a house at least as good as the model house
set up by the Association, to provide himself with necessary
implements and to proceed with the work of clearing land. The model
house after which nearly all the dwellings were copied was 18 by 24
feet, 12 feet in height and with a stoop running the length of the
front. Some of the settlers were ambitious enough to build larger and
better houses but there were none inferior to the model. The tract of
country upon which the settlers were located was an almost unbroken
forest. The ground was level, heavily timbered with oak, hickory,
beech, elm, etc. Part of the soil was a deep rich black loam. Trees
two to four feet in diameter were common and the roads cut through to
open up settlement were hardly more than wide lanes. Rev. Mr. King
thought that one reason for the colony's success was the fact that so
many of the settlers were good axe men. Their industry was remarkable
and some of the more industrious paid for their land in five or six
years and took up more to clear.[511]

There are several contemporary references to the sobriety and morality
of the colonists. The _New York Tribune_ correspondent in 1857 was
able to report that liquor was neither made nor sold in the colony and
that drunkenness was unknown. There was no illegitimacy and there had
been but one arrest for violation of the Canadian laws in the seven
years of the colony's history. Though the Presbyterian church gave
special attention to the Buxton colony this did not hinder the growth
of other sects, Methodists and Baptists both being numerous, though
the best of feeling seems to have prevailed and many who retained
their own connection were fairly regular attendants at Mr. King's
services.

The _Tribune_ article gives an interesting description of the homes.
The cabins, though rough and rude, were covered with vines and
creepers with bright flowers and vegetable gardens round about.
Despite the pioneer conditions there abounded comfort and plenty of
plain homemade furniture. Pork, potatoes and green corn were staple
items of the menu. Of King's former slaves the _Tribune_ reports that
three had died, nine were at Buxton, one was married and living in
Chatham and two others in Detroit were about to return. The _Tribune_
reports on one case as typical of what was being achieved by the
colony. A colored man, fourteen years before a slave in Missouri and
who had been at Buxton six years, reported that he had 24