During the Year...

Richard was 46 years old. In January he went to Ottawa regarding a salary increase. He gave his lecture on "Waterways of Canada" several times including at McGill University. In late December, his daughter Leah was diagnosed with Diphtheria and the whole family was quarantined for six days.

Headlines in the Papers...

• Canadian Waterways. Mr. R.B. Rogers Gives a Very Interesting and Instructive Lecture. The Trent Canal Route. Its Great Importance as an Outlet to the Produce of the West. The Canadian Water Route from Port Arthur to Montreal Longer by 250 Miles. Advantages of the Trent Route Pointed Out. Splendid Views. (April 21, The Daily Evening Review)
• Mr. R.B. Rogers' Excellent Address. Illustrated by Many Fine Limelight Views (April 21, The Daily Examiner)

1903 Diary (#1)

Period covered: January 1, 1903 - December 31, 1903

Dimensions: 14.2 cm X 7.3 cm (l x w)

No. of Pages: 180

Note: The diary contains a page where the diarist has recorded some Notes and Bills Receivable for the year of 1903.

January Thursday 1: Working at house all am on Paper on transportation. Went calling with George in pm. Made about a dozen calls viz. Bradburns, Geo & Mrs. DC Hallin, Mr. Morrow, H C Rogers, Belcher, Dennistoun (2), Hay, Collins. Went to large party at DW Dumbles. Very nice. George’s first big party. Tea at Calcutts.

January Friday 2: Walked to Hy Lock with W. Winslow. Office all day.  In evening went to sleigh riding party on our hill with the Burham‘s & after went up there. Rain at night.

January Saturday 3: Very mild. Office all day. Choir practice at night.

January Sunday 4: Went over to Pousettes after church to see May before her marriage.

January Monday 5: Went to Gwendoline Meades marriage to W. T. Hall in St. Lukes at 10 am. Went off very well. Had horse & drove to station to see them off. Office. Drove to Hyd Lock after dinner & was going to locks but was too busy. Municipal Elections. Took few voters to poll (3). Office. Went to party at Calcutt’s for George & Edna. Colder.

January Tuesday 6: Office 10:30 to 1 - & to 4. Drove to locks & to new dredge which we started in Canal above CP Ry yesterday, also to Hyd Lock. Put on the four bearing girders on West ram today. Office 5:15 to 6 & after tea.

January Wednesday 7: Office 10-4. Drove (L) to locks & to new dredge & Hyd Lock. Back at office 5:30 & took horse home. Service at night. Office 8:30-11. 3 local bye elections. All went liberal & settled [R-] Gov’t. Snow & stormy.

January Thursday 8: Office all day. Snowing. Showers. Cold. Mans eye knocked out on Hy Lock. Rankine laid off for Hemorage of lungs. Office 8:30 to 10:30. Very cold at nt.

January Friday 9: Office all day. Was going to locks & George got horse out at 4 to drive me but could not spare team. Went to S School Christmas entertainment & after office. Very cold & blustery.

January Saturday 10: Office till 3 pm. Drove to No. 3 dam to see work & on to Lak’d. Met Kilbourne in his office re plans of his work & amendments to them & also Heely’s Falls. Stayed to supper. Had team & took children with me. Gordon with me. Choir practice. Office 9 to 10:30.

[No entry January 11]

January Monday 12: Arr’d Ottawa at 6:30 am. Went to Dept. CS wanted me re increase of my salary to $3000 again from _. Made out new paylists. Called in evening to see Mrs. Mothersill. Had meeting in Keefers office of Committee on change of name of the Society of C E’s.

January Tuesday 13: At Dept. till 1:15. Went to Canal with C Keefer. At Dept. till 3:45. Left for Montreal at 4. Met Johnson at 8. Went to Meeting of Council of CSCE. Delivered report on change of name of Society. Against change.

January Wednesday 14: Met Johnson re paint for Hyd Lock. Started for Deseronto at 9. Arr’d at Napanee. Tel. to Francis. Arr’d Deseronto at 5.

January Thursday 15: Drove Deseronto to Picton. Disagreeable drive. Arr’d Picton 10:15. Called to see Hepburn re barge navigation & also his foreman. Left for home at 3.

January Friday 16: Office in am. Drove (L) to Hyd Lock & Dredge & locks (3 to5). Office 5-6. Office 8 to 11:45. LM Kilbourn call’d. Went to Oriental to see JR Stratton re Heely’s Falls. Beautiful day.

January Saturday 17: Office all day. Notified Collins, Morrison  & [P---] that I did not require them any longer as work which they can do has been all finished. Choir practice at night & after went to office till 11:30.

January Sunday 18: Rev. Warren at St. Lukes. Very cold.

January Monday 19: At home till 11:30 & in pm. Busy with paper on Water Transportation at 5 went up to St. Lukes & stood Godfather for Rev. L’s boy Otto. Stayed to tea. Maria & Rev’d Davidson other godparents. Office 8:30 to 10:15. Coldest night last night. Milder.

January Tuesday 20: Home till 11:30. Office in pm. At night went to see curling match betw’n the Scotch team at rink. After went to Oddfellows Hall & spent night with curlers. Milder.

January Wednesday 21: House at lecture 10:30. Drove to meet Scotch curlers. Met them at Hyd Lock. Called at Cereal office & met McDonald re letter from Stewart. Office 5. Drove to dredge & locks. School Board meeting. Office. Milder. Snow last night.

January Thursday 22: Left for Toronto. Went to Crown Lands office re Heely’s Falls matter. Decided to ask Dept. R&C to send proper application. Went out to see Ed. Went on to Niagara. Called on CB Smith. Spent evening at Stag party at Mitchells. Stayed with Harry.

January Friday 23: Started for Buffalo at 10. Called on Maj. Symons at 2. Stayed an hour with him. He was not very communicative & the only information I got was his book. Called to see Smith re renting houseboat. Started for home at 5:15. Arr'd at 12:40. Cold.

January Saturday 24: Office till 5. Drove to see dredge & locks. Burnett’s work. Choir practice at night.

January Sunday 25: Snowing.

January Monday 26: Office all day. Busy getting lecture typed. Office at 8 to 10 pm.

January Tuesday 27: Arr’d in Montreal to attend Annual Meeting of C.S.C.E’s. Attended all meetings. Reception at McGill. Went to tea with Prof. Coker.

January Wednesday 28: Attended Society meetings all day & annual dinner at night.

January Thursday 29: Attended Society meetings all day & went to hockey match at night.

January Friday 30: Very busy all day. Finishing my lecture. Had rehearsal in Soc. rooms in am before Jennings. At 8 went to Peel St. School & gave my lecture on ‘Waterways of Canada’ to teachers &c for McGill U. Fine lecture [Soc’y]. About 400 there. Went off very well. Went to St. James club with Wm. Torrance.

January Saturday 31: Left Montreal at 9 and Ottawa at 11:45. Went to Dept. & to lunch with CS. CS called me to his house at night & told me that Minister would pay half of EB Edward’s acct. Met Joe King. Left for home at 11 pm. Met J Fairbairn.

February Sunday 1: Arrd home from Ottawa this am. Rev’d Langfeldt to dinner.

February Monday 2: Office all day & at night. Murphy here from Montreal. Was busy with lecture. Mild.

February Tuesday 3: Office all day. Busy getting my lecture revised. Office till 11:00. Had typewriter in to help with lecture. Colder.

February Wednesday 4: Office in am & 4-6, 10-11. Busy in am getting my revised lecture on Waterways of Canada off. Sent it to Abottsford. At 2:15 drove to Hyd L. Dredge & Burnetts work. Burnett just about finished coffer dam center. Drove to station to meet Harry from Niagara as he comes home to study for his matriculation exams. Service. Mild.

February Thursday 5: Office in am. Went to Lakefield on train & drove home. Gordon with me. Kilbourn drove to No. 3 with us. Exam’d work. Drew his attention again to fact that he has no cut offs & he has to take this risk of a washout. Drove home. Went to Bd of Trade Meeting office 10-11. Took 3 staff for supper. Windy & rough day.

[Note: the entries for February Friday 6 & Saturday 7 have been entered in reverse order, both dates have been crossed out and the correct one written above. They appear here in the order in which they are found in the diary.]

February Saturday 7: Office. Drove to station to meet Rev C Ingles who came to dinner. In pm took team & drove Mr. [Croes] (Ex Pres ASCE.) & Chas Keefer & Alymer to Hyd & to locks. Mr. C was very much pleased.

February Friday 6: Office. Went to Campbellford in p.m. with Kilbourn to meet P. Burns re settlement for his land. Met in Lynch’s office & offered B the money he had $2600 & give us what land we bargained for minus that reserved by the Gov't and minus the waterpower but he would not. We left him. Lynch said he thought it a good offer.

February Sunday 8: A frightful day. Snow & gale in pm. Went for walk with Harry in pm.

February Monday 9: Arr’d in Ottawa at 8 re telegraph. Met Onderdonk re his final Est. Got instructions to start survey from L Simcoe to L Huron but this was afterwards cancelled. Went down with Shannon & Abbot to see cattle guard tests.

February Tuesday 10: At Ottawa. Went to Dept. at 10. Saw Payne & gave him some notes on transportation. Left for Montreal at 3:30. Went to Windsor [hotel] with C Keefer. Went to meeting of Council C.S.C.E. [Went.] Mild.

February Wednesday 11: Left M at 9:30 for home. Home at night. Raining.

February Thursday 12: Left at 8:20 for Beaverton. Train 2 hrs late at B. Left B at 1:10. Drove to works at Center Rd. & office & to Kirkf’d. Met Dr. McK. Drove on to Rosedale & Edwards met us. Tea at Fenelon & on to Bob’n. Mild.

February Friday 13: At Bob’n went over works with Grant & Gordon. Gave instructions to start upper lock gate construction. Started for home at 3 pm. Arrd at 5:45. Office. Alymer here. Asked for Est. Office 8:30 to 10. Fine & colder.

February Saturday 14: Office all day.

February Sunday 15: R Fair & Miss Cochrane at house to dinner. Walked to locks in pm.

February Monday 16: Office in am. At 2:30 went to meeting of Trent Canal Assoc’n. Resolution calling on Gov’t to [prosecute] work & election of officers. Drove to Hyd Lock & locks. W Boyd with me. Went to opera at night. Mina also. Drove Billy over & had him come again for me. Very cold. Burnett had water out of dam & started excavation.

February Tuesday 17: Office all day. Walked to Locks to see Burnetts work. Pump frozen up last night & water again in dam. School Bd Meeting. Garvin resigned. Mrs. C Logan & Add &c at home. Very cold.

