The long, cold, sometimes deadly way N.B.ers used to travel in winter

Getting around New Brunswick in the winter can be challenging, but travelling the province’s roads during the colder months pales in comparison to the difficulties faced by residents in the 1800s.

Long, Cold Journeys

While sleigh rides are often viewed today as peaceful and recreational, in the 19th century they were a utilitarian mode of transportation. The rivers of New Brunswick served as the highways of the era.

“The waterways of New Brunswick were, for most of the history of this region, they were the way that people got around,” said historian James Upham. “In summer you take a canoe … in the winter when [it] froze … you could take a sleigh being drawn by horses.”

Journeys that take hours today would have taken days in the 1800s due to the limited horsepower of horses.

“We just do not have anything at the moment that compares with that unless you’re actually on a polar expedition,” said Upham. “Might have been lucky enough to have a container full of hot coals from the breakfast fire under their feet to keep them from freezing.”

On Tragedy Trail

Travelling on ice carried significant risks, as demonstrated by the 1803 death of newly elected MLA Hugh McMonagle, who perished when his sleigh crashed through the ice of the Kennebecasis River.

McMonagle was travelling from his home in Mount Whatley near the Nova Scotia Border to Fredericton to sit for the first time as an MLA representing Westmorland County when the accident occurred near Darlings Island.

“McMonagle and several of his elected colleagues were traveling across the ice of the Kennebecasis River in a horse drawn sleigh driven by Joseph Baxter of Norton, Kings County,” reads a biography provided by the New Brunswick Legislature Library. “Near Darlings Island, the sleigh broke through the ice. McMonagle and Benjamin Lester, another passenger, drowned in the water.”

Newspapers at the time reported the tragedy with headlines such as “Melancholy Accident” and “Melancholy! Melancholy! Indeed!” The Royal Gazette also noted that “the sleigh, horses and every article of baggage are entirely lost.”

Upham noted that several people travelling with McMonagle survived, “which is actually quite impressive in and of itself.”

“There’s there is no horse drawn ambulance … you can’t just pull out your cell phone and call for help,” said Upham.

While the practice of using the rivers as transportation routes has largely disappeared, it hasn’t been entirely abandoned. Upham noted that an ice road on the Kennebecasis River is still sometimes open as a shortcut to Saint John for those wishing to avoid the Gondola Point ferry.