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32X

CANADA VS. NEBRASKA.

-l:i|

-♦<9«-

A refutation of attacks made on Canada by C. K. Slialler,
Commissioner of the Missouri Railroa<l Company, in the
''People's Journal,"' of Dundee, Scotland.

I M> I

BIBLIOTHEQUE

Itl

DAVID aARDINEU,

(A native of Perthshire, Scotlan

OK —

M.L'ABBE VERREAU if

J^o.

Clcisse

Division
Serle

Nov OF CLARENCE, ONTARIO, Canada.

*,. I

( T'lViVV'A:
Printed by BoBERTiON, Foger <& (.'ompaxy, " the Timits,'

1878.

FCHZ.

CANADA V8. NEBRASKA.

I read the epistle of that gentleman without surprise, as
he appears only to be another specimen of the pmntamve tyne.
Now, I am a native of Pertlishire, and' passed my boyhood
and some part of my manhood, at Bonny Dundee aid its
neighbourhoodL especially JMghf;/ Wafer and Blairyowrie.
Ihose dear old places are still as familiar to my memorv as
many of the ''woods and wilds" of the beloved Canada where
now I dwell, and I hope ''Where bloom my native valley's
bowers " I still have many a dear old friend.

I left Dundee on the 19th June, 18.':5, with my wife and
three children and shipped at Liverpool on the 2<)th for New
\ork I lived m the United States for two years and three
months, and, in course cf that time, through reading obser-
vation and experience, becimie somewhat acquainted with
"Things a.s they are in America." I have now lived over fif-
teen years in Canada, and would like to say a few words in
reply to C R. Shaller, in behalf of the Dominion of Canada,
the noblest colony ot England, and I trust what I say may hi
believed by many old and valued friends.

1 have no pergonal dislike to the i)oople of the Unitefl
States; they are in many respects a noble people, and their
country, on the whole, is magnificent. 1 am sure that I speak
the sentiment of every Canadian of sense, when I say that we
wish to live on no other terms with our neighbor across the
"line," except those of peace and generous rivalry. But 1
must say what I believe to be true, that Canada, as a field for
British Emigrants, is as far, when health and happiness are
concerned, above the United States, as the carse o' gowrie in
above the "dismal swamp" of Virginia, or the deadly jun-
gl»8 of India.

C. R. Shaller tells us what is very true^ that the "beau-
tiful prairies" of Nebraska require no clearnig, but are ready
for the plough. Allowing every other statement he makes to
be true, this in itself should be enough to keep every emi-
grant of sense from that country, an<i why? First, because
among the prime requisites of a new settler, is a house to live
in. Now, a frame house, one story high, 18i><24feet inside,
would cost at least (in Nebraska) one thousand dollars, or about
two hundred pounds of English money. Poor Emigrants
have not this «um to lay out on a house or anything else,
therefore they have to do as one half the settlers in Nebraska
iiave done — build a hut of prairie sod or mud, and in courteuy
call it a cab hi.

Next, an Emigrant requires something to eat — that sug
gests money. An Emigrant who takes up land there, with,
say a wife and four children, would require a purse of three
hundred dollars to keep him in provisions for live months, or
until he could raise his lirst crop for himself.

Next, food requires to be cooked, that implies fucf.
Where or how is it to bo found? Perhaps coal might be
bought at the nearest Railway Depot, 20 or 30 miles away, at
$20 or |30 a ton. A neighbour has to be hired 'if you are

fortunate enough to liucl one) to cnrt that coal to your dwel-
ling, at, say twenty or thirty dollars niore.

Seed ifl another item that will cost a little. Next, a
plough, that will cost at least forty or sixty dollars, and a poor
one at that.

Next, four horses or mules, or eight oxen, to draw tho
plough ; for remember, two horses cannot break up the
"beautiful prairie" sod as they could break up a piece of new
land in Scotland. These will cost another one thousand dol-
lars, at the least. One advantage the Emigrant has in
Nebraska over Canada is, there is plenty of pasturage for his
horses. He may work them all day and let thefh loose at
night, to find their supjier where they may, and ho will have
the pleasure of walking perhaps twenty miles over the "beau-
tiful prairie" next morning in search of them, and may thank
bis stars should he find them by the end of seed-time. No
doubt our ingenious Yankee friend, C. R. Shaller, would sug-
gest hobbling or tethering them. Honest Hujhack might taka
the hint, and find his team, like the "poor mailie" of Robert
Burns, making faces at him next morning, and only able to
give a dying advice and their blether.

But let us now'suppose the Emigrant has got over all his
first difficulties and mishaps, for "where there is a ,vill there
is a way." Suppose that he has got in ten or twenty acres of
a first crop — that it is growing finely, and has every appearance
of yielding a bountiful return — that after his hard day's work
he has laid himself down to sleep (cursing the flics and mos-
quitoes, of course), that he has slept well ; that he rises next
morning refreshed, and full of hope ; that he leaves his little
ones still in their innocent slumbers ; that he " wanders forth
to view the corn and snuff" the caller air" of the "beautiful
prairie" (or the deadly gases of the nearest swamji.) Behold
his manly form, his steady step, his noble brow and glowing
face, as he cai^ts his eagle and far-seeing eye over the wide ana

boundless dreary flat. TTe feels that he is free, a citizen f>f
tiie ''almighty nation;" he looks up to heaven and thanks
iiis (lod that he has no other master, when, () horror 1 what a
change comes o'er the spirit of his dream — there before his
'jice what a sorry sight — a drove of somebody's horses, mules,
cattle, and hungry looking pigs, devouring and tramplingjinto
the ground liis all, his only hope, his crops — all gone at one
fel? swoop! Thi.^ is no overdrawn picture, but an o'er true
talc.

