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THE

C A N A D A S

IN 18H.

Sru UICHAllD II. IJOXXYCAS'I'Ki:,

MKrTKXANT-(OL().\KI, lUIVAL KN'dlNREIlt), AND LI KITKNAyT-COI.nX Kl
I.N THK MILITIA OK ll'I'KIl I ANADA.

IN TWO V0LU3IES.
VOL. I.

FALLS or MA(.AHA

LONDON :
HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER,

GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
1842.

BrbtcattlK

THE BRAVE MILITIA

THE MIDLAND, PRINCE EDWARD, VICTORIA,

AND

EASTERN DISTRICTS

UPPER CANADA,

THEIIl AFFECTIONATE FRIEND,

COMPANION IN ARMS, AND FORMFR COMMANDER,

R. H. BONNYCASTLE.

NK.

hdV

ten
adv
seal
pov
will
able
acti
1
age
dut
of 1
diff
the
bra
in t
soli
me

P R E F A C E.

The British Colonics in North America
hdvc advanced so rapidly during the last
ten years, that those who have not had the
advantage of viewing their progress, can
scarcely credit the extent of their present
power and importance; the British public
will, therefore, naturally look with a favour-
able eye upon any work treating of their
actual condition.

A long residence in Canada ; several voy-
ages across the Atlantic ; the nature of the
duties I had to perform, and the advantage
of my official station, which obliged me at
different times to visit nearly every part of
the country, from the lonely shores of La-
brador, Anticosti, and the Bay of Chaleurs,
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to the far off
solitudes of Lake Huron, of course afforded
me opportunities, seldom to be otherwise

PUEFACE.

•rained, of obtain in<r a knowledge of tlie
immense territory embraced in these limits.

In the course of such extensive travels, I
became actjuainted with the people inbab't-
ing that territory, from the resident of the
city to the hard-working pioneers in the
vast forests, and to the wandering and
savage Indian.

Leisure to embodv all the information
thus gleaned has not, however, hitherto been
afforded me ; and even in undertaking to
place before the public the present volumes,
other avocations scarcely allow me time to
prepare them for the press with that care
which is so desirable in a work seeking to
blend information with amusement.

I have not attempted any very methodical
arrangement, but have divided the work
into such chapters as the reader may take
up separately, according as his taste and
objects may dictate. I am not without hope,
however, that the local as well as national
connexion between the several subjects may
give a continuous interest to the whole.

R. H. B.

( lioice o
l)arkati(
Gale o
Dolphii
concern
Squulls
Carey's
of youn
of Am*
ordinarj
of the i
Milk-w
Montmi
Lawren^

the
lits.

I't.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

THE VOYAGE.

lioice of a Vessel — Necessary Precautions — Period of Em-
barkation — A Contrast — Monotony — Curious Slicll-fish — A
Gale of Wind — A Messenger from the Gulph Stream — A
Dolphin captured — Its Extraordinary Heauty — Vulgar Error
concerning the dying Dolphin — Detailed Description of" one —
Squalls— The Banks of Newfoundland — Cod-fishing — Mother
Carey's Chickens — A Shark — A narrow Escape — A Covey
of young Whales — Aurora Borealis — Land Birds — First Sight
of America — Tremendous Gale — Hawking at Sea — Extra,
ordinary Phenomenon — Nearing Land — Pilot Boats — Estuary
of the St. Lawrence — A Canadian Pilot — Singular Sunset —
Milk-white Porpoises — Preserved Meats — The Falls of
Montmorency — Indian Encampment — Quebec from the St.
Lawrence . Page 1

Vlll

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER II.

QUEBEC.

French Character of the Lower Town — Tin Spires end Roofs
— Peculiar Situation of Quebec — The Scene of Wolfe's
Glory — The Spot where he fell — The Fortifications — The
Citadel — The Garrison — Public Puildings — Remarkable Lo-
calities — Provisions — Geolotrical Character of the Rock of
Quebec — Cape Diamond — Primitive Mountairs of the St.
Charles 44

CHAPTER III.

VOYAGE UP THE ST. LAWRENCE TO MONTREAL.

Steaming on the St. Lawrence — English Character of the
Scenery — Continuous Village from Quebec to Montreal —
The Richelieu Rapids — Military Post of Three Rivers —
Lake St. Pierre — Sorel — Its present State and future Pros-
pects — The Rideau Canal — The Rapid of St. Marie —
Improvements in Steam Power — Art triumphai.t over
Nature GO

CHAPTER IV.

MONTREAL.

First Viewof Montreal— Enchanting River Scenery — Character
of the Great American Rivers — The Great Rapids — Mon-
treal as a Place of Residence — The Harbour — Con.mercial
Prospects of Montreal — Its Climate— Its Public Buildings —
Its Inhabitants — Its Hotels — Mr. Molson, Projector of Steam-
boat Navigation on the St. Lawrence — Literary and Philoso-
phical Societies of Montreal — Monastic Character of the
French Public Seminaries — Schools for the Lower Orders —
Mischiefs of Party-spirit ...... 69

CHAPTER V.

JOURNEY FROM THE LOWER TO THE UPPER
PROVINCE.

Departure from Montreal — French Diligence — Nature of th*
Scenery — La Chine — Bad Specimen of Steaming — The Cas-
cades — Government Canal — Dangerous Night Journey — Sal-

mon-!

of th(

Rapif

Scene

St.

Horrc

lirigai

ProbabU
racter
A rcid
Mills
to Ki
Hospi
at Kii
Fortre

CONTENTS.

and Roofs
{■ Wolfe's
ions — The
rkable Lo-
; Rock of
of the St.
. 44

TREAL.

er of the
Montreal —
I Rivers —
iture Pros-
Marie —
hai;t over
. (iU

-Character
ds— Mon-
on.mercial
luildings —
• of Steam-
d Philoso-
er of the
■ Orders —
. 69

mon-spearing by Torch-light— Lake St. Francis— Boundaries
of the United States— A Tribe of Indians— The Loiig-leap
Rapids— A Passage down them in a ('anoe— Grandeur of the
Scenciy— Canadian Boatmen— Floating Population of the

St. Lawrence— The Lumberers— Prescott-Ogdensburg

Horrors committed during the late Troubles— Battle with
i^rigands gj

CHAPTER VI.

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS.

Probable Origin of the Thousand Islands— Extraordinary Cha-
racter of the Scenery— Sporting among the Islands— An
Accident— Exploits of the celebrated Bill Johnson— The
Mills of Gananoqui— Iron Ore— Marble Quarry— Approach
to Kingston— Long Island— Fortification— The (Harrison
Hospital— Aspect of Kingston from the River— Tom INIoore
at Kingston — The Lover's Tree— Noble View from the
Fortress •■....... 102

CHAPTER VII.
KINGSTON.

Origin of Kingston— Magnificent View from the Upper Town
—Stockade and Block-houses— American Hatred of Trees—
Government Works— Commercial Prospects of Kingston-
Principal Streets— Curious Wooden Bridge— -Commanding
Commercial Position of Kingston— Mistake of Emigrants—
The new Fortifications— The Key of the St. Lawrence— The
Penitentiary— The Silent System— Crime in Canada— Tern-
perance Societies — Their Origin and Results — Popular
Mistakes on this point 115

CHAPTER VIII.
VOYAGE TO TORONTO ON LAKE ONTARIO.

Mistaken Notion of the American Lakes— Ontario unfathom-
able— Dr. Daubeny— Dangers of Lake Navigation— The
Great Britain Steamer nearly lost— Singular Clay Bank—
Toronto— Moore, the Poet— Charges and Arrangements of

X CONTENTS.

the Steamers — American and English after-dinner Customs —
Gentlemen the same all over the World — Mischief of Abusing
the Americans— Mrs. TroUope's Misrepresentations — Yankee
Dialect — Summer Travellers on Lake Ontario — Blunder of
Miss Martineau 131

CHAPTER IX.

TORONTO.

Approach to Toronto — First Impressions on Landing— Incon-
venience and Danger of the Pier — Improvements suggested —
Singular History of Toronto — The Iroquois Indians — The
Red Men o^ the Forest — Fatal Effects of Spirituous Liquors
on the Indian — Origin of the Name of Toronto — French
Fort — Description of the City — Immense Value of Land —
Public Buildings — Residences of the Gentry — Houses of
Parliament — The Roads — Brine Springs — Characteristic
Anecdotes of the late War — Prices of Provisions in 1824, and in
1840 — Frozen Provisions — Fishery — Game — Public Amuse-
ments — Society at Toronto — The Aristocracy — Servants —
Wiiges of Labourers and Artizans — New Mode of heating
Houses 145

CHAPTER X.
TORONTO, AS THE LATE CAPITAL OF UPPER CANADA.

Toronto before the Union — The Court of Chancery and other
Courts of Justice — Government Officers — The Church, and
various Religious Sects — Local Courts — The College of
Upper Canada — Public Schools— Banks and Banking Com-
panics — Commercial System — Price of Provisions and Lux-
uries — Mischievous Ostentation in the Style of Living —
Official Incomes — Astonishing Increase in the Value of
Land — The Canada Land Company . . . .178

CHAPTER XI.

NIAGARA, OR NEWARK.

An Excursion across Ontario — Splendid Steam-ships— Foam
of the Falls — American and British Forts— The Town of
Niagara — Welland Canal — A Blunder — Professional Pre-

CONTENTS.

judices — Civil Engineering in Canada — System of giving false
Estimates — A Bridge projected across the Niagara — A Board
of Works necessary — The Docks and Maine Railway —
Cheapness ot Provisions at Niagara— Extraordinary Differ-
ence of Seasons at Niagara — Fruits and Vegetables of Upper
Canada — Climate and Soil — Diary of a Winter at Kingston,
Upper Canada— The Queenstown Falls of the St. Lavvrence
— The Hero, Brock — The Spot, where he fell — Outrage
committed on bis Monument ..... 102

CHAPTER XII.
FALLS OF NIAGARA.

Mrs. Jameson at the F'alls of Niagara— Do they run upwards ?
— The German School — Its inordinate Expectations — The
Falls from various points of view — How to approach thorn —
The Horse-shoe Fall— The Rainbow Rock— The Cauldron—
Freischutz Scene — The Great Fall — Projected Bridge across
— an Eighth Wonder of the World — Descent of the Precipice
— American Curiosity — Indescribable Grandeur of the View
into the Cauldron — The Great Fall from the Sturgeon Rocks
A Newfoundland Dog in the Falls — Singular Diving Bird —
The Falls from above the Cauldron . . . .218

CHAPTER XIII.

THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NIAGARA.

The Whirlpool— The Devil's Cavern— The Rattlesnake's Den
— Sir John Colborne — American Cupidity — Projected Plea-
sure City at Niagara — Influence versus Law — Timber in the
Whirlpool— A Soldier sucked into the Vortex— Rattlesnakes
— Angling in the Whirlpool — Singular overhanging Rock —
The most splendid View of the Falls .... 241

CHAPTER XIV.
THE VOYAGE TO AMHURSTBUIIGH ON LAKE ERIE.

Inferiority of the American Falls — Immense Importance of the
Welland Canal— A rival Plan— Chippewa, the Site of famous
Battles— The cutting out of the Caroline by Captain Drew
and his Companions — The Rebel Mackenzie — His Exploits

XII

CONTENTS.

on Navy Island — Rout of the Rebels — Admirable Conduct of
the Canadian Militia — Policy of Sir Francis Head — Rallying
of the Farmers— Sir Al.an M'Nabb — Village of Waterloo —
Lake Erie — The Erie Canal — Its unparalleled Length — Fort
Erie — Graves of Colonel Drumrnond and his Companions —
Amhurstburgh — The Detroit — Beauty and Richness of the
Country — Profusion of Game — Introduction of the British
Pheasant — Colonel Prince — Settlement of the Huron Indians
-—The Great Huron ....... 255

CHAPTER XV.

LAKE HURON — GODERICH.

The Huron Lake — Its Dimensions — Proceedings of the Canada
Land Company — Goderich — Mr. Gait and Dr. Dunlop —
Guelph — Roads through the Wilderness — The Progress of
Colonization — Sir Francis Head and the Indians — The Islands
of the Great Spirit — Excellent Results of colonizing this Dis-
trict — The Georgian Gulph — Singular Indian Vase — Proofs
of a more civilized Race, now extinct. . . . 275

CHAPTER XVI.

penetangueshene, the indians, and the
giant's tomb.

Naval Establishment on the Huron — Increase of Military Set-
tlements — Romantic Story of two Brothers — Meeting with an
Indian Tribe — Appropriate Scene of the Conference — The
old Chief — Prowess of the young Warriors — Their Reverence
for the British Flag — Grotesque Ornaments — Indian Mourning
— A War Drama— Surprise of an American Officer by the
Savages — A Chippewa Chief — Eastern Origin of the Indians
— Sad Change in their Condition — The Giant's Tomb — Chris-
tian Islands — Sir John Colborne and the Indians — The Vic-
tims of Civilization 289

ArVENDlX

.313

Conduct of
—Rallying
li'^aterloo —
gth— Fort
ipanions —
ess of the
le British
on Indians
. 255

:he Canada
Dunlop —
'regress of
?he Islands
ig this Dis>
56 — Proofs
. 275

ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOL. I.

Page
The Parliament Buildings, Toronto . . Frontispiece.
Sketch Map of Upper and Lower Canada, to
ILLUSTRATE THE AUTHOR'S RouTE . . End of the volume.

VIGNETTES.

The Falls of Niagara Viynette Title.

Beautiful Sunset 33

View of Kingston 115

THE

itary Set-
ng with an
nee — The
Reverence
Mourning
cer by the
be Indians
-Chris-
-The Vic.
. 289

VOL. II.

White Trout River, Trinity Cove, Labrador
Coast Frontispiece.

VIGNETTES.

Mission of Restigouche Vignette Title.

The Flies at Toronto 53

Indian Mission at Pointe-a-la- Croix 147

The Pierced Rock, in the Bay of Chaleurs . . . 190

Janvrin's Fishin 1 Station, Gaspe Bay 206

Cape Gaspe and the Old Woman 237

Entrance of Jupiter River, in the Island of

Anticosti 243

The Seven Islands 272

.313

Choice
Embai
—AG
— AE
Error
of one
fishing
Escape
Land ]
Hawki
Land-
Canadi
Preser>
Encara

Alt
present
of whi(
yet, wh

VOL.

CANADA.

CHAPTER I.

THE VOYAGE.

Choice of a Vessel — Necessary Precautions — Period of
Embarkation — A Contrast — Monotony — Curious Shell-fish
— A Gale of Wind — A Messenger from the Gulph Stream
— A Dolphin captured — Its extraordinary Beauty — Vulgar
Error concerning the dying Dolphin — Detailed Description
of one — Squalls — The Banks of Newfoundland — Cod-
fishing — Mother Carey's Chickens — A Shark — A narrow
Escape — A Covey of young Whales — Aurora Borealis —
Land Birds— First Sight of America — Tremendous Gale —
Hawking at Sea — Extraordinary Phenomenon — Nearing
Land— Pilot Boats — Estuary of the St. Lawrence — A
Canadian Pilot — Singular Sunset — Milk-white Porpoises —
Preserved Meats — The Falls of Montmorency — Indian
Encampment — Quebec from the St. Lawrence.

Although voyages across the Atlantic
present in general few incidents the relation
of which can interest the general reader,
yet, when it is remembered that the tide of

VOL. I. B

HINTS TO TRAVELLERS.

emigration flows again with increased vigour
towards the Canadian shores, amusement, as
well as information, may perhaps be afforded
to those about to undertake the painful task
of quitting the home of their fathers, by my
offering some faint sketches of such an un-
dertaking.

I have embarked at different times from
different ports, but shall select for description
my last voyage out from the London Docks.

Tl.ose going out to Canada, or any of the
British American colonies, should always
attend to the following circumstances, where
their means do not permit them to make the
voyage either by New York or Halifax, in
steam or packet-vessels.

First of all, inquire what class the vessel is
rated in upon Lloyd's books, and take care
not to be deceived by having AE. 1, printed
or written on her placard in such a manner
as to make the second letter E almost invisi-
ble ; a trick frequently performed. A, 1, is
a first class vessel, as to security in insurance
lists. AE. 1, is an old ship, which may,

howcT

makii

tainec

in ba

plcasa

port :

ment

and st

and er

Aft.

of the

inquir.

to navi

larly, ;

uses hi

provide

wholesi

in raak

he lays

HINTS TO TRAVELLERS.

however, be perfectly seaworthy ; and by
makin<^ minute inquiries, this is easily ascer-
tained. Timber ships go to Quebec usually
in ballast, and are not always either the
pleasantest or the safest descrintion of trans-
port : in fact, the laws require great amend-
ment respecting the character, capabilities,
and stowage of ships taking out passengers
and emigrants.

After ascertaining the state and condition
of the vessel you propose to embark in,
inquire the character of the master who is
to navigate her, as to sobriety, most particu-
larly, and as to seamanship ; whether he
uses his passengers well, and whether he is
provided by his owners with proper and
wholesome sea-stores. Be also very careful,
in making your bargain for the voyage, that
he lays in a sufficient stock of fresh provi-
sion, poultry, pigs and sheep. If it is a large
vessel, see how she is manned ; for most of
the traders are deficient in this particular,
as well as in useful instruments : few use
a chronometer j still fewer attend to the

B 2

TIME OF EMBARKATION.

advantafi^cs to be derived from the baro-
meter ; but a careful and experienced sea-
man, who has received a proper nautical
education, will never neglect the latter.

Embark, if possible, in April or May, and
not later than June ; thus arriving in fine
weather at your destination, by which you
will be able to perform the inland voyage or
journey, if going westward, and get settled
before the severity of the winter's frosts
commence.

Those who have never been at sea, or
who have only made pleasure trips in ves-
sels abounding with comforts and luxuries,
can form very inadequate notions on the
subject ; whilst, on the other hand, an old
traveller, accustomed to view the world as
his home, however much he may dislike the
dangers and discomforts of a long voyage,
looks on things with a balanced mind, and
w^eighing in equal scale delight and dole,
sufi\3rs himself to be transported to his desti-
nation without morbidly fancying that New-
gate, according to Dr. Johnson's notion, is

thing

FINAL ADIEUS.

baro-
i sca-
utical

% and
I fine
1 you
go or
ettled
frosts

a, or
i ves-
uries,
1 the
in old
Id as
e the
>yage,
and
dole,
desti-
New-
3n, is

an infinitely preferable dwelling-place to the
cabin of a vessel.

To an Englishman, however frequent may
have been the calls of duty or of pleasure,
which may have estranged him from his na-
tive land, when the actual certainty arrives
of being about again to leave it for an uncer-
tain and an indefinite period, there is some-
thing which calls forth most potently the
natural melancholy of his temperament. To
me, the song of 'he sailors, particularly the
lengthened cadences of " top the boom," and
" ho cheerly," appeared unusually aflfecting,
following as it did, the adieus of dear and
lovin^x friends and relati\ os. Whilst sailinor
through the dangerous channels of the Es-
tuary of the Thames, these thoughts had
ample food for rumination. Here we passed
within the ship's length of the solitary mast
of a vessel buried beneath the waters ; the
sole visible testimonial of what had lately
been a scene of agony and woe.

The final adieus of all parties on board
were now made, as the ship lay to, off Deal,

LAST SIGHT OF ENGLAND.

on a spot where, many years before, I had
made my first essay of the pleasures and
penalties of a sailor's life. At that time I
had, with a young and buoyant spirit, beheld
its bosom covered with one of the mightiest
navies that England, the mistress of the
ocean, had ever gathered together to assert
her rights. It was the expedition to the
Scheldt. What a different scene was now
presented to my observation ! With the ex-
ception of our light vessel, and two or three
outward bound merchantmen, the vast road
of the Downs was one tract of tenantless
water.

With a fine steady breeze and fair weather
we continued our progress down the chan-
nel. Soon the lofty white cliffs of England
and the pale shores of France faded from
our sight : Dover, Calais, Plymouth, the
Land's End, the Scilly Isles, all passed in
distant view, and each in turn was the
object of the most intense interest. The
fleet of fishinrr-boats near Plymouth and
along the Cornish shores, the numerous

!
t

merch
from .'
nients
were n
pathl
An
for nc
first ^
every
the se
every
it is f
the de
are re
that m
tricate
to kn(
caboos
we des
sailor'i
roundt
and nc
mate 1
of the

SEAUCII FOR NOVELTY.

I had
? and
irae I
icheld
liticst
f tho
assert

the
; now
le ex-
three

road
ritless

ather
chan-
^land
from
, the
;d in |

1 the
The
and

srous

merchant vessels wending their way to and
from all parts of the world, moving monu-
ments of the national feature and industrv,
were now to be suddenly exchanged for the
pathless tracks of the silent ocean.

And now commenced that earnest search
for novelty which invariably succeeds the
first week of a landsman's voyage, when
every eye is strained to find the sail that
the seaman descries in the distant horizon ;
every ripple in the wave is marked to see if
it is formed by some unknown monster of
the deep. Now we become certain that we
are really embarked on the wild sea, and
that nothing but time and patience can ex-
tricate us from our prison. Now we begin
to know each sailor's face ; we visit the
caboose, the cook, the carpenter, the mate ;
we descend into the hold j we listen to the
sailor's song of an evening, as he sits sur-
rounded by his comrades on the forecastle ;
and now we begin to ask the master and his
mate the news of the voyage, the situation
of the ship, and the state of the weather.

FLYING FISU.

Day succeeds day, and night succeeds
night, with the like occupations ; and time
seems to hang heavier and heavier in pro-
portion as its load is in reality lessening.

In 16° of longitude, we observed masses
of a jelly-like substance floating on the
waters ; and during the calms which pre-
vailed, I obtained a portion of it, to which a
beautiful purple shell of the kdix tribe was
attached : on its upper spiral two or three
living small shells of the barnacle species, but
much furrowed, were firmly fastened.

In 45° 30' north latitude, and about ^9°
of west longitude, we first observed, during
this voyage, the beautiful flying-fish. They
were as large as a herring, and very nu-
merous ; which I think is uncommon in so
high a latitude. During a high sea on
the 17th August they came to us fre-
quently.

We had until now fair and moderate
weather ; but on the night of the same day
we were to experience some of the alarms
and uneasinesses of an atlantic voyage. A

stro
on.

A DOLPHIN CAUGHT.

strong and heavy gale from the north came
on, and carried away the bulwarks of the
waist, split three sails, and caused us to
ship a sea, which came down the companion
ladder, and fairly washed a passenger out of
his berth in the state-room. This gale,
however, did not last very long ; and as the
damages to the vessel were not serious, it
left us laughing at the wetting our compa-
nion had received.

On the 20th of August, in latitude 45"^
10', and longitude S3° 53\ 1 sent overboard
a sealed bottle, to which a white flag was
attached, with a weight below to make it
float upright. It contained a brief state-
ment of our situation in four languages, —
English, French, Spanish, and Italian.

This day we caught a dolphin at the bow
of the vessel with the grains. Its stomach
was full of small and singularly-shaped
fishes, as well as of the flying-fish, which
appears to be its chief food, and amongst
these was one of a beautiful bright 1)1 uc
colour. Nothing on a fine day can exceed

B 3

A DYING DOLPHIN.

the beauty of the dolphin, as he plays and
gambols about the ship. The green tinge
of the transparent medium through which
he is seen gives him the most gorgeous
appearance, and the brilliancy of his colours,
as reflected in the sunshine, it is impossible
to describe.

On the 21st, we saw a number of these
lively and beautiful fishes about the vessel,
and caught another with a h'ok and line
trailed astern. I witnessed the actual death
on board the vessel of both these dolphins ;
and must observe, that the common notion
of the beauty exhibited bv the play of
colours on the fish, when in the agonies of
death, appears to be nearly as false as the
mis-shapen monstrous form under which the
ancients depicted it. There is certainly a
great display of the swift passage of the dif-
ferent primitive colours into the secondary
ones whilst the creature is strufjolinnr and
heaving ; but all this is perfectly natural,
considering the variety of glorious tints with
which its body is painted — the vividness of

A DYING DOLPHIN.

which no pencil or human art could pour-
tray.

The following faint description is made
from a drawing of the dolphin, carefully exe-
cuted at the time I have just referred to.
The body of it was two feet nine inches long,
and perfectly straight ; the back very slightly
curved, and the upper jaw and nose coming
down on the lower in a blunt sweep; the
under jaw was projected a little (say two
inches) beyond the upper, and was much
sharper. From the pectoral fin, which is
very small, to the caudal fin, the body of
the fish gradually tapers away by a beautiful
swelling curve, and the tail then branches
out vertically into a long and pointed semi-
lune, eleven inches in span. The dorsal fin
reaches from the back of the head, above the
eye, to very near the insertion of the tail,
and is nearly as broad as half the vertical
measure of the fish : it contained fiftv-four
spines, or ribs, which were about half an
inch distant from each other. The ventral
and thoracic fins are two in number j the

COLOURS OF THE DOLPHIN.

former, twelve inches in length, by one inch
and a quarter of breadth, at the smaller end,
has twenty-three small spines, or rays, and
two large ones, and commences near the tail,
and proceeds for nearly half the length of
the belly, much dentated, when it suddenly
drops away, by a backward curve, in two
long spines. The thoracic fin is four inches
and three-quarters long, and bends also back.
The dolphin's eye is placed at about two-
thirds of the distance from the termination
of the dorsal fin on the head, and very for-
ward near the lips : it is large, and has a
red iris.

In its characters, this dolphin did not at
all agree as to form of the head, colours, or
disposition of the tail, with the species de-
scribed in the Regne Animale. Its colours,
generalized, were a dark but lively blue on
the back, interspersed with magnificent spots
of ultra-marine ; next came a band, joining
by imperceptible gradations with the former,
of a dark, but clear sea-green, covered with
the same eye-like spots ; then another band,

COLOURS OF THE DOLPHIN.

)r shade, of light and vivid sea-green,
ilso similarly, but less frequently, spotted,
'he centres of the sides were painted with
)range, red, and golden colours, intimately
)lended, and the belly passed into a cerulean
3lue and a brilliant white. Few maculae
Dccupy these last shades. The tail was a
subdued white, with golden shades. The
Ihead was similarly coloured as the body, the
ibands continuing along it ; but the beauty
jof the dorsal fin exceeds any attempt at de-
|Scription ; the blue with which it was co-
loured was dark, and, at the same time,
transparent. The other fins were of a
j lighter, but less lively blue ; the mouth and
I lips of a pale white.

I have been particular in this description,
because it appears to me that this beautiful
fish has been hitherto inadequately exa-
mined. What could cause the ancients to
transform its back into a chariot, is difficult
to conceive. The dolphin certainly swims
very swiftly; but Arion must have had a
patent pair of wire breeches, if he could

HEAVY SQUALLS.

stick on its spiny and straight back. As to
the common story of the dolphin sometimes
springing out of the sea so high as to fall on
the deck, I entirely disbelieve it. We saw l
many in all kinds of weather, and none of
them appeared to be inclined to pay the
upper air a visit.

The dolphin is not inserted amongst the
fishes usuallv reckoned as edible, in works
treating of aliment ; but it is sometimes eaten, J
though, according to the accounts of old
seamen, not always with impunity.

In 31° west longitude, we began to ob-
serve great quantities of sea- weed, of singu-
larlv beautiful varieties ; we also saw a live
crab, about the size of the palm of the hand,
float past on a mass of weed.

On the S3rd and 26th of August, we
experienced heavy squalls, both during the
day and the night, and accompanied by a
deluge of rain. During the latter day, we
saw a sail ; and, as it seemed bearing down
for us, we lay to and spoke the United States ^ j
ship, Alexander, from the Havannah, bound

to Mars

sel cam
high a
the last
with lai
I caugh

On
fishes ;
lines, o
These
tances i
a large
high.

On t]
latitude,
southeri
land. >
large sh
manv oi
the eve
peared
let dowi
thorns t
crossed

MOTHER Carey's chickens.

As to
Dtimes
fall on
e saw
me of
y the

;t the
^vorks
3aten,
f old

o ob-
ingu-
i live
land.

:, we
r the

to Marseilles and Gibraltar. How this ves-
sel came from such a southern port into so
high a latitude, we could not discover. For
the last three or four davs, we had fallen in
with large quantities of sea-weed, on which
I caught several small nondescript fish.

On the ^7th, we observed many flying-
fishes ; and now the sea-weed came in lonjr
Hnes, or masses, laying north and south.
These lines were generally at equal dis-
tances from each other. This diw we saw
a large bird, with a long tail, flying very
high.

On the 28th, we got into 44° 28' north
latitude, and supposed ourselves near the
southern edge of the banks of Newfound-
land. Soon after daylight, we observed a
large shoal of albicores and flying-fish, with
many of Mother Carey's chickens. Towards
the evening, the colour of the water ap-
peared so much altered, that the line was
let dow^n : but at one hundred and thirty fa-
thorns there was no o^round. We afterwards
crossed a strong and noisy current, and

CAPE FLYAWAY.

saw many boatswain-birds, and an immense
shoal of small fish.

There was now a heavy swell ; and after
sunset two large grampuses came and played
about under the bows of the vessel ; and one
afterwards visited us astern. There now
appeared every indication of the banks, par-
ticularly as the birds were very numerous,
and busily employed in fishing and crying
about the ship. Cape Flyaway was distinct
at sunset. At night a strong rippling passed
the vessel, which was supposed to be either
a current or one of those immense shoals of
fish common in these latitudes. A grampus
was again seen during the night.

On the 29th there was a pleasant breeze,
but still an unpleasant swell, which, how-
ever, was a convincing proof that we were
among the banks j and to confirm our con-
jectures, we discovered in the evening a
schooner lying to, and engaged busily in the
fishing. We now again sounded, and, to
our great joy, had bottom at thirty-six fa-
thoms, coarse gravel and broken shells.

On tl
curred w
this tram
and befc
up by tl
cod and
hippogloi
monstroi
line, was
one line ;
reckoned
followed
I get it.

There
chickens
I catch,
ance porl
I erroneoui
I York to ]

I almost e'

't .

1 immense

■I
".*

: by the o
i vain to n

MONSTER FLAT-FISH.

menso | On the 30th, at daylight, a scene oc
curred which is one of great interest during
this transit. All hands turned out to fish,
and before twelve o'clock we had hauled
up by the deep lines twenty-one fine large
cod and one enormous halibut (pleuronectes
hippoglossus). The appearance of this
monstrous flat-fish, as he rose up with the
line, was singular. We caught two cod on
one line ; but altogether our fishery was not
reckoned very successful. A rudder-fish
followed us for some time, but we could not

after
)laye(l
id one
I now
, par-
3rous,
:rying

get it.

There were now many of Mother Carey's

jchickens; but they were difficult to shoot or

catch. The vulgar notion of their appear-

iance portending stormy weather seems to be

ll erroneous, as in my recent voyage from New

I York to England and back again, I saw them

I almost every day, in a lower latitude. An

j immense shark also paid us a visit, attracted

I by the ofFal thrown over; but we tried in

; vain to make him better acquainted with us.

A DAY OF CURIOSITIES.

That beautiful and curious animal, the
Portuguese man-of-war, of a bright purple
colour, passed us to-day in full sail. It was
very large, and I regretted our inability to
obtain it, as I should have wished to have
seen what species of nautilus it was ; or
rather, whether it really is of the nautilus
family or not.

This day was a day of curiosities : the
lines brought up with the cod some speci-
mens of the granite-stones, or small boulders,
which form the bed of the sea here ; and at-
tached to these small blocks were several
singular animals.

On the 1st of September a pretty little [
miniature boat, painted red and completely
rigged, passed by us, but as the sea rani
hiirh we could not fjct it aboard. At twelve |
o'clock sounded again, and at eighty fathoms
had fine sand. In the middle of the night f
we had a perfect calm; but in a moment
there came on one of those heavy squalls to
which the Banks arc subject, and took the

ship ab{
consider
but mos
men, th(
owing t
about
stitch of
After
starlight
narrow
and on
was, lou
and told
wind, w:
The he]
the wroi
time hii
brig she
almost 1
gratulat
fact w^as
our for(
alvvavs 1
tracks.

A NARROW ESCAPE.

ship aback ; a circumstance attended with
considerable danger to a heavily loaded vessel,
but most frequently occurring to merchant-
men, the masters of which are, in general,
ovvinff to their want of hands, too careless
about carrying sail, and will not take in a
stitch of canvass during a calm.

After this squall we fortunately had a
starlight night, but experienced a still more
narrow escape. A high sea was running,
and on a sudden the mate, whose watch it
was, loudly called the master out of his bed,
and told him that a ship coming before the
wind, with all sail set, was running us down.
The helmsman, in a fright, put the helm
the wrong way, and the master had but just
time himself to right the vessel, when the
brig shot athwart our stern, so near that it
thorns^' I almost touched us. The two masters con-
gratulated each other on their escape. The
fact was, I believe, that we had no light in
our forecastle, a precaution which should
alwavs be taken at nio^ht in much traversed
tracks.

J, the
)urplt'
It was ]
lity to
I have
s ; or
Lutilus

5: the
speci-
dders,

nd at-'
everal

^ little
)letelv

a ran

:welve

night
oment |
alls to
>k the

YOUNG WHALES.

On the 2nd, wc pcassed through another I

strong rippling current, and saw a whale, or

very large grampus, at a distance. We had

seen few birds lately. At noon we were

much pleased with seeing from seven to ten

finners, or young whales, of a large size,

sporting about close to the ship. They

seemed perfectly at their ease, and remained | ' ° '

a long while gambolling about, and showing

the sea

master s

faint Iv a
the nigl
On t
dark gi
rents ah
bo acco
furrows

their huge unwieldy forms through the me-
dium of a light blue water. Their appear-
ance was singularly picturesque, and excited
much surprise to those of the passengers who
had never been in high latitudes ; I, how-
ever, had seen a much grt /.3r quantity in a
smaller space, and had been present at the
destruction of the almost incredible number
of one hundred and twenty-three, in a small
voe, or harbour, in Unst, an island of Shet- |
land, whither they had been driven by a
storm.

During this night, which was fine and
clear, between ten and twelve, we first saw
the aurora borealis. It arose in the north,

^ past, ani
: us a visi
I small, 1

breast.
^ On t
pusses
tinued t
proved
had set
I seven k

I onincT \
master
feel con

SIGNS OF LAND.

other
,le, or
e had

were
to ten

size,
Thev
aincd

)wing
e me-

)pcar-
scited

s who ] I
how- ' \

at the j f

iraber |

small t

Shet-

by a

faintly at first, but became more brilliant as
the ni(^ht advanced.

On this day (the Srd) the sea was of a
dark orecn, and full of the lines of cur-
rents already noticed j whi.ih may, perhaps,
be accounted for by the deep channels or
furrows between the various branches of
the great banks, themselves very high sub-
marine mountains. After twelve this day
the sea became much darker in colour. The
master saw four or five small land birds fly
past, and in the evening the first one paid
us a visit by settling on the rigging : it was
small, like a sparrow, and had a yellow
breast.

On the 4th, the master saw many gram-
pusses at an early hour ; the sea con-
tinued dark, and no soundings. This night
proved a stormy one, and after the evening
had set in, it blew hard. We ran all nicrht

seven knots and a half, although our reck-
oning was by no means assured, and the
master had never sailed in these seas. I
feel convinced that he did not conceive he

GULPH OF ST. LAWRENCE,

US but J

iGulph.

land 01

I usual, r

came o

being a

absolute

was near the land, or he would certainly not
have made all sail in a dark stormy night ;
and I believe he was not a little surprised,
when, on the morning of the 5th of Sep-
tember, at about five o'clock, the daylight
showed him, during the heaviest part of the
gale, the land of America.

When I rose, I saw before me a long line f gone by
of high, romantic, bold shore, the iron- J setting (
bound coast of the Island of Cape Breton,
near the bay in which its chief town, Sydney,
is situated. We could also perceive the Isle
of St. Paul, a lofty, rocky, and dangerous
mass, which points out the entrance of the
Gulph of St. Lawrence.

We soon made Cape No-th, in G0° 20' west
longitude, and during the gale saw some
large white birds, with wings tipped blacke
Cape North is exceedingly precipitous, high,
and bold. A tremendous gale came off this
land from the S. W., during which we saw a
fine large ship, labouring very hard, and
standing on almost every tack. This gale,

if the W(

not succ(

We hi

round wl

to avoid

land; ar

these see

and haul

ever, hav

On the

Southern

to experie

on sudden

It was for

the hardest we had yet experienced, gave I day, and

THE BIRD ISLES.

US but an unfavourable opinion of the Great
iGulph. It lasted from mid-day until night;
land our venturous master, carrying, as
I usual, rather a heavy press of sail when it
I came on, sprung the fore-yard, and not
I beinff able to ease off the mainsail, was in
absolute fear that his mainmast wo, Id have
gone by the board, which, or else the up-
setting of the vessel, must have happened,
'' if the weak crew, after great exertions, had
not succeeded in letting it fly.

We had now to pass the Bird Isles, rocks
round which vessels commonly go, in order
to avoid others lying between them and the
land ; and, by great good luck, we passed
west I these scenes of shipwreck after midnight,
some il and hauled to the westward, without, how-
lack Ji ever, having seen the rocks.

I On the 6th of September we stood for the

I Southern Anticosti Channel, and had again

I to experience a most severe gale, which came

on suddenly from the N. E. about eight a.m.

I It was fortunately fair for us, but lasted all

o-ave I day, and the ship lurched so much as to

J not
ght;
ised,
Sep-
light
f the

f line
iron-
•eton,
dney,
Isle
erous
f the

■•!

LARGE WHALE.

make us heartily wish for an end of our
voyage. We supposed we were under the
lee of the dreaded barren Island of Anti-
costi, at half-past three ; but the weather
was so thick, cold, and mizzly, that nothing
could be observed. It cleared up, and became
more moderate at five, and at last ended in
a fine starlight night, with a bright aurora i
borealis.

On the 7th, the mate saw a very large
whale in the morning ; there v/as also
plenty of weed ; and a large sparrow-hawk
settled with a small bird in his talons on
the fore-yard. We allowed him quietly to
devour his prey, as a new set of sails were
bent, which rendered it hazardous to shoot
au him. The weather was cold, with a
westerlv wind. We now saw Anticosti at a
great distance, and on the opposite shore
Gaspe Point was descried. Here the coast
looks like the chalky cliffs of the English
Channel ; but it is well known that chalk is
not found in America. The sea was now
of a dark-green colour ; and we found that

the curi

perience

Gulph,

on the 1{

Durir

I the lane

Canada

singular

About

mate sue

by callin

come on

usual ap

The 1

was a cle

wind fr(

standing

such a h

vens bee

over the

and an

liant lig

out of tl

VOL. I.

EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON.

large
also :
lawk
IS on
tly to
were
shoot
th a
. at a
shore
coast
iglish
ilk is
I no^v
that

the current, which so much deceives inex-
perieuced navigators in this part of the
Gulph, had set us, during the night, almost
on the land of Gasp^ so very strong is it.

During this night we made easy sail along
the land of Comwallis County, in Lower
Canada ; and I have now to relate a most
singular phenomenon that presented itself.

About two o'clock in the morning, the
mate suddenly alarmed us all in the cabins,
by calling loudly for the master to rise and
come on deck, as he observed a most un-
usual appearance on the lee-bow.

The weather had been cold, but there
was a clear starry firmament, and not much
wind from the south-west, and we were
standing on as favourably as could be with
such a breeze, when, in a moment, the hea-
vens became overcast to the southward, or
over the high land of Cornwallis County,
and an instantaneous and intensely-bril-
liant light, resembling a fiery aurora, shot
out of the sea under the lee-bow, and ren-

VOL. I. c

^26

EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON.

dcrcd every thing minutely discernible, even
to tlie mast-head.

The mate and his watch immediately put
the helm down, called up the whole crew,
and awakened the captain ; but before all
this could be accomplished, the light spread
more vividly than ever over the whole sur-
rounding sea, and the waves, hitherto tran-
quil, became much agitated, whilst thick
dark clouds from the land seemed to
threaten dreadful weather. The master
called me up ; and when I got upon deck,
a spectacle presented itself which I fancy
will never again faR to my lot to behokl
The whole sea, as far as could be seen,
was now one entire sheet of an awfully-
brilliant flame, above which, in splendour,
shone along the base of the high, frowning,
and dark land abreast of us, a long and
magnificent line of fire.

The fish, plentiful in these latitudes, and
of a large sizc^ seemed alarmed ; long, tortu-
ous, darting lines of light, in a contrary direc-

tion to tl

large fis

The;

!had a p
length (
I scene wl
occurren
the sun i

To sa

litude I
' 1 have fi

ocean on
I that onl)

be comp
; than a ^
:| murkily
ithe brig
r| luminary
i oldest sa
I nesscd a
iresembla:

asserted
^Ithinof ver
The b

EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON.

even

ning,

' and

;, and
tortu-
direc-

tion to the sea, showed us immense numbers of
large fish, flying about as if they were lost.

The wind, which had increased a little,
had a peculiar hollow sound; and, after a
length of time passed in contemplating a
scene which I am persuaded is of very rare
occurrence, day broke slowly and sullenly,
I the sun rising very fiery and gloomily.

To sail on a sea of lire is the only simi-
litude I can fancy to this really awful scene.
1 have frequently observed the waters of the
ocean on fire, as it is vulgarly termed, but
that only in small masses, and no more to
be compared to what we then witnessed,
than a November day, when the sun peers
murkily through the fog of England, is to
I the bright and glorious appearance of that
I luminary on a fine day in the tropics. The
I oldest sailor in our vessel had never wit-
nessed any thing bearing even a distant
resemblance to it, except the master, who
asserted that he had once observed some-
thing very hke it in the Trades.
The brilliancy of the light may be con-

c 2

EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON.

ccivcd, when I say that the spritsail-yard
and mizen-boom were lit by the reflection,
as though they had had gaslights suspended
from them ; and even before the day broke,
at four o'clock, 1 could distinctly see the most
minute objects on the face of my watch.

This appearance came first from the
north-west, and there had been a slight
aurora about eleven o'clock.

1 drew upon deck, during the most vivid
part of the phenomenon, a bucket of the
sea water, which, when stirred by the hand,
appeared like a mass of phosphorence. Of
this water I immediately bottled a quart and
sealed it down, and I kept a larger quantity
in an open jug, * which it will be observed

* I regret that the sealed bottle, in the hurry of moving,
was left on board at Quebec. The water in it, when shook,
never exhibited any light. In the jug, on the first night
succeeding the appearance, the water was very luminous,
principally at the bottom ; second night the same, perhaps
more vivid ; third night, the same ; fourth night, oil from a
lamp was accidentally spilt in the jug, but still the water was
as luminous as ever ; fifth night, the same ; sixth night, still
luminous, although much of the water had been lost by acci-
dent ; on the seventh night the water was all gone.

by the a
six nigl
most ca
culai in
from th(
and pun
On F
three pe

* Sea-wa
phate of mi
lowing expe
a chemical
Take four
it into two (
water; let
and, on shak
tiful luminc
until the foi
£psom sa
Perhaps
from its soli
I acknow
of fish, parti
Gulph of St
ficient matte
sometimes s(
dare not deti
create phosp
to such an aj

PHOSPHORESCENT WATER.

ird
on,
led
ike,
lost

the
ight

rivid

the

and,

and!
ntitv

by the appended note remained luminous for
six nights afterwards. I could not, by the
most careful scrutiny, discover any animal-
culae in the jug; and the water, excepting
from the admixture of a little oil, was clear
and pure during the whole time*.

On Friday, the 8th, a small boat with
three people in it, the first we had seen

* Sea-water being a compound of muriate of soda, sul-
phate of magnesia, oxygen and hydrogen, perhaps the fol-
lowing experiment may yield some data on which to ground
a chemical theory of the nature of the light of the ocean.—
Take four drachms of the substance of fresh herring and put
it into two drachms of sulphate of magnesia in two ounces of
water ; let the phial remain at rest for twenty-four hours,
and, on shaking it briskly in the dark, you will observe a beau-
tiful luminous appearance all over the bottle, which will last
until the fourth night.

Epsom salts are now chiefly obtained from sea-water.

Perhaps a phosphate is formed, which, readily melting
from its solid form, diffuses itself over a vast surface.

I acknowledge, however, that even the inconceivable shoals
of fish, particularly herrings ( Gasperaux), which people the
Gulph of St. Lawrence, would scarcely appear to afford suf-
ficient matter, although an entire shoal or mass (which is
sometimes seen aUve covering an extent of surface which I
dare not detail) were to be suddenly deprived of existence, to
create phosphoric atoms to the extent requisite to give birth
to such an appearance as that which I have described.

