The studies, which most interested him in school, were
arithmetic and drawing, particularly perspective drawing. These were more interesting to
him than grammar and reading, which his French teacher, Mr. Deuravodge tried to impose
upon him.
Daniel's First Trip Away From Home
Daniel became very much attached to his
affectionate brother James, two years his senior, later styled "James, the
actor", who because of the low allowance received from his Scotch father, left the
farm and went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he secured a good position as an apprentice
in a cabinet factory. Daniel yearned to be with this brother, James, and becoming tired of
school and the hard farm labors, made up his mind to go to Boston and get a job like his
brother. He left home just one month before his seventeenth birthday, May 29, 1838.
While bidding his family good-bye, his mother
placed some ham and mustard sandwiches in his pocket, and he walked down to the wharf,
where he boarded a freight sailing boat loaded with plaster of paris, destined for Boston.
With a sad heart he soon found himself leaving his native shores. They passed through the
Scotts Bay, and Minas Channel into the Bay of Fundy, where the tide rises to 43 feet, and
sometimes to 45 feet, making the voyage a rough and very choppy one. After eating his
sandwiches he became very seasick, which lasted until they sailed into the Atlantic Ocean,
where the voyage was not so rough. He heavy cargo kept the boat's keel on a smooth balance
as it glided southward along the picturesque evergreen mountains, driven by the prevailing
north winds. In a few days the boat anchored in the Boston Bay harbor.
Daniel lost no time in calling on his Uncle
Joseph at 42 Congress Street, where he met his brother James, who was boarding there. The
meeting was a joyful one, as the true love for each other was mutual. The next morning
James took Daniel to the cabinet factory where he worked, and introduced Daniel to his
employer, Mr. Horr. It was through James' influence that Daniel secured employment as an
apprentice in the same factory, which position he held for four years, when his agreement
terminated on his twenty-first birthday. He was then given a certificate as a Journeyman
from the Massachusetts Mechanical Association.