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Village Squire, 1980-07, Page 21new deer skin mitts and moccasins. In the summer it was baskets of berries and wild fruit. BEST HUNGERS In the Indian's band there was a young woman, a daughter of the chief and the wife of one of the best hunters. They had ane son who along with his mother was a great favourite of the Chief. The Indian woman and Jane Mallough were about the same age and the Mallough's son, Joseph was about the age as the Indian boy. As they lived close, these two boys played together and became good friends as did their mothers. Jane said the only way she could communicate with her friend, the Indian woman, was by signs, but the boys seemed to understand each other perfectly. In the winter months there was little for a man to do on a pioneer farm, and as they did not have much to sell to bring in money to buy supplies, William Mallough went to Gode- rich to work on a new dock that was being built at the harbour, while the ice was strong enough to carry the men and material. He would leave early Monday morning and walk in (about 12 miles) and return Saturday night, bringing home the week's house clean like any wild young squaw should, but that did not succeed. The poker was soon taken from her. Jane and her friend had their backs to the wall and the men were between them and the door. It was then that the Indian woman spoke quickly to her son in the Indian language that the visitors did not understand. The lad took one look at his mother, then dodged past the men and took off like a jack -rabbit. The squaw looked quite pleas- ed and made signs to Jane that things would soon be well again. The men started to look things over and were getting ready to move in and making plans for the night that did not look good for the ladies, but things got no further for them, as the Old Chief, the squaw's husband, and her brother came in with the boy following. The Indians each had a large knife and a tomahawk on their belts. The Chief pointed to the men's throats, then to the knives and made signs of drawing the knives across their throats; he then pointed to the door and said "Go, or else we start to work." The visitors left quickly. In fact, the three tried to get through the door way at once. Some of the Indians either stayed or were close by all day, until William came home. William that the settlers stopped for lodging and rest for their animals before continuing their journey further north. This was no doubt Dungannon's beginning. William and Jame Mallough had a family of eleven and lived to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary in 1903. This farm remained in the hands of Mallough descendants until 1971, when there were no direct heirs to take over the farm. DUNGANNON TODAY In the 1940's and 1950's there were very few children in Dungannon, the hamlet comprised mostly of widows and spinsters Today the decline is over and an upward trend in population is taking place once more. The children of the village wait in various corners for the school buses which take them to Brookside Public School, Kingsbridge R.C. Separate School, and Goderich District Collegiate Institute. New homes have been built as well as the dial exchange office of Huron and Kinloss Municipal Telephone System. The West Wawanosh Mutual Fire Insurance Co. in February, 1980 decided to remain and build a new modern office on the corner where an old hotel has stood for over 125 years. --a newspaper, and a radio station -- supplies. While he was away. Jane looked after the cow and oxen, a few hens and pigs. In the evenings her friend, the Indian woman, with her son would come over, and while Jane knitted, - the Indian woman sewed moccasins, and the boys played on the floor, while the mothers talked by signs. One particular mild evening, the fire- place was smoking and the door was left open to let the smoke out and the light from the fire and the candles attracted three men who were on their way to the north. They wanted a place to spend the night inside instead of camping out in the bush. Jane told them that as the cabin had only one room and one bed, a table, and some benches, and her husband was away and would not be back until Saturday night, she could not help them. The men said that was fine as her husband was away they would stay with her and the good looking young squaw. Jane being a real Irish woman and not long out from Old Ireland lashed out with a tongue lashing that only an Irish woman could, but it did not move the men. The Indian woman decided the situation was getting serious and picked up the iron ' poker from the fire -place, and tried to thanked the Chief for what he had done and gave him some presents. The Chief said that was good, and he was much pleased to be of help to his friends, and were not his daughter and his favourite grandson threatened by these sons of snakes and spawn of the devil and he thought it would be no harm to get three scalps and their oxen would make good beef for his people! THINGS OF THE PAST It took the Malloughs some time to convince the Indians that scalping people and burning buildings and stealing cattle was a thing of the past and would only bring the soldiers and trouble for them. Not many years after this, the Indians, the first citizens of Dungannon, gathered up their belongings and bade farewell to their friends the Malloughs and departed. William Mallough took out a registered plan in 1856 and subdivided the north-east corner of his farm into lots. Likewise William MacMath had a similar plan made on his farm across the road in West Wawanosh Township. It is these lots on which the shops and homes were built which now comprise the village proper. William Mallough built a log hotel and barn on the corner of his farm. It was here HISTORY BOOK TO BE PUBLISHED When researching for the Women's Institute History Book entitled "From Bush Trails to Present Tales" (a 400 page written and pictorial history of Dungannon, Port Albert and all surrounding area, to be published for Dungannon's 125th birthday, August 1,2,3,4, 1980) we were amazed at the first title land owners of our district. Roman Catholics lived next door to Protestants and so on down the conces- sions. It seemed as though religious barriers were gone by the way. Survival in the primeval forest was uppermost- in the minds of the early settlers. No doubt this was instilled upon their families too for friendliness and neighbourliness were the key words, and out of this came the threshing bees, the woodcutting bees, quilting bees, etc. Our great-grandparents left behind famine, hardship, serfdom and the bombings, burnings and kil lings which have plagued Ireland for so many years. We, the descendants who live in this country now, can certainly thank the 'boat people' of the 1840's and 1850's for our peaceful way of life in the New Ireland of Huron County (Belfast, Dungannon, Donnybrook, etc.) VILLAGE SOUIRE/JULY 1980 PG. 19