3^4 PAST AND PRESENT OF city of , by their agent, John Stewart , and John Dewar , of Township 51. As Mr. Dewar was settled on the prop¬ erty several years previous to the execution of the deed, his occupation must have been confirmed by agreement. Mr. Dewar was a stern, unbending Celt, who never swerved from the path of duty, being shrewd, up¬ right, industrious, sober and God-fearing, and his labors were abundantly blessed. The pioneer's cabin soon gave way to commodi¬ ous farm buildings and instead of the stately monarchs of the forest, smiling grain fields greeted the eye. He was able to lay by and lend money, not at such a rate of usury as ten and twenty per cent., but borrowers re¬ ceived it without a cent of interest. The important part played by Mrs. Dewar in the; clearing of the forest will never be properly known or estimated. Being one of those good. kind, noble-hearted souls, who continually delighted in doing others good, her deeds of true heroism would put the world's . standard of heroism to the blush, and while her name will not be found m thrilling tale or classic story, it will be inscribed in that higher and greater volume, the "Lamb's Book of Life." According to the unwritten law of com¬ pensation the first birth in the little settle¬ ment can be credited to her; so also she had to suffer the first visit of the grim reaper that cut down her only boy, a little fellow of four summers, who had accompanied her from Scotland . He toddled out on his little bare feet to greet the coming spring and received a chill from walking on the lingering snow¬ drifts, which developed into inflammation, and as medical skill was out of the question fatal consequences quickly followed. While the sting of death is hard to bear even amid the comforts and conveniences of life, the stroke must have been doubly severe to the pioneers living in a wilderness so far from home and friends. Their case would be in¬ supportable were it not for the voice of com¬ fort that has been ringing down the ages for nineteen centuries, and saying "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." It was not poverty that drove John and Mrs. Dewar from the land of their birth; it was the yearning of the human mind for independ¬ ence and for a plot of land they could call their own, that caused them to flee from the tyranny and fear inspired by the landlord and exciseman and seek a home in the forests of . Mrs. Dewar has been beard to say that even in the gloom of the darkest hour of their pioneer experience, subject as they were to the menace of the savage beast and the lonely tramp, she never experienced a regret for leaving the old country. God bless the pioneers; in the words of the poet, they were Content to lead a simple life Unvexed by discontent or strife, 'Till death's oblivion canir; They sowed that when they fell on sleep Their children's children still might reap. Many of them lived to see their sons and daughters enjoying the fruits of an advanc¬ ing civilization amid the benign influence of those greatest of earthly blessings—free land, free education, free franchise. The subject of this sketch was reared on the old homestead farm and received his edu¬ cation in the district schools. Dairying and stockraising have been his principal occupa¬ tions through life and he has taken a promi¬ nent part in the advancement of these inter¬ ests in the locality, being one of the directors of the experimental dairy station at New Perth . He engages principally in the manu¬ facture of cheese and butter and has been