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Chapter 13: The Second 'Raising'
The next day March 1st the owner of the shanty we had so summarily taken possession of, returned, greatly astonished to see the smoke ascending from the stove pipe & to hear the sound of voices, he was most kind in offering us to remain as long as we wished & also in his expression of sorrow for our misfortune. It was still very cold & we were glad to wear our jackets. The house looked in a most uncomfortable state, there was so much inside the small room only 16 feet X 14 feet that order & neatness seemed out of the question & the thought that we should have to make this our home for some months was anything but cheering, yet really we were most fortunate in being able to have even this small house so close to our own land & where we could stay without extra expense & our host was in every was as kind & considerate for our comfort as it was possible. That evening another neighbour hearing of the fire came to offer his condolence, & the following morning 2 others came who were going northward into the bush after expressing their sympathy, they told my husband, that if he could find more logs they would get up a "bee" to chop & draw them, saying they "could build another house but not replace what was in it", they & all the settlers for miles round were most generous in their offers to help with the building of another house. March 3rd my husband went in search of logs which he found about 4 miles distant & coming back in the middle of the day, he started off to invite some of the neighbours to the chopping bee; after going to the one who came on the evening of the 1st he went onto a farm 5 miles further, the snow was 3 feet deep & the greater part of the way there was no trail, so that he was completely tired out & thankfully accepted the offer of a bed for that night, the snow always continues soft, & does not bind as it does in England, there being no thaw, so that at every footstep you sink in, in a manner most fatigueing; when he returned he looked more cheerful than I had seem him since the fire, really only 5 days ago, but to us it had seemed weeks at least, since that dreadful day.
The next morning I walked across the room for the first time & my sister & I determined to look through all that was saved & stow it somewhere before the following day which was Sunday. There was no upper floor our host having good-naturedly allowed his sister to have the boards he had for it, because he was alone & she had a family, my husband had however placed a few boards across the beams & on these the boxes & other things not required were put. The tin trunk had not been opened since it was brought here so we took out all that remained of its contents to dry after the snow we had put it, & in doing so found we had had a most miraculous escape a hundred cartridges belonging to my husband's revolver were at the bottom of one side, providentially it was the other end that was burnt black & almost everything either burnt or scorched, that that corner should have escaped seemed really wonderful & gave us fresh cause for thankfulness.
The chopping bee took place on Monday the 7th. 5 of the neighbours had promised to come but only 2 arrived. They took their luncheon with them & when they returned at 5 o'clock to dinner they had cut down 36 logs & the ridge-pole, the next day 2 more axemen went again with my husband to cut the remainder & on Wednesday 7 of our neighbours took their teams & drew them in readiness for building, this kindness from people many of whom we had never spoken to, was quite touching & we congratulated ourselves on being surrounded by such kind hearted Canadians several who could not join the bee sent a round of logs, before the raising which was fixed for March 22nd. Our host meantime was busy drawing logs & rafters for a granary he intended to build & his brother-in-law came to get logs too, so that for nearly a fortnight, 9 of us were living in that little shanty, it was really most awkward, we made a curtain which we put down one side of the room at night to partition off a small bedroom & my sister also used it during the day for a school-room, it was too cold for the children to be out much & we were glad for them to have regular occupation, so their lessons were only interrupted for one week. This had so far been the most trying of our Pioneer life, never to have a single quiet moment & all the necessary work for so large a party, done in one small room, seemed a strain on nerves & body, had the children been able to run out for an hour each day it would have been better, but although the weather was clear & bright, it was too cold for them to do so, still it was we who were the intruders & it was most kind of our young host to take in so many. On the morning of the raising, the friend of our host awoke my husband before it was light, saying it was nearly 5 o'clock, so as we were anxious to be up early, my husband at once lit the stove & while they went to attend to their cattle my sister & I as usual performed our hasty toilet; it was still perfectly dark & our watch keys being lost we were unable to ascertain the time. To me it seemed about ½ past 3 & although the man who woke us persisted in seeing a streak of light in the horizon to the rest of us it was imperceptible. While we were preparing breakfast my husband went to awake one of our nearest neighbours. He too possessed neither clock nor watch, but said he felt sure he had only been in bed an hour still he returned with my husband to breakfast which we had by lamp light & joined in our merriment at being deluded into getting up in the middle of the night. Day-break at last really came & when they had sharpened their axes, they at once went to the scene of action & began scoring & having some logs in readiness for "raising". The foundation being laid about 2 hours after, there was another arrival & this time the owner of a watch we were amused to hear that it was just 7 o'clock & we had certainly been up four hours. By 10 o'clock we thought they must all have come & that those first at work would be getting hungry, so we packed the luncheon or dinner as it is