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PAGE TWO
lllails, Frequently
Passengers & Crew
Stermstayed
0n Drifting Ice Packs
The arrival of the car ferry “Abe gwteit" to inaugurate a new trans- portation service to and from
Prince Edward Island is a remlndq
ar of the long period during which this Province was practically isol- ated in the winter months. and of the many hardships encountered by those who made the winter cross- Lng.
The chief difficulty for the Prov- lnca has always bet-n that of pass- enger hnd mall communication lcross the frozen Northtrrrlberland Slfflil. In the earliest tlmcs of the British o-cctllitttloti crossLngs with boats were made from Wood ls- lands at the SULllllQZlSltTll ct/rncr of Queen’; County to Pictou island, N. S.. and then to the town of Pictcu. a distance of at least twenty-three miles; but so long and hazardous was the route that some- times a number of trucks vrould pass wzthout any passage being made.
The Tnrmentlna Route
In I827 the people of Cape Trav- erse. P. E. I.. conceived the idca of crossing to Cape Tormentlne. N. B. a distance of only eight and
l ha“ 0T "if"? "IHPS- l" this Ytflrlbags wgrg thrown over to llghtgn minlcn Government assumed re-
rome crossings were made and so confident was everybody of its
great supariorityt nVOl‘ the Pictou miles 0.. the Nova 5mg coaggladvent of government
route that some of the mails were
lent during the followintl vttlnter. In ‘mable .0 wan‘ and on Sunday hem), ma“. yours lhereagmn
1829 an agreement was entered into between the. government of the ls-
fand and tthe parties of Cape Trav-l ._h re e5 Wallace. N. 5., about means came to x5e m can” (he mans exclusivexyhgwto) miles rfrrm the nearest house-‘only when the ice at the eastcrn
by this. route.
The boats. named "ice-boatn‘ used for the purpose were email. constructed as light as possible con- sistent with strength, and had run- lners on eaoh side so they could be dragged over the snow and ice when necessary. Straps were at- tached to the sides and the boat- men and Otthers had the other end fastened round their bodies either to assist in hauling the boat or to enable them to get on the ice again should they break through.
Passengers Worked
Passengers had to pay $2.00 fotr the privilege of going with the crew. and had to assist Ln getting the boat along; but by paying dou- lble fare they could stay on board during the whole Crossing. When there was a strip of water every- one got tn the boat and it was crowed; when they came to a field of ice it was hauled up and drag- ged along.
What crew and passengers most feared to encounter during these trips was "lolly"~that is, a con- tftderabl: body of snow in the wat- er not frozen or fine ground-up lce-throztgll which the boat could neithcr be rowed or dragged. As méght be expected. many accidents occurred through unexpected snow- storms having arisen after the departure of the boats - for usu- ally a fleet or three went together.
One sltc-h accidcnt happened in 1831. when three men and a passenger were overtaken. After being out. all night. and suffering terribly they were rescued next. day by acme people from Cape Egmont.
In i843. ten persons were out part of two ("lays and a night- thirty-six hours in all. Sc-me of the-m were badly trostbitcn, but about two o'clock i-n the after- uoon of the second day toey suc-
ceeded t shore.
in reaching the Island
‘hagfo ‘noldent
A third accndent took place in 1355- during which a Mr. l-Iaszard of Charlottetown lost his life. He and another student returning from Philadelphia reached Cape Tormentine on Friday; MBrQh 9, and in the morning these two with a third passenger, an eld- Pfll’ man named Wier, left with one boat's crew of four men for Chili TNVEPSE During the after- noon they had reahced within ‘half a. mile r-f the Island side ‘tvhen a blinding storm set in.l‘ They pushed on but were at last stopped by lolly.
In these circumstances it was‘ useless to make further atternptl to reach the shore. Therefore the boat was drawn back on the ice and turned up to afford shcl; ter for the pct-fly. With l bltttr frost, made vlorse by a gale o! wind, they lemalned tnere for‘ two dflYa and three nlgnts. suf-. fering from hunger as will as coldl and exposure. On toward the third day they killed and ate a‘ dog belonging to Mr, Wler. This‘ ‘revived them so that they put. forth increased effort. Thinks and
‘their boat. Altcrnateiy
they‘ ‘trudged to within fc-ur or
five
‘by which tl-me Mr. Hazard was| idied. 0n the following day the’ t others succeeded in real-hing the
They were all in bad phvscul Coh- dlflnn when rescued. Mr. Wier‘ lost. all N5 fingers and his two: feet. and ate not tons survive 1h‘! ordeal.