Bat let us suppose again that our Emigrant has means
and pl:ick enough to withstand such a c^damity, and what is
his nexi. resolve? lie has thrown his life upon a cast, and is
determined ''never to say die." Fence his farm ? Yes! that's
it — that will cure the evil, that will keep out his neighbor's
stock, and keep at home his own. What are his best mate-
rials? Deai boards — (there are no stones on the ''beautiful
l)rairie8" ). Where are the boards to bo found? On the road
from Canada, or still growing there. What will they cost?
Seventy, or perhaps a handred dollars, per thousand feet (such
as we buy in Canada for six or eight dollars.) I ask Mr.
Shallcr how much it will cost to fence a farm of 160 acres, in
Nebraska, at that rate ? Tie will squirt his quid, and tell me
"that is the Emigrant's own look out."

i :

Next, where is the Emigrant to find materials of which to
build barns, stables and sheds to protect his stock in winter?
Mr. Shaller has told us that it is not cold in winter there — that
it is two degrees south of Toronto, one of the most southerly
cities in Canada — that the winters in Canada last from six to
eight months, while the winters in Nebraska last only three
months. Now here is a poser, here is a fearful contrast, but
I, as a Canadian, find some consolation in it after all — C. R.
8haller tells a^b.

That the capital of Nebraska is two degrees south of
Toronto I do not deny, but that the duration of winter in

Nebraska is only thr<»o months, is not truo . Snow falls ther«
about the middle of December, and covers the ground until
the first of April, a,s a general rule, else the numerous reports
of State papers and Agricultural Journals sadly belie that
KtfUe.

Now, I don't say to any one, ''Do not go to the States,"
for thousands of Emigrants do well there. Be sober, be indus-
trious, be honest; keep away from strong drink, and if you
are healthy, you may, in a few years, reach competence, or
even riches. But I further say, keep away from the ''beauti-
ful prairies" as farmers, until you have riches. Of course
Emigrants who are going to the devil any way, may as well go
by way of Nebraska as any other road. I would say to all,
read "Martin Chuzzlewit" and "Mar> Tapley's adventures
in the Far West" before you go j it will do you good.

Now, turn we to the Dominion of Canada. I will say
nothing of Western Onty.rio, the Province of Quebec, New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, JIanitoba or British Columbia. I will
speak only of Central Canada, which is now as familiar to me
as "Dygktie's Braes," the top of the low hill, the Magdalen
Green, Stanner Gate, or 106 Seagate.

But I must take my text from C. R. Shaller again. He
says ' ' Canada is a very heavily wooded country. ' ' Thank you,
Mr. Shaller. No "birks and bare wa's" here, but plenty of
Pine, Ash, Elm, Linden, Larch, Birch, Beech, Spru(j# anc
Maple, and many other kinds too numerous to mention, all al
hand to be cut down and turned into houses, bams, stables^
fences, ships, boats, carts, ploughs^ harrows, tables, chairs, bed-
steads or cradles for young Canadians. We have millions of
feet of sawn lumber, and hundreds of rafts of square timber
and round logs and masts to send to England, Scotland, West
Indies, and even Australia, and above all, to our best cus-
tomer. Brother Jonathan, across the line. Of such wo will
have plenty for hundreas of years to come. The exports of
sawn Ixmaber to the United States from the City of Ottawa

«lone, in 1R71, was 130.217,Or>0 fcpt. In 1^72 the qimntity
was ir)6,.i09,O4O feet, wliilo tho slii|)montR to Montreal nnd
Quebec are estimated at thirty million f'oet. The estimates of
square timber, logs, masts and sy)ars I have not at hand, but
they may be seen shortly by all who dosifc it.

And then there arc the Gatineau, Blanche, Lievres, North
and South Nation J^ivers, all within a day s walk from where I
live, Fending their millions of sawn luir.ber and hundreds of
rafts of square timber, logs, Ac, to the same parts every sea-
son. Yes I Canada is a heavily wooded country indeed, and
that is on© of her greatest blessings, and one of her greatest
sources of wealth.

C. R. Shaller thinks that liecauso Canada is north of
NeV^raska, it fnust, therefore*, of necessity be colder. Does he
not know that forests have much to do with the regulation
and modification of the temperature of the atmosphere, that
they keep the air warmer in winter, and cooler and moister in
summer, that they protect our fields from storms of wind in
summer, and shelter our cjittie and ourselves in winter? I
have no hesitation in saying that our winters are five degrees
warmer, and our summers five degrees cooler than in that
"cracked up " place, Nebraska. I have worked three months
every winter for fifteen years in my own woods in Canada, with
nothing on my back but a flannel shirt, and often all day with
my sleeves tucked up to my shoulders, and that's what seldom
can be done in winter, even in Scotland.

