January

Little Bay had been quiet that holiday season – a point of pride for the town’s Temperance movement who eagerly solicited “signatures to a petition asking the Council and House of Assembly to [. . .] write legislation with regard to the sale and manufacture of intoxicating liquors. About 150 names [including] the chief officers of the mines” were collected. The Little Bay Brass Band “accompanied by lighted torches marched round the town and cheered the inhabitants.” But the calm wouldn’t last. A new disruption came in the form of two young and oddly dressed women, the first from a new and thought dangerous religion. “The Salvation Army [held] nightly noisy meetings [in the] homes of their disciples [after] two female salvationists” arrived that January (Twillingate Sun, January 21, 1888).

Otherwise the 19th century town was marked by funerals and weddings. On the 3rd “Mrs. Diem, wife of Mr. Jacob P. Diem, cashier of the Mining Co. [died] after a short illness. [On the 6th] the funeral took place. It was largely attended by the officers and employees of the mines. [A] long procession walked to the Church of England and were there met by the Rev. Mr. Turner” (Twillingate Sun, January 21, 1888). On January 26th “Mr. G. L. Thompson, mineral analyst and superintendent of the smelting works, was married to Miss Amelia Whyte, youngest daughter of the Manager, Capt. Whyte. The ceremony was performed at the residence of the bride by Rev. H. Abraham. Mr. James Whyte acted as groomsman, and Miss Blandford [was the] bridesmaid. After breakfast the happy pair accompanied by other friends drove to their new residence. Several choice presents were given; among them was a handsome clock given by the men working under the superintendence of Mr. Thomson” (Twillingate Sun, February 18, 1888).

This year the town sought improvements and “the establishment of a Savings’ Bank [was] a subject that [had] frequently been made prominent. [. . .] The pleadings in this behalf [were] favourably considered by the Government, and that in all probability early the coming summer, such an institution [would] be in full swing in that thriving community [where] a good deal of money [was] in circulation” (Twillingate Sun, January 28, 1888). The miners were busy and a “rise in copper [had them] most energetically worked. Both day and night.” Those jobs, as always, came with risk. “Benjamin Parsons was seriously hurt while removing [. . .] a large boiler [and] John Osborn broke one leg owing to a fall [of] about sixty feet” (Twillingate Sun, January 21, 1888).

February

There was much attention given to the newly arrived Salvation Army and they caused “quite an excitement [. . .] among the community by the arrival and proceedings of Lieutenant Penny and Cadet House. [They were said to hold] noisy and sacrilegious services [and] put on the familiar and striking symbols. [. . .] Mr. E. R. Burgess [drove] in sleigh, Lieutenant Penny and her aid-de-camp, Mrs. Alfred Rideout, to conduct a service at some distance from Little Bay. [As they were] unable to obtain a place for their services. No parties [wanted] them in their neighbourhood to have the peace of the place disturbed. However [there was a] rush to see two girls with peculiar dress and musical instruments [so] several of the wildest of their soldiers [. . .] when coming from the meeting were well snow-balled” by the townsfolk. (Twillingate Sun, February 18, 1888). What was seen as a strange new cult made enemies quickly and “attacks on the Army ranged from physical intimidation to ridiculous pettiness” (Duton).

On February 1st Sergeant Wells telegraphed Colonel Fawcett on Constable Sutton’s behalf to request an application for marriage to Maggie Loader be changed so that he could marry Ann McLean instead. She was “the daughter of the infamous bootleggers, and operators of a Shebeen House in Little Bay.” As this wasn’t long after the departures of both Constables’ Meaney and Broderick for derelictions of police duty – it likely did little to soften Sergeant Wells’ mood (Wells, 182-183). On February 14th “a public Temperance meeting was held in the Church of England School-house [it commenced] by calling on the choir, (which consisted of Mrs. Wells, Miss Gould, school teacher, Miss C. Atkins, Miss Herbert, Miss Edith Wells and Miss F. Blandford, organist) to sing. [Afterward] Sergeant Wells addressed the meeting on the immorality of the brewers, distillers, publicans and Sheebeen keepers, and strongly condemned the moderate drinkers, who he included should no longer be styled moderate drinkers, but should hereafter be known as small dose drinkers” (Twillingate Sun, March 3, 1888). The lyrics of the song written and performed by the Little Bay choir that night were printed in the Twillingate Sun on April 7th as follows:

