EARLY DAYS IN THIS DISTRICT - 1909 - Mr. Thos. Cuff
Our reporter yesterday called upon Mr. Thos. Cuff an old and respected
resident of Lindsay, to glean from him a little data relative to the early
days of Lindsay and Victoria County. When our reporter asked him if he had
read the Post article of an interview with John Dovey, he replied, "Yes, but
you should have come to me, you should. I was here before there was a Dovey
in Canada. Sit down, sir," and, seated comfortably out on Thomas' neat lawn
he told me the story of his life.
"I was born in County Cavan, Ireland, and sailed from Belfast in 1831 with
my father. My wife is also Irish and came from county Wicklow. My father
was and old British soldier and had fought for the King, Constitution and
Country in the four corners of the globe, The bloodiest battle he ever saw
was with Lord Nelson when he crossed the Arabian deserts to fight Napoleon
on the Nile. In 1812 my father was among those who fought at LUNDY'S LANE
AND QUEENSTON HEIGHTS when England and the United States were at war. That
was his last battle.
When we first came to Canada we settled in Emily, a mile south of
Downeyville. PORT HOPE AND COBOURG were the nearest places where we could
get anything and we had to tramp though a blaze in the bush to get there,
It would not have been half so bad if there had been a trail but there was
not, It was simply a blaze in the bush. The OLD WOODMAN was the first
boat to ply down the river, It was manned by Mr. Crandell, who received the
honorary title of "Captain" and two men, who used two oars each and sailed
from Port Perry to Lindsay. Where the locks are now, were then rapids.
When we came to Peterborough in 1831 there was one log house on the Otonabee
River, It was the Government house. There were a few shanties, They used
to bring emigrants from Quebec by steamer to Cobourg, and then walked to
rice lake through the bush and then from Gore's Landing they sailed to
Peterborough. As far as LINDSAY is concerned, I remember when Lindsay now, was
called Purdy's Mill, because Mr. Purdy was the oldest settler and had
built a mill here and I remember when Kent Street was such a thick, dismal
swamp it was impassable.
As for OMEMEE it was called Cottingham's village. Mr. Cottingham had
built a little mill a year after we came out to Emily. That was in 1832.
When I was 12 years old I left my father and moved to Ops, where I worked
for a man who, during the REBELLION OF '37 was an out and out rebel. I had
to drive a team twice a week to Port Hope and leave some things that had to
be put in the wagon by my employer, with his father-in-law in Port Hope.
These I learned later, were ammunition, etc., for the rebels. I remember at
one time getting up, as I always had to, first in the morning, to get wood
and I found two men in the yard with their horses tied to the wagon wheels.
They asked if my master was in, I told them he was, and I called him to the
door. He took the two men in and opened a keg of cherry whiskey, I don’t
know what else transpired, but those two men, who were spies, went back
quite satisfied and there was nothing rebellious about my master while all
the time there were a dozen glittering swords uncovered on the wagon to
which they had tied their horses.
In 1838 peace was proclaimed, the same year that Queen Victoria was
crowned.
Thomas referred to his talks with men about town to day, and he spoke with
settled conviction on the superiority of the early settlers to the present
Lindsayites, Of course we can all forgive him for this little bit of pride
and unanimously with Thomas, his wife and family continued health and
happiness.
WOLVES WERE PLENTIFUL
About the year 1832 said Mr. Cuff, the residents of the Scotch Line in
Verulam and on the opposite shore of Sturgeon Lake had to journey to
Cottingham Mill where Omemee now stands with the grist on their backs, My
father resided near Downeyville and his cabin was a sort of halfway house.
When the settlers were returning from the mill they would reach our home
towards evening where they would make a scone and draw a cup of tea. After
getting rested they would start on their journey home. As it would be late
in the evening, they usually took pieces of cedar bark, of which my father
always kept a supply, and they would light them and use this as a torch in
order to find their way as well as to keep the wolves off. By keeping the
torch in motion the flame would last for a long period.
There is a man residing in Emily, named Cornelius Flynn, was three
years older than myself, and he could narrate many interesting stories of
pioneer days in these regions. He is Irish, and, said, Mr. Cuff, in
concluding, the devil himself can't beat the Irish.
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