As to the length of our winters; as a general rule we can
carry on field operations until the first snow falls, say about
the 20th of November. The f>no\7 usually lies till the first or
second week in April. By ihe end of the first week in May,
summer comes bounding on in all her riches and luxuriant
beauty.

Now, here are some of the advantages Canada offers to

Emigrants. You will be under your onn flap, anrl under the
protection of your own Queen, and never can be called or
m.-de to feel yourself a '■'rust furri tier." Owy political insti-
tutions are second to none in the world. Oiir schools are free
and unsectarinn, and ochuvjtion compulsory. We offer to
every able bodied man lOilor loO acres of land for nothing.
It will be his own and his children's forever. (Mir (rovernment
offers to brin^' out Kmip^ants nt a vt^ry small sum, by steam-
ships from r>iveri)Ool, and after they land, send tliem on to
their destination free of expensp, and the OnUirio (tovernmcnt
pays a certain sum of n»oney to every man after being three
months in Canada. Hut intending Emigrants must apply to
our agents Un- fuller particulars of the passage, <&c.

As to wages, farm hands get from four to five shillings a
day, with board. Servant girls get from four to eight dollars*
a month. Tra<lesm<'n g«?t from two to three dollars per day,
very often with V>oard. Weavers can got whatever thoy ask.
At one saw-mill, namely Kockland, the average wages of two
hundred and fifty men the past summer was twenty dollars
per month, with board anii free lodgings, or a free house ;
and thesf^ houses are not like the houses of Nebnuska — built
of mud, but what might be thought lit for the middle clays in
Scotland.

We have Flour Mills, Woollen Mills, Carding'and Fulling
Mills, and Shingle Mills, within a short distance of where I
live, and the greatest want is men. Our wives, daughters and
grandmothers in the country parts do our spinning.

C. R. Shaller tries to frighten Emigrant.-; about our
stumps, and says we cannot use machinery in putting in our
crops. The fact is we do use machinery in putting in our
crops, and in taking them off too. As to the stumps, we do
not trouble ourselves about them. Our plan is to seed down
our new land with oiu' first crop of grain, and keep it in hay
a year or two, and a few years more in pasture. Then we may

kick over the 'mf»st of the stnmi)s witli our foot, or watch a
dry spell, a|)ply ilie match, and they are gone in half an hoar.

Mr. Shaller says it is impossible to obtain a thoroughly
clciired farm in a life-time. There is nothing impossible
about the matter. I have cleared over eighty aores in fifteen
years, with only the help of my family, and I have 185 acres
remaining, which is in itself a mine of wealth; every acre is
worth lo me seventy dollars. An average tree, 60 or 70 feet
high and eighteen inches across the stump, may be cut down,
made into marketable sh ipe, drawn to the nearest shipping
port by one man in a single day, where it can, at any time, be
sold for three or four dollars cash. Last winter I earned, with
the help of one of my sons, a young lad, over three hundred
and fifty dollars, and Canada offers every opportunity to thou-
sfinds of men able and willing to work, to come and do like-
wise.

As to having to plough among the stumps for years, we
''poor simple Canadians" are very thankful we have not to
])lough among revolvers and bovrie-kniveft. Look at this picture.
The Counties of Prescott and Russell, with a population of
3G,0(X), have only one gaol. It was built about twelve years
ago. I am informed by the warden, in answer to enquiries,
that ''the jail has been empty over six months every year
" since it was built. Last year, 1872, it has been ovtr nine
" months empty. We got no Government money this year on
" account of criminal Justice, as we had no criminals, only
" small offences, and i-he County pays that."

Now look at this : Lynch law, mob lavv, gt mbling, divorce,
m 'rder, bowie-knives, revolvers, and free love, often the
order of the day in the Western States. If C. R. Shaller has
any better account to give of Yovna America, for the honour
of humanity he had better "out with it."

- -^ But what is all this t^lk about stumps for? Yankees

must be either on the slump, around the stump, or gassing
about stumps for ever. The tact is, we do not require to
plough our new land at all. After the timber has been all
cleared away, and tlic fire has run over the land, burning
away all the brush and chips, we have only to put two sticks
together in the form of an A, di'ive into that fifteen iron
tyne, one inch and a half square, and ton inches long, and wo
have a harrow whicli does the woik completely. Hitch one or
two horses to the harrow, and pass over the land once ; then
sow the seed, pa«s over the land twice or three times more,
and leave the rest to God. That's how we do. By the p,nd of
thirteen or fourteen weeks we gather in — wheat, from 15 to
35 bushels per acre (of TO yar;ls scjuare); oats, from 30 to 70
bush. : peas, 25 to 40; barley, 20 to 35; buckwheat, 30 to 40;
potatoes, 150 to 4(K); turnipSj 20<) to 350; Indian corn, 30 to
70 bushels.

