FOREWORD
Thestory within these covers has been written from impressions received in boyhood days, ideas which time could not erase and which the passing of the years has developed and strengthened. It is perhaps only fair to state frankly that the story is largely founded on fact, though, for purposes which will be obvious, the characters have been treated from a general rather than a particular sense.
The aim has been to follow a young man’s life from his home in the Orkney Islands, one hundred years ago, through his experiences in what was then an untravelled country in the Canadian West, and to show how, in his humble, commonplace way, he took hold of the opportunities which presented themselves, small though they might seem to us to be, and built up a character and a place for himself in the community which stood the test of time.
Hundreds of our Canadian pioneers did just this in the simple, honest, straightforward lives they led in the early days of this country, and it is on the foundations they laid in those days that Canada’s greatness now has been reared.
All honor to the stalwart Canadian pioneer. Both the young and the old of to-day may well renew inmemory the struggles and sacrifices by which Canada’s foundation was well and truly laid. It is one of the greatest legacies which the past has bequeathed to us. It is one of the treasures that we should fondly cling to.
May we never forget the heroic daring, the finer qualities of self-denial, of loyalty to duty, stronger than the love of life, of the temper which dreads dishonor more than it fears death and the patriotism which makes love of home and country a passion.
Never were the fortunes of a vast heritage, such as Canada possessed, entrusted to stouter hearts than those of the pioneers. They were the resolute, grim, silent heroes of the majestic Canadian forest solitudes. They were intense in doing good and were possessed of great, chivalrous souls.
Those rugged sons and daughters of the Motherland crossed the sea and marched into the Canadian forest solitude without beat of drum. They built their log cabins amidst the towering forest giants, the giants which reached heavenward.
The fire of love for right and liberty which shone so brightly in the pioneers’ everyday life still burns fiercely in the hearts of Canada’s sons. The heroic deeds of valor, of service and sacrifice on the battlefields of Flanders by our boys have thrilled the heart of the world and welded forever an unbroken chain between that of the early pioneer fathers andmothers, and that of their sons and daughters of to-day, for the cause of liberty, freedom and righteousness, for the love of home and country, for the love of the Motherland, for the love of peace and goodwill to men.
If the story herein told marks the path of duty more plainly for others; if it assists the youth in steering his life ship clear of the danger shoals discovered on my life’s voyage; if it inspires a more sturdy character, or if it influences one young man or young woman helpfully, I shall be well repaid.
W. D. Flatt