Men of Britain, foes around you.
In their iron grasp have bound you,
Sleeping heedlessly they found you
Dreaming not of harm;
Men of Britain, heed this warning,
Rise in strength, all weakness scorning,
Let the night break into morning,
Sound the loud alarm!
Famed in fight and foray,
Live in Britain’s story,
By each one may yet be done,
Deeds of greater glory.
For the sake of widows weeping,
For the sake of others sleeping,
And for all that’s worth the keeping,Let your war cry sound.
By their prayers who would defend you,
By the helps good men would lend you,
By the strength which God will send you,
Break the galling chain.
Help us lowland – help us highland,
Britain’s sea and Britain’s dry land,
Banish Bacchus from our Island,
And let reason reign.
Hear the orphan’s wailing
Sound o’er all prevailing!
Deal the foe a moral blow!
Heav’n prevent its falling.
Pleasures false and fatal flying
Alcohol’s proud force defying,
Hear the blood of thousands crying
Upward from the ground.

On the 19th of February Rev. Turner “found it necessary [. . .] to state in the Church, that some evil and unkind reports had been circulated respecting him [and] he demanded an apology from his people before he again preached. The report had some respect to indulging in drinking. [The newspaper suggested] it would be well for persons to mind their own business, and give up gossiping (Twillingate Sun, March 3, 1888). The mail was, once again, late leaving this month. It would be “nearly the middle of March before the first overland mail from [Little Bay reached] St. John’s—over two months before letters [could] be received in the metropolis after the last one per steamer. This [was seen as] very imperfect postal connection for so important a part of the colony in [the] nineteenth century. [. . .] The last two seasons, the energetic manager of Little Bay mines, [had] had to send men specially with letters to [. . .] be forwarded” (Twillingate Sun, February 25, 1888).

March

In a letter to the editor on March 8th “concerning the Salvation Army at Little Bay mines [it was defended that they had] encountered by little interruption compared with the many annoyances they [had] met with elsewhere. [It was called] a pity that those who [did] not agree with the Salvationists form of worship [would not] keep away, as they [had] a perfect right to hold their meetings [. . .] in private houses which [were] usually crowded, their conductors being (females) Lieutenant Penny, and Cadet House. [It was said they hoped] for the occasional use of the Hall, a building as yet not quite completed” (Twillingate Sun, March 17, 1888). There was much construction going on. Mr. Strong was building a large schooner near town. There was also much politics and it was said that Little Bay would not be backward with respect to Manhood Suffrage (Twillingate Sun, March 3, 1888). The people wanted a delegation sent “to Ottawa [to] secure a railway [they were] tired of isolation and [would] go strong for union and a railway” (Evening Telegram, March 15, 1888). Court opened on March 15th “with the case of Moses Williams vs. Robert Clark for the larceny of a slide” (Wells, 186) while “the serious charge of intoxication, which the Rev. Mr. Turner said in church [appeared] to have no true foundation and the people [signed] a document asking the reverend gentlemen to assume his ecclesiastical functions as they [believed] the rumour was incorrect” (Twillingate Sun, March 17, 1888). Petitions on prohibition from Little Bay were presented to the government. G. T. Rendell presented one “from the inhabitants [and] P. Cleary presented a petition on the same subject from the women of Little Bay” (Evening Telegram, March 15, 1888).

The Little Bay Brass Band performed a concert on St. Patrick’s night and thanked the Notre Dame Total Abstinence Society for placing at their “disposal their Reading Room in connection with the Concert Hall. The large and attentive audience who so generously patronized [the] entertainment [found] the Hall was large enough to afford better accommodation.” The Band’s concert “was a grand success. About 80 dollars were obtained. The music was splendid and reflected great praise to the gentlemen of the musical company who [were] able to give such a brilliant entertainment. Recitations and plays were well given during the musical interludes” (Twillingate Sun, March 31, 1888). Sergeant Wells agreed to publicly debate the Temperance question with Mr. E. R. Burgess (Wells 185) but “Mr Burgess [. . .] thought it wise to withdraw the challenge” (Twillingate Sun, April 7, 1888).

