There Is A Lot Of Hay Littered
About, And That Has To Be Stacked; Also The Waste Straw Or Rubbish
Which Is Burnt, And The Fires Have To Be Made Up.
Three-quarters
of an hour before either dinner or supper (the latter meal is
about half-past 6) a
Flag, the Union Jack, is hoisted at the end
of the farther stable - if neither A - - nor Mr. B - - is about, we
undertake to do it - to call the men in; and they declare the horses
see the flag as soon as they do and stop directly. The class of horse
here is certainly not remarkable for its good looks; but they are
hard, plucky little beasts, and curiously quiet. The long winter makes
them, as well as all the other animals, feel a dependence upon man,
and they become unusually tame. The cows, cats, and everything follow
the men about everywhere. They used to have to keep the kitchen door
shut to prevent one of the cows walking in. A - - has got a jolly old
cat who follows him like a dog, sleeps on his bed, and sits next to
him at meals. Mr. B - - has a dear colley with whom he carries on long
conversations, particularly on the subject of the coolness of the
morning and the water in his bath; so you see we have plenty of animal
life about. The men at the tent have a black water-spaniel, which
greatly prefers our fare and warm house to the tent, so is nearly
always here.
* * * * *
May 25th.
We over-slept ourselves this morning, it being a dull day and no
sun to wake us up, so that it was past 6 before any of us made our
appearance. The way we work here would rejoice Uncle F - - 's heart
and amaze some of our farmers' wives and daughters. My advice to
all emigrants is to leave their pride to the care of their
families at home before they start, and, like ourselves, put their
hand to everything. We have had some funny experiences; but for
all our hard work we get no kudos or praise, it is all taken as a
matter of course. I would not live in such a place for worlds, but
while it lasts it is great fun; and I think we have done good by
coming out, if only to mend up all the old rags belonging to these
four men. We were much in want of dusters, etc., the first days,
and were told that when the three months' wash which was in
Winnipeg returned we should find everything we wanted, instead of
which there was a fine display of torn under-linen, and stockings
by the dozens, which we have been doing our best to patch up and
darn, but no house linen. We shall do as much washing as we
possibly can manage at home, I expect, as the prices are so
fearful, to say nothing of the inconvenience of being ages without
one's linen. I will just quote a few of the prices from our bill
of the Winnipeg Steam Laundry. Shirts 15 cents, night ditto 10
cents, vests and pants 25 to 50 cents, blankets 50 cents,
counterpanes 35 cents, table-cloths 15 to 35 cents, sheets 10
cents, pillow-slips 5 to 15 cents, night-dresses 15 cents to 1
dollar, petticoats 30 cents to 1 dollar, etc., everything in
proportion. We thought one dollar per dozen all round was
exorbitant, but when hardly anything is less than eightpence (as a
cent, according to the exchange, is more than a halfpenny) it
seems ruinous.
We get 4 dollars 80 cents only for the sovereign here, being
tenpence short of the five dollars.
* * * * *
May 28th.
Our weather is improving, to-day has been lovely; but alas! with
the warmth have come the mosquitoes. I don't believe you will ever
see us again; they (the mosquitoes) bite so fearfully, even in the
day-time, that they will devour us up entirely. A - - is having
wire coverings made for the doors and windows; but, unfortunately,
owing to the floods after the melting of the snow, all the stores
which ought to have arrived in Winnipeg a month ago have been
delayed, and the shops are very short of goods of all sorts and
kinds. There are said to be 4,000 cars with provisions, etc.
between this and St. Paul. A - - and I spent an afternoon at the
other farm, "Boyd," which he rents of a Mr. Boyd, three thousand
acres for 40 pounds a year. It is covered with low brushwood with a
few trees here and there, and a good deal of marsh, and therefore
unfit for cultivation, so they keep it entirely for their cattle
and for the cutting of hay in summer. It is a much prettier place
than this, the house being surrounded by trees, whereas here we
haven't one within seven miles, though last year they did their
best and planted nearly five hundred round the house as avenues to
the drive; but only a few survived the drought of last autumn and
severe cold of winter, the rest are represented by dead sticks. We
tried to see the cattle at Boyd's, but they were away feeding on
the marsh and could only be looked at from a distance, as we
neither of us felt inclined to run the chance of being bogged or
of wetting our feet.
In coming home we called at the tent, and I was surprised to find
how quickly Messrs. H - - and L - - were building their stable,
which is to be large enough to hold two stalls and a room beyond,
which, when they have a house, will make a good loose-box; but for
the time being they intend to live in, either sleeping in the loft
or tent.
To build a house or stable is not very difficult; but with no
carpenter or experienced man to help it wants a certain amount of
ingenuity.
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