi to Cape Breton, i)robably a grand council of the whole Micmac tribe, which took place at Frasers Point in 1779. In that year some Indians at the former place, in the American interest, having plundered the inhabitants, a British man-of-war seized sixteen of them, of whom twelve were carried to Quebec as hostages and afterward brought to Halifax. This led to a grand gathering of the Indians. For several days they were assembled to the number of several hundreds and the design of the meeting was believed to be, to consult on the question of joining in the war against the English. To this they were probably instigated by French agents. The settlers were much alarmed, but the Indians dis- persed quietly. Another incident which excited some attention in Pic- tou at this time was the wreck of the Malignant, which took place near the close of the war.* She was a man-of- war, bound to Quebec, and was wrecked late in the fall, at a place ever since known as Malignant Cove. The crew came to Pictou and were provided for through the wiAter by the efforts of Squire Patterson, as far as circumstancejl ifvould permit. To finish what we have to say here regarding the s^- 107 tiers in Pictou from the old colonies, we may here advert to another circumstance in connection with them. Some of those who came to Pictou, as well as other parts of the Province, had brought slaves with them, and as a curiosity of the time wo shall insert here a copy of a document, which is on recoid in the office of the llegistrar of Deeds in Truro : Bo it known to all men, that I, Matthew Harris, of Pictou, in his Majesties^ Province of Nova Scotia, yeoman, have bargained and sold unto Matthew Archibald, of Truro, within said Province, tanner, and I do by these presents bargain, sell, alien, and forever make over to him, the said Matthew Archi- bald, his heirs and afsignx, all the right, piopcrty, title or interest, I now have, or at any timo hereafter can prett^nd to have, to one Negroe boy, named Abram, now about twelve years of age, who was born of my Negro slave in my house in Maryland, for and in considcmtion of the sum of fifty pounds, •cnrrency, to mo in hand paid by the said Matthew Archibald, or secured tob« paid, aud I do by these presence, for myself, my heirs, and assigns for ever, 'quit claim to my Negroe boy, now in possession of said Matthew Archibald. In testimony of which I have to this bill of sale set my hand and seal, thif 29d8y of July, Anno Dom., 1779, in the 19th ytax of his Majesties' reign. Truro, County of Halifax. Mattw. Hasbu. Signed, Sealed, and Delivered ' in presence of David AncmBALD, Js. Peace. The following, however, which we find in the records of Pictou, is still more curious : Enow all men by these presents that I, Archibald Allardice, of the Pro> vince of Nova Scotia, mariner, for and in considemtion of the sum of forty pounds currency to mo in hand paid by Dr. John Harris, of Truro, havo made, over, nnd sold, and bargained, and by these presents do bargain, make over, and sell to the aforesaid Dr. John Harris, one negro man named Sambo, aged twenty-five years or thereabouts, and also one brown mare, and her coll now sucking. To have and to hold the said negro man and mare with her coll, as his property, for and in security of the obove sum of money until paid with lawful interest. And at the payment of the above mentioned sum with interest and expenses, the aforesaid Doctor John Harris is by these presents firmly bound to deliver up to the aforesaid Archibald Allardice, the said negro man, named Sambo, \rith the mare and colt (casualties excepted). Dut if the said negro man, maro- Qr colt, should die before the said money should be paid, then in such propor> tion, T, the said Archibald Allardice, promise to make good the deficiency to ike uid Doctor John Harris. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand 108 and lea], this tenth daj of August, in the year of our Lord, one thousandl seven hundred and eighty-six, and in the twenty-sixth of our Sovereign Lord, George the Third's Beign. Archibald Allardice, l. s. Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of James Phillips, Ilobcrt Dunn. f' Truro, August 26th, 1786, Bccorded on the oath of James Phillips. John Harris, D. It. Along the margin the following words were written : « Assignment to Thomas Harris, 20th day of April, 1 791 ." per John Harris, D. R. We have not heard of any cases of those in Pictou who owned slaves ill-treating them. On the contrary, a poor woman who had belonged to Matthew Harris, and obtained her freedom, used to confess that her life had never been so free from anxiety as when living with him ; but in other places tradition has preserved the remembrance of some cruel deeds, showing the character of the system. We have heard, for example, of a negro slave in Truro, who was so treated by his master, that several times he ran away, usually making for Fictou. On one occasion his master having caught him, cut a hole through the lower lobe of his ear through which he passed the end of a whip lash, and knotting it, he mounted his horse and rode off, dragging after him in that way the poor man, who shortly after died, it was believed, in a large measure through the treatment he had received. At this time the first settlement was made in Merigo- mish by Barnabas McGee. As we have already men- tioned, he had first taken up land on Rogers Hill, but dissatisfied with its distance from the shore, he removed to Barneys Eiver, which took its name from him. Here he settled in the fall of 1776 or spring of 1777 ; his daughter Mary, afterward Mrs. Gillies, the first child of English descent bom in Merigomish, being born in May: 109 of the latter year.'N' The harbour and coast then swarmed with fish, particularly the salmon. The islands were visited by great flocks of geese and other wild fowl, while moose were plenty in the woods, so that he had no diffi- culty in providing at least flesh for his family. The Indians were then numerous, their chief place of encamp- ment being on the west side of his farm, and his child- ren, from want of associates, made playmates of their little i Micmac neighbours. " He was soon aher joined by G-eorge Morrison, who settled on the adjoining lot to the west. Ho had origin- ally come in the Hector. Ho was a strong and determined man. On one occasion, being from home, a number of Indians came to his house, made his wife cook whatever they saw in the house that they desired, would not allow his children to the fire, and otherwise frightened the family. On his return, hearing of their behaviour, he immediately started in a rage for the Indian encampment, and meeting some of the offenders, he attacked them, in detail, with his fists, giving them a hearty drubbing as a hint for better behaviour in the future. The next day the whole band had decamped. They were joined soon after by Walter Murray. He had been originally a soldier and had served in India, but had emigrated to Nova Scotia in the Hector. He first settled on the East River, but now removed to Merigo- mish, where he took up land on the east side of Barneys River, McQ-ee taking him, with his family and household goods,, in a boat round the coast. In commencing their labours, Murray and Morrison each carried a bushel of potatoes on their backs from Truro. They took the eyes -• out of them, for seed, with a knife or a quill, retaining the rest for food, so that, as they used to say, each planted his bushel and ate it. • Wo may add that his son Charles, bora the 24th Norember, 1778, wuth* first English male child bom there. Ho died in the autumn of 1876. 110 ! l^he Ber. Mr. Oock, on one of his visits to Picton^ extended his journey to Merigoinish, and preached the first sermon in the settlement, in Morrison's house, cither in 1788 or 1784, probably the latter, and at the same timo baptized all the young children. At the period at which we have now arrived, the following may bo regarded as a view of Pictou : A few settlers were thinly scattered along the north side of tho harbor, from below tho town to the head of tho harbor„ and on both sides of the "West River, as far up as tho late Deacon McLean's place. There was one family on Rogers. Hill, three or four on the Middle River, and some others on the intervale of the East River from StoUarton nearly tip to Fish Pools, and there were three families in Merigomish. Altogether, the x>opulation might be from. 200 to 250. "We append a return to Government of the men capable of bearing arms, made at this date. (Appendix E.) We may here give some account of the social condition of the inhabitants at this time. " The society of Pictou,**" ■ays Philo Antiquarius, *' down to the moment of which we are now treating, might be viewed as one family, whero! the children were all under the immediate superintendence- of a good parent. One venerable settler had heretofor.^ presided over the others, advising them to discharge their various duties, and impressing upon them the necessii' y of honesty, unanimity and industry, while they, v^'ith. confidence, looked to him as their best director, and yielded in most cases obedience to his counsels." Squire Patterson, teferred to in this extract, is described as short and thick- set, one of those men sometimes said to be as broad as they are long, with a free and pleasant manner, and was highly esteemed. From his skill in business he was very influential, indeed, a sort of factotum for all the settlers, even celebrating their marriages, notices of the 8a:.iic being- I m 111 poisted np for three weeks as a substitute for the proclamation of banns. Along with him we must notice " John Patterson, commonly known as Deacon Patterson, and, after his death, as the old Deacon, from the circumstance of his eldest son of the same name being also an Elder in tho Church. Ho has been called the Father of tho Town of Pietou, from his having been the means of fixing tho town on its present site. But tho old Deacon merited tho title of Father of Pietou on other accounts. For many years after he came, there was neither law nor lawyers. In those happy times men took tho Scriptural modo of settling disputes. They were not afraid to leave tho adjustment of " tho things that pertain to this life " to their conscientious neighbors. These two old patriarchs, tho Squire and the Deacon, famed as they were for integrity and sound sense, became the general peace-makers. None dared or wished to gainsay their decisions. Generally when two men in any place are upon an equality, tho disposition to be first, 80 universally distributed among men, crcstes feuds between them, and the public good is left in tho back ground, and the public peace disturbed. The two good men of whom we are speaking formed an honorable exception from that common occurrence. They lived together, not merely on good terms, but a pattern of warm and inflexible friendship. "* Tho most of the Highlanders were very ignorant. Very few of them could read, and books were unknown among them. The Dumfries settlers were much more intelligent in religion and everything else. They had brought with them a few religious books from Scotland, some of which were lost in Prince Edward Island, but the rest were carefully read. In the year 1779, John Patterson brought a supply of books from Scotland. Before leaving the old country, he had built a ron^e of small houses for working * E/^tor Colonial PatrM. 112 i. ople, on what was called a thirty-nine year tack, that is, a lease for that period, the buildings at the end of the term reverting to the proprietor. "When he returned, his rents had accumulated to about £S0 sterling, a good portion of which he laid out in books, among which was a plentiful supply of the New England primer, which was distributed [ among the young, and the contentg of which they soon learned. Of teachers, I have noi; heard the names of any, after James Davidson left, about the year 1776. The people, however, were all religiously educated and desirous of religious ordinances, and some of them decidedly pious. They met together on the Sabbath day, Robert Marshall, known afterward as Deacon Marshall, holding what was called a reading for the Engliuh, and Colin Douglass doing the same in Gaelic. The exercises at these meetings consisted of praise and prayer, and especially, as their name indicated, the reading of the Scriptures and religious books. Marshall was a man of strong powers of mind, well informed, especially in theology, and particularly distinguished by the boldness with which he rebuked sin. Ho is said some years later to have reproved the Governor for travelling on Sabbath. They also received occasional ministerial service. The Rev. Daniel Cock, of Truro, and the Rev. David Smith, of Londonderry, visited them, Mr. Smith only once or twice, but Mr. Cock several times. "We cannot tell the date of the first visit of cither of them, but know that the latter visited them each summer for several years, spend- ing a week or two among them preaching in private houses, or in the open air, and baptizing their children. The people considered themselves under his ministry, and went on foot to Truro to be present at his communions, and some of them carrying their children through on their backs to be baptized by him there. This was done by a people who had so little English that they could scarcely have understood any sermon in that language. I 113 ' 1 "This may be judpfed from an incident that occurred •.«ome years later. A Highlander, living in Truro, attended Mr. Cock's preaching. The latter one day took as his text the words " Fools make a mock of sin." The former bore the sermon patiently, but said afterward, ^' Mr. Cock needn't have talked so about moccasins; Mr. McGregor wore them many a time." They were also visited by travelling preachers, the mo:t important of whom was Henry AUine, so noted in the early religious history of the western part of the Province. In his journal ho says, under date July 25th, 1782 : " Got to a place called Picto, where I had no thought of making any stay, out finding the Spirit to attend my preaching, I staid there thirteen days and preached in all the different parts of the settlement. I found four Christians in this place, who were greatly revived and rejoiced that the Gospel was sent among them." The Rov. James Bennet, itinerant missionary of the •Churc'h of England, also visited this place. "We have never heard his name mentioned by the old settlers; but Mr. Aikin, in his sketch of the rise and progress of the Church of England in British North America, says that in 1775 he visited the eastern harbors of the Pro- vince, and at Tatamagouche administered the Lord's Supper to 28 communicants; that in 1780 he again visited Pictou and Tatamagouche, and on his return lost his way in the woods. During the war the price of timber rose, and the trade in it from Pictou increased. During each year three or four cargoes were shipped to Great Britain. It was at this time that Capt. Lowden, afterward an active vodxi in the county, first commenced trading to this port >n 4 i 11% CHAPTER VII. PROM THE CLOSE OF THE AMERICAN WAR TILL THF" ARRIVAL OF DR. m'qregor. — 1783-1786. The next accession of settlers to the county, and the largest it had yet received, was at the peace of 1783. These, however, were not loyalists from the revolted colonies, as in some other counties. It might have been, well for them and for the county, had they occupied sucIl a rich district as Pictou, instead of the rocky shores of our southern coast. The most who came here were dis- banded soldiers, with a few families who had emigrated, from the old country about that timo. The largest body^ of them were of the 82nd, or Hamilton Eegiment, as it WQS called. The main body had been employed in gar- rison duty in Halifax, with the exception of an expedition, to Casco Bay, in the State of Maine, under General McLean. Another portion were employed in the Southern. States, at least some of the men saw severe service there. The most important event, however, which befell the regiment was, the loss by shipwreck of a transport on the coast, near New York, when, of three hundred men on board, only eighteen were saved, who were taken off the rigging, to which they had clung for some time. Being disbanded in Halifax at the close of the war, a large tract of land was set apart for them in Pictou, prin- cipally 6f the grants of Fisher and others, which had just been escheated, in spite of the efforts of Wentworth, who strove to maintain the titles of the old grantees, but only succeeded in upholding his own. This tract, which has since been so well known in the county as the b2nd grant, embraced the shore on the south side of the harbour, at Frasers Point, and from the upper part of Fishers Grant J I 115 Ij f ftronnd the coast, almost to the eastern extremity of the county, including Fishers Grant, Chance Harbour, Little Harbour and Merigomish, with the exception of the "Want- worth grant and of some smaller grants previously made at Barneys Eiver, and extending into the interior to the depth of three or four miles. It was said to *' contain in the whole 26,030 acres, allowance being made for a town plot, common, glebe and schools, and for other public uses." It was divided as follows : to the Colonel, (Robert- son, of Struan, in Perthshire,) the Big Island, hence often known as Eobertsons Island, estimated at 1,500 acres, though in reality containing considerably more ; to Capt. Fraser, 700 acres at Frasers Point, which obtained its name from him ; to four other officers, 500 acres each ; to another, 300 acres ; to thirty-two non-commissioned officers, 200 acres each ; to two others, 150 acres each, and to 120 privates, 100 acres each. The following is the description of the grant, which is dated 15th February, 1785 : " Six certain several lots or tracts of land, containing on the whole 22,600 acres. "One tract beginning at west boundary of land granted to Sbbert Patterson, near tho head of Merigomish harbour, thence to run south by the magnet 373 chains of 4 rods each, thence west 120 chains, thence south 38 chains, thence west 109 chains, thenco south 2G chains, thence west 187 chains, 60 links, 9en ^ light horseman, and who settled at Merigomish, and Gregor McGregor, a native of Perthshire, who had also served in the army and now settled at Barneys River. There oame also others of those whom we have mentioned as having been on their way to the United States when the war broke out, among whom may be named Alpin Grant, who, we believe, belonged to the 84th, and who settled below the town, where Capt. Foote now lives, the McMil- lans, (though one son William served his full time as a soldier in the Cavalry and did not arrive for some time after) and James McDonald and John McKenzie, of West River, who had bei-^n employed in Halifax during the war, the former as a tailor to the troops, and the latter as a carpenter. To these we may add James Chisholm, a son of a parish minister in the North of Scotland, who had n\ '.\1 1 ' Is I 3. '1^ 124 been on the staff of Oen. Washington, but finding his Highland conntrymen generally taking the other side, deserted and had a price set on his head. About the same time, Governor Wentworth made efforts to settle his grant. In a letter written in the year 1783, to prevent process of escheat against him, he says, " I had made an agreement with agents of li?0 families in Con- necticut, all loyaHsts, and churchmen, with their mission- aries, to remove upon our lands in the spring next, to giro them alternate lots of 100 acres, and something more to the missionary and one or two principals among them. They are dissatislied with their present Government, are well recommended, and determined to sell their present possessions." This scheme was never carried out, but at this tiine to secure his grant from forfeiture, ho offered liberal terms to those who should occupy it. Several embraced his proposals, the first of whom was Mr. John Sutherland. He had immigrated a young man in the Hector, and removed to "Windsor, where ho marviod. After this ho returned to Pictou, he and his wife travelling on foot, and carrying that distance an iron pot, as the beginning of house furnishing. After being a short time on the East Kiver, he removed about the year 1785, and settled at the mouth of Sutherland's River, which received its name from him, on the farm still occupied by his descendants. Among others, who settled on the Wentworth Grant about this time, we may mention Alex. McDonald, (Garty) who had been a soldier in one of the Highland Kegiments during the war, and three brothers, George, Charles and Joseph Roy, who had just emigrated from Scotland. The most important accession to that settlement at that time was Nicholas Purdy (properly Puidue, that being his mother's name), Olding. Both by his father and mother's side he belonged to families of some rank in the County of Kent, England. He was well educated, had 126 studied for the bar, and commenced practising in the State of New York, where ho had married, when the war broke out. Ho took the British side, though his father- in-law took the opposite, and joined one of the loyal A -an regiments, and served throughout the war as a chasseur, or light horseman, with great credit. At the €nd of the war ho removed \o Halifax, and commenced practising law, and might have attained to the highest , honors of his profession. But ho had received a wound in the head, which hod been trepanned, and rendered him unfit for the excitement of the bar and the social habits of the time. Ho had drawn his land at Sheet Harbor, but, not liking the situation, he, at tho solicitation of Governor Wentworth, removed to Point Betty, where he spent the rest of hi.s life. He was for many years a man"istrate, and on the list of lawyers, though he did not p^ so much, and, in his old age, recognized as the father o^ Bar of Nova Scotia. The large influx of settlers produced important changes upon the state of the community. Perhaps the most important was the injury done to its morality, by the largo number of drunken profligates, discharged from the army, a fact which will come under our notice hereafter. Another circumstance must here be mentioned. From the large influx of male settlers, there was such a scarcity of the gentler sex, as wo now hoar of at the first settlement of some of the "Western States. An old woman in the author's congregation used to say that she recollected the time when there was " only one girl in all Pictou " — marriage- ' able, of course, she meant. Why that one remained in * the market, wo regret that we omitted to enquire, but presume that it was because she was " owre young to marry yet." But extreme youth was not always a protection. A case is well authenticated of a woman who was married when she was fourteen years of age, and had six childron before she was twenty. "What a contrast to ,"» ':i !■!■ 126 our present degenerate race ! Men then travelled, like Jacob, long distances for wives, and married tliem with as little previous acquaintance as an Oriental. A vessel having arrived in Halifax with immigrants, three young men on the East Iliver set off through the woods to the city. On their arrival, they went among the newly arrived, and each selecting the girl whose appearance caught his fancy, at once made proposals to her. We suppose it must have been through the persuasive influence of the G-aelic language, but, at all events, the fair ones yielded, went home with men they had never Seen before, and proved faithful and, we have no doubt, happy wives. One reason given for so many of the 82nd men leaving was that they could not get wives in Pictou. "We must here notice another class of settlers who, ri.bout this time, commenced in Eiver John, and as their history is somewhat peculiar and interesting, we shall give it at some length. They were originally from the town of Montbeliard (pronounced Mong bilyar) which formerly formed part of the dominions of the Duke of "Wurtemburg, but which was annexed to France by the ami>ition and treachery of Louis XIV, after the treaty of Nimeguen, in 1679.* In the third volume of D'Aubigne's History of the Refor- mation will be found an interesting account of the intro- duction of the Reformation into this place, by Farel, in the year 1524. His labours were successful ; a large number embraced that system which also spread through * " The lato-trcaties had ceded to France sereral important cities and dis- tricts, 'with the dependencies belonging to th«m.' This vague expression opened a wide field to the grasping ambition of Louis. He proceeded to institute courts called Chambrea da reunion, for the purpose of ascertidning what dependencies had appertained at any former period to the territories tiow annexed to France, and by this ingenioos device ho soon added to his domi- nions no less than twenty towns, wrested from neighbouring princes, includ- ing Saarbiuck, Luzembuig, Deux-ponti and Montbelianl."->5mi(A'« Biriory qf Fntnet. 127 the suTTonnding districts. Soon after their annexation to France, came the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in the year 1685, which let loose the floodgates of suffering npon the Reformed Church of France. But in that act the dis- tricts referred to, were excepted, and the Protestants for some time suffered no molestation, owing to the stipula- tions of the Treaty by which they were annexed. But after a time the Lutherans in the annexed Provinces were exposed to the same sufferings as their Reformed neigh- bours, and the remembrance of these is still handed down among their descendants in this country. One incident connected with their emigration may be mentioned. Orders had been given that one of their chapels should be taken away from them and handed over to the Roman- ists. Fifty young men, among whom were George Tattrio and Peter Millard, assembled at it, armed only with stones, prepared to resist. A detachment of troops was Bent against them, with a priest at their head. He warned the party gathered of the uselessness of resistance. They, however, refused to yield, when a section of the troops were ordered to fire, which they did, killing two and wounding others, among whom was G-eorge Tattrie, who received a ball in i he fleshy part of the leg. The order to fire was answered by a volley of stones, by which some of the soldiers were badly injured, and, it was said, one killed. The Protestants were again summoned to surren- der, but refused, until the priest called on the whole detachment to ftre, when they submitted, and saw the house where their fathers had worshipped given to their enemies. As soon as his wound was healed, George Tattrie,* who we may here mention, had previously been ^t "id'rench soldier, and fought at the battle of Fontenoy Millard, and most of the party joined a body of their fellow-coun- \v> Mil nmti ■1 • In 1873 I conversed with a son of his, over ninety years of ago, from, irhsm I received these particulars, as I had received them some years before. '4: 1 128 trymen, who were preparing to emigrate to Nova Scotia, ill response to the invitations, which had been addressed to Protestants on the Continent by the British Government, offering liberal terms to those who should settle in this Province. They came down the Rhine and took shipping at Rotterdam for England, in the year 1752. They landed at Portsmouth, and for a time were left in destitu- tion by those who had brought them there. But their case was taken up by the British Government, by whom ihey wore despatched in four vessels, two for South Caro- lina and two for Halifax. Those who came in the latter reached their destination in the following spring, and were landed at Georges Island, to the number of 224. Prom Halifax they proceeded to Lunenburg, where they endured the hardships and dangers of the first settlers. After the peace of 17G3, Col. DesBarres, a countryman of theirs, and a son of one of their old Protestant minis- ters, who had entered the British military service, and who had served at the taking of Louisburg and Quebec, being, it is said, one of the officers in whose arms "Wolfe fell, and who was afterward successively Governor of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island,^* had obtained a grant of a large tract of land at Tatamagouche, extending from Point Brule along the shore westvvardly, some distance beyond the present village. By his persuasion, a number of them were induced to settle there. Accordingly, eleven removed from Lunenburg with their families in or about the year 1771. Tho names of these were George Tattrie, who settled on tho French River at what is now Donaldsons place ; George Gratto; David Langill, who settled on what has since been known as Lombards place, and his son John • Old Mrs. Mattitall, who liTcd whera the village of Tatamagoncho is now Bitaated, had been his nuno. When he was Oovemor of Prince Edward Island she went to see .him. He took her to Goreixunoiit House and showed her erery kindness. I. 121) James Lang-ill, then mandod, who also sottlecl on tho French Itiver; Matthew Lang-ill, his ])rother, James Uigncy and George Mattitall, who located themselves where the villag-o now is, and at th'.> same time, or perhaps a little later, Peter Millard, who settled at the point below Mrs. CampbeH'w, and John Millard, who settled next him to the v est. There were three other settlers who did not remain ; Ledurney, who settled where Wangh afterward lived, John Lowe and John Buckler. "When they arrived they found the indications of what had once been a ilourishing French settlement. A considerable extent of land on the shores of the bay and harbor, from tho church to McCulley's, had been cleared by them, and their furrows were still visible. The intervales both on French and "Waughs Rivers had also been cultivated, and on tho former they had been extracting and attempting to smelt tho copper ore. The remains of no less than five mills were found ; one on Mill Brook, one at Blockhouse Bridge, one at Mur- dochs, one on tho main French River, and ono at Goosar, Traces also of a graveyard, with crosses still standing at the head of tho graves, and of a Romish chapel, were to be seen between what is now Mr. Wm. Campbell's field and the schoolhouse. The first settlers for a time endurod great hardships. A supply of imple- ments and provisions was to have been sent round to them in a vessel, but she never arrived. They had to carry wheat and potatoes on their backs from Truro, the former article costing them twelve shillings per bushel and tho price of the latter being proportional. They frequently resorted to a plant growing on tho marsh, which, when boiled, mado a palatable sort of greens. But they had the benefit of the clearings mado by the Acadian French, those on the intervales being particularly rich, from which they soon derived a com- ople. Those who spoke English had indeed a few, which ihey brought with them from their former abodes ; but scarcely one of them had got any addition to his stock since. Almost all of them had a Bible, and it was to be seen with some of tho Highlanders who could not read. Few of them indeed could read a word. There was no school in the place. Squire Patterson had built a small house and hired a teacher for a few months now and then for his own children. In three, or perhaps four, other places three or four of the nearest neighbors had united and hired a teacher for a few months at different times, and this • I have been Knrprisetl in tracing the history of families of tho early inhabi- tants, to find so many cases of drowniug ly the upsetting of canoes or falling through tlie ice. On one occasion at the Jiidillo River three men were drowned in attempting to save a woman. She was a Mrs. Cummingcr, who lived on the cast side. She was on her way to town by tho ice en foot, when, for some reason unknown, she took a wrong course and went over to tho oppo- Bite side, where tho ice was had. When opposite what is now Blairs place, it gave way under her ; her cries attracted the attention of three men, who wcro woiUing in tho woods, two named Eoss and one named McLean, who immedi- ately proce< dcd to her assistance. They cut poles which they laid upon tho ice, and on wMdi they walked out towards her, hut when close to her, stepping on the outer ends of the poles, on the edge of the water, tho ice gave way, and they were plunged in. Their cries in turn nvtractcd the attention of two ether men, tho late Samuel Archibald and a Mr. Ilinglcy, who wore going to town on skates. Owing to tlic state of t he ice on that side the river, they had to mako oconsidcrablc detourto reach the place, so that wh';n vhcy arrived the v/oman and two of tho men had sunk. Tho third was supporting himself on his polo which he held in an upright position, but just as vliey approached ho let go and disappeared. Tho next day tlic whole four Lodies were taken out of tho one hole. The three men were all young, had not been long in this country ; two were brothers, the third a coUl^i.'}, and one of them had only been ahoQt eix weeks married. if' T^ 141 Tvas a great cxcTtion. "What was more disco iiraginj^, I could not see a situation in Pieton where a school could be maintained for a year, so thin and scattered was the poi)ulation. Besides, many of the Highlanders were perfectly indifferent about education, for neither themselves nor any of their ancestors had ever tasted its pleasure or its profit. But afterwards I found thai rhildieu mad^ quicker progress in the small and tem- porary schools, with which the people were obliged to content themselves, than they did at home in largo and stationary schools ; and I found it easier than I had thought, to rouse tho Highlanders to attend to the educa- tion of their children, so far as to read the Bible." Dr. McGregor, wo may hero observe, was a native of; Perthshire, born at what is now tho village of St. Fillans, at the foot of the romantic Loch Earne, inDecem-ber, 1759. His father had been brought to the knowledge of the Saviour under the celebrated Ebenezer Erskine, when a young man laboring near Stirling. He returned to his native parish, to bo an earnest friend of the Gospel, and continued active in promoting its extension during the rest of his life. His fc on was early devoted to the Tniniistiy, and, possessing strong natural powers, an earnest spirit and active habits, he passed through his college curriculum at Edinburgh with credit, studied theology under William Moncrieff, at Alloa, then professor in tho Antiburgher branch of tho Secession, and was in due course licensed to preach the Gospel. Believing that duty coiled him to preach the Gospol to his Highland countrymen, he gave him. -"If to tho study of their language, and became a most aeoomi.litehed Gaelic scholar. Ho not only si:)oke it with ease and flueniy, but wrote it with precision and elegance, so that befor(^ leaving Scotland he had been employed in preparing a corrected version of tho Gaelic Scriptures. We may here observe that ho had somewhat of a poetical ffe?.aus, and in his later years, with a desire to beucHt his ■i;i* ' I I ' 142 countrymen, he prepared a small volume of Gaelic poems, in •which he exhibited the doctrines of the Crospel, in verse,, adapted to the sweetest melodies of his native land. The work is still popular in many parts of the Highlands. Now commenced that course of protracted and ener- getic labors, which endeared him to the hearts of the people of that generation, which established the moral and spiritual character of the county and built up the Presbytorian cause through the eastern parts of the Pro- vince and in the other Maritime colonies. "Wo have in another work described these labors at some length, but as his history is for some time the history of Pictou, a brief account of them is necessary in this place. On the second Sabbath after his arrival (July 80) preaching was at the East Eiver, at the head of the tide, a little below the present Albion Mines, and he complains that the conduct of those in attendance "was as disorderly as before. " Their singing and whistling, and laughing and bawling, filled my mind with amaze- ment and perplexity. I took occasion to warn them of the sin and danger of such conduct." During the service one man stood up and, in a loud and angry voice, told him that he was good for nothing and did not deserve the name of a minister, and that he would never pay him a shilling, as he had refused to baptize his child. The following Sabbath he preached at the lower part of the Middle Eiver, at what was then Alexander Fra- sers place, near where Samuel Fraser'fc) house stands. Service was under the shade of a largo elm tree. At first it was contemplated to erect one church here, as being central for the whole district. This idea, however, was soon abandoned, and it was resolved to erect two, one on the East River and the other on the "West. During the summer preaching continued thus alter- nately, with some improvement in the conduct of the 143 people, but not very decided, till the cold weather led the gentlemen, of the army to dispense with their presence. He remarks that though public worship was conducted in the open air till they were compelled by cold to go into houses, they were never disturbed by a. shower. Early in October he first visited the upper settlement of the East Eiver. The only mode of travelling to this quarter was by walking along the edge of the river till thoy came to a brook, and then ascending it till they reached a place where it could be crossed. His first sermon was preached at James McDonalds intervale, under the shade of a large tree. " On iSabbath," he says, " they came all to hear me with wonder and joy ; for they had not indulged the hope cf ever seeing a minister in their settlement. They had very poor accommodations.. I had to sleep on a little straw on the floor." A little before wintc^ set in he paid his iirst visit to' Merigomish, preaching und visiting. The people solicited a share of services, and for about thirty years he continued to give a portion of his labors to that settlement. To attend his ministry, a number were in the habit of travelling to his church at the lower settlement of the East Eiver, going in canoes to the head of ^ t harbor, and thence on foot through the woods to the chii.'-ch. It was not, however, till two years t'l'ter, that thoy wore fully organized as a congregation, by the ordination of Eiders, the first beincr Wolter Murrsiv, .Tnhii i^tnall, qv'\ George Koy. ^ " , The winter following was the severest known among the early settlers for many years. It set in on the 15th November. There had been snow previous, which had melted, but what fell on that day remained till the middle of April, and some of it till the month of May. Before the end of the month, the harbour was wufficiently frozen for persons to cross on the ice. " When winter came on," ho t iM l; 144 continues, " preacbing was in private houses. Pcoplo could not sit in a house without fire, and they could not travel far. It was thf reforc agreed, that I should preach two sabbaths at tho East Eiver, two upon tho Harbour, two upon tho West Kivcr, and iwo upon tho Middle Ri- ver, and then renew tho circle till tho warm weather should return. Tho Upper Settlement of the East Eiver, being unprovided with snow-shoes, were excluded through tho whole winter from all communication with tho rest of the pcoplo, as cfFectually as if they had bolong- ed to another world, excepting one visit by two young men, who made a sort of snow-shoes of small tough withes, plaited and interwoven in snow-shoe frames. This cir- culating plan of preaching was no little inconvenience to mc. For six weeks in eight, I was from home almost totally deprived of my books and all accommodation for study, often changing my lodging and lixposed to frequent and excessive cold. But it had this advantage, that it gave me an easier opportunity of visiting and examining the congregation, than I could otherwise have had, for I got these duties performed in each portion between the two Sabbaths on which I was there." With this winter began his regular course of family visitation, and catechetical instruction. " I resolved not to confine my visitations to Presbyterians, but to include all of every denomination, who would make me welcome ; for I viewed them as sheep without a shepherd. Tho purport of my visitations was to awaken them to a sight of their sinful and dangerous state, to direct them to Christ, to exhort them to be diligent to grow in religious knowledge, and to set up the worship of God in tho family and closet, morning and evening. I did not pass a house, and although I was not cordially welcomed by all, my visits were productive of more good than .1 expected ; and I trust they were the means of bringing to Christ several who were not Presbyterians." He also. 145 annually held meetings in each section of the congrega- tion, at which young and old were duly catechised accord- ing to the old Scottish mode. This course of labour, both in preaching, visiting and catechising, ho regularly fulfilled over the whole district during the nine years ho was solo minister of Pictou. With the state of traveling as we have described it, it may be understood that this involved a large amount of toil. " I had to learn," he says, *' to walk on snow-shoes in winter, and to paddlo a canoe in summer, and to cross brooks and swamps upon trees overturned or broken by the wind, and to camp in the w^oods all night — for there is no travelling the woods at night, where tlioro is no road." But ho possessed an ardent temperament, and an active, wiry frame. People have said, that they never saw one brought up in the old country, become so good a traveller on snow-shoes, and such were his powers of endurance, that he outdid many who were accustomed to labour and travelling in the forest. He w^as also subjected to serious privations. For weeks ho was from home, and in the poor huts of ihc settlers, he suffered extreme cold and had to partake of the x>oore8t fare. Often the plank was his only bed, and a potatoe his fare, but never did he complain. Cheerfully he went in tmd out amouff them, cheering thorn with the message of life. The effects of his labors soon began to appear. The people gene -ally began to awake to the subject of religion, many were :bund turning to the Lord, and a great change in their religious habits passed over the whole population. Family worship, and family religious instruction became almost universal, and people flocked from all quarters to attend on the preaching of the word, young women even walking in summer from the West to the East River, a distance of ten miles or more, for that purpose. When the settlers thus became in earnest on the subject of religion, 10 ,i ^ ■; I m I h ■?1 ^■' Mil ^^M . 146 a most bitter feeling of opposition was raised against bins by a set of profligates, at the head of whom were the retired army officers. These men were living in drunkenness and disregard of the marriage tie. The Dr. as in duty bound, spoke to them about their conduct, and induced one to reform, but the rest were hardened.* As the influence of his labours was felt, the people reprobated their conduct in the plainest language. Besides they had hoped to exercise over the soldieis the same authority as previously, but now as ho says, "time, intercourse with the other settlers and doubtless an increase of kno^^ ledge, induced them to withdraw their subjection." O this he had to boar tho blame, and their animosity against him was excited to such a pitch, that before the end of tho first winter they threatened to shoot him, and bum tho house in which he lodged. The following winter they held a meeting with a view to send him bound to tho Governor, hoping that their mere word would be sufficient to procure his banishment. But, as he says, they went fast to destruction, and on tho breaking out of the French war in 1793, all tho drunken among the old soldiers enlisted, so that he could look upon Pictou as purged. He also labored to promote the educational and social interests of tho community. Parents receiving Baptism for their children were put under pledges, to give them as good an cJiicatioii as their circumstances would per- mit. He encouraged them in establishing schools, and when established, frequently visited them. And though • Ono of them, who lived on Robortson's Island, had bought a soldier's wife from her husband (for selling wives was ono of tho venerated institutions of the olden time), and was so jealous, that when he left home, he was in the habit of taking her out in his boat and .. iving her on a small island off the main one. Dr. McGregor urged upon hi>ii the duty of separating from her. " But what will become of the children." " Oh " said tho Doctor, " You should do your duty, and lcat.e them to the care ofL. Providence." " They would be the better of my help," im^^^ MW 147 ''')'] for a length of time they were poor enough, they were the means of giving the young at least the elements of learning. Among the settlers there were three, who had been ordained elders before leaving Scotland, Thomas Fraser and Simon Fraser, In the parish of Kirkhill, and Alex- ander Fraser (Mc Andrew), in the jparish of Kilmorack. These were called to exercise their office here, and soon after, the following were elected, and on the 6th of May, of the following year, were ordained, viz. : Donald McKay and Peter Grant for the East River ; Robert Marshall and Kenneth Fraser for the Middle River ; John McLean and Hugh Fraser for the West, and John Fatterson for the Harbor. These first elders, from all we have heard of them, were men eminent in godliness, and a large propor- tion of their descendants now occupy positions of use- fulness in the community and are active members of the church. This summer (1787) were built the first two churches in the country. *' During this month" (July), he says, '* the men were chiefly engaged in building the two meeting houses ; but, instead of employing contractors to build them, thoy agreed to divide the work into a number of lots, and appointed a party of themselves to every lot. One party cut the logs and hauled them to the site ; another hewed them and laid them in their place ; a third provided boards for the roof and floors ; a fourth provided the shingles ; those who were joiners were appointed to make the doors and windows, and those who did not care to work provided the glass and nails. Moss was stuffed between the logs to keep out the wind and rain ; but neither was one of them seated otherwise than by logs laid where seats should be. Public worship was con- ducted in the open air all this summer, and part of har- vest, till the churches were finished, and we had the came kind Provjldence preserving us from wind and rain and ' Mil fff w .■15 it ;i!.i 111 i 1 a 1 1 1 1 1 ■ 1 1 1 it . : ' 148 tempest as wo had last year; but no sooner were the honses built than great rain came on the Sabbath." " Such were the first two churches of Pictou, and for a while they had no pulpits, purely because they could make a shift without them, and when they were made they were not of mahogany, but of the white pine of Pictou." Those two churches wero some thirty-fivo or forty foet long, by twenty-five or thirty wide. The only seats in them at first were logs of wood or slabs sup- ported on blocks ; there was a gallery, or rather, an upper story, with a floor seated in a similar manner, to which the young went up by a ladder. The one on the East River was situated on the west side of the river, a short distance above New Glasgow, on a rising ground between the old burying ground and the lino of the present rail- road. The one at Loch Broom was situated near the head of the harbour, on the farm then owned by William M«Kenzic, still held by his descendants. It was situated near the shore, close by the brook that there enters the harbour. •' As soon as the meeting-houses were built, the i^eople set themselves to make roads to them, that they might be as accessible as possible by land ; but these roads were nothing more than very narrow openings through the woods, by cutting down the bushes and trees that lay in their line of direction, and laying logs, with the upper side hewed, along swampy places and over brooks which could not be passed dry, by way of a bridge. The stumps and roots, the heights and hollows, were left as they had been. The chief advantage of this was that it prevented people from going astray in the woods. During winter the roads and meeting houses both were totally useless, for the preaching was in dwelling-houses where there was a fire." It was in November following that he received the first payment of stipend. He should have received jC40 in cash 149 and as much more in produce ; but he actually Teceivet t!'* ...11 1 150 Hero the ordinance was observed with all the si^rvices then customary in Scotland. These were all perfonned by Dr. McGregor himself, who preached every day from Thursday till Monday, both in Gaelic and English, The number of communicants was 130 In this spot the supper was observed annually and with the same solem- nities, during* the whole time, that he was solo minister in Pictou, and people came from long distances, even from the Countv of Hants, to attend them. Th3 same summer he commenced that series of missionary labors, which rendered I\is name so venerated and beloved among the older settlements throughout these Ijower Provinces. There was not at that time another minister of any denomination on the north shore of Nova Scolia or Cape Breton, and not a Presbyterian minister, and scarcely any other in New Brunswick or P. E. Island, and from this date, for a period of forty years, he employed a portion of every summer, and oven of winter, in visiting the settlements throughout these regions. For this work he possessed the highest qualifications. From the first loving the gospel, all the energies of a very ardent nature were aroused, as he saw the destitute condition of those who dwelt Bolitarily in the woods, and his preaching grew in* impressiveness and power, so that it would be impossible to convince the old settlers that there ever came to America one so eloquent. He possessed the special gift of directing conversation into religious channels, so that whatever subject was started, he gave it a pious turn. When ho visited a settlement all gathered, and days and nights were spent for weeks together, in preaching, pray- ing, religious conversation, and travelling from place to place. In this way he traversed the eastern part of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, and New Brunswick, and was the means of founding or cherishing in their infancy all the older Presbyterian congregations i'# 151 Ihroughoiit this widely extended territory. In this work he spared no fatigue, and readily ondured hardship, find- ing pleasure in the work, and the richest reward in tho joyful reception of tho gospel by the solitary dweller in the wood. The Highlanders having now Purmonntcd the first difficulty of settlement and, above all, having tho gospel preached in their native tongue, now invited their rela- tions over from Scotland, and they continued to arrive in greater or less numbers till all those portions of tho county most desirable for settlement wore occupied. Others who had settled in other parts of tho Province were so attracted by his preaching, that they sold their, farms and removed to Pictou to enjoy his miiiiatiy. • ■> 1* CHAPTER IX. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE TOWN TILL THE BEGINNING OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONAEY WAR, 1789—1793. l!Ve must now, howe^'er, give some account of the •origin of the town. "We have already mentioned that on the arrival of the first settlers, a town was laid out above the Town Gut, and another afterward at Fishers Grant ; but at neither of these places was one ever built. Its being located on its present site, was owing to old John Patterson. "We have already mentioned that at the time of the issue of the first grants, the block on which the town stands, embracing the shore from Browns Point round to Carriboo, had been reserved out of the Philadelphia Company's Grant, and given to Col. McNutt and his fP'J '; ffiir iili 1 , i II? !:| 162 associates. The grant of the latter, however, was escheated in the year 1770, and an order of survey issued in favor of Eichard "Williams, described as "late lieutenant in the 80th Regiment," and said to have served at the taking of Louisburg and Quebec, for this block and another on the Middle River, extending from Middle River Point up to Kerrs, a distance of ten miles along its banks, and one mile back, the rear line to run parallel with tho river, the lirst said to contain 6,000 acres, but in reality containing 10,000 ; the second estimated at the same amount, but also considerably in excesa Tho grant is dated 21st January, 177G. The conditions as to pine trees, fisheries, quit rents, and reserves of minerals, are tho same as in tho 82nd Grant, and tho conditions as to working are tho same as in Camerons. But it contains the following additional clause, Ihtit tho grantee shall " settle one person upon it for every hundred acres, and the settlers to be introduced to bo Protestants, from such parts of Europe as aro not in His JMajesty's Dominions, or such persons as have resided within Ilis Majesty's Dominions in America for two years, antocedcnt to the date of the grant." This exhibits an idea that was prevalent at this time, of the danger of the British Isles being depopulated by cmip^ration, in consequence of which parties were bound to settle their grants with Protestants from abroad. This grant was transferred to "Walter Patterson, Esq.^ who came out in 1770 as Governor of Prince Edward Island, but who had previously been a judge in the province of Maryland, and was, we believe, originally from the North of Ireland. According to tradition, which there is every reason to believe well founded, tho title passed to him in the following manner : Riding one day ho accidentally met "Williams, with whom he entered into conversation, when the latter said, " I have a lot of land in Pictou ; what will you give mefor it ?" " I'll give youi 153 this horse," was the half joking reply. " "Will you givo saddle and bridle ?" was the next enquiry. •* Yes." •• Then jump off." lie did so, when the other mounted, and thus the bargain was completed. At nil evonts, Governor Patterson became the possessor, as it was found afterward, without any proper conveyance, and at the date of our history began selling portions of his land.*. He also laid out a town, which he called Coleraine, to the eastward of what is still known as Coleraine street. According to his plan, it was to contain various public conveniences, the ground at the foot of that street being reserved for a public landing, and a lot near set apart for a market. Jlence, the wharf there has been till recently, and wo suppose is by some yet, known as the Market Slip. TLis, however, like previous efforts, was for some time at least a town only on paper.* On the 10th September, 1787, for the sum of £Q2 10s., he deeds to John Patterson 150 acres, afterward purchased and occupied by Mortimer, at the Point ; and another lot • \Vc may here give the subsequent history of this grant : Patterson, whilo on the island, sold portions loth of the part on the Middle River and at tho town, Ly his agent, Lieutenant Gordon, already referred to ; hut his title being doubtful, persons squatted on various portions cf his land, particularly on tho Middle River, and somo who purchased one lot took possestiion of another, "We have seen deeds running in something like the following strain : "Whereas I have made improvements on tho land of Governor Patterson, at such a place, I hereby give all my right, title and interest in tho said lot of land," &c, Patterson became involved in debt to Messrs. Cochrane, then leading merch- ants in Ilalifaz, doing business at what has since been known as Cochranc'a Comer, where the Dominion public offices now stand. In consequence, after he left tho Province, they sold his property under a judgment, and one of them ■ became the purchaser, and hence this grant has since been usually known as tho ' Cochrane Grant. But there was, for some time, a difficulty about the title, partly in consequence of want of proof of a transfer from Williams to Patter- eon, but partly also, we believe, from some irrcgul.'^rity in tho legal proceed- ings of Cochrane against the latter, and squatters resisted attempts to cj3ct them. One of Patterson's heirs camo some years after, claiming the land, with whom Cochrane compromised. After this his title was generally con- ceded, and he sold the rest of the land, but a good deal having [previously been occupied, the parties held it by possession. ^ '■ i\ ■ [ 1 t J. !iV i .:i! i )!; m 164 of 100 acres, described as follows : " Beginning at p stake and stones at the west corner of a town lot, thence run- ning north 320 porches, from thence west 60 perches, thence south 320 perches, thence cdgc the different cou^nes of the harbour to the place of beginning." The front of this lot embraced the central portions of the town, extend- ' ing from Coleraine street westwardly to the market. A settler named, we believe, Kennedy, had previously squatted on a portion of this, having made a small chop- ping, and erected a shanty on the face cf the hill, below Dr. Johnston's house, so that the deac m had to buy out liis claim. 13 y the terms of the deed, the ground along the shore, to the width of forty feet, was reserved for a highway, and this became the front or lower street of the town, from the west end as far as Grlennies. This will explain its sinuous course. To this point the south side of the street was originally water lots, and all the buildings now upon it are upon made ground. The ground near Meagher's slip was regular bog, through which logs were laid to form a pathway. At Glennies the coast took a turn to the. southward, with a somewhat high bank, forming a cove, which was long used for the reception of timber. From this point the deacon run a street in a straight line to Coleraine street, although there was a road round the shore to the Battery Point, within the memory of many still living. In the previous winter (1Y87) the wood had been cut on ' part of the ground where the town now stands, and Patter- son removed from Mortimer's Point to where his grandson, A. J. Patterson, now resides. He next commenced divid- ing the front of his land into small building lots, which he sold at low rates. These, however, were conveyed upon the condition that the purchasers should build upon them, and under a per ilty for every year in which this was not done. Thus, in his ledger we find, iu i 155 1805, one man charged, "To 7J years' damaj^es for not building one house ;" and in another case we find the following entry, *' To 5 years you did not build on the l-A, at 6s., £1 5s." Those lots are described as in the town of New Paisloy,=^ doubtless, so named aflt^r his native town. Among the iirst lots, of which the deed is recorded, is one to James Dunn, of the lot on which the lloyal Oak Hotel lately stood, on which ho erected the first tavern in the town,t just behind where that building lately stood. The Deacon having been originally a carpenter, commonctid now the erection of small buildings to sell or let to tradesmen, and it is in this way that the town was fixed on its prescn', hUq. "We have been unable to ascertain whore the first house was built, but believe that it was on the street leading down to I^Iessrs. Yorston's wharf At all events, one that still stands there was among the first. It was originally occupied by him as a store, afterward by his sons, John and Abraham, in the same way ; again, for a length of time a.", a cooper's shop, and now as a sailir.akers. The timber v/as cut on the site of the lower part of the town. This is, without doubt, the oldest house in town. On repairing it lately, the carpenters found that the frame was entirely of hard wood, oak, ash, or beech. The date oferection of the first house was either 1789 or 1790, Dr. McGregor says in r.ne place, " There was not a single house for years after I came here. The town was for some years without a single inhabitant; then there was a shod with one i • We may here notice the variety of iiatnt>s ficlectod for the town or dis- trict. BcBidcs the deacon, wc find in old documents, tlic townsliip of Alexan- dria, the township of Doncgall, Tdgnmoutl:, SoutLampton, AValmslcy and Coleraine. f Wc read, however, the name of Francis Hogg, tavern keeper, before tliis <1atc, and, as wo have seen, the grog shop was in full blast, before Dr. McGregor's arrival. The eUc, however, of these estAbUBhxaciits we do not icnow. yi; 166 family ; then another with it, and so on, till it became what wo see it now." In his narrative he says: — "I think it was in this year (1790) that the first house in Pictou was built. It was some years without a second." Philo Antiquarius, speaking of the year 1789, says : — " Two or three houses were also erected about this period on the spot which was cleared the preceding" year. Families were soon attracted, buildings wer<^ run up, and, ere the lapse of much time, a respectable ha .Jet rose into view." He also built a wharf, the fi ' in the town, on the site of what, afterward coming into possession of his son, also an Elder in the Church, long continued to be known as the Deacons Wharf, now Yorstons. It was described as consisting at first of three logs, but afterward a more respectable structure was erected. We may add, that he always showed an earnest and hopeful interest in the pro;;ress of the pl-^ce, and a most enterprising spirit in undertaking measures for this end. Thus it was to the sagacity and public spirit of John Patterson that the town rose upon its present site. The question has been raised whero it ought to have been. Richard Smith maintained that it should have been on the south side of the harbor, at Abercrombia or Frasers Point. With tho knowledge we now have of the mineral wealth of the East Eivcr, raucn may bo said in favor of that looality. But the fact that after attempts to build a town elsewhere, tlio deacona site held its own, even though opposed by Mortimer, shows that something may be said in its favor. Under any circumstances, its nearness to the entrance of the harbour would have almost neces- sitated the erection of a town somewhere in that neigh- borhood. One unfortunate mistake ho committed, though a natural one in the circumstances ; that is, in taking the road originally laid out round the tihore as the basis from which to lay off lots and other streets. The side lines of 157 the original lots run from t]ie harbor on a due north and south course, and had tho cross streets been laid off at right angles to these, the inconvenience which the subse- Vjuent inhabitants have suffe.'cd from the want of square corners, would have been avoided. We may add, that tho first teacher in town, so far as wo have been able to ascertain, was Peter Grant. When his father, Alpin Grant, settled in Pictou in 1784, he remained with a friend in Halifax, where he was educated ; and on coming to Pictou, about the year 1703, he opened a school and continued to teach for six years. In the year 3 800 he took up land at Scotch Hill and removed thither the following season, where he resided till his death. In ihe year 1802 we fmd S. L. Newcomb teaching, though probably 'or a , hort time.* Then, for some time, George Glennie occii; 'ed his place. He was a graduate of Aber- deen College, a superior scholar, and did much to form the lainds of the youth of that generation. Philo Antiquarius says, " a vessel was launched from the point above the Gut in the year 1788," he does not say by whom, but the manner in whieh ho speaks seems to imply, that it was the first built in the harbour, but the tradition is that the lirst in the harbour, was built by Thomas Copeland, on the site of what is now Dr. Johnstons wharf — that she was what was called a snow, that is a two-masted vessel, with another small mast abaft the mainmast, to which a trysail was attached, and that tho first built in the county, a schooner called the Ann, was built previously at Merigomish, for John Paiterson. The date we cannot ascertain, but it must ' Mr. Nowcomli mariiwl a daiighlir of Matthew Harris, and had a fHmilr, POTcral of whom wtrc once well known in Pictou and Cumhcrlaiid. One son, Simon, after long sailing out of Pirtou to tho West Indies and elsewhere, as a captftin, serred in the Texan war of indepondcnce, and obtained a large grant c'f land there. He persuadiKl his brother Thomap, then a promising lawyer in ^'utoberland, to remove thither, where he died, and his son was lately Secrc- l*Ty of that State. ' : ' m 1 fiT^ I r ' III 158 have been abont this time. In a ledg'er of his in om possession, which however was not his first, we hayc " an account of things sent to the vessel, November 21st, 1Y89," so that it must have been built before that time, though probably not long. Farther on she is called " the schooner" and Jerry Palmer appears to have been the name of her first commander. Small vessels howevei were owned previously. In the year 1784, we find recorded a bill of sale to Hugh Dunoon from Barnabas McGree, of " the good shallop .Nancy," and by the returns already quoted. Dr. Harris appears as owning a schooner or sloop in 17G9, and Sviuiro Patterson another in 1774. About the same time arrived a number of persons, who occupied prominent places in connection with the early progress of Pictou, the most important of whom was Edward Mortimer, who is said to havo arrived in 1788, but to whom we shall have occasion to refer fully in a subsequent chapter. Captain Lowden also at thie time removed with his family to this country. At this time also came the Coi)elands. Alexander and Thomas were brothers, natives of CastL; Douglass, in the County of Dumfries, and for some time did business in Halifax. They brought out two cousins, Samuel and Nathaniel, also cousins of each other, whom they had in their employment. A story has been commonly told of their making money by purchasing at the sale of an American prize some kegs of nails, which, however, were found to contain dollars in the centre. Their descendants discredit this, and tell a story of an opposite 'character, viz., that during the American war, Plalifax being menaced by some American armed a'. ssels, which had plundered other places, they had buried their money in their garden, but afterward could not find it, and circumstances led them to suspect a neighboring family of having discoAcred their secret and stolen their treasure. This, and some other losses, led them to remove to Pictou, where they 159 i '"^^ 111 1 .V ■ J' ; obtained the farm lot west of John Patterson's, including what has since been the western part of Abraham Patterson's farm and the lot of Matthew Patterson. They built a wharf at what has since been known as Smiths Wharf, the second in the town, and commenced business there. Alexander and Samuel (father of Robert S.) died in Pictou, the latter being- the first buried in the Pictou cemetery, about the year 1807, the cemetery at Durham ' being previously used by all on the north side of the harbour. Their families removed to Merigomish, as did also Thomas and Nathaniel. They all settled on lands, which they had purchased from 82nd men, in most instances for a mere trifle. About the same time came Robert Pagan. He was a son of John Pagan, already mentioned as one of the proprietors of the Philadelphia grant, and owner of the Hector. Ho was in Pictou as early as 1789. In that year we find a deed to himself and his brother Thomas, described as merchants, from AValter Patterson, Governor of P. E. Island, of " Lots 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the town of Coleraine," described as " beginning at a stake and pile of stones upon the shore or bank of the harbour of Pictou aforesaid, at the south-east corner of lot No. 1, in said town, and 117 feet east from the boundary lino between lands granted to John Patterson, senr. of Pictou aforesaid, and the said town of Coleraine." This was at the head of ihe Mining Companys wharf and extending westerly to Crichton's wharf, and his house was on the site ot that recently occupied by Mr. Boggs. He married a daughter of Squire Patterson and engaged in business, bat was not very successful. He was a man of excellent education, and filled several offices with credit, the highest being that of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He died 8rd December, 1812. None of his descendants are in the county. Hugh Dunoon, after doing business in Halifax, removed t ri n 1 fm0i ...<>-^-' 4-;»ri;«>'^:4ifi*'>v^?ft*lviJ^.!A"»W'ft^>V*..