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HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN TROOPS, 
 
 DURING 
 
 THE LATE WAR, 
 
 under the command of 
 Colonels Fenton and Campbell, 
 
 GivHg an account of the crossing of the Lake from 
 Erie to Long Point ; also, the crossing of Niagara 
 by the troops under Gen'ls Gaines, Brown, Scott 
 and Porter. The taking of Fort Erie, the battle of 
 Chippewa, the imprisonment of Col. Bull, Major 
 Galloway, and the author {then a captain) and their 
 ' treatmeftt ; together with an historical account of the 
 Canadas, 
 
 By Samuel Whtfe, 
 
 Of Adams County, Penn. 
 
 (gaftimote: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 B. EDES, PRINTER. 
 1830., 
 
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II. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN TROOPS, 
 
 DURING 
 
 THE LATE WAR, 
 
 under the command of 
 . Colonels Fenton and Campbell, 
 
 Giviftg ajt account of the crossing of the Lake from 
 Erie to Long Point ; also, the crossing of Niagara 
 by the troops under Gen is Gaines, Brown, Scott 
 and Porter. The ta/cifig of Fort Erie, the battle of 
 Chippewa, the imprisoninettt of Col. Bull, Major 
 Galloway, and the author {then a captain) and their 
 treatment ; together with an historical account of the 
 Canadas. 
 
 By Samuel White, 
 
 Of Adams County, Penn. 
 
 /^ 
 
 published by THE AUTHOR, 
 
 B. EDES, PRINTER. 
 1830. 
 
^^ 
 
 \ 
 
 .. 
 
 Three Hundred Copies Reprinted for 
 
 George P. Humphrey, 
 
 Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 1896 
 
 No. yy,^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 CHARLES MANN, PRINTER, 
 ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In presenting the following pages to the public, 
 the author begs leave to return his warmest thanks 
 to those of his fellow-citizens who have so liberally 
 come forward to aid him in his undertaking. A 
 plain man himself, he has not attempted to em- 
 bellish his narrative with high-flown language, nor 
 to impose upon the credulous, a string of fictitious 
 adventures, but has been content with offering them a 
 plain statement of facts, and as such he hopes it will 
 be acceptable to the American reader. 
 
 It may be necessary to observe that in speaking of 
 Englishmen, as the author has been lorced to do, 
 rather harshly in many places throughout this volume, 
 he does not mean to insinuate that all of thai nation 
 are such as he has described ; he has had the pleas- 
 ure of knowing many, who were an honor to their 
 country, and to whose kindness and gentlemanly con- 
 duct he feels happy in having an opportunity to tes- 
 tify. The contrast, also, which will necessarily be 
 drawn between the conduct of the contending parties, 
 resulting so eminently in favor of our own country- 
 men, will not be without its effect; as it will prove 
 to those who at some future day may step forward in 
 defence of their liberties, how much more of real and 
 never fading glory is acquired, by the exercise of 
 mercy and benevolence to the fallen foe, than even 
 
by the greatest valor and most distinguished general- 
 ship, unaccompanied by these attributes. 
 
 In the compilation of the work, v^hich has been 
 done chiefly from his notes taken at the time, he 
 has been careful to avoid errors ; some, nevertheless, 
 owing to the disadvantages under which they were 
 taken, may have occurred, and for these, should it 
 prove to be so, he would bespeak indulgence. 
 
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HISTORY 
 OF THE LATE WAR. 
 
 IB^^H 
 
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 .i4si 
 
 Mi 
 
 To repel the inroads of the British on the northern 
 frontier, during the year 1814, the governor of the 
 state of Pennsylvania ordered out the militia to the 
 number of one thousand. About one half of this re- 
 quisition was composed of volunteers from Cumber- 
 land county, of the eleventh division, and two companies 
 belonging to the same division from Franklin county, 
 and the residue was (-awn frcm tiie counties of Adams 
 and York. The detachment of tiie troops to which I 
 belonged, rendezvoused at Gettysburg, on the 28th of 
 February, 1814, and departed from that place on their 
 march to Erie, on the tenth day of March following. 
 On the morning of the following day, major Galloway 
 and myself returned to Gettysburg to hold a court 
 martial for the trial of delinquents, and after several 
 days of arduous exertion, completed our business by 
 the assessment of fines to the amount of upwards of 
 forty-thousand dollars. Hence I returned home, news 
 having reached me that my wife lay dangerously ill of 
 a fever, and remained there for a short time, when up- 
 on her being pronounced convalescent, I hastened to 
 join my companions in arms, and reached Eiie, on the 
 evening of the same day our troops arrived. We en- 
 camped on the margin of the lake, near the fort and 
 
about a mi c above the town, where we remained with- 
 out any occurrence of note taking place until the four- 
 teenth of May. 
 
 About this time it was made known in camp that an 
 expedition to Long Point was projected, and that volun- 
 teers to the number of five hundred stepped forward to 
 assist the regular forces amounting to about four hun- 
 dred men. The expedition v/as commanded by Col. 
 Campbell, and all preparations having been completed 
 on the fifteenth, we commenced crossing the lake, and 
 landed on the Canada shore, late on the evening of 
 the sixteenth. A company of dragoons fired on the 
 boats that left the vessel previous to their reaching the 
 shore, when they put spurs to their horses and imme- 
 diately rode off. We halted in a piece of woods near 
 the lake, exposed to the rain which poured upon us all 
 that night and next day, having no shelter except the 
 boughs of the trees, under which we • ested. 
 
 Early next morning, we crossed ^viiffaloe creek in a 
 large canoe, which we were fortunate enough to find 
 there; our troops were formed in single file, showing 
 our whole force in front, with two small field pieces in 
 the centre of the line, drawn by sailors and marines. 
 In that order we marched for Dover, a very politic and 
 ingenious mode of forming, and one well calculated to 
 impress an enemy unacquainted with the number of 
 our troops, with an idea of our having a very large 
 army in the rear, this appearing only as the advance 
 guard. A little way up the creek was situate a large 
 store bouse, but it was completely emptied before 
 we reached it, tney having had information of our 
 approach, some days before, as will be seen hereaf- 
 ter. We continued our march without opposition, 
 passing over a beautiful plain, covered with luxuri- 
 ant fields of wheat. When we reached Dover, we 
 
 ^ 
 
 
i 
 
 -?► 
 
 m 
 
 found it deserted by all but a few women, who had 
 white clothes !<anging upon broomsticks suing ^or peace. 
 The only hostile demonstration on our part was, the 
 destruction of some mills employed in manufacturing 
 flour for the army, together with some houses occupi- 
 ed as stores, and those belonging to some officers, who, 
 it had been ascertained, had been on the expedition of 
 the burning of Buffaloe and Black Rock some time pre- 
 vious. Ever)'- possible respect was paid to the wo- 
 men and children, and the best part of the furniture 
 in the houses which were destroyed, was even carried 
 out by the troops previous to their being set on fire. 
 From what information we could derive from the women, 
 we were led to believe that they had plenty of time to have 
 prepared for our reception, and might even, had they 
 so chosen, prevented our landing, as they had news 
 of our ir^-^nded expedition ten days before. It appeared 
 strange how such news should have reached them, as 
 it was not currently known, even in r ar own camp, 
 three days before we embarked, but the mystery was 
 soon cleared up, when after we had been made prison- 
 ers, Major Galloway and I recognized in Chippewa, 
 in company with the British officers, a gentleman 
 whom we had formerly seen at Erie in company with 
 our quartermaster; he must have been a spy. We took 
 one man prisoner, whom we carried with us in our re- 
 treat. I sat with him until the last boat was ready to 
 push off to the vessel, and then dismissed him, unhurt, 
 and v/ent on board. Strange as it may appear, it is not 
 the less true, that on the very day after the British r ime 
 to Dover, they burnt all the houses we had left standing, 
 and even hung the poor old fellow whom we had had in 
 
 On our return we had tempestuous weather, and 
 were detained on the lake three days, making the con- 
 
4 
 
 tinuance of ourj^expedition five days in all. Before we 
 had embarked on the expedition, my company had 
 drawn rations for three days, every pound of which 
 had been left on the shore in consequence of the bad- 
 ness of its quality, so that the poor fellows had nothing 
 but breac to eat for that time ; on the fourth day I pre- 
 vailed upon the master of the vessel to let me have a 
 barrel of biscuit, and one of pork for my company, 
 which having been hoisted on deck, and the heads tak- 
 en out, it was really amusing to see how soon they 
 were emptied. In the evening we completed our land- 
 ing, and arrived in safety at our camp in Erie. 
 
 Next day we learned that a general order had been 
 given for our march to BufTaioe, and that preparations 
 for that purpose had been commenced by Col. Fenton, 
 when they were checked for some time by the presen- 
 tation of a mutinous paper by some of the men select- 
 ed for that purpose, which paper had been signed by 
 half, if not more, of the privates in the regiment. This 
 instrument set forth that they had determined not to 
 march from camp, until they had received the amount 
 of pay due them for their services, allegmg as their 
 apology, that many of them were much at a loss for shoes 
 and other cloathing. In this situation, undecided as to 
 what course we should pursue, we remained for seve- 
 ral days, until at length some of the captains of com- 
 panies, attached to the regiment, conceiving that some- 
 thing more decisive ought to be attempted to compel 
 the mutinous portion of the regiment to return to their 
 duty, addressed a communication to the Colonel, set- 
 ting forth that ley held themselves and companies in 
 readiness to n rch at a minute's warning. After this 
 a new impulse was given to preparations, and the order 
 of march was fixed for the day following. 
 
 ■ 
 
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 W- 
 
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 4«» 
 
 
 
 But the spirit of mutiny was still alive, and secret 
 resolutions were formed amongst the disaffected, to 
 obey no orders until the terms for which they held out 
 were complied with, and on the following day when 
 according to the orders, at the third roll of the drum the 
 tents should have fallen, a number remained standing, 
 and those who were willing to obey orders, had to be 
 detached for the purpose of pulling them down, which 
 however, they were permitted to do, unmolested. 
 
 While the wagons were lading, I had occasion to 
 proceed to the centre of the regiment, having some 
 business to transact with one of the field officers, and 
 upon my return was waited on by Lieutenant Gardner, 
 who informed me that during my absence a private 
 from Capt. Roberts' company, had been amongst my 
 men encouraging them to stand firm to their agreement, 
 and oppose 'the march, and had moreover instructed 
 them that the others had agreed to commence forming 
 a line, which he urged them to imitate. This man 
 was supposed to be their ringleader, and to have been 
 appointed their commander. As the first step towards 
 the suppression of this mutiny. I determined upon his 
 arrest, hoping that prompt and decisive conduct in this 
 instance would not be without its efTect, in deterring the 
 others from a continuance in the course which they 
 adopted. Accordingly having ascertained from the 
 Lieutenant that he could recognise him, I forthwith 
 proceeded to the place where Roberts' company were 
 stationed, and upon his being pointed out, immediately 
 arrested him., and sent him to the block house, used as 
 a guard house, and under the command of Major Mar- 
 lin, a regular officer. Returning to my company I 
 found that several of my men had already fallen into 
 line, and that others were quickly following their ex- 
 ample. To my demand of why they formed or by 
 
 !! 
 
-.1 
 
 10 
 
 whose orders, I was unable to obtain an answer, and 
 ordered them to disperse under pain of immediate ar- 
 rest, and await the regular oiders, which after some 
 little hesitation, I succeeded in accomplishing. 
 
 The order was now passed to form line, and pre- 
 pare to march ; the peaceable portion of the men imme- 
 diately fell into rank, leaving a number strolling about, 
 as if undecided what course to pursue. While in the 
 act of walking round, enquiring from each individual 
 his reasons for not obeying orders, and just as I had 
 placed under arrest a couple who were conspicuous as 
 spokesmen, and wiio had positively and most imperti- 
 nently refused to comply, I was called to by one of my 
 men, who bid me take care, as one of those in my rear 
 was loading his gun to shoot me. I instantly wheeled 
 round, sprang iipon him, wfested the gun from him, 
 and despatched him also to the guard house. The 
 most determined being now removed, and the others 
 left to their own discretion, aided no doubt, in the de- 
 cision by Major Marlin, Who, having loaded the gun 
 in the block house with grape and cannister, commencd 
 running them out of the port holes directed towards 
 us ; the line was promptly formed, the order of march 
 given, and the regiment moved off in perfect order. 
 Another circumstance no doubt, contributed largely in 
 restoring order, viz.: when Captain Roberts was inform- 
 ed that I had placed one of his men under arrest, he 
 immediately sent to Major Marlin, requesting his libe- 
 ration. Major M. applied to me to know the nature 
 of the offence, for which the prisoner had been com- 
 mitted. Upon my informing him, that he had been 
 sent there for mutinous conduct, his reply was — " I will 
 not release him even at the command of your Colonel, 
 until he has first undergone trial for his offence." 
 
 A 
 
 ii 
 
II 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 This answer was soon rumored about, and perceiving 
 that the business was assuming rather too serious an 
 appearance, the disaffected were somewhat panic 
 struck, and there is every reason to beheve that it af- 
 forded another and a strong inducement, for their re- 
 turn to duty. 
 
 We pursued our march that day over a road running 
 parallel with the lake, and in some places, immediate- 
 ly along the beach for a considerable distance, and 
 found it very fatiguing, owing to the deepness of the 
 sand. The country along the lake shore was gene- 
 rally hilly, and seemed to be well supplied with game. 
 We crossed two or three streams of water on our march, 
 the principal of which was Cattaraugus creek, which 
 we were compelled to cross in a boat. On the oppo- 
 site side was situated a small village with two or three 
 public houses. Here the soil appeared to be very good, 
 as was the case as far as we could perceive, when- 
 ever the road diverged from the margin of the lake. 
 Near the village just mentioned was an Indian settle- 
 ment, composed of the tribe called the Cattaraugus In- 
 dians. After our encampment for the night, which we 
 did upon the bank of the creek, we were visited by a 
 number of them and their squaws, who appeared very 
 much pleased to see us, more particularly as they un- 
 derstood we were going to fight the British, There 
 seemed to be a great scarcity of men in that portion of 
 New-York state, many, I presume, had been killed by the 
 enemy, at the time of the burning of Buffaloe and 
 Black Rock, as they had been called out en masse, pre- 
 vious to that transaction. 
 
 In many places along the road, the houses were lit- 
 erally crammed with ladies, collected there to see us as 
 we passed through the county, and here I would 
 strongly recommend all who may je in want of hand- 
 
 r 
 
 
 ^■■.x 
 
"W 
 
 12 
 
 some wives to visit the borders of lake Erie, for I have 
 never seen, before or since, in any part of the county, 
 more beautiful and elegant looking ladies. 
 
 We at length reached Buffaloe without any disaster, 
 except the loss of a few men by desertion, if indeed 
 such an occurrence may justly be so termed, and found 
 there quite a respectable body of regulars, consisting 
 of two brigades. We encamped and remained there 
 drilling our troops until the second of July, when gen- 
 eral orders were issued for embarkation at day- 
 light of the following morning. So unexpected was 
 this order, and so completely had Gen. Brown conceal- 
 ed his intentions, that his officers, not at all suspecting 
 the meditated movement, had actually made prepara- 
 tions for the celebration in camp of the Fourth of July, 
 and had engaged his company at dinner. The imme- 
 diate consequences, as will be seen, of such good poli- 
 cy on the part of the General, was the capture by sur- 
 prise of Fort Erie on the third, without bloodshed. To 
 return to our narrative ; the army consisting of two 
 brigades, were landed on the opposite shore without 
 the least opposition. The first brigade under the com- 
 mand of Gen. Scott, and the artillery corps command- 
 ed by Major Hurdman, landed nearl)'^ a mile below 
 whilst Gen. Ripley with the second brigade made the 
 shore about the same distance above. Thus the fort 
 was soon completely invested. A battery of long 
 eighteens was immediately planted in a position which 
 commanded it, and a flag dispatched, demanding a sur- 
 render, and granting two hours for that purpose, at the 
 expiration of which time, the garrison consisting of 137 
 men, including officers, marched out and surrendered 
 themselves prisoners of war. Several pieces of ord- 
 nance and some military stores were found in the fort. 
 
 I 
 
niippip 
 
 I 
 
 '3 
 
 Having reduced Fort Erie, the General immediate- 
 ly proclaimed martial law. His proclamation set forth, 
 that persons demeaning themselves peaceably, and at- 
 tending to their private business should meet with no 
 interruption, whilst those found in arms should be treat- 
 ed as enemies. Private property, he pledged himself, 
 should be held inviolate, but public property should be 
 seized wherever found, and sold by the commanding 
 General. Plundering was strictly prohibited — from 
 the regular army the Major General had no fears, and 
 those honorable men who had ptessed forward to the 
 standard of their country, to avenge herv/Tongs and gain 
 a name in arms, would scorn to be guilty of any act, 
 which might, in even so remote a manner reflect dis- 
 grace upon their national character. 
 
 The necessary arrangements for the preservation 
 and garrisoning the Fort Erie, being concluded, Gen. 
 Brown determined to march forward on the following 
 day, and attack the enemy wiio lay entrenched in his 
 works upon the plains of Chippewa. To this resolution, 
 considered of a desperate and dangerous character, 
 the General was doubtless urged by the necessit)'- which 
 he felt existed, to redeem the reputation which had 
 been lost by the events of former campaigns — clangers 
 and remonstrances were therefore entirely disregarded. 
 The ardor and desire for battle was even increased 
 by the knowledge that the glory of the victory would 
 be so much the more brilliant, besides having formed 
 his resolutions and plans, he was determined upon at- 
 tempting their execution. 
 
 Before day-break on the morning of the fifth, it was 
 ascertained, that the Colonel to whom orders had been 
 sent by Gen. Porter to supply the troops with three 
 days' provisions, had neglected that necessary precau- 
 tion ; the consequence was, that li boat had to be des- 
 
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 ff^ma-i i< «wwm»>>iii-'it i» 
 
 
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 14 
 
 patched to Buflaloe with an order for provisions, which 
 however, did not reach us until about two o'clock in the 
 day, when we were supplied with a couple of biscuits 
 each, being the first which a majority of us had eaten that 
 day. At four o'clock we came in view of the encamp- 
 ment of our regular troops, and halted. We had not 
 been many minutes at rest before a requisition was 
 made for volunteers to turn out and drive ofif the hostile 
 Indians who had been firing on our pickets. Fatigued 
 as we were, having traveled that day about eighteen 
 miles without rations, it is not to be wondered at, that 
 not much alacrity was showed by the men to become 
 of the party. Lieut. Gilleland, Ensign Graff, the sur- 
 geon of the volunteers, and myself, laid aside our 
 swords, and borrowing rifles', volunteered as privates ; 
 about three hundred of the volunteers of our own 
 reginient also came forward, atid these were strength- 
 ened by several hundred Indians, the whole under 
 the command of Gen. Porter, Col. Bull and Major 
 Galloway. I had eaten nothing except one biscuit 
 from the time I had my dinner the day before at Buffa- 
 loe, and had even given away the balance of my store, 
 expecting to get a good supper that evening; but I was 
 doomed to be mistaken. 
 
 Orders were issued that every white man who went 
 out under Gen. Porter should leave his hat, and go un- 
 covered. The Indians tied up their heads with pieces of 
 white muslin, and it was really diverting to see them 
 making their preparations for battle, After having tied 
 up their heads, which process must have consumed at 
 least fifty yards of fine muslin, they painted their faces, 
 making red streaks above their eyes and foreheads — 
 they then went to old logs and burnt stumps, and spit- 
 ting upon their hands rubbed them upon the burnt part, 
 until they were perfectly black, when they drew their 
 
 I 
 
 
 ) 
 
r 
 
 4 
 
 
 ) 
 
 15 
 
 fingers down their cheeks leaving large black streaks — 
 after this preparation they were ready for action or 
 march. We proceeded in single file through a lane 
 to our left, and in the course of half an hour came in 
 contact with the enemy, who were posted in the woods 
 on our right, and completely concealed from our obser- 
 vation. Immediately upon our entering a long narrow 
 path, they opened upon u with a pretty brisk fire — 
 we faced to the right and pressing forward put them to 
 rout. They continued their flight and we pursued 
 them, keeping up a smart fire, which, from the man- 
 ner of the position, did considerable damage, un- 
 til they drew us into rather a perilous situation. The 
 whole British army had crossed the bridge at Chippe- 
 wa, and drawn up their forces under cover of a piece 
 of woods, near the Niagara river, and running parallel 
 with the Chippewa creek, directly across the creek, 
 where the British batteries commanded the same po- 
 sition. Driving the Indians rapidly through the woods, 
 we at length came in full contact with the British reg- 
 ular line, which in conjunction with the batteries, 
 opened a most tremendous fire. From the clouds of 
 dust and heavy firing. General Brown concluded 
 that the entire force of the British was in motion, and 
 gave orders to General Scott to advance with his 
 brigade and Towson's artillery, and meet the enemy on 
 the plain in front of the American camp. In a few 
 minutes Scott was in close action with a far superior 
 force of regulars. Major Jessup commanding the bat- 
 tallion on the left flank, finding himself pressed both in 
 front and rear, and his men falling fast, ordered his bat- 
 tallion to support arms and advance, which bold order 
 in the midst of the enemy's hottest fire, was obeyed 
 with a promptness which did them honour. Having 
 advanced within twenty paces of the enemy's line, 
 
i6 
 
 P 
 
 I 
 
 
 they Were ordered to level and fire, causing such 
 havoc in the enemy's line as forced them to re- 
 treat. About this time, also one of our hot shot fell 
 into the enemy's magazine and blew it up — this occur- 
 rence silenced their artillery — the whole British force 
 fell back, and being closely pressed by the Ameri- 
 can troops, retreated in confusion to their entrench- 
 ment, about a quarter oi a mile distant. Gen. Brown 
 immediately ordered the ordinance to be brought up with 
 the intention of forcing the works, but upon more ma- 
 ture reflection, and by the advice of his officers, he 
 was induced to order the forces back to camp. In this 
 engagement, which resulted so disastrously to the Brit- 
 ish, a considerable portion of the army, though burn- 
 ing for the conflict, had no^ an opportunity of coming 
 into action. The conquerors of the veterans of France, 
 were, in fact, defeated by a detachment from the 
 American army. The only troops engaged on the 
 part of Gen. Brown, were Scott's brigade, and the Penn- 
 sylvania volunteers, commanded by Porter — the con- 
 duct of these men was heroic in the extreme ; wherever 
 they directed their fire, or pointed their bayonets, the 
 boasted " conquerors of the peninsula " fell or fled ; the 
 volunteers, in particular manifested all the coolness 
 and bravery of regular troops. Such was the punish- 
 ment they received in this engagement, that, although 
 battle was offered them again on their own terms, they 
 shrunk from its acceptance. 
 
