Genealogy, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Pioneer,Saskatchewan history, Temperance Colony, Temperance Colonization Society, Pioneers,John N. Lake, John Lake, Saskatoon history, Saskatoon Gen Web, |
Horne and myself boarded the Garrison waggon and started on the trip.
Another settler, Wm. Hunter, down with a yoke of oxen, was also returning
with his load. The second day out Hunter took sick. Garrison made him
as comfortable as possible on top of his load, and I volunteered to drive
the oxen. I did not understand these animals, and they did not understand
me. Whenever they came to a particularly bad spot they seemed to delight
in going their own way through it. My cries of gee had no effect. When
they got to deep enough water to suit them which was about up to their
stomachs, they would stop and nothing I could do would induce them to
move; the cool water on their stomachs was so pleasant and the plagues of
flies would not reach what was in the water, so they were content. I
would have to get off, wade through the water and tramp a few miles ahead
to where Garrison and the others were camped for a meal. Garrison would
then come back with the horses and pull us out of the slough. Everything
was novelty, and incidents like this served to break the monotony. Saska-
toon was safely reached early one morning in August, Hunter slightly bet-
ter, and myself a failure as a driver of oxen.
Disappointments came quickly. Saskatoon was only a name: the
town consisted of only one sod shack built by John Coon and occupied by
the McGowan family, a tent of Geo. and Chas. Garrison, and Dr. Wil-
loughby's tent store which also answered the part of residence for himself
and his brother Gerald. These parties, with Geo. Grant, the Temperance
Colonization Society Agent, and Robert W. Dulmage, seemed to be the
population of Saskatoon. We were soon acquainted with all, and within
a few days had met all the surrounding settlers. These were Frank Clarke,
now of Dundurn, and his brother Charlie, now of Toronto, nine miles north
of Saskatoon, the Hamilton family, Latham family, and Dick Richardson
family about two miles east. Four miles south there were Robt. McCor-
dick and the Goodwin boys and one Teeple. Nearer the river were the Eby
family and Peter Robinson. A little stranger had just arrived to increase
the Richardson family, and they were staying in a shelter convenient to the
Lathams so as to get help until the mother was well enough to go on to
their land. The Kusch family also were here. No lumber was in sight:
nobody spoke as if they would require a house built when the lumber came,
and nobody seemed to have any money to hire a man, anyway. Geo.
Garrison wanted hay cut, and agreed to hoard Wm. Horn and myself for
six dollars per' week, we to cut hay for him at one fifty a day and get it
out in board. We worked for some weeks at this cutting hay with the
scythe and carrying it out of the water. Every hollow was a slough, plenty
of hay and millions of ducks, almost as tame as farm bred ones. It was
no use trying to be a sportsman, if you wanted ducks you could go out
and in ten minutes have a meal. You had to shoot them on the water
or go without duck, they wouldn't fly.
My next job was helping Thos. Copland build his first house, a sod
one. My sleeping place was the cellar of the new house covered with some
boards. My pay was to be in butter taken during the winter as required
Mr. and Mrs. Copland treated me as their son, and their little daughter
Jessie was a great favourite of mine, for children were scarce. Finally
some lumber came down the river in the Fall of '83, brought down the river
in two rafts from Rush Lake by a crew of Swedes. A water soaked and
sand filled lot it was: every piece of flooring or siding had to have the
groove scraped out before it would be lad; no edge could be kept on a
plane in trying to work it, as the sand was ground right into the grain of
the wood. The rafts were soon broken up and the lumber piled on the
river bank of what is now Idylwyld to dry and the buildings started. The
Swedes put up what was called the Company Buildings, really a double
store front: they then left for Moose Jaw. R. W. Dulmage, Chas. Garrison
and Silas Lake put up buildings, mere shells, but it entitled them to a free
lot. Geo. Grant put up quite a pretentious building, McGowan, W. Horn
and myself being the carpenters. This was the extent of the building that
Fall. During the, winter W. Horn and- myself put up a small building for
John Conn, and towards spring started one for the Company. This used
up all the lumber brought down the river. The uses to which the various
Page 29
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NARRATIVES OF SASKATOON1882-1912Genealogy, Saskatoon, Pioneer, Saskatchewan history, Temperance Colony, Temperance Colonization Society, Pioneers,John N. Lake, John Lake, Saskatoon history, Saskatoon Gen Web, Saskatoon Genealogy BY MEN OF THE CITY PREPARED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OF SASKATOON PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY BOOK-STORE |
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