"SEASONS OF THE LILAC," PART SEVEN - WHAT WERE THE HOMESTEADERS READING IN THEIR BACKWOODS ISOLATION OTHER THAN THE FAMILY BIBLE?
SOME BOOKS, YOU WOULD EXPECT, OTHERS, WELL NOT REALLY!
EVEN WHEN I VISITED HALF-FALLEN IN FARMSTEADS, IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON AT ALL, TO FIND A HIGH, CORNER BOOKSHELF, WITH TEXTS STILL LINED UP, AS IF THE RESIDENT GHOSTS, HAD BECOME ENDURING, FAITHFUL STEWARDS TO THE WRITTEN WORD. MANY WERE STILL IN FAIR CONDITION, AFTER DECADES OF BEING EXPOSED TO SEASONAL WEATHER FLUCTUATIONS, AND MOISTURE CONTAMINATION. MANY WERE AGRICULTURAL BOOKS, AND A FEW HOMESTEAD SURVIVAL GUIDES, SUCH AS THE 1850'S "FARMERS' EVERYDAY BOOK," THAT I PURCHASED, AT AN AUCTION SALE, HELD ON THE PROPERTY OF THE HISTORIC EWING FARM, WEST OF BRACEBRIDGE, NEAR MILFORD BAY. YOU COULD FIND THE OCCASIONAL COOK BOOK, IN ROUGH CONDITION, AND OTHER RELIGIOUS BOOKS, WITH A SMATTERING OF POETRY COLLECTIONS, ALL OF THE MORE ROMANTIC KIND. FEEL GOOD POETRY! BUT THERE ARE SOME EXCEPTIONS, THAT MAKES THE VOYEUR RE-THINK WHAT HAS BEEN ASSUMED OF THE PIONEER PERIOD, AND WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION MADE IT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE WILDS. BOOKS WERE A LUXURY, AND HEAVY CARGO, ESPECIALLY IF THE HOMESTEADER HAD TO WALK TWENTY OR THIRTY MILES THROUGH THE BUSH, TO GET TO A FREE LAND GRANT PROPERTY. THERE IS ONE STORY TOLD, OF AN ELDERLY WOMAN BEING ASKED TO GET OUT OF A CART, AS IT WAS BEING PULLED UP THE A HILL, NEAR BAYSVILLE, BY AN EXHAUSTED, FALTERING TEAM OF HORSES. SHE AGREED TO GET OUT, BUT INSISTED THAT THE CLOCK CAME WITH HER, AS IT WAS HER DEAREST POSSESSION, BROUGHT FROM HOME. WE KNOW THAT SOME BOOKS, ESPECIALLY FAMILY BIBLES, MADE THE TRIP AS "COVETED," POSSESSIONS, AND I DARE SAY, SOME WERE WALKED UP HILLS AS WELL, WHEN THE LOAD AND THE CHALLENGE AHEAD BECAME TOO MUCH FOR THE TEAM.
I PURCHASED TWO AMAZING OLD BOOKS THIS AFTERNOON, THAT I SUSPECT WERE FROM (AREA) FARMSTEADS, LOCATED IN THIS REGION OF ONTARIO. AND AMONG THE MANY I HAVE COLLECTED OVER THE DECADES, AS A BIBLIOPHILE, THERE ARE OCCASIONAL SURPRISES. I LIKE PROVENANCE WITH MY BOOKS, SO THAT I CAN INCLUDE THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO OWNED THE BOOKS IN THE PAST, AND WHERE THEY WERE FROM IN THE WORLD. OLD AND DEAR BOOKS, WERE OFTEN HAULED AROUND THE GLOBE, FROM TRANSPORT IN HORSE DRAWN CARTS, IN SCHOONERS, IN PACKS UP MOUNTAIN SIDES, AND VIA TRAIN PULLED BY STEAM LOCOMOTIVES. IN THE ANTIQUE COLLECTING ENTERPRISE, HAVING PROVENANCE TO ATTACH TO AN ACQUISITION, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS, IS A VALUE ENHANCEMENT, AND KNOWING IT WAS FROM A SPECIFIC REGION, A CASTLE, A WELL KNOWN ESTATE, THE AUTHOR'S OWN COLLECTION, OR FROM THE MODEST LIBRARY OF A KNOWN FARMSTEAD, OFFERS AN HISTORIAN /WRITER, LIKE ME, A LITTLE EXTRA TO SHARE WITH READERS. TODAY I GOT TWO GEMS; ONE OF THE TWO 1854 BOOKS, WAS A PREDICTABLE FIND, THE OTHER, WELL, IT BLEW ME AWAY. THE FACT THAT BOTH WERE FROM 1854, AND WERE THE ONLY TWO GENUINELY ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS I HANDLED TODAY, WAS ALSO ONE OF THOSE COINCIDENCES WE COLLECTORS SPIN STORIES ABOUT. AND HERE'S ONE FOR TODAY.
