and diversity of character in the swift separation " two women 

 shall be grinding a-t the mill — the one shall be taken and the 

 other left." In time the Hudson's Bay sent out an expert 

 and built a mill near Fort Douglas, and one of the settlers 

 who was employed upon it took such careful observation of 

 the process and such measurements that he was able to build 

 one later on for himself and several at different points in the 

 settlement. These did fair work, but in seasons of protracted 

 calm flour famines had to be staved off by a general sharing 

 up amongst neighbors. Next in order came water-mills, only 

 partially successful, and finally the era of steam revolutionized 

 old methods and gave the settlers the somewhat doubtful boon 

 of flour excelling the old commodity in whiteness but not in 

 wholesomeness. 



Besides the raising of grain and root crops the settlers, as 

 the years advanced, went into stock raising, and had horses, 

 cattle, sheep and swine on their farms. In the days before 

 the incoming of machinery they raised horses principally for 

 the buflTalo hunters from famous running stock imported 

 originally from England. The "plain hunters" came in at 

 certain seasons around Fort Garry, when the settlers would 

 take to them such horses as they had to sell. Trials of speed 

 followed, and the winning horses brought good prices in cash 

 from the hunters who had just disposed of their buftalo meat, 

 robes and furs to the Hudson's Bay Company. Oxen 

 were used by the settlers very generally in the oper- 

 ations of the farm, and for the purposes of hay and wood 

 hauling were hitched single in the Red River cart or sled, 

 both of which in their primitive state were made entirely of 

 of wood. Sheep were useful in the extreme as affording 

 clothing in " hodden grey." The processes from sheep shear- 

 ing to the home-made suit were slow and primative enough 

 in the light of to-day's machinery, but the article was good, 

 as we can testify from personal experience. The spinning 

 wheel, the weavei-'s loom, the " fulling " of the cloth by the 

 kicking of it by bare-tooted boys all stand out in the memory 

 with many an incident grave and gay interwoven. 