LABRADOR.

since our quitting the shores of England,
passed us at a distance. This morning
proved rainy, but we plainly distinguished
Cape St. Anne, and very high land con-
tinuing from it.

There was now plenty of the gulph weed,
a sure token that we were not yet in the
estuary of the great St. Lawrence.

After three o'clock, p.m., the coast of
Labrador came in sight to the northward ;
and at eight a strong squall, which however
soon passed off ; and we stood into this
shore until midni^^ht, when we as^ain made
for the Canadian side of the gulph until

evening.

On the 9th, the morning proved calm, and
we saw a huge seal, or some other largo
marine animal, floating past. The weather
abated its coldness, but the sky was dull,
and we had no wind. At three the next
morning, the mate reported a large drove
of grampusses, and at daylight we again
saw the land, but it was not until the mist
cleared away, after breakfast, that it could

I be obsei

our rec

Caribon

fore enl

' the mou

Everj

out, and

^ mirage (

; conceive

us and j

voyage.

elapsed

pilot-boa

calm pn

were mu(

birds w

whales a

about us,

the ship.

the pleas

merals a\

of the p

perienced

wards us.

MIRAGE.

be observed on both sides of the vessel. By
our reckoning, we were now abreast of
Caribon Point and Cape Chat, and there-
fore entering the dangerous navigation of
the mouth of the St. Lawrence.

Every eye was now employed in looking
out, and with some uncertainty, owing to a
mirage on the edge of the land : we at last
conceived that two boats were making for
us and another ship which had joined our
voyage. A considerable time, however,
elapsed before we were assured that two
pilot-boats were actually nearing us. The
calm prevented our making way, and we
were much amused by the number of small
birds which visited our rigging ; huge
whales and grampusses were also playing
about us, and a large s&al came up close to
tbc ship. It would be useless to describe
the pleasure we felt in making out the nu-
merals which are painted on the mainsail
of the pilot-boats, or the anxiety we ex-
perienced during their tedious progress to-
wards us.

A CANADIAN PILOT.

At mid-day the pilot, his boy, his boat,
and all his stock were safely landed on our
deck. Monsieur Prisque Meteille* was a
fair sample of the Canadian sailor ; he spoke
some English, smoked his pipe incessantly,
and possessed that phlegmatic temperament
which the descendants of the lively French
appear somewhat unnaturally to have ac-
quired in the uncertain climate of this part
of the New World ; and as he brought some
fresh fish, and bread, together with fine
weather in the afternoon, we were all very
glad to see him.

Monsieur Prisque Meteille's man informed
me that the other pilot had got some curious
stones, which they had picked up, having
been confined to the desert shore of Caribou
Point for some weeks, waiting for winds and
ships. He described them as like fingers,
being glittering and of various colours. 1
conjectured they were fine quartz crystals.

After a fine sunset, the moon rose verv
grandly, and the weather became warmer;

* Priscus Metellus,

and tl]

to inf(

countr

scssors

now at

was nc

observe

stance

rope fij

very be;

The I

tiful as j

May it

SINGULAR APPEARANCE.

and that pest of America, a musquito, came
to inform us that we were entering into a
country where his tribe are certainly pos-
sessors of a vast inheritance. The sea was
now again slightly luminous; but as there
was no wind, this appearance could only be
observed by throwing a rope or some sub-
stance into the water. The agitation of a
rope fixed by both ends on board, showed
very beautiful and brilliant scintillations.*

The sunset I have mentioned was so beau-
tiful as to excite the attention of all on board.

iMtb.jfmnFtiiti': -s^-'^-- — -7——

May it not l)e, after all, that the sea-light is electric ?

SINGULAR APPEARANCE.

First, there was a double sun bv rcflec-
tion, each disc equally distinct ; afterwards,
when the orb reached the mark x a solid
body of light, equal in breadth with the sun
itself, but of great length from the shore,
shot down on the sea, and remained like n
broad fiery golden colimni, or bar, until the
black hiffh land hid the luminary itself.
This occurred near Cape Deamon, or be-
tween it and Caribon Point. On the op])o-
site shore all was dull, the clouds being
half way down the lower mountains of the
coast.

This night, although the sea was calm,
we again saw it covered with light, almost
as intense in brilliancy as before; but of
course, not equally interesting, from the
absence of wind and other phenomena.

On Monday the 11th, at ten a. m., we saw
the first house, and were nearly in the river,
off the Pass of Matane, wind N. E., and at
night the sea very brilliant again. The
wind foul all this night and until Tuesday at
four o'clock. We saw Cape Arignole almost

MAL HAY.

tho whole day, and on the opposite, or La-

the h

OUSC}

brador side, Port-ncuf, wi
settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company
there. A great deal of rock-weed floated
past, and many porpoises visited us. In th(?
evening we descried, as we passed, Trois
Pistoles, Bic, Bicquette, Basque Isle, and
(Jreen Island; at eleven the light on the
latter came in sight.

We ran very fast all this night ; and heing
on dangerous ground, as a thick fog came
on, we anchored at eight on Wednesday
morning off Mai or Murray Bay. The fog
had been frequent and intense as we drew
into the narrower parts of the St. Law-
rence ; and we were told that it was owing to
some extensive fires in the woods, which,
indeed, appeared the more likely, as it had
a strong odour, like that produced by burn-
ing peat.

Mai Bay is a very pretty picturesque set-
tlement, amid the mountains of this part of
the Canadian shore. As the fog cleared, we

xilTE PORPOISES.

saw good houses and farms covering the land
down to the water's edge ; and the effect of
the curtain of fog slowly passing away was
the more singular, as we now successively
saw five ships near us ; the village of Mur-
ray, bounded by Goose Cape, a high pro-
montory ; the Pilgrims and Hare Island ;
and Kamourasha, with the large village or
town of St. Louis on the opposite shore.

Those singular fish, the milk-white por-
poises of the St. Lawrence, also now shewed
themselves close to the vessel, playing about
and turning up their silver coats to the
bright sun.

Before I proceed in my detail, it may be
amusing to state, that at our first anchorage
in Mai Bay, our dinner consisted of a Don-
kin preserved turkey, preserved soup and
bouillie, and new potatoes, which had been
kept in earth. These vegetables we had
every day, as well as preserved milk for tea
and breakfast, and our Thames water had
always proved good. Such is the height to

which ii
person
shorp^ a

We \N
gerous '
narrow
night, a
appeare(
his pilot
hours di

OnT
us up at
morenc}
tance.
of this
shower ^
so far o:
appeara

A ne
scene nc

* On b(
Captain C.
fectly to in

t ColoiK
very effect'

FALLS OF MONTMORENCY.

which invention has carried matters, that a
person may now live as well at sea as on
shore> and enjoy nearly as many luxuries.*

We were now, it appears, .naking a dan-
gerous experiment — that of running in a
narrow channel and thick foo- during the
night, and with a brisk breeze. The master
appeared not to place too great reliance on
his pilot, for he sounded continually for two
hours during the worst part of the run.

On Thursday the 14th, the captain called
us up at day-break to see the Falls of Mont-
morency, which -we were passing at a dis-
tance. As the sun rose, I had a good view
of this beautiful scene, before a very heavy
shower of rain came on ; but the Falls were
k so far off, that I am unable to describe their
appearance accurately.t

A new, a nearer, and a most splendid
scene now began to unfold. The bold and

* On board a New York packet afterwards, my friend,
Captain C. H. Charnplin, of the Mediator, proved this per-
fectly to my satisfaction.

t Colonel Cockburn of the Royal Artillery has done this
very effectually in his beautiful drawing of Montmorency.

INDIAN ENCAMPMENT.

lofty pT*omontory of Cape Diamond appeared
before us ; astern the rich and large Isle of
Orleans, thickly cov3red with good dwell
ings ; the lofty mountains of Canada on the
starboard side, and Point Levi on the lar.
board quarter ; whilst our ship was scudding
through the great basin which expands the
St. Lawrence into a road capable of contain,
inty any Uvivy that ever swam.

As we neared the shore from which Point
Levi projects, we saw an Indian encamp-
ment under the woods, in a cave on the
beach. Their night fires were expiring
slowly, and a man and woman were pacing
about before the cancos, apparently watch-

ing them.

The contrast between this scene of soli-
tary wretchedness — between the miserable
wigwams hastily formed of boughs, incapable
of resisting the rain-storm that poured over
them, and the good and substantially com-
fortable houses which came into view as
we turned the point — was to me striking
and very melancholy. The poor creatures

seemed
lonely cc
ders on t
tion and
few feet
ledge tht
stranger
Red fan
originall
creased
whose <
ameliora
as bad as
gun, the
versal de

We an
at seven
template
natural ^
ever rem

Tower
and twen
river St.
Cape Di

MELANCHOLY CONTRAST.

iarod
sle of
well.
1 the
! lar-
Iding
3 the
tain-

^int

amp-

th(

irin*:

.cmg
Itch-
soli,
•able
lable
over
3om-
V as
king-
ures I

seemed to have been pushed back into the
lonely cove of the wood by the arrogant intru-
ders on their soil. The extremes of civiliza-
tion and barbarism were separated only by a
few feet of mountain land ; whilst the know-
ledge that the power of the white and bearded
stranger, as the Mexican and others of the
Red family designate their conquerors, was
originally exerted only to annihilate, in-
creased the feeling of interest for a people
whose condition, although now somewhat
ameliorated, is perhaps, with few exceptions,
as bad as it can possibly be made, from the
gmi, the sword, the small-pox, and that uni-
versal destroyer — the produce of the still.

We anchored very near the King's Wharf
at seven o'clock, and had full leisure to con-
template a scene of human industry and
natural grandeur, which equals any that I
ever remember to have beheld.

Towering to the altitude of three hundred
and twenty feet above the level of the majestic
river St. Lawrence, the bold promontorv,
Cape Diamond, was high above our mast-

QUEBEC.

head, and on its summit, and around its
brow, a vast chain of fortifications shewed
their nearly inaccessible lines. To the right
hand, the promontory appeared gradually to
lower, exhibiting, as it passed towards the
east, a very beautiful section of its schistose
rocks, above the most precipitous and per-
pendicular ledge of which, the massive fabric
of the Chateau of St. Lewis is erected.
Underneath this building, which is a very
substantial, but a tasteless piece of archi-
tecture, a part of the lower town runs along
the water's edge, and appears, as I suppose
it really is, built on a projecting shelf formed
under the ancient level of the river, by the
debris from the shivering rocks above.

Farther to the right, the promontory
having subsided rapidly, shows that part of
the city which runs across its back. Here,
along the water's ed;:;e, and on a space
gained from the St. Lawrence, sweeps the
Lower Town J and above it, in successive
stages, the Upper Town projected the sharp
outlines of its exteisive buildings on a

cloudle
where
any fui
situatec
spires,
like sih
dark st
wooden
face of £
hourly <
military
the high
constant
cmployn
rectly at
a pictur
bined as
of one c
folded,
vast har
to us,
admiral's
line of 1;
steam-bo

QUEBEC.

cloudless sky. A rapid turn in the river,
where it joins the St. Charles, prevented
any further view of Quehec, as we were
situated ; but the assemblage of numerous
spires, coated with bright tin, glittering
like silver in the morning sun ; the strong
dark stone dwellings, mixed with painted
wooden houses, hanging as it were on the
face of a precipice which seemed to threaten
hourly destruction to those below it ; the
military works, impregnable in their aspect ;
the high watch-tower, on which signals were
constantly making ; the workmen at their
employment on the summit of bastions di-
rectly above our heads ; all these presented
a picture of the most lively interest, com-
bined as it was with that which the bosom
of one of the mightiest of floods also un-
folded. Here, on the tranquil expanse of a
vast harbour or lake, floated at anchor, close
to us, a sixty-four-f'un ship bearing an
admiral's flag, a sloop of war, and a vv^hole
line of large merchantmen, mixed with fine
steam-boats.

QUEBEC.

Around us, on all sides, boats of every
description were sailing or rowing ; and here
and there a log or a birch canoe paddling
along, called to our recollection that it was
on the breast of an American river we were
contemplating Nature and Art vicing with
each other.

Far to the westward as the eye could
reach, the St. Lawrence rolled in grandeur
unequalled, through a channel whose con-
fines appeared to consist of high and fertile
lands, agreeably intermixed with cleared
farms and the ancient forest.

A fleet of merchant shipping rode in this
part of the stream, preparing to load timber.

Opposite to Quebec the bank is high, but
not so abrupt ; and on Point Levi and the
adjacent ridge a pretty assemblage of neat
dwellings and rich farms spread themselves
to the view.

The depth of the river is here about 28
fathoms, and the water rises from I7 to 18
feet at the neaps, and from 23 to ^4 at the
spring tides, running generally, I should

think,
safely a
to Poin
boat*
united
circle in
to answ
scngers
with ano
in Uppe
State of
find thai
steam-bo
wharf at
boats an(
apparent
and cond

* These
Toronto usee
Black Rock,
Fort Erie, oi

QUEBEC.

think, very strong. A passage is effected
safely and continually across from Quebec
to Point Levi, by a vessel called a team-
boat*, impelled by paddle-wheels, from the
united efforts of four horses moving in a
circle in the centre of the waist. It appears
to answer very well, and was full of pas-
sengers when I saw it. I afterwards met
with another, which plies between Prescott,
in Upper Canada, and Ogdensburgh, in the
State of New York, and was surprised to
find that it was governed as well as any
steam-boat, as I observed it work into the
wharf at Prescott, amongst several steam-
boats and schooners, in a difficult place, and
apparently with great ease to the helmsman
and conductor.

28
18
he
lild

* These team-boats are common. There was one at
Toronto used as a pleasure-party boat, and one plies betvveer»
Black Rock, in the United States, and Waterloo VillagCj neat
Fort Erie, on the Niagara.

CHAPTER IT.

QUEBEC.

French Character of ihp Lower Town — Tin Spires and Roofs
— Peculiar Situation of Quebec — The Scene of Wolfe's
Glory — The Spot where he fell— The Fortifications — The
Citadel— The Garrison — Public Buildings — Remarkable
Localities — Provisions — Geological Character of the Rock
of Quebec — Cape Diamond — Primitive Mountains of the
St. Charles.

The harbour-master having paid us a
visit, and having ascertained the name, size,
cargo, &c., of the vessel, the number of pas-
sengers, and other particulars, we ^anded nt
ten, without any further inquiries, at the
King's Wharf.

In going through the Lower Town, a
traveller aecuf^tomed to France and its port
towns is at once sensible oi the origin of the

spu'es

QUEBEC.

Size,
' pas-
ed nt
the

race who first colonized this ^jart of the

world. High stone houses with long folding

windows, of a suhstantial but unfinished
appearance ; narrow streets, very far from

clean ; but little display of shop-windows,
and no great outward signs of business, cha-
racterise this portion of Quebec.

Several steep flights of steps, which must
be vcrv awkward and dangerous in winter,
lead you to the Upper Town, where wider
streets, kept in rather better order, a better
• style of building, and more apparent comfort,
prevail.

Wooden houses do not predominate at
Quebec, as might be expected ; but the tin
spires of the churches, and tbe tin roofs of
the best houses, give it a lively appearance,
and one very diffbrent from those of Europe,
ivhen viewed from the river. It is singular
to see these bright coverings glistening in
the sun, years after they were originally laid
over the buildings, although for a great
part of the time snow and rain pour over
tnem. The whole secret of p^-eventing oxi-

TIN ROOFS.

dation consists in fasteninfr tlic sheets of tin
with tinned nails, in such a manner that
the wet of the atmosphere never touches the
nails, or the holes made hy them in the
tinned iron.

These roofs, highly useful as they are in
affording a free passage for the body of
snow which lodges on them when the thaw
commences, and also for the safety they
afford from fires in chimnies, have never-
theless their inconveniences. They are of
course very expensive ; and if, by the neg-
lect of the workmen who put them on, or
by any damp, the sheets of tinned iron
may have previously contracted, they be-
come oxidized, and holes are formed, which
soon become large, and give much trouble.
Sometimes the whole side of a roof must
be taken off, if the slightest repair, which
the soldering-iron cannot effect, becomes
requisite.

A description of Quebec is certainly ex-
pected from a traveller who professes to
offer a personal narrative to the public eye.

But, c
Cape
culars
who J]
as far
days' g
much i
the key
interest
famous
I ha^
the riv(
promont
La wren (
on the
towards
siderabh
the wes
the escai
but an
presentee
ff north- wei
boundary
^t. Charl

SITUATION OF QUF.IIF.C.

:in
lat
he
the

in 1 1

of 1

law :

hey I

vcr- 1

3 of

I, or

iron

be-

lich

3le.

nust
lich
)nies

■f ex-
to

eye.

liut, excepting in a geological point of view,
Cape Diamond presents few other parti-
culars than those already noticed hy writers
who have preceded me. 1 shall, however,
as far as the limited experience of a two
days' sojourn there will allow, detail as
much as possible concerning a city, at once
the key and capital of a vast, and now most
interesting region, and rendered eternally
famous by the daring valour of Wolfe.

I have already noticed, in my view from
the river, the situation of Quebec. The
promontory, which separates it from the St.
Lawrence on one side and the St. Charles
on the other, has generally a very steep face
towards the Great River, and retains con-
siderable elevation for about two miles to
the westw^ard. Towards the St. Charles
the escarpment of the land is more gentle ;
but an almost continuous rapid flank is
presented for a considerable distance to the
north-west. This flank forms the southern
boundary of the broad valley in which the
St. Charles now runs, in a diminished and

IIKICIITS OF AIJRAIIAM.

serpentine channel, at a medium distance
of about lialf a mile from the ed^^^e of the
promontory.

The ridge of which the promontory itself
consists, is about three-quarters of a mile in
medium breadth, and is much broken and
diversified on that part of its summit nearest
to the St. Lawrence, by sharp, unequal,
and irregular eminences, constituting the
southern portion of the Heights of Abrabam,
a desiijnation rendered ever famous in the
history of British conquest.

A sort of plain, much broken however,
covers the central crown of this jagged ridge,
at the distance of about half a mile from the
town ; and on this spot, now partly under
cultivation, Wolfe's genius and undaunted
foresight achieved one of the most splendid
victories ever recorded in the c.nnals of
military exploits. The Cove, where, under
the face of an apparently impassable series
of rocks, piled above each other, he effected
his landing before daybreak on the lath of
September, 1759, is an object of great

m teres
is son
compel
forgot t
to eten
is a fai

spot OE

found ;
field ha
from in
lowed ei
private
freedom
Here si
pointin*
hand o
was plac
The

* ((

J"-

Ir
Ol

VOL. I

GRAVE OF WOLFE.

interest to the British traveller ; but there
is some difficulty in finding it without a
competent jt^uide, and its situation will be
forn^otten, if some patriot does not start up
to eternize it by an adequate memorial. It
is a fact, that the stone which marked the
spot on which the hero fell is not now to be
found ; and I heard that the owner of the
field had removed it, to prevent the curious
from intruding on his premises. This hal-
lowed earth * should never have passed into
private hands ; the public of a land where
freedom is not a name, claim it as their own.
Here should have been reared the " star-y-
pointing pyramid," which, by the fostering
hand of a late governor, Lord Dalhousie,
was placed at the chateau-gate.
The fortifications, which give so much

* " What hallows ground where heroes sleep ?
'Tis not the sculptured piles yoa heap :
In dews that heavens, far distant, weep,

Their turf may bloom ;
Or genii twine, beneath the deep,
Their coral "'^i •> "

Campbell.

VOL. I. D

FORTTFICATIOxVS

celebrity to Quebec as to have rendered it

amongst

th(

e most eininent of fortresses of
the second order, have undergone great
alterations and revision ; and, when com-
pleted, it will probably be the strongest
place of that class in the world. The land
front of course embraces the whole extent of
the promontory, from its most perpendicular
precipices on the St. Lawrence, to the edge
of the estuary of the St. Charles. Its greatest
faulty in coiiocquence of the nature of this
portion of the site, arose from the extreme
straightness of the line to be secured, thus
rendering ii necessary to make the bastions
very flat, in aii extent of front of much more
thaii half a mile, close to which the irregu-
lar eminences above-mentioned presented a
scries of deep hollows and hiding-places.

On the St. Lawrence, or south- western
extremity of this line, and where Cape Diu
mond has its highest crown, the citadel is
built ; but this work was very inadequate
to tlie proposed effect. It has undergone
great revision and addition ; and the vaulted

(lefcni

promi

Frc

side,

verv ci

alono"

to the

The pj

is brist

conneci

tery, w

and pa

twenty-:

larly sti

Gates, I

by joini

Palais.

The c
drv, and
lent stuc
tary eve.
which or
be broug
the rock.

OF QUEBEC.

defences, erected with great skill and care,
promise to render it impregnable.

From the citadel, on the south-eastern
side, a strongly-flanked wall runs to the
very edge of the precipitous ledge of rocks,
along the brow of which it continues
to the gateway leading to the lower town.
The passage from hence to the upper town
is bristled with cannon ; a similar line then
connects these works with the ground bat-
tery, which can completely cover the basin
and passage of the river with a storm of
twenty-four pound balls. Another line, simi-
lar!}' strong, runs past the Hope and Palace
Gates, and completes the circuit of the city,
by joining the bastion of the Coteau-du-
Palais.

The ditch of the land front is of course
dry, and the whole work presents an excel-
lent studv of an irregular fortress, to a mill-
tary eye. The singular flight of stairs by
which ordnance and the bulky materials can
be brought up from the river to the top of
the rock, is also a striking object from the

D 2

THE GARRISON.

deck of a vessel. It is called the Inclined
Plane.

Appertaining to the works, are several
ranges of barracks, viz., the Jesuits, formerly
a college of that order, and the Casernes
nouvelle^ or artillery barrack, &c. None of
them are handsome edifices ; the latter is,
however, very durable, forty feet in breadth,
527 long» and two stories high. In it are
the gunners' barrack, the ordnance oflBce,
armoury, storehouses, and w^orkshops. In
the armoury there is always 20,000 stand of
arms of every description, in perfect and well-
arranged order.

The garrison usually, in peace, consists of
two regiments of the line, two companies of
artillery, and one of sappers and miners.
There are, in addition, and at all times im-
mediately available, a fine corps of militia
cavalry, and two battalions of infantry, with
a proportion of artillery j so that the place is
never in adequately garrisoned, or unprepared.
The fixed population of Quebec may be
stated at 18,000. The streets of this city

are, frc

equal.

ings ar

street o

Cape D

half a

and hei

houses a

such dee

their car

Theb

seldom e

usually 1

street is i

and the

highest p

also mor

those in

Palace sti

French si

also « the

do congrc

tolerably y

be proper]

STREETS OF QUEBEC.

are, from the site, very irregular and un-
equal. In the upper town, the best build-
ings are too obiiciir ; but the principal
street of the lower town, which runs from
Cape Diamond towards the St. Charles, for
half a mile, also contains some good houses ;
and here there are very extensive ware-
houses and ship-yards, many of these having
such deep water, that large vessels discharge
their cargoes afloat.

The breadth of the great streets of Quebec
seldom exceeds thirty-two feet, but it is more
usually less than twenty-seven. St. Lewis-
street is reckoned the best locale for the rich
and the government officers, being in the
highest part of the town ; the houses are
also more modern and comfortable than
those in St. John, Buade, Fabrique, and
Palace streets, where the old gloomy style of
French stone buildings prevails, and where
also " the merchants of the earth the most
do congregate." Most part of Quebec is
tolerably well paved, but does not appear to
be properly lit, though it is now traversable

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

by carriages with safety in nearly every
direction.

An extensive ma] ket-place, an esplanade,
place d*armes, grani parade, and the ram-
parts, afford plenty of vacant space for the
free circulation of a r ; and from its peculiar
natural advantages, the Upper Town of Que-
bec is one of the cleinest cities in the world.

Of public buildings not already men-
tioned, the Hotel ])ieu, Ursuline Convent,
Protestant and Catholic cathedrals, kirk,
lower town church, seminary, and new jail,
are the principal, wi th the Chateau, or Castle
of St. Lewis. None of these deserve much
notice for architectural beauty or design;
but most of them are extensive and sub-
stantial; which, in i fortified city, is perhaps
better. The Cath )lic cathedral is no- less
than 216 feet in lei gth, by 108 in breadth ;
but is surpassed in taste by the Protestant
cathedral, which h the handsomest edifice
in Quebec, 136 fest long, and 75 broad,
with a lofty and vei y well constructed spire,
coated with bright 1 in plates.

Thi
is a pi
laid
what (
of the
conne(
adom(

The

lookin,

style (

name ;

siege i

former

A ti

the soi

place V

was ki

Abrah

wall nc

the Ca

from a

* Keni
tober, lo'fj

THE JAIL AND CASTLE.

The jail is said to have cost £15,000 ; it
I is a plain strong stone building, and is well
laid out in the interior. It is now some-
what difficult for a stranger to obtain a view
of the interior of the convent : the chapel
connected with it is beautifully and chastely
adorned.

The castle is a very plain, unpretending
looking building, bearing no analogy to the
style of buildinc^ whence it has taken its
name ; though, from the plate given of the
siege in 1629, in Hennessin,* I sup^.ose it
formerly had its towers and turrets.

A traveller should, above all things, visit
the south-west part of the works, and see the
place where Montgomery scaled them and
was killed ; he should traverse the plains of
Abraham, and look down either from the
wall near where Montgomery fell, and \vhere
the Cape is 360 feet above the river, or else
from a still higher pinnacle, the top or plat-

* Kennessin and La Salle's Discoveries in America. Oc-
tober, 1699. Now a very scarce book.

THE MARKET,

form of the- tower on which the signal staff is
erected. Under his feet the ships seem
mere boats, and Shakspeare's Cliff bursts,
if he be a Briton, on his recollection. The
river may be traced as on a vast map, and
the view altogether is one which cannot be
adequately described.

The market seemed well supplied with
fish, flesh, fruit and vegetables, all of which,
bv the kindness of a brother officer, I had
soon an opportunity of forming an opiniori
of. Our dinner, amongst other good things,
consisted of bar-fish, an excellent product of
the St. Lawrence, and partridges, and the
luxury of butter cooled by large pieces of
ice being brought on table with it on the
same plate. Our dessert had blue and white
very large grapes, fresh from Montreal,*
with melons from the same place, and excel-

Our breakfast next

ipple

pears.

day was alike good, and we had moreover
capital river trout.

* They do not arrive at perfection in Quebec.

south

notwi

its w

flowei

(wate

air, ai

the su

and h(

more f

provin

in the <

is com

veins a

quentl}

may be

works.

been ol

limpid (

hollow i

monton

Diamor

CAPE DIAMOND.

I could not avoid observing, that the
southern latitude of Quebec, 46° 50', has,
notwithstanding the length and severity of
its winter, a very strong influence on its
flowers and fruits. We observed melons
(water and common) growing in the open
air, and ordinary European flowers, such as
the sunflower and hollyhock, attaining a size
and height quite unknown in England.

As I intend, on a future occasion, to enter
more fully into the natural history of these
provinces, I shall here merely observe, that
in the clay slate of which the rock of Quebec
is composed, there are some very singular
veins and crystals of carbonate of lime fre-
quently occurring, fine specimens of which
may be had on the foundations of the new
works. Fluatc of lime has now and then
been observed, and the imperfect crystals of
limpid quartz so abundantly adhering to the
hollow surfaces, have obtained for this pro-
montory's termination, the name of Cape
Diamond ; although at present the large

D 3

GEOLOGICAL ClIARACTElt

prisms which have been so eagorly sought
after for English cabinets, and which are
worked by the lapidaries of Quebec into
omatnen :, ar : rot ^ound here, but at some
distance tiom tJu town. The largest crystal
I could get on C pe Diamond from the
workmen, is about the size of the first joint
of ihe thumb, and is imperfect, and shivered
in its interior.

The Quebec rock is a very bad buildin^
stone, from its schistose and shivering cha-
racter ; but it was conjectured that a pro-
fitable quarry of dark blue limestone might
be opened on the heights. This was attempted
by an officer of engineers ;* but the strata
dipped very rapidly and unexpectedly under
the clay slate.

The mountains on the opposite side of the
St. Charles are primitive, and consist chiefly
of granite, gniess and mica slate, affording

* Captain Jiaddely, the most active and best geologist then
in Canada, and to whom that country is under much obliga-
tion for his scientific explorations.

OF QUFBEC.

a n. tg:?.ificent spectacle as a vessel ap-
prci ;hes the fortress of North America,
and forming an P^^mirable back-ground to
the beautiful scenerv around the 1 1 eights
of Abraham.

CHAPTER III.

VOYAGE UP THE ST. LAWRENCE TO
MONTREAL.

Steaming on the St. La\rrence— English Character rf the
Scenery—Continuous Village from Quebec to Montreal—
The Richelieu Rapids— MiHtary Post of Three Rivers-
Lake St. Pierre — Sorel — Its present State and future
pKspects— The Rideau Canal— The Riipid of St. Marie
— Imi.-ovements in Steam Power— Art triumphant over
Nature.

Bidding adieu to Quebec, and tranship-
ping my baggage from the vessel to the
steam-boat which lay alongside of us at the
King's Wharf to receive our cargo of Indian
presents, we once more got under weigh at
one o^clock in the morning of the lyth of
September, and steamed away.

The boat was a good one, and possessed
of every comfort that could be expected ; but

SETTLEMENT ON THE ST. LAWRENCE. 6l

its tremulous motion prevented sleep, and
therefore getting up at an early hour,* I
found that during the night we had passed
the slight Rapids at the mouth of the Chau-
di^re, and that we were now stemming the
nohle St. Lawrf'nce, with the land on either
side very clear. ^

At Batiscai;, a straggling village, and
after you pass it on the route to Montreal,
the English traveller is strongly reminded of
the scenes he has quitted, as the trees are
chiefly hard wood, and the soil appears fine,
so that the farms bear the outward look of
great comfort and plenty.

From this place I observed that both sides,
but particularly the northern bank of the St.
Lawrence, were covered by a continuous
settlement, apparently in a very flourishing
condition. Indeed, it may with propriety
be styled a continuous villac^e all the wav to
Three Rivers ; and as there is a fine sandy

* By the regulation of these conveyances in Canada, every
one rises before eight, so that the beds may be curtained
and breakfast decently prepared in the cabin.

THE RICIIKLIEi; RAPID.

hcacli, there is every facility for obtaininir
easily the supply of food wliich the St. Law-
rence affords in such abundance. This con-
tinuity of farms may, without exai^geration,
be said to reach from Quebec, with few
intervals, all the way to Montreal ; thus
affording a well watched frontier in war, an
easy communication, and excellent opportu-
nities of transporting the produce of the
interior in peace, whenever the rich country
at the back of this belt of settlement shall b(>
opened.

After passing the mouth of the Jacques
Car tier, a name dear to Canadian history,
we encountered the Richelieu Rapids, where
the St. Lawrence makes a great bend to the
south-east ; and here we vcre more than
ever convinced, that the day is not far distant
when no sailing vessel will be seen on this
mighty stream.

The river St. Anne, with a pretty village
at its estuary, next presented itself, also on
the northern beach, and soon afterwards the
Batiscan.

THREE RIVERS.

\Vc passed Throe Rivers (Trois llivit'res),
a small town and military post, prettily situ-
ated at the (jonfluenee of the St. Maurice with
the St. Lawrence. The houses were mostly
of wood, and altogether respectahle in their
ap[)earance ; and, with a large stone edifice
in which the nuns of St. Ursula have a con-
vent and church (the steeple of which is a
little out of the perpendicular), a stone bar-
rack on the high ground, a court-house and
a jail, also of stone, and the Protestant and
the Catholic churches, they formed a striking
feature to Europeans accustomed by a long
voyage to sea and sky, and, after quitting
the capital of Canada, to long straggling
farms and forests only.

Three Rivers is at present the third town
in Lower Canada, having a population of
about 2500. The iron mines in its vicinitv,
a considerable trade n pot- and pearl-ash,
and its being still one of the depots of the
north-west traders, render this place of some
importance, in a commercial point of view ;

LAKES OF ST. LAWRENCE.

added to which is the convenience of its
port, as large vessels may come up to the
wharfs. Three Rivers is seventy-ave miles
from Quebec.

Hitherto the St. Lawrence had kept nearly
a rogular width, but it now narrows a little
previous to entering one of those great en-
largements of its bed which, in the lan-
guage of the country, are named lakes.
Lake St. Peter, or St. Pierre, is perhaps
one of the largest of the third-class of these,
and as it is in general very shallow, is dan-
gerous to the inexperienced seaman during
hazy weather and dark nights, lighthouses
being as yet scarce along the windings of the
St. Lawrence. We were so unfortunate as
to encounter a thick fog, and were therefore
obliijed to remain at anchor in the middle
of this great expanse of the .dver during the
whole night.

On the morning of the 1 8th we again got
under weigh for Sorel, or William Henry,
where the steam-boat was to take in wood.

The pa
the nui
River i

Sorel
eastern
two huK
shore as
town is

Great

mode in

at prese

fifteen h

though j

A stone

another i
other go

cipal edil

The s

side of £

good gro

on the op

assume a

free navi

lakes is o

SOREL.

The passage out of Lake St. Peter, amongst
the numerous islands at the mouth of the
River Richelieu, is very picturesque.

Sorel, or William Henry, is built on the
eastern hank of the Richelieu, which is here
two hundred and fifty yards broad. As the
shore ascends rapidly, the best part of ihe
town is situated on a height.

Great regularity appears to prevail in the
mode in which the streets are laid out, but
at present the town does not contain above
fifteen hundred inhabitants. The houses,
though generally well built, are of wood.
A stone church for the Protestants, and

another for the Catholics, the barracks, and
other government buildings, are the prin-
cipal edifices.

The steam-boat laid in her wood along-
side of an indifferent wharf; but there is
good ground for building-slips or wharfage
on the opposite shore. Sorel will probably
assume a more commercial aspect when the
free navigation of the Great River to the
lakes is opened, by means of the stupendous

SITUATION OF SOREL.

undertaking of the Ridcau Canal, and by
the St. Lawrence being cleared from pri-
vate locks. Its situation at the mouth of a
river, conducting in almost a straight line
to the interior of the northern States of the
American union by Lakes Champlain and
the Western Canal, and thus also communi-
cating with the ocean, will no doubt render
William Henry of great importance in the
future condition of Canada.

Near this place is a country house belong-
ing to the governor, who usually resided
during the summer at Sorel. It is now the
residence of the commander-in-chief.

After taking a walk through the place,
and waiting until some cords * of soft wood
(Pinette rouge), were put aboard, we again

real.

* Wood is sold in Canada by the cord, which is eight feet
in length by four in breadth and in height, or a double culx
of four feet face. The government contract is, liowever,
somewhat different in Upper Canada, as the wood is obtained
by the ancient French pied-du-roi, as in Lower Canada:
this is about four inches more than the English measure of
Upper Canada per foot. The prices of wood vary much in
different localities-

STRONG CURRENT.

got in motion, and steamed towards Mont-
real. The scenery now became very inte-
resting. We passed the numerous islands
of Bouchard, St. Therese, and the great
channel of the southern face of the Island of
Montreal, until we came at night to the
current or rapid, St. Marie, about a mile
below the city of Montreal, where, the master
of the steam-boat told us, that, a few years
ago, it required, for the small steamers then
in use, ten or twelve oxen on Vae shore to
tow the vessel up; and that sometimes,
when the oxen were not readv, after cndea-
voiiring by force of steam to stem the cur-
rent, which is unusually strong, they found
that not an inch of wav could be made, so
that the boat was dropped to the foot of the
rapid, and remained at anchor all night.

It was an interesting scene to look on the
high bank, covered with houses and foliage,
in the bright starlight, whilst we were,
though applying immense power, sometimes
perfectly stationary, amid the silent swift-
ness of the mighty river. Art here strove

POWER OF THE STREAM.

against Nature, wh( so majestic powers, ex-
erted without visib e efforts, seem proudlv
to contemn the puiy insignificance of the
ima^nary lord of tl e creation. Such is the
strength and volume with which the St.
Lawrence rushes al mg the broad channel of
its bed at this pi ice, that ships w^ere for-
merly detained ev m for weeks, only two
miles from the ci y, waiting for a strong
north-easterly win 1 to stem it. Steam-
boats of large size can, however, generally
conquer the diific alty, as we did ; but of
course there are si ates of the river when it
is very difficult to tow ships up.

This is some d 'awback against the com-
mercial prosperit} of Montreal; and it seems
somewhat singulir that no plan has ever
been adopted to counteract so serious an
evil ; as, even wi :h the power of tow-boats,
vessels are subj 3cted to heavy expenses ;
w^ithout taking into account the dangers
they encounter :n the passage, should any
accident occur t( their machinery.

CHAPTER IV.

MONTREAL.

First View of Montreal— Enchanting River Scenery— Cha-
racter of the Great American Rivers — The Great Rapids —
Montreal as a Place of Residence — The Harbour — Com-
mercial Prospects of Montreal— Its Climate — Its Public
Buildings — Its Inhabitants — Its Hotels — Mr. Molson, Pro-
jector of 8team-boat Navigation on the St. Lawrence —
Literary and Philosophical Societies of Montreal — Mo-
nastic Character of the French Public Seminaries — Schools
for the Lower Orders — Mischiefs of Party-spirit.

From the water we perceived no good view
of Montreal. High buildings, confusedly
massed, and dirty quays, or rather wharfs,
appeared to our fancies to give no great pro-
mise of the rival of Quebec. But the scenery
on the river itself was enchanting. The
rapids and shoals above the town, the beau-

MONTREAL.

tiful island of St. Helen, covered with wood
and lawn, and the great expanse of the
shallow river, with its foaming currents,
amid which small stcam-hoats were winding
their dangerous way, altogethei' formed a
coup'd'a'd nowhere else to he ohservcd.

INIonireal surpasses Quebec in the rich-
ness and variety ot its picturesque environs,
but it yields to its rival in grandeur and
sublimity. At Quebec, the St. Lawrence ij
indeer'' the ideal of the father of American
floods ; at Montreal, the peculiar features
of North American rivers are powerfully dis-
played in an immense expanse of ^vatcr
rushing over shallow channels. The ap-
proach to Quebec has, how^ever, a tolerably
near view of the splendid Mh vi the Mont-
morencv ; wdiile Montreal has only a real
and tremendous series of rapids to exhibit.
But the true character of the St. Lawreii':*'
is better felt at Montreal, and the travellci
is here, as it v/ere, initiated into the awful
scenes he must encounter in a passage up
the miijhtv flood.

The
ing CO I
highest
swell 01
of the i
point of
blende
vou lo(
Here t
their mi
their tu
riers wl
Here vr
ing its
and heri
of ages
clear ati
grouped
wooden
nastericf
with tin
silver; a
at vour f(

MONTREAL.

The best view of the town and surround-
ing country is obtained by ascending the
highest of the hills, or elevations, wliich
swell out of the otherwise nearly flat surface
of the island of Montreal. At the highest
point of those forested eminences, on a horn-
blende rock at about a mile from the city,
vou look down on an immense horizon.
Here the grand rapids may be felt in all
their magnificence and terrors : for vou hear
their tumultuous rage against the rocky bar-
riers which oppose their incalculable force.
Here you see the noble river again resum-
ing its solemn course towards the ocean ;
and here, amid groves which give evidences
of ages long gone by, you look through a
clear atmosphero on a h7rge city, irrcgularlv
grouped in lofty dwellin. rg of dark limestone",
wooden edifices painted of all colours, mo-
nasteries, churches, and public buildings,
with tin roofs and spires shining as polished
silver; and these are contrasted, immediately
at your feet and around *« The Mountain," by

HARBOUR OF MONTREAL.

pretty country houses, frardcns, orchards,

and ricli farms.

The city and island of Montreal are
indeed very strikinir objects to an European
traveller ; and with a better regulation in
the care of the streets, which are not over
clean, Montreal would certainly he as desir-
able a resting-place as ( auld he found in
British America ; and house-rent is not so
extravagant as at Quebec.

The harbour of Montreal is good, when
attained, but it is not large. Ships draw-
in"- two fathoms and a-half water can lav
alongside the wharfs. It is, however, an
opinion in which I am not singular, that
Montreal is built on the wrong site for a
great commercial city, and that, as it is, the
town, at least the mercantile portion of it,
will probably gradually remove until it is
fixed below the foot of the current St. Marv.

•

Montreal has lonjx heen the "-reat entre-
pot of the north-west traders, and also of
the mercantile relations of Canada with the

[Jnitei
II vcr)
west,
and be
south
impoi't
(luring
readih

ft-

flowers

tliose (

Mon

from tl

regions

falls tc

curv 01

rises, i

tropica!

On 1

and res

where

from th

torn of

window

a monc

VOL.

CLIMATE OF MONTREAL.

United States, and appears destined to hold
!i vcrv hi**!) station amid the cities of the
west. It is 120 miles south-west of Quehec,
and being in 45° 31' north latitude, is 1° 19'
south of that capital, — a difference of vast
iniportiince on this part of the continent
during' the season of vegetat'on, as may be
readily seen by observinf]^ the fruits and
flowers of the neighbourhood of Quebec and
those of Montreal at the same period.

Montreal suffers, however, almost as much
from the intense cold of the North American
regions as Quebec, where the thermometer
falls to nearly the solidifying point of mer-
cury on some days durino- the winter, and
rises, in a few of the summer hours, to a
tropical elevation.

On the whole, Montreal is a fine town,
and regularly laid out in the newer portion,
where there are some "ood liouscs ; but
from the darkness of the stone, and the cus-
tom of painting the iron-coveied doors and
window-shutters of a similar colour, there is
a monotony about the look of the wliole,

VOL. U E

THE STUKKTS.

especially in the I *ij narrow streets, which
is not very invitini>-.

Th(» st.'ite of the shore, as it is called, or
that ])art of the city adjoininf^* the; river, is
in some pju'ts most disgraceful to those in
power ; and I have heen told that the streets
in i;eneral are hut hadly kept, })rohal)ly
owinn" to there havin<j' heen no actual muni-
cipal oovernment of the place until of late
years.

The principal mercantile street is St.
Paul-street, or that running' parallel with the
shore, from which short cuts, at right angles,
communicate with Notre Dame-street, where
the principal merchants reside. These long
corsos arc rendered still Ioniser hv the
suhurhs of Quehoc, and of Recollet and St.
Antoine, Avhilst in the middle of Rue Notre
Dame the suhurh of St. Lawrence runs in
the form of a Ion": street to the west.

I did not per

strik

*ceive any very
cimens of architecture in jMontreal

m<r s

any

pe-

than nt Quehec. The principal arc the
Hotel Dieu, an excellent charity for the

THE I'UDLir lUJILDINGS.

)Uil(liiii'- ;

destitute sick, served by nuns, whicli
St. Paul-street ; the Court House, in
Dame-street is a plain and gooi' '
the District Jail, and the (lovcrnmenl
House, arc ancient and forlorn-lookini^ edi-
fices of some size. The old monastery of
the Recollcts finishes the west of Rue Notre
Dame. The convent of the Srours Oris,
or general hospital for the aged and infirm,
and the convent of Notre Dame, a religious
house of education, are buildings more use-
ful than ornamental.

The Catholic cathedral is a larw but not
fme church, finished with singular bad taste
in the interior ; near it, is the Seminaire de
St. Sulpicc ; and in the RecoUet suburbs is
the Petit Seminaire, or new college, which
is an addition to the former establishment,
and exhibits some correctness of taste in the
l)lan on which it is laid out.

The old market-place and Post Office
are in the lower town, but a new market-
place has been built in the upper town.
The barracks and other public buildings

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. MSSO

(716) 873-4503

''i^

^r^:^^

THE INHABITANTS

connected with the government have no-
ih'uvf verv strikinuf in their exterior.

The Place d'Armes, the largest open
space in the city, offers nothing particular,
excepting when filled by the citizens, to listen
to the enlivening strains of a military hand.

In the town, or rather in the suburbs,
the prettiest spot I observed was the neigh-
bourhood of the mouth of the Lachine
canal, where the sondireness of the old
town is altotrether lost sifjht of; and the
European traveller is gratified by seeing a
well-finished, and apparently well-planned,
canal send forth the riches of the upper
country.

In this citv, one is amused bv sceino- the
never changing lineaments, the long queue,
the bonnet-rouge, and the incessant garru-
lity, of Jean Baptistc, mingling with the
sober demeanour, the equally unchanging
feature, and the national plaid, of the High-
lander ; whilst the untutored sons of labour,
from the green isle of the ocean, are here
as thoughtless, as ragged, and as numerous,

OF MONTREAL.

as at Quebec. Amongst all these, the
shrewd and calculating citizen from the
neighbouring republic drives his hard bar-
ijains with all his wonted zeal and industry,
amid the fumes of Jamaica and gin-sling.