THE FIRST BOOK ACQUISITION, WAS AN 1854, GOOD CONDITION COPY OF "A THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY, CONTAINING OF ALL RELIGIOUS TERMS, A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF EVERY ARTICLE IN THE SYSTEM OF DIVINITY, AN IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT OF ALL THE PRINCIPAL DENOMINATION, WHICH HAVE SUBSISTED IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE PRESENT DAY - AN ACCURATE STATEMENT OF THE MOST REMARKABLE TRANSACTIONS AND EVENTS RECORDED IN ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY." BY THE REVEREND CHARLES BUCK. A SECTION ENTITLED "NEW AMERICAN, FROM THE LATEST LONDON EDITION," WAS COMPOSED BY REVEREND GEORGE BUSH, A.M. (COULD IT BE ANY RELATION TO THE PRESIDENTIAL BUSH FAMILY? AND YES WE FOUND OUT HE WAS A DISTANT RELATIVE FROM VERMONT)
THERE IS AN OPENING SECTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE BOOK, SHOWING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION THROUGH THE YEARS, AND HONESTLY, I STARTED TO GET NAUSEOUS. YES, IT IS THAT BAD. SO THIS WAS A PRETTY SOUL WRENCHING INTRODUCTION, TO THE HISTORY FREEDOM OF RELIGION, OR NOT, WITH THE KIND OF GRAPHICS THAT WOULD CERTAINLY MAKE A FORLORN, WEARY HOMESTEADER, FEEL A LITTLE MORE WRETCHED THAN USUAL. THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF ENDEARING COLLECTION OF GRAPHICS, THAT MAKE YOU WANT TO READ FURTHER. BUT, IN TERMS OF EXPLANATIONS, OF BIBLE REFERENCES, AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT "ANGELS" FOR EXAMPLE, IT WAS A SUBSTANTIALLY WELL PROPORTIONED AND USEFUL RESOURCE. IF THE HOMESTEAD MOTHER, OR FATHER, WANTED TO SCARE THEIR CHILDREN, AND WARN THEM ABOUT THE EVILS OF THE WORLD, THE FIRST TWELVE OR SO PAGES OF THIS BOOK, WOULD EITHER SCARE THEM STRAIGHT, OR TURN THEM OFF RELIGION FOREVER.
THE SECOND BOOK, FROM A HOMESTEAD BOOKSHELF, IS PARTICULARLY FASCINATING. JUST LAST NIGHT, I SAT OUT HERE ON THE VERANDAH OF BIRCH HOLLOW, ENJOYING THE BEAUTIFUL SUMMER EVENING (IN AUTUMN), AND WONDERED HOW THE MUSKOKA HOMESTEADERS, FELT ABOUT THINGS LIKE THE MOON AND STARS, AND WHAT THEY COULD SEE OF THE UNIVERSE. IN THEIR ISOLATED SITUATIONS, ON NIGHTS AS BLACK AS COAL, (AS THEY SAY), HOW WOULD THEY HAVE INTERPRETED THE STARSCAPE, AND SPECULATED ON WHAT EXISTED OUT THERE IN THE SPACE ABOVE THEM. WAS IT OF GOD'S CREATION? WAS IT A SPARKLING UNKNOWN QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF NATURE, UNDERSTOOD BY SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHERS? THE BOOK I FOUND TODAY, MAY OFFER SOME EXPLANATION, IN THIS REGARD, AND PROVIDE REASONABLE INSIGHT, ABOUT WHAT HOMESTEADERS COULD SPECULATE ABOUT THE UNIVERSE, DAZZLING IN TINY LIGHTS, AROUND THE GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS MOON-FACE, ABOVE THEIR TINY RURAL HOMESTEADS. IT DEMONSTRATES, THAT EVEN IN THE HOMESTEAD PERIOD OF MUSKOKA, THERE WERE "OTHER WORLDLY" INSIGHTS AND SPECULATIONS, ABOUT THE MOTHER EARTH, AND HUMANITY'S PLACE IN IT, THAT DIDN'T ALWAYS FALL TIGHTLY INTO NEAT COMPONENTS OF RELIGION, AS IT WAS BEING OFFERED IN COUNTRY CHURCHES, WHICH WERE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN, HERE IN THE EARLY 1860'S. IN MANY ENCAMPMENT AREAS, IN THE SETTLEMENT TERRITORY, HOMESTEADERS MIGHT MEET IN THE HUMBLE LOG CABINS, WHERE NEIGHBORS COULD CONGREGATE FOR CONVENIENCES ON SUNDAYS, TO PRAY AS A GROUP.