According to the Patent Otfice returns of the United
States, some parts of Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska yield
from 8 to 1 2 bushels of Indian corn to the acre, and Nebraska
has to use her corn and dried cow-dung for fuel ; so if there is
little to eat in her cheerful mud kitchens there is plenty to
smell. The population of Nebraska in 1867 was 50(J souls, and
the half of them savages.

C. R. Shaller says none but an idiot would say that
Nebraska is colder than Cana<la. Tliis is sad stutf i'or j)Oor
Shaller. An idiot neitlier cjues nor knows anything about the
matter. Did the Missouri Riiilway Company send him all the
way to Scotland to write nonsense ?

In what I have already written, I have endeavoured to
show that it is almost impossible for a poor Emigrant to begin
farming in Nebraska with any chance of success. Here I did
intend to drop the subject, but since writing tl»e foregoing
have received letters from friends, one of them from Austra-
lia, stating that they had read letters in the *' People's

Journal," saying that the winters in Canada were nine months
long, and very severe, and advii^ing people to go to Nebraska,
where the winters are only three months long.

Now, I believe that Canada has nothing to fear and every
thing to gain from a fair, free and open discussion of this
matter. I desire, therefore, to discuss more fully the relative
merits of the two countries, (Janacla and Nebraska, as fields
for settlement by the poorer cla'-^s of British labourers.

C. }{. Shaller has impeached, by imputation, the truth of
every Emigrant who has sent home letters to his fi'iends in
(4r«at Britain, favourable to this country •, and, therefore, it is
the duty of oveiy one of us to repel those aspersions to the
best of our ability, for in doing i^o vv« <lofend our word and
our honour. ,, .

Let us then enquire whore Nebraska r«':illy is, and what
are its daims to so much recommendation. 1 shall (juote from
the '' Statisticid (Ja.'.eteer of the United States, by R. S.
P'isher, M.D.," published by J. II. Catton, New York, 1850.
It says: ''Nebraska occupies all the country below the par
'< allel of AHO north latitude, to the north boundaries of the
" Indian Territory, tne State of Texas and the Territory of
'' New Mexico, and extending east and west between the
** Rocky Mountains, bordering Oregon and Utah Territories,
''and the Western line of the States of Iowa and Missouri.
"The area of this imm<^nse region is estimated at 130,7(X)
" square miles. The whole of the country is yet in its prime-
" val wilderness state. The red man still roams over its
" prairies in quest of game and plunder; and as the ocean to
" tao sea-farer, s*) is its wilderness to the Emvfrnnt. It is only
'• traversed as the highway to countries beyond its limits. The
"central portions are unhospitable, irrev aima^ile ivVdernesses^
" with scarcely an oasis to relieve the monotony of its dreari-
" noiii. It is the Grcft American I esert. in crossing which the
»' way-fai'er has more to fear than the mariner that dares the

'^ deep — not OMly'oiraeooimt of the iinhospitable character of
^' the country, but also fnnn tlio ho8tilitios of the native
** savages, besetting his Tpath and seeking his destruction.
*' Thousands have polished un(h»r the rifle and tomahawk, and
" at every step tlie grave of some unfortunate gives warning
•' of dangers to be avoitled, or tells of the sufterings endured
'* by the hardy men whose tracks are tiie tide-marks of
" Empire flowing to its western destination. The day, liow-
" ev'er, is not far distant when the Indian will be driven back,
" and the portions of the country on its eastern border will be
" opened to the enteiprising pione«'r."

C. II. Shaller tolls his readers that 'Hho -^iipitar' of this
tlesert lies in 41 '^ north ^ latitu(ie, two degrees south of
Toronto, and, therefore, concludes that Canada has from three
to tive months longer winter than Nebraska, as if the duration
of winter and summer depended altO|iether on latitude. Let
any one look at the map of the world, and he will see that
Scotland lies between fK)"^ and GO*^ north latitude, and yet
every 8cotchmii!i knows that the winters there seldom laot
over three months. Will 3Ir. Slialler explain to us the why
and the wherefore of tliis? Or will he tell us why the differ-
ence of three degrees between two cities on the same conti-
nent can cause a difference of five months in the duration of
their respective winters. But we have seen that the state of
Nebraska extends as far north as 43^^, or parallel with Toronto j
therefore, it clearly follow i if Toronto has eight months of a
winter, so must a very large portion of Nebraska have the
same. Again, if latitude only has to do with the duration of
the seasons, the winters in the Ottawa District must be five
months longer than those of Toronto, for theCity of Ottawa
lies in 45"^ north latitude. Thus, accordingto the Shaller
philosophy of every two degrees north causing five months
longer winter, the Ottawa region has ten months longer
winter than Nebraska, or thirteen months of a winter
altogether! And alas for poor Scotland, away up in her 55'*.
( >h that she wouhl giid up her loins and flee into Nebraska
"where wild for scali's- the noole savage runs," while she sits

moping in her for ever
ness and ice — where even

half frozen regions — utter dark-
C. P. Shaller himself, were it not

for the light of his own gas, could not see^to write.