February Wednesday 18: Working at home all day at amending my lecture. At office 12-1 - 4:30 to 6. Home at night. Very cold.

February Thursday 19: Office. In pm busy getting ready for my lecture this nt. Had a school ‘At Home’ & gave them my lecture on Waterways of Canada. Cold & blustery night.

February Friday 20: Office. After dinner Drove (L) to Hyd lock dredge & to Burnets work. Corry called at 4 pm. re estimate. Went to meeting of Civic Assoc’n re filling lake with logs by Dickson Co’y.

February Saturday 21: Drove to Lak’d & on to Burleigh. Went over works. Went into my lot & Gordon & I snowshoed over lot to see wood & timber on lot. Harry & Claud with us. Home at 5:40. Choir practice. Snowing in am. Fine.

February Sunday 22: Fine. Walked out with Harry to S Price’s.

February Monday 23: Office till 6:30. And from 9 till 11. Milder.

February Tuesday 24: Home 10:30. Went to school with Dr. [---] to see re ventillation &c. Office 11-1. In pm drove with Bartlet up to see concrete blocks. Drove (L) to locks at 5:30. Home at nt & office 9:30 to 11. Fine.

February Wednesday 25: Office 10 to 10:30. Corry called re x secs [cross sections] of Emb’t & letter from C.S. Went to Service (Ash Wednesday) & to Hyd Lock office 12-1. Walked over with Bush. Office 2-5:30. Walked to locks. Went to Service. Office 9:15 to 10. Beautiful day.

February Thursday 26: Office 10. Corry & Hamel called re tracings. Would not let them have any more. Drove to Lakefield. Called at No. 3 & No. 2 Dam. Home at 2. Was pall bearer at Mrs. Beck’s funeral. After drove to locks. Office 9 to 11.

 February Friday 27: House till 10. Office 12:30. Drove up to see R Ritchie & over to nomination for school trustees. Office 5:30. Drove to locks, Dredge & Hyd L. Office 9:30-10. Went to Oriental to see Kilbourn. Very mild & rain at nt.

February Saturday 28: Office 10-1. Corry call’d re x sec’s. of Emb’t. Showed him quantity below Hyd L. He was satisfied  with quantity. Went to lunch with R Ritchie at Oriental. Office 3-5. Rainy all day.

March Sunday 1: Called to see A. Dawson & to tea at E.M. Pousettes. Mild.

March Monday 2: Went to Hamilton & back to Toronto at 12:30. Served H Bridge Coy with notice of no further payments. Called at Crown Lands office re Heely’s Falls but found that Dep R & C had not answered their letter so could do nothing. Called to see Jennings & Rust. Met W Boyd. Went out to Junction & at night came in to Theater ‘Every man’. Mild.

March Tuesday 3: Left Toronto at 9 for home. Office till 5. Walked to locks. School Board Meeting  & Service & office 9:15-11:30. Mild. Mild.

March Wednesday 4: Walked to Hyd Lock. Office 10-1. Drove to Mr. Leck's funeral. Dary & Mathison called on way back from Iroquois. Drove to Locks. Harry with me. Office 7:30 to 10. Sent off Report telegraphed for re Roads at Lock No. 1 S & B.

March Thursday 5: Office till 4. Drove to Lock with Gordon (& Billy) to Hyd Lock & dredge. Went to service. Office 9:30 to 11. Miserable Day. Showers, wet snow.

March Friday 6: Office.

March Saturday 7: Office at 5. Drove to Locks. At club at night.

March Sunday 8: Fine. Harry & I walked around by Cereal Dam & to locks dam.

March Monday 9: House till noon. Office till 5. Drove to locks. Office 8-9. Spent night with Jamison C.E. (Montreal) at club. Burnet started about 4 pm to put in concrete. He should have had mixing plant ready this am. Mild. Water still rising.

March Tuesday 10: House till 11. Office till 5. Drove to Hyd Lock & to locks. Work at Locks Dam getting on steady. Office 9:15 to 10.

March Wednesday 11: Office 10-12. Corry call’d for 1 hr & had general talk about matters. He asked for copy of Est so he could compare totals & I promised him one at noon. Went to Lak’d on train & drove down. Gordon with me. Mr. Kilbourn & brother came as far as No. 3. Exam’d No. 2, filling West side. Service at 8. Fine.

March Thursday 12: Office till 4:30 pm. Drove to locks to see Burnetts work. Went to service at night. Left for Ottawa at midnight. Kilbourn went down also.

March Friday 13: Arrd in Ottawa at 6. Went over matter of purchase of Gilmour Co’y dams at Hollow Lake with CS. Met Minister re this matter. Was instructed to make survey &c. Went to opera. Left for home.

March Saturday 14: Arrd home in am. Office till 4:30. Drove to Locks with Francis. Burnetts dam washed away again tonight & he decided to abandon work for present. Choir practice. Mild.

March Sunday 15: Mild.

March Monday 16: Office. Water rising fast. Sent Gordon with Billy to Nassau to order Lockmaster to raise logs at Nassau. Left for Ottawa at midnight.

March Tuesday 17: Arrd in Ottawa at 6 am. Francis with me. Met Corry & Laverdure in pm & went over their claim with them. At night went to concert with F. After met Hall RR & W Irwin at bar.

March Wednesday 18: Met CS at 10 & went over claims of C & L with he & Ruel. At 11:30, all met & started claims till 1. Went to lunch with CS. At 2:30 started claims again. See notes of settlement. Went up to House till 6 & after. Met H. Ward & S. Hughes & Borden (leader). Left at 11:30 for home.

March Thursday 19: Arrd home. Office.

March Friday 20: Office. Left at 5:10 for Toronto. Went to Engineers Club. Went to Walker House. [Kerin] with me.

March Saturday 21: At Toronto. Walker House. Called on Mail & Empire re article re self re Heely’s Falls. Culverwell came in as I was there. Went to Crown Lands office re Heely’s Falls. In pm went out to see Ed. Home at 8. Choir practice. Fine.

March Sunday 22: Fine.

March Monday 23: Office all day. Alymer was in re washers on rods in gates. Told him to get them. Went to lecture in S School (McNab). Went over to club. Miserable day. Sleet.

March Tuesday 24: Office till 4. RZ Rogers & Leonard called in am. Went over to Hyd Lock at 4. Drove to locks. Leonard with me. Went to meeting in Port Hope delegation re route by P.H. Meeting in favor of Trenton Route. My connection with Heely’s Falls vindicated. Fine.

March Wednesday 25: Office all day till 5:30. Went for walk around by Cereal dam. Service. Fine. Cool.

March Thursday 26: Office. Francis at Montreal.

March Friday 27: Office till 4. Drove with G to Hyd Lock & Dredge & Lock 6. Service at night.

March Saturday 28: Went to Gamebridge. Drove over works as far as Boundary with Dary. No work yet except lock gates. Looked at No. 3 location. Office till 11:30. Fine. Cool.

March Sunday 29: Fine & beautiful. Went for walk to Hyd L & around by locks with Fair & to tea with him.

March Monday 30: Office till 5. Drove (Billy) with Gordon to Nassau. Home in evening. Francis in Toronto.

March Tuesday 31: Office till 5. Drove (Billy) to Hyd lock. Rankine bro’t Billy home. Office 10-10:30. Beautiful day but very windy.

April Wednesday 1: Went to Kirkfield. Francis with me. Dary met us at Station. Met [---] at Hid L. Discussed stop waters in floor. Was put out at dump of rock in banks. Did not go over Sec. 3. Arrd home at 9. P Burns met me at train. We after met Kilbourn at Hotel. Fine.

[Note: the entries for April Thursday 3 & Friday 4 have been entered in reverse order, both dates have been crossed out and the correct one written above. They appear here in the order in which they are found in the diary.]

April Friday 3: "Office all day. A beastly day. Rain sleet snow & blowing gale. At night went over to lecture with children but it did not come off. Office till 10:30.

April Thursday 2: Office till 5:30. Went for walk around Cereal dam.

April Saturday 4: Office all day till 6. George came home from T.C.S. this a.m. probably for good. About 2'' snow on ground this am. Cool. Office at night.

[No entries April 5 - April 6]

April Tuesday 7: Office. Went to school Board Meeting.

April Wednesday 8: Office 10:30-11:30. Drove (L) to train to meet Dr. Bryce re sewage of Ashburnham in pm. Drove around with Reeve & Council & Dr Bryce to see outlet &c. Dr. B proposed Septic system. Went to Hyd Lock. Service.

April Thursday 9: Office. Called Cricket meeting in order to organize but did nothing beyond app'ting a committee.

April Friday 10: Good Friday. Service in am. Office 12-1. Service at 7:30. Busy these days making plans for the house.

April Saturday 11: Office 12-1. Drove (B) with F over works Hyd L re letting sodding & up to repair of dredge. Office 4:30 to 6. Fine.

April Sunday 12: Easter Day. Went for walk  with Fair to Hyd Lock. Fair came to tea.

April Monday 13: At Home. Went to Annual Vestry Meeting. Appointed Delegate to Synod.

April Tuesday 14: Went to Welland re dredge castings. Came back at 4 to Toronto. Went to tea at Maynards. Mina came up with me this am & staying at Maynards. Went to commissioner in University in connection with O Educational Assoc’n. Very nice. Stayed at Palmer. Miserable day. Raining.

April Wednesday 15: Went up to meeting of O Ed’n Ass’n in am & again in afternoon. Went out to Ed’s to tea & came home at night. Miserable day, raining. Mina stayed.

April Thursday 16: Office 11 to 5:00. Drove with Gordon to Warsaw Rd. & to Hyd Lock & to tea at Rev Langfeldt’s.

April Friday 17: Office 11 to 5. Drove to Locks to see effect of water on Burnetts dam with Gordon. Office 10 to 11:00. Cool.

April Saturday 18: Went to Toronto to see if I could get any dredge boom castings & a bucket. Went all over but could not get any. Went up to Mrs. Maynards & after to Matinee of Musical festival & to tea at Mrs. M’s. Mina has been staying there since Tuesday last. We both came home at night.

[Note: For the next five days RBR has crossed out the dates & entered his own. The days appear to have been entered 1 day ahead, i.e. instead of ‘April Sunday 19’, RBR has written ‘Monday 20’ and so on. They are listed here as they appear in the diary]

April Monday 20: Busy most of day preparing for my lecture tonight. Office 4 or 5 hrs. Met Mr. Kilbourn at train. Mr. K came to tea. Gave my lecture on Waterways of Canada for Bd of Trade in Opera House. Went off well. Left at midnight for Ottawa.

