The Arab and the Brit: The Last of the Welcome Immigrants

4 Canada

32 4 Canada Bill and his Barnardo’s mates sailed for Canada on June 14, 1886. He had turned ten just three weeks earlier. His pine trunk had served as his dresser at Barnardo’s. Now it was packed again for the trip to Canada. Barnardo’s dressed Bill in a nice-looking wool suit, white shirt, and necktie for the departure. He had a white handkerchief in his breast pocket and a derby hat on his head. His smile was noteworthy—a distinct improvement in confidence since he had entered Barnardo’s Home two months earlier. Their ship was the SS Lake Superior, built in 1884 by J & G Thomson of Glasgow for the Beaver Line. She weighed 4,562 gross tons, was 400 feet long, and had a 44-foot beam, a single screw, one stack, and three masts. Her hull was iron, and she could make 11 knots. She had accommodations for 190 first-class passengers, 80 second-class, and 1,000 third-class where the boys (about 50 of them) traveled four to a cabin. Third-class passage cost the equivalent of about sixty US dollars for each boy, which Barnardo’s paid. A portion of this fare was reimbursed by the receiving families in Canada. The boys had a wonderful time racing about the ship, experiencing all of the exciting new sites at hand on the ocean liner. The summer crossing enjoyed mild weather, so they could spend a great deal of time out of doors on the main deck. On June 24, the ship entered the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. It was so much wider and more beautiful than the Thames, Bill could hardly believe it. On both sides of the river was thick, green wilderness. Geese, deer, moose, and muskrats were visible along the shoreline. Large fish broke the surface of the water as they fed. It looked like a wild and frightening place to Bill. Canada | 33 The Lake Superior docked in Montreal, Quebec, on June 25. The city was the industrial hub of the newly formed confederation of Canadian provinces . The Canadian Pacific Railway was opening markets in the West for local business. Manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers had workshops, warehouses, offices, and display rooms in Montreal. Electric lighting was being installed, and ten-story skyscrapers were everywhere. The port of Montreal was second in size in North America only to the port of New York City. The boys were met in Montreal by Alfred Owen, who was Barnardo’s chief representative in Canada. It was his responsibility to house the lads 2. Bill Curnick on the morning of June 14, 1886, dressed by Barnardo’s Home for the voyage to Canada. Courtesy of Barnardo's. 34 | The Arab and the Brit temporarily until they could be sent to their permanent homes. Two days later Bill was on his way west to the Village of Iroquois, Ontario. His sponsors there, the people with whom he would live and for whom he would work, were Mr. and Mrs. Levius Serviss. Levius Serviss was born in eastern Canada in 1828. He met and married his wife, known only as “Aunty” to our family, in 1849. The two were adventurous souls and loved traveling together. They made four trips to California during the gold rush. On the first trip, they sailed from Montreal around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, the entire voyage taking five months and twenty-three days. The next time they portaged overland across the Isthmus of Panama (the canal was not completed until 1914). On the third trip, they took the Santa Fe Trail. And on the fourth, they crossed the continent by rail and on the Oregon Trail in areas that yet had no rail service. Aunty panned for gold in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains, finding a good bit, while Levius dug. They lived in tents, cooked over an open fire, and hunted their food. Aunty was one of the few women participating in this adventurous life; on more than one occasion, Levius found himself fighting to preserve her honor. It was a rough place, and they thrived on the survival aspects of their life there. They never made a fortune but had a wonderful time on each trip, enjoying the journey as much as the prospecting experience. Uncle Levius had solid-gold cuff links made for himself and earrings for Aunty...