1905
THE RECENT GALLANT RESCUES FROM DROWNING.—At its monthly meeting in London on Monday, the Royal Humane Society made the following awards in life-saving cases from the East of Scotland:—Bronze medal to W. Sutherland and testimonial to Thomas Pratt, fishermen, Cellardyke, for their gallantry there on April 21st. An exceptionally heavy sea broke over the pier, sweeping away two boys named McRuvie and Swinton. Pratt lowered himself into the water by a chain, and caught McRuvie, but Swinton was carried out past the pier head. Sutherland, after running over a quarter of mile, sprang in, and after a hard struggle reached the lad, and supported him till they were picked up by a boat which put out from the harbour.
1906
CELLARDYKE FISHERMAN DROWNED. The severe gales which raged the most of last week have left their mark behind thein, and among other fatalities were accountable for the loss of Cellardyke fisherman, David Moncrieff, aged 50 years. Deceased sailed in the local boat Nil Desperandum, has been engaged in the fishing at Shields. On Wednesday night when the accident occurred she was trying to gain the shelter of Shields Harbour, but was unable so, and put out again sea, when a wave swept Moncrieff overboard. The boat arrived in Anstruther on Friday, when the sad intelligence was communicated the deceased’s sister, with whom he resided. Although a widower, Moncrieff leaves no family and was much respected man throughout the town.
A DISTURBANCE ON MIDDLE PIER.—John Watson, John Street, Cellardyke, was convicted on evidence of having, on Saturday, 21st April, conducted himself in a riotous and disorderly manner on the middle pier, and in using abominable language. Two witnesses were heard for the prosecution, and one for the defence, the latter stating that accused got far too much provocation. Bailie Burd said the provocation he received did not justify accused making the disturbance and using the language he did, and the sentence would be 10s or seven days imprisonment. Fine paid.
Some anxiety was felt in Anstruther and Cellardyke on Saturday night and Sunday morning at the non arrival of two large fishing boats, which had discharged shots of fish at Shields towards the end of the week and had left for home. It was known that they would encounter the full fury of the north-east gale. Telegrams were despatched to different harbours on the South Coast asking if the whereabouts of the boats was known, but the replies received were all in the negative. On Sunday morning a wire was received from one of the crews stating that they had been forced back to Shields, all safe; but, there being no word of the other boat, the Star of Hope, the wives and relatives of the crew spent an anxious day. A look-out was kept all day, and towards five o’clock on Sunday night a boat’s sail was seen in the distance, the boat evidently making for the Forth. This turned out to be the Star of Hope, which arrived off the harbour at six o’clock, but owing to the tide being out, the boat had to remain outside until nearly midnight. The crew received a very hearty welcome from their relations.
1907
NEARLY A “REEL ” ROMANCE. —We have all heard of messages received in articles, which had been placed there by workers in the place from which the goods came, but these stories mostly savour of Americanism and the too ideal romantic, and doubt and insinuations have often been cast on their veracity. When, however, such a thing occurs at our very doors and the truth of it is vouched for, interest takes the place of incredulity. Last week. in one of the local oilskin factories, after using all the thread on a reel, one of the young women employees discovered under the thread a small piece of paper, which had evidently been placed there by one of the workers at the place where the reels are manufactured. The sender, apparently, was also a female, and the slip bore the modest request that the finder would forward a p.p.c. to the address given. We regret that, owing to the fact that both the sender and receiver of the message were of the female sex, we are unable to chronicle a highly satisfactory hymeneal result, which would certainly have been the most fitting termination to a correspondence friendship thus romantically begun.