THE BOOK IS ENTITLED "MORE WORLDS THAN ONE, THE CREED OF THE PHILOSOPHER - AND THE HOPE OF THE CHRISTIANS," BY SIR DAVID BREWSTER, AND PUBLISHED IN 1854, IN LONDON, ENGLAND, BY JOHN MURRAY OF ALBEMARLE STREET. THIS WAS NOTED AS BEING WITHIN THE FIRST 6,000 COPIES PUBLISHED AT THAT TIME. THINKING ABOUT THOSE SETTLERS, LOOKING AT THE NIGHT SKY, WITH THIS BOOK HAVING BEEN AVAILABLE TO THEM AS REFERENCE, WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY CREATED AN UNEXPECTED ENLIGHTENMENT ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY, EARTH WASN'T THE ONLY HABITABLE PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THIS WASN'T A BOOK CONFINED TO A UNIVERSITY COLLECTION, FOR THE BENEFIT OF SCHOLARS. THIS WAS AVAILABLE TO THOSE INTERESTED IN SUCH THINGS, WHO COULD AFFORD SUCH A LUXURY. IT'S NOT A BOOK THAT DISMISSES RELIGION, BUT OPENS THE READER'S MIND TO THE POSSIBILITIES OF LIFE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE UNIVERSE. IT'S WILD WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. HERE WE ARE, IN 2014, STILL TRYING TO ANSWER ROUGHLY THE SAME QUESTIONS. OBVIOUSLY IN 1854, THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME ADVANTAGES WE HAVE TODAY, TO SEEK OUT THESE ANSWERS. I CAN VISUALIZE THE HOMESTEADER, SITTING BY AN ILLUMINATED OIL LAMP, READING FROM THIS BOOK, AND THEN HEADING OUTSIDE, IN THE DARKNESS, LOOKING UP TO EXPLORE WITH THEIR OWN EYES, THIS MAGNIFICENT DEEPNESS OF UNIVERSE STRETCHING TO INFINITY. BUT THEN, WHAT IN 1854 WAS INFINITY? WHAT WOULD A SETTLER, CIRCA THE 1850'S, EXPECT, AND IMAGINE, OF LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS. ALIENS? DID THEY KNOW WHAT THIS MEANT? WELL, LET'S FIND OUT WHAT THIS BOOK WAS ALL ABOUT, AND WHAT IT MEANT TO THE HOMESTEADERS, TRYING TO GET THROUGH THE DAYS AND WEEKS, WITHOUT STARVING TO DEATH; TOO BUSY GENERALLY TO WORRY ABOUT SPACE INVADERS. BUT WHAT IF THEY SAW A HOVERING DISC, LIKE WHAT WE WOULD CALL "A FLYING SAUCER" TODAY?
I WILL CARRY-ON THIS BOOK REVIEW, AS IT RELATES TO THE HOMESTEAD LIBRARY, FOR SEVERAL BLOGS THIS WEEK, BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A FASCINATING STORY. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS COLUMN, TRY TO IMAGINE YOURSELF IN THAT BLEAK, ISOLATED HOMESTEAD SITUATION, SUCH AS THE DESCRIPTION I'VE OFFERED OF THE PIONEER ENCAMPMENT OF "JERUSALEM," NEAR BRACEBRIDGE, AND LOOKING UP FROM THE VALLEY BELOW WHAT THEY CALLED, "THE HILL OF JUDEA," IN THE PITCH-BLACK OF NIGHT, LOOKING UP AT THE INFINITY OF TWINKLING LIGHTS, AND SHOOTING STARS, ACROSS THE FACE OF THE HARVEST MOON. IT MAKES ME SHIVER JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.
"There is no subject within the whole range of knowledge so universally interesting, as that of a Plurality of Worlds. It commands the sympathies, and appeals to the judgement of men of all nations, of all creeds, and of all times; and no sooner do we comprehend the few simple facts on which it rests, than the mind rushes instinctively to embrace it. Before the great truths of Astronomy were demonstrated - before the dimensions and motions of the planets were ascertained, and the fixed stars placed at inconceivable distances from the system to which we belong, philosophers and poets descried in the celestial spheres the abodes of the blest; but it was not till the form and size and motions of the earth were known, and till the condition of the other planets was found to be the same, that analogy compelled us to believe that these planets must be inhabited like our own."
