Page:Tales-of-Banks-Peninsula Jacobson 2ed 1893 cropped.pdf/197

In the article entitled “French Farm and the Survey,” brief mention is made of the mysterious disappearance of Mr Dicken, of French Farm, but merely a few words were given, and it is therefore with much pleasure that we are able to lay before our friends a clear and detailed account, that was furnished to our informant by Mr. Edwin Silk, who was, at the time Mr. Dicken disappeared, renting some land from him, in conjunction with Mr. Tribe. It appears that in the summer of 1857 Mr. Dicken and Mr. Silk went out one morning to look after some stray cattle. They went over a lot of country in the neighborhood of French Farm, and got home unsuccessful at about 4 p.m. Mr. Dicken then declared his intention of searching for the missing stock on the Barry’s Bay fern hills. He accordingly went away on his pony, refusing the company of Mr. Silk, who offered to go with him. He had a collie slut following him. When evening came, and Mr. Dicken did not come back, Messrs Tribe and Silk were both anxious, for the roads were very bad, and they feared he might have had a fall. They therefore got out the dingy, and pulled to the Head of the Bay Hotel, which was then kept by Anderson, in order to find out if anything had been seen of Mr. Dicken there. Finding on their arrival that he had not gone in that direction, they went to Barry’s Bay. Mr. Tribe had brought a cornet that he was in the habit of playing with him, and when they got to the Barry’s Bay hills he made them ring again, but to their mortification and dismay there was no response, and they had to return home.

Next morning they renewed their search in the flax and scrub that were on the edge of the bush that fringed the Barry’s Bay fern hills. At last, in