Page 32 - The 1929 Earthquake: Two Memories

ISSUE : Issue 50

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1989/1/1

I had lobster traps out there on the beach in the mouth of the bay. When I went out, there were only 2 of them left. When the tide went out, see, it took the traps with them. I had 35 there. But I got them. I got a long pole and a hook on it, and I went out at dead low tide, when the tide was low, and I hooked pretty near all of them up, but 2 or 3. (This was some days later.) A few days after that, yeah. And I had borrowed one (at the) other is? land further down. I used to leave it out there all winter. Before I got to them, I could see them hanging 6 feet up into the trees. The buoy lines all wound around the trees--what a mess, what a mess! Oh, quite a tidal wave went through here. In places it dried half the wells up here. A lot of wells, it dried up. And it washed some small little islands and places away. But the tidal wave in Newfoundland made a cruel destruction there on the west coast. People didn't know what in the hell was coming, thought it was the end of the world. I guess it came in about a 30-foot wave, smashed everything. And that island of Burin, off of Newfoundland (actually, a peninsula)--there were 40 people on it. They were all drowned. It went right over it. (Anything like that happen in Cape Breton? Was anyone hurt?) I never heard of anyone hurt. But out around Cape Smokey, out through there, there was quite a lot of damage done to wells and places there. But the cable--the main force of it hit off of Newfoundland there--the Atlantic cable. Oh, they were a couple of years working at it, patching it up. It took about a hundred, 200 miles of it, and buried it. Buried the cable. They had to cut it on both ends, where they found where it was, and splice it again. The cable service I think was stopped there for quite awhile, till they got it connected up. If that had hit onto Cape Breton, it'd have demolished it.... We only got the outskirts of it. Capt. Robertson Regarding this Postcard Photograph: On February 2, 1987. Mr. Charles H. Rafuse wrote the following to Alan Ruffman, based on Capt. Robertson's memories. Remember as you read this, the Marian Belle Wolfe is the vessel pictured here. The house was Your enclosed xerox picture (which Alan Ruffman had sent for Capt. Robertson's com? ments) was not the one that was on the postcard which he (Capt. Robertson) had at that time. Perhaps an appeal to residents probably towed l' her by the Ronald George: in the Burin area could still produce one Gas Tank Replacements & Repairs Sydney Radiator For Personal Efficient Service: Call 539-2122 New Heaters & Radiators or Repairs . J-* . We Service and Sriip 121 Prince Street, Sydney Anywhere on cape Breton Island 20 Years a Family Business 2 Years Warranty on All Parts * We Accept VISA & IVIASTERCARD

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