The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

THE BALDOON MYSTERY

THIS STORY THAT I AM ABOUT TO TELL YOU WAS TOLD TO MY MOTHER
BY HER MOTHER, HELEN MAC DOUGALL WHO WITNESSED THESE EVENTS
BETWEEN 1830 AND 1840. THE SITE OF THIS TRAGIC EVENT IS
BETWEEN LAKE HURON AND LAKE ST. CLAIR ON A STREAM CALLED THE
CHANNEL ECARTE. ONE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS BUILT HIMSELF A HOUSE
ON THIS STREAM. HIS NAME WAS DANIEL MACDONALD. AFTER
MANY YEARS OF HARD LABOR HE PROSPERED AND HAD A LARGE FAMILY.
THE TIME CAME WHEN HIS ELDEST SON, JOHN MACDONALD MARRIED AND
A SECOND HOUSE WAS BUILT NEARBY. THIS WAS THE HOUSE WHERE THE
BALDOON MYSTERY TOOK PLACE. FOR A WHILE JOHN AND HIS WIFE
WERE HAPPY AND HAD THREE CHILDREN. THEIR HAPPINESS WAS NOT TO
LAST LONG FOR THEY MET WITH STRANGE PERSECUTIONS. I MUST NOW
MENTION ANOTHER FAMILY IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. I WON'T TELL YOU
THEIR NAME FOR SOME OF THEIR RELATIVES ARE STILL LIVING. I WILL
REFER TO THEM AS THE PEOPLE OF THE LONG LOW LOG HOUSE. IN
THIS FAMILY THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN, HER TWO SONS, AND ONE
DAUGHTER. THEY WERE NOT SOCIABLE PEOPLE AND HAD FEW FRIENDS. YOUNG
JOHN MAC DONALD HAD BUILT HIS HOUSE ON A PIECE OF LAND THAT THESE
PEOPLE WANTED. HE WAS HAPPY WHERE HE LIVED AND HAD NO DESIRE
TO MOVE. THE PEOPLE OF THE LONG LOW LOG HOUSE TRIED TO PURCHASE
THE LAND FROM HIM. HE REFUSED AND FOR THIS HE OWED ALL THE
MISERIES HE ENDURED. THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS IN JOHN'S BARN,
WHICH WAS BUILT OF LOGS. ONE DAY WHEN ALL THE FAMILY WAS IN THERE,
ONE OF THE LOGS FROM THE ROOF FELL, BUT THIS WAS ATTRIBUTED TO A
NATURAL CAUSE. THEN DOWN CAME ANOTHER POLE. JOHN AND HIS
FAMILY SEARCHED, BUT COULD FIND NO CAUSE FOR THIS ACCIDENT.
ABOUT A WEEK LATER WHILE THEY WERE IN THE KITCHEN THERE WAS A
CRASH OF GLASS AND LEAD BULLET FELL AT THEIR FEET ON THE FLOOR.
THEY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A HUNTER WHO HAD FIRED CARELESSLY. A
SECOND LATER A WHOLE SHOWER OF BULLETS CAME THROUGH ALL OF THE
WINDOWS IN THE SAME WAY, NOT HITTING ANYONE BUT FALLING AT THEIR
FEET. EACH BULLET MADE A HOLE THROUGH THE PANES OF GLASS LIKE IT HAD
BEEN FIRED FROM A GUN. ONE NIGHT JOHN'S WIFE WOKE HIM UP
BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT SHE HEARD SOMEONE IN THE KITCHEN. JOHN
LISTENED AND HEARD WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS SOLDIERS MARCHING IN HIS
KITCHEN. HE RUSHED TO THE ROOM, THREW OPEN THE DOOR AND FOUND
NOTHING BUT THE EMPTY ROOM. THE THROWING OF BULLETS THROUGH THE