Attention was brought to “the Government on the very defective route which [. . .] provided telegraphic communication. [. . .] Messages leaving [Twillingate] for Little Bay [had] to go [. . .] through various other repeating stations before arriving [and it was] suggested that this route should be abandoned and a line built between [Twillingate] and Little Bay. [. . .] The alteration [appeared] feasible, and taking into account the close business connections [. . .] of the district [the matter was urged] upon the Government [to] do all in their power towards accomplishing so beneficial a change in the telegraph route. [Also was brought] to the notice of the Government the awfully tedious Winter mail service [as] the number of mailmen from Little Bay [had been] reduced to one last Winter. This one man [could not] do the work properly [and anyone could] easily perceive the risk one man [was] exposed to in accomplishing such a journey” (Twillingate Sun, March 31, 1888).

Meanwhile, a boom had “taken place in Little Bay Mines during the last month, and the wages [had] been raised all around. The men in the smelting works who formerly were paid one dollar and twenty per day, now [got] one dollar and sixty. The surface men who used to get ninety cents per day. Now [got] a dollar and ten cents per day. Contract men [also] had their rates raised” (Harbour Grace Standard, March 31, 1888). Mining operations boomed and the miners made bountiful wages. It was said that “the class of workers [were] not the flotsam of other places, but men indigenous” (Evening Telegram, March 10, 1888). But those who worked in other industries still suffered from poverty. On March 25th “a man named Flynn [. . .] died from privation [having] never made the case known to the Poor Commissioner. [. . .] One could see at a glance the depths of poverty in which [he] had fallen” (Wells, 187). Death was a constant. Mr. James “died suddenly, he was struck by his sleigh as it fell over [and] this winter saw an unusual amount of sickness.” Mr. O’Neil “cut his foot in the woods near Little Bay and in a few hours died from the effects. The Dr. was unable to get to him in time” (Twillingate Sun, March 31, 1888).

“The Methodists had a sacred concert in the Presbyterian church. The proceeds were devoted to the furnishing of their new parsonage, which owing to the successful Bazaar held in the Fall by the Methodist ladies [was] now out of debt. [. . .] The missionary meetings on the Little Bay mission, raised 137 dollars, being an advance of 15 dollars [but] one over-zealous Salvationist caused some trouble by desiring to wear his salvation guernsey, with a certain inscription upon it. To this the master and many of the members of the Lodge objected. But they found it rather difficult to manage one of the ‘Blood and fire Brigade.’ He was at last induced to enter the church with a jacket on, but greatly disturbed the peace of the congregation during the prayer by the most inopportune and continuous responses such as —‘glory,’ ‘hallelujah.’” (Twillingate Sun, March 31, 1888).

April

On April 7th a sketch of a famous man named Richard Brothers was published and the communities that could claim his descendants were listed with Little Bay among them (Harbour Grace Standard, April 7, 1888). On the 17th William Morgan and his 13 year old son “went off on the ice searching for seals and had the misfortune to be overtaken by a northeast snow-storm.” The father died and the son “showed his presence of mind by securing his father’s remains to a rock with a hauling rope, so that it would not fall into the water, and then crawled on his hands and knees to a tilt about a half a mile distant where, luckily, he was discovered by seal-hunters” (Evening Telegram, May 1, 1888). Petitions were presented from “J. B. Blandford and others of Little Bay, Mrs. Blandford and a large number of ladies of Little Bay [which caused] the proprietor of the saloon [. . .] to give up the business; and [there remained] not a single public house in the large and prosperous mining settlement” (Harbour Grace Standard, April 18, 1888). On April 25th a farewell was written to Rev. Howard Turner as he departed “Little Bay on an extended trip to Europe [in which was called] to mind the many happy and profitable evenings spent together in [the] Lodge” (Evening Telegram, June 1, 1888). There was a shortage of coke and coal “and as a consequence over a hundred men were idle” (Twillingate Sun, April 28, 1888).

