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| The Bog As It Was On Sunday Morning Photo by Rob Currie |
WINTER IN MUSKOKA - THOMAS MCMURRAY PUBLISHED THE POEM "THE SLEIGH RIDE," IN 1871
FIRST MUSKOKA HISTORIAN, POET, AUTHOR, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DISTRICT'S FIRST BOOK "MUSKOKA AND PARRY SOUND"
I'VE GIVEN MYSELF UNTIL JANUARY 2ND, TO GET ALL THE REGIONAL HISTORY I'VE BEEN KEEPING ON THE BACKBURNER, OUT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. AT THAT TIME, I WILL BE CHANGING MY BLOG FORMAT ONCE AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME, IT WILL BE MORE ACUTELY FOCUSED ON ANTIQUES, COLLECTABLES, AND RELICS OF LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE, WE DEAL WITH DAILY IN OUR ANTIQUE SHOP. IT DOESN'T MEAN I WON'T STRAY FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT I'VE CERTAINLY GROWN WEARY OF POLITICAL RANTS. AS I POINTED OUT BEFORE, WRITING GENERAL BLOGS TO APPEAL TO A DIVERSE AUDIENCE, SPREAD INTERNATIONALLY OVER MANY COUNTRIES, IS BECOMING A REAL TIME CONSUMING CHORE. AND WHEN I SUGGEST MY AUDIENCE IS INTERNATIONAL, THIS MEANS THAT THERE ARE MANY MUSKOKA EX-PATRIOTS SPREAD OUT ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND THEY'VE BEEN CHECKING ME OUT FOR THESE PAST THREE YEARS. THE PROBLEM FOR ME, IS THAT WORK AT OUR SHOP HAS BEEN TRUMPING BLOG TIME, AND SUZANNE, MY WIFE AND BUSINESS PARTNER, IS A RUTHLESS BOSS AND APPARENTLY, I'M EVEN LOWER ON THE CORPORATE LADDER THAN MY SONS ON THE MUSIC SIDE OF THE ENTERPRISE. SO I DO NEED TO PARE DOWN THE BLOGS TO A MORE MANAGEABLE ROAR, IF IT CAN BE SAID I ROAR AT ALL. I LOVE WRITING BLOGS, AND ESPECIALLY ABOUT REGIONAL HISTORY, BUT QUITE A NUMBER OF READERS ARE GETTING TIRED OF MY LIMITED RANGE OF STORIES EACH DAY. THIS MORNING, SUZANNE HAD ME CLEANING OUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS, AND MAKING REPAIRS TO SOME PIECES MISSING SCREWS, AS WELL AS PRICING BOOKS AND THREE GREAT ART PIECES, WE FOUND OUT ON OUR ANTIQUE TOUR ON SUNDAY. GETTING TO THE BLOG-WRITING PART KEEPS GETTING LATER IN THE DAY. SUZANNE WILL LET ME WRITE, IF IT'S ABOUT WHAT WE DO IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE; INCLUDING ME WRITING A BLOG ABOUT PUTTING THREE SCREWS INTO AN OLD "COUNTRY FAIR" BEAN-BAG-TOSS GAME, MADE OUT OF VINTAGE PLYWOOD. IT WOULDN'T BE A VERY INTERESTING STORY THAT'S FOR SURE, SO I'M GOING TO HAVE TO BEEF IT UP, AND WRITE A LITTLE MORE ABOUT OUR ANTIQUE BOOKS AND VINTAGE PAINTINGS. THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS IS PRETTY EXCITING TRUTH BE KNOWN, AND IS FULL OF ALL KINDS OF ADVENTURES, AND MORE THAN A FEW WAYWARD SPIRITS. I THINK I CAN MUSTER SOME ROADSHOW STORIES TO INFORM AND ENTERTAIN READERS. THERE MAY BE A TIME WHEN WE ACQUIRE A LARGE COLLECTION OF REGIONAL HISTORY, IN THE FORM OF JOURNALS, DOCUMENTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS, WHICH I WILL OF COURSE SHARE WITH READERS. AS FOR BLOGGING ABOUT REGIONAL HISTORY, AND WHINING ABOUT THE CONDUCT OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, I WILL BE TAKING A HIATUS; MAYBE FOREVER, IF SEMI-RETIREMENT FEELS GOOD. IT'S WHY IT FELT REAL GOOD TODAY, TO MEET A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS SOME HISTORICAL ZEAL, AND A PASSION FOR THE OUTDOORS. HERE'S AN OVERVIEW OF A CASUAL CHAT, THAT MADE A TIRED, CRUSTY OLD HISTORIAN, FEEL A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE ABOUT REINFORCEMENTS COMING DOWN THE PIKE, IN THE MISSION TO CONSERVE OUR HERITAGE.