Sir David Brewster writes, "Although this opinion was maintained incidentally, by various writers both on astronomy and natural religion, yet M. Fontenelle, Secretary to the Academy of Sciences in Paris, was the first individual who wrote a treatise expressly on the subject. It was published in 1686, the year before Sir Isaac Newton, gave his immortal work, the 'Principia,' to the world, and was entitled "Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds.' It consisted of five chapters with the following titles. 1. The earth is a planet which turns round its own axis and also round the sun. 2. The moon is a habitable world. 3. Particulars concerning the world in the moon, and that the other planets are also inhabited. 4. Particulars of the worlds of Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. 5. The fixed stars are as many suns, each of which illuminates a world.' In another edition, of the work published in 1719, Fontenelle, added a sixth chapter, entitled, '6. New thoughts which confirm those in the preceding conversations. The latest discoveries which have been made in the heavens.' This singular work, written by a man of great genius, and with sufficient knowledge of astronomy, excited a high degree of interest, both from the nature of the subject and the vivacity and humour with which was written. The conversations are carried on with the Marchioness of G___, with whom the author is supposed to be reading. The lady is, of course, distinguished by youth, beauty, and talent, and the share which she takes in the dialogue is not less interesting than the more scientific part assumed by the philosopher.
"The Plurality of Worlds,' as the work was called, was read with unexplained avidity, and was speedily circulated through every part of Europe. It was translated into al the languages of the continent, and was honoured by annotations from the pen of celebrated astronomer, La Lande, and of M. Gottsched, one of the German editors. No fewer than three English translations were published, and one of these, we believe the first, had run through six editions so early as the year 1737. Wherever it was read, it was admired, and though one hundred and sixty-seven years have elapsed since its publication, (to 1854) we have not been able to learn than any attempt has been made, during that long period, either to ridicule or controvert the fascinating doctrines which it taught. A few years after the publication of Fontenelle's work, the celebrated philosopher, Christian Huygens. the contemporary of Newton, and the discoverer of the ring and one of the satellites of Saturn, composed a work on the 'Plurality of Worlds,' under the title of the 'Theory of the Universe, or Conjectures concerning the Celestial Bodies and Their Inhabitats.' This interesting treatise, as large as that of Fontenelle, was translated into English, and went through at least two editions. It was written at the age of sixty-seven, a short time before the author's death; and so great was the interest which he felt in its publication, that he earnestly besought his brother, to carry his wishes into effect. He mentions the great pleasure he had derived from the composition of it, and from the communications of his views to his friends. About to enter the world of the future, the philosopher who had added a new planet to our solar system, and discovered the most magnificent and incomprehensible of its structures, looked forward with a peculiar interest to a solution of the mysteries which it had been the business and the happiness of his life to contemplate. He was anxious that his fellow-men should derive the same pleasures that he did, from viewing the planets and the stars, as the seats of intellectual life, and he left them his 'Theory of the Universe,' a legacy worthy of his name."
