BUT THE ENGLISHMAN VERY NEARLY FROZE TO DEATH
SUZANNE AND I DECIDED TO TAKE ONE OF OUR MEANDERING COUNTRY MOTOR TRIPS THIS AFTERNOON, AND IN FACT, HAVE JUST NOW ARRIVED BACK HOME. WE LIKE TO WANDER BUT WE SURE LIKE TO COME BACK HOME. THE DAY WAS PRETTY DULL AND A TAD BLUSTERY, SO IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR THE DAZZLING AUTUMN COLORS, THAT LOOK SO MAGNIFICENT IN THE OCTOBER SUNLIGHT, IT WAS UNDOUBTEDLY A LITTLE LESS ENTHRALLING. FOR SUZANNE AND I HOWEVER, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER IS LIKE, AND AS LONG AS IT'S NOT A DRIVE THROUGH A HURRICANE, A FUNNEL CLOUD, OR A BLIZZARD, WE ALWAYS FIND OUR MUSKOKA COUNTRYSIDE ENCHANTING THROUGH THE FOUR SEASONS. WE NO LONGER HAVE A COTTAGE, AND WE DON'T CANOE MUCH ANYMORE, BUT WE STILL LIKE TO REVISIT SOME OF OUR OLD HAUNTS EITHER ON FOOT, OR BY AUTO. WE TAKE ALONG A FEW TREATS AND SOME BEVERAGES, AND WE NEVER ABIDE BY EITHER SCHEDULE, OR ANYTHING RESEMBLING A PLANNED ROUTE. WE ARE OFTEN COMPELLED TO TRAVEL DOWN ROADS LESS TRAVELLED, AND TO MAKE TURNS AT THE CROSSROADS, WE COULD NEVER HAVE ANTICIPATED IN ADVANCE. WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS. EVEN BEFORE WE WERE MARRIED, BOTH OF US LIKED TO WANDER AND MOTOR WHEREVER IT FELT RIGHT, AND THERE WAS ENOUGH FUEL IN THE TANK, MONEY IN POCKET, TO KEEP ON DRIVING. OUT ON THE ROADS TODAY, THERE WAS LIGHT TRAFFIC, BUT QUITE A FEW SIGHTSEERS TAKING PICTURES OF WHAT A LOT OF MUSKOKANS THESE DAYS TAKE FOR GRANTED. WE TALK A LOT, AND GET A KICK OUT OF REKINDLING SOME OF OUR EARLY DAYS OF MARRIAGE, WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH IN THE WAY OF MONEY, BUT ALWAYS ENOUGH TO TREAT OURSELVES TO A LITTLE OUTING. THIS AFTERNOON, WE VISITED SOME OF THE LANDMARKS OF BRACEBRIDGE, WHERE WE HAD SOME MEMORABLE TIMES; FROM THE FORMER HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE WE FIRST MET, TO THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE BUILDING, JUST UP THE ROAD, ON DOMINION STREET, WHERE I WORKED WHEN WE WERE ENGAGED; TO THE HOUSES WE CAME HOME TO, AFTER THE BIRTH OF OUR LADS, ANDREW AND ROBERT; TAKING A WALK ALONG THE SAME ROUTES WE DID, BACK IN THE LATE 1980'S, WHEN I'D MEET HER AFTER WORK (TEACHING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL), WITH ANDREW IN THE STROLLER, FOR A WALK UPTOWN TO GET AN ICE CREAM TREAT. THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE AIR THIS TIME OF YEAR, THAT MAKES ME CRAZY NOSTALGIC, AND I FEEL IT'S NECESSARY TO TOUCH BACK TO THOSE FAMILY TIMES; AND I OFTEN HAVE REGRETS ABOUT, AS MY MOTHER USED TO WARN ME, HAVING WISHED AWAY TIME. I WAS GUILTY, ON MANY OCCASIONS, OF DOING JUST THAT, AND I THINK IT COST ME SOME PRECIOUS MEMORIES AS A RESULT.
YOU SEE, I WAS A RELUCTANT MR. MOM, TO THE EXPONENT OF TEN, AND BECAUSE I COULD WORK FROM HOME, AS A WRITER, AND SUZANNE HAD A MUCH BETTER PAYING JOB, IT WAS DECIDED I WOULD BE THE STAY-AT-HOME PARENT. IT GOT BETTER OVER TIME, BUT I KNOW THAT A GREAT DEAL OF EACH DAY WAS RUSHED THROUGH, IN MY MIND, AT LEAST, TO GET TO SUZANNE'S QUITTING TIME. THUS, I MISSED A LOT OF PRECIOUS, FUN TIME WITH ANDREW, BECAUSE ALL I WANTED WAS THE DAY TO BREEZE BY, SO MY PARTNER WOULD AGAIN JOIN ME. AND YES, TAKE OVER RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WEE LAD. IT TOOK YEARS TO BUILD UP CONFIDENCE TO BE A GOOD DAY TO DAY GUARDIAN. WE ALL DO STUFF LIKE THIS, AND THEN HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE REGRETS. I LOVED BEING A MR. MOM TO BOTH OUR SONS. IT MADE ME A BETTER PERSON, CONSIDERING I HAD A LOT TO IMPROVE UPON, FROM MY NEWSPAPER DAYS, AND THE HEAVY DRINKING IT SEEMED TO INSPIRE. THANK GOODNESS FOR ME, THAT I WAS ABLE TO BRAKE FREE OF THIS WILD LIFESTYLE SOON INTO PARENTHOOD; AND I'VE NEVER RETURNED TO THOSE REALLY BAD DAYS OF EXCESSES. I MADE IT PAST FAR TOO MANY LAST CALLS BACK THEN. STILL, NO MATTER HOW SINCERE MY REGRETS, I CAN'T GET THAT TIME BACK, THAT I FOOLISHLY HURRIED THROUGH.
