Description Mystery of Copper Pot, Gold Coins Still Unsolved and Blond Tresses

An Abandoned Farm house at Six mile Brook is not far from the scene of a great mystery of buried gold coins in a copper pot, and three lengths of blonde hair. There has never been a satisfactory solution to this mystery.

Mystery Of Copper Pot, Gold Coins Still Unsolved And Blond Tresses
By Roland H Sherwood

All Over the County of Pictou, one finds the small streams that criss-cross the land, and by these brooks the pioneers made their homes, so that today we have the names of streams and communities compled together by early settlers. This brings us to Six mile Brook, a small stream that runs into eight mile brook . six mile Brook district is located off the main highway that extends from ten mile house to truro, is sparsely settled, but an excellent farming district.

In the early days it was one of the outstanding places for birch,and settlers from surrounding areas went there to cut square timber, which was taken to the tumbling bank at Durham. The tumbling bank is still known by that name , given because it was the place where the timber was tumbling into the west river.

Before land was granted at Six mile Brook, therre were a few settlers at Four mile brook and two of these, William Clarke and Alex MacKenzie set out on a land cruise that took them into six mile brook area. After a long day of timber cruising , the weary pioneers, seeking a place for the night , finally crawled into bears den , too weary to be concerned about the possible return of the bear. They were unmolested durning the night . and the next day returned home.

Later they secured a grant of 200 acres in the vicinity. That which secured by alex mackenzie , the forefather of all the mackenzie in this part of Pictou county , has been passed down, and a portion is now owned by Kilping MacKenzie of Pictou.

The Pacemaker

There is an unusual story surrounding this section of Six mile brook, a mystery that has been talked about for many years, but never solved. In the long ago days when the pioneers of Pictou county were spreading out over the virgin lands, there was one, Joseph Richards, who was known as "The pacemaker".
He was a man of considerable knowledge and a keen judge in human nature. To him were brought family or neighbor disputes for settlement, and such was the respect they had for him, that his-decisions in all matters were honored to the letter. Thus they named him "the pacemaker."

In his early travels, Joseph Richards, his son Anthony and George Munro, all from four Mile Brook, stumbled upon the mystery of Six mile brook. It was known to them that the French had settled at Six mile brook some years before, but on the occasion of their visit the french had gone. There were nothing but the ruins of the places where they had lived, surrounded by the closepacked trees.

In searching about, the three men from four mile Brook found a cleared place and a depression in the land . Curiosity led them to dig, feeling certain that something had been buried there . They did uncover a cache, and found what they hopped might be hidden there. Gold Coins. But that wasn't all. In addition to the gold coins, there was a large copper pot, similar to those uncovered a few years ago on the Hopps property at Braeshore, Pictou.

Three Long Tresses

This they Knew had belonged to the french . But also hidden with the copper pot and the gold coins, were three long tresses of blonde hair. Speculation went on for many years in the district concerning the find, and the mystery remains to this day , as no satisfactory soultion was ever offered concerning the three lengths of blonde hair.
And the questions remain. Why was the hair cut off? and why three Lengths ? Was it in fear of scalping by the Indians? This is not likely, as few Indians were in the district , and all Micmacs were freindly to the French. Why were the Tresses of Blonde hair stored witht he gold coins and the copper pot?

There have been suggestions that it was part of the french superstitious beliefs, that the hair of a girl, three braids of her blonde hair, placed with the godl would act as a charm against loss. If so, the charm did not work, for the departed French never returned. It was left to the Scots to find the copper pot, the gold coins and the three lengths of Blonde hair, Giving a mystery that has never been solved.