April Tuesday 21: Arrd at Ottawa in am. Dept. Did not see chief till 3. Gave him calculations, quantities for Gannons N Bridge. Left at 4 for Montreal. Went to Council meeting of CSCE.

April Wednesday 22: At M. Went up to McGill for Matriculation papers for Harry. Went to see J Kennedy to see if I could get dredge bucket & other castings from him. Could not. Went over to Dominion Bridge Wks to see test on big Ludlow Valve but it was not ready. Left for home at 10.

April Thursday 23: Arrd home from M. Office. left at 11:40. GTR for Toronto. Went to Engineer’s Club. Went to National Club to dinner with [Rush]. Went to get Mr. McKenzie to sign lease of land on canal at Kirkfield. Gave my lecture on Waterways  of Canada to Engineers club. Went up & stayed over night with C Gailes.

April Friday 24: Left T. for home at 9:15. Office 12-1. Drove team to Lak’d 3-7. Visited dredge. Trent 2:30-3. Office 9:20-10. Cool. At Lak'd called on Mr. Kilbourne re Dept. letter re Culversill’s charge. Exam’d Empire. George painted part of Vic. George came home with me. M Pousette was with me.

April Friday 24(2): Office.

April Saturday 25: Office.

April Sunday 26: In afternoon George & I walked out to the Prices.

April Monday 27: Met Mr. Schreiber at 6:30 am & drove him to Hyd Lock & back to car & had breakfast. Went with him to K’d & went over roads on Elden with the Reeve & Council. Was instructed to raise certain parts of roads & widen others. Went up to Hyd lock No. 2. CS drove to K’d with Sangster. Question of dump on sides of banks came up. See Notes. Fine. Francis with me today.

April Tuesday 28: Office till 5:30. Took Billy from Gordon after tea. Drove to Hyd Lock & to Norwood Rd. & up to the Pousettes. Alice had daughter this am & very bad. Went to office 7:30-9. Went to Adjourned Vestry Meeting of St. Lukes.

April Wednesday 29: Office till 5:30. Drove with Gordon to Hyd lock & went over fixing of banks with him. Went to service & choir practice. Office 9:30 to 10:30. [Sing] from Dept. P Wks called re wharf at Rosedale. First real warm day.

April Thursday 30: Office. A terrible day. Blowing a gale & rain in p.m. At night turned very cool. Went to lecture of Dr. Symonds at YMCA. Walked home with him. Harry with me.

May Friday 1: Office - at 2. Looked at George’s throat & tel’d for Doctor who said he had diphtheria. Dr. took him to St. Joseph Hospital. He came back & [toxined] Harry who has been sleeping with George. Fumigated house. Went up to C’s. G has not been well for some days. It might be he took d- from digging drain from cess pool. We are quarantined.

May Saturday 2: Went to Hyd Lock 10-12:45. Went over drainage & preparation tanks with Gordon. Murphy (DB Co) at Lock. At home all afternoon. Office 9:30-10:35. Fine. George better & Dr. says his temperature is normal already.

May Sunday 3: At home all day. Supposed to be quarantined. Did not go to church. Came over to office 8-[10:00].

May Monday 4: Office. Drove to Lakefield at 10:30. Exam’d dams & logs along route. Home at 4:30. Alice Pousette died at 4 o’clock this afternoon. Drove over to house & stayed for while. Drove over again after tea. Alice had daughter on 28^th Apr. Took convulsions. Kidney trouble, pleurisy & blood poisoning. She was a bright & loving wife.

May Tuesday 5: Office. Drove to see re coffin & to Cemetery re grave. Drove with G to Hyd Lock re levelling banks. After tea drove James over to EM Pousette’s & stayed there all night with Mark. Fine.

May Wednesday 6: Went to office at 10. Got horse. Went to house at 11. Went to funeral of Alice Pousette. Looked after arrangements of funeral. Baby was christened at coffin. Went to St. Lukes. Rev H Symonds preached a sermon & Mrs. Langfeld & Davidson read service. Went to supper at Langfeldt’s & to service & then over to see Mack P.

[No entry May 7]

May Friday 8: Drove to Cemetery & took photo of Alice’s grave & other views till 11:30. Office in pm. Took M Pousette for drive from 9 to 11.

May Saturday 9: Office.

May Sunday 10: Service. Drove to No. 3 Dam to see 2 new concrete piers that LPC Co’y are putting in. Took Mac Pousette with me. Went for walk after church with Harry. Called at M P’s.

May Monday 11: Went to Beaverton & drove over works to K’d. Went to Hyd L at 5-6. Sangster not there. Called on Mrs. McKenzie re dredging. Drove today over work from L Simcoe to K'd. Nothing very special. Fine & warm.

May Tuesday 12: At K’d Drove over roads 10^th & Victoria Rd. re raising & widening. Gordon with me. Empire met me at Vict. Rd. Bridge. Met Mrs. McKenzie at Portage Rd. Br. re dredging & also went over to her summer place re dredging channel in -. Went over to dredging in McLarens’ Creek & on to Bob’n. Met W Boyd. Went on to Chemong & walked from GT Ry wharf to B’th & drove home.

May Wednesday 13: Office in am. Hyd L 2-3:30. Office. Service. Went to town. Met Hon. M Church & took him to club. Was talking with George from the balcony of hospital. Fine.

May Thursday 14: Office all day till 6. At home at night.

[No entry May 15]

May Saturday 16: Got my new wheel tonight. Cleveland.

May Sunday 17: Went for wheel this pm. Left at midnight for Ottawa.

May Monday 18: Arr’d in Ottawa. Saw CS. till 11. Met with Phillips (Supt. Engr.) on his boat ‘Shanty’ for a trip over Rideau Canal. Left at 1:30 pm & ran to [Kars].

May Tuesday 19: Ran from [Kars] to Ole[---] Ferry. Took photos on way at Smith’s Falls phoned home.

May Wednesday 20: Ran from O[---] Ferry to Kingston. Arrd at K at 7:30. Enjoyed trip very much. Different locks. Were very beautifully located. Went from K’n to Belleville 8:03 to 9:40. Beautiful day.

May Thursday 21: Arrd home at 8:10 am. Went to Hyd Lock in am & office.

May Friday 22: Prof CH McLeod & Prof Kerry (McGill) & L Stewart went with me to Lak’d. Drove (L). Dinner at Lak’d. Heard by phone that Mina was very ill so I went to Chemong & I have found her better. Very warm.

May Saturday 23: Started for Chemong at 6 am. Took Empire. CH McLeod, J Kerry & L Stewart with me. Ran to K’d. Drove to Village but as we were late we only drove right thro’. Met Dary at K’d. Beautiful day.

May Sunday 24: Went for wheel in pm. Fine & warm. George got home from Hospital at noon today.

May Monday 25: Office till 11 am. Drove out to Chemong Park with bus, had Langfeldts & others. Trimmed hedge. Beautiful day. Went to concert of Men’s Guild. No good. B. Victoria Day.

May Tuesday 26: Went to Hyd Lock at 8:30-10. Drove to Mouth of River to locate piers. Gordon with me. George drove (L). Dinner at Keene. Went on by train to Camp’d with Kilbourn to finally settle up deed from Burns. Got things finally settled.

May Wednesday 27: Office. Wheeled to Locks at 5:15 to see Burnetts work. Getting pumps in place. Called to see Corry cutting sods. Service at night. Very heavy showers which put out our electric lights. Home.

May Thursday 28: Went to Hyd L 10:30 to 12. Office till 7. Drove to Lakefield. Exam’d work at No. 3 by L.P.C. Coy. Permitted them to put in pier six feet wide. Went to see Houseboat & yacht. Office 8:30-10. Very windy & cool.

May Friday 29: Drove to Mouth of river & on to Keene. Took train at Keene for Campbellford. JM Kilbourn on train. We met Lynch re preparing final deeds of Heely’s Falls property to Govt. Got matter finally settled.

[No entries May 30 - May 31]

[No entry June 1]

June Tuesday 2: Went to Gamebridge. Francis with me. Went over Sec 3 & looked at Bridges. Dary & Matheson met us at L Simcoe Bridge.

June Wednesday 3: Gordon & I went to Trenton to see Gilmour Cy. re trip to North County re reservoir dams. Went thro’ factory & drove to Sterling. Took photos of river.

June Thursday 4: [L-’e] Lak’d.

[No entry June 5]

June Saturday 6: Drove to Lak’d. Lillian & Heber with me. Had Laplante [---] off sheeting & painting Houseboat. Office.

June Sunday 7: At home.

June Monday 8: Started at 8:30 for Huntsville. WT Boyd joined us at Lindsay. Gordon & Lajoi also with me. Stayed 4 hrs at Orillia. Arr’d at H’l at 6:50. Took boat special at H. to Portage & arr’d there at 9:30. Stayed at Hotel at Portage over night.

June Tuesday 9: Portaged over. Took another boat thro’ Lake of Bays to Dorset. Left Dorset at 1 & portaged 4 ½ miles to Hollow Lake. Engaged 3 guides at Dorset. Paddled to Dam Went out to Hollow Lake & back to camp at South West outlet dam Hollow Lake. Fine.

June Wednesday 10: Portaged about a dozen times thro’ Stoney, Sun, Raven, [---], St. [Francis], Burbank Mountain & camped near Minden. Fine.

June Thursday 11: Drove from Camp Minden to Bob’n. Arrd at 1. Left by Calumet for Bridg’h & drove to house. Arrd at 5:30.

June Friday 12: Office in am. Started at 2:30 with Family for Lak’d. Family in [---] & I drove with Gordon. Stayed at Houseboat at night. Pouring rain.

June Saturday 13: Started at 7:20 am for Bob’n on Houseboat with Victoria towing. Met Empire with tow at Lovesick at 4 & caught on to tow. Arrd at Bob’n at 9:30. Fine.

June Sunday 14: At Bob’n on Houseboat. Went to service twice. Stormy.

June Monday 15: Left Bob’n at 8 a.m. on Houseboat & went with tow of Empire as far as Mouth Scugog. Victoria towed her up from there to Lindsay. Two of party came down at about 3 p.m. I & my family left at 4:30 for Bridgenorth. Drove from Bridg’h home. Fine. Party took Houseboat at night.

June Tuesday 16: At Ottawa re final settlement with Corry & Laverdure. C & L & Hamel & I met at 2:20 & had interview. After saw CS & disposed of all items except Entrance piers at Hyd L wh. referred to Minister. CS gave them most everything. Was at lunch with C.S. Had Harry Orde for dinner. Left for home at night. Fine.

