Page 62 - Visit with Will Pringle, Richmond County

ISSUE : Issue 63

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1993/6/1

I think he was a carpenter--James Pringle, the carpenter, I believe. And somewhere around are some of his letters to his son about the grist mill. I just don't know where they are now. There was a mystery. The MacLeans, they came. Pop said, from Pictou down on a ves? sel, landed at Port Hood. And walked over the valleys and mountains, through what's now Granddale. And came down on the shores of Lime Hill. And they didn't like it on that side of the lake--it was too steep. Found it too steep. So they built rafts--they were ingenious-- built the dry-wood rafts, ramparts and so on, that would float higher. And when the wind was northwest, they let go and they came across and they went east of Prin? gle 's Island there. And they landed just at the shore where--we used to say "at Sam's," but where Turners live now. And he went ashore, the father, and he came back out and he said, "It's level land. And there's beautiful trees--hemlock and pine and so on. And there's a nice brook. Here's where we'll settle and build our Beautiful Campus Alumni Gardens Alumni Theatre Historic Displays in Library Open House Program {last Saturday in July) Gazebo in Alumni Gardens BOX 550, TRURO, N.S. B2H SES TEL. (902) 893-NSAC HOWARD NARDOCCHIO • GENERAL MANAGER It's time to look twice where you will spend your hard-earned dollar. At ISLAND MAZDA, we back up your investment with service that's second to none & a factory warranty that's an envy in the industry. WaZBB ''IT JUST FEELS RIGHT'' cabin. And here's where, when I'm gone, I'll be buried." So they were buried--the MacLeans, and the Pringles that were mar? ried to MacLeans, were buried there for a number of years, at the shore at Sam's there. But the MacLeans were in the valley and the MacLeods were up above. Now, this is a strange happening, in those times espe? cially. They met on the road one day. And they were great neighbours, and they were talking back and forth. And they decided right there and then that the MacLeods would sooner be down in the valley, on the level land; the MacLeans up on the hill. And they changed--they just swapped homes and houses, and left everything there. The MacLeods came down and the MacLeans went up, above. And one of the MacLean men, there was a strange mystery about him. He was away working in the States somewhere, I think out in Butte, Montana. And he came home by boat--no railroads then. And he landed at Port Hawkesbury--I often heard Pop telling the story. And he walked over--there was a path or road. And he was seen passing down by Dundee. And someone talked to him there, I think (it was) Gary Andrew. And he talked with a Macintosh man up about 3 or 4 miles here. He said he was a big tall man with a dark blue suit. And he stopped to talk with Jim down here--Jim Pringle. And it was about a mile from there to his home. And he never reached home. Wasn't that the strangest thing? Today, of course, there'd be Mounties and a search. But as far as they could make out, there was an old woman--a cailleach--almost like a witch--in those days they called that a cailleach in Gaelic. And a boy of 17 or 18, sort of what they call "addled in the head"--in those days it was, I sup? pose, kind of simple. Ad? dled- -kind of mixed up. And some say that they were very poor. I remember when I was a little boy of seeing their log foundation near the road there, down at what we call "down at Hu? ghie 's." And that he (the TIMES HAVE CHANGED/ NOW IT'S TIME TO THINK MAZDA • SALES & SERVICING A COMPLETE LINE OF CARS, TRUCKS & VANS • ON-THE-SPOT FINANCING & LEASING !?

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