These remarks apply, of course, to the
streets only. In the counting-houses, al-
though the races remain the same, the
advantages of situation and of education
make the same differences as in other coun-
tries. I cannot, however, help thinking
that the descendant of the Gaui has not
gained by being transplanted ; and the vastly
absurd notions which a few turbulent spirits
have of late years engendered, and endea-
voured to instil into the unsophisticated
and naturallv "ood mind of the Canadian
tiller of the soil, have tended to restrict the
exercise of that inborn urbanity and suavity,
which are the Frenchman's })roudest boast
after those of l\wiour et la nloire.

A traveller will expect some account of
the accommodation he is likelv to meet with
in this city. I went, on landing, to a large

THE HOTELS.

hotel, built, as I understood, by the late
enterprising director of the Montreal bank,
Mr. Molson, who was also the projector of
the steam-boat navigation on the Sr. Law-
rence, and who, in spite of all the ditficulties
he had to encounter fr'^m the lukewarmness
of the provincial parliament, succeeded in
his grand design, and lived to see his
adopted country actually enriched by his
spirited undertaking, which, with other com-
mercial speculations, such as an extensivi>
brewery, also rendered him one of the most
opulent mercliants in Canada. At this
hotel we found every thinnf verv fair and
good ; but there is some difficulty in obtain-
ing private dinners for families, or for those
who do not choose to mino^le in the society
of the table-d'hote, or ordinary ; and the
a,ttendanco, as in most of the Canadian inns,
is bad.

Next to this buildinir, and erected bv the
same individual, is the Tvlontreal theatre; but
I believe neither the hotel nor the theatre
has answered its expectations, as the forme]-

PARTY SPIRIT.

has frequently changed its host, and the
latter is not properly patronized. Indeed, it
is said that there is a great dearth of public
amusement in this fine city, owing probably
to the political jealousy which so unfortu-
nately exists at present, and which has ex-
tended its unhappy consequences so I'ar,
both at Quebec and Montreal, as to inter-
fere with every design of liberal um\ public-
spirited men, which could in any ;vay benefit
those places.

At Quebec, although a great proportion
of the first and of the middling classes are,
as at Montreal, extremely well-informed, yet
no societies have been warmlv aided in the
diffusion of knowledge by the higher orders ;
and it is with pain I have observed, in a
country abounding with materials, that a
society of natural historv struf{"lcs into
existence with the greatest difficulty in both
cities. Religious and political feuds should
alike be forgotten, where such result must
tend to the general good, and can interfere
with no particular modes of thinking on

HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

those subjects. The Historical Society of
Quebec will, I trust, however, yet flourish ;
and if once it could, by the exertions of
those at present composing its members,
annually publish its valuable transactions,*
it would rapidly gather head, as it would
then gain protectors on both sides of the
Atlantic, not omitting the support of those
names, dear to science, which have lately
beamed amid the rolls of the offspring of
Albion in the states of the north.

At Montreal, a similar institution has
been set on foot, but from the want of suc-
cess in every literary undertaking which has
hitherto been started in that city, I cannot
argue well for its ultimate success.

It is a singular fact, and worthy of atten-
tive consideration in the present state of
Lower Canada, that although the French
gentry have such good incentives fur the
pursuits of literature from the halo of glory
thrown around the literary French name in

* Three volumes have been published only since its com-
mencement twelve years ago.

EDUCATION.

the old world, yet they appear in Canada to
slumber contented with the pedantic appli-
cation of the classics and of theological dis-
(iuisition, as their sole merits to their peculiar
dogmas at the seminaires. No douht there
arc well-informed and able instructors
amongst the priests ; but, with the excep-
tion of the system generally pursued by the
Jesuits, it would be very difficult to per-
suade a sensible man of old France that the
ministers of their religion pursue, in general,
the readiest modes of imparting that sort of
instruction to their scholars which niav
eventually cause them to expand the closed
bud of genius, or to render their future in-
tercourse with the world pleasing and useful.
I do not pretend to arraign the mode of
teaching adopted in these institutions ; but,
from the specimens of young British colo-
nists emerging from them, I do not con-
ceive that high praise can be afforded, or
that the clamour against monastic instruc-
tion in France would not equally appiv to
that of Canada.

E 3

EDICATION IN

With respect to the scliools tauf^ht In
British settlers, and the opportunities of
affording education to children of hoth sexes
in Canada from these sources, I am fearful
that similar inconveniences result from tliu
want of able teachers, added to thnt of in-
sufficient funds. In the Lancastrian and
other establishments for the farmers, and
for the lower classes of the population, the
spirit of the aije appears more clearly shown,
as these are rapidly swelling their lists, and
evincing their beneficial consequences. The
spirit of party fortunately does not reach
these preparatory schools ; and they will
flourish proportionably to the increase of
the population : but the jealousy of ancient
rivalrv extends itself to all classes of the
more wealthy orders, in a country composed
of such a mixed population.

Even in Upper Canada, where the French
party is unknown, and where almost all the
settlers derive their origin from a common
source, the prejudices of country and of reli-
gion mar every attempt to confer permanent

UPrER CANADA.

l)cncfit on the country. This is exemplified
ill tlie stern opposition whieh lias been
evinced towards the establishment of a
university, and which 1 shall have further
occasion to notice hereafter, and by the
failure of well-laid schemes to institute a
literary and philosophical society in the ca-
pital. The ancient regime reigns as stub-
bornly there as its most devoted admirer
could wish, and prevents the introduction
of what is absurdly considered as foreign
talent.

84.

CHAPTER V.

JOURNEY FROM TIIK LOWER TO THE UPPER

PROVIN( E.

Departure from Montreal — French Diligence — Nature of the
Scenery — La Chine — Bad Specimen of Steaming — The
Cascades — (Jovernment Canal — Dangerous Night Journey
— Salmon-spearing by Torch-light — Lake St. Francis —
lioundaries of the United States — A Tribe of Indians —
The Long-leap Rapids — A Passage down them in a Canoe
— dranf' 'ir of the Scenery — Canadian Boatmen — Floating
Population of the St. Lawrence — The Lumberers — Prescott
—Ogdensburg— Horrors committed during the late Troubles
— Battle with Brigands.

Inquiring as to the most rapid and thi'
l)cst modes of pursuing our journey to the
Great Lakes, we found that what is called
the land voyage is at present the quickest,
and therefore the best ; and having put our

CANADIAN STACJE COACH.

heavy bagf^afrc in a proper tniiii for aseeiul-
iiiir tlie river in batteuux, we left Montreal
about midday, on tlic '^Otb of Septcndier, in
a heavy, strong- built country open coach, of
Frcrch make, and drawn by four sturdy
little Canadian liorses. This vehicle held
nine i)assengers, having a seat slung- in the
middle, so that the centre row sat with their
backs to those in the back s(»at ; and as
there were also great piles of baggage stowed
in tlu; boots bcbind and before, I was not
without apprehensions that a break down
must be the result. But having- a<rreeable
cnmpag'uons de voj/age, though, unfortu-
natelv, not one native of the count rv, we
went away merrily enough over this tine
island, passing almost constantly by a tole-
rable road tbrougb a vcrv fertile countrv,
with beautifully picturesque glances of the
noble river, at intervals, and surprised at the
appearance of continual successions of apple
orchards, loaded with rich and varied fruit.
Wo were not long in reaching La Chine,
a pretty village on the river, or rather.

LA CHINi:.

on a great expanse of its bed, called Lake
St. Louis, and nine miles from the city, with
which th(^ canal (;alled hv the name of the
village comnmnicates. La Chine is, in fact,
the [)ort of Montreal for the pnxliice of the
upper country and the north-west trade, and
is likely to become of greater importjince
when the llideau Canal is fully completed,
as is already the line on the Great Ottawa.
At present the greatest commercial activity
is observable in the trading ifeason for the
North-western Company, whose batteaux
and canoes rendezvous here.

We were now to commcmce a series of
coaching, or rather waggoning, and steaming;
and accordingly, we embarked immediately
on board a small steam- vessel, where, in a
limited space close to the boiler, we had
a bad and a very dear dinner, with no
better beverage than warm water. Luckily,
this small boat has only tw^enty-seven miles
to run on Lake St. Louis. After passing
the mouth of the Chateaugay river, we came
to the Cascades, near Isle Perrault, which

TIIK CASCADES.

niav 1)0 considered as forniiii"- the ilmnnels
of the main estuary of the Ottawa, a river
scarcely inferior to the St. Lawreniv, and
whose sources in the north-west are hardly

»t k

vet known.

At the Ca.scades a most lovely scene u

J) re-

sented : the river here, as is usual with it on
approaching its numerous lai^oons, narrowin^r
its vast channel, and tumbling in'(»ci])itatelv
over a chain of bars. At the Cascade^ the
Royal Staff C'or})s had formerly a detachment
constantly stationed, to guard and })reserve
the small canal which has been constructed
l)y government at this point, to facilitate the
})assage of the river.

We were now transferred into another
coach, or waggon-like equipage, and as night
soon fell, wc had rather a dangerous ride,
close to the high banks of the St. Lawrence,*
and mostly along their very edge, with but
few trees or guards to prevent an accident

* We saw on our route the great operations of the !St.
Lawrence canal in progress, which will render this route easy
and pleasant.

SPEARING SALMON.

from precipitating the vcliiclo into the rapid
stream below. The niuht was somewhat
dark, and we saw the interestinfr spectacle,
at a distance, of the fishermen pursuing their
avocation by torchlight, spearing salmon and
other large fish, near the dangerous rapids
of the Cedars, where there is also a small
canal, and a little village, thirty-two miles?
from Montreal.

At Coteau-du-lac, a small village about
eleven or twelve miles from the Cascades, we
embarked in a better steam-boat than the
last, on board of which we were to pass the
night. We got under weigh about one in
the morning, and steamed away through
Lake St. Francis, another large basin of
t^e St. Lawrence. On the left bank the
ihore is studded every here and there with
those characteristic little stone churches and
comfortable farm-houses before noticed in
connexion with Quebec; and we now ap-
proached the islands claimed by the United
States ; and near Cornwall, amid their pic-
turesque channels, we first saw, on the St.

CORNWALL.

Lawrence, the actual boundaries of tliat vast
republic.

We landed, early after breakfast, at Corn-
wall, and found that we were rapidly leaving
the signs of French population, aijd entering
on a country almost exclusively settled by
British colonists. Cornwall is about five
miles, on the opposite side of the river, from
the American line, which runs through a
village called St,. Regis, occupied chiefly by
a tribe of Indians, part of which acknow-
ledges the superiority of Great Britain, and
part owns allegiance to the Republic.

Cornwall is a recent town, but appears to
be rapidly increasing ; it has a church and
court-house, and is the chief place of the
eastern district, and one of the most populous
and best situated of the divisions of Upper
Canada, as it is bounded on two sides by the
s:reat Rivers Ottawa and St. Lawrence.

About nine o'clock we got into another
I'oach-wao'ffon, similar to the last, and tra-
veiled in it all day, for fifty miles, through a
line settled country, full of apple orchards

THE LONG LEAP.

and flourishing farms. The road, not the
best in the world, offers some very nervous
spectacles to those who dislike experiments
in charioteering, as it runs along the edge
of the steep banks of the river, and gives
full views of the tremendous rapids of the
Longue Sault, the Cheval Ecarte, &c. The
Long Leap, or Fall, is said to be a rapid
of nine miles, through which the channel
is intricate ; and vet, notwithstandinof this,
and the many other dangers of the river,
but few accidents happen to the unwieldy
Durham boats and batteaux which navioate
them during the summer months.*

Hennesin, one of the first travellers in
this part of the world, describes his sensa-
tions on going through this scene, in a
lively manner ; and as I know his statemcnl
to be correct, by abundant testimony, I shall
quote it here.

" The stream in the Thousand Islands is
very rapid, but its swiftness is prodigiously

* A steam-boat traversed these formidable rapids^ which
the canal will overcome.

FALLS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.

increased by the great quantity of waters
that come from the other lake abovemen-
tioncd, and a great many rivers that run
into this, in the place called the Long Fall,
which makes it as dreadful as the great Fall
of Niagara. But besides this great quan-
tity of waters, and the decliyity of the clian-
nel, which make the current so rapid, there
are also on the banks, and on the middle of
the riyer of St. Lawrence, about eight or ten
leagues below the said lake, great rocks,
which appear above water, which stopping
the stream of the riyer, make as great a
noise as the great Fall of Niagara. This
dreadful encounter of water that beats so
furiously against these rocks, continues about
two leagues ; the waters spurt up ten or
twelve yards high, and appear like huge
snow-balls, hail, and rain, with dreadful
thunder, and a voice-like hissing and howl-
ing of fierce beasts ; and I do certainly be-
lieve, that if a man continued there a con-
siderable time, he would become deaf, without
any hope of cure.

CANADIAN BOATMEN.

" My men refusing to carry by land the
canoe and the skins they had got, I was
forced to adventure with them, which I did
wiUingly, having formerly passed the streams
in a canoe : I trusted myself attain to the
same God who had delivered me from so
many great dangers. The stream is so rapid
that we could not tell the trees that were on
the bank, and yet there was hardly room for
our canoe to pass between the rocks. We
were carried away by these horrid currents
above two crreat leai^ues, in a very short
time ; and in two days we came from Fron-
tenal to Montreal, which are about three-
score leagues distant one from another !"

It is down, as well as up, these tremen-
dous places, that all the commercial entor-
prize of the two Canadas has had to toil!
And such is the dexterity of the Canadian
boatmen, who are chiefly of French origin,
that travellers commonly prefer going down
the Rapids in the batteaux, to the more
laborious and tiresome journeys by coach and
steam-boat. Coming up, is however, another

CANADIAN BOATMEN.

affair, as the boats have to be poled or towed
in the most dangerous passes ; and so much
time is consumed, that unless the wind is
fair, a fortnight may elapse on the voyage
from Montreal to Kingston.

The scenery is represented as grand be-
yond the power of description, in the transit
by the Rapids, and such as amply to repay
the alarms which inexperienced travellers
must necessarily undergo. But when it is
knoun that ladies frequently choose this
route, par preference^ the dangers must be
more in appearance than in reality ; although
accidents do happen.*

Canadian boatmen are a race distinct from
all other colonists. They seem to partake
of the Indian more largely than the French
character, and are very expert at their call-
ing. Their cliaunt has often been set to
music, and is certainly heard to great advan-

• Mr. Hamilton, of Queenstown, in Upper Canada, built
a splendid steam-boat, called the Ontario, on purpose to pass
up and down these dreadful rapids to Montreal. Captain
Hillyar and a brave crew actually took her to lilontreal, but
the attempt is too hazardous to repeat.

9'^

CANADIAN BOATMEN.

tairc on the wide solitudes of the miffhtv St.
Lawrence. From a people who pass their
lives during summer on its waters, holding
little intercourse with the world, we should ex-
pect peculiar simplicity. Travellers, however,
tell strange tales of them ; and it is averred,
that the stratagems practised to obtain wines
or liquors entrusted to their care, are inge-
nious in the extreme. At all events, I know
that rope fastenings of baggage, and light
articles, are deemed lawful prize. Such too
is their heedlessness, that many valuable
articles belonging to me were spoilt by their
neixlect in baling the boats.

The commissariat department formerly
caused all the casks of rum to be ffauoed
and subjected to the hydrometer, after receiv-
ing it from the batteaux ; but private persons
fancying sometimes that they can procure
better articles from Montreal themselves,
than are to be bought in Kingston, are
occasionally subjected by these skilful prac-
titioners to great losses. I knew a person
who had a barrel of wine, which was enclosed

CANADIAN BOATMEN.

f)5

in a wooden case, drained of all its contents,
excepting about a gallon ; and yet the inodus
operandi could not be discovered. The trick
of the jackdaw in the fable, who made water
rise in a partly fdled jug by dropping stones
into it, is also resorted to. In fact, the rou^-h
untutored son of nature that vve are apt to
imagine 'Monsieur le voijageur' to be, with
his long queue, red night-cap, and half-savage
countenance, proves that first appearances
often deceive, and that he does not pass a
winter on shore without gathering much
information, as to the conduct and capabi-
lities of that bad portion of his race with
whom he is thrown in contact in the cities
and towns.

The St. Lawrence, like many other great
rivers, supports a floating population, during
the season at which it is free from ice ; and
this population may be divided into the
crews of the steam-boats, those of the
schooners, and of the Durham boats, the
batteaux-men, and the lumberers. All these
river men are s.iid to drink desperately;

THE LUMIJERKRS.

but in the stoam-vcsscls I did not perccivo
this to be the case, especially in those
manned by the Canadian French. The
lumberers are, however, a set of men more
to be pitied than censured. Employed in
the depth of an almost arctic winter, in fell-
ing the timber for their rafts ; and during
the summer, in constructing those rafts in
the vvatc^', and then in navigating them amid
all the dann^ers and difficulties of the river ;
they scarcely ever mingle with their fellow,
men, in any way by which they can benefit
in moral worth. To them drink is a re^
source and a necessary of life ; and knowing
the hardships and uncertainty of their con-
dition, they fly to it without check or reason,
and soon become the victims of its insatiable
power. A haftsman rarely lives beyond tho
meridian term of human life.

In our journey we passed Chrysler's farm,
where the field of battle which bears its
name was pointed out to us.

Very good taverns are found along this
road, which is one continuous line of farms.

I'HESCOTT.

1)7

and thus offers a very defensible frontier to
the opposite shore of the United States,
which continues almost constantly in view,
and fre(|uently within shot.

Passin*,^ Johnstown, a small villas ^ in the
vicinity, we came to Fort Wellington, tlien
a moulderinn" earth-work, near Prescott,
where we arrived at about eight o'clock.
Prescott is a large village, rapidly approach-
ing to a town, and is seated on the sloping
side of a hill, which rises above the banks
of the St. Lawrence. It has one long prin-
cipal street, parallel with the river, and
several others branching off from it at right
angles, towards the top of the hill, which is
crowned by three places of worship, situated
in a line, two of them bein"' built of wood,
and the third of stone. Most of the houses
are of painted wood- work ; but I observed
that the fine limestone, quarried in the
neighbourhood, was getting into use on my
second visit to this place. Fort Wellington,
with a small interval, terminates Prescott to

VOL. I. F

OGDENSBUIIGII.

tho cast, and its western extremity consists,
as usual on this road, of scattered farms and
dvvellin<,rs, vvhi(;h arc beautifully seated along
the bank of the river. There is a <^ood inn
or two in this place ; and its extending
wharfs and warehouses show that it is
thriving. Fort Wellington is a strong,
square, masonry tower, built during the
lato troubles, with a square earth-work
round it.

Opposite to Prescott, the traveller sees
the first American town on his route, as
well as the last, until he arrives at Nia<rara.

Ogdensburg is within gunshot of Prescott,
and, like it, is built on a hill-side, at the
foot of which runs a very picturescjuc river,
the Oswegatchie, with a cascade and ex-
tensive mills. This town is larger than
Prescott, and is the capital of St. Lawrence
County, in the State of New York. Its
harbour is secure, and tolerably spacious,
and it has had a considerable trade with
Canada. The county buildings, a pretty

TEAM-130AT.

l)ut ratlior whimsical-lookinnr church, and
the case and comfort displayed in most of
the private edifices, render tliis little town a
very agreeable place ; the more so, as that
war of extermination a<rainst trees has not
been carried so much into effect here as in
most towns of the American continent. The
scene on the steep bank of the Oswcfratchie,
looking from amidst the few trees left there
down on the cascade, mills, and forest, is
very beautiful.

A team-boat, worked by horses, plies con-
stantly during summer from Oi?densburo- to
Prescott, and ferry-boats may be had at any
hour during the day. The court-house is
marked with a memento of the late war, in
the shape of a hole made by a cannon-ball,
which passed through the building whilst
the judges were sitting. Ogdensburg was
taken by surprise during that war. We
heard frequent complaints made, during our
journey, of the savage hostility practised on

F 2

100 OUTRAGES DURING TIIK WAR.

unoffondincr travcllors along the Canadian
road, from riflemen on tli(^ opposite sliore;
wliieh conduct, as well as the annoyance
(experienced from a small and inade(piat('
force kept in «rarrison here, and frecpiciit
firincps of cannon-shot across the ice, led to
its capture.

It is to he hoped, that, should the ravjures
of an unnatural contest arrain hurst forth at
any future period, the dreadful acts per-
l)etrated during the last will not he resorted
to. Burning unprotected villages in the
depth of a Canadian winter, firing across
the lines on women and children, or on
casual passengers, and even firing into
dwellings whence no annoyance had been
offered, are acts unworthy of the soldiers
and citizens of any country desirous of heing
enrolled amongst the eminent states of the
civilized world.

The mill about a mile from Prescott is
ftmious for the battle with the brio-ands, in

IM.MENJiE STEAM-HOAT.

101

18:38, whore rlic Upper Caiuidi.an militia,
the British saibrs, and the 83rd rco-imcnt,
were so distinguished.

We now once more cmharked in a steam-
boat on the waters of the; St. Lawrence.
This vessel was one of the finest we had
yet observed on our route. It was called
die " Great P»ritain," was worked bv verv
fine engines, and resembled a floating village
in its extent, and was so remarkably easy
in its motion, that our night transit was
scarcely perceptible. We left Prcscott before
midnight ; but having the wind ahead, and
a strong current to oppose, we made but
little way ; and when morning broke, had,
therefore, full leisure to gaze upon the ma-
jestic flood and its beautiful shores.

102

CHAPTER VI.

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS.

Probable Origin of the Thousand Islands— Extraordinary
Character of the Scenery—Sporting among the Islands-
An Accident— Exploits of the celebrated Bill Johnson-
The Mills of Gananoqui— Iron Ore— Marble Quarry-
Approach to Kingston— Long Island— Fortification— The
Garrison Hospital— Aspect of Kingston from the River-
Tom xMoore at Kingston-The Lover's Tree— Noble View
from the Fortress.

Nothing can possibly exceed in singu-
larity the scene which presents itself to the
traveller, on entering that vast expanse of
the noble St. Lawrence, known, on account
of its innumerable channels amono-st the
granite rocks, as the Thousand Islands.
Here Nature appears to have used her
utmost fancy in preparing a grand pro-

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS.

103

scenium to feast the wanderer*s eye, ere it
reaches the vast open seas of fresh water,
which he is about to launch out upon. Of
immense width, the St. Lawrence winds in
arms of every dimension, through a rocky
country, which is singularly contrasted with
the comparatively flat and tame scene we
had just left behind.

Here, in fact, in ages long gone by, the
mighty stream, probably pent up in the vast
inland basin of North America, urged its
vexed waters against that portion of the
primitive barrier which visibly extends from
the granite mountains of the east, over to
the dividing ridge between the wild regicis
of Hudson's Bay, and the tributary waters
of the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence. Here,
by some tremendous effort, which has evi-
dently shaken the whole country, from
Kingston, at the eastern extremity of Lake
Ontario, to the other side of the region
through which the granite ridge pursues its
north-westerly course, the river has once

104

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS.

rushed over a sheet of cascades and rapids
inaiiy miles in breadth, which now have dis-
appeared, and, amid the torn and denuded
masses of electric granite,* the mi<ihty Iro-
quois,! silently, but swiftly wends its undis-
turbed way to the rapids many leagues
below.

Most of the Thousand Islands are covered
with dense masses of forest trees ; and some
of these woody isles, low and flat, give the
idea of the tranquil scenes of an Italian
lagoon, as seen in the heated, but pure at-
mosphere and sky of a Canadian autumn ;
others are split and rent into a variety of
fantastic forms, and present views of sin-
gular wildness : again, at another turn of
the labyrinthine channel, we pass under a
frowning wall of precipitous rock, covered
with the moss and lichens of ages, and on
whose bare tops, where never yet has man

* The Thousand Islands are composed of granite, pro-
fusely filled with tourmaline.
■f Indian name of the St. La^vrence here.

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS.

105

set his foot, the hoary pine or fir lifts its
proud dark head, supported only by the
liniicr-like fibres of which its few, but firmlv-
clasping' bare roots are formed. Then, again,
another fairy picture presents itself, 1.1
groves growing, as it were, out of the water,
and apparently stopping all further pro-
gress ; whilst, in a single second, the ver-
dant curtain is drawn, and the eye wanders
over a vast tract of rippling water, broken,
here and there only bv a few small rocks
projecting above its surface, and bounded by
the ancient and interminable forests of the
main land.

But it would be vain to attempt descrip-
tions of scenery having no parallel as a
whole, and through which even a steam-boat
requires a day to traverse ; and which, to be
truly felt in all its varied grandeur, should
be observed at leisure.

Herds of deer inhabit these rcoions in
summer, and parties sometimes go from
Kingston to shoot them. A bivouac, in the

106

BILL JOHNSON.

Thousand Islands, where the frcsh-wator
breeze somewhat allays the intense heat, is
one of the many delightful modes of passing
the fleeting hours, which a residence in that
part of Canada affords.

We met with an accident on the morninir
of the '^Snd, by which the bilge- water pump
of the engine was put out of order, and were
therefore obliged to moor alonsj^side of a
rocky inlet, amidst one of the most lonely ot
the passes of the river.*

* It was amongst the lonely Thousand Islands that the
would-be buccanier, Bill Johnson, played his game for noto-
riety, which commenced and ended with the felon's crime of
burning, not a house, but a steam-boat, and gallantly turn-
ing a few defenceless women out of it, to perish amidst the
icy winds and snows of a northern winter. They were saved.
however, by chance, and this disgusting brute (for he de-
serves no better name) has since been consigned to oblivioii,
or, rather, to infamy. He was coward as well as pirate, and
his whole course, magnified by a lying press on the frontier,
would disgrace the veriest jail-bird that ever flung his shoes
in the air when turned off at Newgate ; and yet this man
was an officer in the Revenue Department of the United
States, and idolized on the frontier, because he skulked about
in two whale-boats, and robbed some farmers on the Isle of
Tanti.

FLOUR MILLS.

107

The Thousand Islands continue until we
approach the eastern end of Lake Ontario,
when the river becomes at once wider and
less tranquil, and is broken into not more
than two or three grand channels.

A few miles from Kingston, is Gananoqui,
a small village at the mouth of a river of the
same name, where some of the steam- vessels
take in fuel, and where there is now esta-
blished a set of mills, principally for flour,
which are, perhaps, the most valuable in
Canada, as wtII as the best conducted. 1
was indeed surprised, on a subsequent visit
to this interesting spot, to see such an esta-
bhshment reared, as it were, in the bosom of
the forest, and possessing machinery of the
most expensive and complicated description,
for all the various operations of reducing
grain to its different conditions of use and
food. This establishment is set in motion
by the falling waters of the Gananoqui, and
is the property of the Messrs. M*Donell,
who are extremely obliging to strangers, and

108

IKON OUE.

allow a free inspection of the various build-
ings and machinery. The Gananoqui flour
is deservedly celebrated in the Canadian
markets, and is, in the finer qualities, quite
as good as any manufactured either in the
United States, or in Great Britain.

On the banks of the lake and river of
Gananoqui, a few miles from the mills, iron
ore exists in large quantities ; and some
works were established, but, for want of suf-
ficient capital, they failed. A very pure
white coarse marble, and some beautiful ser-
pentine and steatitt arc also found in abun-
dance ; so that whenever the country is
opened, this village will become a place of
considerable importance. It is about seven-
teen or eighteen miles from Kingston by the
land road.

The approach to Kingston is very inte-
resting ; the channel by which you advance
becomes gradually broader and broader, and
is formed bv an extensive island, called
Wolfe, or Long Island, on the borders of

POINT HENRY.

loy

which arc several islets, and by the main-
land of the townships of Pittsburgh and
Kingston.

Long Island rises gradually from its beach
to a central ridge of no great height, but
covered with a dense and magnificent forest
of hard wood and firs, scantily interspersed
with clearincfs and farms.

On nearing the harbour, the first object is
the strong modern fortification which crowns
the promontory of Point Henry, about 100
feet above the level of the lake, and com-
manding an exceedingly narrow entrance
between Cedar Island and Hamilton Cove.
Here the eye is struck by a very pleasing
scene. On a verdant slope facing the pic-
turesque rocks of Cedar Island, and com-
manding a beautiful view of the opening of
the lake, stands the garrison hospital, an
extrcmelv neat buildino- of dark blue stone,
with a shining tin roof, and ample verandah
in front, under which, in the hottest summer
days, the patients can w^alk and enjoy the

110

NOBLE VIEW.

air. Such evident attention as is manifested
by the British Government on all occasions,
and in every corner of the globe, towards
the well-being and comfort of those who pro-
tect and uphold the honour of their country,
cannot fiiil to strike a foreigner with the
liveliest impressions.

Passing the hospital and the guns of Fort
Henry, a noble prospect suddenly expands.
The oj)ening of the lake is seen in the dis-
tancc ; the town of Kingston begins to show
itself ; and the vessel glides past Navy Bav
and Point Frederick, between which the eve
rested, in days of yore, on several enormous
hulls of first-rate men-of-war and frigates,
with the customary appendages of a large
royal dock-yard and ordnance wharf.*

Every thing now bears a military aspect.
The huge ships, the pow^ler magazinc^^, the
forts and batteries, the sentries passing their
rounds, a fine range of store-houses, built of

* Most of these noble vessels have since been sold or
burnt.

LAKE ONTARIO.

Ill

a beautiful white stone, and a long row of
neat barracks for the persons in the employ
of the navy, arc objects concentrated on a
spot admirably chosen for the defence of the
harbour, and serviim- as a kev to the great
inland seas of the interior.

A dangerous shoal runs off from Point
Frederick, and thus obliges the steam-ves-
sels to make a large curve ere they can gain
the harbour ; a circumstance affording addi-
tional beauty to the prospect of the approach,
as it gives ample time to observe in detail
every feature ; and I think most travellers
will coincide with me in savin^f, that a more
agreeable and unexpected series of changes
in the panoramic view they thus obtain is
seldom presented.

The expanse of Ontario, " the Beautiful
Lake" as its name implies ; the broad cur-
rent of nearly four miles between Long
Island and the town ; the forts and ships ;
the fine estuary of the Great Cataraqui

112

MOORE, THE TOET.

Rivor, across which, and six hundred yards
in length, a wooden hridge is built in fifteen
feet water; tlie houses of the town risin«r
above each other on a oentle acclivity, and
spreading for a mile and a-half along the
verge of the lake; the wharfs and ship-
ping ; the distant forest, and the prettily
situated village of Banicfield on the opposite
shore of the Cataraqui ;— all these objects
combine to form a very varied and grand
picture, and to impress the stranger with
high notions of the beauty of the country,
and the industry of those who have made it
the land of their adoption.

Kingston is, in short, classic ground ; for
as it was one of the very first settlements of
the French on the great fresh-water seas of
the new world, so Moore has lent his share
to immortalize it, by writing the beautiful
lines on the " Woodpecker," and " Fly not
yet," under the shade of a venerable thorn-
tree, on the margin of the lake at the western

SPLENDID I'ANOllAMA.

113

'11(1 of the town, which is thence called the

' Lovers' Tree."

The view from the new fortress, the cita-
del of Kingston, is perhaps as fine a one as
any in tlie world. The expanse of Ontario,
the commencement of the lahyrinthine Thou-
sand Islands of the great Iroquois, or Cata-
raqui, the masses of forest, the neat and
well-arranged town, the long and singular
bridge, the solemn scenery of the entrance
of the Rideau canal, the huge hulks rottinu"
HI the dock-yard, and the constant pas-
sage of first-rate steam-ships, form a coup-
(P(Ci'l which requires to he viewed, as it can-
not, excepting in the panoramic style, be
painted.

■ When I first saw this portal o( the lakes,
I (Ircam'd not then that, ere the rolling year
Had fiU'd its circle, I should wander here
In musing awe, should tread this wondrous world,
See all its stores of inland waters hurl'd
In one vast volume down Niagara's steep,
Or calm behold them, in transparent sleep,
^Vhere the blue hills of old Toronto shed
Their evening shadows o'er Ontario's bed !

IH.

ONTARIO.

Should tracp tlic grand Cat,ira(|ui, and glide
Down the white rapids of his lordly tide ;
Through mossy woods, through islets flowery fair,
Through shades of bloom, where the first simple pair.
For consolati(»n, might have weeping trod.
When banished irom the garden of their (ion !
Oh ! Lady, there are miracles which man,
Caged in the bounds of Kurope's pigmy plan,
Can scarcely dream of, which his eye must see,
To know how beautiful this world can be."

CHAPTER VII.

KINGSTON.

Origin of Kingston — Magnificent View from the Upper
Town— Stockade and IJlock-houses — American hatred of
Trees — Government Works — Commercial Prospects of
Kingston — Principal Streets — Curious Wooden Bridge —
Commanding Commercial position of Kingston — Mistake
of Emigrants — The new Fortifications — The Key of the
St. Lawrence — The Penitentiary — The Silent System —
Crime in Canada — Temperance Societies — Their Origin
and Results — Popular Mistakes on this point.

Kingston is an ancient settlement. It
was first called Cataraqui, and was esta-
blished by French missionaries, as a post

116

ORIGIN OF KINGSTON.

amongst the Iroquois. Father Ilcncssin
gives a short account of its foundation, and
informs us that it was soon discovered to be
so advantageous a situation for the command
of the interior, that a large fort, with four
bastions, was erected by order of Count
Frontcnac, then governor-general of Canada,
as a bulwark against the excursions of the
Iroquois, and to interrupt the fur trade
carried on between those powerful Indians
and the inhabitants of New York and the
Hollanders, who had just settled a new
colony ; and so important did Fort Fronte-
nae appear in the eyes of the French, that it
was speedily strengthened and enlarged to
the circumference of three hundred and sixty
toises,* and adorned with freestone, which
they found naturally polished by the action of
the water upon the brink of Lake Ontario,
or Frontenae.t

* 1080 feet.

t A coarse limestone, of a dead white colour, and very
much resembling freestone, is now found at Fort Henry, and

ORIGIN OF KINGSTON.

117

La Galle, whose unfortunate adventures
in discovering the Mississipi are well known,
was the commander under whose directions
this fort was finished, and it took two years
to complete. Henessin's account of its site
is not the most intelligible ; but there still
remained, in 1830, enough of the old work
extant, to show its former strength, in the
shape of a tower and a triangular building,
which surmounted one of the bastions.

The French had also a small naval esta-
blishm »nt at Frontcnae ; and a few years ago
one of their schooners was raised from the
bottom of the lake, and shown as a curiosity.

Frontcnae, of course, fell into the hands
of the British, and soon became a place of
the greatest importance in Upper Canada ;
and the name was again change ^1 to Kings-

of it the naval store-house is built ; but it does not resist the
weather, and takes no polish. It is, I think, a transition
rock, and exists in a large mass, surrounded by blue earthy,
secondary limestone, with few shells.

118

KINGSTON.

ton. From 1784 to the present time, such
has been its extension, that it now presents
a front of more than a mile in length, alonif
the low shore of Lake Ontario, and the
somewhat more rapid bank of the Great
Cataroqui River ; whilst its extent towards
the country is nearly half that distance, and
is every year gaining on the fields and
woods.

Kingston, which might just as well have
retained its Indian appellation, is laid out
with some regularity, the principal streets
being sixty-six feet in width, and running
towards the cardinal points, and conse-
quently at right angles to each other. The
lower part of the town, near the lake and
river, is very level and convenient ; but the
ascent towards the newer part is rather
sudden, along the edge of the limestone
rocks, which then begin to show themselves,
and are but scantily covered with soil. The
superior portion of the town is beautifully

laid o

snigui

KINGSTON.

119

me, sucli
presents
h, alontf

and the
e Great
towards
'ice, and
Ids and

ell have
aid out
. streets
runniniT

conse-
'. The
,ke and
but the

rather
Qestono
iselves,
I. The
utifullv

laid out on a vast plateau of rock, which is
singuhirly even and level, and extends a
long way towards the woods.

From this fine table a magnificent view
')f the Great Lake, the river, the forts, the
islands, and the forests is obtained ; and on
this spot, in all probability, the town resi-
dences of the Kingstonian gentry will here-
after be seated. Two or three good houses
are already erected here, and the neat stone
Scotch church is a great ornament.

On the summit of the ridge by which
this plateau is gained, are the remains of
a stockade, which, during the last war,
covered the town, and ran from lake to
river. Three block-houses for cannon still
remain, as they were partly built of stone,
and they add greatly to the view, but will
probably disappear as the place increases, as
they are all except one on private property.
On this ridge a few ancient trees still wave
their venerable heads ; and here, unless pri-
vate interest interferes, a public square and

120

PROSPECTS or KINGSTON.

promenade should be made ; but trees in
America are regarded with a sort of horror,
and the building spirits of a new town arc
not likely to spare them.*

The principal interest the place at pre-
sent has, is that to be derived from thv
important works under execution by tlif
government, and from the circumstance of
its being declared a free port. Indeed, we
may venture to predict, notwithstanding sonn'
artificial disadvantages, that the natural im-
portance of Kingston, as the key of the St.
Lawrence and the lakes, its tine harbour,
and its being at the mouth of the Rideau
Canal, will, in half a century, cause it to
become one of the great cities of the fresh-
water seas ; and, owing to its freedom from
the discoura"'in<T and inconvenient mixturo

o o

of the feudal barbarism of French law with
the free and enlightened jurisprudence of

* On this beautiful site, in the parish of Sehna, the vene-
rable Catholic Bishop of llegiopolis, M'Donell, is about to
establish a college.

SINGULAR BRIDGE.

121

Britain, it will attract eventually, in hrvro
numbers, men of talent and character, in
every department of public and private life.
The principal streets now, are Store-
street, leading from the Lake to the back
country, and Toronto-road, Church-street,
Brock-street, and Mont-street, runninf*-
nearly north and south, and parallel with
the Lake shore, the latter having, at its
northern end, the new Cataraqui Bridge,
and the military enclosure, called the Tcte-
dc-Pont, which is a system of defensible
stone barracks and storehouses, surrounded
by a loop-holed wall ; and, near its southern
extremity, is a fine marine railwav, on which
the largest vessels are taken upon an in-
clined plane for repair.

The new Cataraqui bridge is a verv in-
genious wooden structure, built by two
American carpenters, and extending, on
loose stone piers of eighty feet span, across
the wide estuary of the river, in a troubled
and deep water. It forms a pleasing addi-

VOL. I.

122

SINGULAR BRIDGE.

tion to the scenery, and a very useful orna-
ment to the town ; hut as its materials arc
perishable, and its piers are not of solid
masonry, it is much to he regretted, that,
instead of heing the work of a private conj-
pany, who arc repaid by a heavy and onerous
toll, it was not undertaken by the govern-
ment, particularly as the troops are chiefly
interested in its stabilitv. Even now, while
with most others who view this interesting
structure, I give every possible praise to its
projectors, I think that the bridge ought to
be a military one, and that the British go-
vernment could not confer a greater boon
on Kingston than by making its passage
free, or charging only so low a toll as would
pay for the repairs.

Front-street is now becoming very valu-
able property, as may be observed by the
number of wharfs which are building on
its water-lots, alongside of which, steam-
boats, rivalling those of the Thames, the
Forth, the Clyde, and the Hudson, can dis-

SITUATION OF KINGSTON.

123

charge their cargos. So large and splendid,
indeed, are those vessels, that it is not un-
common to see from a thousand to twelve
hundred emigrants on their decks*, whilst
their cabins arc filled with passengers.

When the St. Lawrence Canal is com-
pleted, the Welland Canal made fully avail-
able for steamers, the railroads finished to
connect Huron and Ontario and Erie, and
the Rideau in full operation, Kingston will
no doubt become a great city, as the trade
of all the surrounding countries, from the
Atlantic to Superior, from Hudson's Bay
to the farthest southern extremity of the
States, will centre in its magnificent road-
stead.

Kingston has suffered much of late years
by fires, by the Rideau not being in full
work, and by the faultiness of construction
in the Welland Canal, which, instead of
being a boat, should have been a ship
transit, and which has been aptly designated

• The Great Britain has had this number at once on deck.

G 2

124^

RIDEAU CANAL,

as a failure in the middle, and a job at both
ends.

A good brokcn-stonc road is now in pro-
grcss, to connect this town with the interior;
and as the limestone-rock bassets out in all
the streets, Kingston is generally dry, and
passable for travellers, immediately after the
heaviest storais.

The fine settlements in the western dis-
tricts of Upper Canada have attracted the
emigrants hitherto, much to the detriment
of Kingston, as the back country remains
there almost unexplored, and would pro-
bably not have been entered at all, as yet,
but for the Rideau Canal ; although, after
passing the rocky belt which shoots from
the Thousand Islands, it consists of excel-
lent land, interspersed with innumerable
lakes.

The traveller should not pass Kingston
without a visit to the new fortification, which
is constructed upoii modern principles, and
has been excavated from a solid granite and

THE FORTIFICATION.

12.0

limestone mass of the most singular nature.
The work, which is part of a system, is huilt
of the transition limestone, in the most
(lurahle manner, with a broad deep ditch
cut out of the rock, and vaulted or case-
mated throughout, having a double tier of
casemated barracks, storehouses, &c. The
appearance on entering the main gate is
very striking, from the extent, solidity,
and strength of the work. On the outside,
excepting to a military eye, it does not afford
any appearance of interest, as it is hidden by
the steep glacis, until the edge of its ditch is
approached.

This position is the key of the central St.
Lawrence, as Quebec is of its seaward extre-
mity ; for here the noble river first expands
into those majestic seas, Ontario, Erie,
Huron, and Superior.

Another object of a traveller's visit should
be the general public hospital, at the western
end of the town, a handsome stone building,
and the new penitentiary at Hatter's Bay,

126

THE SILENT SYSTEM.

about two miles westward, now partly finished
in stone, and laid out according to the models
of those in the United States.

In its present unfinished state, it is useless
to describe this latter institution, save to sav,
that the system adopted is the silent one, by
coercion and solitary confinement, and that
it seems to work well ; but such is the per-
versity of human nature, that a few days
before I visited the jail, a man who had
long been confined in it, and was discharged,
returned at night over the wooden wall, and
stole the money out of the clerk's pay-box,
and other articles, and was taken in the
fact. The class of persons who suffer here
are chiefly vagabonds from the neighbouring
populous states, or from the old countries ;
and most of the convicts come from the
upper borders of the lake.

Crime, in the country places in Upper
Canada, is yet happily rare ; and when it
docs occur there, it chiefly arises from that
shockingindulgence in spirituous drink which

INTEMPERANCE IN CANADA.

characterizes the depraved in all countries,
and is unfortunately but too common in
these new regions of the Transatlantic.
p]niploymcnt is the grand victor of bad
habit ; and if a man's mind, or his body, is
constantly at rest, where society and example
are rare in new settlements, ennui and drink
follow. The common labourers who are
oinployed by government on the fortifica-
tions, or public works, are not those who
got into the penitentiary. They have no
time to steal ; and if they drink, which many
of them do, it is at night, after their daily
labour, which labour must be renewed the
next morning; and thus, although they
injure the vital powers, opportunity is want-
ing to injure themselves more deeply by the
commission of crime.*

Temperance societies, in a discussion like
the present, naturally present themselves ;
and the question also, of the quantum of

* In 1839 there were only six females in the penitentiary,
whilst there were one hundred and fifty males.

128

TEMPEUANCi: SOCIETIES.

«iood they do, and have done. It is unfortu-
nately the case, that in a state of society so
new as that of Upper Canada, there are
never \vantin«r motives to incite obscure indi-
viduals to the attainment of a pseudo cele-
brity, without the previous acquirements of
education, observation, and research. Hence,
perhaps, as much evil arises from the med-
dling of these persons with temperance
societies, as the good they achieve. Farragos
of voluminous temperance tracts issue in
clouds from the presses, under the aus-
pices, frequently, of the most inadequate
people, and of people too, whose previous
career has convinced the thinking that the
desire to become known is the prime mover.
The temperance doctors are as innumerable
as the rehgious schisms in this new country ;
and the result is the same in both ; fewer
are really convinced ; for where everybody
is right nobody can be wrong. Thus you
will find, that political quacks, whose whole
dependance and livelihood depend on keep-

TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.

V2{)

ing up a scurrilous, agitating, unprincipled
nevvspai)cr, are generally the firmest and most
untiring temperance advocates, although
the whole tenor of their lives shows, clear as
noon day, that their very soul is drunken.