WINDOWS AND THE TRAMPING BECAME A DAILY OCCURRENCE. JOHN
BOARDED HIS WONDOWS WITH STRONG ONE INCH BOARDS STILL THE BULLETS
CAME ONLY THIS TIME THERE WERE NO ROUND HOLES. THEY PASSED THROUGH
THE BOARDS WITHOUT LEAVING A MARK. BY NOW ALL OF THE COUNTRYSIDE
KNEW OF THESE STRANGE HAPPENINGS AND MANY CURIOUS PEOPLE CAME TO
VISIT THE MACDONALDS. ONE OF THESE PEOPLE WAS A MR. CAMPBELL
(YOU REMEMBER HIS GRANDCHILDREN DON'T YOU) HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ANY OF
THESE THINGS AND HE LET THE MCDONALDS KNOW IT AS SOON AS HE GOT
IN THE HOUSE. AS SOON AS HIS WORDS WERE SPOKEN A HEAVY STONE COMING
FROM NOWHERE STRUCK HIM ON THE BREAST. HE BECAME PALE AS DEATH,
BUT STILL WANTING TO BE BRAVE, PICKED UP THE STONE, AND THREW IT
IN THE RIVER. A FEW MINUTES LATER THIS SAME WET STONE STRUCK
HIM AGAIN. ANOTHER WITNESS WAS A MR. FLEURY. HE SAW A BABY
LYING IN A CRADLE. SUDDENLY THE CRADLE BEGAN ROCKING AND THE
BABY WAS ALMOST TOSSED OUT OF THE CRADLE. HE AND JOHN MCDONALD
USING ALL THEIR STRENGTH GRABBED HOLD OF THE CRADLE WHILE MRS.
MCDONALD PICKED UP THE BABY. OTHER WITNESSES SAW DISHES OF
WATER RISE UP FROM THE TABLE, SAW CHAIRS AND TABLES FALL OVER, AND
THE KETTLE LEFT THE STOVE AND WHIRLED AROUND THE ROOM. ONE TIME
AN INDIAN KNIFE HANGING OVER THE FIREPLACE WAS THROWN INTO THE AIR
AND LANDED WITH ITS BLADE STUCK IN THE WINDOW FRAME. ANOTHER
WITNESS SAW A PIECE OF SOAP STRIKE ONE OF THE MCDONALD CHILDREN
ON THE BACK. A MR. STEWART HAD READ OF A CASE LIKE THIS IN SCOTLAND;
ONLY THERE AN EMPTY BUCKET WENT TO A WELL ALL BY ITSELF AND CAME BACK
ALL FULL OF WATER. AS SOON AS HE HAD SAID THIS A CUP OF WATER ON
THE TABLE FLEW UP INTO THE AIR AND EMPTIED ITSELF ON THE FLOOR
BEFORE HIM. FOR A FEW MONTHS NOTHING WORSE THAN THESE THINGS
HAPPENED. THEN MORE SERIOUS MANIFESTATIONS TOOK PLACE. LITTLE BALLS
OF FIRE BEGAN TO FLOAT THROUGH THE AIR AND SET PARTS OF THE HOUSE
ON FIRE. THE LOGS FROM THE FIREPLACE WOULD FLY OUT TO THE MIDDLE
OF THE ROOM AND SCATTER SPARKS. AT LAST FIRE STARTED IN EVERY
ROOM AND COULDN'T BE PUT OUT. THE HOUSE BURNED TO THE GROUND.
JOHN AND HIS FAMILY MOVED TO HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW'S HOUSE. AS
SOON AS THEY ARRIVED THE SMALLER ANNOYANCES BEGAN AGAIN. HE
MOVED FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE BUT SOON A FRIEND WOULDN'T TAKE IT
UPON HIMSELF TO SUFFER SUCH ANNOYANCES. SO THEY MOVED BACK WITH
JOHN'S FATHER. FOR SOME WEEKS THEY WERE UNDISTURBED. MRS. MCDONALD
WAS STANDING IN THE GARDEN ONE DAY WHEN SHE SAW A LITTLE BLACK DOG.