June Wednesday 17: Arrd home from Ottawa. At office till 5:15. Went to Hyd Lock. Service 9:30 till 10:30. Office. Dull & stormy.

June Thursday 18: Walked to Hyd Lock to meet Murphy (DB Co) & Francis. Drove with Gordon to locks to see Burnetts work. Will finish coffer dam in 2 or 3 days. Office till 6. & office 8-10. Fine.

June Friday 19: Went to Kirkfield. Francis & Richardson with me. Met Sangster at Hyd L. Went over work with him. Looked at [---] of rock cut. Gave no decision. Discussed it with Dary. Came home. Office. Harry came home from Houseboat tonight with toothache. Fine.

June Saturday 20: Office. Went to dentist. Went to see Lock re caps for lockmasters. Office till 6. After tea drove to Hyd L & to locks. Office till 11. Sent off final quantities for Entrance piers. Fine.

June Sunday 21: Harry drove to Burleigh & JM Young came down from Houseboat. Office 8:30-9.

June Monday 22: Office. Drove to Burnett’s work.

June Tuesday 23: Arr’d Ottawa in am re my letters re C & L. Entrance piers at Hyd Lock. Did not do much. Went up to House at night.

June Wednesday 24: At Ottawa. Had meeting with C & L & Chief & Ruel. Settled all items of dispute. Entrance piers referred to Minister. Met Bows (Toronto) & went out to Rockcliff. Left for home.

June Thursday 25: Arrd from Ottawa. Office. To Lak’d & took Empire to Cottage & bro’t Mina  & Heber & girl home.

June Friday 26: Office.

June Saturday 27: Office. Started at 1:30 to drive with bus to Lak’d & Empire towed Houseboat & scow (drove to Cottage on Stoney Lake. Arrd about 6.

June Sunday 28: At Cottage.

June Monday 29: Ran to Burleigh from Cottage. Got telephone from Mr. McGarry & Margaret to say [they] that they were in Lak’d having come at noon. Ran to Young’s Pt. to meet them. E Lajoi & A Laplante arr’d at 12 noon to build a fire place. Empire went on up to Sturgeon Lake.

June Tuesday 30: Left at 1 pm for town. Office. Mrs. McGarry  & others with  me. Great storm. Rain at night. Ran to Lak’d with Victoria & drove (Cooper).

July Wednesday 1: At Cottage.

July Thursday 2: At Cottage.

July Friday 3: Went to Lak’d on Victoria. Drove (C) to town. Mrs. McGarry & others with me. Office till 3. Went to Hyd Lock at 4-5. Drove back to L’d & home at 8:30. Fine.

July Saturday 4: At Cottage Stoney Lake. E Lajoie went home this am. Laplante [---]. Marnie R. came up. Fine.

July Sunday 5: At Stoney Lake left at 2 for town on Victoria. Drove to town from Lak’d. Mrs. McGarry, Edna, Miss McG. & Harry with me. Went to ch. Anniversary of St. Lukes. Rev Dr. Symonds preached. Went to supper at Rectory.

July Monday 6: Office till noon. Was going to drive to Hiawatha but went down river on Lanzie’s excursion & came back with St. Lukes. [Note: the words ‘very warm’ have been crossed out.] Office.

July Tuesday 7: Went to Gamebridge. Drove to Kirkfield. Gordon & Francis with me. Went to Hyd Lock. Went down wells & exam’d foundations. Gave instructions re them. Dan & Sawer there. Took Empire at P. Rd. bridge. Called at dredge which is working at Mrs. McKenzies. Ran to Stoney Lake, arr’d at 4 a.m.

July Wednesday 8: Left at 11 by Victoria for Lak’d. Drove to town. Office 5:00 to 6:15 & 8:30 to 11. Drove to Hyd Lock & Locks. Very hot.

July Thursday 9: Busy in office 9:15 to 5:30. Writing reports &c. Walked to Hy Lock. Office 9:15 to 11. Very hot.

July Friday 10: Office till 1. Drove to Lak’d (L). Took Empire. Ran to Cottage & on to Buckhorn. Bro’t Mr. Andress (Cereal Works) & A Stevenson down with me. Mrs. McG & others with me.

July Saturday 11: Took Empire & ran to Sturgeon Pt. regatta. Arr’d there at 2:30. Mrs. McGarry, Marg, Harry, Edna & Marnie R with me. It went off very well.

July Sunday 12: At Stoney Lake. Ran down to Youngs Pt to Ch at night. George bro’t up [Corrys] Perry. He went home.

July Monday 13: At Cottage till 1. Came to Lak’d in Empire. Edna with me. Drove (L) to town. Drove Fred Myers to Hyd L. Office 8 to 10. Fine.

July Tuesday 14: Office - 11. Drove to locks. Burnett brot water down about 5 ft but pump got plugged with fish & filled again. Office till 5:30. Drove to Hyd Lock & to locks again. Took tel'r to Francis. Office till 9:30.

July Wednesday 15: Arr’d in Ottawa. Went specially to meet Grant M.P re reports derogatory. Explained matters & I think he is OK.

July Thursday 16: At Ottawa. Went to lunch with D Grant M.P. He was over this a.m. with me re matters connected with his riding. Went to House of Commons. Laurier announced Blair’s resignation. Blair replied. Started for home at night.

July Friday 17: Arr’d home Ottawa. Office & at Hyd Lock & Burnets dam. Started for Beaverton at 5:35 pm. Gordon with me. Arrd at B at 8:20.

July Saturday 18: Started to drive from Beaverton from L Simcoe to Hyd Lock. Saw Alymer & also Sangster. Saw A. near Lock No. 1 Saw S. at Hy L. First stone of Wells (3) laid today. Started from P at Bridge for Lak’d at 3:15 & ran to Stony Lake. Carpenter & wife with us. Fine. Gordon also there.

July Sunday 19: Got to Cottage at 2 am. Had service on Houseboat.

July Monday 20: At Cottage all day. White-washing dining room. Maggie, Gordon & another went home today. Showery.

July Tuesday 21: Started at 8:45 on Victoria. Drove from Lak’d to town. (Calder) Harry stayed to fix boiler. Office. Drive (C) to dredge and Hyd L. After tea drove (C) up to Auburn (East Side Canal). Office, saw [Mr.] Stewart re dredging today. Office. Fine.

July Wednesday 22: Office till 4:45. Drove (L) to see Francis at house. Over to Hyd Lock & after tea to locks. Office 8:30 till 10. Harry came down last night. He's fixing boiler of Vic. Heavy rain last night.

July Thursday 23: Office all day  till 5. Drove (L) to Lak’d & Harry bro’t horse back. Went up in ‘Alert’. Clementi with me.

July Friday 24: At lake all day. Fine.

July Saturday 25: Drove team (C) from Lak’d to town. Met Ed & Emily who came down on "Old Boys" Ex’n. Office in pm 5:50. Drove back to Lak’d. Edna & Bessie with me. Ed stayed at JZR’s. Fine.

July Sunday 26: At Stoney L. Went to Pavillion in am.

July Monday 27: Came down in Empress. Drove (C) to town. Met Ed & Emily & went over Cereal Works. After dinner went to office & bank & arranged checks to pay note. Went to Hyd Lock. Drove Ed & Emily to train at 7:30. Drove to (L) to locks. Burnetts water wheel went awry. Office till 11. Sent C & L Final Est. in. Fine.

July Tuesday 28: Drove (C) to Lak’d. Had staff picnic (Annual) to Stoney Lake on Houseboat towed by ‘Empire’. Had meals on board. My family came down to Lak’d at night. We ran back to Park with Houseboat. Showry & cloudy. Pleasant day.

July Wednesday 29: At Park.

July Thursday 30: Office. Started at 5:30 for Gamebridge. Stayed over night. Gordon with me. Francis went on to Kirkfield.

July Friday 31: Started at 6:30 am & drove over line form No. 3 Lock to Hyd L. Dary with me & Gordon . At Balsam contractors putting in current without forming (See Notes). Went to Hyd Lock & down line to rock cut. Gave instructions to D re repairing bridge at 8^th. Started from Balsam Lake at 2:30 & ran to Stoney L.

August Saturday 1: At Park. Fixing up. George arr’d at 9 pm by driving (L). Ran over with Vic to Pavillion to dance.

August Sunday 2: At Park. Ran over with Vic for service. George drove down with Heber. Fine but cool.

August Monday 3: At Park. Went to meeting of Cottages Ass’n Elected Vice President & on a number of committees. In evening took Vic. & went for Miss Brown’s party for cruise. Fine.

August Tuesday 4: Came down to town on Empress. Office all day till 5:30. Drove (L) to Cereal Wks & saw McDonald re proceeding with dredging. After tea went to Hyd Lock. Went to School Bd Meeting. Office 9-11. Heavy rain in am. Fair. George sick.

August Wednesday 5: Office. Drove with Francis to Hyd Lock at 1:30. George had horse this am for me. Went to H.Maniece's funeral. Office till 4:30. Drove (L) with George & Heber to Lak’d & left horse at Coopers. Empire ran me up.

August Thursday 6: In am Empire call [sic] & ran me over to see Hon. G A Cox re dredging in river at Cereal Works. Ran to Burleigh & wired to Minister P Wks. After ran up to head of lake with party. Home at 6. Terrible hail storm at Burleigh. Cool.

August Friday 7: Empire call'd & we ran to get GA Cox as we intended to run to Bob’n but it was so cold they did not go. Ran GAC to look at some properties to buy & took him over to see mine. I came down on Empire, arr'd at 5, office till 11. Tea at C’s. Fine but cool.

August Saturday 8: At town. Office. Drove up to Lak’d.

August Sunday 9: At Stoney Lake.

August Monday 10: At Cottage. Ran to Lak’d & Drove to Peterboro.

August Tuesday 11: Started for Gamebridge. Drove over line with Dary from GT Ry [---] to Hyd Lock. Crossed at 4^th Line. Found fault with puddle near No. 3. Saw Alymer & Sangster. Stayed at Kirkfield over night.

August Wednesday 12: Drove to Balsam Lake at 8. Went over dredging for Mrs. McKenzie. Empire with party, staff & others about 14 from Kirkfield started over route for Stoney Lake. They seemed much pleased. Party stayed at Burleigh & had quite [a] time. I walked over home to cottage. Fine.

August Thursday 13: At Cottage. Empire with Kirkfield party called at 10:30. Went to Lak’d with them & had dinner & meeting after. They seemed very pleased. ‘Emp’ ran me back at 3. to Cottage.

August Friday 14: Busy man decorating & fixing Houseboat. Towed over to Juniper Is. at 12. Was starter at Regatta went off very well. Heavy showers in middle . Dance & presentation of prizes in evening.

August Saturday 15: Empire ran over to Mt. Julien to meet Sturgeon Pt party. Sent Frank with them to pilot them around lake. I ran Empire to Lak’d at 1. Drove team (C) to town. E. Maynard & others with me down & Mrs. Maynard & Fair up. Started back at 4:30. Empire ran us up. Houseboat near Juniper.

August Sunday 16: Went to Pavillion. Laid at anchor off Juniper Is. till 4. Towed back to Cottage. Lovely Day.

August Monday 17: Left Cottage at 1:45 on Victoria for town. Drove (C) to town  & George drove horse back. At 6 drove (L) to Hyd Lock & Locks. Met Gordon there. Went over entrance pier which is being excavated for on East side. Went office 8:45 to 10. Fine. With showers.

August Tuesday 18: Left for Ottawa at 12:35. Went to Dept. re Burnetts application for return of Deposit. McColl MP & Frank with him. Did not get much satisfaction. Called at Mothersills at night. Had telephone re Harry being so ill. Left for home.

August Wednesday 19: Arrd home. Team met me at Station. Drove (L) to Lak’d. Found Harry ill with inflamation of bowels. Mother & George with him. Dr. Fraser attending. Staying at John Dunwoodies. Drove back & drove Gordon’s horse up to Lak’d & put him in stable. Harry pretty bad.

August Thursday 20: Drove [----] to Youngs Pt. with Gordon’s horse left him at Y’s Pt. Ran ‘Victoria’ up to Cottage & after ran up to Pavillion with children & others to the Fancy dress dance. It went off splendidly. Fine.

August Friday 21: Packing up. Started at 1:30 with Houseboat & Vic. for Lak’d. Head wind. EA Peck & party with us, arr'd at 6:30. Harry pretty bad. Sat up with George with Harry.

August Saturday 22: Pretty well tired out. Harry pretty bad. Got wind of a nurse & sent rig (C) after her, she arr’d about 5.

August Sunday 23: At Lak’d. Harry not so well. Had Dr. Boucher come up & hold consultation with Dr. Fraser. In afternoon  Harry seemed better. Went to church at night.

August Monday 24: At Lak’d Harry better. Moved children & stuff down from Houseboat team (Doyle). George drove (D) cars down. Drove (D) to Hyd. L & to locks. Office 8-9. Drove (D) to Lkf'd. Fine. Slept on Lotus.

August Tuesday 25: At Lak’d. Drove (D) to town at 11.  Office till 4. Drove (D) to Hyd Lock with G and to Locks. Gordon with me. Burnett excavating track of No. 3 sluice. Drove Lak’d again. Harry getting better. Showery.

[No entry August 26]

August Thursday 27: Office. Drove to Lak’d in pm. (L).

August Friday 28: At Lak’d lost my keys & tried to get them but did not. Drove to town. Office 7:30-10:30. with Mr. Francis who arr’d home from his holidays today. Fine. Harry better.

August Saturday 29: Showry. Went by Hyd Lock all am. In pm drove (L) to locks to see Burnetts work. J. Dunwoodie drove down with a box of plans &c. Was going up but too wet.

August Sunday 30: Early service. Drove (L) to Lakefield. George & Heber with me to see Harry. Mina drove down with me & Heber stayed. Rained, poured all night & today.

August Monday 31: Office in am. At noon drove to locks & after to Lak’d Mina with me. She stayed & I bro’t the Nurse & Heber down. Office till 10 pm.

September Tuesday 1: Office. Hyd Lock & locks. Drove to Nassau to see about water. Found it 20 inches down. Went to School Bd. Meeting. Office 9-10.

September Wednesday 2: Drove to Lak’d with Gordon. Exam’d water at Nassau. Found it 10 inches below normal at 10 am. Gt trouble just now with regulation of water. Found trouble was at Nassau. Went to Y’s Pt from L’d on Empire. Bro’t Harry home on a stretcher on the train & from Auburn in Ambulance. Drove to Nassau with Gordons horse. Office.

September Thursday 3: Went to Hyd & to locks. After dinner went to Hyd lock. Walked both places. Harry getting on well. Very hot. Went to Kirkfield.

[No entries September 4 - September 7]

September Tuesday 8: Went to Toronto to Exhibition. Took Lillian & Leah. Met Ed & family there. Went out to Junction with them. Fine day.

September Wednesday 9: Telephoned GH G. Went to Exhibition & to Toronto at 3 pm & home. Went to tea to Maynard’s & came home.

[No entries September 10 to September 12]

September Sunday 13: Home.

September Monday 14: Office. Wheeled to Hyd Lock at 5 pm. & to locks. Went to meeting Men’s Guild.

September Tuesday 15: I drove (L) to Lak’d. Harry & Mina went on train. Took Empire for Cottage. J Dunwoodie & family went up with us. Stayed at cottage over night. Arranged with Ayotte to go in & clear my lots along lake. Very hot, 88 in shade.

September Wednesday 16: Took Empire from cottage & ran around GA Cox’s Island. We left cottage at 2:30 in Emp for Lak’d. I drove (L) from Lak’d with Mina. Choir practice. Office. Very hot 86 in shade.

September Thursday 17: Office in am. Heavy showers in am. I drove (L) to Chemong & had bus (L) also to bring my furniture down from Cottage. Had few at house at night for Harry.

September Friday 18: Office. Went with Harry to buy clothes &c to go to college. Office in pm. Drove (L) to locks & Hyd Lock.

September Saturday 19: Went to Gamebridge. Drove over Sec 3 & to Balsam. Met Sangster there. Work going over fairly well.

September Sunday 20: Home.

September Monday 21: Left for Montreal with Harry to take him to McGill. Went to Society rooms. We went to college. Found he should have passed supplemental last week but as he was ill was granted another. Went up to Mrs. Grant’s where Harry is to stay. Met Dr. Symonds at night & also P Johnsons.

September Tuesday 22: Met Harry at 8 & we went to station. I left for Ottawa. Went to Dept. re Sangsters claims. C.S. could not see him. Went down to see machine telephone, was much impressed. Went to theater. Left for home on official car with CS & Mr. Blair.

September Wednesday 23: Arrd home in official car with CS & Mr. Blair. CS & I drove to Hyd Lock. CS was much pleased with everything except work on banks above. We drove to Fair in afternoon. Went to Band concert (Coldstreams).

September Thursday 24: Went to Hyd lock in am. Drove with Gordon to office. Office till 5. Gordon put his horse in & got him out again for me. Drove home. Choir practice. Office 9-11. Kilbourn in on way to Ottawa re running off water Stoney Lake. Fine.

September Friday 25: At Hyd Lock all am. Office till 4:30. Wheeled to locks. Called at Mathews & Co factory to examine location of proposed wharf. St. Lukes Harvest festival. Office 10-11. Fine.

September Saturday 26: Drove with Gordon to Lak’d & took Empire to Indian River dam. Exam’d dam. Office 10-11. Warm.

September Sunday 27: Fine.

September Monday 28: Left at 12:30 am for Ottawa. Met Sangster before CS re some claims for reversal of rock outside lines given & also for concrete put in. See Notes. Met Mr. Wattenberg a German Eng’r looking over canals. Went down to Machine Tel Co’y office. Left for home.

September Tuesday 29: Office. Went to locks at 11. Had message from Sir Sandford Fleming that he was coming today. R Niel called at office. Gave him application for $500 stock in Machine Telephone Co’y. Met Sir S Fleming at 5:10 train & drove him to Hyd Lock.

September Wednesday 30: Got skiff for launch. Drove with [Mark] to GTR to meet Wattenberg. Did not come. Drove Sir S Fleming & his niece & other lady to Lakefield. M Boyd & WTB there to meet us with Calumet. Took trip to Bob’n. Harry Hall  & HC Rogers with us. Most delightful day. Stayed M Boyd’s. Exam’d works with Walker.

October Thursday 1: Started about 10. Ran with Calumet to Portage Rd. Bridge. Had teams meet us there. Wattenberg met us at Fenelon. Exam’d work at Fenelon & Conroy's Contract at Victoria Rd. Drove to Hyd Lock & Lock 1 S & B - train home. Sir S.F. most delighted. Rain at night.

October Friday 2: Office. Drove to dredge with Gordon at Yankee Bonnet & to locks. Office 3:30 to 6 & 8:30 to 10:30. At Hyd Lock in am.

October Saturday 3: Office.

October Sunday 4: Rode wheel out to Amelia’s.

October Monday 5: At Hyd Lock all am. Office in pm till 6. Office 8:30-10:30. Fine & warm.

October Tuesday 6: At Hyd Lock & office and Locks.

[Note: the entries for October Wednesday 7 & Thursday 8 have been entered in reverse order, both dates have been crossed out and the correct one written above. They appear here in the order in which they are found in the diary.]

October Thursday 8:  Office & Hyd Lock in am. Drove to Lak’d (team L) to inspect water regulation took [Kirn], McDonald & McAlister. Took Empire at Lak’d. Ran to Y’s Pt.

October Wednesday 7: At Hyd Lock in am. Office. Drove (L) to locks & to dredge Yankee Bonnett. Mina with me.

October Friday 9: Arr’d at Ottawa for telegraph to go into question of proposing amt's for interest on Corry & Laverdures award. Shannon & I met C & L. Fixed most of items but got list of quantities to get out. Shannon & I walked down to Machine Tel. Coy. Went down to Mothersill’s after. Raining most of day.

October Saturday 10: Office in am. Wheeled to Hyd Lock & locks. Fine.

October Sunday 11: McDonald (Supt Cereal Wks) telephoned saying they were running today & wanted some water. Instructed men at Nassau  & Lak’d to let off water. Wheeled to Nassau.

October Monday 12: Went to Lorneville & drove to Kirkfield with Woodville brig. Drove with men to Victoria Rd. work & up to Hy Lock & over Sec 3. Dary with me. Nothing new. Fine day. Office till 11 pm.

October Tuesday 13: Left at midnight for Montreal. Arr’d at 8 am. Went to McGill. Saw Harry. Went to dock in pm. Harry came to supper with me. Went to Council Meet C.S.C.E. Beautiful day.

October Wednesday 14: Left Montreal for Ottawa at 8:45. Arrd noon. Saw CS who was furious that I had not got there earlier. Made up calculations re Interest on Corry & Laverdure’s est. before 2 Went down to supper with C.S. & after to House of Commons waiting for Estimates. Fine.

October Thursday 15: Thanksgiving Day. At Ottawa. At Dept. till 4. Saw Mr. Fielding re Notes on route of Canal re estimates & he also mentioned complaints from Grant & also Culverwell. Started for home.