To be continued in tomorrow's blog.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THE PROPANGANDA OF 1871 - THE HOMESTEADER TRAP - DISHONESTY? OR TWISTING THE TRUTH?
SO WHAT GOT THE BALL ROLLING IN OUR DISTRICT? SPECULATION AND THE POOR!
THOMAS MCMURRAY WAS A DECENT SORT. NOT A GREAT BUSINESSMAN, BUT A HUSTLER. A GREAT OPTIMIST. THE KIND OF "IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME," KIND OF ENTREPRENEUR. SEEMED TO BE IN A HURRY TO BUILD A "TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE" BEFORE THE HAMLET WAS EVEN INCHING TOWARD VILLAGE STATUS. HIS SETTLERS' GUIDE BOOK, PUBLISHED IN 1871, ENTITLED "MUSKOKA AND PARRY SOUND," IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DISTRICT BOOKS WE POSSESS AS A REGION. I WAS GIVEN A COPY BY MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, HARRIET STRIPP (NEE SHEA), WHO HAD BEEN GIVEN HER FATHER'S BOOK, WHEN HE PASSED AWAY. HE WAS JOHN SHEA, OF UFFORD, AND HE HAD ONCE BEEN A CLERK AT WATT TOWNSHIP, IN MUSKOKA LAKES. I AM PLEASED TO OWN IT, BECAUSE IT PUTS ME CLOSER, YOU SEE, TO THE GUY WHO HELPED MISLEAD A LOT OF UNSUSPECTING SETTLERS TO THEIR HOMESTEAD DISASTERS. DON'T GET ME WRONG. THOMAS MCMURRAY WAS AN IMPORTANT BUSINESSMAN IN BRACEBRIDGE. BUT HE HAD CONFLICTS, PARTICULARLY WHEN HE AUTHORED THIS PARTICULAR BOOK, THAT WAS AIMED AT POTENTIAL AND INCOMING HOMESTEADERS…..AND WAS HEAVILY BIASED, BUT HE DIDN'T WANT READERS TO THINK SO. HE FOOLED A LOT OF HISTORIANS OVER THE YEARS BUT NOT ME. THE MORE FOLKS HE ATTRACTED TO BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA, THE BETTER HIS BUSINESS MIGHT FARE. NOW I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY COPIES OF THIS BOOK WERE PRODUCED AS A FIRST EDITION. I DON'T SUSPECT THERE WERE THOUSANDS PRINTED, BUT I CAN'T SAY THIS FOR SURE. NONE THE LESS, HE STILL CONTRADICTS HIMSELF WITH THE PARAGRAPH THAT READS:
AS I HAVE NO DESIRE TO EXTOL THE DISTRICT, AND AM ANXIOUS TO GIVE A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENT, I SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING CONTROVERSY, SO THAT MY READERS MAY HAVE BOTH SIDES AND DRAW THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS THERE ON." AS EXTOLLING THE VIRTUES OF THE DISTRICT, HE WAS A CHAMPION. HIS BOOK IS FILLED WITH ROMANTIC POETIC SELECTIONS, THAT CERTAINLY MAKE MUSKOKA SEEM PRETTY CLOSE TO HEAVEN-ON-EARTH. NOW I LIKE HIS WORK, AND THERE ARE ASPECTS OF HIS REPRESENTATION OF THE REGION, THAT DO APPEAL TO THOSE OF US WHO DO FIND MUSKOKA A MORE NORTHERLY WALDEN POND. IT WAS THE DAMAGE HIS BOOK, AND OTHERS SIMILARLY COMPOSED, DID…. WHEN MAKING IT APPEAR A MUCH EASIER TASK, TO ARRIVE HERE AS "THE DOWNTRODDEN," AND IMMEDIATELY START PULLING VEGETABLES OUT OF THE GROUND……THE LOG SHANTIES ALMOST BUILDING THEMSELVES. THE ONLY REASON HIS BOOK DIDN'T INFLUENCE EVEN MORE HOMESTEADERS, IS THAT THEY COULDN'T READ ABOUT WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SELL.
AS FAR AS FAIR, THE LETTER HE PUBLISHED FROM A NEWSPAPER CALLED THE ST. MARY'S VIDETTE, PRESUMABLY FROM ST. MARY'S, ONTARIO, ISN'T REALLY USED AS A COUNTER POINT, TO THE CLAIMS MCMURRAY MAKES ABOUT THE GOOD LIFE IN MUSKOKA….BUT RATHER, WAS USED AS A PLATFORM, FROM WHICH TO MOUNT AN EDITORIAL MASSACRE, OF THE LETTER WRITER AND THE NEWSPAPER FOR THEIR INACCURACIES. IN THE BOOK, THE REPRINTED LETTER IS ENTITLED "A BLACK PICTURE," AND OFFERS SOME SUBSTANTIAL REASONS WHY AND HOW LAND AGENTS AND SPECULATORS, HAD GROSSLY MISREPRESENTED THE ADVANTAGES OF FARMSTEADING IN THE MUSKOKA REGION. THIS IS IMPORTANT, BUT USUALLY NEGLECTED, BUT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN HOW IT ALL BEGAN HERE…..AND POVERTY WAS SEEDED IN THIS PERIOD, THIS IS WHERE WE HAVE TO BEGIN. IN MY MANY YEARS DELVING INTO, AND WRITING ABOUT MUSKOKA HISTORY, THIS LETTER IS BANG-ON, BUT MCMURRAY WASN'T GOING TO LET IT GO UNCHALLENGED. HE TURNS THE ARGUMENT AROUND AND USES IT TO BOLSTER HIS OWN HUGELY BIASED POSITION.