May

On May 1st Sergeant Wells wrote a letter of recommendation for John Bouzane to join the Newfoundland Constabulary (Wells, 188). There was a very large funeral on the 13th for “Miss Mary Foote, aged 16 years, daughter of Capt. Foote, [who] after a few week’s sickness, peacefully passed away” (Twillingate Sun, June 2, 1888). In Little Bay 35 out of 53 registered students attended one of the schools where reading, spelling and arithmetic were considered good. The school-room had been unsuitable so the work had “been transferred to the new building [and a] teacher had been removed from Round Harbour where she had previously done good work” (Twillingate Sun, May 12, 1888). A “steamer named the ‘Alaska’ [left] New York [and] proceed to the mining settlement” (Evening Telegram, May 11, 1888). It arrived at the end of the month “with a cargo of flour and breadstuffs equalling in bulk some six thousand barrels. She also [had] one thousand tons of coke” (Evening Telegram, May 28, 1888). Meanwhile, complaints over the mail service continued as correspondence could “be received from China and other distant parts of the Globe within three months [while mail] in the Twillingate post office from Little Bay [was] already over two months old, and for it to reach the empire mentioned would occupy six or seven months of the year and perhaps longer. Some foresight [it was thought] should be brought into requisition [with] mail arrangements more in [the] spirit of this progressive age” (Twillingate Sun, May 19, 1888). The steamer Falcon left with mail and passengers from Little Bay where it “had taken a cargo of coal from Cape Breton. [. . .] She came through a vast deal of light drift-ice” (Harbour Grace Standard, May 30, 1888).

June

On June 6th a fire broke out that had “originated in the neighbourhood of Bouzane’s on the Halls Bay Road [. . .] and in less than one hour, 27 houses were destroyed. Some of the unfortunate people were consumed in the flames — Mrs. Manning and her two children. The whole village narrowly escaped.” John Driscoll’s body was discovered the following day (Wells, 189). “Manning’s case [was] particularly wretched. Last year [he’d] lost five children with diphtheria, and now the balance of his family with all his belongings [were] swept away” (Harbour Grace Standard, June 13, 1888). “Houses were on fire before the occupants were aware of it, and all had to flee before the destructive element. Mothers with babes in arms and little children [were seen] through the smoke and fire in front. The scenes were heartrending in the extreme [. . .] For four hours the principal settlement at the Bight stood in great danger of being swept away, and every man was ordered to look to his own home, as ‘flankers’ were flying in every direction and no one knew the moment one of them would alight [. . .] The new Roman Catholic school-house [. . .] and thirty families — two hundred people in all — left homeless and destitute. This [was] the fifth forest fire that threatened Little Bay ; but never [had it stood] in such imminent danger [. . .] The destitution caused by the disaster [was] great, and appeals for immediate relief [were] made to the kindly disposed everywhere” (Evening Telegram, June 8, 1888).

In St. John’s, the Governor called for a meeting “at the Athenaeum [on the 13th] with a view to forming a committee to collect money and clothes” (Evening Telegram, June 9, 1888). The town thanked them saying; “We are deeply thankful to the people of St. John’s for their generous aid, and grateful for His Excellency’s practical sympathy” (Evening Telegram, June 16, 1888). On June 25th a pianoforte recital was given in St. John’s with “the proceeds [to] be devoted to the relief of the sufferers by the late fires in Little Bay” (Evening Telegram, June 15, 1888). Rev. O’Flynn held mass for the victims and “delivered a most pathetic and affecting discourse. The bodies were interred immediately after mass, the mother and children being placed in one grave. [The town lost] a great quantity of wood ready for shipment, and the crops in the ground were destroyed. It [was, however,] rumoured that another valuable vein of copper [had] been discovered at Little Bay, as an outcome of the fire” (Evening Telegram, June 9, 1888). The fire at Little Bay was reported in the Boston Weekly Globe on June 13th and in the Colonies and India Newspaper on June 27th.

Not everything this month was awful. The steamer Falcon’s trip from Little Bay to Glace Bay to St. John’s was “one of the fastest on record, namely: six days and fifteen minutes” (Evening Telegram, June 12, 1888). C O’B Reddin was “opening a commission and general agency at Little Bay. [He had] a large premises, shop, stores and wharf which coastal steamer or any size vessel [could] lay at” (Twillingate Sun, June 11, 1888). He’d “engaged in a new business venture, with every chance of doing well [. . .] at one of the largest cash-circulating places in the colony” (Evening Telegram, June 19, 1888). It would have “Special attention to consignments of Provisions, Groceries and Dry Goods. Any class of merchandise sold — wholesale, retail or by auction” (Evening Telegram, June 23, 1888). By this time it was noticeable that the people of Little Bay “dressed well [. . .] some [even dressed] too well, too expensively, too graudily, but [it was] pleasing to see these improvements. Owing to the strangers coming and the foreign steamers bringing new commodities, the diet [was] now more varied than it used to be [. . .] the mines [had] done much for nearly every family in the Bay, either in giving labour or as a market of produce. [The mines were blamed for] adulterating the English language and pouring filthy talk up the men they employed [but now had] good officers and a set of quiet and good men. Sunday work [was] being discouraged and the behaviour of the place [was] most excellent” (Twillingate Sun, June 23, 1888). On June 26th James Whyte was appointed “Surveyor under the Agriculture Act” for Little Bay (Twillingate Sun, July 21, 1888).

