True backwood carelessness, let the
hot cinder fall among the dry chips that strewed the floor. A few
minutes after, the whole mass was in a blaze, and it was not without
great difficulty that Moodie and Mr. R - - succeeded in putting out
the fire. Thus were we nearly deprived of our home before we had
taken up our abode in it.
The indifference to the danger of fire in a country where most
of the dwellings are composed of inflammable materials, is truly
astonishing. Accustomed to see enormous fires blazing on every
hearth-stone, and to sleep in front of these fires, his bedding
often riddled with holes made by hot particles of wood flying out
during the night, and igniting beneath his very nose, the sturdy
backwoodsman never dreads an enemy in the element that he is used to
regard as his best friend. Yet what awful accidents, what ruinous
calamities arise, out of this criminal negligence, both to himself
and others!
A few days after this adventure, we bade adieu to my sister, and
took possession of our new dwelling, and commenced "a life in the
woods."
The first spring we spent in comparative ease and idleness. Our cows
had been left upon our old place during the winter. The ground had
to be cleared before it could receive a crop of any kind, and I had
little to do but to wander by the lake shore, or among the woods,
and amuse myself.
These were the halcyon days of the bush. My husband had purchased a
very light cedar canoe, to which he attached a keel and a sail; and
most of our leisure hours, directly the snows melted, were spent
upon the water.
These fishing and shooting excursions were delightful. The pure
beauty of the Canadian water, the sombre but august grandeur of the
vast forest that hemmed us in on every side and shut us out from the
rest of the world, soon cast a magic spell upon our spirits, and we
began to feel charmed with the freedom and solitude around us. Every
object was new to us. We felt as if we were the first discoverers
of every beautiful flower and stately tree that attracted our
attention, and we gave names to fantastic rocks and fairy isles, and
raised imaginary houses and bridges on every picturesque spot which
we floated past during our aquatic excursions. I learned the use of
the paddle, and became quite a proficient in the gentle craft.
It was not long before we received visits from the Indians, a people
whose beauty, talents, and good qualities have been somewhat
overrated, and invested with a poetical interest which they scarcely
deserve. Their honesty and love of truth are the finest traits in
characters otherwise dark and unlovely.