I HAD A WONDERFUL CHAT WITH AN ENTHUSIASTIC, VIGOROUS YOUNG CHAP TODAY, HERE AT OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP, ABOUT SOME OF THE POINTS OF FASCINATION, WE BOTH SHARE ABOUT MUSKOKA AND CANADIAN HISTORY. IT IS RARE THESE DAYS, TO FIND THOSE OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION, INTERESTED IN HISTORICAL SLEUTHING, AND THE HUNTING AND GATHERING OF RELICS FROM A BYGONE ERA. IN THREE YEARS RUNNING THIS ANTIQUE SHOP, ON THE MAIN STREET OF GRAVENHURST, HE IS THE FIRST, IN FACT, IN THE "YOUNGER THAN AGE SIXTY" GROUPING, WHO ENJOYED CHATTING AND EVEN DEBATING THE HISTORICAL FACTS, ABOUT HOW MUSKOKA WAS SETTLED BACK IN THE 1850'S AND 60'S. IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, WE TALKED ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM THE HISTORIC FUR TRADE, TO THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN MUSKOKA. SOMETIMES THIS IS THE MOST FRUSTRATING ASPECT OF BEING A REGIONAL HISTORIAN IN MUSKOKA; THE FACT THAT THERE ARE SO FEW UP AND COMING HISTORIANS, TO FILL THE VOID WHEN US GNARLY OLD FARTS EITHER RETIRE OR LEAVE THIS MORTAL COIL ENTIRELY. IT IS A TROUBLESOME CONSIDERATION, BECAUSE WE HAVE A WEALTH OF ARCHIVES MATERIAL CONSERVED, IN THIS REGION, BUT WE ALSO NEED A MORE YOUTHFUL BAND OF ARCHIVIST / HISTORIANS, TO TAKE THE REIGNS WHEN WE RETIRE OR GO TO OUR HEAVENLY REWARD. I'VE BEEN WRITING ABOUT THIS FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. WHO WILL REPRESENT OUR PAST, IN THIS REGION, WHEN THOSE WHO HAVE DEDICATED MANY YEARS OF THEIR LIVES TO HISTORICAL PRESERVATION, BUY THE PROVERBIAL FARM IN THE SKY? I'M NOT SO BOLD AS TO HAVE WRESTLED THIS YOUNG MAN TO THE FLOOR, TO HANDCUFF HIM TO A PROFESSION I ADORE, BUT BECAUSE THESE HERITAGE ENTHUSIASTS ARE SO FEW, AND THE PROSPECTS SO BLEAK TO SECURE EAGER REPLACEMENTS, SURELY YOU CAN'T BLAME ME, FOR TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITY. OR FOR THROWING OUT THE CONUNDRUM WE'RE FACING IN OUR LOOSELY KNIT HISTORICAL FEDERATION, JUST IN CASE HE MIGHT BE OPEN TO SUGGESTION. IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A BID DEAL, BUT IT IS, ESPECIALLY RESTING ON THE REALITY WE HISTORIANS, AND WE MAKE NO APOLOGY EITHER, HAVE OUR STAUNCH OPINIONS ABOUT THE THEORY OF HOW IT ALL CAME TO FRUITION. LIKE SNOWFLAKES, NO TWO HISTORIANS ARE THE SAME. WE CAN BE VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED TO THE OTHER, AND OPINE WITH FIERCE CONVICTION, ABOUT BEING RIGHT ON A MATTER OF PHILOSOPHY.....WHICH MAY BE THE SPARK OF A HISTORIAN'S RIOT, IF IT HIT THE RIGHT POWDER KEG AT THE PERFECT MOMENT FOR IGNITION. SO EACH OF US LOOKS TO THE FUTURE WITHOUT UNDERSTUDIES, AND PONDERS OVER THE MORNING BOWL OF GRUEL, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEIR CONVICTIONS IN THE FUTURE. IT'S WHY WE PUBLISH SO MUCH IN OUR LIVES, AND MAKE COPIOUS NOTES CONSTANTLY, TO ENSURE OUR STAKE IN THE HERITAGE DEBATE. SO THIS IS HOW I COMMENCE MY DAY, AFTER THE GRUEL THAT IS, AND IT WAS NICE TO FIND OUT, THAT LOW AND BEHOLD, THERE IS A YOUNG PERSON, COMMITTED TO THE CAUSE OF HISTORICAL CONSERVATION, AND HERITAGE PROMOTION. HE'S ALREADY INVOLVED IN NATURAL HERITAGE IDENTIFICATION AND CONSERVATION, SO IT'S A PERFECT FIT FOR ME, TO CARRY IT A STEP FURTHER, AS A FUTURE REGIONAL HISTORIAN. HEY, WE CAN HOPE CAN'T WE? I WAS IMPRESSED TO FIND A KINDRED SPIRIT WHO IS THE AGE OF MY YOUNGEST SON; WHO BY THE WAY, DECIDED MUSIC WAS MUCH MORE FUN THAN THE PURSUIT OF OLD STUFF, AND READING MUSTY, DUSTY OLD RECORDS FOR THE FUN OF IT. I CAN'T BLAME HIM. IT TAKES A SPECIAL PERSON, TO TAKE HISTORY THIS SERIOUSLY. I HOPE I DIDN'T SCARE OFF THIS GENTLEMAN WITH MY ROBUST ENTHUSIASM. IN THE HISTORICAL PROFESSION, HONESTLY, WE DON'T GET "FRESH FISH" VERY OFTEN, AND WHEN WE DO, WE'RE THEN SORRY TO FIND OUT, THE VISITOR MADE A LEFT TURN INSTEAD OF A RIGHT, AND LEAVES US AS WE WERE; WONDERING ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION OF STEWARDS TO KEEP OUR CANADIAN HERITAGE IN GOOD AND SAFE HANDS.
AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT AT GREAT LENGTH, IN PAST BLOGS, THOMAS MCMURRAY WROTE A HOMESTEADER'S GUIDEBOOK, IN THE EARLY 1870'S, THAT WAS FAR MORE OPTIMISTIC AND FAVORABLE, WHEN IT CAME TO THE ADVICE GIVEN TO NEWLY ARRIVED EMIGRANTS, IN CANADA, ABOUT THE CONDITIONS TO BE EXPECTED IN MUSKOKA. HIS BRAND OF POSITIVISM, SOME OF IT BASED ON HIS OWN VESTED INTERESTS, AS A PIONEER MUSKOKA BUSINESSMAN, AVOIDED MANY NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF WHAT COULD BE EXPECTED, FOR ILL PREPARED EMIGRANTS, TO TURN THICK WOODLANDS INTO AGRICULTURAL HOMESTEADS. HE DIDN'T OFFER SERIOUS AND DETAILED EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE REGION'S INHOSPITABLE TERRAIN, THE ROCK, SWAMPS, THICK PINE FORESTS, LAKES AND RIVERS, HAVING TO BE BYPASSED AND BRIDGED, AND THE REALITY, MUSKOKA WAS KNOWN AS HAVING THIN, ARABLE SOIL ON ROCK. MCMURRAY, LIKE A LOT OF OTHER AUTHORS AND GUIDEBOOK PUBLISHERS, DIDN'T LET NEGATIVES GET IN THE WAY OF SELLING THEIR BOOKS, TO EAGER URBAN DWELLERS OF EUROPE, WHO MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT CANADA, IN THE 1850'S, WAS A GARDEN OF EDEN, WITH ALL ITS NATURAL ATTRIBUTES. THESE HOMESTEAD BOOKS WERE GENERALLY DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE THE FOLLOW-THROUGH OF SETTLEMENT, TO AID THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT'S EXPANSION PLANS, TO OCCUPY THE UNSETTLED LANDS OF THIS COUNTRY, FROM SEA TO SEA. THIS WOULD JUSTIFY THE BUILDING OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY, AND SHOW THE AMERICAN EXPANSIONISTS THAT CANADA WAS SETTLED UPON, AND NOT OPEN FOR ANY MOVE, ON THEIR PART, TO THE NORTH WEST.
THE INTERESTING CHARACTERISTIC ABOUT THOMAS MCMURRAY, IS THAT WITH HIS BIASED REPORTING ON THE DISTRICT, FROM HIS OWN EXPERIENCES OF THE 1860'S, WHEN THE INHABITANTS OF THE REGION NUMBERED ONLY SEVERAL THOUSAND AT MOST, HE ALSO BACKED THESE SKETCHY OPINIONS UP, WITH HIS ROMANTIC AND POETIC OVERVIEWS OF THE LOGGING INDUSTRY, NATURAL RESOURCES, LIKE "THE GREAT FALLS," ON THE SOUTH BRANCH OF THE MUSKOKA RIVER (MUSKOKA FALLS) AND SUCH SOCIAL / RECREATIONAL ENTERPRISES, AS THE WINTER-SEASON SLEIGH RIDE. WHAT I FIND WRONG WITH MCMURRAY'S APPROACH, WAS THAT IT MADE MUSKOKA SEEM MUCH MORE ACCOMMODATING THAN IT WAS AT THE TIME. THE POEMS, WHILE A NICE TOUCH FOR A MUSKOKA OVERVIEW, WERE NOT APPROPRIATE, ATTACHED TO THE RATHER SERIOUS BUSINESS OF INFLUENCING HOMESTEADERS, TO CHOOSE THIS REGION TO SETTLE, AND CARVE-OUT THEIR HUMBLE HOMESTEADS INTO THE PINE WOODS. IT GAVE A LESS THAN SERIOUS PROFILE, TO THE REGION, KNOWN FOR ITS HARSH, LONG WINTERS, SHORT GROWING SEASONS, AND TOPOGRAPHY CHALLENGES, OF WETLANDS, HILLS, ROCK OUTCROPPINGS AND THICK FORESTS. I DON'T REALLY BELIEVE POTENTIAL SETTLERS, WERE SOLD ON TAKING UP HOMESTEAD LAND GRANTS IN MUSKOKA, BECAUSE OF A POEM ABOUT "SLEIGHING" ACROSS THE FROZEN TERRAIN; BUT WITH THE HARD ISSUES FACING EMIGRANTS, THE POETRY IS OUT OF PLACE IN TEXT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP SETTLERS GET A GOOD START ON THEIR ACREAGES.
