PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARLY EUROPEAN IMMIGRANT.
GALICIANS AND BUKOWINANS.
SETTLEMENT EAST OF SALTCOATS.
there was some religious difference between them which appeared to cause
friction. Probably there was some obscure racial trouble as well, tracing
back to the past history of these people.
The new settlers started in to cut logs and roof poles, I hired some
teams, and had these hauled to the place where they intended to build their
dwellings. The teams also ploughed tough sods for the roofing. The
settlers all had tools for carpenter work, and knew how to use them, so
they made window frames and doors. Wells were dug, and other neces-
sary work done. The people had no stoves but they made stoves, chimneys
and all out of sub-soil clay. The ovens of these stoves baked first class
bread, but their flour was inferior, being of the lowest quality and cost-
ing a dollar fifty a bag.
A few had some money, but the majority had none, and some of these
were in debt to the wealthier ones for passage money, but all were very
industrious and grateful for any assistance rendered them. They bad
come out in response to the Sifton Propaganda and were very proud to
think they were in possession of a "faruma" of their own. They would
not settle on the open sections, preferring those which contained some
wood and hay, although they had to contend with a good deal of scrub. I
cannot say that their cleanliness was equal to their godliness, for they
were very religious. They had a "lay reader" and held services every
Sunday and on religious festival days, the latter of which, in honor of
various saints, were somewhat numerous. On these occasions they ap-
peared, men and women, in dazzling, thick white linen costumes, em-
broidered and woven, and made by themselves, and without a speck of
dirt; on work days they were not so particular by any means. I may
say that all the expenses of settling them and feeding them were charged
up against their homesteads and I believe I am correct when I say that
every cent was subsequently repaid to the Government.
They had some peculiar and some disagreeable customs to a Canadian
One of the latter was that of hand kissing. I broke them of this habit,
and also of some of the others, which I will not pause to particularise. I
spent six weeks amongst them, and I then came to the conclusion that
these people if decently handled and led would make good citizens. I had
now a very good interpreter, Mr. Joseph Becker, now of Langenburg,
and with his help I made them understand that the order of things they
had been accustomed to in their land, was now changed and I urged upon
them the necessity of educating their children. They were however averse
to this as they were very poor and afraid of taxation, and they also said
they could not clothe their children properly to attend school. In the
meantime the men went out to work, some of them traveling all over the
country carrying their "turkeys" looking for employment. For the young
girls I found places in domestic service and they seemed to assimilate
their new environment very rapidly for they learned English very quickly
and as soon as possible discarded their old style of clothing and arrayed
themselves in Canadian garments. No more sheepskin or home-made
linen for them as soon as they could buy the more modern stuff. They
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