^'^ijt.;;.;^;'<';w -.«#'n : i:. 1 ■« 1^ M: 160 to Pici^ou about the same time. He was a native of the parish of Killearnan, in the county of Inyerness, of which palish his father and brother were successively ministers. He took up land on the East lliver, as early as 1784, and we find him soon after living in Merigomish, where ho had bought out the rights of some of the 82nd men. He built a mill on Hogans brook, the first in that part of the county, and carried on business there. He afterward removed to Pictou, where he lived about a mile below the town, where Mr. Fogo now resides. Subsequently he occupied a prominent place in the public affairs of the County, filling a number of olTices. He w^as for many years a Judge of the Inferior Court, Deputy Registrar of Deeds, Collector of Customs and Custos of the Disti'ict. He died the 24th March, 1830, aged 74. John Dawson was hero as early as 1701, his marriage having tak(?n place in that year, but he will bo more appropriately noticed elsewhere. "We give a plan of the town .nt this time, copied from one in 1 ho possession of the late Peter Crerar, Esq., which will exhibit at a glance its progress to this period.^ In the meantime the rural settlements were receiving settlers, especially from the Highlands of Scotland, among ifiiom wo may mention Martin McDonald, w^ho arrived in 1787, and settled at Knoydai t, to which he gave the name from his iiative place ; and Alex. McKenzie from near Inverness, who, after serving eight years in the army, settled with Archibald Cameron, on Irish Mountain, where they had been preceded In Patrick Finner, an Irishman. In iho year 1788 or 1780 came a number of Lowland Scotch, imnripally from Dumfries, who settled in various parts of the country. Among these may be mentioned John Cassidy, who settled on McLcnnan's Brook ; William V • For this plan we are indebteil to the kindness of J. 8. Arnison, Esq., Sandyford Hotisc, Newcastle-tipon-T.vno. The date of it is not given, bnt it ifl before iTOt and after 1790. i i Iff im 1'^ ' 1;, i" 1 lU P J 161 Munsie, who was the first settler on Green Hill, on the farm still occupied by his descendants ; Robert Sturgeon, who settled on the south side of the hill ; "William Porter, who Settled on the Middle Eiver ; John McGill, afterward of West Eiver, and David McCoull, of Green Hill. "We may here give a notice of a visit to Pictou in the summer of 1787, of Sir John Wentworth, afterward Gov- ernor of the Province, and at that time Surveyor General of "Woods and Forests in British America, as given in a letter of his, dated JOth January, 1788 : '•Continue J toward Miramiclii, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Being over- taken with a hard gale of wind, and my boat, under 13 tons, unahlc to live in such cross-combing seas, we attempted Mcrigomish harbour in the night, and were soon on the sands ; the tide rising we got off and rode out the night in a little pool between two rcefd. The next day, at high water, we went over all into the harbour, which is very safe, and, with a pilot, of easy access for a ship of four or five hundred tons. Contrary winds detained mo here and at Pictou (which is still a deeper harbour) for fourteen days, during which time I travelled into the woods from ten to twelve miles round, surveyed timber for the settlers and that proper to be reser\'ed for His Majesty's service. In this district is some good pine timber, but the longest and best has been cut nway by the Acadians and first English settlers, to whom that part of the country has been granted for some time. On the harbours and rivers of Mcri- gomish and Pictou there was, formerly, the best growth of oak and pino ; some still remains, and I have taken every measure to prcser^-e the best of the latter, and have no doubt it will come into His Majesty's scruce, should any contract b« extended to these Provinces. " We sailed from Pictou the first possible moment, and mot a very heavy sea, with which we contended until sunset, when the wind arose suddenly at southeast and obliged us to take shelter in Johns Harbour, to leeward of a rocky reef We rode out the night, but at daylight were obliged to slip our cable, and rim up the river, where the t; le suddenly ncnpcd on the change of the wind, and we were five iays unloading provisions Rnd ballast, perching out a channel, near five miles, and recovering the anchor. In this time I explored the adjacent woods, and found some good pine timber. Those unfit for the King's service I have granted license for to the settlers, who have promised to preserve those marked for reservation." "W have given the above for the purpose specially of noticing the claims, which it had long been attempted to maintain, of reserving the large timber for the use of the British Government. "Wentworth had been Surveyor General of "Woods for all the British Dominions in Amer- 11 :1 I i f rr i. :,i 162 ica, and, till the commencement of the American Ilovohi- tionary "War, residing in New Hampshire ; after that he- retained the same office in the remaining British Pro- vinces. The attempts to enforce this claim had prod*uced great disturbance in the old colonies, and was one of the causes of the discontent, which led to their separation Irom the mother country. In this Province it had been a hindrance to its settlement, as it had been necessary to communicate with him in New Hampshire, as Governor Legge complained, before grants were issued to settlers. Yet, notwithstanding these things, and the utter absurdity of expecting settlers to clear their land and leave the big trees standing, Wentworth came to Nova Scotia, seeming to regard it almost as the chief end of his creation, to enforce this and every other arbitrary claim, that had ever been set up on behalf of the crown. As late as the year 1804, we find timber seized as cut in violation of this claim, and only released on the parties paying a certain sum as damages, and instructions issued that " the timber be surveyed on their lots and such as are fit for masts, yards or bowsprits marked * I. a TV.,' also some of the best to cut into planks for the King's service. These to be faithfully preserved, then the rest to be free to the party." Again, in the year 1806, we find timber seized, which, however, "Wentworth instructed his agents to release on the party paying the sum of .£12, " which sum is to be applied, under your care and direction, toward building a bridge at the head of Carriboo Kiver, on the new road now t» be made leading from Pictou to Carriboo Harbor." "We do not know that this claim was ever directly abandoned. To a very late period surveyors, in making their return of the survey of Crown lands, were accus- tomed to report that there was no timber upon it fit for the use of His Majesty's navy. But no such old fossil as "Wentworth ever governed us again, and it died a natural death. 163 In the summer of 1791 arrived two vessels loaded with emigrants, mostly lloman Catholics, from the Western Islands of Scotland. They arrived so late in the season that few could provide houses for their families before winter. The old settlers, at the solicitation ol their pastor, received them with the most open-hearted hospi- tality. Hundreds of them received the best shelter that the inhabitants could afford — such as could pay, at a very moderate price, and they that could not, for nothing. For a time they commenced settling in Pictou, and a number of them went to hear Dr. McG-regor preach, but Priest McEachran came over from Prince Edward Island and persuaded them to go beyond the reach of Protestant influence. They accordingly left their settlements in Pictou, some of them with great reluctance, and took up land along the Grulf shore, a few in Pictou county, but the majority in Antigonish county. Some, however, went to Cape Breton. Among this class there is cherished to this day a fe vent and grateful recollection of the kind- ness of Dr. McGregor and his people. But the Dr. complained that they proved dangerous guests, by foolish and profane conversation, and particularly by their tales of superstition, and that the evil influence of such close intercourse with them was felt upon his congregation long after. A few of these, however, Were Protestants, or became so, and settled permanently in the county. Among these may be mentioned John McKinnon, Lauchlan McLean, Angus McQuarrie, and Alexander McMillan, and others, who settled on the east branch of East River. All was woods above what is now Samuel Camerons place, except where Charles Mcintosh, who had settled where David Mcintosh now lives, and on the west side, where John Fraser, who had come from Strathspey in 1788, had commenced. There was only a blaze to the lower settle*- ment. The salmon in the river were still exceedingly '.111 I ^1^ '>^. ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) <0 V /^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 If: m ,5. I 3.2 1^ 2.5 1.8 U III 1.6 i .^.v V] ■^y 7 y >^ Photographic Sdences Corporation #^ ^^^ •1 \ ^ •sj ^ :\ \ lV O ^>^. C^ <^ <^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 '•fc O I'¥T n ii' 164 plentiful, and gasper^anz so abundant that as many as fifteen barrels were taken in a single night, whieh they often were not able to use for want of salt. Such was the difficulty of obtaining other conveniences, that they were obliged in summer to carry their produce on their backs to New Glasgow, and thence transport it by means of canoes to Pietou ; or, in winter, drag it on hand sleds the whole distance. There they sometimes had to give a bushel of wheat in exchange for a bushel of salt. They adopted another plan, however, of getting their pork to market. They drove the animals to Fishers Q-rant, where they obtained the use of a slaughter house, and then butchering them, they disposed of the meat to the merchants for such goods as they required. James Grant, who had originally settled at what is now called Grahams Pond, Carriboo, was induced by the settlers, who wanted a grist mill, to move up. He erected the first grist mill in the settlement, a little below the site of the mills, since occupied by his sons and grandsons, near Sprir.^ille. The first mill above Springville was erected at Sunny Brae, by Hugh Fraser, about 1805, where the mill still is. There was then no church, and preaching was, in winter time, in houses, particularly Charles Mcintosh's, and in summer, when the weather was wet, in barns, but when fine, by the river side. The first church was built at Grants Lake, to accommodate both branches of the rrver, ond was of logs. Such was the progress of settlement that in that year the population of Pietou was estimated at 1,300 souls. In the first settlement every man was obliged to act as artizan for his own family. Now, however, mechanics were attracted, who attended to their own employments. The increased population created a demand for various articles which led to trade. Roads, as they were called, were opened, though as yet none of them were fit for a 165 wheel carriage, bein;g mere bridle paths. The price of land increased, and farms partially made brought what would now be considered fair prices. In !May, 1792, "Wentworth became Lient.-Grovornor of the Provincp, and that summer visited various portions of the provinco. His visit to Pictou is thus noticed in Murdoch's history: "Friday, Sept. 21, Lieut.-Governor Wentvvorth sailed in the armed schooner Diligent, for Pictou, having gone on board under a salute of thirteen guns. He arriv d at Pictou, on the evening of "Wednes- day, the 3rd of October, and landed on the 4th. He received an addrers, signed by 30 persons. They stated that 500 men there had agreed to work on the road to Halifax. Ho returned by land by way of Musquodoboit, and it was stated that the road from Pictou to Musquodo- boit was now open for horses and cattle." William Fraser (surveyor) says of this visit, that he came to Pictou, bringing plenty of provisions, axes and hoes, bought with the proceeds of a Government lottery, and that the new settlers were called to meet at William McKay's, for the purpose of receiving them according to their need. There seems to have been at this time much ado about this road. After His Excellency's return to Halifax he and his lady gave a ball and supper, described in the gazette of the day, as " altogether the most brilliant and sumptuous entertainment ever given in this country." The writer adds. "Among other ornaments, which were altogether superb, there were exact representations of Messrs. Hartshome & Tremaine's new Flour-mill and of the Wind-mill on the common. The model of the new Light-house, at Shelburne, was incomparable, and the tract oj the new road from Pictou uas delineated in the most ingenious and surprising manner, as was the representa- tion of our fisheries," &c. Haliburton in. his history also says, under the year 1792, " Great Pictou road opened,'* and has been followed by others. I- , Si ■ ■ ■). i U. 4 ^w hi: ■vi »" ■ I ' '; J ^:i 1 wm 1 M 1" 1 mk jli^n -J m ill 166 The idea of a shorter route from Halifax to Pictou than by Truro has been often entertained. At a later period 6ir James Kempt projected one by Stewiacke, Middle River, and Loch Broom. It seems that at this time the plan of a road by Musquodoboit had been so far carried out, that cattle and horses could pass over it. But, strange to say, for a length of time we could not find, even among our oldest inhabitants, any person who knew anything about this great road. It is, however, noticed in the early county records as tho Governors Road. The fact is, that notwithstanding the great flourish of trumpets about the opening of it, nothing more was done to it, and the old route by Truro continued to be the one generally used. Hitherto Pictou formed a part of the district of Col- chester or CobyCjUid, as it was commonly called, and all its municipal business was transacted at Onslow, where the Court of Sessions met. There also was the place of holding the poll, for the election of representatives. The increase of population, and the inconvenience of attending such a distance, led the inhabitants of Pictou, to petition "to be relie\x.d from attendance there. Accordingly in this year an act of the Legislature was passed, forming Pictou into a separate district, defining its boundaries as WG have already given them, and appointing the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Inferior Court of Common Pleas, to be held at VValmsley, on the 3rd Tuesday of January and 3rd Tuesday of July. It was also ordered, that a poll should be opened here, on the occasion of the election of representatives for the County of Halifax. The changes which this introduced we shall no ice hereafter. In the meantime we give a copy of Deacon Patterson's account of charges and receipts for the poor of tho district at this period : 167 The Poor Dr. to John Patlerion, Senr. t787^To 1 blanket to a sick man at James Carmichacl's JCOIO To rum and other things by Mr. Abercromby for burien of the above man at James Carmichacl's 10 1789.— Nov. 16,— To 88. payd to James Dun by order of the .. 8 To stocks by order of do 15 To ^ gallon rum by order of the Justisses, omit- ted January, 17 SO 4 1791— Dec. 19.— To 2 yds. blue cloth at 8s. and 2.^ lbs blister steel, at is. 2d 18 7 To 1 pair blankets by Pagan f... 10 To 1 coverlet by Mr. Mortimer 12 6 To 1 cape 28. and 1 lb— by do Is 3 To 1 pair shoes by do 10 1792— To Butting, surrayin, colecting and comiseion on timber this year lo 1793— Toa weedow womanW R 15 10 To Lachlan McDonald, gulf oil 8 To Mrs. Patterson Dowry for gaill lot 110 £9 19 3 Contra, Credit, July, 1792. To i of 1 log by James McKay, Mr. Pagan 4 6 To J of log by James Reid for Mr. Mortimer 2 To ^ of log Frank Carmichael & Campbell for do 3 G To drift timber by Mr. Pagan 7 To do do delivered to Mr. Copeland, Amount 1 13 7 To 1 log McQuarry for do 3 Neat proccds of the above £2 4 7 The spelling of our worthy grandfather is not always in accordance with Johnston or "Webster, but as we like originality, we have given it in its primitive form. The logs of timber used in payment of poor tax would seem rather a cumbrous cun'ency. When the poor asked for bread, to give them a stick of wood, scarcely seemed Christian charity. It does not appear that the district was very prompt in meeting his expenditures, but he has left a name behind him, especially for kindness to the poor. m ! i ■1' In a m !.;..« III :.! i list .M i -HI ^s 168 CHAPTER X. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OP THE FRENCH REVOLU- TIONARY WAR TO THE FIRST CONTESTED ELECTION, 1793—1799, III the year 1793, as we presume all our readers know, commenced the French Revolutionary War. One of the first effects of this upon the County of Pictou was, that the Governor raising a regiment, a number of the disbanded soldiers who had settled in Pictou, took the opportunity of enlisting. As Dr. McGregor describes them, '* All the drunken and profligate," while none of the sober and industrious, either of the soldiers or the other settlers, followed their example. Before this time the timber trade had been carried on» and was '»f some importance to the infant settlement. The first effect of the war was a slight reduction in the price of timber ; but this was soon succeeded by its rijiug to an unprecedented height, and with this came a rapid increase in the trade from Pictou, which was at its height, as we shall see presently, from about the year 1800 to the year 1820. At this time, too, ship building was being carried on to some extent, Captain Lowden's efforts in that respect being specially worthy of notice. Indeed, he may be considered the father of the ship building art in Pictou. He was a native of the south of Scotland, and had commenced trading to Pictou during the American Revolutionar / War. Previous to this, he had been fifteen years in Russia, and also employed in carrying convicts to Virginia. In the year 1788, he removed with his family to Pictou. Ho first located himselt near the Harrows, at the East River, whore he erected a windmill 169 at what has since been known as Windmill Point, and commenced ship building there. But soon after ho removed to town, where he occupied a two-storey building of John Patterson's, on the site of Messrs. Yorston's store, the lower as a dwelling house, and the upper with goods, which he exchanged for timber. lie also built a wharf, on the site of what has since been known as the Mininir Companys Wharf, and commenced ship building there. The whole eastern part of the town, from Ives' store to the Battery Hill, was covered with a fine growth of hard- wood, and the timber necessary for the work was cut close by his yard, or, afterward, on the top of the Deacons Hill, whence it was slid down on the snow to the shore, and, when once set in. motion, it may be supposed^ went with terrific rapidity. He erected a building on the east side of Coleraine street, which he used for boarding his men, but which was commonly known as the Salt House. Some years later he erected a windmill on a round hill near the head of the wharf, long after known as Windmill Hill, but which has now been carried away in levelling the ground near the Custom House. This mill was well constructed, had a large amount of machinery in her, and for some time did a large amount of work^ both in sawing and grinding. He continued for a number of years the business of ship building, h !s vessels being sent to Britain for a market, and was rather noted in the Province for his skill. Of one of his vessels we copy from Murdoch's History the following notice : " rictou, October 23, 1798. " YcBt.TcIay was launched here, l.y Messrs. Lowdens, the ship Haitiet, burthen COO tons. She is pierced for 24 guns, and supposed to bo the largest and finest ship built in this Province. Her bottom is composed of oak and black birch timber, and her upper works, beamf, &c., totally of pitch pine ; on account of which mode of construction, she is said to bo little inferior in quality to British built ships; and does peculiar credit, not only to this growing settlement, but to the ProTiace at larj^c.'' J - • fW [ ;l , ; '1; M. ^*l "I n r-n •i|- Ml 170 This we presume was the vessel known as Capt. Lowdens " big ship." She was commanded by his son David. She was mounted with four real guns, the rest being what were called " quakers." Cn her first voyage, she fell in with what was supposed to have been an enemy's privateer. The captain, backed by a determined Scotch crew, determined to fight rather than be taken. The other vessel, however, kept shy of them, and at night disappeared. Another of his vessels he called the ♦' Prince Edward " after the Duke of Kent, then in Halifax, who sent a sum of il60 to purchase a set of colours for her. He had four sons engaged in business, first with him xipd afterward on their own account, Robert, who afterward removed to Merigomish, where his descendants still are, David who afterward lived at the Beaches, where his sons still reside, Thomas, whose house still stands near the head of the public wharf, and "William, usually known as Bishop Lowden, long regarded as one of the characters of the place. Ho was a splendid scholar, knowing the classics and several modern languages, even acquiring the Gaelic. But owing, it was said to his being crossed in love in early life, he became partially insane. For years ho never washed, and went about in a greasy coat, which made him the object of sport to the young. In his lodgings he pored over his books, and in later years, gave himself to the composition of an English grammar, which he succeeded in getting printed in the United States. The year 1795 was noted among the early settlers as the date of the arrival of a second minister to share the toils of Dr. McGregor, the late Rev. Dui\can Ross. The settlement of a single minister would not now be regarded as involving very important results to a county ; but at the time it was regarded as of sufficient interest to call forth rejoicing, and in many devout thanksgiving — in fact, to form an era in the history of the settlers ! i' k lYl Mr. Ross was a native of the parish of Tarbert, liossshire, but at an early period of life, he removed with his parents to Aljrth, in Forfarshire. He received his Latin education at the parochial school of that town, after which he passed through the usual curriculum at Edinburgh University. He studied theology under Prefes.sor Bruce at "Whitburn, and was, on the 20th January, 179"). ordained by the Presbytery of Forfar. In June he arrired in Pictou, by way of New York and Halifax, along with the Rev. John Brown, afterward of Londonderry. They assisted Mr. McGregor at the dispensation of tho Lord's Supper, and thereafter these ministers formed the first Presbytery of Pictou, under the name of " The Associate Presbytery of Pictou." Their first meeting was held in Robert ^larshall's barn, as central for the whole district. It stood near the road from New Glasgow to ^Middle River, on the ascent of the hill to the west of the bridge across McCuUoch's Brook, and on the left-hand side of the road as you go westwardly. Immediately after, Mr. Ross was called as assibtant to Dr. McGregor, and until the year 1801 they were jointly ministers of all Pictou, though Dr. McGregor labored principally on the East River, and Mr. Ross on the "West. In that year it was agreed to divide the congregation into three, the East River, with Merigomish, under the charge of Dr. McGregor ; the "West River, with Middle River and Rogers Hill, under Mr. Ross ; and the Harbour and Fishers Grant to form a third, to be supplied by the ministers of the other congregations, till they should obtain one of their own. This arrangement continued till the arrival of Dr. McCuUoch. Mr. Ross was a man of a very clear and logical mind and strong natural powers ; he could sc j,rcely be called a popular preacher, but by intelligent persons, his pulpit ministrations were highly relished for their clearness, •variety and solidity of matter, and oftentimes ingenious ^wl ■ 1 ' *•■ f 9 1 ' ! i ; ! i , ■': ' '\ :s; ' ■ [■ :V ,. i J ' ' »' •* ' f'fi I ' \' vl ^1 ^' s .it ^'t w II i ill 172 and striking illustrations, while, among^ his ministerial brethren, for sonnduess of judgment, knowledge of Church matters, and intellectual capacity, ho took rank among the " first three." In private pastoral work ho was laborious and faithful, visiting and catechising over the whole of his extensive charge to tlie end of his life, llo also laboured for the advancement of the general interests of his people, especially by cncoiiraging education, and promoting agricultural improvement among them. T?he influence of his example and recommendations was, in a variety of forms, perceptible among them, so that they became dis- tinguished among our rural population for their intelli- gence and public spirit As we shall see, ho was also the first in the Province to found and support temperance societies. He did not write much for the press. His principal pub- lications were on the Baptist controversy, in which ho showed himself a vigorous thinker and acute controver- sialist. He also contributed to the newspaper press, especially the Acadian Recorder and Colonial Patriot. He was a man of much quiet humour, one or two specimens of which may be given. Mr. Mortimer once meeting him riding on horseback, with a spur on one foot, said, " ^r. Ross, is one side of your horse slower than the other, that you have a spur only on one foot ?" '* Oh, yes," said Mr. Ross, "one side will get along without spurs as fast as the other will with all the spurring I can give it." Meeting the late Jotham Blanchard, the latter began playfully to tease him about hb hat, which w^as of rather more than the usual breadth of brim. Mr. Ross replied, " Oh, Mr. Blanchard, you need not be so hard, it is only an error of the head, not of the heart." Some of his sayings of mingled wit and wisdom still float among the people of that part of the country, of which the following may serve as examples : Hearing amandes- 'H - 173 cribed as '* hard and honest/' he said *' that generally meant hardly honest." Again, he was accustomed to say, " that he had tried three ways of living ; the first was to buy just what he wanted, but he found that would not answer ; ho then tried only buying what he could not do without, but did not find that to answer either. lie then. tried only buying what he could pay for, and that he founa to answer well." These may serve to illustrate a wit which, if not sparkling, was genuine, and which, combined with his affability and intelligenco, rendered him a genial companion. In bodily stature he was below the middle size, broad and strongly made, and during the latter years of his life, inclining to corpulency. His appearance in the pulpit, especially at that period, was particularly clerical, his long whitu hair contributing not a little to the effect. He died on tht •25th October, 1834, after a short illness. As society was now fully organized, and the community had assumed a settled form, we may here pause to give a brief view of the social and material condition of the population at this time. As to origin, the large majority were from the Highlands of Scotland. On the East Kiver, when Dr. McGregor came, there were only two settlers who were not, and these were Lowland Scotch. In the other settlements there was a larger infusion of other nationalities; but in all, with the exception of River John, the majority were Scotch. The Gaelic language was everywhere heard; the customs of their fatherland overyw^here seen, and its memories and traditions — in some instances, even its* superstitions — fondly cherished. Some had been old enough to have been " out " in the Forty-five ; many, at least, remembered CuUoden ; the sympathies of the majority were with Bonnie Prince Charlie, while all the older generation had their reminiscences of the scenes of that day. A few others had served under "Wolfe, and had rj i : ■1? I !' 1V4 their tales of Louisbiirg and Quebec, while many mor€ had been in the service of the British Government during the American Revolutionary War, and were full of hatred of " the Rebels." The Highlanders, as settlers, have been pronounced unsurpassed for encountering the first difficulties of a settlement in a new country, but inferior to some other people in progressivoness. Accustomed to extreme poverty, they readily endure hardship ; but it is said that they are apt to bo content with a condition, but little beyond what they had previously enjoyed, and do not show the same eagerness for farther progress that others do This has, to some extent, been the case where they have settled by themselves, but where they have been mixed with others, there is so much of the spirit ot emulation in them, that they will soon compete with their neighbors in almost anything. Physically the inhabitants were generally a superior class. An unusual proportion, both of the Highlanders and Lowlanders> were remarkably stout, strong men* This was no doubt in part owing to the fact, that it is the most adventurous who first emigrate, and they generally possess a good measure of physical vigour. But wo cannot help thinking, that the tremendous drafts on the able bodied in the Highlands, to supply the British army^ for more than fifty years previous to 1815, so much greater in proportion than in any other part of the empire, materially weakened the vigour of the race. Certain it is that the late immigration from the Highlands would not compare physically, with the first settlers of this county from the same quarter. At this time, the population were scattered principally along the shores of the harbour, and the coast thence to the eastern extremity of the county, and along the banks. . .-1 175 of the rivers, "wherever there was intervale, there the settler bcin^ attracted, as the eagle to the carcass. Only in a few instances, had settlers gone back from the rivers. William Mathcson had settled on Rogers Hill, John Rogers farther up, William Munsie and John Blaikie were on Oreen Hill, and on the East River two or three settlers were on McLellans brook, Angus Campbell and perhaps one or two others were on Scotch Hill, but we know of none others, who at this time lived away from the shore or the banks of the rivers. And so scattered were they, that distances of from half a mile to three or four, commonly intervened between their resi- 'ences. They had now, however, reached that position in vhich they had plenty to eat. The lands chosen were > od, and when the wood was burned, produced plentifully ; 1 'ut from the largo bize of the trees, tbo clearing inv'>h ;d much l:.l>or, and the stumps were left, so that there was yet but little ploughing. The most of the ciop was still covered with the hoe, but even with such husbandry, potatoes, wheat and other crops never failed to yield an abundant return. Fish in the river were still abundant. A net set at the end of the Deacons Wharf has been found in the morning sunk to the bottom with the multitude offish, and salmon and gaspereaux thronged the rivers, so that, even without the produce of hunting, to which we shall presently refer, the inhabitants were abundantly provided with the means of subsistence. But in regard to other conveniences, they were still deficient. Their houses were still generally of logs, small, and containing few elegances. Some British cloths were imported, but generally people were clothed in what they manufactured from their own wool or flax. As to their feet, all ages and sexes carried them a great part of the year in a state bare enough to appear in before an Eastern king. When the severity of the weather rendered necessary some additional covering, it was generally a I m f0 'W 17G Taw-hiclo moccasin. "Ht Store luxuries woro littlo used. What would the prosent f^oneration ihiuk, of Mr. lilortimor hrinu:ini]f home in a small j^reen })iv;^ all the ti'a needed for a seasons trade in Pietou ! There Avas consequently an iiynoranco of the i>roper mode of using it, \vlii(!h somo- times led to amusinj^ misfakes. A party of men who had fifono from home on somo work 071 which they wcro enj^aii^ed, took about half a i>ouud with them. Delivering it to the woman with whom they were staying, to prepare the beverage for them, they were surprised to ho treated to a black and nauseous draught, which they were unable to drink, and, on enquiry, found that sho had boiled the whole at once. And there is an instance well established of a woman just arrived from tho Highlands, who, wishing to show her gratitude to a person who had kindly entertained her on arrival, boiled a half-pound of green tea, which she had bought before leaving S<'otland, as a great rarity, and, throwing away the liquor, served up the leaves, as a special entertainment. Her chagrin on learning her mistake may bo imagined. Much later, a man said, " "Wo bought a i^ound of tea ; it cost eight shillings, but it did us eight years." Horses were still few, so that tho most of the travelling was on foot. But those who were becoming moro inde- pendent in their circumstances, were beginning to use them more for travelling to any distance, and " riding double," or pillion riding, as it is called in some places, for business of more family interest was becoming an insti- tution. And a cozy way it was, for tho good man and his wife to proceed thus to kirk or market, or tho lad with his • A woman who nrrivod hero in 1T95, told mc tbat in attending tho SacrA- mcnt, wearing a good pair of hhoes, Bho was told to take good caro cf them, AS sho would never sco another pair. John JlcCabe, coming homo from Halifax in the month of October, staid nil night in a hut, which had been erected at Mount Them, at what is now McKay's place. On getting up in tho morning, ho found tho ground covered with Bnow, whilo hia feet were bare, and hia legs covered only by pants, made from flax spun and woven at homo. Ill Lit 177 lass, to rural merrymaking. Years were yet to pass before there would bo a single carriage in the district, and long after that, this was the common mode of travelling. Wo doubt not, many of the older generation still retain some pleasant associations of •' riding double." Wo may remark, thi't with all the cold and even hardship endured, the i)eople wen? generally remarkably healthy and vii^orous. In the country, consumption was almost unknown. Persons have told us of growing up to twenty years of age, without knowing a cnse in their neighbourhood. Infant mortality was rare, compared with what it is now. In settlements with which we are familiar, large families were reared on almost every farm, it being quite common to find cases of ten or twelve children, all growing up to maturity. Their little houses, comparatively open, and heated by large open fire places, had the benefit of the purest air, and were much more conducive to health, than more comfortable but ill ventilated dwellings, heated by close stoves ; while in summer, women as well as men working much in the open air, they were just the class to rear a stalwart race. Hunting was still largely followed, particularlv by the young men brought up in the country, some of whom equalled the Micmacs in skill and endurance. The moose was the chief object of pursuit. Two modes of hunting were principally followed, the one was in September by calling, that is, imitating the cry of the female, so as to attract the male within gunshot; the other, and that chiefly adopted, was by running them down on snow-shoes in the months of February and March. Their pace is a trot peculiar to the animal. It is said that they neither gallop nor leap, l)ut the dispro- portionate length of the forelegs, enables them to step with the greater eas« over fallen trees or other obstacles. When the snow is light, they sweep through it without difficulty, and as their power of endurance is great, it was at 12 It ■ ' ''l r I 178 such times no easy matter to run them down, but when the snow became deep, and especially, in the month of March, when, by the sun thawing the surface of it by day, and this freezing by night, a crust was formed, they were readily overtaken, and afforded a good supply of coarse but well flavoured meat. "VVhen it was inconvenient to remove it at the time, the hunters were in the habit of making a trough, in which they would deposit it, and putting a cover upon it, to preserve it from bears leave it till they found it convenient to bring it home. Among the men of this period, there are two specially worthy of notice as hunters. The first is John McCabe. In the chase, particularly in the pursuit of the moose, he manifested both the skill and the enthusiasm of the child- ren of the forest. Catching sight of a recent track, he became all excitement ; his bundle, and perhaps his coat, was thrown away, and even with the thermometer near zero, freely perspiring with his efforts, he pressed on till within gunshot. One or two incidents which befell him may here be given. On one occasion he had shot a moose, which lay appar- ently helpless, though not dead ; his companion urged him to kill it outright ; he refused, saying that it would get cold too soon for skinning. They began digging a hole with their snow-shoes to prepare a place for a fire, when suddenly the moose sprang to his feet and rushed at him with the utmost fury. They had not reloaded their guns, and he had only time to take refuge behind a tree. The moose pursued him, and for some time he kept run- ning round the tree. He could make j quicker turn than the aniiial, and was thus enabled to baffle him, till his companion got his gun loaded and shot the creature. On another occasion, having shot a large mooGe, he, as night came on, wrapped himself carefully in the skin and laid down to rest. In the night the fire went out and he slept the sleep of the wearied hunter. On awaken- :j|i 179 ing in the morning he found the skin frozen solid, jind so tightly round him, that he could move neither hand nor foot. He rolled about for some time, helplessly struggling to get one hand freed sufficiently to get hold of his kniio, which he managed to do, but only after considerable effort, and then cut himself free. On another occasion, returning to his camp, he stood his gun alongside of it, and stooping down to enter by a low door, out came a bear, snuffing. The two were frightened about equally. He ran back, forgetting his gun, while the bear took to his heels, and befare he recovered his presence of mind, was beyond his reach. On another occasion, a whole flock of wild cats came round his camp. They climbed upon it and ran round it, making a continual howling through the night. There seemed to him, from their noise, to be as many as twenty of them. He kept his fire burning, and watched till dawn. Toward morning they all left, and on examina- tion he found the snow round his camp beaten, as it would have been by a flock of sheep round a barn. The other was Simon Fraser of Middle River. He would sometimes spend weeks in the woods, usually with the Indians, who regarded him as their equal, if not their superior, in all the arts of forest life. He killed twenty-seven moose in one year, so that he earned the title, which ho sometimes received, of Nimrod. He was the first to make his way through the woods from Middle River to Stewiacke, and blazed the first path between these places. He moved to Port Hood, where he took \\p a large grant of land. Having quarrelled with his wife, he left in a small vessel, in which he had been trad- ing, professedly for Newfoundland, but privately declar- ing to some of his most intimate friends that ho would never return. He was accompanied by his son, a young lad, and by a Cape Breton Frenchman. They were never heard of by the public, but I am assured that the f- 180 Ml i 1 ii M family received communicatious, which led theni to believe that he was living at the Northwest, and it is believed that he is the same Simon Fraser who, in the year 1804, first explored the country from the Saskatche- wan to the Fraser River, to which he gave his name, and who established, on behalf of the Hudson Bay Company, the first trading post in British Columbia, a short dist- ance from the great bend of that river. There was a smaller kind of hunters, of which, almost every settlement had its specimen, viz.: men who spent much of their time in hunting or snaring the smaller kinds of animals, especially for their fur, and to whom the catching of a black or grey fox was one of the prizes of life. The bears were numerous, and gave great trouble, as the settlers began to keep farm stock, carrying off pigs, sheep and calves. Some were largo enough, however, to attack cattle. Indeed, the settlers regarded them as of two kinds, which they distinguished as cow bears and sheep bears, the only distinction between them, except their size, being that the smaller had a stripe around the nose of a grey color, which, in the larger, was black ; but we presume that they were the same species, differing only in age or size. At all events, the larger were able to carry off cows. I have heard of one springing across a brook, carrying a good-sized heifer. When killed, the meat dressed would sometimes weigh between five and six hundred pounds. The cattle, however, learned to resist thei • attacks. On being alarmed by the sight or sound of one, they would run together and take position like the spokes of a wheel, with faces outward, and heads in the attitude of attack. In some places near the woods in the interior, where these animals were numerous, by imitating the noise of a bear, the cattle would immediately run together and assume this position. McG-regor says that the largest and most spirited bull is soon 1 ; l-oKi 181 vanquished and killed by a full-grown bear ; but I have heard instances of their maintaining successfully a single combat with bruin. A man on the East Kiver had brought home from fcjhubenacadie a very large animal of this kind. Missing him one day, he went in search of him, and found that ho had maintained a fierce conflict with a bear, and finally had killed his foe. Few of the old settlers, and, indeed, few of the old men of the present generation, but could tell of bear hunts, of losing pigs or sheep, or even cows, by them, or of catching them in traps. These, at first, were constructed of logs, so placed, that when the animal pulled at the bait, they fell across his back. Afterward large spring, traps were used, and we may observe, that the settlers regarded bears as superior in intelligence to most wild animals. It was rarely that they attacked a man. The only instance we have heard of, was in the case of the late Alexander Cameron, Loch Broom. He had gone out to look after his sheep, ainong which bruin had been regal- ing himself, wher. b • met a very large bear, which immediately ran at him. To escape he commenced climb- ing a tree. It was a good sized spruce, straight and clear of limbs for about forty f-^et. The bear followed, and overtaking him, caught his heel in his mouth and com- menced dragging him down the tree. When about twelve feet from the bottom of it, the barkle, by which, accord- ing to the fa.^hion of the times, the shoe was fastened, gave way, and itated to the ground. Enraged, he tore the shoe to atoms, and again climbed the tree in i>ursuit of Cameron. The latter succeeded in getting among the branches, and having broken ofi" a dead limb, struck with it at the bear's eyes as he came near. Between this and the approach of others at his call<,bruin retired. But one was caught in a trap a day or two after, with the eye badly torn, supposed to have bcM?u the same. m : ii 182 I The most amusing bear story wo have heard, however, was an incident that occurred to the late "William Clark, whose family arrangements were considerably disturbed one morning by a bear, suddenly and without notice or invitation, coming down the chimney, as his wife was preparing breakfast. His house was built against a bank, with a shed roof. The bear had been attracted by the smell of the viands cooking, and came upon the roof, making his way toward the chimney, which according to the fashion in those days, was very large. Just as he came to it, David Stewart, who lived close by, and had been watching him with his gun fired. The ball went light through his heart, and making one jump, he came flop down tl»o chimney to the no small surprise of the i.'.imatps of the hous«»hold. " Fac, it gave us a start," said the old man, as he told the story, which we can readily believe. Strange as it may appear, the pigs became so fierce as in some instancas to maintain a conflict with a bear They were allo^v^d to roam the woods during the summer, feeding as they could. After the nuts began to fall in the autumn, they became in a short time very fat, and by that time they were so wild, that it was dangerous to approach them. They would turn on a man. Even a good sized dog could do little or nothing with them. If he attempted to seize them by the ear, he was in danger of being ripped up by their tusks, with which they would inflict very severe wounds, so that the common way of slaughtering them was by shooting them. Of their maintaining a conflict with a bear, the following instances we believe well authenticated. On one occasion, a bear came into a pasture of J^mes McCab(!, West River, v/herc there was a veiy large pig, which gave him battle and maintained the conflict gallantly for some time. The contest issued, like many an engagement among wiser beings, in great loss to both i^arties. The pig was so 183 badly injured, that he slowly made his way up to the front of the house and there laid down and died, while the bear was either unable or afraid to pursue. On another occasion, near the same place, a bear came out of the woods into a field, where were a number of pigs, who combined their forces to give him battle. They were Uterally too many for him. Finding himself unable to cope with their superior numbers, he sprang on to a large stump. One of the boldest of his enemies, however, executing a dexterous flank movement, charged upon, him in that position, and dislodged him, when being attacked by the whole pack, he was eventually torn to pieces. We mnst, however, notice the Aborigines in their relations to the settlers. We have already mentioned that they sometimes gave trouble to the first inhabitants. That they ever contemplated any serious injury to the English is not probable. Their boast is that when they made a treaty of peace by burying the hatchet, it has never been broken by them. Knowing the terror which their name and appearance inspired, they took pleasure in frightening people who showed any fear of them. The late Deacon McLean, of West River, used to tell that when a little boy, going down to an encampment of Indians, near his father's house, one of them came up to him, and assuming a fierce look, said : — " Supposum me killum you — scalpum," and, taking out his knife, he brandished it over his head, dancing round him, sounding his w^arwhoop, and frightening him generally. In the same way, they would take advantage of the absence of the men, to extort from the fears of the women what supplies they fancied, though in this, sometimes the mother wit of our good foremothers proved a match for their cunning. On one occasion, an Indian having entered a house where a woman was alone, and being rather threatening, she immediately went to another part of the house, and calling KW 1 ,1 v'S , ill fjilp; 1 **' ''l m '■ 1 1 ' 'in i 4 'm.. 1 1 n m '. id 184 her husband loudly by name, let a roll of leather, -which happened to bo on a bench, fall on the floor. Before she returned, the Indian was off. Mrs. Roderick McKay was a woman of great firmness and strength of mind. She never yielded to them, and when they came to her house, she would order them round, and scold them if they attempted too much freedom. On one occasion, some of ihem coming in, asked her, "What news ? " She replied, " Ah, ha, great news ; there is another regiment of soldiers arrived at Halifax, and Indians must now behave them- selves." They were quiet, and soon went away, and shortly there came an invitation to the whites, to attend a feast provided for them by their red brethren. It was accepted, and on going to the place appointed, they found provided every variety of provision, which the sea or the forest afforded, fish, flesh and fowl, which they requested the whites to cook in their own way. This was intended as a grand peace offering, and as such was accepted. The Government did what it could to gain their good will by annual supplies, particularly of blankets and a Idnd of coarse blue cloth, usually known as Indian «loth; but they doubtless retained a lingering attachment to the old French, and, there is reason to believe, that had there been a prosi)ect of the French again having possession of these regions, they might have been roused to renewed hostilities. At times, too, particularly about the years 1804-8, there was considerable agitation among them ; gatherings of different tribes at Quebec, at which Mic- macs were present, and among those returning, hopes were freely expressed of a French invasion. In 1808, Judge Monk, Superintendent of Ir iian affairs, writes on the report of Mr. Dunoon and others, through the Province : « That the Indians expect the Province will be invaded, and that it appears generally to be their intention, in case of such an event, to remain neutral until they can form an opinion of the strength of the enemy, and then (in their own words) to join the strongest party. II That seTeial Indians went last autumn from Fictou to Quebec, as it was ! ' ! w^ 186 nndentooil, to establish a commtniication with tho Indiaus of Cannds,— that two Nova Scotia Indians, who had been for some time in Canada, had rc-turaed to this ProTlnco lost summer, and informed a man employed in tho Indian Department, that there were many Indians from tho United States with the Canada Indians, and much talk of war with them, — that in the district of Pictou somo Indians havo declared they will not accept of anything from Government, as they expect the country will soon be invaded and conquered ; and one of them was heard to say, that in case of war he and a few others would scalp all Pictou .in two nights." The last was, of course, bravado, yet the circumstances were sufficient to excile apprehensions, and rendered it prudent for the Government to take precautions against hostilities. As a general rule, however, they were kind to the whites ; oftentimes they supplied the first settlers with food, and frequently I have heard old i)€ople speak gratefully of their kindness. It was their characteristic, to manifest strong feelings of gratitude to those who treated them well, but equally strong feelings of animosity against those who treated them with injustice or harsh- ness, though a sense of the superior power of tho white man kept them from any violent acts of revenge.* Indeed, when we consider the manner in which they were deprived of their lands, and the unfeeling manner in which they have often been treated, it is wonderful that they have been so quiet and free from deeds of vio- lence. It is, perhaps, more surprising that they have been so honest. How easy it would be for them to steal our sheep or cattle as they wander in the woods, or to purloin articles •11* • The only instance of this '.ind which we have heard, which threatened fieriouF consequences, was an afifair between Lulan and Rod. McKay. Soon ' nft«r the arrival of the latter, he had in some way seriously offended tho former, who came all the way from Merigomish to tho East River to shoot him. It was night when he arrived, and McKay was nt worl^in his forge. Lulan looked in but as ho saw tho glare of the fire on his face, and the sparks flying from the anvil, and heard the reverberation of his blows, ho became scared, and his hands could not perform their enterprise. For long after the two were good friends, and Lulan used to tell the btory, groiiliically descnbing hisiccliogs, " Sartin, me taut yea debbil." I,,' ••^"T 'fprnn Iti: : 1 186 from OUT bam yards; and yet an act of theft is rare among them ; and when such has occurred, the othor8 have generally surrendered the guilty io justice. Squire Patterson and others of the first comers gained their confidence, and as an instance of his tact and their sense of justice we may give the following incident : On one occasion Simon Fraser going down the ice met Fatlass, who pointed his gun at him. Fraser immediately went to him, took the gun out of his hand, and dashed it to pieces on the ice. Patlass went to the Squire for redress, who issued a summons, and directed him to bring as many Indians as he could to the trial. They came, and the Squire heard the whole case, — Simon defending him- self on the ground, that he thought Fatlass was going to shoot him, and the latter maintaining that what he did was in fun. The Squire said he had no jury, and must have one. He, therefore, selected five or six Indians to whose judgment he committed the case. The result was, that they gave a verdict against Patlass. "When the English came, the Indians had several places, where they had clearings and cultivated a few vegetables, as beans and Indian corn, but the Government, in granting the land, made no reserve of such rights. "We do find it ordered, on the 18th December, 1783, that " a license be granted to Paul Chackegonouet, Chief of the tribe of Pictou Indians, for them to occupy the land they have settled upon, on the south-east branch of the harbor or Eiver Merigomish or Port Luttrell, with liberty of hunting and fishing in the woods, rivers and lakes of that district." But the land was not reserved in giving grants to settlers, and the Indians were gradually worked out of all their claims. Some settlers honestly bought out all their rights, and had no trouble with them after- ward. "Walter Murray, in Merigomish, finding them coming and planting corn, even w^here he had planted Ms potatoes, fi.nally agreed to pay them five pounds to 187 rolinquish all claims, which they accepted, and never troubled him again. Donald Frasor, McLellans Brook, paid Lilian a bushel of wheat annually, and was accus- tomed to speak of him as his landlord. Thus they were gradually deprived of all places of this kind. The last we know of was the front of the farm at Middle lliver Point, since owned by William McKay. This had been one of their places of encampment, from the time of the arrival of the first English settlers. It was on Cochrane's grant, tho title to which was in dispute. Here they had some five or six acres cleared, each having his own patch, on which he raised potatoes and beans, and with fish olTal and the refuse of their camps, it was very rich. "Within the memory of persons living, they even raised a little wheat. Parties who attempted to settle, they drove off. On one occasion, a person came and built a house in their absence. Having left to bring his family, the Indians returned, and when they saw the intrusive dwelling, they gathered brush round it, which they set on fire, causing a great conflagration, around which they danced and yelled as long as it lasted. Through Mortimer's influence, McKay was allowed to remain on the land, and gradually obtained possession of their little plots. The only land in tho county, so far as we have been able to ascertain, reserved for them in Government grants is a small lot at their burying ground, at tho mouth of the East Kiver, but this they sold to tho late James Car- michael, with the exception of the burying ground itself. The Sessions, however, have purchased a lot for them inside the beaches, which they now occupy. The only other land to which they lay claim are two islands in Morigomish Harbour, one, on which their chapel and burying ground are, known as Indian Island, and another claimed by Peter Toney, both of which are said to have been giA'^en them by Governor "Wentworth, but attempts have been made to dispossess them of the latter. m ' ! It; try w^ 188 Every year, usually in the month of September, they assembled in large numbers from Prince Edward Island, Antigonish and other places, their usual place of rendez- vous being either Erasers Point or Middle Hirer Point. A person brought up at the latter place, has told mo that he has counted one hundred canoes at one time drawn up on the shore, and it was said that they would some- limes number one hundred and fifty. Sometimes two days would bo spent in racing or similar amusements. At night came feasting. My informant on one occasion, when a boy, spent an evening at one of these entertainments. Ho says they had twelve barrels of porridge prepared, which the squaws served out to the men, ladling it into dishes that, he supposed, would hold near a peck each. Two moose were also served up on the occasion, and also a quantity of boiled barley. Afterward they had various plays and games, but the last night they spent in singing and praying. These gatherings continued yearly till a vessel with small pox was sent to quarantine at the mouth of the Middle River, about the year 1838. They have now a similar gathering annually, in the month of July, on Indian Island, Merigomish. All assemble in their best attire, and after mass, and the celebration of any marriages that may be coming off, the rest of the day is spent in feasting and dancing. As to the latter we are informed, that they have adopted the common Scotch figure of eight reel, in which men and women join. A common amusement was to get the Indians to dance the war dance. At weddings or other occasions, where they might be present in numbers, for a share of the good things going, they would go through all the scenes of war, even to the scalping and torturing their prisoners. They acted the whole so perfectly, and their appearance in doing so was so frightful, that women and timorous persons would sometimes get thoroughly scared. Among the Indians two were particularly noted, and « I 189 are still remembered by the older generation, viz. : Patlass and Lulan. The former was particularly distinguished for his skill in draugtits, so that his death was announced in a Halifax paper, as that of " the celebrated draughts player." At this game, it is a question whether ho was ever beaten. "When he met a stranger, he would allow him to win the first game, but then he would induce him to play for a wager, which was all he wanted to show his skill. He was also noted for that grim humour, characteristic of the red man. On one occasion a sea captain had brought a fighting cock ashore, and set it fighting with one belonging to the town. Patlass came along, where a number of persi ' . were standing looking on. After looking at the scene for a few minutes, he seized one of the combatants, and walked off with it. The captain called out angrily after him to come back, asking him what he was about. *' Take him to jail, fightin' on the streets," was Patlass' reply. On another occasion Mortimer met him on the wharf, smoking one of the long clay pipes then in use. The former being disposed to cultivate familiarity with all classes, asked him for a smoke. Patlass handed him the pipe, when Mr. M., taking a s'^k handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the stem carefully, before putting it into his mouth. When he had finished smoking, he returned it to Patlass who, holding it up, immediately broke two or three inches off the stem, saying, " Dat more better, Missa Mortimer." The follow- ing joke is often told, but we believe that Patlass was the real author of it. He was coming from Halifax and by the time he arrived at Shubenacadie, his supply of rum was exhausted. Applying at a tavern there for a supply, he was charged at a much higher rate than in Halifax. He grumbled at the price, when the tavern keeper said, alluding so the cost of license, it costs me as much to sell a puncheon of nun as to keep a cow. " No eatum as much hay, but sartin drinkum more water, " w^as the VK ■/*■••« f r I 100 Indians rojoindcr. llownw drowmnl noav Middh? IJivcr Toint, on Iho 1st, So]>t(>nil)('r IS'JT. Lul!«i\ was (>r n milder disposil ion, ihon«i,h rcjiidcd io hav»> ])(>('n II ••rcul wiurior in liisyoulli. IltMisc*! lobonst that lu» had n'alix'd nin('iynin(> pcrHons, thon};li Ihcri^ Nvas i>rol)aI»ly sonn» bonnro in lliis. llo\viiHrulli(»r l)(>low llu> middlt^ lieiuld, l>ul siraiijfhl and broad-shonld^Tcd, and in his later years torpnleni lor an Indian. He was the nii'ati.s at on<» time ol'savinc^ l!»o lil'e of the writers n'raiul- luther, old ,Iohn Patterson. The latl»>r was crossin*;' tl. ^ ice, wlien it i::av(> way, and he fell into the water. The Indians pnt ont io \\\a help, and NueceeiU'd in reiscninfjf liini, hilt lie wa.s insensible for a lime, and wlu'n lie reeovored, he I'onnd hinuselfin alari»v tub in Lnlan's eanj]>. Lulan was tner alter freely entertained at my f^rand- I'athev's licnu \ of which lie did not fail to tako advanlat;;*'. As an instanei* of the attachment, indnced by kindiu'ss, we may m(Mitit>n an ii < ident that oecnrreil at, my grand- father's funeral. It beinij; customary thcMi to hand licpior round to all i^rosent. some was ollered to l^idan, who replied: "Mo no drinkem loni*' time, but bleov take some to-day ; me most dead jjfrief my friend." Aft<'r my grandfather's death, liowovcr, lie continued to expect from my grandmother the same attention as in liis life time. " ;Mo save your liusband's life," was tho appeal which ho siipposed would never lose its edicaey, which ho rendered more impressive by adding i>articulars : " "Walk out on thin boards ; only head and arms out of water; most lose my own life save his." And after her death, their sons' store was laid under contribution on tho same ground. He died about tho year 1827, when he was said to have been in his 07th year, so that he must have nearly reached manhood when Halifax was founded, and been in full vigor when Louisburg and Quebec surrendered. His son is still well remembered as Jim Lulan. He had II 191 NOTTK'wlmt of Iho dry linmor of Homo of Iho rmv. Mr. (/nruiicliiicl Imd built a v<'hs«'1, wliir<'K('iil oja wl. <»l colors. " TJfj^li ! " said .linj, '• nic l»iiild l)ij.,f canoe, mil il, Old Carniirhael." H|>eakin,Lf of llie wil of lh(« Indiann, we. iriay j,nv<'. an instance, wliic li w.ih lonfj;' a Hlfindinj^ .j"'y Dr. Harris, })y which they were cstimat«.'d at 8G5. This may not have been an exact census, but could not be far from the truth. Yet in the report of the Indian branch of the Department of the Secretary of State for the Province.", 1872, the number in the County of Pictou is estimated at 125, and in Antigonish at 93, while Colchester has only iL ffff M p. !) ill: i \ 192 31. This agrees "with the recollection of the old people, who speak of seeing 40 or 60 of them travelling together, or of 60 camps in one place. Before the first of these periods, there is a tradition of a great mortality among them by small pox. During the war against the English, a number of ihem had killed and scalped a family sick with the disease, by which they caught the infection, which spread through the tribe. It was their practice, as soon as one felt himself unwell, to plunge into the water, and all who did so died. Since the period referred to, the free use of fire water, the diminished supply of food to be obtained by fishing and hunting, and epidemics at different times, have dimi- nished their numbers. But of late there has been an im- provement among them. Their supplies of food from their old resources having failed, they have been engaged in industrial employments, such as cooperage, and supply- ing the markets with fresh fish, in which, from their activity and skill, they can earn a more regular and better living than formerly. "We believe, too, that both from the laws against selling liquor to them, and their own sense of the evils which it has brought upon their race, there is now much less drinking among them than years ago, and that not only are they better off) but their numbers are beginning to recruit. The Government, at various times, have projected mea- sures with the view of inducing them to adop^ more settled habits. With this view a series of queries wag addressed, in the year 1800, by Judge Monk, the Superin- tendent of Indian affairs, to leading men in the different sections of the Province, seeking information regarding their willingness to adopt the employments of civilized life, or to have their children receive education or train- ing in useful arts. Mr. Mortimer replies for Pictou, and to the enquiry : " Are there any who have shown a dispo- sition to settle, or who have taken up trades ?" He says. i^i i m srent ding lized rain- and ispo- says, 193 *• Joseph Purnall has made sereral attempts to settle by planting potatoes, Indian corn, beans, &c. Indeed, the greater part of the Indians who frequent this quarter have shown a disposition to settle, by planting a little, as above, in sereral parts of this district. An Indian from ' Mathews Vineyard,' named Samuel Oakum, who has married into this tribe, is a tolerable mechanic in several branches, particularly coopering and rigging vessels, and is also a pretty good sailor." Proposals were also made to teach the women knitting and spinning. It is but just to add that the benevolent of this county, from Dr. McGregor downward, have been interested in the improvement of their social and spiritual condition. On various occasions attempts were made to educate young Indians, but these failed, partly from their own repugnance to the restraints of civilized life, and partly from the opposition of thoir spiritual guides. In the year 1828, a society was formed in Pictou, called the Indian Civilization Society. I^ut all these efforts produced no l>€rmanent result. The year 1709 is notable in the historyof the county as that in which the first contested election was held within its bounds. From the first settlement of Ilaliftix, society embraced churchmen and dissenters, and thus contained all the material for "Whig and Tory parties. The Ameri- can Revolutionary war, and the influx of Loyalisis, the majority of whom were Tories and high churchmen, tended to strength • 2 1794— From James Dun, collector 15 6 From Alexr Robertson, do ... 12 9 John Brownfield, do 6 12 ,' John McKenzie, do 13 17 James Briden, do 10 1 From clerk, Augt. 20 1 13 From Do Deer. 29 1 lo From Duncan McEenzie 20 7 From Robert Lowden 2 10 From Mr. Mortimer, Previous Tax for 1792 6 6 From Mr. Scot, in grain for Road 3 16 From John McDonald, Road Tax in orders 4 6 To Thomas Copland's Noat i lo To William Fraser Noat 2 1 To Joseph Scot's Noat 2 16 ^rom James Dun, License i 15 From George Roy, Colector 4 2 'constables Colin McKay £4 Ss. 7d., Duncan Cameron £2 140. Ij^ 6 19 7 8 6 1 3 10 6 5 6 9 3 0- 6 6 8} £121 7 1} The stocks stood in front of the jail, and for many years were used for the punishment of offenders. In our younger days a pair stood on the east side of George street, but were not then used. Dr. McGregor says that on his arrival, " As for lawyers,, there was such good neighborhood, that we never expected to need a lawyer or a court housCi" But the above account shows that these days had passed ; that they had use for n ^ 6 6 201 a jail, and that on one occasion its occupant had been so dissatisfied with the accommodation, that he had taken forcible measures to be relieved from it. By the act erecting Pictou into a separate district, a Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Inferior Court of Common Pleas, was appointed to be held at "Walmsley, on the 8rd Tuesday of January and 3rd Tuesday of July. The Eecords of the Sessions for the first few years have been lost. The first book commences with January term 1797, held before, Hugh Dunoon, Robert Pagan, John Dawson, Nicholas P. Olding and Edward Mortimer, Esquires. These, we may observe, were the leading justices of the county for many years. An account of the business done, will afi'ord some interesting information regarding the state of the county. First comes a large number of regulations, regarding animals of the male kind going at large, which we need not particularly specify. But we may remark, that the establishment of pounds in various parts of the district, and regulations for impounding cattle, occupy a large space in their proceedings in subsequent years.* Then we find regulations regarding the preservation of the salmon fisheries, manifesting a care and wisdom^ which we would not have expected at that early period. « That no person shall sett a salmon net, seine or wear more than two- thirds across the channel at low water, in any of the rivers within this dis- * Thus we find, in 1802, the various pounds located as follows : « Harbour Where it now is. Above the Town Gutt At a brook above John Patterson, Junr'a. Fishers Grant At James McPhersons. West Eivcr. ...