 The loss of the enemy was nearly six hundred kill- 
 ed, as was ascertained some time afterwards, although 
 they were never willing to acknowledge it so great; 
 they removed, however, off the field, nearly five hun- 
 dred wounded men before their retreat, and the loss in 
 the woods of the Canadian militia, by our scouting 
 party, was upwards of eighty killed. It was not known 
 
 
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 1 
 
 
 how many Indians fell, but their loss must have been 
 very great. When our scouting party returned, there 
 were but twenty men missing, five of that number 
 were prisoners, four whites and one Indian. 
 
 I was nearly on the extreme right of our line, which 
 was very much extended in our progress through the 
 woods, in consequence of broken trees, thickets, &c., 
 and did not immediately hear the order for retreat, 
 consequently, was slow in following the example of 
 several of those in my rear, whom I perceived retreat- 
 ing; and it was not until my left had been entirely de- 
 serted, and those on my right were rapidly falling away, 
 that I made my way with some others to a field which 
 lay on our right. On coming to the fence, we per- 
 ceived the British light horse advancing along the op- 
 posite side of the field in full speed ; we immediately 
 perceived that our chance of escape in that direction 
 was small, as we would be taken long before we should 
 have crossed. We then shifted our course, keeping 
 under cover of the wood, until we had reached the 
 end of the field, where we fell in with Col. Bull and 
 Major Galloway, who had been more on the left. We 
 were now on the very ground, over which, a short 
 time before, we had driven the Canadians and Indians, 
 and concluded ourselves in perfect safety ; but we had 
 not proceeded more than a few rods, when we sudden- 
 ,]y found ourselves surrounded by Indians who had 
 • been lymg in ambush — unable to surround us all, they 
 had permitted a number of friendly Indians, and seve- 
 ral of our volunteers to pass by unmolested, that they 
 might the better secure us. After having disposed of us. 
 a small party of them pursued those whom they had suf- 
 fered to pass, several of whom, however, made good 
 their retreat. 
 
 i 
 
 'i 
 
■W** ■" ■ 
 
 ^ .■ 
 
 i8 
 
 r 
 
 |V f I 
 
 !>■ \ 
 
 h 
 
 1^1 I 
 
 lis / 
 
 11^ > 
 
 Having disarmed us, the first enquiry was for money. 
 A large Indian came up to me, calling out *' money, 
 money." — I insisted that I had none. He then seized 
 my coat, which he took off me, another claimed my 
 vest, another my neck-cloth, and so on, until they had 
 stripped me of every article of cloathing, except my 
 shirt and pantaloons. It was fortunate for me my 
 shirt was not ruffled, or they would have taken even 
 that; they took from me a ruffled sham, which I wore 
 over my shirt; a fellow had placed his hand upon my 
 watch chain, with a view of drawing it from my pock- 
 et, but meeting with some little difficulty in conse- 
 quence of my pocket being damp from perspiration, he 
 deliberately drew his knife, when not wishing to give 
 the gentleman the trouble, of operating, I drew it out 
 and handed it to him. 
 
 At the time these savages were stripping me, others 
 were as busily engaged in dealing out in like manner to 
 Col. Bull and Major Galloway — they took the Major's 
 boots, compelling him to walk bare-footed. We pro- 
 ceeded on our march, well guarded, and had not gone 
 more than about half a mile, when an Indian in the 
 rear suddenly whooped loudly, raised his rifle, and shot 
 Col. Bull through the body; the ball entered at the left 
 shoulder, and passed out through the right breast. 
 After he had been shot, he raised himself upon his el- 
 bow, and reached out his hand to Major Galloway 
 asking him for assistaiice. At this moment the fellow 
 who had fired came up, sunk his tomahawk in his 
 head, scalped him, and left his body where he fell ; 
 thus perished as gallant, and noble hearted a fellow, as 
 ever drew the sword in defence of his country. I was 
 then unable to account for an act so contrary to all 
 laws of warfare, and expected every moment that we 
 should have shared the fate of our unfortunate friend. 
 
 ! 
 
 i 
 
 ',\i 
 
T 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 I was afterwards informed by a Canadian gentleman, 
 with whom I had formed an acquaintance while at 
 Ives' Creek, that the murder was committed in com- 
 pliance with the order of Gen. Rial, who had given 
 the Indians positive instructions not to spare any who 
 . wore the uniform of militia oiTicers, he at the same 
 time gave them a minute description of the dress of the 
 militia and regular officers, the latter of whom, should 
 any be captured, they were ordered to bring into camp 
 in safety. Now if Gen. Rial gave such orders, and 
 that he did, I have good reason to believe, how very 
 degrading to a civilized people is such C(jnduct, how 
 barbarous, worse, infinitely worse than the cruelty of 
 the untutored savage? Startled by the whoop, I had 
 just looked over my shoulder, and was struck motion- 
 less, petrified, Ly the sight ; but my conductors did not 
 allow me much time f jr contemplation, but hurried me 
 forward at even a more rapid rate. 
 
 That we were not murdered as we expected, was 
 owing to our being dressed in the uniform of the regu- 
 lar troops, with which we had provided ourselves be- 
 fore our departure from Gettysburg — the unfortunate 
 Colonel was dressed in the old uniform of the Penn- 
 sylvania militia, and met his disastrous fate in conse- 
 quence of a trifling inattention — so frail and slender 
 are the threads upon which human life and human 
 prosperity are dependent. Col. Bull was a man of so- 
 ber and exemplary habits, and highly esteemed by 
 the soldiery — he was a pious man, and his mind had a 
 strong religious cast. Whilst at Erie, the most part of 
 his Sabbaths were spent in the hospitals, in reading 
 conversing upon, and explaining the scriptures to the 
 sick and disabled — but to return to our narrative, the 
 savages who conducted me, were now hurrying me for- 
 ward at a trot. Several times during our flight* 
 
 p 
 
I 
 
 y 
 
 \..^ . 
 
 20 . 
 
 Major Galloway asked them whether they intended to 
 kill him and Captain White, their answer was, they 
 would not, but it will readily be believed, that after 
 the dreadful sight we had just witnessed, we did not 
 place much confidence in their absertions. Having 
 cleared the woods, we now reached a green field, in 
 running through which, the Indian who held me by 
 the am, and I, both trying for the furrow, jostled 
 each other, and he fell, but still holding his giip, was 
 instantly on his feet again. At *hat moment *he hope 
 of liberty flashed strongly over my mind, and had he 
 been the only Indian with me, I would most certainly 
 have dispatched him, or at least made the attempt; 
 but a moment's reflection served to convince me that 
 any effort of that kind would be attended unly with in- 
 stant death, and undci these considerations of the 
 case, 1 concluded that my safest plan was to desist 
 from so hazardous an exploit. Coming out of the 
 grain field, near Chippewa Creek, we were in sight of 
 the bridge, over which the last of the British army 
 then in view, had just crossed, the American cannon 
 were playing briskly on the rear ; the Indians who led 
 me, for we had entirely outrun those who conducted 
 Galloway, became alarmed, dreading that the whole 
 army would have passed, and the bridge be destroy- 
 ed, before they should be able to reach it, and ac- 
 cordingly turned and ran up the creek for some dis- 
 tance, the Indians who left Galloway, now halloed to 
 them, when they wheeled, and came in view of the rear 
 guard of the British army, at the moment they were on 
 the point of crossing the bridge. I was dreadfully fa- 
 tigued, and to hurry me on, a fellow was placed 
 behind me, who every minute or so, fixed his hands 
 upon my shoulders, pushing me forward with a violence 
 that well nigh threw me on my face. Faint and ex- 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 ' 
 
i 
 
 ■X' 
 
 1 
 
 ; . 
 
 21 
 
 hausted, I still hurried forward, exerting all my nerve, 
 fearing that if I failed or fell, the tomahawk, the sound 
 of which still ran in my ears, would soon give me my 
 quietus ; I had hopes too, that the moment of my de- 
 liverance from these wretches was not far distant, as 
 I fully expected to be taken ont of their hands as soon 
 as we should have reached the British army. In this 
 manner we gained the bridge just as the last of the 
 rear guard had got on it, the American round shot still 
 rolling after us; one of them fell within a yard of me 
 as I pressed forward, making the clay fly all over us, 
 and then bounded into the creek ; having completed 
 our crossing, the bridge was cut down. 
 
 What was my astonishment and indignation, when 
 having come in company with those from whom I ex- 
 pected relief to find them even worse than the savages, 
 and that instead of respiting us, they encouraged them 
 to run us still further, crying out who have you got 
 there, a damned Yankee? — Yes — well damn him, run 
 him well, he's not half run yet; although I then thought 
 it impossible for me to proceed twenty rods further 
 without dronping down dead. Thus situated, my 
 mouth stretched wide open panting for breath, I was 
 compelled to run between one and two miles further, 
 to the Indian encampment, still shoved forward as be- 
 fore, whenever I slackened my pace ; my persecutors 
 encouraged and cheered on by the brutal and unfeel- 
 ing soldiery, who seemed to look upon the affair as 
 mere amusement. 
 
 We were sent to the rear of the camp, and here, for 
 the first time, 1 was permitted to sit down ; in fact I was 
 so weakened by previous fatigue, as to be unable to 
 stand without support. Having recruited as much 
 breath as enabled me to speak, I asked for a drink of 
 water; they not understanding the language, I made a 
 
 
f 
 
 '• 
 
 M 
 
 u 
 
 ill 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
 22 
 
 sign for what I wanted, when I was led between two to 
 a pond, where I was permitted to drink — those only who 
 have felt the same pressing necessity, can form any idea 
 of the lu'-'ury of that draught. They then led me back, 
 and I again resumed my seat on the ground. A few 
 minutes afterwards I was surrounded by thirty or forty 
 of these savages, all armed, they brought down their 
 guns at an order and commenced to talk — here I sat fo'- 
 some time perfectly silent, but at length looking up at 
 the fellow who had had me in custody, I asked him if 
 they were going to kill me? He snatched up his rifle 
 and raising it in both hands brought it down with vio- 
 lence — he checked the fall, however, before it reached 
 my head, and set it down as before, and casting at me 
 a scowl of rage and hatred, resumed his place in the 
 circle, from which the rpomentary act alluded to had 
 moved him. It may be well presumed that I had no 
 very great anxiety to ask more questions. 
 
 Two or three Canadian officers now came up, one 
 of whom appeared perfectly versed in the language ; af- 
 ter some conversation between him and the Indians, 
 they opened the ring and admitted him to me ; he asked 
 a number of questions, where 1 was from ? whether I 
 was an officer or private.^ and whether I knew if there 
 were any other officers made prisoners, and if so wheth- 
 er I would not like to be with them? I informed him 
 that Major Galloway was a prisoner, in the British 
 camp, and that I should be much pleased to have his 
 company — he commenced another talk with the Indians, 
 and in a few minutes they began to disperse ; after the 
 crowd had pretty well cleared away, two of them came 
 to me and taking me by the arms, one at each side, 
 walked me back to the British camp, where we found 
 Major Galloway still sitting on the ground, with his In- 
 dian guard beside him. We proceeded together and 
 
23 
 
 were in a few minutes brought into the presence of 
 General Rial, who immediately commenced interro- 
 gating ur, asking a number of questions, the truth of 
 which I was determined he should not know from me. 
 One of his questions as to what number of troops we 
 had, was addressed to Major Galloway, who seeming 
 to hesitate, I answered for him, saying that we had 
 vsomething like five thousand ; he replied that is not true 
 sir, you know it is not, you have more than double that 
 number. Had I then been acquainted with my privi- 
 leges as a prisoner of war, I should not have made him 
 an answer, as it was I excused myself, by telling him 
 that I had computed them at that number from having 
 seen them on parade, and had never heard from any 
 official source, what was the actual number of men in 
 service. He then enquired our grade, and whether 
 we were in the regular service, or in the militia, upon 
 our replying that we belonged to the Pennsylvania 
 volunteers — he exclaimed what business had you to 
 cross the frontier.^ We crossed, sir, in obedience to 
 orders. Who could give such orders, sir, I thought no 
 militiaman or volunteer could be ordered out of the 
 United States.^ They can, sir, in case of insurrec- 
 tion or invasion. Well, sir, have you an insurrection 
 among you } No, thank heaven, and I hope we never 
 shall, but, sir, we have invasion. How is that, sir } where } 
 I replied, have you not Fort Niagara in your posses- 
 sion? Then, sir, said he, why did you not go there? 
 I answered, we were not ordered there. When I com- 
 plained that we had been badly treated, having had 
 our clothes stripped off us, that we had been robbed 
 of money to the amount of about one thousand dollars 
 and that all we requested was to have our clothes re- 
 turned as we were not accustomed to going naked, he 
 give us to understand that all the Indians got was legi- 
 
24 
 
 timate spoil and could not be returned — he then called 
 two sergeants, and gave one of them orders to take that 
 fellow, meaning me, and keep him safe 'till to-morrow, 
 morning, when I shall demand him at your hand — to 
 the other he gave similar directions concerning Gallo- 
 way, and turning upon his heel with a smile, ioined 
 his officers whc were seated outside of the door on , 
 benches round a table covered with glasses. I forgot 
 to state, that when I had informed him of the murder 
 of Col. Bull, and that he had been scalped by the In- 
 dians, his reply was — I do not believe he has been scalp- 
 ed, assigning at the same time as his reason for not so 
 believing, that at that time they gave nothing fo** scalps. 
 We were now carried ofT by the sergeants and sepa- 
 rated — we were compelled to be behind the breast- 
 works, on the bare ground, without tent or covering of 
 any kind. I suffered severely from the cold, in conse- 
 quence of having been overheated during the day, and 
 then stripped of my cloathing. In the night I took a 
 chill, and shook as if I had had the ague ; I am confi- 
 dent I should have perished but for the humanity of 
 the sergeant, who had charge oi me, in lending me his 
 old watch coat, and a handkerchief to tie round my 
 head; he also gave me a dram from his canteen — he, 
 poor fellow, had ')een a prisoner amongst the Ameri- , 
 cans, and candidly acknowledged, that he had been 
 well treated. In the morning he applied for rations 
 for Galloway and myself, and returned without having 
 been able to obtain any — this was continued for three 
 days in succession, during which time we sustained 
 life merely through the charity of our friendly guard. 
 On the first morning after the battle, having heard 
 that a flag of truce was about to be sent to the Ameri- 
 can camp, asking the privilege of burying their dead, 
 I enquired whether a letter would be carried for me, 
 
T 
 
 
 and was told it would, but that it must be sent open. 
 Being kindl}'- furnished by the sergeant with pen 
 and paper, I wrote a note merely stating that we 
 were prisoners, requesting that our clothes, and if 
 possible, a little money might be sent to us, as we were 
 suffering severely from want of them. Fearful that 
 the letter might not be sent, if it contained any thing 
 offensive, I forebore to mention either the death of Col. 
 Bull, or our own treatment. On the return of the 
 flag, I enquired if my letter had been delivered and 
 what answer; the letter had been delivered but they 
 had no answer whatever. I vas also informed, that 
 to their request to be allowed to bury the dead, Gen. 
 Brown replied that he was able to bury all the men he 
 could kill. 
 
 On the afternoon of the third day I saw one of the 
 British light horse coming down the Chippewa at full 
 speed; he kept his horse under whip and spur, until 
 he arrived at the officers' quarters, and in a few mi- 
 nutes the camp was all bustle. The artillery horses 
 were speedily driven under the whip up the Chip- 
 pewa at a round pace ; the baggage wagons were load- 
 ing in all quarters, and in a few minutes the artillery 
 opened a brisk fire ; they had not fired many rounds be- 
 fore I heard our long eighteens speaking in return. 
 I felt rejoiced at the sound, believing that they must be 
 beaten should a general engagement ensue, and that 
 in the interim I might have a fair chance of escape. 
 However during the cannonade the British army was 
 formed in line and led into the field, Major Galloway, 
 two of our volunteers, one Indian, myself and three or 
 tour Canadians who were in confinement, on suspicion 
 of being friendly to the American cause, were led in- 
 to the held under a strong guard and halted to await 
 the fate of the day. The British artillery was soon §;- 
 
:j 
 
 26 
 
 .5 
 
 i< 
 
 lenced, the captain as I afterwards understood had 
 been killed, several others severely wounded, and one 
 of their cannon dismounted, by having the carriage 
 wheels blown away. They now retired nearly as fast 
 as they advanced, and by this time the baggage wagons 
 being loaded, were mv ^ed forward on the road to Fort 
 George, and orders being giving to retreat, they set off 
 at full trot, and some in a gallop, not delaying to pick 
 up the camp kettles, which were dropping along the 
 road, one here, one there, shaken from the wagons by 
 the unusually rapid motion ; the army moved off at quick 
 step, and we were i.iarched in the rear, still surround- 
 ed by our guard. In this manner we proceeded until 
 we came to Lundy's Lane, where they were met by a 
 reinforcement from Queenstown heighths ; they called 
 a halt for a few minutes, during which the otRcers held 
 a council, at the close of which the reinforcement was 
 wheeled round and the retreat continued. When we 
 reached Queenstown heighths we were halted before 
 a house, at which were a number of British officers ; 
 I was then brought in front, and viewed by some of 
 them, who not being able to discover in me an old ac- 
 quaintance, I was remanded to my former station. This 
 examination was owing to information having been 
 lodged by a fellow who had seen me the day after I had 
 been made prisoner, that I had belonged to a certain 
 British regiment, the name of which I do not remem- 
 ber; that I had deserted and gone over to the United 
 States, and had received my commission as a reward ; 
 he had sworn most blasphemously to the truth of his 
 
 assertions, and concluded with "d n you, I will have 
 
 you hung"; I, however, heard no more of the business; 
 we were then marched forward on the road to Fort 
 George, and after some time diverged to the right and 
 proceeded nearly two miles to a large brick house, 
 
f 
 
 > 
 
 where we were confined up stairs, having one guard 
 at the room door, one at the head of the stairs and one 
 at the outer door ; part of the army also had encamped 
 round the house, around them was stationed a camp 
 guard, and outside of all was stationed a picket guard, 
 all to take care of four American prisoners, and one 
 Indian. The rest of the troops continued their march 
 to Fort George. Had any of us made our escape at 
 that time, it would have been highly injurious to them, 
 as their forces were much weakened by previous loss- 
 es. I know that they had two vessels so completely 
 crammed with wounded men, that the other prisoners 
 and myself were obliged to remain on deck the whole 
 time of the passage from Fort George to York, where 
 we were landed. 
 
 The wounded officers were carried to town in blan- 
 kets by four men one at each corner. 
 
 And here I should be committing an act of ingratitude, 
 did I not notice the kind manner in which we were 
 treated by a gentleman, named Carr, a doctor, who 
 overtook us on our march from Chippewa to Fort 
 George, and a short distance from the former place. 
 In conversation with me he stated that he had two 
 sons, Captains in the British army, that one of them 
 had been for some time a prisoner amongst the Amer- 
 icans, and that he had been well treated, that the other 
 had been taken at the battle of Chippewa, and that 
 this was the first time he had had it in his power to 
 evince his gratitude to any of the American Officers ; 
 he at the same time requested me to receive a twenty 
 dollar bill, and divide it with my companion Major Gal- 
 loway; in our circumstances it was a very acceptable 
 present; we were still almost naked, and it was even- 
 ing of the third day since the battle of Chippewa, and 
 we had not as yet been supplied with rations, and were 
 
--. > ) m tt ti m 
 
 28 , . 
 
 obliged to march part of the afternoon nearly eleven 
 miles. He returned in a few minutes afterwards with 
 a five dollar bill, which he told us he had collected 
 from some of the officers, and which he entreated mc 
 to divide among the other prisoners, or apply to their 
 use by buying necessaries for them, which was accord- 
 ingly done. We were several days at Fort George 
 before the vessels were ready to sail for York. Late 
 in the afternoon of the fourth day after we had been 
 made prisoners, we were furnished with rations — we 
 ate our beef as it came out of the pickle, as we could 
 not think of waiting to cook it. 
 
 While we remained there, an officer, who from his 
 dress, appeared to belong to the dragoons, called to 
 see the Major and myself, and in course of conversa- 
 tion, asked us if we 'had any tea or sugar, or any li- 
 quors; he continued to converse sometime in a very 
 agreeable manner, and then took his leave. A short 
 time after he had gone, we had a visit trom his servant, 
 who brought us a paper of tea, some sugar, and a bot- 
 tle of rum. All the time we drew rations we were 
 never allowed any liquor, and got none except the one 
 bottle thus made a present of. This treatment was 
 very different from what they, when made prisoners 
 by us, experienced — if any part of the rations were 
 scarce, our own men have stinted themselves in order 
 that the prisoners might be supplied — this I know to 
 be a fact, as the men belonging to my own company 
 have gone without their liquor, that prisoners might be 
 better accommodated. The evening after Galloway 
 and I were made prisoners, and were almost perishing 
 with cold and hunger, with the damp ground alone for 
 our bed, and the canopy of heaven for our covering, 
 the British officers made prisoners by our troops, were 
 feasted with the best the camp could afford. The of- 
 
 " 4- 
 
- 29 
 
 ficers of my own company had killed a fat calf, in or- 
 der to have something nice to give them for supper ; 
 as they were strangers, they wished to entertain them 
 well, and would have been happy to have had all the 
 officers in the British army in the same situation, were 
 it only to afford them a more ample field for the exer- 
 cise of their generosity — but to return. We were 
 marched into York, and halted for about half an hour 
 at a tavern ; here we applied to the landlady, to know if 
 she could provide us change of linen ; we had been then 
 upwards of two weeks without change. She furnished 
 us vr'ith two old shirts more than half worn for which, 
 however, we had to pay her the moderate price of eight 
 dollars. 
 
 We were then asked if we would accept of paroles 
 to go to Montreal, stating at the same time that if we 
 did, we should be furnished with money and horses, 
 and if we did not, we would be sent on board a boat 
 under guard. We concluded that it would be better 
 for us to accept the terms offered, than to be dragged 
 under guard through the country; however, we did not 
 profit much by our compliance, for an hour had scarce- 
 ly passed, after we had signed the parole, when we 
 were ordered on board a Durham boat, to be sent un- 
 der guard to Kingston. The British officers on board, 
 when night came on, went ashore, and always took 
 Galloway and myself with them, we lodged in a house 
 convenient to the vessel ; the others prisoners were suf- 
 fered to remain on board, under guard. 
 
 We now found that we had acted unadvisedly in 
 accepting of paroles, as we found several friends here 
 who were anxious to secrete us until the British were 
 gone, and then they promised us a safe landing on the 
 American shore. These friendly and tempting offers, 
 our inconsiderateness in signing paroles, completely 
 
T-TMg-TBM . WWWWW 
 
 30 
 
 %- ! 
 
