CHAPTER I.
LEAVING HOME.
Close to the bleak coast of the Orkney Islands, not far from where Lord Kitchener found his final resting-place and where the waves seemed to dash ceaselessly upon the rocky coast with an echo of the wonderful leader’s message, “Your King and Country need you,” there resided, in a cottage home, a family of seven, father and mother, four brothers and a sister. Luxuries were things unknown in the home, since the securing of a mere living was in itself a considerable problem, and so, while the children had been reared in habits of industry and thriftiness, they early appreciated that under these circumstances the future did not present an especially rosy aspect.
ROBERT AND WILL HEARING THE STORY OF
OPPORTUNITY IN A NEW LAND.
The situation appealed particularly to the eldest sons, Robert and William, who were sixteen and eighteen years of age, stalwart youths who, if no other gifts had been given them, were endowed with splendid constitutions, capable of great endurance. There was little or no work to be had at their island home and consequently little opportunity for advancement. Their father realized that the sons should be given an opportunity to hew out a destiny greater than their immediate condition would permit, but the mother, like all good mothers, found it exceedingly hard to countenance the thought of her boys leaving home. Even so early as this, a hundred years ago, stories of the wonderful opportunities of the new colony across the seas, Canada, had found their way to the little Islands, and it was perhaps only natural that the thoughts of the youths should turn toward this country of untried hopes. Since money was not plentiful in the home there was no means at hand to provide for the securing of a passage, but ultimately the opportunity was presented in an unexpected way. As we now know so well, early Canadian development, particularly in the West, was largely in the hands of the Hudson’s Bay Company, which had been, even for some years previous to this, carrying on a large fur trade under special Government permission. Since young men were exceedingly scarce in Canada, when the Company desired new employees they naturally turned to the Old Land. In this case an experienced employee on such a search, knowing something of the characteristics of the Orkney men, visited the Islands, and his requirements became known to the two brothers. Only specially fitted young men of fine physique and those who had been trained in their homes to a knowledge of discipline and duty, which, of course, meant a knowledge of what hard work implied, were considered. The applicants must necessarily possess reputation without reproach, and a character which stood out upon their faces. What the Company wanted were young men of the highest type, who could be absolutely depended on to do their whole duty amid the most trying circumstances. The necessity for this can be understood when it is known that the work of these employees demanded dealing with the Indians as well as with the white men, and possibly the protection of the rights of the Company against a whole Indian tribe. Robert and William, although they were somewhat younger than the men usually chosen, measured so fully up to the required standard that they made a splendid impression on the Company’s employee, and were consequently placed under contract.
Aside from the novelty and excitement of experiences to be expected in a new land, the immediate financial terms of the position were not great. An iron-clad contract providing for payment of ten pounds per year for the first four years was signed by the lads. This, it will be noted, was the equivalent of about fifty dollars each per year, which was surely a low salary for picked young men. When it was considered that the duties to be expected of the men were not only arduous but dangerous, and would require isolation from civilization for a considerable period, the wages offered could not be said to be large. However, the outlook for a future in a country which was known in those days as a mighty wilderness, with rivers and lakes so large that the early explorers had been able to trace only a slight portion, and famed for its game and fur-bearing animals, possessed a wonderful attraction. Again, since money had been so little known at home the sum seemed very large to them, much larger than it would have done to lads under different circumstances. Some idea of their characters may be gleaned from the fact that they requested a special clause in the contract providing for one half of their earnings to be paid direct to their parents, and with the contract once signed it was realized by all who knew them that it would be thoroughly lived up to. They were prepared to give their best in the hope of making a favorable impression upon the Company’s Chief Factor, who had charge of the concern’s business in Canada. To them the word of encouragement meant considerably more than did their wages.
Farewells in those days were just as painful as they are now. Naturally, as the time for departure drew near, the bustle of preparation was the main factor in evidence in that Orkney Island home. Mother and sister worked early and late knitting socks, making warm underclothing and a supply of woolen shirts, together with every necessary outfit. Nowadays, lads in similar circumstances would have used trunks for their equipment, but such things were not known at all familiarly and, besides, could not have been afforded. The equipment was packed in two boxes which had been made by the two lads themselves and which, for strength and workmanship, were of a kind not seen to-day. Nails, too, were not known in that day, and their place was taken by wooden pegs. Nowadays, too, articles of other than home manufacture would have found a large place in the boxes. How this was obviated then is explained in a special case. The father of the home had been accustomed to making the footwear for the family. He made special inquiry from the Company’s agent as to what would be best for his sons in their long and trying journeys in the wilderness, and after a good deal of labor intermingled with love, provided a supply to last a considerable time. One gift, however, was purchased. Out of the very small store of money which was kept for emergencies the mother took a little and, unknown to the others, sent the sister, Jeanette, to the little village to purchase two small Bibles. In them, written with her own hand and accompanied by an earnest prayer commending them to God’s tender love and care, were their names.
SAYING GOOD-BYE TO THE HOME-FOLK.