April 18th

I can't believe it woke up to two inches +- of snow!  What is going on with this crazy weather, they should be having a spring fire hazard by now.
Flu bug seems to be gone, M had it too all day yesterday, we are both up and about we must have slept a good 18 hrs in the last 24.

I wish I could run a poll on here to see what kind of stories are liked best but about all that could be done is to make comments in the comment section.

I think what I shall do is start putting in a booklet written by a 1st cousin 3times removed in 1924(?) I'll check that year out. I retyped it verbatim from his original printing which is much worn and quite delicate. After it's redoing it was accepted by the province of Manitoba as a significant recounting of Manitoba's history and it now resides in their Provincial archives.
I will break off when I get around the middle and put in something else for a couple of days as the story is quite long and has a few dry spots.

REMINISCENCES

Of My Pioneering Experiences in Twp7,

Range 12, Cypress River Locality

During the Winter of 1879 – ’80

BY RH LITTLE

Chapter 1.

I am writing this narrative in the land of the Pilgrim and Puritan Fathers, where the inhabitants are celebrating this year their centenary of the founding of Boston and its surrounding suburban cities.

While reading the various accounts of the struggles and privations these hardy pioneers had to withstand, I believe they had nothing more in the way of hardships than what the little band of pioneers withstood who spent their first winter in twp 7, rge 12 on the western frontier of Manitoba.

It appears strange to me how these early settlers three hundred years ago were prompted to keep such a complete record of events that had transpired from day to day among them, when all that Tiger Hills community had not kept, as I have been informed recently, a public record of events that have occurred since its first settlement.

During the ten years in which I resided in 7 – 12, I had jotted down dates and events that had occurred and with this data at hand, I will endeavor to write an account of how we spent the first winter in 7 – 12 and perhaps it may lead others in neighbouring locales to write their experiences and in this way form a basis for a history of what we called in early days the Tiger Hills Settlement.

When Manitoba became a province in 1870, it was situated in such an isolated position, but few emigrants braved the hardships of the overland journey, but as the railway each year crept nearer the southern boundary the influx of settlers gradually increased and when completed to Winnipeg in 1879 the first great rush for land began.

I was engaged in business with my brother Nathan in Brussels, Huron Co., Ontario at that time and many were leaving each day for Manitoba.

Naturally residing in a community where so much talk was going on about the west, we both began to think about joining the rush, so my brother decided that he would go and investigate, and should he find conditions satisfactory, I was to sell out and follow him.

My brother was joined on the trip by Connie Vanstone, a miller in Brussels and Sam Townsend of Seafoarth.  They reached Winnipeg via Chicago.

On their arrival in Winnipeg they were puzzled to know in which direction to go to obtain homestead land, as there were so many conflicting accounts as to which was the most promising locality in which to settle.

While wandering around the town they met an acquaintance who had just arrived from the Tiger Hills settlement and he informed them that several families from around Brussels had located there.  They were so pleased with his description of the district that they decided to go there.  On reaching Portage la Prairie by steamer, Nat, as he was called for short, purchased a Red River cart, on which he loaded a supply of provisions.  He had brought with him from Brussels a large round tent, a camping outfit, guns, ammunition, etc and a bulldog all this making quite a load for the cart.

They took the road to Fortney’s ferry 22 mile distant up the river.  This was during the rainy season, and the trail where it lead through the willow and poplar bush sections of the way was simply bog holes which could not be avoided owing to the trees on each side.

It took them two days to reach Fortney’s, where they camped for the night, and Fortney ferried them over the next morning.

This took considerable time as the cart had to be taken over in sections and their supplies in small amounts each time for the ferry was just a small row boat that could carry with safety only three persons at a time.  The oxen were taken up along the bank of the river for some distance and made to swim across and were carried down stream by the current until opposite the ferry crossing.

Cart and goods were then assembled again, and they proceeded on their way for about three miles where they entered the willow swamp.

This swamp and the river crossing were the great barriers to the land seeker in those days, and many had come this far and returned rather than face such obstacles.

Nat and his comrades proceeded about a mile into the swamp that day, and found the trail one continuous bog.  When near sun down, the cart axle broke, so the oxen were let go to forage around the camp, and they looked around to find dry ground to camp on, but were unable to find a dry place.  So they ate a cold lunch and sat around the cart all night a prey to hordes of mosquitoes.

Connie felt that this experience was the limit, and that he had endured enough, and as there was no necessity to go further, he left the party and returned to civilization.

Nat, after looking around for some tome in quest of a suitable tree from which to make an axle, found one and with the aid of an axe and a bowie knife, had it made and attached to the cart that evening.

Each day that followed brought its share of troubles and when they emerged from the swamps near the Boyne River, it had taken them five days to come from the ferry.