SHE WENT UP TO IT TO PET IT AND IT RAN AROUND THE CORNER OF THE
HOUSE. MRS. MCDONALD RAN AFTER IT BUT SHE COULDN'T FIND IT BY
THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE. SHE LOOKED UP AT THE EAVETROUGH AND SAW
THE LITTLE DOG DEAD WITH ITS HEAD HANGING OVER THE SIDE. THE
HOUSE WAS TWO STORIES HIGH. THE TRAMPING WAS AGAIN HEARD DAY AND
NIGHT. BULLETS BROKE THROUGH THE WINDOWS. STONES WERE FLUNG INTO
THE HOUSE. THE MCDONALDS MARKED THE STONES, THREW THEM OUT
INTO THE RIVER AS FAR AS THEY COULD, AND IN A FEW SECONDS THESE SAME
STONES RETURNED. ONE DAY THE OLD LADY WHO LIVED IN THE LONG LOW
HOUSE CAME OVER AND ASKED MRS. MCDONALD, WHO WAS KNOWN FOR HER
BEAUTIFUL WEAVING, TO MAKE HER A CARPET. MRS MCDONALD
REFUSED, BUT THE OLD WOMAN SAID THAT IF SHE DID THIS FOR HER
THEY WOULDN'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE IN THEIR HOUSE AS LONG AS SHE
WAS WEAVING. THE OCCURRENCES DID STOP. AS SOON AS THE RUG HAD BEEN
HANDED OVER TO THE OLD LADY THE TROUBLES STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN.
NOW THE WHOLE HOUSE ROSE ON EACH END AS MUCH AS A FEW FEET AT
A TIME. THE MCDONALD'S COULDN'T STAND IT ANY MORE. IF THERE WAS A
NATURAL EXPLANATION FOR THESE THINGS THEY WERE GOING TO FIND OUT
WHAT IT WAS. THEY SENT TO TORONTO FOR QUALIFIED PERSONS TO
INVESTIGATE. THE FIRST THING THAT WAS DONE WAS TO TAKE
EVERYBODY AWAY FROM THE HOUSE, BUT THIS DIDN'T DO ANY GOOD
FOR THE STRANGE HAPPENINGS WENT WITH THE MCDONALDS AND THEIR
DESERTED HOME WAS PLAGUED EVEN WITHOUT THEM THERE. THE EXPERTS
COULD FIND NO NATURAL EXPLANATION FOR WHAT WAS HAPPENING SO THE
FAMILY MOVED BACK. ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO WAS INTERESTED IN THE
OCCURRENCES WAS A MR. BARKER. HE HAD READ ABOUT WITCHCRAFT SO HE
CAME TO THE MCDONALD HOUSE AND PUT A LARGE CARD OVER THE DOOR
READING: "I COMMAND YOU TO LEAVE THIS HOUSE, IN THE NAME OF THE
FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY GHOST." THEN HE NAILED A
CRUCIFIX ON THE DOOR. HIS EXORCISMS HAD NO EFFECT. NEXT THE
REVEREND FATHER TROYER CAME TO THE HOUSE AND STAYED FOR A WHOLE
WEEK. HE SAID PRAYERS AND BLESSED THE HOUSE WITH HOLY WATER BUT
NOTHING WORKED. FINALLY A FRIEND OF THE MCDONALDS TOLD THEM
THAT HE KNEW OF A FELLOW WHO HAD A DAUGHTER WHO WAS GIFTED WITH
SECOND SIGHT. THE ELDER MCDONALD AND HIS SON AFTER TWO DAYS OF
RIDING CAME TO SEE THE GIRL. SHE WAS SKINNY AND HER EYES HAD A FAR
AWAY EXPRESSION. MCDONALD TOLD HER HIS STORY. SHE THEN ASKED HIM
IF HE EVER HAD ANY TROUBLE ABOUT A PIECE OF LAND. MCDONALD
COULDN'T REMEMBER. SHE THEN ASKED HIM IF ONE OF HIS NEIGHBORS
DESIRED TO BUY HIS PROPERTY AND DIDN'T HE REFUSE THEM. " THAT'S
RIGHT, " HE SAID. SHE THEN PROCEDED TO DESCRIBE TO HIM THE
EXACT FEATURES OF THE WOMAN IN THE LONG LOW LOG HOUSE. SHE THEN
TOLD HIM THAT ONE OF HIS BARNS HAD BEEN BURNED TO THE GROUND
JUST TWO HOURS AGO. THEY NOTED THE TIME ON THE CLOCK AND WHEN
THEY GOT HOME AT EXACTLY THE HOUR MENTIONED THE BARN WAS BURNED
TO THE GROUND. BUT TO CONTINUE WITH WHAT THE YOUNG GIRL SAID.
