Elida Peers | Contributed
The stylishly dressed girl in this 1888 photo, posing with her little brother, seems unlikely to have vanquished a cougar. The siblings were Ellen and Percy Brown, children of George Brown and his First Nation wife, Agatha.
George Brown had taken up land in East Sooke, bordering on Sooke Basin in the 1880s, his property close to brother Charles Brown’s holdings. Both households played a role in the settlement of lands west of Metchosin, with many descendants remaining in our area today.
George and Agatha had four daughters and a son Percy, who grew up to marry Mary Jane McKenzie. We’ve noticed that the Browns liked to carry names forward through the generations, so it was no surprise that two of Percy and Mary Jane’s sons were given the names George and Percy; the third was Walter, and the two daughters were Flora and Helen.
Flora (then Mrs. Manion), daughter of the grown-up little Percy in this photo, became one of the first board members of the Sooke Region Historical Society. Fifty years ago, Flora told us this story:
“My dad and his sisters used to walk from Becher Bay 2½ miles to school near what is now Seagirt. They rode only if the horses were not otherwise being used, and there were wolves in those days, so dogs always accompanied them. This time they were about two miles from home when this cougar chose to dispute their right of way. Before the dogs could get it treed, Ellen threw her hat at it, and the cougar promptly shredded it. She then ordered my dad, Percy Brown, to run home and return with the hired man and a rifle.
“The cougar descended once to attack, but with the help of the dogs, Ellen scared it back up the tree. When the hired man arrived, the fury of the snarling spitting cat totally unnerved him, and he could not shoot. Ellen swept the gun from his hand and dispatched the cougar.”
Flora commented, “In defence of the hired man, he was likely a seaman and totally ignorant of such beasts. It was a common practice of the day to hire ship deserters for not much more than room, board and tobacco, as they soon moved on after their ship left port.”
Flora’s daughter, Louise Paterson, a well-known outdoorswoman in the community, loved her family’s pioneer stories, but we don’t believe she herself shot any cougars.
•••
Elida Peers is the historian of the Sooke Region Museum. Email historian@sookeregionmuseum.com.
MORE HISTORY: When Chief Dan George visited Sooke
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter