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In the northern portion of
the County, the tableland, roughly a thousand feet in elevation, comes
abruptly to the coast. Only in a few places is there to be found remnants
of the lowlands of the southern portion, and these are yielding rapidly to
the erosive action of the waves. Between MacKenzie point on the south and
Pollet's Cove on the north is a fringe of about ten miles in length,
varying from a half mile to two miles in width, increasing to about four
miles up the Pond or Grand Anse river. Here, beaten by the northern gales
of the Gulf, but sheltered by the surrounding hills, is the little
settlement of Pleasant Bay. The homes of its two hundred inhabitants
extend along the * shore front and up the river valleys.
With Fishing Cove, Pollet's Cove, the
Lowlands' Cove, and the western side of Meat Cove, it forms the northern
district of the municipality. A mountain road, not yet passable by a
carriage, ascends to the plateau by a steep grade at Cape Rouge, Cheticamp,
and follows along a comparatively level tract until the descent is made by
a similar grade to the mouth of the Mackenzie river, — in all a distance
of about fifteen miles. Between the upper stretches of the Pond intervale
and the Big Intervale of Cape North, about ten miles, is another mountain
road similar to that to Cape Rouge, but with some of the bad features of
the latter emphasized. A trail along the line of telegraph leads to the
Lowlands' Cove. Over
these roads, the mode of travel is on foot or on horseback. When the snows
of winter have covered the country to a depth of several feet, snowshoeing
becomes the only means of communication with the surrounding settlements.
In the spring and summer, and before the autumn storms become frequent the
situation is relieved by coastal steamers that make weekly trips, and by
motor-boats that run easily and quickly to and from outside points.
Notwithstanding its isolation, the settlement
has its attractive features. It is pleasantly situated, the high hills
rising behind it, and in front, the open waters of the Gulf bounded by an
extensive arc of the western horizon. The surface is varied by steep
uplands, level benches of glacial origin and narrow intervale strips
extending into the hills. The district is well watered, numerous small
streams flowing through the uplands, and others of larger volume such as
the Mackenzie, Pond and Red rivers, deeply entrenched in the margin of the
plateau, — the first continuing its rough stream bed to the sea, but the
other two with a development of flood-plain that furnishes some fertile
intervale as the sea is approached. The soil is productive, although not
carefully cultivated. The forests are well-wooded and yield excellent
timber for local purposes, and abundant firewood. The coast waters abound
in fish, — herring, lobsters, salmon, cod, haddock, mackerel and halibut.
The earliest settlers found this district
largely wooded to the shore. Behind the cobblestone-covered beach at the
mouth of the Pond river were some strips of hay marsh which were flooded
after a storm closed the outlet and until the head of water again forced a
passage through the beach. A few Indians were encamped on the
heavily-wooded intervale, and they continued to visit the settlement off
and on for a score of years or more. Such names as Pollett's Cove,
Pollet's Camp. and the "Injun road" along the east side of the Pond
intervale serve to keep in remembrance the presence here of these
aboriginal inhabitants.
"What is believed to have been the first visit
of the white man to Pleasant Bay was in 1819. The story was told us over
two years ago by an old woman in her ninety-third year, but having
remarkably clear mind, and bright eyes that had never worn glasses. Before
she was two years old, with a little company of Scotch emigrants in a
small schooner this old woman's father and family made a weary voyage of
months across the Atlantic. In a storm they were stranded here late in the
season. A few Indians gave them friendly shelter, and hep them during the
winter. In the spring, after enduring great hardship they removed to Mabou.
["A summer trip in the Northland of Cape Breton" by Rev. D. Styles,
Fraser, B.A.]
Shortly after this, probably in the succeeding
summer, one Neil McQuilcan and a companion landed on the southern side of
the Pond river, cut down some trees, built a log hut, and planted some
potatoes. The destruction of their potato plot by bears so discouraged
them that they left the locality and made a home for themselves in
Margaree.
The hut deserted by McQuilcan and his
companion was soon after occupied by Norman McPherson who with his family
remained for about a year, and then removed to the Jersey Farm at
Cheticamp. In the succeeding summers, McPherson with some of his
neighbours made visits to Grand Anse, as the French called the place, for
lumber. On one of these occasions, it is related, they found upon the Pond
beach the bodies of a woman and child richly apparelled. The grave of
these unknown victims of a stormy sea on a desolate coast was long to be
seen at the foot of Robert's bank.
