Adiel Sherwood.
Although the native Indians did not, as a general thing, alarm the settler, there were wild beasts that did. For years the wolf, and the bear, and other ferocious animals were a source of terror and suffering. These animals, unaccustomed to the sight of man, were at first exceedingly tame. The settlers had but few fire-arms, and ammunition was very scarce; and the beasts knew no terror of them. They would even by day, come to the very door of the cabin, ready to seize the little child, or the scanty stock of poultry, pigs, or sheep, or calves, or salted provisions which had been left exposed, government stores, &c. And at night they made the most hideous and incessant howls, until morning. Many instances of their rapacity in robbing the scanty yard of the settlers, and of hair breadth escapes of individuals from wolves and bears, are mentioned. The destruction of stock by the wolf especially, caused the government of Canada, at an early date, (1793,) to legislate, with a view of gradually exterminating them; and an act was passed, granting a premium of four dollars to every one who should bring a wolf’s head to the proper officer; and two dollars for a bear’s. It was withdrawn with regard to bears, in 1796. “A traveller,” writing in 1835, remarks that in Kingston, resided a person who privately bred wolves to obtain the reward. But whether such an enterprising citizen did actually live in the good old town the writer saith not. Instances of narrow escapes from the wild beasts are still remembered; for instance, Lewis Daly, of Ernest town, was suddenly attacked by a bear within a mile of home. He sprung up a small tree, which bending over, he was in momentary danger of being reached. His cries brought help.
In those early days, the settler, looked not for great things; schooled by the hardships of civil war, and inured to want, and half starvation, they asked not for riches. Enough to eat, and to be warmly clad, and housed from the winter’s cold, was the great point to which they stretched their longing hopes. Plenty in the future for the little ones, and for themselves, when they had grown old, was the single purpose of their toilsome life. A descendant of a first settler upon the front of Sidney, tells of his grandmother whom he had heard say, that her great ambition at first, was to raise vegetables, onions and other useful articles in her garden bed; to have poultry then, about her. After years she got the fowls; but a mink, in a single night killed them all. Then, again, they had got a breeding sow, and one morning a bear walked out of the woods, and with one hug destroyed all their hopes of future porkers.
Gradually, as years passed away, comforts began to reward the patient and industrious pioneers; acre after acre was brought under cultivation. The log house received an addition, a little stock was procured, and the future brightened up before them, and by the year 1808, the settlements in Upper Canada were increasing in number, and spreading in every direction. “The frontier of the country was fast filling up. Persons were taking up land several miles from the water’s edge. Some had ventured to take up land in the second tier of townships, in the midst of the wilderness, and many miles from any habitation. The population was now increased to about 70,000 souls. The importations was chiefly liquors and groceries, which by the St. Lawrence and the United States, brought a revenue of nearly £7,000. The bulk of the inhabitants manufactured and wore their own clothing. The way of trade was mostly by barter, as gold and silver were scarce, and there were no banks to issue paper currency. Intemperance was very prevalent, and schools were scarce. The youth were too fond of foolish amusements.”—(Playter.)
CHAPTER XXI.
Contents—Sweat of the Brow—No Beast of Burden—No Stock—Except by a Few—Horses and Oxen—From Lower Canada—York State—Later comers, brought some—No Fodder—First Stock in Adolphustown—Incidents—Cock and Hen—“Tipler”—Cattle Driving—First Cow in Thurlow—First House in Marysburgh—The First Oxen—No Market for Butter and Cheese—Sheep—Rev. Mr. Stuart, as an Agriculturist—Horses at Napanee—An offer for a Yoke of Steers.
INTRODUCTION OF STOCK AND BEASTS OF BURDEN.
We have seen that the refugees and disbanded soldiers who entered Canada, brought but a limited number of implements, and those of an imperfect nature. The most of them had no means of lessening labor, no beasts of burden. All the work had to be done by the sturdy arm, and by the sweat of the brow. For years, mostly all alike thus labored, and for many years the increasing number continued to toil, being unable to procure beasts of burden, or any stock. The distance to go for them was too far, and the way too difficult to be undertaken easily. But, a greater difficulty, an insurmountable reason was that they had not the means to purchase, until years of struggling had extracted from the ground, covered with stumps, produce to exchange for the much required help, in the form of beasts of burden. Some of the half-pay officers, and other persons, favored by those holding some situations in the government, were enabled to get beasts of burden at first, or within a year or two. There were a few old soldiers who had a little money, received at being discharged; and again, some sold their location tickets of a portion of their land, and thereby were enabled to make purchase of cows or oxen.
For beasts of burden, they, as a general thing, preferred oxen in preference to horses, to work among the stumps with. Both oxen and horses were brought from Lower Canada and York State. The later comers, especially, fetched with them horses, oxen and cows from the latter place.
A few of the very first settlers, perhaps, brought one or more cows. We find it stated that the disbanded soldiers had a cow allotted to every two families; these must have been procured at Lower Canada, perhaps a few by way of Oswego, where were stationed some troops. Sheriff Ruttan, speaking of the famine, says: “We had the luxury of a cow which the family brought with them.” Thomas Goldsmith came in 1786, and drove a lot of cattle to the Bay: but he could not get enough for them to eat and they, starved to death, excepting one heifer and a yoke of oxen. The Petersons, who settled in the Fourth Town in 1785, and cleared a small lot of land, went “the following year to Montreal and brought up some horses and three cows, which comprised the principal stock then in the Township.”