Life in the Backwoods | Page 8

most Indian names have. He had, however, secured a clergy
reserve of two hundred acres adjoining; and he afterwards purchased a
fine lot which likewise formed a part of the same block, one hundred
acres, for £150. [Footnote: After a lapse of fifteen years, we have been
glad to sell these lots of land, after considerable clearings had been
made upon them, for less than they originally cost us.] This was an
enormously high price for wild land, but the prospect of opening the
Trent and Otonabee for the navigation of steamboats and other small
craft, was at that period a favourite speculation, and its practicability,
and the great advantages to be derived from it, were so widely believed,
as to raise the value of the wild lands along these remote waters to an
enormous price; and settlers in the vicinity were eager to secure lots, at
any sacrifice, along their shores.
Our government grant was upon the lake shore, and Moodie had chosen
for the site of his log house a bank that sloped gradually from the edge
of the water, until it attained to the dignity of a hill. Along the top of
this ridge, the forest-road ran, and midway down the hill, our humble
home, already nearly completed, stood, surrounded by the eternal forest.
A few trees had been cleared in its immediate vicinity, just sufficient to
allow the workmen to proceed, and to prevent the fall of any tree
injuring the building, or the danger of its taking fire during the process

of burning the fallow.
A neighbour had undertaken to build this rude dwelling by contract,
and was to have it ready for us by the first week in the new year. The
want of boards to make the divisions in the apartments alone hindered
him from fulfilling his contract. These had lately been procured, and
the house was to be ready for our reception in the course of a week.
Our trunks and baggage had already been conveyed by Mr. D---- hither;
and in spite of my sister's kindness and hospitality, I longed to find
myself once more settled in a home of my own.
The day after our arrival, I was agreeably surprised by a visit from
Monaghan, whom Moodie had once more taken into his service. The
poor fellow was delighted that his nurse-child, as he always called little
Katie, had not forgotten him, but evinced the most lively satisfaction at
the sight of her dark friend.
Early every morning, Moodie went off to the house; and the first fine
day, my sister undertook to escort me through the wood, to inspect it.
The proposal was joyfully accepted; and although I felt -rather- timid
when I found myself with only my female companion in the vast forest,
I kept my fears to myself, lest I should be laughed at. This foolish dread
of encountering wild beasts in the woods, I never could wholly shake
off, even after becoming a constant resident in their gloomy depths, and
accustomed to follow the forest-path, alone, or attended with little
children, daily. The cracking of an old bough, or the hooting of the owl,
was enough to fill me with alarm, and try my strength in a precipitate
flight. Often have I stopped and reproached myself for want of faith in
the goodness of Providence, and repeated the text, "The wicked are
afraid when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion,"
as if to shame myself into courage. But it would not do; I could not
overcome the weakness of the flesh. If I had one of my infants with me,
the wish to protect the child from any danger which might beset my
path gave me for a time a fictitious courage; but it was like love
fighting with despair.
It was in vain that my husband assured me that no person had ever been
attacked by wild animals in the woods, that a child might traverse them

even at night in safety; whilst I knew that wild animals existed in those
woods, I could not believe him, and my fears on this head rather
increased than diminished.
The snow had been so greatly decreased by the late thaw, that it had
been converted into a coating of ice, which afforded a dangerous and
slippery footing. My sister, who had resided for nearly twelve months
in the woods, was provided for her walk with Indian moccasins, which
rendered her quite independent; but I stumbled at every step. The sun
shone brightly, the air was clear and invigorating, and, in spite of the
treacherous ground and my foolish fears, I greatly enjoyed my first
walk in the woods. Naturally of a cheerful, hopeful disposition, my
sister was enthusiastic in her admiration of the