ON THE OTHER HAND, MCMURRAY HAS ENSURED THAT WE CULTURAL HISTORIANS, HAVE SOME EARLY-SETTLEMENT-YEARS' FOLK HISTORY TO WORK WITH, AND BEING POETRY, IT'S JUST FINE FOR OUR PURPOSES. HERE NOW ARE SOME OF THE VERSES OF "THE SLEIGH RIDE," CIRCA 1871, BUT IT WAS LIKELY WRITTEN MUCH EARLIER. IT'S INTERESTING TO NOTE, AT LEAST FOR A HERITAGE SLEUTH LIKE ME, THAT MCMURRAY WAS EMOTIONALLY STIRRED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE REGION, AS IT APPEARED IN THE 1860'S. IT REPRESENTS THE FIRST SERIOUS FOLK HISTORY NOTATIONS ABOUT LIFE IN MUSKOKA, SO WHILE THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE INFLUENCED SETTLERS TO A GREAT DEGREE, THEY SHOULD STIR US NOW; BECAUSE THESE ARE REFLECTIONS OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE HERE BEFORE FORESTS WERE STRIPPED, AND HAMLETS WERE TURNED INTO BUSTLING TOWNS. THESE ARE IMPORTANT INSIGHTS ABOUT SOCIAL / CULTURAL / RECREATIONAL OPINION, AT A TIME WHEN VERY FEW PIONEERS WERE KEEPING JOURNALS, OR WRITING POETRY.
NOW IN THE WORDS OF THOMAS MCMURRAY, "THE SLEIGH RIDE": (IN PARAGRAPH FORMAT)
"CALM IS THE NIGHT, AND CLEAR AND BRIGHT, THE SILVER MOON IS SHEDDING A FLOOD OF LIGHT O'ER THE SNOW SO WHITE, AND ON ICY GLORY SPREADING; THE EARTH LOOKS FAIR AS A DREAM OF LOVE, IN MISTY LIGHT THE MOON DOES LEND HER, AND THE STARRY VAULT OF BLUE ABOVE, IN SPARKLING BRIGHT WITH A FROSTY SPLENDOUR. SWIFTLY WE BOUND O'ER THE FROZEN GROUND, GAILY, JOYOUSLY, CHEERILY; AND OUR THOUGHTS KEEP TIME TO THE MUSICAL CHIME, OF THE SLEIGH BELLS TINKLING MERRILY. FOR OUR HEARTS ARE ATTUNED TO THE PLEASING STRAINS, OF GLADNESS, GLEE AND INNOCENT MIRTH; AND WE FEEL, THO' SIN HAS MADE DARK STAINS, YET HAPPINESS LINGERS STILL ON EARTH.
"IN WRAP AND RUG, RIGHT WARM AND SNUG, ALL CARE TO THE WINDS WE FLING; AND LAUGH AND SONG, AS WE SPEED ALONG, MAKE THE SILENT FOREST RING, THE DISTANT OWL OUR VOICES HEARS, AND SCREAMS FROM HIS DARK AND LONELY DELL, IN ANSWER TO OUR JOYOUS CHEERS, A DISCORDANT, WILD, UNEARTHLY YELL. FASTER WE GO O'ER THE FROZEN SNOW, FROM OUR HORSES' FEET IS FLYING; THE ECHOES LONG REPEAT OUR SONG, FOR IN THE DISTANCE DYING. OUR JOYOUS BREASTS EXULTING BOUND, AND UTTERANCE FIND IN GLEEFUL VOICE, TILL ROCKS, AND HILLS, AND DALES RESOUND, AND EVEN THE GLOOMY WOODS REJOICE.
"OUR SLEIGH NOW GLIDES WHERE THE RIVER HIDES, UNDER THE ICE BRIDGE STRONG, WHERE DEEP AND LOW THE WATERS FLOW, SO SILENTLY ALONG. AND NOW IT IS PAST, AND ON WE ROAM, BY THE FROZEN LAKE, A SNOWY PLAIN, PAST THE GLEAMING LIGHTS OF THE SETTLER'S HOME, AND AWAY THROUGH THE LONELY WOOD AGAIN. THE FALLS! IT IS THEY! WE CAN SEE THE SPRAY THAT THE SEETHING WATERS TOSS, LIKE A GLITTERING CLOUD O'ER THAT FOAMING FLOOD; AND NOW, AS THE BRIDGE WE CROSS, ITS ECHOING THUNDERS LOUDER GROW, CHECKED IS OUR NOISY MIRTH AND SONG, AND WE STOP AND GAZE WHERE FAR BELOW THE ROARING TORRENT ROARS ALONG. THE TREES THAT STAND ON EITHER HAND, ARE HUNG WITH ICE DROPS FAIR - WITH GEMS OF LIGHT AND JEWELS BRIGHT, AND DAZZLING CRYSTALS RARE; - REFLECTING BACK EACH TWINKLING STAR, WITH A SPARKLING BEAUTY RICH AND GRAND - A GLITTERING SCENE, SURPASSING FAR, OUR WILDEST DREAMS OF FAIRY LAND.
