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a Arne mas ppt ERR Bs Te i » ov H IL WER A te ead PETA NTL $0 MO. "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" | De Plomb," between the Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculs and will be seen in the Port Perry Star the first issue of each month. This is the first in the series of articles. We would like to thank Mr. Arculus for taking the time and interest to write these articles, which we're sure will be awaited eagerly each month by our readers. J. Peter Hvidsten, publisher [J [J ® Old maps provide a fascinating way of looking into our past. They help us to see how much the world has changed. Scugog is no exception and today's article will give us more than just a glimpse into the changes which have taken place in Scugog, but even more engrossing, one of the early maps of Lake Scugog tells a story about a trail of tragedies, each one leading inexorably to a horrible climax which shook the whole of Canada with its far reaching significance. . agedy at Huronia When Samuel Champlain, the coureur de bois and the Jesuits began their explorations into this part of New France in 1615, there is no doubt that they passed through the region of the Scugog basin. Their records and maps, however, are too \ vague for us-to identify locations as we know them today. Champlain and his men were impressed by the complexity of-the political and social structure of the Huron society which they encountered in this region. The French rivalry with the Dutch and English for furs led to armed conflict, the French allying themselves with the Huron while the Dutch and English gained the support of the Iroquois. The intensity of this rivalry led to the horrors of the massacres of the Huron warriors and the Jesuit priests at Midland in 1649. Indeed, it is probable that the Iroquois camped in the Lake Scugog-Rice Lake vicinity during the winter of 1648-49 in preparation for their attack on Huronia in March of 1649. _ Fur Traders As the war subsided, the Iroquois, now in control of this region, established substantial villages at the mouths of various rivers along the shore of Lake Ontario including the Humber, the Rouge and the Ganaraska. The Iroquois left this region at some period around the beginning of the 18th century, joining the Five Nations which became the Six Nations during the first quarter of the 18th century in what is now Upper New York State. They were replaced by the nomadic and peaceful from interviews with some of the fur traders, priests and explorers who had travelled through the area which he charted. On this map we can clearly see the Ridges. His Lac Oentaronk is clearly Lake Simcoe and directly to the east is Lac Taronto, which appears to be Rice Lake. Directly in between the two is a small lake, a mere teardrop, flowing into a river which flows north into his "R de Taronto." There does not seem to be any other possibility than that this is Lake Scugog and the Scugog River. The relative positioning of Teyagon (later Fort Rouille, now Toronto), Cabane De Plomb and Gandaskiagon (Whitby) also support this conclusion. The Scugog Carrying Place For many years it was thought that the first accurate map of Scugog was that produced by Samuel Wilmot as a result of his survey of this area during the winter of 1809-1810. His map is certainly the most widely used in reference sources on the early history, but his was certainly not the first map, in fact, his was not the first detailed survey. In his well researched and scholarly. work, "Forgotten Pathways of the Trent," Leslie Frost details the evidence of the four main routes from Lake Ontario to the Valley of the Trent Waterway used by the Iroquois and later by the Mississaugas and finally by the first Europedn settlers. One of these routes. was the Scugog Carrying Place. This pathway began at Oshawa Creek, over the height of land at "the Ridges," down to Lake Scugog and then on to the Kawarthas and Lake Simcoe. Frost spends a major portion of his work referring to Samuel Wilmot's survey. He makes no mention of a survey conducted five years earlier. This is probably because he was not aware of its existence. But Frost is not alone. Almost all the histories of the Scugog basin state: "This area was first surveyed by Samuel Wilmot in 1809- 1810." But this is where they are not quite correct. John Stegmann's Survey A few years ago while looking through the archives of the Scugog Shores Museum, I came across a negative print of a copy of an old map. The original was dated 1804 and signed by John Stegmann. I later found out that this print had been given to the archives by the Township of Scugog many years before and that its origin was unknown. In the top left hand corner a number had been printed. This was obviously not on the original map. Mississaugas. The a . . 4 " Mississaugas, a branch |" age, of the Ojibway, had 22 certainly established ae 2 themselves in this Sx Fo region by 1720. In order AL to obtain the dl 4 % 3 increasingly valuable ag ¥ furs, the French set up Law forts and trading posts > along the north shore of ; Lake Ontario. "Cabane Tononfat Oshawa and Harmony creeks was built sometime around 1749. The Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec in 1759 was a marker in the turning Y 2 point of French power in North America. In the (4 (/ . = ° .. A Ya & a [Tm Ea anpriegue oy, a tls 2 Teg, : iy) Pe SPINE 2p, ILIA E Vn _ EG 72 ena <8) ~ decade which preceeded it the French made every effort to consolidate their power. One way to denote control was to chart their territories. The 17565 Danville Map In 1755 a cartographer named Danville was asked to develop a map condensing the knowledge of French territories in the new world. It is on his map that we find one of the first indications