BEARS

7 Bears were quite common when the first settlers came to this country, the last one was shot by John Champion about 1870, his skin can be seen in the museum at Cabot Park.

About this date a new minister came to St. Stephen’s church and was announcing a W.A. meeting at John Champions house, he said, “I don’t know John Champion”; 3. little man sitting up in the gallery spoke in a squeaky voice and said, “John Champion! John Champion! don’t you know John Champion the man whot shot the bear.”

About 1920 Everett and Cuthbert MacLeod were looking over the cliffs near the Cove factory after a big storm to see if any wreckage had washed up. Everett called Cuthberts attention to a big stone with the letters JC carved on it. Cuthbert said that brings to my mind the story the old people told about some person finding the mangled body of John Crossman lying on the old road that followed the shore and the foot prints of a mother bear and her two cubs leading away from the body. A sailor climbed up on the cliff and cut the letters JC deep into the rock, near the grave.

As the cliffs were washed away the rock fell into the sea and about a hundred years later the big storm turned the rock over and the story of the only Islander killed by a bear was remembered.

John Andrew Power tells the story about his grandfather hearing his pig squaling, Davie guessed that a bear was the cause. Not having a gun he grabbed up the heavy rug he brought from Ireland, his son followed with a club, they found the bear trying to get the pig through the stump fence, the pig was fighting every inch of the ground and squealing. Davie threw the rug over the bear and the son wielding the Shillelagh right and left soon put an end to bruin’s plans of a juicy meal.

The last wild cat in this area was seen by Mrs. Donald MacLeod at her uncles now Keir Camp in French River in 1823.

CHAPTER V SCHOOLS

- The first school in Long River was situated a hundred yards West of Sandy Doughart’s lane, a small bush marked the spot up to 1921 when the road was widened and the bush disappeared, the school was a small log building. The first teacher was Innis Reid followed by Brooks, Pidgeon, MacLeod and Stewart. As roads were opened up the new school was built in the center of the district where the hall now stands. Be- fore the turn of the century some of the teachers were Alexander Camp- bell, Hedley Buntain, MacKenzie, Charlotte Bernard, Rev. Angus Mac- Leod, Rev. Everett Stevenson, R. H. Rogers, A. J. Matheson, Carrie Clay and Dan MacLeod.

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