The Backwoods of Canada | Page 3

country
as much by founding peaceful villages and pleasant homesteads in the
trackless wilds, as ever he did by personal courage, or military

stratagem, in times of war.
It will be seen, in the course of this work, that the writer is as earnest in
recommending ladies who belong to the higher class of settlers to
cultivate all the mental resources of a superior education, as she is to
induce them to discard all irrational and artificial wants and mere
useless pursuits. She would willingly direct their attention to the natural
history and botany of this new country, in which they will find a
never-failing source of amusement and instruction, at once enlightening
and elevating the mind, and serving to fill up the void left by the
absence of those lighter feminine accomplishments, the practice of
which are necessarily superseded by imperative domestic duties. To the
person who is capable of looking abroad into the beauties of nature, and
adoring the Creator through his glorious works, are opened stores of
unmixed pleasure, which will not permit her to be dull or unhappy in
the loneliest part of our Western Wilderness. The writer of these pages
speaks from experience, and would be pleased to find that the simple
sources from which she has herself drawn pleasure, have cheered the
solitude of future female sojourners in the backwoods of Canada.
As a general remark to all sorts and conditions of settlers, she would
observe, that the struggle up the hill of Independence is often a severe
one, and it ought not to be made alone. It must be aided and encouraged
by the example and assistance of an active and cheerful partner.
Children should be taught to appreciate the devoted love that has
induced their parents to overcome the natural reluctance felt by all
persons to quit for ever the land of their forefathers, the scenes of their
earliest and happiest days, and to become aliens and wanderers in a
distant country,--to form new ties and new friends, and begin, as it were,
life's toilsome march anew, that their children may be placed in a
situation in which, by industry and activity, the substantial comforts of
life may be permanently obtained, and a landed property handed down
to them, and their children after them.
Young men soon become reconciled to this country, which offers to
them that chief attraction to youth,--great personal liberty. Their
employments are of a cheerful and healthy nature; and their
amusements, such as hunting, shooting, fishing, and boating, are
peculiarly fascinating. But in none of these can their sisters share. The
hardships and difficulties of the settler's life, therefore, are felt

peculiarly by the female part of the family. It is with a view of
ameliorating these privations that the following pages have been
written, to show how some difficulties may be best borne and others
avoided. The simple truth, founded entirely on personal knowledge of
the facts related, is the basis of the work; to have had recourse to fiction
might have rendered it more acceptable to many readers, but would
have made it less useful to that class for whom it is especially intended.
For those who, without intending to share in the privations and dangers
of an emigrant's life, have a rational curiosity to become acquainted
with scenes and manners so different from those of a long-civilized
county, it is hoped that this little work will afford some amusement,
and inculcate some lessons not devoid of moral instruction.

LETTER I.
Departure from Greenock in the Brig. Laurel.--Fitting-up of the
Vessel.--Boy Passenger.--Sea Prospect.--Want of Occupation and
Amusement.--Captain's Goldfinch.
Brig. _Laurel_, July 18, 1832
I RECEIVED your last kind letter, my dearest mother, only a few hours
before we set sail from Greenock. As you express a wish that I should
give you a minute detail of our voyage, I shall take up my subject from
the time of our embarkation, and write as inclination prompts me.
Instead of having reason to complain of short letters, you will, I fear,
find mine only too prolix.
After many delays and disappointments, we succeeded at last in
obtaining a passage in a fast-sailing brig, the _Laurel_, of Greenock;
and favourable winds are now rapidly carrying us across the Atlantic.
The Laurel is not a regular passenger-ship, which I consider an
advantage, for what we lose in amusement and variety we assuredly
gain in comfort. The cabin is neatly fitted up, and I enjoy the luxury
(for such it is, compared with the narrow berths of the state cabin) of a
handsome sofa, with crimson draperies, in the great cabin. The state
cabin is also ours. We paid fifteen pounds each for our passage to
Montreal. This was high, but it includes every expense; and, in fact, we
had no choice.