OUR ISLAND STORY THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER Means of Communication in Winter—How Established. Upwards of two hundred years have elapsed since communi¬ cation over the ice on the Strait of Northumberland, in winter, was begun. The first successful attempt to do so was made in the month of February in the year 1725. It was made, at the instance of Governor Patterson , between Wood Islands and . The names of those who performed the heroic deed have not been recorded. In the course of many subsequent winters, mails and passengers were transported to and from the mainland on this Eastern route under the guidance of a Mr. Smith —father of a former well-known citizen of Charlotte town, Mr. Henry B. Smith . According to the reports published by the newspapers of the time, Mr. Smith crossed the ice of the Straits frequently, between Wood Islands and , until the year 1827. It was stated that he often crossed alone. During the year 1827 several trips over the ice between Cape Traverse and were made by a Mr. McRae . It was stated that he crossed the Strait on foot and without the accom¬ paniment of a boat of any kind. As this route was shorter and less hazardous than that of the Wood Islands and route, Lieut.- Governor Ready and others entrusted Mr. McRae with dispatches to the Imperial Government and other correspondence. He drove from Charlottetown to Cape Traverse . There he await¬ ed fine weather and favorable ice. Then, crossing the ice on foot, he proceeded to Amherst , delivered the dispatches and other letters entrusted to him to the mail couriers going to Halifax, obtained newspapers in Amherst and brought letters to Prince Edward Island. His success caused the postal officials to transfer the carriage of the mails to the Capes route. In the course of the I 11 1 1 i 'j