and made it fast, and Captain Sweetson and his crewhof 32 men follow- ed the lifeline to the safety of the fire—warmed buildmg.

The snow had blocked the roads, so, for almost a week, the sail- ors were guests in the nearby homes. The captain and the mates stayed at the home of Milton Coffin, and, no fewer than nine crew members Were made welcome by James W. Feehan and family. Three South Americans, three Englishmen, two Americans and a Frenchman, this interesting group whiled away the time playing cards, playing the piano, singing songs and writing letters. Upon his arrival in Charlottetown, Captain Sweetson was loud in his praises of the generosity and kind treatment of which he and his men had been the recipients.

The ship itself, “covered with ice and snow, doors and moveable parts frozen fast and looking for all the world like an iceberg,” remain~ ed in an upright position about 500 feet from shore. An attempt was made to salvage some of the hay; however, it had been so soaked with salt water that the cattle refused to eat it. The super-structure of the ill—starred craft was eventually cut up with acetylene torches and hauled

away for scrap. Portions of the remainder still lie where they came to rest almost sixty years ago.

1919 Tea Party

July 1, 1919 was the date of a mammoth tea party, held at Mount Stewart for the purpose of raising funds for new sidewalks. A special train was scheduled from Charlottetown for the event, and many who came wore fur coats as it was a very cold day. The attractions included a baseball game, a bowling alley and a dance, the fiddlers playing from noon until dark. The main attraction, however, was a horse-powered swing, owned by Mr. Charles Dwyer. Containing from 8-10 seats and capable of accommodating two people in each place, the contrivance was a familiar sight all over the Island. Despite the extremely unsea- sonable weater, the event was deemed a great success, and over $1,000 was realized for the sidewalk project.

Gypsies

After the old plank sidewalks had been torn up, but before the new cement ones had been laid, Mount Stewart was visited by a Gypsy band. So—called as it was once believed they came from Egypt, the Gypsies arrived in North America during the late 1800’s. They were making excursions to Prince Edward Island as early as 1903, so this may not have been their first appearance in the village. They arrived in their painted wooden waggons late one afternoon and chose the field between the pr- sent home of Mrs. J. D. Reddin and the old Bourke store as their camp site. They had soon built an outside fire, above which were sticks from which was suspended a galvanized bucket. In the bucket, being stirred periodically with a broom handle, was a hen, complete with feet, feathers and head, accompanied by two herring. During the evening, the men indulged their passion for horse—trading, and at least one villager was short-changed due to the clever manipulation of a folded bill which was made to appear double its actual amount. It was probably the gaudy appearance of the visitors which impressed the local inhabitants most. The men were heavily bewhiskered, while the women were clad in long dresses and high-heeled shoes and wore large earrings. There was one strikingly good looking girl who had her dark hair done up in a red kerchief. As seems to have been customary in the case of such visits

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