SHE ASKED IF THERE HAD EVER BEEN SEEN A STRAY GOOSE IN HIS
FLOCK. MR MCDONALD SAID THAT THERE HAD BEEN ONCE, AND THAT HE
HAD SHOT AT IT. THE GIRL ASKED IF HE HAD USED A LEAD BALL. HE
ANSWERED THAT HE HAD BUT HE HAD NOT HIT IT. "THAT'S FOR SURE,"
SAID THE GIRL, "NO LEAD BULLET COULD EVER KILL THAT BIRD.
THAT BIRD IS THE DESTROYER OF YOUR PEACE. YOUR ENEMY IS IN THE
SHAPE OF THAT BIRD. YOU WILL HAVE TO USE A BULLET OF STERLING
SILVER IF YOU EVER WANT TO WOUND THAT BIRD. IF YOU WOUND IT, YOUR
ENEMY WILL BE WOUNDED IN THE SAME PART OF THE BODY." AS SOON AS
HE GOT HOME JOHN MCDONALD MELTED THE SILVER AND MOLDED IT INTO A
BULLET. THE NEXT MORNING HE LOADED HIS GUN WITH THE SILVER
BULLET. HE WALKED TO THE RIVER BANK AND SAW HIS FLOCK OF GEESE.
HE SAW A STRANGE ONE WITH A BLACK HEAD. HE PULLED THE TRIGGER AND
THE STRANGE BIRD GIVING A CRY LIKE A HUMAN IN GREAT PAIN MADE
ITS WAY TO THE BULL RUSHES WITH A BROKEN WING. JOHN MCDONALD
WALKED TOWARD THE LONG LOW LOG HOUSE. THERE ON THE PORCH WAS
THE OLD WOMAN WITH HER ARM BROKEN. WHEN SHE SAW JOHN SHE
SHRANK BACK TOWARD THE WALL AND JOHN KNEW THAT HIS SILVER BULLET
HAD FOUND ITS MARK. FROM THE TIME THAT THE BIRD WAS SHOT NO MORE
MANIFESTATIONS WERE EVER HEARD OF IN THE MCDONALD FAMILY AND AGAIN
THERE WAS PEACE AT BALLDOON. THE OLD WOMAN SUFFERED MUCH FROM HER
WOUNDED ARM AND AT LAST SHE DIED. IT IS SAID THAT AS SHE WAS
DYING SHE ASKED TO SEE JOHN MCDONALD, BUT HER CHILDREN REFUSED
TO GIVE HIM THE MESSAGE.

Submitter comment: THE INFORMANT LEARNED THIS STORY FROM HER PARENTS AND HER RELATIVES
WHO LIVED NEAR THE SCENE OF THE BALDOON MYSTERIES. SHE SAW
THE LOCATION OF THE HOUSE, AND HAS POINTED IT OUT TO MY
MOTHER AND ME. MANY OF OUR RELATIVES HAVE BEEN WITNESSES TO THE
STRANGE HAPPENINGS. NO HOUSE HAS BEEN BUILT ON THE SITE WHERE
THE MACDONALD HOUSE USED TO STAND, BUT THERE IS A PLACECARD
THERE MARKING THE SIGHT. NEARBY THERE IS A CLUB CALLED THE BALDOON
BALDOON GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB. OUR SUMMER HOME IS LOCATED
ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH OF THE SCENE OF THE OCCURRENCES, AND MANY OF
THE YOUNG PEOPLE CAN RECALL BEING TOLD ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE
PLACE BY THEIR PARENTS. THE FOLLOWING TESTIMONIES WERE TAKEN FROM
A PAMPHLET FOUND IN COLWELL'S $0.05 TO $1.00 STORE IN
WALLACEBURG WHICH IS ONLY FOUR MILES AWAY FROM THE
BALDOON SETTLEMENT. IN THE PREFACE TO THE PAMPHLET
THERE IS A LIST OF PERSONS WHO HAVE TESTIFIED
TO THE TRUTH OF THE INCIDENTS IN THE STORY. MANY OF THESE
ARE MY RELATIVES SUCH AS: ALLEN M. MCDONALD, ANGUS MCDOUGALL,
AND THE MACDONALDS THEMSELVES. WE KNOW PEOPLE NOW LIVING
IN PORT LAMBTON AND SOMBRA WHO ARE RELATED TO M.L.BURNAM, MARGARET
JOHNSON, THOMAS BURGESS, MRS. ELLEN BROWN, ELIZABETH SHEPLEY.
