Forest, Lake and Prairie Twenty Years of Frontier Life in Western Canada—1842-62

"Forest, Lake and Prairie" by John McDougall paints a picture of life in the Canadian West during the 1800s. The book is a recollection of the author's youthful days as a pioneer, where the story follows his family overcoming struggles as they built a home in the wild. McDougall writes about nature and getting to know the Indigenous people, as well as some of the grief he had as a child, like when his brothers and sisters died. He shares stories about his early adventures, his family, and the native tribes, giving readers a peek at the challenges and good times of living on the frontier in the mid-1800s. McDougall’s beginnings are the basis for discovering who he turns out to be as a missionary and his connection to building relationships with a wide variety of communities.