NOT EVERY HISTORIAN GETS THEMSELVES MIRED DOWN IN THEIR OWN INTIMATE NOSTALGIA. I FIND IT A CONTENTING TRAP, ALTHOUGH I CAN'T REALLY EXPLAIN WHAT I GET OUT OF IT, BEYOND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CONFESSIONALS LIKE THIS. I FIND A STRANGE AND FORGIVING SOLITUDE IN HISTORY, THAT IS COMFORTING AND UNDERSTANDING. SUZANNE AND I TALK A LOT ABOUT THINGS WE WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY, IF THAT IS, HISTORY DID ACTUALLY REPEAT. WE ARE SATISFIED, HUMBLY SO, THAT WHAT WE DID PARTICIPATE IN, IN THE PAST 31 YEARS OF MARRIAGE, CAME TOGETHER RATHER WELL, DESPITE OUR FEARS TO THE CONTRARY. THERE WAS A TIME, BACK IN THE MID 1990'S, WHEN SUZANNE AND I DECIDED TO QUIT OUR JOBS AND MOVE THE FAMILY TO NOVA SCOTIA. LUNENBURG IN FACT. WE WERE HAVING DISPUTES IN THE FAMILY, GETTING PRETTY NASTY AT TIMES, AND SUZANNE WASN'T HAPPY AT HER JOB, AND I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE FOR ANOTHER PUBLICATION, THAT COULD HAVE PROVEN QUITE INTERESTING. ONE NIGHT, WE SAT OUT ON THIS SAME VERANDAH, OVERLOOKING THE BOG, OUR SPECIAL CANADIAN MOOR, AND WHILE SIPPING EVENING COFFEE, AND SMELLING THE INVIGORATING OCTOBER AIR, WE TURNED TO EACH OTHER, AT ROUGHLY THE SAME MOMENT, AND ACKNOWLEDGED, THIS WAS OUR HOME. THE BOYS' HOME. IT WAS THE PLACE THAT HAD PROTECTED US, AND NURTURED US, THROUGH MANY ROUGH TIMES; FROM THE RIGORS OF A TERRIBLE RECESSION, THAT LEFT US BROKE FOR A WHOLE DECADE, TO DEATHS IN THE FAMILY, AND MANY OF THOSE OTHER INCONSISTENCIES JUST A PART OF EVERY DAY LIFE. WE FELT SAFE HERE. INSPIRED HERE. SO WHY WOULD WE LEAVE HERE?
LIKE SO MANY OTHER TIMES, THAT WE TRAVEL ABOUT THE DISTRICT AND PROVINCE, WE ARE ALWAYS GLAD TO ARRIVE BACK ON OUR LANE, AND SEE THE VENERABLE MAPLES, LILACS AND LEANING BIRCHES, BROUGHT FROM NUMEROUS MUSKOKA HOMESTEADS, WELCOMING US BACK TO BIRCH HOLLOW; A VERY HUMBLE, UNPRETENTIOUS ABODE, SET INTO THE MUSKOKA LANDSCAPE AS IF IT HAD GROWN HERE FROM A WINDBLOWN SEED.
THE SAVING OF AN ENGLISHMAN LOST IN THE MUSKOKA WILDS
"AT THIS DATE IN THE SETTLEMENT (LATER 1860'S) ON THE SOUTH SHORE OF THREE MILE LAKE (PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES), THE SETTLERS WHO HAD MOVED IN, MANY WERE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH FAMILIES, AND WERE VERY MUCH CONCERNED ABOUT THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN," WROTE FAMILY HISTORY, BERT SHEA, AUTHOR OF "HISTORY OF THE SHEAS AND BIRTH OF A TOWNSHIP," PUBLISHED IN THE LATE 1960'S. yOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TWO BLOGS, TO OTHER REFERENCES TO BERT SHEA'S PIONEER HISTORY.
"IT IS TRUE THAT CHILDREN RAISED UNDER PIONEER CONDITIONS, GET AN EDUCATION SELDOM CONSIDERED, AND MUCH LESS RECOGNIZED AS SUCH, BY THOSE LIVING UNDER MORE FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES. BUT WHEN THE TWO GRADUATES OF THE TWO SCHOOLS ARE PUT TO THE TEST, THE PRACTICAL EDUCATION OF THE PIONEER WILL SURVIVE, THE OTHER MAY, WITH HELP. THIS HAS BEEN PROVEN IN WATT, BUT BOTH TOGETHER WILL PRODUCE A COMMUNITY FROM THE WILDS, WHOSE OFFSPRING WILL ABLY HOLD THEIR PLACE, AND SET A MARK TO BE ADMIRED BY THE BEST. IN THE FOLLOWING LINES, THE WRITER WILL RELATE A RECORD, THAT WAS OFFERED TO ME, AND WILL GIVE SUPPORT TO THE ABOVE STATEMENT."