PORT LAMBTON AND SOMBRA ARE SMALL FARMING TOWNS LARGELY COMPOSED
OF SCOTCH DESCENDANTS. FEW PEOPLE EVER LEAVE THEIR BIRTHPLACE.
THEY FARM HERE AND MARRY SOMEONE FROM THE TOWN. THUS ALMOST EVERYONE
IS RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER. (STATEMENT OF MRS. J. STEWART) AS I HAD
HEARD MUCH OF THE MYSTERY, I CALLED AT MR. MCDONALD'S TO SEE FOR
MYSELF. I FOUND THE FAMILY AT BREAKFAST IN COMPANY WITH MR. BARKER,
WHO HAD COME WITH THE PURPOSE OF PUTTING A STOP TO THE MISCHEIF
WHICH WAS BEING DONE BY THE UNKNOWN HAND. I HAD ONLY BEEN SEATED
FOR A FEW MINUTES WHEN THE FRYING PAN HOPPED OUT FROM A SMALL PLACE
BETWEEN THE CORNER OF THE ROOM AND A LARGE CUPBOARD, AND FELL
TO THE FLOOR ABOUT TWELVE FEET FROM THE PLACE FROM WHICH IT STARTED.
MR. BARKER PICKED IT UP, ASKING WHERE IT CAME FROM. NO ONE
ANSWERED AND HE REPLACED IT IN THE CORNER. I KNEW MR. MCDONALD TO
BE A RESPECTABLE MAN. (STATEMENT OF THOMAS BURGESS) LIVING AT
NEW LONDON, AT THIS TIME, I, LIKE MANY OTHERS, HEARD MUCH
THAT I SUPPOSED COULD NOT BE TRUE, SO I WENT TO SEE FOR MYSELF.
WHEN I GOT THERE I FOUND BOTH THE FRONT AND BACK DOORS OPENED AND
NO ONE IN THE HOUSE. I STOOD A FEW MINUTES LOOKING AROUND TO
SEE IF THERE WAS ANY TRUTH IN WHAT I HAD HEARD ABOUT THE PLACE.
ALL AT ONCE THE TWO WOODEN ANDIRONS THAT WERE IN THE FIRE-PLACE
ROSE UP TO THE CEILING AND ONE LODGED ON EACH SIDE OF THE
HOUSE. I SAW ALL THAT I WANTED TO SEE. I WAS MUCH FRIGHTENED, BUT
AFTER A WHILE PICKED UP COURAGE AND LOOKING OUT THE BACK DOOR I
SAW A NUMBER OF PEOPLE OUT BY THE WHEAT STACKS FOR THEY
WERE ON FIRE, SO I CALLED TO THEM AND TOLD THEM ABOUT THE FIRE
IN THE HOUSE AND THEN LEFT. I WAS CONVINCED THAT WHAT I HAD
HEARD WAS TRUE. I WAS WELL ACQUAINTED WITH MR. MCDONALD, WHO
WAS AN HONEST, UPRIGHT MAN AND A MEMBER OF THE BAPTIST
CHURCH. (STATEMENT OF WILLIAM FISHER) THE FIRST I KNEW OF THE
BALDOON MYSTERY WAS THE BURNING OF THE HOUSE AND THE CLEANING
AND CLEARING AWAY OF THE RUINS. I HAVE SEEN THE LEAD BALLS AND
STONES COME INTO THE HOUSE AND ALSO SEEN THEM DRAW OUT THE DEAD
CATTLE, HOGS, AND HENS, BUT THE LAST THAT I REMEMBER SEEING
OR HEARING OF WAS THE BURNING BARN FULL OF GRAIN. IN REGARD TO
JOHN T. MCDONALD, I HAVE KNOWN HIM AS LONG AS I HAVE