"WHEN SWIFTLY PAST, IN THE ROARING BLAST, THE FROST KING SWEEPS IN HIS PRIDE, HIS ICY FORM THE RAGING STORM, AND THE MANTLING SNOW WREATH HIDES. AND UNSEEN SPIRITS THE WAY PREPARE, WHEREVER HIS ROYAL FEET WOULD GO, WITH DAZZLING CARPETS, WHITE AND FAIR, AND THE CRYSTAL BRIDGE WHERE WATERS FLOW. I LOVE THE CLINK, ON THE FROZEN RINK, OF THE SKATER'S IRON HEEL, THE MERRY HUZZA OF THE BOYS AT PLAY, WITH THEIR SLEDS, ON THE SLIPPERY HILL; THE LONG, LONG NIGHTS, BY THE BRIGHT FIRE-SIDE, IN THE JOYOUS HOME WHERE HAPPINESS DWELLS; AND BEST OF ALL, THE MERRY SLEIGH-RIDE, AND THE MUSICAL CHIME OF THE TINKLING BELLS."
THIS MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A FREQUENTLY (OR EVER) RECITED POEM, BY THOSE SETTLERS LIVING, AT THE TIME, IN THEIR DRAFTY LOG SHANTIES, WATCHING THE SNOW FROM THE BLIZZARD RAGING OVER THE LANDSCAPE, DUSTING DOWN THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF THE DWELLING. BUT MCMURRAY WAS A DIE-HARD ROMANTIC, AND BECAUSE HE INCLUDED THESE LINES, MADE A DISTINCT NOTIFICATION FOR MUSKOKA'S POSTERITY, TO HISTORIANS EVER-AFTER, THAT SOCIAL / CULTURAL / RECREATIONAL HERITAGE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE HARD FACTS OF COMMUNITY BUILDING AND LOCAL POLITICAL / ECONOMIC MILESTONES.
THE WINTER OF 1883 AND A PIONEER ARTIST'S OBSERVATION
"I am happy to say we have safely arrived at last, after being on the journey on the cars (train), and in the sleigh, from Tuesday evening until Saturday morning. We have just been two days short of three weeks, since we left home (England); but it has been very nice and pleasant. I didn't seem to mind the jolting of the train nearly as much as usual. I suppose it was the dreadful shaking up we had on the 'Sarmation,' (steamship from England to Canada) in the storm. We landed at Halifax on Tuesday, and got straight into a pullman (rail car). There was quite a happy little party of us from the ship, and no strangers; about half a dozen young men and Mrs. Hooper (my cabin-mate) and I. We had the train to ourselves. There was only the Pullman and the mails and the luggage, so it was very cosy and select, and we were quite like brothers and sisters together, after the rough time we had at sea, and we walked about and talked. (pioneer artist, Ada Florence Kinton was in her mid twenties at the time of this venture to Muskoka). We stopped at meal-time at different stations, and ate steadily for twenty minutes. At Montreal we changed cars, and from there to Toronto we met with all sorts of disasters. Amongst other things we got snowed-up and had to wait patiently till we could be dug-out; that was in fifteen hours. It was breakfast time when we started, and happily we had a dining car attached. Eddy (her brother from Huntsville) teased me so, about eating sausages at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour.
"Then we met a freight train off the track and had to wait for that. Then we heard there was a bad collision ahead of us. That took a long time to clear the track - two freight trains off the track - they had run right into and over one another. Next our tender broke, and we had to wait till we could get a fresh engine - which was five hours. Then we got to Gravenhurst, and I had my first sleigh drive. I suppose I shall never forget it. The horses frisked and skipped along like kittens, and their long tails and manes waved about so prettily. And oh! The 'tintinnabulation of the bells,' and the snow and the forest and the quiet midnight.
"Twenty-six miles' sleigh-ride from Bracebridge to Huntsville. Supper at a little hotel; everyone silent, mutually afraid to speak. Don't want to show I'm an Englander. Sleigh again. Almost opprest with the beauty of winter forest. Scenery gaunt and fantastic in the twilight. Saw grim, weird forms; wondered if there are any Canadian ghosts. Nice to look up, up, up, by the trunks of the slender, towering trees, and see the pale grey clouds lighted by the snow beneath. Strange, lovely sleigh-ride, packed tight between Ed and the driver, the stars winking at us; the silent trees; the bush-swamps; Lake Vernon, Huntsville; home in distance. Began to feel utterly done-up, and began to cry, but had to quit it! Could not manage it and struggle through the snow at the same time. Arrived at the gate panting and gasping. Heard my brother Mackie's voice again. Kissed kitty; to agitated to sleep; wake at last in my warm cosy wooden room. Struck with the amount of comfort in this little Canadian village in the midst of the bush."