C. R, Shaller, the Missouri Railroad Company must be
ashamed of you. If Barnum could only get you '\n hand, he
would soon be enabled to' rebuild his museum. You would
be a much greater wonder than Tom Thumi) or the woolly
horse. You must be a disciple of that immortal Yankee
engine-driver, who discovered the very practical philosophy
of '* shutting his eyes, opening his mouth, putting on the
*' steam and going ahead, in the full assurance of comingjup
some whar."

ill

But, Mr. Shaller presumes too much on the ignorance of
his readers. He either writes of what ho knows nothing, or
he writes what he knows to be a downright falsehood, in order
to mislead the ignorant and unthinking. But it seems easy
to prove that the winter in Canada is not so severe as in
Nebraska, or in many parts of the United States.

Mr. W. Frank Lynn, a gentleman who stands high in the
estimation of the Press, in his letter of 14th February, from
Manitoba to the Toronto ''Globe" says: ''The winters in
Manitoba will compare favourably with the winters of the more
southern plains of Kansas and Nebraska" — that "the mildness
of the weather some days in those parts only make the intense
cold which follows more destructive and mischievous."

It is well known to all readers of newspapers on this con-
tinent, that great thaws, or freshets as they are called, are
quite common in winter over the middle and western states :
that when such take place on the praries and extensive level
plains, the snow is suddently melted, and hundreds of miles
of country become flooded with fclush and water, putting an
end to all trattic and causing much destruction. Should a

Bftvere frost set in, accompanied by a north west wind from
the Rocky Mountains, sweeping over the desert of Nebraska,
across her unsheltered prairies, and on to the level plains of
those latitudes, people are frozen to death in their beds, horses
and cattle are frozen to death, the wheat is uprooted or winter-
killed, and universal pain and destruction is the result.
Such incidents occurred thoroughout extensive regions of the
United States in December last. Here is what their own
papers says : ''The cold which culminated at Chicjigo on the
25th December, carried the mercury to 23^ below zero. In
1832 in reached 35^, Through the west and north west the
cold was generally intense. Spirit thermometers in some por-
tions of New Hampshire are said to have indicated 50^. below
zero. At Janesville, Wis. 39*^ below was indiaited. At
Clinton, Iowa, 26^. In the Michigan lake shore region the
weather was unprecedented. At St. Joseph, directly in the
fruit belt 20'^ below zero was indicated, and at South Bend,
Ind. 25«, at Tennesee 7^ below; and at Toledo, ]r>"; at
Detroit 14^ ; at St. Paul, 30^, and at Madison, Wis. 25''
below zero."

Dr. Dod, one of the first veterinary surgeons of the
United States says that to drive a horse in such weather,
against a gale, without protection over his breast, will cause
inflamation of the lungs, often resulting in death.

The mercury falls as low as above recorded in Canada, but
the cold is by no moans so destructive, and the reason is
evidently because Canada is protected by her extensive forests.
Every farm is protected by 20 or 50 or perhaps 100 acres of
forest- Judging from my own experience, I believe that be-
tween the temperature of the air of a forest and that of a plain,
lake or river, where a wind is blowing, there is a difference of
JO to 20 degrees. The much warmer air of our forests is car-
ried over and mixed with the colder air of our fields ; and
modifies our extremes, thus saving us many of the inoon-
veniencds experienced by the people of the United States.

■• '^ : 16 ■■■■■

Sucli a thing as our snow going away in the middle of
Winter, is tmknatcn. Such a thing as an animal or a human
being having been frozen to death is unheard of, except
through intemperance. Such a thing as a Canadian employed
in the woods, getting feet, hands or face frozen, or being driven
home from nis work by cold, or stress of weatlser, is of rare
occurrence. But we do hear of men freezing in (Jreat Britain
wnd France some times. Our snow is n great blessing, and our
frost of great advantage. They give us roads as hard as stone,
'i'hey enable us to go into our woods, thi'ough swamps, over
logs and fallen timber and uneven gi'ound, hauling heavy loads
of timber of all shapes and sizes, where without those a;;ents,
the thing would be impossible oxcei)t at ;jieat expense.

The snow shelters our wiieat and grass lields, and ferti-
lizes, warms, and gives j>roteetion to tha roots oj' fruit trees
and tender plants.

( *. H. Shaller ^says Canadians are always leaving this country
and going to the States, Perhaps so: but the most of those
wlio go there, soon return or die there. A great exodus took
place some years ago, from the County of Kussell to the State
of Michigan. It was the lan<l of promise — the eldorado.> of
timber and fortune making. Many of my neai* neighbors went
there. My own relatives went there, some of them only to
die. Some of my relatives went from ('anada to Kansas and
Nebraska to farm, and got stuck there, and are now working
in the towns of Kansas and Leavenworth for a miserable wage,
and would quickly return to Canada if they had only th»
means.

Read the following extracts from the ^' Weekly (ilobe"
of Feby. 21st last. "The report of the Commissioner of Agri-
culture, Public Works and Immigration, is published and come
to hand for 1872. It is there calculated that in one way and
another, 34, (XK) persons made Ontario their home during 18I'I.
115^000 acres of land were located under the Free Grant Act,

-V

and the numbers of settlers on these amounted to 8T5 exchi-
sive of children under 18 years of age. It is a noticeable fact
that over 2 (XX) American citizens repotted themselves to the Emi-
yrant Agents as having remoo^d permanently to Ontario.

