A BABY's GRAVESITE

Pikto'l Sa'ke'j Muise... A Baby’s Gravesite
For centuries, people have been intrigued with the mysteries revolving around the location where they reside. Today people are still curious to know who lived in their location generations ago. How they survived, if any extraordinary events occurred and the location of their burial grounds. Newfoundlanders search endlessly for stories involving their ancestors and they investigate the facts they accumulate to acknowledge whether the information is fact or fiction. The most perplexed data to process is the names, dates of birth and deaths of the deceased members of the ancestors who were buried on their own land.

The people who lived along the shorelines and later the railway beds in Journois, Middle Brook, Berry’s Brook and Fischells on the west coast of Newfoundland never kept a record of the births and deaths of their loved ones who were laid to rest on their own land. A record of births, marriages and deaths were recorded in the church registry with the exemption of unbaptized persons, individuals who were living common-law and suicide victims. However, stories were told orally and passed down from generation to generation. The story I am going to relate to you was narrated orally to my children by their great grandmother Jane King, who was eighty years old at the tim

When Jane was a little girl she was captivated by one story her father recited to her frequently. It was about a pirate ship sailing the high seas and one summer evening to settlers’ astonishment the ship was sailing towards the shore.

The captain of the pirate ship had recently married a very young attractive girl. They had a baby and the captain decided to take his young wife and child with him on this journey to ensure their safety and well-being. However, during the long journey the baby fell ill with a very high fever and died. The captain and his crew found themselves in a serious dilemma. The young wife was hysterical with grief over the death of her baby and she requested her husband to go ashore where they could provide their baby with a proper burial and be able to have a gravesite they could revisit whenever they were in this same area. The captain was apprehensive about leaving his ship unattended being aware of other pirate ships in the areas.


The pirate ship was between Bank Head and Journois. The captain searched for a landmark he could use in the future to remember the exact location where the baby was to be buried. He noticed a gigantic rock protruding out of the sand near the shoreline. This was King’s Rock and the fisherman of the community used it as a landmark when they set their lobster pots and their fishing nets. Straight across from this enormous rock is a hillside. The captain decided they would all ascend the hill and bury the baby properly.


They began the ascent up the hill and the wind carried the sound of the young mother’s weeping and wailing. One of the crewmembers carried the lifeless baby. The baby was wrapped in a cloth. The captain held on to his wife comforting and consoling her. The remainder of the crew followed behind carrying the tools needed to dig the grave. When they finally reached the top of the hill the grave was dug quickly and the baby was laid to rest. They descended down the hill and when they reached the foot of the hill the young mother gazed intently at the top of the hill sobbing and telling her baby that she would be back soon to visit.

A dew day’s later news of the fate of the captain, his wife and the crew reached the people along the shoreline. After they boarded their ship and set sail they were overcome grief and sorrow, they had let their guard down of impending dangers. Late that night another pirate ship sailed up next to them, boarded the ship and massacred everyone. They threw their bodies overboard and began searching the ship for treasure. Unable to find any treasure the pirates burned the ship in there stoke of rage.

The people in the area believed the treasure was buried with the baby. The grave was never tampered with and yet another mystery goes unsolved.




VJM.....Pikto'l