 
 1} 
 
 5f j; 
 
 prevented our accepting. Hence \vc were taken to the 
 mouth of Ives' creek, about eighteen miles below 
 York, where we put up for the night. For several 
 days past, I had been very unwell, owing to fatigue 
 and exposure to the damp night air, having lain out a 
 few nights before. I was taken with a violent pain in 
 my head, which lasted for nearly two hours, I then ob- 
 tained a little rest, lay down in the boat, and fell asleep 
 when the crew went ashore ; the oHicers also went off, 
 leaving me under care of the guard. Having slept for 
 some time, I awoke almost perished, and calling to the 
 guard, who had lit a fire on shore, they threw me a 
 plank, by means of which, I got out dry. Before I had 
 well warmed myself, 1 was taken intolerably sick, so 
 much so indeed, that I could not stand up — they fur- 
 nished me with a blanket, and I lay down on the beach 
 by the fire. When I woke in the morning, I was wet 
 to the skin, the blanket having absorbed all the mois- 
 ture from the sand. All that day I remained very ill, 
 and upon reaching Mr. Ives', was compelled to go to 
 bed. Next morning, notwithstanding my sickness, I 
 was marched on board, but the wind being dead ahead, 
 and blowing fresh, we could not sail, and consequently 
 returned to the house. On the following day, my fe- 
 ver had gained so much as to preclude all possibility of 
 my being removed, in fact, I was completely deranged. 
 In this state they made me sign a parole, and an article 
 binding myself to be accountable for John Hughes* 
 should he make his escape — this man was a private in 
 my own company and had been made prisoner with me ; 
 they had determined to leave him to wait on me. So 
 unconscious was I, at the time I signed the paper, that I 
 knew nothing of the circumstance, until after my recove- 
 ry, when I was informed of the circumstance by Major 
 Galloway. I remained in a very bad state for eight or 
 
31 
 
 ten days, entirely given up by the medical gentleman 
 who had been appointed by government to attend me; 
 he had informed the family that they must expect my 
 death, and so firmly were they convinced of it, that 
 they actually prepared a shroud for me, and Mr. Ives 
 was looking out a snug corner in one of his fields, in 
 which to deposit me. 
 
 Matters were in this train, when chance, or my bet- 
 ter fortune brought an old Yankee Doctor, as they call- 
 ed him, and who was Mr. Ives' family physician, on a 
 visit to the house — having seen me. end examined the 
 medicine which was administering to me, he pronoun- 
 ced my case as desperate, but at the same time expres- 
 sed an opinion thc.t something might yet be done for 
 me — he accordingly commenced operations by having 
 all the remaining medicines prescribed by my former 
 physician, thrown out, and ordered me a treatment di- 
 rectly the reverse ; whether it was owing to this change 
 of practice, or that the crisis of the disease had arrived, 
 I am not sufficiently versed in medicine to pass opinion 
 upon, but by twelve o'clock that night, I had changed 
 so much for the better, as to have recovered my rea- 
 son, and from that time forward my progress to perfect 
 health was slow indeed, but sure. To the kindness of 
 a gentleman, a doctor, who resided in the neighbour- 
 hood, and who, during the first stages of my illness, had 
 called once or twice to see me, and prescribed for me 
 until such time as the government doctor commenced 
 attendance, and to another, also a neighbour, and a 
 namesake, a Mr. White, I take this opportunity of pay- 
 ing the tribute of my best and warmest thanks, (the 
 poor man's only guerdon) for their liberality in sup- 
 plying me with clothing, acts as grateful to me, as they 
 were honorable to them. When I had recovered suf- 
 ficiently well to see company, I had many visitors 
 
'HMM 
 
 
 h 
 
 32 
 
 from several miles distance, who always came after 
 dark, and returned the same night; they were very 
 anxious to know what was the intention of the United 
 States in sending troops into Canada, and if they had 
 determined upon taking it — if such, they paid, was our 
 intention, a powerful party in Canada might be raised 
 to assist in the undertaking, providing the United States 
 government would give assurance of the fact; but that 
 so much had tl ey been deceived by Gen. Hull, that 
 nothing could or would be done until such time as they 
 had something satisfactory to rely upon. There were 
 an immense number of men at that time disaffected 
 with government, and had the United States deemed it 
 expedient, or possessed the means of sending a large 
 army into Catiada^ with the avowed purpose of freeing 
 them from British dominion, numbers would have 
 flocked to our standard, and they might with reason 
 have trembled for their possessions — but to return. 
 
 About this time, a great sensation was caused by 
 the landing, during the night, of a boat, about two 
 miles below, with three or four well armed men on 
 board, who, stationing themselves on the mail road, 
 shot the horse of the mail rider, and carried off the 
 mail, no doubt with a view to obtain news of the army, 
 they also made prison is, a colonel of militia, and his 
 son, who was also an o.*:icer in the militia. They took 
 them with the mail rider, to the beach of the lake, where 
 having stove a parcel of flour lying there, they threw 
 it into the water — they then compelled the prisoners 
 to gather wood, and cook their victuals for them ; after 
 which they were paroled, and the depredators went 
 ofl unmolested. 
 
 The next day I had a visit from Major Rogers, who 
 seemed alarmed for my safety, and said that he had 
 expected some of my friends had been to see me, and 
 
 
33 
 
 had carried me oflf. I replied that I believed there 
 was not much danger of my escape, and that I should 
 look well into whose hands I surrendered myself a 
 prisoner again, as I had been one once too often al- 
 ready. He said he would not tiust me, and that as 
 soon as my health v/as sufficiently established to allow 
 of my removal, he would have me carried into the 
 country, so as to be at a distance from the lake. 
 
 A few days afterwards he called again, in company 
 with a physician, who having examined me, declared 
 me unfit for removal — the visit was continued from 
 time to time, until the doctor at last pronounced me 
 sufficiently strong for removal. During my residence 
 with Mr. Ives, himself and family treated me with the 
 greatest hospitality — had I been a relative, they could 
 not have exerted themselves more for my benefit — they 
 have my highest esteem, and highly deserved recom- 
 pense, which, had I the power, I would gladly make. 
 I was now removed some miles back into the country, 
 where I remained for ten or twelve days, and was then 
 put on board a boat under the care of Lieutenant Nor- 
 ris, a Canadian militia officer, who had orders from 
 Major Rogers to take me to Kingston. Rogers was 
 himself a militia officer, a devoted monarchist, and in 
 consequence of his zeal, was then, though stationed at 
 home under full pay fr(/m his government, being kept 
 there to have an eye to the inhabitants, and prevent 
 them from making their escape to the United States. 
 In many places along Lake Ontario, the inhabitants 
 had deserted their homes and farms, and made their 
 way good to the United States ; several were compelled 
 to fiy to save their lives, as a single word said against 
 the government, at that time, was sufficient to hang 
 them. Those who were brought prisoners from Fort 
 George to York, at the time we were brought on there, 
 
ss 
 
 34 
 
 ^^"^ 
 
 on suspicion of being friendly to the American cause, 
 were, as I afterwards understood, hanged, and some 
 even without judge, jury, or the common formaUties of 
 a trial. ,■:;■'•-<, 
 
 Arrived at Kingston, I was handed over to the com- 
 manding ollicer of that post, together with a letter of 
 recommendation from Major Rogers. As soon as he 
 had read the letter, he ordered me into close confine- 
 ment. This I expected, from having a knowledge of 
 the contents of the letter, given me by an officer under 
 promise of secrecy ; he at the same time promised me 
 his influence in obtaining my release from conline- 
 ment. The letter went on to state, " that I was not ? 
 commissionecj officer of the United States, but had 
 headed a party of depredators, who had come into Ca- 
 nada for the sole purpose of plundering the inhabi- 
 tants, and therefore to show me no favors." What 
 could have been Major Rogers' inducement to pen 
 such a notoriously manifest falsehood, I cannot divine* 
 unless for the mere gratification of his vile disposition, 
 and the rancorous hatred he bore to every one who 
 professed republican principles; at home he bore the 
 name of a tyrant and v/as generally despised. 
 
 I will relate a circumstance which will serve more 
 fully to explain his character. — While recovering, and 
 before I had been able to leave my room, he came to 
 see me, and after strutting about for a considerable 
 time, gave me to understand that the United States 
 would shortly be compelled to surrender, as the British 
 troops had taken their Capitol, Washington. Mr. Ives 
 fearing the effect such information might have upon 
 me in my then reduced state, endeavored to change 
 the conversation by telling the Major how very bad I 
 had been ; he interrupted him with the remark, — " Oh, 
 that makes no difference, Washington being taken by 
 
V - 35 
 
 the British, the United States will of course become 
 subject to them, and he, (meaning myself) may as 
 well die now as at any other tme, as that will be his 
 fate at all events. I was irritated, and determined that 
 he should not escape with impunity, I immediately re- 
 plied that I did not believe one word of his informa- 
 tion ; he retorted somewhat angrily that it was not only 
 taken, but burnt, and added, even were it not, what 
 chance had we to preserve oui country, having a sea 
 coast of nearly three thousand miles, without any for- 
 tification ; the United States, I replied, have the power 
 to fortify the wholo line of coast; and to his enquiry, in 
 what manner they could do it, I answered with men 
 and bayonets. 1 had the pleasure to see him depart in 
 no very enviable humor. 
 
 Through the influence of Lieutenant Norris, I was 
 liberated on the evening of the day I arrived at King- 
 ston, in which place I remained but a few days, and 
 then not having liberty to view the navy-yard, and in 
 fact, n :>t being sufiered to leave the street in which I 
 boarded, I had no opportunity of seeing any of the cu- 
 riosities of the place. Between York and Kingston, 
 although a distance of about two hundred miles, I do 
 not recollect having seen one town, either situate cu, 
 or in view of the lake. 
 
 I was now put on board a boat and ordered to Mon- 
 treal. After we had got some distance below Kingston, 
 perhaps seventy or eighty miles, near the seven Islands, 
 we met a Heet of boats, one hundred and ten in num- 
 ber, two of which were gun boats, the rest were laden 
 with military stores, cash to pay the troops, and the 
 timbers of a vessel built in England, even to the last 
 pin, and ready to put together, to enable them to main- 
 tain their superiority on lake Ontario. After the fleet 
 had passed, I intimated to the officer who command- 
 
i: 
 
 m 
 
 
 ed the boat I was on board of, that I would be much 
 gratified if he would run his boat on the other side of 
 the St. Lawrence, which he could do with as much fa- 
 cility as upon this — his reply was, I understand you, sir, 
 but were the other side of the river equally near, you 
 could not make your escape, as upon the first attempt. 
 I would have you shot — I bantered him by telling him, 
 that if he would agree to run his boat as near the Amer- 
 ican shore as he then was to the British, I would exe- 
 cute a bond for five hundred dollars, payable in ten 
 days, in any house in Boston or New York, that he 
 might mention, and he might fire all the guns on 00; n' 
 after me, and kill me if he could ; but all would not do, 
 neither bribe nor persuasion could induce him to alter ' 
 his course. I well knew that the guns had lain in the 
 boat until the powder was so damp that it would have 
 been next to a miracle if one amongst them would go 
 off. It was my fixed determination if I could have got 
 near enough, to have made the shore, to have jumped 
 overboard, and run all risks. Had I been then able to 
 have effected my escape, I would have pressed a horse^ 
 and made the best of my way to Sackett's harbor, 
 where I would have given information of the fleet of 
 boats, as the whole of them might have been easily tak- 
 en, and would have been a valuable prize. 
 
 On proceeding a little further, we saw a drove of fat 
 bullocks, consisting of one hundred head ; which I learn- 
 ed, had been smuggled across, from the state of New- 
 York, at the Seven Islands. The drovers were met 
 that day by the British commissary, who paid them 
 twenty dollars per hundred, for the beef cattle, all in 
 gold. Upon their return down the river, the drovers 
 put up for the night, at the same tavern where I lodged ; 
 and, sometime after supper, I walked into the room 
 where they were seated ; there were but two of them, 
 
 -J, 
 
 
iif'K-w.^'-'t^jmw ■ 
 
 \ '• 
 
 and had the gold spread on the table, in the act of di- 
 viding it. I that night obtained information of their 
 real names, for they had passed by fictitious ones ; and, 
 also learned the name of the town, in which one of 
 them resided, and made a memorandum of thj whole, 
 with a view to their apprehension, if I could make my 
 esca;^je. I had also viewed them so particularly, that I 
 would have been able to recognize them any where ; but 
 fortunately for them, I was detained in imprisonment 
 until after the peace. 
 
 The con'ditions of my parole having been broken by 
 the enemy, by my imprisonment at Kingston, I, of 
 course, no longer felt myself in honor bound to comply 
 with them ; and nad been for some time anxiously wait- 
 ing an opportunity of effecting an escape. I had some 
 thoughts of making the attempt that night, on board a 
 large canoe, that lay a little v/ay down the river from 
 where we had landed, and preparatory to my going 
 down to the boat, where my man Hughes, and another 
 young man who belonged to the boat, and who had 
 agreed to start with me if I got any chance of escape, 
 were awaiting me. 1 took an opportunity to enter into 
 conversation with one of the smugglers who was stand- 
 ing by the door, and in the course of our talk enquired 
 of him about the pass of the Seven Islands, and whe- 
 ther the Indians who inhabited them, were friendly 
 or hostile ; he gave me some little information and after 
 a while turned into the house. I then went down to 
 the boat and had just communicated my views to 
 my friends, when I was called to from the house by 
 Lieutenant Norris ; I immediately went up, after hav- 
 ing told my men that I would be back as soon as I 
 could get away, and that we should then put out — the 
 night was very dark, and had we once got under weigh, 
 it would have been a difficult matter to re-capture us. 
 
 
38 
 
 Upon my reaching the house hnagine my disappoint- 
 ment when handed into a room hy the Lieutenant, 
 who locked the door as soon as we had entered, tell- 
 ing me that he would keep me company, and pointing 
 to a table upon which lay his sword and pistols, gave 
 me to understand that he would kill me, if I made an 
 attempt to escape ; he afterwards informed me that one 
 of the smugglers had told him to take care of me, as I 
 would leave him to-night, and that I had been asking 
 about the passes of the Seven Islands. He then en- 
 treated me not to make any attempt to leave him, for 
 if I made my escape it would ruin him, as Major Ro- 
 gers had suspicions about his loyalty, and he believed 
 that I was ^placed under his care, merely to try his fi- 
 delity. He was a clever fellow, and he and his wife 
 had treated me well, and I should have been sorry to 
 have attempted any thing which would have involved 
 him in difficulties. I therefore pledged my word that 
 I would not attempt leaving him, and, for the pre- 
 sent gave up my hopes of escape ; he however remained 
 with me until morning, when we re-embarked, and 
 proceeded on our voyage. Nothing occurred worth 
 
 notice, until we came to what was called the , 
 
 down which, though a distance of nine miles, we pass- 
 ed in the short space of fifteen minutes. I saw some 
 Canadians drawing up a boat, "diich appeared to be a 
 very difficult undertaking — they had a long rope at- 
 tached to the boat, one end of which was tugged at by 
 twenty or thirty men — hence we proceeded to La 
 Chine, a distance of nine miles from Montreal, where 
 having landed. Lieutenant Norris conducted me to a 
 tavern, and left me with instructions to remain there 
 until his return. In the mean time I called for some- 
 thing to drink, which I procured without difficulty. I 
 then told the landlord that I would want something to 
 
39 
 
 eat also, but I could not procure a mouthful. Upon 
 the return of the Lieutenant, I reported my bad suc- 
 cess, when he applied with no better fortune. We 
 then proceeded together to all the public houses, and a 
 good many of the private ones ; nothing was to be had. 
 It was then nearly dark and raining, and we had had 
 nothing to eat since morning. He then instructed us 
 to proceed on the road to Montreal, until we could 
 procure something, and accordingly John Hughes, 
 two others who belonged to the boat, and myself put 
 forward on the road. After having travelled about 
 a mile, we came to a good looking stone house, and 
 here I repeated my call for supper, and received for 
 answer, as before, that I could not have any ; they could 
 not give us what they had not themselves. The 
 rain still continued, and the darkness had considerably 
 increased ; however we dashed through the mud for 
 something like another mile, when we reachec' ano- 
 ther tavern ; here we received the same answer as be- 
 fore, and as for lodging, they could not well accom- 
 modate us, but we might lie down on the bar-room floor, 
 which was covered with mud; having no alternative we 
 were obliged to accept the offer, and after awhile they 
 procured us some apples and milk, for which they 
 charged us a handsome price ; for our lodgings, how- 
 ever, they charged us nothing. We set forward in the 
 morning towards Montreal, and after travelling two or 
 three miles, espied a snug little farm house at some dis- 
 tance from the road ; the prospect looked cheering, and 
 we immediately struck oil in its direction. The farm- 
 er himself, who proved to be a countryman of our own, 
 met us at the door, invited us to walk in, and handed 
 down a decanter of old whiskey, requesting us to help 
 ourselves. When he heard how we had been treated 
 the evening before, and that we had not breakfasted. 
 
 ^ •' 
 
'/ 
 
 »'. 
 
 J 
 
 but would gladly do so with him, unless he should 
 plead poverty as the rest had done ; he immediately re- 
 plied that he would have something prepared for us, 
 and in a few minutes we sat down to as good a break- 
 fast as any man could wish for, and with stomachs well 
 prepared for wreaking ample satisfaction, to atone for 
 previous abstemiousness. Having finished breakfast, 
 we called for the Lill, but our hospitable entertainer 
 absolutely refused to receive any recompense, saying 
 that he should be visited with worse times than the 
 preseiiL, before he would re':eive payment for so tri- 
 fling a service to a fellow countryman. 
 
 Nothing deserving notice came under my observa- 
 tion, until we arrived at Montreal, where as we passed 
 along the streets, the citizens crowded their doors and 
 pavements, and pointing to me, cried out, "there goes 
 
 an American officer he's a d d pretty creature, 
 
 isn't he?" I had then been a prisoner nearly three 
 months and was without hat, coat or vest. It was ex- 
 ceedingly mortifying to me to be held up in my present 
 situation as a sp< cimen of American officers, after hav- 
 ing been by themselves stripped almost to a state of nu- 
 dity. I was exceedingly wrath, and had my power been 
 then equal to my will, I would have taken ample ven- 
 geance. 
 
 From Kingston to Montreal, along the St. Lawrence, 
 there are nine smart little villages, viz.: Prescott, 
 Youngstown, Edwardsburg, Williamsburg, Osnaburg, 
 Cromwell, Dulac, Cidris, Vaudril and La Chine. Some 
 part of the country appeared to be fertile, and there 
 were several handsome farm houses, whose exterior 
 spoke loudly for the comfort of their inhabitants. 
 
 Montreal is the capital of an island of the same name, 
 formerly called Villa Marie; it is the second place in 
 Canada for strength, buildings and extent, and besides 
 
' 
 
 :':v 
 
 41 
 
 the advantages of a better climate, for delightfulness of 
 situation, is much preferable to Quebec. It stands on 
 the side of a hill sloping to the south, with many agree- 
 able villas upon it, which, with the island of St. Helen, 
 and the river, which is about two miles broad, forms a 
 most charming landscape. The city is not very broad 
 from north to south, but covers a great deal of ground 
 from ec^st to west, and is nearly as populous as Quebec. 
 The streets ar*^ rcgulir, forming an oblong square, 
 the houses well built, and the public edifices far ex- 
 ceed those of Quebec in beauty and commodiousness ; 
 the residence of the knights hospitalers, is extremely 
 magnificent; there are several gardens within the walls, 
 particularly those of the Governor, the Sisters of the 
 Congregation, the Nunnery Hospital, the Recollects, 
 Jesuits Seminary, &c.; there are also many other gar- 
 dens and plantations without the gates. The churches 
 and religious houses are of the greatest neatness and 
 simplicity. The city has seven gates, but its fortifica- 
 tions are inconsiderable, being encompassed by a slight 
 wall of masonry, sufficient only to prevent a surprise 
 from the numerous tribes of Indians, with whom they 
 are surrounded, and who used to resort in large bodies, 
 to the annual fair, held here from June to the end of 
 August. On the inside of the town, is a cavalier on 
 an artificial eminence, with a parapet, and six or eight 
 guns, called the citadel. The number of inhabitants, 
 I was informed, amounted to about six thousand. The 
 neighboring shores supply them with a vast variety of 
 game in the different seasons, and the island abounds 
 with soft springs, which form many pleasant rivulets. — 
 They drive a considerable trade in furs ; and the place 
 is well calculated for commerce, as vessels of two hun- 
 dred tons burthen can come directly up to the city. It 
 stands one hundred and twenty miles south of Que- 
 
t ' 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 1 I 
 
 bee, and one hundred and ten north of Albany. This 
 island formerly belonged to the French, but was taken 
 by generals Amherst and Murray, on the eighth ot Sep- 
 tember, one thousand seven hundred and sixty. By 
 the capitulation, all the French forces were sent to old 
 France, and thus it became subject to the crown of 
 Great-Britain ; it was afterwards confirmed to them by 
 the peace of one thousand seven hundred and sixty- 
 three. 
 
 After I had been in Montreal a few days, I was giv- 
 en to understand, that a number of American officers 
 had been paroled home from this place, and made ap- 
 plication to the provost major for a parole to go homo ; 
 he would apply to the governor, he said, and if I would 
 call at his office in a day or two, he would inform me of 
 the result. After repeated calls on my part, he en- 
 quired upon what terms I expected to be paroled. I 
 told him I would agree not to lift arms, until legally 
 exchanged. He then asked me if I would agree not 
 to lift arms during the war. ^ i replied that it was not 
 fair to ask me to agree to such terms, and that at all 
 events, 1 could not, nor would not accept of a parole, 
 badly as I liked being a prisoner, upon any such terms. 
 He then informed me that I would not be paroled on 
 any other terms ; and so finished the discussion. 
 
 A short time afterwards, a chance of escape was of- 
 fered me by a friend, who promised to procure me a 
 pass, provided I would change my name, and enter 
 with him as a boatman. When I reached the narrows, 
 I could take a canoe and paddle across to the Ameri- 
 can shore, as he was going up the river with liquor to 
 the British army. This I declined, not liking the idea 
 of changing my name ; and it was absolutely necessary 
 for any one who attempted to travel in that country 
 then, to have a pass, as to be found without one, sub- 
 
ilH 
 
 43 
 
 jected the person to instant arrest, and of course I 
 could not apply for one in my own name, consequent- 
 ly could not avail myself of the opportunity. 
 
 While killing time one day in a tavern at Montreal, 
 a deserter from the American army came in, who had a 
 great deal to say about the Americans. To the ques- 
 tion of why he deserted, he replied that it was entirely 
 in consequence of the bad treatment he received from 
 his officers. We had some warm words, and I caution- 
 ed him to be careful, now that winter was coming on, 
 in case he could not get work to support himself, which 
 it was more than probable would prove the case, not to 
 turn his hand to stealing, as a comrade of his had been 
 hanged but a few days before for an offence of the 
 kind ; and it was, I thought, a most excellent plan 
 adopted by the British, to get rid of such rubbish, as no 
 man can place confidence in. It may well be supposed 
 that he did not wait to hear any more. 
 