On Saturday morning, an accident of a rather alarming nature occurred in the harbour. The crew of the steam drifter Morning Star, belonging to Skipper David Watson, Cellardyke, made unwelcome discovery on their arrival at the middle pier in the early morning, that during the night their vessel had become submerged at her moorings, where they had left her, as they thought, safe and sound the previous night. The cause of her sinking lay in the fact that an apprentice engineer from Ovenstone, who had been working about the drifter’s engines, had knocked off work, omitting to close the water-cock, with the result that as the tide rose dining the night, the drifter gradually filled and sank. Steps were at once taken to have the water pumped out, and several’ pumps were requisitioned from local men and also from Messrs Balfour, Ovenstone engineering works. The vessel was soon cleared of the water, and the engines at once coated with oil to prevent them rusting from the contamination with the salt water. The drifter was little the worse for her mishap, and able to proceed to sea early on Monday morning. It was fortunate that there was no one sleeping on hoard, else the accident might have had a more serious termination. The Morning Star is a new boat, and has only prosecuted the fishing about a month.
DROWNING FATALITY IN CANADA. SAD FATE OF A CELLARDYKE NATIVE. The American mail of last week conveyed to Mr William Smith (Melville), 29 John Street, Cellardyke, the melancholy intelligence of the death by drowning of his eldest son, James, at Thornbury, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday, April 30. The letter, which Ind evidently been despatched in a hurried manner in order to overtake the mail, contained only the most meagre intelligence of the sad fatality, and the fuller details are not yet to hand. The available news contained in the letter, however, have been supplemented by explanatory statements by deceased’s father.
Twelve years ago, the brothers Durham and James Smith left Cellardyke for Canada, in order to continue the prosecution of the calling of fishermen which they had begin here, and settled down at Thornbury, Ontario, where they have since resided up to the present time Thornbury is a township of about 500 inhabitants, and is situated on Georgian Lake or Bay, the latter term being the one mostly used by residenters on its shores. The two principal towns nearest Thornbury are Collingwood and Mayford, one being about eight, and the other twelve miles distant. Collingwood, in addition to being, like Mayford, a fishing town, has a large shipbuilding yard, and from these two places the fishing is prosecuted in steamers, which are likened to our local steam drifters. Thornbury, on the other hand, has almost entirely allowed its fishing population to dwindle away, until, out of its whole population, only the two brothers from Cellardyke could be placed in that category, with the exception of the farmers in the neighbourhood, who, when the fish begin to spawn, and come up to the lake shore, also seek, in addition to their labours of the land, to wrest a finny harvest from the waters of the lake. Thornbury, however, sticks to the sailing boats. Here the brothers James and Durham Smith chose to reside, and have for twelve years prosecuted the salmon, pike, and white fishing in the Georgian Bay, having for that purpose to leave home in the springtime, and go away in their boats—they take a large and a small one—to Squaw Island, which lies at a distance of 130 miles up the lake, away from Thornbury. At Squaw Island they continue to fish until September, when they return home to Thornbury again. This year, as usual, deceased and his brother left in their boat for Squaw Island, but after having proceeded a good bit up the lake, they became beset among the ice, and had to return to Thornbury, to repair the large boat, which had become damaged among the ice, and had sprung a leak. They had been about a week at home again, and had got the leak repaired, when deceased one day told his brother that he intended to rise at 4 dock the next morning, and pump the water out of the boat. Punctually next morning, deceased proceeded to the boat, and after pumping all the water out of the larger vessel, he took the small beat, intending, it is supposed, to sail round the point to his house, instead of—as he might have done—crossing the bridge which spans the river at this point, and walking home. His wife, on his non arrival at breakfast time, felt no alarm, as it was thought that perhaps he had gone to his brother’s, and that the two of them would perhaps be preparing things for leaving again. When, however, deceased failed to turn up for dinner, some misgivings were entertained, and a message was sent to his brother’s house. By this time, however, Durham had left for the boat, and it was only on his own arrival at the mooring place that had made the shocking discovery of his brother’s death. The small boat was lying washed up on the shore, while James’ dead body was stretched a short distance away. It is conjectured that either the boat had upset, or deceased had stumbled overboard, but nothing definite can be known of the