Cape Breton's Magazine

Lakeboats on the Bras d'Or 1% i'jvn ??,e. Michael MacLean; The old Lakeview just took over the same routine the old Marion had. She'd be running from Sydney to Whycocomagh • go all around the lake. Leave Sydney at 7 o'clock in the morning. Call in North Sydney and go from North Sydney to Big Bras d'Or. And there was New Campbellton • used to call it Kelly's Cove then • from there to New Harris, Boulardarie Centre, Ross Ferry, Big Harbour, Kempt Head and Baddeck. And there was Washabuck, Nyanza, South Cove, South Side Little Narrows and North Side Little Narrows • and then Whycocomagh. Tied up there for the night. Then the next day went into Sydney and called along at all those wharves. George Morrison and Michael MacLean, and the Lakeboats MAY QUEEN and MARION. George Morrison, Whycocomagh; I was born at Whycocomagh Mountain, 1904. I don't remember exactly the year but I was only pretty young when I started on the Marion. There was a boat called the Neptune before the Marion. Between Sydney eind through the lakes, up to Grand Narrows as far as I know. I never saw her but I heard of her. I was seeing the Marion before I went to work on her. She would come down and I'd go aboard of her • and there was a fellow going hay-making and I went in his place. And a hundred pound bag then I couldn't lift it. I was about 13 or 14 and the rest of the fellows were helping me out. The crew of the Marion were all different • there were some from Newfoundland and maybe some Indian fellows. The Marion was a side-wheeler. The wheel was made of 4 inch planks about 4 feet wide • and there were about 4 of them un? der water all the time • so she had no vibration, just kept the same thing all the time. She had a boiler in her. The boiler's still down here at the wharf where she went on fire. She came in that evening and in the morning, just getting ready to leave, when she went on fire. They think it was a spark from a towboat. Came down through into the boiler room. She was open on the top. Part of the en? gine was up on top. They were dredging in here at the time. There was nothing they could do. Soon as it got into the grease and oil, away she went. I wasn't half a mile away. An awful blaze. iVheel- house was way up above • and when the wheelhouse caught fire and fell it blew the whistle. So they cut the lines. Some of them had to jump off the second deck to the wharf. Cut the lines and there was a little bit of breeze that carried her off and she went aground where the boiler sits at the present time. She was well-equipped with passenger ac? comodations down below. She only drew 4 feet of water. Beautiful boat, ife've taken about 150 cows down to Baddeck between liftiycocomagh and Nyanza and all. They were out in the open, out on the front deck. Tie all the cows there to lines along. She'd have a hundred, two hundred sheep. H<>rses. That's all the way they'd haVe to ship all their stuff then. The animals would come from as far back as Mabou and all around the country. The cows they had in a yard down here for a day or two be? fore the boat came in. You'd have to tie them side by side once you got them aboard the boat. Drive them aboard. Or put a rope on them and 2 or 3 of us pull them aboard. Sometimes we had a lot of trouble. We had to kill one before xve landed in Sydney. She was wild and crazy and had to kill her aboard the boat. Engineer. I happened to hold her while he hit her. Then bled her, cleaned her up. And that's the way he got her into Sydney. You couldn't handle her at all. She was completely crazy. I guess it was you're used to a Cape Breton's Magazine/23