 About this time a .man who resided a few mik from 
 town came and told me that if I would give him one 
 hundred dollars, he would deliver me safe in the United 
 States, in the course of one night. Soon after, a 
 gentleman, a resident of Montreal, told me, that if I 
 would disguise myself by putting on a good suit of 
 clothes, he would give me a seat in his calash, procure 
 a pass for me, and carry me in part of a day to where I 
 might conveniently cross in a canoe. Both these of- 
 fers required money, and I postponed answering for a 
 day or two, hoping that I might be able to raise the 
 money by some exertion. Accordingly I enquired 
 of my landlord, he being an American, whether he 
 could inform me of any means of procuring fifty or one 
 hundred dollars on loan ; he recommended me to a mer- 
 cantile house, which he told me, was immensely rich,' 
 and American ; the name of the firm was " Ballas and 
 
 \ M 
 
 \ 
 
 ^i 
 
T 
 
 '^ . 
 
 I' f 
 
 (. 
 
 I l' 
 
 ' 44 
 
 Gaits," they had made a splendid fortune by smuggling 
 business, carried on between them and some of the 
 merchants of New-York and Boston, who exchanged 
 flour, etc., for dry goods; if I would apply to them, he 
 thought there would be no doubt of my success. In 
 pursuance, therefore, of this advice, I immediately wait- 
 ed upon Mr. Gaits, and after stating my situation to him, 
 told him I had been recommended to apply to his 
 house for the loan of from fifty to one hundred dollars, 
 and that I would pay the amount with any per centage 
 he might demand, to any house in New-York or Boston, 
 in ten days after I should have arrived in the United 
 States. He then enquired if I had made my case 
 known to the British officers, and upon my replying 
 that they were well acquainted with all the circum- 
 stances of my situation, remarked that if the gentlemen 
 of the place were made acquainted with my wants, the 
 sum would easily be raised. I told him that although 
 reduced by misfortune to the disagreeable necessity of 
 applying to a stranger, and I expected a gentleman, for 
 a loan of money, I was not yet reduced to beggary, 
 and left him. < ; 
 
 About this time Cornet Gillas was brought on, and 
 left at the same house with me; he was a spirited, 
 and had been a very stout young man, but was now 
 much disabled, by rheumatic pains, which I believe he 
 never got entirely rid of. Having been irritated \^ lile 
 at Fort George, by being put into the guard-house,, 
 among several refractory soldiers, he had commenced 
 beating them with a leg of a bench, which he had bro- 
 ken off, and before the guard alarmed by the cries of 
 "murder,*' had time to come to their assistance, he had 
 knocked down three or four. For this, he was taken 
 and stretched on a log, sunk level with the ground, 
 where he was tightly fastened down with ropes, and 
 
V. 
 
 4J 
 
 kept in that position for several days. It was here he 
 had taken the rheumatic pains, under which he was 
 suffering. 
 
 A company of merchants, five in number, from Long 
 Point, and who had come to Montreal to lay in goods, 
 put up at the tavern where I lodged, and sent me an 
 invitation to come to their room after supper, and 
 drink some wine with them. They were very sociable, 
 and made a good many inquiries relative to my impris- 
 onment and subsequent treatment. I gratified them 
 in every particular. Next morning, I was speaking to 
 one of their boatman, who was going to get his watch 
 repaired, and I asked him to show it to me, and to my 
 astonishment he drew out my own watch. It had a 
 compass on the face of it, and the needle being loose, 
 I asked him if he could fasten it, and upon his answer- 
 ing that he could not, I told him to hand it to me, and 
 I would fasten it for him; when he was in the act of 
 reaching it to me, I remarked, that I had carried that 
 watch a much longer time than he, and that it was the 
 very one which had been taken from me by the Indians, 
 when I was made prisoner; he immediately drew back 
 his hand, when I told him not to be alarmed, as I had 
 no notion of laying claim to it, as I supposed lie came 
 honestly by it. He then handed it to me, when I put 
 in the needle, I showed him the spring which fastened 
 it, and returned it to him, saying, that if I had money 
 I would buy it of him, as it was a favorite watch, and 
 had been the gift of a brother, now dead ; but, that as 
 my means had been taken, as well as my watch, I had 
 no means of gratif3ang myself, by its recovery. The 
 same evening, however, the merchants again sent for 
 me to their room, and after some conversation, and 
 drinking a few glasses of wine, one of them drew out 
 my watch, and presented it to me, saying, he hoped I 
 
 V 
 
 .! 
 
 f 
 
7! 
 
 m 
 
 « 
 
 y 
 
 ' f / 
 
 V 
 
 ( 
 
 I 
 
 .' 
 
 f< 
 
 n; 
 
 ' ■ 46 
 
 would receive it as a marl< of their friendship, and that 
 they felt very happy in being able to restore it to me. 
 They had each subscribed five dollars. I feel sorry that 
 I cannot recollect the names of men who acted so very 
 generously. 
 
 Next morning Gillas and I were ordered to repair to 
 the wharf, there to go aboard a vessel buund for Que- 
 bec; previous to going on board, I called to bid Mrs. 
 Norris farewell ; she inquired if I had any money to 
 purchase necessaries for the voyage, and upon my 
 replying that I had not, presented me with four dollars, 
 which she insisted upon my taking, regretting, at the 
 same time, the absence of her husband, which disabled 
 her from giving me a much larger sum. We repaired, 
 according to orders, to the wharf, and went aboard of a 
 merchant vessel. I regret very much that tb oss of 
 detached parts of my manuscript, has put it e ^f my 
 power in several instances to mention the names of 
 persons from whom* I had received kindnesses; the 
 captain of the vessel which conveyed us to Quebec, is 
 amongst the number of those, whose names it would 
 have afforded me pleasure to record ; he was in every 
 sense of the word, a gentleman. He conducted us to 
 his cabin., and opened for us his library, assuring us if 
 we could find any thing in it to divert ourselves, we 
 were perfectly welcome to its use. When dinner time 
 came he sent for us to dine with him, and continued 
 to entertain us at his own table all the time we were 
 aboard ; dinner over, he brought in brandy and wine, 
 requesting us to make choice and help ourselves. In 
 the evening, after supper, we had our wine and a pack 
 of cards for our amusement, when he would himself 
 take a hand. This, as the saying is, was too good to 
 last long, and in three days we reached Quebec, a 
 large and handsome town, and the capital 01 Canada. 
 
4r 
 
 we 
 
 In 
 
 pack 
 mself 
 od to 
 lec, a 
 Liiada. 
 
 The first place taken notice of upon landing here, is a 
 square of an irregular figure, with well built houses 
 on each side, on the back of which is a rock ; on the 
 left it is bounded by a small church, and on the right 
 are two rows of handsome, and apparently convenient 
 houses, built parallel to each other. There is another 
 row between the church and the harbor, and another 
 and a large one on the side of the bay. This is a kind 
 of suburb ; between this and the great street is a very 
 steep ascent, with steps for foot passengers. This is 
 what is called the Upper Town; the city being divided 
 into an Upper and Lower Town. In the upper is sit- 
 uated the Bishop's palace, a very elegant and splendid 
 building, and between two large squares is a fort, where 
 the Governor lodges. Th( Recolects, a sort of Francis- 
 can friars, have handsome houses over against it. On 
 the right of the Cathedral, and directly facing it, stands 
 the ci-devant Jesuits college. In a direct line from 
 the fort, and parallel to each other, run two streets 
 which are crossed by a third, and between these and 
 the Governor's house are situate a church and a con- 
 vent. The houses are mostly built of stone, and the 
 number of inhabitants amounted, I was informed, to 
 about seven thousand. The fort is also a handsome 
 building. Quebec is situated at the confluence of the 
 rivers St. Lawrence and St. Charles. The river, 
 which from the sea hither, is about four or five leagues 
 broad, narrows all of a sudden to the breadth of a mile. 
 The harbor is safe and commodious, and the water is 
 about five fathoms deep. 
 
 Quebec is not regularly fortified, but it cannot be 
 easily taken, for the harbor is flanked with two bastions, 
 which at high tides are almost level with the water. 
 In the year seventeen hundred and eleven, the Bri- 
 tish fitted out a fleet, with a design to conquer Can- 
 
 \ 
 
48 
 
 1^1 
 
 y: 
 
 ada, which failed, in consequence of the Admiral rash- 
 ly following his own opinion, although in direct contra- 
 diction to the advice of his pilot, in sailing too close to 
 the " Seven Isles." by which piece of imprudence he 
 lost his largest ships, and upwards of three thousand 
 of his best soldiers. On the eighteenth of October, 
 seventeen hundred and lifty-nine, it was taken however, 
 by the British, under the command of General Wolfe, 
 who fell in the battle, after he had the satisfaction of 
 knowing that his troops were victorious. 
 
 In December, seventeen hundred and seventy-five* 
 it was attacked by the Americans, under General 
 Montgomery, who was killed, and his army repulsed. 
 Ouebec lies three hundred and twelve miles from the 
 sea coast, and five hundred and ninety northwest of 
 Boston. 
 
 Having arrived here we were paroled to Beaufort, 
 a village at the distance of about three miles, where we 
 were ordered to proceed immediately. We got into 
 a calash or sort of gig, which carried us there in a short 
 time, for which conveyance we were charged two 
 dollars each. Here we feli into company with a num- 
 ber of paroled officers, and here I again came into 
 company with my old friends and companions, Major 
 Galloway and Captain Roberts from Cumberland coun- 
 ty, the latter of whom had been made prisoner at the 
 battle of Bridgewater, on the twenty-fifth of July eigh- 
 teen hundred and fourteen. 
 
 Here also we met with Major Wilson, Major Stan- 
 ton, Col. Churchill, and several other officers from the 
 state cf New-York. The hostages who had been kepi 
 in Quebec prison for several months, were also at this 
 place under parole 
 
 The officers whose names I have above mentioned, 
 Jiad been marched to this place oyer land, under guard, 
 
 te 
 asl 
 
 i\ 
 
49 
 
 fort, 
 e we 
 1 into 
 hort 
 two 
 um- 
 into 
 ajor 
 oun- 
 the 
 
 e 
 
 ig^^- 
 
 n 
 
 Staii- 
 the 
 kep\- 
 it this 
 
 ioned, 
 guard, 
 
 and had been, during their march, treated by the guard 
 with the utmost contempt. When in their passage 
 along the roads, they came in contact with a mud hole, 
 although there might be plenty of room to pass round, 
 they were compelled to walk through it, at the point of 
 the bayonet. In many places they were almost knee 
 deep in mud. 
 
 During the whole of the war, the treatment receiv- 
 ed by the American prisoners, was cruelly mortify- 
 ing to them, and deeply degrading to the captors. That 
 of an officer belonging to the New-York militia, who 
 had been wounded and made prisoner, was shameful in 
 the extreme : He had been shot through his shoulder, 
 and had his collar-bone broken, so that he could not 
 raise his arm, and it was put into a sling by some of 
 his companions. He was dragged all the way to Mon- 
 treal without having had his wound dressed, and even 
 in his bloody clothes, a distance of at least fifty miles, 
 where it was dressed; but assistance so long neglected 
 came too late, and the unfortunate man died at Beau- 
 fort, totally neglected. I never felt more pity for suf- 
 fering humanity, than '„his poor fellow's case excited. 
 Death is at all times a scene of sorrow, even when ac- 
 companied by every thing calculated to soothe the mind, 
 and relieve the anxiety of the sufTerer; how much more 
 distressing, therefore, must have been the situation of a 
 man dying far from home, in the midst of his enemies, 
 and under the most mortifying treatment, with his 
 thoughts resting o.-. his family, who would be left to la- 
 ment his loss? . 
 
 I will mention another instance of unfeeling treat- 
 ment, towards a private soldier ; a nuisket ball had brok- 
 en his leg, and in the absence of all other care or at- 
 tendance, his companions had splintered it up as well 
 as they knew how, and it was beginning to heal. On his 
 
 •1 
 
mtmmJimSiasmStmm'ui--;rr-a'-tfrjm-yi-,imirir^rt 
 
 'XK 
 
 50 
 
 153 >. 
 
 
 way to La Chine, where he was taken by water, he was 
 rudely thrown from the boat by a British soldier, be- 
 cause he did not move, as fast as those who were well, 
 and his leg was again broken. He was then hauled in 
 a cart, into which he was brutally tumbled, to Montreal, 
 in a state of extreme suffering. 
 
 At Beaufort the officers formed themselves into mess- 
 es, and rented a room or two, as the mess was larger 
 or smaller. Major Galloway, Stanton, myself and some 
 others, whose names I do not recollect, belonged to 
 Col. Churchill's mess. The Colonel and Major Gal- 
 loway had each a man to wait on them, who cooked for 
 us. We paid three dollars a week for the room, and 
 the privilege of cooking at the kitchen fire; a cart load 
 of wood cost two dollars, a turkey one dollar, a chicken 
 twenty-five cents, and beef was twenty cents a pound, 
 and by marketing for ourselves, and messing together 
 we fared better and at less co?*^, than if we were at a 
 boarding house. Capt. Roberts boarded at the only 
 tavern in the place, and from their manner of cooking, 
 which I witnessed one day, I had no desire whatever, 
 to belong to his company. Eels they kept barrelled 
 up as herrings are, and they cook them in a different 
 manner from what I had ever seen before, which is 
 called the French method. The landlady, whom I saw 
 dress them, took a large one out of the barrel, it was 
 just as it had been caught, except that it had been in 
 pickle, and having twisted it around in the form of a 
 ring, tied it in that shape with a piece of thread, when 
 opening the bar-room stove door she hung it on a hook 
 placed inside of the stove, and closing the door left it 
 there. After a while she came back with a plate in her 
 hand, and with a tongs removed the eel, and put it on 
 the plate, when it was conveyed to the table, and the 
 guests comm.enced carving and helping themselves. 
 
mmmm^minmmmmm 
 
 -« 
 «> 
 
 51 
 
 Those who disliked eating the skin, might leave it with 
 the intestines on the plates. 
 
 We had the privilege of walking as far as the bridge 
 over the river Montmorency, near which is a beautiful 
 waterfall, formed by the waters of the Montmurency 
 pounng over steep rocks, and falling with a tremendous 
 noise, into the St. Lawrence, from a distance of from 
 one to two hundred feet. . ; - 
 
 Major Vandewenter, from Philadelphia, one of the 
 hostages, who had been confined in Quebec Jail was 
 at that time permitted by the British to act as Ameri- 
 can agent, the former agent having been sent home 
 some time previous. In making out his requisition 
 to pay for cloathing. &c.. he so managed as to have 
 such an overplus, as enabled him to give each of us two 
 months pay. with which I purchased cloathing. 
 
 The houses here are principally of stone, tvvo stories 
 high, with very steep roofs; they are built in this man- 
 ner to facilitate the falling off of the snow, in the win- 
 ter, which would otherwise injure the roof, as it lies in 
 that season, to the depth of from six to seven feet The 
 quality of the land, about Beaufort, appears to be 
 good, principally lime stone ; the farms are narrow, run- 
 ning in one direction, to the base of a large mountain 
 and in the other to the water's edge. ' The people 
 here are excessively fond of onions, you will hardly 
 find a family, who will not lay up for winter use. from 
 hfty to a hundred bushels. They seem to live very 
 poorly, not being able to buy beef on account of its 
 very high price. 
 
 1 had been here between three and four weeks when 
 one evening a British olFicer came in and told 'us we 
 must make preparations to go on board of a vessel then 
 in harbor and bound for Halifax, on the foil 
 
 ing. We 
 
 owing even- 
 
 enquired if it would be necessary for us to 
 
-*w»w* 
 
 Wl l iM- i lii ' i 'W ilP 
 
 52 -■■/■■^■/, ':/■. 
 
 purchase sea stores, and were told that it would be en- 
 tirely unnecssary. as we should fare as well as the Ad- 
 miral. We accordingly went aboard without making 
 any preparations, and were put in possession of a large 
 cabin. The weather was very cold, and it blew quite 
 a gale. That evening the Captain went ashore, and 
 Captain Hunt, from the state of New York, who had 
 previously managed to engage a Frenchman, to pilot 
 him across the country to the United States, in case he 
 should be able to make his escape, commenced prepa- 
 rations ; the better to assisst, the Frenchman had hired 
 himself on board in capacity of a waiter; they got out 
 of the cabin window into the boat which lay astern, but 
 to their mortification, found there were no oars ; these, 
 after considerable manfjcuvering we managed to convey 
 from deck into the cabin, one party keeping the guard 
 busy in conversation ; from the cabin they were handed 
 to the boat, and having muffled the oars, and being 
 joined by four others, the painter was cut, and not- 
 withstanding there were fifty sail of vessels in the har- 
 bor, each one having a lanthorn mounted, and two 
 guards patrolling the deck, they effected their escape, 
 and got safe to land. There still remained on board 
 the vessel, seventeen of our number, so that those who 
 made their escape were not missed until the following 
 morning at nine o'clock, when the Captain came 
 aboard and had the roll called. We were told to pre- 
 pare to leave the cabin in an hour, and that we should 
 in future take up our quarters in the hold; when we 
 urged that it was rather a hard case to punish us, for 
 the offences of others, our captain told us that he was 
 very well aware that they could not have got away 
 without our assistance. We then stated that it seem- 
 ed rather like punishing us for not having availed our- 
 selves of the opportunity presented us, as the boat was 
 
 )?! 
 
■KJT-'B'W 
 
 sufficiently large to hold us all — the only reply he con- 
 descended to make us, was, that he would let us know 
 that we had our eldest " ^;'z^<'/<^/tr " aboard, and that he 
 would take care of us — he was a Scotchn^an by the 
 name of Snowden. When the hour given us fOr pre- 
 paration har" expired, we were marched into the hold, 
 where we were kept for twent3^-one days, three days 
 and nights of which we had nothing to eat, and when 
 at length they did furnish us with provisions, they were 
 of such a quality as an American dog would not eat, 
 without the necessary stimulus of starvation — they con- 
 sisted of old sea bread or biscuit, which, for any thing I 
 know, was twenty years old, at all events, it was so 
 completely eaten up by the worms, all that the worms 
 could penetrate, the outside part being only left, ajid 
 that was so hard that it would require a hammer to 
 break it. Bad as it was we were not furnished with 
 more than one fourth of a common soldier's allow^ance. 
 This was shovelled up into a sack and vvrith a bone of 
 beef thrown into the hold as if to so many dogs. We 
 cut the meat and broke the bread into small pieces, and 
 boiled all together, making a kind of soup called lob- 
 scouse ; while it was in preparation, we had made each 
 of us a spoon, and this done, it was poured out upon a 
 large wooden dish, and standing round, we played 
 away, until the hollow rattle of our spoons upon the 
 dish reminded us that it was empty. We fared twice 
 a day in this sumptuous manner. The water too 
 which they gave us to drink was most dreadful stuff; no 
 human being could drink it without holding his nose, 
 the stench was so great. In the evening, our waiter 
 had the good fortune to procure us a bucket of water, 
 which was divided amongst us as though it was a lux- 
 ury, and indeed to our tasting, it was delicious. 
 When we came to a place called "Ship Harbour," 
 
'ina'i 
 
 ■MWM 
 
 •*•■ 
 
 3pSS 
 
 ■» 
 
 t 
 
 ^ - -^ 54 
 
 . the vessels were obliged to lie to for a couple of days, 
 in consequence of bad weather. We had a very hea- 
 vy sea, and the ^vinds were very roug^h, and previous to 
 our reaching- Ship iIarbour> had lost one of the vessels 
 belonging to the fleet, which I believe was never heard 
 of. It must have gone down, as a few days afterwards, 
 the bodies of some of the crew were picked up on 
 shore, where they had been cast, and were recognized 
 bv the device and number on their buttons. Fortu- 
 natelv there were no Americans on board of her. Here 
 we were transferred to another vessel, bound to Eng- 
 land ; after we nad been put on board, we were order- 
 ed to go below among the sick and invalids — they were 
 then dying fast, and they were every da}'^ throwing- 
 them ove 'board ; the place too, was Vvjry filthy, and full 
 of vermin. We refused to go down, and remained on 
 deck the whole day, which was bitterly cold, and the 
 wind very high. We then petitioned the Admiral for 
 better quarters, than those assigned to us, and declar- 
 ed in the strongest terms that we would otherwise re- 
 main on deck until we perished, and we walked the 
 deck from early in the morning until dark, when one 
 of the army officers invited us into their cpbin, where 
 they had something prepared for us to eal which was 
 the first meal we had eaten since we had had our lob- 
 scouse the day previous. 
 
 Next morning we were ordered back on board of the 
 vessel we had left, and taking advantage of the oppor- 
 tunity offered us by the sailors, some of whom were go- 
 ing- ashore, we gave them some money, to purchase for 
 us something to eat. When they returned they brought 
 us a bag of potatoes and some fresh cat-lish, of which 
 we soon cooked a mess, and 1 thought it was the best 
 meal I had ever eaten. After the storm had some- 
 what abated we again set sail for Halifax. 
 
mmtm 
 
 ■PHHI 
 
 ■ 55 ■Cf:' :"■ 
 
 The fleet that went down with us, consisted of twen- 
 ty sail, two of which were seventy-fours ; after we had 
 been several days in the hold, the stove was hoisted up- 
 on deck, and we were compelled to do without fire for 
 the balance of the passage. Orders had been issued 
 that the lights should be extinguished at eight o'clock, 
 and that the fire in the stove should be drowned out 
 at nine o'clock. In consequence of neglect in this last 
 particular, we suffered this severe privation. The wea- 
 ther was extremely cold, and the ropes were all hang- 
 ing with ice, besidCvS we could not induce the Captain 
 to sell us any provisions. I ofifered the cabin boy one 
 dollar for a pint of beef soup, but he refused, saying, 
 that if he gave it, he would get the rope's end — he sold 
 us rum, however, at one dollar per bottle, and it will 
 be readily perceived that we paid our devotions pretty 
 regularly to the bottle, when I state that during the 
 passage we paid him for rum alone, upwards of two 
 hundred dollars. We could not have lived without it, 
 and were forced to " keep our spirits up by pouring spir- 
 its down." If our Captain were tired of us, before he 
 took away the stove, we now gave him double cause to 
 be so, as we kept up a continual singing, and noise un- 
 til ten and eleven o'clock, every night, and very often 
 to a much later hour. He at length became afraid of 
 us, and had his guard doubled, by application to some 
 of the other vessels. He afterwards made another ap- 
 plication, and recovered his temper, when strengthen- 
 ed by a couple of army officers. Alarmed as he was, 
 he would have been much more so, had he known that 
 we had actually agreed to take the vessel as soon as 
 we got out of the St. Lawrence, and had sea-room. 
 Our plan was to be put in operation in the night, but 
 unfortunately for us we got into the ocean early in the 
 day, and by night we were inside of the Halifax coast- 
 
«■■ 
 
 ers. We had two midshipnicn and one lieutenant of 
 our navy on board, and had so far succeded as to have 
 made a passa«^e, by which we could at pleasure enter the 
 apartment where the guard slept, and their arms being 
 stacked on the floor, could have seized them when we 
 pleased. Two of the stoutest of us were to go on 
 deck, but two being allowed up at a time, and the stairs 
 of the hatches were to be filled with men, ready to rush 
 up as soon as they should have seized the guard — some 
 were to fasten down the hatches on the sailors, and 
 others to take care of the cabin and the officers. We 
 would then have compelled the sailors to work the ves- 
 sel into New-York, but when night came on, our lieu- 
 tenant discouraged the whole undertaking by inform- 
 ing us that we were tljen inside of the Halifax coasters, 
 and that should we be so fortunate as lo escape from 
 the fieet, we would be re-taken by theni; and if so, it 
 was as likely as not, we should all be hung to the yard 
 arms, without further comment. Having no particu- 
 lar propensity for stvinging, we abandoned the project, 
 and landed on the following day at Halifax. 
 
