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Daniel F Johnson's New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics

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Daniel F. Johnson : Volume 16 Number 1587

Date August 8 1857
County Northumberland
Place Chatham
Newspaper The Gleaner and Northumberland Schediasma

info The language of the text is the original used in the newspaper entry and as transcribed by Daniel F. Johnson. Records acquired by the Provincial Archives are not translated from the language in which they originate.

Our correspondent at Shippegan (Glouc. Co.) under date 31st July furnishes the following: The late gale of the 21st and 22nd inst. has thrown the shades of night over this once flourishing settlement; all is cast into gloom and sorrow; the stroke is severe and will be felt for years to come. 31 of our primest and best Fisherman have been consigned to a watery grave; ten of these are married, leaving widows and large helpless families to mourn over their sad bereavement, for all the help they had have gone, their sons along with their fathers. 19 are all young men from 20 to 25 years of age and 3 boys under 20. ... I have held conversations with most of the well informed and experienced survivors; they all agree that there was not wind sufficient to raise such an unaccountable sea as ran during the gale, and from all accounts we have been able to collect, we are persuaded that the cause must be from some great convulsion of nature. They state that the sea ran to the height of 50 feet and that the top of each sea formed a cone or sugar loaf shape; all the boats that were upset were on the top of these seas, and in one instance, a boat was hurled down like a ball from the top of some high hill, then turned over and turned upright. At the entrance of Big Tracadie Gully, another was turned over stern foremost, and all on board perished. In running before it, the boats felt a tremendous motion, as if they would be shaken to pieces , along with sudden jerks, so as to throw or pitch a stone off the deck. One boat had her caboose jerked out; another rode out the gale in 10 to 15 fathoms water. The crew describes the sea as similar to a pot of boiling barley soup over a sharp fire, bubbling up stones, sand and gravel all around them, and the sea changing its hue and colours until it became terrific to look upon. Some boats that took in seas in 35 or 40 fathoms of water, after bailing out, found a large quantity of sand and gravel left ... and boats falling into the trough of the sea in these soundings, felt a sensation as if the bottom of the boats were about to ground or using the phrase "she smelt the bottom". One boat off Tabisuntac was upset as described above and next day was found drifting up Miramichi River, picked up and taken into Neguac, with one dead body on board. ... The damage done to the fleet of boats about one hundred sail, was heavy. There will not be 30 left for our Fall Fishery, the rest have all come in a crippled state, their hulls shaken, some lost masts and sails, others their anchors and anchors. Those cannot be replaced here, therefore all our trade is paralyzed. The whole loss, including our fall fishing boats and material, cannot be estimated at less than 3000 pounds in Shippegan alone. From Caraquet no particulars is known here, but it is feared there are great losses there and on the Canada shores. The following are the names of those drowned, very few of the bodies are cast up: Richard BULGER and son; Abraham LEBRETON and brother; Henry MALLET and brother Vital MALLET; Olivia CHAISON s/o David CHAISON; Peter GOODIN, stepson of Andrew STOREY; Benjamin MALLET ad son; Policarp LAUTIN, Augustine ROBICHAUX and two sons; two sons of Joseph DUGEN, two sons of Marcell SAVOY; Silvanus LACLAU; one son of Sebastian ACHI; one son of Louis GOUTIEZ (Miscou); three sons of John B. GURGNARD; two sons of Joseph GURGNARD; three sons of Gilbert DUGEN; one son of John Louis DUGAN; two sons of Simeon BOUCHE; Andrew NOIL s/o Joseph NOIL. Thomas MALLET who is over 70 years of age, and has fished out of this plae over 50 years, was out along with his sons in the gale, and almost in his sight lost one son, one son-in-law and four grandchildren who leave four widows and families.

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