EARLY BEAR RIVER SETTLERS

Interesting stories have been related by the late Peter and Michael McGaugh, and told to me in 1964, when I was doing a school project. The stories were about some of the settlers who lived in Bear River in days gone by. I don’t know if they are fact or fiction, but I will describe them to you as they were revealed to me.

John McCullough was known to be one of the strongest men around that era. He was a man who was quite visible, since he was very big in stature. It is said that he walked to Fortune to buy a barrel of herring. When he went to pay for the fish, the fisherman said, “If you can carry the barrel of herring home on your back it will be yours free of charge.” John agreed, and left for home, but, on the way, he stopped at McDougall’s bar-room to quench his thirst. It was dark when he continued on his journey to Bear River. As he came close to home, he heard a noise, and discovered a man lying in the ditch. Apparently, this man had also visited the tavern. So he picked him up and carried both the man and the herring home. Thus, he won the bet.

Another interesting character of an early era was John Lawlor. He was an irishman, who displayed his irish descent by wearing green clothes. This man sported a green hat; green patches on his pants; a swallow tail coat; and moccasins. Brass buttons decorated his clothes. He was a very superstitious character, who never walked on ploughed ground. He firmly believed that if you did, you would have bad luck. In those days, such people visited some of the houses in the neighbourhood where they would be fed a meal and given a place to rest on the couch. A couch was usually a piece of furniture found in every farm kitchen. At times, John would become a nuisance to the people; so, in order to get rid of him, they would show him something red. Better still, if he saw blood he would quickly leave the premises,

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