Searching for a Silver Mine

The diary excerpt comes from the summer of 1877. Coleman is teaching at Cobourg Collegiate Institute. Arthur takes advantage of the summer break and in mid-July he and his colleagues Odlum and McK [sic] set up a prospecting venture. They are canoeing down the Ottawa River searching for a silver mine.

Tuesday [July] 7th [1877]
Looking for the supposed silver mine, in vain. McCoy & McAuley visited us. They had failed to find a trapping ground that was unoccupied & were cursing the indians. About noon Odlum & I in the built canoe went round the point to the chief’s to get milk & information were just in time to see them pass out in a canoe. Landed but no one in the shanty which seemed tolerably furnished. A canoe 30 ft. long on the stocks. On my way back saw an indian in a bark canoe, caught up to him and found he could talk no French & but very little English. Odlum asked him where the Shumiah (silver) was. He said he was going that way & would show us. As we paddled side by side, Odlum asked the names of a great many things in indian. He answered with a show of teeth & was very good humored. This said he was going to hunt a bear. Blueberries, bear; no blueberries, no bear, was his plan of finding them. We offered to go with him but no with a grin, “me no want white man.” Pointing out to us the small bay where the ore was he said “me no want go there, it no pay” for he was

Photograph. A.P. Coleman and Friends on a Porch. ca 1880
Photograph. Coleman Cottage in the Thousand Islands, near Gananoque. n.d.
Notebook. A.P. Coleman. Sunday [July] 5 – Tuesday [July] 7th, 1876 in Diary No. 3, 1874 – 1878, [pages 91 - 92]
Sketchbook. A.P. Coleman. Cover, Sketchbook 1d 1878
Sketchbook. A.P. Coleman. At Pither's Point in Sketchbook 1b ca 1880, [page 29]
Minerals and rocks. Paul Wilson. Silver Ore, Cobalt, Ontario. n.d. ROM Department of Natural History.
Artifact. Paul Wilson. Brunton Compass and case. n.d. ROM Department of Natural History.

thumbnail
thumbnail
thumbnail
thumbnail
thumbnail
thumbnail
thumbnail

opposite the place when he was going to land & hunt bear. ...

Diary 3, 1874 - 1889, pages 92 - 94


Sunday [July] 5th. [1877]

Raspberries very good. I ate plenty as well as blueberries. Piché and a friend called round in the afternoon & stayed till about 9 at night, very tedious. Paddled them home in the built canoe. 4 in at once all paddling.

Monday [July] 6th. [1877]

McK & I were off at 5 for the fort 5 miles in the built canoe. Stopped at an island to look for fossils in limestone. Not many to be found. Reached the fort about 10. Saw Ryder Chatterton and Mr. Rankin were invited to dinner which was good. Got $9.50 of moccasins etc. on credit. Set off after dinner to paddle 8 miles through pouring rain. We were soaked - changed clothes & got tolerably dry ...

Notebook. A.P. Coleman. Sunday [July] 5 – Monday [July] 6th, 1876 in Diary No. 3, 1874 – 1878, [page 91]

in the tent which sheds rain well. All the change I could make was shirt socks drawers & Overcoat & accordingly I went about thus attired the remainder of the day.

Tuesday [July] 7th. [1877]

Looking for the supposed silver mine, in vain. McCoy & McAuley visited us. They had failed to find a trapping ground that was unoccupied & were cursing the indians. About noon Odlum & I in the built canoe went round the point to the chief’s to get milk & information were just in time to see them pass out in a canoe. Landed but no one in the shanty which seemed tolerably furnished. A canoe 30 ft. long on the stocks. On my way back saw an indian

Notebook. A.P. Coleman. Monday [July] 6 - Tuesday [July] 7th, 1876 in Diary No. 3, 1874 – 1878, [page 92]

in a bark canoe, caught up to him and found he could talk no French & but very little English. Odlum asked him where the Shumiah (silver) was. He said he was going that way & would show us. As we paddled side by side, Odlum asked the names of a great many things in indian. He answered with a show of teeth & was very good humored. This said he was going to hunt a bear. Blueberries, bear; no blueberries, no bear, was his plan of finding them. We offered to go with him but no with a grin, “me no want white man.” Pointing out to us the small bay where the ore was he said “me no want go there, it no pay” for he was opposite the place where he was going to land & hunt bear.

Notebook. A.P. Coleman. Tuesday [July] 7th, 1876 [continued] in Diary No. 3, 1874 – 1878, [page 93]

He had his dinner with him in the shape of half a point of flour in a tin. He was going to mix this with water, without salt or anything else & make his dinner, supper & breakfast from it. He was delighted when we gave him a little rice, all the provisions we had in the canoe. He pointed out to us the “tripe de roche”, a greenish lichen which the Indians boil & eat when reduced to extremities. Odlum & I both pronounced the indian words in order to spell them phonetically. I managed better than Odlum when he said “you soon speak indian.” He was delighted with our canoe which runs much faster than a bark. Our canoe was twice as large as his & carried twice the load….

Notebook. A.P. Coleman. Tuesday [July] 7th, 1876 [continued] in Diary No. 3, 1874 – 1878, [page 94]