RECOLLECTION AND KNEW NOTHING NOR HAVE HEARD ANYTHING AGAINST
HIS CHARACTER. (STATEMENT OF ANGUS MCDOUGALL) AS NEAR I CAN
REMEMBER, IT WAS IN JULY 1830, I WITH MY PARENTS WERE
RETURNING HOME FROM THE RIVER ST. CLAIR. LANDING AT THE TAILOR'S
WE WENT INTO THE HOUSE, AND WERE THERE BUT A FEW MINUTES WHEN THE
ALARM OF FIRE WAS GIVEN BY PARTIES THRESHING IN THE BARN, AND THE
FIRST I SAW OF IT, THE ROOF, WHICH WAS OF STRAW WAS ALL ON
FIRE AND NO ONE COULD ACCOUNT FOR IT. THE STABLE WAS BURNED TO
THE GROUND. AFTER THIS MY PARENTS WENT FREQUENTLY TO THE PLACE
TO WATCH WITH THE PEOPLE, ALWAYS TELLING US ON THEIR RETURN OF
WHAT THEY HAD SEEN AND HEARD. THEY SAID THE LEAD BALLS WOULD
BEGIN COMING IN ABOUT THREE O'CLOCK, IN THE AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE
IN THE EVENING, APPARENTLY THROUGH THE CEILING AND THE SIDE OF THE
HOUSE, WITHOUT LEAVING ANY MARKS, BUT WHEN THEY CAME
THROUGH THE WINDOWS, THE GLASS WAS BROKEN. I HAVE ALWAYS
LIVED IN THE SAME LOCATION WITH THESE PEOPLE AND NEVER KNEW
AUGHT AGAINST THEM, BUT KNEW THEM TO BE RESPECTABLE, HONEST,
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. THIS IS A TRUE STATEMENT OF WHAT I KNOW.
(STATEMENT OF JAMES H. JOHNSON) DURING THE YEARS 1829-30-31, I
LIVED WITHIN THREE MILES OF JOHN T. MCDONALD'S AND I USED TO GO
AND SEE THE BALLS COME THROUGH THE WINDOWS. BEING YOUNG, IT
WAS GREAT SPORT FOR ME. I WORE A SCOTCH CAP AT THE TIME AND I
WOULD GATHER THE BALLS IN IT AND TAKE THEM HOME, AND TELL MOTHER
ABOUT THE WITCH BALLS, AS THEY WERE CALLED. SHE WOULD MAKE
ME THROW THEM AWAY, FOR SHE SAID THE WITCHES WOULD COME
AND TAKE ME WITH THEM. I SAID I WOULD LIKE NO BETTER FUN. WE
USED TO SEE A STRAY GOOSE WITH A BLACK HEAD AND PART OF ONE
WING BLACK, SWIMMING UP AND DOWN THE RIVER, ALWAYS
QUACKING AS IF LOST, BUT AFTER MCDONALD SHOT IT THE MYSTERY
WAS SOLVED. I HAVE SEEN THE FURNITURE FLY IN ALL DIRECTIONS
AND THE MUSH POT CHASE THE DOG FROM CANADA TO THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN. THE POT HAD BEEN ABSENT FOR THREE DAYS, AND IN FOUR WEEKS
WE HEARD THAT THE DOG WAS FOUND FOUR MILES WEST IN MICHIGAN
AND IT NEVER CAME BACK TO CANADA. MR. MCDONALD USED TO TRADE
AT MY FATHER'S STORE AND WAS ALWAYS UPRIGHT IN ALL HIS DEALINGS.
