My Dear Mrs. Fraser
I am starting this letter a little earlier than usual as Stan may perhaps go to Cairns’ to-morrow should they come for him on Sun. and if they didn’t come on Sun. for him he was to go to their place Mon. evening to be ready to start Tues. morning. I think I told you that Stan lost his last trip out as he forgot to take his papers with him. Zelandia is 14 mls. Farther away than Rosetown so I have decided at last not to go with Stan this time but wait for a chance to Rosetown to file my papers. I have till Jan. 25th and surely there will be a good chance before that.
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| Zealandia, c. 1909 (photo courtesy Rosetown Centennial Library) |
To-day has been an ideal winter day, calm and very mild. Peter went to Scottie’s to-day to help him to line his shack on the inside with boards. They got that finished but have a table to make yet, which will likely take another day. They don’t work very long hours so it takes a good many days to finish a job. But they are not at all anxious now everyone has a shack fit to live in. Peter thinks that Willie has perhaps the warmest shack of all. His was the last to be built and so has improved on the rest. He put a ply of building payer on the studs on the outside and then siding. He did the same on the inside thus leaving a dry air space between the studs. Our shack has two ply of boards on the outside with paper between thus leaving no dry air space. So far we have no reason to complain of the cold in ours except a little while when we were using hard coal entirely, shortly after we moved here. However I intend boarding it on the inside next year to keep you warm when you come to join us to cheer us in our new loneliness if we should have an attack of the blues. I intend to put an addition to the front too, same size as the present shack 12 ft. by 16 ft. which would then make a building 24 by 16. However we’ll consult you on that before we build as you could no doubt perhaps suggest a better size and maybe a better shape for the addition. We have had remarkably fine weather since I came here with the exceptions of a few days shortly after I landed and then New Years Day and the day before it. I hope that you may be getting your turn of good weather by this time. Our turn for the rough will come some of these days I have no doubt but the longer it keeps off the shorter time it can last.
Since the boxes came we have been very comfortable so far as the beds are concerned, not quite so comfortable tho. as the bed you gave me ever since we started life together. Whatever else we had to do without you saw to it that I had a comfortable bed anyway, and I don’t forget it either, I think it does us all good to go away from home sometimes, yes even to rough it a little in Homesteading or something else. We learn then to appreciate more highly many of the comforts that we enjoyed at home and which we often thought if we ever thought at all of the subject should come as matter of course without giving that proper amount of credit and recognition to the kind hearts and willing hands which provided them for us.
Pardon me if I have ever seemed to you to have been ungrateful for your many thoughtful consideration for my welfare as I assure you I never meant to be.
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| Main Street, Zealandia, 1909 (photo courtesy Rosetown Centennial Library) |
While I am writing this I can hear a strong wind blowing from the south which has got up since dark. We have had a great deal of south winds this winter, perhaps that accounts for our winter so far being milder than yours. This afternoon Doug and I took a walk across the hills and away to the west of the hills just for a little exercise. It was good walking as the snow is pretty well blown into drifts and the drifts will carry nicely. I enjoyed the walk and I know it will do me good to get a little walk occasionally. Yet I never felt better in health than I do now. I eat two hearty meals a day. I think as much porridge & meat as any of the boys. We have no cakes, pies or puddings since Xmas, occasionally a few soda biscuits may come on the table. We are firm believers in plain living and high thinking. I enjoy the pork you sent up immensely, you know how fond I always was of pork, many a meal I take without tasting butter as I prefer the gravy. But oh! I’ll miss the potatoes. Can’t get them near here and it’s too cold to bring them from town. I don’t know whether they can be had there or not, you bet I’ll find out when the weather gets mild towards spring. We keep the pork in a coal oil barrel outside along with a piece of beef which we got. The side meat and sausages are done and we made a start on one of the hams a day or two ago. My if we just had some mashed potatoes and eggs with the ham wouldn’t it be princely fare. The boys put the porridge on the stove the night before to boil, I can hear it now boiling behind me. They use a double dish or rather one dish inside of the other. It’s less trouble in the morning, to get breakfast ready you see, and time is quite a consideration too. We like to have breakfast by ten O’clock anyway if we can at all manage it. We don’t always succeed tho. I like your porridge better than this which is too much boiled for me. I never say a word about it to the boys since they all like it and all make it in the same way. I have come to like it now too but only till I get yours again. We use condensed milk or cream with it. I didn’t think much of the milk at first but that too I have got used to as it’s much better than no milk or molasses either. Sometimes we get a can of milk from Cairns and we all remark the difference. The porridge made by the new method fortunately requires very little milk. We are into Stan’s apple butter already. He has been with us all week. He hadn’t been very well for some days, a touch of Grippe I think. He is a good deal better to-day but wouldn’t go for a walk with Doug and me though.
The apple butter goes fine, and we all feel like Mordy Clump about the milk. We got another ton of coal into the cellar on Monday and 4 cut. of flour. We maybe have flour enough to do us but I’m afraid about the coal and our money is about all gone. We gave Howard about $70 since we came in. However we’ll see about money toward spring. Gordon will perhaps be able to get Doll sold towards the end of the winter which if he does will let us out nicely. Our Homesteads so far have cost the boys and me about $110 each, while the other boys are quite a bit over $200 each. Ours is less than I figured on providing that we don’t require much more coal. As far as food is concerned I think we are pretty well supplied now, clothing the same. If we get off with $500 here including plowing 25 ac. and $150 at home for two men to take Pete & Doug’s place at the spring work I feel that we will have made a good winter’s work. For it means that one of the homesteads will be settled for that is one-third of the time will be in for all 3 homesteads. Now a homestead when proved up will [be] worth anywhere between $2500 and $3000 at least and it is costing us say 7 or even 8 hundred dollars so that we can easily clear at least $500 each by sitting quietly here in our shacks which is surely better for us than idling round home.
I felt as disappointed as a young kid looking at a Xmas tree after it was stripped and nothing had come to him, when Doug came from the P.O. on Wed. last without a letter from you. The Globe came and that was all for us. Our mail connection is not good at present, but we mustn’t be too hard to please. I have no doubt that the officials are doing the best they can. We will likely get two mails from you next Wed. Wed. can’t come too soon. You asked several times about the dishes that we have, but you know my dear that I’m no man to notice these things or to describe them. But I think that the boys have got all the dishes they require till you come to take charge. Peter got a very large nice granite bake dish, much larger than we need but it was the only one they had that day. When they were teasing him about the size of the dish when he got it, he said that he bought it to wash the twins in. We have a nice granite pail and dipper. The wash tub is a zinc or tin tub I think not wood anyway.
Peter cut about a foot off the length of the table and put a drawer in it. It is long enough yet but is too narrow. It is now getting late and you’ll excuse me if I discontinue my rambling remarks and give you a rest. I may add some more to-morrow. So a good night to you and all the dear ones that are with you.
Forever yours
D. Fraser
Peter wanted to put in a sheet so I’ll not add any more this time, but keep the rest for next letter,
D.F.
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| Douglas Fraser, Sr. (1848-1915) |