All this does verv well for a time ; the
partially educated read these pestiferous
productions to the wholly uneducated, and
make as great merit of politically convert-
ing from the habitual dram, as i iicy do from
the Catholic, the Scotch, the P^ncriish, or
the Methodist Church ; and upon the same
reasoning too, because their situation and
Umited education, assure them thcv can rise
no higher; and they are willing therefore to
have a drink and a religion of their own,
where neither science nor reason shall swav,
any more than birth, the customs of uood
society, nor education.

By-and-bye, comes the re-action; — tlie
drunkard who never read before, reads now
a little, and he finds he is just as good a
reasoner as his teacher, and quite equal to

130

TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.

him as a man ; and why should he, forsooth,
be controlled ? Wine was made for man, hut
not for man to make a political use of ; and
so " le chien retoiirne a sonpropre vomis^e-
ment." And thus it is with all similarly
conducted innovations ; as much harm is
done as good. Separate temperance socie-
ties from politics and religious discussion,
and they will do more good than they have
hitherto done ; strip them of the absurdities of
total abstinence and privation, and shew the
half- educated and the uneducated, that man
is a brute only when drunken, and that his
superiors in society can never admit him to
a confidence, or a level, if you please, and he
will be convinced : in short, show him that
the world is grown wiser, and that drunken-
ness and debasement are not just now the
fashion.

13i

CHAPTER VIII.

VOYAGE TO TORONTO ON LAKE ONTARIO.

Mistaken Notion of the American Lakes — Ontario unfathom-
able — Dr. Daubeny— Dangers of Lake Navigation — The
Great Britain Steamer nearly lost— Singular Clay Bank-
Toronto— Moore, the Poet— Charges and Arrangements
of the Steanitrs— American and English after Dinner
Customs — Gentlemen the same all over tL>e 'W^orld—
—Mischief of Abusing the Americans— Mrs. Trollope's
Misrepresentations— Yankee Dialect— Summer Travellers
on Lake Ontario— Blunder of Miss Martineau.

A STRANGER froiTi Europe has a vast con-
tempt for lake navigation ; and the English
and French generally compare in their ideas
Huron and Ontario with the Lakes of Geneva
and Windermere. I know of nothino- after
having had a pretty good experience of the
matter, so likely to deceive, as any con-
temptuous notions of the American lakes.

13'2

THE AMERICAN LAKES.

Ontario 's not so auitatcd as Eric, as its
waters arc deeper ; indeed, some say they
are uufathomal)le. Commodore Earrie, I
believe, tried with very deep sea-lines, with-
out finding bottom in the centre, and I know
that Ijctwceii Toronto and Niagara, which is
the most stormy part of the lake, eighty or
ninety fathoms are an insufficient lead. Dr.
Daubeny,* in one of his interesting experi-
ments last autumn, had seventv-five or eiyhtv
fathoms of line out, with the clever instru-
ment he invented for ascertaining the tem-
perature and qualities of water at great
depths, without any symj^toms of bottom.

There is nothing pleasanter than steam-
boating on the lakes in fine weather, and in
summer ; and there is nothing more unplea-
sant in the fall of the year, when the waves

* I had the pleasure of crossing the Atlantic in that beau-
tiful packet, the Mediator, last summer, with this philoso-
pher, and suggested to him to employ the instrument on the
lake, to ascertain whether the sub- waters were sahne, as it was
supposed they were. His experiment did not, I believe,
verify the idea.

run
short I
Octol
occasi
sevcr^
board!
blcof
when
Th
steam
tor sci

LAKE STEAMERS.

133

run mountains high, and there is a nasty
short cross sea. Vessels are sometimes in
October and November in great danger, and
occasional wrecks happen. I have been out
several times in these storms, and was on
board the Great Britain, a steam-boat capa-
ble of carrying more than a thousand people,
when she was very nearly lost.

They are now beginning to build the lake
steamers on a better model, and more fitted
for sea and bad weather, than hitherto ; and
it is very necessary, for in the instance I have
alluded to in this personal narrative, nothing
but the great power of the engines saved the
vessel, and had any thing happened to them
she would have been lost.

It surprises the traveller on leaving King-
ston, after a lapse of an hour or two, to find
himself on the boundless sea ajjain ; for if
the vessel keeps out from either shore, the
land soon fades away, and nothing but sky
and ever-agitated wave meet the view. But
the course of the smaUe^* boats is usually

134

COASTING.

either along the British or the American
shores, in order to touch at the various httle
ports which are starting yearly into existence.

In the transit from Kingston to Toronto,
it is usual, unless you go by the very laroo
steam vessels, which cross the lake to the
American town of Oswego, to proceed as far
as Cobdurgh, a thriving little town about
sixty miles from Toronto, and thence to a
village called Port Hope, about seven miles
farther, after which you proceed direct to
Toronto. The land is usually in view during
the whole voyage, and there are lighthouses
on the most dangerous shoals. The shores
are not very high, and are generally either
sands, or a precipitous clay bank, of from
twenty to one hundred and fifty feet in
height ; and, unlike Lower Canada, the cul-
tivation and farm-houses appear but rarely
to break the monotonous forest.

There is nothing very striking in any of
the coasting views, excepting at the high-
lands near the metropolis, where the clay

TORONTO.

135

bank is furrowed and twisted, and washed
into singularly precipitous forms, and is so
high as to form a conspicuous land mark.

The approach to Toronto is concealed by a
long horn of sand, which runs for several
miles in a sort of sickle shape, in front of
the city, and forms its splendid harbour,
whose mouth it shuts in by a narrow pass of
a few cables width.

" The blue hills of old Toronto," so poeti-
criily spoken of by Moore, exist only in the
imagination of the poet, as the land rises very
gently and gradually into the back country,
clothed with forest, eternal forest. " Blue
hills " are, however, perhaps a good phrase,
as the distant view in Upper Canada, in
clear w^eather, is always, wherever there aro
woods, a blue one, and that blue so soft, so
cerulean, and so unattainable even in paint-
ing, that it is useless to attempt it in poetry
or prose.
But we must sav somethino- here about

13G

LAKE STEAMERS.

the voyage. The passenger pays six dollars*
for a cabin passage, and two for a steora<re
one. In the cabin you are found, as it is
called, or in other words, provided with
breakfast, dinner, and tea, all which are
usually good of their kind, the latter par-
taking, of course, a good deal of vapourized
water, and the accompaniments are clean, and
the waiters civil and attentive, and usually
coloured men. A single berth, or sleeping-
place is provided, and the linen is clean.
You have to pay separately for wine, liquors,
luncheon, and cleaning the boots. The
charf^e for wine is shameful, and should be
altered by a general determination amongst
the owners. It is, I believe, a perquisite of
the steward, or caterer, and is as high as

* The best general way to calculate the dollar, in small
transactions, is to make the English sixpence seven-pence
halfpenny, provincial ; and the shilling, one and three pence,
and so on in proportion, the half-crown being three shillings ;
and as the American dollar contains eight New York shillings,
or English sixpences, the value of the dollar is just five shil-
Ungs currency.

LAKE STEAMERS.

137

seven shillings and sixpence a bottle for very
inferior stuff. Travellers are so aware of
this, that they usually call only for a pint,
for which they pay three shillings, or three
and sixpence, the original cost being from
seven to nine or ten shillings a gallon. Porter
and ale are on the same ratio. This is the only
imposition to which the traveller is subjected
in the Upper Canada steamers, which are
well regulated, and commanded under ex-
cellent discipline.

Accidents seldom occur ; for twenty years
not ono explosion has taken place, and no
other accident that I have heard of, of any
consequence, has happened, although the
vessels are exposed to very severe weather
at times.

The system of captaining, if I may use
the term, is a very good one. The owners
choose some person, chiefly from among
themselves, who has been well accustomed
to lake service, and who is known to most of
the respectable people in the country, with

138

LAKE STEAMERS.

whom the captains freely mix, when their
boats are laid up in winter.

Nothing can exceed the comfort and style
of some of these vessels. One of them, com-
manded by Captain Ilichardson, called the
Transit, which plies between Toronto and
Niafjs-ara, is fitted out with a service of plato
and china. They very often have music on fl
board, and in the Indies' cabin a piano. A
respectable stewardess waits on the female
cabin passengers, who are ushered to dinner,
&c. by the captain, and take the head of the
table.

In sliort, every thing is very orderly, and
very well conducted on board the British
steam-boats ; and, I have no doubt, it is the
same on board the Americans, wdiich are
very splendid. The difference in form, '
am told (for I v/as never on board an Ame-
rican lake-boat) consists in the passengers in
the cabin not sitting at table after dinner to
a desert : and if that :s ail, it amounts to
very little ; although it cannot be doubted,

MRS. TROLLOPE.

139

their I ^^} ^^J ^^^ ^^^ ^^^'^ travcll jd out of the
United States, that the English custom of
social conversation after dinner is as rational
a mode of passing the otherwise monotonous
time on hoard a steamer, as that of rushing
avvav from table before the cloth is removed,
and taking the solace of King Jamie's abo-
mination. But American gentlemen, never
commit such a TroUopian sin ; in fact, so
far as I have observed, there is yery little
(liiFerence between gentlemen, /. e., men ac-
customed to good society, in any part of the
civilized w-orld.

JVIrs. Trollope, and the other ladies who
have visited the sins of the Americans,
in print, so severely, have certainly effected
some good; but the mode m which that
pood hai' been done, has greatly limited its
effect. In fact, such vituperations have
about as much hold on the minds of the pre-
sent generation, as similar American scold-
ings, by much more gifted individuals, have
on the tone of society in England ; and they

iMISREPIlESENTATIONS OF

are to be regretted, because a healtby, sound,
and true reconciliation between tbe parent
and tbe child is gradually working its way,
and tbe travels of men of property, charac-
ter, and intellect, from the United States in
Britain, every day tend to confirm it. Na-
tions, like individuals, have their pecu-
liarities ; and, as it happens that most of the
peculiarities of America arc derived from
England, Englishmen should be "to their
faults a little blind," and " to their virtues
very kind." We ourselves are sore enough
when our national characteristics are made
the subject of foreign animadversion, and
we unmercifully criticise the author ; and it
is but fair, after all, to forgive a young
nation for a little extra vanity and love
of country, seeing that our own is firmly
based on the rock of ages, and that our
transatlantic brethren are but reflecting its
glories, and striving to render them still
brighter. The name of an English gentle-
man is there a passport to all good American

MRS. TROLLOPE.

141

society, and it would ill become him to com-
mit to memory every little want of what he
conceives to be ** hkmmnce''

The natural results of dense population
in older states, namely, wealth and science,
arc beginning to work their way, and it will
soon be difficult to distinguish the educated
American from his English brother. I have
travelled a good deal in the great state of
New York, the most populous and wealthy
of the union, and have seen a good deal of
the intelligent people of the New England,
the land of steady habits ; and I must say
that, excepting in taverns and bar-rooms,
where one only stops to rest in travelling,
because one is obliged to do it, I have seen
very little of the genus which Mrs. Trollope
so wittily makes a book upon.

The genuine Yankee tin, or clock-pedlar,
the horse-dealer, or the wandering specu-
lator, may commit the outrages on Priscian
which Major Jack Downing makes one
laugh so heartily at ; but it is not the Ian-

142

AMKllICAN PIIllASKS.

^ua<jje of any other class of the people, and
dialects are not a whit more extended, nor,
indeed, half so much, as at homo ; for in
whatever part of the United States the tni-
vcllcr from Britain may find himself, he can
clearly understand their I'^nglish ; which is
more, I f^mcy, than can be said of some parts
of England. It is true, that such phrases
as *' We^', now, that ere weathercock wants
fijcin^, I guess," seem odd enough to
unpractised ears ; as nmch as, perhaps,
"Would you believe, I saw him kill a
painter! ^\^lrn't that a cautioji?" A
" painter" being a sort of great wild cat, or
pantlier, and the caution being meant to im-
ply, that it was something worth remember-
ing, or out of the usual way. J^ut you will
not hear well-educated people talking in this
countrified stvle ; nor is the nasal enuncia-
tion so common as is stated ; out of a cabin-
full of passengers with whom I t ^^sscd a
several weeks' voyage across the Atlantic,
there was not a single instance of it : it

AMERICAN CIIAllACTKU.

143

appears confiiUMl to particular states, and
would certainly be much more honoured in
the breach than in the observance, as it is
an unnatural mode of speakinf)- in English,
and injures the harmony of the lan'nia<»e as
much as the ridiculous copy from the ^rut-
tural German, which now disfioures Parisian
French. It very possibly arose from the
Puritans, and has been continued, bv force
of habit ; and, as education and free inter-
mixture with European society advance, it
will be abandoned.

In the summer, the British traveller on
Lake Ontario may see a good deal of the
Americans, who are decidedly a locomotive
race, and who then visit the Falls of Niaoara,
and the British provinces, in shoals. But
he must beware of forming fixed impressions
from so cursory a view, and take care not to
tax the whole nation with bad manners, be-
cause he sees a female now and then eat
fish, flesh, and fv wl off the same plate at
the same time j nor must he do as the tra-

MISS MARTINEAU.

veller in Alsace did, who, when he woke out
of his comfortable nap, and saw a drunken
man and a red-haired girl, wrote down in
his tablets " all the men in Alsace drunk-
ards, and all the v/omen red-haired ;" an
error into which Miss Martineau fell at
Boston, respecting the ladies of that stcadv
city.

145

CHAPTER IX.

TORONTO.

Approach to Toronto— First Impressions on Landing— Incon-
venience and Danger of the Pier — Improvements suggested
-—Singular History of Toronto — The Iroquois Indians—
The Red Men of the Forest— Fatal Effects of Spirituous
Liquors on the Indian— Origin of the Name of Toronto-
French Fort— Description of the City— Immense Value of
Land — Public Buildings — Residences of the Gentry-
Houses of Parliameiit— The Roads— Brine Springs— Cha-
racteristic Anecdotes of the late War— Prices of Provisions
in 1824, and in 1840— Frozen Provisions— Fishery— Game
-Public Amusements— Society at Toionto— The Aristo-
cracy—Servants— Wages of Labourers and Artizans— New
Mode of heating Houses.

When we first approach the capital of an y
strange rountry, our imagination, notwith-
standing the nil admirari which travel more
or less imparts, naturally pictures forth all
sorts of ideas ; and when we consider that,

VOL. J. H

140

FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

in visiting Toronto, we come to a city which
has started into existence within thirty years,
we are naturally eager to examine it and its
history closely. Accordingly, I watched the
shores of its great pear-shaped bay, or har-
hour, lined with buildings on the north, and
a barren sand on the south, finished bv a
stagnant marsh on the east, with intense
interest, as the steamer wended its way to
the inconvenient wharfs, placed almost at
the extremity of the port.

Our landing, on a narrow decaying pier,
jostled, as we were, almost into the water,
by rude carters plying for hire on its nar-
row bounds, and pestered by crowds of
equally rude pliers for hotel preferences,
gave us no very exalted notions of the ffran-
dour or the police of Toronto. The system
is, hov.xver, the same every where on both
shores of the Canadian lakes, and to female
passengers it must be dreadful, particularly
on dark rainy nights ; for at night, for some
unaccountable reason, most of the boats pre-

FIRST LANDIIs^G,

147

fer to start. Piers of rotten planks, nearly
on a level with the w ater, and without gas,
or any other lights, n>'.:t create, as they in-
deed do, not merely great inconvenience,
but loss of life ; an instance of which latter
1 witnessed at Kingston, where a poor youno-
man, of respectable connections, met his
death by stepping over the unprotected
wharf, when coming, on a very dark boister-
ous evening, to seek ihe steam-boat with
letters.

The private wharfs should be regulated
by an act of the provincial legislature on the
British side ; and the law ought to provide
for their lighting, width, and repair, and
should prevent altogether the cartaoc of
goods on them, as iron rails, on which
trucks are used, would not only be prefer-
able in point of expense, and w^ear and
tear, but would effectually prevent accident.

When we refer to the history of this capi-
tal of Upper Canada, it will be felt that

H 2

148

ORIGIN OF TORONTO.

nothing can afford a better lesson on the
extraordinary workings of time and fate. In
1794, or only forty-five years ago, this city,
which now contains nearly fifteen thousand
inhabitants, and spreads over a surface of
more than two miles in length, by a mile in
breadth, was occupied only by the murder-
ing p-nd savage Indian ; and when Governor
Simcoe first came to it, not more than two
wigwams were seen in the unbroken and
siatelv forest which towered over the shores
of its beautiful bay.

Near it, probably either on the banks of
the Don or of the Humber, was originally
a village, or camp, of the Iroquois, those
Indian conquerors who spread the fame of
their arms and the terror of their name, to
the extirpation of every aboriginal nation
with which they came in contact ; who over-
ran Canada, and caused the vain and con-
fident soldiers of France to tremble at the
distant sound of their war-whoop, and to

THE IROQUOIS INDIANS.

IMJ

abandon, hastily, possessions which they
vainly imagined their own appearance alone
was sufficient to secure.

\Vhere is now the mighty Iroquois ? A
century has not passed, the sun has not
made his annual revolution one hund^-ed
times, and yet the Iroquois, his wars, and
his people, have alike been forgotten and
lost. His very memory at Toronto is in-
volved in utter obscurity ; and those forests
in which the white man has erected a statelv
city from the bosom of a howling desert, no
longer give even the protection of their
shade to his red brother ; for, excepting
during the occasional visits of the civilized
Indians, upon matters of business with the
government, a red man is seldom seen in
the capital ; and when there, as he is usually
clothed as the Europeans are, and wears
their garb, he excites no attention or sur-
prise.

It was not until a year or two ago, that
the real denizen of the forest — the wild, un-

150

THE NATIVE INDIAN.

tutored, unclad, and heathen warrior — be-
came an object of much curiosity to the
citizens.

Owing to the system pursued by the neigh-
bouring states, of ejecting the Indians alto-
gether, a section of the PoU'tah-ivah-tamiea
left the upper regions of the Mississipi, where
they had been an equestrian tribe, and lived
chiefly on the buffalo, to throw themselves
on the protection of their great father, the
king of England. I was fortunately at Pene-
tangueshene, a distant frontier post, when
the nation arrived there ; and shall, in my
account of that post, state what I saw when
they first trod the British soil in all their
warrior glory.

I would that they had been able to live
in their native wild woods and prairies. I
was delighted with the fresh display of un-
taught and uncivilized nature ; for with all
the barbarous and blood-thirsty warlike
deeds which they there performed, there
was something so noble, simple, and chaste,

THE NATIVE INDIAN.

151

in the manners, bearing, and demeanour of
these sons of the soil, that it won oolden
opinions from all beholders.

But a few short months afterwards, and I
again saw my friends, the Pou-tah-wah-
tamies, or, as they are vulgarly called, Pot-
tawatamis, on the green sward in front of
the parliament buildings at Toronto, hag'
gard, clothed in rags and filthy blankets,
bearing the evidence of starvation in their
intelligent features. Want had driven tliem
to do that which an Indian recoils from with
horror — to rob the friends who had protected
them. Whiskey, the accursed " fire-water,"
as their eloquent language styles it, had swept
awav reason from the wise men, and strength
from the youthful warrior. Their stock of
ornamental and requisite personal appen-
dages had been bartered for it, and the very
provisions and blankets, which their great
Father had so liberallv bestowed for the
support and comfort of his wandering red
children, had been converted by it to profit

1 no

THE SITi: OF TORONTO.

a lawless and vile race of traders, who batten
on the spoils cf these unsuspecting sons of
the soil, and whose unholv thirst for ooUl
has Fwevt fr<^n ^t surface alr^ost the vcrv
name of U.> a^cv at possessors.

Our contciiiplat! '^s on a mass of brick,
wood, and mortar, have not, we trust, been
without interest. The council-fire of the
red man burned brightly in the forest, where
the white stranger now holds his more poli-
tic deliberations in safety and in luxury ;
(or on the site of the Parliament-house the
hrst council with the Indian was held bv
the Britons, ere thev built their town.

But the councils of the pale faces, are
they not as stormy, and as full of bad passions,
as ever were those of the revengeful and
turbulent Iroquois, who seems to have left
the curse of the eyterminati?if^ wrath with
which the stranfjer from the risiuij sun
visited his race, to spread its baleful venom
amongst those who have usurped his ancient
domain ?

FRENCH lOIlT.

1.53

Thij name of tlie fair city w^ arc now
enter.ng I" not, as is generally supposed,
^ndJan. In th^ cr^ rect, and now valuable
map, by Major Holland, of the Britisb
Colonies in North America, and corrected
from Governor Pownall's late map, of 177^>»
the place is thus designated, " Torento pres-
quiley in the country of the Northern Iro-
quois."

7.'he French had a small square palisaded
fort here, about a mile westward of the pre-
sent garrison, the remains of which are still
very plain ; and this was called Fort Ta-
rento, Torento, or some such name, from (as
it is supposed) the Italian engineer w'h(>
erected it ; for the Indians have no word of
this kind in any language now understood
in Canada.

The country in the r.aighbourhood, when
cleared by the British (for the French never
attempted any other settlement), was gra-
dually called Toronto, and the village they
erected in lyOi, York, by Governor Simcoc.

H 3

15 h

ORIGIN OF TORONTO.

York, being on a stiff clayey soil, was a very
dirty place in wet weather, and out of deri-
sion, by t^ w Americans, and in contradis-
tinction CO the great emporium of the neigh-
bo' i-ing state, was styled Uirty, or Lirtlo
i^ork.

In 1834, Sir John Colborne restored the
ancient and much more euphonious name,
Toronto, and constituted it a city, the capital
of the province. Since this time a new life
seems to have been given to it, and public
anc private feeling against the site have
vanishv,^!. It is now decidedly the capital,
and is likely to remain so, unless Kingston
disputes it.

Toronto stretches nearly east and west
along the shores of its spacious and beautiful
bay, and consists of six parallel streets, of
nearly two miles in length each, intersected
by cross ones at right angles, at every two or
three acres distance, and the w4iole depth
being less than a mile.

The chief streets are of course the longi-

VALUE OF LAND.

1.^^

tudlnal ones, and thrsc arc calUnl I'ront-
strcct, or that next the water, Market-street,
KinjT-strect, Newgate, Hospital and Lot-
streets, which arc continued in a new por-
tion lately ceded hy the Ordnance, under
the names o^* Ontario-terrace, Welliniiton-
phice, King-street, west, Adelaide and Sim-
coe-streets.

The value of property here is incredible.
On the military reserve, now forming' into
the new western portion of the city, acre lots
sold by government fetched five and six
hundred pounds, at some distance from the
parts of the city built upon. Building-
ground in the populous streets is worth from
ten pounds to twenty pounds a foot, and will
no doubt be much higher ; and thus manv
persons who were formerly very needy, and
who obtained the land as grants when it was
of little value, are now amongst tlie richest.

Until about six or seven vears auo, the
buildings in Toronto were mostly of wood,
as stone is not found in sufficient quantitv

156

PUBLIC nUILDINGS.

in the neighbourhood, and consequently iires
frequently devastated the town. I^riok has
since been chiefly employed, as the soil is so
good a clay, that the foundation and cellar-
age of a house often yield the ni^cessary
material for the superstructure.

King-street, the main artery of the city,
promises to be very handsome ; already
many excellent brick stores and houses line
its sides, and in the shops the superfluous
luxuries of large plate glass and brass railings
are beginning to appear. It is well paved
with flag-walks, and a broad belt of round
stone on each side, with a broken stone road
in the centre. A capacious and very exten-
sive sewer runs under the who.:).

None of the towns in Upper Canada yet
display much expense or taste in the public
edifices, and Toronto has certainly not con-
tended for the palm. The principal struc-
tures are the Parliament buildings and public
offices J the English, the Catholic, and the
Scotch churches, the Methodist chapels, the

GOVEllNMKNT HOUSE.

157

Bank of Upper Canada, the Market-house
and City-hall, the Upper Canada College
and Bank, and Osgoode or Lawyer's Halls.'

The government-house is an old wooden
structure, recently stuccoed and re])aircd.
It is heautifuUy situated on a fine lawn,
shaded by trees on one side, but facing
the streets on two others. Some of the
residences of the gentry are handsome brick
structures ; and the Parliament houses and
public offices are convenient, if not ele-
!,rant ; they however now require enlarging.
Th(3 Legislative Council Chamber, and the
House of Commons* room, are well propor-
tioned, lofty cubes, nearly alike ; but the
former is enriched with stucco-work and
handsome furniture, although the throne is
not in the best possible taste, being a simjde
chaste canopy supportc d by a Patagonian
crown, which looks like the sign of an inn.
The royal arms well executed on the back
pannel would have been much better.

The Commons' chamber is quite plain and

158

GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

appropriate, hut sound is not well convc-.^rl
in it, and the huilding vants the necessary
accessories of a o-ood library ana committee-
rooms, the latter being- small and in p dark
passaae.

The public offices are wings toth.; Iloibc-
of Parliament, and should ])e united by hand-
some corridors. Thev are very convenient.
Those on the left contain tho ExeciUivi
Council chamber and office, the offices of thi
Aajutant-general of ^lilitia, the Inspector-
general and Auditor of Public Accounts, tlu
Commissioners of Crown Lands, Surveyor-
general of the Indian Department, and ot
the Emigrant Accent. In the riiifht win:]
are the Court of King's Bench, and the
offices of the Attorney-general, the Pro-
vincial Secretary, the Ci^rk of the Crown.
and of the Receiver-General.

About half a mile up an avenue in the
centre of Lot-street, is the site of the Uni-
versity of Upper Canada. The plan for
building it is extensive, appropriate, and

GREAT ROADS.

159

iccessarv
mmitrei'-
n p (lark

J Holl^e^
bv haml-
ivcnicnt.
Ixccutivf
;cs of thr
ispector-
unts, tk
urvevor-
aiid ()i
it winu
md tilt'

tic Pl'O-

Crown.

in r'he
10 Uni-
)laii for
.to, and

handsome, and is now being carried into
execution.

A new jail and a court-house are build-
ina' at the eastern extremity of the city, in a
very strange situation, close to the great
marsh. A lyceum is also about to be
erected at the western end, with grounds
attached, for zoologic and botanic purposes,
under the patronage of government.

The military works and buildings at this
place, having been originally merely tempo-
rarv erections, are unworthv of notice. New
barracks for the troops, at a distance from
the town, are in the course of erection.

In Toronto unite the great roads from the
Xia;;ara and western districts ; the George-
street, a straio-ht road of thirtv-six miles
from Lake Simcoc, leading to the wilderness
of tliO north, and thickly settled ; the eastern
road, leading to Kingston and Lower Canada ;
all being for several miles well laid out, with
a broken stone cover, formed at vast expense
and labour, by collecting the granite buul-

160

BRINE SPRINGS.

ders in the woods and fields and shores of
the neighbourhood. The farmers were at
first averse to the turnpikes estabUshcd on
them, but they now yield a fair revenue to
keep them in repair.

Toronto being situated over that forma-
tion in which saline rocks exist, is remark-
able for its brine springs. In digging wells
in any part of the city, to forty feet deep,
these are struck, and thus the water is gene-
rally bad. Near the garrison one of these
springs comes to the surface. I made an
attempt to bore for the salt ; but not finding
that the inhabitants were much interested in
the matter, gave it up, on account of the
expense, although there cannot be mueh
doubt that a profitable investment might bo
made in such an undertaking, as salt is a
dearly imported article at present.

Toronto was taken by the Americans
during the late war, bv an overwhelmini:
force. A characteristic anecdote was told
me when I first went there, by an itinerant

GENERAL PIKE.

161

American, of the mode in which General
Pike, their loader, met his death. " Did
you know our brigadier ?" said my friend,
whom I had by-the-bye never seen before.
I replied, " No, I was not in this part of
the country during the war." " Well,'* re-
torted he, " that is wonderful ! I thouoht
every body knew our Brigadier — Brigadier
Pike. Then I suppose you don't know how
he was fixed here ?"—" No," I answered.
" Why, just here in this fort, that tarnation
British p-e-o-iud-e-r (powder) took fire, and
heaved up a stone of fifty weight, and smashed
our general right in."

The general, with many others on botli
sides, fell ; and in forming a road this sum-
mer to the new breakwater-pier at the mouth
of the harbour (a very excellent provincial
work, projecting into the lake for a thou-
sand feet), the bones of several were dug up ^
amongst others, near the old flag-staff (the
foot of which, of white oak, was found as
fresh as the day it was sunk), were the bones

162

COST OF LIVING.

of a man enclosed in boards, one arm beinn
cut off near tbe wrist, both pieces perfect
and fresh. This is supposed to be a mark
bv which one of the American oflicers was
known, and he was re-interred at the foot
of the signal-post in the government-house
reserve, so that, if required, the remains
mav be claimed.

It may be well to make some remarks on
the mode of living and state of society in
this new citv ; but not liavino- been a resi-
dent there, thev must be brief. The citv
is divided into five wr.rds : St. George, St.
Patrick, St. Andrew, St. David, and St. La^\-
rence, each returning two aldermen and two
common councilmen. 1^'rom amongst these
a mavor is chosen. The elections are an-
nual ; the voters being male householders,
freehold, or tenant for a year or term of
years, within the liberties or v.ards.

This vearlv election annuallv disturbs the
peace of the city, and does not seem neces-
sary, anles: , perliaps, for the mayor.

COST OF LIVING. l63

The population of this city has increased
in the following ratio : —

Aiithoritios.

In 1817 it was 1,200, Gonriai/.

— 1826 1,077, Fother[)Ul.

— 183G 9,()52, ReAurns.

— 1837 1 l,.-iO(), (within the city) Returns.

— 1839 15,000.

With this increase, the claims of luxury,
and the value of provisions and fuel, have
increased in proportion. In 18^1', the market
prices were, as Mr. Fothcrgill states : —

Beef per pound, in the butcliers' stalls, 3ri. to 3,'//., currency.

Ditto, by the quarter, 2^/. to 2,3'/.

Mutton, per pound, \-d.

Ditto, by the whole carcass, 10*. to II.9., currency.

Veal, per pound, 3rf. to 5d.

Pork, ditto, 3rf. to Sfrf.

Butter, Id. to 9d.

Turkies, half a dollar, or 2.y. Qd.

Geese nearly the same.

Ducks, a quarter of a dollar, or 1*. 3'/., wild or tame.

Fowls the same.

Eg;;s, Id, a dozen.

Fresh salmon, of 15 or KJ pounds weight, a quarter of a dollar.

A barrel of salt or pickled salmon, of forty fish, 256\ to 30*.

A barrel of fine flour, 2Qs.

Barley or wheat, 26'. Gd. to 36'. a bushel.

Oats, Is, or \s, 'id..

Hay, per ton, 30*.

Fire-wood, a cord, 8 feet long by \ feet wide and high, lO*.

The four-pound fine white loaf, (yd.

164^

FROZEN MEAT.

All these prices arc reckoned in provincial
money, which may be considered as twopence
less than the sterlinij shilling.

Now the market price for beef and mutton
is 7^. or 7^6?., and has been mach higher;
butter is generally a shilling a pound ; tur-
kies 7^' ^^'j and all other poultry in pro-
portion ; a fresh almon cannot be bought
under '^s. Gd.^ or at the least a dollar, when
plentiful ; flour of fine quality has been as
high ?^ ^en dollars a barrel, and is now about
seven, five and a half being the common
price when the market is full ; wheat in pro-
portion ; oats ^5. to Qs. 6d. ; hay seldom less
than nine or ten dollars a ton, or 2/. 105.,
and occasionally rising much higher ; fire-
wood V2s, 6d, a cord, of the best quality,
delivered on the spot ; bread varies from '7(1-
to Sd. a loaf.

Provident families generally, on the ap-
proach of winter, purchase carcases of mut-
ton and beef, which they obtain for ^^d, or
3d. a pound for the former, and about 4rf.

VEGETABLES.

165

for the latter, of the best quralitics. The
mutton is frozen and hung- up ; the beef
salted and put in tubs. Poultry killed and
packed in snow keeps the whole winter, or
from the middle of December to the begin-
ning of April.

Potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, celery,
turnips, &c., may be kept in cellars made
frost proof, and by purchasing them before
the frost sets in, in the beginning of No-
vember, may be obtained reasonably ; pota-
toes last year (1839) were only l.s. 3^., or
about a shilling English money, a bushel ;
turnips two shillings ; onions are usually
from four to five ; and celery is, of course,
dear, being from two to four dollars a hun-
dred, according to the ((uality.

Apples may be procu/ed abundantly from
the United States, or from Niagara, at from
two to three dollars for a flour barrel-full
of the finest kinds, and they are kept in
cellars, or frost proof root-houses, in the
same manner.

1G6

LAKE FISH.

There is a fishery cstahlislicd hy the mu-
iiicipal authorities on the lake shores of the
peninsula, opposite to the city, where ahun-
dance of the folk)\viii(j;' kinds of fij^h arc
caught: white fisli, pickerel, herring-s, anrl
salmon-trout. In the winter, when the hav
is frozen over solidly, lints arc erected, and
holes made in the ice, wlicre the fish arc
caught hy spearing. Spearing hy tor(.*li- light
in boats is also much j)ra(;tised in the warm
seasons ; and in this way sturgeon, eels, and
pike of an enormous size, are caught in the

Fishini? for recreation is no orcat affair
at Toronto, as there is no fly-fishing, and
the bait only secures perch sun-fish (a small,
glittering, bony, flat fish, called pan-fish by
the settlers), and rock-bass, the latter seldom
weighing more than a pound, and the others
very small. The sportsman occasionally
hooks an eel or a cat-fish. The latter is
a disagreeable-looking creature, which ^'s,
nevertheless, good eating, if the head be cut

tuiitll: and ga.»ie.

IG7

:ic mu-
of the
; .^bun-
sli arc
^s, anrl
the bay
;d, and
ish are
•li-li^ht
3 warm
lis, and
in the

t affair
g, and

small,
fish bv
seldom

others
ionally
Ltter is
ich ^?,

be cut

ilf. It is about two pounds wei;Lj'ht when

larg'o.

There is a larn-c; species of land-turtle
found in the lagoons and muddy ponds here,
about the size of a very lar<>e meat-dish,
covered ^vith a dh'ty-coloured, br(j\vn, im-
j)enctral)le armour, with a long projecting
neck, and hawk's bill. This animal is edi-
ble, and very good 30up may be made of it,
if the precaution be taken of clearing away
the gall-bladder and ducts as soon as it is
killed. It lavs a ffreat number of white
round ei^gs, about the .size of a grape-
shot ; and these are excellent. A small and
beautiful tortoise, marked with vermillion
and green, is also very common in the
marshy grounds ; but these, although re-
sembling the New York terra])in, are never
used in Canada for food.

The Indians from the Credit River bring
occasionally supplies of game ; and there are
persons who make a livelihood by supplying
the market with partridges, wild ducks, and

168

PUDLIC AMUSKMENTS.

venison, wliich *s very fine, and often plcn.
tif'ul, at throe-pence a pound, a live deer
being worth about fifteen or tvventy shilHiigs.
Hares and wild geese are now and then
met with ; but the Toronto market is not
well su})plied with game, as it does not now
abound in the neighbourhood. The sports-
man finds few snipe, woodcock, pigeons, or
plover, in comparison with former years.

The public amusements in Toronto arc
not of a nature to attract much attention.
There have been various attempts to get up
respectable races, and to establish a theatre,
and a winter assembly for dancing ; but
owing to the peculiar state of society, these
attempts have always proved nearly abortivr,
as well as those of a much higher and more
useful kind, which have been made by per-
sons attached to science and the arts. A
national Literary and Philosophical Society
was by great exertion established; but, after
beinii in a w-averinc^ state for about a vear,
it dropped. The United Service Club met

SOCIETY IN TORONTO.

iGi)

with tlu; same fate ; and there is now only
a Mechanics* Institute, and a commercial
news-room, which can fairly be mentioned,
although some young men, under the pa-
tronage of the vice-chancellor, have recently
l^ot up a literary club.

In Toronto, which has only advanced
rapidly within the last five vears, the ori-
irinal settlers were chiefly persons holding
public appointments, whose duty obliged
them to reside at the seat of government.
Tradesmen, mechanics, and labourers came
to the village by very slow degrees ; and, as
they were chiefly concerned in supplying the
wants of the gentry, were not, until recently,
enabled to amass much money. Thus, a
very clear and defined line was drawn in the
society of York ; and, as the families of the
office-holders became connected bv marriage
(for York was not sought as a place of
residence by general settlers in the countrv,
and was chiefly visited by them on public
business), a close and impenetrable bond of

VOL. I. I

,.-*;,.

ew J^i ^^^

.^;.v

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

l:i ll8 |2.5

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Sciences

Corporation

1.25 1.4 |||||i^

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WEBSTER, NY. MS80

(716) 873-4503

170

SOCIETY IN TORONTO.

union arose amongst these public servants ;
and the aristocracy of Little York was able
to carve out at will the destinies of the town,
naturally endeavouring to retain in the fa-
mily compact all situations of profit and
honour. They were, however, too few to
establish, however wilUng, any useful public
institutions j and hence, when the place
became a city, and wealth and intellect
flowed into it from foreign sources, a little
jealousy would obviously, for some time,
prevent these self-constituted leaders from
patronizing efforts made by strangers. But
the time has nearly arrived when such pre-
judices must vanish, and when a man will
no longer be able to claim, whether pos-
sessed of talent or not, all the public places
and honours, merely on the ground that he
was born in the country. Canada is not
yet old enough for such a claim; and British
subjects, from any part of the world, have
as great a natural right as the natives to
enter into the lists of competition j and it is

THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY. I7I

the opinion of all dispassionate and unpre-
judiced persons, that the safety and ultimate
welfare of the province wholly hinge on
their being able to do so.

Look attentively at the avowed objects
and conduct of the revolutionary party in
Upper Canada. What is their great griev-
ance?— Why, the family domination. And
for what are they seeking to throw off the
light yoke of Britain, and the proud name
of Britons ? — Why, to get rid of the family
domination for ever. But is it with a view
to benefit the countrv? — No I that never
enters into their thoughts. As long as such
reckless adventurers attain their main ob-
ject, they care not whether they arc the
ultima Thule of the United States, or on a
footing with Texas.

I have great respect personally for many
of the members of the aristocracy of Upper
Canada ; but that respect must not prevent
me, as a writer willing to inform the public,
and to do my best for the interests of the

I 2

1752

BRITISH FEELING.

colony, from stating the truth ; and I firmlv
believe, from an observation of several years,
that Toronto will never be a flourishintr
city, nor Upper Canada a thriving countrj,
until offices and honours are alike open to
all classes of the British people in it, ai.
they are in England, where the poorest man
from Upper Canada, if he be a man of high
talent, may become lord-chancellor, without
any question as to where he was born, or
who educated him. It is the British feeling
which will preserve Canada from merging
into an obscure state, or into another Texas ;
and no coalition with the revolutionists, no
truckling of any kind, in the event of that
feeling being silenced, will preserve the loyal
Canadian from the fate which will then as-
surcdlv await him— a fate like that of the
Israelites under the taskmasters of Pharaoh,
and from which nothing short of a miracle
will release him.

Families enii^'atino- to Toronto will wish
to know as well about markets as about

HIGHWAYS.

173

servants and houso-rcnt. Servants are not
in general of the best kind. Females coming
out usually get married after a short service,
and settle, either as the wives of mechanics
or farmers ; and men or boys obtain so much
wages as mechanics or labourers, that it is
obviously their interest to seek such em-
ployment. A good mason or carpenter may
stipulate for 6s. or Js, 6d, a day; a la-
bourer gets constant employment at from
25. ()d. to 3s, 9d,, according to the nature of
his work ; and many of them, by keeping a
horse and cart and a cow, may double that
amount.

Considering that from eight to ten dollars
a month (forty to fifty shillings currency)
are the highest wages given to men servants,
and from four to six dollars to women (1
mean as an average, for some of the higher
classes give more, in order to keep their
servants with them), with their daily food,
it is not to be wondered at that, in a cheap
country, they seek labour with a view to

171^

HOUSE RENT.

ultimate rest, on property independently
derived.

House rent is high at Toronto. A good
house for a small family, consistinff of two
stories, with kitchen and cellar, perhaps
about five or six rooms above the level of
the street, costs forty-five or fifty pounds a-
year, and about two pounds for road and
other city taxes. With this limited accom-
modation, there is generally a small stable
and sleigh-house, and a yard just suflicicnt
to hold about half the wood required for the
winter, which, for a family able to afford
such a lodging, would amount to about
thirty or forty cords. Stoves are generally
used, although coals from the state of Ohio,
on Lake Erie, are coming into the market,
by way of the Welland canal, and cost at
present, from Is, 6d, to I*. 8c?. per bushel.

Stoves are certainly the most efficacious
in heating a wooden house ; but in a brick
one, coals are equally good, and hot air is
better and cheaper than either. A simple

HEATING APPARATUS.

175

plan of effecting this latter purpose has been
resorted to at the Government House, and is
worth recording. An oven, or reveiberatory
furnace, is constructed in the cellar, in the
form of a common vault, big enough for a
man to get into, but not above three feet six
inches or four feet high, by three wide,
strongly built, with a straight back and
front. The roof inside and indeed all the
inside walls, must be evenly and carefully
built, either of fire-brick or stone, and
coated well with a thick cement of mortar
and cowdung, smoothed as much as possible.
In the circle of the arch, but not in its key-
course, round holes, capable of admitting
sheet-iron pipes, such as those ordinarily
used for stoves, must be left, according to
the number of stories in the house, and the
disposition of the rooms which the pipes arc
to reach.

Into this oven, a large stove of thick
metal, such as the Lower Canada stoves are
made of, must be inserted, and the front of

17G

HEATING ArrAKATUS.

the oven then built solidly up, leaving an
aperture for the square mouth or door of
the stove to be opened, for the admission
of fuel.

Under the front of tlie stove, the wall
must have two circular holes, with regula-
tors, similar to the ventilators in room win-
dows, but made flat, so as to close, as they
are turned round by hand, and not by the
current of air. These holes, when opened,
admit a constant current of cold air to regu-
late the temperature within. A cast-iron
man-hole may be built in on one of the sides,
for the C(mvenience of getting at the interior
for repairs.

On the flat top of the stove may be placed
an arrangement of sheet-iron stove pipes,
made like a flat still- worm, to increase the
surface of metal.

By conducting sheet-iron pipes from this
oven, of a good bore, seven or eight inches,
into the different rooms, a constant supply
of warm air goes through the building, and

HEATINC; APPARATUS.

it mav ho regulated and shut off hv th<'
ventilators mentioned.

Thus, for about one-third of the cost in
fuel for stoves, a good weather-tight build-
ing may be pleasantly warmed, and without
the dry suffocating heat arising from the
metal stove when placed in a room, and also
without the dust arising from the wood-asl).

178

CHAPTER X.

TORONTO, AS THE LATE CAPITAL OF UPPER

CANADA.

Toronto before the Union — The Court of Chancery and other
Courts of Justice — Government Officers — The Church, and
various Religious Sects — Local Courts — The College ol
Upper Canada — Public Schools— Banks and Banking Com-
panies—Commercial System— Price of Provisions and Lux-
uries — Mischievous Ostentation in the Style of Living-
Official Incomes — Astonishing Increase in the Value of
Land — The Canada Land Company.

It seems fitting, on introducing the
stranger to Toronto, to give him a brief
account of the colonial official administra-
tion carried on there previously to the
Union.

First in rank is the Court of Chancerv,
which was established latelv, during the ad-
ministration of Sir John Colborne. The

LAW COURTS.

179

licutcnant-govcrnor is ox-officio chancellor ;
and the estahlishmcnt at present consists
of a vice-chancellor, R. S. Jameson, Esq.,
masters, registrar, and treasurer. It held
its sittings in Osgoode, or Lawyer's-hall, a
sort of inn of court in Lot-street, which was
converted, during the insurrection in Lower
Canada, into infantry barracks.

The other legal dignitaries arc, a chief-
justice, the attorney and the solicitor-gene-
ral, the clerks of the Crown and Pleas.

The chief-justice used, somewhat unne-
cessarily, to go the circuit; but now that
the country increases so rapidly in popula-
tion, this anomaly will be rectified. He
was also speaker of the legislative council,
and at one time had a seat in the executive ;
but as the laws and customs of the mother
countrv become better understood, the adop-
tion of the healthy system practised there
has gradu&Uy gained ground. A chief-jus-
tice of a colony, it is very clear, should be
as free as possible from political bias ; and,

180

PU13L1L OFFICES.

accorilin<^ly, should hold no other ])uhli(
office whatever than his own, which should
he independent of the crown and of tin*
people. The present chief-justice is said
tc be a very able and learned lawyer, con-
sidering the limited practice he can alone
have had in so young a colony.