•••• At Hugh Fraser's Brook. Middle Biver At Joseph Crocketts. Fast Tviver, west side At Donald McNaughton's Brook. East Biver, east side At Alex. McLeans. McLellan's Brook At William Frasers. East Branch East Biver At Alex. Grants. West Branch « At James Camerons. Little Harbour At Alex. McQueens." m 11 1 1 202 trict, nor nearer to that of his ncighbour'a than ihe distance of fifty yarJs, to bo measured in the direction of tho tide or stream. " And that no pcraon or persona shall fish salmon in any manner of way vhatoTcr within thiu district after tho 19th day of October, on transgresHion the not to bo forfeited, and a ftno of twenty shillings to bo loviod of tho same, or from tho goods and chattels of tho offender, the same to bo disposed of as in the case of boars (i. e. one-half to the informer, and one-half to the over- seers of tho poor,) no prosucntion to bo without the complaint is made within ten days after tho offunco id committed, tho selno or net to be seized whilo in the water, and carried immediately to a Justice of tho Peace, who is to Judge of tho offence, and if tho seine or net is returned by the owner or any persons, the fine is to be doubled, any proprietor or householder may prosecute said offence. <* Also, that no person or persons within this district shall fish salmon with A spear or by sweeping with a net or seine, under tho penalty of £5 for every offence, said fine to bo disposed of as in tho regulations respecting boars. " Also presented and ordered that no person or persons shall fish salmon with net, spear or otherwise in that part of tho Middle River between Archi- bald and Taylor's Mill-dam and Alexander Fraser, Sr.'s., under the penalty of £10 for each and every offence, one moiety to the prosecutor, and the other moiety to the overseers of tho poor, for the use of tho poor. And that no person or persons shall catch any salmon fish, in either of tho two pools at the foot of the falls, on tho West Branch East Biver, and also in tho pool at the foot of tho falls on the West River of Pictou, about two miles abovo William McKenzio's, under a penalty of 408., to be disposed of as in tho last case." For the killing of a bear a premium of twenty shillings is allowed on. presentation of the muzzle. This was afterward reduced to ten shillings. Then comes an order to •' tar every poll from 16 upward three shillings, every horse one year old and oxen and cows four years old three pence, every sheep one year old one half-penny each, every 100 -icres of land, three pence per hundred, for the making and repairing high- ways within this District, the respective overseers and committees to lay out the work as formerly, in the most needfull places on the publick highways in the different settlements within this District." The roads then existing, for which ovierseers were appointed are named as follows, viz., *' Fishers Grant, West River, Middle Eiver, "West Side East River, East Side East River, East Branch from Colin McKenzie to In 203 Peter Finnors, Upper Settlement, "West Branch, Little Harbour, Above the Town Gutt, Merigomish, Gulph. " But at this meeting steps were taken for the opening of the roads from " John Bin ikies on the hill (at what is now the Cross Roads Green Hill) unto Charles Blaikies on tho West River," and " from Charles Blaikies to the mouth of the Middle River," and *' from Alex. McLean's upper lino on tho East River to the head of the tide," and a Special Sessions was appointed to *• lay out a road from liobert Marshalls to Hugh Frasers." In regard to the collecting ot taxen, we find the fol- lowing : " Presented and ordered that John Patterson, scnr., be allowed ten pir cent, for being Treasurer, and collecting the tax assessed in tho jcar one thousand seven hundred and ninetj-flre, and likewise charge no leakage or wcastago ou any oi tho proctty Iniveny. NORTOCB, 204 « DISTRICT OP PICTOIT, 8S., *' (Ibnkuai. flRMtoNS or Titig I'lDArig, Jim'y Term, 1707. " Tub Kino v«. Peter 'J'lHlM'd, Hoplilik 'J'nrlictt, And Ifnnniili, alia» Itono. "Tlio prinononi linviuK boen lnotiglit forwiml nntl arraingcil nt tlio bar, witncHBOg Rworii nnd iivterniRHtod, T!«o C'nint Iiiiving ooiiKidcnHl tlio ovldonco, and tlm parties being foiiiul guilty, do ftdjmlgo tlio wliolo of them bo stripped naked from tho luiddio «pwanin niid roceivo am follown, viz : Peter Turbolt Ihirty-iiino Imdien, Sopbin Tnrbett, Ibirty-niiio IkhIioh, mid llunnnh alias lloso, thirty lanhei on tho naked llody by tho liiindH of tlio proper oflleerH, nnd bo thonco committed to Pnson, until! tho Court think it prnetieablo tu baniuh them out of thix Pistriet, it being now nn intenHo eeiiNon. " PietMi, January 18tb, 1 T'J7. «' Jiin'y IfiUi, 1 TOT. IsKucd n wftrnint unto Jiunes Croeket, William Uobcrt- son mid WiUimu Friwer, constables, to take tho three negroes and strip them from tho middio upwards, and whip them as Kpeeilk'd in tho acntonco, &c. which warrant wan .f turned Executed to-duy. " Wlliam Fmsor, oro of tho constables, who being nppoiuted to assist In whippin;;; the negroes, refused to aesist, was lined by tho Court ia tho sum of forty shillings. " Ills Majesty's Genenil Quarter Sessions of tho Poaco for the District oi Pictou stands adjourned until next term. THOMAS IIARUIS, JUNRi, D'y Clerk of tho Pottoe." " Vivant Rex et Retina." Wc may mention that tho punishment of flogging continuod to be inflicted for years after. The last case took place in the year 1S22. A person, residing ne/ir tho Town Gut, having lost his wife, bought a full mourning suit. A darky stole the same, and having arrayed himself in the whole, even to hat and crape, started for Truro, but was arrested in this genteel rig, and was flogged, tied to a cannon, which still stood in Ov.r younger days at Yorston's corner, though on other occasions parties were tied to a cart. At the July term we find the name of Robert Lowden 206 mg as an aildiiional Jusiico, and iho following added to iho Tognlalions regarding »alrnon I'lHhing : •' No Hoitlor to buy or bnrtor Rnlmnn flsli, Knit or frcHli, from uny Indian or IntlinnH vrithin wM Diiitrkt, from iiinrtncnUi iltiy of Oi:tr, 17i)V, to tlio niiu'teonth «liiy of May, tin dis- not tthe since It the built and 5 8 2 8 1 IG 9 12 10 2 213 by John Patterson Scnr •> o l>y Thomas Harris Junr 2 10 Vy Edward Mortimer 2 l»y Robert & Thomas Pagans 2 by Donald WcKenzlc 1 liy John Dawsson 2 o hy David Patterson 1 o o liy James Patterson 10 l)y John Patterson Junr 2 lo Ly James McDonald 10 liy Vfm Campbell C 3 1801— April 1 1 by John Clark by Mr Daiisson 5 <) 1801— by Edward McLean 10 May 1802 James Patterson by Mr Dausson 10 1803 — March to one order on the clerk Lichens money lo Augt to pay by William Murdock 5 1804 — By John McKenzie 1 o Augt 1805 To one order of Thomas Harris Junr for lo JEjO 11 3 It will thus be seen that at the time of the Deacon's death in 1808, eight years after the work wcs done, there was still a considerable part of the amount remaining unpaid. About the same time other bridges were engaging at- tention. At the July term, 1801, the License money, amounting to «£17 4s., was ordered " to be expended, XIO on the bridge over James McKay's Gut, East River, £S to assist building a bridge over the East IJiver of Merigomish, and £^ 4 for a bridge over French Iviver." In the year 1803 the first bridge at New Glasgow was built, about a hundred yards above the site of the present one, but it was all carried away the following winter. The next bridge there was built by Eobert Grant, miller, on piers, the portions of which below water have formed the foundations of all the bridges that have since been built there. In the same year we find it ordered that " all the statute labour for this present year, from Anthony Cultons on the East River of Pictou on both sides, downwards, including !:IP n - iJl :'Y.i l|i 1 1 : If' i! I' t; : ih. 4 ; 1 L' 1 'li '^<' 1 1 ^ < i-r^ 214 Fishers Grant, be laid out in erecting a bridge across McKays Q-ut, and also the deficient labour on Fishers Grant for last year be laid out on the same, and to be begun on the first of July next." In July term of that year, i)20 of license money was voted "to assist in erecting a bridge orer the Middle River, but in case the above bridge will be built by Govern- ment money, the above to be expended otherwise." In the year 1804, wo find it voted " that the bridge on the Saw-mill Brook, on the road leading faom the Har- bour to the "West Eiver, be railed, the same to be paid out of the public Treasury." It was also agreed to expend so much of the public money as may be necessary for re- pairing the bridge on McCulloch's Brook, Middle River. These votes show that these had been previously erected. As showing the progress of expenditure, we give the amounts voted at February term, 1808 , — Gut P-idge £ 60 James McKays Gut Bridge 25 Public wharf 10 Saw Mill Bridge 50 Purchasing a lot for court house 30 Extra contingencies 125 Overseers of poor for the use of the poor SO £350 Altogether, an examination of these records impresses one very favorably, regarding the business habits and capacity, of those who first administered our county af- fairs. One who remembers them, says of those we have named. " They were all men of education and refine- ment, and their gentlemanly deportment and dignified manner induced a high respect for the bench, and gave a tone of order and refinement to society." "We may add, that considering all the circumstances, the records were kept by the clerk, Thomas Harris, in a very creditable manner. ^ 21^ I ^ resses and ty af- have efine- nified ave a add, were itable The Inferior Court, as it was commonly called, or Court of Common Pleas, though issuing process to any part of the Province, trying titles to land, and indeed doing the same work as the Supreme Court, with the exception of the higher criminal business, was not presided over by a legal mind. It was not till the year 1824, that the act was passed, by which a lawyer was to be appointed the presiding judge and also President of the Court of Sessions, an act which at the time was very unpopular. Even then he was to be aided by two lay justices. At this time however all the judges were lay- men. The first book of Records of the Court now existing commences with the year 1804. The first Judges of the Court were Hugh Dunoon, Robert Pagan, and either then or a little later, John Dawson and Edward Mortimer. One who remembered them on the bench, says, " They all commanded respect. The former were in education superior to the last, but from natural gifts ho after all exerted the most influence." * Besides the Inferior Court, there was established in each county by an act of the Legislature, a court known as the Commissioners Court, consisting at first of five, and afterward of three, comniissioneTs, which met monthly for the trial of cases of debt, up to a certain amount. Of this court in Pictou, Mortimer was the head and almost the body. The system did not continue long. The first meeting of the Supreme Court of which we find a record, took place on the second Tuesday of June, 1806, George Henry Monk being the presiding judge. It * The following is a list, so for as we' have been able to make it up, of all who occupied the office till the abolitiou of the Court : Hugh Dunoon, John Dawson, Robert Pagan, Edward Mortimer, A. McDonald, George Smith, Robert Lowden, Andrew McCara, James Skinner, William Mortimer, Abraham Patterson. Under the act of 1824, Jarcd I. Chipmaa was appointed tirst justice for the eastern part of the Province. He died on 2nd June, 1832, and was succeeded by William Q. Sawerp, who filled tba office till the abolition of the Court. M w, I! ' i mw f i; i L ill j 216 "was usual at that timo for two judges to attend, but, he being the only judge of the Supremo Court present, the judges of the Inferior Court, Hugh Dunoon, John Utuvson, and Kobert Pagan sat with him as associates. In tho following years. Judge Monk usually presided, with either f Brenton Halliburton or Foster Hutchinson as his associate. Thomas Harris (clerk) was the first Deputy Prothonotary, and his cousin, Thomas Harris, tho surveyor, was sheriff at this lime. Tho court sat onco a year, till the year 181G, from which time it met twice a year, in Juno and September. There being no court house, the first sittings of the Sui)reme Court were held in a building on the west side of George Street, a little below Church Street, now, wo believe, Dr. Kirkwood's barn, but then a carpenter's shoi). To the lower end, it was said, was sometimes a pig pen, which even extended under the building. The late D. Fraser used to say, that ho was foreman of the first jury. On his describing tho place of meeting, one asked him, " "Where was your jury room ? " He replied, " "When allowed to retire to make up our verdict, we went to a grove in McGreorgo's jiasture," which was near the site of the Episcopal church, In this or places not much better, the Court continued to meet, till the erection of the court house in the year 1813. The first movement for the erection of a court house was at the January Sessions, in 1801, when it was resolved, " That a proper piece of ground to build a proper court house on near to the Blacksmiths sho^), on the north side of Pictou Harbour, be purchased from the owner. And as AValmsley is a very inconvenient place to hold a court at, Government ought be immediately memorialized to confirm the above spot, where the court house is to be built, and Sir John "Wentworth to give a name to the township." At a meeting of Sessions, presided over by judge Monk, 217 at the firot sitting ol" (ho Supremo Court, it was "ordorcd that cJC200 be assessed lor erecting court house," but this was not done that year, and accordingly in the following year, (1807) the Court resolved, that, "the (Irand Jury not having assessed the amount necessary, the district bo amerced i;i50, which appears necessary for di'fraying the District debts and charges, with JC200 formerly for court house." In the estimates for 1808 appears X'30 for "purchasing a lot for court house." It was not however till the year 1813, that the building was erected, being that now known as the old court house. The only lawyer resident in town at this time was John Fraser, a son of Capt. Eraser, already referred to. He was also the first collector of customs and was hence usually known as Collector Fraser. A numb< r of eminent lawyers began to attend, among whom S. G. "W. Archi- bald was especially noticed, but there were also such men as Chandler, S. B. Robie and "W". H. O. Halliburton, who interested the people by their eloquence or amused them by their flashes of wit. "We may at this place give the names of the officers of the Court till the present time. The offices of clerk of the Peace and Prothonotary have in this county always been held by the same person. Thomas Harris died in 1809, but we find George Smith holding these offices from 1806 till 1809. Walter Patterson succeeded, and continued to hold both positions till his death in 1821. At his death, his brother Archibald was in office for a few months, when Dr. James Skinner ')^ was appointed. He died in 183G, and was succeeded by his son, James Skinner, Jr., who died in 18G1, and was succeeded by David Matheson. • Dr. Skinner was a son of the Rev. Donald Skinner, parish minister of Ardnamurcban, and grandson of Hugh McLtan of Kingarlock, Argylesbire. He was for years active not only as a physician, but in the public business of the county. ! \' R5 1< :l!,f V I-'.\ ? I >' X: l !' Si t I Jn 218 Thomas Harris, Sr., was deputy shorifF till 1811, when he w^fts succeeded by the lato John "W. Harris, who continued in oflice till the county was divided in 1886, when the Government appointed J. J. Sawyer, who had formerly been High Sheriff of the united county of Halifax, to bo High Sheriff of the throe counties of Halifax, Colchester and Pictou, and Mr. Harris was appointed his Deputy. But when the Legislature met, the House of Assembly set their faces against this plurality system, and in the following year, he was appointed High Sheriff, which ofRco ho continued to hold till 1857, when his son, "Wm. H. Harris, succeeded him. In connexion with this, we may here notice the first trial for murder in this county. The crime was com- mitted on the 26th May, 1811, by a man named Mcintosh. Ho had been originally a tradesman, but took up the idea of going into business. Ho went to Halifax and obtained a supply of goods, which ho put on board a schooner to bring around to Pictou, but was detained all winter in Guysborough. Giving himself out as a person of some importance, ho succeeded in marrying there a lady, renowned for her beauty. Arriving in Pictou in spring, he commenced merchandizing, and flourished while the goods lasted; but when they were done ho found himself in debt. His creditors had him arrested, when a friend, named Dougald McDonald, obtained his release by becoming security for his appearance at court. "When the time arrived, however, he failed to appear. The judge told his bailsman to take him wherever ho could find him. The latter accordingly went with the sheriff to try to seize him. Mcintosh shut himself in his house, which stood on the east side of Yorstons wharf, a little below where Hamilton's bakery now stands. McDonald took a crowbar and commenced prying open the door. As soon as he had it partially open, Mcintosh fired a blunderbuss ;.' ' 'i i 5 B |. 219 at him, tho contents of which lodged in hiH body, ko that ho bled to death in an hour or two. Tho magistrateH met and immediately issued a warrant for the arrest of Mcintosh. But ho armed himself and defied any one to arrest him, threatening death to every person who should touch him. Leaving his house, ho crept under tho wharf, and perching upon some of the lugs, it was no easy matter to dislodge him, and almost every person was afraid to venture near. At length, John Sylvester, of Middle River, a fearless old man-of-war man, undertook, with another, to make him prisoner. Taking a pistol, ho went under tho wharf, and, immediately pre- senting it, ordered Mcintosh to come down, threatening to fire if he did not do so at once. Seeing his determina- tion, tho latter surrendered. Mcintosh was arraigned for murder at the Supreme Court, on tho 3rd of August, 1811, and his trial came on in due course on tho 6th, before Judge Monk. There being then no proper court house, the trial took place in the old Presbyterian church. As this was the first case of the kind in Pictou, great interest was excited, and the house was crowded. Trials were not conducted in so tedious a manner as they are now, but this was prolonged well into the night, so that the closing address was delivered by candlelight. R. J. Uniackc, the Attorney- General, conducted the case for the Crown, and tho prisoner was defended by Halliburton and Chipman, who set up as a defence that an Englishman's house was his castle, and that he had a right to defend it against any person breaking in. The Attorney-General closed the case in a manner that excited general admiration. Ho had taken no notes either of the evider ce or the addresses of the opposing counsel. But with his marvellous mem- ory, he omitted no fact bearing on the case, and no point in the-objections of the defense, disposing of all opposition with consummate ability. Mcintosh was accordingly r\' I -S:rl i ;1 ■ S^' I i !-'■ il I'll' H^t It 'I' i;E'j i I i i>! !l 1'; fl: ■ 1 1; ■;.' Jl; 220 condemned, and on the 7th sentenced to be executed. But while he lay in prison, the jubilee of George III. was proclaimed, and he was pardoned. Daring his imprison- ment, he seemed affected by his situation, and every Sabbath sent a request for the prayers of the church. But on obtaining his freedom all his concern vanished. He afterward went to St. John, where he was drowned. His widow married in the United States a very wealthy man, and was living till recently. "We may add here that in subsequent years, the county suffered much from litigation, especially regarding boundary lines, owing in a great measure to the manner in which the surveys for the early grants were conducted. Sometimes the surveyors were incompetent, but more frequently the system was to blame. The one rule adopted was to give more land than was named. Some of this was put down, as " allowance for j-oads, &c.," while such excuses as slack chainage or hilly land formed pretexts for farther additions. But besides this, surveyors exorcised a sort of princely liberality, as it was regarded, in giving as if the land were their own, a considerable surplus. This was deemed kindness to the settlers, but from the disputes which these extra quantities produced, it would have been a real kindness to the county if each man's quantity had been exactly measured. Then some- times the lines were not run round the whole lot, but merely corners set, and the courses marked, and thus the settlor was often left to his own conscience how much he would appropriate. Again grants were given nomin- ally for a certain amount, but to a certain boundary or some other gTant, without the distance being measured, though it might include an additional quantity, as large as was originally intended. Then the possessor of the next grant might consider himself equally entitled to the land between them, and perhaps would get a surveyor to run his lines, so as to interfere with the other's. Or 221 sometimes a second surveyor coming on the same lot, instead of endeavouring to trace the line, made by his predecessor, would make a new one of his own. Such proceedings led to endless disputes, with the worst results. Two neighbours have gone to law about a piece of land till both lost their farms. "We have known a litigious man ruin himself, and two neighbours in succession, upon the same adjoining lot. Then family connexions , and friends would take sides in the quarrel, and the strife thus extend through a whole community. Trials were not then the tedious affairs they are now. The judge took brief notes of tho evidence, without delaying the examination, there was little squabbling over the putting a question, by which so much time is now spent, and lawyers as well as judges acted as gentlemen. Hence the trial of a cause, was often considered by many " as good as a play." Of all the lawyers who attended the court, Archibald stood preeminent. At a later date, Johnston was his equal in knowledge of law, but Archibald was always unrivalled in his tact and skill in managing a jury. When all other means failed, he would laugh them out of a verdict. In private he was celebrated for a constant flow of genial humour, but sometimes he had the laugh turned against him. An old Highlander on the "West River, who had been much at law, but was still in comfortable circumstances, had frequently invited him to stay at his house, when travelling that way. Mr. A. at length accepted the invitation. His horse was fed and himself welcomed to the house, and soon a savoury dinner was prepared, the principal part of which was a little pig, known as a roaster. Hungry from travelling, he relished it heartily, and when he had eaten, was loud in his praises of the delicacy, and of his host's hospitality, but at length made the unfortunate remark, " But you don't kill all your pigs so young? " *' Ah ! " said the old man, •'no kill her at all ; she pe drooned i' the brook ! " «• si; WK-'fS. ft: ':<•%' fiiiifc Sil-: Ui 1 i -i^' *.i'H' Jvi: ':i's. la-i 222 CHAPTER XII. IMMIGRATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CENTURY — 1801-1805. The first years of this century brought large accessions to this country by immigration, principally from the High- lands of Scotland. Every year at least two or three vessels arrived with passengers, who gradually filled up the interior of the county, and spread to the neighbour- ing districts. It was at this time that the Highland proprietor.'} were clearing their estates of the small tenants, with the view of turning their property into large sheep farms or deer forests, a policy involving suffering and hardship to many an humble family, but which has given to these and other colonies, some of their most deserving population, and ultimately proved to the advantage of the ejected themselves. The largest accession, which Pictou received in this way, was in the years from 1801 to 1805, as many as 1,800 souls landing in a single season, and at this time several new settlements were formed. When they arrived in Pictou, they were taken into the houses of the previous settlers, who were sometimes relatives or old acquaintances ; but, whether or not, the new comers found a truly Highland welcome, or, what was even better, a Christian exemplification of the precept, " Be not forgetful to entertain strangers," till they could select their own location. Indeed, the notice of the arrival of an emigrant vessel brought people from all quarters, to enquire for relatives on board, whom they took to their homes, or \> find acquaintances or persons from their native districts, or even strangers, to whom they would fireely extend the same hospitalities. 228 The new comers received freely, but made the best return in their power by their labour, till they could obtain a lot for themselves. Sometimes, indeed, they hired for some time, before they settled upon their own land, the young especially often remaining for years in the houses of their kind entertainers. As soon as they had obtained an allotment of a piece of Government land, the old settlers near combined, in helping them to erect an humble habitation and to make their first clearing. The house was generally built of round logs, 15 to 20 feet long, undressed, the seams between which were closed with moss or clay. "When their circumstances improved, larger houses, perhaps iramed, but oftener of squared logs, were constructed ; but in the meantime they had a home, which the hand of power had not allowed them in their native land, and which, though poor enough, was better than was possessed by the poorer peasantry of many parts of Britain and Ireland. The same assistance was readily given in making their first clearing. An axe and a hoe were considered the only implements, necessary to commence a farm in the woods, and even these were often supplied in charity. A path was blazed or partially cleared from the residence of the nearest settler, and the goods of the new comer transported on the backs of men or horses. Neighbours gathered to cut down a portion of the forest round their dwelling. The trees were felled, lopped and cut into lengths, then set fire to, and thus the branches and small wood was consumed. The logs were then piled in heaps^ •and burnt, or rolled away for fencing, while the stumps were left to decay. This was very disagreeable and fatiguing work, but it was performed in the joy of having a home for themselves and their children, which no lord- ling could touch, and in the gladsome anticipation of future independence. Women and children aided in gathering and burning rubbish, or other work suited to their strength. il 'Pi! ' Ml * r m in I ■ ) " . .•X k ma i ■;• 224 When the ground was sufficiently cleared, wheat was sown and covered with the hoe. Potatoes were planted in round hollows four or five inches deep, in which from three to iive sets were placed. Thus the first season, which might be the year after their arrival, or perhaps the second or third, they might have from two to six acres under crop. The vegetable mould, formed by the leaves of successive years, and the ashes left from the burnt wood, rendered the soil very fruitful, and the new settler never failed to reap a bountiful return for the amount sown. Potatoes, it was supposed, would never fail. Such was the commencement made by hundreds at this time in this and other places in the Maritime Provinces. They often felt discouragement enough, particularly as in many cases they had come out under highly colored representations of the country.* But many of these, who thus commenced in the woods in destitution, afterward became independent, and loft their families in comfortable circumstances, and had reason to bless the selfishness of Lairds and Dukes, who had tiimed them out of the little holdings, possessed by their fathers for generations, and pulled the roof tree from ofi" their humble homes. We may mention, that in the same manner, the sons and daughters of the old settlers in many instances com- menced life. When the youth reached manhood, he either received a portion of his father's land, or took up crown land for himself, and erecting his log house, readily found some rustic maid, not afraid of labor, or of spoiling her complexion by exposure to the sun, ready to share * One of the scvtiers on the Four Mile Brook having been engaged one day hacking at the big trees, which grew on his lot, with all the awkwardness of a Scotchman, becoming tired, sat down, and losing heart altogether, began to cry. nis wife coming out, asked what was the matter. He told her his feel- ings. She immediately returned to the house, put on an old coat of his, and coming back seized the axe and commenced an attack upon a tree. He burst oi't laughing, took heart again, was never so discouraged afterwards, and ulti- mately became independent. 225 17 of [to lel- Ind Irst Iti- his joys and sorrows, his trials and successes. Duly yoked to bear the burdens of life together, they wont to their humble log house perhaps on foot, or at best "riding double." Such was the style in which sixty or seventy years ago, the majority of brides were brought home. Commencing life however with stout hearts and in the fear of God, they enjoyed their full share of domestic bliss, and reared a race, who for vigor and worth, may shame their degenerate successors. We must now, however, give some account of the commencement of the settlements formed at this time, either by young men brought up in the country, or by these immigrants. The first clearing on Mill Brook was made by Thomas and John Frascr, sons of Kenneth Fraser, Middle River, either in the year 1800 or 1801. They went up the bed of the brook, from where Kerr's mill now stands, carrying their supplies and implements, and erected a camp on what is now "Wallace Monroe's farm. They chopped and cleared on that same place, and having put in some seed, they left for the summer and returned in the fall to gather the proceeds. The bears were so numerous, that they did not venture out of their camp after night, even to the brook for water. Being in the habit of returning on Saturday to their father's homestead, on Middle River, they used on leaving to set a bear trap, baited with the remains of their week's provisions, and very commonly found one secured on Monday morning. Hence the place was long known as Bear Brook. Having got their land surveyed and divided, Thomas built a small house on his side of the lot, on the lower part of what is now his son Richard's farm. He had been married, and while they were at work his wife used to come up to cook for them, and perhaps help otherwibe, but remaining most of the time at Green Hill. But now, probably in the year 1802, he came with his family to reside here. They came up 15 :iM ■ ■ ;i! '■■V-'i.-tl i if 226 the brook on foot, carrying their eldest child, between ono and two years of age, and their articles of household gear. In some parts of the brook there were small patches of intervale, over which they passed ; but where the banks were steeji and close together, they were obliged to walk along the rocky bed of the brook, until they came near their home. Hero there is a pretty fall, perhaps forty feet in height, where the water d«ashes over a steep declivity into a narrow gorge. The banks just below the fall rise some fifteen or twenty feet higher than the fall, and so steep that it is impossible to ascend them. They were thus obliged to climb the face of the fall, which they were able to do, as the water inclines to one side. Up this they carried their child and all their utensils. Soon after a path was blazed to the Middle Eiver, at what is now "William Munroe's place. There was not a settler above them, nor for a considerable distance on either side. They were followed shortly after by Alex- ander Ross, who came to Pictou in the year 1802, and settled where his son Kenneth now resides, Alexander McDonald, who arrived in the following year, and Eobert Gordon w^ho came about the same time. Seven or eight years after settling there, Thomas Eraser put up a mill in the gorge below the fall. He built no dam, but introduced the water into the mill directly from the fall, by a short race. He made a sort of road along the bank on one side, to the mill, but it was still difficult getting up and down from it, and a few years after a freshet carried the whole away. After this he built a mill above the fall, where he had not only stones for grinding wheat, but had the second oatmill in the county, about the year 1817 or 1818. In the year 1801 came out two vessels, full of pas- sengers, broiight out by Hugh Dunoon, Esq. He made representations similar to those, by which interested parties have often deluded people across the Atlantic,. ■If mlt )a8- iade sted iticv 221 such as that the same tree would yield them soap, sugar and fuel, or that they might get sugar from the tree, and gather tea at its roots. One vessel, chartered by him, called the Sarah, brought out 700 souls, though two children being counted as one, and infants in arms going free, they were reckoned as 500 passengers. They were crowded together, and their rations were scanty in quan- tity, as well as inferior in quality. Small - pox and whooping-cough broke out among them, so that the ship might be said to have realized the horrors of the Middle Passage. They were thirteen weeks on the voyage, having sailed in June, and not having reached Pictou till September, and in that time forty-seven died. During the passage they were boarded by a man-of-war, which pressed 25 of the able bodied passengers, but on Dunoon going on board, and representing himself as a Government agent, they were released. "When the vessel arrived in Pictou, sickness still prevailed, so that she was kept in quarantine at the Beaches for some time. The other vessel, called the Pigeon, sailed later, but arrived befor her. She was a small vessel, and had only a small number of passengers. Of those on board these vessels a number were Roman Catholics, most of whom removed to Antigonish or places further East. The others took up land in various places, forming new settlements or filling up the older ones. Some of these formed the first settlement on Mount Thom. Among these were Alexander Stewart (afterward known as Post), John McLean, Kenneth McLeod, John Urquhart, "Wm. McDonald, Alex. Chisholm, John Fraser, Hugh Cameron, Alexander Cameron and James Fraser. The land had previously been laid out in lots, and each selected his, but there was no settler further up than Dalgliesh, at what is now Robertsons place, on the Eight Mile Brook. Alexander Stewart kindled the first fire on Mount Thom, on the evening of 31st December ill: I t'!H iili 228 if i It' (New Year's eve) of that year. His house was on the old Halifax Koad, where he afterward kept a public house, and where his son Murdoch has since resided. He had, of course, only a rude hut in the woods. His wife, as she gazed through the partially open roof at the waving tree-tops overshadowing them, and within, at her shiver- ing little ones clinging round her, and thought of the comforts she had left behind in the old land, declared her wish to be back in Scotland, if it were even to be in a jail. Soon after he became mail-courier to Halifax. Q-eorge McConner, at the Ten Mile House, owned a horse, and so did David Archibald, at Salmon River, but between these two places there was not another, and for years he made his trips on foot, carrying the mail on his back, or sometimes in his vest pocket, and, at the proper season, carrying a gun to shoot any partridges which might cross his path. His trips were made regularly, though not so frequently as, in these days of railroads, would be deemed satisfactory, being in fact only once a month, his remun- eration being at the rate of ten shillings for each trip. Some time after he purchased a little black pony, on which he made his trips fortnightly, and this continued to be the mode of conveyance for several years. Of those brought out by Dunoon, another body occupied McLennans Mountain. This was so named from the brook, which runs by it, which received its name from the first settler at its mouth. There were upon the brook at this time the following settlers : Thomas TurnbuU, John Fraser (Squire), "William Fraser, Elder, son of Simon the first Elder. Alexander and Peter Fraser, sons of Mc Andrew, John Fraser, son of Simon (Basin), vrho was suffocated by the fumes of charcoal in his own cellar, an^ John and James Cassidy. On the banks of this stream, the limestone is cavernous and contains numerous deep interstices. One of these on 229 the farm owned by Peter Fraser, forms an entrance to what is known as " the cave." It is at the foot of a hill, and by stooping the visitor may enter this " dark retreat." There he finds himself in an apartment about one hundred feet in length, and on an average six feet wide. A small stream of pure sweet water flows along its floor, beautiful stalactites hung from the roof, which have now generally been removed by visitors, and the rude masonry of the walls is only equalled by the projecting masses, which seem ready to fall from above. From this chamber narrow passages lead to other chambers, which have never been explored. At one time the owner spent hijs summers here, having laid a floor at the entrance, and having fitted it up with a door and window. Here the visitor was welcome to his scanty accommodation, but he has long since been removed to a still narrower house. Orders were now issued by Government to William Fraser to survey the land on the mountain, and to divide it into lots for the new comers. This being done, a band of twenty-three of them occupied the whole block, each selecting his lot. This would probably be the year after arrival. Most if not all of them were from Lord Lovats country, near Inverness. A list of them will be found below.* "With them there settled one person brought up in the country, viz, Simon Fraser, deacon Thomas' son. Although the country had improved much since the first settlers came, and trade was now brisk, yet we may well suppose that a number of persons from the old country, who had never handled an axe, settling down in the midst of an unbroken forest, without roads or other * List of first settlers on McLennan's Mountain : — Don. McDonald (tailor), Donald McDonald, James Fraser, Grant, William McLean, Finlay McDonald (piper), Donald Fraser, Finlay McDonald (carpenter), James Cameron, Thomas Cameron, John Fraser (Buie), Alexander Cameron, Finlay Mcintosh, Alexander Fraser (weaver), James Fraser (Bann), Hugh Cameron, Alexander McDonald, John Fraser, Peter Stewart, James Fraser, John McBae, Donald McPherson, Angus Fraser (Deacon). I -m 'h m 230. conveniences, had before them a task requiring stout hearts, and for years involving toil and sacrifice. Somo of the tales of their ignorance of the country are rather amusing. The following is too good to bo lost. They were much afraid of the bear. On one occasion, one of them being in the woods saw a porcupine on a tree, and at once concluded that it was the dreaded foe. Ho there- fore at once gave the alarm to his neighbours. All the men near and some of the women gathered without delay. One of them had a gun, which was put in requisition. Thus armed they advanced boldly, but with duo caution to meet the monster. Nino shots were fired at him, by which he was at length laid low. Inspired by curiosity, and in the proud consciousness of their victory, they pro- ceeded to examine their vainquished foe, but found matter of still greater astonishment, in tho manner in which the quills stuck in their hands, Tho stories they had been told about getting sugar off the trees led to some amusing mistakes, with them and others of tho new comers. On ono occasion, after tho landing of a company of emigrants, a number of them were put to sleep in a barn near town. Early in the morning, when the children awoke, they were heard saying to each other, " Come, let us go out and see if we'll get some sugar on the trees." Ono woman asked to be shown the trees from which it was obtained. "When this was done , she picked otF some of tho bark with her fingers and commenced chewing it, expecting to enjoy the saccharine juice. After they had learned how it wrn made, one man, as the season for sugar making advai finding the supply of sap beginning to fail, fasten a strong withe round a tree, under which he drove a wedy o tightly, determined to squeeze out of it the last drop of juice. Yet these men, in this and other places, surmounted the difficulties of settlement, and became independent in their circumstances. 231 Others of Iho Dunoon passengifers settled in various parts of the county. Archibald McKay and Donald Cameron, from near Inverness, settled on Frasors Mountain. Three other settlors, however, were there before thorn, Donald McKay (Squire's son), who was the first, William Fraser ^surveyor) and Charles Brown. A number of those who came this year, occupied the upper part of tho East Branch East River. Among these were Donald Kennedy, Robert Mcintosh, James Chis- liolm (blacksmith), John McDonald, Duncan McDonald, Archibald Campbell, John McDonald, John Thomson Alexander Thomson, and John Grant, the most of them from Olen Urquhart, and in the years immediately following, they wore joined by others. Some years after, Duncan McDonald, then an old man, was lost in the "woods, with his grandson. The latter followed the county lino, and, after three days travelling without food, came out upon tho settlement. The old man took a different course, and after a search by the inhabitants, was found dead, after five days' absence. In the year 1802, came "William Cummings, from near Inverness in the following year settled on what is called the Blanchard Road, and commenced the Blanchard settle- ment. This road was originally cut out by Colonel Blan- chard of Truro, to reach a large grant of his at Lochabcr, in the County of Antigonish. In the year 1801, and in others about the same period, Captain Lowden also brought out a number of persons from the south of Scotland. Some of these came to work at his vessels, but others as settlers. Among these may bo mentioned Robert Bone, Greorgo Reid, afterward of Green Hill, James Gordon and Samuel Wilson. James Gordon was a cartwright, who is worthy of notice as having made tho first fanners ever in use in Pictou. They were built in the year 1803 for Captain Lowden who had brought out the irons from k ■ % M t^ ii' 2n2 Sootlanil. As \\\o\ wiyvo llio otily scl in Iho plnoo, ihoy WMMO ()u( oviT n oivottil .»r liMl niiloN, lull llu'v hivvo ronlinuod lo do thily t»> Ojo inrscnt duy, innl imiy 1)0 N(»on in Iho posNOswion oT iho ('M\)ii(iirn ^:ran(lH(>nH nt Iho llortchois. AVo Irioil Uio\u in Novoinl>or, 1H7(), imd lomul thorn likoly lo do g'>od work Tor yoiiVH, il' iiol to Avoiir iml; nnolhov nouovnlion ol" Ihoir dosi;«'noinlo ruooossoin. Tho yoar 1S(>i! wilnossod ll»o lurival ol' a lav^•o inuiihoT of oiuig'vanls. In Iho nionlh oT Aim\ifno who avrivod in Ihis yoar Ihus doNorilx^s tho Niato of tho town at (hat \>ori.od. Novlli of Front stro«>t tnul east of Oolovaino s(r«'ol, down lo vVlpin U ranis, was oovorod with good hardwood, and poopio out their tiro- wood thoro. Tho farthest east honst* in Iho town was Mr. ra^irtu's, alviUtdy monti«>nod. Thoro was ijowdon'is salt house on the east side of ColtMaino fslroot. On the latter Dunn had his tavern, hatk of whore tho IJoyal Oak stood. Thomas Fraser, carpenter, had a house whore St. Andrews Church stands, and a ship oarpoutor named Young had a small log house oi>posite. Following Water street westwardly, Joseph llcisg had a log house on tho site of his stone building, lately taken down. Then John Dawson had his house, store and wharf, in roar of what is now the Taylor House. On tho site of Messrs. Yorston's store, Captain Lowden had his dwelling and store in ono building. On George t^treet was McQeorgo's tavern, on tlie site of the property lately owmed by John rroudfoot. On Yorston's "Wharf was John Patterson's store, still standing, and John McKay "s blacksmith shoi>. On the 2an »ifo of fbo (Irn^ nforo of .Thum'h I). H. FraNrr h Hon, wnw ihn jiiil. Williiim LyiMlnny l<«'|»l, ri fnvnru on Mm siln of wlnil liiiH Ninco ln'cn Min. ('iinHTtniH Inn. In fronh of lliiN wiiH llin o|M'n nhort', llio liilo r«»niin(r up (,o llio oitponiht ftido ol' llic roiul, mimI f«oiii«>liiin'H <»v('r il.^^ 'Wt Uu« <'naNl, .1. (lonndl hiid a Htnnll \<>^ Iioiinp. TlunnitN IliM'tiH (Nlirriil) hiul a sniall Iioiihm on tlio Inno back ol' dm rHlabliHlinirnl, nl' thn htU) I'rirr I'lrown. Th'-n TTcIior IlonkiiarU had a I(hI l»onno, nnar wIhto thn h>t<» II. Jtatlon, Kh«|., rcwidod. JIc wns a (liK'tiiscy tnan, vvfio vvr in his «< ho((n«'r, whi000 inhabitants in Pictou, and that 1000 more w(!re expected m W * Ab Into as tho jrcar 1820, thero wore Btoncs placed along Water street near Meagher's Slip, to enable pasaengcru to pass dry shod at high water. Whea the tide was in, it formed a pond to the north of the ttreet. ii-i ;f i| k ' '!' 234 that season. On the 6th August, the Lieut. Governor wrote that 845 had arrived. Of the immigration of this year the voyage of one vessel was long remembered. She was called the Favourite, of Kirkcaldy, and was commanded by a Capt. Ballantync. She sailed from TJllapoll, without a clearance, and arrived in Pictou on the 3rd August, having made the passage in five weeks and three days, being regarded then and for some time after as the quickest ever made. She had 500 passengers on board, and landed one more than she took on board, one birth and no death having taken place on the voyage. But almost immediately after the passengers' goods had been landed, she sank in the harbour. Such a strange occurrence might well excite enquiry as to its cause^ and as we have received, from a most reliable and worthy old man, who when young was a passenger on board, a veritable account of the whole particulars, we shall give them as we have received them. It appears that shortly before the vessel left, one man who came in her was out one evening looking after his cows, when he saw a little creature like a rabbit going round to them, and sucking the milk from them. He immediately took his gun, and tried to shoot it, but found it impossible to do so. Sus- pecting the cause, he put a silver six ponce into the gun, and again fired, when the creature limped of, leaving traces of blood in its track. The next day he made enquiries, if there were any person in the parish hurt, and sure enough found, that one old woman was confined to tae house, by some injury she had received. He called at her residence, but could not see her. On his engaging his passage in the Favourite, she was heard to declare, that with him on board the vessel would never reach America. In consequence of this, the passengers applied to the authorities to have her confined, until the vessel fihould arrive. As we have seen, she had a remarkably quick passage, and when on the banks of Newfoundland, 1 t m iff mi 235 thoy spoke a vessel homeward-bound. On the arrival of the latter, the captain said that they might let her go, as the Favourite was doubtless safe in Pictou by that time. They did so, but my readers may judge, just soon enough. But this is a sceptical age. The tendency now is to attribute all such events to natural causes. Hence on conversing with an elderly lady m my congregation, who had been a passenger on board, and asking her how the vessel happened to sink, she said, " Oh, tliei/ took the ballast out of her,^ as if that would account for such an event. We wish that every reader who thinks it would, had seen the indignation, with which our first informant reproved the incredulity of one, who doubted the posses- sion of such supernatural powers. " What, don't you believe your Bible ?'"* There was not then a settler on the Four or Six mile Brook, except James Barrio, a native of Perthshire, who had settled there only the year before, where the mills are. The mos of that section of the county was now occupied by these immigrants. In the following year they com- menced operations. In that year Alexander McKenzie made the first clearing on the Four Mile Brook. There was then no settler above John Rogers' place, low Alex. McLellan's. He was jo'*ned by Donald McKenzie, Murdoch Innis and others. 3n the Six Mile Brook, McBeath, who afterward removed to New Brunswick, Murdoch Sutherland, William Gunn, Donald Sutherland and George Sutherland settled about the same time, and on the Eight Mile Brook, Hugh Sutherland, Murdoch Munroe and Alexander Graham, besides others whose names wo have not received. About the same time arrived William Munroo and Hugh McPherson, who had served in Lord Reay's Fencibles. f • Ho was kind enough to 8ny for our comfort, that there were no witches ia America. This, however, is hy no means admitted by others. t As this regiment yielded so many settlers to Pictou, wc may mention, ■;' B>i ' t , 11; S It. 236 A number of those who arrived this year settled at Rogers Hill. There was not till that time, a settler between McCaras place and River John. But we have failed to obtain any particulars of interest. Of those who came this year, however, a number were from the parish of Lairg, in Sutherlandshire, who took up land farther up the Middle River, and formed a new settlement which they called New Lairg, after the name of their native parish. Among these were Angus McLeod and John McLeod, and perhaps some others, who settled there soon after arrival. The same year, or about that time, arrived Donald Murray, Hugh Murray, John Murray, John McKay and John McKenzie, who had served in Lord Reay's Fencibles in the suppression of the insurrec- tion in Ireland, who settled around them. In subsequent years, others took up land till they got so far on the way to Stewiacke that the soil became poor, and a number of them abandoned it. . On the 4th of July the same year arrived ihe brig Alexander, of Stornoway, owned by a Mr. Mclvor of that place, with passengers mostly from the Lewis. The captain died on the passage, and the owner, who was on board, took sick, when the vessel was taken charge of bj'' that it was raised in that portion of Sutherlandshire, known as LordBeays coun- try, and embodied in the year 1795. They were soon after sent to Ireland, where they saw some hard scenes during the rebellion. Stewart, in his History of the Highland Begiments, says : " Such was their good conduct, that Lord Lake had his own guard formed of them, to whom he became so much attached, that he seldom passed any guard or post, without alighting from his horse, going among and holding conversation with them. At the defeat of Castle- bar, he frequently exclaimed, ' If I had my brave and honest Beays here, this would not have happened.' At Tara Hill on the 26th May, 1 798, three com- panies of the Beays, under a spirited and judicious veteran. Captain Hector McLean, supported by two troops of yeomanry, drove back and scattered a body of rebels, who were in great force on this strong and elevated position. Bo conciliatory was their conduct, that where they were quartered, tho inhabitants were quiet and apparently less disaffected thaa elsewhere. Thojr were disbanded in 1802." i I 237 Mr. David McGregor, father of John McGregor, after- ward M. P. for Glasgow, and Secretary to the Board of Trade, but then a child. The vessel returned the following year with another cargo of passengers from the same place. They were encamped for a time in the woods to the north of Front St., but the majority of them moved to the Gulf shore of Wallace, where they commenced a settlement, but a number settled in different parts of this county. The first settlement on the back shore was made about the year 1803, between Toney Eiver and Cape John, by George Mclvor and Allan Munroe, Highlanders from the Island of Lewis, the former of whom afterward removed to Cape Breton. About the same year, Norman McLeod settled on Toney Biver, where he was the first settler, who afterward moved further along the shore, and Donald McLeod, both of them from the same island. About the same time Roderick McDonald and Alexander McDonald settled on the shore, the former of whom, however, after- ward removed to "Wallace. In the year 1810, John Stromberg, a Swede, settled farther toward the cape, and a man named Smith, on what is now Skinner's farm, about the same time. This section of the country was distinguished by its splendid pine. One of the first settlers on Carriboo River loaded three vessels from his own land with white pine timber. About the year 1810, James Mills, a gentleman from England, erected largo mills on Toney River, and vessels loaded at its entrance for Great Britain. But no part of the county exhibited such an extent of superior pitch pine. In some places, nothing could be seen but its peculiar foliage. Trees rose clear of limbs to a consider- able height, and, though never equalling in size some other wood, yet were large compared with anything now to be seen. The writer's father has told of getting into a grove of this kind, where every tree squared fourteen 1 ■■:•'. i i ' ■' ;a. i ', M;!: ■f !. ,i 'f?. •r'? ' 1 Wi 1 ' Vs ', J '■■i f 1 1 ',^ ■'! i it '\" , his^ii ' , Wli. "^r >l f ;> :'ll \yi.' 238 inches clear of sap, which, however, in no case exceeded an inch in thickness. From Rogers Hill settlement was gradually creeping westward. James Filzpatrick, a native of the North of Ireland, settled on the hill, which has since received the name of Fitzpatricks Mountain, which presents one of the finest prospects in the Province, embracing the whole country between it and the shore, and the coast from Pictou to Eiver John, with the Straits of Northum- berland and Prince Edward Island. Andrew McCara, Esq., settled further out on the farm now )ccupied by Duncan McLeod, as early as the year 1800, He was a Lowland Scotchman, who had received a collegiate education, being a fellow student of Dr. McGregor. He had emigrated to Philadelphia, whence he was driven out by one of those terrible visitations of yellow fever, which then sometimes desolated American cities as far north as New York. Many persons wondered that a man of his education, should have contented himself with his situa- tion in the woods at Rogers Hill. On one occasion he was visited by some old friends from Philadelphia, who used all their influence to induce him to return. On their representing the advantages enjoyed there, he replied, " Yes, but you've got the yellow fever there." They went on to state this and the other point of superi- ority of Pennsylvania, and this and the other disadvan- tage of Nova Scotia, but to each argument of the kind, the old man had but the one reply, " Yes, but you've got the yellow fever there." At length land was taken up on the "West Branch River John, the first settler being Rod. McKenzie, who made the first smoke there in the year 1805. His son Murdoch erect- ed the first mill theve. "When the Philadelphia Company's grant was escheated. Dr. Harris having died previously, GoYomment agreed to give each of his children a certain amount of crown land wherever they might select. One :5 ■I'lv 239 daughter, married to Johu Moore of Truro, received her portion on the "West Branch River John, and settled there in the year 1812. A year later they were joined by Thomas McKay from Eogart in Sutherlandshire, and two years later by Donald and "William Murray from the same parish, and Henry Marshall, originally from Germany. Of this settlement we may say hero, that the first school- house was erectel in the year 1825, that the first preach- ing was by the Rev. Hugh McLeod, of Saltsprings, but the first minister, who supplied them regularly, was the Rev. "William Sutherland of Earltown. The first church was built in the year 1 837, being the same occupied at present. A number of those who immigrated at this time, settled in Carriboo, on the Cochrane grant. Previous to this, John and Thomas Harris, sons of Matthew, had erected a saw mill on Little Carriboo River, and about this time James erected another on the Big Branch, but, not having secured his title to the land, another party came in before him and obtained a grant of it, so that ho abandoned it, when he was about ready to commence work. A short time before, Thomas Patterson, son of the Squire, and one of the Rogers, made the first settlement on Carriboo Island, the former on the place afterward purchased by Donald McKenzie, and now occupied by his son Roderick, and the latter on the place since occupied by Hector and John McKenzie. Patterson was drowned in the year 1806, under melancholy circumstances, as thus described by his son, the Rev. R. S. Patterson. " I remember yet my father's death. I was then ' between five and six yeary old. "Wc had been to Pictou, and were returning home to Carriboo Island. My mother had a frightful dream the night before, and refused to go with my father in the boat. He and a sailor went in her. They had a couple of cannons for some vessels, of which there were a number in Carriboo harbour at that time. It ': il ! 1 % • ■ '; \ ) i» ■ :i t ■ 1 .:| iiri^ i illfisi f' ! :\ '.'4 : 1 i f ■ ' i ■ \ > • i } ■ 1, ^w •1 C... ...-ill mt 1 uMM ■ ■ i> '• • 240 was war time, and merchant vessels took some guns to defend themselves against privateers. My mother and I, with a ser\'ant girl, who assisted to carry my youngest brother, David, who was then an infant, walked through the woods over the peninsula, and crossed to the island in a flat. On arriving at home, we saw the boat in which my father and the sailor were, coming up the harbour. A few moments after we looked, and no boat was to bo seen. Search was made, but she was not found for some time. The body of the sailor was found about nine days after, and it was ascertained, that the boat had upset and sunk. Her masts were seen at low water." The new comers occupied the Cochrane Grant, without title, and after they had surmounted the first difficulties, Cochrane made an attempt to dispossess them. He employed several of the ablest lawyers in the Province. I'inding the title defective, he, doubtless under legal advice, went round among the settlers with a lawyer, kindly offering them leases, which, through the " Oily Gammon " powers of persuasion of the latter, some were induced to accept. The causes came on for trial at the Supreme Court, when the late Judge "Wilkins, who presided, scouted Governor Patterson's title, ridiculed the horse and saddle transfer, and denounced the lawyer's conduct, in deceiving ignorant people into acknowledging Cochrane's title by taking leases from him. This led to a furious altercation between the judge and the plaintiff's attorney, the late J. W. Johnston. So angry did each become, and so violent was their language, that the audience looked on in amazement, some almost in terror, and that night it was fully expected, that the affair would end in a duel between the lawyer and a friend of the judge on his behalf. The course of the judge produced somewhat of a sensation, and excited the indignation of parties in Halifax, who threat- ened to take measures for his dismissal, but the lawyer was obliged to apologize. The result of the case, however, ^ 241 was that a number of the settlers compromised by pa3ring Cochrane a small sum, but others firmly resisted all his claims, and their heirs or assigns hold the land undisturbed to this day. "We may mention here that the usual place of burial for the people of this settlement is at a point inside the Beaches, known as Burying Ground Point. Some suppose it to have been a French cemetery, but others connect the commencement of it with a solitary man, usually known as Martin Day, who lived there. No person knew whence he came or anything about him. He had but little inter- course with any person, and few desired intercourse with him. Indeed, he was generally supposed to have been an old pirate. Finally he was found dead in his house, and his body was buried near. In the year 1805, a vessel arrived with passengers from •G-airloch in Ross-shire. Three of them, Philip McDonald, Alex. McKenzie and Donald McPherson, took up land on what they called Gairloch Brook, after their native parish, and commenced the settlement of Gairloch. About the same time David Ferguson settled there. We may mention that among the immigrants of these years were some then young, who have since occupied a prominent place in the affairs of the county. Among these may be named the Hon. John Holmes, who came, a lad of thirttteu, in 1803, the Hon. James Fraser, who came, a child, in 1804, and John McKay, Esq., stipendiary magis- trate of New Glasgow, who came, a boy of twelve, in 1805. For some years later Pictou continued to be the Point D'appni for vessels with Scottish emigrants to the shores of the Gulf, but now the most desirable localities in the county being occupied, and the rich lands of other counties, particularly of Cape Breton, attracting attention, a large proportion of those v/ho landed here lound their vray thither, or to Prince Edward Island, or even New Brunswick. 16 :i 111 I ;. fM Jn § 242 "Wo may here observe that the business of cariying' emigrants was at this time often conducted in a very- reprehensible manner. McGrregor thus describes it : " Men of broken fortune or unprincipled adventurers, were generally the persons who have been engaged in the traffic, long known by the emphatic cognomen of the " "White slave trade," of transporting emigrants to America. They travelled over the country among the labouring classes, allured them by flattering, and com- monly false accounts of the N ew World, to decide on emi- grating, and to pay half of the passage money in advance. A ship of the worst elass, ill found with materials, and most uncomfortably accommodated, was chartered to proceed to a certain port, where the passengers embarked. Crowded closely in the hold, the provisions and water indifferent, and often unwholesome and scanty, inhaling the foul air generated by filth and dirt, typhus fever was almost inevitably produced, and as is too well-known many of the paesengers usually became its victims."=*^ The results was that the British Parliament was obliged to interfere and passed stringent regulations on the subject. These, however, were often evaded, and some years later, one of the worst cases of the kind occurred in connection with the emigration to Pictou. An indivi- dual engaged in the business, induced a number of persons in the Highlands to sell off their cattle and other goods, and give him the money. But when they reached the port, whence they were to sail, no vessel was provided. Their condition was described as heart-rending, and the heartless deceiver was brought before the Sheriff and was sent for a time to taste the sweets of prison life. But a case perhaps even worse than this followed almost immediately after. A number of passengers were shipped in a small vessel from the North of Scotland. Soon after * Hist. B. N. America I. 457. ,r;5 243 sailing, she met -with a storm, in consequence of which she put back to Stromness. By this time they had I)artially examined their supply of provisions, and now a complete examination took place, with results to fill all honest minds with astonishment and indignation. Casks, labelled bread, were found to haye two layers on top, while the centre was filled with rotten potatoes, stones, straw and earth, and casks labelled pork had one layer on top and rotten fish below. In fact, had the vessel not put back in time, those on board must have perished. The result was that the owner of the vessel, who, however, was innocent in the matter, having only chartered her, was subjected to a penalty of jGSOO. "When the vessel arrived in Pictou, some of the passengers revealed these fagts, when the man had the effrontery to prosecute them before the Supreme Court for libel. The facts were clearly proved, and the jury did not take a long time to give a verdict for the defendants. He also prosecuted Kobert Patterson, Esq., for taking their deposition, but the jury without leaving the box, threw out the case. '? r'r ';ii' .L^^m 244 CHAPTER XIII. FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY TO THE CLOSE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 1800—1816. Tho period which we are now to consider is noted, as that in which the timber trade from Pictou was at its height, though it had begun some years previously, and continued on a diminished scale for some years later. "When the first settlers arrived, the whole of the county was covered with timber of the finest quality. O^ this the white pine was particularly prominent, but oak and the various kinds of hardwood, were found of large size and in great abundance, alike down to the very margin of the sea, and up to the very summits of the highest hills. From the first settlement, this had proved one of the most valuable resources of the inhabitants. From the year 1774, when the first cargo of squared timber was shipped to Britain, the trade in that article had continued to increase, and after the closing of the Baltic against British commerce, the price rose to an unprecedented height, and the trade from Pictou increased proportionaUy. In the year 1803, about fifty vessels were loaded here with timber for Britain, and in the period from 1800 to 1820, it was calculated that the exports from Pictou, of which timber was the principal, amounted on an average to iJ100,000 sterling per annum. It is to be observed, however, that this included trade from the outports as well, Pictou being the only port of entry for the North Shore of this Province. Still it was the centre of the whole trade, and the larger portion was from the harbour itself. 245 And now the cutting, hewing, hauling, rafting, and shipping of ton timber, became for some years almost tho one business of tho people of Pictou, Thi; farmer not only spent his time in winter in cutting and preparing it, but also much of tho spring and summer in rafting and shipping it. As to his fields he thought only of hastily committing his seed to the ground in spring, and gathering at harvest time what crop had chosen to grow, and paid no attention to manuring, rotation or other improvements in agriculture, in some instances the dung being allowed to accumulate round the stables, till the sills rotted, and it became a question whether it were easier to removo the mass or the barn, unless where an individual with more foresight, had erected his building by a running stream, which served to carry away the filth. "While however lumbering was the business of Pictou at this time, yet even the partial attention, whic people gave to their farms, brought plentiful returns. The soil was so rich, that in many places people took crop after crop of wheat, it might be to tho number of a dozen, and in one case of which I have been told, of seventeen, in succession. The abundant crops of potatoes enabled the farmers to feed large numbers of swine, and tho high prices of all kinds of produce, especially of cattle, in consequence of ibe war, rendered it a time of unbounded prosperity to the agricultural jiopulation. The lumbering business proved most injurious to tho social habits and moral condition of the community. It brought a large influx of population of a very loose character, and it had its usual demoralizing elfects upon the residents. Most of the farmers had wood on thei? farms, so near their dwellings that they could make timber without removing from their homes, but many adopted tho system of living in the woods in winter, as still practised in the great lumbering districts of Canada. In the autumn a number of men uniting would go to tho m\ ffl i 1 i :P :ti'r lilli li.' ^i:| 11 i |V! 24') woods with a supply ofi^roTisiGns, orocl a riulo ciimp in which (hey spout tlio wintor, with Iho ex(Oi>tioii of visits to the sottlomouts lor ilio sui)ply of noccssarios, ol" which rum was tloeniod iho most important, jiiid was commonly iho lirst cxhauviod. Thoy then ])rooce-, when Iho molting' ol' tho snow caused a largo rising of tho rivors, tho lumber was Iloatod down to tho tide, wlu ro it was formed into rafts, and transported to the i)laco of shipment This mode of living, separated for a time from tho l.umanizing influence of civilized society, tends to bruta'izo men; while the exposure to cold and wet, particularly in river driving, forms a strong temptation to hard drinking, and tends to break down tho strongest constitution. Another evil soon appeared. Tho first settlers had had a hard struggle to obtain the necessaries of life, but ijow in the life time of those, who made iho first inroads upon the forests, and endured such hardships as we have formerly described, money became so plenty, that people lost all moderation or economy in the use of it, and an era of extravagance trod closely upon tho heels oi an era of privation. " The farmer," says Dr. McGregor, *' neglected his farm and went to square timber. Tho consequence was, that he had to go to the merchant to buy provisions, and the merchant persuaded him that he needed many other things beside provisions. If the farmer scrupled to buy more superfluities, he would ask him, ' AVhy do you hesitate ? You know that a stick of timber will pay it.' Thus a taste for vanity and expensive living was introduced among us." " "We have suflered from emigrants settling among us from difTerent parts of tho Highlands, but more from merchants and traders from England and the North of Scotland. The ignorance and superstition of the foiuicr have not done us so much evil, as tho avarice, the luxiTr5% the bhow, and the glittering toys of the latter." 