Morris tribune., 1883-06-30
BackWOOds Housekeeping.

From the Boston Courier.
More than once have tales of personal
| experience been told which convince
| us that life in the hackwoods of Canada
has hardships greater than those very
severe ones of our own pioneers. 1t is
difficult to decide which is more distress
ine.to see roug hness and toughness Of the
successful settlers, or the heroic vain
courage of delicately bred men and
women who have mistakenly left the
society where alone they could be OF
any use. There was a gentleman who
went ont from England with his wife
and child and two servants to under
mate forests of Canada. He writes of
their housebuilding and housekeeping
in the Cornhll Magazine. First he
cleared halfan acre of land, and sum-
moned his neighbors to hell raise a log
house, according to the custom. He had
to sup ply whisky, and they all got furi-
ously drunk. The house consisted of
four walls with openings, where the logs
to jump through. The roof was of
rain. The floor was of split mot sawed)
blanks. and had holes wide enough to
put your foot in, boot and all. The crew
ices of the wall were stuffed with grass,
moss and mud. From first to last, he
SAYS, it cost him the price of decent
house, and was 3 sort of open shed.
Housekeeping began. The man servant
whom they brought with them looked
about for one day and disappe lred, and
may now, for aught his old master
knows. "be President of the American
Republic or member of (Canadiah)
Parliament" The woman servant,
after three or four days
could not resist the innumerAble offers
of marriage she received. So the wife
had to do the cooking Tor the family and
for half dozen to dozen men servants.
They all slept in one room. The men
stretched themselves out on the floor be-
fore the fire, not undressing at night, or
washing even. The emigrant family
slept behind shawl on a two-story bed,
roof of the house, father and mother
above and child beneath. The food was
bread, tea and salt pork. There was
mrtiny among the men on account Of
the bread, for the poor lady did not
know how to make It. 1t was as heavy
as lead, as dark as oatmeal, and had to
be cut with an axe. Poor lady! how she
cried and sighed, and did her best, but
over and over again, this cold plum pud-
ding, without sugar or raisins, figured
on our board, or rather trestes. At last
she got hints and made "hop-rising"
with dried hops and hot water, and her
bread became palatable to our infinite
relief and the benefit of our health. The
pork and flour soon ran short, which
forced him to go to the nearest store,
about thirty five miles away; over road
that was no road at all. His wife was
left alone at night with the back woods
men, and coming home the wagon
tipped over and the whole load of -four
barrels and pork barrels was pitched on |
to the man. This was, as he truly says,
more dangerous than being in battle. |
They got no game TO eat excepting for a |
short time of the year. From salt pork,
butter, milk, eggs and bread and tea,
thew came down to bread, milk and tea,
and then the milk gave out. At the end |
of six years they came to the bread and |
tea plain. Then they forsook house,
land and all their little property, and
drove their horses back to Ottawa.