Sydney Bellingham came to Canada in 1824 from Ireland, all by himself, at the age of fifteen. He spent a couple of years in the dense forests which surrounded what is now the city of Peterborough, Ontario. He then served as an apprentice to a lumber merchant at Quebec City, and when he turned twenty-one, he set up a business of his own at Montreal. During the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838, he served as a captain in the Royal Montreal Cavalry, and played a key role at the Battle of St. Charles. After peace came, he became a lawyer, and then a newspaper editor. For six years, he sat in the Legislative Assembly of the United Province of Canada as the Member for Argenteuil County. After Confederation, he represented that county in the Provincial Parliament for eleven years.

In the middle of all this, he helped build one of the first railways in Canada, and brought about the settlement of the northern part of Argenteuil. His memoirs, which were the main inspiration for this book, give us new insight into the people, places and events of the middle half of nineteenth-century Canada. This book strives to bring his experiences to life in a manner which is entertaining, as well as informative.