 We were marched up the street, under guard like a 
 parcel of felons, to the office of the Provost Major, 
 where we received paroles to Prescott, a village across 
 the bay from Halifax, and were marched back in the 
 same order to the boat ; cheered as we went along by 
 the expression of sympathy, from the by-standers — ah ! 
 poor devils ! exclaimed a poor old Irish woman ; in the 
 fulness of her heart and the roughness of her phraseo- 
 logy, she expressed her pity for our desolate situation, 
 and I have no doubt she felt for us from her soul, for 
 her manner indicated sincerity and her eye glistened 
 with a tear. We were put on board with our little 
 store of baggage, and in the morning landed at Pres- 
 cott, our place of parole. 
 
I v.." l,LWl;l"H. 
 
 57 -'■■^'f'-.-'-y/'-^ 
 
 About the time I went on shore I was taken very ill, 
 indeed I had been in a very weak state of health, ever 
 since I had had the fever, and my treatment from that 
 time was not such as to strengthen or improve it. I 
 remained unwell for several days, and wrote to Halifax 
 for medical aid, askinj^^ even as a favor, to go to the 
 hospital, and received neither medical assistance, nor 
 answer of any kind. I took a fancy to a drink of cider, 
 and accordingly went to a tavern, where I got some 
 very good ; it appeared to do me good, and I continued 
 the operation, and recovered, without other medicine. 
 
 Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia, and was found- 
 ed in the year seventeen hundred and forty-nine with a 
 view to secure the British settlements from the French 
 and Indians. It was divided into thirty-five squares, 
 each containing sixteen lots of forty by sixty feet. — 
 They have one established church, and one meeting 
 house. The city is surrounded by pirketings, and 
 guarded by forts on the outside, and has since been ve- 
 ry strongly fortified. Along the Chebucto, south of 
 the town, are buildings and fish flakes, for a distance 
 of at least two miles, if not more, and on the north of 
 the river they extend for a mile and upwards. The plan 
 was originally contrived, and afterwards considerably 
 improved by the Earl of Halifax. In March of the 
 year seventeen hundred and forty-nine, was first issued 
 the proclamation for the establishment of this settle- 
 ment, and so favorable were the terms offered to set- 
 tlers, and so strong the desire of emigration amongst 
 the people, that but two months afterwards, that is to 
 say, in the month of May, persons had ofitered them- 
 selves, to the number of three thousand seven hundred 
 and fifty. They accordingly embarked, and after a 
 prosperous voyage, established themselves in the bay 
 
 I- 
 
of Chebucto, where they founded their city, calling it 
 Halifax, in honor of their patron. 
 
 So actively and with such spirit did they enter into 
 operations, that before the end of October three hun- 
 dred comfortable wooden houses were built, and as ma- 
 ny more during the winter. The British government, 
 too, evinced great liberality in the manner, in which 
 for six successive years, they granted them large sup- 
 plies of money, for instance, in the year seventeen hun- 
 dred and forty-nine, they voted them 40,000/ for their 
 expences ; in seventeen hundred and fifty they granted 
 them /57,582 lys yl 1-4; in seventeen hundred and 
 fifty-one, /53,927 14.9 ijV; in seventeen hundred and 
 fifty-two, a sum of A:i,492 195- ^d 1-4; in seventeen 
 hundred and fifty-three, /94,6i5 \2s ^d\ in seventeen 
 hundred and fifty-four, /55.447 2s \ and in seventeen 
 hundred and fifty-five, /49,4i8 js Sd This city has 
 at length attained a degree of splendor, that bids fair 
 to rival the first cities in the United States, for which 
 it has been equally ind bted to the late war, to the 
 great increase of population from the influx of exiled 
 loyalists, and to the fostering care of Great-P3ritain. 
 The harbour is perfectly sheltered from all winds, be- 
 ing at the distance of twelve miles from the sea, and 
 is so spacious that one thousand ships may ride in 
 it without the least danger. Upon it are many com- 
 modi(jus wharves which have from twelve to eighteen 
 feet ol water at all tides ; the streets are regularly laid 
 out, and cross each other at right angles, the whole ris- 
 ing gradually upon the side of a hill, whose top is regu- 
 larly and very strongly fortified. Many considerable 
 merchants reside in this place, and are possessed of 
 shipping to the amount of several thousand tons, em- 
 ployed in a flourishing trade with Europe, and the 
 West Indies. There is a small, but excellent careen- 
 
i^iil 
 
 , 59 
 
 ing yard for ships of the royal navy, that may come in 
 to refit, and take water, fuel, or provisions on board, in 
 their passage to, and from the West Indies. It is well 
 provided with naval stores; and ships of the line are 
 hove down and repaired with the greatest ease and 
 safety. Several batteries of heavy cannon, command 
 the harbour, particularly, those upon George's island, 
 which being very steep and high, and situated in mid 
 channel, is well calculated to annoy vessels, in any direc- 
 tion. Above the careening yard, which is at the upper 
 end of the town, there is a large basin, or piece of wa- 
 ter, communicating with the harbor below, is nearly 
 twenty miles in circumference, and capable of contain- 
 ing the whole navy of England ; it is entirely sheltered 
 from all winds, and has but one narrow entrance, which 
 leads into the harbor. There are many detached set- 
 tlements, formed by the loyalists, along the basin ; the 
 lands at a small dist.mce from the water, being general- 
 ly supposed to be better than those near Halifax. An 
 elegant building is erected near the town, for the con- 
 valescence of the navy ; but the healthiness of the cli- 
 mate has, as yet, prevented many persons from be- 
 coming patients ; scarcely any ships in the world, being 
 so free from complaints of every kind in regard to 
 health, as those that are employed upon this station. 
 There is a good light-house, standing upon a small ele- 
 vation, just off the entrance of the harbor, which is 
 visible, either by night or day, from a distance of six or 
 seven leagues. Halifax is seven hundred and eighty- 
 nine miles north-east of New-York. In winter, the cli- 
 mate is very severe, and much addicted to fogs — but to 
 return to our narrative. 
 
 We remained in this place until after the declara- 
 tion of peace, and boarded during the time we remain- 
 ed, at the different taverns, at an expence of from five 
 
 f 
 
6o 
 
 ■Ai 
 
 l\ 
 
 
 to seven dollars a week. Our fare, too, was very poor; 
 breakfast consisted of bread and butter with some 
 roasted herrings, and water, colored with coffee; for 
 dinner they gave us generally a leg of mutton stuffed, 
 and roasted, and plum-pudding — sometimes they would 
 regale us with a roasted goose, but on Fridays we re- 
 gularly sat down to codfish and potatoes; our suppers 
 were light, consisting of bread slightly marked with 
 butter, and a cup of tea, no doubt, through fear of in- 
 juring our digestion. The naval officers were paroled 
 to a small village some fniles distant, as they did not 
 like to have them so near the water. , 
 
 In some parts of Upper Canada, through which I pass- 
 ed, the people did not appear to pay the least respect 
 to the Sabbath day. I have frequently seen women 
 churning butter and baking bread, and men chopping 
 wood, and attending to divers other employments, the 
 same as on week-days. They have a substitute for 
 coffee, of which it has fallen to my lot, more than once 
 to partake, viz.: dry crust of bread put on the fire and 
 burnt black, then pounded fine, and boiling water be- 
 ing poured upon it, it is suffered to rest for a while 
 when it is pronounced fit for use. Provisions of all 
 sorts were very scarce and dear. In the markets of 
 Halifax, beef was upwaids of twenty cents a pound, 
 turkey was fifty cents per lb., wheaten meal, thouc h sour, 
 was twenty-four dollars per barrel, and I savN' them 
 manufacturing flour in a mill near Halifax, that was so 
 much spoiled, and so firmly cemented together, that 
 they had to dig it out of the barrel with a heavy spade, 
 it was then placed under a sort of pounder, and after it 
 had been pcunded and bolted, through a cross-bolt, 
 the lumps were collected, and after having undergone 
 a repitition of the process, the whoJe was mixed with 
 fresh wheat, and re-bolted, until made fine enough to 
 
 
1 
 
 < ' 6i 
 
 pass through, when it was packed anil sent to market. 
 Major Galloway and I paid two dollars, at a tavern in 
 Halifax, tor a couple of glasses of brandy each, and 
 some oysters, which were so bad, we were forced to 
 leave them untouched. 
 
 There were but few men in the village in which we 
 were paroled, some followed fishing, some the sea, and 
 others the army. The soil of the country around ap- 
 peared to be very poor, the country abounded with 
 small lakes ; the timber was principally scrubby white 
 pine, not growing thicker than from six to twelve inch- 
 es in circumference. This was the wood used for fir- 
 ing by the inhabitants, each of whom cut and hauled as 
 much as he pleased without interruption. The corn 
 stalks which I saw in some gardens, and this was the only 
 place in which I saw any, were no larger than a person's 
 linger. 
 
 About this time the news of the defeat of the British 
 before New-Orleans, reached Halifax, and disappoint- 
 ment and chagrin were depicted in the countenance- 
 of every individual, with the exception of the Ameris 
 can prisoners, whose joy was almost without bounds. 
 The merchants who had been speculating, and many 
 of them had embarked largely in purchasing the sol- 
 diers rights of plunder at New-Orleans, of cotton, su- 
 gar, tobacco, &c., were actually thunderstruck. Many 
 of them upon hearing the news, collected all the cash 
 they could lay their hands upon, and disposed of as 
 much merchandise as possible, and cleared out, well 
 knowing that they had not the slightest chance of any- 
 thing but absolute poverty, if they remained. Every 
 day while I remained there, I witnessed sales of their 
 goods at auction in the streets. 
 
 When the news of the victory reached us at Pres- 
 cott, the officers assembled at what was called *' Jack- 
 
62 
 
 
 \- 
 
 I 
 
 a 
 
 soi.'s lavern" where Major Galloway, Captain Crown- 
 inshield, myself, md several others boarded, and spent 
 the pfternoon in jollity and mirth. " Hail Columbia," 
 I suppose was never sune^ with more heart-felt grati- 
 tude, ihan we sang it that afternoon ; joining hands, form- 
 ing a circle and walking round, we sang with all our 
 force, disregardful entirely of consequences; but we 
 were permitted to enjoy ourselves without molestation, 
 as there was not a British officer or soldier then resi- 
 dent ill the village. Captain Crowninshield had been 
 detained in imprisonment for something like a year af- 
 ter he had been legally exchanged ; immediately after 
 the news of peace had reached them, Captain Cushet, 
 the provost Major, sent a line to him, with directions 
 to have his baggage put on board of a certain vessel 
 then lying in the harbor, bound for the United States, 
 and then to repair to his office in Halifax ; the Captain 
 did so, and on appearing in the office, the Major asked 
 him if he did not fefcl rejoiced at the prospect of return- 
 ing to his family. Crowninshield replied that he did ; 
 but added at Hie same time, " without considering my- 
 self at all Indebted to you. Captain Cushet." Cushet 
 answered, that thanks were not only due to himself but 
 to several others, gentlemen resident in Halifax, who 
 had interested themselves considerably, to procure his 
 liberation — to this our friend replied, that these of his 
 friends in Halifax, who had interested tliemselves for 
 him, he did indeed feel deeply indebted, but to Cap- 
 tain Cushet he again asserted he did not conceive him- 
 self at all indebted, as he had it in his power to prove 
 without leaving the city, in black r.nd white, that it was 
 through his means alone he had been so long illegally 
 detained in captivity; and he had yet to learn that cru- 
 elty and injustice had power to bind the object upon 
 whom they had been practised, to feelings of regard or ' 
 
'm''iiai!a«!MmMiw^>jaB 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 63 
 
 consideration for his oppressor. This charge was de- 
 nied most positively and as positively and firmly repeat- 
 ed, when at length, Cushet completely losing all com- 
 mand of his temper, the following dialogue ensued : 
 "You shall not go home even now, sir." "Thank you, 
 sir." " Go on board and remove your baggage, and re- 
 turn to your place of parole." " Thank you, sir." "I 
 will send you to Mellvi'le prison, sir." "Thank you, 
 sir." 'Begone out of my ollice, sir." "Thank you, 
 sir." Captain Crowninshicld then left the office and 
 related the circumstance at dinner, when he was warm- 
 ly greeted by all for his firmness, and they actually car- 
 ried him on their shoulders round the room. He then 
 called for wine, to treat his fellow officers of whom there 
 were about a dozen, then in the house ; we devoted our- 
 selves to merriment and had a jovial time of it; several 
 othei paroled American ofllccrs gathered in, and before 
 we had retired to rest ourselves, we had consigned to 
 rest upwards of forty bottles of good wine, thus cele- 
 brating our country's glory, and our enemies' disgrace, 
 under their very noses. The next morning the Cap- 
 tain made it known tljat he expected a guard to be 
 sent to conduct him to Melville prison; several of the 
 officers, unknown to him, met together and formed a 
 resolution to attempt his rescue, and if possible prevent 
 his going to jail ; he however came to the knowledge of 
 the matter by some means, and begged of them to de- 
 sist from their purpose, as it was impossibe to prevent 
 his going to jail in an enemy's country ; that they would 
 only risk their own lives, without doing him any service ; 
 I saw him plead with them, witi. tears in his eyes, so over- 
 come was he by his feelings, before he could persuade 
 them to give up their project — he, however, at length 
 succeeded ; he was so universal a favorite amongst the 
 officers, that I firmly believe, had they after reflection, 
 
 P 
 
^4 ' ' 
 
 found the undertaking feasible, they would never have 
 consented to abandon the enterprise. 
 
 Captain C. was from Salem, in the state of Massachu- 
 setts ; he had formerly been the captain of a vessel, which 
 occupation he had followed for nearly twenty years ; 
 and was well acquainted with the merchants of Halifax. 
 For some time previous to the war, he had not gone to 
 sea, and would not have again resumed the service, had 
 he not had two vessels laden with goods, captured and 
 run into British ports, where they were condemned un- 
 der pretence of having smuggled goods ab(jard. One 
 of the vessels thus captured had a cargo of West In- 
 dia goods, worth ten thousand dollars. Havnng still 
 something of his property left, he fitted up a small ves- 
 sel with a swivel gun and a good crew, and went out 
 privateering; he had married a young wife about a year 
 before he went to sea. In his first trip he was fortun- 
 ate, taking several British vessels ; when they proved 
 to be of small value, the valuable part of the cargo was 
 taken out, and she was scuttled ; her crew would then 
 be paroled and put on shore — he made, however, two 
 very valuable prizes, one of which sold for one hundred 
 thousand dollars, which served in part to remunerate 
 him for previous losses. 
 
 Upon his scond trip, having taken and scuttled two 
 or three vessels, the crews of which not having an op- 
 portunity of being put ashore, were still on board, he 
 was on the look-out for an old West Indiaman, bound 
 for Halifax, having a valuable cargo, and which was 
 hourly expected, and when within a short distance 
 of the Halifax coast, came in right of an old seventy- 
 four; this he mistook for his expected prize, and accord- 
 ingly made sail for her, and it being late in the even- 
 ing, and a thick fog, he had got alongside before he dis- 
 covered his error. Those on board the seventy-four, 
 
^5 
 
 with a view of correcting his mistake, shoved out their 
 guns, and gave him a broadside ; by dint of several times 
 shifting his course, he however, made his escape, and 
 ran on until he thought himself safe, when he lay too, 
 fearful that if he proceeded he would get out of the 
 track of the West Indiaman ; unfortunately for him 
 however, his antagonist had shaped her course in the 
 same manner, and was alongside before day-break of 
 the following morning, when before he could get away, 
 she poured into him a broadside, which shot ofT his 
 main-mast, and otherwise so far disabled him as to pre- 
 clude all possibility of escape — he consequently struck 
 his flag, and was fired into even after that process. 
 When taken, he had twice as many prisoners, as he 
 had of his own crew — they were all taken to Halifax, 
 where they were detained until after the peace. 
 
 According to Captain Crownirshield's expectations, 
 in one or two days after he had returned to his place 
 of parole. Captain Cushet came over to pay us, what 
 we called in derision, our starvation money, more pro- 
 perly, subsistence money, being twenty dollars per 
 month in lieu of rations, which was nothing like suffi- 
 cient to support us ; he had a guard with him, and told 
 Crowninshield that he must now set out for Melville 
 prison. In conversation which they held about the 
 matte and in reply lo the question of why he should 
 be sen. to prison, the captain was informed that it was 
 not for anything he had said, but solely for the tone in 
 which it had been spoken ; he was then taken off", and 
 carried to Melville, where they kept him for about ten 
 days, when he was set at liberty and sent home to Sa- 
 lem. In Melville prison there were confined from 
 twelve to fourteen hundred Americans, who were treat- 
 ed with as much barbarity, as though the worst of con- 
 victs, some of them being half naked. John Hughes, 
 
H 
 
 66 
 
 one of my men who was confined there, got an oppor- 
 tunity of writing- to me, stating how much he suffered 
 from want of clothes and tobacco, at the time I receiv- 
 ed his letter, I had but two dollars and three shirts 
 which, however, I divided with him, giving him one dol- 
 lar, and one shirt and a great coat, which proved to him 
 of considerable service. 
 
 Melville prison is two hundred feet in length, and 
 fifty broad, it is two stories high, the upper one being 
 for officers, and for the infirmary and dispensary, while 
 the lower part is divided into two prisons, one of which 
 was occupied by French, and the other by Americans. 
 The prison yard covers a space of ground of about one 
 acre in extent, the whole island containing little more 
 than five acres; it is connected on the south side with 
 the main land, by a briage. In a journal which has 
 fallen into my hands, I find a very minute account 
 of the prison on Melville Island and the treatmenu of 
 the unfortunate men confined there, which I copy 
 in order to show my readers, that I am not the only 
 one who speaks hastily of our English captives. With the 
 language or sentiments of the writer I have nothing to 
 do, and merely copy it as confirming my own state- 
 ment, as to the hardships suffered by the inmates of the 
 prison, and as giving a more minute account of its dis- 
 cipline and regulations, than I was enabled to procure 
 from enquiry. The writer of the journal referred to, 
 went from the Port of Salem, as assistant surgeon, on 
 board a privateer, in December of 1812 — the title page 
 of the work is lost, and I am consequently unable to 
 give his name. 
 
 "As to the inside of the prison at Melville, if the A- 
 merican reader 
 
 :pects 
 
 ph 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 resembling the large prisons for criminals in the United 
 States, such as those ?t Boston, New York, or Phila- 
 
mmmm 
 
 
 67 
 
 delphia, he will be sadly disappointed. Some of these 
 prisons are as clean, and nearly as comfortable as some 
 of the monasteries and convents on the continent of 
 Europe. Our new prisons in the United States, reflect 
 great honor on the nation, they speak loudly that we 
 are a considerate and humane people; whereas the pri- 
 son at Halifax, erected solely for the safe keeping- of 
 prisoners of war, resembles a horse stable with stalls 
 or stancheons for separating the cattle from each other. 
 It is to a contrivance of this sort that they attach the 
 cords that support those canvass bags or cradles, call- 
 ed hammocks. Four tiers of these hanging nets 
 were made to swing one above the other, between these 
 stalls or stancheons. To those unused t® such lofty 
 sleeping berths, they were rather unpleasant situa- 
 tions for repose. But use makes every thing easy. 
 
 The first time that I was shut up for the night in this 
 prison, it distressed me too much to close my eyes. 
 Its closeness and smell were, in a degree, disagreeable, 
 but this was trifling to what I experienced afterwards 
 in another place. The general hum and confused noise 
 from almost every hammock, was at first very distress- 
 ing. Some would be lamenting their hard fate at being 
 shut up like negro slaves in a guinea ship, or like fowls 
 in a hen-coop, for no crime, but for fighting the bat- 
 tles of their country. Some were cursing and execra- 
 ting their oppressors; others late at night were relating 
 their adventures to a new prisoner, others lamenting 
 their aberrations from rectitude, and disobedience to 
 parents, and head-strong wilfulness, that drove them to 
 sea contrary to their parents' wish ; while others of the 
 j'^ounger class were sobbing out their lamentations at 
 the thoughts of what their mothers and sisters suffered, 
 after knowing of their imprisonment. Not unfrequent- 
 ly the whole night was spent in that way, and when about 
 
 r 
 
 I [I 
 
 ^ (■ 
 

 ■ / 
 
 
 day-break, the weary prisoner fell into a dose, he was 
 waked from his slumber by the grinding noise of the 
 locks, and the unbarring of the doors, with the cry of 
 "turn out — all out," when each man took down his 
 hammock, and lashed it up and slung it on his back, 
 and was ready to answer to the roll call of the turnkey. 
 If any, through natural heaviness, or indisposition, was 
 dilatory, he was sure to feel the bayonet of the soldier, 
 who appeared to us to have a natural antipathy to a sai- 
 lor, and from what I observed, I believe that in general 
 little or no love is lost between them. 
 
 This prison is swept out twice a week by the prison- 
 ers. The task is performed by the respective messes 
 in turns. \Vhen the prison is washed, the prisoners 
 are kept out until it is perfectly dry. This in the wet 
 seasons, and the severity of winter is sometimes very 
 distressing and dangerous to health ; for there is no re- 
 tiring place for shelter, it is like a stable where the 
 cattle are either under cover or exposed to the weather, 
 be it ever so inclement. 
 