MR SHEA, (MY WIFE, SUZANNE'S UNCLE), WRITES, "IN MID WINTER OF 1867, JOHN LILY SHEA WITH HIS BIG HOUND, WAS FOLLOWING THE TRACK OF A BUCK. THEY HAD ROUTED FROM THE YARD IN A SWAMP SOMEWHERE WEST OF THREE MILE LAKE. FOR MANY HOURS THROUGH VIRGIN FOREST, OVER ICE-CLAD STREAMS, RIVERS AND LAKES, UNABLE TO SHAKE HIS PURSUERS, HE SET OUT FOR DISTANT TERRITORY COMING TO LAKE ROSSEAU, NEAR THE PRESENT VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE. THE BUCK TOOK TO CROSSING THE LAKE ON THE ICE, WHICH WAS COVERED WITH SNOW AND WATER. THE DETERMINATION OF THE HOUND WAS UNSHAKEN FROM THE TRACK, AND JOHN LILY, EQUIPPED WITH SNOWSHOES COULD TRAVEL OVER THE SLUSH AND SNOW; IN FACT FOR HIM, TRAVEL WAS EASIER THAN IN THE BUSH. AT PART WAY ACROSS THE LAKE, HE MET ANOTHER TRACK TO HIS SURPRISE AND CURIOSITY; IT UNDOUBTEDLY WAS THE TRACK OF A MAN, BUT WHO AND WHY, WALKING, WADING THROUGH SLUSH AND SNOW. HE WOULD BE WET AND IN THIS WINTER TEMPERATURE; HE WOULD FREEZE.
"THERE AND THEN WITH HIS EDUCATION IN THE WILDS, JOHN LILY BEGAN TO SUM UP THE QUESTION IN THIS MANNER; THERE WAS A SETTLEMENT AT PORT CARLING, AND ANOTHER AT ROSSEAU. IT WOULD APPEAR SOMEONE WAS TRAVELING FROM ONE VILLAGE TO THE OTHER, AND ONE WHO, LACKING IN KNOWLEDGE OF THE WILDS, HAD OBVIOUSLY NOT BEEN EDUCATED IN THE PIONEER SCHOOL. JOHN LILY COULD SEE THIS AND HE ALSO KNEW BY HIS CROOKED PATH, AND THE LENGTH OF HIS STEPS, THE GAUNT GREY FIGURE (HIS DOG ON THE BUCK) WAS STALKING CLOSE TO HIS PREY. HERE FOR ONCE AND NEVER BEFORE, THE FAITHFUL HOUND MUST BE DESERTED, TO FOLLOW THE TRAIL OF THE HUNTED, WITHOUT HIS MASTER TO MAKE THE KILL AND CAPTURE THE PRIZE, THAT MEANT LIFE TO MAN AND DOG. JOHN LILY LOOKED REGRETFULLY AFTER THE HOUND BUT TURNED HIS STEPS TO HUNT IN MERCY RATHER THAN TO KILL, TO FOLLOW THE TRACKS OF A FELLOW MAN, TO SAVE HIM FROM A DEATH BY FREEZING. HE QUICKENED HIS PACE; THE HARNESS ON HIS SNOWSHOES SEEMED TO SQUEAK, AS IF EXTRA STRESS WAS BEING PLACED ON THEM. THE SNOW SWISHED THROUGH THE WEBBING OF HIS SNOWSHOES, THE BREATH FROM HIS NOSTRILS FLOATED ON THE FROSTY AIR." EACH STEP FORWARD WOULD HAVE SEEMED AS IF LIFTING BLOCKS OF ICE, AND IT WAS WEARING THE TRAVELLER DOWN. HE WAS EXHAUSTED, AND TRAVELLED MUCH FURTHER OFF COURSE THAN HE FELT COMFORTABLE, CONSIDERING THE TIME OF DAY, AND THE DROPPING TEMPERATURE OF THE LATE AFTERNOON.
THE WATT TOWNSHIP HISTORIAN, RECORDS THAT, "THEY BAYING OF THE HOUND SLOWLY DIED IN THE DISTANCE, AND A DEATHLY SILENCE SETTLED DOWN OVER ALL. THE SUN WAS SETTLING TO AN EARLY DECLINE IN THE GREY WEST, SIGNS OF SNOW WERE EVIDENT. HE HURRIED ON, IF HE SHOULD FIND THE STRANGER IN TIME; IF NOT AND DARKNESS OVERTOOK HIM, AND THE FRESH FALLING SNOW BY MORNING, WOULD SPREAD A COVERING, A BLANKET; AND ONE MORE WOULD BE BENEATH A SHROUD OF FLEECY WHITE, WHERE NONE COULD FIND HIM. THE TRACK NOW, LED TOWARD THE ISLAND SHORE, LATER KNOWN AS TOBIN'S ISLAND. STUMBLING, FALLING, CRAWLING UP THE BANK TO A SHANTY OF POLES, A FEW YARDS FROM THE SHORE, A BUILDING WITHOUT DOOR OR WINDOWS, UNFINISHED AND NO MEANS OF A FIRE; HERE TO STAY WAS THE MAN, LAYING ON THE GROUND FLOOR, LOST AND FREEZING TO DEATH. AND ONE WHO, THOUGH A STRANGER, WAS READY TO SACRIFICE TO SAVE A FELLOW MAN FROM SUCH A DEATH. HE CAME TO THE SHANTY DOOR, AND PEERED IN; THERE BEFORE HIM ON THE GROUND, WAS A YOUNG MAN DRESSED IN CITY CLOTHES, FACE WITHOUT WHISKERS AND ICE AND SNOW FROZEN TO THE LEGS OF HIS PANTS. WAS HE TOO LATE?"