As to the healthfulness of our climate I must say, and I
believe every Scotchman in Ontario will be ready to endorse
the statement, that it is far more healthy than Scotland.

Our water is good and plentiful ; our land abounds with
rivers, creeks, streams and springs of the purest water.
Many who live on the banks of the streams^ never dig wolbj ;
but use river water, summer and winter. Spring water muy
be had almost anywhere, by digging a few feet.

I came here fifteen years ago, broken down in health, and
almost crushed in spirits; but a little while in Ontario and I
was myself again. I have worked labouriously and am now
past the middle of life and still

<'My heart is strong as bended bow —
My feet like arrow free."

Talk of cold — what Scotchman is afraid of cold ? Our heat is
more trouble than our cold. I wonder Mr. Shaller has nothing
to say about the heat of our summers. Those who are afraid
of cold, should not come to either Canada or Nebraska, but
stay at home and work in the factories where they may be
comfortable. Our children would wonder h.h such, and think
them sick, for this is the land of brain p.nd muscle,-^ "Fair
women and brave men."

But let us take into consideration the proposition : Is it
possible for a British Emigrant of health and vigor, landing
upon our shores without a shilling in his pocket, to begin
farming on our free grant lands, with a reasonable prospect of
success?

1 think it is possible. It is highly practicable and I shall
endeavour to show how it may be done, and in doing so I shall
desire the emigrant to do nothing but what others have don«

and'ai-e cloiiig, nor to act in any other way than I have acted
myself.

ill

When an emigrant lands upon our shores desiring to
settle on a free grant, I would say, go straight to our emigrant
agent^ and tell him who you are and where you wish to go.
He will at once furnish you with all the credentials required,
and seud you on to your destination by the safest and surest
route. Tliere you will find another agent who will give you
instructions and introduce you to your future neighbours, iji
whose care you may well risk you wife and children, leaving
you free to lay the foundations of your new home.

You will find plenty of neighbours with experience
enough, re^dy to accompany you into the bush to select a
suitable lot of land, a site for your shanty. That being done,
neighbours will turn out by the score, and clear away the
timber from the spot you have cho?;en, put up the walls of
your shanty, make and put on the roof in a single day. Now
you have a b i»inning. Nothing is so difficult as a beginning.
That's the way I began, and thousands more. On the follow-
ing morning one or two neighbours will assist you to select a
suitable cedar tree. Cut it down, cut it into logs of twelve
feet, split them up into slabs — trim them with the axe, and
lay them down as a floor for your shanty. Next split pieces
of wood of any kind into all sizes, and place them firmly
between the logs of the walls of your shanty, so as to fill up
the openings. There will probably be plenty of lime in your
locality — get a bushel or tv/o, make mortar and plaster your
walls inside and out. Now whitewash your walls.

Next cut down another tree — there are plenty — cut off a
log six feet long, split into thin splabs ; trim them well with
the axe ; put them together with nails — you will have no nails ?
Very well use small wooden pins of elm, ash or oak, and so on
with the door. Next take your axe and your knife and make
three or four window sashes — fix them into their places, and

putty in the glass. You will have no glass ? Very well, ther^
is a store not far away. Go there for all the glass. Never
mind the money. Go and ask for the glass and you will get
it. Now then, how looks the slianty. It looks pretty well I
think, much better than a mud hut any away, and what
is more it is your own. Next morning go to the the nearest
neighbor who is blessed with a yoke of oxen. Request
him to go with you to the store ^^ith ^'is ox-cart for a load of
goods. You have no money to hire lae man and ox team?
Never mind money now. Request the service and you'll
get it, and away for your load.

You will find the distributor of wealth a gentleman. He
has been expecting you, and almost all you require is ready to
lift. One cooking stove, one grindstone, one cross-cut saw,
one hand saw, two or three axes, one set of augurs, one barrel
of flour, one barrel of oatmeal, one barrel of corn meal, half
barrel pork, one gallon molasses, sugar, tea, butter, cheese,
fish, soap, and every other little thing a house neeas— tubs,
pails, crockery, &c., ,&c. You have told the storekeeper you
can't pay for p11 this just now, and his answer is : <' Oh, I
know that very well — that will be all right by-and-by." He
will tell you likewise that he has just received large orders
for cord-wood, shingles and potash, and that he will gladly
take any of these articles instead of c^ish, in payment for your
purchases. So away you go with your load, get up your cook-
ing stove ; your wife will i)e there, and, likely enough, all the
dames and lasses for miles around. 80 you may prepare a big
feast. You will find your neighbours have not come empty
handed. They have all brought something to eat, or to be
afterwards useful, such as chairs, boxes, stools, pans, pots,
kettles, &c., &c. By the time supper is over the young men
begin to drop in by the dozen, and what a house full you
have. You soon begin to feel that your house is too small
by half, for outside and inside, the sunny side and the shady
side of your career, and prospects will be broadly discussed.
You will hear the queerest and wildest stories, innocent jests,
keen wit, sharp and sparkling retorts, but seldom an oath or

I I

improper expression, but all in fun and good nature, sweetest
Ronga and gayest laughter, and thus the evening passes quickly
away. By and by all depart, wishing you joy and much pro-
sperity, and the last word you will hear from one and all is
*' Whenever you want any help, let me know.''