October Friday 16: Arrd home from Ottawa. Looked over H.C. Rogers house with Mina and Gordon. Office till 4. Drove to Hy Lock with Fr. & to locks with Gordon. Masonic Lodge at night.

October Saturday 17: Office in am. Drove with F to see drains, Sullivans. Office till 5. & 9-10:15. Light showers.

October Sunday 18: Cold.

October Monday 19: Drove (L) with Gordon to Lak’d. Took Empire & ran to Burleigh & laid out lower entrance pier. called at my Cottage & had Cummings with me & arranged with him to go into my cottage & work at clearing my land. (See Notes) his brother was also to go up with him. Meals at dredge. At office 8-9:30.

October Tuesday 20: Went to Kirkfield Francis with me. Drove from Lorneville. Went to Hyd Lock & to Roads on 10^th & along Secs 3- Office 9-11. Fine.

October Wednesday 21: Office - 11. Drove (L) to Kelly’s drains & to Hyd Lock. Office till 5. Drove (L) to locks. Service. Office 9-11. Beautiful day.

October Thursday 22: Office 9:30. Went into County Council to inspect Gannons Narrows Bridge which has just been completed. Every thing looked OK. W’m Boyd met me there with yacht. Went down & exam’d his dam & mill. At night Mossie said he would like me to make a report & estimate on proposed new power development.

October Friday 23: Went down with Mossie to Mill & dam & went over in am. Left for home on yacht & drove (L) team home. Office 9-10. Fine cool.

October Saturday 24: Office. School of P Science Toronto, about 300 students with Professors here. Visited lift lock & other works. After lunch I drove President London & Principal Galbraith to Lift lock & C.G.E. Coy & about town. At night went to dinner at Oriental with them. Office. Fine & cool.

October Sunday 25: Cool. Went to locks (Burnetts) in pm.

October Monday 26: Arr’d in Ottawa as per telegram. All Supt Eng’s there re appropriations. Went to dinner at 6 with CS & after to Rev. W Loucks home ,left for home. Cold.  

October Tuesday 27: Miserable day. Sleet & wet snow. Office after dinner. Drove (L) with Gordon to locks & to dredge at Y Bonnet & after to Hy Lock. No men working. Office 9-11.

October Wednesday 28: Went to Lak’d on train with Gordon. Went to dam at L with Thompson & Dunwoodie. Went up in Empire to Burleigh to visit men at East [lower] entrance pier. They started about week ago. Visited my cottage where men, two Cummings & Ayotte have been working since Monday last - clearing.

October Thursday 29: Busy getting ready to go on trip. Office. Went to E.B. Edwards office re information for affidavit against Wasson re Indian River Dam. Office 8-10. Fine & warm.

October Friday 30: Busy getting ready to start. Started on trip over the upper reservoirs at 11:40 via Millbrook. See further notes in notebook.

[Note: Text has been written diagonally across the following two days.]

October Saturday 31 & November Sunday 1: See full Notes in Notebook.

[Note: Text has been written diagonally across several days.]

November Tuesday 3 - Thursday 7: See Notes in book.

[Note: In addition, November Thursday 7 also has text written in it.]

November  Saturday 7: Reached Lindsay at 5:30. Had supper there. Met Sam Hughes. Office 9-11.

November Sunday 8: Fine.

November Monday 9: Left for Kirkfield at 8:20. Drove from Lorneville. Mr. CS on tour of inspection. Went over Conroy’s work & Hyd Lock with him. He went over Sec 3 this am with Dary. Came down in his car to Peterboro. Office.

November Tuesday 10: Went to breakfast at CS car & took him (team Leary) to Burnetts work & to Hyd Lock. Seemed to be in great twist. Gave Eason rise to $100.00. CS had meeting at my office with Dickson Coy. [Shook], Thompson & Burnett & Edwards for gov't. Nothing decided done. CS went home at 11:25. Leslie here, took him to Locks & Hyd L.

November Wednesday 11: Office. At 11:25. [Went] with Hon. G.A. Cox, A.A. Cox & Davis to Lak’d & took Empire for Stoney Lake. Visited his Island & my place. Very windy.

November Thursday 12: Left for Ottawa at 12:35 am re telegraph re water regulation at Nassau. Went over particulars of said regulation with Hansard & Newcomb. Spent evening with Sir Sand’d Fleming. Left for home at night.

November Friday 13: Went to Lak’d on train. A. Stevenson drove up & we went up on ‘Empire’ to Burleigh. Had a run in pm and after went down to Lak’d on Empire. Sent Empire at noon to Buckhorn to bring Ketchecum party [hunters] down to Lak’d after went back to Burleigh on Empire. Windy.

November Saturday 14: Had a run but got nothing. Instructed at Black Duck Lake. Left for home at 3. Walked over to my cottage with A Stevenson & paid men. G. Cummings 20.00, P. Cummings 20.00, I Ayotte 15.00. Drove home (L). Forgot that my horse (L) was left at Lak’d & Joe Y drove it home. Office 11.

November Sunday 15: H.C. Rogers at dinner today.

November Monday 16: Office. Drove to Hy Lock & met Johnson (DBC) had horse for only 1 hour at noon. Went to dinner at Oriental. Office. J M Kilbourn called me up & spent evening with him & Johnson. Office 10-10:30. Miserable day, cold windy & sleet.

November Tuesday 17: Milder. Drove (L) to Lak’d with Gordon to see Junkin re examination of dam. Was Pallbearer for T Ritchie funeral. Office. Service at St. Johns & office.

November Wednesday 18: Went to meeting of Trent Water Conservation Assoc’n till 1:15. Went to reception of Visiting clergy at St. Johns. Office. Drove (L) with Gordon to locks. Went to Meeting in Council Chamber, Ashburnham re question of sewage in Village. Very cold. Men bringing down Houseboat but got stuck with wind.

November Thursday 19: Very cold. Drove (L) to Lak’d. Stopped at Houseboat which men here bringing down. After trying to get engine to work decided to take her back to Lak’d. Home at 3. Went to Hyd Lock till 5. Office 9-10:30. Very cold. Empire with Dredge got stuck at Buckhorn with ice in Buckhorn Lake.

November Friday 20: Office. Went to Police Court re King vs Wasson of Warsaw & King vs Payne re taking stop logs from Indian River Dam. Cases were postponed. In pm went with [Kirn] over dredging at Cereal Works & also over it with Gordon. Decided to drill. Office till 6. Went to Masonic meeting. Milder.

November Saturday 21: Went to Kirkfield. Drove over Conroy’s work. & Hy Lock & over Sec 3 with Dary. Gave instructions re preservation against frost. Lock 2 South wall about half done. About 2 inches of snow at Kirkf’d. Office 9-10. Milder.

November Sunday 22: Wet snow about 1''. Bishop of Ontario preached tonight. Went over to see Kilbourn after ch.

November Monday 23: Office. Drove Bishop Ontario to Hyd lock & to train & back to Hyd Lock. Contractors want to let water into reaches. Office all p.m. & from 9-10:30. Most miserable day. Blow, snow & sleet & rain.

November Tuesday 24: Office.

November Wednesday 25: Office. Drove with Gordon to No. 3 Dam to examine it before water was let in. Went on to Lak’d for dinner - back at 4:30. Office. Went to Annual tea of St. Lukes till 10:00. Fine & cold.

November Thursday 26: Office. Vote on Union of Village & town took place today, carried in village by 20 & in town 168. Office 9-11. Cold.

November Friday 27: Office. Police court in case against Wasson & Payne re Indian River Dam. Dinner at Snowden House with W Boyd. Went to dredge Cereal Dam & Hyd Lock with W Boyd. Office. Office 8-10. Went with W Boyd & Kirn. Cold. Have bad cold in head.

November Saturday 28: Office all day. Choir practice. Office 9:30 to 12:00. Fine & cold.

November Sunday 29: Fine & cold. About ¾ inch snow fell.

November Monday 30: Office. Started for Trenton at noon. Arr’d there at 6 pm. Attended St. Andrews Dinner. Made my first connected speech mostly on storage of water. Fine speeches & songs. Fine & cold.

December Tuesday 1: At Trenton. Went over to Gilmour Co’s office had discussion re storage of water. Left for home at 11:30. At Pt Hope walked up to T CS & called in town on Mrs. Symonds & Mrs. Ward. Office 8-10:30. Fine & cold.

December Wednesday 2: At Hy. L. 9:30-11. Went to dredge. Office in pm & 8-10:30. Fine & cold. There has been sleighing, good, for about a week.

December Thursday 3: Drove with Gordon to Burleigh. Exam’d work down there & to be done. Called at my park on way up, men getting on well. About 100 worth of old log house. Fine & cold. Went up to sleigh. Went to liquid air lecture, 1.50

December Friday 4: Office. Left at midnight for Ottawa.

December Saturday 5: Arr’d in Ottawa re dredging for Pub Works at Cereal Works. Saw Lefleur & explained whole matter. He said to go ahead according to plan which he showed me as made by Cereal Coy. Would give no definite instructions.

December Sunday 6: At Montreal. Harry came down & we went to Cathedral. Went to dinner at Mrs. Grant’s & also tea.  Went to [Trinity] church in pm & heard Mr. Symonds preach. Went to Mudges after ch.

December Monday 7: At Montreal. Spent am at McGill & lunch with Harry. Went down town in pm. Miserable, snow & blowing. Harry at Windsor to dinner with me.

December Tuesday 8: Left Montreal at 8:45 for Ottawa on telegraph from C.S. re cost of taking over reservoirs.

December Wednesday 9: Went to Dept. with German, but as minister was not there, went home at 11:30. Arrd home at 5:15. Office at night.

December Thursday 10: At office. Drove to Hyd Lock & to locks.

December Friday 11: Went to Toronto & met H Handsard Law clerk Dept. interviewed Campbell Dep'ty Min. Pub Works re handing over reservoirs to Dom'n. Gov't. free. Seemed anxious to do so. Stayed at ‘King Edward.’ Went out to Ed’s to tea. Home at midnight.

December Saturday 12: Office all day - at market this am. Snowed.

December Sunday 13: Very cold. Took H Calcutt for drive in pm. Tea at C.

December Monday 14: Very cold. Office. Visited Dredge & Hyd lock. George Revel & Eason left at 2 pm for [sic] to make survey for dam at Heely’s Falls.

December Tuesday 15: Started at 7 am for Dresden & Wallaceberg on a free excursion with P. Beet Sugar Coy. Fine day but monotonous. Arrd back 6 next am. Plants inspected. Very fine.

December Wednesday 16: Slept till 11. Office. Choir practice. Cold.

