18 EMIGRATION TO CANADA 



did exactly as a beaver does, cut all around the tree and watched 

 it till it started to fall and then ran away from it. Working alone 

 and in the hot sunshine, with perhaps heavy old-land clothes on, 

 and much troubled by the black flies, he had an awful time of it 

 and was so discouraged that he decided to leave for Ireland and 

 join the Irish Police. He intended leaving me what money re- 

 mained after paying his passage and I was to look after my mother 

 and the others. After some time, I persuaded him that this would 

 be a mistake and induced him to stay one year and if things 

 were not well at the end of that time I would take over the money 

 and property. 



Later in the summer he became more satisfied with the con- 

 ditions and began to think about marrying and also building a 

 house, the latter of which he did in the autumn. The house, by 

 good luck, was built in the clearing that was on the place when 

 we came to it and it was on this homestead that he lived until his 

 death. 



I remember well the day the house was put up. At that 

 time all buildings were erected by what was called a "Bee." The 

 men of the neighborhood were invited to come and each man who 

 came brought an axe, and was ready to do anything that was re- 

 quired of him. The chief men at a "Bee" were the four corner 

 men. We had four excellent men on the corners and the building 

 progressed finely and was completed before night. In the after- 

 noon Frederick produced the whisky, which was a necessary ac- 

 companiment at all "Bees," men could go and take a drink when 

 they saw fit. "Bob Stillman," a wise leader and a very religious 

 man, said, when he saw the whisky, that the Devil was coming, 

 and later in the afternoon "Tom Munroe," a Frenchman, lost his 

 balance and fell off the corner where he was and "Bob Stillman" 

 asked what the cause was and I answered at once: "It was on 

 account of the Devil coming." Of course, in that day, everybody 

 drank. 



As I have observed, I went to work at the Ponton's and was 

 called by the ladies "the young man," to distinguish me from the 

 old people and a couple of others who were on the farm. I seem- 

 ed to be the man of all work, but not able to do much as I knew 



