186 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



After a stay of five days, delayed by the weather, 

 we left this country the i8th of August in the after- 

 noon, and made seven miles to Long Meadow where 

 we spent the night in a half-ruined cabin and on the 

 bare earth. We found a small boy there, whose par- 

 ents were intending to settle here, but they had been 

 several days absent looking for provisions and had 

 quite carelessly left the youngster by himself in the 

 woods. He was extremely happy when we gave him 

 some bread and meat. 



Very early we left our dreary quarters but were sev- 

 eral hours delayed when we came to Bear Creek. 

 Since our passage that way a family had appeared, 

 even here, and within the few days had made their 

 block-house nearly ready. Of the logs meant for that 

 purpose one had fallen across the narrow road, and it 

 was in no way possible to get our horses through the 

 very thick and swampy bush at either side ; we had 

 therefore to wait patiently until the log was sawed 

 through and got out of the way. Farther on, in that 

 half of the road lying through this wilderness, we hap- 

 pened on still a third family which likewise had just 

 come to settle there. These people expect to make a 

 temporary support by selling brandy to travellers, until 

 they have gradually brought enough land into cultiva- 

 tion to supply their needs. This will indeed require 

 some time, but meanwhile through them a beginning is 

 made of the future settlement of this waste. All these 

 poor families chose the region because here they can 

 at no outlay have the use of land taken up by nobody 

 else, until some one acquires it by purchase and obliges 

 them to leave, in which case however they have the 

 right of pre-emption. Going back we followed the 



