Cape Breton's Magazine

NgII a. MscKinnon continued from back cover and the wind would shift. And then the next day it started snowing again. It kept on like about 3 weeks. Nicholson, he was leaving The Rear the next spring, and he sold all his cattle. He said, "There's a barnful of hay there," And to get the hay, you know--there was a- bout 6 feet of snow on the level. In some places there was as high as 12 feet, in the gullies and that. They didn't have too much in the form of snowshoes or anything, I remember my older brothers left one day for this Nicholson's, And they weren't or? ganized for a frolic at that time. They went about 2 o'clock. And 2 o'clock the next morning they got back with 2 bags each slung over their shoulders--2 bags tied together, stuffed with as much hay as you could get in them. That didn't last long. So they organized a group the next day. And they took a light sleigh, one of those riding sleighs, and they put standers in it. They put a big rope on it. And some of them had snowshoes, too. There were 6 or 8 of them. They put about 5 or 6 hundred pounds of hay on. And they hauled it. Well, that lasted most of that week. And then shortly after that, they broke the road from Beaver Cove out, you know, with a group of horses. They put the best horse a- head, and they came out light, and they broke the road. And then we got another ton from North Sydney. That's how we sur? vived during the winter. I think that was in 1905, That would be o- ver in March, the crisis was. But the big snow started from late in December to ear? ly February--the big snow, that blocked us in. We could get out to feed the animals. Our greatest crisis was the water. The water was in a brook. It would be about 500 yards (away), or something like that. And it was no place to farm. When we got big e- nough, we were picking those rocks and mak? ing piles of them. Couldn't take them too far. They used to make line fences with that rock too. That was our biggest handicap, (The death of your father.) You see, he used to get an odd shift on the railroad. Didn't get steady. But he wasn't keeping too much cat? tle. He might have a couple of cows and a horse, and about 28 sheep. And then, when he died, my mother used to keep extra cat? tle. We'd survive by selling butter and the likes of that in the summertime. And eggs, and a few lambs, and so on. The trouble was, she didn't provide for the ex? tra feed for the cattle. And then we'd run out of feed in the middle of the winter. And that's the time, the winter of the big snow--we (did) run out of feed. After get? ting a ton of hay from Sydney, They used to drop it off at the train, at Beaver Cove, And the snow started. There was a nice sleigh road, about a foot of snow, good sleighing. And we hauled that hay home. Then the snow started in earnest. And it'd snow today. And then possibly in? to the next day. And it'd kind of clear up. CT'TTN CO-OP Building Supplies '' '/f STATION ST., PORT HAWKESBURY - 625-2600. KING'S ROAD, SYDNEY - 539-6410 Manufacturers of Quality HARBOUR HOMES Paints and Stains ' MIH) We Feature QUALITY PAINTS & STAINS FOR EVERY NEED Pointing The Way To Better Living We've been building quality into our homes for more than 32 years. Over 40 Home Plans to Choose from (58) You've Got Experience On Your Side