The trail from here led over a rolling prairie with an occasional slough to cross, and they made good headway.  On reaching Jim Warren’s they were directed to Sim Palmer’s who lived a short distance further along the trail.

Sim Palmer, his two brothers, Sam Ballard, George Treherne (after whom the town of Treherne was named) all kept batch together in this house and all had taken up land in 1878.

Sim and his brothers made it their business to guide those in quest of land to find a desirable location.  They kept on hand a list of vacant lands which was of great assistance to home seekers, as they would otherwise have had to go to the land office to obtain one.

Nat, on reaching Palmer’s found several others who were seeking land so he and Sam joined the party and proceeded west to 7 –12, as most of the desirable land had been filed on out that distance. Nat took the North half of Sec. 15-7-12 for himself and reserved the south half of sec. 22-7-12 for me.   Each member of the party had at least three locations on his list, so that in case they found at the land office their first choice had been already filed on they could try others.

Sim Palmer then guided the party to Nelsonville, a distance of some 60 miles, where they entered for their land.  160 acres was then given as a homestead and 160 as a pre-emption.  The land was being taken so very rapidly at that time, so the law was changed so that 80 acres was given as a homestead and 80 acres for a pre-emption.

This change almost caused entry for land to cease, and after a few months the former land law was restored.

Nat wrote me to come, so I sold out and started for Winnipeg via boat line to Duluth and train to St. Vincent and boat to Winnipeg.  It did not take much time to take in the sites of Winnipeg at that time, and I ended up sightseeing by a walk along a road leading towards Fort Garry, which could be seen away to the south on the bank of the Assiniboine River with the surrounding land almost vacant prairie.

I visited the stores within the stockade enclosure of the fort and the traders, Indians and Half Breeds, dressed in their western garb, all appeared very strange and interesting to me.  I could see from the Fort a big stern wheeler being loaded from a warehouse a short distance down the river, so I walked over to investigate.  I was informed that it was leaving for Portage la Prairie in a couple of hours, so I engaged passage and had my baggage transferred to it.

We reached Portage landing the next day at noon and then walked the mile and a half to town.

The great wheat fields along each side of the road were just beginning to ripen and presented a fine object lesson to a new comer as to the fertility of the soil.  Never before had I beheld such crops.

Portage la Prairie consisted of two small straggling villages called the east end and the west end, lying about a mile apart and connected by the slough road, and the back road.  The Hudson Bay store and a flour mill were the principal buildings at the west end.  There was also a flour mill at the east end with several stores and a hotel at which I stopped overnight. 

I met at the hotel a schoolmate from the County of Durham, Ont., who was looking for a location for a general store.  I told him where I was headed for, so he decided to go along with me and see what the prospects would be for a store in the Tiger Hills country.

In the morning we struck off along the slough road to the west end where we procured a lunch to take along as an emergency ration, for we were informed that we could get meals at stopping places along the way.  From here the road led us along toward the river, where an old Hudson Bay Co. Fort stockade stood on the river bank, and then on through poplar bush for a few miles until we came to Vermillion plain where we had an early dinner at a stopping place.

After leaving this plain we passed through more poplar bush and into Long Plain, an Indian reservation where there were quite a number of dwellings.  Here we obtained a view of the river again, and I was surprised to find that we were on such elevated ground.  We inquired from the Indians where we could obtain drinking water and they directed us to a path that led down the hillside to a fine spring of good water.  This revived us considerably, and as we walked along the trail we ate our lunch as we passed through more poplar bush and on into Round Plain.  The trail led south from here for a mile or so and then began to descend into the valley on what was called the Hogs Back, an easy grade down to the ferry.

George Fortney resided in a log shack on the hillside back from the river, where we put up for the night.  We reached here at sundown pretty tired after our long walk and being pestered by mosquitoes all the way.  Mr. Fortney prepared supper and we ate heartily of the plain food.  As the settlers further on had to pass this way, he knew them all.  I enquired about Nat’s location and he told me it was about 35 miles further on.

 We retired for the night to a bed of hay on the floor, and in the morning were up early to make room for our landlord to prepare breakfast consisting of pork, bannock and tea.

When we were across the river, we made our way up out of the valley and away around the bend of the river to where there were a number of log houses occupied by Indians.  This was on a little higher ground near the brink of the valley, and presented a grand view of the river as it swept around in a great curve deep down in the valley with its densely wooded banks.  Here I obtained my first view of the Tiger Hills far to the south, shrouded in a blue haze.  This was about where Indianford P.O. was afterwards located.

The trail then led us south west through the willow swamp which was now well dried up since the rainy season and came out near the Boyne river and then on to Mallock’s where we made a short stay.  Then on past Mr. Steadman’s to Jim Warren’s where we had been informed we could obtain refreshments.

