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This photo of the frozen Credit River I took in the very cold morning. The Credit River flows through the heart of Mississauga from north of Caledon to Lake Ontario.
The Credit River has not always been a happy place. Here is a story about a tragedy that will bring tears to your eyes.
On April 10, 1824, the loggers were taking logs and rafts of lumber down the Credit River. In a bend just below the power dam a log jam occurred. When more logs came they hit each other with such force that they made a sound like thunder. One of the most daring river drivers, Lachlan McLachlan, said he would try to break the jam. While people on the banks held their breath, he mounted the mass of logs. Walking lightly he found the key log. With all his strength he pushed the huge log. As soon as the log was free, it jumped forward sending him under water to his doom. He tried to get out of the water but he couldn't.
When the body was discovered they found a locket with a portrait of a lovely young girl. When they went to Lachlan's house they found a bundle of letters from a girl. They later found out that he used to be a shepherd in Scotland and that he was working as a river driver in Canada so he could bring his love Jessie Graham to Canada.
The body was carried by boat to a house on the east side of the Credit. Six people rowed the boat which had the body. Native people followed in their canoes. They left the locket and all the letters on his chest and where he was buried they planted a pine tree on the grave.
In Scotland, on a cool summer evening a girl sat on the banks of Loch Lomond. She saw a postie in his boat. She hoped the postie carried a letter from her love in Canada but all she got was a letter from a minister saying her love had died in a river jam!