After five years' absence, McPherson returned
accompanied by his brother-in-law Robert McLeod and his family. The former
chose his old. location, while the latter settled on the opposite side of
the Pond river on an elevated flat, still known as Robert's bank and
oversha-owed by Robert's Mountain (1125) feet. Bears were again in
evidence for it is said that McLeod and family arrived late in the
evening, encamped on the beach, and upon arising in the morning, they saw
quite near two of these undesirable neighbours quietly making a breakfast
upon caplin that had been thrown upon the beach by the waves.
Soon after this, another brother-in-law of
McPherson, Donald Mcintosh arrived. Some years before, he had left the
Isle of Skye, the homeland of these early settlers. Mcintosh appears to
have been an expert woodsman, and tarried for a time in the lumbering
country of the Miramichi, but later joined his relatives, and thus
enlarged to three the number of families in this remote place. He took up
adjoining land to the south of McPherson's lot on a wide flat at the foot
of Maple Hill.
"That this land was, in those days, a very far
off region to the Scotch people whose children braved the broad Atlantic
to seek homes in New Scotland, is well illustrated by a glimpse into the
family of which Donald, one of the eldest of the sons, was the venturesome
rover. When he left his Scottish home Donald's parents thought their boy
so lost to them, that after some years they counted him as dead, and gave
his name to their youngest son. Then the father died, and when her
son-in-law, John McLean, came to join his friends here, Mrs. Mcintosh
accompanied him with her two youngest sons, James and Donald. Thus the two
brothers, bearing the same name, saw each other for the first time, and
joined hands in the Northland of Cape Breton. The lost had been found.
[Fraser's paper referred to in previous footnote.]
Norman McPherson and Robert McLeod remained
here but a short time, removing to Cape North where many of their
descendants are living today. Donald Mcintosh, "Old Donald", as he was
called, also left about this time to settle in Bay St. Lawrence. There his
family grew up and the sons, — Robert, Peter, Angus, Donald and John, a
stalwart group, occupied farms in that and neighbouring communities. A
daughter, Sarah, was married to John McLeod, a successful business man of
New Haven. Effie became the wife of George Young of Cape North,and Betsy
was married to Angus McLean of Grantosh, [Grantosh was a local corruption
of the French Grande Anse.] the name by which the settlement of Pleasant
Bay was known for upwards of forty years.
Mrs. Mcintosh, far from the scenes of her
childhood and young womanhood days, chose to make her home with her eldest
son and accompanied him to Bay St. Lawrence. Long before her death, at a
ripe old age, all her family were occupants of lands recovered from the
forests of the new world, — Old Donald in Bay St. Lawrence; Young Donald,
James, John and Sarah in Grantosh; Betsy in Cape North; Katie, the wife of
young John McDonald, in North East Margaree; and Christina married to a
MacRae of Middle River.
As James Mcintosh followed his brother to Bay
St. Lawrence and lived there for some years, the earliest permanent
settlers of Grantosh were John McLean and his brother-in-law young Donald
Mcintosh. The date of their arrival is probably 1828.
McLean occupied the land to the south of the
Pond river, where Norman McPherson had been, and acquired a large area
extending from the shore around the head of the Pond and including the
most of the marshes. McLean had been a "reeve", or farm overseer in the
old land, and his experience stood him in good stead in the new. He made
use of the salt marshes for hay, soon added cultivated upland to this, and
became a prosperous farmer. A family of three sons and four daughters,
tall lads and lasses, grew up around this pioneer couple. Let us sit with
them in their comfortable home, on a certain occasion, and sympathize
while we smile. The early morning meal over, a chapter from the Book is
read and all are engaged in the singing of a psalm. The door is opened
stealthily and an Indian quietly takes a proffered seat. Wishing to show
his friendliness and perhaps recognizing in the Gaelic tune some notes of
his native songs, he joins in the singing. The volume of his voice soon
drowns that of McLean and family, and he seems intent upon showing how an
Indian can sing. The situation is not such as to lead to the full
enjoyment of the elevating thoughts of the psalm — especially in the case
of the younger members of the family. The intruder must be ejected or the
worship discontinued. The latter alternative cannot be considered, and
poor "Lo" is conducted to the door.