1 i; ay as its is, lid on ho of 247 Bnf Iho fTTonf ovil, wo mii^Hit almost say llio f^^rchi cliitrMchM'ifjfic ol" 1h(* iimos, was llic j.!;r<"»< ''xtcnJ io which rviiii was cons'iiinrd. The lirsl s(>HI»«rs used v(»ry litllc, in J'acl Ijad not th«» moans ol" ^cttin*^ it in any f(iiantitio8. But Iho oxtent to which it was now used sct.'ms absolutely inorodiblo. The liabit of drinkini^ was most •]>i'*'Val('nt amonj^ tho lumborors. AVo have heard for exaitiple, of a man beinj^ omployed tbroui^h the winter at five sliillini^s a day, with an allowance ol" two «>'lasses ol" liquor, l)ut yet bein;:^ in debt in si)rijis!', althoujrh the momw had j^one tor litth^ else l>ut rum. When a lumberini? party went to the woods, it was customary to initiate their proceed inji^R with a carouse, which mijjht make such an inroad viimn their supply of liquor, as to render an early visit to the settlement neces- Bary to have it replenished. When they did fi;oi to work, they daily consumed quantities, which, if they had been using some modern liquors, would have quickly prepared them for the undertaker, while at intervals their labours "Were arrested for the enjoyment of a carouse, which might last two or three days. Thus in spring thoy still found themselves in debt to the merchants, from whom they had received their supplies in autumn,andtheonly course that seemed open, was to go through the name process the next season, with a fresh supply of articles from the merchant, which he was very ready to afford, with the view of obtaining their timber. In this way many farms were mortgaged and never redeemed. But though drinking was specially prevalent among the lumberers, yet all classes were tiffected l^y it. In the most moral s«?ttiement.s, cA-ery third or fourth family would have a puncheon of mm, for the supply of themselves and neighbours. In some iustances, where there were a number of sons in a family approaching manhood, the whole might be consumed with very little assistance from others. In one large settlement, it was calculated -,if: ; 248 on one occasion, that there had been introdticed in the fall at the rate of half a pnncheon for each family, and before eprini^ the supply of some was exhausted. I have heard of a tradesman at his bench taking his glass regularly every hour. A person who worked in a shipyard told me^ that the allowance to each workman from the employer was three glasses a day, while he was confident that on an average each man drank as many more. A member of my congregation told me of himself and others working at a job for ten days or a fo. night in the heat of summer drinking each thoir quart bottle of rum a day, and not at the iime feelir '^ the worse of it, though^atthe close of that period, they felt unfit for work of any kind for the next week or two. Men, not content with a glass, would sometimes drink a half pint at a time, or even a pint, and I knew a man who at one time undertook to drink a whole quart at onco, and did so, but it nearly cost him his life. He was in such a state that his friends were summoned to- lii*n as dying, but he recovered and lived for years, drinking to the end, though he never attempted such a feat as that again. If these be regarded as extreme cases, yet the habitual use of liquor was common among all classes. The minister took his dram as regularly as parishioners. The elder sold liquor. No respectable person thought of sitting down to dinner without the decanter on one corner of the table. The poorest would have felt hurt, if a friend called and ho hac^v no liquor to give him. No workman was employed wituo^.t his daily allowance, and that commonly not less than two glasses. As likely it was three, and even that quantity was often supplemented by an additional allow- ance on private account. No bargain was consummated without a dram. On all occasions of public cojicourse, liquoi flowed freely, and scenes of family interest, births, burials and biiaiu-a were consecrated in a similar manner, =i^ • A well-to-do farmer haviugf died, bis nepbew wa» •seen going homo from 249 iiom. while the \ isits to the shore of the sailors from the shijj- ping in poit made the streets frequently scenes-of drunk- enness and riot. But how the same habits prevailed among the genteel, may appear from the fact of a lady boasting, that the Hquor bill for her house amounted to iI400 per annuni. It must bo said that the pure "West India rum then drunk, did not produce such injurious consequences as the liquor now in use. It had not the same maddening eflfect at the moment, nor did it produce such evil results afterward. Hence men lived to old.a^e, after the con- sumption of liquors to an amount that now seems incredible. Stil^ this drinking was a tremendous evil, and the period we are describing was such, that those ■vho can remember it regard it as the worst morally that Pictou has seen before or since. "Well might Dr. McG-regor say, " Once in a day I could not have believed that all the vices in the world would have done so much damage in Pictou, as I have seen drunkenness alone do within these few years." It may be observed that a similar state of things widely prevailed at the time throughout America. It might have been expected, that the prosperity of this period, would at least have had an important influence upon the improvement of the country. But it would be difficult to find in any land, an example of such prosperity, leaving so few permanent results for good even upon its material progress. The land was depreciated in value, hia funeral under the influence of liquor. On being remonstrated with, ho replied, " Ah, its not every day I have an undo John buried." It having been the regular practice even among the most sober, that at a funeral every man Bhould take two glasses, one on his arrival and one on the procession starting, Dr. McGregor, on one occasion, addressing those assembled, urged that henceforth they should be content with only one. Scarcely had ho finished, when an old elder, whose conservative notions had been hurt by tho proposal, stK'pped up to tho table, filled a glass, and as he raised it to bis lips said, "Ilere's to the man that svilLtako hi'* two glasses," and then drank it off. ii '■ , I m m •511 m 260 by having the valuable timber removed from i!:. without its being cleared or rendered fit for the plough, while a ruinous system of farming impoverished the land already under cultivation. Farms, in which the soil was origin- ally excellent, became thoroughly exhausted, and the evils of this state of things have to some extent continued io the present day. Merchants fared no better. Partly owing to the credit system, and partly to the changes in the price of timber, most of them were unsuccessful in the end. Of the trade carried on in this county at this period, by far the largest portion was in the hands of Edward Mortimer, and this is the proper place for a more extended notice of him. He was a native of Keith, Banflshire, Scotland. He arrived in this country, as many a Scottish youth has gone abroad, with only his own energy and steady habits for his fortune. I have heard of his once speaking in depreciating terms of this country, in presence of old John Patterson, who immediately replied, "Ye needna talk when ye came to it, I dinna ken whether ye had twa shirts, but I ken ye hadna two jackets." It is of course all the more creditable, that by liis energy and skill, he in a short time became the foremost man in Pictou, or in the eastern i)art of the Province, lie iirst visited this place about the year 1788, employed by the lirm of Liddells, in Halifax, in a schooner trading round the coast. Soon after he commenced business here, at first in partnership with them, but soon after on his own account. «.IIo first located himself a little above the i)oint, which has so long gone by his name, on the front of Squire Pat- terson's lot, whose daughter ho married. Here he put up a small building, intended i'or boih houso and store, of which the cellar car slill be traced, and also built a wharf, of which portions of the foundation are still visible, Afterward he removed to the point, near the stone house, where he had his dwelling house and stores close by the 2S1 shore, and where he built two long wharves out to deep water, the remains of which can still be seen.^ He is said to have been a man of commanding presence, tall, broad-shouldered and portly — as one from Britain described him, with " the appearance of a great man, and the address of a great man." Indeed, he was manifestly a born leader of men, and one that would have exercised a commanding influence, in any society into which he might enter. But ho must have been a man of first-rate business capacity, for he now had nearly the whole trade of the place in his hands, and by his influence the trade of the Gulf was concentrated at Pictou. Persons still living can recollect, when the point above the town, where he did business, presented every season a forest of masts. He is said to have loaded 80 vessels in one year, not, however, all in Pictou harbour, but many in sur- rounding ports, his business extending to Bay Yerte and Prince Edward Island. His book-keeper stated, that in one season, in seven successive weeks, he shipped timber to the value of Xo5,000, or at the rate of c£o,000 per week. Though the timber trade was his principal business, yet he did also a large business in the fisheries. The Arichat and other fishermen came here for their supplies, and traded their fish. At that time seals were still taken in considerable numbers in the Gulf, and ' the oil was manufactured in James Patterson's Cove, so that at the proper season, when the wind blew upon the town, the inhabitants were regaled with what fishermen would regard as a savory odour. To so large an extent was the business of the place in ^ his hands, that he regarded any person commencing a ** After his removal his old house was regarded as haunted, it w.is said persons who attempted to stay in it being frightened out of it hy a noise as of the rolling of barrels, and persons who approached from the water seeing it lighted up, but when they landed finding all in darkness. The stone house waa erected only a short time before his death. ^ h 1 III wm SI i &v i: pi: 252 general trade, as an intruder npon his legitimate domain, and ho did not hesitate to use measures to crush him, •which now would not bo considered fair between rnan and man. For example, after men had a2freed to give their timber or produce to other pariips, he would have no hesitation in persuading them, or concussing them into giving it to him. By the system of credit whirh prevailed, he had almost every inhabitant of the county in his books, and thus, in a measure, under his control, and business was then conducted, so as if possible to keep them in that position. Not only were goods pressed upon them, but they wcro kept in ignorance of tho state of their accounts, as a means of securirg a continuance of their custom. For a debtor to demand a settlement, seemed to indicate an intention of dealing with some other party, and to prevent this, the policy — not of Mortimer alone, however — was to keep his name in tho ledger. His influence, however, especially with tho country people, was largely owing to his frank manner and real kindness of heart. He celebrated many of their marriages» as the dissenting ministers were not allowed to marry by license, and on such occasions he and Mrs. M. danced with the common people, and mingled freely with all ranks, in a manner that gained their good will. Besides, he was a man ever ready to do a favor. The poor and the friendless were freely helped, and ever after retained a grateful recollection of such services. We have con- versed frequently with country people, who recollected that period, and their general testimony was, that in any difficulty, they had only to apply to Mortimer to receive ready help. Though he wished to have people in his books, and loved the power that this gave him, yet ho was never disposed to deal harshly with them. On tho contrary, his inclination was rather to act the Lord Bountiful. And it was only after his death, when his. Vim' 253 estate came to be settled up, that the people felt the evils of the credit system, uuder which they had become so deeply involved. From the time of his election in 1799 till his death in 1819, ho continued to represent the County of Halifax. His natural gifts gave him great weight in the Legisla- ture, at a time when personal inlluenco was more potent than it is now. This power he used earnestly for the interests of Pictou, and the liberal grants which he obtained for local improvements, caused him to be regarded as a public benefactor, people looking to him almost as if the money came from his own i^ocket. In other districts, parties used to apply to him, when wanting Legislative assistance, and were accustomed to say, that he was better for them than their own members. Though opposed by Wallace, he also gained such influence over successive Governors, that generally all local patronage was entirely at his disposal. The Earl of Dalhousie, after his death, said, " I found in the late Mr. Mortimer a country gentleman, whose liberal mind and patriotic principles were an honor and a blessing to his neighborhood. To him I gave my confidence, with authority to use the power vested in me to the fullest extent, except as being subject to my confirmation. With his zealous assistance and influence, I know that astonish- ing progress has been made in opening the forest land." It is not surprising, under all these circumstances, that he should be entitled King of Pictou.^ It must bo said of him, that he was a sincere and earnest worker for the good of the county and of the Province. He was liberal in giving and hearty in promoting measures for the public weal. His fault was his love of power, but if ambition * .\ w ^g once wrote a humourous prodiKtion, entitled, " Chronicles of Pic- tou," wliich began Bomcwlmt in tlic following terms, "There was a King iu the East and his name was Edwa»;iu8, and ho was tho chief of the tribe of the Pattersonians, and he ruleth the Tictonians with a rod of iron." . I ''4 254 be tho last weaknoss of noble minds, we may excuse the manifestation of it in one naturally so fitted to rule over men, and who was by circumstances placed in such a commanding position. And wo may be thankful that such power was in tho hands of one who, on the whole, used it so well. Tho result of his business was that he rapidly accu- mulated a large fortune. In a few years, he counted himself worth .£100,000, we doubt not the largest fortune acquired in the same time in Nova Scotia. But, alas! scarcely could a case occur more strikingly indicating the instability of earthly greatness. He was cut down in the prime of his days in the year 1819, after two or three days illness, when about 50 years of age, and his estate actually proved insolvent. Legacies for religious and charitable purposes were never paid, and a portion reserved of his real estate as dower, afforded a moderate co-^pctence to his widow. Wo have never fully ascertained the causes of this, but know that one was the disastrous failure of the firm of Liddells, and perhaps another was the want of his master mind in settling his affairs. He never had any children. He died 10th October, 1819, and his tomb- stone has the following inscription : Sacred to thb Memory • of EDWARD MORTIMER, Esq., Who departed this life, 10th October, MDCCCXIX, In the fifty-second year of his age. Ho was »* ' A native of Keith, in the shire of Banff, North Britain. In early life he removed to this Province, where Occupying himself in mercantile pursuits. He acquired a reputation honourable to himself, And Concentrated in the Poi-t of Pictou, The greater part of the trade of the adjacent coasts. m 255 For twenty-years He represented the County of Halifax In the General Assembly of the Province, And during this long period, His public conduct Founded upon enlightened and liberal principles. Gained him the confidence Kot only Of his constituents but of the Province at large. He was also * A Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, And for many years Chief Magistrate of Pictou, And In the discharge of the duties of these offices. As well as in his private capacity, A strenuous promoter of the good order and peace of Fociety, To his public exertions. The Pictou Academy is deeply indebted. These and his private munificence Have rendered him its principal founder. In Pictou He is remembered as the poor man's friend. And The inhabitants of the Province at large, Retain a grateful recollection of his valuable services. Of those in the same [line of business with Mortimer at this time, the principal were John Dawson and Thomas Davison. The former was a native of the parish of Irongray, in the County of Dumfries. He was a man of education and mind, and tilled several public situations creditably. He bought the lot on Water street, to the cast ( of the road leading to Yorstons Wharf. There he erected < a large two-storey house, nearly on the site of the Taylor House, with two wings to the north. In front of this property he built a wharf, which has disappeared. John Patterson built an extension from the end of his wharf at right angles to the eastward, leaving a narrow passage between it and Dawson's wharf. Inside of this, there ',! I 256 •was thus formed what wafi called the dock, in which lioats and even schooners were safely moored. At that time all the trade along shore was by boats, the settlers bring- ing their produce and carrying away goods from the merchants in the same way. In this way for some years a larger portion of the country trade was concentrated at this point. Dawson's health having failed, he sold out his business to his son-in-law, William Kidston, afterward of Halifax, and removed to a iarm two miles out of town on the "West River road, where he died on the 2nd January, 1815, aged 54. Thomas Danson was originally from Londonderry, N. S. He erected the house on the north-west corner of Oeorge and Water street. He was for a time an active man in church and state. At this time William Matheson began business. He at first started peddling, we have been told, on a loan of i;20. He afterwards sold his farm at Rogers Hill and removed to West River, where he did a country trade, exchanging goods for timber and country produce, but taking care to risk nothing in ships, shii)-building or shipping timber, so that he could say that all he had ever lost by sea was one hat. Cautiously proceeding thus, he accumulated money, and was the only man of that period who came out of it with anything like a fortune. In his later years, he was distinguished by his gifts for religious purposes, and at his death he devoted the larger portion of his pro- perty to the British and Foreign Bible Society, and to the Seminary of the Presbyterian Church. At this period a number of others were attracted to Pictou, and did bu^ness for a time. Among these may be mentioned Hector McLean, who had married a daughter of Captain Fraser, of the 82nd. He was heir to the estate of Kiugarloch, in Scotland, which he sold, and, investing the proceeds in goods, he commenced on the Deacons Wharf, in company with his brother-in-law, 257 Simon Fraser. IIo failed, howevev, some time after. He "built the hoiiRO in which John K. Noonan now resides. As to many others who attempted business, then and afterward, we cannot do bettor than t^ive the incture, drawn by the author of the letters of Mephibosheth Stepsure, of the career of Solomon Gosling.''*' "About thirty yeara ago, liU father David left him very woU to do ; and Solomon, who at thst time was a brisk yoimg man, had tbo prospect, by using little industry, of living ns comfortably an any in the town. Koon after the death of old David, ho was marritd and a likelier couple were not often to lie Been. But unluckily for them both, when Solomon went to Halifax in tho wintrj" Polly went along with him to boII her turkeys and sen the fashions ; and from thpit day tho Goslings had never a day to do well. Sulomon wa« never very fond of hard work. At tho samo time ho could not be accused of idlenep"?. IIo was always a very good neighbour ; and at every burial or barn raian^, Solomon was sot down as ono who would bo sure to b't there. By these means ho gradually contracted tho habit of running about ; which left Lis own premises in on unpromising plight. Polly, too, by seeing tho fashions, liad learnt to bo genteel ; and for tho sake of a littlo show, both lessened the thrift of the family, and added to tho oatlay ; so that, between ono thing and another, Solomon began to be hampered, and bad more calls than comforters. " Thongh Goose Iliil farm, from want cf industry, had not been productive, it was still a property of considerable value : and i i occurred to Solomon, thai, converted into goods, it would yield more prompt and lucmtivo returns, than by any modo of agriculture. Full of the idea, accordingly, my neighbour weut to town ; and, by mortgaging his property to Calibogup, tho West India merchant, he returned with a general assortment, suited to the wants of the town. When a merchant lays in his goods, he naturally consults tho taste of his customers. Bolomou's, accordingly, rousisted chiefly of West India produce, gin, brandy, tobacco, and a few chests of tea. I'or tho yonugster?, he had provided an assortment of superfine broadcloths, and fancy muslins, ready made boots, whips, spurs, and a great variety of gum flowers and other articles which come under the general denomination of notions. " ^V'hen all these things wero arranged, (hey had !i very pritty appearance. For a number of weeks, little was talked of, but Mr Gt^sling's store ; lor Buch he Lad now become by becoming a mercliaut ; little was to be seen, but my • These letters were from the pen of Dr. Thomas McCuUoch, and were originally published in the Acadian Recorder for 1821 and '22. As may Ijo judged from tho aboro spceimen, they are light satiric sketches of rural lifo at the time, and in regard to its follies, so held the mirror up to nature, that ■we know no work from which wo can obtain a better idea of the state of society in Nova Scotia at that period. I? • ® V] v^ ^^ / ?^ // o 7 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I '» Ki 122 1.25 1.4 III 1.6 Photographic Sdences Corporation ^ ^ A :/. 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 *6 ^ time after. wh(Mi New Annan was settled, ho extended his labors to that settle- ment. In the work of tho ministry over this Held, much of which was in a wild, unculiivaled state, ho underwent much bodily latigue, but ho did it with the greatest cheerfulness. In the year 182G Tatamagouohe and New Annan were formed into a distinct congregation, when his labours became much less severe, lie enjoyed excellent health till near his end. A violent attack of gravel terminated in his death on the 8th May, 1841, when he w^as in tho 7t)th year of his ago. ^ '* Mr. Mitchell was above the ordinary size, well formed 271 ttinl Bliinwy,ol'n, luircioinplcxion and (!h»M3rl'ul conn ton ancf. Alihoii^h Ijm nuido iio pnitniiNions to oxtoiit of lonrnin^, ho wiiH aiMito ninl poHHcsNod ol" a rowpoctal»lo sliaro of gonornl inrontiatioit. Itowa^agood man, and hm motnory iw niurli and juHtljr rovoi'od." Ill llio y(»ar IHIH, wan forniod tho iirni IHblo Rooioty in I'iclon. Jl WttH llin Roromotion of tho objoctH of tho Institution, it waHdofimed advisablo to organij!*? an auxiliary society. A mooting was accordingly hold for tho purpoHo in tho old Wc«t River church, on tho 10th day of April, of tluH year. Tho Eov. Dr. McClrogor preached from I. Tim., iii., 1., and a soci(!ty was formed, embracing tho wholo county, with Ed. Mortimer, President, and a committee of directors, conwisting of so many from each congrwgation. In tho first year, they remitted £lli to th(5 parent society, of which £50 was a free oontribution, and £25 for tho purchase of Bibles and Testaments. In the second year, £50 was sent as a free contribution, and in tho third £15. In Subsequent years tho amounts diminished, but still something was done annually, and to this day the Insti- tution has been supported more liberally in the County of Pictou, than in any other county in thots, a kettle, two teapots, a half dozen cups and saucers, a half dozen plates of large size, with as many smaller ones, and a half dozen knives and forks. He succeeded in getting these conveyed on a sled, as far as there was any thing of a road, or to within twelve miles of his home. He then donned his snowshoes, fastened all the above mentioned articles about his persdjn, and though heavily laden, he never came home with lighter heaii, to meet the partner of his life. * Not until Captain McKenzie became member for Pictou in 1855, and in the year following obtained a grant for a road from the Garden of Eden to St. Marys, was it pos- sible to ride in a wheeled vehicle, between these two places. Even in winter it was long before a sleigh road was opened. The fathers still tell of the way in which they used to fasten two poles to a horse after the fashion of shafts, with the loW«r ends trailing behind, and kept together by a cross piece, and with long wooden pins driven into the upper side, on which they laid their pork, which they dragged in this manner to the Garden. Even down the river toward Glenelg, there was no pos- sible road to market or mill, for fifteen years after they settled here. In the winter the hand-sleigh, and in the fiummer the canoe, when the river was sufiiciently '! m ',:i! ijma 290 erwDllen, were the only means of conveying burdens^ excepting on shoulder or horseback. Of the first settlers, Alex. McKay, the pioneer, doservcQ special mention, as probably possessing the greatest amount of strength and activity combined, of any man that was ever in the County. He was a son of Alex. McKay, whose name appears among the immigrants of 1784, and was born near Beauly, Inverness. IIo came with his father to this Province, when a boy of about 12 years of age. On liie passage, ho performed a feat which showed his daring and dexterity. He and auomer boy having climbed up the mast, two sailors followed with ropes, intending to tie them. One of them caught the other boy, but McKay seizing the top-mast stay, swung himself from it by his hands, and then passed hand over hand to the other mast, by which he descended to the deck, while the bystanders looked on in terror. "When a young man, he chased and caught a caribou calf The Indians have a saying regarding the young of the animal, "one day old, Indian catch him, two days old, dog catch him, three days old Mundous himself no catch him." However McKay being in the woods with some others, they started a herd, and this calf became separated from the rest. He pursued it, endeavouring to drive it in a direction the opposite from that in which its companions had gone, at the same time watching lest the dam should turn upon him. After a short chase it tripped in crossing a tree, and fell, and in an instant he was upon it. He took the animal homo where it became quite tame. He afterwards exchanged it for a heifer with Squire McKay, v-'ho sent it as a present to the Governor, Sir Jc' ii *'>^'rrth, receiving in return a present of 2000 - ; 1^ .>^ i in St. Marys. It was afterward sent to the -ion, where it continued for several yeari^ animal of the kind in that collection. Many stories are told of his mingled physical power being t,^.. : ■ff', ■ 291 and dexterity in his mature years. We give a specimen. A bull had become wild, and was shut up in a bam, where none dared to approach him. McKay was sent for. On arrival ho gave orders to open the door, while he stood beside it. As the animal rushed out, he seized him by the horns, threw him on his back and held him as long as necessary. He was much engaged in lumbering, but neither river-driving nor the other concomitants of that mode of life, ever seemed to affect his constitution. When between 80 and 90 years old, ho could mow his swathe with younger men, and he lived to be 97 years of age. All the settlers were economical, industrious and religious. About the year 1826, they hired Hugh Cameron, subsequently of Went worth Grant, as their first teacher, and about the same time, they started a sabbath school ; and with slight interruptions, both haye been continued since with the happiest results. The first minister who preached to them was the Rev. Dr. McGregor, who about the year 1817, in one of his missionary excursions to Glenelg and Sherbrooke passed up the bed of the river on horseback. But with the exception of McKay, all the settlers adhered to the Church of Scotland. At the Disruption, the majority joined the Free church, and obtained a portion of the services of the Rev. Alex. Campbell of Lochaber. Two small churches were built, but now the people have all united with the Presbyterian church in Canada, and have erected a larger and more comfortable place of worship; iV#^ 29d CB AFTER XV. • ] • : . f'. ■■:■ ', .f tn FROM THE PEACE TILL THE FINANCIAL CEISIS OF 1826-6 1815 ■ 182a ■ J1 It ' ir. tFp to this period the history of the county had been one of continued and for some time rapid progress. Population and wealth had increased at a rate, which, compared with what has since been seen in the "Western States, might even be considered slow, but which at that time was regarded as quite remarkable. From this time forward however for some years, its progress was very slow, and indeed in some respects it seemed for a time to have been stationary, or even to have retrograded. In the town of Pictou or its neighbourhood, proi>erty sold as high in 1816, as it did forty years later, and some farms brought larger sums at the former period, than they would now, and from that time there has been more or less emigration from Pictou, many especially of the young going abroad. The first interruption to its continued prosperity was by the peace of 1816. The change largely affected the whole Province. The author ,of Agricola's letters thus describes it : — . ^ " During the war, money here arising from the expenditure of the British Government, and from the sale of the rich cargoes and ships, which were daily ) brought in by our cruizers, was not only in brisk circulation, but in great abundance. The ships of war, which lay in the harbours, the various establishments of dockyard, ordnance and barracks, the strangers who resorted hither on commercial speculation, contributed to create an uncommon demand for all sorts of produce ; and as these were before inadequate to the ordinary wants of the community, they fell now infinilely short of the extraordinary consumption, to which the exigency of the times gave rise. During the whole cf this period, the prices obtained by the occupier of lands for whatever he could bring to market, were prodigiously high and far outran the cost of 298 \ prodnction. Hoy sold atfrom ten to twelve pounds par ton, and was frequently at fifteen ; beef and mutton varied from 8d. to lOd. per pound ; potatoes^ tnrnips, and beets were oftencr above than below 58. per bushel, and all vegetables were exorbitant in like proportion. During this unprecedented prosperity, no exertion was needed hj tho farming body to cam a subsistence. The rewards of the most moderate labour wcro so ample, that they begat habits of indolence and luxury ; but excited not to new energy or a more spirited cultivation. Our landholdern, satisfied with the enormous prices they obtained for beef and hay, and trusting that the springs of wealth, which flowed so copiously, would bo perennial, discerned not the dark cloud at a distance, which was gathering round to overcast their horizon. Peace came and at once dried all the sources of this' artificial prosperity. Beal estate fell almost in an instant, trade declined, land produce was lowered by the effects of this general depression, and in about two years after the ratification of the treaty of Paris, an universal gloom had settled over the Province." As the County of Pictou was less dependant on the -war expenditure, than some other parts of the Province, and as the inhabitants had relied more on trade than on agriculture, the effects of the peace were not so disastrous or so immediate, r«s have been described, but still the effects were felt to a considerable extent. The rural population however were especially discouraged by two calamities which came upon the county at this period in successive years (1815-16), which we shall now notice. The former year was long distinguished in this, as well as in the neighbouring counties of Colchester and Anti- ^ gonish, as "the year of the mice." This was a most'/i vvt-'' destructive visitation, from which this portion of the ^^^ country suffered from these seemingly insignificant animals. During the previous season they did not appear in any unusual numbers. But at the end of "Winter, they were so numerous as to trouble the sugar makers, by fouling their troughs for gathering sap, and before planting was over, tho woods and fields alike swarmed with them. They were of the large species of field mouse, still sometimes seen in the country, but which, has never since been very numerous. They were very destructive and actually fierce. If pursued, when hard pressed, they would stand at bay t./ V-k ; ■i» H' m 294 N 'V If <, I rising upon their hind legs, setting their t;eth and squealing fiercely. A farmer on whom I could rely told me, that having after planting, spread out some barley to dry in the sun before his door, in a little while he saw it covered with them. lie let the cat out among them, but they actually turned upon her and fought her. The late sown grain and the seed potatoes sufiered from them ;* but it was when the grain began to ripen, that their destructiveness became especially manifest. They then attacked it in such numbers, that all means were unavailing to arrest their ravages. They have been known to cut down an acre in three days, so that whole fields were destroyed in a short time. One would nip a stalk off a little above the ground, and if instead of falling over, the end sank to the ground, leaving it still upright, he would bite it oft farther up, until it either fell over, or the ear came within his reach, when he would devour all the grain. Over acres on acres, they loft not a stalk standing, not a grain of wheat, to reward the labours of the farmer. They burrowed in the ground and consumed the potatoes. Cats, dogs, and martens gorged themselves to repletion upon them, but with little seeming diminu- tion of their numbers. Trenches were dug and filled with water, but they formed but a slight barrier to their progress. They passed away as rapidly as they came. In the Autumn, as the weather became colder, they became languid, scarcely able to crawl. One could trample them under his feet and finally they died in hundreds, so that they could be gathered in heaps, and their putrefying carcases might be found in some places in such numbers as to taint the air. At Cape George they went to the * A man in Meri,';omi8h had made a clearing oat at Piedmont in the woods. He carried out four bushels of oats to sow. On commencing, they came in fiwarms eating the grain as he sowed it. After continuing a while, he threw the whole to them in disgust, and returned home. 295 ^ water, and there died, forming a ridge like seaweed along ihe edge of the sea, and codfish were caught off the coast with carcases in their maws. Notwithstanding the unprecedented prosperity, which the country had enjoyed for about twenty years, such were the Kpendthrift habits engendered during that period, that the people were not prepared to meet such a calamity, and it was therefore felt very severely. But it was followed by what was long known as " the year of the frost," which left a large portion of the inhabitants in a suffering condition. The year 1816 was known throughout the northern parts of this Continent, and also in Europe, as "the year without a Summer." In tho Northern States, frost, ice, and snow were common in June. Snow fell to the depth of ten inches in Vermont, seven in Maine, and three in Central New York. On the 5th July, ice was formed of the thickness of common window glass throughout New England, New York, and some parts of Pennsylvania. In August ice was formed half an inch thick. Indian corn was so frozen that the greater part was cut down for fodder. Indeed almost every green thing was destroyed. A similar state of things existed in England. During the whole season, the sun's rays seemed to be destitute of heat. All nature seemed to be clad in a sable hue. The average whole- sale price of flour during that year in Philadelphia was $13 per barrel. The average price of wheat in England was 97s. per quarter. Here the frost was hard in the woods in the month of June, provisions were high and from the destruction of crops tho previous year by the mice, many were suffering, and nearly all the farmers were put to some inconve- nience, for want of food for their families. Alexander Grant (miller), of the East River, went to Halifax to obtain a supply. He there bought 70 barrels flour, for which he had to pay .£3 per barrel. On his way back on the 5th • ^il9M*»^<^*,v 2tf6 June, he stayed all night at a tayem between Halifax and TruTO, and in the morning the ground was frozen so hard, that it carried his horse. The flour came round by water, and he went down to town to bring it up the East River, which he did on a coal lighter. On his way up on the 16th, ho saw a man trying to harrow his ground, where he had sowed some grain, and wearing a great coat in consequence of the cold. That night being Saturday, he put the flour into a barn owned by the lato James Carmichacl, Esq., who had shortly before begun ta do business, where New Glasgow now stands. On Monday morning, before ho reached the spot, there were as many assembled, as there were barrels of flour, and no sooner was the door opened, than a rush was made, and each man seized a barrel, asking no questions as to price, and it was -with some difficulty that he saved one for his own family. In the same year, Mr. Grant and his brother Robert^ erected the first oatmill in Nova Scotia, probably the first in B. N. America, on the site still occupied in the same way, and known as Grant's Mills. Very little oatmeal had been used previously. Small quantities were some- times brought out in vessels, and sometimes the country people manufactured a little in a coarse way, by roasting the grains in a large pot and afterwards separating and grinding the groats. But now Mr. Grant /constructed a regular oatmill driven by water, of which tlio gear was- made by a millwright, named Duff. It was : /.:'il, however, somewhat rude in structure. Instead of iron over the kiln, the grain was supported on wooden slats, the edges of which were bevelled on the lower side, and there were no fanners. Indeed fanners were not then commonly used even by the farmers. Hence after the grain had been dried, they were obliged to carry it to the top of a hill near, and piously wait till Providence sent a wind sufficient to separate the shells from the kernels. But I'l 297 the next year, he constracted fanners driven by the mill. At this time agriculture seems to have engaged attention, and accordingly, the first agricultural society in the rural districts of the Province, w mk formed on the 1st January, 1817, at "West River. This was before the publication of the letters of John Young, under the signature of Agricola. A meeting was held some time before, at which the resolution wad adopted, to " form a society for the improve- ment of agriculture, to bo called ' The West River Farming Society.' " Accordingly the Society was regu- larly organized at that date, 20 persons joining, and the following being elected office bearers : — Rev. Duncan Ross» President ; Robert Stewart, Vice-President ; Donald Fraser, Treasurer ; John Bonnyman, Secretary ; David McCoull, John Oliver, Anthony Smith, George McDonald, John McLean, Jonathan Blanchard, Committee. They seem to have had a poet among them also, for in the front of their minute book, the following appears as their motto :— > Let this be held the farmers' creed, I For stock seek out tho choicest breed, > \ ■ In peace and plenty let them feed. Your lands sow with tho best of seed, Let it not dung nor dretising want, ' .' .' And then provisions won't be scant. •' By the rules then adopted, each member was to pay 5s. entry money and Is. 3d. quarterly ; no persons were to be admitted but farmers and freeholders of good moral character. And to insure continued good behaviour, it was enacted, that " if any member shall curse or swear or use any indecent language, or introduce any subject inconsistent with the business of the Sodiety, he shall be fined by tho President and a majority of the members present, in a sum not exceeding Ss." The Society was to meet quarterly, and at each meeting a topic or topics, connected with rural economy, was to be discussed, " each member to come prepared either with m 'i 298 a written essay, or to speak on the subject,*' the question selected for the first quarterly meeting in April, being, " "What is the best method of preparing and increasing manure ? " It served to elicit differences of opinion, for one man rose and said, that " instead of finding ways of making more, he wished they would find some way of getting quit o' it, for it was just a bother about his bam." The Society continued to hold quarterly meetings, and to discuss agricultural topics. In the year 1818, they lield a ploughing match in Mr. Mortimer's field, said to have been the first ever held in the Province. They imported seed grain, agricultural implements, and Ayrshire cattle. They also held some cattle shows, at which prizes were gi ,-en for the best stock. They also gave prizes for the best acre of wheat and other crops, the greatest amount under summer fallow, and " to the person who should stump and plough fit for crop the greatest quantity of land never ploughed before, not more than three stumps per acre left on the land, and all stones that materially obstruct the operation of ploughing and harrowing to be removed, the quantity to be not less than two acres." In April, 1824, they offered ^7 10s., in addition to the Legis- lative grant, for a flax mill. Anthony Smith, Esq., undertook to erect one. It was commenced that year, and in the following he received a prize for it, being the first of the kind erected in the Province. It did not however work long, as it did not receive sufficient employment to maintain it. In the year 1819 the name was changed to the Pictou Agricultural Society, and Ed. Mortimer elected President, and some time after we find them presenting the Eev. Duncan Ross with a new plough, •* to be one of "Wllkies best, as an expression of their sense of hisjservicep to the cause of agriculture." In the year 1820, we find a notice of a similar society on the East "River, of which Dr. McQ-regor was Secretary. 299 Others were formed in ofher parts of the conirtry, and continued for some time, aided by grants from the Central Board, and had considerable effect in improving the habils of our farmers, In the year 1819, the whole community was shocked by the most dreadful murder probably ever committed in the Province, — viz., that by Donald Campbell of his father^ and stepmother. He was a simple ignorant man, but not previously regarded as violent or cruel. He was an only son, but his father had taken a second wife, and he was afraid, that in consequence he would lose his share of the paternal estate. This led him to form the design of destroying thom both. Up till the time of committing the deed, he hawi given no such indications of hostility to them, as to excite any alarm. He lived at Earltown, but on the day before the commission of the deed, he was in town, and on his way back, called at his father's house, which stood on what is now Dinwoodies farm, and there obtained refreshments. He then started on his way homeward, calling at houses on his way as iar as Wost Branch River John, with the design doubtless of producing the impression, that he had gone home. But when night came, he retraced his steps towards his father's house, which was a small one constructed of logs. Arriving theie, he fastened the door by moans of withes attached to the handle of the latch, and then set it on fire, while his father and stepmother wei e asleep. They were awakened by the fire, and succeeded in forcing the door open. They then commenced removing their things from the house, uttering at the same time loud cries for assistance. Donald ' was on the watch, and as his father was coming out with a large iron pot, he struck him with a heavy suck, and pushed him back into the house, where his b^nes were found next day. His step mother succeeded in getting out. She was a stout strocg woman and it was thought, that if she had I ? li \ i '> 1' \']i n t'l ■i 1^' f ! •I I .■ , i^ 800 liad fair play, she wt'Tiic!. have mastered him, but he struck her on the head with his dreadful bludgeon, and then drew her to the fire to cast her in. She was a heavy woman and either from her weight, or being alarmed before he accomplished his purpose, he only succeeded in putting her partially into the flames ; and in doing so, was somewhat scorched himself, a fact which afterward told against him on the trial. In the meantime, their cries had brought to the scene a neighbour named Mcintosh, who blew his horn to give notice of his coming. As he approached, Donald ran away. Mcintosh saw his retreating figure, but did not suspect who it was, indeed supposed he had seen a ghost. He found Mrs. Campbell dead, and her body partly burned. He dragged it out of the fire, but was too late to save anything out of the house. He also found a little dog of Donald's at the spot, a circumstance which after- ward excited suspicion. Mrs. Campbell was buried without an inquest, although her brother, the late Angus Campbell, elder, Scotch Hill, at her funeral declared his belief that she had been mur- dered. A number of circumstances excited suspicion, and Donald was arrested. His stepmother's body was exhumed, and, on examination by the late Dr. Johnston, the marks upon it, left no doubt, that her death had been caused by violence. The stick was found with his father's blood and grey hairs upon it, and was afterwards produced in Court. A button was picked up, and on examination it was found to correspond with those on his coat, from which there was one missing. A gun flint was picked up on the spot, and a brother-in-law recognized it by a private mark, as one he had lent him just before the murder, and Campbell's gun was found without a flint. It was supposed that he had intended to blioot his parents, but that the flint had dropped out, and in the dark he could not find it, the great avenger having left it to cry d y d n SOI from the gToand against him. Parties te&tified to seeing him at yarious points on the road or taking to the woods before and after the fire. S. Gr. W. Archibald, who con- ducted the prosecntion, took a large sheet of foolscap paper, and marking one point as the site of the honse, and others at proper distances, to indicate the different points at which he had been seen, held it up before the jury, and showed how exactly the times of his being seen, coincided with the view of his going to and from his fathers house, though he denied haying been near it that night. The whole circumstances left no doubt of his guilt, and accordingly at the September term of the Supreme Court, he was found guilty and sentenced to be executed. The sentence was carried out at the scene of his crime, the gallows being erected on the site of his father's honse. He was taken from the jail in Fictou in a cart, to Rogers Hill Church, which was as far as a wheeled carriage could go, guarded by a body of militia drafted from the several companies, and attended by several clergymen. There the fetters being removed from liis legs, he walked the rest of the way under the same escort. Before his execution, he confessed his crime, but showed little appearance of contrition, although Dr. McGregor and the other ministers used all the means in their power, to bring him to a sense of his conduct and repentance for it. A large concourse assembled at the execution, and just before it took place, Dr. McGregor offered a prayer, which, from its earnestness and tenderness, lingered in the minds of most who heard it, while memory remained. But he was obliged to turn away in sadness, with the words " ' Donald, I believe nothing will ever melt your heart." The execution was superintended by the High Sheiiff of Halifax, but was clumsily effected. When he gave the signal, the executioner attempted to draw the bolt, but it only slowly yielded to his efforts, and when the trap door fell with the unfortunate man, the knot 6lipi>ed '11 .i} n ., J. i \ \- iti' 802 I rormd to the back of his neck, which remained unbroken, eo that he slowly choked to death. As the rope untwisted, he swung round with his face to the bpcctators on one side, and then as it recoiled, to those on the other, while his heavy breathing could be heard over the crowd, and, it was said, the pulsations of his heart, but perhaps rather, the heaving of his chest, could be seen by those near, presenting a spectacle, which led many present, never to see another execution. We may here mention, that thore have since been two executions in the county. The first was Neil McFadyan for the murder of James Kerr. In the fall of 1847, they had travelled together from Bay Ghaleur to Pictou. Eerr's friends, not hearing from him, became anxious, and in spring enquiries were set on foot, when he was traced in company with McFadyan till near the house of the latter at Blue Mountain. The attention of parties in the neighbourhood was attracted by a stench from a neighboring wood, and on a search, part of a human body and clothes were found, which were identified as those of Kerr. Farther examination brought out a mass of circumstantial evidence, which left no doubt of McFadyan's guilt. And on trial before Judge Bliss, at the October term of the Supreme Court, he was condemned and sentenced to be executed. He was a bold, hardened villain, with no want of intelligence. The execution took place near the Beaches on the lot owned by the public, and used on occasions as a lazaretto. It was ordered to take place between ten and two o'clock. He was taken to the ground earlier than the hour intended. "While they were waiting, it being a raw, cold day, late in the fall of the year, he said to the Sheriff, sb rugging his shoulders, *' It's cold here ; you may as well put me through at once." The other was the case of John McPhail for the murder of his wife. He was a poor, simple creature, who kept a i 808 low groggery back of the Albion Mines, on the> roaa to the Middle Eiver. His -wifo and he drank, and while both were under the influence of liquor, he beat her over the head and other parts of the body with a pick handle, even breaking her arm, so that she died. He was convicted principally on the evidence of his own child. A criminal, who gave more trouble than either, and excited more alarm in the county, was a man named Jack Hines. He was an Englishman, who had come here and married in this county. He was a strong man and a great bully, so that he became a terror to the neighbour- hood. He was at length arrested, tried and found guilty of burglary. The penalty at that time was death, but the jury recommended him to mercy. The judge however was bound to pronounce the sentence. The recommen- dation to mercy had to be forwarded to London, for the consideration of the Home Government, and such was the irregularity of communication, that though forwarded in February, an answer was not received till October, during which time he was kept in prison, his elbows kept close by his side, by means of a chain across the back attached to each. A pardon having arrived, there was considerable alarm at the prospect of his release, particularly among some of the magistrates, residing out of town. They therefore told him, that the condition of his pardon was, that he should leave the district. He was accordingly escorted to Mount I'hom across the line, and left to pursue his way further as he pleased. Three nights after he robbed a store near Truro. He was arrested and on trial was sentenced to the workhouse in Halifax, but not long after made his escape. "We must now notice the trade of Piotou during the period we are reviewing. After the conclusion of the war, the timber trade still continued, though on a diminished scale, and we may here notice some of those engaged in it. Next to Mortimer, must be mentioned George Smith. ,'1-1 1!! ^1 804 Il0"was a native of Scotland, w^ believe of Banff, and was taken into partnership by Mr. Mortimer, their business being conducted under the name of Edward Mortimer & Co. After the death of the latter the business was oon- ducted by Mr. Smith and William Mortimer, a nephew of Edward's, under the name of Smith, Mortimer & Go. Afterward, however, they dissolved partnership and each of them did business separately, "^oi some years they were the most influential business men in Fictou. Mr. Smith represented the County of Halifax, from Mr. Mortimer's death in 1819 till the year 1836, when the County was divided, afie- which he represented the County of Pictou till tLe y ci k 1838, when he was appointed to ihe Legislative Council. Mr. Smith was a i^an of fine presence and a gentleman . ^ th o'A school. He was an able business man, and succeeded, as far as it was possible for one man in the advanced state of the country to do, to the place and influence of Mortimer. I'he misfortunes of his later years obscured all his former glory, and almost blotted from memory the services of his early career. It is therefore due to him to say, that at this period he was an active merchant, and did much for the business of the port — that he filled several public offices, judge of Probate, judge of the Superior Court, and Custos of the County in a most creditable manner, and that as a member of the Legislature, he commanded the highest respect, and was largely influential in promoting the interests of Pictou. < We may also notice John and Abraham Patterson, sons of old John Patterson. They began business in Pictou about the year 1815. Mortimer said when he heard of their commencing, that he was more afraid of those two young men, than of any persons that had ever begun business in Pictou. Though during the preceding years of prosperity, others had engaged in merchandizing, he still regarded any person attemptiQg general trade, as an 305 4U intruder upon his legitimate domain, and he employed his power to defeat their enterprise. But in a short time, by their energy, and the confidence which they had inspired by their honorable dealings, they were doing a business, in its extent iDerhaps not. surpassed by any in the eastern part of the Province. Their trade consisted principally in shipping timber to Britain, the fisheries, and the "West India trade. In timber the article most in demand was squared pine, which was still obtained in considerable quantities in Pictou and the outports. They were not engaged largely in shipbuilding, their operations being confined princi- pally to the building of small vessels for the fisheries or the "West India trade. In fishing, the mode of doing business was to send to the various places to which the finny tribes chiefly resorted, small vessels, loaded with barrels, salt, and supplies of goods, such as fishermen required, in charge either of one of the firm or an agent, who exchanged these articles for fish. In this way they prosecuted the fishery the whole season, commencing with the G-aspereaux in Spring, then following succes- jsively the spring mackerel and the spring herring, the codfish and salmon, the fall herring and fall mackerel. In this way their business extended as far as Richibucto on the North, Kustico on the North coast of Prince Edward Island, Margarie and Cheticamp on the North coast of Cape Breton, and Causo on the South shore of Nova Scotia. At that time fish were taken in quantities which now seem almost incredible, five hundred barrels of mackerel at a single haul being considered a good, but not an extraordinary catch. Oftentimes they could not be cured, and heaps containing hundreds of barrels were left to rot upon the shore. The fishermen were generally a reckless set, depending on taking by a single haul enough to keep them for six months, and were dependant upon traders, for the sujxply of most Sjjl .1 , ri 1 'Ki -iiiiliti vl 806 ■ I! of the necessaries of life. The fish brought back in these expeditions, was 8hipi)ed, along with various kinds of lumber to the West Indies, and the vessels brought back return cargoes of "West India produce. Ini this trade the brothers continued for a number of years- Doubtless there are many enterprising men in Pictou at the present day, but where is all this business now ? Por the decline of the timber trade, there is a good reason in the exhaustion of the supply, but why should not the fisheries be carried on from Pictou, as well as from ports, more distant from the places frequented by the^e finnjr tribes. In their business dealings the two brothers were muck esteemed. "We have met in distant places in Cape Breton, and along the south shore of the Province, persons who looked back with the kindliest recollections to the days» when they traded to these quarters, and spoke with the warmest feelings of respect for themselves personally. They retired from business in the year 1832. The older, so long known as " the deacon," many in Pictou. will still remember. A man of but few words, he was ready for every good work. In the congregation he was the deacon and the manager, never putting himself for- ward, but always having work laid upon him, and doing it as naturally as if taking his meals, — a man of such entire negation of self, that ne never seemed to feel that he was doing anything, yet the man to whom everybody looked when anything was to be done. Such was he in every society with which he was connected. He filled also public situations with honor to himself and advan- tage to others. He was a trustee of the Pictou Academy from its foundation, and for many years its treasurer. He was also treasurer to the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia, when, however, the keeping of its accounts, and the disbursement of its funds, was not a matter of great labor. G-uileless in character, lovable 307 in nature and unasstnning in all that he did, he passed away not only without an enemy, but amid universal expressions of profound respect. He died April, 1847. Abraham, though in his later years living in a great measure retired from public life, was at this time for years one of the most prominent men in Pictou. In the year 1815 or '16, he was appointed a justice of the peace, which at that time involved something, having been recommended to the position by the unanimous voice of a public meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Pictou, and filled the office for more than fifty years. He was also a judge of the Inferior Court, at the time of the abolition of that tribunal, in the public movements of his time, he for many a day bore an honorable part. He died June, 1867. The meeting for the election of magistrates referred to, took place at Taylor's Tavern, on the east side of the street leading to Yorstons Wharf, his biggest room being prepared for the purpose, when besides Mr. P., his brother, Walter, Robert Patterson, and, we believe, Robert McKay, were chosen, and in due course were appointed by Government. The meeting was harmonious, and not less so, when the nominations being over, one gentleman arose and said, " Mr. Chairman, I have another motion to propose." Attention being directed to him, he added, " I move that we now call for liquors all round." There is no record of the result, but we venture to say that the motion was carried, nem: con., and, unlike many a better resolution, was immediately carried into execution. Robert Patterson here mentioned, was usually known as Black Bob, to distinguish him from two cousins of the same name, his title being derived from the colour of his hair, all being grandsons of Squire Patterson. He lived above Dr. McCulloch's place on the old road, was now in busi- ness, and afterward an active magistrate. Walter Patterson was the third son of John Patterson. r' n I *m i I IM '/I 1 i ■ t Vi \l mm 808 Few now remember him, but these few are always touched with tenderness, as they speak of him. By those who knew him, he is described as the ablest and finest of the first generation, that grew up in the town. He was a notary public, and filled such important oflices as Olerk of the Peace, Prothonotary, and Clerk of the Commis- sioners' Court, besides more private ones, as Secretary of the Friendly Society. As has been said, wherever accuracy and good business habits were wanted, Walter Patterson was the man. He was specially beloved for his social habits. Though distinguished by a sobriety unusual for the times, yet a genial humor that never wounded, rendered him the joy of any circle he entered. He died in 1821, at Plymouth, England. Among the other merchants of this period we may mention James Dawson. He was a native of Banff, and at first did business as a saddler, but afterward commenced trading, fo"" lowing the course we have already described in ship building, shipping timber, the fisheries and the "West India trade. Finding trade prospering, he sent for his brother Robert, in partnership with whom he carried on business for some time, both saddling and merchan- dizing. But after a time they separated and each did business on his own account. The commercial changes of 1825-26, which we shall more particularly describe presently, involved him in pecuniary embarrassment. Being connected by marriage with Mr. Boyd, of the firm of Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, he was through them led to engage in the bookselling business, the first in the Province out of Halifax who did so. Encumbered with • the debts of his previous business, which he had under- taken to pay with interest, he continued to prosecute it though without any very large profit to himself, main- taining A bookstore, which for many years surpassed those in Halifax, dealers there giving their attention mainly to stationery. In this way he was the means of circulating 809 lii'i much healthful literature, and thus of promoting the progress of knowledge in the county and beyond. Ho was actively engaged in the religious societies of the day, and, though not having the knack of gaining popularity, he in these and other ways served his generation. Ho died at the residence of his son, Dr. J. W. Dawson of Montreal. His brother also was for many years a pro- minent man, especially in the religious movements of the day. Vlo might also mention Robert McKay, Esqr., who, after the death of Mortimer, with whom he had been clerk, commenced business at River John, where ho was successful for a time, but succumbed to the commercial storm just referred to. Ho was afterward shipping agent at South Pictou for the General Mining Association, and succeeded Mr. Smith as Gustos of the county. At this time commenced Henry Hatton. His father, Robert Hatton, was a lawyer, who emigrated from Ireland and settled in Pictou about the year 1813. Pis son first commenced business in one of the wings of John Dawson's building, but afterward had a large set of buildings, at what is now South Market St., but which was then not built up, and was known as Hattons wharf. Ho was afterward one of the largest shipbuilders in the county, and for several years represented the township of Pictou in the Assembly. "We may here mention a system of trade not uncommon at this time. Captains of vessels brought out supplies of goods, or sometimes solid specie, which they exchanged for timber. Of these the most deserving of notice is Stephen ^Lowrey, of Newcastle, Eng., who, afterward becoming a shipowner, traded with his vessels to Pictou to a con- siderably later period, and who, entering into partnership with the late James Purves, under the name of Stephen Lowrey & Co.. did a large business in shi]? building at the head of Purves' wharf. Trade being now thri\'ing, a number of the merchants H 1 810 combined to build a vessel, to be a regular trader between Pictou and tho old country. She was a brig called the Enterprise, and was built by Thomas Lowdtn, who had a good reputation as a shipbuilder. Sho was launched in August, 1820, and tho occasion was celebraled by a ball on board. She was a square box of a thing, carrying a large cargo for her tonnage, and always proving a safe and successful vessel, though a diill sailer. 8he continued to make her regular trips twice a year, bringing out British goods and taking back timber, till the crash of 1825-6, when she was sold. Thereafter she was employed in carrying coals from Newcastle to London, and was so engaged twenty years later, and may be yet. The timber trade had declined both from the peace, and the diminution of the supply, but it was still of importance ; and with the shipbuilding and other business still carried on, and the improvement in agriculture, still brought a fair measure of prosperity to the county, when there came the terrible financial crisis of 1825 and '2G in the mother country, which resulted in severe losses to all e35 pupils and 198 teachers; also, that there had been imported books to the value of i:i04 Gs lOd. sterling, and that the •: I' . J f if mm}. ■iii i iiii:.