|
A History of Pioneering in the Pakan District, continued... Another constant source of interest to those living in and around Pakan was, of course, the river. Living as close to it as they did, their day-to-day lives were very much affected by its seasonal changes. For example, no one who saw the flood waters of 1915 could ever forget the sight. The settlement itself, situated for the most part on the highest bank of the river, was not threatened, but the flour mill on the lower level came within a few feet of being swept away. Low lying areas further up river, however, didn't fare as well, judging by the contents of the the high water racing by. Besides the usual debris from along shore, there were logs by the thousands from "Walter's Mill" in Edmonton, thousands of feet of lumber, small houses, one big barn, and a granary with a stranded rooster on its roof. This was the river on a rampage after a sudden hot spell melted the snow and ice at its source in the Rockies. Most often, however, the actual crossing of the river presented the greatest problems at various times of the year. I remember August day, during harvest time, when the river suddenly took a big jump. The ferry was forced to stop crossing as it always did under these conditions. However, this day the drivers of two loads of lumber were most anxious to cross and finally persuaded the ferryman in charge to cross them, against his better judgement. Besides the lumber, there were thirteen men, women and children on board, which was quite a load at any time. The load proceeded across without any trouble but, as it approached the opposite shore, the big overhead cable on which the pulleys ran pulled out of the bank, leaving the ferry to float the river. The frantic ferryman rowed the small emergency boat ashore and ran two miles downstream to Kahwin where he telephoned to alert the ferryman at Shandro. At Shandro they were able to rescue the ferry at ten o'clock that night. The very frightened passengers were taken a shore but the ferry stayed at Shandro as it was easier to bring a replacement downstream to Pakan. On another occasion, a simular experience happened to me personally. I was on my way to Lamont to pick up a load of freight and had pulled onto the ferry before seven o'clock in the morning in my wagon. John Whitford was on duty, relieving my brother-in-law, Henry Thompson, who was the ferryman in charge at that time. After shoving off and getting out into the stream about fifty yards, the small cable, from the ferry to the pulleys overhead, broke and left us floating helplessly downstream. I shouted at someone on shore to run up to the hill to get a hundred yards of rope which which I hoped I might secure the ferry to an overhanging tree. However, it was soon obvious that this plan wouldn't work as we had already drifted too far out into the stream and away from shore. At this point I decided to take the row boat around to the end of the ferry, told old John to take off the length of safety cable and stick the hook between the planks of the apron, while I tied the other end to the boat seat. I really wasn't sure I could even move the ferry against the strong current but a few pulls on the oars told me it was going to work. I knew, though, that I had to reach the horse before we drifted down as far as the rapids which were only a mile away. Eventually, after rowing desperately with all my strength, I was able to get within reach of those who had come to our rescue and were following along the shore. We did manage to stop the ferry two hundred yards above certain disaster at the rapids. Our troubles weren't quite at an end, however, as we weren't able to land at a grade to remove the team, so had to pull the loaded ferry back up to Pakan. In the meantime traffic was tied up, with about ten teams lined up waiting to cross and be on their way. As bad crossing over the water could be at times, crossing on ice in the spring of the year seemed to be the most hazardous, especially for anyone not familiar with the wiles of the river. As a result, there were many accidents at this time of year. One such accident occurred when a warm spring day had created the worst ice conditions on the river, causing water to flow along the shores and holes to open up in the middle. In spite of these danger signs, an elderly man and women attempted to cross and went to close to one of the open holes. As a result, their team of horses broke through the ice. Fortunately for the old couple, the wagon stayed on top. Just as we boys were preparing to go to their rescue, a very frightened neighbouring woman came running to our house for help. Her small son was missing and she was afraid he had fallen in the river. We formed a search party and, happily, after an hour or so, found the boy safe on shore. In the meantime, the old man had managed to pull the harness off his horses and they were bobbing around in the open water. Getting them out wasn't easy. It was also dangerous. By using two strong tamarack planks we managed to free them, however. After leading all safely back to shore, we rode the horses around to warm them up, then suggested to the old couple they hitch up again, go home, and return when the river was safe. On another spring day before the ice went out of the river, two mission ladies, Miss Weekes and Miss McLean, arrived at the river in the late afternoon to find they couldn't possibly drive across. This would mean returning twelve miles to Andrew to spend the night, then on about seventy miles to Fort Saskatchewan the following day to cross on the bridge. From there they could continue on home to Kola Kreeka Mission at Smoky Lake after