On land adjoining McLean's lot to the west,
Donald Mcintosh, "young Donald", settled. He married Phemia, a sister of
William McLeod of Cape North, and had five children, three sons and two
daughters. A widower, he then married Christy McPhee of Margaree like
himself a native of Skye, and there were added to the family three sons
and three daughters. "Young Donald" was a man of considerable ability. He
was the first Justice of Peace for the settlement, and on account of his
visits to the Shiretown in connection with the Court of Sessions, he soon
became well known throughout the county. The bold attitude he took in
maintaining his own interpretation of points of law had much to do with
the general satisfaction with which the decisions of "the Squire's" courts
were usually received.
In the early thirties, probably in the first
year of the decade, there came from Pictou to Grantosh the Kingsleys, —
James, Matthew and "Big John". James settled upon land south of and
adjoining the lot that had been occupied by "old Donald" Mcintosh. James
had an excellent wife, one of the Pictou McIntoshes. She spoke and read
the Gaelic language with fluency, and was a great help to her husband, who
with McLean looked after the religious life of the community. Mrs. Hingley
was the first Sunday School teacher in the settlement. They had three sons
and four daughters. Andrew Hingley lived for some time in the settlement,
and is remembered chiefly on account of his efforts in his later years to
solve the problem of "perpetual motion." "Big John" married Betsy Guinn of
Cape North and for a time lived to the south of his brother, but later
left the settlement.
The fine fertile flat on the south bank near
the mouth of the Red river was now taken up by Andrew Moore, who had
married, in Mabou, Janet McQuarrie. Of Moore's coming to Cape Breton it is
related that, finding life on a man-of-war not to his liking, he one night
tied his bundled clothes on his head, quietly dropped over the side of the
"Shannon" as she lay in Sydney Harbour, and with a companion, Tom Shears,
on his back, swam to shore where they were soon beyond the reach of
capture in a sparsely settled country. A large family of eight sons and
three daughters served to make this a lively and hospitable home.
Shortly after this time, Donald Sutherland, a
native of Caithness-shire. Scotland, who had for several years been doing
business at Mc-Isaac's Pond, Broad Cove, removed with his family to
Grantosh. He was married to Abigail McLean of Liverpool, N. S., and had
two sons and three daughters. They settled upon the land previously
occupied by "old Donald" Mcintosh. To this was later added another lot of
one hundred acres on the north of the Pond River. Sutherland was a quiet
man with a fair education and studious habits, and his influence tended
for the betterment of the community.
In the meantime, James Mcintosh, who had been
living in Baye St. Lawrence, had returned to Grantosh and begun to make a
home for himself and family on the wooded intervale of the Pond River
about two miles from the seashore. He had a good companion and helper at
his hard task, in his wife, Annie Campbell. Later there were five sturdy
sons and three daughters to aid in the work. James had a fair education in
the Gaelic language, and after a regular religious service was established
in the community, he was the leader in that language.
John Mcintosh, a brother of the early
settlers, had left his Highland home when a youth, and lived on the
domains of Craig Hall, about forty miles from Aberdeen. Here he married
Helen Watt, and all their children were born on the domains. In their
family the Lowland dialect was spoken and the Gaelic neglected. In 1847,
with his wife and family John embarked at Aberdeen on the brig "Albion",
Capt. Leslie, for Halifax to seek the new home of his relatives. The
voyage around the north of Scotland and across the Atlantic was made in
twenty-five days, — one of the fastest trips of the "Albion" across the
Atlantic from Aberdeen. At Halifax a passage was obtained on a schooner to
the west coast of Cape Breton, and at length Grantosh was reached. The
eldest son, Peter, remained in Halifax for a year and then rejoined the
family. John Mcintosh represented the finest type of Scottish emigrant. To
some education and sound judgment were added deep religious convictions.
He had taken part in the Free Church movement in the old land, and in the
new, he became, and continued to be, until his death in 1884, the leader
in the religious life, and prominent in all things that led to the
improvement of the people.
There lived for a time on the Pond intervale
John Gillis, who had married Betsy, a sister of the McIntoshes, but he
soon removed to Cape North.