 When we arrived here in May 1813, there were 
 about nine hundred prisoners, but many had died by the 
 severity of the winter, and the quantity of fuel allowed 
 by the British government was insufficient to convey 
 warmth through the prison. The men were cruelly 
 harassed by the custom of mustering and parading 
 them in the severest cold, and even in snow storms. 
 The agent. Miller, might have alleviated the sufferings 
 of our people, had he been so disposed, without relax- 
 ation of duty. But he as well as the turnkey, named 
 Grajit, seemed to take delight in tormenting the Ameri- 
 cans. This man would often keep the prisoners out 
 for many hours, in the severest weather, when the mer- 
 cury was ten and fifteen degrees below O ; under a pre- 
 text that the prison had been washed, and was not suf- 
 
 
 ih \ 
 
mm 
 
 mmmm 
 
 
 : 69 
 
 ficicntly dry for their reception, when, in fact every 
 drop of water used, was in a moment, ice. People in 
 the Southern states, and the inhabitants of England 
 and Ireland, can form no adequate idea of the frightful 
 climate of Nova Scotia. The description of the suffer- 
 ings of our poor fellows, the past winter, was enough to 
 make one's heart ache, and to rouse our indignation 
 against the agents in this business. 
 
 Our people are sensible to kind treatment, and 
 are ready to acknowledge humane and considerate con- 
 duct towards themselves or towards their companions, 
 but they are resentful in proportion as they are grate- 
 ful. They speak very general of the conduct of Mil- 
 ler, the agent, and Grant, the turnkey, with disgust and 
 resentment. A complaint was made to him of the bad- 
 ness of the beef served out to the prisoners, upon which 
 he collected them together, mounted the stair case 
 and began a most passionate harangue, declaring that 
 
 the beef was good enough and a d d deal better than 
 
 they had in their own country ; and if they did not eat it, 
 they should have none. He then went on as follows:— 
 
 Hundreds of you, d d scoundrels, have been to me 
 
 begging and pleading, that I would interpose my influ- 
 ence that you might be the first to be exchanged, to re- 
 turn home to your families, who were starving in your 
 absence, and now you have the impudence to tell me 
 to my face, that the king's beef is not good enough for 
 your dainty stomachs. Why some of that there beef 
 is good enough for me to eat. You are a set of mean 
 rascals, you beg of an enemy the favors which your 
 own government won't grant you. You complain of 
 ill treatment, when you never had better in your lives. 
 Had you been in a French prison and fed on horse 
 beef, you would have some grounds of complaint, but 
 here in his Brittannic majesty's royal prison you have ev- 
 
 V 
 
 
^ ^! 
 
 
 I : / 
 
 
 ?| I' ■ n> 
 
 
 / 
 
 iJ 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 1' 
 
 f ,s 
 
 &m I 
 
 erything that is right and proper for persons taken 
 lighting against his crown and dignity. — There is a 
 surgeon here for you, if you are sick, and physic to 
 take if you are sick, and a hospital to go to into the 
 bargain, and if you die, there are boards enough, (point-- 
 ing to a pile of lumber in the yard) for to make your 
 coffins, and one hundred and fifty acres of land to bury 
 you in, and if you are not satisfied with all this, you 
 
 maiy die and be d d! Having finished this eloquent 
 
 harangue, orator Miller descended from his rostrum, 
 and strutted out of the prison yard, accompanied with 
 hisses from some of the prisoners. 
 
 On a re-examination, however, of the "king's beef," 
 some pieces were found 'too much tainted for a dog to 
 eat, and the prisoners threw it over the pickets. After 
 this the supply of wholesome meat was such as it ought 
 be, full good enough for Mr. Miller himself to eat, and 
 some of the very best pieces good enough for Mr. 
 Grant, the turnkey. 
 
 In all this business of provision for prisoners of war, 
 one thing ought to be taken into consideration, which 
 may be offered as an extenuation of crime alleged against 
 the British agents for prisoners; and that is, that the 
 American solder and sailor live infinitely better in A- 
 merica, than the same class of people do in Great Bri- 
 tain and Ireland. Generally speaking, an American 
 eats three times the quantity of animal food that falls 
 to the share of the same class of people in England, 
 Holland, Germany, Denmark or Sweden. — He sleeps 
 more comfortably, and lives in greater plenty of fish, 
 flesh, vegetables, and spirituous liquors. Add to this, 
 his freedom is in a manner unbounded. He speaks his 
 mind to any man. If he thinks he is wronged, he seeks 
 redress with confidence; if he is insulted he resents it, 
 and if you should venture to strike him, he never will 
 
 n^- 
 
T 
 
 rest quiet under the dishonor; j^et you seldom hear of 
 quarrels ending in murder; the dagger and pistol are 
 weapons ,n a manner unknown ; the fist a la mode de 
 John Bull, IS commonly the ultimatum of a Yankee's 
 
 We often hear the British if they are unsuccessful, 
 lamenting the war between England and America ; they 
 call It an unhappy strife between brethren, and thev 
 attribute this " unnatural war - to a French influence, 
 and their friends in New England, who are denomina- 
 ted tones, use the same language ; they say that all the 
 od.um ot the war ought to fall on our administration, and 
 their wicked seducers, the Frerxh ; and yet you will find 
 that both in England and at Halifax, the French meet 
 with better treatment than their dear brothers the A- 
 mericans. 
 
 We found that there were about two hundred French 
 prisoners in Nova Scotia. Some had been there ever 
 sn.ce eighteen hundred and three ; few of them were 
 confined ,n prison. The chief of them lived in or near 
 the town of Halifax, working for the inhabitants, or 
 teaching dancing or fencing, or their own language 
 Some were employed as butchers and cooks, others as 
 nurses in the hospital, and they were every where fa- 
 vored for their complaisance, obedience, and good hu- 
 mor. They had the character of behaving better to- 
 wards the British oflicers and inhabitants than the 
 Americans, and I believe, with reason ; for our men 
 seem to take delight in plaguing, embarrassing and alarm- 
 ing those who were set over them. A Frenchman al- 
 ways tried to please, while many Americans seemed to 
 take an equal delight in letting their masters know 
 that they longed to be at liberty to fight them again' 
 I confess I do not wonder, that the submissive, smiling 
 Frenchman made more friends at Halifax, than the or- 
 
I n i .tfr i nnfiii 
 
 II 
 
 7: 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 :'f: 
 
 HI 
 
 
 1^" 
 
 i 
 
 73 
 
 dinary run of American seaman, who seemed too often 
 to look and speak, as if they longed to try again the 
 tug of war, with John Bull. 
 
 The daily allowance ol the British government to our 
 prisoners, is one pound of bread, one p(;und of beef, 
 and one gill of peas. Over and above this, we receiv- 
 ed from the American agent, a suillciency of coffee, 
 sugar, potatoes and tobacco. The first may be called 
 the bare necessaries of life, but the latter contribute 
 much to its comfortable enjoyment. Whether the 
 British government ought not to have found the whole 
 I am not prepared to determine, but certainly bef(Me 
 this addition from our own agent, our men complained 
 bitterly. 
 
 We were one day not a little shocked by the arrival of a 
 number of American sokV s who were entrapped and 
 taken with Col. Boerstler, in Upper Canada. They exhi- 
 bited a picture of misery, woe and despair. Their mise- 
 rable condition called Unth our sympathy and compas- 
 sion, and I may add, excited our resentment against the 
 authors of their distress. These unfortunate landsmen 
 had never been used to rough it like sailors, but had 
 lived the easy life of farmers and mechanics. Some 
 of them had never experienced the hardships of a sol- 
 dier's life, but were raw, inexperienced militiamen. 
 They were taken at some creek, between Fort George 
 and Little York, by the British and their allies, the In- 
 dians, who stripped them of most of their cloathing, and 
 then wore them down by long and harassing marches : 
 first to Montreal and then to Quebec, and soon after 
 crowded them on board transports like negroes, in a 
 guinea ship, when S(jme suffered death, and others 
 merely escaped it. It appears from their account, and 
 from every other account, that the treatment of these 
 poor fellows at their capture and on their march, and 
 
 '.II 
 
MM 
 
 ^ 73 
 
 more especially on board the transports from Onchec 
 to Halifax, was barbarous in the exhenic. and 'InVhlv 
 disgraceful to the British name and nation. 
 
 We have asserted uniformly that the prisoners who 
 came from Quebec to Halifax, and Boston, down the 
 St. Lawrence, were treated an 1 provide 1 for in a man- 
 ner little above brutes. Colonel Scott, now Major 
 Oen. Scott, came by that route from Quebec to Boston 
 and It IS well-known that he complained, that there was 
 neither accommodations, provisions or anything on 
 board the ship, proper for a gentleman. He spoke of 
 the whole treatment he received, with deep disgust and 
 pointed resentment. If an ollicer of his rank and ac- 
 complishments had so much reason for complaint we 
 
 may easily conceive what the private soldier must en- 
 dure. 
 
 We paid every attention in our power to these poor 
 fellows, whose emaciated appearance and dejection 
 gave us reason to expect that an end would soon be put 
 to their sulTerings by death. They, however, recruited 
 last, and we were soon convinced that they were redu- 
 ced to the condition we saw them in. absolutelv for 
 want of food. The account which these soldiers gave 
 of their hardships, was enough to fill with rage and re- 
 sentment the heart of a saint. Four men were not al- 
 lowed more provisi(;ns than what was needful for one 
 1 hey assured us that if they had not secretly come at 
 some bags of ship bread, unknown to the officers of the 
 transport, they must have perished for want of food — 
 We cann.;t pass over one anecdote; some fish were 
 caught by our own people on the passage, in common 
 with the crew, but they were compelled to deliver them 
 all to the captain of the ship, who withheld them from 
 the American prisoners. Some of the prisoners had a 
 little money, and the captain of the transport was mean 
 

 fs 
 
 y 
 
 . ^j 
 
 '1- 
 
 'I ■ 
 
 ^0 
 
 74 
 
 enough to take a dollar for a sinj:^lc cod-fish, from men 
 in their situation. This fact has appeared in several 
 Boston papers, with the names of the persons concern- 
 ed, and has never been contradicted or doubted. We 
 give this as the common report, and as the Boston 
 news-papers circulated freely throngh Nova Scotia and 
 Canada, we infer that had the story Lcen void of truth 
 it would have been contradicted. 
 
 About the month of August, Halifax was alarmed, 
 by a report that the prisoners in Pvlellville jail, had at- 
 tempted to break prison with a view of seizing upon 
 the town — the report was in soine measure correct, as 
 an attempt of the kind had been made, but failed, in 
 consequence of the imprudence of some of the prison- 
 ers, who having mined under the wall, crept out in day 
 light to see how it looked from the outside, and being 
 discovered by the guard were fired upon. Whether 
 there was just cause for the extraordinary excitement 
 created by this affair, or any real necessity for the ve- 
 ry formidable precautions which were taken, remains a 
 matter of speculation ; be that as it may, however, or- 
 ders were issued .that all loyal citizens should hold 
 themselves in readiness at a moment's warning, to re- 
 pel the attack of about one thousand unarmed prison- 
 ers ; a company of artillery with two pieces of cannon 
 were placed upon an eminence south of the prison, 
 cannons were also placed ;n different directions so as 
 to play jpon the prison, and a line of sentries were 
 placed at regular distances, all the way into the town 
 of Halifax, the people had been actually made to be- 
 lieve that they had sworn to murder every man, woman 
 and child in the town. 
 
 The weather was at this time very severe ; I have 
 seen many of the American prisoners, with their ears 
 frostbitten, and many of the negroes, who were carried 
 
75 
 
 |l have 
 'ir ears 
 carried 
 
 away from their masters, in the United States, actual- 
 ly perisiied with the C(jld. The Indians were wraj)ped 
 up in bhinkets, feet and le«j^s, and also apjieared pretty 
 well preserved with smoke. They came into the tcnvn 
 of Halifax about ten or eleven o'clock every day, appa- 
 rently half frozen, and would mope about the streets 
 from store to store, in search of empty whiskey barrels ; 
 when they found one they would take it to the jmmp, 
 pour waier in it, and after rinsinec it well, would drink 
 the water; they were the most wretched and pitiable 
 objects I ever saw. 
 
 We got through the wmter as well as we could, and 
 near the last of February, our ears were blessed with 
 the news of peace, and we immediately commenced 
 making- preparations for our return home. Acc(jrding 
 to the articles of the treaty of peace, every olFicer was 
 bound to pay his debts before he could return home, 
 and Colonel Cushet made a hjan, for all the volunteer 
 ollicers who were there. The only place at which he 
 coidd raise money, was from a merchant tailor, who 
 bound him to take as much cloathing as would amount 
 to the sum wanted in cash, at his own price, paying 
 the whole to a certain house in Bcjston in ten days, 
 with ten per cent for the use of it. Having procured 
 cash, we settled our affairs, laid in sea stores, and went 
 aboard — here again the weather seemed to have con- 
 spired against us, and we were, in consequence of con- 
 trary winds, detained ten days on board ; at the expira- 
 tion of which time we landed at Salem, where we were 
 warmly received by an old friend, Capt. Crowninshield, 
 who had landed a few days previous. He was accom- 
 panied by several gentlemen of distinction, who were 
 awaiting our landing on the shore. We proceeded 
 with them to a tavern, where we remained until even- 
 ing, and then, with a number of the citizens, repaired 
 
».j!ain..ijiiua»*<^ . 
 
 rati 
 
 76 
 
 by invitation to the house of Captain Crowninshield, 
 where we were entertained in the most hospitable 
 manner. 
 
 Next morning w took the stage for Boston, and ar- 
 rived there in time for dinner. We then called upon 
 the paymaster, to have our accounts settled ; he told 
 us he had no money, but he would give us due bills, 
 and we could isell them to the brokers, which he did, 
 informing us at the same time where we could get them 
 cashed; we were compelled, however, to allow a dis- 
 count of twenty per cent.; as we had to pay our bor- 
 rowed money, we had no other resource — some were 
 forced to allow twenty-live per cent. I took some Phi- 
 ladelphia paper, and when 1 went to pay my stage 
 fare, they deaucted five per cent more — thus, calcula- 
 ting the ten per cent which we paid at Halifax for bor- 
 rowed money, twenty per ,..ent discount for cash at 
 Boston, and five per cent deducted by the stage pro- 
 prietor, made in all, an allowance of thirty five per 
 cent which we were compelled to pay. Having at 
 length settled our alTairs, we proceeded homeward, 
 passing through New-York and Philadelphia, in each 
 of which places we remained a couple of days. We 
 were compelled to hire horses at Harrisburg, as the 
 stage went no further, and when we arrived at Carlisle, 
 we were detained by the inhabitants, to partake of a 
 dinner prepared for us at the Carlisle tavern — the next 
 day I arrived home in Adams County. 
 
 'i 
 
 :: I 
 
 ill 
 
rjywijp^- 
 
 mmmm 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF 
 
 : 
 
 UPPFR CANADA. 
 
 The province of Upper Canada extends alon^ 
 the northern bank of the river St. Lawrence, the lakes 
 Ontario and Erie, and the water communication from 
 lake Superior, about seven hundred miles, and is five 
 hundred miles wide, accordin.s^ to an imaginary line 
 that divides it from New Britain on the north. The 
 line that divides it from the lower province, be^^-ins in 
 lat. 45, at lake Francisco, and takes a due north course 
 to the Outtaways river, then up that river a north west 
 direction to lake Tomiscauting, then due north to the 
 line of New Britain. 
 
 The upper province is divided from the United 
 States by a line commencing some distance above the 
 St. Regis village of Indians, situate about seventy-five 
 miles below Ogdensburgh, and running through the 
 centre of the St. Lawrence, to where lake Ontario be- 
 gins, thence through the centre of it to the outlet of 
 lake Erie, then through the centre of the outlet to the 
 beginning of the said lake, then through the middle of 
 it to the head, and so onward, passing through lakes 
 St. Clair. Huron, Superior, and lake of the Woods; it 
 then takes a south-westerly course to Red Lake, near 
 the headwaters of the river Mississippi. 
 
78 
 
 In the upy)er province there are no mountains, and 
 but few hilis of any considerable hei,ght ; the country, 
 however, is not of a clear level, but affords sullicient 
 eminences to render it agreeable to the eye, and con- 
 venient for the building of water-works, t^c. 
 
 The sudden rise of ground dividing the waters of 
 lake Erie from lake Ontario, towers in some places 
 five hundred feet high, and almost perpendicular; in 
 general, however, the height does not exceed two hun- 
 dred feet, and the ascent is very gradual, with natural 
 offsets about five hundred yards wide, upon which are 
 situate plantations, and from which, especially those on 
 the top, are most extensive and beautiful prospects ; 
 the eye rests with admiration on the fertile plains be- 
 low, and lake Ontario stands entirely exposed to ob- 
 servation. Upon the top of this eminence, the coun- 
 try is level, fertile and extremely beautiful : nearly all 
 the waters on the soutli side of the slope run into lake 
 Erie, though there are but few that find their way 
 through, affording excellent situations for the erection 
 of mills or other buildings requiring water power. 
 
 The soil of the prv^vince of Upper Canada is exceed- 
 ingly good in every part, yet it is much the best in the 
 upper part, west south west of the head of the bay Quan- 
 tie, around the north shore and head of lake Ontario, 
 and the west side of Grand River, in the London Dis- 
 trict, llie lower part of Uie province is sand and clay 
 mixed; from the head of the bay Ouantie, to the head 
 of lake Ontario, it is altogether a black light, rich 
 mould in most places, seven inches deep, after which 
 it is brown clay. On the Grand I^ivcr, or Indian Land, 
 and in the London District, the soil is sand, brown 
 loam and clay. 
 
 The timber of the lower part of the province is chiefly 
 hemlock, birch and beech ; that of the middle part, beech, 
 
^p^mi^Kpipnppfp 
 
 79 
 
 sugar maple and white pine. On the west of the Grand 
 River, the chief of the timber is white pine, ehii, bass, 
 blacii wahmt, and the different oaks, chestnut and the 
 like— Indeed in this part of the province, may be found 
 nearly all the varieties of the United States ; also, some 
 of the trees of the Balm of Gilead ; one of a majestic 
 appearance stands upon the main road, about twenty- 
 five miles west of Niagara. In the lower part of the 
 province, there is but little of any kind of wild fruit, 
 but in the middle part there are several sorts, particu- 
 larly whortleberries and rice. In the western part there 
 is a great variety of wild fruits, viz.: cranberries, rasp- 
 berries, grapes, blackberries, and wild potatoes ; also, 
 strawberries and plumbs of an excellent quality, and a 
 great quantity of the very best crab apples, which are 
 I preserved by the inhabitants with the molasses of 
 
 pumpkins. 
 
 Considerable quantities of wheat are raised in the 
 lower part of the province; and in the middle part, 
 wheat, rye, oats, peas, flax, hemp and corn. In the 
 western part, the product is wheat, which thrives much 
 better here than in any other part ; rye, oats and corn, 
 also come to great perfection, as likewise buck-wheat. 
 All kinds of roots and vegetables flourish well in any 
 part of the province, but especially in the west. 
 
 All kinds of birds found in the United States are 
 plenty; here is also found a kind of bird, having the 
 same motion and voice as the parakite, so plenty in the 
 state of Kentucky — it differs, however, in colour, being 
 grey, and is called by some, the frolic. Wild ducks 
 are very plenty in all the lakes, as are also geese in all 
 the lakes north of the settlements. 
 
 There arc seven lakes of considerable size, in the 
 inhabited part of the province, and many parts of the 
 wilderness. Lake Ontario is about two hundred and 
 
8o 
 
 
 -I 
 
 IH 
 
 'A 
 
 thirty miles long, from north-east to south-west, and 
 eighty wide ahout the middle, being of an oval form ; 
 it is exceeding deep and in most [)laces appears to 
 be without bottom, as there has been great length of 
 cord let down without finding any. The water is very 
 clear and cool at all times of the year, having the ap- 
 pearance of a large spring. This lake never freezes, 
 except near the shore, where it is shallow, nor does it 
 freeze even there, except in very severe weather, and 
 then only for a very few weeks. 
 
 The little lake, or Burlington bay, lies to the south- 
 west of lake Ontario, and is divided from it by a cause- 
 way five miles Iong\ and in many places three hundred 
 yards wide ; the surface of this causeway is completely 
 level, of a light sand, matted over with grass, and 
 beautifully decorated with groves of timber, chiefly 
 oak, of a middle size, but of an endless variety of cu- 
 rious forms ; some six feet in circu> • . jnce at the butt, 
 yet not more than twelve feet high; with extensive 
 limbs, crooking and twining in all directions. A great 
 number of these trees are entirely encircled with 
 grape vines, and produce great quanties of grapes, of 
 an excellent quality; this lake is about twenty miles in 
 circumference, and generally shallow. 
 
 Near the head of bay Quantie, on the north side is 
 a lake of considerable extent, named Hog lake, as also 
 several others not far distant. About twenty miles 
 west of the head of bay Ouantie, and fifteen miles 
 north of the shore of lake Ontario, is situated what is 
 called Rice lake, in consequence of the large quanti- 
 ties of rice which grows in it. This lake is from three 
 to nine miles wdde, and thirty-six in length, though 
 not very deep. Its course is from east to west ; the 
 west end is not far from lake Simcoe. At the east 
 end there is a fall of eighteen feet pe»-Dtndi Mi^i , in 
 
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 '4^Vt} 
 
 .t;'.^'. "'_,«:;-.'.>: ^ .^■■-jBt:'v. 
 
 m 
 
the 
 
 8i 
 
 the form of a half moon. Below the falls, begins what 
 is called the river Trent, which is tolerably large, and 
 affords many falls fit for water works. It empties into 
 the bay Quantie at the head. This lake communicates 
 with a chain of small lakes, called the Shallow lakes, 
 which also afford rice, and extends near the north end 
 of lake Simcoe. Lake Simcoe lies still west of Rice 
 lake, and is something larger; it communicates with lake 
 Huron to the south-west, by the river Severn. 
 
 Lake Erie lies thirty miles distant from lake Ontario, 
 and is three hundred miles long, and from twenty to 
 forty miles wide. This lake is elevated about three 
 hundred feet higher than lake Ontario, which causes 
 the Falls of Niagara. The water, though pure, is not 
 deep, nor is so safe for navigation as lake Ontario. 
 
 The lake St. Clair is situate in a north-westerly 
 course from lake Erie ; still further to the north-west 
 is lake Huron, in lat. 42 ; it is one hundred miles in cir- 
 cumference. From lake Huron to the straits of St. 
 Mary, it is seventy miles to lake Superior, which is 
 fifteen hundred miles in circumference, and lies be- 
 tween forty-six and fifty degrees N. latitude, and be- 
 tween eighty-fcur and ninety degrees west longitude 
 from London. The island Royal, situate near the mid- 
 dle of this Jake is one hundred miles long, and forty 
 wide. 
 