^ 1 m '!,jii 812 mnnber circulated was 6,950, besides the libraries attached to many of, the schools. Its last report that we have seen noticed, was in the year 1833, being the eleventh. In the year 1823, the Bible Society was re-organized» From its first formation in 1818, it had scarcely ever met. The plan upon which it had been formed, of one Society for the county, with so many directors from each congre- gation, had not been found convenient in practice. Still these directors had collected money in their several quarters, which was yearly remitted to the parent insti- tution, by Dr. McGregor, who also ordered and circulated Bibles, and generally did the business of the Society. But interest having fallen off, after some solicitation from him, the Society was now re-organized on its present basis, as the Pictou Auxiliary of the British & Foreign Bible Society, with Mr. James Dawson as secretary and depositary. About the same time, the first subscription library in. the county was formed in town. A public meeting wa» held for the purpose, presided over by Dr. McCuUoch,. who urged the importance of the proposal. The first importation of books was made in the spring of 1822. The institution continued for some thirty years, and during that time its books increased, until they formed a. very respectable collection, the circulation of which did much for the promotion of intelligence and literary taste ; but unfortunately interest in it declined, and it was- finally dissolved and the books scattered. Another institution of this period, which however w© cannot commend, must be noticed. We allude to the Ballast Pier. From the number of vessels arriving in ballast, the discharge of which in lighters involved much labor and expense, a number of persons forrned the idea, that it would ba a profitable speculation to build a wharf on the edge of the channel, at which vessels might directly discharge. They also expected to fill in from it 813 to the Deacons Wharf, and to make money by the lots to be reclaimed from the water. At the same time, the magistrates fearing injury to the harbour, by the manner in which ballast was being discharged, obtained in the year 1819 an Act of the Legislature, authorizing the Court of Sessions to make regulations for the good of commerce and the preservation of the harbour. In this act they were empowered to •' fix such places in the harbour as shall be most convenient and proper for ships and vessels to discharge th^ir ballast, and to make such agreement as may bo needful and necessary with persons, for erecting and building wharves and other conveniences, for such ships and vessels to discharge their ballast upon," &c. Accordingly they contracted with this company to build such a wharf as mentioned, giving them the exclusive right to receive ballast on it for the next ten years, and empowering them to levy a remuneration of 8d. per ton register on every vessel so discharging. The wharf was accordingly constructed, and till the year 1824 vessels discharged there. But by this time the folly of the scheme began to appear. The wharf, from the wood of which it was built decaying, began to spread, and its contents to be discharged into the channel. The company,, who had lost money by their speculation, wished to have their power extended to twenty years, but the magistrates refused, although they for a time permitted'a practice not really any wiser, of vessels drawing up opposite the Battery Point and discharging their ballast there. The result is, that what was to fill the pockets of the projectors, net only proved a bad business for them, but remains an unsightly ruin, and an injury to the harboar. Sir James Kempt on visiting Pictou, when he came in sight of the hurbour, seeing the ballast pier, asked what that was. On being told, he said, " You have spoiled your harbour,'^ and to some extent this h&s been the case. In an ecclesiastical point of view, the period we are '.'ill i Jiii f i: I; >| 13 i: i il r< \f ill Si; '.' ':i\^\ i 1 lliil 11 i 314 now reYiewing, reqtiires special notice, as that of the commencement of those religious divisions, for which the county has been since somewhat noted. The first ministers of the county were from what was then known as the Antiburgher branch of the Secession, but in teach- ing their people, they never introduced the peculiarities which divided Presbyterians in Scotland. The large majority of their original hearers were from the Established Church of Scotland, but they were glad to get the gospel, And, served as they were by inen of superior powers, who cheerfully endured toil and privation for their spiritual ^ood, raising no question as to Establishment or Secession, they not only fell in with their ministry, but became devot- edly attached to them. There was thus entire harmony throughout the county, except as here and there opposition might be raised to a minister, by an individual •of a litigious disposition. Afterward when every settle- ment was disturbed by strife, those who could remember this period, often looked back uixjn it with fond regret. At the same time, there was no union among the Presbyterians throughout the Province. When Dr. McQ-regor arrived, like so many Scotchmen since, he thought that the difference which separated them in the old country, should be maintained here, and refused to unite with the Presbytery of Truro. " Taught by experience," he says, " that the peculiar rules of church communion observed in Scotland could not apply here, they offered to me the right hand of fellowship, which I, destitute of their teaching, did not accept." This want of union at first did little posilivcharm, as the congregations were separated, sometimes by wide tracts of wilderness, and there being little intercourse between them. In no case were two congregations maintained in the same place, or a congregation split in two, by any question which divided Presbyterians in the mother country. But as intercourse increased, the inconsistency of their posiUon 815 'became apparent. The members of their congregations passed from one to the other, and were received withont question and without scruple, and yet the ministers remained apart; and thus too, although the ministers were personally friendly, there was lost the benefit of united action. They had somatimes met to consult on matters of -common interest, and to some extent co-operated in promoting tba Redeemer's Kingdom. But now the state of matters pressed itself upon their attention, sc that after mutual intercourse and consultation, it was resolved to form a union, on the simple basis of the Westminster Confession of Faith, leaving all the questions, which •divided Presbyterians in Scotland, as matters of forbear- ance. One measure, which at this time tended to bring this about was the Collegiate Institution, at this time projected in Pictou. The greatness of the undertaking in their circumstances, and yet the pressing call for such an institution, in consequence of the deficient supply of ministers from abroad, rendered combined action necessary, to its successful establishment and maintenance. The union was accordingly consummated in July 1817, the name adopted for the united body being, " the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia," and caused great joy. It embraced all the Presbyterian ministers in the Province) including two or three originally from the Church of Scotland, with the exception of liev. A. Gray of Halifax, the constitution of whose congregation prevented his joining, but who remained on friendly terms with its ministers, and co-operated with them in their work as long as he lived. This was the first of the Presbyterian unions, and was on a liberal basis. Its immediate results were happy. It was a leading cause of the union, which was accomplished in Scotland, between the two branches of the Secession in 1820, and at home, the Synod addressed itself energeti- n 1 .■; t J'' 1 :)'M '■ \ ■ i ,1; i ; / . ij Mi 'if i' lit > !l <:i 'I I m 816 l! cally to its work. But looking upon it with the light, which time throws upon events, we can now see that the good men who accomplished it, were simply at least sixty years before their age, for in this 1877, we cannot enjoy the general union at which they aimed, and which they fondly hoped they had achieved. Already a cloud, seemingly no bigger than a man's hand, appeared on the horizon, and soon the commencement of strife proved as the letting out of waters. We have already mentioned the commencement of party division in Pictou after the election of 1799. But from an early period an ecclesiastical element mingled with the personal and political feelings then excited. Mortimer was most friendly with the Secession ministers, while "Wallace and the official party regarded a dissenter as a rebel, or worse, if such could be. Any man therefore who took offence at his minister became the friend of "Wallace, and any one opposed to Mortimer was apt to quarrel with the church. Thus the two elements became mixed, and a parly gradually sprang up opposed to the leading men both in Church and State. In the years that followed, as wfl have seen, there was a large inllux of settlers, from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, very ignorant, only a minority able to read, yet like most people coming from j;he old country then and long after, looking with great contempt on ministers and every thing else in America, and this in proportion to their ignorance. Jn the Highlands, the Secession church was known only by report and that unfavourable ; and while, with few exceptions, the old settlers, who knew by experience the labours ol their first ministers, and had a grateful recollection of the manner in which they had shared their privations, warmly adhered to them, the new cclaQts began to decry them, as not preaching the gospel and to clamour for ministers of the Church of Scotland. The payment of stipend was to them I 317 a grievance previously unknown, and Ihey regarded it as one of the glories of the Establishment to be free from it, and they expected by getting ministers of that body to enjoy the same immunities here. Those immigrants had now filled up the back settlements, so that the ministers here were unable properly to supply them with minis- terial service. J3ut knowing the natural prejudices of these people and being anxious to obtain for them minis- ters to their liking, and at the same time having learned to disregard the distinctions among the Presbyterians in Scotland, if they could obtain men of the right stamp, they applied to the leading ministers of the church of Scotland in the Highlands, such as Dr. Stewart, of Dingwall and Mcintosh of Tain, to obtain ministers of that body to supply the wants of the settlers, still desiring and hoping to keep the Presbyterians here together as one body. These men fully approved of the union, and were anxious to meet ihe wishes of Dr. McGregor and his friends, but alter a good deal of enquiry, they were obliged to write, that they could not get men to come, upon whom they could depend. Just at this time others arrived, who adopted a different policy. The first minister of the Church of Scotland who remained in the county was the Rev. Donald A. Fraser, who arrived here in the year 1817. Ho was a native of the Island of Mull, of which his father was the parish minister. Being from the Church of Scotland, he was eagerly laid hold of by those who had been dissatisfied with the ministers here. Soon after he settled at McLennans Mountain, where there were at that time about forty families. There the next year a frame church, capable of seating 600 persons, was erected, and alongside sof it, a log house for himself and his wife. This was the first church in ihe county, built in connection with the Church of Scotland, and we may ^ ay in the Province, for although there have been some others older, they were j'ifi' i-'p- ^. 1 h It's; I h ^1 1 •' m ii ill * '1 318 not originally built in that connection. A year later, another was built on Frasers Mountain, about six miles, distant from that on McLennans Mountain, and two from New Glasi^ow, which then could scarcely be said to exist, and Mr. Eraser preached at these places alternately, giving also some supply to Blue Mountain, and preaching occasionally in other places, where parties were forming in connection with the Church of Scotland. There were at arst only twenty-five families at Frasers Mountain, but they became the nucleus of the congregation of ISt. Andrews, New Glasgow. In lue year 1828, the church was hauled down there, and placed on the lot on which their present place of worship stands. But a person who at this time made more disturbance and excitement was Norman McLeod, who arrived in Pictou about the year 1818. Qe was not only not connected with any religious body, but denounced them all, even going so far as to say there was not a minister of Christ in the whole establishment. Those who have heard him at Ihis time, describe his preaching as consisting of torrents of abuse against all religious bodies, and even against individuals, the like of which they had never heard, and which were perfectly indescribable. He had never been licensed or ordained, but regarded himself as under higher influences than the ministers of any church. •* I am so full of the Holy Ghost, that my coat will not button on me," he said once in a sermon, as he made the attempt to bring the two sides together in front.^ But though so wilily fanatical, he was a man of great pov/er, and gained an influence over a large portion of the Highlanders, such as no man in the county possessed. As Dr. McGregor said, " he will get three hearers to Mr. • Ho did not seem to be always so favored. A gentleman told me that on one occasion be went to where he was preaching in a barn. As he passed the open barn door, McLeod stopped and said, "as soon as I saw that man, tb& Spirit refuficd mo utterance." 319 Fraser's one, and the people will go much fui-ther to heaT him, than any minister in Pictou." He took up his residence at Middle River, and the people of the upper part of the river, Lairg and neighborhood, who had hitherto been under the ministry of Mr. Ross, generally followed him, so that the latter relinquished to him his church at Middle River, which we may remark stood at McKerr's intervale. But his influence extended to many in almost every part of the county, and by his followers he was regarded with unbounded devotion. After a time, however, a number became dissatisfied, when they found that he would not give them baptism for their children. Indeed during his lifetime, he found very few whom he considered qualified to receive the ordinance, and we are not certain if he found any to whom he would administer the Lord's Supper. He then induced a number of those over whom lie retained his influence, to emigrate, and for this purpose to build a vessel at Middle River Point, which he called the A.rk. In this they left, and afterwards formed the settlement ol St. Anns, in Cape Breton.* Many in the county still remained his attached adherents, and were usually known as Normanites, and almost as long as he remained in the Province, when he visited Pictou they attended him wherever he went. It is but just to say, that these were regarded as among the most moral and religious of our Highland population. In the year 1824, the Rev. Kenneth John McKenzie arrived in Pictou, and commenced his ministry among tho * At St. Anns he labored for uiany ytiCirs, maintaining an unbounded evray over his adherents, which was used in favor of temperance and sound morality, but also wo must say in nurturing a fanatical Pharisaism. He published a Tulume of some size, styled Normauism, besides minor publications. When an old man, he induced a number of his people again to emigrate, and for this purpose to build a vessel. In ibis they proceeded to Australia, and theuco to New Zealand, where he died. ,'i^ m " ■j-':'-! \' 1 ||: m ■ !j^' ■;. * m V ';' I'l- '] / m'Ui~- li-t-ii 1 Ji m I! ! 'W adherents of the Kirk in town. He was a native of Stornoway, and a man of superior talents. He at first preached in the court-house, but Ihat summer, St. Andrews church was begun, and as soon as the outside was finish- ed, service was held in it, the audience being seated on, rude benches. Up till this time, Mr. Fraser had been on friendly terms with Dr. McGregor, and though the spirit of contention had been rising, it was still hoped that permanent division would have been avoided. But from this time ho broke off all association with him, refusing even the hospitalities of his house, at which he had been a frequent visitor. Thenceforward he and Mr. McKeuzie devoted their energies to completing the work of division. As the people had been hitherto under the pastoral care of ministers of the Secession, this carried strife into every part of the county, and often into families. From the position of parties in the old country at that time, this division was probably unavoidable, but from the manner in which it originated here, and other circumstances, the feelings excited were very violent, and the results deplorable. Other ministers of the body followed. The people of Gairloch andSaltsprings obtained the Rev. Hugh McLeod. Highlanders can stand a good deal in their minister, if he be of the true Church of Scotland, but he was more than they could stand, and after a few years they got rid of him, at the expense of a lawsuit. He went to Demerara, where he died, on the 10th May, 1832. In the year 1827, the Eev. John McEae, became minister of those who adhered to the Church of Scotland, at the Upper Settle- ment of the East River, where he continued till the disruption, when he returned to Scotland. The Rev. Dugald McKeichan, settled in Barneys River the same year, but only remained there three years. He returned in 1840, but also wepit to Scotland ot the disruption. Rev 't 821 Mr. McOaulay was the first minister of Rogers Hill. Ho is »aid to have been a relation of the historian. He removed to Prince Edward Island, where he relinquished the ministry, and was for years one of the ablest members of the Legislature m '■4 f! ^1 'Ml '.i'i it CHAPTER XVI. DR. McOUIiLtXJH AND THE PICTOU ACADEMY. We must now turn back, to give an account of the efforts of Dr. McCulloch on behalf of education, and of the discussions, political and ecclesiastical, connected with the subject, which at one time occupied so prominent a place in the history of the county. The want of ministers to occupy the numerous destitute settlements of the Province, had from an early period engaged the attention of those already in the field, and they sent urgent appeals to the bodies in Scotland, from which they had come, for additional laborers. The supplies thus received, however, were always irregular and inadequate, and hence was almost forced upon their attention, the question of the possibility of training young men for the ministry in this country. Under the influence of suoh considerations. Dr. McCulloch, as we have men- tioned, as early as the year 1805, only two years after his arrival, projected an institution for the purpose of giving instruction ii. the higher branches of education — which would thus meet the object of the Presbytery, by giving young men desirous of entering the Gospel ministry, that literary and scientific culture, which the Presbyterian 31 mm 1 I'lf ■! ! •'!] N T.- ' Ill 822 Ohnrch has sought in its ministers, and at the same time afford the benefit of liberal studies to all who chose to avail themselves of them. In that year, a society was formed for the establish- ment of 6uch an institution, and subscriptions were taken throughout the district. The following is a copy of the ' heading of the one on the East River, the others, wo presume, being in the same terms : — "We, the subscribers, hereby declare our approbation of the Society formed in Fictou, for establishing a college of learning in this district. Wo are persuaded that such an institution would have a powerful influence to promote the interests of society, both by disseminating general knowledge, correcting the vices oi youth, and instilling into their minds the principles of virtue. That this design may therefore bo carried into effect, we bind and oblige ourselves, our heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, to pay tho sams respectively subscribed by us, one-third part on the first Tuesday of May, 1806, another third part on tho first Tuesday of May, 1807, and the remaining third part on the first Tuesday of May, 1808, to such person or persons as the society shall appoint for transacting their business." This was headed by Dr. McGregor, with a subscription of £20, " provided the Harbour congregation pay me tho sixteen pounds which they owe me." Others follow with subscriptions of i)10, the whole amount in that settlement being £126, ($500). Writing at this time, Dr. McGregor says " The increasing demand for ministers seems to intimate the necessity of raising them in this country. The great expense of everything here renders this undertaking next to hopeless in our circumstances, yet Mr. McCuUoch, who started tho idea, has sanguine nopes. Pictou people have subscribed about iJl^OOO, a « more liberal subscription than they are well able to pay. We expect some money from the Province Treasury if we give our seminary & little name, as not rivalling lb» University, : which Government has established. We expect great assistance from Britain and Ireland. We intend to send Mr. McCulloch home to beg." The project was not carried into execution at that time. As far as obtaining Provincial aid, or even the legislation iHiw, 828 iWJcessaTy for establishing snch an institntion, with "Wentworth governor and Wtillace at his back, we suspect that any expectations were found hopeless. Such a scheme would only appear to them as favoring a nest of pestilent disloyalty, which ought to be crushed as the serpent's brood. The country too was not in a state to support such a measure. The idea however was not lost sight of, and with a view to its ultimate realization, the ministers took charge of promising young men, to whom they gave instruction, in the way of preparing them for entering such an institution, and at the same time raised funds to aid in supporting them. In the year 1814, we find Mr. Ross teaching five boys Latin and Greek, with a view to the ministry. Dr. McGregor also did something in the same way. In the meantime Dr. McCuUoch, partly to improve his circumstances, for like most of the ministers of that period, he was imperfectly supported by his congregation, and partly with the view of raising the standard of education in the district, about this time opened a school of a higher class; and when in 1811, the Government passed an Act granting jBIOO per annum for a Grammar School in each county, and in the districts of Colchester, Pictou and Yarmouth, he obtained the grant for the one under his charge, and held it for a number of years. The building in which he taught, stood nearly opposite his gate on the old road out of town to the west. "We may observe here that it continued to be used in the same way, *'ll the winter of 1824, when it was hauled down to the lot, on which the engine house is i^ow built. The ground was boggy, and it was placed on a foundation built up of squared logs, a few feet above the ground. After this it still continued to be used as a Grammar School, constantly till the year 1832, and again some years later. The number and progress of the young men attending this institution, and studying in other quarters, revived ''III l«i 824 iil the idea ^f a college ; and accordingly under the leader- ship of Dr. McCulloch, and the cordial approval of the Governor having been first obtaiued, a Society was formed for the establishment of such a seminary on a liberal basis. As Mortimer was then a power in the Legislature, and Sir John Coapo Sherbrooke, the Governor, the most independent ruler that was ever at the head of cur affairs, success was confidently anticipated. Accordingly on the petition of Dr. McGregor and others, both in Pictou and elsewhere, an act of incorporation was. granted to the trustees in the year 1816. At this time we should observe, that the only institution in the Province at that time for the higher education was the college at Windsor. It was established by an Act of the Legislature of Nova Scotia, about the ^ear 1790, which at^the same time provided <£400 sterling a year (as currency then was — i)444, or $1,776,) permanently for its support. The only restriction in the Act was that the president should be in holy orders in the Church of England. Subsequently a royal charter was obtained, by which the institution was designated " Kin^^'s College," and the governors thereof authorized to pass statutes or by-laws for its govemment, which they did. in reality. One of them ran thus : " No member of the University shall frequent the Romish Mass, or the meeting-houses of Presbyterians, Baptists or Methodists, or the conventicles or places of worship of any other dissenters from the Church of England, or whore divine service shall not be performed according to the liturgy of the Church of England, or shall be present at any seditious or rebellious meetings." Independent of the bigotry of this, the conjunction the first and last clauses is expressive. But another rai. thus: « No degree shall bo confcn'ed, till the candidate shall have taken the oaths of allegiance, supremacy and obedience to the statutes of the University ; and shall have subscribed the thirty-nine articles of the Church of England, and the three articles contained in the thirty-ninth canon of the Synod of London, beld in the year of our Lord, 1603." i\-'-^^ ' 825 Tho institution was modelled on tho plan of the University of Oxford. The students were obliged, at a heavy expense, to reside within its walls, and its whole management was such, as would have excluded tho i^reat majority of the youth of the Province, even had its statutes been more liberal.* It is noto 8aid that these statutes i\erer were approved of by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who on the contrary expressed his disapproval of thus limiting to a small jwrtion of the community, the benefits of an institution established by Government for the benefit of all, and was even determined to expunge ihe obnoxious laws ; but that part of the trustees prevented the alti^ration. But these were the dominant party of the Institution, and these statements only present in a stronger light the bigotry of those, who in spite of representations ftrom such a quarter, retained such regulations. Nothing was said at this time by the friends of the Institution about there being anything wrong about these statutes. For years after the Pictou Academy began, they were maintained in full force. Charles K. Fairbanks, one of the most brilliant public men that ever graced the Legislature of Nova Scotia, stated, in one of the debates on tho Pictou Academy, that he had been educated at Kings College, but because he could not swallow the tests, he had been refused a degree. We may add here, that while thus restricted to about a fifth of the population, it had been receiving, besides the grant of i5444 from the Legislature of Nova Scotia, illOOO sterling from the British Govern- ment annually since the year 1802. "With these arrangements the people were not satisfied, but scattered as they were, the majority struggling for the ne ossaries of life, and few of them thinking of • T. C. Hallibartoo, ia one of his speeches on the Pictou Academy, as re- ported, said that it cost a young man £120 per annum to live at Windsor College, and only £20 at Pictou. liiii ! li' i iv 326 collegiate education for their children, little had been said, and nothings had been done, to effect a change. But the proposal to establish an institution ca a liberal basis, was generally hailed with satisfaction. The bill for the incorporation of the trustees, was introduced into the House by Mr. Chipmaii, a Baptist, and seconded by Mr. "Wells, and passed unanimously. "Wo think it worth while giving the names of the original trustees. They were, Edward Mortimer, Revs. Duncan Ross and Thomas McCull'jch, Thomas Davidson, George Smith, Robert Lowden, Revs. "William Patrick, James McGregor, Archibald Gray, and James Robson, S. G. "W. Archibald, and James Foreman. The intention was to found an institution specially for Dissenters, not indeed excluding Churchmen, but as Kings College was entirely under the control of the latter, it was expected that only the former would take advantage of the new institution, or combine in its support. Still they wished it equally free to all, and the act of incorporation was introduced into the Assembly and passed there without any tests whatever. But the leaders of the Church of England, who were then dominant in the Council, took alarm at the idea of such an institution, which they judged would form a rallying point for Dissenters against the Church. They were willing, or at least the liberal minded among them were, to allow Presbyterians to have an institution, in which they might give their children such education as they could, but they feared the establishment of a college, which, combining Dissenters in its support, might become the successful rival of Kings. In consequence of this, when the bill was introduced into the Upper House, they introduced a series Ot" tests of a very offensive and vexatious character. Evury new trustee was to be either a member of the Church of England, or cf the Presbyterian religion (not church, for that title was not conceded to might 327 auch a body), and on his election, a majority of the trustees present mnst sign a formal certificate to that effect, and forward it to the Lieutenant Governor. Ho must also appear before the Supreme Court, and, if not of the Church of England, make the following declaration : *' I, A..B., appointed one of the Trustees of the Pictou Academy, do declare that I do profess the Presbyterian religion, as the same is declared in the Westminster Con- fession of Faith." Until he did this, ho could not legally act as trustee. Moreover, ho was required to do this every three ^--ears, or his office became vacant. The same tests were to be applied to every person appointed a teacher, and he also was required to appear before the Supreme Court, and make a similar declaration. The trustees were also prevented from holding any property outside the District of Pictou. The House of Assembly were obliged either to submit to these amendments, or lose the bill, and they reluctantly agreed to them. This act. to which a suspending clause had been appended, afterwards received the t*anction of the Prince Regent, and become law. By this act the Trustees were empowered to pass by-laws and fill up vacancies in the board, subject to the approval of the Governor for the time being. Sometime afterward a charter of incorporation, in pursuance of the act, and under the great seal of the Province, passed to the Trustees. It should have been mentioned, that to avoid exciting the jealousy of the friends of Kings C ollege, who were really all powerful in the Government, it was resolved not to seek the right of conferring degrees or the other privileges of a college. Hence the name Pictou Academy, though from the first it was intended to impart the educa- tion usual in colleges. To establish such an institution under the circumstan- ces, was a task simply herculean. A large portion of the population in the rural districts were still struggling with. ^i 828 the difficulties of a first settlement, and as to education, few thought of seeking for their children more than the ordinary training of a common school. Even that in many places WBS difficult to obtain, and when obtained very inferior. A large proportion of the inhabitants, did not feel the necessity of any thing better, and many did not value education at all. The population was sparse, and the several portions had but little communication with one another or with the capital. The tests introduced by the council threw the institution into the hands of the Pres- byterians, and as they then consisted only of about twenty congregations, most of these in thinly settled districts and the members in humble circumstances, it will be perceived,, that the Dr. had entered upon an undertaking, requiring a large amount of that faith, which can remove mountains. Nevertheless the trustees addressed themselves to their work with great energy. They immediately proceeded to raise money by subscription, beginning with about JB400 among themselves, for the purchase of land and the erection of a suitable building. In this way they collected about jei,000 ($4,000) a large sum under the circum- stances. The following is the heading of the list : " We, the subscribers, desirous of affording our concurrence and assistance to the society formed in Pictou, for providing the means of instruction in the branches of a liberal education, which arc not taught in the Provincial Oi-ammar Schools, hereby bind and oblige ourselves, our heirs and assigns to pay to the Treasurer of the society for the time being, the sums annexed to our respective signatures, the same to be paid when the society shall judge, that a sum has been subscribed sufficient to enter upon the execution of tho said plan." This is commenced by Moirimer, with a subscription of iJlOO, who is followed by the three ministers, Messrs. McG-regor, Ross and McCuUoch, for sums of £50 each. Altogether in the town je628 was subscribed. Dr. McCuUoch was chosen its first president^ and before the building was erected, teaching began. The first classes were opened, as near as we can ascertain, in tha 829 fall of 1817. A room was fitted up in one end of the house, in which the late Peter Crerar, Esq., resided, the other being occupied by the Rev. John McKinlay. Here plain pine desks were erected, so shaky, that on one occasion a Highland student, intent on taking notes, found it so difficult under the movements of his fellow-students, that, his patience being exhausted, he exclaimed, " Please ,. master, they're shaking the dask on me." In this fashion was begun the iirst attempt at free liberal education in these Provinces. "VVe give below a list of the first students.* Soon after the building was completed, and the classes were transferred to it. After the practice of some of the Scottish Universiiies, students were now required to wear red gowns. These were made of light merino, and for the next twenty years these bright scarlet insignia of learning were one of the features of our town, reminding the Scotchman of the ancient seats of learning of his native land. From this time, Dr. McCulloch's life was devoted to the interests of the institution. The largest part of the teaching devolved on him,. and that under the most on- favourable circumstances. The late Jotham Blanchard thus wrote of his efforts, during the infancy of the institution : " Of his daily labours and nightly vigils^ after taking charge of the Institution, I am surelv a competent witness. I was one of his first students, and have often seen him, at 8 o'clock of a winter morning, enter his desk in a state of exhaustion, which too plainly showed the labours of • List of first students at Plctou Academy : — R. S. Patterson, John McLean, John L. Murdoch, Angus McGillivray, Hugh Ross, Hugh Dunbar, James McGregor, Michael McCuIloch, Charles Fraser, Benjamin Diclcson, William Dickson, David Fraser, Edward Harris, Jotham Blanchard, Thomas Forman, Forman, Charles Archibald, David Sawers, John J. Sawyer, Duncan McDonald, John McDonald, Hugh Fraser, Archibald Patterson. Perhaps these were not all present tho first term, but they were ia attendance with the first class, who passed through the Instit-atixui. ^lii I I , i ) j ■) i '■ 1 ; :! 830 !li' mi the night. To this those "who are acquainted with the jsnbject will give credence, when I state that his share of the course was, besides Greek and Hebrew, Logic, Moral Philosophy and Natural Philosophy. In each of these sciences, he drew out a system for himself, which was of course the results of much reading and much thought. "When I add to this account of his daily labours, the repairs and additions which were necessary to a half- worn apparatus, and which none but himself could make, I am almost afraid my testimony will be doubted. And for the first five or six years of the institution, let it be remembered, he had charge of a congregation, and regu- larly preached twice a day, save when over-exertion €nded in sickness." His first co-laboi*er was the Uev. John McKinlay. He was a native of Stirlingshire, Scotland, who came to this country in the-summer of 1817. Dr. McCuUoch having given up the Grammar School, to take chaise of the Academy, Mr. McKinlay succeeded him in the former. Teaching in it part of the day, and aided there by an assistant, he also became teacher ot classics and mathe- matics in the Academy, a position for which he was well qualified, by the accuracy as well as the extent of his scholarship. He-continued to hold this position till the year 1824, when Dr. McCulloch having resigned the charge of the congregation at Pictou, he was ordained as his successor on the 11th of August, 1824, and was succeeded in the Academy by Mr. Michael McCulloch, who had previously been the second teacher in the Grammar Schoql. But during the whole existence of the institution. Dr. McCulloch was its life and soul. As long as he continued in connection with it, he taught logic, moral and natural philosophy. Divers as were the branches devolving upon him, ho taught them all efficiently. I have since had an opportunity of knowing something- of the professors in 331 Edinburgh University, but never till 1 saw them did I know the greatness of Dr. McCulloch. Wo doubt not every professor there would have excelled him in his own particular field, but I believe there was no man in that institution, who could have made the same appearance in all the branches taught that ho did. The same view was expressed to me by Dr. Dawson. Ho had a multi- farious learning, so that he might bo regarded as a whole senatus academicus. He could have taken any branch included in the faculties of Arts and Theology, and taught it in a respectable and efficient manner, I may add, that his intellect was of that peculiar clearness, that whatever he knew, he knew accurately and distinctly. The teaching of the branches named however, was only a small part of the work which devolved upon him. Besides the charge of a congregation till the year 1824, he took an active part in the business of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia, and most of the public documents of the body came from his pen. As fioon as the first class of students was sufficiently advanced, he was requested by the Synod to take charge of their studies in theology. To his other labors was added the instructing of these young men in Hebrew and theology. We may add here that he was a superior Hebrew scholar, and as such almost entirely self taught. But his labours were chiefly increased by the opposition wJiich the institution met with. This, as forming an important chapter in the history of Nova Scotia, as well as of the county, we must now notice. The trustees finding the amount insufficient to complete the building and provide other necessaries, in 1818 petitioned Lord Dalhousie, then Governor, " to recommend a grant of money from the piiblic funds of the Province to assist them in erecting a suitable building, or for such other pa:'])0sc8 as might be necessary in establishing said ! ■■ 832 1 il iiii Academy." His Lordship recommended the object to the Assembly by the following message : — " The institution of an academy at Pictou, appears to me to promise advantages of education, highly favorable to the whole eastern part of this Province, and I there- fore recommend the accompanying petition of the trustees of that academy to your favorable consideration." Upon this message, the House, with only four dissen- tients, passed a resolution for J0500 to the trust ^es, to be drawn for, as soon as they had expended £l,ij )0 from private subscription ; to this resolution the Counci. efused concurrence. In 1819 a similar vote passed the House, and was sanctioned in Council. The trustees continued to make an annual application for money, and during the next four years— 1820, 1821, 1822 and 1823— they received in all from the public funds i;i,300. For several reasons, the trustees about this time began to fear that the death of friends in the Council, and the increase of an influence in that body, which had always been opposed to the institution, might at some period deprive them of public support, and the possibility of this event they found injuriously to affect their arrange- ments. They therefore petitioned for a permanent en- dowment, and the Representative Branch, without a division, passed one to the extent of .£400 a year. This bill the Council rejected. In 1824 the Assembly passed another and similar bill, which was also lost in the Council. A vote of ^£400 for that year was then passed in the Lower and agreed to in the Upper House. * The Academy had ii)W proved itself by its work. Several young men had completed their studies, and were coming forward to take their places in various professions, with good promise of usefulness. In that year, seven young men. having completed a course of ;l!''-*&< .1!;.nii^i 833 study for the ministry in connection with the Presbyterian Church, were licensed to preach the gospel. As these were the first native preachers ever sent forth by that body, in any of these Provinces, and as they were all brought up in Pictou, we may give their names. They were John L. Murdoch, John McLean, R. S. Patterson, Angus McGrillivray, Hugh Eoss, Hugh Dunbar and Duncan McDonald. Thai autumn, three of these, viz. : Messrs. McLean, Murdoch and Patterson proceeded to Scotland, and preached with acceptance in the pulpits of various Dissenting ministers ; and having undergone an examination by Professors "Walker, Sandford, Jardine, Miller, Milne and Meikleham, professors in the University of Glasgow, as to their scholastic attainments, they received the degree of A. M. from that institution. The trustees of the Pictou Academy now felt, that they were entitled to appeal to the Legislature, on behalf of the institution, as no longer an experiment, but as having its character established. They accordingly in 1825, petitioned the Legislature lor the removal of tests, for an enlargement of their powers and for a permanent grant. "We have not a copy of the petition, but presume the enlargement of powers, meant the right of conferring degrees. The petition was referred in the Assembly to a committee, of which Charles R, Fairbanks, Esq., then Solicitor G-eneral, was chairman, which reported as follows : " The Committee are of opinion that the Pictou Academy is a highly useful Institution, conducted on an excellent system, that of the Scotch Universities, and pccxiliarly adapted to meet the wants, and accords with the aentimcnts of the majority of the Province in regard to the higher branches of education. That its establishment and support has been and will continue to be a favorite object with the greater part of the Dissenters in the Province, on account of its total exemption from any disqualifications to students, originating in religious distinctions, and for the careful attention, which its conductors have manifested for the morals of those who attend it. That the attainment of a eonnd classical education, and of a competent kn )wledge of the other branches of science, commonly taught in the higher Bchools, is brought down to tho ir :• Hi (■JSj: SM::' 834 II I 111 11 I ill III; Pii |1 11 means and ability of those, who, if the Academy did not exist, would be wholly unable to provide these advanta{,-cs for their children. And lastly, that the Institution possesses decided advantages, in many respects to those students who are destined to the ministry in the Presbyterian and other Dissenting Churches, and is for this object, indispensably necessary, if these are to be supplied by the youth of the Province. <' Beferring to the exclusive Scotch character of the population of th& Eastern part of the Province, and to their known, and perhaps laudable, partiality and attachment to the Institutions of the country, whence they haro originated, and regarding also the great and rapidly increasing population of that quarter, the Committee consider, there exists a fair claim on the part of Pictou, for support to this Academy, for which so decided an interest is there manifest, out of that General Revenue, to which they so largely contribute ; and as from the evidence before them and other considerations, the Com- mittee aro obliged to believe, that this Institution will be attended by a class of persons, who, on various accounts, are, and will be, incapable of prosecuting their studies at Kings College, Windsor, or in the institution of doubtful and tmcerlain stability now forming in Halifax, they have deemed it their duty under the clearest convictions of the invaluable benefits, which Education con- fers on a country, to recommend the Pictou Academy to the continued support and fostering care of the Oeneral Assembly. " And believing the honorary Collegiate Distinctions to be highly useful, as incitements to the emulation and diligence of students, and to bo the means of extending the respectability, and character and influence of the institution ; while the incapacity to grant them possesses a tendency injurious, and perhaps discreditable to it, the Committee cannot perceive any substantial reason, for refusing to allow these privileges to the Academy. i< The Committee therefore report that in their opinion, it is expedient to provide, by an act of the General Assembly, for a permanent allowance to tho Trustees of the Pictou Academy, of the sum of £400 from the Treasury, and for bestowing upon it, with full exemption from all tests now required of its Trustees, the name, distinctions and privileges of a college as known in Scotland. These the Committee believe will remove all impediments to tha advancement and prosperity of this Seminary, give it stability and considenw tion, and justify its supporters in bestowing that assistance, which the doubt of its permanence now renders it prudent to withhold." ^Upon this report the House first passed a vote of j6400,. which received the assent of the Council. It then proceeded to pass a permanent bill for a like sum, but, after two readings, it was delayed until the next session, on account of the absence of the Governor, and the supposed want of power in the President to give his. assent. This supposed want of power was simply ^'^'"mmmmmmmm 885 pretence. "Wallace, the Administrator of the Government, never had any scruples about want of power, when it was a question of rewarding one of his creatures. Then he could exercise the powers of his position, in a way that the Governor himself would scarcely have done ; but a measure of those Pictou Dissenters, why it was simply flaunting the red flag in his face. i In 1826, the Assembly passed another permanent bill, to which the Council refused their assent. The Assembly then appointed a committee to search the Journals of the Council, who reported, that in favor of the bill there were four, Mr. Morris, Judges Stewart and Halliburton, and the Master of the Rolls, and against it, five, the Lord Bishop, and Messrs. Wallace, Jeffrey, Binney, and Prescott. The committee also reported, that the minority had entered a protest against the dismissal of the bill. This document wo must present entire. But we may mention here, that during the Session, the Assembly passed the usual vote of £400, which received the assent of the Council. REASONS OF PROTEST BY MINORITY OF COUNCIL, DATED 22nd march, 1826. * 1. Because we thiDk that the Dissenters in this Province, who compose more than four-fifths of its population, hare entitled themselves to the favor- able conbideration of the Legislature, by their orderly, steady and loyal conduct, and the cheerful support which they have so long given to His llajesty's Government in Nova Scotia. "2. Because we think that when j£400 sterling have been annually paid, for thirty-six years past, out of the revenue of this country, for the support of 4 a college, which confines its academical honors to members of the Established Church, who pay but one-fifth of the revenue of this country, the Dissenters, who pay the other four-fifths, are entitled to at least an equal sum to support an institution in which their children can derive the benefit of a liberal education. " 3. Because we do not think that the objection, which has been urged to the permanent establishment of such an institution in a remote part of the Province, as Pictou has been termed, ought to have any weight when the Hi iii'i; ir!i ■mill 836 general visheB of the DiHsenters have been expressed, by tfaeir RepresentatiTes ia three successive Sessionii in the House of Assembly, in favor of that situation, where the great body of the Dissenters reside, and where, out of a population of 12,000 persons, not 100 members of the Established Church could be found. « 4. Because we think the Bill, which His Majesty's Council have now determined to reject, is free from the objections to which the other Bills for endowing the Fictou Academy were liable, as the Institution is by this Bill placed sufficiently under the control of the Qovcrnment, by empowering the Governor to nominate so large a portion of the trustees, and thereby securing the Province against the future introduction of teachers into that seminary, whose principles might be inimical to our political institutions. « 6. Because we are convinced that the public feeling, which has been so strongly expressed in favor of the Fictou Academy, will still continue to manifest itself, and defeat all the cfTorts of its opponents to destroy the institution ; it will therefore continue to exist, notwithstanding the rejection of the present Bill, — but Oovernment will not have that salutary influence over it which it would acquire if this Bill were passed into a law. << 6. Because, as members of the Established Church, we fuel that the best interests of that Church will be consulted by manifcbting a spirit of liberality to our fellow christians who dissent from us, — that even policy, independent of higher motives, dictates to us as a minority, the advantages of conciliating the Dissenters, and showing to them that we feel that the Church of England has nothing to fear from the diffusion of knowledge. " 7. Because we value highly that harmony and good understanding, which, without the compromise of principle, has so long prevailed among Christians of all denominations in this Province ; and wo fear, that the rejection of this Bill, while the annual allowance to the College at Windsor is continued, will excite a spirit of hostility to the Established Church among the Dissenters, which will seriously disturb the peace of the country, as upwards of 30 years experience has convinced all of us, who enter this Protest, that every attempt to give or retain exclusive ijrivileges to the Church of England, has invariably operated to its disadvantage. If the clergymen of that church will exert themselves with tempered zeal, the purity of its precepts, the beauty of ita liturgy, and the libera'ity of its sentiments, will insure its extension among the people of this Province, unless their feelings are so roused against it by any injudicious measures, on the part of the Government or the Legislature, to give to it advantages, to which so large a portion of the population think that it is not entitled. CHARLES MORRIS, * JAMES STEWART, BRENTON HALLIBURTON, , 8. B. ROBIB. 387 "We must now, however, refer to the nature and source of the opposition, which the institution encountered during these and subsequent years. This will appear, in part, from the preceding document; but we must explain, farther, that the Church of England Bishop — the second Bishop Inglis — not only had a seat in the Council, but was one of its most active members, not merely in mat- ters which might interest him as a churchman, but in public affairs generally. Having often the car of gover- nors, he was a power behind the throne. Ho was a man of ability and an astute politician, but specially an able and persevering worker for the Church of England. None would have had any right to object to this, had his efforts been regulated by a due regard to the rights of others. But he was trained in the most intolerant school ; and instead of relying for the progress of his church on the influence of her principles and practice, and the zeal and piety of her ministers and members, he devoted a large share of his energies to maintaining her exclusive pri- vileges and political supremacy, as an established church. The maintenance of Windsor College was essential to his object. Had he sought this without seeking any exclusive rights, it would never have met with a word of objection ; but, notwithstanding that four-fifths of the population were excluded from its benefits, there was yet no word of removing the tests. As for giving them any sharo in the management of an institution established by G-overnment for the benefit of all, why such a thought could scarcely ever be supposed to enter his mind ! And now, when they dared to establish such an institution for Ihemsclros, his jealousy was excited against it, not only a.s lively to foster the evils of dissent, but as likely to form a rival to Kings College. His views are at least partially ivvcalcd, in the following extract of a letter published in Ihc report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, for the year 1823 :— 22 ill ftl ■T 5 888 lilt « At Plctou an Academy, or college a> it is called, haa been built, at which there are now about twenty students. Much pains have been talccn to make it attractiro by its Philosophical Apparatus and lectures in tho sciences, and the residence is agreeable to the students, as they lodge in private houses, at moderate expense and free from restraints. Tho Institution owes its rise partly to tho difficulties and embarrassments, which have oppressed Kings College, Windsor, and partly to tho zeal of tho Presbyterian ministers, who have tho solo charge of it. It is supported chiefly by an annual grant from the Provincial Legislature, and is likely to ritt or decay as the College at Windtor U depreeeed or advanced." In these days of religious equality, and of good feeling among religious denominations, it is scarcely possible to realize the state of matters which existed then, the inferior position of Dissenters, the prejudices with which they were regarded even by sensible men, and the diffi- culties therefore which were thrown in the Doctor's way, at every stage of his efforts on behalf of the Pictou Academy. Many believed that a Dissenter must neces- sarily be disloyal. In the year 1809, on the visit of Sir Gkorge Prevost, the Governor, to Pictou, some parties made representations to him regarding the Doctor's loyalty, in consequence of which he felt it worth while to send to Government a lengthy defence, with a certificate- signed by Hugh Dunoon and the other magistrates, that he regularly prayed for the King. In one of the debates of the Assembly, R. J. TJniacke, Jr., on some report he had heard of the principles of the Antiburghers, said that ihey ought to be looked after. "When Wallace was administering the Government, representations were forwarded to him, accusing the trustees of disloyal principles. When they applied to him for a copy of the charges, he acknowledged having received such a paper, but refused to give a copy of it. This state of things as affecting the Academy, is thus described by T. C. HaJi- burton in one of his speeches : — " There is much to regret, sir, in the state of public afiairs in this province, and there are few colonies which present such a singular spectacle. There are a few individuals in Halifax, who direct public opinion, and who not only^ 839 influence but control all publo measures. Seated in the capital, they govern the movements of all the dlflfcrent parts ; as they touch the springs the wires move, and simultaneously ariso the puppets in the different counties and towns, play the part assigned to them, and re-echo the Rounds which havo 1)Cen breathed into them. The smiles of episcopacy, the frowns of the treasury, and the patronage of official interest, have a powerful effect, when brought to bear upon any one object. There is also u wide difference between the success of any measure, when called for by the people, and when advocated by thia party. Any project however absurd or extravagant, when required by the latter, to bo carried into effect, has friends without number, but if the people solicit, it is viewed with ca'ition ; you hear it whispered on all sides, it will offend such a person, it will not bo acceptable in u certain quarter, and you are advised to be silent, as it may affeet your personal interests, or draw down upon you a displeasure, which may retard your own advancement. Tho war cry of church and state has been raised against this persecuted institution, and it is laid on all sides, it will militate against the interests of the Kstablisbed Church and of Kings College at Windsor. " I am a member of the Church of England, and admire and revere it ; I shall continue so, and though I disapprove of tho intemperate zeal of some of its friends, I shall live and die a member of that church. I ha\ also the honour of being a graduate of Kings College, and am a warm friend of that invaluable establishment. As such, sir, if there were any prejudices among tho members of either, against tho Pictou Academy, because it is tho resort of children of dissenters, or if it was viewed by those with distrust, as a sectarian institution, I ought to know something of those prejudices. It is tho misfortune of the church, and we all deeply lament it, that one or two unworthy members of it, have sought promotion through the paths of slander, and political intrigne, and have constantly represented Dissenters as disloyal and disaffected people. The value of these gentlemen has unfortunately been estimated on the other side of tho water by their zeal ; and as they have uniformly reported sectarianism, as they arc pleased to call it, synonymous with revolt and rebellion, the dependence of the colony has been absurdly thought, to bo alone supported by these staunch friends ; and honor and promotion await their laudablo exertions. "1 will never consent that this seminary of education for Dissenters, shall be crushed to gratify the bigotry of a few individuals in this town, who have originated, fostered, and supported, all the opposition to Pictou Academy. I do not mean to say, that they directly influence those gentlemen in this house, who oppose the bill, but their influence reaches to people who are not conscious of it themselves. They arc in a situation to give a tone to public opinion ; few men take the trouble of forming just conclusions on any subject but adopt the sentiments of those, whose judgments they respect. In this manner they hint, « ambitious Scotchmen at Pictou,' ' sour sectarians,' « disloyal people,' ' opposed to church and state,' their hints circulate from one to another, men hear it, they know not where, adopt it, they know not how ; and finally give it as their own opinion ; until you find honest and honourable ■ii -i it m :iili k fp;* 840 men, as you have heard to-pear from the foregoing protest, all • It is curious to not3 the position of these men to the public treasury. The Bishops salary was jE2000, i^tcrling wu believe, largely through tho liberality of the British Government, with jCI 50 for travelling expenses, besides other pfrqui-'jiies, even it was said to a share of the royalty on coal ; Jeffrey had ±'2000 sterling ; Binney was Collector of Excise, and Wallace Treasurer^ ou what were large salaries for the times. Yet these four men, receiving among them annually fifteen or twenty times tho whole sum asked for advanced education for four fifths of the population, could, with the aid of one other councillor, defeat the almost unanimous wishes of the country and their representatives in f is regard. An objection was even made that Dr. McCulloch was receiving two hundred pounds a yearl • and their 841 the signers to which belonged to that body. The same spirit was shown in tho Assembly, where Episcopalians, as T. C. Halliburton, were among tho most earnest advo- cates of the Pictou Institution. And probably a majority of that cliurch throughout the country, would have shown the same spirit. Eut the Bishop and his clique were unrelenting. In the meantime tho friends of the Institution had put forth vigorous efforts for its maintenance. The Synod oi the Presbyterian Church had tak' i It 1 I ; ! I .' ■': liil'i-'illi I 848 The history of the legislation of the following yeors we give in Mr. Blanchard's words : " In 1828, another per- manent bill passed the Lower House, and was lost in Council. Next day the House passed another permanent bill, with some alteration of the provisions. To this, the Council sent down several amendments, or, more properly speaking, a very voluminous bill of quite a different nature. It is sufficient to mention, that Dr. McCuUoch, the principal, was j)ersonally excluded from the trust. All the trustees were to be removed, and others appointed in their place by the Governor, and the Institution was to be reduced to the level of a Grammar School, or something lower. The House of course refused to concur in the amendments, and the bill was lost. " The House then voted ilSOO to be placed at i-^e dis- cretionary disposal of the Governor, towards discharging the debts of the institution. This was sent to the Council and lost. There were only four nays. Next day the Assembly resolved, that if His Excellency the Governor should judge it i)roper to aid the Trustees, to the extent of jGSOO towards the payments of their debts, the House would provide for it at its next session. Next morning, however, the friends of the Institution, thought it was going too far thus to overlook the Council altogether, and upon reading their journals, moved the insertion of the words, " with the advice of His Majesty's Council." After the rising of the House, the Governor called upon the Council for their advice, and they advised to withhold the money, and it was accordingly withheld. " To ascertain the proceedings of the Council with regt.rd to the permanent bill, a Committee of the House searched their journals, and reported that sixteen petitions from various portions of the Province, had been presented to the Council, praying their assent to a permanent en- dowment of the Academy, and it was also reported that there were four nays in Council to the rejection of the bill. ^ w 349 " In 1820, a permanent endowment passed the House, but was lost in Council. The usual vote of i;400 was also passed and also lost in Council. In 1830 a similar bill and a similar vote passed the Assembly, but were both lost in Council. " In 1831, a Committee of ten was appointed in the Assembly, to report a bill respecting the Institution, and they introduced one which passed the House, and was sent to the Council. They returned it with several amendments, but these being connected with money, and so an infringement of the privileges of the House were not considered. The House then passed a resolution of i540O ; while the resolution was under discussion, several members who were opposed to the bill, expressed their consent to the vote for that year, and one of them i)roposed that the word " unanimous " should bo prefixed to the reso- lution, in order that the Council might know the unanimity of the House, and be perhaps thereby induced to acquiesce in its wishes. The word " unanimous " was prefixed by the consent of a full House, but failed to produce the expected efiect. The resolution came back disagreed to. " In concluding this naked history of the Parliamentary proceedings relative to the Academy, the following facts are recurred to as particularly worthy of remark. The House of Assembly passed eight resolutions granting money to the Institution, which were negatived, or des- troyed by amendments. " During the fifteen years since the Academy was found- ed, there have been four General Assemblies, and in each of these, there was always a very largo majority in favor of the Institution. The bills and votes for annual allow- ances often passed without a division, sometimes against minorities of four or five, and on the last occasion, unanimously." These proceedings led to debates in the House, conducted with great ability. It was in these discussions. wM y ---™ i 1 ! 1 1 !