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Canadian Life as I Found It
Chapter VII September 4, 1904


I HAVE been making a quick trip in and out of town, for I had a neighbour's daughter to drive out, and I did not want to be obliged to stop the night on the road. It was rather rough on my pony, but she managed it well; she is really invaluable, and I was very lucky in getting her. It's wonderful what these ponies can do; they trot capitally in harness almost any distance, only when you are on their back you can't get a trot out of them, it's all canter and gallop. The heat has been terrific. It is getting a little cooler at night. We are short of water; our well gave out, and as I had no time to dig it deeper, I dug a small water hole, but it is not pleasant drinking, tadpoles and mosquitoes fail to give it a good flavour, and just now flying ants are a perfect plague. I wonder what the next one will be?

I have got a good quantity of hay stacked, and I have been helping the neighbour who helped me. I have made a sort of shed for the pony and cattle. It consists of poles with hay thrown over them. It is warm enough for now, and at all events keeps out the rain, and must suffice till my stable is finished.

I am going to take my wife and child into town in a week or ten days before it gets too cold for the drive, then I shall come back and stay out on the homestead till the end of November, so as to get my regulation six months in this year, that is if it does not get too cold; I want to do some breaking, so as to have some land ready to crop when I am able to come out in the spring. At present I have about 6 acres broken, and I should like to break another six before it freezes up.

I want to put in plenty of oats, and potatoes, and flax next year, but there is such a lot to do, and my racehorses take such a time to do anything, that time goes by, and although I am at work all day and every day, I don't seem to have made much progress at the end of the week. It takes me a whole day to go for a load of wood, only 8 miles there and back, so you, see that a team of horses would be a great boon.


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