w on her foot. A rattlesnake had bitten
her. Her husband killed the snake; vulgar prejudice thought that, by
killing the snake, the poison would be less severe. He then put his lips
to the wound, sucked it, and, taking her in his arms, carried her to the
house. Before he reached it, her foot had swollen and burst. They
applied an Indian remedy, a peculiar kind of plantain, which relieved
her, but she was years before she perfectly recovered from the effects
of the poison. Two children that were born during that time turned
spotted, became sore and died; but her third child was strong and
healthy, and is still living. These reptiles, that are now almost
unknown in the country, were then plentiful. They had a den at the mouth
of the Grand River, and there was another at the Falls. For many years
the boatmen going up and down Lake Erie used to stop at the mouth of the
Grand River for an hour or two's sport, killing rattlesnakes. My father
and boat's crew, on one of these occasions, killed seventy. The oil of
the rattlesnake was thought to possess great medicinal virtues.

"There was a sad want of religious instruction amongst the early
settlers. For many years there was no clergyman nearer than Niagara, a
distance of 100 miles, without roads. My father used to read the Church
Service every Sunday to his household, and any of the laborers who would
attend. As the country became more settled, the neighbours used to meet
at Mr. Barton's, and Mr. Bostwick, who was the son of a clergyman, used
to read the service, and sometimes a sermon. But there were so few
copies of sermons to be obtained, that after reading them over some
half-a-dozen times they appeared to lose their interest. But it was for
the children that were growing up that this want was most severely felt.
When the weekday afforded no amusements, they would seek them on Sunday;
fishing, shooting, bathing, gathering nuts and berries, and playing
ball, occupied, with few exceptions, the summer Sundays. In winter they
spent them in skating, gliding down the hills on hand sleighs. And yet
crime was unknown in those days, as were locks and bolts. Theft was
never heard of, and a kindly, brotherly feeling existed amongst all. If
a deer was killed, a piece was sent to each neighbour, and they, in
turn, used to draw the seine, giving my father a share of the fish. If
anyone was ill, they were cared for by the neighbours and their wants
attended to. But the emigrant coming to