"JOHN LILY SPOKE AND SHOOK HIM," WROTE BERT SHEA. "THE STRANGER SLOWLY ROUSED; HE WAS BECOMING NUMB WITH COLD HIMSELF. HE KNEW A FIRE AND QUICK, AND PLENTY OF RUBBING WAS NEEDED RIGHT AWAY. JOHN HAD A LIGHT AXE, AND SOON WOOD WAS PREPARED, BIRCH BARK AND SHAVINGS FOR THE FIRE. THEN WITH HIS FLINT AND PUNK, AND JACK KNIFE, A SPARK WAS STRUCK. THE PUNK CAUGHT, THEN WITH SOME BLOWING, THE BIRCH BARK CAUGHT AND A FIRE STARTED. SOON THE LEAPING FLAMES BROUGHT CHEER AND HOPE AND WARMTH, WHICH HELPED REVIVE THE PATIENT. HE DISCOVERED HIS FEET HAD BEEN TOUCHED BY FROST AND HIS TOES FROZEN; HE ALSO REALIZED THE MAN WAS UNABLE TO HELP HIMSELF. HE COULD NOT BE LEFT WHERE HE WAS. WHILE HELP WAS BEING SOUGHT, BUT ABLE HELP MILES AWAY, BY BUSH TRAVEL HERE, HE THOUGHT AND PLANNED AND DREW ON HIS RESOURCES OF EXPERIENCE AND MUSCLE. HE REMEMBERED THE CLOSEST HABITATION OF ANOTHER MAN, WAS AT PORTAGE BAY, OR KNOWN AS SMALLBONES BAY. AN OLD MAN LIVED THERE IN A SMALL SHANTY; HE HAVING COME BY WATER TO THIS BEAUTIFUL BAY, WHICH FOR YEARS BEYOND NUMBER, HAD BEEN THE LANDING PLACE OF THE INDIANS, GOING TO AND FROM THREE MILE LAKE; THEN TO SKELETON LAKE, AND ON. HERE IN THE LITTLE FLAT, NESTLED AT THE FOOT OF THE HILLS, WITH A BEAUTIFUL SAND BEACH IN FRONT, THE OLD GENTLEMAN "SMALLBONES," SET UP HIS SHANTY, A PLACE OF HABITATION OF BARE NECESSITIES; BUT THERE WAS FIRE AND WARMTH AND ABOVE ALL, WARM-HEARTED PIONEER HOSPITALITY; AND OF COURSE, A READINESS TO ASSIST AND WELCOME TO THE BEST HE HAD."
BERT SHEA REMINDS OF THE DIRE SITUATION, FACED BY THE RESCUER. "JOHN LILY LOOKED AT THE MAN AND SHOT A GLANCE ACROSS THE FIELD OF WHITE, IN THE DIRECTION OF PORTAGE BAY, BUT FROM HIS POINT WAS NOT VISIBLE. HE LOOKED AT HIS SNOWSHOES MADE BY HIS OWN HAND, FROM HIS OWN MAKE OF RAWHIDE, AND TIMBER, CHOSEN BY HIS STANDARD FOR LIGHTNESS AND STRENGTH, BUT NOT TO CARRY THE WEIGHT OF TWO MEN. BUT THEY WERE MADE TO STAND THE PACK TRAIL AND HERE HE LOADED HIS PACK, HIS LIVING HUMAN CARGO ON HIS BACK, AND STARTED FOR THE LAKE; THE FIELD OF WHITE FOR MILES BEFORE HIM. THE WEIGHT BORE DOWN ON HIM, DROVE HIS SNOWSHOES DEEPER THAN BEFORE. HE TRIED TO FIT HIS PACK, TO A MORE COMFORTABLE POSITION, AND SET OUT ON THE PACKER'S STRIDE; EXPERIENCE HAD TAUGHT HIM THE STEADY RHYTHM OF A PACE HE COULD STAND FOR MILES, EASIER ON HIMSELF AND EASIER ON THE RIGGING.