 This province also contains many fine streams of wa- 
 ter, the principal of which are the following : 
 
 The Ottaways, or, as it is sometimes called, Grand 
 River, is a large stream, rising out of lake Tomiscaut- 
 ing, and running a south-easterly course, and empties 
 itself in the St. Lawrence, above and below Montreal, 
 The spring floods in the river rise in the month of June, 
 or thereabout, and are often very destructive to the 
 young crops. There is agreat variety of fish in this river. 
 
t^mm 
 
 H 
 
 Ih 
 
 W 
 
 82 
 
 The river Cananocqua is also a consider. hie stream, 
 and empties into the St. Laurence a few miles below 
 Kingston. 
 
 There is ? stream of some note, called Mj'^re's 
 creek, which is said to abound with fish ; the water is 
 remarkably pure and clear; it empties into the bay 
 Quantie about fifty miles north of Kingston. 
 
 The river Trent also empties into the head of bay 
 Quantie from Rice lake, is large, and contains a vari- 
 ety of fish ; many hundred barrels of salmon are caught 
 in this stream every fall. 
 
 Duffer's creek is also a fine stream, cmpt3nng into 
 lake Ontario, thirty miles north-east of York. 
 
 The river Rush emnties into the lake eighteen miles 
 below York, and is nav"'gable for boats twenty miles up. 
 
 The river Credit, one of the best rivers in Canada 
 lor salmon, is tolerably largo, and empties into lake 
 Ontario about fifteen miles above York. 
 
 The Sixteen mile creek empties into the lake a few 
 miles further up, is large, and also well stocked with 
 fish ; the Twelve mile creek empties itself about five 
 miles further up, and is a beautiful stream. 
 
 The Chippewa river runs into the Niagara river, three 
 miles above the falls; what is called the Twenty mile 
 creek, has its rise near the head of the Chippewa, and 
 empties into lake Ontario sixteen miles west of Ni- 
 agara. 
 
 The Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Thirty and Forty 
 miles creeks all run into lake Ontiirio, rushing over the 
 slope affording fine falls. 
 
 The Orand river is a considerably large stream, of 
 exceedingly clear water, rismg from lake St. Clic, and 
 is navigable for vessc's of a considerable size, for fifty 
 miles from its mouth ; it empties into lake Erie, sixty 
 miles from the east end, and contains many fine fish.' 
 
 
 
 li 
 
83 
 
 There is also the Thames, a large and beautiful ri- 
 ver, rising near the head ot Grand river, and emptying 
 about thirty miles above Sandwich into the head of 
 lake Erie; there are, also, a number of fine streams 
 running into lake Erie, such as Big creek, passing 
 through Houghton and Middleton township, and Ket- 
 tle and Otter creeks, in Middlesex county. 
 
 There are not many villages in the province of Up- 
 per Canada, of much note, the inhabitants finding their 
 greatest advantage in agriculture, the land being very 
 cheap and fertile. The following are a few of the most 
 notable. 
 
 CORNWALL is situate about one hundred and 
 thirty miles down the river St. Lawrence, and is hand- 
 some, but small. 
 
 PRESCOTT is situate seventy miles below, stand- 
 ing opposite to Ogdensburg, on the United States 
 side ; it is an inconsiderable place, and there is a fort 
 and a garrison. 
 
 BROCK VILLE lies twelve miles higher up the the ri- 
 ver, and is handsomely situated, containing about 
 eighty houses. 
 
 KINGSTON stands a iew miles below the head of 
 the St. Lawrence, opposite to Wolf island, which is the 
 means of forming a safe and commodious harbour. It 
 contains about one hundred aud fifty houses, a court 
 house, jail, and two houses for public worship. The 
 fort in this place is temporary, and the cannon small. 
 It is a place of considerable commerical business, and 
 is rapidly increasing. 
 
 YORK is situate one hundred and seventy miles 
 south-west of Kingston, on the northern shore of lake 
 Ontario, and is somewhat larger. It is laid o«t very 
 much in the manner of Philadelphia, the streets inter- 
 secting each other at right angles. It is the seat of 
 
« J ( 
 
 
 .84 
 
 government, and contains some fine buildings, among 
 which are a court-house, council house, and king's 
 store house. The harbour is safe and beautiful, af- 
 fording every convenience to shipping, and is so situ- 
 ate, that while the water of the main lake is tossed like 
 the waves of the sea, it remains perfectly smooth and 
 calm. 
 
 NIAGARA is situate on the south side of the lake, 
 almost opposite York, at the point of land formed by 
 the iunction of the outlets of lakes Erie and Ontario. 
 It is a beautiful, prospective situation, being surround- 
 ed on two sides by water, the lake on the north, and 
 the Niagara river on the east, which affords a fine har- 
 bour. There are many squares of ground in this vil- 
 lage adorned with almost every species of rare fruit. 
 It is a place of considerable business, and is inhabited 
 by an industrious and intelligent people. 
 
 QUEENSTOWN lies seven miles further up the 
 Niagara. It is a small but handsome village ; the most 
 of the houses are built of stone or brit k, lUtd are large 
 and well finished. IIcic also is done considerable bu- 
 siness, and there are some very wealthy residents. 
 
 CHIPPEWA is situate ten miles above Oueens- 
 ton, and two above the falls of Niagara, at the mouth of 
 the Chip])ewa Creek. It contains some handsome 
 buildings. 
 
 FORT ERIE. There Is a small village kere of con- 
 siderable beauty. — The inhabitants carry on a consider- 
 able traffic from the lake. 
 
 TURKEY POINT is situated about sixty miles 
 south-west of Fort Erie, on the Lake shore, in the dis- 
 trict of London, a little north of Long Point. It stands 
 in a beautiful situation, is surrounded by a fertile coun- 
 try, and has a handsome court-house and jail, 
 
I- : 
 
 I 
 
 ^5 
 
 PORT TALBERT lies sixty-four miles farther to 
 the south-west, on the lake shore; a town was laid out 
 here in 1807, and bids fair for a considerable place. It 
 has a fine harbor for shipping-. 
 
 MALDEN, this fort and village is situate on the 
 south-west end of lake Erie, fourteen miles south of 
 Detroit. It is a pleasant, though not a large place, 
 and the fort is a strong one. On the twenty-seventh 
 of September, 181 3, this fort was burned by the Brit- 
 ish, on the approach of Harrison, previous to the bat- 
 tle of Moravian Town. 
 
 SANDWICH is situate still farther ip the river, 
 opposite Detroit, and is a handsome village of consid- 
 erable age, inhabited chiefly by French. 
 
 There are several other villages in the province not 
 immediately situate upon the water, which are of con- 
 siderable size and beauty, but those already named are 
 the principal. 
 
 The province of Upper Canada is divided into eight 
 districts, twenty-four counties, imd one hundred and 
 fifty-six townships, generally about twelve miles square, 
 these are subdivided into townships,- and each town- 
 ship into fourteen concessions, the whole of which 
 make two thousand one hundred and eighty-four. 
 These concessions are divided into twenty-four lots of 
 two hundred acres each, the whole of which amounts 
 to thirty-two thousand, four hundred and sixteen, 
 which number multiplied by two hundred, will produce 
 ten million, four hundred and eighty -three thousand, 
 two hundred, the number of acres surveyed in the pro- 
 vince, besides considerable called broken fronts, not 
 yet surveyed, but granted to those who owned land in 
 the rear thereof. Between every concession there are 
 four roods left for the public roads, and also between 
 every fourth lot, which is one quarter of a mile wide. 
 
m 
 
 I ■ ♦ 
 
 
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 fi I 
 
 Amongst the curiosities of tJie province of Upper 
 Canada, the Falls of Niagara stand conspicuous; a de- 
 scription of them, therefore, cannot fail to be highly 
 interesting : — 
 
 "In order to have a proper view of the Falls and the 
 adjacent parts, I will suppose a person to be sailing in 
 a little boat, out of Lake Ontario, up the Niagara riv- 
 er, or outlet of Lake Erie. Soon after you leave the 
 Lake, 5''ou pass the village of Niagara on the right hand, 
 and Niagara old fo,rt on the United States side. A little 
 farther up you pass Fort George on the right — here 
 the water is deep and smooth. You stiM sail on a due 
 south course, the water being smx^th and the banks 
 about sixteen feet high, and in most places perpendic- 
 ular for seven miles. Here you come to Queenston 
 on the right hand, and Lewiston on tne left. This 
 place is called the "landing," for here all the lading of 
 vessels destined for the country, each side of Lake 
 Erie and the Michigan territory are taken out, and con- 
 v^eyed up the mountain or slope, nine miles, to the still 
 water, two miles above the Fall. The ascent of this 
 slope, though three hundred feet high, is very easy. 
 The river here is half a mile wide, and a little above 
 there is a whirl of considerable depth, though not dan- 
 gerous. After you pass this place three hundred yards, 
 you enter the dismal chime, and instead of the lively 
 prospect of the sailing of ships, with flying colors, 
 fruitful fields, and pleasant landscapes, you are all at 
 once buried in a grave, of at least three hundred feet 
 deep. Although it is open in the top, should you look 
 up, the sight is truly gloomy — the banks are perpendic- 
 ular, and in some places more than perpendicular, 
 abounding with craggy rocks, hanging over your head 
 in a frightful manner; near the surface, there are to be 
 seen flat rocks, projecting towards each other in a hor- 
 
87 
 
 * 
 
 izontal position. You still row on a south direction, 
 wit!) little variati<)!i; ihc water is considerably rapid, 
 and the banks hav e nearly the same appearance, until 
 within about a mile of the cataract, where the banks 
 are not quite so hi^h ; but still all is gloomy, as you are 
 buricf' fr()m the si^ht of the 'and of the livinjif, and 
 must be filled with haunted lIk ughts of five hundred 
 murdered dead,''' that in one fatal hour plunjy^ed into 
 the mighty grave, in which you now arc. 
 
 As y(ni proceed, the water becomes very rapid, nnd 
 at length the mighty I'alls appear in full, tremendous 
 view, and lill the ear with dismal roar. It s eight 
 miles from Oueenston. When you an 've wili^.n three 
 hundred yards of the cataract, you must >top. Here 
 the bed of the river widens, and is not sunk more than 
 half of the distance below the surface, as it was at your 
 first entrance of the chime. A view of the horizon is 
 more extensive. In sitting in your little bark the above 
 distance, with your face to the south, before you flows 
 the main body of water, and pluPLres over with a tre- 
 mendous dash. About sixty yard?, of the middle of this 
 cataract is much deeper than the rest, in coi sequence 
 of a chime sunk in the rock. The water has a blueish 
 green appearance. On your left hand comes the oth- 
 er part of the river, not so large by a sixth part, and 
 falls over also. 
 
 This river is divided into two separate pitches, each 
 four hundred yards in width. This division is made by 
 a sm ill island, crowding up to the verge of the rock, 
 near the middle. It extends half a mile up the stream, 
 and terminates in a point, where the water divides to 
 the right and left. 
 
 *Down this dreadful chime, a number of American soldiers 
 were driven headlong oy the Indians, after they had surrendered 
 themselves prisoners of war to the British, on the thirteenth of 
 October, eiiihteen hundred and twelve. 
 
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 The form^ of the cataract bends inward, or is nearly 
 a semicircle. By the striking force of the falling wa- 
 ter upon that below, wind is pressed under, which ris- 
 es below in a foaming manner, though not to an}^ heighth 
 or violence. 
 
 The lime stone rock on the United States side over 
 which the water flows, shelves considerably, and leaves 
 a large cavity between the base and falling column of 
 water, and, were it not for the depression of air. a per- 
 son might walk some distance in it without being wet. 
 The mighty dash of so great a body of water on the 
 bed below, raises a fog or sinall rain, wh'cli mounts up 
 two thousand feet, in which, when the sun shines, may 
 be seen a variety of beautiful rain-bows. This fog 
 spreads to a considerable distance, and proves a fecun- 
 dating moisture for the circumjacent woods and fields, 
 the superior freshness and luxury of which are strik- 
 ingly perceptible. This fog can be seen in clear wea- 
 ther for forty miles, particularly by persons on the lakes, 
 and often serves as a guide for sailing. 
 
 In the winter this rain falling upon the neighboring 
 trees, congeals in a thousand shapes, forming a roman- 
 tic and pleasing appearance. 
 
 About half a mile above the falls, what are called 
 the rapids begin, and descend fifty feet to the cataract. 
 The draft of this rapid is so great, that it often reaches 
 ducks and geesC; when they appear to be half a mile 
 out of danger, and when once under the influence of 
 the impetuous current, they cannot get on the wint^ 
 again. Indians, with their canoes, have been kncvvn 
 to be irresistably carried down the rapid, and have dis- 
 appeared forever. 
 
 Above the rapid, the river spreads to nearly three 
 miles wide, and is shallow, with several small islands. 
 
 The river now has a south-east course to Grand Is- 
 
 
 
89 
 
 
 land, nine miles wide, and then south to lake Erie, 
 where it is only a mile wide. This is twenty miles from 
 the falls by water, from this place you may sail more 
 than a thousand miles, if you wish, without encountering 
 any more falls. 
 
 If my reader pleases, I will invite him back again to 
 view and contemplate a little more, this awful scene. 
 On both sides of the rapids, above the falls, the banks 
 of the river are quite low; and there are many conve- 
 nient situations for water works. Several are now 
 erected, yet there is room for more. With a small ex- 
 pense a large quantity of water can be brought in use 
 to do great execution. 
 
 The perpendicular pitch of this vast body of water 
 is one hundred and fort>-four feet, add to this fifty feet 
 which the water descends, above the falls, and seven- 
 ty feet below, and we find that the river descends in eight 
 miles and a half, two hundred and sixty-four feet. 
 Some who have never seen this river suppose it to be 
 much less than it is, and others suppose it to be larger ; 
 indeed it is hard for any one to judge with proprietor, 
 that has seen it, as there are but eight miles in the 
 whole length of the river, between the two lakes, 
 where any current can be seen, and that is very rapid. 
 
 For the contemplation of the curious, who may, per- 
 haps, never see these falls, I have made the following 
 calculation, from which they may form some tolerable 
 correct idea of the quantity of water that falls over 
 this cataract. 
 
 Say that each of the spaces, over which the water 
 pitches, is four hundred yards wide, or twelve hundred 
 feet ; the most shallow one of these, or that on the Uni- 
 ted States' side, is three feet deep on the verge of the 
 rock, over which it falls. Now if we multiply its depth 
 three feet, into its width, twelve hundred feet, we have 
 
go 
 
 hi 
 
 I 
 
 thirty-six hundred cubic, or sohd feet of water, on the 
 verge of the precipice. As there are sixty-two pounds 
 avoirdupoise, in a cubic or sohd foot of water, and a 
 httle more, which we leave out to avoid fractions, so if 
 we multiply sixty-two, the pounds in a square foot of 
 water, by thirty-six hundred, the number of feet of wa- 
 ter on the verge, wc have, two hundred and twenty- 
 three thousand, two pounds of water, on the verge of 
 the precipice. But when we consider the laws of grav- 
 ity respecting spouting fluids and falling bodies, we 
 shall find the water of this cataract, receives a vast 
 additional weight by the time it comes tc the lowest 
 point of fall. In order therefore to find this addition- 
 al weight, we must note the following tnings : — " Hea- 
 vy bodies near the surface of the earth, fall one foot 
 the first quarter of a second, three feet the second, 
 five the third, and seven feet in the fourth auarter; that 
 is sixteen feet in the first second. Let go three bullets 
 together, stop the first at one second, and it will have 
 fallen sixteen feet ; stop the next at the end of the se- 
 cond second, it will have fallen, four times sixteen, or six- 
 ty-four feet; stop the last at the end of the third second 
 and the distance it will have fallen will be nine times 
 sixteen or one hundred and forty-four feet, and so on. 
 Now the momentum or force with which a falling body 
 strikes, is equal to its weight multiplied by its velocity," 
 and in order to find which we must multiply the per- 
 pendicular space fallen through by sixty-four, and the 
 square root of the product is the velocity required. — 
 See Pike s Arithmetic, pages j62 and ^. 
 
 From calculation, we find that the water of the cat- 
 aract is three seconds descending the one hundred and 
 forty-four feet, and that the velocity acquired in that 
 time and distance to be ninety-six, which, if we multi- 
 ply into two hundred and twenty-three thousand, the 
 
t r 
 
 91 
 
 
 
 number of pounds of Wilier on the top of the rock, we 
 find that twenty-one millions four hundred and twenty- 
 seven thousand two luindred is the weight thereof, at 
 the lowest point ot fall — This is the weight of the wa- 
 ter at the smallest part of the cataract, or that on the 
 United States' side. The other part of the Falls, as has 
 been noted, is at least six times as large ; that is, six 
 times the quantity of water fH.ows over. Now if we 
 multiply the above sum, 27.427,200 by six, we shall 
 have the enormous sum of 128,563,200 lbs. of water, 
 which falls on the bed of the river below." 
 
 About two miles above the Falls, there is a spring of 
 water, whose vapour is highly inflammable, and is emit- 
 ted, for a time, with a considerable degree of force. If 
 gathered into a narrow compass, it will support combus- 
 tion for twenty minutes, and is capable of communicat- 
 ing to water, placed in a confined vessel and held over 
 it, the degrees of boiling temperature. 
 
 There is also, at some distance below the Falls, a 
 large hole, called the Devil's Hole; it is three hundred 
 yards in circumference, and three hundred feet deep, 
 with trees and craggy rocks sticking to the inner sur- 
 face. There is supposed to be a considerable depth 
 of wa' M" at the bottom. 
 
 What is called the JMountain Lake, may also be termed 
 one of the curiosities of this portion of country ; it is 
 situated in Prince Edward County, on the shore, about 
 thirty miles from Kingston, on the top of a mountain 
 of about two hundred feet in height — it is three miles 
 round, and, what is a curious circumstance, is well 
 stocked with fish, although being in no manner con- 
 nected with the bay or lake, except by a small stream 
 that flows from it into the bay, by a perpendicular de- 
 scent. 
 
 There are also many other curiosities, which the lim- 
 
 
r 
 
 w 
 
 m 
 
 
 P||. 
 
 '& 
 
 92 
 
 its of this work will not allow of being noticed. Among 
 these may be counted the Whirlpool, about three miles 
 below the Falls, and four above Oueenston ; as also 
 the many falls in Twenty Mile Creek, which, like the 
 Niagara, flows over the same mountain. One of these 
 falls has a perpendicular descent of seventy-seven feet, 
 and the water, after running for some time with great 
 violence, falls over again, presenting to the admirer of 
 nature a most imposing spectacle. 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF 
 
 LOWER CANADA. 
 
 This province lies on both sides of the river St. 
 Lawrence, between forty-five and fifty-two degrees of 
 north latitude, and sixty-one and eighty degrees west 
 longitude, from Greenwich. It is bounded on the 
 north by New-Britain, on the east by the gulf of the 
 St. Lawrence, on the south east by New-Brunswick, 
 the district of Maine, and New Hampshire : south by 
 Vermont, and seventy-five miles of the state of New- 
 York, viz : from lake Champlain to the St. Regis river, 
 where it empties into the St. Lawrence ; and on the 
 west by Upper Canada. , > 
 
 Upon the north line it extends to a distance of six 
 hundred and eighty-five miles ; its extent on the south 
 line is nearly nine hundred miles, and measures in 
 the middle about four hundred and fifty miles, run- 
 ning narrower to each end, more especially to the 
 north-eastern one. The dividing line between this 
 
^r» 
 
 93 
 
 and the upper province, takes its commencement from 
 the north side of lake St. Francis; it then pursues 
 nearly a north course, running nearly twenty miles 
 to the Ottavvas river, which comes from the north-west, 
 and falls into the St. Lawrence at Montreal, it then 
 ascends that river to longitude eighty west, thence it 
 takes a due north ^ ourse to Charlton Island, about the 
 middle of the south end of James' Bay, where it inter- 
 sects the north line in north latitude fifty-two, and west 
 longitude eighty. 
 
 The climate ot tliis province is any thing but pleas- 
 ant, during the winter, which lasts six months, com- 
 mencing in November and finishing in the latter end 
 of April, there are continual falls of snow, which lie 
 generally to the depth of from four to five feet. The 
 mercury in the thermometer, in this province, has been 
 known to freeze, and in summer time it sometimes rises 
 to ninety-six degrees; when, however the winter breaks 
 up, the growth of vegetation is really surprising. Yet 
 notwithstanding the intense heat of sununer, and the 
 rigor of winter, the inhabitants enjoy excellent health, 
 and are vigorous and robust, carrying a strength, quite 
 unusual to more southern climates, even to a very ad- 
 vanced age. 
 
 The ice on the rivers and lakes of Lower Canada 
 generally acquires a thickness of two feet, and is ca- 
 pable of sustaining almost any weight — that on the 
 borders of the St. Lawrence sometimes exceeds six 
 feet. 
 
 As regards variety of soil the province of Lower Ca- 
 nada can vie with almost any other; the traveller may 
 be for Tiiany days delighted with the prospect of the 
 most luxurious vegetation, and landscapes, improv- 
 ed by art and industry, and in a transition which he 
 feels to be almost sudden, finds himself surrounded on 
 
.X" 
 
 9/a 
 
 ~ t 
 If /• 
 
 
 
 94 
 
 all sides by barrenness and desolation, without one sol- 
 itary object upon which the eye may rest with pleasure. 
 On all the low banks of the St. Lawrence, the soil is 
 g-ood, as it is on the low grounds of other large rivers. 
 Some of the vallies not situate on rivors afford excel- 
 lent land ; it is generally oi a black mould, mixed with 
 a small portion of sand. On the higher grounds the 
 soil is of a more sandy nature and is mixed slightly 
 with blue clay. On the high hills and mountains, it is 
 clay and gravel — lime-stone is found in great plenty, in 
 many places of this province, and answers an excellent 
 purpose. 
 
 In the northern part of the province there are many 
 very large and shallow ponds of water, abounding with 
 animals of the fur kind, which in summer time become 
 partly dried up, creating an unwholesome etlluvi^i ; these 
 if they were drained would make excellent meadow 
 land, and many of them might be thus converted into 
 good land at a very trifling expense. 
 
 There are two sorts of pine in this province, the 
 white and the red, which are excellent for the East In- 
 dies ; four sorts of lirs, two sorts of cedar and oak, the 
 white and the red; the male and female maple; three 
 sorts of ash trees, the free, the mongrel and the bastard ; 
 three sorts of walnut trees, the hard, the soft, and the 
 smooth; vast numbers of beech trees and white wood, 
 white and red elms and poplars. The Indians hollow 
 the red elms into canoes, some of which, made out of 
 one piece, will contain twenty persons ; others are made 
 of the bark, the difTerent pieces of which they sew to- 
 gether, with the inner rind, and daub over the seams 
 with pitch, or rather bituminous substance resemliling 
 pitch, to prevent their leaking. The ribs of these ca- 
 noes are made of boughs of trees. In the hollow elms, 
 the bears and wild cats take up their residence from 
 November to April. 
 
