Two months in the Camp of Big Bear | Page 4

and we all
enjoyed our supper together after the long ride. The squaw gave us a
nice clean bed to sleep in, making theirs on the floor and in the
morning I saw four little children crawling out from under the bed
where we slept, and my husband looked up at me and laughed, and said,
"that is where children sleep up in this country." Their ways appeared
very strange to me, and in the morning before going away, they gave us
a warm breakfast.
We travelled all the next day and camped that night. We had a small tin
stove which is part of a camping outfit, and which smoked very much
while cooking. We had great trouble to know how we would obtain a
light, but we had a candle and we lighted that, and then we had nothing
to hold it in, but as necessity is the mother of invention, we found a
way out of the difficulty; we took a pocket knife that had two blades,
and stuck one blade in the tent pole and opened the other half way,
fastening the candle into the blade, which answered the purpose and
enabled us to see while we ate our supper. We then turned down our
beds, and in a few minutes were fast asleep. When morning came we
had breakfast, and travelled on again. Mr. Ballentyne shot some prairie
chickens and we had them for our dinner, which was a great treat to me.
We arrived at Fort Pitt on the tenth, bidding Mr. Ballentyne good-bye,
stopped at Mr. McLean's all night, where we enjoyed a very pleasant
evening.
The next morning we left for Onion Lake, where we were welcomed by
Mr. Mann and family, and after a night's rest proceeded on our journey
to Frog Lake, reaching there on the 12th. We went to Mr. and Mrs.
Delaney's, who kindly allowed me to stop there until my husband fixed
up some articles of furniture at our own house two miles further on and
south-west of the Lake.
After arriving at Mrs. Delaney's, my husband left me and went down to
the house to work, on Saturday evening he came back. On Sunday
morning Mr. Quinn came over and asked us to go for a drive, we

accepted the invitation. It was a bright frosty morning; he took us to our
little home that I had not yet seen. On hearing the men singing who
were employed at the mill, we drove down to their cooking tent, where
we found Mr. Gilchrist cooking breakfast for fourteen men. They had a
large cooking stove inside, with a long board table; the table was
covered with tin plates and cups. They had rabbit soup, and bread and
coffee for breakfast; after getting ourselves warm we drove back to Mr.
Delaney's. On the following Thursday my husband drove up and took
me to our home, where all was in beautiful order, and Mr. Gilchrist
waiting for our arrival.
CHAPTER IV.
AT HOME.
Now we are at home and I am thankful. There they nestle in a pretty
valley, the simple house, the store, and beside the brook, the mill. The
music of the workman's hammer alone breaks the stillness that
pervades the scene, and the hills send back the echo without a
discordant note. The hills were covered with trees, principally poplar
and spruce, interspersed with berry-bearing shrubs. A most beautiful
and enchanting location.
That little settlement of our own was situated upon Frog Creek, about
three miles west of the lake of the same name, and distant from the
Frog Lake Settlement, our nearest white neighbours, about two miles.
But we had neighbours close by, who came in to see us the next day,
shaking hands and chatting to us in Cree, of which language we knew
but little. The Indians appeared to be very kind and supplied us with
white fish twice a week which they procured from the river for which
in return we gave sugar, tea, prints, &c., from the store. Christmas and
New Year's were celebrated in about the same manner that they are
amongst us civilized people. Both Indians and squaws put on their good
clothes, which at the best of times is very scant, and do their calling.
They salute the inmates of each house they enter with a congratulatory
shake, expecting to be kissed in return. Just think of having to kiss a
whole tribe of Indians in one day, that part we would rather do by

proxy. We would not countenance it in any way. On Christmas day we
went out for a walk along Frog Creek; on our way we came to where
two little Indian children were catching rabbits with a snare, they
stepped to one side and let