(STATEMENT OF MARGARET JOHNSON) IN 1803, LORD SELKIRK CAME
TO AMERICA AND WAS TO BE FOLLOWED BY A PARTY OF SCOTCH EMIGRANTS
FROM ARGYLESHIRE, IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND, BUT, OWING
TO THE FRENCH WAR THEY WERE DETAINED IN A TOWN CALLED
OILCUTBRIGHT. IN 1804 THEY CAME TO CANADA AND SETTLED
ON A TRACT OF LAND THAT HE HAD BOUGHT ON THE RIVER
SYDENHAM, NEAR THE TOWN OF WALLACEBURG, IN THE TOWNSHIP
OF DOVER COUNTY OF KENT. LORD SELKIRK RESERVED A FARM OF 900
ACRES, WHICH HE CALLED BELLEOON. HE BUILT A HOUSE FOR HIS AGENT,
MR. MACDONALD FROM TORONTO, AND SENT MEN ON FROM TORONTO TO BUILD
HOUSES FOR THE EMMIGRANTS, BUT WHEN THEY ARRIVED THE HOUSES WERE NOT
FINISHED AND THEY HAD TO LIVE IN TENTS FOR SOME TIME. THE
CHANGE WAS SO GREAT THAT IT CAUSED A GREAT DEAL OF SICKNESS
AND MOST OF THE OLDER PEOPLE DIED THE VERY FIRST YEAR. THE
NEXT SPRING THE REMAINDER SETTLED ON THEIR FARMS OF 50 ACRES
WHICH THEY CULTIVATED FOR SEVERAL YEARS, BUT THE LAND BEING
LOW AND WET, THEY COULD NOT MAKE A LIVING ON IT, SO THEY BOUGHT
ELSEWHERE. ONE LARGE FAMILY BY THE NAME OF MCDONALD, SETTLED
ON THE CHENNEL ECARTE, TWO MILES FROM THE ST. CLAIR RIVER.
HIS FAMILY SETTLED AROUND HIM, HIS ELDEST SON, JOHN, LIVING
ON THE ADJOINING FARM. ONE DAY IN THE YEAR 1829, WHILE
ABSENT FROM HOME, HIS FAMILY WERE SEATED AT THE BREAKFAST
TABLE, WHEN A GUN BALL CAME THROUGH THE WINDOW AND ROLLED
ACROSS THE FLOOR. THEY SUPPOSED SOME ONE HAD FIRED A GUN
AND LOOKED OUT, BUT COULD SEE NO ONE, AND FROM THAT TIME
COMMENCED WHAT PEOPLE CALL WITCHCRAFT. THE FAMILY LEFT AND
WENT TO HIS FATHER'S AND IT SOON COMMENCED THERE. HE SENT FOR JOHN
AND WHEN THEY CAME BACK HOME AGAIN, THE BALLS STILL CAME IN
AND BROKE NEARLY ALL THE GLASS IN THE HOUSE, THEN CAME
SMALL PIECES OF LEAD AND SMALL STONES. THEY WENT TO SEVERAL HOUSES
BUT IT FOLLOWED THEM WHERE EVER THEY WENT. THIS CONTINUED AT
INTERVALS FOR NEARLY A YEAR. IT WAS SET ON FIRE UPSTAIRS, AND THE
INMATES BEING DOWN STAIRS, THE FIRE GOT SUCH HEADWAY
BEFORE THEY SAW IT THAT THE HOUSE WAS BURNED DOWN. THEY WENT
BACK TO HIS FATHER'S AGAIN, BUT IT SOON COMMENCED THERE. THIS
WAS A LARGE TWO STOREY FRAME HOUSE AND IT WAS SET ON FIRE FIVE
TIMES IN ONE DAY. THEY MOVED EVERYTHING OUT OF THE HOUSE AND
SAVED IT, AND IT IS STANDING YET. ALL OF THE OUTBUILDINGS,
WITH THE BARN FULL OF GRAIN WERE BURNED. THINGS COULD MOVE
AROUND THE HOUSE, WHEN NO PERSON WAS TO BE SEEN, IT
CONTINUED FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS AND THEN STOPPED. HUNDREDS
OF PEOPLE CAME FROM FAR AND NEAR AND WATCHED BUT NEVER COULD
ACCOUNT FOR IT. NOTHING HAS BEEN FOUND OUT ABOUT IT TO THIS
DAY. THEY WERE A DECENT AND RESPECTABLE FAMILY AND ALL CHURCH
MEMBERS. I WAS BORN IN SCOTLAND, ON FEBRUARY 1ST, 1797.

Data entry tech comment: SEE ORIGINAL 5X8 CARD FOR AN ADDITIONAL STATEMENT.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD

Date learned: 05-12-1965