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Cluff,
David
Among
the early settlers in the Municipality of Turtle Mountain, Manitoba,
was David Cluff, who homesteaded on 24 – 3 – 16, six miles north of the
present town of Holmfield.
David
Cluff was born on April 24, 1840. His parents came from Ireland,
his father from Enniskillen, County Farmanagh and his mother from
Tipperary. They settled in Huron County, Ontario, after crossing
the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, spending almost eight weeks on the
water, beset by storms, much illness, with some burials at sea.
As a
young man David volunteered for service in the 33rd Battalion of
Seaforth, and served during the time of the Fenian Raids. He
became a Colour Sergeant, receiving his honourable discharge in 1872.
In 1870
he was married to Margaret Cardno, who was born at Peterhead, Scotland
in 1853; came with her parents to Canada, also being on the water
between seven and eight weeks. Her family settled first in Oxford
County, Ontario, and later moved to Seaforth.
In the
late 1870’s there was a great movement of settlers from Ontario to the
West, especially to Manitoba. The Cardno family and David Cluff
decided to make this move. They settled at Pilot Mound, but after
the first year David Cluff travelled a little farther west and applied
for the homestead above mentioned, built a log house and moved into a
new neighbourhood. They, like their neighbours, were real
pioneers and suffered the hardships common to those who were opening
and building up a raw country. Their main supplies had to be
brought from Emerson, some ninety miles distant. The neighbours
usually arranged these long journeys in parties; some had only oxen so
the travelling was very slow and they would be away for weeks at a
time. Mr. Cluff had a team of colts brought out with his
settlers’ effects from Ontario. These horses, named Pat and
Frank, were well known in the neighbourhood and lived to be 25 and 27
years old.
Among
the many hardships encountered in the early years, frozen crops were
indeed a heartbreak – the wheat was useless for flour, and the other
grains were fit only for feed and sold for next to nothing, a year’s
work wasted. Another drawback faced was the terrible blizzards in
winter, snowing and blowing ceaselessly for days at a time, when it was
almost impossible to get from the house to the stables. Another
terrible hazard was the prairie fire. When started, there was
nothing to stop them and they swept mile after mile across the open
country, with every settler out with ploughs trying to make breaks,
even the women and children with sacks attempting to save their homes
and meagre possessions. At the farm of James Watson, less than
two miles from the Cluff farm, two children were burned to death,
caught between two sections of the fire, unable to go forward or back.
This
tends to emphasize the wonderful community feeling that was established
among the pioneers, each one without reservation helping his neighbour.
The building of house or stable brought everyone together; hard work
was shared; a sick person or indeed a sick animal brought help from far
and near.
The
Cluff house was built of logs with plaster in between. There was
a large living room – kitchen, and an upstairs divided into bedrooms by
drapery curtains, a deep dug-out underneath the house made a good
cellar, entered by a trapdoor in the kitchen. The house was kept
whitewashed both inside and out.
After
the house was built, the greatest need was for water. Several
wells were dug, firstly by hand with men taking turns with a spade
going down to forty feet or more; later they were bored. The
Cluff farm had good water but not in sufficient quantities,
particularly in the winter months. This made it necessary to melt
snow. A large boiler was kept on the back of the stove and huge
blocks of snow cut and carried in. This water was used for
washing clothes and making warm mashes from bran and shorts to feed the
poultry and milking cows. An ironical fact is that many, many
years later, one well caved in, another was sunk a few yards from it
and it turned out to be an artesian well, with water flowing from it
unceasingly.
Soon it
was necessary to form a school district and build a school. The
district was named West Derby. It was a log building, with
home-made desks, slanting top and shelf underneath; a painted
blackboard. The pupils used slates and pencils. A copybook was a
requirement – it had a line of script at the top, and the pupil had to
fill that page making it as much like the script example as possible.
The
school was from the beginning of prime interest to the Cluff
family. Mr. Cluff was school trustee for many years.
Another intimate association was the fact that the school being less
than a mile from the farm, most of the teachers boarded at their
home. This brought something of an outside interest to both
parents and children.
