Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West | Page 8

gentlemen,
the log-buildings having given place to substantial stone, brick, or
frame houses. The village of Oshawa, in this township, now contains
upwards of one thousand inhabitants, more than double the number the
whole township could boast of when I first set foot on its soil.

CHAPTER II
.
ARRIVAL AT DARLINGTON. -- KIND RECEPTION. -- MY
FRIEND'S LOCATION. -- HIS INEXPERIENCE. -- DAMAGE TO
HIS LAND BY FIRE. -- GREAT CONFLAGRATION AT
MIRAMACHI. -- FOREST FIRES. -- MIGHTY CONFLAGRATION
OF THE 6TH OF OCTOBER. -- AFFECTING STORY OF A
LUMBER-FOREMAN. -- HIS PRESENCE OF MIND, AND
WONDERFUL PRESERVATION. -- THE SAD FATE OF HIS
COMPANIONS.
I WAS now very near to my ark of refuge, and the buoyant spirit of
early youth, with its joyous anticipations of a radiant future, bore me
exultingly forward. It might have been said of me in the beautiful lines

of the poet:
"He left his home with a bounding heart, For the world was all before
him; And he scarcely felt it a pain to part, Such sun-bright hopes came
o'er him."
Alarie A. Watts.
Two hours' brisk walking brought me to the long-looked-for end of my
journey. I was received with the greatest kindness and hospitality; and,
in a few days, felt quite at home and comfortable in my new quarters.
After some days' rest, I commenced operations by assisting my friend
on the farm and in the store. From my practical knowledge of farming,
acquired upon my mother's estate, I was soon installed as manager in
that department.
Our farm contained upwards of two hundred acres of cleared land, the
largest proportion of which consisted of meadows and pastures, but the
soil was light and sandy, and altogether very indifferent. My friend,
Colonel B----- had been imposed upon by the Yankee, of whom he had
bought it, and no wonder, when I tell you that my friend had formerly
held a situation under Government, and had lived in London all his life.
Only the first three concessions of this township were settled at this
time, the remainder of the land being generally in the hands of absentee
proprietors. I am happy to say, the absentee tax has had the effect of
throwing vast quantities of these lands into the market.
This township, like Whitby, is now well settled, and though not
generally equal in regard to soil, is still considered a good township.
Bowmanville is the principal town, containing about twelve hundred
inhabitants. In 1825 it only boasted a grist-mill, saw-mill, a store, and
half-a-dozen houses. I mention this, merely to show how much the
country has improved in a few years. This is not an isolated fact it
applies to nearly all Canada West.
My intention was, to stay with my friends till the ensuing spring, and to
get a little insight into Canadian farming, clearing land, &c., that I
might have some experience before commencing operations on my own
account.
The situation of my friend's house was close to the Toronto road, partly
built of logs and framework: it had been designed by the former
Yankee proprietor, and could certainly boast of no architectural
beauties. We lived about a mile and a half from the lake shore, and I

took advantage of my vicinity to the water to bathe daily. I found great
refreshment in this, for the weather was very hot and dry. The drought
lasted for some time, and among its consequences, I may mention the
prevalence of extensive fires.* Several broke out in our neighbourhood,
and, at last, the mischief reached our own farm. It destroyed several
thousand rails, and spread over forty or fifty acres of meadow land. We
ultimately stopped its further progress in the clearing, by ploughing
furrows round the fire and a thunder-shower in the evening completed
its extinction. Fire seldom runs in the woods on good land, and where
the timber is chiefly deciduous, but on sandy, pine, or hemlock lands,
or where evergreens chiefly prevail.
[* Fires in Canada are of frequent occurrence, and are generally caused
by the burning of brush-wood or log-heaps by the settlers. In dry
weather, with a brisk wind, the fire is apt to run on the surface of the
ground in the bush, where the dry leaves are thickest. In clearing the
land a good deal of brush-wood and tops of trees are thrown into the
edge of the woods. It follows, as a matter of course, that the greatest
danger to be apprehended is the burning the boundary-fences of farms.
I have heard it asserted that these fires are sometimes caused by
spontaneous combustion, which I consider altogether a fallacy.]
I have seldom known very serious damage by these fires done in
Canada West, although occasionally a barn or house falls a sacrifice to