Canada's Pioneers

Clearing the Land
Did you know that one of the first things an Upper Canada settler had to do was clear the forest? It was important to clear the vast amount of land quickly so crops could be planted. Often, clearing the land was something the settler had no experience doing.Sometimes a "logging bee" was held where other settlers came to help a new settler clear land.

The first step was to clear the underbrush or small bushes and trees. All the family members helped. The cut branches were dragged to a certain spot and stacked into piles to dry out for a few months. The brush was carefully burned once dried out.

The Government of Canada usually holds a celebration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. Military bands play and official ceremonies are held to wish Canada a happy birthday. The festival ends with fireworks over Parliament Hill.

As the underbrush was cleared the second step was to cut down larger and taller trees. The limbs and branches of these trees were cut off, dragged away and burned. The long sturdy trunks of the trees were cut into lengths and stacked. The logs were used to build a log cabin while the extra logs were sold for lumber or burned to make charcoal or potash.

The third step was to pull out the stumps of the trees. This was a difficult task and settlers often used oxen to pull tree stumps out of the ground. Sometimes the stumps of the trees were used to build stump fences so that animals could be kept away.