or by a person who could be hired. Girls in the family helped with knit¬ ting. Women and girls tended the gardens and gathered wild fruit for eat¬ ing and preserving. Maple sugar and syrup were obtained from the sap of sugar maple trees. Babies were born at home with the assistance of a mid¬ wife or a neighbor woman. Log cabins were the first type of dwelling built by pioneer settlers. Later, houses were built of hand-hewn lumber, the frame put together by wood¬ en pins or pegs. Boards were cut by whipsaw and shingles split by hand from cedar blocks. Fireplaces were used for heating and cooking before there were any stoves. When there was a house or barn to be built or a pile of wood to be sawed or split, people of the community would gather and work together to get the job done especially if the farmer had been ill or his house or barn had burned down. The men would work at build¬ ing the house or barn, sawing or chopping wood and the women would prepare a big dinner and supper for everyone. In the evening, there would be music and dancing. These events were called bees or a house-raising, a barn-raising, a sawing or chopping frolic as the case might be. Sometimes a woman would have a hooking or quilting bee, and the men would come for a good meal together and a dance or social time in the evening. Sometimes the two bees would be at the same time. The Quilting Party, otherwise known as Seeing Nellie Home, is a song which describes such an event. Horses were brought to the Island in 1852. As more land was cleared and more farm work done, horses were used instead of oxen. Farm produce was exported. A picture in the Meacham 's 1880 Atlas shows grain being brought to the vessel in bags loaded on carts drawn by horses. Different breeds of horses were raised: large heavy work horses for farm work, lighter and faster ones referred to as drivers for hitching into a riding wagon or sleigh, and race horses for competing in harness-racing. Some farmers raised just enough for their own farm work and transportation. Others kept several brood mares and sold young horses to other people. The Island earned a reputation for raising good horses. Blacksmiths kept the horses shod, made parts for wagons and sleighs, and made square nails and spikes. There were different types of wagons and sleighs: truck wagons and dump carts for farm use, one and two-seated riding wagons, and buggies with hoods that could be raised or lowered. There were wood sleighs and bob¬ sleighs for hauling wood. There were jaunting and pung sleighs, cutters and box sleighs for transportation. Sleigh bells attached to the harness or 20 Roots & Branches