Think Like a Historian: Introduction to the Halifax Explosion

It was so hard to leave Daddy’s body and yet we could not do anything else. We got up to the top of the hill in the open. Bertha left in an auto with Mr Killam for the Theakstons. Then came frantic crys and warnings to run west to the woods as fast as we could as the magazine in the Barracks would blow up in any minute. Imagine the feelings of those lying on doors for stretchers and some just lying on the ground. But I’m not going to harrow up your feelings any more. 35 Mrs K, Evelyn, (Rev.) Mr and Mrs Laird (Mrs K’s sister and husband from P.E.I) walked as far west as we could then turned south and made for Seymour St. Soldiers stopped us everywhere and ordered us to stop and get in the open. In time we got here and finally landed in Rod McDonald’s field up back of the Golf Links next to Marlboro Woods. One thing after another happened and finally we with Billy Page a lad from near Brandon who is on the Niobe 36 landed, at Mr John Sutherlands here at 298 South St. 37 You remember Barnstead and Sutherlands? Jim Rhind is Mrs S’s brother. Here we are and nothing will induce us to go to Aunt Libbie’s or Fred Walkers. Fred was very anxious and indeed we drove up there last Sunday but the association of things there was too much for us and we had to come back before we’d been there three hours. He lives in a new flat on Hunter St. It is a new street paurallel[sic] with Robie running from Willow to Cunard up next to Windsor St. We had been there only two Sundays before with Daddy and had gone over the whole place and had seen all their wedding presents. It was more than Bid could stand so we came away. It is terrible in town. No glass anywhere. 38 All the shop windows are boarded up and we get the feeling that the buildings will fall on us. I can’t begin to tell you the full extent of the ruined district as I don’t really know. George Bowen[‘s] case is terrible. He had two children killed, Clara about thirteen and little Alfred the dearest little pet about five. Mrs Bowen was very badly hurt and suffered intensely. She had one leg amputated and they were so sure she’d live. After a few days of terrible agony (or so we heard) she died and George and Jamie are broken hearted. 39 They are leaving here tomorrow morning for Winnipeg so you’ll probably see him. 40 Allisons are all alive. We saw Mr Allison and Lizzie this afternoon. Mr was O.K. Lizzie had her foot hurt and it was her first time out doors [sic]. She walked very lame and could only wear a big overshoe. Han was cut about the chest and face. She had to have several stitches. Mrs Allison had a big cut in her neck. Jean was the worst of that family 35. Soldiers called for people to run from the devastated area to escape a second Explosion, which never came. By forcing people away from their homes, the soldiers inadvertently prevented them from treating and caring for the wounded who were unable to move. Ethel’s use of the word “harrow” — which means to cause further distress — reveals that she does not want to explain further how horrible this was for fear of upsetting her uncle. 36. The HMCS Niobe was a Canadian Navy depot ship that spent most of the war in Halifax Harbour. 37. Immediately after the Explosion, people in relatively undamaged houses, especially in the more affluent South End of Halifax, offered to take in newly homeless strangers. Very few accepted the offer; as with Ethel and Bertha (Bid) Bond, who stayed in the South End with friends, most homeless Haligonians preferred to stay with people they knew. 38. The pressure from the blast of the Explosion shattered windows across the city. 39. This highlights the tragedy that people experienced, and emphasizes the scale of the damage and destruction caused by the Explosion. 40. Nova Scotians had long been leaving home to pursue opportunities in New England and Central and Western Canada. After the Explosion, Haligonians relied on their connections in other parts of Canada and North America, and many followed their friends and relatives out of the region. Bold passages indicate annotations for context . Underlined passages indicate annotations for inference .