July

The new copper find was steadily being worked and looked promising. The Little Bay Brass Band paraded the streets and played at public meetings to give “the treat of hearing good and joyful music.” Meanwhile, the Salvation Army had “made no recent converts. They [were] so unpopular that they [could not] rent or loan any school house or hall in the place. However on Sundays and fine evenings their out door meetings [continued] to disturb the quiet town” (Twillingate Sun, July 21, 1888). Constable Sutton served a summons to “Stephen Huxter for callously setting fire to the forest [. . .] which caused much destruction of property” (Wells, 189). The Little Bay fire sufferers met with “a liberal response from the citizens of St. John’s. Considerable sympathy was elected from the public [and] it was unanimously carried that a committee be appointed to collect fund and donations of clothing for the relief [. . .] The Governor also showed his sympathy in a most practical and tangible form, by heading the list with a subscription of fifty dollars” (Twillingate Sun, July 5, 1888).

August

The town received much foreign aid. Vessels were unloaded from England, America, Canada, and France. Plus the Governor was coming to town and the people were plenty excited about that. A general holiday was planned for his visit. “Great preparations [were] made for his reception ; He [was] expected about the 5th of August. Fishery around [Little Bay was] still very bad. The Salvation Army [had] commenced to build a small [building] at the loading wharf for the officers to live in.” Senator MacDonald of Toronto and Rev. Pittman visited the town this month (Twillingate Sun, August 4, 1888). Senator John MacDonald wrote about his trip to Little Bay and made a point to thank the Rev. Abraham and his wife (Harbour Grace Standard, September 29, 1888).

The 6th of August was the “general holiday at Little Bay in honour of the Governor’s visit. Flags were flying and arches of evergreen were erected with suitable inscriptions to, welcome him. However the people were disappointed [when] no man-of-war appeared until [the following] morning. The long programme of sports was successfully carried out [anyway and] it included a regatta, boat racing, walking a greasy pole, foot races, the tug of war and other enjoyable recreations. The Band [enlivened] the whole of the proceedings (Twillingate Sun, August 18, 1888). “The Manager of the Mines gave his men a holiday; and the Committee, having made arrangements for boat racing and sports was obliged to carry out such arrangements, notwithstanding His Excellency [had] not arrived.” On August 7th “His Excellency Henry A. Blake, Esq., C.M.G., Governor and Commander in Chief of Newfoundland, arrived in Little Bay” (Wells, 191). When he arrived “The Band played ‘God Save the Queen,’ [and] the platform was soon surrounded by hundreds of faces, eager to see and hear his Excellency [. . .] He spoke of the pleasure it gave him to visit the place. [. . .] Capt Whyte and Mr. Thompson accompanied him throughout the works. [. . .] He visited every Church and school and by his kind and courteous manner won in his brief visit the esteem and affection of all” (Twillingate Sun, August 18, 1888). Governor Blake “met with a most demonstrative reception. [. . .] A deputation, headed by the Stipendiary Magistrate, and composed of clergymen of the respective denominations, mercantile and medical gentlemen, government officials and others, was arranged to received his Excellency. [He expressed] his satisfaction with the appearance of things generally. [. . .] He was invited to luncheon at Mr. Berteau’s ; his Secretary : Captain Rolfe, of the war ship Pylades, and a few representative residents of the community being in attendance” (Twillingate Sun, August 11, 1888).