The earliest people in Fishing Cove were
Roderick Fraser and his wife Ishobel Bain, who came there from the Big
Intervale, Cape North some years after the settlement of Grantosh. They
had a family of seven sons and two daughters: John, Duncan, Dandy, Donald,
Murdoch, Kenneth, Neil, Anne and Mary. Many of their descendants are now
living at Pleasant Bay, but the Cove is deserted. Kenneth McRae did a
fishing business for a few years at Fishing Cove.
Pollet's Cove was first settled by a brother
of John McLean, Donald, who was lame from his early boyhood. His Gaelic
ballads are said to have some worth. He had three sons, — Angus, Donald
and Duncan. Angus was a fluent speaker in Gaelic and was for years engaged
in colporteur work. Donald and Duncan, with a companion Malcolm McPherson,
went out from their Pollet's Cove home late in the fall in a row boat to
Bay St. Lawrence. On their way back when but a few hundred yards from the
Cove, the three were drowned. Mc-Pherson's body was the only one
recovered. The lonely Cove was thus made lonely indeed for the widows and
their families.
The individual members of the families of
these early settlers had their share in the hardships of pioneer life. One
by one, or rather two by two — for the families largely intermarried —
they moved out from the old home and in many cases began anew in the
forest.
The McLean Family. — Peter married Eunice
McQuarrie and had four sons and three daughters. He eventually became
possessed of the old homestead. Angus, who married Betsy Mcintosh, a
daughter of "old Donald" made a home for themselves on the intervale
beyond that of James Mcintosh. They had five sons and three daughters.
Donald married Jane Sutherland and moved to a new home west of the old
homestead where three sons and three daughters were born. Christy was
married to the Rev. Donald Sutherland of Earltown, Colchester County, and
had two daughters. Mary's husband was John Mcintosh, a son of "old
Donald." They had three sons and two daughters. Catherine was married to
Angus McPherson of Cape North. They had a part of the McLean and some of
the Henry Taylor property at the head of the marshes. Their family
consisted of four sons and four daughters. Mrs. Sutherland is the only
survivor of the family of John McLean.
Squire McIntosh's Family. — Peter, Ewen, ana
Charles, unmarried died in early manhood. John and James unmarried, were
lost at sea. Christy was married to Philip Mcintosh and had two sons.
Effie was early left a widow with one daughter, her husband, Malcolm
McPherson, having been drowned near Pollet's Cove. Angus married Annie
McLeod of North East Margaree, and lived near the old homestead for
upwards of twenty years. Two sons and three daughters are in their family.
Annie was married to Stephen Philips of Margaree. They had three sons and
three daughters. Katie was married to Alex, Mcintosh and has two sons.
Angus, of the Squire's first family, and Annie and Jessie of the second
are living in the States, and Katie, the youngest, lives on the old
homestead.
The Hingleys. — Samuel married Nancy Guinn and
had four sons and three daughters. By a second wife, Betsy Timmons, he had
three sons and a daughter. In middle life, he made a home in the
picturesque glen of the Red river. Alexander, another son of James, left
his home with a dog as companion in search of seals on the drift ice, and
was never heard of afterwards. John married Christy McQuarrie, and lived
on part of the old homestead. Hannah was married to Joshua Trenholm, a son
of the first mill-wright of the settlement. Kitty . was the wife of John
Calder. Jane was married to Ned Timmons, who occupied land to the north of
Andrew Moore's lot. Five sons and four daughters were in their family.
Eliza was the wife of Sandy Kerr, who lived in the settlement for a short
time. Peter, one of Kerr's sons, was for several years Royal Secretary of
the Scottish Clans of America.
The Moores. — James married Flora McQuarrie
and occupied land in the north of the settlement. They had two daughters.
Daniel married Flora McLean, and had two sons and two daughters. He
eventually bought from John Hingley the old Hingley homestead. John had
the most northerly farm in the district. His wife was Mary McKenzie of
Elmsdale. They had five sons and five daughters. Edward married Mary
McKinnon and had a son and two daughters. Sophia was unmarried. Eunice was
married to V. Chaisson of Cape North. Andrew's first wife was Mary McLean,
his second Mary Morrison, and he now lives happily with a third, Kate
McPherson. He has two sons. Sandy married Jane Mcintosh and lived with
Andrew on the old homestead. They had three sons and a daughter. William
married Alice McEvoy and owned land adjoining to the north of the John
Mcintosh lot. They had four sons and three daughters. Christy was married
to a Watson, and Duncan's wife was Sarah McPhail. Andrew and Eunice are
the survivors of this large family.
