Life in the Backwoods | Page 3

the heart of a tangled wilderness of bushes, and himself half
eaten up with mosquitoes and black-flies. He was more than tempted to
give in, and return home by the first glimpse of light.
"The Scotch are a tough people; they are not easily daunted--a few

difficulties only seem to make them more eager to get on; and he felt
ashamed the next moment, as he told me, of giving up. So he finds out
a large, thick cedar-tree for his bed, climbs up, and coiling himself
among the branches like a bear, he was soon fast asleep.
"The next morning, by daylight, he continued his journey, not
forgetting to blaze with his axe the trees to the right and left as he went
along. The ground was so spongy and wet that at every step he plunged
up to his knees in water, but he seemed no nearer the end of the swamp
than he had been the day before. He saw several deer, a raccoon, and a
groundhog, during his walk, but was unmolested by bears or wolves.
Having passed through several creeks, and killed a great many snakes,
he felt so weary towards the second day that he determined to go home
the next morning. But just as he began to think his search was fruitless,
he observed that the cedars and tamaracks which had obstructed his
path became less numerous, and were succeeded by bass and soft
maple. The ground, also, became less moist, and he was soon
ascending a rising slope, covered with oak and beech, which shaded
land of the very best quality. The old man was now fully convinced that
he had cleared the great swamp; and that, instead of leading to the other
world, it had conducted him to a country that would yield the very best
returns for cultivation. His favourable report led to the formation of the
road that we are about to cross, and to the settlement of Peterborough,
which is one of the most promising new settlements in this district, and
is surrounded by a splendid back country."
We were descending a very steep hill, and encountered an ox-sleigh,
which was crawling slowly up it in a contrary direction. Three people
were seated at the bottom of the vehicle upon straw, which made a
cheap substitute for buffalo robes. Perched, as we were, upon the crown
of the height, we looked completely down into the sleigh, and during
the whole course of my life I never saw three uglier mortals collected
into such a narrow space. The man was blear-eyed, with a hare-lip,
through which protruded two dreadful yellow teeth which resembled
the tusks of a boar. The woman was long-faced, high cheek-boned,
red-haired, and freckled all over like a toad. The boy resembled his
hideous mother, but with the addition of a villainous obliquity of vision

which rendered him the most disgusting object in this singular trio.
As we passed them, our driver gave a knowing nod to my husband,
directing, at the same time, the most quizzical glance towards the
strangers, as he exclaimed, "We are in luck, sir! I think that 'ere sleigh
may be called Beauty's egg-basket!"
We made ourselves very merry at the poor people's expense, and Mr.
D----, with his odd stories and Yankeefied expressions, amused the
tedium of our progress through the great swamp, which in summer
presents for several miles one uniform bridge of rough and unequal
logs, all laid loosely across huge sleepers, so that they jumped up and
down, when pressed by the wheels, like the keys of a piano. The rough
motion and jolting occasioned by this collision is so distressing that it
never fails to entail upon the traveller sore bones and an aching head
for the rest of the day. The path is so narrow over these logs that two
wagons cannot pass without great difficulty, which is rendered more
dangerous by the deep natural ditches on either side of the bridge,
formed by broad creeks that flow out of the swamp, and often terminate
in mud-holes of very ominous dimensions. The snow, however, hid
from us all the ugly features of the road, and Mr. D---- steered us
through it in perfect safety, and landed us at the door of a little log
house which crowned the steep hill on the other side of the swamp, and
which he dignified with the name of a tavern.
It was now two o'clock. We had been on the road since seven; and men,
women, and children were all ready for the good dinner that Mr. D----
had promised us at this splendid house of entertainment, where we
were destined to stay for two hours, to refresh ourselves and rest the
horses.
"Well, Mrs. J----, what have you got