The Little Bay mine made “considerable progress. A very large number of persons [were] finding employment” (Evening Telegram, August 23, 1888). F. W. Golder visited the town this month (Harbour Grace Standard, September 15, 1888). A tour of the Harlow and Conscript on the 28th noted that “smoke from the various furnaces had quite the appearance of civilization. There [were] about 1,200 men employed. Smelting [was] in full operation” (Evening Telegram, October 8, 1888). On the 29th was said that “the settlement of Little Bay [was] very pretty and most interesting [. . .] laid out in streets [with] churches, halls and schools” (Evening Telegram, October 4, 1888). “The Sheep Protection Act. A proclamation [that prohibited] the keeping of dogs” was in place (Harbour Grace Standard, August 4, 1888) and it was well known “that lobsters caught in the month of August [were] scarcely fit to eat, it then being the spawning season, whereas lobsters caught in the months of September and October [were] of excellent quality” (Twillingate Sun, September 29, 1888).

September

Flour had “been advancing in price” (Twillingate Sun, September 29, 1888) and “a cargo of cattle [that arrived] from Cape Breton [. . .] met with a ready sale” (Twillingate Sun, September 15, 1888). The S. S. Glendale had been “trading between Little Bay and Cape Britain [and] made her last voyage in six days and seventeen hours” (Twillingate Sun, September 1, 1888). Captain Whyte and family had “gone to England for a few weeks [and] a party of young gentlemen from Little Bay went on an excursion to Montreal — Messrs Quinby, Blandford, Dien and Whyte — and returned per steamer Glendale on the 8th.” Rev. F. C. Simpson visited Little Bay this month and stayed for several weeks (Twillingate Sun, September 15, 1888). Reverend Simpson “served as a missionary of The Presbyterian Church in Canada in Newfoundland. He travelled to [Little Bay] where he conducted services and administered the sacraments” (Moncrieff, 70). “Meanwhile the Methodists had been granted the use of the Church for their services” (Moncrieff, 123).

On September 5th “The regular monthly communication of ‘Notre Dame Lodge,’ No—was held in the Masonic Hall, Little Bay [. . .] The lodge was formerly located at Bett’s Cove, but [. . .] removed to Nipper’s Harbour and subsequently to Little Bay, where it [was expected] to be permanently established for a long time to come. The lodge room [was] nicely fitted up, and furnished in real Masonic style.” On September 6th the amateur cricket team played the Pioneer Cricket Association “which resulted in the victory for the Pioneers by thirty-one runs. The weather was all that could be desired and the play on both sides was very good. [They were] experts at [the] sport and it [was] a pity that Little Bay [was] so far from the capital [as] a team of cricketers could be selected there that would carry off the victory even from [the] Metropolitan elevens.” A good launch had been “greatly needed in [Little Bay], on account of so many gentlemen visiting it and desiring safe and quick traveling. Mr. Tavener obtained a good engine — English make — and [had] with great skill fitted up a stout launch. Pleasure parties and business gentlemen [were] often hiring it” (Twillingate Sun, September 15, 1888). “When once it [was] generally known that Mr. Taverner [could] so conveniently accommodate the travelling public, [it was expected] that he [would] be liberally patronized [for] providing such a certain and speedy means of communication between the various settlements in that vicinity” (Twillingate Sun, September 22, 1888).

A miner was injured in a fall at Pilley’s Island and “taken to Little Bay where the professional services of Dr. Joseph [. . .] were procured, under whose skilful treatment the patient was doing well [and] the new fine of copper at Little Bay [was also] still looking well” (Twillingate Sun, September 15, 1888). “Owing to the boom lately given to mining operations North, Little Bay mines [gave] employment to 1100 men” (Harbour Grace Standard, September 15, 1888). “The village [was] beginning to assume more of a town-like appearance, roads being made to connect with different parts [. . .] The mining operations [were] vigorously pushed forward [. . .] The lowest underground workings [. . .] carried on eleven hundred feet below the earth’s surface. [William Garland had] taken charge of the school there [. . .] The Board [was] to be congratulated on securing his services” (Twillingate Sun, September 15, 1888).

