Cape Breton's Magazine

A Story of Christmas Island as told by Dan MacNeil I'll tell you one story and you won't be? lieve it. And it's as true as anything. There was a little girl, a MacKenzie girl, up in the rear of Christmas Island, There's nobody knows yet what was the meanii' it had. She was a little girl, and in the nighttime there'd be a knock come at the door (knock, knock, knock, knock on the table top) and a little hand would show. The hand would show on the wall. And she'd go in what you'd call a trance. She'd faint. And she'd go across to the other side, she'd go to heaven. And do you know the one that was taking her around in hea? ven, by the hand, was Mary Magdalene. And when she'd come out of that trance, when she'd wake up from that trance she'd tell them everything. She'd tell them a neigh? bor of hers, she says, "My neighbor died just a few minutes ago. I saw him entering into heaven." And by gosh the next morning they inquired boy and the neighbor died at a certain time, when she'd seen hira going into heaven. And that was going on. They took her to priests and they took her to the bishops and everything, and it was no use. And she used to be like that every night. Pretty near every night, anyhow. And that Huey MacKenzie we were talking about, that Huey MacKenzie who had the Gaelic and everything, had a book boy, stories • this knock came one night and the door opened and this hand came on the wall and Huey was sitting some? where and he had a pillow and he just aimed on the hand • and the hand, boy, threw the pillow back in his face. That was going on boy, and she was to priests and she was everywhere • no use. And this once • this last time • she went in this trance and she went to heaven, and she always went around with Mary Magdalene in heaven • Mary Magdalene took her by the hand around heaven • and this old lady that died up there rear of Christmas Island, she was a MacKenzie too, she was in heaven. She was dead, she was in heaven too. And she told her, she says, ??*You tell your father to go to my son, and look in an old trunk in the attic and you'll find a ring there," she says. "And get that ring," she says, "and put it on your finger. And this'11 never happen to you again." By gosh, she told her father what the old lady told her. And he went down • it was only a couple of houses from them anyhow • he went down and told the man of the house the story about his mother, that the little girl was talking to his mother in heaven. Well he says, '*There is such a trunk upstairs all right." And the old woman, in heaven she told her, she said, "That ring is wrapped up in a rag it is in the bottom of that trunk." And by gosh the man of the house went upstairs to the trunk and they found the rag in the bottom of the trunk with the ring wrapped up inside it. And she was only about five or six, and the ring was big, a woman's ring, and they had to tie that ring with string on? to her hand. And she never saw anything after that. And she got married, she only died about three years ago. She didn't want it but it was coming to her. And they never found out what was the cause of it. And this story is true. Mr. and Mrs. Dan MacNeil