And now your life in the bush has fairly commenced, and
you lie down for the first time with your family in your own
forest home. You arise early for you are anxious to com-
mence work. We will suppose it is the first of October, the
most pleasant month in the year for work in the woods. You
will scarcely feel alone, for the ring of the woodman's axe is
heard in all directions for miles away. The lumberer has been
over your lot before, or may be on it along with you, cutting
down all the i)ines suitable for logs or square timber. You
will be glad to see them taken away, for he is leaving more
than enough for any useful purpose of yours. The sun is
serenely bright; the sky is serenely blue. The forest has put
on its most gorgeous and spendid robes. Every tree is rich
in all the tints of the rainbow. Peaceful and blessed tranqui-
lity pervades all nature. It is our Indian summer, a season of
our land w^hich must be seen and felt to be appreciated, but
can never be justly described.

The tools required for shingle making are an axe and a
cross cut saw, a froe, and a draw-knife. Any of your neigh-
bours will show you how to begin work. After having learned
to turn out a good article, you will find yourself earning two
dollars or about eight shillings sterling per day. By the end
of the year, should you work with a will, you will liave paid
your debts and have a surplus in hand sufficient to supply all
your wants for the remainder of the winter.

Now that you begin to feel pretty rich, and find that you
can swing the axe almost to perfection, we must introduce
you to a very different kind of employment. While you have
been engaged with your shingles, your young folks have like*

wise been busy. They have been cutting and piling up neatly
all the underbrush, where you intend to make your first clear-
ing. 80 now down wrth the forest. "Woodman spare that
tree'' is not for you, so down with the trees; cut them into
lengths of twelve or fifteen feet, clearing away the branches
and piling them in lu'aj)s. But sto|); allow me to give you a
lesson in chopping, you must out higher up ; you cut to low.
Here is a stump cut without any skill ; the edge of your cut
slopes towards the ground on both sides. Every drop of rain
that falls on that stump will run off into the ground. Should
you cut them all like that you will only fultil the words of
that great and most original thinker, and aspiring prophet, C.
R. Shaller, when he says : '' It i^ impossible in a life-time to
have a thoroughly clearecl farm.'' Cut high enough to make
it convenient to throw the axe flat into the tree, and before
the end of the five years, every hardwood stump will have
crumbled.

By the middle of March, tlie beginning of the sugar-
making season, you have been able to cut down eight or ten
acres of the great forest. Now then, start your wife and child-
ren at sugar-making, a job they will like. All you have to do
is to provide a kettle, make troughs to catch the sap, tap the
trees, and away to your chopping again. But the first of Ai)ril
arrives ; the snow has gone and you find it too hot for chopping
hard, so by way of variety, you may try your hand at another
kind of work, that will bring in an immediate return of cash,
which of course you will prefer to running in debt again.
You have seen that there fire some acres of first rate limestone
lying on the outskirts of your farm. Your neighbour, the
store-keeper has orders for thousands of bushels of lime, which
he must ship to several towns and villages by the first steamer
of the season. He offers ten cents per bushel, which you
will find a good paying price. 80 start to work. Your
neighbour with the oxen is not doing much ; get him for a
few days to help you. Put together some large log-heaps —
making them wide and flat at the top. Build two ox-cart loads
of stone on each heap, and set fire to the wood. By the time

youp log-h^ap is.btu*ned, your lime»tono \nll bo turned iuto
lime.

You may keep at the job till the first of May. You will
be making money and clearing your land at the name time.
Or you may try your hand at burning charcoal, for which there
is a constant demand and a good price.

Meantime your wife and children have made a large
quantity of sugar, enough to serve the family a year, and a
hundreds pounds for sale, which iK readily disposed of at three
pence per pound. They may now make some barrels of
vinegar. It costs little trouble. Tap the trees; gather the
sap, and the sun will accomplish the rest.

You will see that there are many ways of making money
in the bush. You would do well to purchase some hives of
Bees. If you study their habits and take proper care of them,
twepty hives would give you about a ton of honey in a season.

We will now suppose it to be the first or second week in
May. The farmers are well busy in sowing or preparing their
ground for seed. The weather has been tine and your
bush heaps are all dry, and the old leaves rattling beneath
your feet. Choose a favourable day and set fire to your cliop-
ping. The fire does its work thoroughly — not a leaf or ( liif)
IS left — only a few branches here and there, and the logs ujo
charred and black. Now 3'ou will set about logging, (io and
try to bire your neighbour with his oxen. He Hatly refuses to
tie — says he is too busy with his own work. You olTer him
ay money, but no, it is no use 5 money is no object to him just
hen. He says he wants men himself and cannot get them to
hire. He will assist you, however, on one condition — he will
help you to-day, and you must help him to-morrow. You
strike '^he bargain at once, and not only with him ; you must
make the same bargain with others, and so your work gets
aooQmplisb^. Your logs have been all drawn together and

piled into largo lieaps. When you set fire to them you must
keep at them, night and flay, stirring them up, and kee^^ing
the logs together, until all are burned.