JUST A NOTE OF EXPLANATION. IT IS WIDELY KNOWN THAT FREE LAND GRANTS WERE MISREPRESENTED, AND ARABLE LAND WAS PROMOTED WHERE THERE WAS ONLY A THIN SOIL ON ROCK. THEN THERE WAS THE CASE OF THE FORESTS OF MUSKOKA. THE WETLANDS. THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF WETLAND. NOT GREAT FOR FARMING. ROCKS AND DIFFICULT TERRAIN, WHERE IT WAS BARELY MENTIONED IN GOVERNMENT ADVERTISEMENTS. THE POOREST OF THE POOR WERE BEING SOLICITED FROM EUROPE, AND PROMISED MUCH BETTER ENVIRONMENTAL, AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS THAN WAS THE REALITY ONCE HERE. SO THESE POORLY PREPARED SOULS, WITH YOUNG FAMILIES, WERE SUCKED INTO THE CROSS ATLANTIC TRAVERSE, TRANSPORTED BY RAIL, BACK TO STEAMSHIP, THEN TO HORSE DRAWN WAGONS OVER THE MOST TREACHEROUS ROADS ANYWHERE ON EARTH, AND THEN GIVEN A ROUGH MAP, A SLAP ON THE BACK, (AFTER MERCHANTS SOLD THEM OVER-PRICED PROVISIONS), AND WERE SENT WALKING TO THEIR VERY, VERY RURAL HOMESTEAD ACREAGES. HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS REFUSED TO CHOP ONE TREE, OR ROLL AWAY ONE BOULDER, BEFORE TURNING AROUND AND SEEKING ANOTHER REGION TO SETTLE. WHAT THEY FOUND WAS NOT IN THE HAND-BOOKS. A MAJORITY OF THESE SETTLERS WERE WITHOUT MEANS, AND LOW ON PROVISIONS, AND MANY DID PERISH DUE TO BEING POORLY OUTFITTED TO SURVIVE THE LONG HARSH WINTERS. A COLLECTIVE OF STORY SPINNERS, SOME WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT, THE STEAMSHIP LINES, AND ASSORTED BUSINESS INTERESTS, MADE THEIR HANDSOME PROFITS, CONVINCING THIS CITY POOR, LOOKING FOR BETTER LIVES, THAT MUSKOKA WAS "GOD'S COUNTRY," AND YOU WOULDN'T STARVE UNDER GOD'S WATCH? WOULD YOU? THOSE WHO PITCHED THE VIRTUES OF MUSKOKA, WERE TELLING PORKIES. BUT WHEN YOU'RE AS DOWNTRODDEN, AND VOID OF HOPE AS THESE POTENTIAL SETTLERS WERE, IT SOUNDED LIKE A WONDERFUL WAY TO START OVER, IN A HEALTHY ENVIRONS, WITH A 100 ACRES OF PARADISE! MCMURRAY WAS PART OF THE PROBLEM. WHAT WAS WRITTEN BELOW IS PRETTY ACCURATE TO WHAT ONE CAN RESEARCH EASILY, ABOUT THE FIRST ROUND OF TRIAL AND ERROR SETTLEMENTS.
ONE MORE THING TO CONSIDER, IS THE FACT THAT IN THE 1880'S, AN AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION REPORT, CONFIRMED THAT SETTLEMENT INITIATIVES IN MUSKOKA, HAD BEEN A LARGELY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. WHAT IT POINTED OUT, IN ONLY A FEW PARAGRAPHS, WAS THAT CRAPPY LAND FOR FARMS, WAS ACCEPTED BY DESTITUTE SETTLERS….AS THERE WASN'T ANY OTHER OPTION. SOME DIDN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MOVE AWAY, ONCE THEY ARRIVED HERE. WHAT THE COMMISSION DREW FROM THIS LITTLE EXPERIMENT WITH HUMANITY, WAS THAT IF THEY COULD FOB-OFF BOG-LANDS, HIGHLANDS AND THICK FORESTS, AND HAVE PIONEERS BUILD THE ROADS AND BRIDGES, THEN IT WOULD BE THE TEMPLATE FOR A LOT OF OTHER CRAPPY LAND TO THE NORTH…..THAT ALSO NEEDED SETTLERS TO BUILD THAT CANADIAN DREAM OF INHABITATION COAST TO COAST……..AS WELL AS THE POLITICAL SIDE, OF BEING ABLE TO JUSTIFY THE BUILDING OF THE GREAT LINKAGE OF RAIL LINES FROM THE EAST COAST TO THE WEST. SETTLEMENTS AND AN INCREASING POPULATION, WOULD CONVINCE THE AMERICANS, WE WERE SERIOUS ABOUT CARRYING-ON WHAT WE ESTABLISHED, BY WINNING THE WAR OF 1812. SO THE HOMESTEADERS IN MUSKOKA WERE JUST PART OF THE PLAN, TO SETTLE THE REST OF CANADA. THE RESILIENCE OF THE SETTLERS, TOLD GOVERNMENT CLEARLY, THAT THESE DESPERATE SOULS WOULD TAKE ANYTHING IF IT WAS FREE…..EVEN ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT LANDSCAPES TO FARM. SO WHEN YOU READ THE LETTER BELOW, AND THINK IT RATHER RUDE, OR IGNORANT, REGARDING THE ASSETS OF OUR REGION, REMEMBER THE FACT THAT GOVERNMENT, DIDN'T FEEL BAD WHATSOEVER, MISREPRESENTING THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EMIGRATING TO CANADA……AND CONTINUED TO LIE BECAUSE IT GOT RESULTS. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, DID THEY HAVE A FIGURE FOR "ACCEPTABLE LOSS," ESTIMATING IN ADVANCE HOW MANY SETTLERS COULD DIE, AS A RESULT OF THE PROGRAM, BEFORE THE ISSUE BECAME A STICKY WICKET. IF IT HAD BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT TWO HUNDRED IMMIGRANTS HAD PERISHED IN THE FIRST YEAR, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BAD FOR BUSINESS. DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL. GOVERNMENT WAS AWARE WHAT THE RISK WAS, TO THESE UNFORTUNATES, BUT THEY HAD A BIGGER PLAN……AN AGENDA THAT WHEN FULFILLED, WOULD BE WORTH THE SACRIFICE.