The passages above, were taken from the published journal entitled "Just One Blue Bonnet," the story of artist, and Salvation Army missionary Ada Florence Kinton, circa the 1880's. It's interesting to note, that it was Ada Kinton, who first asked the question "are there any Canadian ghosts", while traveling north through the Muskoka countryside, deep in winter snow, transported in a horse-drawn sleigh from Gravenhurst to Huntsville. The rail line at that point, ended in Gravenhurst, and it wouldn't until 1885 that it was linked to Bracebridge.
SAINTE ELIZABETH BETWEEN WASHAGO AND SEVERN BRIDGE? THE ARTIFACTS ARE HELPFUL TO POSITIONING THE FORMER JESUIT MISSION TO THE ALGONQUINS
I PURCHASED A WONDERFULLY CONSERVED PRIMITIVE STONE ARTIFACT IN WASHAGO - STILL KEEN TO FIND THE MISSION REMAINS
I HAVE REPEATED SOME OF THE INFORMATION REGARDING THE JESUIT MISSION, TO THE ALGONQUINS, CIRCA 1643-44, KNOWN AS STE. ELIZABETH, WHICH WILL SAGUAY WITH THE REST OF THE STORY, ABOUT ARTIFACTS FOUND IN THE WASHAGO / SEVERN BRIDGE AREA.
ALTHOUGH THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION ABOUT JESUIT TRANSPORT IN THE 1600'S, TO AND WITHIN THE REGIONS OF SIMCOE, HURONIA AND THE GEORGIAN BAY AREA, HISTORY OF THE TRAVEL ACTIVITY IN THE MUSKOKA DISTRICT IS LARGELY IGNORED. YET SOME OF THE DESCRIPTIONS OF LANDFORMS AND FORESTS, PENNED IN JOURNALS BY THE MISSIONARIES, MIGHT WELL BE SCENES FROM SOUTH AND CENTRAL MUSKOKA. RESEARCH HOWEVER, HAS TURNED UP SOME INTERESTING NOTATIONS, WHICH SEEM TO INCLUDE MUSKOKA, AS A REGION ACTIVELY TRAVERSED BY THE JESUITS, FOLLOWING AFTER THE HUNTING AND FISHING ALGONQUINS, AND THEIR SEASONAL MIGRATIONS. INFORMATION ON ONE JESUIT MISSION, IN PARTICULAR, KNOWN AS SAINTE ELIZABETH, INDICATES IT WAS LOCATED SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE NORTHERN SHORE OF LAKE COUCHICHING, AND POSSIBLY AS FAR NORTH AS SEVERN BRIDGE IN MUSKOKA. WHILE IT MIGHT NOT SEEM IMPORTANT TO SOME HISTORY ENTHUSIASTS, SEEING AS THE PERIOD OF THE 1640'S, WHEN THE MISSION WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED, WAS SHORT-LIVED, IT IS STILL A WONDERFULLY DIVERSE ASPECT OF REGIONAL HISTORY THAT DOESN'T GET A LOT OF ATTENTION. MOST FEEL THE ONLY RELEVANT HISTORY WORTH CONSIDERING, WAS WHEN THE FIRST SETTLERS ARRIVED IN THE MUSKOKA DISTRICT, TO SETTLE THE VAST HINTERLAND. THIS BEGAN IN THE LATE 1850'S, SPECIFICALLY AT MCCABE'S LANDING, NOW OF COURSE KNOWN AS GRAVENHURST. WE HAVE LEARNED IN THE PAST TWENTY YEARS, THAT PRE-HISTORY IN OUR AREA HAS BEEN LARGELY UNDER-ESTIMATED, AND IN FACT, PRACTICALLY IGNORED. TODAY THERE IS SUBSTANTIALLY MORE KNOWLEDGE GATHERED, ABOUT FIRST NATIONS INHABITATIONS WITHIN THE REGION OF MUSKOKA, AND IT WAS INITIATED BY FLORENCE MURRAY, IN HER PIVOTAL TEXT, "MUSKOKA AND HALIBURTON 1615-1875," PUBLISHED BY THE CHAMPLAIN SOCIETY. SHE EXPLAINS HOW THE JESUIT FATHERS, FROM THEIR BASE MISSION AT SAINTE-MARIE IN MIDLAND, FOLLOWED THE ALGONQUINS THROUGH THE WOODLANDS, ATTEMPTING TO CONTINUE THE EFFORTS TO CONVERT THEIR PEOPLES TO CHRISTIANITY.