The Sutherlands. — Jane was married to Donald
McLean. Eliza was the wife of Peter Mcintosh, a son of John. They had six
sons and a daughter. Donald was lost at sea from a schooner that the
brothers had bought for trading purposes. Abigail was married to Alexander
Ritchie of Halifax, and is survived by a daughter. John married Mary Ann
Guinn of Cape North, and lived on the old homestead for some time, then
moved to Hastings and later to Salem, Mass. His family have had marked
success in the land of their adoption. Daniel A. is a Member of Congress
for Alaska; Abbie A. is Principal and Proprietress of the Ogontz School
for Girls, Pennsylvania; and Jane, a clever musician, teaches in her
sister's school. John and his family occasionally spend a few months of
the summer on the old homestead.
James McIntosh's. — Their family were Norman,
Philip, John, Peter, Sarah, Annie, Donald, Mary, Duncan and Murdoch.
Norman married Christina, a daughter of John Campbell of Cape North, and
had one son and three daughters. Philip's wife was Christy Mcintosh. Two
sons were born to them. Peter married Christy, the daughters of Daniel
Moore and widow of John A. Ross, and had a son and three daughters. Sarah
who was married to Daniel McDonald of Sydney had three sons. Annie was
married to Hugh McArthur of Sydney. They had two sons and two daughters.
Donald married Sarah Gillis, and had one son and three daughters. Mary was
married to John A. McLean, and has a family of four daughters. Duncan's
wife was Effie Young. They had one son. John died and Murdoch was lost at
sea, both in early manhood. Mrs. McDonald, Mrs. McArthur and Mrs. McLean
are the survivors.
John MacIntosh's Family. — John's family,
especially the elder members, had received some education in the old land,
and in the new, exerted themselves with others in efforts for a good
school. As a consequence, all their descendants received a fair common
school education, some of them proceeding to higher studies and reaching
some prominence in professional and business life. Peter married Eliza A.
Sutherland, and had six sons and a daughter. Alexander married Jessie
McLeod and had three sons and three daughters George married Jessie, a
daughter of John Campbell, and had two sons and a daughter. Donaldson
married Annie McLeod, and had six daughters and two sons. Betsy was
married to Charles Campbell, who lived but a short time in the settlement.
Peter, Donaldson and his wife, still enjoy comparatively good health at
the advanced ages of ninety-two, seventy-eight and eighty-three years
respectively.
Several members of the family of John Campbell
of Big Intervale, Cape North, located in Grantosh. Duncan lived at
McKenzie's point, and Roderick at the opposite end of the Bay. Jessie and
Christina were also living in the settlement. Duncan's family consisted of
three sons and a daughter, and Roderick's of three sons and three
daughters.
Two families of Phillipses lived at the
northern part of the settlement for several years — Robert and Timothy.
They were from Margaree and returned to that place.
The name Grantosh was often written Grand Anse
on letters, and these occasionally went to Grand Anse, Richmond County,
while letters for the latter place came to Grantosh. It was thought
advisable, therefore, to adopt a new name, and since the early seventies
the settlement has been called Pleasant Bay, from a large open bay of that
name in the Magdalen Islands.
The farms were almost all recovered from the
forest, and remained ungranted for about thirty years and upwards. The
first lands granted were those of Edward Timmons and of John Hingley in
1856. The largest tract of land granted was five hundred acres taken up by
Henry Taylor of Margaree on the Pond river banks, in two lots — one
extending inward from the seashore on the northern side, the other between
McLean's lot and that of James Mcintosh. These areas were granted for the
timber they contained. They later became incorporated in the McLean and
McPherson farms. McLean's lot when granted in 1863 comprised 195 acres.
The other lands granted were in lots of 100 acres.
For upwards of fifty years, the life of the
community was one of hardship. Their livelihood was obtained largely from
the land which they had reclaimed from the forest. Potatoes, wheat, a
cereal called , "China oats" on account of the original grains having been
found in a chest of tea, turnips and cabbage were grown. Their supply of
meat was mostly obtained from the woods; moose were plentiful, and smaller
game — partridges and rabbits. They early learned to catch the cod, but
for years, the method of catching the mackerel was unknown. Lobsters were
plentiful but there was no market for them. Cattle, sheep and hogs were
raised. Wild fruits were plentiful in the cleared pastures and on the
barrens. The maple furnished some of the sweets. The draught animals were
oxen, until the arrival of the Sutherlands.