"NIGHT WAS RAPIDLY CLOSING IN, THE TEMPERATURE WEAS FALLING, FROSTY SNOW BORN ON THE WIND, THICKENING THE AIR, A FAILURE ON HIS PART, COULD NOT ONLY BE SERIOUS FOR HIS BURDEN, BUT FOR HIMSELF ALSO. STEP AFTER STEP, HE REACHED THE CENTRE OF THE CHANNEL. SLOWLY HE CROSSED, AND ON TO THE POINT, AND DOWN THE SHORE, SLOWLY DRAWING CLOSER TO THE CABIN; COLDER GREW THE AIR. HE PERSPIRED AS HE BECAME WEARY, HE PAUSED TO CHANGE THE POSITION OF HIS LOAD; HE CHANGED HIS GUN TO THE OTHER HAND AND BENT FORWARD BENEATH HIS HUMAN BURDEN. COLD WAS GRIPPING THE STRANGER, MORE SERIOUS GREW HIS CONDITION. JOHN LILY LOOKED AHEAD MORE OFTEN. HE COULD SEE THE SMOKE FROM THE SHANTY CHIMNEY, SLOWLY THE DISTANCE SHORTENED BETWEEN HIM AND SHELTER. HERE WAS WHERE HE COULD LEAVE HIS BURDEN FOR THE NIGHT. AT LAST HIS SNOWSHOES SET UPON HARD SNOW. AS HE REACHED THE PATH AND FOLLOWED FROM THE WATER HOLE IN THE ICE TO THE CABIN DOOR. THE RATTLE OF THE SNOWSHOES AND THE BARKING OF THE BIG HOUND, THAT HAD CAUGHT UP WITH HIS MASTER, CAUSED THE OLD MAN TO OPEN THE DOOR AND PEER OUT, HIS BENT FORM AND WHITE WHISKERS SHOWING IN THE LIGHT OF THE OPEN FIREPLACE. AS HE STOOD IN WONDER AT THE TWO MEN APPROACHING HIS DOOR. SOON THEY WERE INSIDE, THE DOOR WAS SHUT TIGHT. JOHN LILY LET DOWN HIS PACK AND IN RELIEF, HE STOOD UP, TWISTED HIS FEET OUT OF HIS SNOWSHOES. THE OLD GENTLEMAN, SMALLBONES, SOON UNDERSTOOD THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AND TOGETHER THEY GAVE HIM TREATMENT TO DRAW THE FROST FROM HIS FEET AND HANDS. THE WARMTH OF THE FIRE BROUGHT PAIN; TO THIS THEY COULD GIVE NO RELIEF, OTHER THAN SOME HOT TEA AND A SUPPER OF BOILED POTATOES AND PORK; POTATOES GROWN IN NEW LAND, TO A FREEZING AND HUNGRY MAN, GAVE RENEWED STRENGTH AND LIFE." THE WALK ON SNOWSHOES, WITH A MAN ON HIS BACK, WOULD HAVE TAKEN JOHN LILY AT LEAST TWO HOURS OR MORE, TO MAKE IT FROM TOBIN'S ISLAND TO THE EAST SHORE OF PORTAGE BAY.
"SOON THE PATIENT FELT LIKE TALKING SOME; HE GAVE HIS NAME AS HARRY G. GILL FROM ENGLAND, WHO HAD BEEN GIVEN A FIRST CLASS EDUCATION IN THE OLD LAND, AND WHO HAD ATTENDED UNIVERSITY WITH THE FAMOUS RYDAR HAGGARD, AND SET OUT FOR CANADA TO MAKE HIS FORTUNE, WHERE MEN OF HIGHER EDUCATION WERE IN DEMAND. HE HAD COME TO PORT CARLING WITH INTENT OF GOING TO ROSSEAU, WHERE THERE WERE OTHERS OF HIS ACQUAINTANCE, WHO WERE PERHAPS IN THE SAME STRAITS; AND HAD GOTTEN TO THE END OF THE TRAIL, WHERE KNOWLEDGE OF SURVIVAL COUNTED MORE THAN COLLEGE EDUCATION, AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING. AND GILL, LIKE MANY OTHER OLD COUNTRY MEN, FOUND HE BETTER CONTENT HIMSELF UNTIL BETTER OPPORTUNITIES AROSE, WITH THE OPENING OF A NEW COUNTRY, THOUGH RECOMPENSE WAS MEAGRE. ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY IN THE YEAR OF 1867, A CHAPTER HAD BEEN WRITTEN IN HIS LIFE. AND IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATT TOWNSHIP, THAT THOUGH HE WAS NO SAINT, YET AS FROM THIS DATE OF WRITING, THE WRITER IN SCANNING THE HORIZON OF THE PAST, COULD SEE TO SOME EXTENT HIS (TEACHER'S) INFLUENCE IN THE PRESENT. THIS MAN ARRIVED AT A DATE AND FILLED A PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT IN LATER PAGES, THE READER WILL SEE, WERE INFLUENTIAL IN MANY WAYS. HE SERVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNITY, AND TO HELP WITH EDUCATION, WHERE THERE WAS NO OTHER TEACHER TO FILL THE VOID."
