EASTERN KINGS 
     
     EARLY SETTLEMENT TO 1972 
     
    
   
   
    
     Eastern Kings as the name implies, includes the area 
     
     situated between Souris and East Point. It is looked upon as 
     
     one of the loveliest parts of the Island. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Early history tells us that large tracts of land were 
     
     held by nonresident landlords. Paying rent for their farms and 
     
     the uncertainty of their tenure were unsatisfactory to those 
     
     early settlers on these lands and caused some bitter feelings. 
     
     The Government wisely bought this land from the landlords and 
     
     sold it to the settlers on easy terms. This gave them a new 
     
     inspiration to improve their farms. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The pioneers were industrious, hardy and brave. The 
     
     heavy forest had to be cut away in order to find a place to 
     
     build their shelters or log houses. This required a great deal 
     
     of patience, perserverance, and hardship. After a small clear- 
     
     ing was made, grain was hoed in around the stumps early in May, 
     
     and a few potato sets were planted in hills as late as July, 
     
     These were also hoed in. Three or four sets were placed on the 
     
     surface and the soil was gathered over them by means of the hoe. 
     
    
   
   
    
     When the harvest season came the grain was harvested by 
     
     means of a reaping hook, a tool used in Scotland, the native 
     
     country of those early settlers. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Later, the plough was introduced and this was followed by 
     
     using a cradle and scythe for harvesting the grain. The cradle 
     
     was fastened to the scythe in such a manner that the grain would 
     
     lie on it at every stroke of the scythe. This was tied together 
     
     in bundles by the binder, a person binding the grain. In this 
     
    
   
   
    
     way, as many as 50 or 60 stooks of grain could be cut and bound 
     
     per day. 
     
    
   
   
    
     A still greater invention was the reaper. This was a 
     
     machine drawn by horses. The sheaves from the reaper had to be 
     
     bound by hand and in some cases, a man had to follow the reaper 
     
     with a rake in his hand to push the sheaf off when it was large 
     
    
   
   
    
     enough to be tied or bound. A self sheaver used later was an 
     
     improvement over this. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The next advance was the introduction of the binder which 
     
     was drawn by three horses. It cut the grain, bound the sheaves 
     
     and dropped them on the ground behind the machine. An improve- 
     
     ment on this was a sheaf carrier which carried probably half a 
     
     dozen sheaves at a time, then dropped them together. This meant 
     
     a little less walking for the men who were stocking the sheaves.