^ 1 ; ii I; 1 j j s 850 and those which arose out of them on the constitutional powers of the House of Assembly, that S. G. "W. Archibald, then speaker, established his character as one of the finest orators of the day, while perhaps not less able, and little less eloquent, were the addresses of T. C. Ilaliburton and C. R. Fairbanks on the same side, while Alexander Stewart on the opposite did what could be done to cover a bad cause. But the issue was what those in power little expected. The Council it is true had manifested their power in defeating the wishes of the House on a money question^ strongly expressed for a dozen years, and their intolerant exclusiveness, in refusing an act of the commonest justice to the whole dissenting population, and the Bishop might feel as if he could smile defiance upon all foes. Indeed the Council seemed determined to exercise their power in very wantonness, for they now negatived a grant passed in the House for Horton Academy, and even refused the small sum of £B0 to the Pictou G-rammar School. But these things were but the beginning of the end of the whole system of the irresponsible power of cliques and compacts. The discussions on the Pictou Academy raised the whole question of the Council's constitutional rights, and there were men now to claim for the Assembly that control of money matters, which, according to the British Constitution, belongs to the people's represen- tatives. The temper too of both the House and country was being roused, by the manner in which the Council had exercised their powers, and men were now found boldly to cry out to have the whole concern swept away^ or its Constitution radically changed. We will give one example of this. On the 19th March, 1829, Mr. Hartshorne^ one of the minority, moved that the House appoint a committee to confer with the Council, and instruct them to concur with the Council's bill of the preceding year. n ' Wl Then Mr. Haliburtoii, after indignantly repudiating the idea, that after seven bills had been passed by the Assembly and rejected by the Council, the views of the latter should now be thrust upon them, proposed that the resolution should lie on the table, and that instead, the members should agree to resolve themselves into a committee on the general state of the Province, and to prepare an address to His Majesty, humbly soliciting him to remove from his Council those who filled public offices^ or to give them a Legislative Council, and afterward made the following remarks : — " Will any man eay that this is not necessary ? or that it would not be a desirable amendment of our local government ? Will any man say that wo, the forty members hero assembled from all parts of Nova Scotia, do not bring together a greater body of local and topographical knowledge than any similar number of men residing in Halifax 7 Or will it be denied that twelvo or fourteen gentlemen appointed by the King, from different counties in Nova Scotia, to a Legislative Council, could not better subserve the interests of Nova Hcotia than the same number of people in Halifax ? It has been said that this country is a peaceable, quiet country, and is well governed. I admit that it has been a quiet and exemplary Province, but, sir, it is owing to the temperance, prudence, good sense and forbearance of this House, and the morality of the people for many years past. But as to our local government, the structure and frame of it is essentially defective. Is it possible that any man can assert that where the Legislative Council consists of the same persons as the Privy Council, and the latter is composed of all our public officers, whereby the servants of the public become its masters, that such a form of government is perfect, or that men so situated, unless equal to angels, could in the nature of things give satisfaction 7 Is it possible to affirm that a council separate and apart from the Privy Council, but appointed by the King boxn the country, would not bo infinitely preferable ? " And then after a scathing rebuke of the Bishop for his treatment of Dr. McCuUoch, as well as some other of his friends, he concluded : — " I turn from them and him to this House and say, consider of this matter, and petition the King, cither to remove the public officers fed and paid by the Province, from the Privy Council, or to grant us a Legislative Council. That there does exist a necessity for this measure, no man can doubt who understands the state of our affairs." Though the Assembly was thus coming to learn and assert its rights, there was still wanting the firmness to S; IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 jria II I.I 1.25 2.5 IIIIM ii£ IIIIIM 1.4 III 1.6 p> <^ /# ei^M- .0% > >7 '/ z;^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 c^ 852 ^illl Hit w take a firm stand in the maintenance of them. Had they done 80 on this question, and simply had this grant or given no supply at all, the contest would perhaps haye come sooner, but the victory would have been more easily won, and with less loss and trouble to the country than in the contest which was soon after forced upon them. But the members had always objects, for which they wanted money votes, and the House resorted to a system of manoeuvering, to obtain the consent of the Council even for grants necessary for public improvement, and the latter could always secure their measures, and in every collision with the House had hitherto been succebsfnl. And even the author of the above bold words, under the influence of a judgeship, quietly subsided into the most compliant of placemen. But freedom's battle was now begun, and when the next iight came, the Council found itself engaged in a vain struggle for life, and passed away, "unwept, unhonoured and unsung;" and 'in the new order of things, the people of Nova Scotia took good care that no Bishop managed our civil affairs. It was perhaps unfortxmate for the Academy, that it was mixed up with these political questions, but this position was forced upon its friends by the course of its opponents. During the time that the annual grant was withheld, the friends of the Institution rallied nobly to its support. In one year friends in Hahfax subscribed jCoOO towards it. At one meeting in Pictou a subscription was opened, which the next day amounted to iJ181.5s. ($725). Had it been a time of prosperity in the country, the zeal of its friends was such, that it might have been maintained without Government aid, and sometimes Dr. McCulloch proposed, that the Presbyterian Church should take the matter into their own hands, and leave the Legislature alone. But it was a time of great depression and scarcity of money, and subscriptions were insulEcient, so that debt 853 they int or have easily ^than them. I they lystem il eyen id the every jebsftil. ier the e most as now I found i away, e new id care that it )ut this se of its ithheld, support, owards opened, Had al of its ■intained CuUoch take the jislature scarcity hat debt was accumulating upon the Trustees. The Council remaining obstinate, they resolved to lay their grievances before the Home Government. This had been threatened before, but the Bishop and the Council had hitherto had the ear of the authorities at Downing Street, and the^ smiled contempt on such a proposal. But they had to deal with men, who knew their rights and had the boldness to assert them, and who had confidence in the justice of the British Government. Accordingly in the year 1831, Jotham Blanchard, Esq., was sent to Britain as their agent. He addressed the United Secession Synod, which, after hearing his statements, resolved to strengthen his hands, by presenting an address to the King on behalf oi his mission, and otherwise to aid in the promotion of his views. He then presented to Lord Goderich, then Co- lonial Secretary, a long memorial giving a full history of the Institution and its claims, which was confirmed by a variety of documents. Some members of Council were in London at the time, from whom His Lordship sought explanations, but they had to make the excuse, that they had not with them the documents necessary to reply to it. The result was a despatch from the Colonial Secretary to the Lieut. Governor, of which the following are extracts : " The arrival of Mr. Blanchard in this country, with a memorial upon the subject of the Fictou Academy, has called my particular attention to that question, which seems to be almost the only topic calculated to interrupt the harmony and good understanding, which in general prevails between the different branches of the Legislature, and throughout the Province at large. <' Unless, however, some means be found of adjusting the differences, which have arisen upon this subject, I fear it may swell into an affair of some mag- nitude, and threaten injurious consequences, which it might not be easy to avert. His Majesty's Government, therefore, feel most anxious that this cause of internal dissension should be removed, and that a bill should b« passed, which might give to the Pictou Academy that permanent pecuniary assistance from the public revenue, to the grant of which the Assembly attaches so much importance ; and I have no hesitation in submitting to yoa my opitiion, that it would be most unfortunate, if the passing of such a bill tfionld be fruitmted, by attempting to annex to it conditions as to the con> 23 8M ! ■titatioB of the Body of Trusteea, to vhich there is but little reason to expect- that the ABsembly vould be prepared to agree. « It may, I think, well be donbted whether, considering the nature of the Institution and the great variety of religious opinions, which may be enter* tained by those who attend it, any benefit would result from placing the Qianagement of it, in the hands of a Board of Trustees composed of persons holding ofBcial situations under Government, who might thereby become, in , the discharge of their duties, most inconveniently mixed up with questions in which they could not interfere with advantage. The veto which the Governor now possesses upon the appointment of new trustees when vacancies occur,, seems to afford n sufficient guarantee against the introduction into the Board of improper persons ; and although it can hardly be expected, that any board of management could at all times give unqualified satisfaction to every one, j^et BO long as the Asseibbly, representing all classes of persons in the com«: munity, should not deem any fresh Legislative interference necessary, it might &irly be inferred that the Institution was not improperly conducted y at all events, it is obvious at the present moment that the public at large are not desiroviK of any material change in its management. <* Whilst, however, I cannot say that I see reason to participate iu the grounds npon which the Council have rejected a bill for a permanent grant, I should, of coarse, deem it to bo more satisfactory if the measure were adopted in such a manner as to meet and conciliate the feelings and wishes of both parties. Your object will therefore be to endeavor to bring about, by the •XBrciae of all proper means of persuasion on your part, such a state of feeling upon the subject as may lead to that result. All will then see that His Majesty's Government at home, and the individual who represents His Majesty in the colony, have no other object in view than the good of the Province, and the harmony and contentment of all classes of His Majesty's subjects." This was a pretty severe rap on the knuckles of the old ladies, and most unexpected from such a quarter. With such instructions to the Governor, and such a plain expression of sentiment regarding the conduct of the Council, had the friends of the Institution now stood firm, we believe they might have gained all they had sought. ' But the House was disposed to conpromise, and thus threw away the fruits of victory. Mr. Archibald now introduced a bill, the principal provisions of which were, that the Institution should be under the management of a board of twelve trustees, seven of the old trustees, to be elected by themselves, four to be appointed by the. Q-overnor, (these it was intended should be appointed; ^om tho party in Fictou opposed to the Institution), and to expect- ;nre of the r be entep» lacing the of persons become, in uestions in a Governor cies occur,. ) the Board ; any board » every one, in the com-" ecessary, it conducted y at large are pate iu the lent grant, I rere adopted shea of both bout, by the te of feeling CO that His His Majesty le Province, subjects," es of the quarter, ■h a plain ct of the ;ood firm, sought, and thus bald now dch were, ^ement of tees, to be d by the appointed; Ltion), and 355 the Roman Catholic Bishop. The Institution was to consist of a higher and lower department, the higher to teach the branches already taught, and the lower to teach those usually taught in the Grammar schools. The trustees however might obtain any suitable house in any part of Pictou, separate from the Academy for the lower dirision, which was to be commenced, as soon as funds had been raised by private subscription, tuition fees or otherwise to provide a salary of iJlOO a year. There was to be no Theological class taught in the Academy, but this was not to prevent any professor teaching any such class in any other part of the town of Pictou. The sum of iJ400 a year was granted for ten years, of which je250 was to be paid to Dr. McCulloch, as principal, while he continued in office, the rest to be for the benefit of the Academy, as the trustees might direct. This bill was an attempt fairly to meet the views of all parties. The proportion of the trustees allowed to the old funds of the Institution, was what Mr. McKenzie professed himself willing to agree to. It preserved the teaching of the higher branches, which its friends had \teen so long endeavoring to build up, and it at the ftame time sought to meet the views of its opponents asl to the lower branches. But Mr. McKenzie was no more reconciled than ever. It still made provision for main- taining the higher branches, and thus the Seceders might stili educate ministers in Nova Scotia, and he accordingly appealed to the Council against the measure. " The manifest aim," he complained to them, " and effect of the Bill, is the appropriation of i;400 a year out of the public revenue, to gratify the ambitious views of a particiilar sect, to whom a combination of circumstances^ and the injurious union of the three districts of thi» county, has given a temporary ascendancy and a degree of political influence, to which tl^eir relative numbers and strength in the districts of Halifax and Pictou, by m 31, \'. ;.:IU i 856 no means entitles them. It is an ascendancy, which tramples under foot the just rights, and sets at naught the moderate demands of the other classes of His Majesty's loyal subjects and which in seeking to perpetuate itself, has led to consequences of which none are more fully aware than the members of your Hon. Board. The Academy has been declared by the Key. Principal, to Jae subservient to the propagation of the gospel, that is, as is apparent from his printed memorial of 1826, containing this passage, • to the education of preachers for the body of Presbyterian Seceders.' The political and religious influence of this sect is thus to be extended and confirmed at the public cost, and to the injury and depression of the Kirk of Scotland, and of all other denominations of Christians." * Mr. McKenzie therefore demanded, that ^100 or ^150 of the grant, should be appropriated expressly to the teaching of the lower branches, of which proposal Dr. McGulloch said : " He knows what education is. He knows what is taught in the Picton Academy. If he thinks that the several bnmches are not taught, let him show it to this Honourable Board. If they are taught, I ask him to specify any seminary upon earth, where so much instruction is given for £400 Nova Scotia currency. Yet from this sum he would abstract XlOO or £l 60, leaving at fiirthest JC300 to keep the building in repair, to pay the interest of debt, amounting to, perhaps, £1200, and to maintain the teachers. The governors of Kings' expend, I believe, not less than XI, 000 sterling on education. In the Pictou Academy the system of instruction is, at least, as extensive, and I * To this, Dr. McCuUooh's reply was easy, that as the benefits of the Institution were equally accessible to all, injustice was done to none, and that its course was restricted to those branches of education, which every civilised community has accounted necessary alike fo. all the learned profes- sion. If he supported the Institution as subservient to the Propagation of the Gospel, because he believed the interests of religion required a native Oiinistry, he sought to promote its efficiency equally iu subservience to moro fenural purposes. If Mr. McEenzie preferred teaching his people to depend on Scotland, he had no right to complain of others who pursued a different policy. At all events, instruction In Theology Ibrmed no pari of the ooorso d( initmction at the Aoadomy. which naught iajesty's vi itself, re fully a. The il, to^e lat is, as ntaining be body religious mfirmed m of the tions of I or ^150 f to the posal Dr. the Picton ;ht, let him a to specifj r £400 NoT» use, leaving irest of debt, le goTemon ucation. In nslTe, and I lefitB of the none, and irhich eyery imed profes- opagation of ■ed a natlTO ince to mora depend on la different if the ooone 867 trast, not inferior in qnality ; but when it is proposed to giant to the latter £360, he eagerly solicits to talio £90 for the lower branches. The result is certain destruction." Mr. McKcnzie also persisted in requiring the lower branches to be in the same building. To this its friends were strongly opposed. •' There are," said Mr. Archibald in his speech, •* but four rooms in the present building, one devoted to the library, one to the philosophical apparatus, a third is the class room, and the fourth oontained the museum. To introduce a grammar school into the College is to destroy it. The higher branches could not be taught amidst the noise and tumult of a common school ; and if young boys were allowed to range through the library, museum, and depositary of philosophical apparatus, these would shortly be destroyed." All Mr. McKenzie's views wert conceded. The clause allowing the lower branches to be taught in a separate building was struck out of the bill, and iJlOO of the annual grant was expressly appropriated to their support, and both departments were to be compressed into one building with four rooms. Mr. McKenzie pledged himself that he and his party would raiuC "penny for peny " with the others, to maintain the Institution ; and he with Revds. D. A. Fraser, and John McRae, and David Crichton, Esq., were added to the trust. From this time, the finger of decay may be said to have been upon it. It did some good work, and some of its best students were educated after this. The old friends still came forth from time to time liberally for its support. But there was a blight upon it. External war had been exchanged for internal strife. Hitherto the trustees were united, but now what the one party wished to build, the other laboured to destroy. The lower branches r^ere taught for a time efficiently by G-eorge A. Blanchard, but afterward were committed to a friend and countryman of Mr. McKenzie, under whose management the teaching of i'i' ■n 'If I i wM n\ 858 them VfM discontinued, simply from want of pupils. la the meantime, the trnstees were becoming embarrassed in bearing the expense of the upper department. In conse- quence, the second teacher's classes were closed. Friends became disheartened, and in the uncertainty as to the future of the Institution, young men were discouraged from preparing to enter it. Under these circumstances, in the year 1838, an Act passed the Legislature, transferring Dr. McGuUoch and X200 of the grant to Dalhousie College. The ministers of the Church of Scotland now argued that the founder of the Institution, in proposing as his model the University of Edinburgh, meant the institution to be in connection with the Church of Scotland, and though they could not exclude Dr. MoCuUoch, they succeeded, through their influence with Sir Colin Campbell, the Governor, in getting members of their own body appointed to the other chairs, to the exclusion of better men. Mr. Crawley, who was one of the rejected, immediately commenced the agitation, which resulted in the establish- ment of Acadia College. The Pictou Academy was subsequently remodelled as an Academy or High School, and as such has been doing good work. And the higher education in Nova Scotia has ever since been inextricably muddled. Wo have thus fully noticed the Pictou Academy and the discussions connected with it, as these involved important results to the Province : In the first place, it was the means-of training a goodly number of men for stations of usefulness, both in Church and State, which they have filled in a highly creditable manner, many of whom could not otherwise have had more than a common school education. Among those who gave themselves to the gospel ministry, we need only mention such men as John McLean, J. L. Murdoch^ E. S. Patterson, John Campbell, Drs. Boss, McCuUochk 859 McGregor and G-eddie. To law and politics, it gave amonff •others, Sir T. D. Archibald, baron of the English Court •of Exchequer ; Judge Bitchie, now of the Supreme Court of Canada, lately Chief Justice of New Brunswick ; Sir Hugh Hoyles, Chief Justice of Newfoundland ; A. G. Archibald, Gorernor of Nova Scotia ; Judge Young, of dharlottetown, P. E. I. ; Judge Blanchard, George B. Young, &c., &c. Among its students who followed the liealing art, we may mention Dr. W. B. Grant, Professor of Anatomy in Pennsylvania Medical College, and among ^scientific men. Dr. J. W. Dawson, Principal of McGiU College, Montreal. ' Secondly. It largely advanced the cause of general •education and diffused a taste for literature and science. The* number of men it educated, with their general influence, the schools that they taught, the numbers ol others partially taught, the popular scientific lectures of Dr. McCulloch, the general air which such an institution •diffuses around it, and even the discussions to which it gave rise, made it the means of diffusing intelligence ^d 4 desire for knowledge, among all classes of the com- munity, bebond any institution of its time, and we might almost say since. The illiberality of those who imposed tests upon it, in some measure limited its influence to Presbyterians. But persons of all denominations attended it, and by the discussions of which it was the subject, ■and in other ways, these bodies were excited to an interest in the same cause. Thirdly. It was in the contests, of which it was the subject, that the equal rights of all classes to public education were secured. "What sane man in our day ivould advocate the maintenance of only one institution, from which only one fifth of the population should derive any benefit ? Lastly, As we have seen, it was in the same contests, that the movement began, in which the government of f 1 ( 360 the country by irresiJonsible cliques was broken, and the Province secured the true force of representative insti- tutions. If the Institution cost money, it will be difficult to find one that gave as much in return for as little. But its ^benefits cannijt be reckoned by any money value. One John McLean was worth more to a Province a hundred fold, than all that it ever cost. If there was strife about it, this was only because it was attacked. All was har- mony when it was founded, and for years after, but it was assailed and of course defended. "We may add here, that as Dr. McCuUoch's exertions in connexion with the Institution, directed young men to the ministry, the county has ever since given a large| pror portion of the best of her sons to that sacred employment, than any population of the same size in the Dominion, a circumstance probably in part owing to old Scotch train- ing. We give a list in the Appendix, which contains the names of about a hundred, of whom seven have received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and seven have been missionaries to the Heathen (Appendix J.) Probably there are others, whose names we have not ascertained. "We have already mentioned that Dr. McCuUoch from an early date after his arrival, contributed to the Acadian Recorder. In that paper first appeared some ot his writings, which have since been published separately. Among these was a tale or sketch of colonial life, called " William," which, with another of the same kind named " Melville," was published in Edinburgh in the year 1826, under the title " Colonial Gleanings." In that journal, several of his writings on local controversies, ecclesiastical and educational, first appeared. In it also in the years 1822-23, as we have already mentioned, he published a series of light and amusing sketches of the social habits of the people of Nova Scotia at the time„ particularly tn the rural districts. These were thrown off 801 by him hastily as a sort of relaxation from engrossing labours, but they arc so graphic, that in every part of the Province, persons were found that were regarded as the originals of the characters which ho had delineated. Some others of his writings were published in pamphlet form, t.mong which may be mentioned the following : — « The prosperity of the Church in troublous times." A sermon preached inPictou. Halifax: 1814. pp.24. "Words of peace; being an address delivered to the congregation of Halifax, in connection with the Presbyterian Church of Nora Scotia, in con- sequence of some congregational disputes." Halifax: 1817. pp.16. ISmo. *rts to establish the Pictou Academy, continued from the. year 1824 till his death, on the 20th October, 1860, to minister to the congregation in Pictou, now known as Prince Street Church. He was a man well read, a diligent ' i! ^ m i V ! 862 student, a faithful pastor, and a man of peaceful disposition, «nd he passed away amid expressions of universal respect. The Rev. Donald A. Fraser, in the year 1887, removed to Lunenburg, from which place, in 1842, he removed to St. Johns, Newfoundland, where he founded St. Andrew's Church and congregation there in connection with the Church of Scotland. There he died much respected, on the 7th February, 1845. It is but due to him to say, that removed from the scene of strife in Pictou, he saw matters in a different light, and acknowledged his mistake, in the part which he had taken in dividing the Presbyterian interest. He had not been long in Lunenburg till he found himself a Dissenter, haughtily treated as such, and obliged to employ the energies, which he had previously employed against his fellow Presbyterians and their Institution, against the arrogant pretensions of Episcopacy. On one of his first visits to Pictou, after leaving it, he •aid to a leading member of the Presbyterian Church, " You used to tell us that in the course we adopted in Pictou, we were making ourselves the tools of the Bishop and his party. I never saw it till I left Pictou, but I see it now." He spoke and wrote in favour of union, and strongly condemned the virulence, with which his late colleagues carried on their controversy against the Fietou Academy. But the waters of strife had been let out, and he was powerless to arrest them. The Rev. Ken. J. McKenzie continued to minister to the Congregation of St. Andrews Church, Pictou, till the 'year 1837. His conduct grieved the hearts of the pious in his own congregation, and he then relinquished the mi- nistry altogether. " In the winter following, a vacancy occurred in the representation of the county, by the •levation of Mr. Smith to the Legislative Council, and he became a candidate for the position. He was opposed by Thomas Dickson, Esq., was defeated, and died a few weeks later. 868 We have omitted all reference to the personalities, which narked the deplorable controversies, in which these men were engaged, but as to the questions of issue, it would be foolish and wrong, not to employ the light of experi- ence, to judge of the wisdom of the policy of the respectire parties. We venture to say, that never did time, which tests all things, more thoroughly determine any question, than it has vindicated the wisdom of the course adopted ^ by the Presbyterian ministers, in endeo^-r firing to establish A collegiate Institution, witL a special vir v to the training of a native ministry, and the unwisdom of the opposite. Wo need not enter into particnla ■ '^^ TL« hist'^x/of the tw<> ehuTches aince tells the tale., CHAPTER XVIL W90U THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1825-26 TO THE DIVISION OF THE COUNTY, 1826-1836. The financial crisis of 1825-6, described in our last <)hapter, left the county in a very depressed condition, fitill the various branches of business, which had pveviously occupied our public men, continued, though «n a diminished scale, — and to those formerly mentioned ■as engaged in them, we may add the names of John Taylor and David Crichton, first in partnership, and ' afterward separately. Soon however these began to fail. Owing to the destructive manner in which the fisheries had been conducted, the fish visited our shores in greatly diminished numbers, and sometimes did not return to their old haunts at all, so that the trade fell off. About the year 1838, the fishing trade from Fictou ceased, and J i i I 864 though there have been attempts made since to reviye it, these have not proved successful. The West India trade tvas carried on under some disadvantages from Pictou, from the harbour being closed in winter, and from the fact of its not being a free port. As the iisheries failed and the supply of good lumber diminished, this trade came to an end about the same time. Public attention was now directed to the obtaining for Pictou the privileges of a Free Port. Some explanation may be necessary on this subject for readers of the present day. In the colonization of America, all the European powers acted upon the idea, of making the colonies yield the utmost possible advantage to the mother country, and that often with little regard to the rights of the colonists. Great Britain, though distinguished for justice and magnaminity, as compared with other nations, long maintained a commercial system, narrow and selfish, alike unjust to the colonies and injurious to both. Up till the year 1825, her policy aimed at prevent" ag her colonial dependencies having any trade, except with the mother country or with one another. But in that year, Mr. Huskisson, then President of the Board of Trade, passed his memorable act, by which the colonies were allowed to trade with foreign countries, which reciprocated the favour — an act which may be regarded as the eman* cipation of the colonies, and from which a new era in theit history may be dated. Still the privilege was limited to some ports, known as Free Ports, of which Halifax was ' the only one in this Province. Under this system, if Pictou wished to export a cargo of any article, except fish, to a foreign country, it had to be sent to Halifax, unloaded there, reshipped and then cleared from that port» So all return cargoes of any description from foreign countries, had to be landed at Halifax, reloaded there, and thence cleared for Pictou, involving not only expense, but sometimes such a loss of time, as might prevent 865 arrival for a whole winter. Thus the merchants here were rirtually excluded from the trade with the Foreign West India Islands, South America, or the Mediterranean, which were the best markets for fish ; and as to the United States, a cargo of flour could only be iriported by landing it at Halifax, and a few hundred chaldrons of coal that were sent thither, had to be trans-shipped in the same manner. Foreign yessels were also prevented from coming to Pictou, "Wemay suppose that the Halifax merchants had enough of human nature in them, to wish to retain for their port the monopoly which this afforded, and henoe their opposition was long given to the extension of the Free Port system to the outports. The first movement to obtain this privilege for Pictou was now made, by the calling of a public meeting, which was held in the Court House, on the 8th January, 1828, when it was resolved unanimously, " That it is the opinion of this meeting, that it will be a great advantage to the trade, commerce, fisheries and agriculture of the Port and District of Pictou and the neighbouring harbours and places situate in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, that the Port of Pictou be placed on the footing of a Free Port, under the provisions of the Act of the Imperial Parliament, 6 George IV., chap. 1 14." It was also resolved to petition the King to that effect The petition was accordingly forwarded, with another to the Lieutenant Governor, asking him to recommend its prayer. Before the petition reached Britain, however, Pictou and Sydney were declared Free Ports, through the influence of the General Mining Association. But the petition of the inhabitants, which prayed that Pictou should be made a free warehousing port, was refused, on the ground that it had already been made a Free Port. Even this, however, excited in the minds of people here the most glowing visions, as to the future prosperity of the place. " Stranger things have happened," said one, it m h'H ii^. k ^ 366 " than that the horses of the Governor General of India should yet travel on Pictou iron, paid for by direct importation of East India goods into Pictou Harbour," and the first arrival under the new system was thus hailed in the Colonial Patriot, of 21st May, 1828 : — '< With much pleasnro we record the arriral of the schooner Lovely Hope, from Boston, with a cargo of flour, corn, &c. This is tho first arrival under the free port order, and it is creditable to tho enterprise of Messrs. O. L. Do Blois k Co., the merchants who so quickly arailcd themselves of the new system. • • We sincerely hope the cargo of this vessel will yield a liberal return to the consignees. We think the present an important era in the history of Pictou, and doubt not the Lovely Hope is the harbinger of much good to come." The timber trade had now sunk to a low position. The finer qualities of wood were exhausted. All the pine fit for shipment was gone, and what little was left, was to be found only in the more remote parts of the county, was generally small in size and needed for home con* sumption. Pitch pine of value was not to be found. Instead of the splendid oak, which yielded abundant supplies of hogshead staves or timber for shipment, were to be found only a few small trees of second growth, scarcely sufficient to supply our own population with those articles, for which it was specially desired. There only remained the spruce and birch. For some years considerable was done in manufacturing the former into deals and battens, and in shipping them to Britain, but since about the year 1840 even that has come to an end,, owing to the eachaustion of the supply. Birch timber continued to be drawn from the interior, and still forms an article of export. The financial crisis of 1825-6 for a time nearly destroyed the ship-building business, but it soon began to revive and in subsequent years was carried on with much energy. But at that time, most if not all the vessels built were built to sell. After the close of the West India trade, there was scarcely a vessel of any size owned in iiiii'i)iiini 867 the county and kept in regular emplo3rnient. Even thd building of them was carried on under disadvantages. The leading merchants had been left in debt by the events of those years, and others who began had but little capital. Hence the work was carried on by means of advances from parties in the old country. This involved expenses for commission, interest, &c. Then the vessels were sent to Britain for sale. Even if sold immediately, and at good prices, such were the charges, that very often the builder was as deeply in debt as when he began. But frequently they remained for a time unsold, with expenses eating up their value, and then they might be thrown upon the market at a time when prices were low, in which case they might not realize first cost. This business proved fatal to nearly all who were concerned in it, as we shall notice more particularly in our next chapter. A number of those however, who at this time began business with little or no capital and on the smallest scale, have since become the wealthy men of the county. Owing to these circumstances, the closing years of the period we are now reviewing, were about the poorest the country has experienced since its first settlement. Farmers, owing to the credit system, and their giving so much of their attention to timber, were in the merchants books. Now that resource was gone. Their farms had been neglected, and from constant cropping did not yield as formerly. Crops too failed from other causes. The Hessian fly injured the wheat, and a disease afiected the potatoes, BO that they did not grow as formerly, sometimes ' the seed not coming up at all. There was little demand for farm produce, and no cash market. Merchants received it in exchange for goods at low prices. The pork, butter, etc., thus received was shipped principally to Halifax, Miramichi; or Newfoundland, and cattle were sometimes driven across Mouat Thorn to Halifax, fre* .1 5 !i III! 868 qnently realizing but a small return. The ship timber, or other produce of the forest, which they traded with the merchant, were paid for in goods dear in price and often trashy in quality, so that the farmers were so destitute of cash, that it used to be said they could only look for as much as would pay their taxes and stipends, though too commonly they sought to pay the latter, either in some other way or not at all. "We now turn from business matters to notice some other matters connected with this period. In the year 1827, the first newspaper published in the Province out of Halifax, was started in Fictou. It was called the Colonial Patriot, and was published by "William Milne, in partner- ship with J. S. Gunnabell of Halifax, but its establishment was mainly owing to Jotham Blanchard, Esq., who for several years edited it anonymously. The important part which the paper played in our Provincial history, as well as the character and services of its editor, entitle them to special notice in this work. Mr. Blanchard was bom at Peterboro, N. H., on the 13th March, 1800. His grand- father, Jotham, usually known as Gol. Blanchard, had left the United States at the close of the Revolutionary war, from loyalty to the British crown, and settled at Truro. His son, Jonathan, remained behind and married there, and Jotham was his eldest child. When he was fifteen months old, his parents removed with him to Truro, where the old people with their family were still residing. !Here from accident or sickness he incurred permanent lameness, and probably from the same cause his constitu- tion was feeble and ill fitted for the labour, to which he was impelled by his active mind. After he was able to go about, his father provided a pony for him to attend school, or go where called. Some years later, the family removed to the "West River, where the father purchased G«orge McGonnell's farm and put up* the large house, so long known as the Ten Mile House, where he for several 369 years kept an inn. Afterward they removed to Fictou town, wher • Jotham completed his education at the Pictou Academy, being one of the first class of students at that institution. He studied law under Thomas ' Dickson, Esq., and was admitted to the bar on the 18th October, 1821. In his profession, he soon established his character as an able lawyer and an eloquent pleader, but at the same time was noted as always discouraging - litigation, at a time when there was so much disposition to it.* The first number of the Patriot was issued on the 7th December, 1827, and had for its motto, •• Pro .rege, pro patria." In exposition of this, the editor said : — " In politics we shall sido with the most liberal system. Our motto, if rightly understood, conveys our sentiments. We reverence the British Con- stitution, and honor the king as its head, hut feel assured that the best way of showing true regard for the king is by advancing the interests of his subjects. All governments are designed for the general good of tho psoplo, and that government deserves most praise, which most effectually succeeds in : this object ; and we boldly assert, ihat he who pretends to support the dignity of the government and the honor of the crown, at the expanse of th« general happiness, alike commits treason against the king and his subjects ; — he betrays the people and dishonors their sovereign. " Respecting our Provincial politics, we can only say that wo shall advocate . what we consider sound and just principles ; and if we find the government or any branch of it deviating from these, we shall not fail to proclaim it. This determination, we are well aware, would be ridiculed by the members of Government, were it to travel so for as to meet their eyes, but neither their scorn nor our own weakness shall deter us from this course of conduct, being convinced that it forms no excuse for permitting obnoxious measures to pass * An instance of this was given by a gentleman then holding a humble position in the printing office. He was one day waiting upon Mr. B. for *' copy." While the latter was driving his pen with great vigor, a country- man came into the office. Scarcely lifting his head, Mr. B. asked his errand. The man replied that a certain person had sued him for debt. " And do you owe him?" said Mr. B., while the pen went with undiminished rapidity. The man mumbled an uncertain reply. " Do you owe him ? " said Mr. B., more sternly. " Well, perhaps I do," tho man drawled out. << Then go and pay him," was the reply, while the pen never stopped in its career. The m«a slowly retired, glancing back with a mixture of wonder and curiosity, at this new specimen of legal advice, 24 msi: 870 In Bilencfl, that obserration upon them is attended vrith no immediate result?. It is an important point, to keep the eyes of the people open to their own interests, and thus convince the Qoremmcnt that ihey know when their rights arc overlooked. This is the safest and surest mode of preventing and rectifying mal-adniinistration, though we must confess that in the latter cast^ the process is tedious. It has, however, proved successful in Britain, where ancient prejudices and their abettors have been forced to yield to the increase of knowledge, and the consequent march of liberal principles. " With our cotemporary editors, wo shall carefully cultivate the most friendly feelings, but onr public duty is paramount to private inclination, and if we find them betraying the people's rights, or inculcating excessive servility, we must not be backward in exposing their errors, and reminding them of their duty as sentinels of the public interests. " The peculiarities of our religious tenets we do not think proper at present to divulge. . . While men do not cherish religious views subversive of the order of society, or inimical to the great and leading principles of our glorious constitution, we think it the very acme of injustice that hero should be civil distinctions on account of religious opinions. Influenced by these sentiments, wo shall never hesitate to strike in our feeble lance against any man — bo he friend or foe, for us or against us — whom we shall find prostrating the landmarks of his neighbor's rights.* " Having witnessed the beneficial effects resulting from an unshackled press in Britain, we shall always advocate the same system here. « Wo will discuss the interests of Pictou. We shall at all times, however, when opportunity permits, be happy to raise our voice in behalf of the whole Province of Nora Scotia, without reference to east or west, north or south ; and even beyond the limits of our own Province, our humble efforts shall always be at the command of our sister colonies, when we think their just rights attacked or disregarded, or in danger of being compromised by the negligence or inertness of the great body of the people, or the adroitness or power of the few. " Our infant establishment is the first of the kind in the country, and we do hope that the friends of general improvement in all parts of it will, by the kindness of their smiles, brighten us into a vigorous existence. The town has advocates in abundance, and papers in abundance, — we shall endeavor to advocate the peculiar interests of the country." These sentiments seem innocent enough, and in the present day would alarm no person, but they covered principles, which at that time were considered by those in iwwer as dangerous, if not altogether subversive of * In explanation of this paragraph, it is only necessary to remind onr readers, that Catholic emancipation was at that time still one of the great questions of the day. 871 society. Referring" to this in the second number, the editor says : — " Before setting out with so open an aTowal of our principles, vro perfectly knew tlmt tlio voice of slander would follow our track, and that wo should be chart^cd with disloyalty and radicalism. This has been the refuge of all the supporters of existing abuses and new oppressions, since the world began. I'haraoh, no doubt, considered Moses a great radical. William Tell was a radical ; the sturdy barons who forced Magna Charta from King John were rillainons radicals ; so were Luther and John Knox ; and they were a radical crew, to be sure, who drove the last of the Stuarts from England's throne. In later times Chathfrn, and Burke, and Fox, and Brougham have all been charged with disloyalty and radicalism by the advocates of gray-haired abuses. If we, then, of the Colonial Patriot, suffer from the same species of slander, we shall suffer in good company, and we prefer suffering in a good cause to propperity in a bad one." These were the days when the Council of XII., com- bining executive and legislative functions, sitting in secret, all, with scarcely an exception. Churchmen and residents of Halifax, and nearly all placemen,* most, if not all of them, decent men in their -waj, but trained in the narrowest school of political sentiment, full of the highest notions of arbitrary power, ruled the country with undisputed authority. Successive Governors had been but tools in their hands, and the House of Assembly, in any attempt hitherto made to assert its independence, had been obliged, whenever it came into collision with their high mightinesses at the other end of the building, to succumb by a threat of the latter of refusing to do busi- ness with that branch of the Legislatuio. The Council too seemed to feel under no obligation, to adopt ^ny measures for the improvement of the Province, so that for anything of that kind the country was indebted either to the persistent efforts of the Assembly, or to the independent judgment and energy of such a G-overnor, as Sir J. C. Sherbrooke or Sir James Kempt, yet were jealous of anything that seemed in the remotest degree to affect iil * In «nb8eqi\ent collisions with the Council, it was stated that ten ont of the twelve were paid officials of Goyernment. it!!' t^J! II 1 872 their own dignity, and. resented it as subversive of the British Constitution or treason to the Sovereign. Only the winter previous, they had rejected a measure of the House for increased aid to common schools, and when such an uniDatriotic, if not unconstitutional, exercise of power, provoked the author of the measure, T. C. Hali- burton, to describe them as twelve old women, one in lawn sleeves (alluding to the Bishop), the House was called to account, and from fear of consequences, and contrary to their own judgment, meekly bowed to reprimand the author of the speech. Moreover, the majority of the Council having scarcely been outside the town of Halifax,* the country was to them of so little account, that any attempt on the part of the inhabitants to discuss their proceedings, they would have regarded almost as we might suppose a farmer, to regard a criticism on his style of farming, from the sheep in his back pasture. Indeed, the Attorney-G^eneral described the members of the House, particularly referring to those from the country, as the Caribous. - Such were the circumstances in which the Colonial Patriot was issued, as the advocate of liberal politics. The newspapers of Halifax were devoted to the news of the day, containing only some common-place remarks on public events, and discreetly silent regarding official doings. But Mr. B. had entered keenly into the political discussions of the mother country, on the subject of popular rights, on which at that time feeling there was running high. Im^jressed with the much greater subser- viance of the people in general to the few in power, which existed here, he threw his whole soul into the work of securing for the popular will, that control over public affairs, for which the Eeformers in Britain in another shape were contending. Those measures of reform in * It wag asserted afterward in one of the newspapers of the day, that some of them had never crossed Sackville Bridge, ten miles out of Halifaz. 873 colonial administration, which the popular party in Canada and Nova Scotia afterward succeeded in carrying, the " Colonial Patriot " toas the Jirst paper in the Lower Provinces to advocate. Mr. B. wielded the pen of a ready writer. He wrote rapidly, but his writings were marked by great vigour and independence. He had the assistance, however, of other pens, lay and clerical, and the paper soon began to excite public attention. The political questions of the day were then mixed up with the Pictou Academy dispute, which was in fact the battle ground of party, and the Patriot was ever the fearless advocate of the institution. The principles of the paper and the frea spirit in which it assailed G-overnment abuses, soon brought it into notice. Its radical, or as they were then deemed, revolutionary views, were received in some places with horror. "We recollect of hearing of an old Scotch minister, a Seceder too, who, hearing Mr. B. advocate in his earnest way his political views, lifted up his hands in holy amazement, and exclaimed, " daring innovator." In Halifax particularly, the Patriot created no small stir, especially in official circles. The style of writing in it would not appear very violent, as compared with the political writing to which we are now accustomed, nor its sentiments very extreme, but at the time they were so unusual, and such was the general sycophancy to men in power, that they produced quite a sensation. It was read nevertheless. But the paper was to receive attention from higher quarters. A few weeks after its commencement, an article, which appeared in it from the pen of a correspon- dent, was regarded as rank treason by the powers that be. It is said that the matter was seriously debated in the Council of XII., and that the feeling was general, if not unanimous, in favour of bringing the author to condign I 1 iM.M "wm^mn 874 punishment. Milne received notice of an intended prosecution for libel, and the Attorney-General's son, R. J. Uniacke, Jun., entering the House with the paper in his hand, and, as Blanchard described him, " with all the greatness of a full-blown bladder," declared those con- nected with it to bo dangerous persons — that they had violated parliamentary privileges, and that ho would never move another resolution in the House, unless it would avenge the insult by calling them to account. It was proposed not only to prosecute the proprietor for libel, but to bring him in custody to the bar of the House. The writer of the article had submitted it to Mr. B. as a lawyer, instructing him not to publish it, if it were libellous, and the latter was satisfied that there was no danger on that point, but for some time Milne expected that the House might take the last step proposed. But the majority of the House stood firm against Uniacke's denun- ciations, which were no doubt inspired by Government. There was much anxiety on the part of the authorities, to find out the authorship of the obnoxious article, which they were disposed to attribute to Dr. McCulloch. But as the real author afterward freely acknowledged his work, and when liberal principles had triumphed, rather took credit for it, we violate no confidence in saying, that it was written by the late Rev. Thomas Trotter, of Antigonish. "We may add, that instead of containing anything violent, it would now be considered calm and logical. Its oflfence was, that it questioned the constitu- tional right of the Council, to act as they were doing regarding money questions. But a circumstance, which gave Mr. Blanchard and the paper special notoriety, was the publication of what was called " the Canadian letter." There being at that time much political agitation in the Upper Provinces, their con- dition and affairs occupied a prominent place in the Patriot's discussions. The very first number strongly 875 condemned as unconstitutional, the course taken by Lord Dalhousie, in rejecting Mr. Fapineau as speaker, when elected by the Assembly, and Mr. B. continued warmly to support the course taken by that body in adhering to their choice ; and maintained that if the people were true to themselves, they must triumph in the end. He was for a time a warm admirer of Mr. Papineau, though, like the rest of the Nova Scotia Reformers, he would had ho ]ived, have condemned the course taken by him and his compatriots in the outbreak of 1837. Not long after the report of the proceedings of the Canadian Parliament, in which Mr. P. was a second time lejected, reached this Province, an extract from a private letter from a gentleman in Nova Scotia, was published in the " Canadian Spectator,'' in which the spirit of the popular party was applauded, assurance was given that whatever the enslaved press of the Province might say upon the subject, the great majority of the people, who knew the merits of the conflict, thought well of the objects they had in view, and in general of the means thoy took to accom- plish them. It was stated, that while in the Legislature of this Province, theio was a growing spirit of indepen- dence, there was still far too much servility to those in power, and though the existing state of things in Canada was much to be deprecated, it was desirable that some of the same spirit should come our way. "A moderate quantity of it now might supercede the necessity of more hereafter. As prevention is preferable to remedy, I am in hopes a little of it will creep our way, before a greater share of it will bo required." And what was no doubt considered more dreadful, in reply to the accusation of the popular party being the disturbers of the peace, ho maintained that " Lord Dalhousie, by stretching doubtful prerogatives to their utmost limits, and unnecessarily irritating the people, has made himself the public dis- turber." II I f (' : i \ 876 The extract was copied into the Halifax papers and the writer of it was denounced as a political libeller, not fit to crawl on free soil, and his opinions characterized as dio- loyal and dangerous. As " the writer of the C.Sinadian letter, " which had been addressed to Mr, Leslie, member for Montreal, Mr. Blanchard defended the extract, but denied the legitimacy of the inferences drawn from it. Such was the feeling excited in high circles, that Mr. B. did not trust the office with the knowledge of the author- ship of what he wrote, but employed a friend as scribe^ in whoso handwriting the manuscript went to the printer. Mr. Joseph Howe, at that time editor and publisher of the Nova Scotian, was prominent among the assailants of the principles, which "the writer of the Canadian letter " advocated, and a somewhat fierce controversy was main- tained for a time, which did more for the elucidation of the principles of liberal government, and their introduction into this Province, than any thing that had hitherto trans- pired. Mr. Howe was then a young man, just beginnings his career as a journalist. His early writings gave indi- cations of the talents he possessed, although he had not reflected deeply on political questions. Ho was naturally connected with the official party, his father having been both Queens Printer and Postmaster General, and hi» elder brother succeeding to both offices ; and indeed was regarded as the chosen champion of the party. But the result of his controversy with Mr. B. and the other writers, who came to the aid of the latter, was that he become a convert to the views, which at that iime he de- nounced, but in the advocacy of which he afterward became so prominent and so celebrated. He has been known to say, that he received his first impressions of liberal politics from Jotham Blanchard. He did not approve of them at first, but the more he thought upon 877 I and the not fit to d as dio- Canadian member ract, but . from it. at Mr. B. B author- is scribe^ \, to the ►lisher of ailants of ,n letter " 'as main- dation of reduction rto trans- )eginning' [avo indi- had not naturally ing been and hi& deed was But the the other ,s that he me he de- afterward has been essions of did not ight upon. them, the better he liked them, till he embraced them fully, and devoted his life to their establishment.* The maintaining of a country paper at that period was no easy matter. Even for many years after, it was with difficulty that a publisher could make cuds meet, but of course at that time the difficulties were much greater. The population likely to support it was but small, the country was not in a very prosperous condition, the habits of payment were very irregular, the publisher in Pictou wa vot a practical printer, and patriotism was not then thu ^^aying business it has since become. At all events a long time had not elapsed, till the publisher found himself in jail for debt, In an editorial the situation was thus humourously described : « We do not know what our readcrn may think of it, but for our own part, wo can honestly declare, that it has affected us more than if we had beard of the incarceration of every other expounder of news in the Province. For subscribers to be in our debt is bad enough, but for patriots like us, who have been grumbling for them immeasurably, to bo shut up in the prison house, because they have not paid us, while they arc Koing at large, is almost beyond the cnduremcnt of flesh and blood. Anybody but ourselves would have long ago delivered them to the judge ; and sure are we, that had they fallen into the hands of such a prompt and righteous dispenser of justice as ovs old Treasurer, he would have made them down with their dollars on the «pot, and given them a good pounding to boot. " If our subscribers cannot pay us, wo give them this notice, that they must find us an equivalent. Let them only recommend us to His Majesty's Council, and get us into some moderate ofScc, which will help us out of our scrapes. We are not ambitious men, we assure them. With such a salary as Mr. Jeffrey's wo will bo perfectly contented to bo publicans and crave nobody. Though we may now and then take a race after the smugglers for fun, not one of our subscribers need lengthen his steps. "Some of our subscribers seem to think that if, like our old Treasurer, they say that they have no money in their chest, wo are very well off. But we do assure them that we are not very well off. Such a thing was never known of patriots since the world began. Had wo twelve thousand pounds lying past us to the good, our subscribers would have something like reason upon their * Entering the Patriot office when on a visit to Pictou at the time of the election of 1830, he laughingly remarked, " The Pictou scribblers (so he used to call the writers in the Patriot) have converted me from the error of my ■ways." i 'f tf i m 878 ■Ido; liiit (ipon (ho word of honrot pntrlotR, wo ponltlvcly «lo(!lurn tlint wn Imvo not linlf (lint mim in our poHBCHRion, mitl to (lio bout of our Knowlcdga ttixl iM-licf, nro not lllu'ly to Imvo it hcfcro next inontliiK of AnHoinMy.* " Wlu'ii wo wt'io dragfjcd xi'o|it ii few of our crcdit'irf), who cnllod to ' cn any lon^i-r to affront thcmsolvcH. And wo give (hem thii* notice, that (hero nro only twowayg: cithor (hoy nuiKt Bond uh their money, ur como and livo with uh. In tho lost coso wo iihall haro them under our own vyo, and if, between tho treadmill and lirenkinK Rdines for tho Btreetn by woy of relaxation, wo «lo not work it out of th>m, wo shall havo ourselves to blnnio. Hy (heno mennH wo will ( dlcct an much nn will pay all our conniderato creditors; and when wo And that (hero in nothing nioro to bu got, wo will send for ^ho individual who for tiiu pure purpot :< of annoyance, has been persuadsd to |)ut uh in jail, and liko honest gentlemen that wo are, surrendering to him all thai wo have, that is to say, all our debln which have becomo bad through his jjlacing us in conflne- mont, wo will walk out, antl prosecuto tho pa(riot trade with rudouhled vigor. If bo expects tho favor of councillora and their creatures by crusliing us, ho is likely (o find that ho haa caught a Tartar. Wo wore not born so far north for nothing, and wo assure our friends that aftor coming all tho way from Abeniecn f for their benefit, they will not find us so easily piit down." But tho darkest cloud wo are told has a silver lining. Above all, no circumstances can bo so desperate as to bo beyond woman's sympathy, and tho darkest scenes of lifo will bo bright with tho light which shines not on sea or shore, if cheered by her smile. So did tho poor printer find it. The SherilFhad a fair <''aughter, whose pity was moved by his hapless condition. Our prosaic history ''cannot adequately tell how pity passed into deeper feelings, but at all events so well was tho enforced leisure of tho prison employed, that when he again went forth to • Tho allusion in this paragraph is to tho accounts of the Treasurer, which shov.'ed a balance of twelve thousand pounds in favor of the Province, while applicants sometimes were roughly turned away with tho declaration that there was ni money. t Mr. Milne's native place. 879 iiro that wo ■ knowlcdga Ay* clollvorttnco. nown, thcro of ilio kind , if tho Iftrgo RH wo, mnnt lio cullfld to tlin hands of r to iiffiont r two wftys ; In tho lost M treadmill not work it ans wo will hen wo And [liml who for ail, and liko v(<, that iH to I in conflne- mhlcd vigor. Hliing us, ho 80 far north 10 way from wn." 3r lining. ) as to bo nos of life on sea or )r printer pity was c history o deeper ed leisure it forth to isurcr, which ovincc, while laration that liberty, it wa« nnder bonds whi( h, we su])poso now after nearly lifty yoars of wedded Julias ho has no dcsiro to see dissolved. To relieves him from his embarrassmont, aufl to continue tho i)ul)lication of tho pap(!r, whirh had now become popular amoni^ tho friends of lib(■!(! w^m 382 county, was a bold undertaking, and almost enough to give the old ladies fits. But as a candidate, he made a good imjjression upon independent men. His note booki» still in existence shew him to have cultivated his mind, by diligent study of the writings of the best poets and orators of Britain and Ireland. He had also been interested in the modern political discussions of the mother coun- try, and now his speeches attracted attention. But such was the hostility of the Government party to him, that in Halifax he was insulted, which however only rendered his friends in the country more determined in their efforts on his behalf. Even in Pictou they would not allow him to be heard on the hustings, while the gentleman wha proposed him, Adams Archibald, Esq., of Musquodoboit, one of the greatest natural geniuses the Province ever produced, was soon after dismissed from the commission of the peace. The election for the County of Halifax caused much excitement throughout the Province. In Pictou the political question was mixed with the religious division that had been growing up, and with the feelings that had been excited regarding the Pictou Academy, so that party feeling reached an unprecedented height; and this election, ever since known as the big election, witnessed deplorable scenes of violence, pitched battles being fought, sticks freely used and one man killed. Mr. Blanchard was returned with the other popular candidates, and for five years proved an energetic member of the House. It is generally said, that he disappointed expectation. This may be true in part, but it is easily ac- counted for. Perhaps the expectations of his friends were too high. "Wg may add that the House proved rather a subservient one. True there were only eight returned as Government supporters ; but when the Council swallowed the revenue bill, which they had rejected the year before, members of the House seemed inclined to rest and be 1 l'\ *lr l.<»r-j ! U^^ 383 thankful. The loss to the Province by the late collision with the Council, seemed to make them tremble at the thought of another. And then and more especially his health failed. Still while his strength remained, his voice was ever raised on behalf of any measure, which promised to advance the public interests. The subject which engaged his most energetic efforts, was the Pictou Academy. - The Government still continuing hostile, he was as wo have seen, in the year 1831 sent by its friends to Britain to lay its claims before the Home Grovernment. He also succeeded in carrying some important measures, among which was an act for the relief of honest insolvent debtors. Up to this date, any one creditor could retain a debtor in gaol after the surrender of all his property,, by supplying eight pounds of bread a week for his main- tenance ; and persons were found ready to use this power, in the hope of leading the friends of the unfortunate to pay the claim, in order to obtain his release. This power was now taken away, and two magistrates had power to order the discharge of an insolvent, where without fraud he gave up all his property. He also advocated the abolition of imprisonment for debt altogether, but the country was not prepared for such a measure. He had studied the works of Brougham and others of the school of English law reformers, and advocated some of their measures here, among others the conferring of equity jurisdiction upon the Supreme Court. But it required twenty years to prepare for the introduction of this grand improvement in legal procedure. Out of the House he^ still supported measures for public improvement. Among these may be mentioned the establishment of circulating libraries. After his return from Britain, where he had seen the system in operation, he spent a good deal of effort in endeavoring to have it introduced into our rural districts, but not with much permanent result. 384 '1 ■'■III ■ His labours were too great for his bodily strength. In the session of 1836, the last of that House, he travelled to Halifax in a covered sleigh, in which a small stove was fitted up for his accommodation, and was able to attend to local county business at his rooms, but was unable to occupy his place in the House. In the year 1838, his mind also gave way, and he sunk into a state of mental imbecility, from which he never recoA'ered. He died 13th July, 1840. "We may mention here +hat Alexander Lawson was an apprentice in the Patriot office, and afterward established and still conducts the Yarmouth Herald, the first successful venture in newspaper printing, in the Western part of Nova Scotia, and long the only supporter of the popular party in that section of the country. We may here give the subsequent history of the newspaper press in Pictou. On the 31st August, 1832, Mr. Milne commenced publishing from the Patriot office, a small weekly paper for the young, called The Juvenile Entertainer, at the rate of 5s. per annum. It continued for a year or two to give selections of interesting reading for the young, and was a creditable effisrt for the time, being the first of the kind in the Province. The Government party in the year 1831 established a paper in opposition to the Patriot, called the Pictou Observer, of which the Eev. Kenneth John MoKenzie was the editor, or in which he was at least the ablest writer. The Patriot expired about the year 1838, and the Observer followed it to the same bourne. In the year 1836, Mr. James Dawson purchased the press and types of the old Patriot, and commenced a paper «alled the Bee, and soon after the 'Observer was resuscitated by Mr. Roderick McDonald, a native of Stornoway, who had taught the lower branches in the Pictou Academy. He removed to Ontario, and the paper became defunct. In the year 1840, the Bee was bought II 886 out by Mr. John Stiles who established in its place the Mechanic and Farmer. In 1842 the Presbyterian Banner "was established under the editorship of the Rev. James, aiow Dr. Ross, But in 1843 both these papers were merged in the Eastern Chronicle^ which has continued to the present day. In this ofl&co was trained E. M. McDonald, who became its editor and proprietor, and afterward Queen's Printer, and with Hon. William Oaryie, established the Halifax Citizen and became member of tho Dominion Legislature, and died Collector of Customs for Halifax. The Observer, ailer a short suspension, was revived by Mr. A. McCoubray, of St. Johns, Newfoundland, Martin I. "Wilkins, Esq., being its editor or chief contributor, but again became defunct. In its place was established fc,9 Colonial Standard, wl^ch still continues. "We have already described the rum drinking of former times, but have now to notice the commencement of a movement for the suppression of its evils. The necessity of some measure of the kind may be inferred from the following facts : In the year 1825, there were imported into the Province '753,786 gallons of rum, besides 30,000 gallons of wine, and several thousand gallons of gin and brandy, to which the quantities smuggled, and what was made in the Province required to be added. "When we consider that the population of the Province was estimated at 120,000, it will be seen, that even allowing for what was exported, the consumption might well be regarded as truly alarming. Again, in the year 1830, there were entered at the Pictou custom house 73,994 gallons of ardent spirits, and it was calculated that what of this was exported, would be equalled by the product of domestic distillation. The population of the county, by the census of 1827, was scarcely 14,000. Allowing for increase, the consumption would still be about five gallons for every man, woman, and child, the cost of which could 25 Ml 886 not be less than $60,000, or $20 for every family, and $4 for every individual. The evils of this had been long felt. But hitherto good men believed, that the use of ardent spirits in moderation was beneficial and even necessary, but now was started the idea of total abstinence from thera as a beverage, and to the "West River belongs the honor of having formed the first society on this basis in Nova Scotia, the second in British America, one in Ontario having been organized a few months earlier. The Boston Recorder had been circulated for some time in the settlement, and had rendered the people there familiar with the subjoct. The first movement however for the formation of a society^ took place at one of the quarterly meetings of the Agri- cultural Society. These meetings had lost their interest, and the attendance at them was small. "When therefore the members met in October, 1827, there being little doing, Mr. George McDonald moved that they form a Temperance Society. The Rev. Duncan Ross immedi- ately seconded the proposal. The only other supporter at the meeting was Mr. Donald McLeod, and from these three the movement originated. The next to join them was Mr. David McLeod. These four held several private meetings, and at length arrangements were made for the public organization of the Society, which took place at the next meeting of the Agricultural Society, in January, 1828, when 12 persons signed a temperance pledge.* The following is a copy of it : — • We have given the above dates, as we received them from the late George McDonald. The claim of the West River Society to be the first in the Province was for a time disputed, on behalf of the Beavor Biver Society, in the County of Yarmouth. The matter was discussed forty years ago, when the parties were alive and the records in existence, and it was then clearly proved that the former was the first. Wo regret, that the Society's book has disappeared within a short period, so that we are indeA)ted to tradition for the above dates, more particularly as Rev. Mr. Campbell, in his history of Yarmouth County, in ignorance of these facts, has revived the claim of the Beaver River 887 > <* We whoso names are hereunto annexed, bulicving that the use of ardont spirits is not only useless but hurtful to the social, civil and religious interests of men, agree that we will not use them, unless in case of bodily hurt or sickness, that wo will not, as an article of luxury or living, traffic in them, nor will wo proride them for the entertainment of our friends, or for persona in our employment, and in all suitable ways we will discountenance the use of them throughout the country." The movement excited great opposition, and the mem- bers had to encounter no small amount of ridicule, if not "vrorse. It was then considered impossible to do any work, particularly any job requiring a number of men, without rum, and an opportunity came, to test the principles and power in this respect of the friends of the new moyement. One of them had the frame of a bam to raise. At that time it was customary, to make the timber of frames very heavy, and in raising them, first to lift the whole of one side, and ihen of the other, by main strength. For this of course, in the case of a building of any size, there would be required a large number of men. On this occasion, all the neighbours as usual assembled, and all the Temper- ance men for some distance round. The others however refused all assistance, if there was to be no liquor ; and the friends of the new movement, having said, that in that case they would raise it without their aid, were left to try their strength. But on attempting to raise the side, they found themselves unable to move it, and after they were fairly beaten, and endured no end of jibes from the other Society. There is still however sufficient evidence to show its groundlessness. Mr. Ebenezer McLeod, who was for some time Secretary of the West River Society, not only remembers the old discussion, but from his recollection is able to affirm, that that Society was formed as early as the date given by Mr. McDonald. The Rev. Dr. Blaikio of Boston testifies, that ho was teaching at West River in 1828, and in that year joined the society, which was already organized. Again in the Colonial Patriot of date I7th September, 1828, the editor, urging the formation of such societies, says, " We are happy to state that one has been organized at the West River in this district, and would recommend to the officebearers the propriety of publishing its constitution." But by Mr. Campbell's own statement, the Beaver River Society was not formed before April 26th, 1829. I ' I f i* !. ■ V 888 party* ^^^ latter laid bold, pnt the whole np at the double quick, and ihen had their dram from a supply which they had privately brought. On another occasion, at the raising of the frame of a mill at Six Mile Brook, the two parties quarrelled, and as neither would yield, and neither was strong enough to do the work alone, they separated for that day, without its being accomplished. This state of things did not continue, for in the CoIoniUl Patriot of 17th September 1828, we find the following : " On Friday last, the frame of a large dwelling house, the property of George McDonald, was erected withont the nso cf rum. In lien of it, ale and beer were used, so that the work was completed in a superior manner, while neither abtisive language nor profane swearing was heard, no black eyes nor drunken men seen, bnt peace and friendship pervading the concourie. That this change of custom will bo followed in future, (at least to a great degree) may bo reasonably expected, since it tends not only to promote the harmony, health and respectability, of those who assemble on such occasions, but tho interests of the builder. Ten or twclro years ago, he must have used almosk as many gallons of the mighty rum, in erecting a frame of similar dimensions, and for this not unfrcquently have his name stationed on the wrong side of some ledger, whence it may not be so readily erased, as some purchasers of spirits allow themselves to believe." 