This is the true story of the tragedies that befell the small towns of Beaumont and L’Anse au Pigeon, Newfoundland, in 1928 and 1929. Central to the story is Azariah Roberts, our humblest of heroes. Az is a man among men. He is a successful fishing captain, a father figure to the town of L’Anse au Pigeon. He wears the ring of the Red Cross, the highest order in the Loyal Orange Association, but throughout Beaumont and L’Anse au Pigeon he is known as simply Uncle Az.
Enter Sod Mugford, Beaumont’s own Devil Incarnate. He masterminds the brutal murder of a schoolteacher, and fearing capital retribution he flees to the peaceful shores of L’Anse au Pigeon. When he reaches the protective fold of Azariah Roberts’s arm, Sod resumes his life and job as a fisherman in Uncle Az’s crew. And waits. As word spreads through L’Anse au Pigeon of the schoolteacher’s murder, the fingers begin to point at Sod. And for the first time in his life Azariah Roberts feels the small town, his child, slip away. Despite the rumours, he allows Sod to stay at L’Anse au Pigeon. Sick with worry, yet unable to accuse Sod of something he cannot prove, Uncle Az waits and watches silently amid murmurs of growing disquiet. But the worst is yet to come.
As the story unfolds, Azariah Roberts becomes increasingly aware of his bad luck, and he is convinced that it stems from his Red Cross ring. In a freak accident that almost claims his life, Az loses his ring, and instantly a great weight is lifted from his shoulders. But it seems the ring is not through with him yet. Life, for awhile, couldn’t be better for Azariah Roberts and the people of L’Anse au Pigeon. The fishing season gives a good yield, and everyone is excited about the construction of a new church. Feeling better than he had in a long time, Uncle Az ventures out one fateful day and makes a remarkable discovery.
Az’s crew is constructing a road to the new church, and while digging a path through a marsh finds something that may change the history of Newfoundland as we know it. There, lying in the marsh, are the long-dead remains of a Viking, as is evidenced by the artifacts found with it: a helmet covering the skull; a shield, approximately three feet in diameter, covering the body from its abdomen to its chest; and a sword, fashioned from a curious metal.
Incredibly, the crew reinters the body a few feet from its current location so they can continue with the important business of constructing a road to the church. The only souvenir they take is the sword, whose metal could be used for various purposes. Many of the men in Az’s crew would take the secret of this discovery to their graves.
Meanwhile, a close personal friend of Az has made a discovery of his own. The Red Cross ring which Azariah Roberts once held so dearly has been found. What’s more, his friend arranges for the ring, which has been damaged during its time away, to be spliced with metal from the Viking’s sword. Keeping his find a secret, he plans to give Uncle Az a Christmas present he will never forget.
Now, if one were a superstitious sort, one would almost certainly question the wisdom of combining a bad luck charm with a fragment of a Viking soul that has been awakened, screaming into the sunlight, a thousand years after it has been put to rest.
And one would be right.
Earl Baxter Pilgrim was born in St. Anthony, Newfoundland in 1939, son of Norman and Winnie (Roberts) Pilgrim. He received his early education in Roddickton, Newfoundland, later studying Forestry at the College of Trades and Technology in St. John's.
He began his adult career in 1960 as an infantryman in the Canadian Army, serving with the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry. While there, he became involved in sport boxing, eventually becoming the Canadian Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
Following a stint in the Forces, Pilgrim took a job as a forest ranger with the Newfoundland and Labrador Forestry Department. During this time, he came to recognize the plight of the big game population on Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula. After nine years as a forest warden he became a wildlife protection officer with the Newfoundland Wildlife Service.
For seventeen years, he has devoted his efforts to the growth and conservation of the big game population on the Great Northern Peninsula. Under his surveillance, the moose and caribou populations have grown and prospered at an astonishing rate. As a game warden and a local storyteller, he has gained the respect of the conservationist and poacher alike.
Earl Pilgrim has been presented with a number of awards: the Safari International, presented by the Provincial Wildlife Division; the Gunther Behr, presented by the Newfoundland and Labrador Wildlife Federation; and the Achievement "Beyond the Call of Duty" Award, presented by the White Bay Central Development Association.
Among his many achievements are contributions as a conservationist for waterfowl. He has made a hobby of raising eider ducks, and it has been estimated that eighty percent of all nesting eiders in Newfoundland developed from his original twelve ducks.
He is married to the former Beatrice Compton of Englee. They have four children and make their home in Roddickton, Newfoundland.
