McIntosh of Nova Scotia

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 interval and the Big Interval 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 intervals, 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 interval 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 help 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.]

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 appareled. 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 overshadowed 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.

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.

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.

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 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 interval 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 NorthEast 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.

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 woodwork 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 traveled 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 catchiest 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 fishery. 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 milestones 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 favorable 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.

Diana married Peter McIntosh of South River, Antigonish, Lewis A. McIntosh, Mayor of Antigonish and Dr. George S. McIntosh of Halifax, are children of this marriage, as were also, Maggie A., married to George Taylor of Antigonish, Janie Bell married to J. A. Sinclair of Goshen, nephew of McLean Sinclair, and William W. married to Greta Sinclair of South River Lake.

Norman MacIntosh, son of Neil, came from Canna when a boy and found his way to River Deny's. Some time later he married Margaret Black of River Inhabitants and had a family at River Denys of eight daughters and three sons. After his death, the widow and all the family moved to the United States, excepting one son, Donald, who started a small business for himself at Port Hastings and made his home there. His wife was Catherine, daughter of Neil MacCuish River. Denys. They had a family of six daughters and two sons. Two of the daughters, Catherine (Mrs. MacFadyen) and Elizabeth, and one brother, Daniel A., are living at Port Hastings with their mother.

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 neighboring 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.