19 ot content with the promotion of the cause in his own congregation, Mr. Eoss advocated it in the public press, pled in private with his brethren in the ministry on its behalf, and preached and lectured on the subject in their congregations, as he had opportunity. It was not, however, till the year 1830, that the first movement was made for the formation of a society in the town. It began with a sermon on the subject preached by him in the old Presbyterian Church. The discourse gave consider- able offence, and even as the audience retired, some gave audible expression to their dissatisfaction, in such sayings as, " he might have given us something else than the like of that," &c. This was followed by a private meeting at the house of Mr. James Dawson, when he, the Rev. James Eobson, James Hepburn, Francis Beattie and donble chthey fa mill and as mgh to ivithout Coloniol ving: ' of George le and beer lie neither yc drunken That this !grce) njay 3 liarmonf, ns, but tho scd almost limensions, )ng side of rchasers of 3 in his 3 public ministry subject was not, lent was It began 1 in the jonsider- me gave L sayings the like meeting the Uev. ttie and 889 three or four others, associated themselves under a temperance pledge. They held several private meetings, and after some time agreed to call a public meeting, for the purpose of more formally organizing their Society. This took place on the 15th March following, in the old court house. It was well attended, but largely by people opposed to tho movement, among whom were a number of rowdyish characters, who occupied the back part of the room, and who had been put forward by tho rum interest to mako disturbance. They had got a well known negro, named John Peters, well primed with liquor, as their chosen instrument to spoil tho meeting. Accordingly, when Mr. Dawson had spoken in advocacy of the proposed Society, they set John forward to have his say. " Fine man, Missa Dawson, go into "West Ingy trade — bring hun'eds puncheons of rum, mako plenty money," &c. This rejoiced the rabble, who supported the speech by a volley of eggs at Mr. Dawson. A mer- chant of tho place then arose and spoke at considerable length against the proposal, when tho laugh was rather turned on him and his friends, by their chosen champion, Peters, exclaiming, •* I secken Missa 's motion, dem's my sentiments." The friends of temperance, however, succeeded in adopting a constitution for their Society and opening a book for subscribers, and a few days after it "was announced that it had received forty-four signatures. "We have no list of names, nor of ths first office-bearers, but we know that from this time it received the support of some of the most respectable members of tho com- munity, among whom Jotham Blanchard deserves special mention. The following from the Patriot of June 26, 1830, how- ever, shows that the cause had been making progress : — " Wo barely noticed, seyeral weeks ago, a launch of a tcsbcI from the yard of John Qordon, Jun., another native Nova Scotian. Wo wero well pleasMl irith tho name (Patriot), of conno, but wo were better pleased to Icarn, that ; ' ■ I n »fm i I 890 ■he waa built and launched without tho uso of ardont spiritfl. Wo have since learned tiiat she was sailed to Newfoundland and gold, and still no spirits tueJ." About a year elapsed before another public meeting "Was attempted, when a lecture was announced to take place in the old Grammar School house, by Jotham "Blanchard. But ho had not above two dozen of hearers, as he expressed it, not as many as the pages he had written. No iurther attempt was made at any public demonstration, till October of the following year (1833), when the Rev. John McLean delivered a lecture in tho old court house. The attendance was large, the audience respectable and orderly, and from tho eloquence of the speaker and the strength of his facts and arguments, tho lecture made a profound impression. A vote was passed requesting its publication, which took place a few months after. From that time temperance has had a firm hold in the town, though we can recollect a time after this, when there was still scarcely a shop in town which had not over its door the words "spirituous liquors by license." "We may add that for the purpose of combined effort on behalf of the object, a Central Society, composed of representatives from tho various Temperance Societies in the County, was formed on the 7th March, 1832, and called the Pictou Temperance Union. "Wo must now refar to the mail arrangements and im- provements in trav cO made at this period. Ezra "Witter, who had removed from the western part of the Province, and settled at Biblo Hill, Truro, where he engaged in carriage building, commenced about the year 1815 carry- ing the mail from Halifax to Truro ; and in conjunction with him, Jacob Lynds, carried it from Truro to Pictou. For some years they used a chaise drawn by a single horse, but afterward drove a double seated waggon, carry- ing three or 'our passengers, drawn by two horses, making 891 ive Binoo o Kpiriti eeting tako fotham learers, le had public (1833), in tho idience of the nts, tho 1 passed months rm hold ter this, ich had lors by d effort )osed of ieties in 32, and and im- Witter, rovince, 'aged in 5 carry- nnction Pictou. L single n, carry- making one trip each way every week, tho journey being per- formed in two days or two and a half. They continued in this way till 1828. The following is their advertisement in that year : EASTERN 8TA0E. To rnn oncu n week between Halifax and Pictoq, By E. WiTTKR and J. Ltnds. 1 rpUE public aro retpcctfully informad that nntil the middle of Novembar, X tho subscribers intcnda to run a weekly Stage, which will accommodato tout passengers between Halifax and Pictou. It will start from Mr. Boyle*! in Halifax, every Tuesday morning, at seven o'clock, reach Truro on Wednes* day at 7 a. u. and arrive in Pictou at 8 in tho evening. It will leave PictoQ one hour after tho arrival of the packet from Prince Edward Island, and arrive in town on Saturday afternoon. Tho fare to or from Pictou will be JC2,and every oxortioa will be used to insure comfort and security to passengers, and their baggage, of which each will be entitled to carry 20 lbs. — Apply in Pic- tou to Mr. Robert Dawson— in Haliiax to Mr. A. Boyle, where any other information will be given. Juno 18. lu that year a comxjany was formed of persons in Pictou and Truro, with one or two in Halifax, called the Eastern Stage Coach Company, to run a line of coaches between Halifax and Pictou. In the following year (1829) they began with a heavy double seated waggon, drawn by two horses, which made the journey in two days and then, with the same horses and driver, returned on the iwo following. They then erected a frame over this, which was covered with canvas on top and had curtains at the sides. Tho next year the company Was enlarged, and their carriages were drawn by three or sometimes four horses, though often in changing, it was only trans- ferring them from the pole to the lead. They also put on double sets of horses, and they now left Halifax and Pictou, on the same day, making three trips a week each way. Proper coaches were put on, though not we believe till a year or two later. This arrangement continued under various proprietors, and sometimes with opposition lines, till the year 1842, < f ■If S Il'l Mi whon HiVrtm UyHo pttvchrtnod pyBl«»m of va!\Kinjv lovx^l linoB of vimd. Th»» orotUl orjnnn^t»miltt|f tUo now om or vortil innklnfi", i« »l<<'^ <<> f^i'" .^JunoM Keiiii»l, iUon Liou<<^nnni-UovvMnov. llo wiib not Iomh* lu Nova ^^oo(il^ till ho hoyini rtd oxpondilnto. tlo oniployrMi Mi'. CtHMjiV Whiinvrto, UR snvvoyov on I ho onHlorn voml, tunl whon ho ro^vniod ihut ho hrtil Tonnd ii lino with n riwo of not mow thivn ono {\>\^{ in ihirty, |>ooplo latighud «t hint. Tho oommonoonvont of h»n»l voiuls \v«r niniio lilonjjf tho Uvft(\d l.nko in 18'28. rrovionsl/ (ho loml hnd jfouo nMxuvl tho hnsin, hnt now {\w roml wns (akon (o I)ttrlnioutl\ shovtoninni" tho ilivstanoo somo niilos, yVhont tho sumo timo tho work ot lovolUng- boj^ivn in Pioion. Hiv ,TnineB \vawing- ovcv Monnt Thoni, lii» oyo wt onconaw ihi^ viilloy Wlow, whorv* a lovx^l lino might bo miBily ohtiilnod. i^"HM\ At\tn* tho work of oUoration hogmi, and about tho yoar 1S,'V2, tho pivsont lino, by which it wrh said tho Cil-ovornov " oi\x?umrentod Mount Thorn," was coini)lotod. It still, ho\vxno\\ croesod tho Six Milo Brook at (.laBs'a placo on what was oallod tho Kompt llridjjfo, in honour of him. and oamo out at tho Wovst Kivor at Mrs. Brown'n plaiv. Tho work of altoratiou oontiuuod, till in tho yotti* 1S40 tho whole lino was completed. VTo may add hero that it was still somo timo boforo tho proeees was complotcd, in n^jj^ard to tho road toward thd east. About tho year 1847, tho road from Now Glasgow round Frasors Mouutaiu waa made ; in tho year 1860 tiio rnw\ ni Mio fnok r»f flf»»nfi Hill wn« cfrmpMf'fl.nrifl In (ftfid tlm roitd In Aiillif«»i(lsli liy Ifm IVffirslry lloim Vfill'-y wnn OppiHMl. l'f'('vi(Mt«ly llio lrfiVf>llf'M Jti liiftf, «lM of Ikhiioh wcni lill''(| wifli W''<'|Mrit( nl- th^ liil,f«llit(»ii('o ol' lii« «1ojmr(,iir«», nnd r»r l>f»y(»ri of hkl Apoaldlio rorI Rtvl Mmntn of lovo. When tho onrly nettleni r>f Plctoii rouM ftffwl to a mlnlKt'^r of th's H^fpcl llttlo cIro IhR'i A pnrtltipatlon of th'ir hftr<1«hip<*, hn tnnt in hi* lot with tho dontlttito, boramn t«}t dolog good. Neither toil nor privation deterred him from hi» Ma«t»;r*« work, and tho ptcoauro of tho Lord prodpcmd In hl» hand. IIo liv^od to witn^wj th<» iiicccRN of his labours In tho erection of niimeroni thnrchf*, awl In tb« flitabllshmotit of* Sciair ary, flrom which tb«so charches conld \m prorided trltb roUgiouf Inatructon. Though to highly hortoored of th« Lord, tew h*T« i )i| 894 exceeded him la Christian humility ; save in the cross of our Lord Jesns Christ, he gloried In nothing ; and as a public teacher, combining instruction with example, ho approved himself to bo a follower of them who through £Euth and patience now inherit the promises." The year 1831 was marked by the commencement of steam navigation from the port of Picton, and, indeed, on the coast of British America. The pioneer boat in this trade was built at Three Rivers, on the Lower St. Lawrence, for a company formed in Quebec the pre- vious year and was called the Royal William. She was of 1,000 tons burden, and had engines of 180 horse power. This was considered enormous in those days, and in all the ports she visited she was regarded as a wonder. She was intended to ply between Quebec and various ports in the Lower Provinces, in /act to do the work that the Gulf Ports and other lines of steamers are now doing, and was aided by the Canadian Q-overnment. She made her first trip in August, arriving in Halifax on the Slst, in seven days from Quebec, having been de- tained in Miramichi two days. Crowds assembled on the wharves, with almost the feelings that the appearance of the Great Eastern would now excite. She arrived in Pictou on the 3rd September, and we still remember the excitement which her presence created. She made several trips that season, ending her voyage in Halifax, as required by the act giving her a subsidy. Her first summer's work showed the folly of her builders. Not only was she far larger than was needed, but she was fitted up in a style of elegance, that would compare with ""the floating palaces of the Hudson or tlw Sound. On her first arrival, the editor of the Patriot pointed out the mistake that had been committed, and while advocating the enterprise, urged that the company should get a boat one qiiarter of the size, and fitted up in a substantial but plain style. The next year it was arranged, that she should run regularly to Pictou, the Legislature having agreed to give t III T-^ lOrd Jesos astruction 9 through nent of Leed, on in this wex St. tho pre- 5he was horse 36 days, ed as a ibec and ) do tho nets arc irnment. ilifax on been de- ibled on jearance rived in member le made Halifax, Her first rs. Not she was are with nd. On out the vocating 3t a boat itial but raid rnn to give 395 the subsidy on voyages terminating here. But on her first trip she left while cholera was raging in Quebec, and when she arrived in Miramichi, she had the disease on board, and was sent to quarantine, where the engineer died. Afterward she only made one or two trips that seanson. The next spring she was sold. Her original cost was ^617,000, but now she did not bring one-third of tho amount. Her new owners sent her one or two trips on the old route, but finally determined to send her to Britain. She arrived here on the 13th August, on her way thither and cleared again on tho 17th for London,^'*' where she safely arrived, being the first steamship to make the entire passage across the Atlantic under steam. Previously several vessels had crossed partially by the aid of steam, but these made their way principally by sails, steam being used only when a wind was wanting, and even then only at a low rate of speed. But now a Canadian built ship, sailing from Pictou, first proved the practicability of ocean steam navigation, and introduced a new era in the trade of the world. In the year 1832, tho G-eneral Mining Association pur- chased tho steamer ** Pocahontas," which commenced to ply between Pictou and Charlotte Town, sometimes going as far as Miramichi. She was commanded by David Davidson and made her first trip on the 11th May. In tho year following, they sent a large steamer called tho " Cape Breton," which commenced to ply between Pictou and Miramichi, on which route she was employed for some years. Another institution formed near the close of this period deserves notice here. "Wo refer to the Pictou Literary hnm ■f • « Cleared, l7th. Ship Boyal William, McDougall, London, Coal, Natural curiosities and spars, hj W. Mortimer." — Patriot, Anjust 20th, 1833. m 896 and Scientific Society. It originated with the following paper : *< We, the andersigned, agree to meet at Mr. Blanchard's class room, ia the Pictou Academy, on Monday evening, December 8tb, 1834, at seven o'clock, to mako arrangements respecting the formation of a literary society, such as may bo considered most beneficial to the interests of all concerned. " W. J. Anderson, O. A. Blanchard, W. B. Chandler, Daniel Dickson, David Matheson, Joseph Chipman, James Fogo, Jas. Vf. McCulloch, Wm. Burton, Edward Boach, Jas. Furves, Gcorgo S. Harris, Wm. Gordon, John B. Davison, James Primrose, David Crichton, C. Martin, James Johnston, Bobert Corbet, Michael McCulloch, G. M. Johnston, A. P. Boss, Charles Elliott." Accordingly a meeting was held at the time appointed, James Primrose, Esq., in the chair, and George ti. Harris, Secretary, when it was resolved that " the meeting form themselves into a society, to bo called the Pictou Literary and Scientific Society." The object was stated to be " the mutual improvement of its members in the sciences and general literature," and it was agreed that this object may be best attained by the delivery of lectures or essays on literary and scientific subjects, which afterward may form topics of discussion. The first lecture was delivered on the 16th of the same month, by Dr. "W". J. Anderson, on phrenology. There were some present who had read the discussions in the Edinburgh Review on the subject, and the lecture was followed by an animated debate, which was cctntinued at the next meeting, when Dr. Martin gave an $t, dress on the brain. That winter lectures were delivered fort- nightly, ten in all. The Society continued in existence for twenty-one years. During this time, it had every winter a course of lectures, sometimes fortnightly and sometimes weekly. From the Pictou Academy there had been difiuseda taste for literature and science, and many of the lectures were of a high character. Several clergymen, such as Dr. McCulloch, Mr. Trotter, Mr. McKinlay, and Mr. Elliott lectured with more or less frequency. Conspicuous 897 among'the lay lecturers were J. D. B. Fraser and J. W". Dawson, The former generally lectured on chemistry or some kindred subjects, and he showed a skill in experiments, which rendered his lectures highly interest- ing and popular. Mr. (now Dr.) Dawson delivsred his first lecture in April, 1836, the subject being geology. Though then a young man, he already gave evidence of that attention to natural science, in which he has since attained so much distinction. Afterward he frequently lectured on that and other branches of natural science. The medical men, such as Drs. Anderson, Ghipman, and Martin, lectured on scientific subjects kindred to their profession ; members of the legal fraternity, such as Daniel Dickson, James Fogo, G-eorge A. Blanchard,' John MoKinlay, and Hiram Blanchard, discoursed on a variety of general subjects, while mercantile men, such as T. G-. Taylor and Charles Hobson, and others, contributed their share to the usefulness of tho Institution. Altogether, the lectures were in a style superior to anything in the Province. By those who had an opportunity of judging, they were pronounced in general of a higher character, even than those delivered in the Halifax Mechanics' Institute. They were frequently followed by discussions, often animated, sometimes even exciting, giving rise to displays of wit or oratory, or eliciting valuable informa- tion. The society afibrded many an evening's instructive entertainment. But from various causes, interest in it declined, and it finally expired, its last meeting having been held on the 12th April, 1855. To this account of a creditable eifort for the diffusion of the light of knowledge, we may add as a close to this chapter, that the lighthouse at the Beaches was finished in the year 1833, that the lantern was raised to its place in August of that year, and it was first lighted on the Ist of March. 1834. «1, '. f B98 CHAPTER rnii. MINES AND MINING INDUSTEIES OP THE COUNTY. Since the failure of the timber trade, perhaps nothing has been so important to the progress of the county, as the Coal Mining, carried on first by the General Mining Association, and later by other companies, "which have made Fictou up till this time the greatest coal producer in British \merica, it having been only during a few years 8 iiput jtd by Cape Breton. We have already mentioned the discovery of coal in 1798, Dr. McQ-regor's exhibiting a tire Oi '<• to ^c candidates at the election of 1799, and the first efforts at coal mining. "We shall now proceed to give the history and present condition of this industry in the county. In the year 1807, John McKay, son of the Squire, usually known as Collier, obtained a license to dig for the inhabitants, and at a later date, to export. He and his father commenced working a sipall three feet seam on the farm of the latter, but it soon became exhausted. They then searched further and found what has since been known as the " Big Seam," though they did not know its value. John continued to w^ork at this for some time, selling it at the pit's mouth and sending it down the river in lighters. A demand sprang up for it during the war, to supply the garrison, navy and inhabitants of Halifax. In the year 1815, we find 650 chaldrons exported. After the peace, the price fell to half its former rate. Owing to this and perhaps other causes, McKay failed, and was imprisoned,, and his property seized by Hartshome of Halifax, who had been supplying him. The workmen being unpaid, the latter tried to compromise with them, but they persisted in claiming full payment of what was due. Mr. Adam. 899 CaTT, who waff one of them, joined with Mortimer, and by his influence, the Government were induced to let the mines to the highest bidder, and in that way they obtained the lease in the year 1818. They worked together till Mortimer's death in the following year, when on the 3rd November, the lease was transferred to George Smith and William Liddell, on the following terms, the Mine on the west side the river for a rent of i)260 and 3s. per '* chaldron for all raised over 400, and that on the East side the river, for i£110. We may mention, that this last has never been found productive of good coal. It is the same that a few years ago was opened by the German Company. Smith and Garr worked in partnership, but after a time separated, when the latter got the whole into his possession, and continued to mine, raising the coal by horse power, soUing it at the pit mouth, and carting it to the river, where it was sent away in lighters. Of these years, we may give a statement of the amount of coal raised, as reported to Government. 1818 2820 chaldrons. 1820 2609 « 1821 1370 " 1822 - 2004 " 1823 1725 " 1824 - 2261 «♦ 1825 2801 «« 1827 2523 " In the year 1825, the home Government leased all the" reserved mines of Nova Scotia for sixty years to the Duke of York, excepting, of course, those which had been * already leased to other parties. Sir James Kempt, in laying before the Council correspondence on the subject, intimated that he was authorized to state, that the reserved profits of the mines would be applied to the benefit of the country. This was a transaction which no person in the present day will defend, and which subsequent British 5 t ll- 400 ministers ha^'e acknowledged themselves unable to justify. It had this compensating effect, however, that it introduced into the country a wealthy company, at a time when the same capital could not have been easily obtained. The Duke's lease was transferred to Messrs. Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, the celebrated London Jewellers, in pay- ment of his debts, and from them to the General Mining Association, in whicli, I believe, they were large shareholders. Tho company had been formed, as the name imports, for mining purposes generally, and, I have been informed, did attempt the working of mines in. South America. But for a length of time, their attention has been confined to tho coal mines of Sydney and Fictou. On obtaining their lease, they sent an agent to the Province to explore for mines, and, on his report, resolved to commence operations at the East River. They purchased Mr. Carr's lease, and having about the same time become X>ossossors of the rights of the lessees of the Sydney Mines, they thus came into possession of all the mines and minerals in the Province, with the exception of what might be found on a few old grants, on which there had been no reserve. Early in the isummer of 1827, they sent out Mr. Richard Smith, intending to commence operations both in ooal and iron mining. In June a vessel arrived in Pictou, bringing machinery and implements, with colliers, engineers and mechanics. On the 11th June, tho Lieutenant-G-overnor issued a proclamation, calling on the officers of Government, magistrates and proprietors of land, to give every facility to Mr. Smith in carrying on his operations. He accord- ingly made all necessary arrangements for working on a large scale. He purchased the farms of Dr. McGregor, "William McKay, and Colin McKay, commenced sinking new shafts, 212 feet, and erecting the proper machinery for working on a large scale and in a more scientific manner than hitherto. On the 6th September, their first n ™! justify, oduced len the I. The Bridge in pay- Mining B large as the , I have lines in. itention LPicton. fc to the resolved irchased 1 become y Mines, nes and of what lere had hey sent )erations arrived ts, with ssued a rnment, facility accord- ng on a cGregor, sinking achinery cientific leir first 401 coal was raised, and in the month of December, he had a steam engine in operation, the first ever erected in the Province. The event was thus noticed in the local paper of ihe day : — « Tho same day on trhich our first number appeared (December 7th, 1827) another event happened which we may with great propriety, hail as the harbinger of illimitable prosperity to Fictou, of great utility to tho wholo ProTlnco, and we might fairly add to the British North American colonies. On Friday last, for the first time in Nova Scotia, tho immense power of stoam was brought into successful requisition at the Albion Minrs on tha East Biycr. Let us rejoice that this district is tho favoured scene of its first operation. The engine is of 20 horse power, and tho perfection of its first operations evidence the skill of the engineer. The Company's works will now proceed with redoubled celerity and vigour. Their progress, though retarded by the selfishness and overreaching disposition of individuals, has surpassed ihe imagination of individuals." Before describing the Company's operations farther, we must give a brief account of the position and structure of the coal fields of this county. As formerly mentioned, the southern portion of the county is occupied by rocks of Silurian or other formations of the older geologic eras. At their northern base are found Lower Carboniferous rocks, with limestone and gypsum. Then come the Newer Carboniferous, or coal measures, occupying the whole front of the county. These, however, are divided by a remarkable formation, known as the Great Conglo- merate, which extends in an east and west direction, crossing the East River below New Glasgow, the Middle Eiver at the bridge near Alma, and the West Hiver near Durham, and forming the eminences of Frasers Mountain and Green Hill. To the north of this range some small seams of coal have been found, at Carriboo, Merigomish and the south side of Pictou Harbour, but none largo enough for profitable working, and it is yet a question whether any may be expected. Dr. Dawson regards the rocks as of the upper coal measures, or Permo-carboni- ferous, and therefore not productive, though he expresses a hope that good workable beds may yet be found at greater depth. 26 I i !,•■ J -i:, m ■^*r¥m^'^. 402 At present, however, ieillthe valuable coal seams known, are found on the south side of the Conglomerate, and near its base in the great coal basin of the East River, and its extensions eastward and westward. Of these, the most important is that commonly known as the big seam or the main seam, the enormous size of which is one of the most remarkable phenomena of the field, in which respect we do not know that it is paralleled in the world. It is from this that most of the coal yet mined has been taken. The whole thickness of the seam vertically is 40 feet, or a little over, but in a line perpendicular to the dip 88 or 89. This, however, is not all good coal, there being several bands of ironstone through it, and some portions of the coal are inferior. Dr. Dawson, who is moderate in his calculations, says that at least 24 feet of good coal may be taken out of it. A cubic foot of this ooal, according to the same authority, weighs about 82 lbs., rather less than 28 feet being equal to a ton of coal. Hence, a square mile of this seam would yield in round numbers 23,000,000 tons. — This ooal is a highly bituminous baking coal, and is shown by Professor Johnston's trials to possess high qualities as a steam producer, one pound being capable of converting 7.46 to 7.48 pounds of water into steam. — The greatest objection to it is, that it contains a considerable quantity of light, bulky ashes. Hence, it is not so much esteemed for domestic use, as the better qualities of Sydney coal. But otherwise it possesses very high qualities. It bums long, gives a large amount of heat, is free from.sulphur, and remains alight much longer than most other coal. Next in importance to the main seam, is what is com- monly called the deep seam, about 150 feet below the first. It is altogether about 25 feet in vertical thickness, but it also is divided by ironstone and impure coal into three layers of good coal, making together, according to Dr. Dawson, about twelve feet in thickness. The quality 403 of some portions of this seam, is superior even to that of the main seam, but these layers prevent its being mined so economically, but only its nearness to so large a seam prevents its being worked extensively. Next in value, though not next in order, is -what is know n as the McQ-regor seam, which lies at a depth of about 280 feet below the deep seam. It is about twelve ^ feet thick. The two upper veins, amounting together to nearly six feet, have been worked, and found to be of good quality, though requiring care in removing the shaly band which separates them. About five feet above this, there is a small seam, between three and four feet thick, of good quality. Between this and the deep seam are two other small seams, each about four feet in thickness. These would be valuable else- where, but in the presence of such large seams, we need not expect them to be worked for a length of time. About 240 feet below the McGregor seam, is a peculiar bed known as the " Stellar " * or oil coal, so called from its peculiar scintillations in burning, which some time ago attracted attention for its yield of oil. The following is its arrangement and composition : — it. in. Inferior bitominoQS cool .^. 1 2 6il coal • i 8 Bituminous shale 2 The central portions of this have been found to yield 120 gallons of oil to the ton ; it and the shale top-ether, 75 gallons. These seams all lie conformably. At the southern outcrop on which working commenced, they dip to the northeast at an angle of about 20 degrees, and the strike is about north-west. Lately another seam has been discovered overlying the * Hence the natte Stellarton has been given to the village adjacent. n m m 'ill t I .^S! 404 main Befam. It is found on tho northom part of tho coal field, probably to the base of the Conglomerate. It is said to be five feet nine inches thick, of pnre coal of good quality, but so far as we are awaro, the seam hap ' been explored, nor the coal analysed. Having thus described the position and characteristics of the different seams, we return to the operations of the General Mining Association, To get their coal to market, they constructed a railroad from their works to a point a little below New Glasgow, on which they hauled the coal by horses. Here shoots were erected, and vessels drawing not moro than six feet of water were loaded. To load larger vessels, they constructed lighters, in which the coal was conveyed to the Loading Ground, as it is called, at the mouth of the River. In the Patriot of January 28, 1829, the progrei hese works is thus noted : — << The progress of the Mining Company appears to be daily becoming more important. The foundry is in successful operation, and railways (rails) are now casting, and will be ready for laying down in tho spring, for the purpose of facilitating tho conveyance of the coals to the navigable part of the river. A considerable addition to the number of lighters to be employed on the river, will be made in the course of the winter, and a wharf or place of deposit at this town, which will contain several thousand chaldrons of coal for exporta- tion, is contracted for. It iaalso gratifying to learn, that orders have been received by the late packet to build two steamboats (the machinery for which will arrive in spring), one of thirty horse-power, for the river navigation, and one of 100 horse-power for the purpose of coasting and carrying the coals to market." The foundry was under the charge of a man named Onions, but did not do inuch till the arrival of W. H. Davies, Esq., in 1830, to take charge of it, and who may be regarded as the father of the iron foundry business in Nova Scotia. The boilers for the foundry and pit engines were put together, at John McKay's blacksmith shop, near where Russell's now stands, the plates and rivets having been brought out from England. They were then 406 pushed over the wharf, to the amazement of most people, who expected such immense articles to go to the bottom. But they lioated lightly, and were towed up the East River, as far as the water would bear them, when they were landed on the intervale and dragged on rollers to their place. A wharf was built at Pictou, long known as the miners wharf, and for a time coal kept there, bat a depot there was found unnecessary and unprofitable. As mentioned above, the hull of a small steamer, intended to be used for towing lighters and vessels, was launched from the shipyard of Mr. George Foster, Fishers Grant, on the 19th August following. She was called the " Richard {Smith." She was towed up the river, where she remained all winter receiving her machinery, and did not commence her work till the following summer. The Patriot of July 17th, 1830, contains the following announcement : " We stop the press to announce that the Steamboat ' Richard Smith ' has just appeared in the harbour for the first time." It being the first time a steamer was seen on these waters, the whole town turned out to see the marvellous specta- cle. She was at first commanded by Gapt. McKenzie and continued for some time to ply on the harbour. This plan of loading being slow and tedious, they next resolved on deepening the river. For this purpose they obtained an .act of the Legislature, giving them full authority over the river, so that no vessel drawing over six feet of water was to enter without their permission, and only by paying toll to them. But, in passing the act, the Assembly, which had resented the act of the British Government, in transferring our mines and mi- nerals, added a clause to the efiect, that the bill was not to be construed, as admitting the right of the home au- thorities, to dispose of our mines in the way they had done In consequence of this, the act was disallowed at Downing Street, and, at the same time, a feeling of opposition rising 4 m 111 406 in the country against such a monopoly, the company did not renew their application for similar power. They continued, therefore, to ship their coal in the manner described for several years, but the demand was greater than they could supply, and the long delay of vessels in receiving their cargoes, was a great discouragement to the trade. In the meantime, the use of locomotives on rail- roads had been tried successfully in England. According- ly it was resolved to build a railroad from the East River to the Loading Ground, for the conveyance of their coal in that way. The road was laid out and operations com- menced in the year 1836. The surveys and plans were made by Peter Crerar, Esq. "When they were sent to Britain, it was proposed to send out an engineer to superintend the consti action of it. But on his plans being submitted to a competent engineer, the latter said that they needed no better superintendent than the man who prepared them. In consequence, the supervision of the work was entrusted to him, although ho had never seen a railroad, and he accomplished it satisfactorily. It was opened in the year 1839, when the first locomotives in British America ran upon it. There were three of them, built by Timothy Hackworth, who competed with Stevenson at the first trial of locomotive engines in England. They were of great power, but slow. They continued doing their duty regularly till lately, when one of them was taken down, but the other two are still at work. The opening of the railroad was made the occasion of general rejoicing. The two steamers, Pocahontas and Albion, with lighters attached, each carried from Pictou about 1,000 persons to New Glasgow, whence they were taken by train to the mines. Crowds of people on horseback and on foot were here assembled from all parts of the county. Here a procession was formed of the various trades, the Masonic lodges, the Pictou Volun- li!:ji 407 teer Artillery Company, and visitors moxinted, with bands of music and pipers at intervols, and various banners, marched to New Glasgow and back again, when the Artillery Company fired a salute. A train of waggons, fitted up to receive passengers, had beeii attached to each engine, and, being filled with the crowd, now made the first trip to New Glasgow and back again, giving a new sensation to multitudes. On their return, a feast was given to the employees of the Company, ior which 1,100 lbs. of beef and mutton, with corresponding quantities of other articles, were provided ; a dinner was given to invited guests, and the night was spent in general festivity. This railroad, we may mention, was six miles long, and so nearly straight that the least radius of any of its curves was 1300 feet. Its width was 18 feet. The estimated quantity of excavation was 400,000 cubic yards. At the terminus was a wharf 1600 feet long by 24 feet broad, commanding a fall of 17 feet above high water level at the shoots. The rails were of malleable iron, and the estimated cost $160,000. The first operations of the General Mining Association were on the low ground, close by the East River, where an engine pit was sunk to the depth of 400 feet, and about 260 yards from the outcrop. Here they mined for some time 12 feet of the upper part of the main seam, the lower being regarded as inferior, over a tract of about 800 yards to the west and 250 yards to the east, aiid covering an area of about 40 acres. In working to the eastward, however, the coal was found to deteriorate in quality. On the 29th December, 1832, at an early hour in the morning, the works wt^3 discovered to be on fire. On the day preceding, nearly 100 miners and 14 valuable horses had been at work in their several places in the I>its. The men retired from their work between 5 and 6 p. m., leaving the horses as usual in the places provided 3 l^j 408 for their accommodation under ground. On the follo^ving• morning, when the men assembled for work, to their consternation they found several of the shafts emitting^ dense volumes of smoke. Immediately the Mines' bailiff, with iwo other persons, descended one of the ventilating shafts, when the works were discovered to be on fire in several places, and all the horses dead from sulfocation. The intensity of the fire obliged them to ke a hasty retreat to the surface, and immediately on i. eir reporting the state of things, the manager instantly set all hands to work to cover the mouths of the pits, hoping by prevent- ing the circulation of air, to stifle the flames. The pits were thus left covered for several weeks. When they were again opened, it was found that the fire had done extensive injury, and was still slowly burning. Having originated in the lower rooms, it was fortunately confined to that part of the works, and to the prompt closing of the pits must bo attributed the saving of the upper. But as this had proved ineffectual for the total suppression of the fire, the managers were reluctantly compelled, toward the end of April following, to introduce the waters of the East River. This proved successful, but it required the power of their steam machinery for pumping, working night and day till the 14th December, to clear the pits of water. An examination of the works led to the belief that the fire was the work of malice and design. An investigation took place under the direction of the Solicitor-G-eneral, William Hill, Esq., when a mass of testimony was taken, which left no doubt of the fact. Large rewards were offered for the discovery of the guilty, but they were never detected. Several other fires occurred, but one in October, 1839, exceeded all the rest in severity. The heat was so intense that it melted the iron chains which were used for hoisting the coal out of the pits. These workings were in fl 409 consequence abandoned, and have since been known as the Burnt Mines. Farther to the dip, other shafts were sunk, now known as the Old Bye Pits, and others 960 yards to the west, known as the Dalhouse Pits ; and also one nearer the outcrop, known as the " Cage Pit," was sunk to the Deep Searn, which it reached at a depth of about 300 feet. From the first of these, the workings were considerably extended east and west, the upper part of the main seam only being mined. In some wordings to the dip of these, an accident occurred in May, 1861, which rendered it necessary to let in the water to extinguish the fire. An attempt was made to get into these workings in 1862. But such was their condition, and another fire having occurred in 1868, they were abandoned, and this district has received the name of the " Crushed Mines." From the Dalhousie pits the main seam continued to be worked in its entire thickness, the lower portion being much improved in quality, and from the Cage Pit the deep seam still continues to be mined in its entire height. During the year 1866, a new shaft was sunk to the face of the west workings. A steam engine for hoisting wae erected, and a railway between the pit and the main lin'3 constructed. But from some unexplained cause, this pit, known as the Foster Pit, was found to be on fire in May, 1869. The place in which it was first seen was not being worked, but was near those in operation. Imme- diate steps were taken to extinguish the fire, but the rapid accumulation of smoke so overpowered the work- men, that they were obliged to resort to the plan of excluding the air, by closing the top of the shafts, and all other places by which it could enter the mine. The coal at this part of the seam had been found to deteriorate, and from the state of the mine in consequence of the accident, it has since been abandoned. This so affected the Dalhousie Pit, that it too was abandoned shortly after. • il m 4 1 410 u The last pit sunk by the Association is known as the Foord pit, which, in the costliness and efficiency of its equipments, is said to be unequalled in America. "We may therefore gire a particular description of it. The hoisting shaft strikes the ^main seam at a depth of 960 feet, but to the bottom of the seam it is 1,000 feet. Its size is 12 feet by 9 feet 6 inches, inside the lining ; and it is divided into two compartments, with cross stays and slides, passing perpendicular to the sides of the shaft, and bolted to the cross stays, where the cages work in. The ciiges are double decked, each cage holding four boxes, and each box containing 12 cwt. coal. The winding engine is a double horizontal one, with cylinders of 36 inches in diameter and 5 feet stroke, and nominally of 160 horse-power, though capable of working contjiderably above this. The winding drum is 18 feet diametex, with two six inch iron wire ropes, which pass from the drum over two large pulley wheels 14 feet in diameter, which is elevated on a strong wooden frame, 30 feet above the top of the shaft. The ropes pass over the pulleys and connect to the cages. When the engine is put in motion, one of the cages goes down with empty boxes, and the other comes up with full ones. On reaching ihe surface, the boxes are passed to the screens, where the slack is separated, and the ooal passes into the cars ready for shipment. The pumping pit is 40 feet deeper. It is provided with an engine, known as the Cornish pumping engine, with a cylinder 52 inches in diameter, and a stroke of 9 feet, and nominally 260 horse-power. There are three sets of pumps, 18 inches in diameter, two what are called bucket pumps, the third known as a ram or forcing pump. At each stroke 100 gallons of water are brought ;> the surface, and the engine works 7 strokes a minute and 10 hours each day. The winding and pumping engiaes are supplied with 411 steam from 10 large boilers, each 35 feet long and 5 feet 6 inches in diameter. "When the mine is in full working order, it will produce 1,000 tons of coal per day. The ventilation is produced by a G-uibal fan, 30 feet in diameter and 2 feet wide, an instrument closely resembling a steamer's paddle wheel. It is placed at the mouth of what is known as the fan pit, which is 600 feet deep, and is driven by an engine of 70-horso power. The engine is supplied with steam from two boilers, each 25 feet long and 5 feet 6 inches in diameter. The air goes down by the winding and pumping shafts, circulates through all the works, making a course, it has been calculated, of 7 miles in length, and is expelled by this fan, which produces a current of air equal to 60,000 cubic feet in a minute. This is tested m the pits every day. The Foord x>it coal is noted for its excellent quality, for generating steam, for making gas and for making coke. There are at present 42 coke ovens, each 11 feet in diameter, making coke night and day from the slack coal, and a large addition to their number is contemplated. The coke is of superior quality for smelting iron ore, and is now used for that purpose at the Londonderry Mines. From the Foord pit a drift level, 600 yards long, has been run to the deep seam, and by it and the Cage pit that seam is now mined. The system of working pursued from the commence- ment of the colliery has been continued, with some modifications in the size of the pillars, which from the thickness of the seam, and its declination, often proved inadequate, and led to crushing of the workings. The bords are driven eighteen wide, and parallel to the levels. They are turned out of balance ways or headings, which are put up to the full rise at intervals of 150 yards, the width of the pillars between being eight or ten yards. These balance ways are used to bring the coal down to the horse road, on the principle of a self-acting incline ; 1- 412 the only difference being that the loaded bogie raises the empty tub to the respective bord ends, and it is in its turn taken back by a tub of coal, which exceeds it in weight. The herds are driven in opposite directions from these inclines, to shorten the putting. The Company's works gathered around them a large population. They own about four hundred houses, which are occupied by their employees. These, with the residences and places of business of others who have been attracted hither, form a large village, which now contains fivo ''lurches : two Presbyterian, one Episcopal, one Wesleyan Methodist and one Eoman Catholic. The population around these works necessarily made a demand for farm produce, and afforded a ready cash market for it, and this has been a great convenience to the rural districts around. In the year 1872, the G&ixcral Mining Association sold all their rights in the mines at Pictou to a new company, known as the Halifax Company, of which Sir G-eorge Elliott is chairman. In the year 1856, the monopoly of the General Mining Association was abolished, they retaining in Pictou four square miles where they might select. The area, as chosen by themselves, extends from the Albion Mines to the upper part of New Glasgow, a distance of about two miles, embracing the ground on both sides of the river, but extending a greater distance to the west than to the east of it. Exploration for coal immediately became active, and in this work the late James D. B, Fraser, Esq., of Pictou, deserves special notice. He took out rights of search in the neighborhood of the General Mining Association's area, to the west and south. From the strike of the large seams toward the west, it was to be expected that they would appear to the westward toward the Middle River, but for a time even scientific men were baffled in tracing their course, and some came to the ■'If 413 eoQclusion that they became exhausted in that direction. Mr. Fraser spent a good deal of time and money in his explorations, but failed to find the Big Seam. Finding, however, the Stellar coal, he ran two slopes into it, one 2 15 feet, the other 204, and commenced shipping it, along with its accompanying oil shale, to Boston, where there was manufactured from it oil of good illumi- nating quality. But the discovery of the oil wells of Canada and the United States, so lowered the price, that it was found impossible to compete with them. The work was therefore abandoned, and until either the supply from the oil wells diminishes, or other uses are discovered for oil, this vein is not likely to be again worked. He also formed a company, of which the principal shareholders are in New York, called the Acadia Company, which com- menced working the McGregor seam, at the place origi- nally worked by the Doctor. They spent a considerable sum in erecting buildings, and providing the plant neces- sary for carrying on extensive operations, when a fine seam of coal, since known as the Acadia Seam, was discovered about two miles to the south west of the Albion Seam, where the Nova Scotia, company's works now are, which geologists regard as the equivalent of the main seam. We believe the credit is due to Mr. James Fraser, Mount William, of being the real discoverer, though a Connecticut yankee, named Trumax French, reaped the fruits. Mr. John Campbell, by careful exploration, con- ducted in Ku scientific manner, traced it farther to the south. It was now found that about a mile and a half to the westward of the East River, the seams suddenly* turned to the southward, and the line of outcrop continued for more than a mile in that direction, forming a sort of bay, which now forms the area of the Intercolonial Com- pany. It was then found again to strike to the north-west towards the Middle River; then turning again toward New Glasgow, it has been again found with high dips to ai i !;;ijM III! :m i'l ■ilfc 1 m m ml I i m Ml m hi the southward nearly opposite the town. "The East River coal area," says Dr. Dawson, •• between that river and the Middle Kiver, wonld thus appear to constitute an irregular trough, with a deep bay to the southward." The seams in this direction, though regarded by geolo- gists as the continuation of the seams on the East Kiver, are considerably changed. Thus the Acadia seam has a thickness of about twenty feet, of whic^i from sixteen to eighteen is good coal. It will thus be seen, that as compared with the main seam at the Albion, it is diminished in thickness, but improved in quality. On the Intercolonial area, the " deep seam" has also been discovered with a thickness at right angles to the bed of eleven feet, and other beds, supposed to be the equivalents of the other beds on the East Eiver. The discovery of the continuation of the coal seams towards the Middle Eiver formed a new era in coal mining in this county. The Acadia Company, abandoning nearly, if not quite entirely, all operations on the McGregor seam, on the area south of the General Mining Associa- tion's, commenced operations on the main seam on thoir area to the west, and for some years exceeded even the old company in the amount of coal raised. They built a railroad connecting their works with the Government line, and have sent their coal for shipment over it to Fishers Grant, a distance of about 13 miles. Their slopes are now 1,675 feet deep, on an incline of 22 degrees. Levels have been driven to the boundary lines on either side of thoir area, and the seam is found to be remarkably regular, not a single dislocation or disturb- ance having been encountered in any direction. At present, the Acadia colliery employs 180 men and 20 boys, and produces 400 tons of coal per day, which is greatly below its actual working capacity. The quality of their coal is excellent, having been tested for a gteat variety of purposes, and with the most 416 le of 22 lines to be listurb- At |0 boys, rreatly tested most satisfactory results. The mine is admirably equipped with all the best and most approved appliances foi securing the safety of life and property in mines, and the •works have been remarkably free from accidents. Mr. John Campbell, who had first traced the coal seams to the southward, and obtained a lease of an area in that direction, sold his rights to a company in Montreal, . of which G. A. Drummond, Esq., was president, called the Intercolonial Company. They immediately com- menced developing their property. In the year 18CI8, two slopes were sunk to the dip of the large seam, usually known as the Acadia seam, and a pair of winding engines erected at their mouth. About 14,000 tons were mined the same year, and a large amount of preparatory work done. A railway about six miles long was con* structed to the Middle River, where they had built wharves, and provided all the conveniences necessary for shipping coal in quantities. The railway was opened on the 1st of October. The ballasting, however, was not then completed, and from the lateness of the season, only between two and three thousand tons could be shipped. They have since erected a short lino from their works to the Government road, by which they are enabled to send coal to Halifax and places along the line of the Intercolonial Eailroad. In the year 1869, the colliery, under the management of the late James Dunn, Esq., was fully equipped with everything necessary for the production, transportation and shipment of coal, and under the improved markets of the following years, the company's business rapidly increased, so that in 1872 their sales amounted to 105,645 tons, their shipments ranking second in the Province, the Acadia Company alone exceeding them. In 1873, the markets still further improved, and elaborate preparations were made in the mines for a heavy production. A large stock of coal was banked on Hi ■I M § i':fi I'M \\4 1:1:1 416 the surface and about 7,000 tons stowed in the upper workings of the mine. In all a greater quantity was on hand than that possessed by any other company, when the spring trade opened, with every prospect of a sue* cessful year's business. But just as the shipping season opened, the terrible explosion took place, by which many lives were lost, the pit set on fire, much of their plant destroyed and their operations suspended. The follow- ing account of it is taken from the report of the Inspector of Mines : — " Early in May the shipping had already become vigor- ous, when a strike of the colliers for certain privileges and higher rates of wages closed the workings. After a week's intermission, an agreement was made with the men and they resumed work on the 18th. About noon on that day, a shot fired in one of the low levels on the south side of the pit ignited the coal. Every exertion was made, to put out the fire, but the peculiarly broken condition of the face of the level prevented the men from attacking the flame, where the burning gas directly issued in great volume from the solid coal. The fire spread rapidly, and as it was soon evident that the chances of subduing it were small, an order was issued that all the hands, who were disinclined to assist at the fire, should leave the pit. Many had previously left, having been driven out of their bords, by the smoke. The boys, all except one, had gone up, and of the rest, all but about a dozen men who remained with Eichardson, the overman, at the fire, left the lowest landing to walk up the slope. Kichardson and his men, who so heroically remained ta battle with the fire, so long as there was the slightest hope of success, must soon have followed to endeavor to check as speedily as possible the progress of the flames, and save the pit by closing all openings. No attempt to do this was, however, made, for before many of the men who were in the slope had time to escape, an explosion of gast unexampled on 417! this continent for violence, occurred, dealing on all sides death and destruction. The force of the explosion was so great, that the wooden rope rollers were torn from tho track and hurled out of the slope, as from the month of a cannon, falling in the woods some two hundred yards back of the bankhead. Great baulks of timber 14 feet long, by 9 inches through, were cast up out of the Campbell pit to So great a height that on falling, they struck the ground with such force as to fracture them, and the rush of air swept away as would a hurricane the exposed roof of the bankhead. Many explosions took place during ihe after- noon, and the second occurring about two hours after tho first, killed four volunteers, who were nobly endeavoring to rescue some men then known to be alive at the bottom of the pumping pit. By the second explosion, the ven- tilation was thoroughly destroyed, and as hopes could no longer be entertained that any life still existed in the mine, all the preparations to explore the workings were then abandoned, and attention alone directed to saving pro- perty. The violence and frequency of the explosions, struck terror into the hearts of all who rushed to the scene, and paralyzed the efforts of those who sought to close the openings. All the available water was turned in to cut off the lower workings, and effectually seal the bottom of the pumping pit. Still the fire raged, despite of every exertion, for 36 hours, and the flames shot up with a fierce roar to the height of from thirty to forty feet from the many openings along the crop. Two days passed before the men engaged in filling the openings had effectually sealed this fiery grave of fifty-five of their comrades. ** The workings remained closed luitil the end of Octo- ber, when one of the slopes was opened, and air nUowed to circulate between it and an opening made by a fall near the rise. At the end of a fortnight, and just when appear- ances seemed to warrant preparations being made to re-open the workings in a regular manner, the return air 27 M m r t! , f! ill 4.3 i !< Jll !,, U\ i; ill !3 .ii '4 iff ft 418 showed nnqnestionable signs, that the fresh air was find«- ing its way into places, where the heat was still sufficiently intense to cause combustion of the coal or the bituminous shales of the roof. In consequence the pit was again closed." The total number of lives lost was sixty, among whom was Mr. Dunn, the manager, of whom 81 wejre married men, 28 single men and 1 boy, leaving 29 widows, 80 orphan children, besides parents dependant on the lost Contributions to the amount of about $23,000 were made in various parts of the Dominion and the United States for their relief. To keep a small business going, a pit some 70 feet deep was sunk to the south of No. 2 slope. In the fall of 1878, a new manager, Mr.' Robert Simpson, M. E., arrived from Glasgow and xuider his supervision a new slope was driven to the south of the old workings, and winding ma- chinery there erected. Subsequently he conducted the re-opening of the two original slopes — an operation in- volving great skill and expense, but one successfully consummated, the most of the exploded workings being recovered in 1875 and safety in restoring the remainder assured. The most of ihe water has now (1876) been pumped out, the workings cleared of debris, and recon- structed thoroughly, so that the colliery now, with its three working inclines, is in a better position for a large out-put than ever it was before. A fan 20 feet diametui '^- ^eet •1^ ^tion of the ^875 and as wide, on the Guibal principle, for the underground workings, was erected proved a complete success. Mr. French, who had obtained the lease of an area of three-and-half square miles, where the exteiibion of the seams in this direction was first discovered, worked for a time spending money uselessly, but his rights were transferred to a company, composed of persons principally resident in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1869, the7 m^ 419 commenced building a railway from their mine to the Middle River, a distance of six miles ; and in July, 1871, they had it completed, with shipping wharf, and com- menced shipping coal. On this railroad the most noticeable feature is the high bridge across McCulloch's Brook. It is a trestle work, built of Southern pine, imported for the purpose. It is 400 feet long, consisting of four spans of 100 feet each. The middle span is 78 feet above the bed of the brook. The works of these three collieries being in immediate proximity, a village has sprung up named Westville, of which the growth has been more rapid, than that of any place known to me in these provinces. The laud here, owing principally to heavy fires, was so barren that one man, who owned fifty acres, after clearing some of it, offered the whole for the cow ; and a lot of 100 acres, on part of which is now situated the Acadia Company's works, was willed to the Fictou Academy, in payment of a subscription of five pounds. In 1866, 1 visited the spot. Part was covered with wood, but part seemed too barren oven for that. Having been severely burnt over, it produced only small bushes. Some men were then engaged in erecting a hut, of round poles cut almost on its site. In 1875, a census was taken, when the village was found to contain a population of 2,500, with three churches — ^two Presbyterian, of large size, and a small Methodist ; and a Koman Catholic chapel is now building. But a great mistake was made at the outset, in the ground not having been properly laid out. The conse- quence is that the buildings have been placed in most admired disorder. These four companies are all that are in successful operation on the west side of the East Eiver. Another company, known as the Montreal Company, established by Mr. Eobert G. Haliburton, sank a shaft just opposite New Glasgow, on an area owned by them, which thus » 420 lies at the north side of the coal field, and near the base of the Conglomerate. Here they found the coal of good quality, but lying at a very steep angle, and abounding in inflammable gas. But nothing has since been done to developo the property. Before the commencement of the General Mining As- sociation's operations, a seam was opened on the east sido of the river, and after the abolition of the Mining Com- panys operations, it was again opened by the Pictcu Mining Company. The coal was found to be inferior in quality, and a continuance of the deterioration having been ascertaiiied by a shaft sunk farther to the east, all operations were abandoned, though Mr. Rutherford ex- presses his opinion, that it may not continue far into the dip. Considerable labor and means have been expcLded in endeavors to trace the course of the seams further east. The result has been the discovery of several beds of coal ; but the field, on examination, has been found so intricate, the measures so disturbed and broken, that their extent and position, as well as their relation to the other seams, are as yet involved in some uncertainty. "We shall, however, give a brief summary of the facts ascertained. Immediately behind New Glasgow two seams have been opened, the lower known as the Stewart seam, up- wards of three feet in thickness, and the upper »s the Richardson, 2 feet 9 inches, both of which are regarded geologically as overlaying the main seam. The last of them has been partially mined by a company, known as the " Crown Brick Coal and Pottery Company," which was formed for the purpose of working an extensive de- posit of fire clay found here. Though the seam was small, the coal was found to bo of excellent quality. The com- pany, however, has been for some time in a state of snspenderi animation. About a mile further east, two seams have been dis- 421 covered about 8 1*2 and 4 1-2 feet thick, and another larger. But here a large fault is found to cross the field, and the whole measures are so broken, that very little has been done in the way of mining upon them. Farther east, at what was known as the Marsh, four young men named McBeans, two of them brothers, and cousins of the other two, also brothers, took out rights of search. They were at the time possessed of but limited means, but they spent time and labour and T^hat means they had, iu exploring their area, and in opening some veins found on it. Their enterprise in due time met with its reward. The examination of the field by Sir William Logan, proved that their lease covered valuable seams of considerable extent. It was accordingly purchased by a Company in Montreal, known as the " Yale Coal Iron and Manufacturing Company," of which Sir Hugh Allan is president. Since 1872, under the able management of J. B. Moore, Esq., the vice-president, and J. P. Lawson, engineer, they have provided and erected everyihing ne- cessary for mining and shipping coal on an extensive scale. This colliery is situate about six miles to the eastward ot New Glasgow, on a seam formerly known as the McBean area. It contains three square miles, or 1,920 acres. There are five known workable seams of coal on it, which are found in descending order, as follows : The uppermost of the series is the " Captains seam," a good coal well liked for domest'c purposes. It measures three feet six inches in verticel thickness. Seventy-five feet below is the " Mill Bace seam," so named from being first discovered in the mill race below Jas. McDonald's saw mill. It is not quite so good coal. It is three feet thick, with impurities. Over sixty feet below is the ** Geo. McKay seam." This is a good seam of eoal, well Uked both for steam and domestic purposes. It measured in three openings, 3 feet 9 inches, 4 feet, and 4 feet 10 ' •'•il 422 mk inches in vertical thickness. A small seam of oil shale of uncertain size and value, about eight inches in the centre of the seam, is very rich, but it gets poor as you go from the centre. Next is " The Six Feet seam." It ia not quite so good coal, but is purer to the dip. About 1,450 feet across the measures behind th© above seam, is the " McBean seam." It is a good coal, both for steam and domestic purposes. It measures seven feet of vertical thickness. Two small seams are found, about 200 feet across the measures from the McBean seam. They are too small to work. The vale colliery is placed on the McBean seam, into which two slopes, one sixteen feet wide (the main slope), the other eight feet wide (a travelling and pumping slope), are driven on the dip of the seam, from which the levels are driven in the coal. A pair of winding engines, 12 inch cylinder and 18 inch stroke, built at the Acadia foundry, New Grlasgow, have been erected in front of the Main Slope, and a double acting steam plunger plump, also made at the Acadia foundry, is placed at the foot of the pumping slope, which throws the water to the surface and drains the mine. A railroad six miles long, leading -from the colliery and joining the Intercolonial Railroad at New Glasgow, with all the necessary sidings, has been constructed by the Company. From New Glasgow the coal is conveyed dver the Intercolonial Railway to the Pictou Landing, where it is shipped. \ . The works of the Yale Colliery were started in the ' woods, in the fall of 1872. A few trains of coal were run over the railroad to Halifax in the fall and winter of 1873-4 ; and in 1874, the out-put of merchantable coal was about 89,000 tons, the dull state of the markets keeping the mine idle one-half of the months of September And October, two-thiids of November and all December. Workshops for carpenters and blacksmiths, and an 423 office and store, have been erected at a convenient distance from tlie works. A number of miners' houses have also been erected by the Company, in all about ninety build- ings. To the north of the Company's property, the land is regularly laid out in building lots. A good many of these have been sold, and quite a neat village has sprung up, "with stores, halls and dwellings, and a numbei are in course of erection. As the situation is picturesque, the Vale will be one of the prettiest villages in the eastern part of the Province. During the year 1876, a Presbyterian church has been built and a pastor ordained. Messrs. Mitchell .