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Chapter 1: Crossing the Atlantic
It was suggested to me before leaving England that I should keep a journal, & as so many are now interested in Manitoba, & the North West Territory of Canada. I have thought that our life of the last twelve months may furnish something of interest to those in the dear "Old Country". I am no literary character, & cannot pretend to a finished style of writing but if the simple details of a life, which has proved full of variety, & novelty, afford any pleasure to those who read these pages, I shall feel quite repaid for at the outset, I know that I have undertaken a task which will require a great deal of time, & thought, the former always fully occupied in a North Western Home.
On April 1st 1880 we left Liverpool, & went on board the Sardinian, by which vessel my husband had taken passage for ourselves, our four children & my sister - Finding that Agricultural prospects in England were every month growing worse & there seemed no prospect of regaining the large sum, which each year had to go to make up the deficit in our accounts, we decided to bring our family to the new country, of which we had heard, & read so much, & there expend our energies in making a home for them; thus it was we came to be on board the Sardinian, a splendid vessel, belonging to the Allan Lines. Those crossing the Atlantic for the first time, as we were, cannot help being struck with the many conveniences, & comforts with which the large steamers are fitted up. The spacious saloon looked most charming when we first went on board, the long tables arranged for dinner, each serviette holding a small bouquet of flowers, others in stands being down the centre of the tables & more in pots were suspended from the glass dome, which with some canaries in their cages, gave almost a homelike appearance it so delighted my brother-in-law, who had come to see us off, that he said he heartily wished he was going too, though he would most certainly have repented doing so before many hours, being a particularly bad sailor.
Our cabins were not in the best part of the vessel, & at first we were horrified at their being so small, but it is astonishing how soon we adapted ourselves to their size, & found them most comfortable, & indeed, they need be, as we were obliged to occupy them far more than the saloon. The next day we were anchored off Moville & being a lovely day we thoroughly enjoyed an hour on deck, then wrote some letters & after luncheon took our books again on deck intending to read, but my husband took me to see our dogs, we had two handsome black & tan Colley puppies, they were in charge of the butcher, & from seeing them I went into the steerage where there were 600 passengers, it all looked beautifully clean, but I cannot say I should like to sleep in a hammock on a rough day.
A lady was bringing 200 children from a Liverpool Institution to be placed out in Canada, they looked so bright & happy & seemed thoroughly to enjoy the novelty. Of the next three days I can say but little, it was very rough & I only heard of one lady leaving her cabin. Tuesday the 6th the Stewardess dragged us all on deck, & never shall I forget, how refreshing the air felt after the close atmosphere below, & oh! the beautiful ocean, I could hardly believe it had been so tempestuous & caused us so much discomfort. We had a most pleasant party on board, being 90 saloon passengers, nearly 40 of whom were leaving England for the same, or similar reasons as ourselves, we soon became acquainted when we had the opportunity, the children as usual being the first to make friends, they thoroughly enjoyed the voyage & were a merry party, after the first few days, there were 15 in all, the youngest being a baby of a few weeks, a delicate looking little fellow at Liverpool, but I never saw any child grow, & improve so quickly, when I saw him 6 weeks later in Winnipeg, he was one of the finest boys I ever saw for his age. I mention this, as I have been frequently told, a sea voyage was detrimental to young children.
By some well acquainted with Canada, we were persuaded to break our journey, & see something of Ontario, before passing on to Manitoba, so we decided to stay at Peterborough, which is about 60 miles from Toronto, for my husband to see that part of the country. We were 11 days crossing, & the Wednesday, & Saturday were the only fine ones of the week, one lady who had made 18 voyages without being ill, was this time obliged to succumb to the horrors of sea-sickness. However with the aid of books, chess, draughts, cards & the excitement of "Nearing the bay", & I must not omit the pleasant kettledrums in Capt. Dutton's cozy Cabin, the time passed quickly. One evening too we had some theatricals, & the piano was a never failing source of amusement. Sunday there was a thick fog, & on Monday morning we were not sorry to hear that Halifax was in sight, & felt glad to dispense with the melancholy fog signals, & looked forward to the railway travelling as an agreeable change, still everything had been done that could conduce to our comfort, & even to our amusement, so that it was not without a feeling of regret that we said "Good-bye" to the Sardinian.