The chief-justice of the upper ])art of
Canada has four i)uisne judges associated
with him, so that courts mav be held twice
a-year in the outer districts.

The Clerk of the Crown has four clerks
in his office, and ten deputies in the dis-
tricts.

The public offices next in rank are those

of the Provincial Secretary and Registrar;
the Queen's Receiver-general ; the Inspector-
general of Provincial Accounts ; the Com-
missioner of Crown Lands, Woods and
Forests, and Surveyor-general of Lands ;
the Commissioners of the Heir and Devisee
Act ; the Clergy Lands Corporation ; the
Emigrant Agent; the King's College Land

ECCLKSIASTKAL AUTIIOIUTIKS. 181

Office; the Rcgistnir of tlio District, the
Sheriff, Clerk of the Peace, Treasurer of
the District, Coroners, Court of Commis-
sioners of Customs, Collector of liie Port,
and Inspector of Licences.

The ecclesiastical authorities at Toronto
arc, the Bishop of Toronto, who usually
resides there, with an official Principal of
the IVohate and Surrogate Court, of which
the governor is judge, and to which there
is a registrar attached.

There is at present only one archdeacon
in Upper Canada; at Kingston, sixty-six
clergj-men and missionaries.

The Synod of the Church of Scotland has
a moderator, clerk, and treasurer ; and un-
der its jurisdiction in Lower Canada, eleven,
and in Upper Canada, thirty-two clergymen.

The United Synod of Presbyterians in
Upper Canada, in connection with the Esta-
bhshed Church of Scotland, has five Presby-
tories, and fifty-three ministers.

The Church of Rome, in Upper Canada,

182

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.

is under the spiritual guidance of the Bishop
of llegiopolis, with a coadjutor bishop, and
two vicars-general, who preside over eleven
districts, and thirty-three clergymen.

The Bri'ish Wesleyan Methodist Church
has lately been united to the Episcopal Me-
thodist sect ; its ministers are one hundred
and six in number, itinerant every two years,
and devote their labours amongst sixteen
thousand and forty-four church members.
This denomination of Christians publish a
weekly newspaper in Toronto, from which
politics are, it is to be regretted, not ex-
cluded.

The Wesleyan British Missionary Society,
auxiliary to that at home, has a superin-
tendent and treasurer, and employs twelve
missionaries, and about fifteen schoolmas-
ters, amongst the civilized Indians, who have
preachers also, chosen from amongst them-
selves. The number of Wesleyan Methodist
Indians in society, as it is called, is upwards
of a thousand, whilst there are upwards of

RELIGIOUS SECTS.

183

three hundred and fifty children in the
schools.

The Church of England also established
a society in 1830 for converting and civil-
izing the Indians, and for propagating the
gospel amongst the destitute settlers ; and
its missionaries are actively, and very labori-
ously employed in this good work. The late
Bishop Stewart, of the see of Quebec, de-
voted a life to this labour.

There are an amazins^ diversity of sects in
Upper Canada, as must always be the case
in new countries, where the farm settlements
are at great distances from towns. I cannot
undertake to enumerate them all, as they
frequently change. The most respectable
and numerous are the Primitive Methodists,
Baptists, Unitariii.is, Independents, or Con-
gregationalists, and Quakers. The Primi-
tive Methodists have one superintendent at
Toronto, four travel

'»>

preachers, with three hundred and thirty

!■■■'¥

184

RELIGIOUS SECTS.

members, and forty-two district congrega-
tions. The Baptists have a chapel at To-
ronto, and in the province, four associations,
comprising fifty-three churches, thirty-three
ministers, and seventeen licentiates. The
people of African origin have also a chapel
at Toronto.

From the difficulty of assembling for pub-
lic worship at given points, the population
of Upper Canada abounds in sects uncon-
nected with the three great divisions of
Christians, the English, Scotch, and Romish
Churches. Wesleyan Methodists may, of
course, be classed in the English division,
as many of the members attend the service
of that church. It is to be feared that this
diversity of opinions on religious subjects is
unfavourable to the rapid growth of Chris-
tianity; as, where so many are right, the
feeble-minded and the ignorant are apt to
judge that wrong does not consist in difier-
ence.

LOCAL COURTS.

185

Toronto, besides being the centre of all
this mass of civil and religious occupation,
has also employment for several local courts
and offices. It has a district court, at which
minor offences against the laws are adjudged,
a Court of Requests, a Mayor's Court, and
Police Office. The Courts of Oyer and
Terminer, Nisi Prius, and General Goal
Delivery, are held twice a-year. The Court
of Queen's Bench has four terms, as well as
that of Quarter Sessions.

The Government Office is under the pri-
vate secretarv, who has a chief clerk and
three assistants.

Immediately under the controul of the
governor, is the Indian Department, which
is a military one, and has one chief super-
intendent, and five deputies residing with
the tribes.

Amongst the public institutions of To-
ronto now in operation, is the College of
Upper Canada, of which the lieutenant go-

186

EDUCATION.

vernor is visitor, with a principal, five mas-
ters, and five teachers. This is a preparatory
school for the university about to be esta-
blished.

The Central, or National School of Up-
per Canada, on the principles of Bell and
Lancaster, the Infant School, and the Dis-
trict School, are also useful public institu-
tions ; and there is a Board of Education in
the city, for the supervision of the common
schools.

The private societies, or institutions, for
religious purposes, are very numerous.

The British North American Banking
Company, of London, with a capital of one
million sterling, have established an agency
here, which is likely to turn out a profitable
and very useful undertaking, and will have
the good effect of keeping the Bank of Up-
per Canada within due bounds, as well as of
checking the constant starting up of mush-
room institutions, without adequate capitals,

BANKING.

187

five mas.
eparatory
> be esta-

3l of Up.
Bell and
the Dis-
c institu.
leation in
i common

tions, for

)US.

Banking
al of one
ti agency
)rofitable
vill have
k of Up.
i^ell as of
)f mush,
capitals,

and which usually are either made up for
political purposes, or are mere speculations,
ending fatally for the stockholders.

Investment in this bank, in that of Upper
Canada, where the Government is a large
shareholder, or in the Bank of the Midland
District, which has a respectable branch in
this city, may be considered as safe as such
investments generally are. The legal in-
terest is six per cent. ; but the Bank of
Upper Canada has usually paid eight, in the
wav of bonus, and has at all times made a
dividend which is almost incredible. All
these banks would find it to their advantage
to be more liberal in discounting good British
bills, which are, at present, chiefly negotiated
by the importing merchants.

Very few, howeve**, of the merchants of
Upper Canada, import direct from Britain,
but are generally agents only of British
houses, or of houses at Montreal. This
arises from want of pecuniary accommoda-
tion in the banking systems, as well as from

188

MODE OF LIVING.

the natural poverty of a new countrj-. The
scale of commerce is gradually extending ;
and, could goods be delivered at a sea-port
belonging to Upper Canada, or be permitted
transit through the states from New York
at a moderate charge, there would soon bo
customers and sellers enough to make the
Upper Canada trade attract men of capital.

You can procure all the necessaries, and
most of the luxuries of life, on compara-
tively easy terms at Toronto. Wines and
groceries are not high ; and the dinner-table
may be set out as richly and as well as at
New York, excepting only in pine-apples and
other tropical fruits, and in the summer the
luxury of ice. In the fall of the year, and in
winter, cod, oysters, lobsters, and other fish
are brought to Toronto in a fresh state, or
frozen, such is the rapidity of transport by
the canals, railroads, or on the snow.

An income of about a thousand or fifteen
hundred a-year enables the official, or the
private person, to assume some state. He

AMERICAN OSTENTATION.

189

can keep his carriage, horses, and necessary
servants, and entertain in a stvlc, which in
England no man under double that income
would attempt ; and such is the eagerness
to vie with the gentry at home, that it is to
be feared many worthy people sacrifice, as
they do in the States, much of their pros-
pects, for the sake of having it said that
their dinners are better than such a person's
in a circle one degree higher than them-
selves.

An American author, I forget who, well
observe?, that the English are not ashamed
to own that they cannot afford to do so and
so ; whilst the American gentleman toils all
day, in order to establish his family in a
richly.furnished house, and to spend his in-
come in vying with the class of neighbours
among whom he moves.

Large fortunes in business, or land, are
however more common in the older portions
of the United States than is supposed ; and
luxury is carried in some of the towns to a

190

OFFICIAL INCOMES.

greater extent. But in Upper Canada there
is, as yet, no such thing as a large fortune ;
all the people are as new as their country ;
and although the early settlers, who were
fortunate enough to obtain office or to make
money, were able to obtain or purchase im^
mense tracts of land almost for nothing, yot
that land has never, nor will it for many
years, yield large revenues ; whilst from in-
crease of family claims, and the increase of
all articles in value, in consequence of the
country filling with po])ulation, the land of
the great holders of it has been diminished
by their urgent wants.

The highest official income in Upper
Canada is that of the chief-justice, which
may be about £2000, whilst those of the
first rank seldom reach more than £1000.
A private person, with £1200 a-year, is
reckoned very rich, and it is doubtful whe-
ther there are many who can regularly com-
mand that income from any source.

Several of the wealthy members of society

TRICE OF LAND.

191

arc persons originally belonging to the civil
branches of the army, or who held office
under the first governors ; and those who
^-ere fortunate enough to obtain grants of
lanv., or get them at the rates they first sold
for when York was a paltry village, are now
the magnates of Toronto. Land, which
then would scarcely fetch a dollar, or five
shillings, an acre, is now worth, in some
situations, almost as many thousand pounds.
The Canada Land Company, of which
hereafter, has its principal office at Toronto.
As it is to be expected that, before this
work can go to press, the union of the
Canadas will have taken place, I shall for
the present abstain from further discussion
of Canadian politics. In the meantime, these
details may be so far useful, that they will
show what Upper Canada was before that
union.

192

CHAPTER XI.

NIAGARA, OR NEWARK.

An Excursion across Ontario^Splendid Steam--,hii)s — Foam
of the Falls — American and British Forts— The Town of
Niagara — ^Velland Canal— A Bhinder — Proiessional Pre-
judices — Civil Engineering in Canada — System of givinc
False Estimates — A Bridge projected across the Niagara—
A Board of ^V'orks necessary — The Docks and Maint
Railway — Cheapness of Provisions at Niagara — Extraoi •
nary Difference of Seasons at Niagara— Fruits and Vegeta-
bles of Upper Canada— Climate and Soil— Diary of c
Winter at Kingston, Upper Canada — The Queenstowu
Falls of the St. Lawrence— The Hero, Brock— The Spot
where he fell — Outrage committed on his Monument.

When I determined to compose this work,
I set out on my mental travels with a tho-
rough hobbv-horse intention to make the

CD t/

country I described as easy as possible to
my own seat in the saddle ; and, as I

STEAM-UOAT TRIP,

193

as I did not intend to fatigue myself unne-
cessarily, I was as little desirous of fati'ruin<r
my reader. I could not indeed, as Sterne
(lid, get up into a vehicle standing quietly
in the remise, and try how I should dream
away my likings or dislikings ; hut I felt
assured that, by intermixing personal luir-
rative with the more dry and less interesting
details, we should be able to jog alon"- to«>e-
ther pretty smoothly.

We will, therefore, leave Toronto for
awhile — its politics, religious differences,
and statistics — for a steam-boat trip across
Lake Ontario, in the splendid steamino-
sea-boat, the Transit, Captain Richardson,
master, which leaves the citv everv mornin<r
at seven o'clock, and drops you either at Fort
George, Queenston, or on the American
frontier at Lewiston ; thus enablino- you to
go up the mighty river of Niagara about
seven miles of its course, or one half of the
way towards the Falls.

If you go in summer, or, in fact, in any

VOL. I. K

0)1

APPUOACII TO TIIK FALLS.

season, exceptintr very early in the spring
or late in the fall, you will liave a pleasant
passage ; and as the lake is sekloni at rest
here, and it is a thirty-six miles journey,
you lose si<»ht of land, perhaps, whilst you
see in the sky ahove, at an enormous dis-
tance (as the mariner views Popocatepetrs,
or Orizaba's snowy top, when approach in <i[
the shores of Mexico), the white foam or
niistv cloud of the mi^htv Fall.

The passage takes usually three and a-half
hours to Fort George, which is close to the
town of Newark, or Niagara ; and in ap-
proaching the exit us of the river at five
miles distance, and even more, the differ-
ence of colour between the greenish-blue
waters of Ontario, and of the disturbed
Niagara, is marked by a distinct line, where
the shoals below end, and where, of course,
the current of the flood is turned downwards
towards the natural declination of the rapid
waters of Lake Ontario.

On ncaring the land, the estuary of the

TOWN OF NIAGAIIA.

lO^i

rivor narrows to about half a mile, and on
out' bank is the United States Fort, Niai-ara.
l)eiii<r the old French work modernized and
well white- washed, with a lighthouse or lant-
horn on the top of a lange of arched bar-
racks. On the other side are the ruins of
Fort George and Fort iMississagua ; the
former an old earth work, thrown up durino-
the war ; the latter an attempt at a Martello
rower, erected also in a hurry, to suit the
uxio'cncies of the occasion.

Between these British forts is the town
of Niagara, a pretty, neat, and clean vil-
lage, laid out in parallelograms and wide
streets, as at Toronto, with an English, a
Scotch, and a Roman Catholic church, meet-
ing-houses, market-place, town-hall, court-
house, jail, and barracks. Niagara was, as
is well known, burnt during the war, and
with difficulty rose from its ruins. It now
promises more fairly than of late years
to becomo a place of some importance,

K 2

196

THE WELLAND CANAL.

which its natural advantages should enable
it to do.

At the confluence of the great river Nia-
gara with Lake Ontario should have been
the termination, or at least the principal
one, of the Welland Canal, which is at pre-
sent an abortive attempt to connect the two
oreat lakes with the far west. I shall sav
very little of this job, which might have been
made a grand national source of revenue and
wealth ; instead of which it is a mere ditch,
lined with wooden locks, and its principal
powers are wasted in securing profitable mill
sites, or as they are called in the language
of the country, water privileges.

I remember being examined as a witness
before a very respectable Niagara jury, about
the merits of the branch of this canal which
it was proposed to bring to Niagara, as it
ought to have been brought at first ; and to
show the improbability of a fortunate termi-
nation to this interminable job, unless the

THE WELLAND CANAL.

197

government takes it up on the just and broad
principle of making it a national work, to
secure the transit of commerce from the
ocean to the Mississipi.*

The barrister who examined me on the
part of the defendants, 1 being a witness for
the plaintiff, was the person who chiefly em-
ployed the plaintiff^, a civil engineer, in sur-
veying, planning, and estimating the branch
canal to the town of Niagara.

This barrister waited upon me just pre-
viously to my recent voyage to England, to
request me, on the part of the inhabitants,
to take a petition to the home government,
to endeavour to interest the minister in for-
warding the objects of the branch ; and in
order to account for his selecting me, I must
explain, that I had been consulted as to the
choice of route for the canal, and the ap-
pointment of the plaintiff, the civil engineer,
whose plans, &c. were given me to take
home, to elucidate the work proposed.

* Lord Sydenham has lately turned his attention to this.

* '.'A

198

DISPUTED CLAIM.

I took these documents, and, bv order ot
the local government, also took the petition,
which was favourablv received.

A few days after my return the plaintiff
called on me, and said that he was afraid
he must trouble me for my evidence in
court, to prove that he had been employed
as above stated, and that his charges were
rensonable. He had surveyed a country pre-
senting much difficulty, had formed plans,
reports, and estimates amounting to upwards
of £250,000, which had been highly ap-
proved of by the barrister and those con-
cerned, and they now refused to pay him,
because, in consequence of the fiscal diffi-
culties of the province, the necessary funds
for the construction of the canal could not be
raised. His charge was about £30, and he
had been paid about £40 for himself, his
labourers, assistants, plans, estimates, and
all, or at the rate of about a guinea a day.

The argument of the counsel, himself
the most interested of all the parties, was,

DISPUTED CLAIM.

199

that I had concocted a grand ship canal
scheme with the civil engineer, and that I
ought to pay for it. They only wanted a
canal like the present Welland. And this
argument the learned counsel pursued for
several hours, with all the twistings and
mystifications he could throw over it, after
it had been printed and sent forth to the
parliament and the public with his name,
that the ^^ plot was a good plot, an excellent
good plot." The plot, however, I had unfor-
tunately been guiltless of, for it was con-
cocted by the civil engineer himself, who very
naturally took the w^orks of the St. Lawrence
canal, then in operation, and a part of the
chain of communication, as his guide. The
jury, of course, gave a verdict for the plain-
tiff, with some addition.

The public must not, however, judge by
this, that civil engineers are always so treated
in Upper Canada. They arc well paid on
the provincial works, a person on the Wel-
land canal so employed having proved that

200

AMERICAN ENGINEERS.

he received ten dollars, or two pounds ten
shillings a day.

The misfortune is that there is a stronnj
belief prevalent in the country, that men of
talent cannot be had without sendin<>' to the
neighbouring states for them ; and the con-
sequence is, that people who know nothing
of the profession, but perfectly understand
the art of making wooden nutmegs, get the
work, and do it accordingly.

In the great St. Lawrence canal, a work
of the first class, no person could be selected
but an American engineer, certainlv a com-
petent one, and his immense salary is thus
lost to the province. So with the Huron and
Ontario railroad ; so with the Erie railroad
near Chippewa ; and so, in fact, with every
thing of the same kind. This disheartens
persons from the old country, and prevents
young men of the province from studying
the profession.

As I write this work to do all the good it
can, I shall just touch upon another subject

FALSE ESTIMATES.

'201

connected with public works ; namely, the
system of forming very low estimates, to be
laid before the Assembly, in order to get
the work done, as started by private or
public companies. Of this nature was the
grand and mafi^nificent idea of throwing a
suspension-bridge across the Niagara liiver,
at the tremendous gorge near Queci ton ;
an undertaking equal in utility and grandeur
to the Menai Bridge, and calculated to con-
nect the frontiers of Canada and the United
States. Five thousand pounds were at first,
stated to the parliament to be a sufficient
sum for this work !

It is to be hoped that a better system will
gain ground, and that a Board of Works, or
some other public control, will be instituted,
to correct the estimates and plans of joint-
stock companies, to overlook the execution,
and to place the formation, of canals, roads,
bridges, and public works generally, under
the guardianship of rigid economy and effi-
cient regulation.

' ; r

202

USE OF PRIVILEGE.

Having thus glanced at the subject of
public works, it may not be amiss to notice
an undertaking at Niagara, by which the
town would have benefited a great deal
more, had its original intention been carried
out. Certain of the inhabitants, seeing the
difficulties which all vessels on the lake had
to contend against when requiring repair,
on account of the want of docks and good
harbours, petitioned the government to allot
them a large slice of the military reserve,
bordering on the estuary of the river, to
enable them, as a joint-stock company, to
excavate docks, and make marine railways.

No sooner did they obtain the ground,
than the docks and railways were formed on
about a fourth of its surface ; and although
not a word was mentioned in their charter,
or contemplated by the government, about
any thing else than the necessary appendages
of a dockyard, they commenced laying out
the rest in a sort of village, or New Wapping;
thus marring the utility of the liberal grant.

DOCKS AT NIAGARA.

•■^OS

in order to secure profit to the stock-holders,
bv a mode which no lawyer could have
dreamed of in drawing up their charter.

It is a pity such things are done, as it
tends to evil in a variety of forms, and will
create litigation hereafter : whilst it renders
those, who have the power of doing good,
suspicious.

To do justice, however, to the originatcjrs
of the scheme, the docks, warehouses, and
wharfs are very well laid out, and of in-
finite service to the trade and navigation of
the lake. The foundrv is an admirable one,

and capable of supplying brass and iron
work to any extent required; whilst the
inclined plane, or marine railway, to haul
up the largest vessels, is an excellent work,
moved by steam. The only fault 1 observed
was, that the chain is unnecessarily heavy
and expensive, that at Kingston being like
a ladv's necklace in comparison to it, and
answering the same purpose.

The town of Niagara has very little else

'204

CLniATE.

remarkable about it. Its pure air, clean-
liness, and appearance of comfort, with the
cheapness of its market, which is a third
less than that at Toronto, are its chief
recommendations.

The difference in climate between Nia-
gara and Toronto, although only thirty-six
miles distant from each other, and with but
little in latitude, is remarkable. The sea-
sons at Niagara are full three weeks earlier
and later than at the capital. Peaches and
quinces, which grow in the fields by the
side of the road, will not come to maturity
at Toronto ; and there is even some diffi-
culty in getting the trees to grow. The
severe w^inter of 1836 killed standards in
my garden in that city, which had been
thriving for fifteen years, as I have been
told. In 1835, I had one fine peach nearly
ripe ; but it is very unusual to obtain them,
although with great care thcv have been
brought to that state, but not of late

vears.

FRUITS OF CANADA.

205

clean-
ith the
I third
; chief

1 Nia-
rty-six
ith but
le sea-
earlier
3S and
>y the
ituritv
s diffi-

Thc
rds in

been

been
learly
them,

been
late

The fences of the fields, called snake
fences, from their zigzag form, arc planted
with these fruits in the Niagara district, as
well as with cherries. Apple- orchards arc
as abundant as corn-fields, no farm being
without one or two large ones ; but it does
not appear to me that the pear, the plum,
the apricot, or the nectarine come to any per-
fection, — probably from want of care only.

In my garden, before mentioned, I had
the following varieties of fruit, from which
the customary gifts of Pomona, in Upper
Canada, in favourable situations, may be
inferred: — Of apples, the golden pippin, not
so good as in England, but healthier ; the
pomme-de-neige, a ruddy-streaked apple,
with white flesh, and very sweet and plea-
sant, but which will not keep long, and
hence its name ; the snow -apple, keeping
sound only until winter snows ; the bou-
rassou, a russet and highly-flavoured keep-
ing apple ; the pomme-gris, or grey apple,
also excellent : with manv other varieties of

20i)

MIL ITS OF CANADA.

inferior kinds, such as codlings, little red-
streaks, &c.

The pears wore of two kinds, one the
little early yellow, and the other a small
hard one, but neither oood.

Of plums, there were the greengage, and
iigg plum, the buUace, the common blue and
the common yellow plum, but none of them
possessing the taste of those in France or
England, and more fit for preserves than for
the table.

Of grapes I had only the Isabella, and
these were not productive, requiring in this
climate great care and management.

Of cherries, the Kentish and the Morello ;
the sour Kentish is however the comnion
fruit of the country, and very little pains has
been taken to improve the stock.

Raspberries, red and white ; gooseberries,
larofe and small, rou^^h and smooth-skinned ;
the red, the white, and the black currant,
were in profusion, and yielded abundantly.

Of strawberries, there were several of the

VEGETABLES OF CANADA.

^207

ittlo red-

one tlu'
a small

;age, and
blue and

of them
'ranee or

than for

ella, and
cr in this

MorcUo ;

common

pains has

seberries,
skinned ;
currant,
idantlv.
ral of the

European varieties, but they have not the
rich flavour of their orioinals ; in fact, the
wild Canadian strawberry, thoui^h smaller,
is better, and makes a richer preserve.

Amongst the vegetables cultivated in the
garden, asparagus bore a very prominent
share, and thrives well in Canada, as do all
the eonmion English pot-herbs, and garden-
roots, and plants. Cucumbers and melons
raised in frames, or under matting, early in
April, may be put out in the open beds as
soon as the warm weather sets in; so also
may tomatos, which, with a little care at the
beginning, yield a most luxuriahc crop, and
make a preserve nearlv f'qual to guava jam.

The broad bean is rather difficult to rear,
as it is attacked by a grub, which also plays
sad havoc v/ith the common and water-me-
lons,, with cauliflowers, broccoli and cabbage,
if not watched. Celerv must be reared in
frames, or under cover, early, and then set
out, and is better for being twice transplanted,
the first time in a box. Indian corn requires

'20H

DIlIEUEr.Ci: OF CLIMATE.

but little trouble; after it jL^ets over tbe enriv
frosts. Tlie ^inisol, or as it is called Jeru-
salem artieboke, orows freelv, and to a "rear
heiglit, but tbe artieboke proper I liivc
never seen cultivated in Ui)per Canada.
Broccoli and cauliflower require earlv

frames, and very great care to brini»- tbeni to
perfection.

Tbe only plausible explanation of tbe dif.
ference in climate between two places not
mucb more tban tbirty miles apart, consists
in tbe fact of tbe i)revalencc of soutbern
winds, wbicb baving' to pass over a mass of
cbillcd water in tbe spring and fall, retard
tbat of Toronto, and tbe nortbern sliorcs of
Ontario. Tbe soil being too sandy at Nia-
gara, is better adapted to receive tbe solar
beat tban tbat at Toronto, wbicb is a
muddy clay, until tbe country rises into
tbe interior, wberc tbe sandv ri(kes bavo
a^ain a climate scmewbat resembling- tbat of
Fort George, but not quite so early.

Snow seldom remains on tbe ground at

CLIMATE.

209

Toronto. In five years I ohscrvcd but two
sovon; vvint(M's, those of 183.5 and 183(),
ill which sleighs could be used ; whilst at
Nitinara the snow lies better, and thus
i"ovcrin<>- the soil with its protecting mantle,
renders vegetation tlie more rapid in the
spring. There are very few days, however,
at (^ither place, in which a person in good
hv'alth mav not use out of door exercise ; in
fact, onlv a few hours durin*' the winter,
in which the mercury stands so much below
zero, with a keen cutting wind, as to render
the air painfully cold.

The winter roads are, of course, the best ;
and wherever they traverse the forest, remain
f^enerally good from the middle of November
to the end of March, or middle of April.

I subjoin a diary of the weather, carefully
kept in the Royal Engineer's office at Kings-
ton, in the years 1825 and 182G, to show
the climate of an Upper Canadian winter.

210

CLIMATE OF

KINGSTON, UPPER CANADA, 1825 and 182G.
(Fahrenheit's) N.W. Exposure in the Open Air.

1825
Nov.

Dec

If)
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

1
2

3
4
5
6
7
8
9

40
22
21

29.

40
5

19
- 4
-19

29
44
27
30
43
42
42
44
43
41
48
52

50
37
35
32
34
32
31
27
35
19
26

+ ^

- 6

30
41
47
41
34
38

O P.3I.

34
42
26
31
40
40
36
42
40
40
46
47

47
3()
32
32
32
34
24
26
26
23
20
- 3
. 2
32
40
46
40
36
32

Remarks.

Snow last night, 4 in.

Rain.

Snow.

Snow in the night.
Thaw-
Rain.

UPPER CANADA.

211

and 1826,
len Air.

ARKS.

1 S2.5
])ec.

ight, 4 in.

night.

•20
21
22
23

24
25

2()
27

28
29

;30
81

1826:
Jan. 1
2

9
10
11
12
13
14
lo
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

/ AM.

22
17

- 4
25
37
21
23
12
IG
14
28

37
25
21
21

- 7
12
24
36

43
42
34
32
29
24
22
20
25
18
19
12
16
15
31
28
o

p.:.i.

Remarks.

4" i)

+ -3
32

39
22
31
21
21
21
32

38
28
32
22
+ 8
20
33
41

47
50
37
32
36
22
30
19
30
36
27
17
28
29
36
34
5

24
22

+"7
+ 13
32
39
]6
35
21
17
23
33

35
16
30

+ 11
22

45
45
38
29
32
20
25
]5
27
29
25
20
24
28
32
24
11

Rain.

Very heavy fog, witi)
rain.
Rain and foggy.

Snow.

212

CLIMATE OF

1826:
Jan. 20
27

28
29

30
31

Feb.

2
3

4
5
6
7
8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15

/ A.M.

— •>

28
+ 17

+ 12
-24

-26

+ «
+ 10

+ 11
+29

+27

+28

+30

+29
+33
+30

+
+ 11

- 7

16 i+12

17 1+ 1

12 31.

+ 8
25
34

+20

+22
-12

+ 4

+ 10
+ 14
+20
+34
+34
+41
+28
+20

+42
+29
+38
+23
+28
+21

+28
+25

Remarks.

+ 7
27
34

+12

+ 17
— 10

+ 9

+ 11
+ 12
+23
+25
+28
+37
+ 18
+20

+38
+23
+33
+ 19

+ 18
+ 17

+23
+ 19

— 3 between 8 and 9

P.M.

A difference of 41" in
14 h.

Snow at 3 a.m. — 30,
(A difference of 30" in
5h).

A difference of 26" in
5h.

Snow.

A difference of 28° in
5h.
I

I A difference of 24" in
'5h.

+ 10

+28

+22

19 +14

+34

+21

20 + 9

+36

+34

A difference of 27° in
5h.

21 +34

+38

+36

+ 16

+21

+ 5

+30

+34

A difference of 25° in
5 h.

+25

+40

+34

+45

+46

UPPER CANADA.

213

in 8 and y

ce of 26'' in

ze of 28° in
}e of 24" in

;e of 25° in

7 A.M.

12 .M.

5 I'.M.

Hemakks.

1826:

+34

+37

+30

+20

+28

+26

+22

+31

+32

March 1

+22

+36

+33

+39

+38

+34

+40

+41

+36

+38

+39

+35

+41

+37

+32

+30

+31

+22

+36

4:36

+34

+38

+36

+39

+45

+39

+37

+46

+40

+25

+33

+32

+25

+38

+43

+32

+40

+36

+ 16

+30

+35

+ 17

+41

+42

A difference of 24 in

+31

+32

+20

5 h.

+ 10

+23

+30

+ 11

+28

+25

+22

+26

+22

+33

+41

+37

+33

+38

+25

+45

+44

April 1

, l-J

li^

CLIMATE TABLE.

7 A.M.

12 M.

5 P.M.

Rkmaiiks.

182G:

April 5

A difference of 2V' n

5h. and <it 2 a.m. 78 .

2,5

May 1

A diff. of 30 in loh.

Xii
or
stei
the
;inc
the
the
wal
ver
ful
wid
will
the
rus]
cess
witl
wh(
hol(
pen
I

QUEENSTON RAPIDS.

215

A short journey of seven miles from
Xewark, or, as it is now generally termed,
Niagara, takes you, either bv the stcam-boat
or coaeh, to Queens ton. By the former you
stem this beautiful and rapid stream, having
the most delightful scenery on either shore,
and come suddenly, near Queenston, under
the shadow of the rocky barrier w^hich
there hems in the mighty river, with a
wall of rock almost perpendicular, and se-
vered, as if by an earthquake, into a dread-
ful chasm, only five or six hundred feet in
width, up which neither steam, sail, nor oar
will ever navigate ; for, from Queenston to
the Falls, seven miles more, the angry river
rushes between these aged walls, in a suc-
cession of rapids, whirlpools, and rushings,
without affording even a continuous edge,
whereon the human foot may tread, to be-
hold these mysterious strugglings of the
pent-up Father of Rivers.
If you go by stage to Queenston and the

216

GRAVE OF BROCK.

Falls, almost the whole line of journcv, fur
fourteen miles, reminds you of dear En^r.
land, being a succession of fine fields, farms,
and orchards, interspersed with noble groves
of chestnut, whose dark foliage adds subli-
mity to the swift and deep current that rolls,
in ceaseless course, so frequently within
your view, for the first seven miles of the
journey.

It is worth while to stop at Queenston,
and, having scaled the mountain, as it is
called, which is exactly three hundred and
forty-six feet above the Niagara, to mount
the lofty monument, under which Brock,
and M*Donell, his aid-de-camp, repose.
From this lofty station, a panoramic view
of a most singular kind is obtained, the
eye ranging for miles over forest and fell,
over mountain, towns, and river, and over
the broad and unlimited expanse of the
blue Ontario. Beneath you, at the back of
the village of Queenston, and under the

MONUMENT OF BROCK.

217

heights, is a meadow with a solitary tree;
here fell Brock, in the arms of Victory.*

* Some scoundrels blew up this noble monument lately ;
but the militia of Upper Canada, assisted by those of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, have subscribed a princely sum
for its re-edification.

VOL. I.

SIS

CHAPTER XII.

FALLS O^^ NIAGARA.

Mrs. Jameson at the Falls of Niagara — Do they run upwards ?
—The German School—Its inordinate Expectations— The
Falls from various points of view— How to approach them
—The Horse-shoe Fall-The Rainbow Rock— The Caul-
dron — Freischutz Scene — The Great Fall — Projected
Bridge across— an Eighth Wonder of the "\Forl J— Descent
of the Precipice — American Curiosity — Indescribable
(irandeur of the View into the Cauldron— The Great Fall
from the Sturgeon Rocks— A Newfoundland Dog in the
Falls— Singular Diving Bird — The Falls fron: above the
Cauldron.

I CONSIDER it fortunate that I have before
my eyes the little work recently published by
Mrs. Jameson, y'clept ** Winter Studies and
Summer Rambles," in which that lady,
f,afted as she undoubtedly is, calls herself an

MRS. JAMESON.

219

ass-head, a clod, a wooden spoon, a fat weed
growing on Lethe's banks, a stock, a stone,
a petrifaction — because she had seen Nia-
gara, the wonder of wonders, and felt — no
words can tell what disappointment.

Mrs. Jameson made a hurried visit to the
Falls in the depth of winter, when it was
dangerous to tread on the ice-covered preci-
pice, and when all the roads and the paths
were unexplorable, even by so ardent an
admirer of nature.

I recollect a story, current at the Falls,
of a person who expressed great disappoint-
ment on seeing them ; and some one asked
him if he expected them to run upwards !
Mrs. Jameson should have visited them in
summer, or in autumn ; and even then she
would have found it difficult to obtain some
of the best views, which require the more
robust frame of the male sex to attain, and
involve some little personal danger. J am
afraid, too, that her preconceived notions
were fatal to the possibility of forming a just

L 2

2^20

Tin: GERMAN SCHOOL.

o})iiiion ; for, altliouo'li she is an adept in
painting, she is also an adept in Ciermanic
lore ; and 1 have ever found that the
strongest minds, and those otherwise ori-
ginally imbued with the strongest sense of
the beauties and awfulness of visible nature,
are the most apt in leaning, afterw^ards, to
the mysticism and false philosophy of the
Almain school, to view visible nature in a
new light, and to expect impossibilities
where probabilities only exist.

Much as I admire the works of my god-
father Fuseli, as abounding in uncontrollable
genius and sublimity, I would a thousand
times rather he had never turned his
thoughts towards the insubstantial pageants
he depicted, and that he had contented him-
self with being the second Greek scholar,
and the best Shakspearian, in England, than
of having founded a Germanized mystic
school of painting. I abominate Fridolin
and the Furnace in poetry, as much as I
do the Nightmare of my dear departed

FALLS OF NIAGARA.

QQl

painter, and both, because they arc cut of
the ordinary course of nature, and have not
even probability to recommend them.

It appears to me, that a true worshipper
of nature can never fancy that Niagara is to
be seen pouring out of a cloud, of rainbow
hue, surrounded by thick darkness, a mile
or two above his head ; or that he is to be
shaken off his feet by the seesawing of the
earth under the Falls, or deafened irremedi-
ably by the roar of the waters. A storm at
sea, or a good half-hurricane, near the gulph-
stream, in the month of August, cures you
of this nonsense, and is as superior to
Niagara in terror, sublimity, sound, and
awfulness, as Niagara is to any other earthly
scene.

Ai d am I, after this peroration, to enter
the lists with the charming authoress above-
named, and to combat her recorded opinion
a routrance ? Well, be it so j and the only
excuse I shall offer for writing on this much-

222

now TO SEE THE FALLS.

worn subject is, that I have resided at the
Falls for many months, and for four years
have had constant opportunities of viewing'
them under every aspect ; and I shall now
give my ideas respecting these wonderful
creations, as they strike me at this moment,
from my memoranda made on the spot.

Traveller, if you go to sec Niagara, go in
the summer, or in autumn. If you go there
from the United States, stop in Manchester;
shut your eyes until the ferryman lands you
on the British side at Clifton House ; then
let them drink in their fill of the American
Fall. If you go from Quebec, Montreal,
Kingston, or Toronto, stop at Lundy's-lane,
and see the battle-ground ; then go down
the lane, bordered with black chestnut-trees ;
and stop alyo at the Clifton House precipice,
and there muse upon the straight curtain of
cloudy foam before you.

After seeing the American Fall, then
walk to the British Niagara, to the Horse-

WONDEIIS OF NIAGARA.

'Z'ZS

(I at the
ur years
vicwinir
hall now
ondcrfiil
moment,

30t.

ra, (TO in
(TO there
[Chester;
mds you
30 ; then
imerican
lontreal,
ly's-iane,
ro down
ut-trees ;
irecipice,
urtain of

ill, then
3 Horse-

shoe, and, without more ado, descend the
ladder, or stand on the tahle rock. If
you arc then disappointed, it cannot he
helped.

I shall divide the further description of
Niaj[rara into sections, in order to point out
the host stations for the tourist. First,

THK VIKW OF PART OF TIIK HORSRSIIOE FALL FROM
THE ROCKY KDOE ABOVE TUE DESCENT TO THK
CAULDRON.

The power of language is as imperfect as
that of the pencil, to describe the wonders
of creation at Niagara. They must be seen,
and that, too, at leisure, to feel their beau-
ties as well as their grandeur.

Having had charge of the public property
there, I enjoyed opportunities of a closer
examination than is aflPorded to the lot of
European travellers ; and although I have
for weeks together scanned Niagara, its
absolute features, its individual parts, are
still as mysterious as when I first saw them.
To see them " aright," you must not only

221.

CHAOTIC SCENE.

visit them "by fair moonlight," but you
must descend to the very edire of the trcm-
bling rocky brink of the cauldron en 'he
British side, immediately under the stairs,
and sixty or seventy feet below the narrow
platforn^ of rock on which you havo stood
when you have reached the last of these
stairs. This is not to be effected without
some trouble, risk, and fatigue ; but it repays
all your exertion ; for when you have reached
the edge, close to the rainbow or split rock,
you are, as it were, at once in a new world :
chaos seems there to have never been dis-
turbed by the regularity of nature, but reigns
solemn and supreme.

Place your back against the projecting,
blackened, and slime-covered rocks, and look
towards the mighty mass of vapour and water
before you, around you, beneath you, and
above you. Hearing, sight, feeling, become,
as it were, blended and confounded. You
are sensible that you exist, perhaps ; but
in what state of existence has, for a few

INDESCRIBAPLE EFFECT.

225

but you
he trem-
i en 'he
e stairs,
i narrow
vo stood
3f these
without
it repays
reached
lit rock,
T world :
leen dis-

it reigns

ejecting,
ind look
id water
ou, and
become,
I. You
ps ; but
' a few

minutes, vanished from vour imafjination.
The rocks vibrate under vour feet ; the
milk-white boilini^ and mountain sur<xo ad-
vances, swells up, subsides, recoils, lashes,
and mingles with the thick vapour. An
indescribable and terrific, dull, yet deafening
sound shakes the air ; vour nerves feel the
concussion, and the words of surprise which
at length escape from your lips arc inaudi-
ble, even to yourself, so awfully stern is
the uproar of the contending air and water
in their conflict for mastery.

The ideas which first struck me when I
had recovered from this stupor of astonish-
ment, w^ere those of being swept away by the
foaminty mountains, bubbling' and seethino-
in the huge cauldron at my feet ; of being
on the point of losing the sense of hearing,
for mv temeritv in venturinif to prv so nearly
into the unattainable mysteries of nature :
and of instant annihilation from the mass of
oyerhano'ing black and beetlinfy rock above
my head, at an absolute height of nearly two

L 3

X r'-

226

THE RAINBOW ROCK.

hundred feet. In fact, I experienced the
same sensations so beautifully described by
Shakspeare in Lear, but from a reverse
cause ; so true is it, that extremes meet. 1
became giddy and confounded by looking at
and up to the dizzy scene, instead of from
glancing the eye down towards an unfathom-
able abvss of air and water below.

There are few visitors who venture to the
" imminent deadlv breach" of the edffc of the
cauldron, and of the Split Rainbow Rock.
These form a huge mass, buried cables deep
in the gulph, fallen headlong from above, rent
by the fall in twain nearly to its base ; wedged
into the lip of the cauldron, and towering
twenty or thirty feet above the mounting
surge. How it became so transfixed baffles
conjecture, for it was evidently hurled from
the table rock above.

This rainbow rock, as it is called, or
Iris' throne, from the extremity of the an;
appearing to rest upon it, when you view the
great fall from the rocky table above, cannot

PERILOUS POSITION.

^2^27

iced the
ribed by

reverse
tneet. I
loking at

of from
nfathom-

re to the
ge of the
w Rock.
)les deep
ove, rent
; wedged
towerinir
lounting
d baffles
led from

ailed, or

the arc

view the

!, cannot

now be approached so easily. The ladder
by which, at much personal hazard, its flat
and slippery surface was gained, has been
swept away by the raging flood ; and it is
perhaps fortunate that it is so, for the expe-
riment of gaining and standing on the surface
was attended with great risk.

I saw one person, whilst I was sketching
the scene, actually lying down at full length
upon the edge of it, with his head projected
over, to look into the verv cauldron. I shud-
dered at the hardihood displayed, for a false
movement would be inevitable and instant
destruction on that slippery platform. When
he descended the ladder, I told him what
I had felt, and he was fullv aware of his
danger, but said, that from his childhood he
had been a ranger in the Alps.

To add to the difficulties of vour situation
on the ediic of the cauldron, the dcscendhiir
and ascending spray is so great, that you are
wet throuoh verv soon ; whilst the clouds of
arrowy sleet driving in your eyes, render

r .!": ' •■

228

THE GREAT FALL.

sketching not very pleasant ; whilst, to add
to your stock of ideas, you hchold a truly
Frcischiitz display : for crawling at your
feet, amidst a mass of ground and splintered
timber, bones and shivered rock, are the
loathsome and large black toad, the hide-
ously deformed black lizard, eels of a most
equivocal appearance, and even that proto-
type of the eel, the fierce black water-serpent.

THE GREAT FALL OF NIAGARA FR03I THE PERRY
ON THE CANADA SHORE,

The best general distant view of the Great
Fall is from some sharp slate rocks near the
ferrv on the Canada shore, which vou can
almost al'A'ays reach, and mount to the top of.
The roar and splendour of the American Fall,
then within a few hundred feet on your left,
detracts, however, somewhat from this other-
wise good station, as you cannot Keep your
eye from the wall of waters so close to you.

It is a little below this point, w^here the
precipice is two hundred feet sheer down.

EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD. 229

t, to add
a truly
at vour
jlintered
are the
lie hide-
F a most
t proto-
•serpent.

E FERRY

le Great
lear the
you can
e top of.
;an Fall,
our left,
is other-
!ep your
to you.
lere the
r down,

that it is projected to erect a suspension-
bridge, which, if executed (and there is no
doubt that it can be), will be the most mag-
nificent work of art in the world, and become
the eighth wonder. The verge, or brink of
the precipice, on the Canadian side v,f the
rushing river, is one thousand and fifty-six
feet from the verge on the American shore,
where the wall of rock has a thick bank of
debris at its base, and for a con side fable way
up. The actual span or chord required for
the metallic portion of the bridge is not
greater than that of the Menai ; but the
pyramids and arch- work will be colossal.
The expense is, however, great ; upwards of
£80,000, according to the calculations which
I deduced from the best data I could procure,
in a report to the provincial parliament.

PART OF THE HORSESHOE FALL FROM THE FOOT OF
THE OLD STAIRCASE, CANADA SIDE, WITH THE
TABLE ROCK.

We now turn to another, a nearer and a
most interesting coup-crwil of the horseshoe,

230

THE HORSESHOE FALL.

taken at a point fifty or sixty feet above the
waters of the boiling gulf, and about one
hundred feet below the edge of the prccipico,
which is here perfectly perpendicular, and
could not be scaled, were it not that a very
ingenious geometrical staircase has been con-
structed. Yet so dizzy was the height, and
so nervous the descent, that it was found
absolutely necessary to board it in all round
from top to bottom ; as few persons had firm-
ness enough otherwise to dcscciid. Such,
however, is the security afforded by shutting
out the view of the fall and overhanging
table rock, which are only to be observed by
small loop-holes, cut to admit light here and
there, that a child may go up and down the
ladder with perfect safety ; and yet I have
frequently observed men, who have travelled
hundreds of miles on purpose to see the Falls,
decline the descent.

I met with a very amusing instance of this
a short time ago. A party from the Atlantic
coast, consisting of a very old gentleman, a

A TRAVELLING PARTY.