& Barton have an aero or two of the McBean seam, at the north-east corner cf the McBean lease. There is only coal enough there to supply the inhabitants with their winter's fuel for a short time. Between the Vale Colliery works and New Glasgow, and extending southwardly for some distance is all good coal measures, and doubtless containing valuable seams ; and it is more than probable that should the coal trade revive, other valuable works will be started upon them. It will thus be seen that we have now five large companies in vigorous operation, in mining and shipping •coal. It only remains to giv^e a few s.'atistics, showing the amount of their work. The following is a statement in tons of the sales by counties for the lasb ur years : 1872. 1873. 1874. 1875. Cumberland 14,153 26,345 49,599 60,744 Pictou 388,417 334,984 357,920 337,102 Cape Breton 380,273 520,189 337,000 304,702 • Other counties. .. 31,070 588 4,588 4,047 Total 785,814 881,106 749,127 706,795 . ' {.. 'm t n 424 S •Aopa n ■oMiaiOiH 'OAoqy 'JOq«l ,ii{«a SJiO 00009 'BUOUSJ g 8 •XO(\V\ flAVQ ■raouaj M O '][iOii ,eiC«(i ■BXoa e^?s;;Si :ii:g A V ic o> '^ SlOUIt^lO ■uuoqvi KSSSS'^ ■so{(nnio»i\f § M O •joqm ,«ic«a ■sXog 'UMoqvi •w9t;no ^SlSSSi : js^sg^a** gaSffg'* si-is i 3 S E i U»iOrH s ■am • 3 u$3 1 s a i •s i ss s • i sa : B eon ^ Hr-« a aa** s 'T § 11 425 When the General Mining Association commenced operations, they designed to work the iron as well as the coal deposits known to exist on the East Bivcr. They quarried ore from a bed now known as the Bknchard bed, and collected a quantity of Limonite about the banks of the river, near Springville. They also erected a blast furnace at the Albion mines, for the purpose of smelting these ores. But those in charge, accustomed to English ores and English fuel, did not understand how to manage ores of a different character. They declared that the ore was too rich, and, the company not having discovered the bed of Limonite, the work was abandoned. Some iron, however, was produced, which, in combined hardness and toughness, excelled anything known. When quartz crushing began at the gold mines, and iron possessing these qualities was specially required for stampers, parties gathered up the lumps that had been thrown away at the old blast furnace at the Albion mines, and they found it superior for the purpose to any iron that could be obtained from any other quarter. During the last few years, attention has again been directed to the subject, and careful explorations have been carried on, under the direction of competent scientific men. The result has been, to show the existence in this connty ot a variety of iron deposits, of great extent, and superior quality. Geologically, these lie among the Upper Silurian and Lower Carboniferous rocks, which we have formerly mentioned, as traversing the interior and southern portions of the county. We shall briefly notice the principal of these. Among the most important is a great bed of Bed Hematite, v/hioh is most extensively developed at Blanchard, near the East Branch of the East Biver of Fictou, and on the upper part of Sutherlands Biver. The ore bed is an enormous deposit, varying in width from fifteen to thirty feet, and where it has been opened up, affords from ten to twenty if III il |S 'i[aii 'hr 426 feet in thickness of good ore. This bed has been traced for several miles, and rises into some of the higher elevations of the country. At Sutherlands River, it is found at an elevation of 400 feet above its bed, and its position will allow the extraction of millions of tons above water level, by the simplest operation of the miner. Though not one of the richest ores in the district, its great quantity and accessibility render it of great value. The analyses made of it, show a percentage of metal varying from 43 to 54 per cent. The foreign matter is principally Silica and the proportions of Phosphorus and Sulphur are very small. The principal < 'posures of this bed, are distant only twelve miles from tht. great collieries of the East River of Fictou, and less than ten miles from the Halifax and Pictou Railway, while the extension of the latter eastward will pass close by its- outcrop at Sutherlands River. At Sutherlands River, about three miles from Meri- gomish Harbour, is a valuable deposit of Spathic Iron ore or Siderite, occurring in Lower Carboniferous sandstones, and varying in thickness from six feet six inches to ten feet six inches. It affords from 42 to 43 per cent of iron, and contains from 2 to 8 per cent of manganese. This bed is only four miles distant from the " Vale " colliery. At the junction of the Lower Carboniferous and Upper Silurian rocks, in the valley of the East River, near Springville, is a vein of Limonite of exceeding richness and value. It varies in width from five to twenty-one feet, and the ore is of the finest quality, affording from 62 to 66 per cent of metallic iron. A similar vein has been opened near Glengarry station. Besides these, a large vein of Specular iron ore, similar to thai at Londonderry, occurring in similar conditions, and supposed to be A continuation of it, has been traced from New Lairg, near' Glengarry, eastward to near the East Branch of the East River. A bout a, mile to the "West 'i'U.'\ 427 of this stream, it has been examined, and thence explored for two miles, following the course of a high hill, and its width was found to vary from five to twenty feet. The ore is a nearly pure peroxide of iron, containing from 64 to 69 per cent of metal, and great quantities could be €a8ily taken out from the outcrop of the vein. There are also other veins of less importance. Clay Ironstones also occur in many parts of the coal field, but no attention has hitherto been given to them as sources of iron ore. It may be anticipated that should the richer ores be worked, they may be rendered available in con- nection with them. It will thus be seen, that these explorations have shown that from Glengarry to Merigomish, a course of over 20 miles, there extends a series of iron ore deposits, of good quality and mors than usual dimensions. The ferriferous rocks extend westerly into Colchester, and though these have not been explored, yet small veins of Specular ore are found on the upper part of the Middle and West Rivers. It is probable also, that they will be found in the opposite direction toward Antigonish county. As the presence of a cheap flux is important for the manufacture of iron, we may add that limestone is found in every part of this section of country. Abundance of fire clay also of superior quality, is found in various places. Moulding sand also is plentiful on the East River and its tributaries. The best known deposit is near the mouth of McLellans Brook, which has for years supplied our local foundries. It will thus be seen, that in its rich iron ore, in the im- mediate vicinity of coal, Pictou possesses the elements of national prosperity. The course hitherto pursue^ of raising coal to export, is simply a waste of our natural resources. Let it be employed in developing the treasures of the rocks, and the couniy, we may say, the Province, will enter upon a boundless career of progress. #1 I 428 OHAPTEB XIX. FROM THE DIVISION OF THE COUNTY TILL THE PEESENT TIME, 1836—1876. In the year 1886, the Act erecting Pictou into a separate county, came into operation. By that Act, it received two representatives for the county and one fo rthe town- ship of Pictou. The first election under the now arrangement took place that season, when by a compromise between parties, G-eorge Smith and John Holmes, Esquires, were returned for the former, and, after a contest, Henry Hatton, Esquire, for the latter. On the remodelling of the Council in 1838, Mr. Smith was elevated to a scat in that body, and Thomas Dickson was elected in his place. At this first county election, Mr. Holmes first came into public life. From that time till incapacitated by old age^ a few months before his death, in 1476, he occupied a prominent place in our county and provincial politics, having been for several years member of the House oi Assembly, then a member of the Legislative Council, and, at the adoption of the Confederation Act, one of the first S'mators from Nova Scotia. His public course was that cf an honest, thorough-going true blue Tory. At a very late period of his life, and, we suppose, to the last, he ^declared his admiration of the Government of the old Council of XII., and his detestation of responsible govern- ment. His father having taken the lead in forming a body in connection with the Church of Scotland, ho succeeded to his influence, and both in the civil and ecclesiastical movements of the members of that body, wielded the influence of a Highland Chief in the days of clanship. "TT^I 429 We append a list of members of the different branches of our Legislature to the present time. (Appendix K.) The present period presents few events calling for special notice. In the year 1843, the disruption of the Church of Scotland took place, and was followed the next year by a similar division in Nova Scotia. Of the Presbytery of Pictou, in connection with the Church of Scotland, only one minister, the Rev. John Stewart, then of St. Andrew's Church, New Glasgow, adhered to the Free Church. Of the rest, all returned to Scotland to occupy the vacant parish churches, with the exception of the Rev. Alex. McGillivray, of McLennan's Mount, who, it was said, by accident missed a presentation. Congregations were formed in various parts of the county in connection with the Free Church. That portion of St. Andrew's Church, New Glasgow, which adhered to their minister, formed the congregation of Knox Church, which has since amalgamated with the congregation ot Primitive Church in that town. The people of Blue Mountain and the Garden of Eden generally, and a majority of the people of Barney's River, joined the Free Church, and obtained as their first minister the Rev. D. B. Blair, in the year 1848. Congregations were also formed at Pictou, Rogers Hill, "West Branch River Jonn, Earl- town and Saltsprings. The Rev. Alex. Sutherland, who had been brought up at Rogers Hill, but had completed his studies in Edinburgh, returned from Scotland, and became minister of Earltown and West Branch River John in 1846. Shortly after, the Rev. Murdoch Suther- land became minister of Pictou and Rogers Hill. He was greatly esteemed, but his career was short. The large majority of the adherents of the Church of "Scotland remained in their old connexion, and for ten years received very little ministerial service. The folly of depending on Scotland for ministers, was now apparent, and, as the body was not iu a position to educate young \. -il 480 men in this country, they sent a nural;er of promising natives to be educated in Scotland, and from their return, the revival of that body may bo dated. The first of these were the Revds. Alex. McLean, Alex. McKay, George M. Grant, "William McMillan, Simon McGregor and John Cameron, all natives of Pictou. In the year 1867, just one hundred years after the arrival of the first settlers, the railroad from Halifax to Fictou was completed. It had been for some time open to Truro, and this had somewhat changed the trade, especially of the rural districts of the county, large quantities of agricultural produce being sent over land to Halifax, thus making im- proved markets for our farmers. The effect of the completion of it, by the increased facilities which it affords for communication with the rest of the continent, it is unnecessary to point out. "We shall now briefly review the various branches of business in the county during this period. At the commencement of the period, ship building was carried on with considerable activity, and so continued for a time, so that in one year, forty vessels were registered as built in Pictou, and its outports, including Tatama- gouohe. But these were, with scarce an exception, built to sell, and under the ruinous system described in our last chapter. The result was that about the year 1841, the leading ship-builders, and a number who were engaged in it on a smaller scale, became bankrupt Since that time a new system has been pursued. Per- sons build vessels to own and sail them, and the business has proved highly profitable, and, until the prepent depression, was rapidly progressive. Nearly every trader in Pictou, New Glasgow and the outports, as well as many tradesmen, have at least shares in ships, and a large fleet of vessels of superior character, is now owned in this county and is found in the carrying trade of the world. 481 The following is a statement of the vessels registered at Pictou : — 8 Ships measuring 8 .428 24 Barques « 14.337 4 Barqucntines measuring 1 . 040 1 Brig " 236 19 Brigantincs « 4.956 31 Schooners " 1.573 6 Steamers <* 162 Total vessels ... 93 Total tonnage 30 . 732 This however does not represent the whole tonnage of the Port, several vessels partially or entirely owned here being registered elsewhere. " The County of Pictou " for example, one of our largest traders and entirely owned in the county, being registered at Glasgow. Another change in the system of shipbuilding must be noticed. Building vessels for sale was simply building vessels of inferior quality. So much was this the case, that our colonial built vessels got a bad reputation, from which they have scarcely yet recovered, and of all colonial vessels, those of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were the lowest in the scale. There were other evils connected with the system, not the least of which was the frauds connected with insurance. To hear of one of these vessels, perhaps, on her first voyage being wrecked,^ often gave its owner pleasure, which he scarcely affected to conceal. With ihe building of vessels for the use of the owners, commenced an era of improvement in the quality of the vessels built, so that now the character of our vessels will compare with those either of the other Provinces, or of' any portion of the world. In this good work, Captain G-eorge McKenzie, of New Glasgow, deserves special mention. If Captain Lowden was the father of the old ship building trade in Pictou, Captain McKenzie was the father of the modem system, and though we did not intend particularly to refer to the 482 living, or to those who, though departed, belong to the present period, yet we think the position he held in reference to this important part of the business of Pictou, as well OS the character of the man himself, entitles hin^ to a full notice. Ho was born in Halifax, in December, 1798. His father died in 1802, and his mother removed with her five children to Fishers Grant in the same year. When he grow up to youthful manhood, he turned his attention to chipping and ship building, for which he appeared to have a natural talent In 1821, he and John Eeid, of Littlo Harbor, built a schooner of 45 tons at Boat Harbor, in which he shortly afterwards took a trip to the "West Indies. She was called the " James William." The two men hewed the timber, took it from the woods, and did all the work of building themselves. An event happened when he was about nineteen years of age, which had the cfieet of bringing him into promi- nence among ship builders. A vessel built at some point near the Beaches was being launched, when she stuck. Those engaged about her spent a great deal of labour, used all the mechanical appliances at their command, and exhausted their ingenuity in efforts to get her off", and finally gave up the work in despair, and from her position, it was feared that she would break up before spring, when George McKenzie volunteered to get her off" and succeeded in doing so at the next tide. From that time ho was a " marked man." In 1824 ho went with Robert McKay, of Pictou, to superintend work in his yard and continued with him about three years. In superin- tending tho launching of a vessel for Mr. McKay at River John, he had tho misfortune to get one of his thighs broken. He then sailed for some time as master, both to the West Indies and to Britain. In the year 1829, we find him in command of a brig called the " Two Sisters," owned by his brother-in-law, James Carmichael, Esq., and his 433 brother John, then doing business in partnership. In her ho went up to Glasgow, and she was then noticed as tho largest vessel, that up to that date had gone so far up the Clyde. On her return, it was noticed in tho Pictou paper, as something good, that she had made tho round trip in twelve weeks. Ho then settled down in business in New Glasgow, where ho first built a schooner of 100 tons, and then a trader for Almon, of Halifax. Tho "Sally," a barque of 350 tons, one-half being owned by Henry Hatton, of Pictou, was his next venture. From this ho advanced to building vessels of 600 tons, and then to others of 800, which were thought wonders for a time, but not content with this, he soon was building uhiH larger. In 1850 he launched the " Hamilton Campbell Kidston" of 1,400 tons. In launching her, the launch ways spread, and her stem took the mud, when half way down the launchways. The spectators beheld Iho accident with dismay, women w< ot, but the captain was as calm as a summer eve. He quietly walked round her as if nothing had happened, and then told his men to go home and return at such an hour, as they could do nothing till the tide changed. At the appointed time he set them to work, and in a short time had her safely afloat. Considering the position of the vessel, the shallowness of the water, and the appliances available, this was almost as great a feat as the launching of the •' Great Eastern." When she arrived in Glasgow, her appearance there created quite a sensation, she being tho largest vessel that up to that time had sailed up the Clyde. In 1854 he built the " Sebastopol " and the " Magna Charta," the latter attracting great attention as the largest vessel built in the Province. Others of his vessels were well known, as the " Sesostris," the "Catherine Glen," the "John McKenzie " and the « George." The " County of Pictou," built in 1865, was 28 I i 434 Ml the last vessel built by him. She is still afloat, and ha» been remarkably successful. So well was he known in old Glasgow, that a number of gentlemen, connected with the trade of that port, presented him with a service of jolatc as a token of their esteem. Captain McKenzic was one of the first to see the evils of the old system of building vessels to sell. And, although from his character as a ship-builder, he obtained contracts for building at remunerative rates, he gave particular attention to running his vessels, some of which as the "Sesostris" a. id the "John McKenzie " were well known, and thus leu the way in the formation of that large carry- ing trade, vhich forms such an important part of the induBtries of the county. "We believe too that it w^ill be universally conceded, that Captain Mckenzie took the lead in building vessels of a superior class, and that largely to him is owing the vast improvement in the character of our ships, of which now we have no reason to be ashamed, comparing them with those either of other Provinces or of any portion of the world. 1 During a period of forty years, C-apt. McKenzie went to sea more or less, and in this he soon developed his character. As a commander, he was daring, clear headed, calm even under the most difficult circumstances, prompt in deciding upon hi^: plans, and energetic in having them executed. When he commenced going to sea it was the ordinary practice to carry only a moderate amount of , canvas and to take in sail at night, if the wind was any wise fresh, so as not to have to rouse the men during the night to lessen sail, should it blow harder, and if there was any appearance of a blow, even the upper yards were lowered, Capt. McKenzie soon pursued a diflferent course. He availed himself of all the sail his vessel could carry, and thought not of lowering his yards or taking in Bail, because night was coming on. Doubtless by this- 435 time, others were adopting the same system, but at first it appeared so strang-e to safe going old fogies, that some times they thought him mad. Though commanding vessels of all sizes from the coasting schooner to IliQ 1400 ton ship, and in all latitudes, and that for the period of about forty years, he was only wrecked once, and then lost but one man. What is however perhaps more worthy of notice was, that in all that time he never lost a man over- board. Once indeed when in Harbour, (at Savannah Harbor we believe) a man fell overboard. The Captain, though he oould not swim himself, Jumped overboard after him, which induced others to follow his example, and they were both saved. But at sea, in taking in sail, or any of the other ways in which this accident occurs, he never lost a man, and as he heard of such cases, he could not avoid giving expressions to feelings of mingled disgust and indignation, as he could only regard them as resulting from bad management. Much of his energy he infused into those around him. Full of patriotism, he was not only anxious to advance the welfare of the Province, but it was his delight to bring forward Nova Scotians, and particularly young Pictonians to command his ships or to fill stations of usefulness. The sons of the farmer or the widow, in his hands were soon in command of his big ships, and proved successful com- manders, ever speaking of him with affection. His manner in command was slightly brusque and im- perative, but no man was ever more distinguished by the spirit of kindness and readiness to help others. In fact he was too open handed, too free in buying, too ready in distributing, to have been a thorough going money making man. In consequence of this, as well as from heavy losses experienced at different times, while always having a competence, he did better for others than for himself, and many a one has reason to remember his seasonable help. He died in the winter of 187C. 436 "■ 'i ir? ..-* <■ 5 I At the commencement of this period, there was still an export of deals and battens, which continued for a few years, but now not only is pine imported, but there is not enough of spruce lumber prodaced, for the consumption of the county, and a considorabio quantity, especially in the form of flooring, is annually imported. The saw- mills, of which by the census there are 78, are employed principally in sawing hemlock into boards and shingles, with a little spruce and some hardwood plank. The only article of wooc' now exported is squared birch timber, and as a great part of the southern portion of the county if till covered with forest, on a soil of which a large amount is unfit for cultivation, this trade may continue for some time, and at all events there is iiere a perennial source of supply of hardwood, to meet the ordinary purposes of our own population. The failure of the timber trado, as well as other circumstances, has led to greater attention to their farms, on the part of our rural population. The farming is not any where yet of a high order, but it is very different from what it was forty years ago. There is every where attention to improved modes of culture, and th i introduc- tion of better stock. Machinery is being generally used. There was not at the beginning of this period a threshing machine in the county. My father introduced one about the year 1840. It was literally a one horse power, on the tread-mill principle. There was not another at that time in the county. =**= Now these are universally in use, as well as mowing machines and other improved imple ments. At the same time the markets have be n so favourable for farm produce, that, notwithstanding the failure of the potato crop, and the very general destruc- tion of the wheat crop for some years by the wheat • Mr. Donald McLeod, of West River, erected one some years before on n nnall stream on bis farm. The power did very well, but the threshing part did not succeed. it ,1 ifj 437 ling part midf^e, in nothing has the county been more distinguished duri'ig this period than by the progress, which the farn ing population have made in comfort and independ- ence. At the beginning of this period, there were few farmers, who were not in the merchants' books, generally for considerable amounts. The credit system was still almost universal. The farmer was thought to do well, and was reckoned a good customer, who in the fall brought a sufficient amount of pork and other produce to reduce his account to a moderate figure. But now this mode of trading has largely passed away. Farmers now generally sell their produce for cash, or exchange it for necessaries at the store, and can generally do so at prices, at which they would once have thought themselves set up altogether. Their improved circumstances appear in their dress, their dwellings, and the conveniences by which they are surrounded. At the beginning of this period milled cloth was but little used, and while the better class of farmers had at least a Sunday dress of English cloth, the large majority were clad in homespun, undressed and dyed at home. Wc need not describe the change produced by the general use of fulled cloth. The younger genera- tion will scarcely remember the old blue-dye coats, so characteristic of many parts of the country, and occasionally so odoriferous under a summer shower ; and we can scarcely tell the time when we have seen a countryman come to town with his feet encased in raw hide moccasins. At the beginning of this period, there were a few old- fashioned chaises, but these only among the better class of farmers in the older settlements. In the new they were almost unknown, and the roads were scarcely fit for them to traverse. Hence we might see a countryman come to town with a conveyance, which we shall not attempt to describe, his horse garnished with a straw 438 collar, a straw saddle, all kept in place by hair ropes. Now it is a poor farmer who cannot drive his pair well harnessed at farm work, or who does not own a comfort- able carriage for riding to church on Sabbath, or for trarel on week days. By the census, it exceeded every other county in the Province in the number of light carriages '^and vehicles for transport, the number of the former being 4,596, of the latter 7,246. This improvement has been most apparent in the newer settlements. In these the people then generally lived in log houses with few conveniences, but now, largely through their greater economy, and partly through their being on good soil, they are as independent in their circumstances as the people of any part of the country. Farming is still the leading industry of the county, the number engaged in it according to the census of 1871, being more than equal to the number employed in all other lines of business. Thus we find that 5154 are classed as agricultural, while the rest are classed as follows : Commercial 699 Domestic 452 Industrial 2,611 Professional 346 Not classified 693 4,798 Of these 488 were miners, 369 carpenters, 298 mariners, 257 blacksmiths, 202 shipbuilders, 172 teachers, 105 tailors, 37 foundrymen, 34 clergymen and 5 booksellers, there being 20 in Halifax, and only 11 in all the rest of the Province, eight counties having none. Wo may here give a statement of its agrivMxltural products as compared with other counties. By the census of 1871 there were produced the previous year as follows : Bush, wheat. Oats. Other grain. Potatoes. Tons hay. 7G,42G 4G9,8G8 64,937 415,524 32,334 ]^^'-} 439 In wheat and oats, it largely exceeded any other county, Cumberland cominj? next to it in the former, with 47,395, and Inverness in the latter, with 276,330. In other grain, it was exceeded by Lunenburg, which while only raising 2,661 bushels of wheat, and 22,447 of oats, produced 67,957 of barley and 13,109 of rye, by Cumberland, which produced 64,023 of buckwheat, and Colchester, which produced 43,995 of the same grain and 18,294 of barley. In potatoes and hay, it was exceeded by Kings, Annapolis, Cumberland and Colchester. In the production of butter, it exceeded every other county, the amount being 804,661 lbs., Colche=-ter coming next with 625,026. In cheese it was exceeded by Kings, Annapolis, Antigonish and Inverness, though it is i)robable that the proportions will have since been altered, as four cheese factories have been erected in the county, one at "West River, one at Gairloch, one at Eiver John and one at Barney's River. In cloth, it largely excels every other county, the amount being 183,008 yards, Inverness coming next with 138,998. The following is a statement of farm stock owned in the county : ; . : Other Horses. Milch cows. homed cattle. Sheep. Swine 6,787 14,958 12,560 43,416 4,343 In horses and milch cows it ranks first, Colchester coming next in the former, and Inverness in the latter. In other horned cattle and sheep, it was slightly exceeded by Inverness, and in swine by Kings, Inverness and Antigonish. Altogether we may set down Pictou as the first agricul- tural county in the Province, the only one which can compete with it being Kings. In fruitgrowing, however, it is only seventh, being exceeded by Kings, Annapolis, Lunenburg, Digby, Hants and Cumberland. In manufactures, the only one in which as a county we can take credit for great progress, is tanning leather. |IJI (J; II u J?h. it 440 "We had tanners from an early period, but the business has been so developed during this period, that now Pictoa manufactures almost as much leather, as the other seventeen counties of the Province put together. Wo give the figures : — Fictou Best of the Province. Valao of Raw JMatorial. Value of Articles i'roilueed. 202,702 34G,974 210,793 423,019 :^4 Fair progress has been made in wooUeii manufactures. The first application of any but hand power to this, was by the erection of a carding machine at Middle River by a Mr. Humphrey, of New Brunswick, in a mill owned by the late Isaac Archibald, about the year 1822. The year after it was erected, Mr. Archibald bought it and carried on the business himself The first fulling mill was established three or four years after, by James Farnham, of Truro, and Edward and Stillman Lippencott, under the name of Lippencott, Farnham & Co., at what is now Roddicks Mills, below Durham, then owned by the Rev. Duncan Ross and G-eorge McDonald. They carried on dyeing in connection with it. But they had only the privilege of the waste water, and, after a time, finding that insufficient for their purposes, they, in the year 1829, removed to the Six Mile Brook, and set up a mill, where F. Miller & Co.'s establishment is now, at which place the business of cloth dressing has ever since been conducted. The first spinning machine and power loom were set up by Mr. James Grant, near Springville. There are now, besides carding machines and fulling mills, four other establishments, where the whole business of manu- facturing cloth from the wool is carried on, Messrs. G-eorge Kerr & Sons', Middle River ; Messrs. Frasers', Rocklin,. Middle River ; Messrs. McDonalds', Hopewell, and Messrs. F. Miller & Co.'s, Six Mile Brook. These are mainly driven by water, but some of them have steam as. auxiliary. 441 Manufactures of wooden ware are yet in their infancy. John Fraser, of Grreen Hill, has a rake factory, and Messrs. Nute Bros., and Messrs. Gumming Bros., both of New Glasgow, have established factories, driven by steam, for the production of furniture, and Messrs. Samuel Archibald & Co. have an establishment for the manufac- ture of rakes and other implements, and also of furniture, at Watervale, "West River. The first successful application of steam to mills in the county was at the Clarence Mills, Pictou, established by James Primrose, Esquire. It was employed in driving a grist mill, a carding machine, and in sawing, planing, and other work in wood. In the manufacture of iron, besides the Albion Mines Foundry, previously established, three others are now in successful operation, Messrs. Davies', in Pictou, Messrs. Erasers' and the Acadia Foundry, in New Glasgow ; and the Nova Scotia Forge Company by the ai>plication of steam power, is doing a large business in the i^roduction of wrought iron for various purposes, and Mr. ConoUy at Middle River has a small axe factory, which has produced implements of the finest quality. Little is done in developing the beautiful free stone so abundant in the county. There was at the time of the census only one establishment for the manufacture of grindstones, Mr. Robert McNeil's, at Quarry Island, Meri- gomish, the products of which was valued at $4,500. Some stone is quarried for buildings, and, particularly at the Eight Mile Brook, some is taken out for monuments and other work requiring a fine polish. Though we deem the manufacturing interest in Pictou small, compared with what it might be, yet it is larger than that of any county in the Province, except Halifax, which includes the city. By the census, the value of the products of all its industrial establishments was $1,273,018, while that of Hants, which came next, was only $836,503. The period we have been considering has been marked r'K Im 442 by a large emigiation from the county, the majority of the young of both sexes in the rural districts, going abroad as they reach maturity. In the year 1848 or '49, a number were attracted to Australia, who were generally unsuc- cessful. SincF that time, California has been the great attraction for young men, and service in the New England towns for young womeu. But our Pictou boys are to be found in every part of the world. Some, under the law, by which not only proj^hets, but other good men, are not without honour save in their own country, reaching the upper rungs of the ladder, the majority by industry attaining a competence, which they might have done at home, and many, alas, making shipwreck of earthly prospects, and even of conscience and a good name. "We add a statement of the Dpuiation at dififereut periods : — Census of 1817 6,73? " 1827 13,949 « 1838 21,449 « 1861 28,785 « 1871 = , 32,114 We think, however, that there was manifestly an imperfection in the first return , that with the immigration of previous years, the population must have been greater, and that with the state of business from 1817 to 1827, there could not have been such an increase in that period as indicated by the census. Such was the progress, that at the time of that census, it was only V exceeded in population by Halifax and Annapolis, which, however, then included Digby, and e^^er since it has been the largest in population of the rural counties. We have had occasion in the course of our history, to refer particularly to the Presbyterian Chu oh and Presbyterian ministers. This has not been from any denominational prejudice, but simply because they have been so closely connected with the past progress of the -: i 443 county, that a history of Pictou without reference to them, would bs like the play of Hamlet, with the part of Hamlet omitted. It is proper, however, to give some notice of the early history of the other Churches in the county. Among the 82nd men were several Roman Catholics, who settled in Merigomish, and, as we have seen, in the years 1791 and 1802, a large number of Scotch Catholics arrived, who settled along the G-ulf shore, part of them in this county, and part of them in Antigonish. They received their first church service from the Rev. Mr. Jones, of Halifax, who performed a mission among them, but the first resident priest was the Rev. James McDonald, who lived at the Gulf, but ministered on both sides of the county line. We do not know the date of his arrival, but he was here as early as 1793. He offended his people by advising them to attend Dr. McGregor's preaching, and otherwise showing disrespect for his own Church, so that he was obliged to take refuge from their wrath in "Walter Murray's house. They then gave out that he was crazy, and he was sent up to Quebec to a monastery, from which he never returned. He was succeeded by the Rev. Alexander McDonald, who settled at Arisaig about 1800, and officiated among the same people from that time till his death. Through the influence oi Mortimer, he was made a magistrate. He died in Halifax on 15th April, 1816, in the 62nd year of his age, and his people carried his remains through the woods all the way to Arisaig. In 1810, the first regular church was erected at Arisaig, though they had a i^lace of meeting previously. He was succeeded by the Rev. Colin Grant. In the year 1834, the church at Baillies Brook was erected, and in the year 1869, that settlement was formed into a separate parish, with the Rev. Simon McGregor, D.D., as their first priest. n \ . .it 1 I i' ?! I" ' ' h IllplJIJIIIIIPIil yjifWi ill 444 The chapel in town was commenced in the year 1823, when the frame was erected, without, however, any rafters. It stood on the west side of Chapel Street. The next year the rafters were juit on, but in a gale soon after were blown down. The most zealous Catholic in town at that time was an Irishman, named Thomas Jones, who kept a grog shop. About forty pounds were now collected, principally among Protestants, to aid them in finishing the building. But Jones having got the amount into his hands, withdrew the light of his countenance from Pictou altogether, and departed to some more congenial region. From this, together with the smallness of their numbers, and their humble circumstances, their church long remained unfinished. The first priest stationed in Pictou was the Rev. Mr. Boland, who arrived in town in the autumn of the year 1828. The present church at Merigomish was built in the year 1865, but they had a small one for many years previous. The few Episcopalians among the early settlers in Pictou generally fell in with the Presbyterian ministers. Their first organization was owing principally to the late Dr. Johnston and Robert Hatton, Senr. The latter was a lawyer, a native of Dublin, who came to Pictou with his family in the year 1813. Through his influence, Col. Cochrane had presented the Society for the Propagation of the G-ospel, with the lot on which the church now stands, then valued at ^6150. He himself put up the frame in the year 1824. About three years after the church was finished, mainly through the exertions of his son, Henry, and consecrated on the 16th April, 1829, by Bishop Inglis. In the year 1847, it was lengthened by an addition of seventeen feet and a new spire erected. A transept was added in 1866. In the year 1832, Pictou District was erected into a parish under the name of St. 445 James by order of the Governor in Council on the petition of the clergyman, church wardens and vestry. Among the first clergymen who visited them, was the Rev. Dr. Gray, then of Sackville, wo believe. He was here in 1814, as we learn from a marriage celebrated by him in that year. Previous to 1830, they were visited by the Rev. W. B. King, then a teacher in Windsor College during vacations, and by the Rev. Mr. Burnyeat, who visited them two or three time a year, holding service in the old court house. The Rev. Charles Elliott, who came to this Province in the year 1829, under the appointment of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, was employed for some time as a travelling missionary, and Pictou was included in his district. In the year 1832, however, he finr^Uy settled here. He was a B. A. of St. Edmunds Hall, Oxford, was admitted a deacon, in the Chapel Royal of St. James Palace, on the 14th June, 1829, by the Bishop of London. Ho was ordained a priest in Nova Scotia in St. Johns Church, Cornwallis, by Bishop Inglis, on the 27th June, 1830. He was admitted Rector of St. James Church, Pictou, on the 23rd April, 1834, by the same Bishop, the first church wardens being Henry Hatton and Robert Hockin. The whole county was then his parish, and he preached regularly once a month at the Albion Mines, and also at River John, and visited "Wallace, Pugwash and Tatamagouche, and occasionally even Cape Breton. He was a man of amiable disposition and gentle manner, and labouring diligently but quietly in his own calling, he gained the affection of his* own church and the respect of the community. On the 12th July, 1849, a meeting was held at the Albion Mines, at which it was decided to erect a church for public worship, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England. For this purpose, i5175 were subscribed by the inhabitants, and ill 25 given by the IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I 1^ 12.8 •.Him IIIIM 120 1.8 1.25 U. 1.6 ■• 6" ► V] ■^ >y ^;; '/ -^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 ■"S^ a? 446 General Mining Association. T* j building was began soon after, and completed about J '"'% 1851. That district was erected into a separate parislv vjider the name of Christ Church, Albion Mines, by a decree of the Kight Reverend Hibbert, Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia, bearing date 24th March, 1852, at or about which time, the Her. Joseph Forsythe, missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, took charge, "W. H. Davies and Henry Poole, Esquires, being the first churchwardens. The Church and burial ground wero consecrated in the latter part of September of that year. In the year 1865, the Rev. M. Eaulback was appointed first curate of Eiver John, and in October of that year, Mr. Elliott went to England, where he died at his residence, Falkland House, Painswick, Gloucestershire, on the 27th September, 1871. The first Baptist Society in the county was organized on the principles of the Scotch Baptists, or Disciples, as they caU themselves, who are distinguished from others t>f the name, by rejecting the office of the ministry, all the members using their gifts for edification, and by the observance of the ordinance of the Lords Supper every Lords day. The society was founded by James Murray, who came to Pictou in 1811, and afterward moved to Biver John. Here on the 18th June 1815, the day of the battle of Waterloo, ho baptized two persons, and on the same day dispensed the communion. Since that day with the exception of a few very stormy days, they have not failed to meet on the first day of the week to break bread. They now number 40 members, and are the only society of this order on the north coast of the Province. The first society of the regular Baptists was formed in Merigomish, in the year 1838. Two years previous, the Rev. George Richardson passing through the settlement, preached at Thomson Carmichaels, Barneys River. Mrs. Alex: Meldrum was present, andattributed her conversion 447 to the sermon. On his return, a few months later, she was baptized by him. In the followins^ spring he again came to Barneys lliver, when her husband, Mr. Peter McEwan and Mrs. Fogan were also baptized. These with Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, Mr. and Mrs. Crandall, then resident in the settlement, formed the first Baptist Church, Mr. Peter McEwan being ordained deacon. From that time to the present, about 40 have been added to the church, but from deaths and removals, the membership is now only 14. They have a meeting-house at Barneys Kiver, commenced in the summer of 1874, but they have never had a settled minister. The first Wesleyan Methodist Society in the county originated with some dissentients in the congregation of the Rev. Mr. Mitchell, River John. They were organized into a society by the Rev. Mr. Snowball, then on the "Wallace Circuit, in the year 1822. Previous to that they had been visited by local preachers, the first of whom was Mr. Andrew Hurley. They built their first church in 1824, and since that time. River John has been one of the regular Methodist circuits. About the year 1845, a society and congregation was formed at the Albion Mines, by the Rev. Richard Weddall, consisting principally of miners, who had come from England. "Wesleyan ministers had previously preached to them. A church and parsonage were subsequently built, and more recently a small church at "Westville in connection with the same circuit. A society has also been formed in Pictou, principally composed of parties who had previously been connected with the Evangelical Union, as they call themselves in Scotland, but usually laiown as Morrisonians. They had previously been under the pastoral care of the Rev. Alex. Mc Arthur, who adopted the sentiments of Swedenborg After several changes, they connected themselves with the Wesleyans. i -- "^ 448 For many years there was in town a small society of Friends, consisting, however, almost entirely of the family of Jas. Eitchin, an Englishman, who kept a watch- maker's shop on Water Street. In the case of each watch which he repaired, he placed a paper with the following :— - « Behold, oh, mortal man I How quick tho moments fly ; Our life ia ever on the wirg, Prepare, prepare to die." — Jambs KiTOHnr. With this solemn warning of this old worthy, we might appropriately close our work, but we may add a state- ment of the relative numbers of the different religious bodies in the county at the date of the last census : PresbTterian Chnreh of the Lower Provinces 14,105 Church of Scotland 12,250 Roman CaI! oltcs 2,065 Church of Eagland 1,470 Wesleyan Methodist. Baptist All others 797 345 193 32,125 Our work is done. It has taken time and trouble. But it has been pleasant, and we trust not unprofitable. Especially do we feel satisfaction, in being the instrument of rendering an act of justice to the sturdy pioneers, who first ir^ided oar forests and prepared homes for us in the wilderness. The present and future generations, in this county, and beyond it, have great reason to be profoundly grateful for the sturdy energy and moral worth of the mass of those, who first peopled our county, as well as for the intelligence and public spirit of those, who were the leaders of society at its formation, and particularly for the high talents and the devoted Christian zeal of James McGregor, Duncan Soss and Thomas McGnllooh, who first planted the gospel among us, and who moulded the moral and religious, and we may add, largely the intellectual character of our population. It only remains that Pictonians at home and abroad, while thankful to GoFE1TIDTX. LIST OF OBANTKES, BY GRANT OP 26TH AUGUST, 1783» WITH THE NUMBER OF ACRES RECEIVED, AND NOTICES OF THE SITUATION OF THEIR LOTS. David Stewart 300 acres OM WB8T Rivn. John McKenzie, 600 ; Hugh Fraser, 400 ; William McLellan, — > ; James McDonald, 200 ; James McLellan, 100 ; Charles Blalkie, 300, and in an after dirision 250 a'^res, 550 in all ; Robert Patterson, 300, and in an after division, 180, 600 in ail ; James McCabe, 300 ; Alex. Cameron, — . All these lots are still occupied by descendants of the grantees, with the exception of Charles Blaikie's, which was situated opposite Durham, and Robert Patterson's, which was forther down the river. ON IflODLB BIVIR, BAST BIDS. Alex. Fraser, 100 acres, where Samuel Fraser now resides ; Alex. Ross, jr., too acres, just below ; then above following up the stream, John Smith, 330 ; Robert Marshall, 350 ; James McCuIloch, 240 ; Aler. Ross, 300, an after division to Alex. Fraser, sr., 400 (on the rear of which Westville is now situated) ; Alex. Fraser, jr., 100 ; John Crockett, 600 ; Simon Fraser, 600 ; Donald McDonald, 360 ; David Urquhart, 250 ; Kenneth Fraser, 450 ; James McLeod, 150. ON lABT BIVIR, BAST 8IDI. Walter Murray, 280 acres (adjoining Indian burying-ground)i and 70 acres in an after division. Then following up stream : James McKay, ?0 ; Donald McKay, jr., 80 ; John Sutherland, 180, and 70 in an after division ; Rod. McKay, sr., 300, and an after divinion, 60 ; James Hays, — ; Hugh McKay, 100 ; Alex. McKay, 100 ; Heirs of Donald McLellan, 260, (then a blank, where New Glasgow is now situated) ; Hugh Fraser, 400, and an after division, 100 ; Wm. McLeod, 80 ; John McLellan, 200 ; Thomas Tumbull, 220, and in an after division, 180 ; Wm. McLeod, 210, and in an after division, 60 ; Alex. McLean, — ; Colin McKensie, 370. ON BAST RIVBR, WBBT SIDB. Donald Cameron, 100 acres, at Loading Ground -, Jame8 Grant, 400, at Basin ; Colin McKay, 400 ; Wm. McKay, 550 ; Donald Cameron, 100 ; Donald McKay, sr., 450 ; Donald Cameron, a goro lot ; Anthony Culton, S04. These extended from below the mines to some distance aboTe them. at 450 B. LIST OP THE NUMBER OP FAMILIES IN THE Dl|STIlICT-X)F PICTOU, VIZ. ' " Jonai Earl, Robt. Watson, Robt. Watson, jr., Daniel Earl, Daniel Earl, Jr., Jas. Watson, Isaiah Horton, f atrick Beny, Wm. Aikin, John F'tlton, James Fulton, John Patterson, George McOonnell, Mat. Harris, Robt. Harris, John Rogers, Wm. McKenzie, Wm. McCrackea, Abram Slater, Moses Blaisdell, Wra. Kennedy, Jas. Davidson, John MoCabe, Bar. McOce, John Wall, Colin McKenzie, Alex. Ross, Donald McDonald, Wm. McLeod, Walter Murraf, Thos. Fraser, Alox. Frascr, Wm. McKaj, Hagh Fraser, Alex. Faulkner, Colin McKay, Colin Douglass, James Campbell, Thomas Troop, James Hawthorn, Joseph Qlen, John McLennan, Ken. McClutcheon, Hugh Fraser, John Ross, George Morrison, Robt. Jones, Don. Cameron, Rod. McKay, Robt. Sims, Peter Hawthorn, John McLellan. — November 8,1775. (Signed) John Harris." A number of these, set down as families, however were unmarried men at this time. Upon this a petition was presented to the Governor to issu? a writ for the election of a representative, but the request was not granted. c. LIffP Oy PASSENGERS IN SHIP " HECTOR," "WITH NOTICE? OF THEIR HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, SO FAR AS KNOWN.* SHIPPED AT GLASGOW. Mb. Scott and Fault. Unknown. Gboboi Mobrisom and Fault. From Banff, obtained grant on west sido- of Barneys River, where ho settled. An island there still called Morrisons Island. Left one daughter, married to David Ballantyne, Cape George. John Pattbrson. Fully referred to in the history. Gborgb McConnsll. Settled on West River, at Ten Mile House. His descendants numerous in this and adjacent counties. Amdrbw Main and Fault. A native of Dunfermline. Settled at Noel, where his descendants still reside. Anobiw Wbblbt. Unknown. • This list was drawn up about forty years ago by the late Williaa McKenzie, Loch Broom. ^ 451 CaARua Frasir. A Highlander, though shipping at Glasgow. Lived at ComwuUis; afterward mariiud and settled at Fishers Grant, where ho bought out a soldier of the 82nd. Hod one son and two daughters, whose descendants arc on West Hirer and elsewhere. John Stewart. Unknown. FROM INTERNBSeinnB. tViLLiAU McELat and Family. Afterword Squire McKay ; settled on the East Hirer, where the Mines now are. Died 2nd March, 1828, aged 97, when his death was thus noticed in the Colonial Patriot : — " For a great many ycara he was a leading man among his countrymen. His house was always open and his table welcome to trarellcrs and neighbours. The proverbial hospitality of Highlanders was never more fully exemplified than by Squire McKay, and in these early times his liberality must hare prevented or alleviated the wants of many of his fellow men. He went to bed in his usual health, and was found dead about half &n hour after." Had in the "Hector" four children: 1. DotuUd, who was tho first settler on Frasers Mountain. His son, William McKay, tho surreyor, was the author of a map of Nora Scotia, published in London, which has supplied intbrmation for all the map makers since. 2. Alexander y who afterward owned the land where New Glasgow is now situated. 3. Jamei, who settl' hood. His brothers followed tho Prince, but he being only seventeen years of age, was required to remain at home, where he was employed in herding. But drawn by the crowd who followed the Highland army to CuUoden, he left his charge to accompany them. When he returned, his master being very angry, " went for him" to chastise him. He ran and his master pursued. The latter finding him too nimble, stooped down to pick up a stone to throw at lum, and in doing so wounded himself with his dirk in the leg, so that ho was obliged to remain for some time in hiding, lest he should be taken as Iiaving been at Culloden, by the soldiers who wore s.,oaring the country, killing any wounded stragglers from tho field. Cameron settled at Loch Broom, to I which he gave tho name of his native parish. He died on the 15th August, 1831, when he must have been at least 103 years of age. Ho had two children in the " Hector"— 1, Alacander, long an elder in the church, and 2, Christiana, afterward married to Alex. McKay, New Glasgow, and several children bom after arrival. Albx. Ross and Fahilt. Ho and his wifis advanced in life at arrival. Parents of the next. Albx. Ross and Family. Settled at Middle River, at what has since been known as Olivers farm. Died when only 35 years of age, the youngest of any 455 •of ih« tend. Believo the following his children : 1, Donald, who occupied hii father's form, but afterward moved to Ohio ; 2, Alexander, who settled at Middle Hirer Point ; 3, a daughter maiTicd to Archibald Chiaholm, East Hirer, and another married to Blair, East Hirer. Colin McEenzib and Fahilt. Settled on East River, a1)out a mile aboro New Olosgow on the farm immediately aboro John McLcllans. Said to have lived to K4. Had ono child on board, Duncan, whodiedin IsVl, in his 100th .year, the last surriror of the band. John Munroi and Familt. History unknown. EiMNiTH McRiTOHiE AND Fauilt. Probally the same whose name appears .in early lists as Kenneth McCIutcheon, but know not what became of him. WauAM MoEiMzn, an intelligent man, who had enjoyed a better education than the rest, and who had been engaged as schoolmaster for the party, ai they expected to settle together. He settled at Loch Broom, where some of Jiis descendants still are. John MoObioob. History unknown. John MoLkllan. Settled abore New Glasgow, at the month of McLellans Brook, and gare his name to that stream and MeLellans Mount. Properly the name howercr was McLennan, the two being quite distinct in Gaelic. WiLLiAX McLuLAN. Belatirc of the last, settled at West Hirer, where some ■of his descendants still are. Alxxandir MoLkan. Settled at East Hirer, above Irishtown. One son ^settled on McLennans Mountain, where his descendants still are. AiiiXANDKB Faloonib. Settled near Hopewell. Donald MoEat, afterward the Elder, brother of Roderick. Settled at the East Hirer, just abore the Mines. His house on the same site as that now •occupied by his grandson, Duncan. Another brother, Hugh, came afterward, but died without a family. Abobibald Cbisholx. Bellered to be the same person who settled at East Hirer, after haring serred in the 84th Regiment. Cbablis Mathbson. History unknown. BoBiBT SiK. After residing for some time in Fictou, tetnoved to New 3rnnswick. Nerer married. Alixandis MoExNzn. History unknown. Thokas Fbasib. History unknown. i f: nee been stof aof rnou bdthbrlandsbirb. EiNNXTH Fbabbb AND Fahilt. First settled at Londonderry, bat afterward mored to Ficton, whero he settled on Middle Hirer, abore the bridge at Squire McLeod's. His descendants numerous on Green Hill, Mill Brook, Hogers Hill, Ac. WuLiAif Fbasib and Fault. History unknown. 466 Romoved to Londondeny, where hUdoMend- fettled in Morigomish, wlioro a number of One daughter. JaMIS MuBKAY AMD FahILT. •ntsBtill ore. Waltir MtntniT and Fakily. his descendants still are. Datid Urqitbart and Fahily. Settled at Londonderry, the late Mrs. Thomas Davidson, afterward resided in Pictou. Jauis McLbod and Family. Settled at Middle River on the farm which has descended to his relative, Oeorge McLcod, Esq , he having no chiidren of his own. Hugh MoLeod and Family. His wife died as the vessel arrived. Had three daughters on board, one of whom married in Cornwallis ; another after- ward Mrs. Donald Ross, and the third afterward Mrs. Shiels. Settlrd on West Biver. Married the widow of Alexander McLeod, by whom he had one son, David, long a highly esteemed Elder there. Alexander McLeod and Family. Was drowned in the Shuljenacadie. Had three sons on board ; one died in the harbour after the vessel's arrival ; another died unmarried ; the third, the late Donald McLeod, settled at West River, on a taxm still occupied by his descendants. John McKay and Family. History unknown. Philip McLiod amd Family. Uncertain. Donald MoEsnzii and Family. I believe settled at Shubenacadie. , Alex. MoKixcix and Family. History unknown. John Sutherland and Family. History unknown. William Matheson and Family. First settled at Londonderry, but after Dr. McGregor came to Pictou, removed and settled at Rogers Hill, where John T. Matheson now resides. The eldest son, John, afterward the elder at Rogers Hill, was three years of age when they landed. His second, born after arrival, the lata William Matheson, Esq. Donald Grant. History unknown. Donald Graham. History unknown. John MoEay, piper. History unknown. William MoEay. Went to work with McCabe, one of the old settlers, and thence got the name of McCabe, by which his descendants are still dis- tinguished. Was drowned in the East River by falling from a canoe. John Buthbrland. Removed to Windsor, where he married. Retuming^ settled at the mouth of Sutherlands river, which derived its name from him. Anous MoEenzie. Then only sixteen years of age. Removed to Windsor, where he married. Returning to Pictou some years after, he settled first al the Beaches on the farm afterward owned by the Lowdens, and afterward oa Green Hill, when some of his descendants still kk. 467 D. m f 1 LIST OF DUMFRIES SETTLERS, WITH PLiOES OF SETTLEMENT. (DM VERT niVBR. CBAiti.is Blaiku. Settled oa east side of the river, oppoaitD Durham, on the farm now belonging to David Matheaon. David Stiwart. Settled farther up on aamo side, where his descendants Btill reside. Anthony MoLbllam. Settled on -west ^ido of the < • "-, just at Durham. William Clark. Settled above Lim on same side ut the river, where his descendants still reside. JosiPH Richard. On same side of the rivr jelow klio Tei AAe House, where Ims descendants still are. Jo&:f MoLiAi. Settled where his son, the late John .V' Lean, Elder, lived ; was one of the first Elders ordained by Dr. iiicGi -gor; the Itev. John McLean, of Rlchibucto, his grandson, and John S. McLean, of Halifax, his great grandson. William Smith. Father of late Anthony Smitlj, Esq. ; settled near the Tea Mile House. ON MIDDLH BIVEB. Robert Marshall. Afterward the Elder. His house stood close by the bridge crossing McCullochs Brook, close by the road leading to Middle River. John Crookrtt. Settled where his grandson, W. P. Crockett, now lives. RoBBRT Brtdonb. Settled farther up the river. John Smith. Had come out to Prince Edward Island as agent for some of the proprietors, earlier than the other settlers. Ho settled on the property since owned by Thomas Horn ; was drowned, it is said, with a daughter, Mrs. McCuUoch, and her child, which they were taking to PIctou to have baptiied, and another woman. OK BAST RIVBR. Thomas Turnbdll. Settled on McLennans Brook. r Anthony Culton. SeUled above the Mines. Besides these, we have already mentioned Wellwood Waugh,^ with whom came a half-brother, William Campbell, then a young man, who settled on the ftavk above him, a little below the town. AU-theie have left numerous «teicendants in various places. 468 E. •" A BOLL OP THE INHABITANTS OP PIOTOTT OR TINMODTH CAPABLE TO BEAR ARMS. <* James Omnt, Williaai Campbell, Robert JoDes,* Wm. McCracken, Oeoigo McConnell, John Patterson, sen., James Patterson, David Patterson, John Patteiaon, jr., John Rogers, sen., James Rogers, John Borers, jr., David Rogers, James McCabe, John McCabe, Anthony McLellan, James McLellan, Ed. McLean, Joseph Ritchie, William Clark, John McLean, Wm. Smith, David Stuart, John McEenxie, Hugh Fraser, Wm. McLellan, James McDonald, Charles Blaikie, John Blaikie, James Watson, Alex. Cameron, Colin Douglass, Don. McDonald, Robt. Breading (Brydcn), John Breading, Alex. Ross, sr., Alex. Ross, jr., James McCuUoch, Robt. Marshall, John Marshall, John Crockett, John Crockett, jr., Alex. Fraser, Alex. Fraser, jr., Simon Fraser, Colin McKay, Rod. McKay, jr., James McKay, Donald McKay, Donald McKay, jr., Donald Cameron, Anthony Culton, John Culton, Colin McKenzie, Alex. McLean, John Sutherland, Thos. TumbuU, John McLellan, Wm. McLeod, Hugh Eraser, sr., James Fraser, Esaias Horton, Stoatly Horton, Morton (Walter) Murray; George Morrison, Barnabas McOee. " The above is a true list, given -under my hand at Halifax, 12 February, 1783. Robt. Pattibsoh, Captain." The above begins at Carriboo, and passes up the harbour, and round Uio three rivers to Medgomish. LIST OF OBANTEES OF THE 82ND R^GFIMENT. Col. Alix. RoBiBTSoir. Obtained the big island of Merigomish as his shne, lience sometimes known as Robertson's Island. Never lived on it himself, but seme relatives of the name settled upon it. Employed an agent, who built a large house on it, which he called Struan House. At his death, his property in this county descended to bis nephew, Oliphant, of Gask. Capt. John Frabib. Lived at Frasers Point, appointed a magistrate October 15tb, 1784. His wife and two sons followed him from Scotland, one of the latter, John, being afterward known as Collector Fraser, the other, Simon, * This was a Welshman, who had served both at the capture of Fort Beau Sejour and Quebec, and lived About a mile below the town. He died on- married. 459 called also Major, and sometimeB Colonel Fiaser, afterward employed in bringing out passengers. AiiKZ. McDonald. Unknown. CouN McDonald. I believe the same that known as Cole McDonald, who lived on the Big Island, near what is still known as Coles Brook. DoNNBT Fenccans. His land located to the west of Frasers Point, but his history unknown. These three received each 600 acres. John MoNkil. Beccived 300 acres, bat history unknown. NON-OOkiaSSIONBD OrnCERS RBOEIVINO EACH 200 ACBE8. Cbables Abbucklbs. A native of Falkirk, moved afterward to the Ponds. Married to a daughter of B. McQee. His descendants numerous. David Ballanttne. Removed to Cape Cteorge, where his descendants are numerous. GiOROE Brown. Settled on Frasers Mountain. John Brownfield. A native of Derry, in Ireland, and a Presbyterian, died near French Biver, where his desceudants still are. James CABiacaAXL. A native of Perthshire. His descendants well known. SoBERT Duinr. A native of Glasgow, settled on the property now owned and occupied by his sons. John Fbaber. A Highlander from Inverness. One of 1 8 who survived out of • detachment of 111 men, employed in the Southern States during the war, the rest having been cut off by fever. Ho lived at Fishers Grant, where he was one of the first ciders of Picton congregation. Afterward removed to French Bivcr, where his descendants still are. Dbitbt Gilurs. Believe the same as James Gillies, who lived where R. S. Copeland now resides, afterward removed to Big Island, where his descendants ctillare. Jahes Peacock. Lived near Chance Harbour, but do not know what became Ron-s, Hugh Tatamagouche. " James, D . D 11 alifax. " Ebeneser Londonderry, NS " Walter Beckwilh, Ont. " Donald Lnncastcr, Ont. » William \ Prino^ Williaitt Simpson, L»ac j Musjiu-doboit, Sutherland, Alex Longwood, Ont " Wm Strathburn, Ont. " George ....N. South Wales. J.A.P St. Croix, N. 8. '* John M Pugwash. COMaRKOATIONALIBTS. Hallidty, McLeod, - BAPTIST, .United states. .United States. Beattio, Francis New Brunswick. Clark, John United States. Campbell. " Gunn, •' Shaw, P. B. IshuJd. WESLETAN METHODIST. Bums, J, BPISCOPAI,. Wilkins, L- M ROHAN OATHOLIO. McGregor, D. M Morigomish. McKinnon, Donald Cape Breton. Some of these were not bom in Picton, tbongh brought up here ; but them might be added others, as Revs. A. O. Forbes and J. D. Forbes, bom in tlil» County, though brought up elsewhere. 467 LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATDRE IHOM PICTOU COXINTY. HIVBKnS or NOVA HCDTIA II0U8E OW AHHEHBLY. 1840 to 1843. County : John IIolmcH and Henry Ulackadur. Townnhip: llenrjr Hutton. 1843 to 1847. Counhj: John IIolmcH and George R. Young. Township: Gcorgo Smith, elected in 1843, but nnseated in 1844, when Henry lilackadar elected for remainder of term. 1847 to IflBi. County : Gcorgo R. Young and Andrew Robertson. Townthip : Henry Blackodur. 1S51 to 1855. County: John Holmca and Rol)ert Murray. Towtahip : Martin I. Wilkins. 1855 to 1859. County: George McKcnsio and A. 0. McDonald. Townihip : Martin I. Wilkins. 1859 to 1863. Pattern Diitnct: George McKenzio and A. C. McDonald. Weitem do: A. 0. McDonald and R. P. Grant. 1863 to 18G7. Eastern District : James McDonald and James Fraser. Western do: Alexander McKay and Donald Fraacr. MBMBSRa or LKOISLATITB COUNCIL. lions. George Smith, David Cricbton, and John Holmes. UNDER CONFEDERATION. iisiiBERS or nocsB or commons 1867 to 1872. James W. Carmicbael. 1872 to 1873. Robert Doull and James McDonald. 1873. James W. Carmicbael and John A. Dawson. BINATORS. 1767 to 1876. Hon. John Holmes. 1877. Hon. R. P. Grant. '' HOUSI or ASgEHBlY. 1867 to 1871. Dr. George Murray, R. 8. Copeland, and M. I. WIlkinB. 1871. Simon H. Holmes, Alexander McKay, and Hugh J. CamerOQ. I 1867. LEOISLATITK OOUHCIL. Hon. James Eraser. ^ ■ l I 3Sr IDE X PAdl. Ibeoakis , 34 Academy Fictou 322 et teg. Acadia Coal Company 413 et teq. Agriculture 43G Agricultural, first Society 29G Albion Mines 412 Alline, Rev. H 113 American War, first 08 " Settlers 00 Archibald, 8. O. W 221 Artilloiy Company 261 Baillic, John 4C0 Baillies Drook 4C0 Ballast Pier 312 Baptists 44G Barneys River 108 283 Beaches. 15 Bears 80 "Bee" 384 Bennct, Rov. James 113 Bible Society, first, 271 " Reorganized 312 Blanchard Settlement 231 DIanchard, Jotham 353 3G8 et teq. Blue Mountain 284 Boundaries of County 9 Burke, Rev. Ed 268 Cameron, Alexander 454 " Donald 00 Campbell, John 413 « Donald, murder by. .. 209 Gape John 237 Garmichael, James 274 Carriboo 11 230 Carr, Adam 398 Censns, first, C7, later 442 Cheese Factories 439 Churches, first 147 Churchvlllo 123 Clearing Land 223 Coal 108 309 423 Coast 14 Cochrono Grant 153 240 Cock, Rev. Daniel no 112 "Colonial Standard" 385 Copolands 153 Council of XII 332 371 Court, Inferior 2I6 " Buprome 2I6 Court Iloune 2I6 Crerar, Peter. . s. 406 Crichton, David 303 Crown Brick Coal k Pottery Co. . 420 Dalhousio, Earl of 253 331 Dalhousie Mountain 275 Davidson, James 69 " Thomas 256 Dawson, John IGO 256 " James 309 " Robert 309 Dcnyg, M., description by 24 DesBarres, Col. J. F. W 53 128 Dumfries Immigrants 91 IGO 231 276 457 Dunoon, Hugh 159 226 Earltown 277 East Branch East River 121 1G3 231 460 " Eastern Chronicle " 385 Eden, Garden of 284 Eighty-second Regiment... 116 456 •« Grant 116 Eighty-fourth Regiment... 119 460 Eight Mile Brook 123 469 PAOI. Elders, fiat 133 Elettlon of 1799 193 « 1830 380 Elliott, Rev. C harks 445 EuKland, Church cf 444 Emigration, how conduutcd. . .. 241 « Enterprisf," brig 300 FalrUnks, C. R 333 Foils 17 Fanners, first 231 " Fuvouritc," voyage of the 234 Fisher, John's Omnt CO FlsheriL'S 305 Fitzpatrkk, Jnmes 238 Flogging 204 Foord i>it 410 Four Mile Brook 235 Frascr, Alexander 183 454 " David 262 " Rev. Donald A.. 317 343 362 •• Jnrocs D. B 412 '« John 460 " » (Collector) M7 •' Simon 178 «« William (surveyor) 136 Free Stone 441 Free Church disruption 429 Free Port, Pictou made 365 French 24 38 42 43 Friends' Society of 449 Frost, year of 295 Gairloch settled 241 General Mining Association .... 400 Geology of county 18 Godoricb. Lord, despatch from . . 353 Grant, Peter 157 Grants, first 49 Halibnrton, T. C 338 351 Harris family 73 75 « Dr. John 73 « Matthew 74 100 Harris Thomas, Sr 74 '« Thomas, Jr 67 216 Hattos, Henry 309 « Hector". 19«tuq. " passengers 81 etMtq. 400 Hines 303 Holmes, Hon. John 428 «' Hope," brig 66 e( m^. Houquard, H 233 Howe, Hon. Joseph 376 Indians (See Micmacs) Ingiis, Bishop 337 Intercolonial Coal Company. .. , 415 Iron ores 425 Iron Foundiies 441 Jail erected , 199 Kennedy, Wm 65 Knoydnrt 169 Lakes 17 Langills 13J Legislatures, members of 467 Library, subscription 312 Lightliouses 14 397 L. & S. Society 396 Lowdcn, Capt 102 169 Lowrcy, Capt 309 Lulan 190 Lyon, Rev. James 76 McCabe, James 60 75 " John 178 McCara, A 238 McCullocb, Dr. Thomas 266 321 el leq^ " Michael 330 McDonald, Rev. James 443 « « Alex 443 " Dougald murdered... 218 McFadyan, murder by 302 McGee, Bar 65 108 McGregor, Dr. James. .134 et uq. 392 Mcintosh, murder by 213 McKay, Alex., sen 467 « " jun 286 .290 " John (Collier) 398 « Robert 309 '< Roderick 85, 103, 451 « WiUiam 461 i 4T0 MoKonsio, Cnptain Ocorgo 431 <' Rlv. Kvnneth J..310 343 355 362 McKinlay, R<;v John 330 301 McLean, Hector 25C UcLuod, Rfv Norman 318 " » Hugh 320 McLcnnanH Ikook 228 " Mount 228 McNutt, Col 48 McPhail, John 302 Mail Carrying 228 307 "Malignant" 106 Manufactures 440 Marshy Hopo 284 Mathcson, William 266 MerigomiHh 12 1C8 Mice, in Prince Edward Ivland . . 04 " year of 293 Micmac8..26eri