of Lake Scugog. Danville probably visited very little of the area which he mapped, instead his map would have been developed from the existing charts and diagrams as well as After a long period of time, I was able to find out that the numericals used were those of the Ministry of Natural Resources. After contacting them, I discovered that they had the original and they kindly sent me a copy. This was an exciting and pleasing discovery. Many had thought there was only one copy of this map and that it had perished when the ship "Speedy" had sunk in 1804. John Sharp's Murder The 1804 survey of John Stegmann is wrapped in tragedy; the reason for its commission, the result of its commission and the fate of Stegmann himself. In the early 1800s two brothers, William and Moody Farewell set up business at the mouth of the Oshawa Creek as fur traders. They explored the area extensively looking for good sites to set up trading posts. In the spring of 1804, they made their way to Washburn Island on Lake Scugog taking John Sharp with them. They built a log they arrived at the boundary line between the two districts having followed the route previously mentioned. They began their surveying on the 7th Concession of Whitby Township and proceeded north to what is now Lake Scugog, he called it Lake Beobescugog#It should be emphasized that Stegmann's task was merely to determine "in which district Washburn Island was located. His survey of the lake is probably not as detailed nor as accurate as it would have been if he had been given a broader assignment. This factor can be clearly seen in his deliniation of the shore in the region of present day Port Perry. A "double line, clearly an error, is quite obvious "{ and he paid no attention to what is now 'Ball Point, to the east of "1 Washburn +1" Island. 'Obviously, he had determined that Washburn | Island was in 5 fhe Jyearyle - "| Districtand any | details east of ~~ | that point were not relevant to his task. Nevertheless 4 - building in which Sharp could live and carry out his trading with the . Mississaugas. He would probably have done some trapping himself. The Farewells departed leaving Sharp in charge of the post. A short time later Moody Farewell returned to the post only to find John Sharp's body a few yards away from the post. He had been brutally murdered. Farewell quickly buried the corpse and returned to Oshawa to report the event to the authorities. A local resident, Eleazar Lockwood reported that he had overheard a conversation in which an Ojibway named Ogetonicut had said that he had killed John Sharp because a white man named Cozens had killed his brother Whistling Duck, the year before, and nothing Lad been done about it so he had taken justice into his own hands. Later that month Ogetonicut was arrested in York (now Toronto). The murder of Ogetonicut's brother, Whistling Duck had been reported to the Lieutenant-Governor Hunter but he had merely swept the incident under the carpet. Site of the Trial During the deliberations for Ogetonicut's trial, the authorities realized that the site of the murder, Washburn Island, was probably in the Newcastle District and not in the Home district (an area which now encompasses Durham and Metro Toronto). If this assumption was correct, then the trial must take place not in York, but in Newcastle, not the present day Newcastle but a growing settlement near Presqu'ile. John Stegmann, a well respected, experienced 46 year old surveyor was commissioned to conduct a survey in order to determine the jurisdiction of Washburn Island. John Stegmann's Survey Stegmann's beautifully written survey notes, are kept today in the Archives of Ontario in Toronto. In them he meticulously details his assignment. On Thursday, August 16, 1804, he hired a crew and obtained all the provisions necessary to carry out the survey. The next this map is a fascinating one when we look at it and compare it with the present situation. This map was drawn before the lake was énlarged by the construction of the dam at Lindsay in 1829, raising the level of" Scugog's water significantly. Stegmann used a scale of one inch to the mile in his drawing. Using this scale, the map shows that the distance from the site of Port Perry across to Scugog Island (he calls it the "Island of High Land") is only approximately 200 yards. Another interesting point is that Stegmann indicates two buildings close to what is now Seven Mile Island. There is no indication of their purpose. We can only guess that they were cabins built by fur traders in the area. On Washburn Island, at the murder site, he clearly indicates the mouth of the Nonquon River and the cabin where Sharp was found; "M. Farewell's House." More Tragedies . The first tragedy in this disastrous sequence of events was the fact that the murder of Whistling Duck was never dealt with. The second is the murder of John - Sharp. The next is a cataclysmic series of related events. The Captain of the "Speedy," Thomas Paxton had complained td Lieutenant- Governor Hunter that the "Speedy" was not seaworthy. In spite of Paxton's pleas, Hunter ordeved Paxton to set sail in the vessel. John Stegmann, as surveyor, was called as a witmess at the trial to justify its being held in Newcastle. Stegmann boarded the "Speedy" at York along with; Robert Gray, ¥he Solicitor-General; Thomas Cechren, judge of the King's Bench; Angu® Macdonnell, a member of the House of Assembly and Ogetonecut's defence counsel; James Ruggles, a Justice of the Peace; ather legal officials and Ogetonicut, the acoused. Twenty were on board the "Speedy"; 14 $eople involved in the trial and a crew of six. They set sail from York at 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 7, 1804 bound for Presqu'ile. That evening a IY! day they left York and on Monday the 20th