152 fishermen's memoriai. and record book. 



violin and repeated some of the airs which had before impressed me, 

 and I knew at once that he was a born musician. I made him 

 promise that he would come on board my vessel, and stay there until 

 the storm was over. It lasted several days, and proved a season of 

 exquisite enjoyment to us both. I also made him promise to go with 

 me in the Rival, the next year, as first hand." 



The season of 1851 found Watson on board the Rival. They 

 made successful trips off shore, and in September went to the Bay 

 of St. Lawrence. They had a musical crew throughout, consisting of 

 Capt. O. R. Gross, violinist, tamborinist, violincellist, flutist, singist 

 and pianist ; John Jay Watson, violinist, guitarist, pianist, singist, 

 etc. ; Hiram S. Buffington, violincellist and dancist ; Adrian Lufliin, 

 violinist and singist ; George Urquhart, violinist ; the black cook 

 also manifested a musical taste, but as some one greased his fiddle-bow, 

 the first night out, it was never known what his special acquirements 

 were. He took the insult so much to heart that he left the vessel 

 the first opportunity which presented itself. 



All went well with the Rival, and her merry-hearted crew. They 

 had obtained almost a fai-e of mackerel, when the fearful gale of Oct. 

 3d came on, and, after a very narrow escape from foundering, in 

 which all hands would have found a watery grave, she was driven 

 ashore at Cascumpec, Prince Edward Island, where they landed, tak- 

 ing the precaution to save their instruments. Here they were 

 received by Patrick Cahill, a kind-hearted farmer, and that evening 

 they gave a musical entertainment at his residence, the like of which 

 had never before occurred in that localit}'. All but Watson and 

 Gross took passage home in other vessels. These two, however, had 

 conceived the idea of bettering their financial condition by a concert 

 tour. Capt. Gross was engaged to play the organ one Sunday in 

 one of the little towns, and Watson pushed on to Charlottetown, 

 where he scattered the programmes and put up posters, announcing 

 that Professors Gross and Watson, the celebrated violinists and vo- 

 calists, would give one of their unique entertainments, etc. When 

 Gross came up on Monday morning, he was astonished to see the 

 barns and fences for miles outside the town covered with these 

 posters. He concluded that Watson had some business tact in him, 

 and was not mistaken. The" concert passed off most successfully. 

 There was a crowded house, comprising the elite of the town, and 

 the audience were delighted. 



The programme was a most varied one, comprising gems from 

 Mozart and Beethoven, together with Yankee Doodle, Hail Columbia, 