called here. Our host thoughtfully brought the sleigh to take us up & we were only too glad to put the heavy baskets into it. Again we were favoured with a lovely day, the sun shining with unusual power for the time of year & when we reached the spot where the 18 busy workmen were they left their axes & seated themselves on the logs, it seemed almost like a picnic on the snow. Many had walked a long distance so they were quite ready for a substantial meal; it was certainly a novel scene to English eyes so many logs lying in all directions & in the various stages preparatory to being used, the axes scattered about & their stalwart owners sitting in different attitudes talking & enjoying the rest & simple fare which was all we had to offer them; they kept us busy going hither & thither until the tea was exhausted & our baskets considerably lightened. Had it not been for the blackened ruins so close at hand the scene would have been picturesque., as it was it was certainly effective, the snow looking so pure & sparkling in the sunshine, that the camp fire generally so bright appeared dull & out of place. For sometime we had worn snow veils, as the sunshine made it so dazzling that it frequently injured the sight & in some cases produced blindness. We stayed & watched the busy workers for sometime after they resumed their appointed places & quite admired the dexterity & neatness displayed by the cornermen. I had not imagined there was so much art in making the frame of a log house, it was being made the same dimensions as the first, but these logs were much larger & better than those which had been cut in the summer & there were more of them so that the present house would be a great improvement of the last, the upstairs being lofty & large enough to make 4 small rooms. By ½ past one we were again at the shanty & after having dinner were busy preparing for the accommodation of so many guests, the provisions had been as far as possible put ready the day before & now our chief difficulty was to form a large enough table. This we contrived to do by putting some boxes together & raising them to the same height which with the moderate sized table belonging to the shanty did very well. At 5 o'clock we could hear shouts & cheers by which we knew that the ridge pole had been raised & in a short time saw them all returning, as most of them had come from 6 to 10 miles we hastened dinner. When all were seated the little room was well filled. They left immediately after, my husband & myself thanking them most sincerely for their exertions on our behalf. When order was restored in our small house, its weary inmates were only too glad to lie down after the fatigues of such a long day. The 26th of March we went to Minnedosa to replace a few of the necessary things that had been destroyed by the fire, it was only the second time I had been in a sleigh & as it was just cold enough to make a warm jacket & fur gloves feel comfortable, the smooth easy motion through the crisp morning air was quite enjoyable & I can well imagine how delightful it must be with swifter animals than oxen. The sun shone brightly & I never tired of looking at the beautiful sparkling snow. I scarcely know which season the prairie looks most lovely, its winter clothing of pure white & its summer robe of gorgeous colours are equally beautiful & make me feel inclined to exclaim with the "Psalmist" O Lord how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches". The reason that we had chosen Saturday for our journey was to meet our host who promised to be at the mill the same day with some wheat my husband had brought to make flour, as he was not there when we arrived we went to execute out other commissions first & I accepted an invitation to drive with our lady friend of last summer she & her husband appear quite as happy & contented with their colonial life as ourselves & they & all our acquaintances showed so much sympathy in our disaster that we felt quite cheered by their kindness. The man with the expected grain never came & we had waited for him until it was too late to attempt a return journey that day so we remained at the Hotel the night & for the English service on the following morning. Owing to the deep snow & difficult travelling these services had been irregular & as it was not generally known that Mr. Sargent had arrived the congregation was very small the service was now held in a room belonging to one of the chief supporters of the Episcopal Church. The weather had unfortunately changed & was cold & stormy making our drive a contrast to that of the previous day. We came to a different trail to avoid a steep hill & were for an hour stuck in a snow drift so that it was quite late before we reached the shanty & my sister had ceased to expect us that night. March on the whole had been a beautiful month. Not once had the windows been frozen over for a whole day, frequently during the winter they were so thickly covered that for weeks we could only see out at the East End where we had a double window, but the last day there was a bitterly cold wind & intense frost, as I have before said the wind came in through the roof & we had a repetition of the first few days after the fire, if anything the cold was more unbearable, for 3 days we were painfully cold & with as large a fire as it was possible to make the therm was only 12º with jackets shawls and other warm things on we crouched round the stove & felt even then too cold to do anything. The table we drew as near as we could but by the time we had finished our meal the cups were frozen to the saucers & everything containing any liquid was frozen the 3rd day the children slept under the Buffalo robes nearly the whole time & my sister managed to write but every few minutes she had to warm her hands & I only read, out of doors my husband had been able to keep himself warm with the exercise of chopping of which he is very fond & wherever he came in said it was warmer outside than in. Throughout the winter the children had borne the cold remarkably well & had been as well & bonnie as possible never complaining until now, when it seemed as if winter was giving is a farewell embrace before taking his leave.