December Thursday 17: Office. Went to dredge in am & pm. Cold.

December Friday 18: Office. Drove with Gordon to locks to visit Burnetts work & gates. Went to dinner at St. Josephs Bazzar. Drove to Lak’d with Gordon. Office. Went to Masonic Meeting. Very cold.

December Saturday 19: Office all day. Went to market in a.m. Went up to dredge in p.m. Choir practice. Office 9:30 to 10:30. Milder.

December Sunday 20: Leah taken to St. Josephs Hospital with Diphtheria. Very light so far. Harry arr’d home from McGill at 5 am same time as we discovered Leah was sick - at home all day. Dr. Anys disinfected room. All family are quarantined for 6 days.

December Monday 21: House till 4. Walked to Hyd Lock & down to locks. Cold & windy & snowing. In quarantine.

December Tuesday 22: House till 4. Taking things out of Leah’s room & airing them. Walked dredge & cereal dam. Cold & windy.

December Wednesday 23: Drove to Burleigh exam’d Works there & at Lakefield. Called at my cottage & exam’d work done. Very satisfactory. Paid men. Harry, Heber & C Gordon with me. Arrd home at 5. Office 7-10. Went up to see dredge with T [Fair] at 6:45. Fine.

December Thursday 24: Home all am. Went to office for first time in day time since being in quarantine. Dary here went over L & S claim. Sent Mina’s cards away. Went shopping after tea. Miserable day snow & sleet. Harry & George came back to stay at home tonight [---].

December Friday 25: Christmas Day. Diphtheria card taken off door. Dinner at home. Club in pm. Tea at ["Cal---"] & Christmas tree after. Went up to Maria’s at 10:30. Beautiful Day. We all wrote letters to Leah & sent her candies &c.

December Saturday 26: Office. No work in office.

December Sunday 27: In pm went over to Fair’s & stayed to tea.

December Monday 28: At home in am. Went to nomination at noon. First nomination for Union Council & S Trustees. Was elected by acclamation with H Morgan from Ward No. 5. Office in pm. Went to Masonic Instalation & supper at night. (St. John's Day). After left for Ottawa.

December Tuesday 29: Arrived in Ottawa by instruction re claim Larkin & Sangster. Dary met CS also. Went to Opera till 10 with O’Connel. Left for home at 11 pm.

December Wednesday 30: Arrd home from Ottawa. Train 3 hrs late. Office. Choir practice.

December Thursday 31: Office. Drove to Lakefield. Harry, Edna, Frank B. & Gordon with me. Exam’d work at dam. & decided to shut down work for time. Went to J. Dunwoodie’s for servant & drove her (Kate Urquart) to town. Gordon went home on train. Went to [bussing] party on hill. Office 7-9. Very cold. Went to watch night service.

1903 Diary (#2)

This notebook with entries for 1903 and 1904 was one that Rogers took with him when he was visiting various locations which would be affected by the building of the Trent Canal. A transcript follows:

Dorset, June 9th, 1903

R.B. Rogers, Clem Gordon, E. Lajoi, W.T. Boyd arrived at Orillia at 12:30 on June 8th/03. Waited till 4:40. Started for Huntsville. Tried at Orillia to engage a boat at Huntsville but could not do so. After supper at Huntsville we engaged a tug from Capt. Marsh to take us as far as the Portage which is about 9 miles through Fairy Lake and Peninsular Lake which was a very beautiful sail. We passed through a cut or as they call it the canal which was made by the Ontario Gov't at a cost of $32,000 about half way. When we arrived at the Portage the Capt & I walked over the portage which was about a mile across and a rise of over 100 feet. It is proposed to put a railroad across this portage for which a survey is made & staked out. We arranged to have a bus over at the west end at half past four tomorrow morning & also steam up on a tug. We stopped at the Portage hotel at the west end of the Portage overnight. Good hotel.

Hollow Lake - June 9th

We started at 4:30 am & walked over the Portage & the bus took our stuff. We started on tug at 5:20 & ran thro Lake of Bays & Trading Lake to Dorset. It was a most beautiful sail. There are a number of summer cottages besides settlers along the shores. The run over from Portage to Dorset is about 16 miles. There are 3 or 4 dams on Lake of Bays and about the same number between Huntsville & Portage. At Dorset when we arrived at about 7 am we had breakfast & I looked up Alvin Phillips to whom I had letter from Gilmour Co'y. He looked up 3 canoe men to take us on. We got a team & wagon to take our stuff over to Hollow Lake about 5 miles. It is a terrible rough road. The 3 canoe men carried their canoes on their shoulders the whole distance. We put our canoes in Loon Bay & Gordon & I went to west outlet dam of Hollow Lake in 2 canoes. It is about 6 or 7 miles paddle. Hollow Lake is a lake of bays & some large high wooded islands. It is very pretty. The shores of the islands are all high yellow gravel & sand. We came back to the south outlet dam. We camped on the west side of the entrance to the dam which is drowned land. At the entrance the dam is about 1/3 mile from outlet & there is a path from the camp. The portage is on the left side of the entrance about 1/4 mile.

[On the following page Rogers has drawn a diagram labelled Hollow Lake Dam Outlet North West. Journal continues on page 9 with a description of Hollow Lake Dam South Outlet: At the dam the depression seems to have washed considerably till the channel is about 7 feet in depth but further north towards the lake the stumps & brush is still in place & seems to be about not more than 3 or 4 feet in depth. If more water was to be drawn off, a channel would have to be excavated thro' this for a length of 500 or 600 ft, the lowest part being about 600 feet above the dam. The channel above the dam for 500 or 600 ft seems to be washed out by a rush of water & the trees all cleaned out, seems to be about 5 to 7 feet in depth.]

Journal continues:

En route - June 18th 03

After putting in off the Portage from Hollow Lake which is over a rise of about 75 feet & is only a rough path we go into Stoney Lake which runs into the Black River waters. The channels in places is narrow & the creek from it not more than 10 to 12 feet wide & at places not enough to float the canoe. Two or three rapids are also on the creek, the last one at the entrance to Gun Lake is abrupt fall of about 8 or 9 feet. There are about 4 or 5 portages most of them short caused by rapids & falling timber.

Gun Lake - The shores are high & land no good. The water could be raised 20 or 30 feet without trouble unless there are some depressions. This would likely flood back into Stoney Lake. The shores are rock. Raven Lake - The shores are rocky & the high water mark shows about 10 feet above present water. As far as can be seen it could be raised 20 feet higher. Above the high water mark the shores are wooded with mixed wood not of much value. The water has evidently been raised.

Raven Lake Dam - The lower side cribwork is very much decayed & the whole dam requires considerable repair. The upper side is not [---]. This dam I should say could be raised considerably higher. There is a Depot about 1/4 mile below the dam (Thompson).

Wren Lake Dam - The dam is in bad condition as far as shores at dam are, the dam could be raised very high but this would flood Bob'n Road. The shores are high & wooded with small second growth of little value.

[On the next page Rogers has drawn a diagram entitled "Dam to hold water - Wren Lake"]

En route - St. Nora's Lake

The canal as it is called from Wren to St. Nora's Lake is a valley with rocky shores. It has been wooded but the trees are all dead. A channel has been cut through for the logs. The dam is located about 3/4 mile above St. Nora's Lake & is located in good position in which a current dam could easily be constructed.

A profile of this canal should be got from Gilmour Co'y. Ask first. The shores of St. Nora's Lake are very high & precipitous. As far as can be seen the water could be raised 40 feet higher without flooding any valuable lands. The reservoir system could be wonderfully developed.

Kushog (awigamog) Lake is the same level as St. Nora's & the shores of it seem the same as St. Nora's, high & precipitous.

Burk's Dam between Kushog & Boskunk Outlet of Kushog Lake - Photo no 18 - Only fair state of repair - There is 36" water on slide. A portage of about half a mile. Should portage across from opposite a house on Kushog Lake to below rapids at sawmill. There is quite a fall at this place probably 30 feet.

Boskunk Lake - Shores high. Quite a lake. At the outlet of Boskunk Lake there is a rapid over which a bridge. Boskunk L. is created by this rapid. There is no improvement whatever to the rapids.

Mountain Lake - Shores are very precipitous. There are no settlements except near the bridge is a house with a few acres of land cleared & at the foot of the lake. This lake must be regulated by the dam at the foot of [Horseshoe] Lake - The river turns off sharply about 1/2 mile below the Rapids Bridge to the east.

[On the next two pages Rogers has drawn a diagram of another dam (name illegible).]

[Another journal starts at this point which describes a trip taken by Rogers in October 1903.]

October 30th 1903

Started via Millbrook for Lindsay & on to Gelert. Wm Boyd joined us at Lindsay. Gordon, Wm. Boyd & I got off at Gelert & stayed one night with John Sedgwick. We sent E. Lajoi & A. Leplant on with the rest of the stuff into Haliburton to go on tomorrow & set up camp at Drag Lake 2 miles out of Haliburton. Sedgwick drove us & our canoe out to Kushog Lake & we paddled up to Haliburton. We arrived at Haliburton about 2:30 pm. We started from Kushog Dam at 10:20 & stopped 3/4 hours for lunch.

October 31st 1903

Dam foot Kushog Lake - No one claims it. Two sluices - 18' & 14' can hold about 5 feet. Dam leeks badly. To raise it say 10 or over the road leading across dam for about 300 feet would have to be raised about 5 or 6 ft. Also a short piece of road about 500 ft still further west for about 200 feet. At the first narrows the land is low for about 15 or 20 acs. The schoolhouse (log) would have to be rebuilt. The shores along the lake are high & mostly precipitous. The rock at dam could be blasted easily so as to make 2 or 3 feet more depth. In second narrows raising water say 5 feet above present normal level it would damage a board one storey house west side with about 4 or 5 acres of land. Also a few acres on east side. There is a few acres of cleared land at the N.W. corner of Grass Lake. Land rises gradually about 3 or 4 acres land for 5' extra would be req'd.

Nov 1st 1903

Drag Lake Dam

See no 22 diagram - shores rocky - dam could be made 30 feet high by making a fill of earth about 200 ft long at about 200 ft south of South Dam [Rogers has included a sketch of the proposed dam.] Photos no 1 - South Dam 12 /1/2, no 2 North Dam 16/1/2, no 3 both dams 16/1/2. No 4 - Drag Lake from canoe at entrance of Drag Lake 8/1/5. No 5 - Drag Lake from point south of Sandy Pt. looking north. Drag Lake shores are very high & precipitous. It looks as though the water could be raised 30 feet except at the end (north) where there is a couple of settlers whose land lies not more than 12 feet above the present level. There is some small timber but nothing to amount to much. Drag Lake seems to be a most favorable to form an immense reservoir. There is lots of sand on shores for concrete. The land that would be flooded by raising Drag Lake at the north end would not amount to over $1000.