Severe Hardships
The last accident happened in; i885. at about 9:30 on the morn- ing‘ of January 27m. a plercinaly; cold day, three boats set out fromi pl-le Island sidc. The crews com. slsted of fifteen men together. with seven passengers. 1n the forenoon a storm began which hi’ noon had increased with the Wind to a blinding drift. Towards eve- ning they were met by l BT95‘! deal of lolly and nothing re‘ malned but to stay on the ice. all ni-ght. Two of the boats were upturned, gunwale to glmwfile Bl the top. so as to form a kind of house. and from the third but" they tore the tin with which each was covered, so as to make l sort o1 pan in which they could kindle a fire
First the newspapers were ta- ken from the mall bags and let on fire. and later on, the third boat vlas broken ‘Jp and all the extra oars so that some little warmth could be obtained. The fire, how- _cver, melted the snow in the vic- inity and their clothes became ‘soaked with water. One of 1h! ‘crew became delirious. As morn- ling dragged along there was no ‘improvement in the weather and ‘their fuel was nearly all burned. About three o'clock in the after- noorv the storm moderated and the Island shoreline could be faintly discerned to the north.
After great exertion the bo-ard ice-the smooth. flat toe from shore as distinguished from the hlllocky ice floating up rltd down the strait-was reached; but their trouble; vtere not over. They
. shouts lvcre heard. howevct, arid a
i Hardship-‘sfiéf Early
CHARLUTTETOWN GUARDIAN
_'
Ice-Boat Crossings Recallei
won met on the land by great drifts of snow almost impccsibll to wade through, especially as their clcthes were now frozen stiff upon their lim'J$. Their
search party. after considerable difficulty. at last. suocetded in getting thc whole twenty-tulo storm victims into comfortable quarters. One man. a Mr. Fra- ser. lost. Blll’i{)\l all his fingers and toes, so batilv were his limbs fro- zen. The baatman who had be- come delirious did not long sur- vilve. This party was thirty-six hours in the Straits.
Used As Atlxillarlca
After Confederation the Do-
-.< <.o~.:.-
lleady To Start but l
Strait. in mid-winter with the
You sturdy ‘landsmen. one and all, pray listen untn me,
sponsiblllty tor the ice-boat serv- ice. which ling contlnurd until the it-e-bre:lk-' than, and the‘ ice boats were used as an aux- Crosslngs by t'1i be undertaken‘
illg Steamers. Evtn
illary service.
end of the Island became too‘ hqgvily padTr-fi by the easterlvl winds of March to enable the winter steames to reach Pictou.
Prior to this. of c: e, and for many years before Czntclerrlfon, steamer transportation to Bnd\ from the mainland had been ef fected during the summer months.‘ The first steamer to ply between Charlottetown and Pictsu was the "Pocahontas" which began in 1832. making two trips per week for the carrrage of mails and passengers.
Evolution 0f Icoboat
The earliest eommuniccvion be- tween Wood Islands and Plctou was by means of birch bark can- oes. Thls fragile rqul-l-rent later developed into the flat bottom dories operated by two men and having two runners attached un- derneath.
Further development ls said to have ensued after the visit of a business man from Prince Ed- tvard" Island to Europe. tvho took particular notice of the peculiar shape of the Norwegian pram. which is a long low boa‘. with a round bottom and turned up at each end. On his return home he suggested to the dorymen that they trv a boat of this kind. with the result that for many years win- ter communitrttlon was carried on with an adaptation of the "pram" type of boat. with a somewhat sharper bottom. having two hard- wood runners shod with steel and its hull sheathed with tin (as aibove noted) as a protection against ice.
Even up till 1918 these lceboats were in occasional use.
YIl-ITER SERVICE [HIRING 1824
T719 59119: and uncertainties of the Burl? winter mail service to and from this Prov-nee are recalled in the following excerpts from gm, Prince Edward Island Register of i824:
"January 1'1: The Mall closed yéfltfifdfil‘ and the Carrier proceed- ed to Plctou via the Wood Islands. “Jfluuflrv 24: The Carrier of the Mall has not been able to makg progress further than the wood Islands where we understand he will be obliged to wart for l thaw hem" h! "l" Proceed across the Strait on the ice at Plctou. We look forward with anxiety for his EDEN)’ Mid sale return.
