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\ t PTEMBER 10, 1932 ' I . - ' ” - SE _ THE CHARLOTTETOWN GUARDIAN PAGE FIVE

Ealrly Hisfvfy 0f Three Rivers

First prize 855°! l" Wmfimlun Three Rivers including a forge w school or P. W. C. stu- men's Institute Dis- CB-NUBIII, Montague. Brudenell, North Car-

Valley, Roaeneath, field, Heaiherdale, Baldwin's

out" dents 1mm w°

trlct of

valley

Mad and New Perth. Prizes were‘ donated by Mrs. J. P. McNichol, olf Cmrgsh, for best essay on "Early

ulstory of Three Rivers." pesultlng as follows:-

rlrst Prize — Leslie Crozier. der DsRomsIs supervision and ca- doned the wild and forbodlng Montague. Dlbll-ltlei Three Rivers prospered shores. In 1784 several hundred Second Prinz; — 11- (ROTH! Dew- and progressed. Unflgd Empire Loyalsts 'mll11y ar. New P“ ' ' ' from New York and New Jer Third Prize -- Melissa Mann, The blue smoke mm! l“ wisps founded homes upon the Island“: Rcscneath. _ ‘mm m” “m” buudmgs-the "w large majority found their way to tie of sail-the resonant sound of

Fourth Prize - Gordon Doug-

155’ Qeorgetown.

ESSAY BY LESLIE OROZILER

I For almost two centures miter

of St. John,

the island

now " Prince Edward Island, was discov-

mg by Jacquescartler, the re- gion of land through which flows

the Montague. Brudenell and Car- at ever its posterity has been intro-

dlgan Rivers and the territory their confluence oncs known

derncss uninhabited

as qhrcr- Rivers and now the prosper- ous districts of Montague, Brud- ehell, Georgetown, and Cardigan. remained a silent and dense wil-

except per-

Imps by a. few Indians and wild game teeming within its heavy

timber-

The history of Three Rivers‘ is

one of national strife

between

' yrench and llmglish, of a. bitter and

I- slant with n, pioneer life.

“w.

.,o-Cl’§‘lr'.,‘ “as; . sJLII¥rr-<4

....-rnysr - rAPQml-YPO-llfltu‘ ..

determined struggle elements, suffering of those settlers sacrificed their native land,

against the of dire prlvation and who kin

and certainty of livelihood, to face the perils and hazards of a new

ltion, yet this savage gesture seem- ed futile. As time passed it began

v ed by canoe and dug-out when and stable. At Brudenell Point in what is now Georgetown Harbour. d0 Roma established his company headquarters. Several gardens were Dlaniod among the stumps, some 0f which they had manbged to ex- tract. Tilese vegetables provided them with a wholego gm; gem. Willy food and eluded the danger of scurvey. Then a rough pier was constructed for small vessels. Un-

visedthe constructins of a road to either the head of Cardigan, Mon- tague and Brudenell Rivers to avoid an inconvenient routs to Georgetown. This was later decided upon. During the American revo- lution the harbor of Three Rivers was plundered by an American warship and some havoc resulted. However the intruders soon aban-

Three Rivers.

The excellence of the land soon aliured settlers who pitched their tents on the chosen spots and which sewed astemporary shel- ters whilc they erected their ca- bins. Then the little clearings wl- dened supplyTnB them with fuel and ample space for crops. Pure waterwas generally obtained from a spring. many of which were scattered throughout the settle-l merits. The streams supplied them’ with an abundance of nutritious fish and cod. salt herring and mackerel were bartered with pro- dbce. Deer were plentiful and vs- nison provided them with meat.