THIS STORY WILL BE CONTINUED IN TOMORROW'S BLOG. THANKS TO JOHN LILY SHEA, AND MR. SMALLBONES, A TEACHER WAS SPARED A TERRIBLE DEMISE. IN RETURN, THE GOOD MR. GILL, SERVED TO INSPIRE MANY YOUNG FOLKS, TO BE PROUD CANADIANS.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THE UNCEREMONIOUS END OF THE STEAMER "LAKE JOE" - THE HIGH PRESSURE FLAME THROWER
ACCORDING TO CAPTAIN FRASER, IT WAS A FIRE IMPOSSIBLE TO EXTINGUISH
"EARLY IN MAY, 1906, WHILE UNLOADING MY LITTLE STEAMER, LINDEN, AT MUSKOKA WHARF, I WAS ALARMED AT HEARING THE CRASH OF HEAVY TIMBERS, AND A WARNING CRY TO WORKMEN FROM ACROSS THE NARROW BAY, WHERE THE MIGHTY STEAMER, SAGAMO, WAS BEING BUILT. ON LOOKING OVER I WAS HORRIFIED TO SEE A SCORE OR MORE OF WORKMEN RUSHING FRANTICALLY FROM UNDERNEATH A SECTION OF THE SHIP, THAT HAD CRASHED THROUGH ITS FOUNDATION TIMBERS AND WAS TUMBLING TO THE GROUND. FORTUNATELY NONE WERE INJURED, AT LEAST NOT SERIOUSLY. THE SAGAMO WAS BEING PUT TOGETHER ONTO A HUGE TIMBER TRESTLE AT THE WATER'S EDGE IN MICKLE'S YARD, JUST ACROSS FROM MUSKOKA WHARF. SHE WAS BROUGHT FROM THE SHOP IN WHICH SHE WAS BUILT IN NINE SECTIONS, THE BOW OF THE SHIP, BOTH PORT AND STARBOARD, MADE UP ONE SECTION. THERE WERE FOUR SECTIONS IN EACH SIDE, EASH SECTION BEING ABOUT THIRTY FIVE FEET LONG. THESE WERE ELEVATED ON TO THE TRESTLE, RIVETED ONTO THE KEEL AND TIED TOGETHER AT THE GUNWALE WITH STEEL CROSS BEAMS, AND IT WAS WHILE PLACING ONE OF THESE SECTIONS, THAT THE TIMBERS GAVE WAY, CAUSING THE ACCIDENT. I DO NOT REMEMBER SEEING THE SAGAMO AGAIN UNTIL SHE WAS PLOUGHING HER WAY UP MUSKOKA LAKE, ROLLING UP BOAT SWELLS IN PROPORTION THERE AFTER, UNKNOWN ON THE MINOR INLAND WATERS OF CANADA; A BEAUTIFUL SHIP, THE QUEEN OF NOT ONLY THE MUSKOKA LAKES FLEET, BUT OF ALL INLAND WATERS EXCEPT THE GREAT LAKES." CAPTAIN LEVI FRASER, 1942 "HISTORY OF MUSKOKA."
A FEW DAYS AGO, I RECALLED A STORY ABOUT OUR MARINE HERITAGE, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS BLOG, REGARDING CAPTAIN LEVI FRASER'S EXPLOITS, WORKING ABOARD THE SMALL STEAMER, "LAKE JOSEPH." AS THE FINAL STEAMSHIP-RELATED STORY, FROM HIS 1940'S BOOK, "HISTORY OF MUSKOKA," I COULDN'T RESIST RE-VISITING ONE OF MY FAVORITE CAPTAIN FRASER RECOLLECTIONS, PROFILING THE ILL-FATED JOURNEY, OF THIS TOUGH LITTLE BOAT; THAT FOR THOSE WHO WORKED ON HER FOR MANY YEARS, SEEMED INDESTRUCTABLE. I USED THIS STORY MANY YEARS AGO, WHEN I WAS AN ASSOCIATE WRITER OF THE MUSKOKA SUN, BACK IN THE LATE 1990'S. AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I'D HEARD OF A STEAMBOAT BEING DESCRIBED AS A "HIGH PRESSURE FLAME THROWER." THERE WERE A NUMBER OF STEAMSHIPS GIVEN THIS UNFORTUNATE TITLE, RATING THEM AS FIRE STARTERS. IT WAS SO BAD, IN FACT, THAT SPARKS WOULD LAND ON THE MEN OF THE CREW, AND START THEIR CLOTHING ON FIRE. THERE WERE LOTS OF LITTLE FIRES THAT WOULD BREAK OUT, BUT MOST OF THE TIME, THEY WERE EASILY EXTINGUISHED. IN THE CASE OF THE LAKE JOE, THE SPARKS WERE NOTORIOUSLY PREVELANT, BUT THE SEASONED CREW NEVER ALLOWED ANY OF THE OUTBREAKS TO GET A HOLD, BEFORE BEING PUT OUT. ON THIS EVENING, THE STORMY CONDITIONS MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE, AND THE FIRE FOUND A CAVITY FROM WHICH TO GENERATE FROM, IN THE WOOD PILE, THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXTINGUISH.
IN THE WORDS OF THE MASTER STORY-TELLER, CAPTAIN LEVI FRASER, HERE IS THE MARINE CHRONICLE OF DISASTER...A SPARK UPON DRY WOOD:
"NOW FOR THE LAST TRIP THE ILL-FATED 'LAKE JOE,' WAS TO MAKE. IT WAS AGAIN ABOUT THE SAME TIME OF YEAR. WE LEFT BOYD'S MILL WITH A TOW OF RAFTS FOR HARDWOOD JUST AFTER DARK. IT WAS RAINING AND A MODERATELY STRONG WIND WAS BLOWING. AFTER CLEARING BURNT ISLAND, THE ENGINEER AND COOK WENT TO BED; THE FIREMAN AND I WERE TO STAND THE FIRST WATCH. MY CREW CONSISTED OF ENGINEER, T. DUNCAN, MATE TOM BRUCE, COOK MALCOLM BLACK, AND THE FIREMAN HERB MEEKS. BRUCE HAD OCCASION TO GO TO TOWN THAT AFTERNOON, SO WAS NOT WITH US WHEN THE FIRE OCCURRED. I HAVE ALWAYS REGRETTED THIS BECAUSE TOM WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE A FAR BETTER STORY, OF THE BURNING OF THE SHIP ON A STORMY NIGHT AT SEA, THAN I CAN HOPE TO DO.
