The rodent's Blog

By Margant Mackay

Iain is a 13-year-old boy. He came to Nova Scotia from Scotland. After an horrific sea travel he landed in Pictou in 1773. In Pictou there was nothing but forest. The Highlanders were told they would have farms and houses but the seller cheated them and they were given a lot in the middle of the forest. Winter was coming and they needed to cut trees and build houses. The main problem was that they did not have any food to survive.

Some of the settlers decided to move to Truro or Halifax where they were sure to find a job. Iain’s friend, Seumas, moved with his family to Truro (1 week on foot), Iain’s father chose to stay. This decision had big consequences : during the winter their pot broke destroy by the water freezing, they used their last coins to buy a bunch of food. They hardly survived winter. Meanwhile Iain made friend with with the children of a settler who had been already there for 6 years. He learned how to fish in the river, how to cut a tree, etc. He also went on a moose hunt with miqmak warriors. A miqmak warrior gave him a fox hat beacause during the hunt Ian’s hat has been lost..

When Spring came the family moved to Truro for the Summer: Iain and his father worked with the blacksmith, his mother and sister spinned the wool. Iain also saved a lamb from dying. When they went back from Truro they had food, a new pot, an axe, and the lamb Iain had saved! On their way back Iain found a caribou calf. Its mother was killed so Iain adopted it. They were able to build a new solid house to feel warm during Winter. Many years later Iain became a magistrat and bought a horse.

Even if the characters are fictional, some of them were inspired by real people, for exemple Iain is a mix of 3 real boys. The author is a retired teacher from Pictou, from the MacKay family. Margant talked about her ancestors settling in Pictou. This book is good but too short, you want to know more about the rest of Iain’s live.