In 1803 twenty three settlers ar- rived at Brudenell River consisting of the families of James McLaren, Donald Gordon and James stewart, natives of Perthshire, Scotland. ‘Ihese people settled upon the north bank of the river upon some land purchased by the Earl of Sel- kirk. However these pioneers were preceded by a compatriot, John McDonald, who was a native of Uist, Scotland. This man's exper-

the axe-and other noises of hu- man activity seemed distant and Slicrllllllous. At night the wild black fox glided up the spruce heath ahd walled its defiance at| human intrusion and domestica-

to succumb to capture and grad- ually sought remote regions. i-low-

duced as an industry proves, a. financial asset. Heavy timber necessary for con- struction work was hauled from Georgetown and brick no doubt was made from clay found nearby. Transportation inland was neces- sary so that roads were construct- ed to Charlottetown and Cardigan. Hay was required for the livestock and this was brought from Stur- geon along s. blazed trail. The re- solute oolony began to flourish un- der the hard toil so imminent with their life. IForty acres of land were cleared, stumps removed and after being levelled proved to be excellent land for agricultural pur-

and today

building, lumber

poses. The soil was typical of the Island. A red sandy loam and it has retained this form to the pre- sent day. These men little realized" as they eagerly scannedthe‘ rich virgin soil that. it would later" pro- duce the world's choicest of potato crops. that cattle would browse the juicy vegetation on its surface, that neat well kept fox ranches would nestle amid its thickets, and that orchards and field crops would yield splendid harvests long after these insignificang stilmps, "had decayed. However the progress ‘of " Three Rivers was destined to be checked. A British warship gppglf- ed in the harbour ‘onfliune 20th, 1745 and landed a body of militia. By a subtleapproach these men mans d ‘to gain possession 0f the doomegg settlement. They plunder- ed and utterly destroyed it. The buildings were bumt and any val- uable property confiscated. Deno- ma managed to escape with his family go the forest and after an adventurous journey managed to reach Quebec in safety. The pathe- tie scene and utter destruction of such hard earned prosperity-makes the ravages of war and annihila- tion incredible-a‘ curse. Thus Three Rivers as a oolony ceased t0 ‘exist and the lonely ruins marked for years the product of natlohfll strife.

The fact that the charter of De Roma's company still existed led the settler to avoid Three Rivers as a clear title to the lend f-‘Dllld not be obtained without difficulty.

land where only perseverence; de- termination, and apparent firm- hess of will triumphed over the difficulties, and toil so predomi-

The lure of wealth, adventure. freedom. and ambition for enter- prise influenced white men t0 brave the perils of the stormy At- Iantlc Ocean, and we who live in the modern age, and who traverse oceans in luxury and sureness of safety, with a voyage of Si-IIPYlI-IHG celerity can little realize the cour- age of these noble p. ‘so e._1n- terest in colonization and zeal for emigration soon attracted. white man to the shores of the New World. a ' Thus in I781 the settlement and origin of Three Rivers begsn- when a party of French merchants. namely, Cotterel, du Boccage, Nar- cis and Roma obtained a larflfi grant of land at Three Rivers for fishing and trading purposes from the King of France. ‘These traders formed a. company and Dc Roms proved to be the leading and man- aging director of the‘ company’! affairs. In course of time three ships arrived from France laden with supplies and hardy Breton fishcmlen to found the colony. What vivid impressions of splen- dor. opportunity and Ilptlmism must have influence‘ these colon- iris. The sentiment and omnipo- tence of their surroundings com- blncd ‘vith the voluptuous display of nature produced s prevailing

ience in the ways of the new coun- try proved extremely valuable to the new settlers. I-Ie taught them

teenth century destroyed most the valuable timber and game al- though it seems vague and doul-I

the fire had occurred. In i807 the- vessel “l-lope" charmed by Andrew‘ day typical of the Island. Across McDonald. of Three Rivers

boarded "I-falifax“ just inside the harbor of, past) stretch the splendid ferme-

Throe Rivers. . resulted from this hostile actiolhilliiitiuth- Resfistence seems futile—

existence grew less acute. gatherings became

quilting party

the arts of Woodcraft- and boat

buiidmg thus enabling them to lre-I and Melwlm McDonald- verse the unknown country

that surrounded them. Prom him they,

The . terrible fire that swept

King's County early in the nine-

of

ful whether the conflagration

reached Three Rivers owing to the, presence of heavy timber long after I'M-db

was by a warship called the

Much controversy

As time passed the struggle for. Social‘ frequent. A' ohoppns bee. house rssing frolic. followed by other-l amusements brought the toil worn, people together brightenng the

ward to with great anticipation. Fiddle was the chief musical in- strument used and was found at all dances. During the long winter

l0"! 91"" ll Th!" Rivers became export of rel-m p uce began, thus peopled. I-lowcver, it still remalnedkoundln; half inhabited. The people travail-i some”,

a basis for trade and Every phase of the agricultural industry inundated it-

thers were no wads. Patterson Id':lQII. Poultry. dairy and beef herds. hogs, sheep and other livestock alli

made it profitable. The settlers

achievements indeed duervs merit.

