appointed Local Superintendent of this and some of the adjoining townships. Township Clerks, &c.-Mr. Thomas Milburn was the first township clerk of Smith. Mr. Christopher Burton has now held that position for many years, and has also been for some years Treasurer,-offices which he has filled with great credit to himself and advantage to the township. CHAPTER XXII. THE TOWNSHIP OF OTONABEE. The township of Otonabee was surveyed in 1819. The first actual settler was Mr. George Kent, who, with a number of immigrants, accompanied the late Captain Spilsbury to the township in that year, and was located on his land before the township was formally thrown open to settlement. The others did not become settlers, and from some cause remained but a short time. Capt. Chas. Rubidge, R. N., also visited Otonabee in 1819; and returned with his family for permanent settlement in May 1820. He was the first in the township to perform the settlement duties and secure a title to his land. A considerable number of settlers came in during that year, (1820). These, as nearly as can be ascertained, were, John Walstead, Major Design, Thomas Carr, John Nelson and his sons Andrew and William, John Mackintosh, Lindsay, Ambrose Mayett, James Beckett, Thomas Nelson, George Esson, with his sons Thomas, Alexander, Daniel and Robert; John Fife and family, among whom were six sons; James Foley, (uncle of the late James Foley, of Norwood, who remained but a short time) John Stewart, William Sowden and Ralph Davidson. Besides these, there were the following single men without families:-Robert Redpath, James Hunter, George Banks, Nicholas Bullen, Robert Ferguson, Robert Hyatt, Lieut. Jenkins and Collier. For many long years before the survey or settlement of Otonabee was seriously contemplated, a trading post for the purchase of fur and the exchange of commodities with the Indians, was kept, at first, by an intel ligent Indian, named Herkimer, and afterwards by Major Charles Anderson, on the shore of Rice Lake; but as their object was not that of settlement, we have not mentioned them among the roll of honored names, to whom posterity will point as the patriots, who first hewed down the forest, and by their labor and their example, amid many dicouragements, have made this fine township what it now is one of the foremost in intelligence, in wealth, and successful industry in western Canada. The location of the rude house which served for the shelter and the home of the lonely trader, was on a point of land just below the site of the present Indian village,-Hiawatha. Since the erection of the dam at Hastings, (formerly Crook's rapids) the point has become an island, on which the remains of the stone chimney and traces of the old house are still visible. What a lonely situation three-quarters of a century ago, yet not without its picturesque attractions! The sparkling lake in front, redolent with life amid its grassy deeps as yet scarce conscious of the hook or spear, the moaning waves dashing upon the silent shore, beyond which rose the giant forest, wast, interminable. And then the drifting snows, like a great winding sheet, which for half the year closed up the scene! What cared he-the hardy trader-for the summer glories or the winter's blasts. Secure in his cosy hut, with a blazing fire, he bade defiance to the storm, as he counted his furs, and shrewdly guessed the hundreds of per-centage to be realized from his purchases. But how changed the prospect now! The towering pine and the gigantic elm, with their less imposing brethren of the forest, have in great part passed away, and where they stood, the snug farm house, surrounded by broad fields of waving grain, attract the sight. Agriculture, followed by the numerous appliances of civilization, stepped in to monopolize the soil; and adjoining the spot where once the solitary trader pursued his avocation, thousands now subsist, in comparative wealth and substantial plenty. A number of gentlemen occupying the position of half-pay officers, secured the greater portion of the lots along the front of the township; thus obliging the other settlers, not without some reluctance, to take up positions further to the rear. Several of these gentlemen were not actual residents, but employed persons residing in the vicinity to perform the settlement duties for them: and many of those who actually settled on their land, remained but a few years, and then sought a home more congenial to their tastes elsewhere. The first thing required of the settler in those days, was to go before the land Agent, (who resided at first in Toronto, but an agency was afterwards opened at Cobourg.) and take the oath of allegiance. For administering this oath, a fee of seven shillings and sixpence was charged; and the applicant was then furnished with a location ticket for any unoccupied lot he might have selected. This ticket entitled him to a free grant of fifty acres on performing certain conditions known as settlement duties: and on satisfactory proof that these terms had been complied with, a deed was issued for the fifty acres, with right to purchase the other fifty, or any other unoccupied lands in the vicinity. The second fifty acres could be procured (thus securing 100 acres) on the payment of £4; but with a view of checking speculation by non-settlers, an additional 200 acres could only be got by paying £36. But these prices were subsequently reduced, and land could afterwards be obtained at prices more consonant with the circumstances of the time. The rule was, that the settlement duties must be performed within eighteen months, or the claim was forfeited, and might be handed over to another. These settlement duties consisted in chopping down and clearing out the trees and brushwood along the concession line in front of the lot, to the width of two rods, and slashing down the timber four rods wide along side of this thus making an opening through the forest