"AN HOUR PASSED. WE WERE NEARING THE BROTHER ISLANDS. EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE GOING FINE. THE WIND WAS GETTIWNG A LITTLE STRONGER. IT WAS STILL RAINING WHEN, MEEKS, IN AN ALARMED VOICE, SUDDENLY CALLED FROM BELOW, 'CAPTAIN,' THE SHIP IS ON FIRE!' MEEKS WAS A NEW HAND. I MENTION THIS BECAUSE THOSE OF US WHO WERE ACCUSTOMED TO THE OLD HIGH PRESSURE FLAME THROWERS, THOUGHT NOTHING OF A LITTLE FIRE STARTING HERE OR THERE. OUR GREATEST DIFFICULTY WAS TO KEEP OUR CAPS AND SHIRTS FROM BEING PERFORATED BY THE CONSTANT SHOWER OF SPARKS, WHEN THE EXHAUST WAS IN THE STACK; SO I TOLD HIM TO THROW A PAIL OF WATER ON IT AND PUT IT OUT. IN A FEW MINUTES HE CALLED AGAIN THAT HE COULD NOT PUT IT OUT. I THEN TOLD HIM TO CALL THE COOK AND ENGINEER, THINKING AS THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO THOSE LITTLE FIRES, THEY WOULD SOON PUT IT OUT. BUT IN THIS, I WAS MISTAKEN." MEANWHILE, THE STORMY CONDITIONS WERE MAKING THIS AN EVEN MORE PRECARIOUS BATTLE BETWEEN CREW AND THE OUT OF CONTROL FIRE; AND THE WAVES AND WIND, MAKING A SHORE-LANDING VERY DIFFICULT.
"IN A FEW MINUTES BLACK, THE COOK CAME ON DECK SAYING THEY COULD NOT GET AT THE FIRE AS IT WAS UNDER THE WOOD PILE; THE FRONT CABIN WAS FULL OF SMOKE AND HEAT THAT THE ENGINEER WAS SCARED STIFF. I ORDERED BLACK BELOW TO TRY AND HOLD THE FIRE IN CHECK WHILE I LET THE CRIBS GO AND RAN IN CLOSE TO SHORE, THINKING THAT WITH ALL HANDS WE COULD YET PUT OUT THE FIRE. BUT BEFORE WE REACHED THE SHORE FLAMES WERE COMING THROUGH THE PILOT HOUSE FLOOR AND THE SIX WINDOWS, IN THE FRONT CABIN, WENT OUT WITH AN EXPLOSION AND FLAMES TEN FEET OR MORE HIGH, ROLLED OUT OF EACH WINDOW, A BEAUTIFUL, YET TERRIFYING SIGHT. IT WAS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO LAND BUT THERE WAS NO CHOICE OF LOCATION; THE OLD JOE GROUNDED WITH HER BOW PERHAPS THIRTY FEET FROM THE SHORE, BUT THAT THIRTY FEET WAS IN DARKNESS WITH WAVES DASHING HIGH ON THE ROCKS, WAS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT SWIM, WHAT THE ENGLISH CHANNEL WAS TO HERR HITLER, A DANGEROUS PASSAGE.
CAPTAIN FRASER NOTED THAT, "NEITHER BLACK NOR DUNCAN COULD SWIM. IN LATER DAYS OF WAR AND EXCITEMENT WE HEAR SUCH REMARKS AS 'WHY DID NOT SO AND SO DO SUCH A THING?' THESE WISE PEOPLE FORGET, OR PERHAPS NEVER KNEW, THAT IT TAKES A CRISIS TO MAKE A HERO; THAT IT TAKES SOMETHING UNUSUAL TO BRING OUT THE BEST THAT IS IN A PERSON. MALCOLM BLACK, A TYPICAL SCOT, IN HIS EARLY FORTIES, WAS A REAL GOOD COOK AND A JOLLY SHIPMATE; A DEVOUT ROMAN CATHOLIC, A FACT WHICH I DID NOT LEARN UNTIL WE HAD BEEN TOGETHER FOR OVER SIX MONTHS, NOT THAT I EVER THOUGHT (OR CONCERNED MYSELF) ABOUT WHAT A MAN'S RELIGIOUS VIEWS WERE, SO LONG AS HE WAS A GOOD SAILOR. BUT WITH ALL HIS GOOD QUALITIES, I HAD LONG SINCE DESPAIRED OF EVER MAKING A SAILOR OUT OF BLACK. HE NEVER LEARNED TO HANDLE A ROPE OR PIKE POLE PROPERLY. IF YOU SPOKE SHARPLY TO HIM, HE LOST HIS NERVE AND BECAME ALMOST USELESS, BUT TONIGHT, WITH RAIN FALLING, WIND BLOWING, TOTAL DARKNESS, BOAT GROUNDED A DISTANCE FROM SHORE, WITH LURID FLAMES BURSTING FROM EVERY FORWARD WINDOW, BLACK WAS THE COOLEST AND MOST USEFUL MAN ON BOARD. HE CAME FROM BELOW JUST AS I HAD PULLED THE CLEARANCE BELL, FOR THE LAST TIME ON THE OLD JOE. HIS ONLY REMARK WAS 'WHAT NOW, CAPTAIN?" TO ABANDON SHIP WAS OUR MOST IMMEDIATE NEED. I SENT HIM BELOW TO GATHER HIS BELONGINGS AND TELL THE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME, AND TO COME ON DECK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, TO PUT ON SHORE WITH THE LIFE LINE."
