Page 37 - Flora McPherson: The Quest for Rev. Norman McLeod

ISSUE : Issue 66

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1994/6/1

Illustrations from Watchman Against the Worid. Six ships sailed from Cape Breton to New Zealand (1851-1859), carrying followers of Norman McLeod. Above left, at the 1903 reunion, are survivors of those who sailed on the Breacfa/bane • drawing, above right. Rt.: Norman McLeod. paper. For this I owe more to the Gait Li? brary than to any li? brary whose help I have acknowledg? ed in the foreward to the book-- without the experience of regular writing I would not have been ready to write a book and would not have had sufficient confidence to begin it. Presently I felt that I must try it, and that the only way was to give up my job and write. So for a year I lived on half my salary and saved the other half. (My salary that year was $4100, but excellent five-pound cheeses were cheap at Baden and it was easy to buy bushels of luscious red apples at St. George.) In the summer of 1958 I moved to part of a farmhouse at Arva to live on the other half of the salary, in a place which ideally combined country life and accessi? ble libraries. Since I knew that Norman McLeod had spent the year 1826 in Caledo? nia, N. Y., I went that fall to see the village and search through the well- indexed records in its old stone library: then on to Washington to visit friends and spend a week using the Library of Con? gress, searching for material on church and community life in New York state in the 1820's. I came back with many notes which are the basis of two pages in the published book. I have been told by an au? thority on non-fiction writing that, in a history or biography, the final book con- .the Gem of Victoria County The Goose Cove Pottery & Gift Shop is located on the Cabot Trail off Highway #105 on Exit 11 Open 7 days a week between 9 am and 5 pm from mid June till Labour Day Visitors are welcome to browse at the pottery .studio located on site The Goose Cove The Goose Cove Pottery & Gift Shop Carole Ann MacDonald Potter R. R.#4 (St. Ann's) Baddeck, Nova Scotia BOE IBO (902) 929-2293 i' X' POTTERY & GIFT SHOP sists of about 2% of the accumu? lated mate? rial. You don't ignore the other 98%--you try to assimi? late it and build your impressions from it. I also had to know very thoroughly the Scottish county where Norman McLeod lived from 1780 to 1812 be? fore he came to North America and every possible detail of community life there. The University library had an excellent collection on this subject; so good that when I visited Sutherlandshire, Scotland, in 1960 after I had finished the book, I felt completely at home in the countryside which I had been describing. I was faring rather well in background ma? terial , but at the beginning of 1959 one vital primary source was still evad? ing me--the one book written by McLeod hmself. It was a tremen? dous satisfac? tion finally to discover a copy in the Legisla? tive Library in Halifax and get the tattered volume at West? ern on interli- brary loan--for use only in the library, of C • O' QUILTS raft blipppo • v ' ' ? HANDCRAFTS ANTIQUES & SOUVENIRS COLLECTABLES The traditional warmth of handcrafted Mar? itime giftware, with unique gift suggestions and curious mementoes of your visit • Open Daily, Mid-June to Labour Day • ENGLISHTOWN (JERSEY COVE) Route 312 • (902)929-2992 just 1 km. north, across the Englishtown Ferry In either direction, it's a beautiful way to go!

Cape Breton's Magazine