The Diary of David Ross - Excerpts ■ August 5 - Brought out Stedes 2 boys who began work at the new house in place of Lees . August 7-10 - Laying the lower flooring towards evening began to clean boards for upper flooring. August 31 - Bain plasterer came out and began lathing. December 23 - Carpenters finished lower part of House . 1847 April 17 - Donald Scott became oblivious - strayed from the road on his way home and was found (20th) dead near Little York . Buried this day (22nd). April 23 - Ice not broke up yet - fields all white - cattle in various quarters of the Island dying of starvation. Hay as high as 10 pounds for ton. April 28 - Cold - ther. 40° - not a bit of ice broke up yet. Flocks of wild geese resting on ice - starving too, I suppose. Coles, the whiskey distiller, elevated to the executive council - goes back in consequence to his constituents for re-election. May 4 - Went for load straw from Mr. Cairns - a gentleman - took nothing for it - capital straw too - while neighbor Robertson charged me 2/ per cwt for load the other day, more like dung. 1848 April - News arrived of French Revolution. 1849 March 23 - Capt. drowned off Frenchfort coming down ice with marsh hay. Broke thro' the ice & was a long time in the water with but his snout up. March 31 - Ice very bad. Cries in the evening off Appletree Point - Bradley & horse drowned there. Too late to be of service. April 1 - Assisted recovering bodies of man & horse - gallant & brave conduct of the natives. May 14 - Dr. Bos well run away from his wife & supposed to be lying sick in St. John , N .B. June 26 - Had another brush with Belzebub [sic] - at repairing line fence. mso. April 17 - The ice good and the fields and woods covered with deep snow - only a few have fodder for their cattle. Cattle starving - some people boiling their seed wheat and all to save them. June 6 - Complete change of government - all old officers turned out and new batch created consisting of a parcel of rascals called........ Responsible Government. August 11 - Old Belzebub [sic] interred in the pro¬ posed road thro' the graveyard at his own request. The grave filled up by Robertson - a number of the neighbors absented themselves from the funeral. Oct. 9 - Of this month a violent gale at NE cast away a great number of Yankee fishing schooners. 150 lives lost. [Yankee Gale]. 1852 March 2 - Cow that was hurt by Belzebub [sic] died today of the injuries brought on by that hurt. September 16 - Between last night and this morning a heavy gale at SE drove in all our sea fences, gates, marsh hay, longers mixed and higher up the fields than on any previous occasion covering part of turnips great part of the bank tumbled down and swept away - McGregor, Vickersons, Scotts , McBeath served in like manner. High tide with the wind did all the mischief. Always some disaster befalls everyone, it would not be RE. Island else. December - About the middle of last month Mr. Gisborne succeeded successfully in laying a cable for a telegraph betwixt this Island & the main being the first of the kind ever attemped in America and the cheapest of------anywhere ever yet laid & now the wire is within 4 miles of Charlottetown . 1853 Jan, 7 - Got the highest abuse from Jn. Fergusson for demanding back my wood sleigh which he had for a whole 12 months. Got it back in a greatly damaged state. -144-