My dad's story:
In the very late 1890s, the British government found themselves with vast tracts of land in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. They offered free land and passage from the "Old Country" to Canada. The crown placed ads in papers, that talked of the free land and opportunity. Great Grandpa Boycen, Boitsen, Boysun (spelling of the surname seemed to be done at the whim of the english speaker filling out the form) and three of his sons took the crown up on their offer, packed up what they thought they may need, left the Ukraine and set off on their big adventure. They first settled in the area west of Winnipeg, MB, near Sheho, SK. Selection of your piece of heaven was done upon inspection of the tracts that were still unclaimed. The families chose tracts that were close to the other's. Grandpa John was a rug maker in the old country but figured a good way to get rich in Canada would be to do what the more well heeled did in the Ukraine. That was to sell kindling wood, etc. Seemed that if you had timber on your property, you had a steady supply of cash coming in. Needless to say, when he picked his property, it was a gravelly bottom swamp with plenty of brush and small timber. Perfect for a supply of twigs that could be converted into kindling wood and cash. The hole in his plan arose because there was an unlimited supply of kindling and a severe shortage of folks who would buy what they also had plenty of. Grandpa and his sons and daughters toughed it out there for about ten years until they heard of free land, to the south, in Montana. Grandpa John and his crew packed up and headed for Montana, where they settled south of Vida, MT. Older daughters were also able to claim a homestead at that time, so they mostly settled adjacent to each other. My uncle Metro (Matt) settled a few miles away from the main clan. Needless to say, the new homestead was nearly barren of trees and swamps. 
Of course, the big cow outfits viewed the dumb, dirty Ukies as intruders. One of the big ranches was the CBC (Chapel Brothers Corporation). Seemed their horses would range through small grain fields and gardens with little regard for any damages they caused. Times were still pretty tough so they did what they had to. Grandpa John and his son, Matt processed corn for retail sale, in its enhanced form. The sons distributed it. Grandpa also brought some Tobacco seeds that he grew his smokes from. A fellow named Ed Goldsby married my Aunt. He had a pack of hounds that he, used to hunt coyotes for their pelts. One thing about a pack of hounds, is they need to be fed. Seemed like CBC horses were good for things other than running down crops and gardens. Hounds and humans had many a meal courtesy of CBC stock that was left to roam. 
As said, times were tough. Dad finished the 7th grade and found work for a big cow outfit north of the Missouri River when he was 14. There was no social safety net in those days two of my aunts died giving birth. 
I'm very grateful that they did what they did but it was far from glamorous.