HERE IS THE PRE-1871 LETTER TO THE EDITOR, OF THE ST. MARY'S NEWSPAPER
"A few days ago, a party of eighteen or twenty farmers from this neighborhood, having read the glowing newspaper accounts of the free grant lands to the north, started on an expedition to Muskoka, to explore the region for themselves, and see whether it would be advisable for them to move thither. On arriving there, they split up into subsections, each detachment taking a particular field. These traversed the most promising townships, examining the soil, consulting the people, taking notes of the landscape, observing the crops, and obtaining all the information possible. After tedious and hopeless wanderings, they one and all returned indignant and disgusted at the imposition of paid agents and rascally speculators; and they declare, in blunt terms, that the idea of its being an agricultural country, is a barefaced piece of imposition, invented by tricky sharks, who are fairly coining money out of the necessities of newcomers. These statements have been corroborated in the main by Messrs. John Rouson, Biddulph Township, Thomas Hughes, George Oliver and Henry Morgan, Nissouri Township, who have just paid our sanctum a visit on their way home from Muskoka.
"Three of these gentlemen have themselves travelled through eleven townships, and affirm one and the same story. The soil is nearly all sand and rock, with an occasional spot of clay, while limestone was found in only one small place. The best land, a specimen of which was shown us, is a red sort of sand clay. The water is, for the most part, of the color of strong lye, embittered by balsam and pine roots. Throughout these eleven townships there were about half-a-dozen loads of wheat raised. People who have settled there for seven years past, grow nothing but potatoes - which are really splendid and come up in double the profusion we see them in Perth or Middlesex. The timber is good, and there is a prodigious lumbering business in the prospective. Pine and birch are very plentiful, but maple and beech are seldom observed. The residents are chiefly emigrants from English cities, who know nothing of farming, and are easily victimized by the Government agents and private adventurers. It is pitiable to see the shifts they are put to in some cases, broken-heartedness visible upon their features, and the utter wretchedness of their lives. In many cases the remnants of luxury add a kind of ghastly significance to the scene - silk dresses, faded and torn - the remnants of fine carpets, and other mementoes of an easy and comfortable existence among friends in the old country. In short, the narrative accords with the exclamation of one of these returned farmers; 'It is the most desperate country a white man ever set his foot on with a notion of settling.' Some of them say they wouldn't take the whole of Muskoka as a gift, if they had to pay the penalty of living out of its soil; and that starvation and rags will haunt the dwelling of settlers as long as they exist.
"Of course, we know nothing of these things from our own personal knowledge, but it strikes us that there has been a good deal of studied misrepresentation in favor of these lands from time to to time. Our informants may, in their present state of mind, look at the black side of the picture; but it may do good to people to learn that it has a black side. We desire to see every part of Canada turned to good account, but if a section is fitted only for timber and game, it is worse than useless to inveigle farmers into it, in the Quixotic efforts of making it an agricultural country."
"The above seems almost too ludicrous to answer," wrote Thomas McMurray in response. He wrote a considerable retort, but again from a position of conflict of interest…..as he was a businessman who stood to gain because of the growing prosperity and settlement of the region.
Authorities honestly, had little concern, just because some settlers perished in their humble little cabins. It didn't really matter much if they froze to death, starved to death, worked themselves to death, or died of frustration. One day, when development moves further into the hinterland, onto these old homesteads, the earth movers will uncover many of these gravesites. If work and the elements didn't kill them, a wide assortment of diseases would. When I see the romantic, sentimental interpretations, of the pioneer period in Muskoka, one recent video series in particular, I just can't watch or read these accounts, without a. gagging, and b. pondering why it is so difficult to cross reference as part of logical, scholarly research…..such that the observations above, might instill a writer or film maker to delve a little further. There's no whimsy about this period in our history. Yet almost every modern day attempt to capture this period, for the benefit of today's audience, is so ridiculously attached to the pretty picture, of what it must have been like, at hearthside, in those beautiful, rustic cabins. Right on! This is what I was referring to in a previous blog, about the history lesson William Dawson LeSueur thought he should give Stephen Leacock, when the revered author started penning the popular history of Canada. "The Peoples' History of Canada." The one with the rounded edges so no one got hurt by it. LeSueur, who believed in the critical approach to such important things as history, would rather have quit a project, because of editorial constraints, than leave a good history to seed. He looked at hundreds of sources of information before making an assessment. His was the "actual" perspective, not the "popular" version. I write this often folks, but I am so proud that we have an association with Dr. LeSueur, who named our post offices in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, in 1862 and 1864 respectively. A smart dude, who didn't conceal the truth, or muddle reality, but insisted on clarity, with whatever he happened to be writing about. This former postal authority, civil servant in pioneer Canada, was a literary critic in high standing, his reviews of books revered by major publications in his time, and he became by accomplishment, one of Canada's most respected early historians. Yup, and he named our towns. But don't expect to much fanfare about this, although there was a mention in the most recent Gravenhurst history, composed by Cecil Porter….and released in the fall of 2011.