Nov 30th 1903

Started at noon & went via Millbrook to Gelert. John Simpson met us at station & we stayed over night with him. Gordon was with me & W.T. Boyd met us at Lindsay. We sent Ned Lajoi & A. Leplant on to Haliburton with stuff & to go on to Drag Lake & get camp ready. On Nov 31st J Sedgwick drove us to Kushog Lake & his team bro't our canoe. We paddled to Haliburton. Kushog is fine lake, the shores are well settled & it would make a fine reservoir if at Haliburton the RY tracks & mill were not on such low grounds. It would not be possible to raise the water over 2 feet at the most. We walked to camp on Drag Lake, about 2 miles. Stevenson & Kirn came at night on Nov 1st Sunday. We started to paddle across Drag Lake & arrived about 12. One of our canoes did not come so I hired a man Wheeler to paddle two of [us] over. We got two settlers at head of lake to team us over & we walked. It is about 7 miles to Fort Irwin on Oblong lake where we camped.

Fort Irwin - Nov 2nd - 03

No 11 - Haliburton Lake looking north from end of Long Point 16/1/5, No 12 Percy L from dam looking east (noon) 16/1/5, No 7 Percy L Dam nine 16/15 from lower side.

Camp Fort Irwin - Very foggy. Had a deer run. [---] boys went with us & put out the dogs. Deer ran away. If water was raised over 3 feet above present normal level it would flood about 100 acres of low land about Fort Irwin where stands a lumber depot of about 5 or 6 buildings (log) including office, stable, shipping house, blacksmith shop, etc. The shores are all precipitous, a fringe near foot is covered with small timber, birch mostly. The land is no value outside of timber which is not much. The water could be raised 30 feet if necessary. I am told that Drag Lake is only 6 feet lower than Haliburton L. & that the height of ground between the two lakes is very low. If so, if H. Lake was raised it would flood Drag Lake as well & could take the water down Gull River. There are a number of lakes about Haliburton L. which all can be made to hold a lot of water I am told. Visited Percy Lake at which the dam is in good repair but leaks some - enough to let most of it drain off if held all summer. Percy Lake is 32 feet higher than Hal'n L. so Mr Smith says & [North] Lake 150 ft higher than Hal'n L. I don't think if Haliburton L. was raised 30 feet it would cost more than $3000 for drowned lands - most of which would be at Fort Irwin.

November 3rd 03

No 9 - Oblong Lake Dam 9:00 oclock 16/1/2 overcase & foggy - Dam in fair repair but as like most of other dams leak enough to more than would equal the summer flow into these lakes. Sill could not be lowered any as the bottom of the creek is about the same level as the sill. The shore bank on north side is precipitous but on the south side it raises gradually. [Rogers has included a sketch of a transverse section of Oblong Lake.] No 10 - Eagle Lake Dam noon 16/1/5 - bright sun - Eagle Lake Dam could be lowered 2 to 3 feet by blasting bar at dam. Dam good condition but like others leaks faster than it would run in during summer. Til the logs are out. As far as can be seen the water could be raised 20 to 30 feet. This would drown the settlers Bowen at the head of the dam as well as some wheat land (probably about 50 acres) near Eagle Lake dam besides a fringe about 50 to 100 wide along the shores which is covered with small birch, balsam, some cedar, etc. - of not much value. The unsettled land belongs to the English Co'y.

Redstone Lake - Just paddled this at night - shores look very precipitous. Flooding to say 25 ft would flood part of clearing at Boyd's Depot.

Nov 4th 1903

No 16 - Dam for Kenesis Lake - 2 pm - bright 16/1/5.

No 17 Kenesis Lake from point east of entrance.

Left Depot (Boyd's) head of Redstone at 8:30 am - portaged 3/4 mile to Kenesis. Paddled with W. Boyd to Little Kenesis and then on to the dam at the foot of the Lake - The shores of Kenesis look to be very precipitous - Kelly's Lake is opposite the portage landing & above Kelly's Lake is Johnsons & North Lakes on each of which are dams. The dam at the foot of Kenesis Lake is in good condition & is tighter than most of the other dams. There is a foot of water on Kenesis that might have been run off. The dam at foot would hold about 9 feet of water on the lake. I don't see any reason why 20 or 25 feet could not be held. There may be some run arounds which can only be found by a survey - I don't think the damages for drowning should amount to much. The timber on it is only small second growth besides the gov't would not want the timber - The land is nearly all rock and very preciptious - Kenesis is a very large lake & would make a grand reservoir. Paint (or Red Pine) is a good sized lake but the dam can only hold 4 or 5 feet. There is a good chance at dam to make it 12 or 15 feet high. The shores of Paint Lake are like the shores of other lakes precipitous with small second grown timber on shores. This timber is for the most part too small to be of any merchantible value. The outlet of the lake is at the very north west angle of the lake & it took us some time to find it. There is a long depression on the south side which might allow the water to run into the next lake or valley to the south. We camped at the dam at outlet of Paint Lake. There is considerable cedar & hemlock of fair size along the creek between Kenesis dam & Paint Lake.

Nov 6th 1903

We left Paint Lake camp at 9 am & portaged about 3/8 of a mile to the foot of the rapid where I slipped in off the rocks. We came through Crab Lake to the dam at the foot of the lake. We found 5 stop logs of water there & all the stop logs in - splendid chance to put in a high shot dam. There is high drop below this dam. Photoed this dam & portaged about 200 yards & put in again for about 1/2 mile when we met another rapid where we portaged about 200 yds. We passed through the upper end of Hock Lake to the old depot above the dam at outlet of Hock Lake. We met people called Faders (whose post office address is Maple Creek) & they wanted us to stay & have a hunt & we had our meals with them & camped for the night. Sent the men & one load to Hall's Lake where they stayed. Had a deer run and sent team with rest of stuff. Walked over to Hall's Lake & had dinner & started away about 12:10 & reached Hall's Lake dam about 1. Portaged about 300 yards to Boskunk Lake. Hall's Lake dam is in fair condition & has 4 full stop logs in at present. Good situation for a much higher dam but the shores of the lake at the NW corner for a short distance are low including a fine stone house belonging to Deacon but otherwise lake level could be raised 10 or 12 feet. At the bridge between Little & Big Boskunk Lakes a low point (about 5 feet above normal level) on which the road leads out to the bridge which is a fixed bridge about a 100 ft long. It might be that a dam should be built on the site of the bridge & along the point to the shore. Boskunk (Big) shores are all high with the exception of a small area at the foot of Buck's Falls where a sawmill is situated. Little Boskunk are also high. At the head (N.East corner) the travelled road runs on the bank of the river which at this point is about 10 or 12 ft above the normal level. This road could easily be diverted to the higher ground beyond. There is also a town hall or school or church building on the ground about the same level as the road with a few acres of clearing. There is also narrow strips both sides near the bridge at foot of 12 Mile Lake. There is no dam at foot of 12 Mile Lake strange to say - I think a dam 12 to 15 feet high could be built on the top of this rock at the head of this rapid. There is a splendid site for a dam on the top of this rapid on the site of the bridge. The rock could also be blasted 3 or 4 feet down so as to draw off this much more of the lake. A dam should certainly be built at this point. The damages along the shores would not be over 3 or 4 thousand dollars for a dam say 8 feet high.

Mountain Lake shores are also high & the water could easily be raised 8 to 10 feet with small damage to land. The dam at foot of Horseshoe Lake might be raised if necessary to raise/serve both mountain, 12 Mile & Boskunk Lakes which would make all these navigable. This would make a long navigable stretch. The Gull River from the dam at foot of Horseshoe Lake to still water above Village of Minden has high shores & could not be better for the purpose of making a channel for navigation. A number of good water [powers] could be developed along this stretch. There is a mill ( ) saw & grist which has a head of about 16 to 20 feet. The river from Minden thro Gull Lake to Moores Falls is navigable & I understand there are only 2 small portages to Coboconk.

There is a great chance to make a good system of small sized not necessarily shallow barge navigation right from Coboconk to Kenesis Lake the lakes of which could be used for reservoirs - the navigation only being used for say 4 or 5 months in the fore part of the summer & the water being drawn off for navigation & power purposes after say August.

Nov 8th 1903

We arrived at the foot of Mountain Lake about 4:15 & pitched our tents there. Edwards & Kirk walked to Minden. This morning we took 2 teams for our canoes (4) & stuff & sent them to Kinmount. I drove up road to Horseshoe dam & then we drove on to Kinmount & had dinner & took train for home. We had beautiful weather for our trip - Nov 7th was windy but other days were perfect warm & clear. Last few nights were cool.

1904

Kenesis Lake November 11th

Dam Camp

We left Peterboro 11:35 am on Nov 7th & went via Millbrook. Stayed over night at Lucas' Hotel Haliburton. We sent 2 men on ahead to Redstone camp house where they were met by P. Grozelle. We left at 9 am Nov 8th & arrived at Redstone at 1 pm & at camp at 2 pm. Eason, Grozelle, Learmouth & I exam'd the run arounds & dam at Redstone. Left Redstone at 8:10 am Nov 9th & arr'd at Depot 6 miles at 7:45. Portaged over 3/4 mile over to Kenesis & to Kenesis Dam Camp at 9:40. Had lunch & had a run on the point south of the dam. I shot a fine 1 1/2 year old buck which was wandering along the runway. The dogs also ran a buck after we were bleeding my buck & turned it away. Another party got it. We took 2 canoes back after the stuff to the Redstone portage. Thursday 9th - had two runs on the run in Paint Lake. The deer came near the creek on the north side of the lake. P. Grozelle kept it in the water til I got there & shot it. Sent [---] to Redstone to meet M. Pousette but he did not come. Friday - had 3 runs. Eason got a deer at one as he was coming in to camp.

Kenesis Lake Dam - The sill of this dam could be lowered about 3 feet but not lower as the bed of the creek between it & Paint Lake as well as the base of the creek above Paint Lake dam is not below this level, in fact, the beds of these streams are in many places not as low as this level by a foot. The beds are gravel & could be easily excavated. P. Grozelle says there is not enough water in the spring to raise the level of this (Kenesis) lake over five feet above its high water level. This could be easily raised without any run arounds except at perhaps at Cat Bay where a little embankment might be necessary. Kenesis dam is one of the best timber dams but it leaks considerably also.

[This notebook concludes with a few notations regarding expenses on these out-trips.]