(Donald Fraser, Victoria, B.C.)
The homestead belonged to my mother; the half acre adjoining on the corner of Craig and Gore streets belonged to her sister, Mrs. William Rogerson. Mr. Rogerson was a merchant in Bytown; my father and he were connected in business. The store was built in Perth in the early forties. I remember very little about it, but I have a distinct recollection of the two clerks, Donald McIntyre and my cousin, Donald Campbell, probably two as fine specimens of manhood as could be found in the country.
Lumbering was the great industry in early days; the firm made advances to jobbers and carried on some shanties on their own account on tributaries of the Mississippi river. One year the water was very low; the timber, principally oak and elm, could not be floated to the main stream, consequently could not reach the market in Quebec. There were no banks or other facilities then for carrying over from one season to another; the financial crisis of 1847 came on and brought the business to a close.
Gaelic is still spoken by 600,000 residents in Ireland, and by census 50,000 people cannot speak a word of English.