Zack (18 page)

W
ith the exception of people and events taken from the historical record, this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between my characters and real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Richard Pierpoint did exist and ended his days on the homestead he and a friend had cleared from the bush on the banks of the Grand River at present-day Fergus, Ontario. I have tried to render his story accurately, but took one small liberty: as far as I know, he didn’t bury anything on his farm.

A
s always, thanks are due to John Pearce, who kept the faith when I had almost lost it; to Ting-xing Ye for encouragement and for help with the manuscript; to my children, Dylan, Megan and Brendan, for reading and responding to the early drafts.

I appreciate the assistance of Wayne Allen, history teacher at Orillia Collegiate, Ian Easterbrook and Bonnie Callan, archivists at the Wellington County Museum and Archives, and the support of the Ontario Arts Council.

I first heard of Richard Pierpoint (alias Pawpine) from the song “Pawpine” written by James Gordon of the folk band Tamarack. It can be found on the CD “On the Grand” (FE1421CD), copyright Folk Era Productions, Inc.