On the 18th of September the Supreme Court commenced, Judge Little presided. “The Judge was fully occupied during his stay. There were twenty-three civil suits” (Evening Telegram, September 21, 1888). And “a bill of indictment against the prisoner Busean for the larceny of a cod trap” (Evening Telegram, September 20, 1888). The Court Room was “inconveniently small and quite unsuitable for the work [but] another building [was to] be erected [with] plenty of room.” It was thought that it was “a good thing to have a court session in a place. It impresses the people with the reality of authority. [. . .] Little Bay was a mining locality in which many strangers and foreigners lived and many young men without home influence or restraints [. . .] The wharf at Little Bay [was] about to be lengthened and widened which [was] very necessary as the traffic [was] so rapidly increasing. Smith McKay, Esq. [visited and] Messrs Burgess & Millar [. . .] commenced a meat business on an extensive scale. They [imported] live stock from the Province [and bought] up local rearing. The butchers shop [was] in the Bight near the hotel.” It was “the intention of the Government to alter the overland winter mail route” (Twillingate Sun, September 22, 1888) and the people wanted, further, the cramped post office replaced with a “more commodious building.” One of the Reddin brothers had left for New York and the other was selling the business (Twillingate Sun, September 29, 1888). “The firm of ‘Reddin Brothers,’ [had] been [. . .] dissolved by mutual consent” (Evening Telegram, September 28, 1888).

October

Mr. Whyte and his family returned from their trip to England on the Conscript (Twillingate Sun, October 6, 1888). Michael Knight visited the town to see his constituents (Twillingate Sun, October 20, 1888). Rev. Pittman was “appointed by the Bishop to the incumbency of the Green Bay mission, which [included] Little Bay” (Harbour Grace Standard, October 31, 1888). On the 12th “a committee to collect monies in aid of those distressed by the [fire] agreed to give every intending builder one thousand feet of lumber, and the requisite amount of nails” (Twillingate Sun, October 27, 1888). There was “the presentation of an address and binocular to Mr. James Whyte, the originator and preceptor of the Little Bay Brass Band. At their invitation a vast number of the inhabitants of the town” and some travellers staying at the Little Bay Hotel such as Mr. Knight, Mr. E. Jack of New Brunswick and Major Maitland-Kirwan attended (Twillingate Sun, October 13, 1888). The following songs were played:

Quick March – Does your heart beat true to me, Lister
Polka – Always welcome, Round
Valse – Twilight shadows, Smith
Quick March – The old campaigner, Wright
Scrottisour – Pride of the valley, Round
Quadrille – Minerva, Round
National Anthem, God Save the Queen

At this time Little Bay was “believed to be one of the most valuable copper mines in the world” (Harbour Grace Standard, October 17, 1888) and “a large fire proof store for the safe preservation of flour [was] being erected.” The Conscript and the Plover left Little Bay at the same time and had a little race which the Conscript won (Twillingate Sun, October 13, 1888).

November

This November the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was established in Newfoundland, in part the result of a letter to the editor of the Twillingate Sun from Little Bay that previous January which read “Dear Sir – Allow me to call attention of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, (if not yet organized) to the shameful sight which met the gaze of those who visited the steamer ‘Conscript’ on her arrival this afternoon. A fine black horse, which had been shipped from St John’s, in a box on deck, exposed to the frost and dashing spray, had at length been overcome and lay perishing on the deck and probably ere this, is dead. We would suggest that next trip, the shipper of the poor animal should be lashed to the foremast, and let take his chances at this inclement season, on a trip from St. John’s to Little Bay. However, we protest against such inhumanity as shipping animals on deck in winter season, as was the case the last two trips of Conscript” (Twillingate Sun, January 5, 1888). On November 6th Constable Sutton arrested Joshua Ryan for stealing a silver fox hair from Benson’s shop (Wells, 194) and on November 27th he seized a keg of rum from Otter Island (Wells, 195). The district continued to have issues with their mail service (Twillingate Sun, November 17, 1888).

December

That December John Joy was summoned for causing the fire on June 6th. It was said that he “carelessly set fire to the forest underbrush of both private and public property and thereby cause the death of four human beings. The accused being present, the complaint was read over to him which he denied. The witnesses were severally examined in his presence but, though the fire originated in Joy’s garden, there was not a particle of evidence that Joy put the fire there [. . .] The case was dismissed” (Wells, 189-190). And that was 1888 – another year in the life of a town.

Sources:

Twillingate Sun 1888
Harbour Grace Standard 1888
Evening Telegram 1888
Boston Weekly Globe 1888
Colonies and India Newspaper 1888
Moncrieff, A History of the Presbyterian Church in Newfoundland 1966
Duton, The Origins and Growth of the Salvation Army in Newfoundland – 1996
Wells, All Quiet 2012
Laws to protect horses in Newfoundland

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