Stewart MacDonald, M.D.

doubt they still have layers of soil and rock samples from under Little Sands.

The people of the area never suffered for heat as the entire area is bounded on the north by good firewood, which was easily obtained. There are three streams run- ning through Little Sands. One of them travels through the woods from the County Line Road and curves down to the shore below our farm. The outflow used to unite with a creek flowing from Alex Blue’s farm and flows out below our farm. The western stream was diverted further to the west in the past few years. There is also a stream flowing out below the County Line. These three creeks meant three bridges in the community. They used to be wooden bridges and one could hear the wagons thump- ing over them from our home.

The school in the area was placed about 300 yards farther east than the middle of the district, which was always a point of contention. It only meant seven or eight steps farther each day for the western students, but as Leonard MacLean once said, “we only had the telephone poles for shelter" so every step counted. At first the school was of log construction and they taught Gaelic. My wife has one of the old Gaelic school read- ers, which was then taught. Most of the people of Lit- tle Sands spoke two languages. My father and mother both spoke freely, and when they did not want us chil- dren to know what they were speaking, they conversed in Gaelic. When company arrived and good stories were told, the punch line was told in Gaelic. They never made any attempt to teach us their secret code.

I am sad to say that the teaching was very mediocre. My grand-uncle (Charlie MacDonald] in the latter part of the 19th century, was one of the last teachers to get his education from there in fifty years, until I went to Prince

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