Cheese and butter factories. “Shill- mllls, furniture establishments especially at Mon- tague, cold storage of herring and

other fish, forges, grist mills were

gradually introduced. Justice was not neglected. The first court in ths county was held at George town n 1835 but the bright horizon of peace was not relinquished Medical attention soon arrived in the person of Dr. David Kaye. who settled at Brudenell Point probably in i838. Here he faithfully served the public but later he moved to Georgetown. Education began to be discussed by the government. As a later result Georgetown was cho- sen as a centre and this for a time remained the only school in the dis- trict. Bchools however were soon built at Montague and Cardigan. Fees were generally exacted from the pupils but this disappeared when free school system was intro duced. In 1905 a. branch of ihe Prince Edward Island Railway was built connecting the man line with Montague. Other points in Three Rivers received the railway. Early in the nineteenth century a large plant‘for curing herririi ‘yes estab- lished at Georgetown and meat cannng factorcs at Montague and Cardigan. At the former were two carriage factories, a sash and door factory, and two roller mills. Ship building ceased as an industry at Three Rivers. Legislation, too, must be menifoned. Many names famous in its history are: from the George- town distrlct. Roderick McAuley, T. Haviland, MT. J. A. Mathleson, K. 0., I-Ion. Daniel Gordon, Hon] Arthur Peters, and in the Cardigan district, Cyrus Shaw. Hugh Lord McDonald, James E. McDonald Three

THAT runs PEOPLE MAY KNOW

(A column of Interest to all ncorrlilll accepted facts and worthy opinions regarding the | Place of alcoholic beverages in I modern life: as well as news of ills progress of the campaign for a “dry” world.)

isllilnsored by the Grand Division. Sons of Temperance

I CENTENARY CELEBRATION 0F

The celebration will be observed on both sides of the Atlantic. In m" Dmvlnce it will be observed on Temperance Week — Sept. 11-13- when the Hess, the churches, Schools, Temperance Organizations and all Temperance Workers are "Psed to take part in the celebra- tion. to awaken deeper interest, 1n the Temperonce Movement. The Centenary Pledge Card will be us- ed to enlist young people especially if. the nlovemnnt. Thc example of notable British and Canadian ab- stainers should stimulate the tem- perance cause here.

It l5 gratifying to know that Great Britain is drinking less rc- cently but sad that Canada should be drinking more because of the Government sale of liquor.

It has been asserted again and again, without successful contra- dictioll that $1.00 of liquor revenue lncans $7.00 expense to the Gov- ernment in looking after jail in- mates and all manner of crimes.

Think of this when you read of thc large revenue from liquor in ‘ provinces with Government sale.

- a CENTURY ‘or rnocnass

One hundred years ago, "seven men of Preston" (England) start- ed a movement for human“ better- ment that today has travelled

ber 1st~a clay of new beginnings-

through the Churches, Y. P. Socie- ties, Sunday Schools and the var. ious temperance organizations.

2 — Talks in the public schools

on the evils of strong drink and,

the wisdom of total abstinence.

3 -- Articles in the public ptess’ l

and addresses over radio. 4 --'Wlde distribution of temper- ance literature.

5 -— A province wide pledge alanine campaign for total abstin- ence among youths and adults.

There may be difference of opin-

But in our modern world with its

T E . n TolgilléntzsrrmENcE swift moving. complicated and - powerful machinery and our

knowledge of the effcct of even a

mkm” small dose of alcohol, there should

be unanimous and enthusiastic support of this mcvcmz-nt r-ir total abstinence.