"February '1: Mr. Smith arrived with the Mall on the 29th ult. after filflfiflehfilh: a difficult and danger- °"5 IOUIMY and hits wltih his usual activity and perseverance succeeded l" 5141181118 us the Nov- ember Mall and dates va United States from England to m, 31g; of that month.
February 3i: We have nevgl- witnessed at this season or the Year luolh fine moderate weather; it is us-ual about this time to have blusterlng storms and deep (all; o! snow- Imead of which we have
. the appearance- of spring and the
month of APFI- ’Ilhe ice has become very weak amt broken up in many PIN"- Mf- Smith. the Cutler, pro- ceeded on the ifltn inst. to tho Wood Islands and made an u. Mum to pm over the Strait to lPlctou. but found the ice s0 broken "D and ldrLfc. that it was utterly lnprlctcubla to make any pro- srm thrown lt. and he returned to town
“March N‘ The Pucker arrived lulnllnz Halifax. New Brunlwick, Bermuda Ind English papers. Th; latest intelligence from London 1; l0 “I! 10th January."
Likewise you hardy sailors bold that plough the stormy sea.
I want your kindly attention while I do here relate
The hardships of the ice-boat
crew upon the frozen Strait.
The month was winter's coldest. as you presently shall hear.
The twenty-seventh January. and ’Eighty-flve the year;
Our ice-boats. three in number.
with fifteen of a crew.
And seven more as passengers—
which made us twenty-two.
our friends conveyed us to the shore. and there we bade adieu. The dismal fate that lay in store was hidden from our view The wind northeast. the frost. in- creased; a raging storm pre- vailed.
Through blinding snow we were forced to go, and breast. the angry gale.
The afternoon was soon advanc- ed; we took no note of time; with weary step and eager glance we looked for Tormentine. The blocks of ice seemed magni- fied. the drifts like roof-tops showed.
And oft: deceived our anxious eyes for "Uncle Tom's" abode.
'1'o reach the Cape with light of clay it was our hope and pray- er;
But our hopes were turned to bit- ter doubt, our doubts to grim despair.
Alas! the truth was plain to all. What now must. be our fate? For lost we were. without a doubt. upon the ice-bound Strait.
The wind was now about north- west. the frost. below eight-
em;
And bravely now we tried to breast the driving blast so keen.
Imagine our condition. and with me you tvlll agree.
Our thoughts could not be pleas- ant ones upon seal
We held a consultation, and de- cided in a trlce
Since now we had no other course. to camp upon the ice.
And then a rude construction with our boats we did pre- pare.
To serve us for a shelter which was cold and bleak and bare.
Our hours of suffering through that night were like an endless chain.
We longed to see the morning light. and friends and home again.
We built a feeble fire at last, and
in the blinding smoke
waiting with foreboding hearts until the morning broke.
Sat
Our water kegs had frozen hard. since early in the day.
And thirst and hunger side by aide had come with us tn stay.
We had not tasted food or drink since six o'clock that morn.
As on our aimless way we'd trudg- ed beneath the blinding storm.
one of the crew. showed toms WHY.
Brought‘ on bv-mental anguish and the hardships of the day.
Exhausted now were all the rest: our strength seemed quite to fail.
Our clothes. wet through, wqe frozen hard just like a coat of mail.
, limb- of hi: reason giving
The welcome dawn appeared at last. and keen the wind did
blow.
The frost lntmse kept weeping but. at. twenty-two below. The sun came out. but than went back. u it. had come to lee And mock our and. forlorn etch
and doloful misery.
No sign of land could yet. be non. the worm did not abate.
that. frozen _
The Ice Boat Disaster Of January, 1885
On the eve of the new service to be inaugurated by the C. G. S. Abegwelt the following graphic account of the ice-boat disaster of January. 1885. incurred in attempting to cross Northumberland
primitive means then available.
will seem remote indeed. It. was a grim rcaltty to our grandfathers. Similar incidents were not uncommon. and were a perennial topic of recital and discussion all through the last century. The verses. written in popular ballad form. appeared originally in the news- papers of the time and were based on the first-hand experience of cne of the passengers. the late Dr. P. A. McIntyre.
We moved our camp to safer ice; and patiently did wait.
Until the hour of evening came; it. might be three or four. Then welcome land at. last was seen. which proved the Cra-
paud shore.
Our baggage we discarded now: despair was cast aside,
And bravelv struggled every man. his sufferings to hide.-
No food or drink for forty hours. exposed in our sad state
To one of winter's fiercest storms the oldest can relate!