accident. Deceased, who was 37 years of age, married in Canada a few years ago, and hie loss is mourned by a widow and one child. – It is recalled in connection with this melancholy accident that deceased’s action in leaving for Canada was at the time, the fortunate cause of his escaping drowning in the loss of the Cellardyke fishing boat, Lady of the Late, which was lost at sea on the 16th of May, 1895. just twelve years ago. Deceased who was one of the crew of the Lady of the Lake, left that boat to accompany his brother to Canada, and it was only a few weeks afterwards that the boat was lost with all hands, the skipper, Alex. Davidson, being deceased’s uncle. Deceased; both at home and abroad, was for a young man, an experienced and a diligent fisherman. He was of a jovial light spirited nature, and his kind-heartedness made him a favourite in Cellardyke, both with old and young, previous to his departure Canada. His fellow fishers in this community have always followed with interest his career in the New World, as shown by the constant and numerous enquiries as to his well-being addressed by them to his father from time to time. It is, of course, his relations who have to bear the brunt of the blow caused by his death, but there are also his youthful acquaintances, who feel in his sudden and premature demise the loss of a friend, and a blank which only a reminiscence of schooldays sport will serve to fill. Cut off thus tragically and suddenly in the full vigour of manhood, his death severs a partnership which has lasted between his brother and he, as it were from infancy, and it comes all the more prematurely at a time, when the brothers were just beginning to reap the fruit! of their years of pioneering in the lake and river fishings of Canada. The sympathy of the whole of the fishing community, as well as that of numerous acquaintances outside that circle is extended to his bereaved and sorrowing relatives, both at home and in Canada,—where, in his adopted country, he has found his long home—who, in. the freshness of their grief, are still looking for a familiar figure which only a pleasant reverie of bye gone days can now conjure up before them. and “waiting for a hand, A hand that can be clasped no more.”
1908
Aberdeen
During Wednesday afternoon some excitement was caused the arrival of four sail boats at Point Law, all with herrings on board. The vessels were Cellardyke craft, which had left for Aberdeen on Monday, and shot on the way north. The vessels and their takas were follows;—Vineyard (KY. 288) 50 crans; Family’s Pride (KY 625) 30 crans; Henry Reid (KY.677), 30 crans. A large number of fishermen and those connected with the herring industry assembled Point Law, and the crews were urged to proceed t sea and throw the herrings overboard, account of the close time being observed at the East Coast ports. This however, the Cellardyke said could not see their way to do. They pleaded entire ignorance of any close season and quite failed to see how they should not be to land their herrings, especially as during the early season last year they had put in several profitable weeks at Aberdeen. Several curers supported them in this, and all argument was brought to a crux by Mr Andrew Duncan offering 10s per cran for all four shots This was promptly was accepted. and the boats proceeded to land their fish without further delay, the crowd gradually dispersing. Several other curers afterwards purchased parcels of the herrings from Mr Duncan. This may be said to practically put an end to any close time season at Aberdeen, and several herring boats were preparing to go sea on Wednesday, which would otherwise have been kept in port until the end of the month at least. Among a large section the trade, however, there is keen disappointment felt that the motion which was carried at Saturday’s meeting has been broken through, especially as the close season has been loyally maintained till now at the other East Coast Ports. A Tory sail-boat arrived late in the evening with 30 crans of herrings, but failed find purchaser and the fish went out for manure.
THE CAPTURE OF IMMATURE HERRINGS. Provost Black, Cellardyke, has received a communication from the Fishery Board for Scotland in reply to the petition sent them protesting against trie capture of immature herrings in the upper reaches of the Firth of Forth means of the seine or circle trawl net. The Board have resolved to hold a public inquiry into the subject, and have appointed three of their number, with Sheriff Crawford chairman, hold the inquiry, times and places to afterwards fixed.
1909
BOY DROWNED IN A TUB AT CELLARDYKE. The danger of mothers leaving children in the vicinity of tubs of water was fatally illustrated on Saturday in the fishing town of Cellardyke, where a boy, a little over two years of age, was drowned. His mother had left, him playing about, and was only absent a short time. When she returned she found the child had fallen into a tub of water. Medical aid was summoned immediately, but all efforts to resuscitate the child failed. The sad event created quite a stir in the community, and much sympathy was expressed for the parents.
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