Building
the Sideroad
by John W. Gilchrist (A
biographical note follows the article.) |
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“They came in their corduroy breeches, They came with their doubts and their fears; They came with the frogs in the ditches, To welcome the old pioneers.” |
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The author of this once popular song has been
charged with overlooking the detail that there could scarcely be ditches for
the frogs till the pioneers made them.
But poets have first to consider their rhymes, and in the remainder of
the song were just and fair to the “vanguard of a new nation”, a matter that prominent writers often ignore. |
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The sideroad is quite modern in
one respect---the poet did not know that there was any other kind of corduroy
except that used in breeches. He would
be disillusioned if ever called on to assist in laying a section of corduroy
through a swamp. This was the first
process of the slowest, most toilsome and exasperating form of road making. Logs, 10 inches and 12 feet long were laid
side by side till the swamp was crossed.
The finest of the brush was laid on the logs to hold the muck thrown
from ditches dug at the ends. The
frogs could then “pipe up”. Where corduroy was required the
ground was, of course, soft and boggy, and the work had to be done without
the assistance of faithful oxen. The
logs were carried or rolled by the pioneers, often quite a distance, by
reason of the size required, cedar if possible, but the heavy black ash had
often to be carried over the worst kind of footing. As nearly two dozen of these logs were
required for every rod, some idea may be attained of labour as well as the
unrelenting persistence required to cross a long section of swamp, and most
of it voluntary; at any rate there could be no cash reward, as there were neither
townships nor township councils. The
leading or trunk roads were built by capital in some form, but between these
there are now many groups of counties as well as townships where almost the
entire roads were built by the voluntary labour of the early pioneers. The scattered remnants of primeval forest
remaining can suggest to some degree what that labour meant when all was
wilderness. |
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There is a sharp distinction between a concession and a sideroad that yet exists. In a regularly surveyed township, all lots come to the concession, while only the fifth lot or so is divided lengthwise by the sideroad. Thus every owner had a direct motive in opening the concession and getting somewhere. The hardest work was done by “bees”, later organized into statute labour; and though much faithful work was performed under the latter method, it never stirred the same vim and enthusiasm as a “bee”. Vigorous men, who never thought of time or energy at a bee, would carefully calculate the hours and labour when working under statute labour. Besides, the boss of the bee was expected to set an example of untiring industry and activity, while the legally appointed pathmaster was inclined to be content with merely supervising. The service of an active man and an inspiring example would be lost. |
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On the sideroad, conditions were
different. At first, there was no
pressing necessity to open them. The
adjacent owners, usually about four, could get to the concessions, and there were
bush roads connecting, and when opened, an extra boundary fence would be
required. Men are alive who assisted
at the opening of many of them. The crooks or winds were caused by
large trees. Axemen,
who took a delight in felling a large tree at the regular height, could
scarcely be brought to chop one off level with the earth. So the time-honoured joke that the bend was
caused by not wishing to disturb the jug and its precious contents can be
“placed on file”. Oxen
were superior to horses at tearing up the tangled roots and stones on high
ground. They could easily be taught to
exert their vast strength and go very slow.
Few teams could be trained to this, and the clumsy whiffletrees were
another inconvenience. At best,
holding and guiding the wooden plow and the cast
iron scraper was strenuous work on man and beast. |
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John William Gilchrist (1865-1942) was born
in Puslinch and there, with many an attendant honour, he long resided, excepting
brief stints in Young John Gilchrist was a natural
athlete and participated in many sports.
He trained with the 11th Field Battery, rose to the rank of
Captain, and during World War I, he was an instructor at Socially, John Gilchrist, with his
beloved violin and large repertoire of popular songs, was always in great
demand. During his later years, he
assisted Colonel John Bayne Maclean in assembling and displaying the
remarkable collection of antiques at the As a writer, he contributed widely to
newspapers and other publications such as “Rod & Gun”,
“Farmers’ Sun”, and “Weekly Fun”. Mr.
Gilchrist’s work was well received, noted for combining a compassionate sense
of humour with a wealth of stories on early days in |
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