"THE JESUIT FATHERS FOUND, THAT AS DIFFICULT AS IT WAS TO CHRISTIANIZE THE HURONS, IT WAS NOTHING COMPARED WITH THE HARDSHIPS INVOLVED IN FOLLOWING THE WANDERING ALGONKINS FROM CAMP TO CAMP. THE JESUIT RELATIONS SHOW NO MISSIONS WHICH CAN DEFINITELY BE LOCATED IN MUSKOKA OR HALIBURTON, BUT INCLUDE TWO TO THE ALGONKINS; THE MISSION OF STE. ELIZABETH AND THE MISSION OF THE HOLY GHOST, WHICH NO DOUBT SERVED SOME OF THE INDIANS WHO HUNTED IN THE AREA. THE MISSION OF STE. ELIZABETH WAS STARTED BETWEEN 1640 AND 1644, FOR ALGONKINS WHO HAD BEEN DRIVEN FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE VALLEY BY THE IROQUOIS AND HAD SOUGHT REFUGE AMONG THE HURONS, AND FOR OTHER ALGONKINS WHO WENT SOUTH TO WINTER NEAR THE HURONS. THIS MISSION HAS BEEN LOCATED BY DU CREUX AND BY FATHER A.E. JONES, AS BEING AT THE NORTH END OF LAKE COUCHICHING, TWO OR THREE MILES SOUTH OF THE PRESENT TERRITORIAL LIMITS OF THE MUSKOKA DISTRICT." (FLORENCE MURRAY, "MUSKOKA AND HALIBURTON."
SHE WRITES, "FATHER JAROME LALEMANT'S REPORT ON THE MISSION OF STE. ELIZABETH, 1643-44: THE IROQUOIS, WHO MAKE THEMSELVES DREADED IN THE GREAT RIVER ST. LAWRENCE AND WHO EVERY WINTER, FOR SOME YEARS HAVE BEEN HUNTING MEN IN THESE VAST FORESTS, HAVE COMPELLED THE ALONGQUINS, WHO DWELT ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER, TO ABANDON NOT ONLY THEIR HUNTING GROUNDS BUT ALSO THEIR COUNTRY, AND HAVE REDUCED THEM THIS WINTER TO COME HERE NEAR OUR HURONS, IN ORDER TO LIVE MORE SAFELY - SO MUCH SO, THAT A WHOLE VILLAGE OF THESE POOR WANDERING AND FUGITIVE TRIBES CAME NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SAINTE JEAN BAPTISTE. WE WERE OBLIGED TO GIVE THEM SOME ASSISTANCE, AND FOR THAT PURPOSE TO ASSOCIATE WITH FATHER ANTOINE DANIEL, WHO HAD CHARGE OF THE HURON MISSION, OF WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTER. FATHER RENE MENARD, WHO HAVING A SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE OF BOTH LANGUAGES HAD, AT THE SAME TIME, CHARGE OF THIS ALGONQUIN MISSION, TO WHICH WE HAVE GIVEN THE NAME SAINTE ELIZABETH." NOTATIONS IN THE TEXT INDICATED THAT STE. ELIZABETH "WAS A NOMADIC AS WERE THE ALGONQUINS IT SERVED."
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT FATHER LALEMANT, WRITING IN THE JESUIT RELATIONS ABOUT STE. ELIZABETH, AND FATHER ANTOINE DANIEL, WHO SERVED AT STE. ELIZABETH FOR A SHORT TIME, WERE BOTH SAVAGELY TORTURED AND KILLED, DURING THE IROQUOIS ATTACK IN HURONIA, IN JULY 1648. FATHER RENE MANARD, ALSO AT STE. ELIZABETH, WOULD SURVIVE THE IROQUOIS ATTACKS, BUT DIE LATER IN THE WILDS OF WISCONSIN, WHILE FOLLOWING A PARTY OF ALGONQUINS.
IT ALL STARTED WITH AN AFTERNOON CHAT AT KAY'S CORNER IN WASHAGO
If a farmer or home builder, was to find the remains of an old, old iron kettle, in their turning of the soil, it could be an important clue as to the location of Ste. Elizabeth. Worn out iron kettles, forged at Sainte Marie, in Midland, were used as makeshift mission bells, that could be hit with a club, the deep ring through the heavily wooded forest, announcing a church service was soon to begin. I would really like to know about that iron kettle discovery, if and when it is ever uncovered, because the exact location of Ste. Elizabeth, of the mid 1600's, has never officially, at least, been located.
The story of Sainte Elizabeth was inspired a number of years ago, during a regular family outing to the Village of Washago. Greatly enjoying summer antique jaunts, on occasion, when not stuck behind the counter of our own shop, in Bracebridge (back in the early 1990's), Suzanne and I liked to seek out hole-in-the-wall collectible shops, where we could make some decent, previously undetected antique finds. On this particular occasion, we drove into Washago for a treat, at the former mill store on the Severn River. I had been reading up on Ste. Elizabeth previously, and I had some questions to ask…..if only I could find someone who had heard of the former Jesuit Mission.