Mr. Warren was almost out of supplies and could not give us anything to eat.  He was going to Portage in the morning for supplies.  However they gave us each a glass of buttermilk which somewhat appeased our hunger and was a treat after drinking slough water along the way.

I now realized how foolish I was in not bringing along as much food as I could readily carry, and that I was now on the frontier among a few settlers scattered over the plains, who had been here for but a short time and who were all busily engaged in building shelters in which to reside.  Every ounce of food was valuable for most of it had to be carried on their backs.

We then walked along to Sim Palmer’s and found no person around.  We hesitated about going further for fear that we might be unable to reach some place where we might obtain food.  However we decided to go on over a poorly marked trail which was difficult to follow.  We could see away towards the hills a tent here and there where settlers were making a start towards building their homes.

We had gone on about five miles without seeing a house and then came to an empty sod shack, roofed with hay on the McLean homestead and lay down in its shade thoroughly tired, hungry and footsore.  After laying there for some time, we heard a wagon approaching and on arising saw it contained five men and was drawn by a yoke of oxen.  They told us they were going north to the Assiniboine to examine a fording place.  I enquired about my brother but they were uncertain about his location, but thought his camp was away to the west and gave me a landmark to follow.

We immediately set out for this point over a level plain covered with a growth of grass and shrub, and on reaching our landmark could see no sign of habitation, so we went on a little further to a hill which gave us an extensive view but nothing could be seen that would indicate a settlement.  We had become very thirsty, so when we noticed a marshy place at the base of the hill we went down and discovered a shallow pool from which we drank.  But our stomachs rebelled against it before our thirst was fully satisfied.  We then hurried back to the sod shack feeling we must reach some place to obtain food before night set in.

The water that we had drunk gave us a severe headache and both felt tired and miserable when we reached the shack.

When there a short time, the men who had directed us returned from the river and told me that they had made a mistake in directing me and if my brother was the man with a round tent and a bulldog his location was to the southwest and they pointed towards a shack in that direction and said I could obtain food and shelter there and further directions.  My comrade said he had had enough and would go no further, so I struck off alone in a direct line for the house with as much haste as possible.

When I arrived there a man and two boys had just lit their lamp and had sat down to supper, so they invited me to join them, which I eagerly did.

This was Mr. Holland’s place and he and his two sons had built their house from clay.  The town of Holland was named for this Mr. Holland.

After an early breakfast they gave me a landmark towards the west to follow for there was no trail.  When I had traveled a few miles I came to a hill which gave me a fine view and I noticed a house in the distance.  I walked towards it and as I came near, I was surprised to see about ten men rush out to meet me, my brother being one of them.

Most of the crowd I had known in Brussels.  This was on a Sunday and the log house was on James Young’s place, being the N1/2 of sec. 22-7-12 and they had gathered there for a visit.

Nat and I then left for his place a mile further south where he had his tent pitched on an elevation over looking the surrounding country and the Cypress River valley.

Here I met Sam Townsend and as it was time for their noon day meal, Sam took his gun to a nearby pond and soon returned with three ducks.  Nat in the meantime opened the mouth of a flour sack and made a depression in the flour into which he poured water with a little salt and soda and soon had a bannock mixed and the frying pan on the camp stove.  The bannock was turned over frequently by flipping the pan up in such a way that it was turned over and caught again.

Sam soon had the ducks prepared for the pot and it was not long before we sat down to a bountiful repast.

As I lay in the tent watching them prepare the meal, it all appeared as primitive to me and I wondered if I could acquire their skill and be content with camp life.

During the afternoon Nat and I took a walk over my location and I was well pleased with it and fully realized the trouble and labor it had relieved me from in having it located for me.  After our evening meal we sat around our campfire and had a chat before turning in, and then the coyotes who had their dens along the valley began their mournful howl for an hour or so.

Three miles west of our camp, the McLeod family who had come from near Brussels had built a large log house.  This was the furthest west house in the settlement and on the western boundary of Manitoba.  The land across the boundary was not subdivided until the following year.

The McLeod family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. McLeod, his sons, John, Angus and William, daughter and son-in-law, W. Lawn and Jim McDonald.  All the menfolk of the family had each taken up a homestead and a pre-emption claim adjoining each other.

I spent a week at our camp and we planned that I should return to Brussels and return with some live stock and settlers effects.

The Mcleod boys were going to Portage with their team for supplies, so they took me along with them on my journey to Brussels.

On my way in being so exhausted I was in no shape to admire the beauty of the country, but now riding along at ease on the wagon, it gave me a fine view of the country with the prairie covered with its vari- colored grasses and bluffs of trees scattered here and there, which gave the landscape a park-like appearance.