One of the problems which faced settlers taking up lands on the open prairie was the lack of timber for building and heating and the scarcity of water. Initially, French-Canadians in Manitoba sought to colonize forested areas, but these lands were often of inferior quality and more often, still, flooded over in the spring. The two townships acquired by La SociΘtΘ de Colonisation du Manitoba on the East side of the Red River, were, consequently, quickly exchanged for two others on the West bank soon after the arrival of the first contingent of settlers in 1876. This colon, said to be from St. Jean Baptiste, shows how timber was hauled in by a team of oxen in the winter. Note the low profile of his shack in the background.
