The pioneer way of life might be summed up in the word “self- sufficiency” -— everything except tea and sugar, rum and molasses came from the family farm. If the family kept bees, and could fancy the Labrador tea growing in the woods, and numbered a moonshiner among their friends, only the molasses need have been purchased; and maybe honey could have substituted for that too.

Our settlers came very near to starvation that first winter on the Island. Potatoes and fish would have been the basic foods, supple- mented by game, such as the hares, partridges, ducks, and geese mentioned by Samuel Holland in his survey, together with meat, flour, and oatmeal bought by the first agent, David Lawson, from David Higgins at Three Rivers (when available). Farming practices were primitive compared to what the settlers had been used to in Scotland; and one of the big surprises to greet them here was that the Island was almost completely covered with forest, which had to be cleared before planting could be done. The first crop to go in was potatoes, planted in hills between the stumps of the trees used to build the settlers’ log houses and barns; as the stumps were removed, grain could be planted. Farm work was done with oxen until horses could be obtained; the stocking of Stanhope Farm with cattle, sheep and hogs was a prime concern of David Lawson. With all the work to be done, large families were an advantage; there was no free time for children then, until all the chores were done. For more on early farming, please see the sections on the Montgomery settlers and Agriculture.

The early censuses give interesting information on the pioneer way of life; from the list of animals kept by each family, one can envisage the sheep being sheared, the oxen pulling the primitive ploughs and harrows, the cows being milked, the milk being made into cheese, and the cream churned into butter (so many pounds of butter

Early fence and dyke sketch by Lawrence Quick

25