Howley and Mattie 1897

I have a theory that the unpublished notes of J.P. Howley may yet cast some light on Mattie's ancestors.

Charles Martijn advised me of the 1997 publication "Reminiscences of James P. Howley: Selected Years." Unfortunately the publication made no mention of Mattie. However Charles noted that Prof. W. Kirwin of MUN had annotated the publication. So in July 1999 I contacted him in the hope that there are still some unpublished notes that may yet contain references to Mattie.

The item below resulted from the e-correspondence with Prof. W. Kirwin. It doesn't cast any light on Mattie's ancestors but it does show that Howley was using Mattie's services in the Codroy Region of Newfoundland in 1897.

Unfortunately his comments don't enhance Mattie's reputation as a hunter.

Also if I understand Prof. Kirwin's remarks correctly this is the only time Mattie is mentioned in the 42 year journal of his summer travels. This means if there are any unpublished notes mentioning Mattie they must be in Howley's notes relating to his "The Beothuks" publication.

Dear Mr. Powell,

We have about 60% of H's Rem's yet to publish someday.

One reference to Mitchell appears in that segment. In 1897 Howley was exploring for coal in the Codroy Valley. These are his sentences for 28 August, taken from his TS:

"[The little seam] shows over a foot of mixed coal and clay and may increase to a fairly good seam. Had a visit from Engineer Scott and his men. He has been in over the mountains the last three days with Mattie Mitchell (Indian) exploring. They were nearly starved having brought very little grub with them. They saw three deer and a bear but did not get a shot at any of them. Old man Parks went out with Scott and off to [railway] Headquarters."

The Champlain book explains how Howley wrote down his remarks on his travels each summer for forty-two years. The above quote is dated, so the material was written down on that day. In his whole typescript, this is the only mention of Mitchell.

hope you uncover further interesting evidence in your research.

W. Kirwin

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