CAPTAIN FRASER RECALLS THAT, "IN A FEW SECONDS, THEY APPEARED ON DECK. DUNCAN ALMOST PARALYZED WITH FEAR. I GAVE BLACK THE LIFE BUOY. HE IMMEDIATELY JUMPED IN, GOING OUT OF SIGHT AT FIRST, BUT SOON APPEARING AGAIN, MAKING HEADWAY TOWARD SHORE. HE HOWEVER, SOON GAINED FOOTING AND WAS SHOUTING ENCOURAGEMENT FROM SHORE. WE ALL GOT ASHORE WITHOUT ANY MISHAP AND WATCHED THE OLD VESSEL BURN TO THE WATER'S EDGE. WE LANDED BETWEEN WHAT IS NOW CLEMSON'S AND COLSONS, ON THE MONCK SHORE OF LAKE MUSKOKA, BUT THESE HOUSES WERE NOT THERE AT THAT TIME. WE WANDERED THROUGH THE WOODS FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS, ARRIVING AT MAURICE FITZMAURICE'S ABOUT ONE IN THE MORNING. ON HEARING OUR TALE OF WOE, MRS. FITZMAURICE GOT UP AND GAVE US A REAL GOOD MEAL. ONE OF THE BOYS DROVE US TO BRACEBRIDGE, ARRIVING AT DAY-BREAK. BLACK AND DUNCAN WENT WEST A FEW DAYS LATER, AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF BLACK SINCE. DUNCAN AND MEEKS HAVE BOTH PASSED ON. HERB WAS THE FATHER OF BOB AND NORMAN MEEKS OF BRACEBRIDGE."
HE CONCLUDENS, "A MONTH AFTER THE FIRE, ANDY BOYD BOUGHT THE SOUTHWOOD AND SHE BECAME MY SECOND CHARGE. CREW WERE AS FOLLOWS: ENGINEER, DAVE CLAPP, A WELL KNOWN FIGURE AROUND BRACEBRIDGE IN THOSE DAYS, MATE, BERT CAMPBELL, LATER CAPTAIN OF A NUMBER OF BOATS INCLUDING THE MEDORA (AND THE EATON YACHT, WANDA); FIREMAN, SIM RUSK, WHO LATER LIVED ON MCMURRAY STREET FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS."
CAPTAIN FRASER, REGARDING ANOTHER STEAMBOAT STORY, WRITES, "ONE FINE MORNING, SHE "THE COMET" WAS RUNNING FROM MILFORD BAY TOWARD BALA WITH A PARTY OF FISHERMEN. THE FELLOWS WERE ALL BUSY GETTING THEIR FISHING TACKLE READY. SOME WERE SITTING, SOME WERE STANDING. THEY HAD JUST PASSED FAIRHAVEN ISLAND. THE ENGINEER WAS PUTTING A FIRE IN THE FURNACE; THE CAPTAIN WAS SITTING IDLY ON HIS HIGH STOOL WITH THE WHEELHOUSE DOOR OPEN. THE BOAT DREW SIX AND ONE HALF FEET OF WATER. ALL OF A SUDDEN HER KEEL CAME IN CONTACT WITH A ROCK JUST FOUR AND ONE HALF FEET BELOW THE SURFACE, SO IN ORDER TO GET OVER IT SHE MUST, OF NECESSITY, RAISE TWO FEET, WHICH SHE DID NOT GRACEFULLY; BUT WITH A SUDDEN FIERCE LURCH WHICH THREW ALL THE PASSENGERS, ALONG WITH THEIR CHAIRS AND FISHING GEAR TO THE DECK. THE CAPTAIN, NOT BEING ABLE TO SECURE ANYTHING TO STOP HIS SUDDEN FLIGHT, JOINED HIS PASSENGERS AT THE RAIL, NOT VOLUNTARILY, BUT HORIZONTALLY, AND BY THE TIME HE HAD EXTRICATED HIMSELF FROM THE DEBRIS, REALIZING THAT AT THE HELM IS THE CAPTAIN'S PLACE, WHEN HIS SHIP IS IN TROUBLE, HE WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THE SHIP ON EVEN KEEL PUFFING ALONG AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED, WITH THE OFFENDING SHOAL NOW FAR BEHIND. LUCKILY THERE WAS A STRONG RAILING AROUND THE DECK SO THERE WERE NO CASUALTIES, AND IT WAS NOT REPORTED THAT THE SHIP HAD SUFFERED ANY DAMAGE."
GREAT STORIES FROM A MASTER STORY TELLER. THIS IS OUR MARINE HERITAGE. THANK GOODNESS CAPTAIN FRASER THOUGHT OF THE BENEFITS, ASSOCIATED WITH SAVING THESE IMPORTANT RECOLLECTIONS, NOW OUR MODERN DAY FOLK STORIES.....OF ONCE, LONG AGO.
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