231

above the
ibout one
precipice,
ular, and
lat a very
been coii-
oight, and
vas found
all round
had firm-
i. Such,
^ shutting
3rlianging
iserved by
here and
down the
et I have
I travelled
the Falls,

ice of this
3 Atlantic
itlemaii, a

middle-aged, and a young man, arrived one
fine autumnal day, to see the great wonder as
near as possible, and having walked along
the upper paths, and viewed the world of
waters plunging into the gulf, became satis-
fied that the scene was *' amazing fine," but
that a little negus, or gin-sling, or mint-
julep, or something of that kind was neces-
sary, to imitate the pouring down they had
witnessed ; such a descent of liquid gene-
rating a natural desire of the kind. They
came accordingly into the bar, kept in a
small cottage built over the head of the stair-
case, and discussed both the liquor and the
liquid elements. I was sketching at the
time, and the old gentleman, seeing a British
officer, wished, as is generally the case, to
have a little conversation with him : for ijood
feeling towards the British uniform appears
to be general amongst the better classes in
the States. He told me what he had been
seeing, where he came from to see it, and in
what relation to him his companions stood.

QS2

A TRAVELLING PARTY.

Of course I informed them, that mcrclv to
view the Fall from ahove was doin*^ vcrv little
after so long a journey, and proposed to show
it to them from below. He hesitated about
the descent of the staircase, on account of
his age, but said that he would persuade the
younger men to go down it ; but they refused,
stating that they had seen as much as thev
wished. Upon this, the old gentleman im-
mediately requested me to show him the wav,
and went down the ladder, and even as far
as the turning to the curtain, where the spray
drove him back. On re-ascending we found
his companions busily recording their names
in the visitor's book, and they cursorily ob-
served that he looked tired, and asked him
what he h: d seen.

" \Vhy," observed the senior, " Fve seen
that W'hich is worth comino- from the shore
of the Atlantic to sec."

" Well," said one, " what sort of ladder
did you go down ? "

" Why, its just like o\ir lighthouse on
Rhode Island."

"■:r^:K

THE CAULDRON.

233

iicrcly to
k'crv little
:l to show
ed about
^couiit of
;uado the
,• refused,
11 as they
iman ini-
tlie u av,
en as tar
the spray
we found
lir names
;orilv ob-
iked him

I've seen
he shore

>f ladder

louse on

*' Is that all ?" observed the others ; " now
then, put your name down here, and let us
be off."

PART OP THE HORSESHOE PROM THE VERGE
OP THE CAULDRON.

This is a more limited view of part of the
scene described at the commencem nt of
this chapter, and requires no further expla-
nation, excepting that it is the point at
which the nearest approach to the wall of
waters on the Canada shore can now be
gained ; and here it was that the person
ah-eady mentioned was seen lying at full
length on the Iris Rock, with his head over
the edge, looking down into the boiling
gulf of seething foam, where form or figure
there is none, and where air and water are
blended together, and lost in mysterious
shadowings.

It does not require much stretch of the
imagination to fancy that you see, amidst
the huge mountains of creaming foam and
vapour, the dim forms of the water king,

234

SUDLIME SCENE.

combating, a l^outrance, with the monarch
of air, and the battle hurtling between their
mighty scjuadrons ; for the fantastic shapes
on which mystic light is continually impres-
sing new creations, is, perhaps, the most
wonderful portion of the phenomena of ;i
near view of the cauldron ; whilst the roseate
lustre, in peculiar states of the atmosphere,
which pervades the spray, creates a beauty
of tints, and an indescribable glory of co-
louring, combined with the partial glimpses
of the bright wall of liquid deep marine
emerald in the depths of the Horse-shoe,
which it is useless to write about, as no lan-
guage can convey even a faint idea of its
gorgeous sublimity.

THE GREAT FALL FROM THE STURGEON ROCKS,

NIAGARA.

A view of the Great Fall, which is seldom
seen, is that from the Sturgeon Rocks,
nearly under that part of the precipice
opposite to the Museum. You here em-
brace within the distinct sphere of vision

ENORMOUS STURGEONS.

235

)N ROCKS,

the whole Fall, at a sufficient distance not to
be wet with the spray, and yet to catch all
the varying tints which, however, it is, of
course, impossihle to cmhody in a picture.
You may also derive amusement, if not
surprise, at seeing those monsters of the
river, the huge sturgeons, come sailing up
amid the swelling green waves at your feet.
They are hideously ugly, with their hrown
coarse skins and deformed snouts, hut evince
amazing power and strength, and seem well
calculated to combat the tremendous series
of rapids up which they must fight their
way from Lake Ontario.

I do not know whether the salmon are
able to accomplish this feat, never having
seen them at the Falls ; but the sturgeon is
a much larger and more powerful fish ; very
different, however, from his royal prototype
in England, as to delicacy of flavour. Their
coarse flesh has the taste of veal, and is
eaten by the inhabitants ; but the fish is
killed, I suppose, chiefly for its isinglass.

K m ' il tK a ya a-a:

236

FEAT OF A

The persons occupied in capturing it have
not much profit to obtain, as it fVcnpiently
requires long and anxious watchings betbro
one is speared ; and they often get away,
from their amazing strength, and the impos-
sibility of the fisher quitting the rocks,
owing to the rapidity of the flood, which
rushes around liini in the shore eddies to
which the fish resorts. Instances have in-
deed occurred, in which men have been
drawn with their spears into the water, and
have only been saved by great exertion.

I had a very large Newfoundland dog, who
was watching the spearing at this place, and
in his eagerness fell over the rock. He was
swept round and round by the eddies for a
long while, and then carried into the boilini,^
surge of the foamy current, which drove him
rapidly down the river for about a milc^ and
the ferryman, a good-natured hardy boat-
iaan, seeing him pass the ferry, very kindly
crossed over to the Americ« ide, below
the Fall, and found Mr. Caesar had passed

NKWFOUXDLANI) DOG.

237

it have
'(Mjuently
js b(3tbro
et awav,
10 impos-
o rocks,
lI, which
LukUcs to
have in-
avc been
ator, and
rtion.
dog, who
lace, and
He was
les for a
boiling
rove him
milc^ and
.'dy boat-
;'y kindly
le, below
d passed

the rubic'on, :ind bad got into tlie slack
water, where he was, nothing loth, taken
into the boat. It is possible that a good
swimmer, by keeping quiet, might have ac-
(omplished the same feat ; but I scarcely
think that there is one who would volun-
tarilv trv it.

Picherel and bass are caught in the still
waters or eddies, and there are plenty of
small fry j but whether these fish are bred
there, or whether they come from above the
Full, it is difficult to determine. Animals
frequently come over, but are generally, I
believe always, mutilated. The last time I
was there, nineteen loons (^colj/mbus gla-
cia(is)y the great northern diver, a very
large and powerful bird, as big as a swan,
and with singular black and white tesselated
plumage, came over. Their skins, in some
instances, were perfect enough for preserva-
tion ; but the buoyancy of these oily birds,
who can use their wings like fins, and live a
long time under w^ater, ] probably preserved

' " f

238

THE TABLE ROCK.

them from utter destruction. The sij^ht of
the loon is remarkable, for there is no bird
on the Canadian lakes so difficult to obtain
as this solitary wanderer. He will dive in
the interval of the flash and reach of the
shot ; and thus, although he is so large an
object, and so distinct, by his black plumage,
from the water, he is seldom killed.

THE FAT LS OF NIAGARA FROM ABOVE THE
CAULDRON AND TABLE ROCK.

We shall, with the above view, conclude
the present selection of sketches of the
"Thundering Pciver," or the "Thunder
of Water," as its original name in the
Indian tongues signifies, the Senecas call-
ing it 0-ni-riw-o'a-r''^h, and almost all the
tribes of Chippewa descent, or who con-
verse in that general dialect, calling it
Ni-aw-garah.

One of the most ir^.teresting places and
periods at which the vast descent of the
"still vcxt" ocean-river can be viewed, is
from above the table rock, on a day dark

A CONTRAST.

-2.39

3 sight of
LS no bird
to obtain
[1 dive in
ch of the
) large an
plumage,

-^E THE

conclude
;s of the
* Thunder
e in the
lecas call-
(St all the

who con-
calling it

ilaces and

int of the

viewed, is

day dark

with " thunder, lightning, wind, and rain/'
The blacker and more gloomy the sky, the
more grand and awful the contrast of the
white, foaming, and indescribable flood. It
forms an exact opposite to the view on a fine
and tranquil afternoon of autumn, with the
gloriously tinted forest ; the blue — the pecu-
liar blue sky of Canada ; the glittering of the
waters ; their thousand hues, from the eme-
rald to the diamond, through every shade
of green, yellow, brown, purple, red, blue ;
the soft and wool-like mountains of vapour
in the cauldron ; the rainbow stealhig into
the very depths of it; and that mellow
and peculiar shade, the slightest imaginable,
of rose colour, thrown over the ascendin<r

vapour.

On a dark day of elemental warrings,
wlien every thing seems as though chaos
was coming again, to confound this fair
world in inexplicable confusion, you should
50C the Falls from above ; and if the senses
of man are capable of further gratification in

240

A NEW WONDER.

their present condition, I know not where
in this world they are to seek it.

I cannot close this somewhat lei ^.hened
notice of Niagara without taking my reader
with me along the high bank of the great
river, for about four miles towards the cape,
in order to show him another, and scarcely
a lesser wonder ; this I shall do, however,
in another chapter.

211

CHAPTER XIII.

THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NIAGARA.

The Whirlpool-The Devil's Cavern— The Rattlesnakes' Den
—Sir John Colborne — American Cupidity— Projected Plea-
sure City at Niagara — Influence vo'sus Law — Timber in
the W'hirlpool — A Soldier sucked into the Vortex — Rattle-
snakes—Angling in the Whirlpool — Singular overhanging
Rock — The most splendid View of the Fails.

I ATTEMPTED to make a road from the
Clifton Hotel towards the Whirlpool, but
found ::o many conflictino^ interests, that I
had not the success which a longer residence
might have afforded me. At present the road
is somewhat difficult to follow along the top
of the high, rocky, precipitous wall which

VOL. I. M

24^'2

SIR JOHN COLBORNE.

licms in the stream ; but an active adventu-
rous person may achieve it, and well he is
repaid. A succession of magnificent rapids,
caverns, and precipices are presented to his
view ; and the road itself, as it exists, is not
bad for the first distance, or about a mile
down to the Devil's Cavern, which is a laroe
excavation, or natural hole, in the face of the
])recipice, about one-third of the way down.
Rattlesnakes' Denis another on the opposite
side. This road is a military reservation,
iuid should be opened. It has not to contend
v.ith the difficulties which avarice otherwise
threw in the way of the military reserve at
the Falls being made free to the public.

Sir John Colborne, and his predecessor
Sir Peregrine Maitland, attempted to make
the Falls available to all visitors without
expense. Sir Peregrine was resisted by an
American, who kept the great hotel, and
took possession of the public property ; and
finding he could pocket a dollar or so for
each person passing down to the Table

■MlPlil

SIR JOHN COLBORNE.

24^3

Ivcntu-
1 he is
lipids,
I to his
, is not
a mile
a large
:e of the
y down,
apposite
rvation,
contend
thcrwisc
serve at
)lic.

docessor
to make
without
;d bv an
tcl, and
'tv ; and
)r so for
c Table

Rock, fought the government a long time
with success ; and, owing to the cnginecr-
ofliccr having employed an unarmed working
party of soldiers to level the obstacles this
person had purposely made in the paths, a
most lucrative and excellent case of griev-
ance was got up, which fed the traitor
Mackenzie for years, and, 1 believe, is
scarcely yet ended. The juries of the dis-
trict, however, did not agree with the Ame-
rican hotel-keeper, and ultimately gave a
verdict in favour of the government.

Sir John Colborne, desirous to open th(^
Falls to the travelling world, gave a licence
of occupation, revokable at pleasure, to
Messrs. Clarke and Street, merchants of
some wealth residing at the Falls, with the
express understanding that they were to
offer no obstacles to the public, were to
keep the staircases and roads in order, and
to plant and beautify the banks. They had
a iireat interest in the locality ; and having,
with others, planned the construction of a

241.

A PLEASURE-CITY.

pleasure city, if I may use the term, at the
Falls of Niagara, which should become the
most fashionable place of British North
America, and having commenced a rail-
road to bring the American travellers and
produce from Buffalo, they began erecting
baths, a museum. Sec, on the military re-
serve, and, contrary to the express articles
of the agreement which had been made with
them — probably because they were the par-
ties who had most strenuously resisted the
American hotel-keeper in his endeavours to
make Niagara a closed raree-show.

The lieutenant-oovernor immediately took
active measures to put a stop to the pro-
ceedings of these worthy merchants, one of
whom was a Scotchman, the other oriainallv
from the United States. With this view, he
employed the officer of enoineers in charj>o
of ilie reserve, to roquire them to desist from
enclosing and building, and that officer,
warned by the fate of his predecessor, taking
t are not to employ the military in any shape.

AMERICAN JUSTICE.

^I.*

caused one small stone to be removed pub-
Kcly from the walls. On this, the very per-
sons who had obtained the licence of occu-
pation, with the full understanding that it
was granted to them in order to prevent tho
possibility of such another attempt as that
of the American inn-keeper, now turned,
full of grievance, against the government,
brought two actions of trespass against the
officer of engineers, and, mirabile dicta!
although one of them had sat on the judg-
ment seat when the jury punished the Ame-
rican for his covetousness, they, by their
great influence in the neighbourhood, were
able to obtain a decided verdict, with da-
mages of five hundred pounds against the
crown ; and either they, or their heirs,
now remain in actual possession of land of
which they had humbly begged the tempo-
rary occupancy !

The City of the Falls proved, as any
sensible person might have anticipated, a
thorough failure, and the public have still

mmmmgm

24- G

NIAGARA IN CHANCERY.

access to the Table >tock, ard staircase,
owins!" to Messrs. Cl'ke and Street boino
liiiable to ojeci the govcrniTient f/on: a space
of one chain, or sixty feet in width, along
the upper edge of the precipice.

Travellers may, therefore, without paying
toll to the miller, proceed as far as the mill,
constructed by one of the parties on the rapids
above, and may also go down the staircase
for nothing ; though such is the profit de-
rived from this staircase, that the bar-room,
through which you must pass to descend,
pays these people, as I am told, two hundred
a-vear.

You must also pay for going under the
sheet of water, which is fair enough, as you
must have a guide and water-proof dress.

But enough of this, which would not have
been mentioned, were it not that the trc^vel-
ling public from all parts of the world is
interested in it ; and if the local govern-
ment will put the case in Chancery, as I
intended to do, there is but little fear that

taircase,

et bciii'i

a space

ti, along

t paying
the mill,
le rapids
staircase
rofit de-
lar-room,
descend,
hundred

ader the
1, as vou
iress.
not have
le trcvvel-
world is
govern-
;rv, as 1
fear thai

THE WIIIRLrOOL.

Q17

*hc beautiful banks of the Falls will noi Im^
remain at the mercy of private speculatc^^'s.

But, en avnnt, to the whirlpool. TIk;
river, which has gradually contracted its
channel very much, after passing the great
white sheet of the /* •:^^orican Fall, proceeds
in a curved form to' ' u''' *he north-west, and
after falling ove-' vf iiendous rapids, sud-
denly turns, at 'ig>*t angles to its former
course, and rut^ tiowards the north-east,
still hemmed in by the precipice, which now
increases in altitude. Here it has scooped
out a vast basin in the rocks, of a circular
form, and the rushing and roaring waters,
entering the narrow gorge from the south-
east, strike by their impetus with such force
on the perpendicular w^all of the opposite
o'orofe, that an under-current is immcdiatelv
created, and the waters wliirl in a dizzv
vortex until they find ec^rcss towards the
north-east, between the precipitous walls of
the chasm.

As the rock is very lofty here (between

i248

THE WIIIULPOOL.

two and three hundred feet), the view from
above is so distant, that very little but the'
faint whirling, or concentrically enlarginf,^
circles of the water can be traced ; for the
largest trunks of trees which are spinning in
its eddies seem there no biiJ-ffCi ^han sticks.
It is from below that the curious visitant
must see the effect. But the descent is dan-
gerous, from the vicinity of the Table Rock,
and it is necessary to go back about a mile
on the road, and ask permission to cross a
farmer's grounds, where there is a path more
accessible.

Here, after crossing a field or two, you
enter into a beautiful wood, and, going
through it for a quarter of a mile, begin to
descend by a narrow, obscure, and winding
path, cut out of the mountain, which is
covered with the primaeval forest. The de-
scent is not very difficult, perfectly safe, and
with a little expense would be pleasant. It
leads to the centre of the bay-coast of the
whirlpool, where there are but few rocks,

THE WIIIllLPOOL.

24<J

cw from

but till'

nlaroin<;

o o

for the
inning in

n sticks,
visitant
it is dan-
ile Rock,
at a mile
► cross a
ath more

two, vou
1, going
begin to

winding
tvbich is

The de-
safe, and
sant. It
st of the
w rocks.

and a narrow shingle beach. Here you see
the vastness of the scene, the great expanse
of the circular basin, the mass of mountain
which encloses it almost to its very edge, and
the overhanixiii"' Table Rock, ncarlv like
that at the Falls, and probably produced by a
similar cause, the disintegration of the slate
beds under the more unvieldinfj lime-stone.

So extensive, however, is the surface of
water, that the huge trunks of trees float-
ing in the concentric circles of the whirling
waters, when they reach their ultimate doom
in the actual vortex, appear still not larger
than small logs. They revolve for a great
lenirth of time, touchinir the shores in their
extreme tifvrations, and then, as the circles
narrow, are tossed about with increasing
rapidity, until, in the middle, the largest
giants of the forest are lifted perpendicu-
larly, and appear to be sucked under, after a
time, altogether.

A singular part of the view is the very
sharp angle of the precipice, and it^ bank of

M 3

2.50

A MAN IN THE VORTEX.

debris on tho American side. You also just
catch a view of the foamin<^ rapid on the
right ; and an attentive ol)server will per-
ceive that in the centre of the vast hasin of
the whirlpool, the water is several feet higher
than at the edges, appearing to hoil up from
the hottom. It varies, I should think, in
the degrees of its agitation, depending per-
haps on the increase or diminution of the
quantity of supplied water ; for there have
been instances of persons who have attempted
to save the timber floating round it, having,
by their want of caution, allowed themselves
to be engulfed, and yet escaping at last. A
soldier, a few vcars aoo I think of the CSth
regiment, got thus drawn from the edge, and
was whirled round and round for several
hours, but saved at last by the exc'tions of
the neighbouring farmers, who came with
ropes to his rescue. I have heard naval men
say, that they thought a stout boat might
cross ; but I confess, from the manner in
which the largest trees are treated, notwith-

TIMUEIl IN THK VOIITKX.

^J 1

ilso just
on tile
»ill per-
basiii of
t higher
up from
link, in
ing per-
1 of the
I'c have
tempted
having,
'mselves
ast. A
ho 68th
Ige, and
several
•tions of
(10 with
vai men
t miofht
nner in
lotwith-

standing their buoyancy, I should he very
unwilling to try the experiment, and it is
known that persons have been destroyed.

It is said, that timber and logs coming over
the rapids from the falls are detained some-
times for months before thcv are finallv en-
gulfed in the whirlpool, and, doubtless, it is
never free from them ; and perhaps there
may be occasic lally a counteracting current,
from the furious winds which raijc in the
chasm, or other causes, to prevent their ap-
proach to the centre ; and in this way those
who have escaped, have escaped merely he-
cause they were only tossed about in the outer
rings of the whirl, and never approached its
tremendous centre, from which, f conceive,
by an under-current, the water e::capes to
the gorge below, and from which, when once
involved, nothing could possibly emerge ; a^;
the very boiling up of the waters, and the
tremendous force exertc'l tliere on the trees
and logs, evince.

The visit to the shores of the ^vhirlpool

^^^

RATTLE SNAKES.

may be attended with the gratification ot
another kind of curiosity to the naturalist,
lor he may there see the rattlesnake in his
native horrors. The bov who went with me
as a ^juide, endeavoured to find a den, or
cleft, in which this tremendous reptile might
be lying, but he was unsuccessful, although
they are frequently seen and killed there,
being, after all, fortunately sluggish and in-
active. We saw other snakes, but not the
dreaded one.

The edge of the whirlpool is resorted to
in the fishing season by anglers, for the
pickerel and black bass, which are caught
there, and are esteemed the finest fish in
Canada.

There is one other spot from which this
wonderful scene should be viewed :

THE WHIRLPOOL FROM ABOVE ON THE TABLE ROCK.

The view of the whirlpool from above is
more beautiful than that from below, where
the height of the precipice causes a continual

THE TABLE ROCK.

Q53

:atioii ol
atiiralist,
^e in his
with me
L den, or
ile might
although
3(1 there,
h and in-
: not the

sorted to

for the

c caught

t fish in

hich this

lble rock.

above is
w, where
continual

gloom and dark shadowings ; but it is too
distant to see the effect of the Charvbdis
itself.

From the Table Rock, which overhangs
tVightfuUy, you sec up the gorge or glen of
the Niagara, even as far as the village of the
American Fail, Manchester; but the windings
of the water prevent vour discernina' much
of the rapids, or of the river. In some states
of the weather a mist hangs over the whole
length of the river, from the whirlpool to the
Falls, and ever a cloud of vapour distinctlv
traces every winding. It is necessary there-
foi-e to choose a fine day for a visit to the
whirlpool, when you may either look down
from an absolute height of near three hun-
dred feet sheer upon the seething gulf, or
you may look up from below to the over-
hanging precipice, which juts into the air,
a table of self-suspended rock, kept in posi-
tion merelv bv the tenacitv of its composition.

There is a cave below the precipice, con-
taining large (juantities of calcareous tufa ;

'254^

SPLENDID SCENE.

and an adventurous person may scramble,
about three-quarters of a mile from the whirl-
pool, up the river's brink, when he will bo
gratified by a close view of the rapids of the
strait, which are even more tumultuous,
rao-ino-, and awful than those of the river
above the Falls. This, in fact, is the most
splendid scene, after the Horseshoe, on the
whole river, the water descending, as it is
supposed, nearly thirty feet, over successive
breaks in the rock.

<155

ramble,
e whirl-
I will bo
s of the
ultuous,
le river
he most
on the
as it is
ccessive

CHAPTER XIV.

THE VOYAGE TO AMHURSTBURGH ON
LAKE ERIE.

Inferiority of the American Falls— Immense Importance of
the AV'elland Canal— A rival Plan — Chippewa, the Site of
famous Battles — The cutting out of the Caroline by Cap-
tain Drew and i.is Companions — The Rebel Mackenzie —
His Exploits on Navy Island — Rout of the Rebels — Ad-
mirable conduct of the Canadian MiUtia— PoHcy of Sir
Francis Head — Rallying of the Farmers — Sir Allan
M'Nabb — Village of Waterloo — Lake Erie— The Erie
('anal— Its unparalleled Length— Fort Erie— Graves of
Colonel Drummond and his Companions— Amherstbur<^h
—The Detroit— Beauty and Richness of the Country —
Profusion of Game — Introduction of the British Pheasant
—Colonel Prince — Settlement of the Huron Indians — The
Great Huron.

I HAVE said nothing of the American
Fall, or of tlic views of the British Fall from
the American shcre, because the former is
nothinir more than the laroest sheet of

'256

THE WELLAND CANAL.

nearly unbroken waterfall in the world, dis-
figured by a bridge, mills, and a village,
which destroy all pictorial harmony. The
scenery, indeed, of Goat Island, and the
views of the Horseshoe, are equallv fine as
those on the Canadian side ; but there vou
have neither the sheet of water to look up
to, nor to go under, and there American
enterprise and taste have built another
bridge, as far as was practicable, with a sort
of liti^hthouse at the end, which detracts
much from the still grandeur of the scene —
so much so, that it is to be hoped, some
windv nio'ht or other, when nobody is in it,
it may follow the fate of the Caroline.

Hut we must now travel to the mouth of
the river Welland, one of the openings into
the canal of that name, which canal has,
until now, been a liiere job. The govern-
ment have, however, observed with a quiet
eye the proceedings of this job, and at last,
under Lord Sydenham's administration, seem
disposed to do something about it ; and if it

AMERICAN EXTERPRIZE.

257

is ever made a good navigable steam-boat or
ship canal, Canada will increase in wealth
and population from the hour which opens
its gates to the first vessel from Erie or
Huron.

The Americans are so sensible of tliis,
that for years they have been planning and
projecting a magnificent ship navigation, to
connect Erie, Ontario, and the Erie Canal.
The plans of their topographical engineers
for this stupendous work are beautifully exe-
cuted, and would have been followed up, but
that the monied concerns of the Republic
have been in rather a ticklish state of late
years, and the defalcations of their public
servants of such alarming extent, as to cause
the Executive to pause ere it enter upon so
splendid a national undertaking.

If the Welland Canal be now seriouslv set
about, and competent military engineers em-
ployed in its construction, the trade of the
far- West must centre in Canada, and of its
extent, what stat' lies can afford even a

'2.58

CHIPPEWA.

^^limpsc ? For the Americans well know that
even if their grand ship canal were opened
round the Falls, thev have still a most .^eri-
ous disadvantage to contend against, in the
ice of Lake Erie, and that coming from
Niagara ; whereas, the mouth of the A\'cl-
land will always be open on the Canada
shore, for weeks earlier than the mouth of
any canal on the New York side of the
river ; and^ as its exitus on Lake Ontario
will be at a great distance from the exitus
of the Niagara, it will never be embarrassed
there by the spring ice.

Travellers cross ever the Welland river
by a long wooden bridge in the village of
Chippewa, famous for a battle in the last
American war, and still more famous in 1837
as the head quarters of the brave Canadian
militia, who took up arms in the gloomy
depth of that winter, to resist the friendly
intentions of their opposite neighbours.

If you proceed out of the Welland in a
Canadian steam- boat, you will pass into the

THE CAROLINE.

259

enow that
^c opened
nost seri-
st, in the
ing from
tlie Wd-
3 Canada
mouth of
le of the
3 Ontario
the exitus
ibarrasscd

land river
village of
1 the last
lis in 1837
Canadian
le o'loomv
e friendly
>ours.
Hand in a
5S into the

River Niagara at rather a nervous place,
where the river widens to an immense ex-
panse, before it suddenly contracts again to
form the rapids and cataract of Niagara.
The first idea, to a stranger, on reaching
this spot is— supposing the engine should
get out of order, is the vessel to go down
the Fall, which is boiling up at about tw(j
miles below ? There is, however, 1 believe,
very little re J danger, as it is the site of
the traject, or common ferry between Chip-
pewa and the New York shore at Fort
Schlosser, at that celebrated spot where
Captain Drew and his dauntless militia
sailors cut out the Caroline in the darkness
of the night, and sent the pirate vessel flam-
ing down into the abyss below. A deed
more heroical was never performed by Bri-
tish seamen, and though the policy of it at
the time was questionable, yet what good
man can jzi'ieve that the laws of nations were
perhaps for a moment lost sight of, when

260

NAVY ISLAND.

it was as notorious as noon day, that, for the
sake of gain and desperate spite, the wicked
ship was constantly carrying over to Naw
Island swarms of rafroed adventurers, eaircr
to imhue their unholy weapons in Canadian
blood, and stolen cannon to he pointed at a
shore whose people were at peace with the
United States, hut were deemed, neverthe-
less, fit suhjocts for a demoni.ic bombard-
ment, and afterwards for midnight assassi-
nation ?

Either by a steam-boat, which passes as
far as the entrance into Lake Erie, at Wa-
terloo village, or by the coach, which takes
the road along the edge of the river, you
must pass Navy Island, a small isle reserved
bv Great Britain for timber, and as com-
manding the channels of the river. Here
the rebel Mackenzie, a man possessing
neither character, influence, nor common
prudence, took his stand after he escaped
from the action at Gallows Hill, near To-

NAVY ISLAND.

'2Gl

at, for the
lie wicked
' to Navy
ers, eaf^er
Canadian
nted at ;i
with the
ncvcrthe-
])ombar(l-
it assassi-

passes as
e, at Wa-
lich takes
:'iver, vou
3 reserved
I as com-
;r. Here
possessing
common
e escaped

near To-

ronto, where he most appropriately opened
the campaign against order, morality, and
reason.

The width of the river is about five hun-
dred yards, between the island and the Chip-
pewa shore. On the island, Mackenzie's
1 ;renoral, a pot-liouse hero, erected batteries
of badly-mounted and ill-furnished cannon,
which consequently did very little execution
upon the Upper Canadian militia, assembled
under the command of the Speaker of the
House of Assembly. The regular troops, it
is well known, had been wholly withdrawn ;
the only disposable officers of artillery, or of
t'ljgineers, were busily employed in strength-
ening the fortifications of Toronto and Kiinrs-
tun, and in getting cogether the guns and
stores, not above a dozen artillerymen having
l)een left in the province.

The consequence was natural. The mili-
tia, brave and enthusiastic as thev were,
were wholly unaccustomed to field opera-
tions, and Navy Island remained, therefore,

2Cy2

NAVY ISLAND.

(lay after clay, as an iiiipivgiiablo l'ortre;>s,
the resources of which were magiiiiied be-
yond cred'Mlity ; and by trees having b<'eii
cut down on it, and huts erected, it was
thought that a heavy work, in the shape of
a citadel block-house, had been l)uilt, whicli
commanded all its batteries. A forniida])li'
army of militia were thus employed, eager
for the figiit, and led by an officer who had
had, in his youth, a little experience.

The gallant act of Captain Drew lifted
up the veil. An artillery officer was sent by
the commander-in-chief, and an engineer
officer followed ; but, as is always the case
when a campaign is opened under the un-
favourable circumstances of a long previous
peace, and in the depth of winter, it was
some time ere the guns, mortars, rockets,
and stores could be sent up. They no sooner
began in earnest, and some symptoms were
evinced of preparations for assault, than the
ragged army on the island vanished ; and
when it was taken possession of, the grantl

C'AXAiHAN MILITIA.

Q63

block-house, and formidable batteries, were
found to exist in Mackenzie's or his pot-
house general's proclamations only, whilst
the number of slain from the guns and mor-
tars of Chippewa were proofs that the enemy
acted wisely in evacuating their pseudo
strongholds.

The experience gained by the militia was
not however thrown away. Two companies
of regular troops would, with Captain Drew's
boats, have cleared these vermin from the
bland with case in two hours, and the militia
afterwards proved that they could do the
<ame thing at Prescott and elsewhere.

Nothing could exceed the patient forbear-
ance of people called from their homes in the
'lead of a Canadian winter, to work at the
construction of batteries, and be prepared
liourly for invasion ; and without intendin^r
liio slightest disparagement to their brave
leader, whose zeal, energy, and tact, kept
fills vast body together under the most un-
lavourable circumstances, had they been com-

e^z.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

<^.^

1.0

I.I

ltiM2a |2.5

|50 ■^" H^H

2.0

1-25 U ||.6

=^ II == lllll^^

■• 6"

►

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 873-4503

'26'tf

8111 FRANCIS HEAD.

manded, as they afterwards usually were, 1)v
officers of the re<rular army, the result must
have been different ; for I am certain ho
will allow that nothing is more difficult than
to be called upon, after a quarter of a cen-
tury of the most profound peace, when the
sword had literally been turned into a reap-
ing-hook, to act at a moment of alarm and
dismay, as a general, in whose })erson is
combined the adjutant and quartermaster,
the artilleryman and the engineer, as well
as the leader of wholly uninstructed thou-
sands.

The policy of Sir Francis Head in remov-
ing the regular troops, and in throwing him-
self upon the patriotism and loyalty of the
people, was noble, and nobly was he responded
to. No sooner had the ruffian Mackenzie,
(for it is useless to palter about terms in
reference to such an outcast), unfurled tho
Bidwell flag at Montgomery's tavern, and as-
sumed Gallows Hill as his rendezvous, than
ten thousand farmers and farm labourers

THE CANADIAN MILITIA.

265

were, l)v
ijult must
jrtain he
[cult than
jf a ccn-
when the
a rcap-
larm and
person is
crraastcr,
% as well
ted thou-

in rcmov-
wing hiin-
ilty of the
responded
lackenzio,
; terms in
furled the
rn, and as-
vous, than
labourers

rushed to the capital, to support the inhabit-
ants in arms thare. I actually believe there
were at one period of the outbreak no fewer
than forty thousand militia in the field,
throughout the upper province.

The alacritv with which these brave men
rushed to the defence of their country, may
be surmised from the fact, that at Kingston,
when the first despatch was received by me
from the seat of government, it arrived at
night. Before day -break there was an
organized guard for the town, and next day
the forts and batteries were occupied; and
in the course of a day or two more, many
had actually to be sent back, for want of
accommodation for them in the barracks
and town.

Loyal and brave men ! Long may Sir
Allan M'Nabb enjoy the satisfaction of hav-
ing first led you in the career of glory and of
honour ! For my own part, being separated
from you, I can do no more to show how I
appreciate your excellence, than dedicate

VOL. I.

26C)

THE GRAVE OF UROCK.

this humble work to such of you as served
with mc ; and I am persuaded that every
British officer whose lot was in the course
of duty mingled with yours, will record,
whenever he may have an opportunity, a
sense of your merits. It must have been a
proud day when your officers met under the
disfigured and disjointed column erected on
Queenston heights, to the memory of the
leader whom the militia of Upper Canada
loved as a father — the gallant, the victorious
Brock ; and the soul of the miscreant, whose
unholy hand despoiled that shrine, must
have been " disquieted within him," if he wit-
nessed, as probably he did, that noble scene.
Rebuild it on sure foundations ! Guard
it, as the apple of your eye, and inscribe
upon it Navy Island, Point Pelee, Amherst-
burgh, Hickory Island, Prescott! Yes, all
those places where invaders dared to show
themselves, where " treason looked so giant
like," but where it could " but peep at what
it would," and acted " little of its will."

ERIE CAXAL.

267

served

it every
D course

record,
iiiity, a
3 been a
ider the
jcted on
' of the
Canada
ctorious
t, whose
e, must
fhewit-
ic scene.

Guard
inscribe
imhcrst-
Yes, all
to show
so giant
at what
ill."

The villa<:e of Waterloo is the first vou
come to, either in steam-boat or carriage ;
and here the great lake of the Cat, or Lake
Erie, opens out its expanse, and a strong
rapid is formed, which somewhat hinders
the navigation ; and here commences, at the
opposite city of Buffalo, in the United States,
the oreat Clinton, or Erie Canal, which
enters the Hudson River at the head of the
tide at Alba\iy, after a course almost unpa-
ralleled in length. It is, however, no far-
ther a magnificent undertaking, than as
HMJ-ards the "iijantic idea being actuallv
completed, of uniting Lake Erie with the
aVtlantic : l:br its locks and works are chieflv
of wood, too narrow for other than mere
boats, and requiring great and constant
repair.

When the W'elland Canal shall be com-
pleted, this will be disused, as far as that
part of it which meets the Oswego Canal,
as the transit of goods from the ivestcrn

states will then be made in vessels capable

N 2

2G8

GRAVE OF DRUMMOND.

of navigating the lakes from Superior to
Oswego, and only one transhipment he re-
quired, whilst the vessel may proceed to sea,
if necessary, hy the completion of the St.
Lawrence, or by the liideau. It is, however,
never to be contemplated that ocean-going
vessels will ascend to Huron { nd Superior,
nor is it requisite they should. They must
discharge at Montreal into smaller ships,
which, passing all the series of canals, many
of which require widening, will convey goods
nearly two thousand miles westward, if the
country round Huron and Superior be ever
opened to commerce to that extent.

Passing Waterloo you see Fort Erie, a
scene of slaughter and of siege during the
war. Here the gallant Colonel Drummond
was killed whilst storming the breach, and
here is a long row of graves where he anJ
his comrades repose in peace. The fort and
barracks remained in 1838, and I believe
still do so, in the same state as when fire
and sword passed over them.

LAKE ERIE.

'2G9

nor to
be rc-
l to sea,
the St.
owever,
n-going
aperior,
jy must
r ships,
s, many
y goods
, if the
be ever

Erie, a
ing the
immond
ch, and

he ani
fort and

believe
hen fire

Lake Erie is the most shallow of all the
great inland seas of Canada, and conse-
quently the most dangerous in stormy wea-
ther. It affords few harbours, and you pass
the mouth of the Welland Canal, and the
naval station at the Grand River, without
much diversity of scenery, the banks being
far from lofty. Long Point, reaching for
many miles into the lake, is perhaps the most
singular portion of the Canada side, being
separated from the main land by a shifting
breach, sometimes navigable and often closed.
Here, when the Welland Canal is completed,
there must be pains taken to create an open
channel, as it will save the navigation of the
most exposed portion of the lake. The Ame-
ricans have a great number of large, but
slightly built steam-boats, plying from Buffalo
to Lake Michigan, and some of these occa-
sionally stop at Amherstburgh, so that the
traveller may with ease visit the far-west.

Amherstburgh, called also Maiden, is an
old settlement, originally occupied by the

270

THE GARDEN OF CANADA.

French. It is however merely a larjje villajre,
])osscssino- little worthy of notice, cxceptinu
the beauty of its position. It is protected
by an eastern fort, and has the island of Bois
Blanc in its front, whilst the river or strait
which passes by it, is named the Detroit,
leading from Lake Eric to Lake St. Clair.

This part of Upper Canada, from Kettle
Creek, or Port Stanley, an artificial harbour,
round to Sarnia and Goderich, is the garden
of the province, being less affected by the
weather and climate than other parts, and
capable of producing all the cereal g' amina
in abundance. European fruits of every de-
scription flourish, and tobacco is grown in
large quantities. The country is diversified
by rivers and undulating laixls, and covered,
where man has not opened it, with the most
luxuriant forests of beech, birch, elm, maple,
chestnut, walnut, cherry, black, red and white
oak, hickory, cedar, fir, spruce and pine, with
the wild vine, gooseberries, currants, straw-
berries, raspberries, and a profusion of flowers.

GAME IN CANADA.

I know of no country more smilinfj, or of a
more ^^encrous soil than this, and it is rapidly
fillinf^ np. The sportsman meets here the
partrid«j^e or pheasant of Canada, for it is
more like the latter ; snipe, woodcock, cur-
lew, plover, teal, black duck, wood duck,
and a great variety of other ducks ; occa-
sionally wild geese, the bittern, and flocks of
wild pigeons innumerable ; also the Cana-
dian hare, a sort of rabbit, which turns white
in winter; deer; occasionally a bear or a
moose-deer; racoons, the loup-cervier, or
mountain-cat, the lynx, the wolf, and the
otter.

I have heard that Colonel Prince intro-
duced the British pheasant on his property,
with what success I know not ; and it is at
Amherstburgh you may find that noble
forest bird, the wild turkey.

Amherstburgh is two hundred and sixty-
nine miles by land from Toronto; has a
population of about fifteen hundred, fluctu-
ating, however, much beyond that, by the

272

THE FRENCH SETTLERS.

continual arrival of black or coloured people
migrating from the land of liberty, where
they alone arc doomed to slavery.

Sandwich, another village, sixteen miles
westward, has a larger population ; and near
them is another settlement, named Windsor.
The old French settlers in this part of
Upper Canada are in larger numbers than
elsewhere ; and here, at nearly one thousand
miles from Quebec, you meet the same Jean
Baptiste face and feature, and hear the
patois which was formerly the vernacular of
the Canadas. The Upper Canadian French-
man retains, however, his loyalty to England,
with his native good-humour and bienseance-j
and I know few more estimable people than
the farmers and French gentlemen of this
part of the world.

Amherstburgh and its vicinity is cele-
brated for the manufacture of a beautiful
straw-plat ; and the summer traveller should
not neglect to provide himself with a hat of
Amherstburgh manufacture. Near the town

INDIAN SETTLEMENT.

*27^

is the Huron settlement, where a brunch of
the fluron Indians have a large tract of
land allotted to them, which is so far worthy
of a visit, as it is the first opportunity you
mav have of seeing the Indian in an half-
civilized condition.

A steam-boat ran from this place, or
Windsor, to Port (joderich, on Lake Huron,
and I dare say still ccmtinues to do so.
Sailing-vessels pass round the south shore
to Huron and Penetan<rueshcne. I shall,
therefore, convev the traveller in imaijina-
tion, by touching- at Goderich, en pdssmttf
and proceeding, through the Detroit, into
the beautiful little Lake St. Clair, and then,
through the tortuous channels of the mouth
of the river of that name, into it, and so to
the Great Huron.

Near the opening of the St. Clair into
Lake Huron, you pass Port Sarnia, two
hundred and fortv-seven miles from Toronto
by land, where there are flourishing settle-

N 3

^27 V

LAKi: III; HON.

niciits, as is, indeed, the case almost all the
way from Quebec aloii«^ the shon; lor up-
wards of one thousand mil'js, and then the
immense Lake of Huron !)ears you on its
bosom.

'V f >f

CHAPTER XV.

LAKE HURON-CJOUERICn.

The Huron Lake — ItsDii.cnsions— Proceedings of the (.'aiiada
Land ( onipany—Cioderich — Mr. tialt and Dr. Dunlop—
Uuclph— Roads through the Wihlerness— The I'rogress of
Colonization — Sir Francis Head and the In(hans— Tlu-
Islands of the Great Spirit— Excellent Results of colonizin.-
this District- The Georgian (iulph— Singular Indian Va^t-
— Proofs of a more civilized Race, now extinct.

To sail on Lake Huron is to sail on one
of the lar<rest seas of fresli water in tho
world, whose waves emulate those of the
ocean; and from its immense expanse, length,
and depth, the swell and roll are, perhaps, as
long and as full. Huron is quite different
from Ontario and Erie, more oceanic, and
more solemnly grand. It is two hundred
and fifty miles long, by one hundred and

276

LAKE HURON.

ninety broad; so that you may sail one
thousand one hundred miles along its shores,
and by taking the windings and bays nearly
as much more. Its mean depth is said to
be one thousand feet, and its elevation five
hundred and seventy-eight above the tide-
waters of the Atlantic.* Michigan is un-

^" The Canadian lakes have the following mean depths,
elevations above the Atlantic, length and breadth, and cir-
cumference: —

buperior
Huron .
Michigan
Erie
Ontario
St. Clair
Simcoe .

Lou-tl).

Brcmitli.

( irciini-
tcrencc.

Miles.

4i0

200

1525

250

190

1100

2G0

1000

275

700

180

500

lOO

120

Mean
Depth.

Elevation.

Feet. . Fee'.

900 ' 596

1000 : 578

1000 ! 578

84 ' 565

500 ' 232

20 ' 570

— ^712, or 480
above Lake
Ontario.

It has been computed that the Canadian lakes contain
14,000 cubic miles of water, or more than half that on the
whole earth.

These deductions have been drawn from careful surveys ;
but the mean depths of the large lakes are assumed, as some
of them have been sounded in places near their centre without

CANADA LAND COMPANY.

277

doubtedly a gulph of Huron, and therefore
these breadths and lengths may be doubled.

But as our plan is to gallop on, we must
now reach Goderich, where the Canada
Company have shown how much can be
done by enterprize.

In 1825, the commissioners appointed by
the Canada Land Company arrived in Upper
Canada. In 1827, Guelph, the capital of
their great tract of land, called the Huron
tract, was founded with much ceremony by
Mr. Gait and Dr. Dunlop ; and in 1833
Goderich became a settlement. Both are
now flourishing towns. Guelph is eighty-
seven miles from Toronto, and Goderich one
hundred and fiftv-five ; the former with a
population exceeding two thousand.
The Canada Company, consisting of wealthy
and highly-respectable London merchants,
purchased of the government 1,384,413 acres

finding bottom ; and it is conjectured that Ontario has a bed
of salt in its deepest part ; which is very probable, as the sur-
rounding country is of the salt formation.

^278

CANADA LAND COMPANY.

of crown revenues, and of clergy land 829,439;
or, altogether, 2,213,813 acres of territory,
valued at three shillings and sixpence an |
acre. Difficulties afterwards arose respect-
ing the right of the government to dispose
of the clerg}' reserves; and the company,
having abandoned the claim to them, re-
ceived in lieu a block in the western and
London districts, of one million of acres, part
of a tract purchased from the six nations of
Indians ; and in consequence of this tract
being a complete and unbroken forest, the
government granted the company a draw-
back upon the purchase-money, of one-third,
or £48,380, which the company was bound
to expend in making canals, roads, bridges,
churches, wharfs, school-houses, and other
improvements, for the behoof of the settlers.
These improvements were to be estimated
for, and submitted to, the approval of the
deputy-governor, who was authorized to grant
credits to the amount thus estimated and
expended.

CANADA LAND COMPANY.