 
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 ing 
 Gil- 
 ins, 
 :om 
 
 95 
 
 In every part of the province there arc plenty of ever- 
 greens, such as hemlock, cedar, lirs, holly and laurel, 
 with others. Many of these evergreens are loaded with 
 an abundance of moss, which has a romantic appear- 
 ance, and affords fine shelter for wild beasts and fowl, 
 in the winter season. Here may be found large spots 
 of ground under natural roofs, covered with dry leaves, 
 while the snow is five feet deep on the surrounding 
 parts, a circumstance extremely beneficial to the In- 
 dians, and the animals of this cold region. To these 
 places the Indians resort for hunting purposes, and here 
 screened from the wind they lie down upon the dry 
 leaves beside their fire and feel as comfortable as the 
 rich farmer or merchant in his warm house. One who 
 has never been at these places can form no correct idea 
 of the great dilTerence of the weather in these solitary 
 retreats. 
 
 There is also a great variety of wild fruit, particular- 
 ly the crab-apple, potatoe, onion and cranberry. 
 
 Near C)uebec then has been found an excellent 
 lead mine, and many valuable ones of iron, have also 
 been discovered at different places. Some silver, it is 
 said, has also been found in the mountains. There 
 have also been found some coal mines, the coal from 
 which burns well, and some of alum, copperas and 
 clays, that paint quite well. 
 
 Fifty miles from Quebec on the banks of the " Troi's 
 Rivieres,'' there is an excellent mine of iron ore, it lies 
 horizontal, situate near the surface, and is composed 
 of masses easily detached from each other, perforated, 
 and the holes filled with ochre. It possesses softness 
 and pliability, and for promoting its fusion a grey lime- 
 stone, found in its vicinity is used. The hammered 
 iron is soft and tenacious, and has the quality of not be- 
 ing subject to rust. :— ---,r— --~.~ 
 
 
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 96 
 
 The lakes of Lower Canada are numerous, though 
 not large ; a considerable number of which have no 
 names; the first, however, of any note, is that of Black 
 river, from which the rivtr has its source ; it lies in north 
 latitude fifty-one, and west longitude sixty-six, forty- 
 eight, is of consideinble depth, and about one hundred 
 miles in circumference. 
 
 Middle Lake lies about one hundred miles to the 
 west of the former, is small, and is the source of Bus- 
 tard river, which empties into the St. Lawrence, and 
 passes through several lakes ; also, a vast number of . 
 lakes are to be found in every direction from the lake. 
 
 Lake St. John is situate about one hundred miles' 
 north of Quebec, and is about ninety miles in circum- 
 ference. This lake is the source of the river Sacjuenay. 
 Another considerable lake is also found, one hundred 
 miles to the north-west, near the great chain of moun- 
 tains; it is the source of Picksuagus river. 
 
 Abbitib Lake is situate in latitude forty-nine, and 
 longitude seventy-nine, and is the source of a large riv- 
 er of the same name, which runs into the south end of 
 James' Bay. It is one hundred and ninety miles in 
 circumference, tolerably shallow, and abounds with 
 small islands. In the vicinity of this lake are several 
 more of less note. 
 
 Lake Mistissiney is situated north of Quebec about 
 two hundred and fifty miles, and is about three hun- 
 dred miles in circuit, though a number of points of land ; 
 extend into it a good distance from every direction. It 
 is the source of Rupert's River, which pass^^s through 
 some small lakes, on its way to James' Bay, a north- 
 east course. : >■■ ':-;-'; r-, : y ■■ -Mv'M'v.'- :, 
 
 Lake St. Charles is situate north of Quebec, and re- 
 ceives and discharges tiie river St. Charles; it is about 
 five miles long. 
 
 1 }\ 
 
9» 
 
 97 
 
 Lake Megantic, lies south of Quebec, about ninety 
 miles, and is the source of the river Chuudiere. 
 
 Lake Calvier is small, and is situated a few miles 
 above Ouebec. 
 
 Lake St. Peter is formed by the expansion of the 
 St. Laurence, to the breadth of twenty miles. It is 
 one hundred and twelve miles from Ouebec. 
 
 The lake of the Two Mountains, and the lake of St. 
 Louis, are in the vicinity of Montreal ; the latter is 
 formed by the junction of the Ottawas, with the St. 
 Laurence. The lake of the Two Mountains is an ex- 
 pansion of the Ottawas, ten miles above its mouth, 
 and is twenty miles long, and three broad. 
 
 The rivers of Lower Canada are very numerous, 
 and chiefly run into the St. Laurence ; the most of 
 them come from the north, and afford many romantic 
 falls. 
 
 In sailing up the gulf of St. Lawrence, the firsi riv- 
 er of note which is seen, is the Moisic river ; about 
 forty miles further up, we come to Machigahtou river : 
 and in forty more, we come to Black river, already no- 
 ted ; this river is three hundred miles long, and quite 
 large, and falls into the St. Lawrence, some distance 
 above the gulf. . 
 
 The next in c 'Urse is Bustard river, about ten miles 
 further up. This is one of the longest rivers of Low- 
 er Canada. It falls into the St. Laurence in lat. 48.50, 
 north, after running a course of at least four hundred 
 miles. 
 
 Betsaijnites ri^oer, appears next in sailing up the St. 
 Laurence. It is large, of considerable length, and 
 passes through several lakes. 
 
 PortJius, is a river of some length, coming from two 
 small lakes. It empties into the St. Laurence, fifty 
 miles above. 
 
98 
 
 A 
 
 'n. 
 
 m 1 
 
 Pepe Cl.aisinagau river, succeeds in course, and falls 
 into the St. Laurence, twenty miles above Portnus. 
 
 In sailing up the St. Laurence, several small streams 
 are seen; at length we come to St. James river ; and a 
 little distance above, we come to the river Saguenay, 
 which rises out of lake St. John, already noted ; which 
 lake is the repository of four considerable rivers, with 
 their numerous branches, viz : those of the Picksuaga- 
 nis, ChissoicematoUy Sable, and Periboaca. In its course, 
 the Saguenay receives the Missigui.iipi, and several 
 more of considerable size, after which, it falls into the 
 St. Laurence, one hundred and fifty miles below Que- 
 bec, from nearly a west direction. This river is one 
 hundred and fifty miles in length, from the lake ; and 
 sweeps along a prodigious quantity of water. ^ It is in- 
 terrupted in its course, by abrupt precipices, over which 
 it dashes its foaming current ; and being bounded by 
 banks of great elevation, is remarkable for the depth 
 and impetuosity of its flood, which is sensi::ly felt in 
 the St. Laurence, whose water is obliged to yield to 
 its impulse for a distance of several miles. Large ves- 
 sels, apparently going their course, have thereby been 
 carried side-long in a different direction. 
 
 This river, is generally, three miles wide, except at 
 its mouth, where it is only one ; at which place, five 
 hundred fathoms of line have been let down, without 
 finding any bottom. Two miles up, it is one hundred 
 and thirty-eight fathoms, and at sixty miles, it is sixty 
 fathoms deep. 
 
 Albany river succeeds next in course, which rises in 
 a small lake, about sixty miles north from the St. Lau- 
 rence, and flows through the fertile valley of Mal-bay. 
 This river abounds with salmon and other excellent 
 fish, 
 
 ' 
 
 f» 
 
99 
 
 Montmorcncixs the next considerable river, and falls 
 into the St. Laurence, eight miles L»elow ( Hiebec, over 
 a precipice of two hundred and forty-six feet. 
 
 St. Charles, falls into the same close by Ouebec, and 
 is of considerable size. 
 
 On the south side of the gulf and river St. Lau- 
 rence, there are a number of streams, which fall into it, 
 and take their rise in New Brunswick, New Hampshire 
 and Vermont. 
 
 The largest is the Chandicre river, rising out of lake 
 Megantic, and flowing a north course, one hundred and 
 thirty miles, falls into the St. Laurence about eight 
 miles above Ouebec. Ships sail some distance up this 
 river. 
 
 The river St, Nicholas, falls in on the same side of 
 the St. Laurence, but a little higher up. Jacques Car- 
 tzer, a river of considerable size, falls into the St. Lau- 
 rence, about thirty miles above Ouebec. The stream 
 of i.his, like all the rivers in Lower Canada, is fre- 
 quently broker- into cascades, affording picturesque 
 scenery. 
 
 The St. Ann, and Dog rivers, are streams of som«^ 
 note, and fall into the St. Laurence, from the north. 
 
 Batisean river, also flows from the north, into the St. 
 Laurence. Three Rivers, otherwise, called St. Maur- 
 ice, falls into the St. Laurence, from the north, fifty 
 miles above Ouebec, by three mouths. It is three 
 hundred miles long, and much navigated by the Indians, 
 from the vicinity of Hudson bay. The tide of the 
 St. Laurence flows no higher than the mouth of this 
 river. 
 
 St. Reges river, rises in the state of New-York, and 
 falls into the upper end of lake vSt. Francis, in lat. 45 
 degrees. This is the last river of Lower Canada, which 
 runs into the St. Laurence, from the south. 
 
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 ill 
 
 
 V lOO 
 
 Ottarjas river, is one of the largest in Upper Cana- 
 da, except the St. Laurence, into which it falls below, 
 and above Montreal, as has been noted. It is at least, 
 one thousand miles long ; one of its branches, the 
 Petite Riviere, rises out of lake Tomis-Cauting, and 
 after meeting together four hundred miles from Mon- 
 treal, receives a number of tributary streams on its 
 way, and pitches over a number of precipices. 
 
 All the rivers as yet described, run into the St. Lau- 
 rence from the south or north; there are several which 
 run into James' bay, after running a western or north 
 eastern course — viz. ■ 
 
 Slude river and Ruperfs river, which has a course of 
 nearly two hundred miles ; and Harraconaw river, which 
 empties into the south end of James' bay,* and is a 
 beautiful river. 
 
 The river St. Lawrence is one of the greatest, and 
 most beautiful rivers ; from its mouth to Montreal, the 
 head of ship navigation, it is five hundred and forty-five 
 miles : for one thousand more it is passed by very large 
 boats, from here, for two hundred and forty miles, 
 through lake Ontario, the largest vessels in the world 
 may sail. 
 
 The harbors in Lower Canada are numeroui, chief- 
 ly situate in the St. Lau^-ence ; there are a few on lake 
 Champlam, and two o" three on the north-west coast 
 of James' Bay. 
 
 Fish, of which there is a great variety, is very plenty. 
 
 There are but two cities in Lower Canada, Quebec 
 and Montreal, (a description of these may be found in 
 the memoi.s.) 
 
 Considering the great extent of Lower Canada, its 
 villages are few in number, and small in size, chiefly 
 lying on the banks of the St. Laurence. 
 
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 The first of any note above Quebec, for there are 
 none below, is /etmnc Loretie ; it lies nine miles north 
 v/est of Quebec, and contains fifty log houses, inhabit- 
 ed by French and some Indians, th.^re is a decent 
 chapel in this villai^e. 
 
 The village of Trots Rivieres, is stuate oii the north 
 bank of the St. Laurence, extendi three fourths of a 
 mile long, and contains seventy houses and a church. 
 
 Charlchours; is situate eighty miles east of Lorette, 
 and is something larger. 
 
 The village of Wiliiam Henry or Sorel is agreeably 
 situate at the confluence of the Sorel or Chambly riv- 
 er with the St. Laurence, and contains a Protestant 
 and Roman Catholic house for divine worship. 
 
 Some distance above Sorel, is is situate Verchcres ; t 
 contains about forty houses. 
 
 Satdt Saint Louis, is a small village of about one 
 hundred and fifty houses, inhabited chiefly by the Iro- 
 quois or Mohawk Indians. It is about sixteen miles 
 above Montreal, and was originally built for those In- 
 dians, who have long been converted to the christian re- 
 ligion. It is chiefly built of stone. The church and 
 dwelling of the missionaries are protected by a stone 
 wall, in which there are loop holes for musquetry. 
 
 Point a ax Trembles village is fifty-one miles from 
 Quebec, contains one hundred and twenty houses, a 
 small convent of nuns, and a neat church. 
 
 The village of the Cedars is charmingly situated on 
 the St. Laurence, not far abo^^e Montreal ; it contains 
 about aty houses. 
 
 The Catiasadago village of the Iroquois, a Mohawk, 
 and Algonquin tribes of Indians, is situate on a de- 
 lightful point of land on the hills, on the east side of 
 the two mountains, in the Ottowas river. Near the 
 extremity of the Point, their church is built, which di- 
 
 ll 
 
102 
 
 vides the village into two parts, forming a regular an- 
 gle alonsg the water side. It contains about two hun- 
 dred houses, and two thousand five hundred souls. 
 
 The province of Lower Canada is divided into three 
 districts and twenty-one counties, viz : Gaspe, Corn- 
 wallis, Devon, Hertford, Dorchester, Buckinghamshire, 
 Richlieu, Bedford, Surrey, Kent, Huntington, York, 
 Montreal, Effingham, Leinster, Warwick, St. Maurice, 
 Hampshire, Quebec, Northumberland and Orleans. 
 These counties are subdivided into parishes. 
 
 The only natural curiosities worth naming in Lower 
 Canada, are those cascades and water-f?lls with which 
 the province abounds. 
 
 The Bird Isles, which are situate in the gulf of St. 
 Laurence, consist of two rocks elevated atjove the wa- 
 ter, upwards of one hi^ndred feet, their flattened sum- 
 mits, whose circumference does not exceed three 
 hundred yards, exhibit a resplendent whiteness, produ- 
 ced by the quantities of ordure with which they are 
 covered, from immense flocks of birds, which, in sum- 
 mer, take possession of the apertures in their perpen- 
 dicular cliffs, where they form their nests, and produce 
 their young. When alarmed, they hover above the 
 rocks, ard overshadow their tops by their numbers. 
 The abundance of their eggs affords to the inhabitants 
 of the neighboring coast, a material supply of food. 
 
 Ninety miles up the Saguenay river, already noted, 
 there is a fall of water, that deserves notice, chiefly on 
 account of the immense sheet of water, which is p^r- 
 perpetually broken in its rugged course, and assumes a 
 resplendent whiteness. 
 
 When viewed from below the scene is stupendous and 
 terrific. The incessant and deafening roar of the waters 
 and the violence with which they hasten to their des- 
 cent, tend to produce on the mind of the spectator an 
 
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 li 
 
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 I03 
 
 impression awfully grand. The picturesque and rude- 
 ly wild forms of the lofty banks, exhibit a gloomy con- 
 trast to the lively splendors of the cataract. 
 
 Three hundred and thirty miles from the mouth of 
 the St. Laurence is situate Cape Tourmcnt, whose per- 
 pendicular altitude is two thousand feet. It exhibits a 
 grand and sublime view, especially to those sailing up 
 the river. 
 
 The cataract of the river Montmorencie, which 
 empties into the St. Laurence, eight miles below 
 Quebec, may be reckoned among the natural curiosi- 
 ties of this country. The following description is in 
 the words of Mr. Hciriott : 
 
 "After exhibiting a grateful variety throughout its 
 course, the Montmorenci is precipitated in an almost 
 perpendicular direction, over a rock of the height of 
 two hundred and forty-six feet ; falling, when it touches 
 the rock, in white clouds of rolling foam; and under- 
 neath, where it is propelled with uninterrupted gravita- 
 tion, in numerous liakes, like wool or cotton, which are 
 gradually protracted in their descent, until they are re- 
 ceived in the boiUng profound abyss below." 
 
 " Viewed from the summit of the cliff, from whence 
 they are thrown, the waters, with every concommitant 
 circumstance, produce an effect equally grand, and 
 wonderfully sublime. The prodigious depth of their 
 descent, the brightness and volubility of <heir course, 
 the sv/iftness of their movement through the air, and 
 vhe loud and hollow noise emitted from the basin, 
 swelling with incessant agii:ation, from the weight of 
 the dashing waters, forcibly combine to attract the at- 
 tention, and to impress with sentiments of grandeur 
 and elevation, the mind of the spectator. The clouds 
 of vapor arising and assuming the prismatic colors, 
 contribute to enliven the scene. They fly off from the 
 
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 104 
 
 ^ 
 
 in. 
 
 p*- 
 
 I 
 
 fall, in the form of a revolving sphere, emitting with 
 velocity pointed flakes of spray, which spread in re- ; 
 ceding, until intercei)ted by neighboring banks, or dis- 
 solved in the atmosphere." 
 
 " The breadth of the fall is one hundred feet; the ba- 
 sin is bounded by steep cliffs, composed of grey lime 
 slate, lying in inclined strata, which on the east and 
 west bides, are sub-divided into innumerable thin shiv- 
 ers, forming with the horizon an angle of forty-five de- 
 grees, and containing between them fibrous gypsum, 
 and py'erre a calmnet, a soft stone of which the heads of ; 
 pipes are sometimes formed, mouldering incessantly 
 by exposure to the air, and the action of the weather ; 
 no surface for vegetation remains upon these substan- 
 ces." . ■ .^ ''^' ■-. 
 
 Eight miles from Quebec, the river Chaudiere emp- ^ 
 ties into the south side of St. Laurence ; and four miles 
 from its mouth, there is a beautiful cataract, which de- 
 serves attention. - : ; ;r 
 
 The month of May, appears to be the most advan- 
 tageous period, at v/hich to contemplate this interes- 
 ting scene, the approach to vvhich ought first to be 
 made, from the top of the banks ; as in emerging from 
 the woods, it conducts at once to the summit of the 
 cataract, where the objects which instantaneously be- ■ 
 come developed to the eye, strike the mind with sur- 
 prise, and produce a powerful impression. 
 
 "Tne water descends from a height of one hundred 
 and twenty feet, and being separated by rocks, forms 
 three separate cataracts ; the largest of which, is on the 
 western side, and they unite in the basin, beneath their 
 broken and agitated waters. The form of the rock 
 forces a part of the water, into an oblique direction, 
 and advances them beyond the line of the precipice. 
 The cavities worn in the rocks, produce a pleasing va- 
 
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 105 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 riety, and cause the descending waters to revolve with 
 foaming fury, to whose whiteness the gloomy cliffs pre- 
 sent a strong opposition of color. The vapor from each 
 division of the falls, quickly mounting through the air, 
 bestows an enlivening beauty on the landscape. 
 
 The wild diversity displayed by the banks of the 
 stream, and the foliage of the overhanging woods, the 
 brilliancy of colors richly contrasted, the rapidity of 
 motion, the refulgent brightness of the cataracts, the 
 deep and solemn sound, which they emit, and the va- 
 rious cascades further down the river, unite in render- 
 ing this such a pleasing exhibition of natural objects 
 as few scenes can surpass." 
 
 "On descending the side of the river, tlie landscape 
 becomes considerably altered, and the falls appear to 
 great advantage. Masses of rocks and elevated points 
 of land, covered with trees, together with the smaller 
 cascades on the stream, present a rich assemblage, 
 terminated by the falls. The scenery, in proceeding 
 down the river, is rugged and wild. 
 
 " Viewed in the Winter season, the falls exhibit an 
 appearance more curious than pleasing, being for the* 
 greatest part congealed, and the general form of the 
 congealed masses, is that of a concretion of icicles, 
 which resembles a cluster of pillars in Gothic architec- 
 ture ; and may not improperly be compared to the pipes 
 of an organ. The spray becomes likewise consolida- 
 ted into three masses, or secretions of a cone, exter- 
 nally convex, but concave toward the falls. The west 
 side being usually the only place in which the waters 
 flow; the aspect is infinitely inferior to that, displayed 
 in Summer; and the sound emitted is comparatively 
 faint. The surrounding objects, covered alike with 
 snow, produce one uniform glare. The rocks and the 
 bed of the river, disguised by unshapely white masses 
 
 ; 
 1 
 
produce a reflection, which gives, even to the waters of 
 the cataract, an apparent tinge of obscurity." 
 
 In the midst of the low ground, near cape Tourment, 
 a narrow hill, about a mile in length, and flatted on its 
 summit, rises to the height of one hundred feet. Up- 
 on the top is erected a large dwelling house, and a 
 chapel ; and thither the ecclesiastics of the seminary of 
 Quebec, to whom the land belongs, retire in the Sum- 
 mer. ^''■''"■' . -^•"■' ■■ '''^- ■■ ■■■■ •^■■■■•: 
 
 There are many other curiosities in this province, 
 which cannot here be described; those most remarkable, 
 however, have already been noted. 
 
 Almost all the inhabitants of Lower Canada, that 
 have come to the years of maturity, are professors of 
 religion — the great majority are of the Roman Catho- 
 lic persuasion, for whose worship, some years back, 
 there were one hundred and thirty churches, seven 
 convents, one hundred and ninety secular and regular 
 priests, and one bishop. There were also sixteen cler- 
 gymen of the church of England, and one bishop, 
 besides some Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and 
 Quakers ; all of whom enjoy freedom of conscience, un- 
 molested. .,:--;/l,.. ::'::, ,..,,..-,. -...v,;;>. ,,:;.. 
 
 The Roman Catholic clergy of the province are dis- 
 tinguished for their devotion, benevolence, and inoffen- 
 sive conduct and humanity. They are regular and 
 rigid in their religious ceremonies. - 
 
 In the year 1497, Lower Canada was discovered by 
 John Cabot, a Venetian in the service of the English. 
 
 In 1534, Jacques Cartier, a Frenchman, under 
 commission of Frances I, explored the gulf of St. Law- 
 rence, and the next year ascended the river, and win- 
 tered at St. Croix, where he erected a wooden cross. 
 
 In 1603, a patent for an exclusive trade was granted 
 to Sieur de Monts, who employed Champlain to make 
 further discoveries in Canada. 
 
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 In 1608, Champlain sailed up the St. Laurence, as 
 far as a strait, called by the Indians Quebec, which is 
 the mouth of Sorrell river, where, on the third of July, 
 he began to build, and here passed the following Win- 
 ter. At this time, the settlement of Canada commen- 
 ced. 
 
 In 1628, a company of rich merchants, one hundred 
 and seven in number, was established by patent for an 
 exclusive trade. 
 
 This company acquired a right of soil, in 1642; but 
 their charter was revoked in 1663. 
 
 In 1629, Quebec was taken by the English, under 
 Sir David Keith ; and surrendered to the French by 
 the treaty of St. Germain. 
 
 In 1690, Sir \Vm. Phipps, with an armament from 
 Boston, made an unsuccessful attack upon Quebec. 
 
 On September 13, 1759, an English army under Gen. 
 Wolfe, made a successful attack upon Quebec, which 
 surrendered on the i8th. 
 
 In 1760, the whole province of Canada surrendered 
 to Gen. Amherst, and was confirmed to Great-Britain 
 by the treaty of 1763, under whose dominions it has 
 since continued. 
 
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