THE SEVEN MEN OF PRESTON

Much wlllbe said and written during the year i932 about these “seven men of Preston". A hund- red years ago they were pioneers in s. social movement that has ga- thered momentum as it travelled across the sens to countries as dis- tant and different as Japan and Australia. They initiated the "total abstinence plan of combating the giant evil of strong drink. Nearly 50 nations have adopted this stray, egy in their attack on that univer- sal enemy of the race. _

"On August 22nd i832 Joscph Livesay challenged‘ one John King to sign a pledge along with him that should cover every kind of in- ioxicating liquor. King, like a king, rose to. the occasion wind pledged himself with Llvesey. From that challenge and that acceptance arose the modern Temperance Move- ment. Eghr days after that joint pledge was taken, i. e., on Septem-

the celebrated Cock Pit at Preston. Lanoashire. witnessed further pledges when five others signed,

W C. T. U. Notes

"We Agree to Abstain from Al" Liquors of an intoxicating Quali- ty, whether Ale. Porter,‘ Wine or

, 133F193? Ardent Spirits, except as Medi- i ‘ ~ - cine." I“ spite 0f u- hlndnm” u” In preparation ‘for this celebra-

grip that thc temperance move- g nlent has on this old world, as it f ever rolls onward, is being demon- g slrated as it never was before pos- ; slble. in a centenary celebration of ,- the first simple signing of a _total I abstinenccc pledge on Scptebmer ll, 12132.

g through the months‘of September * and October, thus commanding the world lo stand still long enough to note thc act of the "Seven Men of Preston," Lancashire, Eng., led by Joseph Liresey and John King in signing a pledge reading:

pledges being taken and in the re- form of thousands of clnulkarda. The numerous temperance socie- ties that grew up continued this kind of work. By such means as this thc public were being educat- ed to the evils of alcohol and a new generation was rising up to realize the dangers of drinking even such mild beverages as beer

and wine. g Next came the effort to secure state action, ‘restriction of the,

drink traffic by government. One of the outstanding names in this respect, is that that of Neal Dow. in the state of Maine, who became known as the Father of Prohibi- tion. After five years of agitation he was successful in securing a

ion about the policy of prohlbitionf T7115 Cclitbralmfl l5 V) wntlflllet

tion a centenary pledge card ‘has been prepared, and as a starterihas been sgned by the six notable British abstainers, Viscount Snow- den, lvIr. Arthur Henderson, Pro- fessor Gilbert Murray, Mr. George Bernard Shaw, Damc -Margaret Lloyd George, and Sir Donald Mac- Lcan. “ '

Westminster Abbey has opened its doc]: fqr thls celebration and such leadership will be followed almost universally, making jt a centenary birthday. with an in- flucncc to be fclt to the ends of the earth. ‘ The evils of world wide finan- cial depression are inclining the world to bring its commonsense out of the storeilouses where it seems to have been packed for moth and rust to corrupt. Great Britain has been drinking much less but its yearly drink bill still stands at 260.000.1300 pounds.

OTTAWA DISTRICT

A very forceful address by Rev- Norman Rawson before the Ottawa District Annual contained the 730l- lowing words: '.

the

"I think incalcuablc harm t/J_ temperance movement has been done by irresponsible. hysterical

women ‘and men who have disgust- ed hundreds of folks who would otherwise- have been willing to be

Dry Law closlng every brewery and sallon in’ thc state in 1831. since: then the movement for govcm-1 mont restriction of the drink iraf-i fic has gained ground until in i920‘ the United States put into effectl its famous nation wide Prohibition Law, an integral part of the con- stitution of the land. Not only s0 but in practically every country in the world more or less stringent restrictions are enforced by govern-

conv-inced. People get thc impres- s‘on. rightly or wrongly, that we nrc a collection of cranks and kill- joys morc intent upon making oth-