Their isolated condition, forced the early settlers to fall back upon
expedients of the pioneer stage of civilization. A tallow or oil dip often
served for a lamp before candles became in general use. To light the way
along the rough roads on a dark night often a brand held in the hand, the
other end glowing, was swung back and forth across the path. Hand wool
cards, the spinning wheel and loom, were in almost every house; and the
wearing apparel, bedclothes and rugs, were made in the home. Hides were
tanned, dressed and made into shoes. The grain was cut with the sickle,
bound by hand and set up in stooks in the field; and when in the barn was
threshed by the flail. The quern or handmill for making flour was in
several homes. When a grist mill was considered a necessity, the elder
Trenholm's ingenuity was brought into play. He made all the wood work
easily enough. Scrap iron was found to make the shafts and spindles. There
was no coal to do smith work, but he made charcoal to take its place. He
quarried and made the stones, and soon the quern was supplemented by a
mill on the Mingley brook which, however, produced results only when the
stream was swollen.
The spiritual welfare of the people was looked
after by the older men and women. Meetings for worship were held in the
homes, the elders conducting the service, until a good schoolhouse was
built, and in the early seventies a comfortable church. All the early
settlers were Presbyterians. In the early years, church courts were held
for the trial of offenders against moral or religious regulations. In
those days the community was visited occasionally by a clergyman, who
travelled over the mountain. The names of Mr. Shields, Mr. Kendal and Mr.
Whitley are still recalled with gratitude. Although belonging to a
different denomination, they were always welcomed, and they freely gave
their ministrations. Mr. Whitley frequently visited the place, and coming
during the mackerel season, he invariably prayed that the waters of the
deep would yield its treasures to the people. Many so firmly believed in
the efficacy of his prayer that they welcomed his coming even on that
account. Mr. Gunn of Broad Cove was for a time a yearly visitor and
performed the rites of marriage and baptism. His visits were looked
forward to with pleasure and his stay, though brief, was a note worthy
event.
There has been no settled clergyman in the
community except for a short time when the late Donald Sutherland of
Earltown lived in the settlement. Always, however, the people met on
Sunday and had a service consisting of song, prayer,and the reading of a
sermon. Alexander Mcintosh, a son of John, for long read the sermon and
led in the singing. Previous to May, 1895 Pleasant Bay was included in the
Cape North of Aspy Bay congregation. Since that time it has been under the
care of the Presbytery of Inverness as a Home Mission station. This
Presbytery is generally able to provide the people with a student
catechist during four or five months in the summer time."
The education of their children was a thing
desired by these people. In their home what instruction could be given was
earnestly done. The first school teacher was one John McKay from Margaree,
who taught in a log school house. A barn, or an old house, was some times
the improvised school. Ewen Mcintosh, a son of young Donald was the next
teacher, who was himself for sometime under the tutelage of the Rev.
Donald Sutherland. North East Margaree supplied teachers to the settlement
for a number of years. After that for some years, a local supply was
available. The result has been that from this isolated locality men and
women have gone out into the world as school teachers, trained nurses,
academy and college students, men of business, and school and college
instructors. Some of their names appear on the graduate lists of
Dalhousie, McGill and Harvard. Among the members of the class of 1915 at
Dalhousie College, John P. McLean a great grandson of pioneer John, stood
high both as a student and an athlete. He was the president of his class,
and the winner of the McKenzie bursary, but he died during his sophomore
year. A brilliant young minister, John P. Mcintosh, was a grandson of the
early settler James. His course at Dalhousie was marked by ability in
debate, and in the histrionic art. At Pine Hill Theological College he was
easily a leader. After a successful pastorate at Onslow, he was settled in
the congregation of Bridgewater, and had a George S. Campbell Travelling
Scholarship from Pine Hill at his disposal. He was looked upon as a coming
man in the councils of the church, but he fell a victim to influenza and
died at Bridgewater, in 1918. Another grandson of James is at present a
missionary in Trinidad, and a grand-daughter graces the manse in far away
Korea.
