. They had a free run of the woods and therefore had no difficulty 1n procurlng material for their work. The families living near the place where their camp was pitched treated them with respect.
This habit is scarcely ever heard of now, as the Indians have their own reservation on Lennox Island, with a church, a school and a convent
with a resident priest. They also have bus service thus allowing them to attend school in Summerside.
Let us hope that in the near future some sort of continuous link between Lennox Island and Prince Edward Island will be available.
During the war of 1914 and again in 1939 many of them enlisted and distinguished themselves as brave and resourceful soldiers. The son of John Sark (Chief of the tribe) was among those who enlisted in World War 1. He returned home with an English bride who taught the children and was a great help in raising the standard of living among the people.
Since writing about the Indians, the following appeared in the news- paper. The school and convent building destroyed by fire on Lennox Island, April 24, 1971, was owned by the Federal Government and the govern- ment will rebuild it. Consequently no financial loss was suffered by any of the residents because of the fire. However, there will be considerable inconvenience in that temporary accommodations must be found for the school children and materials will have to be hastily assembled from some source.
The major lesson of the fire is that it could probably have been checked if it had been possible for fire departments to get to the Island. Thus we have an object lesson on the need for some permanent form of connection with the mainland.
It would appear that the Department of Indian Affairs is about to take some steps regarding the construction of a bridge or causeway. It is to behoped that the unfortunate events of last Saturday morning will force the department to speed up its planning.
EARLY DAYS IN NEW ANNAN
We, in this day and age with so many luxuries cannot imagine how our early ancestors ever ex1sted.
Let us go back to the early years of 1800 when sturdy men and women from the Old Country, etc. braved the stormy seas of the Atlantic and the Gulf; they sail along the coast line, entering different harbours and came to land.
One of our oldest ladies in the district, once asked her minister just what these pioneer settlers would bring with them and the reply was, “whatever else they brought they would certainly have the shorter cate- chism”.
Some landed at Malpeque Bay and found their way along the river which was later named Barbara Weit. Here they settled, some found their way farther inland. They had to clear land with an axe and a wooden framed buck-saw. Trees were cut down and piled in rows for burning, great care had to be taken to have plenty of space between the piles and woods.
A forest fire was a serious matter in early days. Here they built 12
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