The Female Emigrant’s Guide
by Catharine Parr Traill
Among the many books that have been written for the instruction of the Canadian emigrant, there are none exclusively devoted for the use of the wives and daughters of the future settler, who for the
most part, possess but a very vague idea of the particular duties which they are destined to undertake, and are often totally unprepared to meet the emergencies of their new mode of life.
As a general thing they are told that they must prepare their minds for some hardships and privations, and that they will have to exert themselves in a variety of ways to which they have hitherto been strangers; but the exact nature of that work, and how it is to be performed, is left untold. The consequence of this is, that the females have everything to learn, with few opportunities of acquiring the requisite knowledge, which is often obtained under circumstances, and in situations the most discouraging; while their hearts are yet filled with natural yearnings after the land of their birth, (dear even to the poorest emigrant), with grief for the friends of their early days, and while every object in this new country is strange to them. …
Having myself suffered from the disadvantage of acquiring all my knowledge of Canadian housekeeping by personal experience, and having heard other females similarly situated lament the want of some simple useful book to give them an insight into the customs and occupations incidental to a Canadian settler’s life, I have taken upon me to endeavor to supply this want, and have with much labour collected such useful matter as I thought best calculated to afford the instruction required.
As even the materials differ, and the method of preparing food varies greatly between the colony and the Mother-country, I have given in this little book the most
approved recipes for cooking certain dishes, the usual mode of manufacturing maplesugar, soap, candles, bread and other articles of household expenditure; in short, whatever subject is in any way connected with the management of a Canadian settler’s house, either as regards economy or profit, I have introduced into the work for the benefit of the future settler’s wife and family. … Furnishing [a] log house.
In furnishing a Canadian log-house the main study should be to unite simplicity with cheapness and comfort. It would be strangely out of character to introduce gay, showy, or rich and costly articles of furniture into so rough and homely a dwelling. A log-house is better to be simply furnished. Those who begin with moderation are more likely to be able to increase their comforts in the course of a few years. …
The shanty, or small log- house of the poorer emigrant, is often entirely furnished by his own hands. A rude bedstead, formed of cedar poles, a coarse linen bag filled with hay or dried moss, and bolster of the same, is the bed he lies on; his seats are benches, nailed together; a table of deal boards, a few stools, a few shelves for the crockery and tinware; these are often all that the poor emigrant can call his own in the way of furniture. Little enough and rude enough. Yet let not the heart of the wife despond. It is only the first trial; better things are in store for her.
Many an officer’s wife, and the wives of Scotch and English gentlemen, in the early state of the colony have been no better off.— Many a wealthy landowner in Canada was born in circumstances as unfavourable. … Remarks of security of person and property in Canada.
There is one thing which can hardly fail to strike an emigrant from the Old Country, on his arrival in Canada. It is this,—The feeling of complete security which he enjoys, whether in his own dwelling or in his journeys abroad through the land. He sees no fear—he need see none. He is not in a land spoiled and robbed, where every man’s hand is against his fellow—where envy and distrust beset him on every side. …
[H]e is in a country where the inhabitants are essentially honest, because they are enabled, by the exertion of their own hands, to obtain in abundance the necessaries of life. Does it not also prove to him that it is the miseries arising from poverty that induce crime.—Men do not often violate the law of honesty, unless driven to do so by necessity. …
A few remarks about beer.
There is nothing that the new settler complains more feelingly of, than the want of good beer and ale. Nobody brews beer in their own homes in Canada. Beer can be got in all towns, it is true; but it is not, the emigrants say, like the sweet, well-flavoured, home-brewed beer of the English farmhouses. … I feel assured that if there were more private families who brewed beer, there would be a thousandfold less whisky drunk in this colony. As there is no prohibition in Canada, against people malting their own barley, I think it would be wise for every farmer to grow a small quantity of this useful grain, and learn the practice of malting it: they might not perhaps, produce at first, as fine a flavoured malt as what they had been accustomed to purchase at home, from the malster; but one that would supply them with a very palatable beer, and at a very little cost…. … During the very hot weather, some cooling and strengthening beverage is much required by men who have to work out in the heat of the sun; and the want of it is often supplied by whisky diluted with water, or by cold water, which, when drunk in large quantities, is dangerous to the health, and should, if possible, be avoided. …
Maple-sugar.
This little volume would be incomplete unless it contained some instruction on the making of maple sugar….
With the assistance of the children and the females of the house, a settler may, if he have a good sugar bush, make several hundred weight of sugar in a season, besides molasses and vinegar. Many a stout boy of fourteen or fifteen, with the aid of the mother and young ones, has made sugar enough to supply the family, besides selling a large quantity. In the backwoods the women do the chief of the sugar making; it is rough work, and fitter for men; but Canadians think little of that. I have seen women employed in stronger work than making sugar. I have seen women under-brushing, and even helping to lay up and burn a fallow, and it grieved me, for it was unfit for them. …
Maple syrup.
This beautiful addition to the table is simply a portion of the syrup, taken out when it begins to thicken to the consistency of virgin honey. It sells at nine pence or ten pence a-quart readily; if for use in your own family, boil it rather longer, and cork it tight, setting it by in a cool cellar to keep it from fermentation. It is used as sauce for pancakes, puddings, and to eat with bread. ...
Maple sugar sweeties.
When sugaring off, take a little of the thickest syrup into a saucer, stir in a very little fine flour, and a small bit of butter, and flavor with essence of lemon, peppermint, or ginger, as you like best; when cold, cut into little bricks about an inch in length. This makes a cheap treat for the little ones. By melting down a piece of maple sugar, and adding a bit of butter, and flavouring, you can always give them sweeties, if you think proper to allow them indulgencies of this sort. …
Black squirrels.
These little animals are often found in great numbers, in the beech and oakwoods in Canada, and are considered very delicate food; being free from any strong flavour. They are roasted like rabbits, or cut in pieces and fried, fricasseed, or made into stews or pies. Some people object to them, simply because they have not been accustomed to see them brought to table, or even to hear of their being used as an article of food, and others consider them as insipid. This last objection is, perhaps, the most weighty; but by seasoning them well, it may be overcome. Nothing can be more cleanly than the habits of these little creatures; their food consisting entirely of grain, or fruits, or vegetables. When fresh meat is scarce, as it often is in the woods, the black and even the red squirrel may be eaten, as a wholesome change of diet. …
Knitting.
There is no country where there is so much knitting-work done as in Canada, for when the household of the settler is supplied with socks, stockings, mitts, and gauntlets (these are long, thick mitts, that come halfway up the arm, and are used in driving), the surplus yarn meets with ready sale at the stores when manufactured into socks, &c. Men’s socks sell at one shilling and six pence to two shillings and three pence, according to their goodness: the best article in Canada, as elsewhere, fetches the best price. The second or even third-rate wool, knitted up, can be made more profitable than the best wool sold in the fleece; and children and women will earn many a dollar if they are industrious, in the evening, between twilight and candle-light. …
The earlier children learn to knit, the better; those who learn late in life, seldom acquire the same quickness, as those who learn in childhood. I have myself experienced the disadvantage of not learning this sort of work till I was old, and my finger joints had lost their flexibility, consequently I am a slow and unskilful knitter: I can hardly shape a sock or a stocking.