Vou will tind that every log heap ha« left jt>u fi*om 8 to
10 bushels of ashes. Gather thefle carefully and place th<»m
under cover. You will tind when you have time to attend to
it, that every 80 bushels c^n be manufactured into Rn article
that can bring you $25, or $30.

And now your ground is reftdy for the seed and you pre-
pare to sow it. No ploughing yet, remember. But here you
are met by a ditficulty. You cannot hire a team, for evei^y one
is so busy, so you have to buy a yoke of oxen. A yoke of
young oxen will cost about one hundred dollars.

sk in
their
your
iieath
hop-
el ii[)
s lire
and
■;e.s to
him
just
bm to
will
I You
mst
gets
and

You may perhaps arrange to pay part down and the
balance in three or four months. Yoi; have as yet no pasture
ground, but some one will serve you with pasturage for two
or three dollars a month.

So now put in your seed — wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat,
flax and turnips. Plant your potatoes, cx)rn and beans with
the hoe. That being done, turn your attention to your ashes
and set about potash making. You have to purchase kettles
for the purpose. It may be a slack time now with some of
your neighbours, and they are "resting on their oars" until
hay-harvest. Some one of them will show you how to begin,
and before long you will have all your ashes turned into pot
ash, and lind yourself a richer man than ever before.

You have had no time yet to put up a barn, so this season
you will have to stack your grain at first; l)ut you may find
time to erect your barn and have all your grain stored in it
before winter sets in.

There is a universal demand for cord -wood (that is wood

r-ii

for fuel, sold by the cord) on railroads, steamboat.^, factories,
towns and vill; .'Os throughout the country.

So, perhaps, during the incoming winter you may cut your
timber into cordwood and draw it to the nearest shipping
post. You miy clear two or tln-ee hundred dollars by the
operation, unless you tliink bettor to reserve the wood for
ashes.

Now my friend, I have, in imagination, brought you, step
by 8te,j, thus far. You have begun your life in the woods of
Canada as thousands have 'one before you, and as millions
will do after you. You are in possession of what will soon be
a first rate firm. You live in a comfortable shanty, which will
last until you are able to put up a more comfortable dwelling.
Vou still live unuer the protection of '' the flag that has braved
a thousand years the battle and the breeze." Your property
is secure, and your life is held sacred. You may worship your
God according to your conscience, in safety and peace. Your
children will receive a free education. They and yourself may
aspire to any office of emolument and honour you country
may bestow, and the limit of your freedom is the rights of
others. When you write to your friends in the old country
you will be able to tell them, as I have told mine, timt Cana<la
is a land flowing with milk and honey, and all we want is tens
of thousands of men, women and children to come and help
us to eat and drink. Canada is no foreign country to you. It
is the Englishman's, the Irishman's and Scotchman's country,
the inherit?,nce of their children. It is our Queen's country
and therefore it is ours.

Our mineral resources are great ; our water commimica-
tions are unequalled, and then^ is a great prosperity in future
for our country, such as her sanguine sons cannot imagine,
and our love and devotion towards her is greater than life
itself. Rather than see her sufter shame and dishonour, there
are but fevy amongst us that would not rush forward to die at

factories,

y cut your
shipping

rs by the
wood for

you, step
woods of
i million-}
11 soon be
A'hich will
dwelling,
las braved
• property
•ship your
2e. Your
irself may
country
rights of
d country
at Cana<la
nt is tens
and help
) you. It
5 country^
s country

memory. Hiavo muiiv wL,?!. hF ""' I'-'Hlovvod in my

ho. to thorn ns o„„^n« s co o '"'? ?n ,',''""«'' ' '"''>' "°w

thorn rwo„l,l say. Bo not l./,T I"' ""' "«««ti"n--. To
yonr country, and your homo I """i ■-'"'''"* "^'V from

lodge of the'i,Iaco to whlr;;,!':!.:':-^;''''- ''"^'"-"^"o-

-pe;tl'oL.sTo:, %>";:' vroT"""""" '" ^r. .Sh„,,!er. The
one hy onof M^^\^ :,X,:^'':ji:?T^;y' i '-'o mett
'leserved. After reirlini. J ,f 'I'l "'i't'''l them as thev

a bettor an.l more f „ ,1, t fn vo? "'■,',".""' '^ >'°" "^'' "o^
one. Yon will have loar ed t^'.,?^M " ''I,"' '<■•''"' "' 'viser
emigrants from Dnncee wo ^Mi'o? T "'"'''•' '" Canada,
«nd belie their conntry wi Lp ni?v vr ^"" *" '"'""'•
to your own country, chew ne'}^^?',- , r" "">' "°" '•''t"™
'rented, confuted and utteriy i^fouS,"* '•'""""'"">'«> co»-

will ™.freth^j-r/i;':5,:i'',,-,',-f ■• >- t-^ted. you

t.he„. finger, hu.ghing, ^^'^J^'y^ hIpT.' ' """"^ "'""' ''"'

mmunica-

in future

imagine,

than life

our, there

I to die at

Clarence Ontario, March ]S73.

DAVID GAKDLNER.