A Mr. G. and his family had just commenced a settlement, about four miles east of Mr. Reid’s clearing, when, early one morning, his eldest son, a lad of twelve or thirteen, with a face full of trouble ran to tell us “that his father had nearly cut his foot off with an axe while chopping logs to build his house, that his mother could not stop the bleeding, and that they were afraid he would bleed to death.”

Mr. Reid’s eldest daughter immediately volunteered to return with the boy, to render what assistance she could.  Without any thought of fatigue, or danger, or trial to her feelings, she set out instantly with the proper bandages.  Mr. Reid, his sons, and myself were all chopping in the woods when the lad came, so that Mary followed the spontaneous impulse of her own heart; but as soon as we heard what had happened, her father sent over the river for our nearest neighbour, a stout canny Scotchman, to assist us in carrying the wounded man through the woods to his (Mr. Reid’s) house.

John Morison readily obeyed the summons; and had we required any additional help we should have had no difficulty, in a case like this, of finding plenty of volunteers.  The only road leading to Mr. G.’s was from the town, a mere bush-road, and full three miles farther than if we could go straight back through the woods.

As the number of his lot was the same as the one* we resided on, we knew that a direct east course would bring us within call of his clearing.  It was, therefore, agreed that Mr. Reid’s eldest son should endeavour, with a pocket compass, to run a line in the direction which we wanted to go, and that I should blaze+ out the line with the axe, while the rest chopped out the under-brush and levelled the path sufficiently wide to allow the passage of a litter.

[* Each concession is divided into two hundred acre lots, numbering from the boundary line from number one upwards.  According to the new survey, the lots run nearly east and west; therefore, number one in the first concession will have a corresponding number west across every concession in the township. + Blazing is a term used by the backwoodsman for chopping off a portion of the bark from each side of a tree to mark a surveyor’s line through the woods.  All concession roads, or lot lines are marked in this manner; wherever a lot line strikes a concession, a short post with the number of the lot and concession is marked on each side of the post.  If a tree comes directly on the line where the post should be planted, the tree is substituted.  A blaze is made on each side, about three feet from the ground, and the numbers marked.  I have frequently in the matter of disputed lines seen the surveyor cut the old blaze off, perhaps, of twenty years’ growth, and discover the numbers perfect, although the wood had made such a growth over the original blaze.]

We had some difficulty in avoiding one or two small swamps and a high hill, but finally succeeded in finding a good line of road; and so accurate was our surveyor and engineer in this, his first attempt, that his line actually struck the little chopping* of not more than a quarter of an acre where poor G. lay. [* This gentleman, John Reid, Esq. is now a deputy provincial surveyor and county engineer.  As a land surveyor there are few better in the province.]