A very detailed study of how slaves who escaped to Canada survived as pioneer settlers in the forests of Ontario. Some failed to make it but then so did white settlers. Many cleared enough land to get started but they never received the support from the government that was promised. Unscrupulous land agents and government bureaucrats frequently sabotaged their efforts. Racism was also a factor in their treatment by some white government agents and businessmen.

However some of these men & women overcame incredible hardships to clear out a homestead from the bush. One couple arrived in Canada in the fall but could not find anyone in Niagara Falls who could direct then to the Queens Bush. It was February by the time they found a map and arrived in the the area. They built a cabin and survived the remainder of the winter, an incredible feat considering the Queen's Bush is in the snow belt caused by the lake effect off Lake Huron and they had few resources. One of many stories the author found in her research, much of which she did in Louisiana.

If I have a criticism, it is the repetition of the same information over and over. A tighter editing job would have helped but I think the book may have been rush to publication because the author was ill.

My Father's first farm was in the Queen's Bush area and Brown-Kubisch's research is so detailed that one could research that farm in Peel Township to see which Black family cleared the first few acres. ( )