Before
the school was built, church services were held in the Cluff home, and
many distinguished Anglican clergymen arrived and stayed overnight on
Saturday, preaching the sermon on Sunday at eleven. Among the
many visiting clergy were Archbishop Machray, Archbishop Matheson,
Canon O’Meara, Canon Phair and many others. All the neighbours
attended despite their own religious affiliations. Great were the
preparations for the clergymen, much baking and cooking as everyone
who could stay was invited to the mid-day meal. Of course
the spare bedroom was prepared with the best linen, the precious
“double Irish Chain” quilt, crocheted bedspread, the linen towels hand
woven in Scotland by Mrs. Cluff’s grandmother, and used only on special
occasions. These and all other visitors or travellers were made
welcome and provided with food and sleeping accommodation.
In
attempting to give a picture of the pioneer life of this period, it is
necessary to refer to the never- ending work. Apart from the
seeding, harvesting, haying and threshing, there were the long hauls of
grain to be sold or ground into flour, then the whole winter of “going
to the bush” for wood to be cut and piled for the year’s fuel; the
excess cut in cords and hauled to market. Mr. Cluff was very
proficient in the use of the axe in the bush, having acquired much
experience by helping his father clear the bush off three fifty-acre
farms in Ontario, so he was able to pass on this skill to his sons when
they were old enough to help.
By
degrees animals were acquired – horses, cattle, sheep for a time, and
always pigs. There were many cows to milk. Mr. Cluff was
the first in the district to introduce the Polled Angus breed and was
proud of his herd of black cattle.
After
the milking, the milk was strained into low pans and placed on the
cellar floor; when the cream rose it was skimmed into stone crocks and
when there was enough, it was churned into butter. At first a
dash churn was used; in later years a barrel churn, which was turned
with a handle. The butter not needed for the home was either
packed in wooden firkins or shaped into rolls and sold. At a
later date it was necessary to make it into one-pound blocks, or prints
as they were called.
The
garden and the poultry were also Mrs. Cluff’s work. Sshe was a good
gardener and grew all the vegetables needed as well as quantities given
away to neighbours not so successful. She was always anxious to
try everything and sent to the experimental farms for various seeds and
cuttings. She had all the small fruits, black, red and white
currants, gooseberries and raspberries. These along with such
wild fruits as strawberries, blueberries and cranberries, etc. were
made into jams, jellies and “preserves.” The poultry, too, was a
special pride – hens, turkeys, geese, ducks and even guinea fowl and
pigeons were raised. The eggs were gathered regularly and before
the coming of the egg-crate they were packed in layers of oats to keep
them from being broken in transit to market. The dressed poultry,
as well as the wild ducks and geese which were very plentiful in the
fall, made a welcome change from the endless cured pork. Of
course, in the early winter a beef was butchered and frozen, providing
the winter’s meat.
Turning
from work to recreation, in winter the country dance was enjoyed by
most. Two or three sleigh-loads would arrive at the Cluff home;
usually Mrs. Cluff’s twin brothers Dave and John Carno came from Pilot
Mound for the winter’s visit and as they both played the “fiddle” the
music was there. There was usually someone to chord on the organ
and if violins were lacking, a mouth organ or concertina would
do. Playing cards was quite popular; the games played were
Euchre, Pedro, Casino, as well as Whist.
The convivial David
Cluff, with his Irish wit, was always ready for a game and good
company.
The
family, as they grew up, all became great readers. When Lady
Aberdeen was at Government House in Ottawa she started a library system
for isolated communities from which books could be obtained free.
Mrs. Cluff sent for many of these; of course, neighbours were glad to
exchange reading matter.
The
school picnic in summer and the usual Christmas concert, which everyone
helped make a success, were annual outings, and later when the railroad
came through (and what great rejoicing that brought!) the villages and
towns soon came into being to bring further attractions – skating,
curling and the very popular fall fairs, etc. For the men and
boys hunting was a worthwhile sport. Mr. Cluff and his sons were
“good shots” and in season, brought home elk, moose, as well as
rabbits, geese and ducks. Once a live mink was caught and kept as
a pet for a long time.
