In Old Cat Hollow IV: Coal Scuttle Winner With The Maple Bottom: Schooner Days CCXLIV (244)

_______

WHEN they built vessels here they built 'em."

The speaker's emphasis fell on the second syllable from the end like a machine gun registering. F. H, Batty was talking. He was standing on the grass-grown incline where once launching ways sloped to the waves of Lake Ontario grinding on the shingle beach at Lakeport—old Cat Hollow. Himself a Cat Hollow boy, Mr. Batty had long been identified with Port Hope, and Port Hope had also its noble fleet of schooners. But his mind dwelt on the long life and rugged endurance of the vessels of his native village. It is half a century since the last one was launched thence, and few there be who remember that ships were ever built at this abandoned port. Yet the first of the Cat Hollow fleet lived for almost sixty years, and the last, although only rebuilt there, when Harold Batty was a boy, renewed her youth for forty years and came through the Great War until a Gulf of Mexico hurricane put her under.

But Mr. Batty had in mind particularly the small schooner Octavia whose "builder's model," showing one half of the projected vessel, in layers or "lifts" of polished wood—walnut and pine—is a prized possession.

"I wonder, now," said he, "how many of the boys who used to frequent the old elevator office that used to be down here by the lake, look back in memory and see this model where it used to hang on the a north wall just above the table which used to hold the different samples of farmers' grain?

"When Mr. C. J. McCallum owned the elevator and coal sheds he gave my father, the late F. L. Batty, this model of the Octavia, and for some unknown reason I found it some years after his death in the garage. It was upon inquiry from Capt. Jas. H. Peacock in Port Hope that I learned what it was.

"The Octavia was owned and built by the late Joseph Keeler, M.P.P., the ship carpenter being John Tait, of Picton, Ont., who also rebuilt the schooners Sybilla and Keewatin at Lakeport. The Octavia was built right here on the west side of the wharf in 1866-67, all her timbers being of white oak, with a maple bottom—just imagine what it would cost to-day to build such a craft! She was a fore-and-after with a capacity of 5,500 bushels, 84 ft. 7 in. keel, 20 ft. 8 in. beam, 6 ft. 8 in. depth of hold and 95 tons measurement, according to the register. She was painted white.

"Her first crew consisted of Capt. James Shaw, Sr., Mate John Shaw, with James Shaw, Duncan Keith and Richard Clarke before the mast, and Miss Sarah Shaw, cook. This crew remained with her for three years.

"In 1870 Capt. James Dougherty was in command, and during this period, while unloading plaster stone at Lakeport, a sudden squall struck in from the south. She broke her lines and went through the wharf, landing up near the cedar grove, there to the west.

"This was only the beginning of her trouble, for the undertow turned her around and she pointed for the wharf again, and when quite close she took a header for the freight shed, smashing it to bits and coming out with a brand new coal scuttle on the end of her jib-boom like the brass ring the kids used to try for on the merry-go-round. The scuttle, among a lot of other merchandise, happened to be in the shed for the merchants in Colborne.

"However, with coal scuttle and all, she continued on through the wharf the second time and landed this time on the east beach, where she was finally brought to a halt. She was then towed back to the wharf to finish her unloading—-after which she loaded cordwood for Toronto, a cargo sure to keep her afloat.

"You would naturally think that any vessel, after going through all these maneuvers, would not be in very good shape for any trade, but, as she was not showing any signs of leaking, they loaded her in Toronto with lumber for Oswego. When she got there they put her on drydock to make sure of the damage done. And what do you suppose the damage was?—well, all they discovered was a piece of plank off the wharf at Lakeport, which had been lodged between her frames! It was jammed so tight it made it watertight and had to be cut out before the hole could be repaired.

"As I started out to say—when they built vessels here, they built em."

"In 1872-73 the Octavia was sailed by the late Capt. H. I. Matthews. In 1874-75 she was sailed by Capt. James Peacock, who told me of this pier-ramming, non-leaking episode. His crew, as far as he can remember, was Jack Palmer, mate, and Mrs. Butler, cook (deceased), of Cobourg. In 1876-77 she was sailed by Capt. Alonzo Matthews, after which she was sold to Capt. Blanchard, who took her to Georgian Bay in the lumber and cedar post trade.