two days of travel. So to avoid all this, a friend, Harry Gordon, my brother, Gordon and I decided we would try to help the ladies in distress. We put long planks an dry dead trees together to make a kind of rough bridge across the twenty-foot stretch of open water that was flowing on either shore. This proved sufficient to hold the ladies. Crossing the horses over was much more difficult as they had to be forcefully led into the icy cold water up to their necks. Dr. Lawford met us on shore with horse blankets and took the horses to his warm barn. The buggy crossed last but not without a thorough ducking also. Without too much loss of time, the ladies went on their way rejoicing, promising they would remember us in their wills. I can recall yet another man who learned to respect the river in spring. He was stranded on the wrong side of the river with a team of horses and a load of grain. With water flowing three feet in depth and thirty feet in width on both sides of the river ice, the ferryman warned the man not to attempt to cross. As soon s it was dark, however, the man in desperation foolishly started across leading his team. About fifty yards out the ice gave way and everything went in. He managed to save his own life by hanging onto the mane of one horse as it struggled in the water. Fortunately his cries for help were heard by the ferryman who rushed to his rescue but he lost the whole of his outfit. Crossing with the mail, when it was being despatched to Pakan from Andrew to the south, was often difficult and dangerous. I remember once when it was being pushed across the ice in a rowboat when one of the men dropped through the weakened ice. Luckily he was able to grasp the side of the boat and only went in up to his neck. At other times the mail was crossed over in a basket attached to the pulley fo the ferry. At any rate, the mail usually got through according to tradition, and in spite of the river. The river in its spring moods, though, certainly played no favorites at all. I can remember one morning, when the usual wide streams of water were flowing down both shores, a man driving a "Model T" Ford car came down to the river to cross over on the ice. He ventured out only to have the hind part of the car break through the weakened ice. He then jumped out, leaving the car running and in gear, resulting in a most ludicrous sight. The rear end would sink down to the bottom, then jump up again as though it were trying to scramble out on its own. The man finally got up enough nerve to climb on the running board and shut off the motor. The car was later pulled out but not before it had completely disappeared underwater at one point. In the years since these early days, however, the river has aged and slowed down with the rest of us. No longer does it threaten to overflow its banks in the spring. No longer can it play tricks on the unwary traveller because it is now spanned by bridges - convenient but lifeless. Still remaining, though, is the beauty of the river, enjoyed by all who live beside it and attracting others who continue to visit "Pakan on the River" The Saskatchewan River has always been an important influence in the history of Pakan and district. In the very early years, the river transported not only the fur traders to the area but the pioneer missionaries as well. In the year 1863, the Reverend George McDougall and the Reverend Woolsey arrived and choose a mission site two miles north of Smoky Lake on a hill known later as Mission Hill. However, when the Reverend John McDougall came west on a visit to the mission he felt it was situated too far from the river. Thus the hill was abandoned and the mission rebuilt on the more accessible site of Pakan, or Fort Victoria as it was known then. The same mission later attracted the services of Dr. Charles H. Lawford, as mentioned previously. Dr. Lawford was a Methodist missionary doctor, arriving around the year 1903 and later marrying Miss Alice Smith. They made their home in the mission house until a new dwelling was built in conjunction with the building of the hospital. Together they worked tirelessly among the settlers in the area for many years and were held in high esteem by all. In his medical practice, Dr. Lawford had to cope with many diseases that were serious threats at that time. These were diseases like diphtheria, measles, smallpox, typhoid, influenza, meningitis and chicken-pox. It was a familiar sight to see Dr. Lawford start out on his calls at eight o'clock most mornings, with his trusty team of drivers. The temperature in the winter was often fifty or sixty degrees below zero and he would be very late returning at night, after treating some grateful patient on an outlying homestead. In some cases, when he had no choice but to travel on foot or by ox-cart, he would arrive too late to help. I remember one such tragic case when two young children in a family died one night, and a third was seriously ill by the time the doctor could get to the home. Dr. Lawford never refused his services to anyone although he knew full well he would very often never receive a cent. Some of the farmers did repay him by hauling wood for his fires, while others paid with farm produce. Besides his medical practice, Dr. Lawford also conducted church services at Pakan. Mrs. Lawford taught Sunday School. Clothing provided by the Mission Board in Toronto was also distributed to the needy in the district. In 1921, Mrs. Lawford bought my father's store and operated it till they moved to Smoky Lake, where they continued to serve the people of the district for many more years. Continue to the next part of the book.... Return to the Settlement Menu
|
||