Perhaps
one of the more or less forgotten incidents in the life of the early
settler is the pedlar. Of these there were various types.
The most common was the far-eastern fellow, usually a Syrian, who
tramped from farm to farm carrying two heavy cases. These
contained a variety of articles – needles, pins, cheap jewelry, staples
such as tablecloths, scarves, towels, etc. He would stay
overnight and pay with a few baubles for the children. Another
type was the man with horse and covered cart. His wares were in
greater demand as he had an assortment of kitchen utensils, farm tools,
etc. His visit was often opportune and saved a long journey to
buy them. Other passing travellers were bands of Indians and
Metis. They were frequently changing camps; also looking for and
digging Seneca root. They would break their journey at the
farm. Mrs. Cluff was very good to them, giving them bread,
vegetables and chickens. They had very thin, shaggy ponies,
several dogs, lots of children. They would pitch their tents just
down the road from the house.
Accidents
and illness were dreaded in the early settlement, as medical aid was
not readily available. However, among the many young Englishmen
and Scotsmen who for one reason or another came to Canada, was a young
English medical student – he had failed to graduate but was known as
Dr. Ramsay. He and a man named Michael O’Hearne lived on a
homestead a mile or so from the Cluff’s. They became friends as
Mrs. Cluff baked bread for them once a week, as she did for many of the
neighbouring bachelors. Dr. Ramsay was a great help in the
district. One time Alex, the Cluff’s eldest son, who loved
experimenting, decided to blow up a muskrat’s nest in the large slough
near the house. He dug a trench leading in to the dome-shaped
nest, filled it with gun-powder, and without a fuse lit it with a
match. It blew up in flames in his hand which, of course, was
very badly burned. He was afraid to let his mother know for fear
of punishment, and when she did find out, his hand was in serious
condition. Dr. Ramsay was sent for, he stayed with Alex all
night, working with the hand, then came regularly to dress it.
The hand was saved, and in after years was able to perform many
operations when he too became a doctor.
There
were seven children in the Cluff family:
ANN
IDA, married Alexander Davidson, who died in an accident in a grain
elevator at Cartwright. She later married again and lived in
Brucefield, Ont. (As of the present, 1963, she had just
celebrated her 92nd birthday).
WILLIAM
ALEXANDER, became a school teacher; was principal of Cartwright school
for four years; later attended Manitoba Medical College; took
post-graduate study in New York, and specialized in Eye, Ear, Nose and
Throat; practiced many years in Saskatoon, Sask. He died in 1940.
GEORGE,
farmed near the old homestead and later near Belmont. Married
Clara Isabel Durham. Retired to live in Killarney where he died in 1958.
AGNES
MARY, married Robert Watson; lived in Killarney, died 1961.
MARGARET
BEATRICE, married R. W. Smith; lived in Regina, then moved to Vancouver
where she died in 1946.
JOHN
REGINALD, married Olive Myrtle Pinkerton; farmed at Matador,
Sask. Died in 1933.
ALICE
MAUDE EDITH, taught school for eight years. Married Richard H.
Hart; lived in Winnipeg until 1957, moved to Vancouver, B.C. where she
still resides (1963).
Mr.
and
Mrs. Cluff lived on the old homestead until 1912. They were
unable to cope with the farm work any longer and none of the family was
at home. They first went to live with a grandson, Cluff Davidson,
at Matador, Sask. Later they went to Winnipeg to live with their
daughter, Alice. There Mrs. Cluff died in 1920 and David Cluff in
1922. Both are buried in St. John’s Cemetery.
Their
lives were more or less typical of that of the pioneer settler, with
the usual ups and downs, joys and sorrows, successes and failures which
all contributed to the building of a community which, added to the
procession of similar endeavours across the prairies, formed the
foundation stones upon which was built the great Canadian West.
“They
builded better than they knew.”
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