"Capt. Peacock is now 82 years old and as hale and hearty as any man of fifty. Strange to say, he does not have to use glasses, except in reading, and his good wife, who was Margaret Matthews, also of Lakeport, although not quite his age, is still enjoying fairly good health.

"Captain James Peacock and his son, Captain W. H. Peacock, ended their sailing days when they sold the schooner Julia B. Merrill in 1931 to the amusement company in Toronto, who burned her at Sunnyside for the attraction of the throngs of people who had come to see the old ship go up in flames."

_______

ANOTHER CAT HOLLOW SNAPSHOT.

Sir,—I just want to take this opportunity to tell you how very interesting your recent articles on Old Cat Hollow have been and how much I have enjoyed reading them. As a matter of fact, I have come in contact with numerous friends during the past few weeks who were raised in Lakeport and Colborne and they all have been following your stories.

I was rather impressed with the phrase "Lakeport was no place to lay" in your article of June 6th, and this is well borne out by the following record that I recently found. What struck me was the extremely early date for navigation, the weather at the time and the hardships that must have been experienced by the Lakeport sailors when trading to their home port.

"Monday, April 6, 1903. Froze very hard last night and this morning very, very cold and wintry. There are about six inches of snow on the level as a result of Saturday's storm. Capt. Steve Taylor with the schooner "Katie Eccles" arrived at Lakeport a few days ago with a cargo of coal from Oswego, but owing to the rough weather, had to run to Brighton harbour for shelter. She returned last night and laid at anchor opposite Lakeport dock all night, but as a heavy storm from the east commenced this morning, had to run to Cobourg."

In your article of May 23rd, I followed you down the back street and up the front street, and from the home of the late William Seed you might have continued on a little further to where the late Capt Will Matthews lived. Among the many schooners he sailed were the "Eliza White" and "Flora Carveth" and his last command was the "Maize," a fine three n'after he brought down from "up above" in the early 1900's.

A door or two on, the home of the late Capt. Frank Matthews, of "Bobby McDonald" fame, up the street where the late Capt. James Dougherty lived. If I am not mistaken he brought out the "Octavia," but finished up in steam with the Rathbuns of Deseronto.

Around the corner the late Capt. George Brown, across the street the home of the late Capt. H. I. Matthews, who sailed many schooners, including the "Blanche," "Katie Eccles" and "Jamieson," and who owned and operated the flourishing canning factory where those tomatoes you spoke about were canned. Across from the cemetery Capt. Don Matthews lived for years. He was also in the "Blanche" at one time.

It was not surprising that there were members of practically every family in Lakeport, men and women, who followed the lakes, as the whole community was connected in some way through marriage. I remember the visitor to the village who was being shown the sights, and the conversation ran like this: "My son married one of the girls here in the corner house; here is the home of my cousin; on your right is where my sister lives and my brother-in-law married one of the girls in the adjoining house. My mother-in-law's house is over there and across the road my niece, and here on your left is a cousin of mine, whose husband, incidentally, is an uncle of my daughter-in-law.' And so on it went.

Such environment just naturally developed sailors. There was the odd one who could not or did not make a success of the profession, however, and I recall the story of one young man who packed his bag in the spring, but after several trips could not get into the swing of things on shipboard, and during his trick at the wheel was given the command "Starboard." He simply looked blank until one of the other members of the crew sang out, "Gee 'er, Jim." The "Jura" responded, but I have it on very good authority, that the young gentleman returned home to follow a career on land.

As for that list of present-day skippers from Lakeport, I'll wager you could eat off their decks, and whenever you find a lake steamer-manned by a crew "out of Cat Hollow," you will find plenty of paint and holystone.

Very truly yours,

W.D.D. McGlennon.

LAKEPORT PIER and grove where the Octavia went through the warehouse and came out with bells on.