The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1899-06-09

! A BaCkWOOdS Heroine S
BY William Thomson g
x

'"'''"'"'S'''S'S'''''''S''s't X
| HAVE often thought it pity that so
/ few records exist of the heroic deeds
aud gigantic labors achieved, and al
most incredible hardships and diff
culties overcome by those hardy pio-
neers Of the backwoods, to whose en-
terprise and endurance We owe the cul-
tvated fields and pleasant homes Of
our present civilization. With a view
of rescuing at least one case from OBJ
livion, l write this story, to the abso-
/ lutte truth of which can testify: for,
although but SIX years Of age when the
incidents occurred. | knew all the
actors well, and afterward lived among
them during the whole period of my
boyhood.
Early in the spring Of 1929, two Scot
tish families, named McGill and Nc
Gregor, respectively, emigrated from
the old country to upper Canada, and
Immediately upon their arrival took
up adjoining lots of wild land, 200 acres
each, some miles northeast of strag-
Cling village, then known as Muddy
Little York" now the rich and populous
city Of Toronto. At that time there
were two public roads running east
ward from York, one along the shore
of Lake Ontario. and the other mile
or two inland, which last led in a toll
erably direct course to where the city
of Hamilton now stands; but when
once well beyond the Little York set
Elements, large tract of country north
of this upper road was primeval forest.
When seeking a location our immi-
grants left this trunk line at a point
eight miles west of York. and making
their way through the-unbroken woods
for nine miles north, finally selected a
tract, lying upon both sides of a small
river, called Etobicoke creek, and COW
cred with a dense growth of beech,
maple, Eastwood, elm, hickory, birch
and ash trees.
Here the sturdy settlers, though as
yet unlearned in woodcraft, quickly
built for themselves a rude log shanty
-commodious enough to shelter both
families-in the construction of which
not a single nail, screw or scrap of iron
Of any kind was used.
McGill's family consisted Of himself
ard wife and their daughter Jennie,
buXom, rosy-cheeked damsel of II,
while McGregors included father,
mother and two stalwsrt sons, Duncan
and John, aged respectively 21 and 10.
Thus the arduous task of hewing a
home out of the wilderness undertaken
by this party was backed up by four
able-bodied men and three scarcely less |
muscular women; and, notwithstand |
ing the fact that none Of them had |
ever seen a Canadian choppng AK be-
fore, they managed, with infinite toll, |
TO get two acres roughly cleared and |
burnt off and planted with potatoes,
corn and other garden truck, by the
first of May. BY this time the men
had become fairly proficient choppers,
especially Duncan, veritable giant in
stature and strength, and the forest
began to fall fast beneath their blows.
Meantime the woods around supplied
them with abundance of mfat, Jennie
McGil herself, by the aid Of an old
lint-lock musket, frequently killing a
fat deer; and, through the early sum-
mer months, numbers Of salmon were
speared, at night by torchlight, on
the shadows of the creek.
Finding it impossible to make much
headway in logging by unassisted man
ual labor, our embryo farmers sent to
the settlements and procured a yoke Of
oxen; but, within a week, both were
killed. one by falling tree and the
other by wolves, and they were obliged
TO do without this help until times
should get better. About the middle
Of August an untimely frost cut OF
the whole of their first little corn crop
and blighted the tops Of their half
grown potatoes, so that toward the end
Of the year the two families found their
stock of provisions reduced to the sim
pie articles Of smoked salmon and
fresh yenison, without -four, meal or
the only substitute for these
being a large supply OF hickory, beech
and butter nuts.
Stern Presbyterians and direct de-
scendants Of the old Covenanters as
we're the McGills and McGregors, they
ittached no especial Importance to the
coming Of Christmas, the first day Of
he year being their one great festival.
This, the national holiday Of all Scot
and, was fast approaching, and as old
memories stirred within them, our
riends thought shame to let it pass
some kind of celebration.
They had on hand a small stock of furs,
consisting of fox, bear raccoon and
nuskrat pelts, the result of the fali
rapping. and on the evening Of De- {
ember IS, as they sat before the huge
pen fireplace talking 90 auld times" !
be gudewife McGregor said to her eld-
st son: Z
Duncan, my mon, yen do weel to |
ct out to York the morn and TAX these ,
urs and buy us a bit flooer, plums, (
pice and a grain or twa O. store sugar, I
ae that the New Year day may be 7
.eepit in a Christianlike manner" 8
This proposition met with general
pproval. and Duncan started next g
morning with his precious pack, un- q
rmed and alone, for his 17-mile tramp. I
he ground was covered a foot deep ,
n snow. and for the first nine miles =
r. must break a path through the Z