Farming is the mainstay of Pleasant Bay, but
an important money product is the fisheries. In the early times boating
fish and products of the farm to Cheticamp, and bringing back in exchange
things they could not produce at home, was a tremendous drudgery. It,
however developed such expert boatsmen that during the whole period that
Cheticamp was their market there was never a serious accident. In 1887,
John Forrest of Antigonish established a lobster cannery at the mouth of
the brook of the John Mcintosh lot. A general store was opened in
connection with the cannery, and this reduced the hard labor. This
business passed into the hands of W. H. McKenzie and then of Harlon Fulton
of Halifax. Meantime a small Government wharf was built. In 1901, H. H.
Banks of Halifax succeeded Fulton in the business. The betterment of the
community was to Mr. Banks of more importance than profits from the
business. When motor boats were yet on trial, he introduced them to the
settlement, and installed a gasolene engine for hauling up boats. In fact,
he was seldom happier than when making plans for improvement. Shortly
before his death, Mr. Banks changed the business into that of a limited
company. Later, Mr. George S. Lee of Halifax acquired a controlling
interest, and is the present general manager with headquarters at Halifax.
A. H. Mcintosh, a grandson of John, who had been connected with the
business from its inception, continues to be manager at Pleasant Bay. The
lobster and salmon fisheries continue good, but the mackerel fishery has
of late years been rather uncertain.
During the great war, Johnnie Mcintosh, a
grandson of Donaldson, although but a lad of sixteen, being large and
mature for his years managed to enlist. He reached England but during his
course in training, died in hospital. Rebecca, a sister of the Rev. John
P. Mcintosh, went overseas as a nursing sister, but died in Wales when
apparently convalescent from sickness and when about to return home. Two
great grandsons of the early Andrew Moore, saw active service, and were
both gassed and wounded on the firing-line. A great grandson of John and
grandson of Squire Mcintosh joined the Royal Flying Corps and received his
commission. The cessation of hostilities prevented him from getting
overseas. Another grandson of the Squire saw active service in a
construction corps. A grandson of Ned Timmons, and a great grandson of
Moore were in training overseas at the time of the armistice. A great
grandson of John McLean spent many months in hospital from diseases
contracted during the severe training for active service.
There are certain milestone in the short
history of Pleasant Bay to which the inhabitants refer. One is known as
"the year of the butter". Late in the autumn, many small oaken kegs of
butter containing 100 pounds each were cast upon the shore and were a
source of profit. Then there is "the year of the flour", when barrels of
flour in large numbers were floated along the coast. Some of them were
thrown upon the shore and recovered. "The year of the mice" is not
remembered with similar feelings to those engendered by the others. In
1910, with the beginning of summer, the common field mouse appeared in
large numbers. They soon became so numerous that hay and grain crops were
almost completely destroyed, and the shrubs and weeds were cut by them
even on the hills. Traps of various devices were used, and many mice got
rid of in that way, but they continued their ravages throughout the
season. A severe winter brought about their disappearance suddenly as they
had come. The explanation of this rather unusual occurrence lies in
climatic and food conditions. Probably a goodly number of mice had lived
through a mild winter succeeded by a spring and summer in which the
climate was favourable and food was abundant. Rapid propagation resulted,
leading to enormously increased numbers. Adverse conditions following in
the succeeding fall and winter reduced their numbers below the normal of
previous summers.
The nature of this sketch precludes touching
upon much of interest interwoven with the lives of the early people, —
their folklore, their amusements, their adventures, etc.
Some thirty families embracing about two
hundred individuals make up the Pleasant Bay of today. Less than a century
has elapsed since the Indian gave place to the white man around the shores
of "la grande anse" (the wide cove). One naturally wonders why these hardy
pioneers chose the north of the Island for a home-, and one as naturally
concludes that the cause lay in the resemblance to the "mountain, loch,
and glen" of the homeland. Whether or not this be a correct conclusion,
the main objective of the early settlers had been gained. Their
descendants have farms of goodly proportions, and own them. On the farm,
machinery has reduced materially the hard labour; while on the sea, the
gasolene engine has almost completely removed the laborious work of
rowing. The comfortable homes are evidence of what can be accomplished by
industry and thrift even in an isolated locality. |
