grim reaper claimed his harvest. The undertaker had not yet risen to
the dignity of a separate calling, and the plumed hearse was unknown.
Simplicity and economy were the main features of the last sad rites; the
nearest carpenter was furnished with a rough estimate of the proportions
of the deceased, and, with plane and saw, he soon shaped a coffin out of
basswood boards. This was stained on the outside or covered with a cheap
cloth, and, with plain iron handles as its only adornment, it was ready
for the corpse. It was not until well on into the nineteenth century
that rough outer boxes were brought into general use.
The funeral service was held at the residence of the deceased, after
which a silent procession was formed and accompanied the remains to the
grave, and in the winter season the silence was intensified by removing
the bells from the horses and sleighs. The general regret over the loss
of the deceased was measured by the length of the funeral procession.
[Illustration: THE PIONEER STORE]
In some neighbourhoods there were public graveyards, as a rule in the
rear of the church; but in many instances a plot was selected on the
homestead, generally a sandy knoll, where a grave could be easily dug
and there would be little likelihood of a pool of water gathering in the
bottom. In such a lonely spot were laid the remains of many of our
ancestors, with a wooden slab at the head of the grave. Upon this was
painted a brief epitaph, with a favourite quotation from Holy Writ. In
time the lettering yielded to the ravages of the weather, the paint was
washed away, the board rotted, and the fence surrounding the
reservation, if such there was, was broken down by the cattle. A
careless posterity neglected either to remove the remains or to renew
the wooden marker by a more enduring monument, until sentiment ceased to
play its part in the respect for the memory of the dead. The farm was
sold with no reservation, and the plough and harrow soon removed the
only visible trace of the last resting-place of those who, in their
time, played important parts in shaping the destiny of Upper Canada.
T. H. BEST PRINTING CO. LIMITED, TORONTO