279

Up to 1838, which is the latest informa-
tion 1 possess, the company had opened a
road from Wilmot to Goderich, sixty-four
miles ; from the Goderich line to the town-
ship of London, thirty-five miles. They have
turnpiked the London road, widened that
from Wilmot through Goderich to Lake
Huron, sixty-four miles, and turnpiked it ;
opened the Bayfield road for thirteen miles ;
six miles through Goderich to Lake Huron ;
opened five miles through Tuckersmith ; and
expended £100 towards erecting an episco-
pal church in Goderich ; — in all amounting to
£27,493 ; and they had contracted for various
other works to the amount of £2,500, which
were executed, and works to a further amount
of £5,000 were in the course of progress.

The one hundred miles of road executed
by the Canada Company through the wil-
derness, is equal to any road in the pro-
vince ; and hesides this great outlay on the
drawback allowed them by government, the
immense sum of £87,000 had been expended

280

CANADA LAND COMPANY.

up to 1838, in the formation of public build-
ings, bridges, roads, and piers, out of their
capital.

1 will not tire the patience of the general
reader by entering into a detail of the agree-
ments by the colonial-office with this com-
pany. Suffice it merely to say, that every
precaution has been taken for tying the com-
pany down, so as to prevent their speculatin<,^
with the land, beyond their means of pay-
ment to the Crown. They were allowed
sixteen years from the 1st of July 18^6, for
the fulfilment of their contract, and the pur-
chase-money was to be paid by annual instal-
ments, varying in amount from £1.0,000 to
£20,000. Thus their contract terminates
on the 1st of July 1842, when they must
take up whatever land remains inipaid tor,
or abandon their claim to it ; and thev are
bound in each of the fifteen vears to locate,
by actual settlers, one-half of the land annu-
ally paid for. Up to 1837, they had actually
located about 100,000 acres, by bond fde

EMIGRATION TO CANADA.

281

sales to settlers, and to ^ 840 had spent a
large additioniti sum in roads, bridges, and
the improvement of Goderich harbour.
Their operations commenced in 1827, up to
which year the average annual immigration
for (say) ten years, amounted in Upper
Canada to about 13,000 souls.

In 1830, when by diffusing information,
and by numerous agencies, the advantages
of this province to settlers of small capital
becams known in Europe, the emigration
rose as high as 24,300. In 1831, it reached
t9,200, and in 1832, 51,400. Since that
year it gradually declined or fluctuated, and
immense exertions were made to turn the
tide to Australasia, the Cape of Good Hope,
and the United States. Towards 1837,
emigration almost ceased to the Canadas,
owing to the unsettled political aspect of
Lower Canada, and the desire to thwart it,
which was evinced by Papineau and his col-
leagues, by imposing a poll-tax, and by
throwing every possible obstacle in the way

^282

GODEIIICII.

of British settlers. In IcSSS and 1839 it
amounted to nothing, comparatively spoak-
ing, hut in 1840, it recovered its tone. The
bravery displayed by the militia in the
defence of their soil, the strength they
exhibited, and the proud position their ill-
used country stood in, when compared with
that of their neighbours, induced the sons of
Britain once more to seek a home amongst
them ; and accordingly, up to the loth of
August, 19,507 had arrived at the port of
Quebec ; and it may be fairly presumed,
that in the rest of August, September, and
part of October, as many as 5000 more.

Goderich is the only harbour of any con-
sequence from the River St. Clair to Cabot's
Head, on Lake Huron, a distance of nearly
two hundred and fifty miles, and is formed
by the mouth of the river Maitland, which is
barred, as are most of the rivers emptying
themselves into the lakes.

This long unbroken sweep of shore is ex-
posed to all the fury of the winds prevailing

GODERICH.

283

[1 1 839 it
lily spoak-
one. The
ia in the
[Igtll tlu'v
1 their ill-
)aro(l with
the sons of
e amonixst
le Ijth of
he port of
presumed,
mber, and
more,
if anv con-
to Cabot's
J of nearly
. is formed
d, which is
5 emptyina'

ihore is ex-
prevaihng

on the lake ; and thus the Canada Company,
having failed in an attempt to induce the
radical parliament of Upper Canada to grant
money for lessening the bar, were obliged to
solicit a lease of the water-lots adjoining it
from the government, and to undertake the
expense of forming an artificial harbour, by
means of piers, which were estimated at
nearly £8,000. The bar had only three and
a half feet of water over it ; that is to sav,
vessels above that floatage could not pass
over. The shallowest portion in 1838, had
eight and a half by the improvements then
executed, and there will be eleven feet when
the piers are completed, which is fully suffi-
cient for any schooner or steamer navigating
the lake.

Goderich is in the county of Huron, and
its chief town. In 1829, this county was a
wilderness, inhabited by only four families ;
in 1838 it had a population of five thousand

souls, returned a member to the legislature,

28i SIR F. HEAD AND THE INDIANS.

and promises to become one of the richest
portions of the colony.

To the north of Goderich is a vast tract
owned by the Indians, but not inhabited by
them, and only used as occasional huntin<v
grounds. Sir Francis Head having visited
the country, and having assembled all the
tributary Indians on the Manitoulin Islands,
entered into a treaty, by which the whole of
the Indian reservations on the south side of
Lake Huron, it was agreed by the chicts,
should be ceded to the British government
for a certain sum of money, and the Indians
were to take up their future abode on the
islands of the Great Spirit, as Manitoulin
signifies. He erected some buildings at
Manitou-a-wanning, a bay of the large
island, and having held a council with some
thousands of>the aborigines, returned to To-
ronto, with the intention of opening this vast
tract to the British emigrant. I believe this
noble scheme has not yet been completed.

NEW SETTLING GROUNDS.

285

It would be advantageous beyond conception
to the indigent settler, as well as to the
defence of the country ; and if the govern-
ment were to take up the land and settle it
with discharged soldiers, and deserving small
farmers and labourers, invasion by way of
Penetangueshcne, always a vulnerable point,
would no longer be dreaded ; whilst the
magnificent harbours to the eastward of
Cabot*s Head, such as Owen's Sound, Col-
poy*s Bay, and many others, would become
the seats of flourishing towns, and the resort
of steam-boats and lake-going vessels.

There is, moreover, every indication of coal
in this vicinity, as I have obtained on the
shores the fossils accompanying the coal
strata. The country is still unexplored, and
is most diversified, and rises into lofty hills
covered with enormous timber, of all the
usual descriptions. In fact, nothing can
exceed the beauty of the whole southern
coast of the Georgian Gulf, as this part of
Lake Huron is called j its most exposed and

286

SINGULAR DISCOVKUY.

least valuable portion l)ein<r the great bav
of Nottawa.ssaga, of whicli hereafter.

My reader must not bo surprised that I
occasionallv wander a little from mv subject.
Travelling in western Canada is not subject
to stage-coach rules ; and I have just recol-
lected a singular specimen of the industry of
a race long extinct and unknown, which
came into my possession, and was found in
clearino- the forest for buildinfj at Goderich.
It will interest the antiquarian reader, inas-
much as there exist, in various parts of
western Canada, relics of a race, anterior
to the present Indian, farther advanced in
the arts, and connected, probably, with the
more civilized conquerors of Mexico, the
Aztecs.

It would be labour lost, in a w^ork like the
present, to enter into a learned disquisition
to prove the Asiatic origin of the Indians
of America ; and it will be quite sufficient
to observe, that there appears every day
strong proofs that their migration from the

ANTIQUE INDIAN VASE.

287

eastern shores of the old world will be soon
verified.

The vase in (|uestioii was fbiiiid on the
Canada ("ompany's lands near the eastern
shores of Huron, and at the new town or
settlement of (Joderich, in clearing the forest
in the year 183^. It is made, apparently, of
feldspar, or a <^Tanitic composition in which
I feldspar holds the foremost place, and is
10^ inches wide in its longest diameter, 8^?,
in.'hes in its shortest, oval, 6^ inches hii^h,
and £ths of an inch thick. It is perfect,
excepting part of the lip, and appears not to
have had any handle, and to have been
painted. It was presented to Lady Colborne,
who very kindly left it with the author.

Great quantities of Indian pottery are
fuund in all the townships from Toronto to
Lake Simcoe, and thence to Penetano-ue-
shene ; but all the specimens I have seen
are of hard-baked clay, and are less elegant
than this, which is, moreover, the onb-
nearly perfect relic of such antiquities that

^288

ANTIQUE INDIAN VASK,

has, to my knovvlcd<,% been discovered in
Canada, and is evidently the production of
a state of society superior to that in which
the modern race of uncivilized Indians of
this portion of North America have existed.
It resembles strongly, in shape, the vessels
for coolin<j water, used at this day in the
East.

289

CHAPTER XVI.

PENETAXGUKSIIENF:, the INDIAxXS, AM)
THE GIANi'S TOMB.

Naval Establishment on the Huron-Increase of Military
Settlements-Romantic Story of two Brothers-Meeting
with an Indian Tribe-Appropriate Scene of the Confer-
ence-The old Chief-Prowess of the young AV'arriors—
Their Reverence for the British Flag-(Jrote.que Orna-
ments—Indian Mourning-A War Drama-Surprise of an
American Officer by the Savages-A Chippewa Chief-
Eastern Origin of the Indians- Sad Change in their Con-
dition-The Giant's Tomb-Christian Islands-Sir John
Colborne and the Indians— The Victims of Civilization.

Penetanglesiiene is a fishing sottlcmont
in a small but excellent harbour of the
Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, whicli was
chosen as the seat of a naval establishment,
in order to protect Upper Canada from in-
vasion by the lak*.-, as the capital is ap-

VOL. I. Q

290

LAKE SIMCOE.

proachable from it. This harbour is capable
of holding a large fleet securely in all wea-
thers. At the mouth of the harbour are
stone barracks, always occupied by troops, a
naval storehouse, and wharfs.

The village is at the bottom of the har-
bour, and is small, but pleasantly seated,
(communicating by a road, not much better
than a bridle-path, with Lake Simcoe, and
by a portage with Nottawassaga Bay, on
Lake Huron.

The waters of Lake Simcoe are discharged
into the Georgian Bay by the River Matche-
dash, through a series of highly romantic and
picturesque falls, which, before the bridle
road was made, were, by means of portages,
the only route priacticable to Penetanguc-
shene from the capital.

Of late years military settlers have been
located along the path, which has improved
it very much. The path is practicable gene-
rally for a strong light waggon, but horse-
back is the more usual mode of proceeding

THE TWO BROTHERS.

291

capable
all wea-
>our are
roops, a

the har-
seated,
h better
Lcoe, and
Bav, on

scharged
Matche-
mtic and
le bridle
portages,
letanguc-

lave been
improved
ible ^<i\^^-
mt horse-
roceeding

from Penetangueshene to Lake Simcoe. —
Settlements are graduplly spreading- along
the whole line, and the distance of twelve
miles cannot now be passed in these ancient
forests without meeting a house or hut.

So much was this transit formerly dreaded,
on account of the dreary woods which, to-
wards the north, are of course interminable,
that it was accounted a sort of wonder when
a female above the rank of a soldier's wife
reached Penetangueshene, the most distant of
all the Canadian settlements on the southern
arm of Huron. It is still a journey of
some difficulty for a lady ; ahd seven or
eight years ago two soldiers perished on the
march. They were brothers, one healthy,
the other weak ; the weak one became faint
in the long woods, and his brother under-
took to stay by him under a huge tree, whilst
the detachment marched to the nearest set-
tlement, to procure the means of bringing
him on. On the return of the soldiers and
settlers to the spot, after the lapse of a few

o 2

'292

AMERICAN INDIANS.

hours, tlicy found both dead, prohably from
f(3ar and oxcitcmcnt, for the weather wa>
fine and cheerful. I have often passed tbi>
tree on horseback and alone, and have never
done so without shuddering. No person
\N'as to blame ; and to account for the deaths,
both of the healthy and the weakly man, in
so short an interval, is impossible. Drink
had nothinfj to do with the matter, thounh
fraternal affection may have had much. In
all likelihood, the weakly brother died in
the course of nature ; whilst the strong one
may have become alarmed, from beinof left in

^ 'CD

the vast wilderness with his brother's corse,
and yielded his life to the impulse of cause-
less terror. The tree is marked by the
settlers with the dead brothers' names.

On arrivinn^ the first time at Penetanofuc-
shene, I was fortunate enough to reach it at
a time of the year when the Indians resorted
to it to receive their annual presents ; and I
\vas still more fortunate in finding that the
meeting was not, as usual, composed of the

mf^mmmm^^^^

m^-"

y from
er was
lod this
c never
persDii
deaths,
nan, in
Drink
though
ch. In
died in
onix one
re left in
s corse,
cause-
by the

tano'ue-
,ch it at
•esorted
and I
hat the
I of the

AMERICAN INDIANS.

29i

half-civilized races, but was attended bv a
tribe from the far-west, composed of the pure
and unmixed breed of the children of the
forest.

In treating of the capital of Upper Canada,
I have alluded to a scene which I am now
about to describe somewhat minutely, as
it falls to the lot of very few travellers from
Europe, now-a-days, to see the pure and un-
mixed American Indian, and the time is not
distant when, to visit the savage, as he is
called, will require a journey far beyond the
wilds of the Missisippi ; unless, indeed, that
savaixe takes it into his head to visit his bro-
ther, the white man, in the United States,
to return some of the unsparing evil which
ihe long-knife* has dealt out to him : a con-
summation by no means probable.

I happened then to be at Penetanguc-
shene, when the unfortunate Pou-tah-wah-
tamies, and nearlv two thousand other

* Chomoko-man, or long-knife, is the Indian name for a
white man.

294

AMERICAN INDIANS.

Indians, arrived there, the latter to receive
their annual gifts, and the former to implore
protection. I had never seen the wild and
heathen Indians before, and shall never
forget the impression their appearance, in
an August evening, with every thing beau-
tiful in the scenery around, made upon
me.

To do honour to the commandant of the
British post and his guests, these warlike
savages selected for the conference a slopin<(
green field in front of his house, whose base
was washed by the waters of Huron, which
exhibited the lovely expanse of the basin,
with its high and wooded back-ground, and
the single sparkling islet in the middle. No
spot could have been imagined more suitable.
Behind it rose the high hill, destined to re-
ceive a future fortress, and which, cleared
of timber, is dotted here and there with the
neat dwellings of the military residents.

The young warriors of the tribe, led by a
grave and solemn sachem, advanced along

mrw'r'wmiiifmmim^mim'mmf.

\ receive
► implore
wild .111(1
11 never
•ance, in
njj beau-
de upon

it of the
! warlike

a slopinjr
bose base
»n, which
lie basin,
und, and
ddle. No
; suitable,
led to re-
i, cleared
; with the
ents.
, led bv a
ced along

THE WAR WHOOP.

^29.5

the road, from where they had landed towards
the council ground, dancing to the measured
and yet vehement cadence of the war- drum,
and displaying, with majestic earnestness,
the mode in which the tribe was ready to
step forth to light for the flag under which
they now marched ; for an old and tattered
standard, composed of remnants of the flag
of Britain, was borne over their heads. Each
warrior, his knees bent, his body lowered,
and all his weapons exhibited, slowly, and in
a sort of jumping and stamping motion, ad-
vanced, singing a low and very melancholy
war song, in time to the notes of a cylindric
wooden drum, covered with the hide of an
animal.

When the tribe arrived at the gate of the
commandant's house, where we were all as-
sembled, the song and the drum instantly
ceased j every warrior in a moment quitted
the stealthy and crouching posture and look,
and erecting himself in all the stateliness of

^290

INDIAN WARRIORS.

savage grandeur, shook his war weapon:*,
and uttered the most terrific of all sounds,
the war-whoop.

The sachem or chief, a very venerable
old man, then advanced, the weapons were
lowered, and all shook hands with the British
officers, and proceeded to the council ground,
where they speedily seated themselves in a
semicircle fronting the waters of Huron.

I now had an unlimited opportunity of
examining this singular race, hut could not
converse with them, excepting through the
interpreter, as they spoke only their own
language, and only one of them understood
the Chippewa, which is the general medium
of correspondence amongst all the tribes
east of the Rocky Mountains.

The warriors were all perfectly unclothed,
with the exception of the blue cloth about
the loins, which is so universally worn by all
the wandering nations. Their forms were
generally above the middle size, and elegant,

■¥""T

INDIAN MOURNING.

297

Taponii,
sounds,

;ncrable
ns were
British
ground,
es in a
ron.

unity of
luld not
igh. tlie
;ir own
ierstood
nedium
1 tribes

3lothed,
1 about
n by all
IS were
jlefj^ant,

but their arms exhibited very little muscle.
The colour of the skin could not be traced,
excepting in the second chief, who was, as
we were told, a Chippewa, as the whole body
and face were covered with paint. One half
of the body, from the nec^k downwards, in-
cluding the right leg and arm, was black,
and in like manner the other half white.
The face was painted red, or white, or black,
with bright vcrmillion streaks, and gave them
a most terrific look, particularly in those who
were tattooed ; and the hair was decorated
with beads, feathers, pipes, &c.

They were armed with short rifles, toma-
hawks, knives, bows and arrows, and clubs ;
and on their legs some had bells and brace-
lets, whilst medals, wampum, and scalps
hung from their necks, and the pipe and
tobacco-pouch, with their ammunition, and
various useful articles, were tied about the
waist in ornamented cases. Those who had
lust their wives, or very near relatives, had
rlie face painted entirely black, and this we

o 3

298

SPEECH OF THE CHIEF.

were told is continued during the whole time
of mourning.

After they had been for some time seated,
and the old sachem had explained that his
young men sought the protection of their
Great Father across the (jreat Lake, and
that they had quitted for ever the soil which
covered the bones of their ancestors, to
smoke the calumet of peace with the British
warriors, — he stated that the Pow-tah-uah-
tamies had sold their noble war-horses, and
were no longer an equestrian nation ; that
they had sold them to purchase canoes, and
the necessary provision to enable them to
travel fifteen hundred miles to meet their
white brethren ; and that the Big Knives
having taken up the hatchet to exterminate
them, and having bought all their land, the
old men, the young men and their squaws
had only now to look for happiness to their
G^'eat Father, for whom the Pow-tah-wah-
t amies had fought, and watered the earth with
their blood, — as his voung men were about

^W ^^ W^W^-i^^(rw-T -TT^"^ K ' «... v»T^ '^f'-'.^T-t*^*- S-T 'f-^^

THE OLD WARRIOR.

299

)le time

seated,
liat his
of their
ke, and
11 which
tors, to
I British
;ah-wah-
ses, and
m ; that
oes, and
them to
^et their
r Knives
erminatc
land, the
r squaws
s to their
■tah-wah-
larth witli
jre about

to show to the British warriors. For himself,
he said, his days were few and his vears
many. « But," said he, striking at the
same time the pole on which floated the
resemblance of a British ension, and which
had been planted on the centre of the council
ground, " I have been a brave warrior, and
sixty scalps adorned my wigwam. Ila! is
it not true, my young men, that which your
father tells the pale faces ?"

" Ugh ! ugh ! ugh !" responded the war-
nors, in deep sonorous interjections ; " it is
true, father."

The old man's countenance beamed with
the fire which had long slumbered, and he
again struck the flag-staff, which is the
usual mode of vouching for warlike actions,
and a modest method of accountino- for his
egotism in a western warrior; after which
ceremonial, should he assert a falsehood, he
would be an object of derision and contempt
— a by- word among his people.

He now gathered his blanket around his

iiOO

INDIAN WAR DIIAMA.

.shoulders (fur he was the only one, from his
;^reat age, excepting the 'Chippewa, who
wore any clothing), and striding lo his
seat, he once more assumed the patient and
solemn demeanour of an Indian in council.

The interpreter then told us that the
young warriors were about to show their
brother warriors their prowess in a late ac-
tion with the Bi<»- Knives. The drum be<^an
to send forth its deep monotonous incentives
to battle, and a very handsome middle-sized
athletic young warrior, with a fine intelligent
countenance, and an eye like that of a hawk,
started up, and shook the numberless war
trappings that covered his painted body.

lie was followed by another and an older
man, but as we were told, one of the most
subtle and able warriors of the tribe. I can
iikcn this last exhil)itcr, with his lonir thin
bony arms, his emaciated body, on which the
lines of the protruding ribs were painted
black and white to resemble a skeleton ; his
wide and well-armed mouth, his scowling

INDIAN WAR DRAMA.

301

brow cand piercing eye, combined with the
lynx-likc crouching attitude he assumed, — to
nothing else than those images of the arch-
fiend whicli haunt our schoolboy imagina-
tions.

The young warrior, displaying a rifle
richly ornamented with porcupines' quills
and beads, sewn on a covering of scarlet
cloth in which it was enveloped, set out with
the stamping trot at which an Indian com-
mences his war-dance, keeping a wide circle,
and holding all the while a vehement col-
loquy with his follower, who kept close
behind him, and whose business it appeared
to be, to look well at every object thtj en-
countered, and to give the young man timely
notice of the presence of the Big Knives ;
for so they term the soldiers of the United
States army.

To prove to us that they had been accus-
tomed to carry on their wars on horseback,
the young warrior placed his rifle, and his
follower his spear, in the same position as a

3(M

INDIAN WAR DRAMA.

schoolboy does his hobby-horse, and both
commenced trottinjr exactly as a child would
on a stick. After they had thus ridden tor
some distance, the drum still beatinir, they
both made a sudden halt, bent forward their
heads, and seemed to perceive a trail or
track in the grass. Their conversation bo-
fore had been loud and vehement, it no^v
became cautious, and was carried on onlv
in audible whisperings, accompanied by
great gesticulation, and examination of the
trail.

Motions were now made to indicate
that the horses were tied up and the
warriors rapidly ran forward, bending the
body to the ground, examining every now
and then their arms, and constantly peeriiifi
at the track.

The follower now stopped, crept in ad-
vance of his leader, and motioned to him to
enter a canoe. They then appeared to float
silently for some time on the supposed river,
the guide merely steering, until all at oncu

mmm

INDIAN WAR DRAMA.

30J

Liid both
1(1 would
(Iden tor
inir, th(»)
nd tlii'ir
trail or
ition bo-
it now
on only
I lied by
1 of the

indicate
and the
ling the
ery now
peerinfT

t in ad-
) him to
. to float
)d river,
at once

thoy both laid down their arms, and paddled
might and main.

This lasted for some time, until the guide
stopped, crept out of the supposed canoe,
made it ftist, and both began to crawl like
serpents on the grass.

I had no conception that it was possible to
make the flesh and sinews of the body move
in the way it did on these singular creatures.
It was positively unpleasant to behold the
vermicular motion of the sinews and flesh on
the back and shoulders.

Having crawled like snakes in the grass
for some time, the guide pointed with his
spear, and both became perfectly still, their
bright eyes alone, by their fearful glitterings,
showing that they were animated beings.

Slowly the warrior raised his head, and
the guide again motioned forward with the
point of his bright spear.

The young warrior's flesh then fairly qui-
vered in every limb, and cautiously pushing
forward his rifle, he, still extended on the

304

INDIAN WAR DRAMA.

t^rass, took a deliberate aim, and with the
quickness of thought, a ball sped into the
lucid waters of Huron below us.

The whole tribe then placed their hands
on their mouths, and gave a most terrific war-
whoop. The young warrior and his guide
sprang to their feet, the rifle was re-loaded
with ball, and they ran to the supposed spot
on which their enemy had been slain. Here
they again set up the war-whoop, and ex-
hibited signs of demoniac joy, capering and
jumping about with the most extravagant
tjl-estures.

The young warrior and his attendant then
held a long and anxious talk, and this was
only interrupted by what I suppcje was
the appearance, to them, of some symptoms of
life on the part of their foe, and of their
station beino- an insecure one.

The guide examined in every direction,
and the youn:if w'arrior drawinnf forth the
tomahawk, turned the hammer end out-
wards, and stooping down, struck three hard

A CHIPPEWA CHIEF.

305

ith the
ito the

hands
fie war-
5 guide
-loaded
ed spot
, Here
md cx-
ing and
avjigant

it then
lis was
50 was
toms of
f their

cction,
th the
1 out-
e hard

hlows with it on the supposed victim's head,
and then slinging the weapon in his wam-
pum belt, he unsheathed his scalping knife,
and completed his victory.

The guide now returned, and after com-
municating with his brother, they both ga-
thered sticks, grass, and leaves, and went
through the representation of concealing or
burying the slain, and hastening away again
to the canoe. After this, the scene was
ended, the tribe expressed the usual guttural
assent, and the hero touched the flag-staflP.

This re|;resentation, the interpreter told
us, was a faithful one, of the surprise of an
American officer and his party by the savages.

Many other warriors afterwards detailed
their exploits to us, and the ceremony was
concluded by the Chippewa, a noble majestic
Asiatic-looking figure, exceedingly well and
even richly clothed, with several silver medals
hung over a fine white linen shirt, which was
worn over his leggins, and bolted around his
waist, having a loose and very Turkish-look-

306

A CHIPPEWA CHIEF.

ing body coat of blue cloth over all, orna-
mented, as the leggins were, with stripes of
gold and red cloth.

This Indian, who appeared to be very cele-
brated in the tribe, and took upon himself
the office of speaker in the talks, was not
painted, excepting on the face, which was
blackened all over, in mourning for the recent
loss of his squaw. He was the best-looking
Indian I have ever seen — tall, stout, and
with a perfect Asiatic face, of that descrip-
tion seen in Turkey, with a high and ample
forehead, prominent thin nose, and small
and well-formed mouth and ears, and a fine
head of long black hair, highly ornamented
with beads and long feathers.

He afterwards took off all his clothing, and
exhibited a muscular stout frame, covered bv
a soft and pliable skin, whose hue did not
very greatly differ from that of a dark coni-
plexioned European, and yet he was a full-
bred Indian.

Amongst the western tribes there are

A CONTRACT.

307

all, orna-
stripes of

very cele-
n himself
, was not
hich was
;he recent
st-looking
tout, and
t descrip-
nd ample
nd small
ind a fine
[lamented

hing, and
Dvered bv
3 did not
lark com-
mas a full-
here ai'c

several with this handsome cast of Asiatic
features, the prominent nose and fair skin,
which is an additional confirmation of the
eastern origin of these wanderers.

Having touched the flag-staff, the Chip-
pewa related his war deeds, and danced the
pipe dance, handing the calumet of peace to
the principal officers present, and very grace-
fully concluded by asking for refreshment for
the warriors and the wise men, which of
course was immediately and liberally given.

Would that I could continue this little
narrative, with the same interesting features
of untaught and uncivilized nature ; for with
all the barbarous and blood-thirsty display
of their warlike deeds, there was something
so noble, simple, and chaste in the manners,
bearing, and demeanour of these sons of the
forest, that it won golden opinions from all
beholders ! But a few short months after-
wards, as I have before observed, I ajrain
saw my friends the Pou-tah-wah-tamies,
sitting on the sward in front of the very

308

THE GIANT S TOMB.

parliament buildings at Toronto, haggard,
clothed in rags and filthy blankets, bearing
the evidence of starvation in their intelligent
features.

Before we leave Pcnetangueshene (tho
harbour of the rolling white sand), we will
just take a peep outside, and look at some
beautiful scenery in the Georgian Bay, par-
ticularly the Giant's Tomb.

This is a sounding title, but it means lit-
tle. I took a long and fatiguing journey to
sec Thunder Bay, the Christian Islands,
and the Giant's Tomb, fit materials, as I
imagined, for poesy and prose. Here, me-
thought, some pious disciple of the excel-
lent Bunyan had been, and from that uni-
versal book extracted names worthy of a
Pilgrim's Progress. Here, methought, I
may, with Goldsmith,

" Behold the duteous son, the sire decay 'd,
The modest matron, and the blushing maid.
Forced from their homes, a melancholy train.
To traverse climes beyond the western main,
AV^here wild Oswego spreads her swamps around,
And Niagara stuns with thundering sound !

^^fl^PWWS

VOLUNTARY EXILES.

S09

laggard,

bearing

telligent

me (the
, we will
at some
Jay, par-

leans lit-
iirney to
Islands,
lIs, as I
ere, me-
le excel-
hat uni-
hy of a
ught, I

in,
n,

•ound,
I

E'en now, perhaps, as there some pilgrim strays

Througli tangled forests, and through dangerous ways,

AV'here beasts with man divided empire claim,

And the brown Indian marks with murd'rous aim ;

There, while above the giddy tempest flies,

And all around distressful yells arise.

The pensive exile, bending with his woe,

To stop, too fearful, and too faint to go.

Casts a long look where England's glories shine,

And bids his bosom sympathize with mine."

But, alas ! for those visions of vapour
which haunt the imagination, I found at
Thunder Bay, after penetrating miles from
the habitation of man through the tanoled
forest, but one pilgrim, and he a Canadian
Frenchman, of most sinister aspect, in a
sheilino- which would have diso-raced a Hioh-
land shepherd, with a ragged and dirty
family, with whom I should be very sorry
indeed to pass one night. Monsieur Le Bat,
as he is styled, is a voluntary exile, and
exists bv the fisherv, and has but one ncioh-
hour, who resides five miles distant, and is
only to be reached by an extremely difficult
Indian path.

310

THE GREAT SPIRIT.

The Christian Islands are more practi-
cable ; they are so called from a missionary
station for converting the Indians, which
was formerly established on them, and from
the remains of a Catholic chapel, which still
exists.

But the Giant's Tomb — surely this must
mean something! And so it does, for
Indians, Frenchmen, Englishmen, all call it
by the same designation — which simply
means that its form is very like that of an
enormous grave. It is uninhabited, as all
this coast is, and as wild as imagination can
picture it.

I took a view of this spot from a project-
ing ledge of rocks, from which the expanse
of Huron first becomes visible, after emerg-
infj from the chain of huo^e isles which block
up the cast end of the Georgian Bay.

The Indians seem to avoid all settlement
on any of the isles or woody shores in this
neighbourhood, perhaps on account of the
sacred nature of the Manitoulin chain in

T—T-

e practi-
issionarv
s, which
and from
hich still

this must
does, for
all call it
h simply
bat of an
3d, as all
lation can

a project-

e expanse

er emerg-

lich block

ay.
ettlement

es in this
int of the
chain in

SIR JOHN COLBORNE.

311

their vicinity, where the great Manitou is
supposed by them to reside.

On the largest of these islands, called
Manitou-a -wanning. Sir John Colborne was,
however, forming a settlement for those
wandering tribes who had no fixed lands
assigned to them in Canada. But whether
the missionaries will be able to overcome
their superstitions respecting it, I have, as
yet, had no opportunity of knowing.

Sir John Colborne was called the father
of the Indians, with strict justice, for every
leisure moment was spent by him in endea-
vours to ameliorate their condition. Let us
hope that his grand scheme for concentrating
the almost starving tribes of Huron and
Superior on this magnificent island will yet
be effected ; and that Britain will ever hold
out a fostering and paternal hand to the
victims of civilization, who have been driven,
by pestilential disorders brought amongst
them, by the sword, and (worst of all) by
what they still eagerly seek for, the scourge

312

SIR JOHN COLBORNE.

firc-vvatcr (scu-te-wah-bah) from the homes
of their fathers, their natal soil, and inalien-
able property, to the howling deserts of
Huron and Superior, where game is not
found sufficiently abundant for their support,
and where the frightful climate soon thins
their numbers and paralyzes their energies.

END OF VOL. I.

I'FUNTKD IIV WILLIAM \\IL(0( KSON, UOLLS 111 ILDlMiS, FETTLK LANK.

he homes
d inalien-
leserts of
le is not
r support,
oon thins
energies.

ETTKR LANK.

muz^0f

APPENDIX.

VOLUME I.

As, since the present work was written, the Union
OF THE Canadas, One of the most important events
in the history of the countries on which they treat, has
been carried into effect, which event took place on the
morning of the 23rd of July of the present year, agree-
ably to an Act of the Imperial Parliament, (3 and 4
Victorise, cap. 35.) passed for that purpose ; and as this
Union comprehends io many matters of the highest con-
sequence to all who .nay have any connexion with, or
who may feel any interest in, the affairs of Canada, the
Author presumes he cannot do a more acceptable ser-
vice than to insert the aforesaid Act, in full.

The reader must also bear in mind, that the Capital
of the United Province is now Kingston, at the
north-eastern extremity of Lake Ontario, and that,
consequently, many of the observations applied, in the
earlier part of this work, to Toronto, will now apply
equally well to the above-named city ; and that, al-
though politically the distinction between Upper and
Lower Canada is no longer acknowledged, the geogra-
phical distinction still, of course, remains the same.

VOL. I. P

314

ACT TO RF.-UNITE

AN ACT

TO RK-UNITK THE I'ROVINCKS OF UPPER AND
LOWER CANADA, AND TOR THE GOVERNMENT
OF CANADA. [23d July 1840.J

Whereas it is necessary that provision be made for the
good government of the Provinces of Upper Canada
and Lower Canada, in such manner as may secure the
rights and liberties and promote the interests of all
classes of Her Majesty's subjects within the same : And
whereas to this end it is expedient that the said Pro-
vinces be re-united and form one Province for the pur-
poses of executive government and legislation : Be it
therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Ma-
jesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords
spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same,
That it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, with the advice
of Her Privy Council, to declare, or to authorize the
Governor General of the said Two Provinces of Upper
and Lower Canada, to declare, by Proclamation, that
the said Provinces, upon, from, and after a certain day
in such Proclamation to be appointed, which day shall
be within fifteen calendar months next after the passing
of this Act, shall form and be One Province, under the
name of the Province of Canada, and thenceforth the
said Provinces shall constitute and be One Province,
under the name aforesaid, upon, from, and after the day
so appointed as aforesaid.

U. And be it enacted, That so much of an Act
passed in the Session of Parliament held in the thirty-

I'PPEIl AND LOWER CANADA.

{31.>

'ER AND
IINMENT

,Y 1840.J

ide for the
!r Canada
secure the
Bsts of all
anie: And

said Pro-
Dr the pur-
ion : Be it
client Ma-

the Lords
his present
f the same,

the advice
thorize the
s of Upper
lation, that
certain day
h day shall
the passing
, under the
iceforth the
B Province,
fter the day

of an Act
1 the thirty-

first year of the reign of King George the Third, intitu-
led "An Act to repeal certain Parts of an Act passed
in the Fourteenth Year of His Majesty's Reign, intituled
* An Act for making more effectual Provision for the
Government of the Province of Quebec in North Ame-
rica,' and to make further Provision for the Government
of the said Province," as provides for constituting and
composing a Legislative Council and Assembly within
each of the said Provinces respectively, and for the
makings of laws ; and also the whole of an Act passed
in the Session of Parliament held in the first and second
years of the reign of Her present Majesty, intituled "An
Act to make temporary Provision for the Government
of Lower Canada ; and also the whole of an Act passed
in the Session of Parliament held in the second and third
years of the reign of Her present Majesty, intituled
" An Act to amend an Act of the last Session of Parlia-
ment for making temporary Provision for the Govern-
ment of Lower Canada :" and also the whole of an Act
passed in the Session of Parliament, held in the first and
second years of the reign of His late Majesty King
William the Fourth, intituled " An Act to amend an
Act of the Fourteenth Year of His Majesty King (jeorge
the Third, for establishing a Fund towards defraying the
Charges of the Administration of Justice and the Sup-
port of Civil Government in the Province of Quebec in
America," shall continue ai.d remain in force until the
day on which it shall be declared, by Proclamation as
aforesaid, that the said Two Provinces shall constitute
and be One Province as aforesaid, and shall be repealed
on, from, and after such day : Provided always, that the
repeal of the said several Acts of Parliament and parts
of Acts of Parlian)ent shall not be held to revive or o-ive
any force or effect to any enactment which has by the

;316

ACT TO HE-L'NITE

said Acts, or any of them, been repealed or deter-
mined.

III. And be it enacted. That from and after the re-
union of the said Two Provinces there shall be within
tlie Province of Canada One Legishitive Council and
One Assembly, to be severally coiistituted and com-
posed in tlu! manner hereinafter prescribed, which shall
be called ** The Legislative Council and Assembly of
Canada ;" and that, within the Province of Canada,
Her Majesty shall have power, by and with the advice
and consent of the said Legislative Council and Assem-
bly, to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good
government of the Province of Canada, such laws not
being repugnant to this Act, or to such parts of the
said Act passed in the thirty-first year of the reign of
His said late Majesty as are not hereby repealed, or to
any Act of Parliament made or to be made, and not
hereby repealed, which does or shall, by express enact-
ment or by necessary intendment, extend to the Pro-
vinces of Upper and Lower Canada, or to either of
them, or to the Province of Canada; and that all such
laws being passed by the said Legislative Council and
Assembly, and assented to by Her Majesty, or assented
to in Her Meijesty's name by the Governor of the Pro-
vince of Canada, shall be valid and binding to all
intents and purposes within the Province of Canada.

IV. And be it enacted, That for the purpose of com-
posing the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
it shall be lawfid for Her Majesty, before the time to be
appointed for the first meeting of the said Legislative
Council and Assembly, by an instrument imder the sign
manual, to authorize the Governor, in Her Majesty's
name, by an instrument under the Great Seal of the said
Province, to summon to the said Legislative Council of

U1»1'EU AND LOWER CANADA.

017

r tleter-

r the rc-
le within
ncil and
ml com-
ich shall
cmbly of
Canada,
le advice
d Assem-
md good
laws not
ts of the
; reign of
led, or to
, and not
2SS enact-
the Pro-
either of
it all such
III ncil and
V assented
r the Pro-
ing to all
jauada.
se of com-
of Canada
time to be
Legislative
ler the sign
■ Majesty's
of the said
Council of

the said Province such persons, being not fewer than
twenty, as Her Majesty shall think (it ; and that it shall
also be lawful for Her Mujesty from time to time to
authorize the Governor in like manner to summon to
the said Fx'gislative Council such other person or persons
as Her Majesty shall think tit, anfl that every person
who shall be so surnnioned shall thereby become a
member of the Legislative Council of the Province of
Canada : Provided always, that no person shull be
summoned to the said Legislative Council of the Pro-
vince of Canada who shall not be of the full age of
twenty-one years, and a natural-born subject of Her
Majesty, or a subject of Her Majesty naturalized by
Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or by Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, or by an Act of the Legislature of either of the
Provinces of Upper or Lower Canada, or by an Act of
the Legislature of the Province of Canada.

V. And be it enacted. That every member of the
Legislative Council of the Province of Canada shall
hold his seat therein for the term of his life, but subject
nevertheless to the provisions hereinafter contained for
vacating the same.

VL And be it enacted. That it shall be lawful for
any member of the Legislative Council of the Province
of Canada to resign his seat in the said Legislative
Council, and upon such resignation the seat of such
Legislative Councillor shall become vacant.

Vn. And be it enacted. That if any Legislative
Councillor of the Province of Canada shall for two suc-
cessive sessions of the Legislature of the said Province
fail to give his attendance in the said Legislative Coun-
cil, without the permission of Her Majesty or of the
Governor of the said Province, signified by the said

318

ACT TO RE-UNITE

Governor to the Legislative Council, or shall take any
oath or make any declaration or acknowledgment of
allegiance, obedience, or adherence to any foreign
prince or power, or shall do, concur in, or adopt any
Act whereby he may become a rjubjcct or citizen of any
foreign state or power, or whereby he may become en-
titled to the rights, privileges, or immunities of a subject
or citizen of ony foreign state or power, or shall become
bankrupt, or take the benefit of any law relating to in-
solvent debtors, or become a public defaulter, or be
attainted of treason, or be convicted of felony or of any
infamous crime, his seat in such council shall thereby
become vacant.

VIII. And be it enacted, That any question which
shall arise respecting any vacancy in i,he Legislative
Council of the Province of Canada, on occasion of any
of the matters aforesaid, shall be referred by the Go-
vernor of the Province of Canada to the said Legislative
Council, to be by the said Legislative Council heard
and determined : Provided always, that it shall be law-
ful, either for the person respecting whose seat such
question shall have arisen, or for Her Majesty's Attorney
General for the said Province on Her Majesty's behalf,
to appeal from the determination of *he said Council in
such case to Her Majesty, and that the judgment of Her
Majesty given with the advice of Her Privy Council
thereon shall be final and conclusive to all intents and
purposes.

IX. And be it enacted, That the Governor of the
Province of Canada shall have power and authority
from time to time, by an instrument under the Great
Seal of the said Province, to appoint one member of the
said Legislative Council to be Speaker of the said Legis-
lative Council, and to remove him, and appoint another
in his stead.

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

319

take any
jmerit of
f foreign
dopt any
en of any
!Come en-
a subject
11 become
ing to in-
;er, or be
or of any
11 thereby

ion which
Legislative
on of any
y the Go-
Legislative
ncil heard
all be law-
seat such
s Attorney
:y's behalf,
Council in
lent of Her
vy Council
iitents and

-nor of the
1 authority
r the Great
mber of the
said Legis-
)int another

X. And be it enacted, That the presence of at least
ten members of the said Legislative Council, including
the Speaker, shall be necessary to constitute a meeting
for the exercise of its powers ; and that all questions
which shall arise in the said Legislative Council shall
be decided by a majority of voices of the members pre-
sent other than the Speaker, and when the voices shall
be equal the Speaker shall have the casting vote.

XI. And be it enacted. That for the purpose of con-
stituting the Legislative Assembly of the Province of
Canada it shall be lawful lor the Governor of the said
Province, within the time hereinafter mentioned, and
thereafter from time to time as occasion shall re([uirc,
in Her Majesty's name, and by an instrument or instru-
ments under the Great Seal of the said Province, to
summon and call together a Legislative Assembly in
and for the said Province.

XH. And be it enacted, That in the Legislative As-
sembly of the Province of Canada to be constituted as
aforesaid the parts of the said Province which now con-
stitute the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada re-
spectively shall, subject to the provisions hereinafter
contained, be represented by an equal number of repre-
sentatives, to be elected for the places and in the man-
ner hereinafter mpntioned.

XHL And be it enacted, That the County of Halton
in the Province of Uppei' Canada shall be divided into
Two Ridings, to be called respectively the East Riding
and the West Riding ; and that the East Riding of the
said County shall consist of the following Townships,
namely, Trafalgar, Nelson, Esquesing, Nassagawega,
East Flamborough, West Flamborough, Ering, Bever-
ley ; and that the West Riding of the said County
shall consist of the following Townships, namely, Gara-

320

ACT TO RE-UNITE

fraxa, Nichol, Woolwich, Guelph, Waterloo, Wilmot,
Dumfries, Puslinch, Eramosa ; and that the East
Riding and West Riding of the said County shall each
be represented by one member in the Legislative As-
sembly of the Province of Canada.

XIV. And be it enacted. That the County of Nor-
thumberland in the Province of Upper Canada shall be
divided into Two Ridings, to be called respectively the
North Riding and the South Riding ; and that the
Noith Riding of the last-mentioned County shall con-
sist of the following Townships, namely, Monaghan,
Otonabee, Asphodel, Smith, Douro, Dummer, Belmont,
Methuen, Burleigh, Harvey, Emily, Gore, Ennismore ;
arid that the South Ridino; of the last-mentioned Countv
shall consist of the following Townships, namely, Ha-
milton, Haldimand, Cramak, Murray, Seymour, Percy;
and that the North Riding and South Riding of the
last-mentioned County shall each be represented by
one member in the Legislative Assembly of the Pro-
vince of Canada.

XV. And be it enacted. That the County of Lincoln
in the Province of Upper Canada shall be divided into
Two Ridings, to be called respectively the North Riding
and the South Hiding; and that the North Riding shall
be formed by uniting the First Riding and Second
Riding of the said County, and the South Riding by
uniting the Third Riding and Fourth Riding of the said
County; and that the North and South Riding of the
last-mentioned County shall each be represented by one
member in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of
Canada.

XVL And be it enacted. That every County and
Riding, other than those hereinbefore specified, which
at the time of luv. passing of this Act was by luw en^

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

321

Wilmot,
the East
hall each
ative As-

r of Nor-
1 shall be
lively the

that the
ihall con-
on a ghan,
Belmont,
inismore ;
d County
nely, Ha-
ir, Percy;
ns: of the
ented by

the Pro-

if Lincoln
vided into
th Riding
ding shall
d Secund
Riding by
)f the said
ing of the
ted bv one
rovince of

)unty and
ied, which
oy law ers'

titled to be represented in the Assembly of the Pro-
vince of Upper Canada, shall be represented by one
member in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of
Canada.

ll XVIL And be it enacted, That the City of Toronto

" shall be represented by two members, and the Towns of

Kingston, Brockville, Htimilton, Cornwall, Niagara,
London, and Bytown shall each be represented bv one
member in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of
Canada.