No wonder now our tottering steps
know,
For some so much were could not the snow.
But others reached a neighboring
i wood. where. sheltered from the gale,
They found at last the friendly roof of Mr. A. McPhail.
exhausted get through
The neighbors soon assembled a thorough search was made-
And those poor fellows left be- hind to shelter safe conveyed.
A sorry sight we did present to those good people's view.
What hunger. strain and cold had left of the hardy ice-boat crewl
A mother's loving kindness. which ln such homes prevail.
Bcstowed on those noor sufferers by Mrs. A. McPhail.
In grateful hearts shall treasured be, where time can ne'er ef- face,
And like a star resplendent shines to light its resting place.
Beneath this hospitable roof the frost-chilled rffd remain.
Till willing hands conveyed them to their homes and friends
again.
But. long will faithful memory as- slst us to relate 4
The hardships of the ice-boat crew upon the frozen Strait!
POLAR. CONFUSION
Neither the north nor the south magnetic pole coincides with the geographic pfiltg
First Winter ' Mail Service
The credit of inaugurating Prince Edward Island's first winter mail] service belongs to tthe Islands first Governor, Walter Patterson.
In February. 1775, cwlng‘ to the vessel in which his despuzc es were to have gone to England having been frozen into the harbor on the 21st of December, Governor Pat;- terson determined to attempt a winter mall service. He endeavored to persuade some men to attempt a passage in e. small canoe to Nurva Scolla, urging that if success ul they would have rendered an es- sential service to the Island. by re- moving an objection marieh by many people against being ere- namely, the isolation from the rest of the world for so long a period every winter.
The attempt was successfhully made from Wood Islands w ere the ferries “North Nova" lmi "Charles A. Dunning now run in summer. It must have been dangerous work. and ll’. is regrettable t that gatiburttirgs
i 9 igtiztvtoeryltnformiifirrin lswtskgn, does not give the names of the heroic men who pioneered this route.
asranc‘ IMMIGRANT
The American Indian is believed to have come originally from Asia. The bverage width o! Chile ls I00 miles.
wmgtwpo,
l.
were growing weak and slow.‘
We left our boats and grappled with our last and deadly foe.
This proved to be a strin of marsh ‘tween us and solid land.
Where nlles of snow were drift- ed hitzh from off the frozen strand.
This was the worst of all dreadful hours we had
the
t
to‘
rause rut a Rest
MAIL-BOAT NEWS IN OLDEN -TIMES
Prince Edward Illand new, papers of a century and more an had one topic of perennial inter- est during the winter months, _ namely. the program, l1 My. o! n" mall bouts across the ‘CO-pack Nort-humberlard Strait. The IR lowing ‘tam from thc Royal 5am te o! Tuesday March 22. i831 y. typical of runny when appeal...“ during the ‘season: '
"The malls which were '0; ~d_ ed from-hence on the lot). .5... were detained at Cape Tpmter“ until Saturday last. when the t-our. ler and another person gst ovcr l| a. flat, somewhat larger ihRl-l n“ ice boat. At 3 o'clock in the after. noon of the rams day, they left m. opposite side on their return hav- ing a passenger urith, than. and had nearly a]. perished n the w. lent snow sto-tm of that evening.
"To add to Q1611‘ distress they l“ their oars by it wave breaking to," them which nearly swap! them All off. About ten o'clock on Stlnrll, morning. having drifted utt 1c Egmont Bay. they were c-‘Jservcd from the more, when three men put off to their assistance and re. lieved tlhem from their perilous situation. almost dead with m. and two of them frost blttett. Tm brought. altree Halifax and t...‘ Cumberland mulls will-ch arrived at the post office last evening about nine o'clock. A number 5; the newspapers were soaked with water, but the letters it. getirra.‘ escaped damage."
The Mayor and City Councillors of rlle City of Charlottetown join in a
Although not named alter her predecessor, the "Abegweit", wit-h all tho
latest improvements should provide this Province with the necessary up-to-dato
Connecting as it does this Province with the mainland the "AbegweiW Ital
In privileged to fulfill her allotted task.
CITY 0F
THE GCITY’ 0F OHARLOTTETOWN
welcome to the new Cor Ferry ”Abegwe_it", successor to the S. S. Charlottetown.
transportation facilities so essential to our needs and provided for in the terms of Confederation. s.
on important role to fill and yo unite with all citizens in hoping that 1M vvill long
g GIIARLOTTETDWN
EARL! Maclltlllllll. Mayor -