You won't find much ink dedicated to this "Black Picture," as presented in McMurray's book. Well, if McMurray trashed the letter in his book, seems fitting that every other historian to use the book as reference, did pretty much the same. But as I've pointed out previously, it just doesn't matter whether it is taken seriously, or not, all these years later, because it was reality during those dreadful years. Trying to carve out farmsteads from thick Muskoka bush. Ignorance isn't going to change the realities of history. There were success stories. Survivors. There are citizens of this community today, who have roots in those precarious homestead farms, and have a right to speak about what they know of good times and adversity, as faced by their kin-folk.
It's abundantly clear, most historians in the past hundred years, couldn't spare a lot of time, calculating just how many pioneers died, as a direct result of the risky lifestyle, immersed in an inhospitable, harsh environment, with so many agricultural limitations. Why is that number not of significance to local museums and historical societies…..to local heritage video makers and authors, who time and again give us the sanitized version of events……without even the slightest sense of the humanity that suffered so greatly, trying to survive against horrific odds. Poverty, alcoholism, half-starvation, illness due to inadequate diets, and injury sustained on the homestead, and in the logging operations…..where they had to work in the winter months, in order to make enough money to buy seed for next year's harvest. When I read stories about economic disparity in our region, and find some new half-ass, under-researched over-view of Muskoka's history in this regard, I try my best not to over-react, and "smoke 'em" with a cruel letter to the editor. I can't tell you how many letters I would have to write in a year, to correct the misunderstandings and almost purposeful misrepresentations of social / economic history. I want to make them understand how poverty is our provenance in this region……and we didn't just get this way in a couple of years. The hangover from those pioneer days never really disappeared, and was extended through family generations….although some critics would find this hard to believe. It began as a rural tragedy and it has continued to be a recurring situation for many rural families, still finding it impossible to homestead in modern times.
Muskoka is a jewel. It is a wonderful place to live. But if you plan to live here year round, and you are still "a million dollars shy of being a millionaire," you may find this region, still, after all these years, a difficult place to live affordably and work profitably. Some circumstances don't change no matter what year is printed on the calendar.
There are still folks fudging the facts. Those of authority who feel it is best not to reveal too much, in case we might object or rebel……or toss their sorry behinds out of office. I'm a career writer, so I know how to pitch a slight mistruth to make something look better than it is. I remember a publisher asking me to write a nasty editorial about a councillor I happened to respect, and I outrightly refused to do his dirty work. Well he didn't like my insubordination, but there is no way I could have slanted an editorial, based on someone else's opinion, with nary a fibre of fact to corroborate the assertion. It happens lots out there, and I'm glad my editorial days are long over. But I still watch in my community here, for those who try to manipulate the press, to meet their agenda. There are quite a few Thomas McMurray's lurking about, and I react accordingly, as an historian must. I can live with fact. Researched material from reliable sources. Not hearsay. Not because it's the bent someone has, who feels compelled to shape history the way they see fit.
I don't expect you to believe what I have written because it seems factual-enough to make the grade. I don't ever mind being challenged to prove a point, or defend a position, as long as the challenger has taken the time to read and research counterpoint, before firing attack missiles at me. Point is, we need to know more about our community, from many more points of view, in order to understand what it all represents. You can't possibly understand the history of Gravenhurst or Muskoka, without knowledge of this "Black Picture," I have just presented…….simply because it's considered an inconvenient, messy, unfortunate, paradise-damaging-truth.
The way we began those pioneering years in Muskoka, isn't the direct link or cause to what some amongst us still suffer with today. But when we look at how we have coped, and survived as a permanent population, there is lingering evidence of that grass-roots, social / economic resourcefulness, that many revisionists wouldn't take five minutes to consider as part of our legacy…..before tossing it out as irrelevant. Well, I'm telling you, it is relevant. Toss me away if you think I deserve it!
Thank you so much for joining me for this little retrospective. Please join me again soon.
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