six rods wide, along the entire length of the lot of 100 acres, which, with similar work on the part of the owner of the opposite lot, opened to view the whole breadth of the concession line. In addition to this, a clearing of two acres at least, must be made, and a house or shanty 18 x 20 feet in size erected on the land. The absentees, who hired men to perform this work, did so at an average expense of $25 per 100 acres, varying, of course, according to circumstances and the terms of the bargain made. But, as a rule, these requirements were only very partially fulfilled; the sterner necessities of the settler occupying his time; while the difficulty of access to the new settlements, and no doubt a desire to deal leniently with the early pioneers, rendered official enquiries easily satisfied, or evaded, without any very serious dereliction of truth. The only means of ingress to the township of Otonabee, in those early days, was by crossing Rice Lake in small boats or skiffs, hired for the occasion, at a tariff of charges which would now be considered very high. For instance, a boat and a boy to convey a passenger or two from Gore's landing to Foley's point, could hardly be procured for less than four dol lars. In consequence of the inexperience of most of the settlers as to the management of a boat in rough weather, these small crafts were frcquently upset by the swells, and the luggage with which they were usually loaded, as well as the lives of the passengers endangered, or lost. Several accidents of this kind are remembered, and also some very remarkable escapes. In the fall of 1820, a Mr. Housten, an intending settler in Asphodel, and his three sons, with their effects, arrived at the south side of the lake, where the owner of a boat of considerable size, was demanding what was regarded as an extravagant sum for ferrying them across. Lieut. Jenkins and a ship carpenter named Collier, who had just returned from Kingston with a trim sail boat, promptly undertook the task, and the passengers and their goods were placed on board the little vessel, which was heavily laden. As they approached the first island, a squall arose, the vessel swamped, and the five passengers found themselves immersed in the water, amid floating trunks and a bundle of bedding. Jenkins could not swim and speedily sank; Collier was an excellent swimmer, but his pockets were loaded with shot. He struck out for the island, but becoming entangled in the rice, he too was drowned. Housten and his sons, with rare presence of mind, clung to their floating goods, which kept them afloat until the larger boat arrived from the shore, and they were rescued. John McIntosh and his daughter Margaret, perished, as was believed, by breaking through the ice, in attempting to cross. His body was found during the following spring in Foley's bay, and hers further down at a point of land since called Margaret's island. Other fatal accidents of a similar kind were not unfrequent, so that the passage of the lake came to be regarded as dangerous. This circumstance, combined with the total absence of milling facilities, and the great exertions and expense involved in getting supplies from without, cast a gloom of despondency over the young settlement. Many of the younger men left the township, to seek occupation elsewhere, and at the end of the third year, the new setttlement had receded rather than advanced. During these early years, hand-sleighs were frequently used during the winter months to transport provisions and necessaries, from the south side of the lake, across the ice, and along a devious road through the almost untracked snow, to the hungry mouths, several miles inland in the forest. Even after Scott's little mill was erected at "the Plains," it was difficult or impossible to reach it in the depths of winter; while during the summer months, those residing in the south-eastern portion of Otonabee, found it to their advantage to carry their scanty store of grain several miles to Rice Lake, paddle it up to the mouth of the Otonabee river, and thence along the windings of that crooked stream till at length the longed-for destination was reached, (Scott's mill, at "the Plains," now Peterborough,) and after an indefinite delay, they returned by the same route. Not only were passengers and goods conveyed across the lake in small boats, but also young cattle; and in one instance, as we are credibly informed, a settler conveyed down the lake, a distance of 14 miles, 4 head of cattle two years old, in a skiff, he paddling all the way seated in the stern. For many years the skins of the hogs, annually killed, were made into moccasins, with the hairy side in, as a substitute for boots, and in the scarcity of tea, which was then a costly luxury, wild peppermint, sweet balm, and other herbs were made to take its place. One of these went by the name of Foley's tea, and some others were believed to be an antidote to fever and ague,-a disease from which the early settlers suffered severely. These were the times to try men's patriotism and to test their patience; but well and bravely did the men and the women too of that day endure their privations; and though many of them have passed away to their rest, those who remain, and their children's children, enjoy the fruits of their labors. The heart loneliness of many of these early settlers, and the longing for the familiar objects of their native land, expressed in the following original lines, written in Otonabee and published at a later date, must then have found an echo in the bosom of many of these early settlers at the time of which we write. We quote the lines from the Cobourg Star, of December 31st, 1831, without being able to indicate their author : MY HAME. I canna ca' this forest, hame, It is nae hame to me; And unco to my e'e. If I cou'd see the bonny broom On ilka sandy know'; Or the whins in a' their gowden pride, That on the green hill grow ; |