We stopped in at one of our favorite little cubby-hole collectible shops, known as Kay's Corner, that she ran on one side of the old warehouse, while her husband did blacksmithing on the east side. After about an hour combing through her fascinating shop, and its really neat albeit attractively cluttered attic, Suzanne had come up with some terrific jewelry pieces, and the boys had scooped up twenty or thirty comic books each and a few Hot Wheels, which they collected back then. I had four good old books, a couple of art panels, and some interesting documents found at the bottom of some boxes stuffed into the hot attic. As I was pushing past the glass display case, where Kay kept some of her best pieces, my eye caught a treasure within. It appeared to be a First Nation's stone artifact, which she called an adze, but may be properly called a scraper. I hunched over to get a better look. If it was what I suspected then there was no doubt the treasure for the day had been found…..at least for me.
I asked Kay if I could have a better look at the scraper rock, with an edge on both ends of the smooth fat stone, and she obliged, telling me that it had been found in the area. She strained to lift the heavy piece even though its appearance suggested it would be light and fragile. When she set it on the glass counter in front of me, it made a loud crack onto the glass…..and she had to lift it back up to see if she had accidentally broken the top of the showcase. There was no question in my mind. This was definitely a First Nation's tool, that could date back to the period of Ste. Elizabeth or earlier. Kay indicated, as I cradled the beautiful and historic piece in my hand, that a local gardener had dug it up while working the soil for planting, that spring, and he had brought it in to see if the artifact was worth anything. Seeing as Kay wasn't going to be putting this adze back in the showcase, I then had to enquire about the price, which frankly should have been at least a hundred dollars. Seeing as she had only given the home gardener about ten bucks for the artifact, and always being modest in her pricing, I was offered the great find for twenty-five dollars. I smiled at Suzanne, and begged an early or late (I'm not sure now) birthday present, as there was no way I was going to sell this precious remnant of a long ago era; when Jesuits wandered these woods, and erected wooden crosses, to meet with the Algonquins.
No one had much of an idea, at that point, about Sainte Elizabeth, so I did most of the talking. But I just had the feeling that this stone artifact, was from an Algonquin seasonal encampment, and it stands to reason that Ste. Elizabeth would have been close by, as this was its mission purpose. It's also true, that from that first meeting of my hand, and this native artifact, a new obsession had begun…..like so many before that…..always with the same consequence of time and money. I spent hours and hours looking a maps, and reading every regional and First Nations history that touched even modestly on our region and Huronia, looking for even the smallest clue about Ste. Elizabeth. While I haven't progressed very far, in the past two decades, I have acquired quite a few more locally found stone scrapers, that have been supposedly found north of Huronia, and in the vicinity of Lake Couchiching and Washago, including a relic of native pottery which is one of my great prizes.
After purchasing the artifact from my friend Kay, I mounted it in a special glass showcase beside my desk. On occasion, when I'm short of inspiration, I will lift it out carefully, and cradle it as I did on that first day in Washago, wondering as I did then, where it might have come from, and if it was shaped by Algonquin hands, to suit a function of survival, eg. skinning a deer or bear, and if the maker had been to Ste. Elizabeth, and possibly mey face to face with the Jesuits, who clanged that old iron pot, hung from a pole in their clearing. There is a vibration to the stone piece, and holding it does promote an emotional time travel, to a tumultuous period in the history of our new country…..that ended with great suffering, to those who had established the mission of Ste. Elizabeth. Everyone who has visited my office, has had an opportunity to handle some of the gathered artifacts in my collection, and all claim to feel the same historic vibe……as I did on that occasion, when I lifted the adze from Kay's glass counter…..and knew, I had made my first legitimate connection with the Jesuit mission, I had been searching for…….but sadly, have not yet found.
It's true. I am obsessive about the artifacts I have acquired, and the ones I intend on acquiring…….and it's one of those things, antique hunters just can't quite explain…….and neither can their accountants…..which for me…..is also my wife; making it one of those double whammy situations. Just so that you know, I'm now working on three Christmases in advance, and birthdays? I'm about ten ahead, for the purchases I've begged to make in the past two years. If I've learned one thing in the antique enterprise, it's how to beg successfully, and connive to make a deal. I still have my soul, as I refuse to barter it away, but I'm down to my last shred of dignity…..so I'm hoping we don't make another big and expensive discovery, until I can get some wiggle room on my artifact acquisition budget, which has more holes than a thick slice of swiss cheese.
If I find Sainte Elizabeth, you folks will be the first to find out about it, via this blog.
Thanks so much for visiting today. More exciting stuff on the way. Oh, by the way, have you got any artifacts you're looking to get rid of? I know a poor guy who wants them! I know a woman who doesn't want me to have them! What's a collector / historian to do? I'm always jumping hurdles and leaping through hoops, just to maintain a profession. I wouldn't trade this life. It's been one adventure after another. As for spice, yup, it's been full of that too!
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