XVIII. And be it enacted. That every County which
before and at the time of the passing of the said Act of
Parliament, intituled ** An Act to make temporary Pro-
vision for the Government of Lower Canada," was en-
titled to be represented in the Assembly of the Province
of Lower Canada, except the Counties of Montmorency,
Orleans, L'Assomption, La Chesnaye, L'Acadie, La-
prairie, Dorchester, and Beauce, hereinafter mentioned,
shall be represented by one member in the Legislative
Assembly of the Province of Canada.

XIX. And be it enacted. That the said Counties of
Montmorency and Orleans shall be united into and
form One County, to be called the County of Mont-
morency; and that the said Counties of L'Assomption,
and La Chesnaye shall be united into and form One
County, to be called the County of Leinster; and that
the said Counties of L'Acadie and Laprairie shall be
united into and form One County, to be called the
County of Huntingdon ; and that the Counties of Dor-
chester and Beauce sliall be united into and form One
Countv, to be called the Countv of Dorchester : and
that each of the said Counties of Montmorency, Lein-
ster, Huntingdon, and Dorchester shall be represented

32-2

ACT TO RE-UNITE

by one member in the Legislative Assembly of the said
Province of Canada.

XX. And be it enacted, That the Cities of Quebec
and Montreal shall each be represented by two mem-
bers, and the Towns of Three Rivers and Sherbrooke
shall each be represented by one member in the Legis-
lative Assembly of the Province of Canada.

XXL And be it enacted, That for the purpose of
electins^ their several representatives to the said Legis-
lative Assembly, the cities and towns hereinbefore men-
tioned shall be deemed to be bounded and limited in
such manner as the Governor of the Province of Ca-
nada, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the
Province, to be issued within thirty days after the Union
of the said Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Ca-
nada, shall set forth and describe ; and such parts of
any such city or town (if any) which shall not be
included within the boundary of such city or town
respectively by such Letters Patent, for the purposes of
this Act shall be taken to be a part of the adjoining
County or Riding, for the purpose of being represented
in the said Legislative Assembly.

XXIL And be it enacted. That for the purpose of
electing the members of the Legislative Assembly of the
Province of Canada, it shall be lawful for the Governor
of the said Province, from time to time, to nom.inate
proper persons to execute the office of Returning Offi-
cer in each of the Counties, Ridings, Cities, and Towns
which shall be represented in the Legislative Assembly
of the Province of Canada, subject nevertheless to the
provisions hereinafter contained.

XXIII. And be it enacted. That no person shall be
obliged to execute the said office of returning otHcer for

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

3'23

e said

Quebec
mem-
irooke
Legis-

(ose of

Legis-

e nien-

lited in

of Ca-

of the

; Union

ver Ca-

aarts of

not be

)r town

poses of

[Ijoining

resented

••pose of
ly of the
Governor
lominate
ing Offi-
id Towns
Assembly
3SS to the

I shall be
officer for

any longer term than one year, or oftener than once, un-
less it shall be at any time otherwise provided by some act
or acts of the Legislature of the Province of Canada.

XXIV. And be it enacted, That Writs for the Elec-
tion of members to serve in the Legislative Assembly of
the Province of Canada shall be issued by the governor
of the said Province, within fourteen days after the seal-
ing of such instrument as aforesaid, for summoninir and
calling together such Legislative Assembly; and that
such Writs shall be directed to the returning officers of
the said Counties, Riding, Cities, and Towns respec-
tively ; and that such writs shall be made returnable
within fifty days at farthest from the day on which they
shall bear date, unless it shall at any time be otherwise
provided by any Act of the Legislature of the said Pro-
vince ; and that Writs shall in like manner and form be
issued for the Election of members in the case of any
vacancy which shall happen by the death or resignation
of the person chosen or by his being summoned to t!.e
Legislative Council of the said Province, or from any
other legal cause; and that such Writs shall be made
returnable within fifty days at farthest from the day on
which they shall bear date, unless it shall be at any time
otherwise provided by any Act of the Legislature of the
said Province ; and that in any case of any such vacancy
which shall happen by the death of the person chosen,
or by reason of his being so summoned as aforesaid, the
Writ for the Election of a new member shall be issued
within six days after notice thereof shall have been de-
livered to or left at the office of the proper officer tor
issuing such Writs of Election.

XXV. And be it enacted. That it shall be lawful for
the Governor of the Province of Canada for the time
being to fix the time and place of holding Elections of

3-24

ACT TO RE-UNITE

members to serve in the Legislative Assembly of the said
Province, until otherwise provided for as hereinafter is
mentioned, giving not less than eight days notice of such
time and place.

XXVI. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful
for the Legislature of the Province of Canada, by any
Act or Acts to be hereafter passed, to alter the divisions
and extent of the several Counties, Ridings, Cities, and
Towns which shall be represented in the Legislative
Assembly of the Province of Canada, and to establish
new and other divisions of the same, and to alter the
apportionment of representatives to be chosen by the said
Counties, Ridings, Cities and Towns respectively, and
make a new and different Apportionment of the number
of representatives to be chosen in and for those parts o*'
the Province of Canada which now constitute the said
Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada respectively, and
in and for the several Districts, Counties, Ridings, and
Towns in the same, and to alter and regulate the appoint-
ment of returning officers in and for the same, and make
provision in such manner as they may v.!eem expedient,
for the issuing and return of writs for the election of mem-
bers to serve in the said Legislative Assembly, and the
time and place of holding such elections : provided
always, that it shall not be lawful to present to the
Governor of the Province of Canada for Her Majesty's
assent any Bill of the Legislative Council and Assembly
of the said Province by which the number of repre-
.^entatives in the Legislative Assembly may be altered,
unless the second and third reading of such Bill in the
Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly shall
have been passed with the concurrence of two thirds of
the members for the time being of the said Legislative As-
sembly respectively, and the assent of Her Majesty shall

UPPLR AND LOWER CANADA.

325

not be given to any such Bill unless addresses shall have
been presented by the Legislative Council and the Le-
gislative Assembly respectively to the Governor, stating
that such Bill has been so passed.

XXVIL And be it enacted, That until provisions
shall otherwise be made by an Act or Acts of the Legis-
lature of the Province of Canada all the laws which
at the time of the passing of this Act are in force in the
Province of Upper Canada, and all the laws which at
the Time of the passing of the said Act of Parliament,
intituled, *' An Act to make temporary provision for the
Government of Lower Canada," were in force in the
Province of Lower Canada, relating to the qualification
and disqualification of any person to be elected or to sit
or vote as a member of the Assembly in the said Pro-
vinces respectively, (except those which require a qualifi-
cation of property in candidates for election, for which
provision is herein after made,) and relating to the
qualification and disqualification of voters at the election
of members to serve in the Assemblies of the said Pro-
vinces respectively, and to the oaths to be taken by any
such voters, and to the powers and duties of returning
officers, and the proceedings at such elections, and the
period during which such Elections may be lawfully con-
tinued, and relating to the trial of controverted elections,
and the proceedings incident thereto, and to the vacating
of seats of members, and the issuing and execution ot"
new writs in case of any seat being vacated otherwise
than by a dissolution of the Assembly, shall respectively
be applied to elections of members to serve in the Le-
gislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for places
situated in those parts of the Province of Canada for
which such laws were passed.

XXVIIL And be it enacted, That no person shall

326

ACT TO UK-UNITE

be capable of being elected a member of the Legislative
Assembly of the Province of Canada who shall not he
legally or equitably seised as of freehold, for his own
use and benefit, of lands or tenements held in free and
common socage, or seised or possessed, for his own use
and benefit, of lands or tenements held in fief or in
rotufo, -.vithin the said Province of Canada, of the
value of five hundred pounds of sterling money of
Great Britain, over and above all rents, charges, mort-
gages, and incumbrances charged upon and due and
payable out of or affecting the same; and that every
candidate at such election, before he shall be capable of
being elected, shall, if required by any other candidate,
or by any elector, or by the returning officer, make the
following declaration :

'• I A. B. do declare and testify, That I am duly
" seised at law or in equity as of freehold, for my own use
" and benefit, of lands or tenements held in free and
'* common socage, [or duly seised or possessed, for my
•' own use and benefit, of lands or tenements held in
*' fief or in roture, (as the case may be),] in the Province
** of Canada, of the value of five hundred pounds of
'* sterling money of Great Britain, over and above all
*' rents, mortgages, charj.;3S, and incumbrances charged
'* upon or due and payable out of or af^octing the sani'? ;
** and that I have not -^ollusively or : oiouraMy obtaiiiCd
*' a title to or become possessed of the said lands and
" tenements, or any part thereof, for the purpose of
*' qualifying o'* enabling me to I)e returned a member of
" the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canatla."

XXIX. And be it enicted. That if any person shall
knowingly i id wilfully make a false declaration respect-
ing his qualification as a candidate at any elecHon as
aforesaid, such person shall be deemed to be guilty of a

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

327

egislative
ill not he

his own
, free and
i own ust;
fief or in
I, of the
noney of
es, mort-

due and
liat every
apable of
andidate,
make the

am duly
y own use

free and
d, for my
ts held in
; Province
pounds of

above all
;s charged
the same ;
f obtained
lands and
urpose of
member of

Canat'.a."
irson shall
»n respect-
ilection as
Sfuilty of a

misdemeanor, and ycinj^ thereof lawfully convicted shall
suffer the like pains and penalties as by law are incurred
by persons guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury in the
place in which such false declaration shall have been
made.

XXX. And be it enacted, That it sha'l be lawful for
the Governor of the Province of Canada for the time
being to fix such place or places within any part of the
Province of Canada, and such times for holding the first
and every other Session of the Legislative Council and
Assembly of the said Province, as he may think fit,
such times and places to be afterwards changed or varied
as the Governor may judge advisable and most consis-
tent with general convenience and the public welfare,
giving sufficient notice thereof; and also to prorogue
the said Legislative Council and Assembly from time to
time, and dissolve the same, by proclamation or other-
wise, whenever he shall deem it expedient.

XXXL And be it enacted, That there shall be a
session of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the
Province of Canada once at least in every year, so that
a period of twelve calendar months shall not intervene
between the last sitlmg of the Legislative Council and
Assembly in one session and the first sittir;g of the
Legislative Council and Assembly in the next session ;
and that every Legislative Assembly of the said Province
hereafter to be summoned and chosen shall continue for
four years from the day of the return of the writs for
choosing the same, and no longer, subject nevertheless
to be sooner prorogued or dissolved by the Governor of
the said Province.

XXXII. And be it enacted, That the Legislative
Council and / ssembly of the Province of Canada shall
be called together for the first time at some period not

c,,-
v^ h.

328

ACT TO RE-UNITE

later than six calendar months after the time at whicli
the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada shall become
reunited as aforesaid.

XXXIII. And be it enacted, That the members of
the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
shall, upon the first assembling after every general elec-
tion, proceed forthwith to elect one of their number to
be Speaker; and in case of his death, resignation, or
removal by a vote of the said Legislative Assembly, the
said members shall forthwith proceed to elect another
of such members to be such .Speaker; and the Speaker
so elected shall preside at all meetings of the said
Legislative Assembly.

XXXIV. And be it enacted, That the presence of at
least twenty members of the Legislative Assembly of
the Province of Canada, including the Speaker, shall
bo necessary to constitute a meeting of the said Legis-
lative Assembly for the exercise of its powers ; and that
all questions which shall arise in the said Assembly shall
be decided by the majority of voices of such members as
shall be present, other than the Speaker, and when the
voices shall be equal the Speaker shall !-ave the casting
voice.

XXXV. And be it enacted. That no member, either
of the Legislative Council or of the Legislative Assembly
of the Province of Canada, shall be permitted to sit or
vote therein until he shall have taken and subscribed
the following oath before the Governor of the said Pro-
vince, or before some person or persons authorized by
such Governor to administer such oath :

"I A. B. do sincerely promise and swear. That I
will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty
Queen Victoria, as lawful sovereign of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of this Province

?• 1

the

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

320

at which
1 become

mbers of
Canada
2ral elec-
iiiiber to
Htion, or
iibly, the
t another
I Speaker
the said

!nce of at
embly of
ker, sliall
lid Legis-
and that
nbly shall
embers as
when the
le casting

)er, either
Assembly

to sit or
ubscribed

said Pro-
orized by

That I
r Majesty
ted King-
i Province

of Canada, dependent on and belonging to the said
United Kingdom ; and that I will defend Her to the
utmost of my power against all traitorous conspiracies
and attempts whatever which shall be nuide against Her
person, crown, and dignity ; and that I will do my
utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to Her
Majesty, Her heirs and successors, all treasons and
traitorous conspiracies and attempts which I shall know
to be against Her or any of them ; and all this I do
swear without any equivocation, mental evasion, or
secret reservation, and renouncing all pardons and dis-
pensations from any person or persons whatever to the
contrary. So help me GOD."

XXXVI. And be it enacted, That every person
authorized by law to make an affirmation instead of
taking an oath may make such affirmation in every
case in which an oath is hereinbefore required to be
taken.

XXXVH. And be it enacted, That whenever any
Bill which hiis been passed by the Legislative Council
and Assembly of the Province of Canada shall be pre-
sented for Her Majesty's assent to the Governor of the
said Province, such Governor shall declare, according
to his discretion, but subject nevertheless to the pro-
visions contained in this Act, and to such instructions
as may from time to time be given in that behalf by
Her Majesty, Her heirs or successors, that he assents to
such Bill in Her Majesty's name, or that he withholds
Her Majesty's assent, or that he reserves such Bill for
the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon.

XXXVHI. And be it enacted, That whenever any
Bill which shall have been presented for Her Majesty's
assent to the Governor of the said Province of Canada
shall by such Governor have been assented to in Her

ono

ACT TO IIE-UNITR

Majesty's name, sucli (lovernor sliall by tlic first conve-
nient opportunity transmit to one of Her Majesty's
principal Secretaries of Slate an authentic cojiy of such
Bill so assented to; and that it shall be lawful, at any
time within two years aft(;r such Bill shall have been so
received by such Secretary of State, for Her Majesty,
by Order in Council, to declaro Her disallowance of
such Bill ; and that such disallowance, together with a
certificate under the hand and seal of such Secretary of
State, certifying the day on which such Bill was received
as aforesaid, being signified by such Governor to tlie
Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada, by speech
or message to the Legislative Council and Assembly of
the said province, or by proclamation, shall make void
and annul the same from and after the day of such
signification.

XXXI X. And be it enacted, That no Bill which shall
be reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's plea-
sure thereon shall have any force or authority within
the province of Canada until the Governor of the said
Province shall signify, either by speech or message to
the Legislative Council and Assembly of the said Pro-
vince, or by proclamation, that such Bill has been laid
before Her Majesty in council and that Her Majesty
has been pleased to t^ssent to the same ; and that an
entry shall be made in the Journals of the said Legis-
lative Council of every such speech, message, or procla-
mation, and a duplicate thereof, duly attested, shall be
delivered to the proper oflficer, to be kept among the
records of the said Provi; le ; and that no Bill which
shall be so reserved as aforesaid shall have any force
or authority in the said Province unless Her Majesty's
assent thereto shall have been so signified as aforesaid
within the space of two years from the day on which

UPI'Kll ANn I.OWKR CANADA.

nni

St conve-
Mujesty's
y of swell
il, at any
e been so
Majesty,
iwance of
ler with a
cretary of
s received
or to the
by speech
scnibly of
nake void
y of such

i'hich shall
sty's plea-
ity within
f the said
fiessage to
said Pro-
been laid
ir Majesty
id that an
aid Legis-
or procla-
d, shall be
among the
Bill which
; any force
• Majesty's
s aforesaid
1 on which

such Bill shall have been presented for Her Majesty's
assent to the (Jovernor as aforesaid.

XL. Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing
herein contained shall be construed to limit or restrain
the exercise of Her Majesty's prerogative in aiithori/ing,
and that notwithstanding this Act, and any other Act
or Acts passed in the Parliament of Great Britain, or in
the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, or of the Legislature of the Province of
Quebec, or of the Provinces of Upper or Lower Canada
respectively, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty to
authorize the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of
Canada to exercise and execute within such parts of
the said Province as Her Majesty shall think fit, not-
withstanding the presence of the Governor within the
Province, such of the powers, functions, and authority,
as well judicial as other, which before and at the time
of passing of this Act were and are vested in the Gover-
nor, Lieutenant Governor, or person administering the
governmentof the Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower
Canada respectively, or of either of them, and which
from and after the said reunion of the said Two Pro-
vinces shall become vested in the Governor of the Pro-
vince of Canada ; and to authorize the Governor of th^
Province of Canada to assign, depute, substitute, and
appoint any person or persons, jointly or severally, to
be his deputy or deputies within any part or parts of
the Province of Canada, and in that capacity to exer-
cise, perform, and execute during the pleasure of the
said Governor, such of the powers, functions, and autho-
rties, as well judicial as other, as before and at the time
< . ,1 passing of this Act were and eire vested in the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or person administering
the government of the Provinces of Upper and Lower

3.32

ACT TO RE-UNITE

Canada respectively, and which from and after the union
of the said Provinces shall become vested in the Gover-
nor of the Province of Canada, as the Governor of the
Province of Canada shall deem to be necesi-ary or ex-
pedient : Provided always, that by the appointment of
a deputy or deputies as aforesaid the power and autho-
rity of the Governor of the Province of Canada shal!
not be abridged, altered, or in any way affected other-
wise than as Her Majesty shall think proper to direct.

XLI. And be it enacted, That fronj and after the
said reunion of the said Two Provinces, ail writs, pro-
clamations, instruments for summoning and calling to-
gether the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly
of the Province of Canada, and for ororoguing and
'dissolving the same, and all writs of summons and
election, and all writs and public instruments whatso-
ever relating to the said Legislative Council and Legis-
lative Assembly, or either of them, and all returns to
such writs and instruments, and all journals, ent ies,
and written or printed proceedings, of what nature
soever, of the said Legislative Council and Legislative
Assembly, and of each of them respectively, and all
writter or printed proceedings and reports of ,ommittees
of th'.' said Legislative Council and Legislative Assen^bly
respectively, shall be in the English language only :
Provided always thai this enactment shall not be con-
strued to prevent translated copies of any such docu-
ments being made, but no such copy shall be kept
among the records of the Legislative Council or Legis-
lative Assembly, or be deemed in any case to have 1/3
force of an original record.

XLI I. And be it enacted, That whenever any Bill or
Bills shall be passed by the Legislative Council and
Absenibly of the Province of Canada, containing any

the

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

333

:ie union
I Gover-
)r of the
y or ex-
tment of
cl autho-
ida shall
3(1 other-
) direct,
after the
'fits, pro-
ailing to-
Assembly
uing and
lions and
Ls whatso-
ind Legis-
returns to
s, ent'ies.
at nature
.egislative
and all
omniittees
Assen^bly
,ge only :
t be con-
uch docu-
l be kept
or Legis-
have til 3

kny Bill or
)uncil and
lining any

provisions to vary or repeal any of the piovisions now
in force coiitaincd in an Act of the Parliament of Great
Britain passed in the fourteenth year of the reign of his
late Majesty King George the Third, intituled " An Act
for making more effectual Provision for the Government
of the Province of Quebec in No»"th America," or in the
aforesaid Acts of Parliament passed in the thirty-first
year of the same reign, respecting the accustomed dues
and rights of the clergy of the church of Rome ; or to
vary or repeal any of the several provisions contained in
the said lastmentioned Act, respecting the allotment
and appropriation of lands for the su|)port of the Pro-
testant clergy within the Province of Canada, or re-
specting the constituting, erectinti, or endowing of
parsonages or rectories within the Province of Canada,
or respecting the presentation of incumbents or ministers
of the same, or respecting the tenure on which such
incumbents or ministers shall hold or enjoy the same;
and also that whenever any Bill or Bills shall be passed
containing any provisions which shall in any manner
relide to or atl'eet the enjoyment or exercise of any form
or mode of religious worship, or shall impose or create
any penalties, burdens, disabilities, or disqualifications
in respect of the same, or shall in any manner relate to
or affect the payment, recovery, or enjoyment of any of
the accustomed d'les or rights hereinbefore mentioned ,
or shall in any manner relate to the granting, imposing,
or recovering of any other dues, or stipends, or emolu-
ments, to be paid to or for the use of any minister,
priest, ecclesiastic, or teacher according to any form or
mode of religious worship, in respect of his said office
or function ; or shall in any manner relate to or aflfect
the establishment or discipline of the united church of
England and Ireland among the members thereof within

334

ACT TO RE-UNITE

the said Province ; or shall in any .Planner relate to
or aft'ect Her Majesty's prerogative touching the grant-
ing of'waste lands of the crown within the said Province ;
every such Bill or Bills shall, previously to any declara-
tion or signification of Her Majesty's assent thereto, be
laid before both houses of Parliament of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; and that it
shall not be lawful for Her Majesty to signify Her assent
to any such Bill or Bills until thirty days after the same
shall have been laid before the said houses, or to assent
to any such Bill or Bills in case either House of Parlia-
ment shall, within the said thirty days, address Her
Majesty to withhold Her assent from any such Bill or
Bills; and that no such Bill shall be valid or effectual
to any of the said purposes within the said Province of
Canada unless the Legislative Council and Assembly of
such Province shall, in the session in which the same
shall have been passed by them, have presented to the
Governor of the said Province an address or addresses
specifying that such Bill or Bills contains provisions for
some of the purposes hereinbefore specially described,
and desiring that, in order to give effect to the same,
such Bill or Bills may be transmitted to England with-
out delay, for the purpose of its being laid before Par-
liament previously to the signification of Her Majesty's
assent thereto.

XLin. And whereas by an Act passed in the eigh-
teenth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George
the TUrd, intituled " An Act for removing all Doubts
and Apprehensions concerning Taxation by the Parlia-
ment of Great Britain in any of the Colonies, Provinces,
and Plantations in North America and the West Indies;
and for repealing so much of an Act made in the Seventh
Year of the Reign of His present Majesty as imposes a

LTPEIl AND LOWER CANADA.

335

,ate to

grant-

)vince ;

eclara-

-eto, be

United

that it

;r assent

he same

:o assent

: Parlia-

ress Her

1 Bill or

effectual

Dvince of

sembly of

the same

id to the

addresses

.isions for

lescribed,

[he same,
nd with-
jfore Par-
Majesty's

I the eigh-
ig George
111 Doubts
He Parlia-

'rovinces,
1st Indies ;
le Seventh

Imposes a

Duty ou Tea imported from Great Britain into any
Colony or Plantation in America, or relating tliereto,"
it was declared, that " the King and Parliament of
Great Britain would not impose any duty, tax, or
asse- .nent whatever, payable in any of His Majesty's
Colonies, Provinces, and Plantations in North America
or the West Indies, except only such duties as it might
be expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce,
the net produce of such duties to be always paid and
applied to and for the use of the Colony, Province, or
Plantation in which the same shall he respectively
levied, in such manner as other duties collected by the
authority of the respective General Courts or General
Assemblies of such Colonies, Provinces, or Plantations
were ordinarily paid and applied :" And whereas it is
necessary, for the general benefit of the emj)ire, that
such power of regulation of commerce should continue
to be exercised by Her Majesty and the Parliament of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, sub-
ject nevertheless to the conditions hereinbefore recited
with respect to the application of any duties which may
be imposed for that purpose ; be it therefore enacted,
That nothing in this Act contained shall prevent or
affect the execution of any law which hath been or
shall be made in the Parliament of the said United
Kingdom for establishing regulations and prohibitions,
or for the imposing, levying, o\ collecting duties for the
regulation of navigation, or for the regulation of the
commerce between the Pro 'ince of Canada and any
other part of Her Majesty's dominions, or between the
said Province of Canada or any part thereof and any
foreign couritry or state, or for appointing and directing
the payment of drawbacks of such duties so "mposed, or
to give to Her Majesty any power or authority, by and

836

ACT TO RE- UNITE

with the advice and consent of such Legislative Council
and Assembly of the said Province of Canada, to vary
or repeal any such law or laws, or any part thereof, or in
any manner to prevent or obstrtict the execution thereof:
Provided always, that the net produce of all duties
which shall be so imposed shall at all times hereafter be
applied to and for the use of the said Province of Canada,
and (except as hereinafter provided) in such manner
only as shall be directed by any law or laws which may
be made by Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of such
Province.

XLIV. And whereas by the laws now in force in the
said Province of Upper Canada the Governor, Lieute-
nant Governor, or person administering the government
of the said Province, or the Chief Justice of the said
Province, together with any two or more of the members
of the Executive Council of the said Province, constitute
and are a Court of Appeal for hearing and determining
all appeals from such judgments or sentences as may
lawfully be brought before <hem: And whereas by an
Act of the Legislature of the said Province of Upper
Canada, passed in the thirty-third year of the reign of
His late Majesty King George the Third, intituled " An
Act to establish a Court of Probate in the said Province,
and also a Surrogate Court in every District thereof,"
there was and is established a Court of Probate in the
said Province, in which Act it was enacted that the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or person administering
the government of the said lastnientioned Province
should preside, and that he should have the powers and
authorities in the said Act specified : And whereas by
an Act of the Legislature of the said Province of Upper
Canada, passed in the second year of the reign of His

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

337

Council
to vary
of, or in
Lhereof :
I duties
jafter be
Canada,
manner
lich may
vice and
y of such

rce in the
•, Lieute-
ivernment
[ the said
I members
constitute
termining
s as may
las by an
of Upper
reign of
luled " An
Province,
thereof,"
.te in the
that the
[linistering
Province
wers and
[hereas by
of Upper
i(Tn of His

late Majesty King William the Fourth, intituled ** An
Act respecting the Time and Place of Sitting of the
Court of King's Bench," it was among other things
enacteJ, that His Majesty's Court of King's Bench in
that Province should be holden in a place certain; that
is, in the city, town, or place which should be for the
time being the seat of the civil government of the said
Province or within one mile therefrom : And whereas
by an Act of the Legislatuu of the said Province of
Upper Canada, passed in the seventh year of the reign
of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, intituled
" An Act to establish a Court of Chancery in this Pro-
vince," it was enacted, that there should be constituted
and established a Court of Chancery, to be called and
known by the name and style of " The Court of Chan-
cery for the Province of Upper Canada," of which
Court the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or person
administering the government of the said Province
should be Chancellor; and which Court, it was also
enacted, should be holden at the seat of government in
the said Province, or in such other place as should be
appointed by proclamation of the Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, or person administering the government of
the said Province : And whereas by an Act of the Legis-
lature of the Province of Lower Canada, passed in the
thirty-fourth year of the reign of His late Majesty King
George the Third, intituled •* An Act for the Division of
the Province of Lower Canada, for amending the Judi-
cature thereof, and for repealing certain Laws therein
mentioned," it was enacted, that the Governor, Lieute-
nant Governor, or the person administering the govern-
ment, the Members of the Executive Council of the said
Province, the Chief Justice thereof, and the Chief Jus-
tice to be appointed for the Court of King's Bench at

VOL. I. Q

338

ACT TO K]>uNrn:

Montreal, or any five of tlieni, the Judges of the Court
of the district wherei4i tlie judgment appealed from was
given excepted, should constitute a Superior Court of
Civil Jurisdiction, or Provincial Court of Appeals, and
should take cognizance of, hear, try, and determine all
causes, matters, and things appealed from all civil juris-
dictions and courts wherein an appeal is Ijy law allowed ;
be it enacted. That until otherwise provided by an Act
of the Legislature of the Province of Canada, all judicial
and ministerial authority which before and at the time
of passing this Act was vested in or might be exercised
by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or person admi-
nistering the government of the said Province of Upper
Canada, or the members or any number of the mem-
bers of the Executive Council of the same Province, or
was vested in or might be exercised by the Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, or the person administering the
government of the Province of Lower Canada, and the
niemb(!rs of the Executive Council of that Province,
shall be vested in and may be exercised by the Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, or person administering the go-
vernment of the Province of Canada, and in the mem-
bers or the like number of the members of the Executive
Council of the Province of Canada respectively ; and
that, until otherwise provided by Act or Acts of the
Legislature of the Province of Canada, the said Court
of King's Bench, now called the Court of Queen's Bench
of Upper Canada, shall from and after the union of the
Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada be hokbn at the
city of Toronto, or within one mile from the municipal
boundary of the said city of Toronto : Provided always,
that, until otherwise provided by Act or Acts of the
Leoislature of the Province of Canada, it shall be lawful
for the Governor of the Province of Canada, by and

Exc

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

039

Court

m was

jurt of

Is, and

line all

1 juris-

lowed ;

an Act

judicial

iie time

vcrcised

u admi-

f Upper

e mem-

ance, or

overnor,

ring the
and the

'rovince,

overnor,
the go-

16 mem-
xecutive
y ; and
s of the
id Court
s Bench
)n of the
n at the
lunicipal
:l always,
,s of tlic
}e lawful
by and

witli the advice and consent of the Executive Council
of the same Province, by his proclamation to fix and
api)oint such other place as he may think fit within that
part of the last mentioned Province which now consti-
tutes the Province of Upper Canada for the holding of
the said Court of Queen's Bench.

XLV. And be it enacted, That all powers, authorities,
and functions which by the said Act passed in the
thirty-first year of the reign of His late Majesty King
George the Tln'rd, or by any other Act of Parliament,
or by any Act of the Legislature of the Provinces of
Upper and Lower Canada res|)ectively, are vested in or
are authorized or re([uirc(l to be exercised by the respec-
tive Cxovernors or Lieutenant Governors of the said
Provinces, with the advice or with the advice and con-
sent of the Executive Council of such Provinces respec-
tively, or in conjunction with such Executive Council,
or with any number of the niembers thereof, or by the
said Governors or Lieutenant Governors individually
and alone, shall, in so far as the same are not repugnant
to or inconsistent with the nrovision of this Act, be
vested in and may be exercised by the Governor of the
Province of Canada, with the adviee or with the advice
and consent of, or in conjunction, as the case may
require, with such Executive Council, or any members
thereof, as may be appointed by Her Majesty for the
affairs of the Province of Canada, or by the said Gover-
nor of the Province of Canada individually and alone in
cases where the advice, consent, or concurrence of the
Executive Council is not required.

XLVL And be it enacted, That all laws, statutes, and
ordinances, which at the time of the Union of the Pro-
vinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada shall be in
force within the said Provinces or either of them, or

040

ACT TO RE- UNITE

any part, of the said Prcivinces res[)ectively, shall remai»«
am! fonlinuo to be of the same force, authority, and
< ffect in those parts of the Province of Canada whir!
now constitute the said Provinces respcctiviv as if this
A. t b d not bc'jn made, and ;ts if the s lidTwo Provinces
/ !jfl not been united as aforesaid, except in so far as the
;-4i';o are repealed or varied by this Act, or in so fv.r as
the 3," ? sliall or may hereafter, by virtue and under the
authority of this Act, be repealed or varied by any Act
or Acts of the Le^^islature of the Province of Canad ..

XLVII. And be it enacted, That all the Courts of
Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction within the Piovinces of
Upper and Lower Canada at the time of the Union of
the said Provinces, and all legal commissions, pov"?rs,
and authorities, and all officers, judicial, administrative,
or ministerial, within the said Provinces respectively,
except in so far as the same may he abolished, altered,
or varied by or may be inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act, or ?hali be abolished, altered, or varied by
any Act or Acts of the Lci^islature of the Province
of Canada, sliall continue to subsist within those parts
of the Province of Canada which now constitute the
said two Provinces respectively, in the same form and
with the same etfeci as if this Act had not been made,
and as if the said two Provinces had not been re-united
as aforesaid.

XLVIII. And whereas the Legislatures of the said Pro-
vinces of Upper and Lower Canada have from time to
time passed enactments, which enactments were to con-
tinue in force for a certain number of years after the
passing thereof, " and from thence to the end of the then
next ensuing Session of the Legislature of the Province
in which the same were passed ;" be it thereibre enacted,
That whenever the words " and from thence to the end

remaui
ty, and
I whic.
s if tl'.s
ovinces
ir as the
,0 far as
:ider the
any Act
uiad V.
ourts of
'inces of
Jnion of

pOVil'S,

istrative,
ectively,
altered,
rovisions
aried by
Province
jse parts
itute the
brm and
Ml made,
re-united

said Pro-
[1 time to
e to con-
after the
f the then
Province
J enacted,
the end

. pi>i:i; AM) LOW r, II can aha.

.341

of tlio then next cnsnin ;• Session of the Legislature," or
words to the same cHcTt, have been used in any tem-
])orary Act of (it her of the said Two Provinces "which
s'uii: .lot have cxjiircd before the Reunion of the said
Two Provinces, the said words sliall be construed to
extend and apply to the next Session of the Legislature
of the Province of Canaria.

XLIX. And whereas by a certain Act passer' . lie
third year of the reign of His late Majesty Kin- " Ic: -^
the Fourth, intituled " An Act to regulate thf m k ,J
the Provinces of Lower and Upper Canad • , ac ' for
other Purposes relatin- to the said Provinc -,," .ertain
Provisions were made for appointing arbi^ or- with
power to hear and determine certain claims c-the Pro-
vince of Upper Canada upon the Province of Lower
Canada, and to hear any claim which might be advanced
on the part of the Province of Upper Canada to a pro-
portion of certain duties therein mentioned, and for
prescribing the course of proceeding to be pm-su.ed by
such arbitrators ; be it enacted, That the said recited
provisions of the said last mentioned Act, and all mat-
ters in the same Act contained which are consequent to
or dependent upon the said provisions or any of them,
shall be repealed.

L. And be it enacted, That upon the Union of th(>
Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada all d uties and reve-
nues over which the respective Legislatures of the said
Provinces before and at the time of the passing of this
Act had and have power of appropriation shall form one
consolidated revenue fund, to be appropriated for the
public service of the Province of Canada, in the manner
and subject to the charges hereinafter mentioned.

LL And be it enacted. That the said Consolidated
Revenue Fund of the Province of Canada shall be

342

ACT TO RK-UNITE

poriniinently oliarged with all the costs, charges, and
expences incident to the collection, numagenient, and
rec(!i|)t thereof, such costs, charj^es, and expences being
subject nev( rtlicdcss to be reviewed and audited in sucli
manner as si i all be directed by any Act of the Legisla-
ture of the Province of Canada.

Lll. Aufl be it enacted. That out of the consolidated
reveiuie fund of the Province of Canada there shall be
payal)le in every year to Her Majesty, her heirs and
successors, the sum of forty-five thousand pounds, for
defraying the expence of the several services and pur-
poses named in the Schedule marked A. to this Act
annexed ; and during the life of Her Majesty, and for
five years after the demise of Her Majesty, there shall
be payable to Her Majesty, her heirs and successors,
out of the said consolidated revenue fund, a further sum
of thirty thousand pounds, for defraying the expence of
the several services and purposes named in the Schedule
marked B. to this Act annexed; the said sums of forty-
five thousand pounds and thirty thousand pounds to be
issued by the Receiver General in discharge of such
warrant or warrants as shall be from time to time directed
to him under the hand and seal of the Governor ; and
the said Receiver General shall account to Her Ma-
jesty for the same, through the Lord High Treasurer or
the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's treasury, in
such manner and form as Her Majesty shall be graciously
pleased to direct.

Llll. And be it enacted, That, until altered by any
Act of the Legislature of the Province of Canada, the
salaries of the Governor and of the Judges shall be those
res[)ectively set against their several oilices in the said
Schedule A. ; but that it shall be lawful for the Governor
to abolish anv of the offices named in the said Schedule

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

343

B3, and
nt, and
3S being
in such
Legisla-

iolidated
shall be
eiis and
inuls, for
and pur-
this Act
, and for
iiere shall
iccessors,
rther sum
jipence of
Schedule
of forty-
nds to be

of such
e directed
nor ; and
Her Ma-
easurer or
easury, in

raciously

ed by any
mada, the
11 be those
11 the said
I Governor
i Schedule

B., or to vary the sums appropriated to any of the ser-
vices or purposes named in the said Sclie(hde B. ; and
tiiat the amount of saving which may accrue from any
such alteration in either of the said Schedules shall be
aj)propriiite(l to such j)urposes connected with the admi-
nistration of the (lovernmeiit of the said Province as to
Her Majesty shall seem fit; and that accounts in detail
'<f the expenditure of the several sums of forty-five thou-
sand pounds and thirty thousand pounds hcrein-before
granted, and of every part thereof, shall be laid before
the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of tlu;
said Province within thirty days next after the beginning
of the Session after such expenditure shall have been
made : Provided always, that not more than two thou-
sand pounds shall be })ayable at the same time for pen-
sions to the Judges out of the said sum of forty-five
thousand pounds, and that not more than five thousand
pounds shall be payable at the same time for pensions
out of the said sum of thirty thousand pounds ; and
that a list of all such pensions, and of the persons to
whom the same shall have been granted, shall be laid
in every year before the said Legislative Council and
Legislative Assembly.

LIV. And be it enacted, That during the time for
■which the said several sums of forty-five thousand
pounds and thirty thousand pounds are severally pay-
able the same shall be accepted and taken by Her Ma-
jesty by way of Civil List instead of all territorial and
other revenues now at the disposal of the Crown, arising
in either of the said Provinces of Upper Canada or Lower
Canada, or in the Province of Canada, and that three -
fifths of the net produce of the said territorial and other
revenues now at the disposal of the Crown within the
Province of Canada shall be paid over to the account

344

ACT TO Hr,-i;MTF,

of th(> s;ii(l ('onsf)li(latt'(l revenue I'luid ; and also during
tlie life of Her Majesty, ami for Hve years after tlio
demise of Her Majesty, the remaining; tvvo-lifths of the
net proihiee of the; siiid territorial and <jther revenues
now at the (hsposal of tlie Crown within the I'rovince
of Canachi shall he also |)aid over in like manner to tlie
account of the said consolidated revenue fund.

\.V. And he it enacted, That the consolidation of the
duties and revenues of the said Province shall not he
taken to all'ect the payment out of the said consolidated
revenue fund of any sum or sums heretofei'i char;^ed
upon the rat(,'s and duties already raised, Icic^d, and
collected, and to be raised, levied, and collected, to and
for the use of (lither of the; said I'rovinces of Upper
Canada or Lower Canada or of the Province of Canada,
for such time as shall have been appointed by the several
Acts of the Pr(jvince by which such charges were seve-
rally authorized.

LVI. And be it enacted, That the expeucos of the
collection, inanac:ement, and receipt of the said conso-
lidated revenue fund shall form the first charge thereon;
and that the annual interest of the public debt of the
Provinces of Uppi^r and Lower Canada, or of cither of
them, at the time of the re-union of the said Provinces,
shall ibrm the second charge tliereon ; and that the
payments to be made to the clergy of the united church
of England and Ireland, and to clergy of the church of
Scotland, and to ministers of other Christian denomi-
nations, pursuant to any law or usage whereby such
payments, before or at the time of passing this Act,
were or are legally or usually paid out of the public or
Crown revenue of either of the Provinces of Upper and
Lower Canada, shall from the third charge upon the
said consolidated revenue fund ; and that the said sum

uppr.ii AND Lowrn Canada.

345

(luring
'tor the
9 of the
cvcnues
'roviiice
r to the

n of the
not be
olidatcd
chiir'j2;ed
(!(!, and
, to and
}■ Upper
Canada,
e several
ire seVe-

s of the
[1 conso-
thcreon ;
)t of the
cither of
rovinces,
that the
id church
:hiirch of
denomi-
eby such
tliis Act,
public or
ipper and
upon the
said sum

of forty-five thousand j/ounds shall form the fourth
charge thereon; and that the said sum of thirty thous-
and j)ounds, so long as the same shall continue to be
payable, shall form the fifth charg(! thereon ; and that
the other charges uj)on the rates and duties levied within
the said Province of Canada herein-before reserved shall
form the sixth (diarge thereon, so long as such charges
shall continue to be |)ayable.

LVII. And be it enacted, that, subject to the several
payments hereby charged on the said consolidated re-
venue; fund, the same shall be ap|)ropriated by the
Legislature of the Province of Canada for the public
service, in such manner as they shall t^- nk proper :
Provided always, that all Bills for appropriating any
part of the sur[)lus of the said consolidated revenue
fund, or for imposing any new tax or impost, shall
originate in the Legislative Assembly of the said Pro-
vince of Canada : Provided also, that it shall not be
lawful for the said Legislative Assembly to originate or
pass any vote, resolution, or Bill for the apj)ropriation
of any part of the surplus of the said consolidated revenue
fund, or of any other tax or impost, to any purpose
which shall not have been first recommended by a
message of the Governor to the said Legislative As-
sembly, during the Session in which such vote, resolu-
tion, or Bill shall be passed.

LVl IL And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for
the Go\ernor, by an instrument or instruments to be
issued by him for that purpose under the Great Seal of
the Province, to constitute townships in those parts of
the Province of Canada in which townships are nol
already constituted, and to fix the metes and bounds
thereof, and to provide for the election and appoint!-'!';;t

34G

ACT TO RK-UNITE

of township officers therein, who shah have and exer-
cise the hke powers us arc exercised hy ti.' hke officers
in tlie townsliips already constituted in that part of the
Province of Canada now ca. jd Upper Canada; and
every sucli instrument shall be published by pr'^clama-
tion, and shall have the force of law, *rom a day to be
named in each case in such proclamation.

LIX. And be it enacted, That all powers and autho-
rities expressed in this Act to be given to the Governor
of the Province of Canada, shall be exercised by sucli
Governor in conformity with and subject to such orders,
instructions, and directions as Her Majesty shall from
time to time see fit to make cr issue.

LX. And whereas his late Majesty King George the
Third, by his royal proclamation, bearing date the seventh
day of October in the third year of his reign, was pleased
to declare that he had put the coast of Labrador, from
the river Saint John to Hudson's Straits, with the Islands
of Anticosti and Madclaine, and all other smaller islands
lying on the coast, under the care and inspection of the
Governor of Newfoundland : And whereas by an Act
passed in the fourteenth year of the reign of his said late
Majesty, intituled An Act for making more effectual
provision for the government of the Province of Quebec
in North America, all such territories, islands, and coun-
ties which had, since the tenth day of February in the
year one thousand s-even hundred and sixty-three, been
made part of the government of Newfoundland, were
duiing his Majesty's pleasure annexed to and made
part and parcel of the Province of Quebec, as created
and established by the said royal proclamation ; be it
declared and enacted. That nothing in this or any other
Act contained shall be construed to restrain Her Ma-

UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

347

jcsty, if she sliall l)e so pleased, from annexing the
Mafrdalen Islands in the Ciulf of Saint Lawrence to
Her Mujt'sty's Island of Prince Edward.

LXI. And be it enacted, That in this Act, unless other-
wise expressed therein, the words " Act of the Legislature
of the Province of Canada " are to be understood to mean
" Act of Her Majesty, her heirs or successors, enacted
by Her Majesty, or by the Governor on behalf of Her
Majesty, witli the advice and consent of the Legislative
Council and Assembly of the Province of Canada ;"
and the words " Governor of the Province of Canada "
are to be understood as comprehending the Governor,
Lieutenant-Governor, or person authorized to execute
the office or the functions of Governor of the said
Province.

LXIL And be it enacted. That thi.s Act ma'' be
amended or repealed by any Act to be passed ia the
present Session of Parliament.

:J'^;/'J-

348

APPENDIX.

SCHEDULES.

SCHEDULE A. £.

Governor 7,000

Lieutenant-Governor 1,000

Upper Canada.

1 Chief Justice I'-^OO

4 Puisne Judges, at 900/. each 3,600

1 Vice Chancellor 1,125

Lower Canada.

1 Chief Justice, Quebec 1,500

3 Puisne Judges, Quebec, at 900Z. each 2,700

1 Chief Justice, Montreal 1 JO^

3 Puisne Judges, Montreal, at 900/. each 2,700

1 Resident Judge at Three Rivers 900

1 Judge of the Inferior District of St. Francis . 500

1 Judge of the Inferior District of Gaspe .... 500
Pensions to the Judges, Salaries of ihe Attornies
and Solicitors General, and Contingent and
Miscellaneous Expences of Admi .istration of

Justice throughout the Province t f Canada . 20,875

£45,000
SCHEDULE B.

Civil Secretaries and their Offices 8,000

Provincial Secretaries and their Offices ...... 3,000

Receiver General and his Office 3,000

Inspector General and his Office 2,000

Executive Council 3,000

Board of Works • - 2,000

Emigrant Agent '^^^

Pensions 5,000

Contingent Expences of Public Offices 3,300

£30,000

END OF VOL. I.

PRINTED BY Wil.LIA.M WILCOCKSON', ROLLS DLILDINCiS, KErfEP LANK.

-^>f:'?8i yV4

£.

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1,000

1,500
3,600
1,125

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2,700

1,100

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3,000

2,000

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