‘ cr people conform to our ways of

thinking than we are to do any- thing clse." "I think we ought to be all sewed with thc realization that actually’ our position as tem- perance people today is worse thar l it was a few y-ears ago." the speak- i er continued. “We have lost mucl

making seven in all. Like the seven

menu {ground in the past fmr years snc

effect on their emotions. Nearly a

evenings young and old gathered

Ilranchet a. French military officer on his visit to the vicinity advised the government to remedy this - abuse well seeing the possibilities for commerce and maintalnence of Plans were made for the

dozen buildings were erected at

- o ' i life. Th8 erection of a fort. at Brudenell Point but little military defence

developed from them. Gradually the slow influx of settlers began until the eastern part of the Is- land ‘became ‘sparsely settled. There

Lady of Peribonka

was a small settlement between the Montague and Brlldfnell R1‘ vers probably colonized by the Bum“ ou°"¢""""°4 French, and its interior position

made it less liable to destflwflbh by British privateers.

The chief homestead: were lo- cated in places suitable for cattle grazing, and other various conven-

mm"! has recorded how Molly Brant, sister

‘f naymdmQlrlrflh fences. Those in closer proximity dtdliqfofflygfloh-ykg, to the sea possessed a few v crude beam; d” bride of Sh, boats by which they fished and

traded. Later Georgetown wet re- commended as a fine harbor and for its facilities of communication inland. When Canada passed from French rule to British control in I763 a great interest was taken in colonizing. Deftoml’! charter was abolished and settlers will" W" ‘Itlrss Rivers. Many mntlh 1*" mained and became loyal to Brit- ish sovereignty. Some of these were in reality desccndents of a small number of families who escaped l" the general expulsion of the M!‘ dians from the Island ill 1758 A few of the proprietors who had been given large grants of land af- ter the cession of the country l0 ' the British. endeavored to 0010M" their holdings. Sir Jame! M°fll8°'

William Johnson, the H118’! right arm in the Colonies.

M"! I hundred and ihirlf-fivs years tho l-ed of lovely Molly ‘d "m0 into its own. Elle modern Molly, who "d "I I Pllaca with a Croesus for a husband, f" "l"! rm happen- u‘ a ‘hi’ 76in passed. l

Beautifully mery brought out settlers w the nmllantic Serial in Vicinity of Cardigan any. and I number of . settlers came t"

e Guardian Th IS wgek

Georgetown from Dumfries‘. Mon-I tague six miles up the Menu-sue,

crude and scarce but as the years and the sacrificing of the

these settlers thus enabling them to obtain their neceuary wants. Orchards were judiciously planted: the most notable the bank of Montague luvs? by MI‘- 'W68MWflY during Q13 yQgy-g 150M510- Th“ m"! 959130,!!! the ancient silver dollar which was ta-icessors.

“m” M“ mwmm- mlleml- lieu and punched lnio rings and 0st did the harvest t0 their sickle "l4 "i "m" "M31510 ‘lhlt they as an alternative leather cheques 115mb“ u“ "3" °I l 9511141111, which were also used. Eleotflclty Their furrow cimste. The little clearings began with ‘is illustrious °° "m" t" ti" “time friuse of which emerged h. thc form of hy- How Jocund did they forest retreated. The progression in‘ dro power 110w provmrs the pub-l "Am" °"°°"l"l°4 "19 DWPlB- m‘ lio with further advantages in ihe How bow“; me

in the neighboring homes drawn byvthe general atmosphere that pervaded there in that community. The first sixty or seventy years of the renewed settlements existence there were notable fishing grounds stocked with an abundant supply of mackerel, 00d and herring. ‘rilcsc grounds were frequently visited during the summer to ob- tain the winter's supply. __

Religion was not lacking. Ahum-, bis church of logs had been erceted by the early settlers ‘at Brudenell River. In this primitive and rude building James Mcbaren inspired the few and scattered settlers. in the vicinity. who cams through the blazed roads and by dug-outs to offer up their worship to the Su- preme Being. The Bible was read in Gaelic and though there was but little music their earnest devo- tions were not neglected. John Shaw organized the Baptist Church at Three Rivers in 1832 and com- bined with the efforts of Mr. Mo- Lenrlan. and other devoted men provided a spiritual benefit to the