quartering the
Colonists. Besides this, Messrs. Cook and Auld, the former Governor of
York Factory, and the latter chief officer of Fort Churchill, having the
old Hudson's Bay Company's spirit of dislike of Colonists, decided that
the new settlers, being an innovation and an evil, should have separate
quarters built for them at a distance from the Fort.

Poor Colonists! Miles Macdonell is wearied with them in their
complaining spirit, berates them for indolence, and finds fault with
their awkwardness as workmen. To Macdonell, who was a Canadian,
accustomed as a soldier and frontiersman to dealing with canoes, boats,
and every means of land transport, the sturdy, steady going Orkneyman
was slow and clumsy.

The inexperienced new settler thus gets rather brusque treatment from
the Colonial, more a good deal than he deserves.

Accordingly it was decided to erect log dwellings for the workmen and
the settlers on the higher ground north of the Nelson River. Several
miles distant from the Factory itself, Spruce trees of considerable size
grew along the river, and so all hands were put to work to have huts or
shanties erected to protect the Colonists from the severe cold of
winter, which would soon be upon them, although on October 5th Miles
Macdonell wrote home to Lord Selkirk: "The weather has been mild and
pleasant for some days past."

The erection of suitable houses, that is homely on the exterior, but
warm in the coldest weather, was superintended by Miles
Macdonell--himself a Colonial and one aware of the precautions needing
to be taken.

Amid all the troubles and complaints of the winter there were none
against the suitableness of the log dwellings which were erected on the
chosen site to which was given the name, "Nelson Encampment." Winter,
however, came in fiercely enough in November, although again on the 29th
of November, Macdonell writes to Cook, Governor of the Factory: "A mild
day enables us to send a boat across the Nelson with the Express." It
was open water on the river.

Macdonell knew well that with the recent arrivals from the Old Land, one
of the greatest dangers would be the weakening and dangerous disease of
scurvy. He had sought for supplies of "Essence of Malt" and "Crystallized
Salts of Lemon," and at the beginning of December as the people were
living chiefly on salt provisions and a short allowance of oatmeal the
scurvy made its appearance. Medical care was given by Mr. Edwards and
the di